12×12: I Wish I’d Met You Now

The idea is produce 12 short movies in 12 months. They’ll vary immensely in content, in depth. The first of my 12×12. It’s a little ‘abstract’ so be forgiving…based on a poem I wrote. Related posts: The Broadband Blueprint (re DETI Telecoms Consultation) Careers Digital Circle going independent and my thoughts on the Future What … Continue reading “12×12: I Wish I’d Met You Now”

The idea is produce 12 short movies in 12 months. They’ll vary immensely in content, in depth.

The first of my 12×12. It’s a little ‘abstract’ so be forgiving…based on a poem I wrote.

Strong Opinions, Loosely Held

John Gruber wrote these words regarding Steve Jobs. That’s probably the most concise thing I could use to describe how I approach life and especially technology. I think it’s how every rationalist should approach life. Be strong in your opinions and be prepared to defend them. But when you’re not winning or you’ve just been … Continue reading “Strong Opinions, Loosely Held”

John Gruber wrote these words regarding Steve Jobs.

That’s probably the most concise thing I could use to describe how I approach life and especially technology. I think it’s how every rationalist should approach life. Be strong in your opinions and be prepared to defend them. But when you’re not winning or you’ve just been proved wrong, apologise, adapt to the new information and move on.

I remember being told that I needed to apologise more by a person who, in my entire time of knowing them, never once apologised for anything. But I persevered because sometimes it’s important never to sweat the little details and every person you meet helps shape you into the person you’re becoming. I do apologise, especially when given the chance. I try and adapt to the new information or the new status quo, and I try and cope with the aftermaths. This is how we handle change. It was Charles Darwin who said:

In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.

And so interpersonal relationships and the ability to maintain and repair them must be important.

I hear a lot of people talking about Steve Jobs as if he was a monster. But that wasn’t my impression. I met him once at Apple Expo and he was warm and welcoming (as you might not imagine a powerful CEO with a reputation as a mercurial monser meeting a tiny, inconsequential customer to be). I conversed with him over email in September 2001 to explain that it was important not to let terrorists dictate the future (Lessons learned from Northern Ireland!) and his reply was one of the deepest concern for the safety of his employees and customers. Much more human than could be imagined. And so I’m left with the impression that Steve was human, that he loved and disliked like any human, but most importantly that he was loved – not just by his family or the whirlpool of blind hordes but by colleagues, peers and co-workers.

After a day of working with performance and intolerance (actually a performance of intolerance inspired by Augusto Boal and the Theatre of the Oppressed), I am moved to think of the microaggressions that plague us. Whether that’s disparaging a man you never met, or refusing to hear out someone who’s trying to apologise; the effect is the same. Boal wrote:

“Dialogue is defined as to freely exchange with others, as a person and as a group, to participate in human society as equal, to respect differences and to be respected.”

I’ve been ruminating on these words.

One of my favourite movies, Serendipity, has a powerful quote which inspires the remainder of the Heros Journey. I doubt there is any evidence to the veracity of it, but it rings true for me at least.

You know the Greeks didn’t write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: ‘Did he have passion?”

Well? Do you?

I do.

John Wesley wrote:

“When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn.”

And whoooo-boy that’s true.

When I burned, everyone turned up with marshmallows. And really I don’t blame them. There was immense entertainment in watching someone engulfed, I’m sure. The same sort of hecklers who gloated that Steve struggled with his personal beliefs on clean living before succumbing to his cancer. The same sort of lovely people, many of whom would be fine, upstanding pillars of the community, who rejoiced when Christopher Hitchens was succumbing to his own cancer, wondering loudly what he would do after a lifetime of denying God. Crikey, 2011 was a sucky year for my heroes.

So, in short, be kind, forgive, be passionate about your ideas but hold them loosely.

Apparently Wind and Solar are not 100% reliable

Wind and solar not being reliable? Oh boy. *rolls sleeves up* If we invested subsidies in green power the way we subsidise fossil fuels, then yeah, it would be 110% reliable. If you stop shipping coal from a hole in the ground somewhere and stop burning it, coal plants stop being reliable too, and their … Continue reading “Apparently Wind and Solar are not 100% reliable”

Wind and solar not being reliable? Oh boy.

*rolls sleeves up*

If we invested subsidies in green power the way we subsidise fossil fuels, then yeah, it would be 110% reliable.

If you stop shipping coal from a hole in the ground somewhere and stop burning it, coal plants stop being reliable too, and their reliability, even when supplied with plenty of fuel, is not 100% either.

If we didn’t have NIMBYs complaining about a passive, silent, harmless solar farm on fallow land (as happened near Kelly a few years ago) then yeah, it would be 100% reliable.

If we track the rising price of fossil fuels with the plummeting price of solar, then it would seem that renewable energy is 100% reliable for people on low incomes.

If we consider that Northern Ireland has the highest percentage of the population in the entire British Isles (including Ireland) afflicted with fuel poverty, then a transition to distributed micro generation could prove to be 100% effective in removing fuel poverty.

If we look at crazy ideas like putting a solar panel on every roof, we would see that the energy savings across the entire population would be 100% effective in improving the local economy, because the money saved would be spent locally and not squirrelled away in the Cayman Islands.

If we spent 100% of the money we wasted on RHI, a flawed scheme in every sense, on solar generation, we could have outfitted every social housing development with solar panels, cutting fuel poverty to a small percentage and improving the lives of about half a million people.

As the Air Quality around Stockman’s Lane and the Westlink is now ILLEGALLY POOR, a shift away from coal as well as a shift towards electrically propelled vehicles could make a sea change in the quality of lives and substantially reduce respiratory diseases. If won’t save 100% of people but if it saved one person, that’s a good enough percentage for me.

Get Pro

Over Christmas I bought my daughter an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. She cried, she was so happy. A 256GB model in Gold. I bought the larger capacity because it reduces the need to manage space. Or more accurately it puts off the problem. She’s been able to put together some stunning art using Procreate … Continue reading “Get Pro”

Over Christmas I bought my daughter an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. She cried, she was so happy. A 256GB model in Gold. I bought the larger capacity because it reduces the need to manage space. Or more accurately it puts off the problem. She’s been able to put together some stunning art using Procreate (which you can see on my Instagram).

Today I picked up one for myself.

It’s only a 64GB model, but this is a piece of engineering. It’s solid but light. The screen is simply amazing. The sound that comes out of the speakers is simply awe-inspiring and much much better than my MacBook Pro. It’s crisp and loud. Benchmarks say it’s close to the performance of MacBooks (my MBP is a late 2012 model with i7 processors, 16GB of RAM).

The device simply has to be experienced. I can’t wait to fire up Final Draft.