Recently readWe had dinner last night with Tim and Helen Evans; Tim and Antoine have been friends since university, and I have been helping Helen - who is a senior nurse and 20 year NHS veteran - with a project for her group, Nurses for Reform.
NFR believes it is no longer acceptable for nurses to sign […]
Filed under: Friends, Life, Politics, Survival, The State Is Not Your Friend | 1 Comment »
Sometimes I think that the business of acquisitions and comings and goings in the world of Web 2.0 has totally ceased to interest me. Then I get an email from JotSpot, saying that they’ve been bought by Google, and I want to pick up the phone and tell my best friend. Except my best friend […]
Filed under: Business, Technology | Comments Off
You know, as much as I complain about the annoying aspects of London life, and as much as I’ve always said I would quite like to live in suburbia (and used to years ago, in Sevenoaks, Kent), now that we are scheduled to go check out a gorgeous-looking flat in Surbiton, I am getting a […]
Filed under: Home, Life | 4 Comments »
Antoine is always trying to convince me to learn how to play bridge, which he enjoys (the legendary Acol Bridge Club is a five minute walk from our house). It sounds boring to me, especially since you can’t talk while you play. Now I find out that, far from being a sedate card game, it […]
Filed under: Fun, Law, Life, Politics, The State Is Not Your Friend | 2 Comments »
Can you imagine innovative and truly useful customer service like this in the NHS? Well, obviously not, because we’re not customers, we’re suckers (aka taxpayers) who have to fund the damn system whether it works or not, whether we like it or not. (See also my post on the NHS’s embarrassingly crap “Choose and Book” […]
Filed under: Business, Life, Politics, Survival, The State Is Not Your Friend, Treating Customers Well | No Comments »
I am a huge, huge fan of the Techdirt crew and the work they do. I have happily flown 20+ hours round-trip to take part in their Techdirt Greenhouse event, and will do so for the next one (whenever it is). Now, the Techdirt guys have launched what sounds like a pretty cool new business, […]
Filed under: Blogging, Business, Life, People I Know, Work | No Comments »
I was all excited about the Open University course I’m taking (a nutrition course), but then found out (from one of my favourite beauty blog commenters) that the Open University’s teachings about nutrition are all based on the food pyramid. Like my commenter/correspondent, I think the food pyramid is pretty flawed, so am disappointed that […]
Filed under: Education, Fun, Individuality vs Collectivism, Life, The State Is Not Your Friend | 4 Comments »
Our Christmas trip to Ohio was only supposed to last three days. For complicated reasons relating to my best friend’s wedding at the end of January, I’ve changed my ticket to stay there for two weeks. Which meant that I had a perfect excuse to surprise Antoine with a New Year’s meet-up somewhere cool (last […]
Filed under: Fun, Life, Travel | No Comments »
This New York Times piece about politicians’ use of hand sanitising gels made me feel queasy just reading it. I’m not an anti-bacterial maniac, but I have a thing about clean hands. If I see you touch the floor or put dirty washing in the machine, I will struggle over whether or not to suggest […]
Filed under: Life, Manners, Politics | 4 Comments »
I bought a couple of these Snap Cams for the holiday season - one for Antoine’s 5-year-old nephew (it’ll be a fun project for him to do with his dad or grandfather) and one for a yet-to-be-determined child. It’s a 35mm camera that you build yourself; everything snaps into place, no glue necessary. I’m tempted […]
Filed under: Children, Fun, Photography | 2 Comments »
Antoine + Doc Searls!!!!!!!!!
Originally uploaded by dynamist.
I have no idea how Antoine bagged a seat next to Doc Searls, but I’m jealous (of them both - I miss Antoine). He also got Doc to sign my copy of Cluetrain Manifesto yesterday, which is extra cool. Thanks to Waxxi CEO Tracy Sheridan - who knows what […]
Filed under: Life | 2 Comments »
As you may have read, I don’t buy into the supposed accuracy or relevance of ‘top bloggers’ lists, but my place on this one is interesting. If I did buy into such rankings, I’d be rather chuffed that all I have to do to curry even more influence is cross-post at Samizdata, which is ranked […]
Filed under: Blogging, Metrics | 2 Comments »
I love this, from Michael Rosenblum:
I think it only fair to point out to our friend at the RTS that Harry Potter was ‘user generated content’, that JK Rowling was not a ‘professional’. In the world of print, which produces some pretty good stuff, EVERYTHING is ‘user generated’. Soon, the same will be true in […]
Filed under: Blogging, Media, Podcasts | No Comments »
Amy and me
Originally uploaded by dynamist.
Here’s me and Amy Alkon yesterday (photo copyright Amy Alkon, who has more pictures), hanging out and watching fashion triumphs (and disasters) go by in Paris.
Speaking of disasters, my day almost was a complete one, thanks to my own stupidity. Long story, but ladies, if you tend to have […]
Filed under: Life | 2 Comments »