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Human Engineering

For as long as I’ve been aware, there has always been a sense of pride associated with German Engineering. The German auto industry is certainly the most dominant – Volkswagen owns Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Ducati, SEAT, Skoda, Ducati (motorcycles) and MAN (lorries). The recent scandals about the “diesel dupe” by Volkswagen are not … Continue reading “Human Engineering”

The recent scandals about the “diesel dupe” by Volkswagen are not only damaging to the manufacturers environmental record but represents a company culture that cannot be ignored.

The revelations mean that Volkswagen cars may be producing forty (40) times the pollution they claim. People who own these cars may not have bought them for their environmental record but still have marvelled at the lower road tax at the same time as enjoying the pricing and the performance. But it would seem that was all a lie.

Diesels are already falling out of favour due to the toxicity of their fumes (the government can admit to being wrong about that) but this signals a death knell for the diesel industry.

Someone, a budget controller, signed off on producing software that would control emissions when subjected to test conditions. Then a team of engineers designed the software and accompanying hardware designed to defeat the tests. And not one of them thought to blow the whistle.

That is the very definition of toxic culture.

You get what you measure

From RTE: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned that the use of technology in schools may be doing more harm than good. It found that countries that have invested heavily in information and communications technology in schools show no appreciable improvement in student achievement. That’s not what they’re for. Seldom is the … Continue reading “You get what you measure”

From RTE:

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned that the use of technology in schools may be doing more harm than good.

It found that countries that have invested heavily in information and communications technology in schools show no appreciable improvement in student achievement.

That’s not what they’re for.
Seldom is the curriculum and support infrastructure present to exploit technology.
Seldom does the teacher have the experience to exploit technology
The examination infrastructure is weighted towards using paper and pencil (and, no, ticking multiple choice boxes on a computer doesn’t constitute exploiting technology)
Who cares if they don’t raise results? Exam results are more about finding ways to write off sections of our population. We standardise exams because we can’t standardise children.
Most schools provide 1-2 hours per week of computer access. Maybe they shouldn’t invest as most kids get plenty of access outside school. But if schools don’t invest, you’ve just created a digital divide. Well done.
This is one of those moments where we train children to do one thing and then test them (measure their progress) using a completely different methodology. It’s like we are criticising a fish because it can’t climb a tree.

Our school system was designed during the industrial revolution. We need to think about what schools look like during the knowledge revolution.

As a special prize, some Ken Robinson.

Lack of remorse is the reason that rational people leave

It’s not respect between the traditions we need, it’s an iota of remorse. I don’t respect the right of Republicans to name play parks after murderers nor do I respect the rights of Loyalists to parade anywhere they damn well please. Both of them can just "get off my lawn". Calls for the other to … Continue reading “Lack of remorse is the reason that rational people leave”

It’s not respect between the traditions we need, it’s an iota of remorse.

I don’t respect the right of Republicans to name play parks after murderers nor do I respect the rights of Loyalists to parade anywhere they damn well please. Both of them can just "get off my lawn". Calls for the other to respect their culture is not only falling on deaf ears but it’s like a red rag to a bull. And those who bleat loudest for their culture to be respected are, unsurprisingly, the greatest perpetrators of exactly the same foul against their imagined opponents.

But both traditions need to express remorse not respect. We need to see some remorse from the "PUL" community for 50 years of Unionist domination and some remorse for thirty years of mayhem and murder from the Republicans would go a long way.

if you’ve chosen a side you owe the rest of us an apology

It doesn’t matter to me which side you’re from; if you’ve chosen a side you owe the rest of us an apology for being party to a dirty little skirmish that has left thousands dead, tens of thousands traumatised and despite the platitudes of a peace process, continues to inflict harm on the population.

Neither side is willing to accept they have ruined the lives of millions of people.

Neither side is willing to admit they continue to inflict their bile upon the young and create more victims of this dirty skirmish every day.

Neither side is prepared to admit they were wrong.

And that’s why my advice is to leave.

New technologies, not for savages

Apple shows you their interest by where they ship features first. The first time I noticed this was back in the nineties when Apple produced the “toilet seat” iBooks. They were the first laptops that shipped with built-in WiFi. Looking backwards at the iMac line (and the introduction of USB) confirmed the consumer bias. It … Continue reading “New technologies, not for savages”

Apple shows you their interest by where they ship features first.

The first time I noticed this was back in the nineties when Apple produced the “toilet seat” iBooks. They were the first laptops that shipped with built-in WiFi. Looking backwards at the iMac line (and the introduction of USB) confirmed the consumer bias. It was “better” for Apple to introduce these features in new hardware that would have new consumer interest and therefore spur adoption.

