JFDI – Page 3 – ɔimoɈɒ

Brand NI

It’s fair to say that “Brand NI” has suffered over the past few weeks. A small group of people (numbering in the hundreds) are causing civil unrest in their own section of the city. The security services, unwilling to create an escalation, seem to be more interested in containment rather than ending the trouble. I … Continue reading “Brand NI”

The trouble has pushed people to the extremes of their politics. Ignoring that the Alliance forged an agreement from Sinn Fein and the SDLP to fly the Union Flag over Belfast City Hall (on designated days). Thinking about that, the significance of that, should have impact on reasonable individuals. While this trouble was inflamed by the DUP and UUP (and by the leaflets distributed by the DUP hardliners), it’s clear that they no longer have any control over it.

But this is damaging us, locally and internationally.

We will have difficulty applying reason to this trouble. It’s not possible to reason with the unreasonable. And the rioters, allegedly aged between 14 and 16 years old, are most definitely unreasonable. They didn’t live through the Troubles, they are children of the Peace Process. And they are suffering; under-achievement in education being a significant reason. And the underachievement is because of a community mentality that values peer respect and holds education in contempt.

To get them to stop, you have to make them a better offer. That’s why Digital Circle is working to create more open access computing clubs (similar to Coder Dojo). Will that solve the issue? No, of course not. But this is a question of options and exits. How do you provide a better offer to a 14 year old who can see the money and power offered by doing what the crime lords of East Belfast demand?

Creative Industries Innovation Fund: Legenderry

Yesterday was the second of my CIIF workshops and I was really pleased with the pitches we received. While the world thinks that Northern Ireland is burning, I see creative professionals pitching new ideas and hopes because they, like others before them, want to make a dent in the universe. CIIF is only up to £10K which, in the scheme of startup funding in other regions, is virtually nothing. But for the startups in Northern Ireland it’s an important lifeline to innovation. It just removes that obstacle to innovation and creates hope in a region which is beset with agitators opposed to progress.

The workshop yesterday was in Derry/Londonderry/Legenderry. This is the current home of the UK City of Culture and best illustrated by the annual CultureTECH festival which mixes everything great about the creative industries, both analog and digital, across the province into one coherent presentation. (And yes, you would be an idiot to miss it this year).

The hopefuls outnumber the rioters. Yet they are paid much less attention. Where’s the sense in that?

UU’s Tim Brundle @timtendo addresses @nicva #CGENI conference on Unleashing Innovation

Via AlanInBelfast: listen to ‘UU's Tim Brundle @timtendo addresses @NICVA #CGENI conference on Unleashing Innovation’ on Audioboo You can also follow Alan on the Twitters. Related posts: More cynical about Twitter than ever Top 3 issues… Capability Assessment – Big Screen Content and Programming Provider 8/100 Ways to Save a Bad Time at a Conference

Via AlanInBelfast:

listen to ‘UU's Tim Brundle @timtendo addresses @NICVA #CGENI conference on Unleashing Innovation’ on Audioboo

You can also follow Alan on the Twitters.

Opportunists

A few weeks ago I was involved in a “culture” discussion at the Northern Ireland Science Park as part of one of the CONNECT initiatives. I raised the point that it is unfortunate that the word “opportunist” has such a negative connotation. op·por·tun·ist [??p??tju?n?st] n. One who takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an … Continue reading “Opportunists”

op·por·tun·ist [??p??tju?n?st]
n.
One who takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an end, often with no regard for principles or consequences.

and the word itself has become synonymous with self-seeker, back-scratcher, bottom-feeder, carpet bagger, hustler, operator and timeserver. None of which are particularly complimentary and none of which you would, as a careers advisor, encourage your wards to pursue.

Of course, we have to consider that the definition of Entrepreneur is eerily similar.

en·tre·pre·neur (ntr-pr-nûr, -nr)
n.
A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture.

You only have to look at The Apprentice to see the qualities of hustler, carpet bagger and bottom feeder displayed for the world. Notably, many of these self-seekers are lauded as selfless saints once they return to normal life.

The difference being the interpretation of “no regard for principle or consequence” as compared to “assumes the risk”. Both will attempt new things, or old things in new combinations. Both will possibly risk reputation, personal credit, and the goodwill of others in order to succeed. An both will shrug off failure easily because in their minds they haven’t “failed” per se, just found one more way not to become a billionaire.

So if we stopped talking about “entrepreneurs” (a word, which, much like “innovation” has become utterly meaningless) and started talking about opportunists, we might understand them better.

I say “we”, I mean “they”.

Raspberry Pi: some useful links for doing more than playing around.

Miranda Sawyer at the Guardian: Everyone wants a slice of Raspberry Pi The £25 programmable computer invented by British scientists has turned into a global sensation. Will it encourage kids to teach themselves code, or just end up in the hands of nerds? Kit Buchan at the Guardian: 12 things to do with a Raspberry … Continue reading “Raspberry Pi: some useful links for doing more than playing around.”

