- 16-17 January 2009, Brussels, Belgium: Computers, Privacy & Data Protection conference CPDP 2009: "Data Protection in A Profiled World?".
I'll be there and speaking at a panel on recent German developments. - 3-4 February 2009, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: 10th Annual Privacy and Security Conference "Life in a Digital Fishbowl: A Struggle for Survival or a Sea of Opportunity?"
Always an interesting mix of practicioners, academics and activists. - 1-3 April 2009, Berlin, Germany: re:publica 2009 "Shift happens"
This popular blogger-run web2.0 festival is getting bigger and more international. This year, we have a full privacy-subconference, the 2nd European Privacy Open Space - 24-28 May 2009, Venice, Italy: ICIMP 2009, The Fourth International Conference on Internet Monitoring and Protection
An interesting academic conference around deep packet inspection and other monitoring and intrusion-detection developments. - 1-4 June 2009, Washington DC, USA: "Computers, Freedom, and Privacy" 2009.
This year with a focus on the new US adminsitration. The deadline for submissions has been extended to 23 January. - 5 June 2009, London, UK: The Second Multidisciplinary Workshop on Identity in the Information Society (IDIS 09): "Identity and the Impact of Technology"
The deadline for the call for papers is 13 March 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Privacy Conferences, first half 2009
Some interesting privacy-related conferences in the coming months:
Business Model Innovation Exercise Series: nr.1 - ideation
The cow exercise is something I regularly do at my keynote speeches and workshops to trigger business model innovation thinking. It so far away from the audience's daily business concerns that it easily stimulates creativity.
Have a look at the slides and make sure you send me your own sketches:
Monday, January 12, 2009
Martha Stewart Gingerbread Cupcakes Topped with Caravella Limoncello Creamcheese Frosting and Ginger Boy Snaps
Gingerbread cookies, gingerbread cupcakes...too much fun for the Cupcake Queen! And, the Limoncello Cream Cheese Frosting...WOW!
We were even dipping the little gingerbread boys into the frosting! So, first I made the ginger snap cookies! I found the cookies cutters at Michaels!(recipe below)
Then I made the Martha Stewart gingerbread cupcakes! (see recipe below)
Then I made the frosting...with Layla's help, of course! Isn't she adorable!
RECIPES
Ginger Snaps:
3 cups (420 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
2/3 cup (160 ml) unsulphured molasses
In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.
Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you roll out the dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart. If you are hanging the cookies or using as gift tags, make a hole at the top of the cookies with a straw or end of a wooden skewer.
Bake for about 6-8 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 6 minutes, larger cookies will take about 8 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.
Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Martha Stewart Gingerbread Cupcakes:
Makes 12
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup unsulphered molasses
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 recipe Butter Glaze
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with paper baking cups, and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light. Beat in the brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs.
Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
Caravella Limoncello Creamcheese Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 stick unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon Caravella Limoncello
With an electric mixer on medium, beat the cream cheese and butter until softened. Slowly add the sugar, zest, juice and Limoncello and beat until creamy, about 3 minutes.
Hope you have a great week!
Rock on, CQ!
Native Rights Under Lock & Key
Demonstrators rallied in Ottawa at Indian Affairs and in Montreal at Premier Jean Charest's office to denounce the jailing of Barriere Lake's Customary Chief, Benjamin Nottaway and Quebec and Canada's refusal to honour signed agreements with the Algonquins of Barriere Lake.
In Ottawa (Jan 7, 2009)
Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party
In Montreal, audio from speeches (Jan 8, 2009)
Luc Tailleur, Public Service Alliance of Canada (7 mins)
Sonny Papatie, youth community member jailed for peaceful protest alongside Chief Nottaway (2 mins)
Martin Lukacs, Barriere Lake Solidarity member (2 mins)
For media coverage of the event, click here!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
The Newspaper Man
he's a WHAT? he's a WHAT?
he's a newspaper man
and he gets his best ideas
from a newspaper stand;
from his boots to his pants
to his comments and his rants
he knows that any little article will do!
..Yeah, I'm about to enter one of the most hectic perioids of my studies tomorrow.
