Is it time?

I met my friend Stephen for coffee (actually sparkling water with lime) the other morning to talk about some impactful work that we might want to do together and I found myself echoing some opinions (about myself) that I had repeated to friends before. I struggle with politics. I struggle because in my old age … Continue reading “Is it time?”

I met my friend Stephen for coffee (actually sparkling water with lime) the other morning to talk about some impactful work that we might want to do together and I found myself echoing some opinions (about myself) that I had repeated to friends before.

I struggle with politics.

I struggle because in my old age I have shed the trend in my family to become increasingly right-wing and instead have become solidly in the “progressive Left” camp.

I find myself being increasingly impatient with the needless compromises of our politics and I find myself unwilling to shake the hands of elected representatives who are standing in the way of progress (and by this I mean the unwillingness to bring the province in line with the rest of the UK in, for instance, a 40 year old law on female reproductive decisions.). How can I shake hands with these people if the things that should be the most basic in our society (that a woman is entitled to equality of opportunity and independence) is denied by them?

I’ve come out strongly in the Remain (in the EU) campaign not because I am a particular Europhile but because I want to maintain the ability to travel freely in the countries nearby (and as I just had to fill out another ESTA, I’d like to reduce or avoid that necessity in future for popping to France or Spain). I want to be able to get out-of-season fruit (despite their environmental impact) and have reduced costs of mobile roaming (something the EC Digital Commissioner has been very successful with). These are little, selfish things, but they are the things that really matter to me about Europe.

But, I wonder if I am too extreme for politics or not extreme enough. Where should I hang my hat. – as a progressive Left independent/activist or as a member of one of the Lefty parties. I’m arrogant enough to believe that I should be wooed and yet I feel pretty much pushed away by most. I don’t need a red carpet or to be bought a pint, but I need to see some rhetoric from them that I agree with. I need to know that the things I take issue with would be possible to address. And now, under three years from the next election, I think it’s time to start work.

My last election campaign had me walking the streets alone and not managing to cover much ground even though I expended much shoe leather. Everything was just so last minute and rushed and while there was plenty of grassroots support, it didn’t have enough time to be exercised. I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, goodness knows.

But is it time to try again?

Wintel declines except for developers

Interesting observations here. I can see the possibility of the MacBook line moving to ARM and iOS10/11/12 in the relatively near future. Essentially mimicking the evolution of the Newton from smaller handhelds to larger handhelds (MP2000) to a keyboard based device (eMate 300) The main use case for a desktop/laptop machine isn’t Word or Photoshop … Continue reading “Wintel declines except for developers”

Interesting observations here. I can see the possibility of the MacBook line moving to ARM and iOS10/11/12 in the relatively near future. Essentially mimicking the evolution of the Newton from smaller handhelds to larger handhelds (MP2000) to a keyboard based device (eMate 300)

The main use case for a desktop/laptop machine isn’t Word or Photoshop considering some of the excellent work done by Microsoft and Adobe, it’s actually developer tools. Developers are still forced to use large machines to produce the software we need. I wondered at Unity 3D a couple of years ago when they started offering Cloud Build and obviously it’s not a stretch for Apple either.

Plug your iPhone into a massive screen, attach a bluetooth keyboard and cloud-build your apps on Xcode Go.

( Is it not crazy that on Monday we will see the announcement of iOS 10? )

http://www.pundit.tech/blog/2016/6/10/one-more-nail-in-the-coffin-of-the-wintel-ecosystem-coming-from-apple

Fully Charged

This is great fun and it makes a lot of fun of the recent report the Electric cars are as dirty or dirtier than Internal Combustion Engine cars. I’m a bit sorry that QUB agreed with the nonsense (and NISP Connect reported it). Related posts: Cars … Are Friends Electric Bedouin workspace in Belfast Electric … Continue reading “Fully Charged”

This is great fun and it makes a lot of fun of the recent report the Electric cars are as dirty or dirtier than Internal Combustion Engine cars. I’m a bit sorry that QUB agreed with the nonsense (and NISP Connect reported it).

Save the Day: 30th June 2025

Save the date, 9 years from now, when the last ICE (internal combustion engine) car will be sold in the UK. This is what is being proposed by Norway and it’s being considered by other nations within the EU and beyond. A complete change in the way transport works. Back in 1905, you could look … Continue reading “Save the Day: 30th June 2025”

Save the date, 9 years from now, when the last ICE (internal combustion engine) car will be sold in the UK.

This is what is being proposed by Norway and it’s being considered by other nations within the EU and beyond. A complete change in the way transport works.

Back in 1905, you could look at a photo of Times Square and not see a single car; the place was filled with horse drawn carriages. By 1913, the horses were outnumbered by the cars perhaps 100:1. That’s how fast a disruptive technology can take hold.
So what will happen here. We are already seeing Electric Vehicle sales rise (though they slipped slightly due to the brief drop in petrol and diesel prices over the last six months). And we will see them rise even more. On my Twitter feed (admittedly a self-selecting study of people interested in transport, innovation and renewables), I am able to see individuals who charge their home automobiles using a solar panel and wind combination to a domestic battery that then feeds their car.

This becomes the new normal. Where the cost of running a vehicle decreases to just the replacement of tyres and brake pads. Where the massive fuel costs dwindle to almost nothing. We aren’t there yet….or….more accurately, I’m describing the past, but it’s still the future for most of us.

My own car is up for replacement this year but there is no way I will replace it with an ICE vehicle – even though I might consider the vast majority of electric vehicles out there to be under-engineered, under-designed and under-inspiring. What we need a series of over-engineered, over-designed and absolutely inspiring cars.

At the moment only TESLA is providing that. Sticking a battery and electric motor into a Clio and calling it a LEAF just doesn’t do it for me. Making an eGolf or an electric BMW doesn’t do it. – especially as it’s beginning to look like all of the incumbent car manufacturers seem, without exception, to have been lying about their gas emissions.

It’s time we started thinking about this seriously.

What if we just stopped using Fossil Fuels. Today.
What if we replaced essential use of hydrocarbons with Renewable Gases?
What if we replaced inessential fuel consumption with solar, hydro and wind?
What if we circumvented the apocalypse by just taking action rather than just talking about it?