Image thanks to Nature Spot Watching the birds in the back garden gives a fascinating insight into the way that seemingly similar creatures can occupy different niche positions in nature. Each species has something slightly different in its physiology or behavior that allows it to carve out a living. There are birds that hang off … Continue reading Flappy birds
Anachronistic buttons
Image thanks to SBS Zipper I put on a new top today that had been hanging around in my cupboard ever since it was bought for me. It could have been for Christmas, or my birthday or even Father’s Day, I can’t remember yet it has been hanging there for well over a year. I … Continue reading Anachronistic buttons
Let’s talk about ethics
I’ve been asked to speak in front of students and school children, who I must admit I find terrifying, but never to that in-between age group, covered by the colleges. That all changed last week, when I was approached by Newcastle College to talk to a group of students about business ethics, and in particular … Continue reading Let’s talk about ethics
Oh rowan tree
There is a tree that stands outside our house, a Rowan tree, otherwise known as a Mountain Ash or Sorbus aucuparia. When we moved into the house, nearly thirty years ago, each property had a tree in its front garden and the rowan tree is the one we were blessed with. It hasn’t had the … Continue reading Oh rowan tree
Ten dimensional space
I’ve been struggling to get my head around multi-dimensional space. Why, you may ask? Because I picked up a rather old book by Michio Kaku called ‘Hyperspace - A scientific odyssey Through the 10th Dimension'. I think one of my daughters was throwing it out. I say old even though it is only about twenty … Continue reading Ten dimensional space
No Windows
Image thanks to Persephone Books One of the great pleasures of being a member of the Lit and Phil in Newcastle is that I have been able to choose books that I wouldn’t normally have picked. It has been a kind of strategy. So far I have hit a very rich vein of reading material … Continue reading No Windows
Cyber Friends
One of the most interesting things that I have found working on CyberNorth is the people that I meet. When I first started trying to develop a cyber security cluster for the region, it was at the request of Accenture, through Dynamo North East and, though I had had a long career in IT, cyber … Continue reading Cyber Friends
You still want vaccine passports?
Image thanks to UNNews La Soufrière, a stratovolcano on the Island of Saint Vincent has erupted. This explosive event, the first time the volcano has erupted since 1979, has left the island in a humanitarian crisis that, according to the United Nations, could last for months. Twenty thousand people have been evacuated from their homes … Continue reading You still want vaccine passports?
Global alliances
Image thanks to Science News for Students Conflict comes from imbalance. Nobody likes injustice, when it affects them, yet the world is filled with injustice. The world’s resources are shared unfairly across its people in whichever way you look and the current political makeup of nation states, each able to set its own internal laws … Continue reading Global alliances
Boring lives
Daughter number two has sent me a link to the BBC’s podcast series ‘The Boring Talks’, presented by James Ward, who promises that ‘Behind every boring subject is another layer of boringness you could have never imagined.’ I have started listening to them and am a few in. I hope this doesn't spoil it for … Continue reading Boring lives