But who knows, it might be fun. At least I have a reason to get my act together and not to sleep terribly late every morning.
But don't be shocked if I start sending you sleazy emails begging for an interview!
P.S. Some of you asked me to give you a heads-up if this happens. So here it is (believe me, this is the hardest one to let go so far):
1960's dress coat @ etsy
Friday, January 9, 2009
The Future of Management Books
There are a lot of good management books out there and I'm looking up to many of the leading authors. I particularly admire thinkers like C.K. Prahalad (Bottom of the Pyramid), Gary Hamel (Future of Management) or Tom Kelley (Ten Faces of Innovation), to mention just some. Yet, even those outstanding personalities have not really changed the genre of management books. It's high noon to do so.
The management book as it looks today is mainly due to past restrictions regarding printing and media. It is usually written by a limited group of persons or a single thought leader and it is published with a lot of black & white text and few images. This is the norm, though there are obviously great exception (John Kotter's "Our Iceberg is Melting" or Tom Peters' "Design Essentials").
Here is my take on how a management book should be crafted and how the result should look like. I try to apply this in my own management book that I am writing together with Professor Yves Pigneur on business model innovation.
The 4 design essentials that the NEW management book should follow:
Visual Thinking & Design: The majority of management books as we now them today only rely on few visuals. This is mainly due to past restrictions in the printing industry. Authors of management books should use images much more because the visual sense trumps all authors as John Media outlines in his excellent book on brain rules (see rule #10). Images allow the simplification of concepts and they make it possible to convey emotion (e.g. change, urgency, competition). Personally, I believe it is not enough to have some graphs and 2x2 matrixes. We need a compelling visual design to make useful management books. For that purpose our book writing team includes a designer and the participation of XPLANE, the leading company in visualizing business strategy and management.
Co-creation: Management books should be co-created together with the end-user. Though authors usually have a pretty clear idea of what they want to convey in their book, I believe they should still integrate the reader as part of the book creation process. Yves and I are doing this through an online platform (called the Hub) where we share chunks of the book as we write them and then allow people to give feedback on each piece. We are doing this to integrate the valuable experience of our readers, to test ideas and start building a community of practitioners around the topic. In a month over 160 people have paid 24.- $US to be part of this process!
Prototyping: The method we use to co-create is prototyping. We see the book chunks that we share on the Hub as prototypes that we test with the members of the platform. This includes testing the content as well as the form, since in our book both play an essential role. Conveying a message through a more visual presentation must be tested by the end-user, the reader. Does it really work? Do people "get it"? The amount and quality of feedback that we got from our 160+ Hub members on our first book chunk was wonderful. It's amazing how people get involved.
Applicability: Ultimately, a management book should help a person better manage his work, team or organization. Hence, the easier a management book makes it for the reader to apply the concepts conveyed in the book, the better it is... I think this is still a relatively weak point in the majority of management books - even in those with some of the most powerful concepts. Let me be clear, applicability is about limiting the effort the reader needs to make to translate the concepts conveyed in the book into applying them to his own work setting. In our own book on business model innovation we are aiming at making all we write applicable. As a consequence our book will look more like a manual for business model innovation. It shall include workshop scenarios, use cases and exercises to practices business model thinking.
Well great, now I've raised the expectations for our book once again... Join our book chunk project if you want to judge our ability to achieve the above design essentials. For 24.- $US you get some great privileges and the opportunity to participate in the future of management books ;-)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Rally for Algonquin Chief Jailed for Asserting Land Rights: Elizabeth May, NDP, Major Unions, Chiefs Call on Canadian government to Honour Landmark Ag
Ottawa, January 7, 2009/ - A broad network of political parties, unions, human rights and Indigenous groups will rally today to support the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, demanding that the Government of Canada respect a landmark agreement and Barriere Lake's right to decide who serves as their Customary Chief and Council.
The groups will hold a rally on January 7 at noon in front of the Headquarters of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, in support of Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway, jailed for two months for joining community members while they peacefully asserted land rights to Barriere Lake's traditional territories in Western Quebec. Community spokespeople will then travel to Montreal for a demonstration on Thursday in front of Premier Jean Charest's office.
