The art of forecasting is falling out of favour. Its usefulness as a prediction of the future has come under severe pressure. This is especially true in the world of political forecasting and for one reason, forecasts in this sense are invariably wrong. They have now become synonymous with the other meaning of the word, … Continue reading Forget forecasts
Spicers blues
It was with great sadness that I read of the demise of Spicers, at one time Europe’s largest distributor of office products. It features heavily in my CV and was the point where I first got into IT. It is a long story and documented many times elsewhere yet somehow I managed to become the … Continue reading Spicers blues
Phil loves books
One of the pleasures of having a granddaughter is having to sit and watch CBeebies with her. It’s not that we encourage too much television watching but rather I don’t have the energy to entertain her for a whole day. We have fallen into a routine of an hour in the morning before we go … Continue reading Phil loves books
Pants on fire
In politics these days, the truth is a very fluid concept. Time and time again, leading politicians have been shown to say things that are wrong. This is understandable as we live in a highly dynamic world where no one can be expected to get everything right. What is unacceptable however, is when these ‘facts’ … Continue reading Pants on fire
Over-zealousness
COVID-19 has brought out the best and worst of us. As we are making our way back onto the shops it is interesting to see the different ways that they are attempting to keep their customers safe. It seems that we have fallen into three groups. The majority of us are going with the flow, … Continue reading Over-zealousness
Babe in the city
Last Tuesday saw me venture back into Newcastle for the first time in a long while. It was my first attempt at getting back to a more normal way of working. I don’t want to go permanently back to an office, not that I have had one in a long while, but I do miss … Continue reading Babe in the city
Failing state
Grayling has managed to live up to his reputation again. He has failed to secure the lead of the Intelligence and Security Committee. At least this time he managed to fail before being given the job instead of during it. Instead, another Conservative MP, Julian Lewis has won the position. This is not the real … Continue reading Failing state
The loneliness of a long distance worker
All of us like a bit of solitude, some time away from everyone else to get your thoughts together. Being alone can also mean that you can get some work done, you know, that long report that you can’t get finished because of so many interruptions. Working from home (WFH) then has been a blessing … Continue reading The loneliness of a long distance worker
Goodbye COVID hair
In my list of twenty things I yearned for during the pandemic, published at the end of April, a haircut didn’t make the cut (no pun intended). At that point we had only been in lockdown for five or six weeks and my locks were still manageable. Not now, one hundred days on my hair … Continue reading Goodbye COVID hair
Anti-maskers
No doubt you’ve heard of anti-vaxers but just in case, this is what Wikipedia says: Vaccine hesitancy, also known as anti-vaccination or anti-vax, is a reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated or to have one's children vaccinated against contagious diseases despite the availability of vaccination services. It is identified by the World Health Organization as … Continue reading Anti-maskers
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 