Back

We got home late last night and after a cuppa headed off to bed for what was the most comfortable nights sleep I’ve had in two weeks. I have over 2000 unread items in Google Reader (I’ve been cropping it 25 items at a time using the iPhone offline Reader client, Byline) and heaps more … Continue reading “Back”

We got home late last night and after a cuppa headed off to bed for what was the most comfortable nights sleep I’ve had in two weeks.

I have over 2000 unread items in Google Reader (I’ve been cropping it 25 items at a time using the iPhone offline Reader client, Byline) and heaps more Starred for later consideration so I’ll be busy every evening churning out some thoughts based on them. Byline, by the way, is an essential tool if you like reading blogs and can make use of the offline reading (yes, it’s also an offline web browser). And yes, it would be even better if you could dial up the number of articles it downloaded (say, 100?) and when you Star an item it should ask you for a ‘tag’ or reason why you starred it. But even with this, it’s a fabulous application that has never crashed (though Google has sent it some odd errors) and always delivers. Bravo!

Today however is set for preparing for the new job tomorrow (when I’ve been wearing very casual clothes for the last two weeks it’s a bit of an adjustment). And dropping off pressies and saying Hi to family.

Being out of the loop for two weeks feels like being cut off completely. And yes, though I was able to read headlines and skim the odd article, it’s a weird feeling when every part of your daily feed comes through a tiny handheld and your ‘edit/upload’ capabilities are severely curtailed due to the tools you have. I empathise a little with Manfred Macx, the protagonist at the start of Accelerando, when he loses his identity a little when his glasses and backup memory are stolen. I’m not yet at the stage where I’m backing up memories (4 months per Terabyte) but bloggers often put things in their blogs (public or private) which are meant as reminders. We tag them for easy retrieval. I’ve certainly used the blogs I run to capture ‘state’ by writing private posts which indicate the mood I was in, the things that were happening around me.

Right now, I’m off to grab my laptop from the secure storage 🙂

The Last Leg

We’re just pulling in to Harwich which means we have a few more hours on the road before we’re home. We disembark at 8 or so and aim for the HSS at 7 or so from Stranraer. We should be home by 10. This has been an amazing trip, bobbing between two extremes – incredibly … Continue reading “The Last Leg”

We’re just pulling in to Harwich which means we have a few more hours on the road before we’re home.

We disembark at 8 or so and aim for the HSS at 7 or so from Stranraer. We should be home by 10.

This has been an amazing trip, bobbing between two extremes – incredibly relaxing on one hand and interesting and inspiring on the other. I’ll write more about it when I’m home, relaxed and using my laptop.

Talk to you all soon.

photo posted from my iPhone

Twister at Sea

We’re in the middle of the North Sea and it’s a breezy and bright afternoon. On the port side we spot an area of sea, perhaps 3 metres radius, that seems to be boiling. We chased to the back of the ship and I snapped these with my iPhone. You don’t see that every day! … Continue reading “Twister at Sea”

We’re in the middle of the North Sea and it’s a breezy and bright afternoon.

On the port side we spot an area of sea, perhaps 3 metres radius, that seems to be boiling.

We chased to the back of the ship and I snapped these with my iPhone.

You don’t see that every day!

photo posted from my iPhone

UPDATE: Another picture of the ‘boiling sea’ where we first spotted the Twister.

It’s big news to us because we never see twisters in Ireland (or they are very seldom).

Ice Bar

It’s a bit early for Vodka but you have to make exceptions for exceptional circumstances. photo posted from my iPhone Related posts: Movember update, Week 3 Mac OS X roxxorz, Linux is teh suk? iPhone. 4. The view from the bar.

It’s a bit early for Vodka but you have to make exceptions for exceptional circumstances.

photo posted from my iPhone

Exquisite Dining

I’ve been covering ‘food’ a lot while on honeymoon. Mostly because we’re gluttons who love their food. Anyway, this time around it’s the height of German cuisine. The dish ‘pommes’ consist of half a chip and a currywurst sliced up and drowned in spicy BBQ sauce and topped with a generous sprinkling of curry powder. … Continue reading “Exquisite Dining”

I’ve been covering ‘food’ a lot while on honeymoon. Mostly because we’re gluttons who love their food.