You only then have to look at the features introduced to iOS over the years to see where the drive is – from multi-touch to biometric fingerprint sensors. It’s clear their attention has been on IOS to push the platform to new heights.

And most recently the Watch. Apple have added Force-touch and full biometrics to their latest consumer device. They’ve added Force touch to the MacBooks and We will see some of these technologies making their way to the Phone and iPad but it’s unlikely that we’ll see any of them make it to the Mac proper.

We will have to rely on logging into our Macs with plain old passwords, like savages.

Solar…portable…renewable

Anyone who knows me will know that I’ve always been a fan of solar (photovoltaic) energy production. This goes from tiny little solar panels that I used with Coder Dojo to wire up fans and LEDs to larger scale panels that are used to keep my phones and other devices charged when out and about. … Continue reading “Solar…portable…renewable”

My latest purchase is the Anker 14W Solar Panel Foldable Dual-port Solar Charger.

I was pretty pleased with the package – it was smaller than I expected and seemed sturdy enough. It fits neatly into my hiking backpack when I’m not using it and when I am using it, I’ll tie it using cords to the back of the back – the built-in rings seem very resilient. The company advises using the included pockets for holding devices you’re charging (to keep them out of the direct sunshine). I’d like them to be a little bigger but that’s only because my devices are a little bulkier.

I tested this during the week in some weak summer sunshine here in Northern Ireland and I was able to generate nearly 7 Watts (5.09 Volts, 1.35 Amps). That’s about 50% of the potential output of the panel but considering I was just sitting in a park with plenty of surrounding tree cover, no effort being made to optimise the angle and a little bit of cloud cover – coupled with the weak Northern Irish sunshine – I was happy to see I could easily power and charge a phone.

Your phone likely needs 5 Watts of Power (5 Volts, 1 Amp). The average PC USB port outputs 2.5 W (5V, 0.5A). Your iPad needs about 12 W (5.1V, 2.1A). The device I’m using to measure this is a pass-thru USB power monitor by PortaPow. It can check any USB port for power output and is cheap as chips. For the aspiring geek it’s a useful informational tool.

I’ll be using this panel to charge an Anker 13000 mAh portable battery (superseded by newer models like the Anker Astro e7 with double the capacity). 25600 mAh seems like a lot but the iPhone 6 has a 1810 mAh battery and therefore I’d expect to get 10 charges out of this. Which should be good enough for a week of outdoor usage (assuming I’m using the screen a lot).

Next week I’ll be testing the charger in Southern Spain. I’m interested to see what the difference in throughput will be and how fast it will charge my external battery.

Christianity is at a crossroads.

A call went out from a local Pastor to support a bigot and racist. Christianity is at a crossroads. Behind it lies the sins of their forebears, from child abuse to witch burning. From the denial of science to their role in subjugating Africa and appeasing the Nazis. Straight ahead lies oblivion as the same … Continue reading “Christianity is at a crossroads.”

A call went out from a local Pastor to support a bigot and racist.

Christianity is at a crossroads.

Behind it lies the sins of their forebears, from child abuse to witch burning. From the denial of science to their role in subjugating Africa and appeasing the Nazis.

Straight ahead lies oblivion as the same tired doctrine of exclusion and resistance to progress dooms them.

But turning at the crossroads represents and opportunity. If God is real and God is love then the Churches need to re-evaluate their default position.

The Churches were wrong about heliocentric models, they were wrong about the earth being flat and they were wrong about gravity. They were wrong about inter-racial relations and civil rights, they were wrong about organ transplant and class structure.

Christianity doesn’t have to doom itself to following demagogues into obscurity and they can accept secular life and equal marriage just as easily as they have ignored the Bible on whether or not it’s appropriate to eat Steamed Mussels in a White Wine Sauce.

I’m left with the question; What would Jesus do?

And I find myself unwilling to believe that he would rally himself with hatred and riots. Or would preach condemnation based on race. The only time I read about his wrath was when usurers turned the Temple into a market place. I think Christianity needs to have a deep reflection about what it has become.

Request for Techies!

We’re on the hunt for technical talent to help us with the Techies in Residence Programme – an innovative new project to build links between the community sector and Northern Ireland’s knowledge economy. Digital Technology holds massive potential to solve problems in the voluntary and community sector (VCSE). Over the last 3 months we have … Continue reading “Request for Techies!”

Digital Technology holds massive potential to solve problems in the voluntary and community sector (VCSE). Over the last 3 months we have recruited 6 innovation projects from the sector and we are now seeking to match them with high-quality technical staff from Northern Irish companies.

The project will take the form of a 10-week residency (Sept – Nov), where staff from NI tech companies will embed themselves in the VCSE organisation. The aim is to build a prototype solution in answer to one of the briefs outlined here.