Miranda Sawyer at the Guardian:

Everyone wants a slice of Raspberry Pi
The £25 programmable computer invented by British scientists has turned into a global sensation. Will it encourage kids to teach themselves code, or just end up in the hands of nerds?

Kit Buchan at the Guardian:

12 things to do with a Raspberry Pi
From keeping tabs on your baby to brewing your own beer, here’s a dozen DIY jobs for a Raspberry computer

Nixie Clock

Robot Slave

Weather Station

Rocket Launcher

Portable/In-Car PC

Jukebox

Radio

Arcade Game

Baby Monitor

Home Brew Beer

Bird Box

Near-space craft

Liam Fraser from LinuxUser.co.uk

Use Python to make your first game on Raspberry Pi in our easy to follow step by step tutorial
In this tutorial we’re going to be remaking the classic game, Pong. To do this, we’ll be using a Python module called Pygame. Pygame is great, because it allows the programmer to create 2D games without having to worry about things such as rendering the graphics in too much detail. The main portion of the code will be the code that makes up the game’s structure and logic.

Rob Zwetsloot from LinuxUser.co.uk

Build your very own media centre out of a Raspberry Pi to save on space and money using XBMC
One of the great things about the Raspberry Pi is that it not only has plenty of power to play back high definition video, but it also has the HDMI output to allow you to do so. This would naturally lead the media enthusiasts among you to think of the possibilities for using the RasPi as a media centre, but the list of advantages don’t stop there. It has network support to stream video, has a ridiculously small form factor so you can tuck it out the way, and of course the low price doesn’t hurt.

Top five thoughts for Northern Ireland

Tonight I participated in a NISP CONNECT “Tiger Team” on the theme of Culture. The other attendees were all legends in their own right – both inspiring and intimidating in equal measure. Everyone there was there because they had contributed something to culture in Northern Ireland. Among other things, we were asked to pick five … Continue reading “Top five thoughts for Northern Ireland”

Among other things, we were asked to pick five things from a series of topics generated by the group. Things that we saw as priorities. Mine were:

A 22nd Century Vision – we dwell on the last hundred years, from how we led the world in linen and rope manufacture, how we led the world in ship-building. We need to focus on the next hundred years. How do we want our society to be? Do we want Peace Walls? Do we wants proliferate a culture that attracts representatives from racist and sectarian political parties? Or do we want a civil society that others would envy?
A Great Place To Live – it’s currently a nice place to live, but not a great place. We are bogged down by the past, we focus on our traditions (and the way it has always been) and depend upon legacy (in the negative sense) for our identity. We should focus on what strangers see. They see archaic opening hours, violence and a divided nation.
Draw A Line Under The Past – if you want to see the efficacy of the Peace Process then look no further than our second city. The symbol of culture for the UK in 2013 has two irreconcilable cultures within it. Our coalition government must treat everything as access for all, even if it means turning up to celebrate a shared past.
Create A Common Agenda (for opportunity) – everyone needs to be raising their voices together on the need for change. The need for a civic (and civil) conversation over and above the interests of creeds and cultures is paramount. Write a constitution that everyone can agree to.
Let Students (All Of Us) Play – there is a constant need for learning in modern cultures and our society needs to facilitate that. The need for personal development and experimentation is satisfied in a developed country. The need for self-actualisation is only possible when other needs are met.

The Recession has brought austerity and, with that, a complacency and reduced desire for achievement. It has never been more important to realise a vision. In the lack of private sector stepping in to enact change, it falls to our powerful and well-manned public sector to make the sweeping infrastructural and environmental changes which will set the example for other societies. We can do this if our vision is aligned and our collective will is put to the task.

Convertible Equity

Back in 2010, when we were running StartVI, we piloted the idea of Convertible Equity. VentureBeat has an article about this right now, and a sample term sheet. “Convertible debt, the old convertible notes once used as bridge loans for more mature companies, became popular with angel investors in the years after the financial crisis. … Continue reading “Convertible Equity”

Back in 2010, when we were running StartVI, we piloted the idea of Convertible Equity. VentureBeat has an article about this right now, and a sample term sheet.

“Convertible debt, the old convertible notes once used as bridge loans for more mature companies, became popular with angel investors in the years after the financial crisis. According to Ressi, by 2011, over 50 percent of angel deals were done through convertible debt.
…
Ressi told me that there are benefits for founders beyond being able to call it equity instead of debt. ”If you are loaning a new company money, it makes startups insolvent from a balance sheet perspective,” he said.

Steve

Related posts: Kirkisms: Funding by Numbers part 2 Apple is not the dominant player in any market that matters ADBE: Nearly there Contentment. To be both avoided and strived for.

Wireframing

Code is being written, multi-player being worked on and today I did some UI wireframes. Follow @ConquestDynamic for more. Related posts: EAGLE LAKE cultureTECH: What I did… Kirkisms: Funding by Numbers part 1 RubyCocoa – to_i and to_s

Code is being written, multi-player being worked on and today I did some UI wireframes.

Follow @ConquestDynamic for more.