A couple of beverage related tales. Tale number 1 A colleague of mine created an alphanumeric method to note which drinks people wanted in a meeting. It was a form of abbreviations that made the recording of requirements, neat, efficient and effective. It’s quite simple really. You start with the type of drink you want, … Continue reading Coffee or tea?
The Age of Maps
There are some changes in the way that you work that you really notice and there are others that just seem to creep up on you. When I started my first job, computers were very rare, with just the odd green screen on a counter to handle transactional processing. Eventually they became much more common, … Continue reading The Age of Maps
Anyone for tennis?
Ah, the tennis season has started again with the first major of the year. At one time, the prospect of the Australian Open would leave me cold. Tennis was a game which held no interest for me, with its strange terminology, illogical scoring and whiff of elitism. The last thing that you would see me … Continue reading Anyone for tennis?
It takes an hour
Why is the day split into 24 hours? Why not ten or fifteen or any other number? Clearly there must be some link between the duodecimal system that we see in imperial measures but then why not just twelve hours in the day? A quick investigation sheds some light on the subject and suggests that … Continue reading It takes an hour
Chicken and Egg
How many times have you heard the expression ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ Look, the egg came before the chicken! Basically you’ve got two choices. If you’re a Creationist then the chicken came first. If you are an Evolutionist then the egg wins. So where did the first chicken come from? It … Continue reading Chicken and Egg
State of the Union
There has been a lot of fuss this week about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the proposed referendum in Scotland. Apparently this will be held in the autumn of 2014 and will be to decide if Scotland will remain part of the union.Many questions have been posed, such as which … Continue reading State of the Union
Being average
If you're average at something I'm sorry but it means that you’re not very good. You're certainly closer to being the worst than being the best. How so? This is because ability is not linear. In any activity there are many more people who have a lower level of skills than those with a higher … Continue reading Being average
The Washing Machine
You would think that washing machines are fairly simple things. A big drum, some water, a heater and a motor to turn it all around. Well they are not, as I found out when I had to dismantle one over the weekend. I say I had to but it’s more like I decided to..Ours started … Continue reading The Washing Machine
A trip to IKEA
A trip to IKEA is like going on a short holiday. The visit raises the expectation of foreign experiences. Even the car park is massive and airport like. Remember to write down the area and parking space number for your return home.The first thing that greets you in the lobby is an invitation to visit … Continue reading A trip to IKEA
Places don’t vote
The problem with our form of democracy is that it is based upon physical space. We govern by countries, regions, counties, districts, boroughs, parishes and wards. All are marked by lines and features in a map. But places don’t vote, people do. We assume somehow that everyone trapped within the man made shapes has something … Continue reading Places don’t vote
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 