Digital technology empowers and it destroys. As the legacy silos entrench themselves and become more polar in their approach the silos start to crumble. It happens in business and more of that later. As is incredibly visible right now, it happens in politics. Sometimes those silos are not really about the leader or the policy [...]
The following is a quote from an essay written in the 1500’s by Etienne de Boetie. The perspective from now is not dissimilar when you think about it, is it? We are lulled into quietude by entertainments provided on all fronts, and when we are given back some small amount of what is [...]
The following is about a person and a topic I have written about before… I think that the people, and the time in history are an interesting metaphor for what is happening now politically, economically, and societally. The Story Of A Refugee Have you ever heard of Peter Drucker? He was arguably the [...]
A few months ago I blogged about the cost of entertainment and how even a weekend surf at the beach was likely to cost car parking fees, barbeque facilities use fees and of course, GST on the ice, petrol, esky contents, (surf) board wax and zinc cream. In other words it’s hard for the [...]
Those of you who live in the city and are able to get broadband via cable or via ADSL with all you can eat plans…. you don't know how lucky you are! Here in the Australian bush – not that where I live is bush really – its just a place where Telstra was stingy [...]
You have to be sorry for the people in the music industry. (Actually I am not sorry for them at all – they have had enough limos and lunches for one life time, so might be time to do an honest day's work!). Have a look at this story in Wired about the new round [...]
Back in 2002 an opinion piece was published in the Christian Science Monitor debunking the concept of Al Qaida as the “top brand” in terrorism, and how, in doing creating this myth, western security forces were creating a rod for their own backs. The article went on to talk about the phenomenon of “exaggerated enemies” [...]
There was a a brief follow up story to this one in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning that Clubs Australia is planning to help local unsigned musicians get their music played in restaurants and venues – as long as those musicians are not signed to a major label. The premise is that the planned [...]
Super Vectors I was watching an episode of The Wire last night (last episode of Series 3). In it we see the denouement of an experiment in social engineering. The story, which evolves over a number of episodes, is of one of the senior police getting an idea of how to reduce the murder [...]
When I was four years old, my family constructed a house. I asked my father how the builders knew what went where. And he told me about the plans and showed me the blueprints. I was enthralled, here was a method to build something. Draw up a master plan, order the lumber, roofing iron, and [...]