"The Algonquin of Barriere Lake have shown extraordinary patience in the face of governmental interference and foot-dragging," said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party. "It is a scandal that Chief Nottaway spent Christmas in jail for peaceful civil disobedience to demand governments live up to their responsibilities, with barely a murmur of notice from the media and with stony silence from our government."
Barriere Lake wants Canada to uphold signed agreements, dating back to the 1991 Trilateral Agreement, a groundbreaking sustainable development and resource co-management agreement praised by the United Nations and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Canada pulled out of the binding agreement in 2001.
"Barriere Lake is one of the most impoverished communities in Canada. Indian Affairs has meddled in this community, undermined land negotiations and walked away on signed agreements," said NDP Parliamentarian Charlie Angus. "It's time the government showed some leadership and helped this community on the path to healing."
The Government of Canada stopped recognizing Acting Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway on March 10, 2008, and caused great leadership uncertainty by recognizing individuals whom Barriere Lake's Elder's Council says did not follow their Customary Governance Code, which the community uses to select their leadership. Community members have demanded that the federal government appoint an observer to witness and abide by the results of a new leadership selection, but the government of Canada has to date refused. When families from the community peacefully protested on a highway outside their reserve in October and November, the government of Canada remained silent while the Quebec government sent in riot police, which tear-gassed people of all ages and made numerous arrests.
"This is another example of the federal and provincial governments collaborating with each other to criminalize a Chief who has demanded that both orders of government honour signed agreements regarding co-management of land and resource revenue sharing," said Grand Chief Norman Young of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat, Barriere Lake's Tribal Council, which continues to recognize and work with Benjamin Nottaway and his Council.
On Tuesday, the Federal Court of Appeal contradicted the arguments of lawyers for the Department Indian Affairs, ruling in favour of the Barriere Lake's Elder's Council, who will now proceed with their motion to review Indian Affairs' decision to stop recognizing Acting Chief Nottaway. The Court decision casts doubt on the legitimacy of Canada's recognition of the "Ratt Council" and gives weight to the Elder's Council position that Indian Affairs violated their Customary Governance Code.
"The federal government has caused enough suffering in our community. It is time that they respect our leadership customs and negotiate the implementation of agreements that will secure our future," said Marlynn Poucachiche, a community spokesperson and mother of five who was targeted for arrest by the Quebec police after participating in the peaceful blockade.
"We believe the roadblocks erected on highways that pass through First Nations' traditional territories will come down when government roadblocks to self-determination, self-government and land entitlements are eliminated," said National Vice-President Patty Ducharme of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
- 30 -
Events:
Rally at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, GATINEAU
WEDNESDAY, January 7th, 2008, NOON
Corner of Wellington & Montcalm
Rally in front of Jean Charest's office, Montreal THURSDAY, January 8, 2008, NOON corner of McGill College & Sherbrooke
For further information:
For interviews contact: Marylynn Poucachiche, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 613 - 265-6739; Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader:(c) 613-614-4916; Charlie Angus, NDP parliamentarian; Algonquin Nation Secretariat Grand Chief Norman Young, (819) 627-6869; PSAC National Vice-President Patty Ducharme: (613) 329-3706; CUPW National President Denis Lemelin, 613-236-7230 ex 7900;
Contact for Montreal rally: Courtney Kirkby: 514-893-8283; Luc Tailleur, National aboriginal equal opportunities committee representative for PSAC, 514-917-8946
The groups will hold a rally on January 7 at noon in front of the Headquarters of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, in support of Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway, jailed for two months for joining community members while they peacefully asserted land rights to Barriere Lake's traditional territories in Western Quebec. Community spokespeople will then travel to Montreal for a demonstration on Thursday in front of Premier Jean Charest's office.
"The Algonquin of Barriere Lake have shown extraordinary patience in the face of governmental interference and foot-dragging," said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party. "It is a scandal that Chief Nottaway spent Christmas in jail for peaceful civil disobedience to demand governments live up to their responsibilities, with barely a murmur of notice from the media and with stony silence from our government."
