Weeknote 477 – remote

This week I have learned: it starts to become more real when people you know start to become effected.the variation in experience and confidence of using collaboration tools is vast.I've caught up with more people in the last 10 days than I have done in months. Social distancing is bringing us together.I fear, though, that … Continue reading Weeknote 477 – remote

51 for 50 – 1987

Doing this exercise has made me realise that there is a bit of a bell curve of albums of importance in my life that peaks around my late teens. That’s hardly surprising, I guess - I imagine it’s the same for many of us. Making decisions about which one album should be included in the … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 1987

Weeknote 476: the lurgy

This week I have learned: boy things can escalate quickly.I miss my wife. I really, really hope she gets home this weekend.I am really, really pleased to be part of a team. The loneliness that I started to feel overwhelming towards the end of my contracting time would be crushing now. I feel for so … Continue reading Weeknote 476: the lurgy

51 for 50 – 1986

There are a couple of proper full-on legends in music that I’ve seen live. One was Leonard Bernstein, who I saw conduct at a BBC Prom in the late 1980s at the Royal Albert Hall. The other, twice, was trumpeter Miles Davis. He was a brooding presence on stage, the centre of attention in sparkly … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 1986

Weeknote 475: COVID

This week I have learned: The world really has gone a little bit hatstandRugby is a very odd gameCOVID might provide the most remarkable catalyst to drive more remote and flexible workingBut making sure the haters don't hate is going to be the keyCatching up with my LEF chums is always brain-stretching (in a good … Continue reading Weeknote 475: COVID

51 for 50 – 1985

In the summer of (I think) 1987 I went up to Yorkshire to spend a week on a thing called Musicamp. Organised by a music teacher and brass player called Mortimer Rhind-Tutt (I’m assuming some sort of relation of the actor Julian), a bunch of kids from the Watford and Maidenhead areas got together to … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 1985

Weeknote 474: housing technology

This week I have learned: Start the week with a bit of random artistic endeavourThat Housing Technology appears to be in a -15 year timewarpThat a Prius catalytic converter is both resell-able and extremely steal-ableThe Meeting Owl is rather goodMicroservices are the new snake oilI've got a cold. No, it's really just a coldThree-way on … Continue reading Weeknote 474: housing technology

51 for 50 – 1984

In 1984 a Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument would have set you back about as much as a house. The Australian-built sampler was the stuff of legend, dreams and Trevor Horn. In the hands of the Art of Noise, it could turn out pop hits like Close (To The Edit) and Moments in Love, but some … Continue reading 51 for 50 – 1984

The homeworking pandemic

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

A decade of bad IT?

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?