A salary contribution of up to £6,000 is available to help offset your costs over the 10 weeks. In addition, each participating company will gain extensive exposure through the project and will, subject to agreement, be entitled to develop the solution commercially after the residency. It’s also a significant opportunity to gain insight into a new marketplace, help meet CSR objectives and support the development of future managerial talent.

Our aim is to match interested companies with briefs that are relevant to their expertise and interests. We’d invite you to browse through the attached briefs and if you think that your organisation has the talent to help out with one or more, please get in touch via email to info@techinres.com and we can follow up with more detail.

Briefs: Techies in Residence Techies copy

Capability Assessment – Big Screen Content and Programming Provider

This was sent to me from Belfast City Council. I think all digital agencies should look at it. The only negatives are the relative restrictions on the content that can be pushed. I would say there are great opportunities to promote some cutting edge games and experiences via the Big Screen. This document has been … Continue reading “Capability Assessment – Big Screen Content and Programming Provider”

This was sent to me from Belfast City Council. I think all digital agencies should look at it. The only negatives are the relative restrictions on the content that can be pushed. I would say there are great opportunities to promote some cutting edge games and experiences via the Big Screen.

This document has been issued on behalf of Belfast City Council (BCC) which is at an early stage of developing a procurement strategy for the provision of a content and programming provider service for the Big Screen which is located in the grounds of City Hall. In the future this service will include the maintenance and upkeep of the software and hardware to maintain the Big Screen Service. Any participation in a future tender exercise will not be prejudiced should your company respond or decide not to complete this document, nor is the completion of this document a guarantee of invitation to participate in a future tendering exercise.

PLEASE NOTE; THIS IS NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION.

Introduction

This document provides a brief outline of Belfast City Council’s current position and anticipated outcome for appointing a content and programming provider to keep the screen operational on a day to day basis. In this document, the Council is seeking information on your organisation and your services. The same information will be requested from other providers.

This Questionnaire is divided into two sections:

1. Organisation Information

2. Service Model Questions

All responses must be received via email to bainesd@belfastcity.govuk by 3.00pm on Friday 14th August 2015.

All queries regarding this process should be emailed to Denise Baines at bainesd@belfastcity.gov.uk prior to the closing date with the email subject content stated as ‘BIG SCREEN CONTENT PROVIDER – CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT ENQUIRY’

The Questionnaire is attached here:
BIG SCREEN CONTENT PROVIDER – CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT

Europe

The month of June has been incredibly busy for me. I’ve had multiple projects on in multiple weeks as well as fitting in a lot of remote assessment for my students. Luckily we have online systems and WiFi! I spent the bulk of the last week in Luxembourg with the European Commission. I was acting … Continue reading “Europe”

I spent the bulk of the last week in Luxembourg with the European Commission. I was acting as a rapporteur for ICT evaluators. Over the course of the week I was immersed in a group of people who were interested, dedicated, passionate, educated and curious. While I was really just the Scribe, I was greeted very warmly by all (and it was acknowledged I knew a lot more than was expected about the technologies and projects). It felt good.

None of the people I met were “9-5”. They were all working full-time on their opus but had time for conversations, directed or idle. And they all spoke English – which prompted me to try my French and German even more.

Most evenings I was back to Northern Ireland matters – dealing with difficult conversations, assessing verbose reports on hardware installations and explaining to friends why I was in Luxembourg and not Lisburn (and to some, why I was in Lisburn in the first place).

Luxembourg is a curious place. Odd opening hours, seemingly conservative yet refreshingly liberal in other ways compared to home. The culture is foreign to me but I could get used to it and more than one person did suggest I look to Luxembourg or Brussels for my next work. I could get used to being one of the Luxembourgeoisie.

I heard stories of night escapes to the Island of Capri on the eve of the Second World War laden with Polish gold, ate with a restaurateur who builds schools in Nepal, of the failure of “foreign food” on the island of Crete, and of sailing and scuba diving in the waters around Spain and Mexico. We talked about travel, about post-scarcity society, about how to make a dent in the universe and how it would be cool to work on joint projects. I met some friends that I believe I will retain forever.

I am also confident that if the UK does vote to leave the EU, I will leave the UK. We need fewer borders not more.

I needed a break from the real world. And I feel like I am returning renewed.

Red #ev

Just a few images for reminder… Obviously none of these are EVs, but there needs to be a series of EVs inspired by great retro designs. Related posts: America: Day of Days cultureTECH: What I did… We need leaders driven by social values who are willing to collaborate, innovate + cut through red tape

Just a few images for reminder…

Obviously none of these are EVs, but there needs to be a series of EVs inspired by great retro designs.