Barriere Lake wants Canada to uphold signed agreements, dating back to the 1991 Trilateral Agreement, a groundbreaking sustainable development and resource co-management agreement praised by the United Nations and the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Canada pulled out of the binding agreement in 2001.
"Barriere Lake is one of the most impoverished communities in Canada. Indian Affairs has meddled in this community, undermined land negotiations and walked away on signed agreements," said NDP Parliamentarian Charlie Angus. "It's time the government showed some leadership and helped this community on the path to healing."
The Government of Canada stopped recognizing Acting Customary Chief Benjamin Nottaway on March 10, 2008, and caused great leadership uncertainty by recognizing individuals whom Barriere Lake's Elder's Council says did not follow their Customary Governance Code, which the community uses to select their leadership. Community members have demanded that the federal government appoint an observer to witness and abide by the results of a new leadership selection, but the government of Canada has to date refused. When families from the community peacefully protested on a highway outside their reserve in October and November, the government of Canada remained silent while the Quebec government sent in riot police, which tear-gassed people of all ages and made numerous arrests.
"This is another example of the federal and provincial governments collaborating with each other to criminalize a Chief who has demanded that both orders of government honour signed agreements regarding co-management of land and resource revenue sharing," said Grand Chief Norman Young of the Algonquin Nation Secretariat, Barriere Lake's Tribal Council, which continues to recognize and work with Benjamin Nottaway and his Council.
On Tuesday, the Federal Court of Appeal contradicted the arguments of lawyers for the Department Indian Affairs, ruling in favour of the Barriere Lake's Elder's Council, who will now proceed with their motion to review Indian Affairs' decision to stop recognizing Acting Chief Nottaway. The Court decision casts doubt on the legitimacy of Canada's recognition of the "Ratt Council" and gives weight to the Elder's Council position that Indian Affairs violated their Customary Governance Code.
"The federal government has caused enough suffering in our community. It is time that they respect our leadership customs and negotiate the implementation of agreements that will secure our future," said Marlynn Poucachiche, a community spokesperson and mother of five who was targeted for arrest by the Quebec police after participating in the peaceful blockade.
"We believe the roadblocks erected on highways that pass through First Nations' traditional territories will come down when government roadblocks to self-determination, self-government and land entitlements are eliminated," said National Vice-President Patty Ducharme of the Public Service Alliance of Canada.
- 30 -
Events:
Rally at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, GATINEAU
WEDNESDAY, January 7th, 2008, NOON
Corner of Wellington & Montcalm
Rally in front of Jean Charest's office, Montreal THURSDAY, January 8, 2008, NOON corner of McGill College & Sherbrooke
For further information:
For interviews contact: Marylynn Poucachiche, Barriere Lake spokesperson: 613 - 265-6739; Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader:(c) 613-614-4916; Charlie Angus, NDP parliamentarian; Algonquin Nation Secretariat Grand Chief Norman Young, (819) 627-6869; PSAC National Vice-President Patty Ducharme: (613) 329-3706; CUPW National President Denis Lemelin, 613-236-7230 ex 7900;
Contact for Montreal rally: Courtney Kirkby: 514-893-8283; Luc Tailleur, National aboriginal equal opportunities committee representative for PSAC, 514-917-8946
A2 and I have this thing. I don't know what you'd call it, but I know what we call it - he's the long-lost twin brother I never had. Which, when we briefly dated, made for some frightening moments. Often one of us would say what the other was thinking, almost unconsciously, as if we shared a brain. I consider him the most intelligent person I've ever met; incredibly, he thinks the same of me. Never have I felt so tuned in to someone else nor felt someone was so tuned in to me. In real life, we even have been mistaken for brother and sister. That is of course until we open our mouths: he's from Devon, though the last decade of moving on both our parts has meant our accents are slowly converging.
I met with him, A3 and A4 for a curry before Christmas. For those of you new to this - A1, A2 and I were at university together, A2 and A3 are professional collaborators, and A3 is A4's boss. A few other partners in crime were in attendance as well, and several more joined along the way. All in all a jolly night out.
