The Confidential Truth

Person A walks into a room full of people, they walk over someone and instantly starts connecting. Stories are shared, laughter erupts and the evening is a glorious night to remember. Person B walks into a room full of people, they get out their phone, skim the edge of the room and pour themselves a […]

Cut Throat Change

Change feels good. Wait, wait don’t close your browser…read on. Change feels good because it rocks things about and although the boat becomes unstable, there is a weird thrill being in a rocking boat. Learning a new skill or taking your current gifting to the next level can take it out of you. Lately I […]

Land of The Long White Cloud – Part Seven: Top of The South

Part Seven: Top of The South If you find yourself wandering through a land lined with the most exquisite vineyards you could quite possibly be in Marlborough, rich wine country. We had travelled through Marlborough and on into Nelson, The Top of the South. It had been a surprising start to the summer months. The […]

Indelible

The physical components have changed throughout history. Be it a carving in the rocks, a wax seal or an electronic timestamp. These were all elements of a moment worth marking, worth remembering. The point of these symbols was to make a permanent memory, an indelible mark that could not be erased. We make choices each […]

Citius – Altius – Fortius

The gun points skyward and the hammer is primed to ring down on the firing pin. The official’s index twitches, it’s wrapped around the trigger. Even in glorious 3D he is calm, but with millions of wide eyes fixed on him he cannot help but feel the tension in the air. It’s a common scene […]

A Different Space

Whether you are promoting a product, selling an idea or highlighting a particular cause or belief, the communication of these things has changed. I used “has” on purpose, because it has already changed. There was a time when handing out leaflets on the street corner might have worked, but it simply doesn’t now. You are […]

Art in your Latte??

Foreign bodies in food & drink is never pleasant, no one ever likes to find a fly in their soup or a worm in your apple. But what about some Art in your Latte? Latte Art is an ever increasing skill at many good coffee houses. Finding a pattern and that personal touch in your […]

Wearing sunglasses indoors

My sunglasses are still enjoying their recent promotion during the recent sunny period we’ve had in the North West of England. Having been previously resigned to the bottom of the stairs on the off chance that there might be a job for them, they are now honoured with a ‘driver door pocket’ location. They are […]

Princeps Pacis

“Take back the city for yourself tonight I’ll take back the city for me Take back the city for yourself tonight Whoa whoa” The first few lines from Snow Patrol’s 2008 hit “Take back the city” has always caught my attention, there was something about the words that spoke to me, beyond the tribute to […]

Scheming SATNAV

I have a big brand SATNAV, I have Google Navigation on my phone and I also have another brand of SATNAV on my phone. You could say that I like to know where I’m going. If I have a meeting to get to or if a new independent coffee house has opened up, I’ll just […]

Download Ready…

I try to have a pencil, a pen or a mobile device on my person all the time. You just never know when those song lyrics may arrive, or that process map will hover over the Panini that you’re about to order. Sometimes the ideas that can change the course of your day, your career […]

S#!?% Music

I don’t believe in secular music. It’s not that I don’t like secular music or that I don’t approve of it. I don’t understand what it actually is. Music has a powerful yet gentle, moving and stubborn personality. It is all things to all people and it can mean nothing at all. I find that […]

I have Rights you know!

“What about my rights”, you’ve heard it so many times. Human Rights, Animal Rights, Work Rights and any other section of society seems to claim their ‘Rights’. Rights are in place to protect, to assist and to act as a framework that ensures that justice prevails and prejudice doesn’t get airtime. Rights can often be […]

‘Google it’, nah ‘Instagram it’.

I remember our first computer. It was white, all white. The keyboard, mouse, CRT Monitor and tower unit. I don’t mean the sleek minimalist ‘Apple Corp white’, but an ugly ‘off white’. The dial up speeds seemed rapid at the time but now it is as if the thing was powered by steam. You are […]

Land of the Long White Cloud – Part Six: Not a Sound

Part Six: Not a Sound On the Western coastline of the glorious Southlands there is an opening in a long stretch of high rock-faced cliffs. It was some time ago, and estimations do range significantly with embossed capillaries signalling passionate opinions, that a series of glaciers carved out their passage from deep inland that reached […]

Faster than Roadrunner

At 186,282 milesper second light is pretty fast. I do believe that there is nothing that can travel as fast as light. There was a near miss recently when the scientists behind the Large Hadron Collider thought that they had raced particles round their17 milecircuit faster than the speed of light. It was thought that […]

Project 365: Gratitude

The two words that are so easy to say but seldom pass the lips. A simple thank you, or a more elaborate sign of gratitude is important for the smooth running of our society. It is a critical element of the oil that ensures our world doesn’t rust over and grind to a halt. I […]

20…21…22…STOP!

It is said that 22 seconds is the optimum time for water to be pressed, at high pressure, through a group handle and squeeze out dark full flavoured espresso topped with a head of tight foamed crema. Now, to stop there and say that 22 seconds is all that is necessary for a champion espresso […]

1 x Raspberry Pi please

If you heard the term Raspberry Pi, you might well consider a fruit based dessert – covered in single cream. Or maybe even a strange take on mathematics’ 3.14 personality. But today Raspberry Pi, a charitable organisation launched (and soldout) their first batch of mini computers, and by mini I mean credit card sized. The […]

Land of the Long White Cloud – Part Five: The City of Sails

Part Five: The City of Sails The City of Auckland sits on the harbour with countless boats and yachts dotted around the opening of the big blue. During December the harbour is a stunning place to walk around and appreciate the variety and richness of the City’s Port. I imagine that on a warm February afternoon, with […]