Image thanks to Nina Katchadourian Tony Fitzpatrick I haven’t blogged much about politics over the last month, partly because I only write once a week now and partly because I was in danger of repeating myself. I cannot, however, avoid last week’s elections, which were spectacular for a number of reasons. I thought long and … Continue reading Hold your nose
The sea designs the boat
Image thanks to the Vasa museum I enjoyed listening to Tom Chatfield’s talk at Thinking Digital this year. I can call him Tom as we met when I went to buy his book ‘Wise Animals’. He even wrote a nice inscription on the inside cover. I always come away from Thinking Digital with books as … Continue reading The sea designs the boat
Building Work
I apologise to anyone who has had to sit through an online meeting with me over the last few weeks. We’ve been getting some building work done on the house, with a lot of banging and drilling, making it quite difficult, at times, to be an active participant. Since COVID, this has been a regular … Continue reading Building Work
Synchronicity
As my life transitions from work to whatever comes after that, my children have taken to buying me gifts that prepare me for the future. The presents are usually books, some to draw in, some with activities to do and some just to read and make me think. One of the book presents is ‘The … Continue reading Synchronicity
Child’s play
Picture thanks to Facebook One of the great pleasures in looking after your grandchildren is trying to keep them entertained during the school holidays. Half term is bad enough and the long summer vacation is just around the corner. Don’t get me wrong, I love being with them, they are such fun yet they can … Continue reading Child’s play
Mutually Assured Quantum
My friend Meera, who knows about these things, tells me that quantum computing is real, it has moved from science fiction to science fact. Pictures of IBM’s machine are available online and, so I am told, you can hire processing time on the machine by the minute. Blimey, that doesn’t seem long but then I … Continue reading Mutually Assured Quantum
Gamifying can make things worse
How many times have I started off my blog with ‘According to Wikipedia’? Too many times probably yet according to Wikipedia: ‘Gamification is the strategic attempt to enhance systems, services, organizations (sic), and activities by creating similar experiences to those experienced when playing games in order to motivate and engage users.’ (Hamari, J. (2019). "Gamification". … Continue reading Gamifying can make things worse
I’m Thinking Digital
I’m glad that Thinking Digital is back in May. Moving the conference, one of the highlights of the North East events’ calendar to July just felt odd, like moving Christmas to March. Perhaps this is how those who still prefer the Julian calendar feel. Making my way across the High Level Bridge to the Glasshouse, … Continue reading I’m Thinking Digital
Digital coercion and control
Whenever I see an advert on the television for a well known doorbell with an embedded camera I wince a little at the thought of the opportunity to use this information for malintent. Sure enough, it’s not only me, as the company in my thoughts has been hacked at least once. The temptation is just … Continue reading Digital coercion and control
Those Mayoral elections
Image thanks to Manchester Evening News. Those of you who have been paying attention will have noticed that this time around, the mayoral elections were held under the corrosive first past the post system (FPTP). The government slipped the change into another piece of legislation, moving away from proportional representation, in the vain hope that … Continue reading Those Mayoral elections
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 