Let's close all the ticket counters

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on · · 16 comments · 550 words · read ~273 times.
Cartoon. An old woman is at a train ticket counter. The ticket machine is out of order. The ticket office is now called "Info Hub". The ticket seller says "OK, one more time: Go home and log on to our website from your computer, create an account and purchase your ticket with your credit or debit card, download the ticket to a smartphone, then come back at the allocated time... Just what part of 'easier and more convenient' don't you get?"

I bloody hate this cartoon that's doing the rounds (I think it's by the incredibly talented Len in Private Eye). Here's what I want the caption to say: OK, one more time: Get here at least 30 minutes early because the queue barely moves and you'll inevitably be stuck behind someone trying to pay for […]

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A practical example of the social construct of race

By
on · · 3 comments · 450 words · read ~258 times.
Dropdown box asking for my race or ethnicity. The options are Malay, Chinese, Indian, or other.

I've been reading lots of books about race, justice, and history. One of the things which confused me when I started this journey was the notion that race is a construct. But then I started reading about how Blumenbach literally invented the concept of distinct human races. And about how the discredited "Science" of race […]

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Building a car which cannot speed

By
on · · 4 comments · 800 words · read ~166 times.
A pet cat typing on a computer keyboard.

As part of my MSc, I'm reading a lot of "Leadership" books. They're all pretty bad - but they have one common thesis; it is essential to improve your company culture. I'm not sure if I agree. I feel completely divorced from most forms of company culture. I find the way that these books talk […]

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Book Review: Brit(ish)

By
on · · 350 words
Book cover.

You’re British. Your parents are British. Your partner, your children and most of your friends are British. So why do people keep asking where you’re from? We are a nation in denial about our imperial past and the racism that plagues our present. Brit(ish) is Afua Hirsch’s personal and provocative exploration of how this came […]

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Digital Scarcity is a Con

By
on · · 10 comments · 900 words · read ~807 times.

In the early days of the web, I used to go hunting for Beatles Bootlegs. I scoured forums, emailed dodgy geezers, and swapped poorly encoded RealAudio™ files on USENET. The Beatles had recently released their Anthology series, and us nerds were desperate to hear more unreleased goodies. Sure, there were rarities and out-takes, but we […]

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You Have To Take People With You

By
on · · 400 words · read ~102 times.

This post starts off talking about Star Wars, but it isn't really about that. I enjoyed Rogue One - the newish Star Wars film. It's not a perfect film, but it was heaps of fun. My only real problem was with Donnie Yen's character - Chirrut Îmwe. As soon as I saw a Blind Asian […]

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CAPTCHAs don't prove you're human - they prove you're American

By
on · · 68 comments · 250 words · read ~23,433 times.
A grid of images, some of them have photos of American taxis, some have photos of trees.

When I was a small child, I took an IQ test. One of the first questions I stumbled on was "A piece of candy costs 25¢. Jonny has a dime. How many nickels does he need to buy the candy?" My 7-year old brain popped. WTAF is a nickel? Or a dime for that matter? […]

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The "Women Are Broken" Industry

By
on · · 1 comment · 850 words · read ~3,669 times.

I get to visit a fair few start-ups. Some are hopelessly idealistic (my favourites!) some are hopelessly cynical. Recently, I got to spend a few hours with a new "Quantified Self" start-up. For the sake of protecting the guilty - let's call them "Fronk." Fronk have decided that women are under-served in the wearables market. […]

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Discrimination

By
on · · 600 words · read ~320 times.

The UK has some excellent laws preventing discrimination. According the Equality Act (2010) it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of... age being or becoming a transsexual person being married or in a civil partnership being pregnant or having a child disability race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin religion, belief or lack […]

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