I remember the first time as an adult I ordered a takeaway. I picked up the phone, menu in hand, and prepared to do battle. The person on the other end of the phone didn't speak English, my menu was out of date, they couldn't understand my address, and I didn't have the right money when they finally delivered. Stressful, annoying, and - until relatively recently - commonplace. When services like Just-Eat and Deliveroo came in, I suddenly was a lot happier ordering from local restaurants.…
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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 their season ticket using pre-decimal coins. The person behind the counter either won't understand your accent or will have an accent you can't understand - so be sure to repeat everything a…
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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 is making a comeback. And then about the Philosophy of Race weaves its pernicious influence. And I found it illuminating. Of course, theorising is a different experience to…
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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 about changing people is pretty creepy and disingenuous. That's my problem, not theirs. I prefer to look at processes and systems. Here's an imperfect analogy. What's more effective - teaching people the…
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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 to be – and an urgent call for change. Yes! This is the book I've been longing to read. The American experience of race and identity seems to dominate both lit…
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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 wanted more. We wanted Ultra Rare tracks. That one song no one had ever heard since it was first recorded. Digital music is now done. There is nothing more w…
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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 Monk, I knew that he would be a kick-ass warrior with almost supernaturally good sword skills. Even if you've never heard of Donnie Yen before, it is such an obvious trope that I felt cheated. He is Zatoichi, …
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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? We don't have those coins in my country! We don't spend in ¢ either. There was no way to get around the cultural knowledge required by the test. There were several questions like that - all assuming the test maker and taker were from a c…
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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. Their (male) CEO, (male) chief designer, (male) head of strategy, and (male) CTO have the secret to getting women to wear fitness trackers - gold plate them, cover…
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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 of religion/belief sex sexual orientation That's a pretty good set of principles! Ok, so what can a prospective employer …
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