But for me it was steeped in a sort of nostalgia. There round the table were all (apart from A1) of the people who were the centre of my life ten years ago. And oh, how I missed their world. It was a profession I slid into mainly on the strength of association (A2 features strongly on my CV's list of referees) and slid out of not without regrets. I was in love with it. In lust. It intrigued and obsessed me. I have often said I would rather be the least capable and least experienced person in a room than the most, because then you would be challenged, you would learn something. This was always true in that field. I never felt mentally challenged in anything I did since. Writing has its high points, and my current job does as well, but nothing that keeps me up nights. I do not wake up at 2am to write thoughts on a notepad for the morning anymore.
While on sabbatical last year, A2 started exploring tendrils of thoughts that had been in the back of my head for years. Strange connections between fields, ways of communicating between disciplines. Expanding the idea of consilience, if you will. I was envious and wished I had never left, that it had been me going down those pathways.
When he described his current polyamorous setup, I was only mildly interested. Bodies are one thing. It is the mind that fascinates me most. Lovers, I miss and sometimes think wistfully about. But past mental fascinations I ache for like a widow.
Recently T said of something - probably steam trains, come to think of it, 'I don't understand how you find the time to pursue so many things to a fairly geeky level.' To which I could only say I don't understand what everyone else does with their time.
But there were problems with that world. What the As do, I mean, not steam trains. There were good reasons I left. Not having the right qualifications was one. I am largely an autodidact in that field, which is not unheard of, but always felt just that bit inferior to the others. I left with something to prove and ended up somewhere where, more often than not, I am the most capable and most experienced person in a room. Which is exactly as unfulfilling as I thought it would be.
Another problem was the reward was potentially high, but disaster also lurked. I watched it develop at a time when venture capital was being poured in from all directions, and watched as businesses built on poor foundations failed. Others simply faded away and became 'whatever happened to?' questions at dinners with the As. As for job statisfaction... there is the possibility of feeling the work you are doing is a real building block, something important. Or you could feel your contribution is quaternary or at best tertiary to human existence.
And now, if I could go back? Back to the life I left for London and what came after?
...but as we know you can never go back. Or can you? There are two doors open right now and genuinely I don't know which to choose. There are possibly others and I can't bear even to look at those, much less consider them. -Not from what we think truest, or most want to do- I am aware that going through one will probably mean the others shut forever. -Suddenly they harden into all we got, and how we got it-
I met with him, A3 and A4 for a curry before Christmas. For those of you new to this - A1, A2 and I were at university together, A2 and A3 are professional collaborators, and A3 is A4's boss. A few other partners in crime were in attendance as well, and several more joined along the way. All in all a jolly night out.
But for me it was steeped in a sort of nostalgia. There round the table were all (apart from A1) of the people who were the centre of my life ten years ago. And oh, how I missed their world. It was a profession I slid into mainly on the strength of association (A2 features strongly on my CV's list of referees) and slid out of not without regrets. I was in love with it. In lust. It intrigued and obsessed me. I have often said I would rather be the least capable and least experienced person in a room than the most, because then you would be challenged, you would learn something. This was always true in that field. I never felt mentally challenged in anything I did since. Writing has its high points, and my current job does as well, but nothing that keeps me up nights. I do not wake up at 2am to write thoughts on a notepad for the morning anymore.
While on sabbatical last year, A2 started exploring tendrils of thoughts that had been in the back of my head for years. Strange connections between fields, ways of communicating between disciplines. Expanding the idea of consilience, if you will. I was envious and wished I had never left, that it had been me going down those pathways.
When he described his current polyamorous setup, I was only mildly interested. Bodies are one thing. It is the mind that fascinates me most. Lovers, I miss and sometimes think wistfully about. But past mental fascinations I ache for like a widow.
Recently T said of something - probably steam trains, come to think of it, 'I don't understand how you find the time to pursue so many things to a fairly geeky level.' To which I could only say I don't understand what everyone else does with their time.
But there were problems with that world. What the As do, I mean, not steam trains. There were good reasons I left. Not having the right qualifications was one. I am largely an autodidact in that field, which is not unheard of, but always felt just that bit inferior to the others. I left with something to prove and ended up somewhere where, more often than not, I am the most capable and most experienced person in a room. Which is exactly as unfulfilling as I thought it would be.
