Steely Dan - Do it again For me, Steely Dan are a band whose songs evoke strong memories of childhood in the 1970s. Summer days spent driving to grandparents - the hot sun through the windscreen, windows open (no aircon in those days), and sticky, scorching vinyl seats, listening to the Radio One Roadshow broadcasting … Continue reading 1972
Category: Projects
Isaac Hayes - Theme from Shaft For about 20 years I've had the idea of a Blacksploitation cop show with two characters - Rufus Stone and Barrington Mead. Rufus Stone is a place in the New Forest, and Barrington Mead the road on which my Great Aunt lives. Other than their names, sadly I've never … Continue reading 1971
Minnie Riperton - Les Fleurs I don’t remember 1970. I was, at most, a month old. Looking at the history books, however, and it does appear to have been a bit of a grotty year. I kind of imagine that it felt like one long woozy hangover from the 1960s. The end of November in … Continue reading 1970
At the end of November I am going to be reaching the decimally-significant age of 40. Rather than having a rather public mid-life crisis, I seem to be dealing with my departure from the ranks of thirty-somethings by embarking on a series of miniature personal projects which have no particular significance and are significantly cheaper … Continue reading 41-4-40
Shanghai isn't as different a place as I was maybe expecting. There again, I've seen little other than the Airport and Pudong - a business district that has emerged from the fields in the past 10 years. The buildings are tall, and somewhat "space age" in a Buck Rodgers kind of way. There's a definite … Continue reading TravelBlog 10 – Shanghai
Until you actually get to spend some time working in a different environment, it's very difficult to get a handle on the subtle differences that exist between cultures - whether they be borne of nationality, industry or company. There are striking differences between the ways in which people in our Sydney and Hong Kong offices … Continue reading TravelBlog 9 – Cultural differences
That's quite a view from the office window. Especially for someone who usually is in a basement office with no windows!
The East Hotel in Tai Koo where I'm currently staying is only five months old, and shows a cool sophistication that puts many of its European counterparts to shame. It's also, without doubt, the most gadgety place I have ever stayed. Some of it is a bit gimmicky - at reception you sign your name … Continue reading TravelBlog 7 – Hotel Gadget
You've got to admire the refreshing honesty of the connection process to the East Hotel's wifi networks (shown above). Arrived safely in Hong Kong to a wonderfully hospitable welcome, and a beautiful (and only five-month-old) hotel.
A number of people that I have spoken to in the past few days have observed that doing business in Australia is much more dependent on an individual's network than back in the UK. It can be probably accounted for by a combination of it being a much smaller population, combined with a more outgoing … Continue reading TravelBlog 5 – real v virtual networks
