Jan 13, 2022InterregnumHad you walked into Tim Berners-Lee’s office, and asked “can I use the web as a shopfront?” he might have looked at you in bemusement, but most likely he would have just called security. After all, no one working for CERN would have had a commercial reason for being there. …Web35 min readWeb35 min read
Apr 20, 2021Nuts in MayI mentioned in a tweet that I thought the London Mayoral candidate ‘Count Binface’ represented the most mature face of this race, eschewing modern identity politics for a metallic persona that was used to attack a Prime Minister in a previous millenia. But actually I wasn’t quite joking. This blog…London5 min readLondon5 min read
Nov 5, 2018RetroIt is the role of the news media to grab our attention and tell us about things that are going on. Stories of fear and wonder do seem to play for a little bit longer, and for some years now, there has been a brew of notions about big data…Artificial Intelligence5 min readArtificial Intelligence5 min read
Oct 20, 2018Brexit: An opportunity missedWe know why we vote for a parliament more regularly than every 50 years, or every generation; MPs leave, retire or die, and issues would come and go. New political parties could rise up and fade away within that period. A referendum is more of a one shot vote, best…Brexit3 min readBrexit3 min read
Oct 18, 2018Brexit: an apologyThis Saturday, there will be another march in London to support the Peoples Vote, which just means a second referendum. Whether I will be going to Park Lane or not, there should never be a second referendum. This isn’t a matter that can be fixed by trying to use one…Brexit2 min readBrexit2 min read
Jul 24, 2018CowPlenty of people here have been wondering (both publicly and probably silently) why there has been very little planning in case the UK leaves the EU with No Deal. The speed of this or most blogs is far too slow to document the ever changing world of Brexit and the…Brexit2 min readBrexit2 min read
Mar 1, 2018The Locked RoomIt happens that the UK uses a representational democracy. This just means I vote for an MP, and the MP ‘represents’ my interests. …Politics3 min readPolitics3 min read
Feb 5, 2018As they say, ‘so much this’.As they say, ‘so much this’. Every now and again an engineer will want to make something. To get to grips with a problem by building a solution, putting his or her head down and working. And long may this be the case. Nevertheless, most of the tough problems…Transportation2 min readTransportation2 min read
Jan 9, 2018YoungThere is the classic science fiction plot involving time travel, and what would happen if professor XYZ doesn’t get to the conference on time, and thus not give that important lecture about the Gizomotron that will inspire our hero to save the world. This is not that story. This is…Education Reform4 min readEducation Reform4 min read
Nov 6, 2017BalanceCensorship is only possible when I have a chance to stop you expressing yourself. This is why the first thing a revolution or coup did was to take over newspaper presses or broadcasting equipment. The difference today is that the human world’s busiest information network cannot be deftly taken down…Privacy4 min readPrivacy4 min read