Another problem was the reward was potentially high, but disaster also lurked. I watched it develop at a time when venture capital was being poured in from all directions, and watched as businesses built on poor foundations failed. Others simply faded away and became 'whatever happened to?' questions at dinners with the As. As for job statisfaction... there is the possibility of feeling the work you are doing is a real building block, something important. Or you could feel your contribution is quaternary or at best tertiary to human existence.
And now, if I could go back? Back to the life I left for London and what came after?
...but as we know you can never go back. Or can you? There are two doors open right now and genuinely I don't know which to choose. There are possibly others and I can't bear even to look at those, much less consider them. -Not from what we think truest, or most want to do- I am aware that going through one will probably mean the others shut forever. -Suddenly they harden into all we got, and how we got it-
It has never been clear to me whether A2 knows about Belle or not. I dimly remember mentioning something in a roundabout way, years ago, in fact the morning after I first slept with Dr California. It has not come up since, and never seemed important. As the others left the restaurant, I pulled him to one side.
'You remember I told you something once about being a call girl, and a book?'
He nodded. 'I wondered what happened with that.'
'It's a bestseller. And a show. And Billie Piper plays me.'
'The Doctor's assistant?' he said, and hugged me tightly. 'That is so cool.'
Which is, come to think of it, exactly how I would have thought he'd respond.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Three revolutionary technololgies that may impact future Internet
1.”Twisted” light in optical fibers
-----------------------------------
[“Twisted” light has the potential to dramatically increase bandwidth of optical networks. Already researchers are using various wireless techniques such as phase quadrature phase shift modulation to achieve data rates in excess of 560 Gbps on a single wavelength in a DWDM system, and it is expected that data rates in excess of 1000 Gbps per wavelength will be possible soon. These techniques will work with existing DWDM networks and dramatically increase their bandwidth capacity to tens if not hundreds of terabits. Optical Orbital Angular Momentum (OOAM) has the potential to add an almost infinite number of phase states to the modulated signal and further increase the capacity to thousands of terabits. Up to now the challenge has been how to couple OOAM modulated signals into single mode fiber.
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=04388855
In summary, we have analyzed and verified the generation of an optical vortex carrying OAM directly in fiber starting with a fiber core mode for the first time to our knowledge. This is achieved by transferring OAM from an acoustic vortex
generated in the fiber. Analysis of the coupling coefficient of this acousto-optic interaction verifies independent conservation of spin and orbital angular momenta.
Also see
http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/9/9/328/njp7_9_328.html#nj250899s1
2. Truphone Brings Skype To iPhone & iTouch
--------------------------------------------
http://gigaom.com/2009/01/05/truphone-brings-skype-to-iphone-itouch/
[Now you can make skpe calls on your iTouch or Iphone using any Wifi networks and avoid expensive cell phone charges and long distance fees. Excerpt from the Gigaom web site—BSA]
Geraldine Wilson, who was recently appointed as the chief executive of Truphone, told me in a conversation earlier today that Truphone wants to “offer our users a comprehensive communications experience. We started out as a voice app but now we are broadening it to other applications.”
By doing so, Wilson and Truphone founder James Tagg believe that they will give Truphone users a reason to stay insider the application longer, creating more opportunities to make phone calls and bringing in much-needed revenues. “In a mobile environment it is hard to switch between different applications, and that is why we are creating a single application environment,” Tagg says.
3. New Internet-ready TVs put heat on cable firms
------------------------------------------------
[Excerpts from Globe and Mail – BSA]
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090105.wrtvweb06/BNStory/Business/home
For years, technology companies have tried in vain to bring the Internet onto the screen at the centre of North American living rooms. Although TV shows have made the migration to the Web, to date, it has been a one-way road.
Now, a new breed of Internet-connected televisions is threatening to shake up both the technology and broadcasting industries while making millions of recently purchased high-definition TVs yesterday's news.
Yesterday, LG Electronics Inc. unveiled a new line of high-definition TVs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that will include software from Netflix Inc. – to allow users to download movies and television programs directly to their TVs over an Internet connection.
