I like doing jigsaw puzzles. They are something that every semi-retired person should do between queuing at Boots for a prescription and writing angry letters to the council. I've written about doing them several times before and it is a subject I keep coming back to, partly because they fascinate me and partly because they … Continue reading Coming into view
Worse than the product
I have no particular company in mind but my experience of over a quarter of a century working in senior positions within IT has taught me one thing - IT companies often seem worse than the products they sell. Let me explain. How many times have you been in a sales or pre-sales meeting when … Continue reading Worse than the product
Wansbeck Constituency General Election December 12 2019
This site does not set out to promote any candidate over another but rather to raise general awareness of the choice for the electorate in the upcoming election. Information can be found here about Wansbeck constituency. The results from the 2017 election can be found here. Other information will be added as it appears. The following candidates … Continue reading Wansbeck Constituency General Election December 12 2019
Taxation is a thorny issue
Seemingly no one wants to pay tax yet the world could not operate if we did not. According to Duncan Watts in his book Six Degrees, ‘In not one country in the world is the payment of taxes a voluntary exercise.’ The question should be why? You should try running a country without it. Now … Continue reading Taxation is a thorny issue
A fair day’s pay at Brewdog
I think it is a sign of the times when I was walking down Dean Street in Newcastle to the Quayside I noticed an A board outside the Brewdog pub. On it was written ‘We are a real living wage employer’ in capital letters. I was so taken by the sign that I took a … Continue reading A fair day’s pay at Brewdog
North East Fraud Forum Conference 2019
This year’s North East Fraud Forum was a great event, it flowed well with excellent speakers and a cohesive theme - the key to preventing fraud is through the sharing of information. Surprisingly though it is an uphill struggle to get companies and victims of fraud to do just that. Let me start by telling … Continue reading North East Fraud Forum Conference 2019
When maps are not good enough
Sometimes seeing is not believing. I am thinking of when maps are presented to show the results of an election. Take the 2017 UK parliamentary election for example. A standard map projection of the UK, the type we are used to seeing in any atlas, shows England almost entirely Conservative blue. Ignoring the other parties … Continue reading When maps are not good enough
