A year of work in progress – day 17

Day 17 – 27 January 2014 It takes a very wise, brave or stupid person to ask those who work with them for their opinion on how things are.  I’m not sure which category I fall into, perhaps all three but we have been working with an organisation called OnBrand Partners for a couple of … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 17

An unlikely local derby

There are some football matches that you must see: Real Madrid vs Barcelona; Glasgow Rangers vs Celtic or even; Newcastle United vs Sunderland.  But Hartlepool vs York is unlikely to appear on many bucket lists yet last Saturday saw these two teams meet for the first time in the league at Victoria Park. It may … Continue reading An unlikely local derby

A year of work in progress – day 16

Day 16 – 24 January 2014 Apart from the occasional café the shop windows were still dark as I made my way across the old Town Square in Durham.  I pulled up the collar of my coat.  Even the brisk walk down from the station wasn’t enough to beat back the freezing air that bit … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 16

Big Data

We already have the answers to many of the big issues that we are facing.  They are hidden within the datasets that we have.  They are stored away on servers, databases, PCs and filing cabinets just waiting to be discovered.  There are patterns amongst the data that can lead us to new ways of providing … Continue reading Big Data

A year of work in progress – day 15

Day 15 – 22 January 2014 There are two difficulties in writing a daily blog:  Finding the time and enthusiasm to keep it going and; Making sure you don’t repeat yourself.  There is a third, to keep it interesting but that may be a step too far.  Whilst there is always something new going on … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 15

A year of work in progress – day 14

Day 14 – 21 January 2014 What is it about having a beard the makes people think they can poke fun at you?  I’ve suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous beard insults already including: your photo must have been taken when you were much younger; any longer and it would look weird and; you … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 14

A year of work in progress – day 13

Day 13 – 20 January 2014 I’m back at Meadowfield this morning, partly to see how they are getting on and partly to have a face to face meeting with Bob (though he didn’t want a mention in the blog, he’s quite happy to have fallen below the Google radar) – a 121 as we … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 13

Don’t let me watch any more TV chefs

It seems that every time I turn on the television there is a cookery programme.  The latest is the Great Sport Relief Bake Off which somehow I have ended up glued to.  There are even some channels on Sky totally dedicated to food, its transformation and ultimate mastication. It’s easy television, low cost but always … Continue reading Don’t let me watch any more TV chefs

A year of work in progress – day 12

Day 12 – 17 January 2014 There are two main groups that I attend which represent ICT in the region, the Society of ICT Managers (SOCITM) and the North East ICT Managers (NEICT).  My friend Roy chairs the first and I chair the latter. Today it is the turn of SOCITM.  This group covers the … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 12