Unbelievably, we’re running out of single malt. Holy bejasus. I’ll hold on to my lovely Port Ellen, then…
Archive for June, 2005
I hadn’t come across Mary Sue stories before:
MARY SUE (n.): 1. A variety of story, first identified in the fan fiction community, but quickly recognized as occurring elsewhere, in which normal story values are grossly subordinated to inadequately transformed personal wish-fulfillment fantasies, often involving heroic or romantic interactions with the cast of characters of some popular entertainment. 2. A distinctive type of character appearing in these stories who represents an idealized version of the author. 3. A cluster of tendencies and characteristics commonly found in Mary Sue-type stories. 4. A body of literary theory, originally generated by the fanfic community, which has since spread to other fields (f.i., professional SF publishing) because it’s so darn useful. The act of committing Mary Sue-ism is sometimes referred to as ’self-insertion’.
Life at Low Reynolds Number is a glorious lecture about life in a world where inertia is nearly irrelevant.
An interesting question: should we be concerned about Public-sector commercialization? The arguments have often been about our collective ability to ensure that a privately-run business delivers socially-acceptable outcomes. For example, it seems a generally good thing to reduce traffic flows to congested areas by making the parking expensive (and thereby reducing demand, one hopes). However, when local authorities make money and profit from this, they can change their behaviour into substantial enforcement mode and upset motorists. However, removing the mistaken and overzealous penalties, we should not forget that everyone charged is breaking the (by)law. So no problem then. How would this work for benefits or social services.
HousingMaps is a really great property application built on Google Maps.
Some recent e-Government news I hadn’t picked up on:
- Interview with Jim Fitzpatrick (my new minister - I haven’t met him yet)
- Interview with Marcus Robinson of Accenture (one of my advisory group members)
- Launch of Together we Can
Three explorers take Dinner and dive from a hot air balloon. Nice to know we’re still suitably eccentric over here.
As you might expect, we over-rate our own presentations vs ones we see others give. One of us must be wrong…
Some nice tips for business, summarised here. Copied here for my reference. And here’s a PDF reprint and an article about the author of the rules.
- Learn to say, “I don’t know.” If used when appropriate, it will be often.
- It is easier to get into something than it is to get out of it.
- If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
- Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what’s there, but few can see what isn’t there.
- Viewgraph rule: When something appears on a viewgraph (an overhead transparency), assume the world knows about it, and deal with it accordingly.
- Work for a boss with whom you are comfortable telling it like it is. Remember that you can’t pick your relatives, but you can pick your boss.
- Constantly review developments to make sure that the actual benefits are what they are supposed to be. Avoid Newton’s Law.
- However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best efforts.
- Persistence or tenacity is the disposition to persevere in spite of difficulties, discouragement, or indifference. Don’t be known as a good starter but a poor finisher.
- In completing a project, don’t wait for others; go after them, and make sure it gets done.
- Confirm your instructions and the commitments of others in writing. Don’t assume it will get done!
- Don’t be timid; speak up. Express yourself, and promote your ideas. Personal note to self: It is equally important to learn, learn, learn when to S-H-U-T U-P!!!
- Practice shows that those who speak the most knowingly and confidently often end up with the assignment to get it done.
- Strive for brevity and clarity in oral and written reports.
- Be extremely careful of the accuracy of your statements.
- Don’t overlook the fact that you are working for a boss.
- Keep him or her informed. Avoid surprises!
- Whatever the boss wants takes top priority.
- Promises, schedules, and estimates are important instruments in a well-ordered business. You must make promises. Don’t lean on the often-used phrase, “I can’t estimate it because it depends upon many uncertain factors.”
- Never direct a complaint to the top. A serious offense is to “cc” a person’s boss.
- When dealing with outsiders, remember that you represent the company. Be careful of your commitments.
- Cultivate the habit of “boiling matters down” to the simplest terms. An elevator speech is the best way.
- Don’t get excited in engineering emergencies. Keep your feet on the ground.
- Cultivate the habit of making quick, clean-cut decisions.
- When making decisions, the pros are much easier to deal with than the cons. Your boss wants to see the cons also.
- Don’t ever lose your sense of humor.
- Have fun at what you do. It will reflect in your work. No one likes a grump except another grump.
Interesting World Bank seminar and presentations asking How Relevant is US and Canadian e-gov experience to Developing Countries?
Real climate takes on a The Wall Street Journal vs. The Scientific Consensus article. It’s not helpful for the mainstream press to so obviously decide on a slant on a story and manipulate evidence to fit that slant. Especially when it is so clearly wrong.
So we had yesterday (Friday) off to go to Glyndebourne. The Bartered Bride was excellent, but tempered by the fact that Caroline had her bag stolen at Quod on Haymarket on Thursday night.
The knock on the door at 2:30 am [from Caroline, who had no keys] wasn’t entirely helpful, neither was me calling the number clearly audible in a conversation recorded in a message from Caroline’s phone to me (which must have been random in pocket kind of stuff). “Billy Valentine” who answered the phone seemed so utterly unsurprised by a random bloke phoning at 2:45am that I’m utterly certain he was involved.
New guidelines target ’silent calls’. So now at least we know what’s going on. Personally, I find the threat of the TPS quite effective.
looks like legal downloads are winning. At some stage I want the BPI and others to turn round and say “We were wrong. Obviously people wanted to buy music online, we just didn’t let them because we couldn’t / didn’t want to get our act in gear.”
Tumult HyperEdit looks useful for the Mac.
Some good Firefox hints.
Holy bejasus! You have to respect the elderly.
A 73-year-old Kenyan grandfather reached into the mouth of an attacking leopard and tore out its tongue to kill it, authorities said Wednesday.
