By @edent · covid19 fail failcamp failure WeekNotes · 31 comments · 1,200 words · read ~19,030 times.
A few years ago, Johannes Haushofer published a CV of failures. In it, he lists all the grants he wasn't awarded, positions he didn't get, papers rejected. I think that people need to be more open about failure. None of us are perfect - despite what our social media presence says - and all of […]
Continue reading →By @edent · covid19 oneteamgov WeekNotes wfh · 5 comments · 300 words · read ~288 times.
I've made no secret of rather enjoying this enforced period of remote work. Sure, it has had its challenges - but there have been so many fringe benefits. Less commuting! No crappy-canteen lunches! More time to sleep in! And, today, I was reminded of another benefit. I am terrible at remembering names. Many a time […]
Continue reading →By @edent · meta nhsx WeekNotes work · 14 comments · 1,250 words · read ~1,426 times.
Well, that was a whirlwind! After 18-months at NHSX, my 6-month temporary secondment has reached its end. It's always hard when a job finishes. The secondment was twice extended, and that let me carry on defining open technology standards for the NHS. Now it is over and I'm a bit sad. The pandemic seems to […]
Continue reading →By @edent · t-shirt WeekNotes · 1 comment · 300 words · read ~221 times.
Some days, I want everyone on the Internet to wear this t-shirt: Designed using Guillaume Chabot's tool after the original 2K by Gingham - which has been parodied many times. Explaining the joke The Dunning–Kruger effect is - simply put - when people of low ability are over-confident in their ability. The Gell-Mann Amnesia effect […]
Continue reading →By @edent · WeekNotes work · 3 comments · 350 words
Last Monday was a Bank Holiday in the UK. The Tuesday was a "Privilege Day" - a day off for Civil Servants for the Queen's birthday. Thursday was my wife's birthday - which I had booked off ages ago. So I decided to cash in my TOIL and take Wednesday and Friday as holidays as […]
Continue reading →By @edent · WeekNotes · 2 comments · 400 words · read ~207 times.
Eleven years ago, the BBC announced plans to encrypt all of its free-to-air digital TV channels. The technology world was aghast! I saw thousands of Tweets from hundreds of people, angry blog posts, mailing lists erupting with fury. There may even have been a petition. The regulator, Ofcom, announced an enquiry and solicited for feedback. […]
Continue reading →By @edent · meta WeekNotes work · 7 comments · 400 words · read ~873 times.
Many years ago, when I worked at Vodafone, we had a senior network engineer give us a talk about keeping the network stable in the hours after the 7/7 bombings. He was completely dispassionate. He spoke about analysing network traffic, predicting demand spikes, routing around damage, physically securing sites, supporting the emergency services - and […]
Continue reading →By @edent · covid19 nhsx WeekNotes work · 2 comments · 550 words · read ~532 times.
What started as a fairly ordinary week, quickly transformed into something extraordinary. Large swathes of NHSX were suddenly told to de-prioritise their day-to-day work and focus on COVID19 response. I probably can't talk specifically on what I've been working on, but it has been one of the most intense working weeks of my life. As […]
Continue reading →By @edent · nhsx WeekNotes work · 11 comments · 600 words · read ~576 times.
If you'd like to set up a meeting or call with me, chances are, I've sent you a link to my calendar. It's a public website where you can see when I'm available. One important note, before we go any further, this public calendar only shows my free/busy status. It doesn't show the names of […]
Continue reading →By @edent · dhsc nhsx WeekNotes work · 7 comments · 950 words · read ~441 times.
A year ago, I swapped my comfy job at GDS for a new role at the Department of Health and Social Care. So, this is a sort of informal end-of-year review. It has been a fun and challenging year. Some of the things I've tried have worked, others less so. The Good Helped kickstart NHSX. […]
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