grouping communities

December 3, 2008 — Si

The word ‘community’ is bandied about a fair bit these days and I can’t shake the feeling that it’s a cosy term used lazily.  As an exercise, I used the pseudo-random idea generator in my head to squeeze out some candidates:

© Bruno HEROLD - Fotolia.com

© Bruno HEROLD - Fotolia.com

I want to know which of these are communities and which are arbitrary groupings.  If you find a definition that works for you, please share.

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capital ideas

November 30, 2008 — Si

The bit I really love about flying is that fleeting moment, a few thousand feet up, when your sense of scale shifts.  Towns are shown up as real entities interconnected across the landscape via moving channels of light particles, each of which are likely to be aware only of the few nearest particles nearest them.  It’s a perception that’s easier to slip into if you’ve been up since 0330 hours.

not taken with an iPhoneSo, I got to spend a couple of days in Paris. Shockingly, I’d never been to the place before.  Perhaps I’ve seen Amelié too many times but it didn’t seem very ‘Parisian’.  Most likely this was because I didn’t have time to get any further than Notre Dame. I’ll be back to take it in at my leisure.

The workshop I was at was a decent affair.  Everyone agreed there are problems to be solved and every seems to have their own solution.  It reinforced my belief that a common characteristic of creative geeks is a readiness to  build everything from the ground up rather than mess around with other people’s stuff merely for gains in time and effectiveness.

I thought my part of the presentation was patchy but they saw the value in it and invited us to Helsinki for a week, nonetheless.  Should be fun.

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garden paths

October 22, 2008 — Si
toilet first on the left

toilet first on the left

Something seems to be happening to me.  Maybe it’s age-related and so, along with the hormone that spurs nasal and aural tufts, there’s a chemical cascade that propels me into the back yard to get all horticultural.

Some context: our back yard is a jungle.  A small tribe held together by the absolute belief in the sanctity of the abandoned shopping trolley and we’d be none the wiser.

There’s something immensely satisfying about reeling in yards of thorny blackberry stems, unearthing a patio or discovering a WC that’s so old it was actually manufactured locally.  Whilst my body is pottering, sawing and carrying, my mind is free to wander and toy with ideas.  Some of my best ideas happen here.  This could be down to the endorphin high or perhaps the rate of oxygen to the brain (cycling or walking produce a similar state).

By contrast, when I’m at work and stationed in front of the ‘puter, the vast proportion of my time is on problem solving.  My attention is trained on the task in hand, traversing a tree of problems which branch into sub-problems and so on.  Even if I take a break, I’m still selecting from a set of links and buttons,  See…click..see….click…  like a lab rat searching for a neurological payoff.

It’s only if when I ditch the choose-your-own-adventure structure that the bigger ideas have room to step forward and quietly introduce themselves.

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brain buffing

August 13, 2008 — Si

I’m in day 2 of a classic bout of flu.  So I’m steering clear of web server admin and directing my delirious attentions here in a sort of cursory round-up.

It’s been a busy week-and-a-bit with the new job.   All the grappling with new stuff leaves my synapses frazzled but I can feel my neurons getting leaner.  My curse of distractability is getting a battering as feeds go unread and my social networks are shamefully neglected.  I’ve no time at work and when I get home I’ve no inclination.  I’d rather polish brass while my head cools off.

There’s something particularly satisfying about restoring nice stuff that’s been abused.  Kind of like bringing in a rescued cat but without the hair-trigger claws and pools of piss.

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friday feeling

August 2, 2008 — Si

Returned to regular nine-to-fivery yesterday, starting on a Friday for administrative reasons.  Lots of being introduced and instantly forgetting names before getting myself and my desk detritus installed.

Plush lunch with new colleagues: steak, wine and strawberry ice-cream on the top floor of staff house.  Like many campus buildings, it seems altitude is tied to seniority and privilege.  You can amuse yourself for a few seconds, like I did, imagining the chancellor’s pad at the top of the clock tower.  Almost makes the arduous graduation ceremonies worth it.

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iPhone 3G vs N95

July 30, 2008 — Si

As my N80 once again burbles its dying charge and I brace myself for regular employment again the time is clearly ripe for a switch of mobile.  When I got the N80 it was the hottest thing around with a large display and wifi.  It was also uncharacteristically unstable for a Nokia but I put up with it for the features.

This time, there are two phones vying for the top slot: the Nokia N95 and the iPhone 3G.  I’m not really a feature anorak so I’m airing my reasoning in the hope it’ll become apparent if I’m talking absolute bollocks.

An inveterate ditherer at the best of times, I’ve received arguments against the iPhone on principle and for its inevitability.

SO, let’s make an objective albeit cursory comparison at CarphoneWarehouse and at Vodafone shop.  Funnily enough, CPW doesn’t do Vodafone and Vodafone (not being O2) doesn’t do the iPhone.

iPhone

Recently relaunched with more features on a reasonable tariff, it’s not just for Apple fan boys any more.

Cost: £35 a month for 600 mins, 500 texts and unlimited data.  £99 for 8GB or £159 for 16GB (out of stock)

Pros: Achingly sexy.  Unlimited data plan for free. Twice the screen resolution of the N95.

    Cons: Crappy camera at 2MP with no flash or movies.  Needing to move to O2.  Handing my locked-down ass to Jobs.  Feeling like an iSheep.

      N95

      The incumbent king of the smart phone from good old Nokia.

      Costs:£35 a month for 600 mins and unlimited texts.  Phone comes free.  Unlimited mobile internet offer (normally £7.50 a month).

      Pros: Too many features to mention.  Can get on my existing network or any other.

      Cons: Chunky, although less so than the N80.

        Conclusions

        The iPhone is a fantastic multimedia player and internet device with a built-in phone.  The N95 is a fantastic phone with the most built-in features.  Both suck power down like nobody’s business.

        Over 18 months an iPhone 8GB is likely to set me back at least £729 plus accesories.  A Nokia N95 8GB will extract £630 from me.  Is the iPhone £99 better?  Not sure.

        There’s another option of course.  I could stump up for an iPod touch in addition to the N95.  Currently going for £180 on Amazon.  That’s £810 for an awesome mobile phone plus multimedia/net device…

        Open questions

        • Am I wrong?  Does the iPhone actually rule as a ‘telephone’?
        • Are my costs spot on or am I missing something out?
        • How does the battery life compare?
        • Is 8GB enough or should I stretch to a mighty 16?
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