It's difficult to make sense of the current wave of panic that is sweeping over the nation as concerns about the Coronavirus strike at the heart of all sorts of things, even if COVID19 itself is curiously absent. Get mildly freaked out and carry on appears to be the order of the day. As businesses … Continue reading The homeworking pandemic
Last week I had the pleasure of catching up with a former colleague G. He and I, some twenty one years ago, were involved in a project that delivered the very first Data Warehouse into the BBC. It was a project that had oversight from John Birt, the then Director General, and a manager with … Continue reading A decade of bad IT?
This week I have learned: sometimes if you go back to old tools and techniques then you can unlock whatever it is you are banging your head againsta problem shared (etc)there's an interesting argument that I must write up that the advent of cloud has led to a decade of crap ITmaybe I need a … Continue reading Weeknote 473: boards
I’m not sure if you could love Billy Bragg’s work without being somehow aligned to his politics. But his love songs are a triumph too, often overlooked. For me, Peak Billy is probably his wonderful Worker’s Playtime, but as we will see that came out in a time that was packed with music in my … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 1983
This week I have learned: That just mooching about with the kids whilst getting paid during half term has actually been an odd experience. Six years of free range hustling has changed how I think about my time, but I'm not sure for the better.That is perfectly reasonable to take a troupe of 20 cardboard … Continue reading Weeknote 472: half term
In my teens I got involved with a band. I can't quite remember how the initial contact was made, but somehow I was the saxophonist for Secret Fascination. There was a lead singer who was called John, but his real name was Chris (although it might have been the other way around). There was another … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 1982
This week I have learned: That I am really not cut out for skiingLaw firm offices really are hilariously interchangeableOnce you get over the initial silliness of talking about gnomes, you find that they’re a great way to explore interesting problemsThe gulf between wallpapering over the cracks and knocking down the whole damn building is … Continue reading Weeknote 471: sore toes
The earliest music-playing device that I owned was a cassette player, one of those oblong things that had a speaker in it at one end, the tape deck and then a handle. Hardly hi-fi. But I loved it, and I loved the first few cassettes that I was given for it (alongside the blank ones … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 1981
For the past couple of decades, I've found myself, for one reason or another, in front of groups of people asking them to identify brands that, for them, sum up really great or really bad customer service. In the latter category, the types of brands have remained remarkably stable, even if some of the names … Continue reading Mind the Pizza Gap
This week I have learned: skiing is not like cycling. it also uses muscles I’m not sure I have. I’m thoroughly enjoying Steve Chapman’s WTFeb art challenge. Next week: My first meeting with the board The week in photos:
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