2021 - a year in review


Terence Eden standing outside Number 10 Downing Street.

It's my birthday! As is customary, here's my year in review. See 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010. Like lots of you, I guess, it kind of feels like a year of stasis and stagnation. The last year seems to have whizzed by. Most of it spent in the same house - with only occasional forays to OutsideLand. A couple of day-trips to the coast, a few doctor's appointments, and one funeral. I feel like we got off lightly. I've completed one year of my MSc. I have mixed…

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"It's better to ask forgiveness" only works when there's a positive disparity in power


Large cardboard cut out of Darth Vader - his fist raised and lightsabre extended.

When I was a kid, I used to pray every night for a new bike. Then I realised, the Lord doesn't work that way. So I just stole one and asked Him to forgive me Emo Philips Perhaps, in the context of technology, you've heard the phrase "Better to seek forgiveness than beg for permission"? It's usually said when someone is trying to do something that the "grown-ups" in the organisation probably won't like. It will take ages for someone to approve X - so let's just do it anyway because its…

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Thinking of uses for BlockChains


A tiny lego Storm Trooper eats a chocolate coin.

Kevin Kelly has written an insightful blog post about Class 1 / Class 2 Problems. I encourage you to read it. I agree with the thesis, but not the specific conclusion. Blockchain tech could unleash collaborations of several million members working on one project in real time, or orgs that are far more leaderless than today. How? Projects like the Linux Kernel already have thousands of contributors - it may well be the largest, most distributed successful tech project. But it's not clear…

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Book Review: Glass Coffin by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch (Darkwood Book 3)


Book cover. An ornate clock stands at five minutes to midnight.

The tyrannous Huntsmen have declared everyone in one village to be outlaws, since they insist on supporting the magical beings of neighbouring Darkwood. Why won’t they accept that magic is an abomination? Far from being abominable, the residents of Darkwood are actually very nice when you get to know them, even Snow the White Knight, who can get a bit tetchy when people remind her she’s a Princess. In order to stop the Huntsmen from wiping out all magical beings, Snow and her friends hav…

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Open UK at COP26


I spent last Thursday at COP26 - as part of the Open UK delegation. It was an amazing day - which filled me with hope. As it was my first large in-person event since the Before-Times, I was extremely nervous about how it would go. Thanks to the Herculean efforts of Amanda Brock, May Cheung and their small army of volunteers it was a flawless event - all held in a magnificent set of tents. Here are a few of my highlights from the day: An excellent question posed in the session about future …

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Smart Quotes and Coding Examples


Screenshot of a command line which has curly quotes.

Every so often, I copy and paste some code from a website and it utterly fails. This is probably a good reminder not to practise ✂️ & 📋 development, but it is also a reminder that "smart" formatting often trips up new students. Here are a few examples I've seen recently - produced as a result of computers trying to be cleverer than humans, and humans not checking if computers are being stupid. Curly Quotes Is this code valid? <a href=“example.html”>read more</a> Yes! Let's read the HTML S…

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No one knows what's coming next


Photo of a black swan swimming in water. By Purple Slog on Flickr.

The book Antifragile is pretty bad. Like most popular management books, it's a single useful idea padded out with anecdotes. Some organisations are overly reliant on the status quo. If a single thing changes, it can be catastrophic. For example, a sudden shortage of HGV drivers causes their entire supply chain to collapse and they go bankrupt. These organisations are fragile. Some organisations thrive on chaos. Every time things change, they can take advantage and improve. For example, a…

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Gadget Review: Avigator 455W Projector. 1080p & WiFi for £150!


Product shot of the projector.

The good folks at ASAKUKI have sent me one of their fancy WiFi Projectors to review. Straight out of the gate, it's important to set expectations. This is a ~£150 projector. You aren't going to get the same fidelity as a £1,000 laser projector with quantum nano pixel marketing gibberish. Instead, you get a native 1080p resolution, an adequate speaker, and built-in WiFi screen-mirroring. Photos In the box you get a UK power lead, HDMI cable, AV cable, and remote (no batteries). Also i…

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Book Review: Seeing Like A State - James C. Scott


Book cover featuring an eye trapped in a rigid box.

In this wide-ranging and original book, James C. Scott analyses failed cases of large-scale authoritarian plans in a variety of fields. Centrally managed social plans misfire, Scott argues, when they impose schematic visions that do violence to complex interdependencies that are not—and cannot—be fully understood. Further, the success of designs for social organization depends upon the recognition that local, practical knowledge is as important as formal, epistemic knowledge. The author bui…

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ProctorU is dystopian spyware


To take this exam online you will need to borrow a friend or family member's laptop.

As part of my MSc, I have to take an online exam. Obviously, this means I am highly likely to cheat by looking up things on Wikipedia or by having a bit of paper with notes on it. EVIL! So, the exam body requires me to install ProctorU. It's a service which lets someone watch you through your laptop camera while you do the exam. Creepy, but I get it. They also want to see your screen to make sure you're not alt-tabbing. A bit grim, but I get it. They also want complete control over your…

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MSc Assignment 3 - Business and Technology


A graph showing how technology matures over time.

I'm doing an apprenticeship MSc in Digital Technology. In the spirit of openness, I'm blogging my research and my assignments. This is my paper from the Business and Technology module. You can read my Digital Leadership paper and my Data Analytics Paper. I really didn't enjoy this module. Although well taught, it was a business studies course mostly focussed on how American companies managed innovation. I struggled to connect the teaching to my role in the UK public sector. I was charmingly…

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What is my Career Development Plan?


Me singing into a head level microphone.

The one thing I know about myself is that I hate introspection. So, fair warning, this will be a mopey and self-indulgent post. As part of my MSc, I have to create and discuss my Personal Development Plan in relation to my Career and I'm… stumped! I've never known what I wanted to be when I grow up. Sure, vague dreams of being a starship pilot (unlikely) or an actor (failed) - but other than that? Just… I dunno. Computers? My "career" so far has been drifting from gig to gig going "Oh, that l…

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