Finding the chase and cutting to it

I qualified as a Computer Scientist 13 years ago although I had been coding tools to make my and my friends’ and family’s life easier since I was 12.  But as you gain maturity you begin to realise that the simple usability tests software coders are prescribed to use are not followed else where. I […]

I had this weird dream, as a child, of things lost being found centuries later and I have just had the same thing flash now. All in a strange bullet time but things surviving in one piece despite the odds. Two completely different scenes which then reoccur in the dream in brilliant technicolor. Apparently the […]

Having, quite proudly, reached the grand old age of 37 there are some thoughts I’d like to share on my observations of the world. You cannot understand someone until you’ve walked around in their shoes Harper Lee’s famous line from To Kill a Mocking Bird.  I’ve had some wonderful things said to me in my […]

I also talk about my first computer a lot: my Amiga bought in 1993.  One of the things the Amiga OS and apps were aware of was the migration of users. Eh? What’ya on about? When people adopt new skills they go through four stages: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and finally unconscious competence.  […]

“Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time,” Winston Churchill, Speech in the House of Commons (1947-11-11).

I don’t believe I would ever want to live in a world where everyone is not trying to make democracy work for a better world.

So what’s been happening my end? Well, I finally took my advanced motorcycling test and passed and I am finally taking some piano lessons. The skiing trip went well and I finally have enough skill to fake being confident on even quite high mountains and even enjoy myself while doing this 🙂 I’ve finally done […]

So the pain relief looked like it was going to be really painful and where was Jon? The nurse caught my face and twigged what was going through my brain: “no, you drink this one :-)” I laughed and downed the syringe that was handed to me.  Morphine would definitely either make me not care […]

I landed, and checked my arm.  My hand was pointing backwards and there was a lot of swelling.  I knew I had to straighten the wrist so grab my hand and yanked it straight.  No one had noticed I’d fallen, but it was suddenly very quiet and Willow’s mum came over with Chantel’s mum and asked […]

OK, I’m not belittling Terry Pratchett, but many people have incurable conditions that end up killing them and it often takes a lot longer than his particular brand of Alzheimer’s. Sir Terry would like to be able to petition for assisted death.  I think that is an awful thing to ask someone else to do […]

I have been a long time admirer of the UK political scene.  The voting system allows for stability and we called our MPs, the Right Honourable x, because they are honourable. Largely, it has remained corruption free with the few instances of any MPs corruption being publicised and discussed openly. Our MPs are not given […]