Mr. McQuivey said Internet-connected TVs will have truly arrived when we see a major Web video services like Hulu.com start taking viewers away from cable companies.
Hulu – a joint project of NBC Universal Inc. and News Corp., which is not yet available in Canada – is ad-supported and offers free on-demand videos, allowing users to watch popular U.S. programs at their convenience.
“[Cable companies] have the most to lose and it's their business model which is at greatest risk of redundancy in this transition,” said Carmi Levy, an analyst with AR Communications Inc. “Their consistent revenue stream will come under attack as new offerings come to the market. … It's similar to what the telephone companies have faced from voice over Internet telephony (VoIP), cellphones and free instant messaging tools.”
-----------------------------------
[“Twisted” light has the potential to dramatically increase bandwidth of optical networks. Already researchers are using various wireless techniques such as phase quadrature phase shift modulation to achieve data rates in excess of 560 Gbps on a single wavelength in a DWDM system, and it is expected that data rates in excess of 1000 Gbps per wavelength will be possible soon. These techniques will work with existing DWDM networks and dramatically increase their bandwidth capacity to tens if not hundreds of terabits. Optical Orbital Angular Momentum (OOAM) has the potential to add an almost infinite number of phase states to the modulated signal and further increase the capacity to thousands of terabits. Up to now the challenge has been how to couple OOAM modulated signals into single mode fiber.
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=04388855
In summary, we have analyzed and verified the generation of an optical vortex carrying OAM directly in fiber starting with a fiber core mode for the first time to our knowledge. This is achieved by transferring OAM from an acoustic vortex
generated in the fiber. Analysis of the coupling coefficient of this acousto-optic interaction verifies independent conservation of spin and orbital angular momenta.
Also see
http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/9/9/328/njp7_9_328.html#nj250899s1
2. Truphone Brings Skype To iPhone & iTouch
--------------------------------------------
http://gigaom.com/2009/01/05/truphone-brings-skype-to-iphone-itouch/
[Now you can make skpe calls on your iTouch or Iphone using any Wifi networks and avoid expensive cell phone charges and long distance fees. Excerpt from the Gigaom web site—BSA]
Geraldine Wilson, who was recently appointed as the chief executive of Truphone, told me in a conversation earlier today that Truphone wants to “offer our users a comprehensive communications experience. We started out as a voice app but now we are broadening it to other applications.”
By doing so, Wilson and Truphone founder James Tagg believe that they will give Truphone users a reason to stay insider the application longer, creating more opportunities to make phone calls and bringing in much-needed revenues. “In a mobile environment it is hard to switch between different applications, and that is why we are creating a single application environment,” Tagg says.
3. New Internet-ready TVs put heat on cable firms
------------------------------------------------
[Excerpts from Globe and Mail – BSA]
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090105.wrtvweb06/BNStory/Business/home
For years, technology companies have tried in vain to bring the Internet onto the screen at the centre of North American living rooms. Although TV shows have made the migration to the Web, to date, it has been a one-way road.
Now, a new breed of Internet-connected televisions is threatening to shake up both the technology and broadcasting industries while making millions of recently purchased high-definition TVs yesterday's news.
Yesterday, LG Electronics Inc. unveiled a new line of high-definition TVs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that will include software from Netflix Inc. – to allow users to download movies and television programs directly to their TVs over an Internet connection.
Mr. McQuivey said Internet-connected TVs will have truly arrived when we see a major Web video services like Hulu.com start taking viewers away from cable companies.
Hulu – a joint project of NBC Universal Inc. and News Corp., which is not yet available in Canada – is ad-supported and offers free on-demand videos, allowing users to watch popular U.S. programs at their convenience.
“[Cable companies] have the most to lose and it's their business model which is at greatest risk of redundancy in this transition,” said Carmi Levy, an analyst with AR Communications Inc. “Their consistent revenue stream will come under attack as new offerings come to the market. … It's similar to what the telephone companies have faced from voice over Internet telephony (VoIP), cellphones and free instant messaging tools.”