Anyway, this time around it’s the height of German cuisine.

The dish ‘pommes’ consist of half a chip and a currywurst sliced up and drowned in spicy BBQ sauce and topped with a generous sprinkling of curry powder.

OMG Taste explosion! Don’t let the pictures put you off!

German Apple Pastry in Kühlungsborn

Very very tasty. Coffee was … coffee. photo posted from my iPhone Related posts: Universal means everything Who wouldn’t choose Google over Microsoft? Schrödinger’s Microsoft Apple and mach.

Very very tasty. Coffee was … coffee.

photo posted from my iPhone

Evening over the Baltic

We’re about eight hours from Germany (which, at 14 knots, means it’s about 150 miles away). Weather is windy but warm. photo posted from my iPhone Related posts: Future of the Beeb? Marina Movember update, Week 3 Really Tediously Stale (RTS)

We’re about eight hours from Germany (which, at 14 knots, means it’s about 150 miles away).

Weather is windy but warm.

photo posted from my iPhone

Venture Altruists

I first read the term in Charles Stross’ Accelerando ( which is quite good though horribly dated now ) and it reminded me of one of the first group activities we had on board the ship; the emergency drill. In theory you move without fuss or panic to the muster stations and don your life-jacket. … Continue reading “Venture Altruists”

I first read the term in Charles Stross’ Accelerando ( which is quite good though horribly dated now ) and it reminded me of one of the first group activities we had on board the ship; the emergency drill.

In theory you move without fuss or panic to the muster stations and don your life-jacket. The person behind you is meant to check you’ve put the damn thing on correctly (because if not you’ll vanish beneath the waves when you hit the water leaving an otherwise perfectly functional life-jacket bobbing about up top. You then do it for them. The network of trust this created means you get a benefit from helping others.

In my TA days, this was called the Buddy-Buddy system. Keeping your squad alive meant they’d be around to save your neck later (and presumably not just by drawing fire as an additional target).

There’s a lot to be said for the concept of the venture altruist ( or the altrupreneur ) especially when you consider the enthusiasm shown at the local Open Coffee Club meetings in Belfast. BOCC is still in the state of talking about stuff and not yet really at the state of doing stuff. I’d like to change that by encouraging everyone to consider being a venture altruist fir a while.

Altrupreneurs share. It’s not about being there first, it’s not about NDAs, it’s not even about waiting until you are ready. It’s about throwing something interesting into the melting pot.

Ideas are almost worthless without implementation – I don’t recall where I got this from but a ideas and implementations can be ranked from $1 to $1000. Take the values and multiply them. A $1000 idea if given a $1 implementation doesn’t make anyone happy. A $1 idea can also disappoint even if given a $1000 implementation. You really need to give a $1000 idea a $1000 implementation to see real results ( though this leaves plenty if room for $100 ideas and $100 implementations).

Altrupreneurs, the people you might find at any Open Coffee meeting, will be willing to do more than just listen and give opinions. Their contacts and expertise is worth a lot more than a cheque from a venture capitalist They’re the people to ask about hosting space for your startup, the people who’ll loan you a desk while you bootstrap your company, who aren’t afraid to pick up the tab or who will work to find sponsorship for a crazy pitch they just heard.

Treat the crazy pitch like your buddy and help him check his lifejacket so he can keep his head above water.

Vertigo

A vertigo-inducing shot of a lovely little church we encountered near the port. Tomorrow we have a day at sea and then Warnemunde, Germany and Copenhagen, Denmark. They’ll both have to work hard to compete with Tallinn in my heart. I’ll miss it. photo posted from my iPhone Related posts: Twister at Sea iPad This … Continue reading “Vertigo”

A vertigo-inducing shot of a lovely little church we encountered near the port.

Tomorrow we have a day at sea and then Warnemunde, Germany and Copenhagen, Denmark. They’ll both have to work hard to compete with Tallinn in my heart.

I’ll miss it.

photo posted from my iPhone