Top 10 IT Trends for Higher Education in 2009
[From Lev Gonick’s excellent blog as mentioned in NLR newsletter – www.nlr.net--BSA]
Top 10 IT Trends for Higher Education in 2009
http://blog.case.edu/lev.gonick/
What happens when tough economic times combine with fatigue across the campus community hyping the latest 'killer app', and the growing intolerance of disruptions to services occasioned by security-related activities. I think the intersection of these three realities represent the most important challenges for IT Leadership on the campus in 2009.
The truth is that we've not seen 3 years of negative economic growth since the birth of the Internet. We are one year into the global recession and the crystal-ball gazing efforts underway on most campuses are not producing rosy scenarios. CIO leaders at most universities are closing in on 'core' operations as they look for options for cost cutting requirements after more than 5 years of marginal growth. CIOs are portfolio managers. Like their counterparts, CIO portfolio management is really about combining requirements for operational excellence, customer service, and selective innovation (r&d) activity. In a three-year secular downturn, there are going to be tough decisions ahead to keep strong performance in all three core activities outlined above.
For many university technology leaders the emergence over the past couple of years of web 2.0 technologies represented a confluence of maturing underlying technologies combined with the rise of what we asserted was the first really promising set of mass collaboration tools. Here we were sitting on the precipice of the long promised 'transformational' potential of technology to the education enterprise and then the economy tanks. In reality, the economic downturn is only one reason that the campus community is less enamored with web 2.0 tools than most of us technologists. For many across the university the rate of change in introducing ever more exciting technologies has left them, to put it diplomatically, breathless. In reality, the hype over web 2.0 is only the most recent instantiation of the long held view that we technologists are amusing ourselves and the rest of the campus to death, forever one gadget or applet away from the ultimate breakthrough.
Finally, whether it is the latest facebook virus, botnets instigated from far flung corners of the world, or the now predictable 'urgent' security fixes from our favorite vendors, there is a real sense across the campus that the 'bad guys' are winning the war. What was simply a nuisance that could be solved with a bit of end-user education and throwing some hardware at the problem has emerged into our own full fledged war on the forces of evil on the Internet. Like recent international conflicts, most on the university campus are ready to conclude that we have neither a strategy for winning this war nor an exit strategy.
Combined, economic blues, end-user fatigue, and a growing sense of collective vulnerability to the forces who would seek to harm us has the campus technology community facing its biggest set of challenges in 25 years.
Against that sobering backdrop, here are my top 10 IT trends for higher education for the year ahead, 2009.
1. To The Cloud and Beyond. Watch for significant moves in the university space going well beyond cloud email services. I expect we'll see the emergence of shared storage utilities and a range of 'web services' in 2009 following industry trends, campus economic pressure, and ecological considerations. While the same resistance points will find their way into campus deliberations, resistance is too expensive, distracts us from where we can bring real value, and ultimately futile. But for the most regulated storage requirements, there really is no alternative.
2. The Consumer Reigns Supreme. There has been an academic debate in most large organizations for 5 years about how we were going to manage the growing presence of consumer technologies within our enterprises. No more. The tsunami is here. Those of us still debating the merits of attending to Facebook, iTouch/iPhone, streaming media, massive player online gaming, mashups, and virtual reality platforms are staring at the wall of this tidal wave of consumer technologies. New trends in 2009 will likely include the first college-centered breakthroughs for mobile computing after mass notification. Watch for location-based technologies and presence technologies embedded in mobile smart phones and other devices (like wi-fi enabled iTouch) to lead to the first set of scalable campus applets.
3. Streaming Media for Education Goes Mainstream. Students expect it. Teachers accept it. Network engineers will have to live with it. Academic technologists need to figure out how to scale it. In the next 12 months, I think YouTube, iTunes U, and the plethora of campus-based services for academic streaming media are going to hit main street. Economics plus assessment data now provide compelling evidence that student success is positively associated with the integration of streaming media into the capture and review of traditional learning models of instructor-centered delivery. In the next year I expect that we will see significant acceleration of efforts associated with video/speech to text technologies to provide real time transcripts for purposes of enhanced search capabilities. I also expect that large repositories of meta-tagged and transcoded academic assets (classes, recitations, seminars etc ...) will begin to emerge allowing for federated searches and mashing up of learning content by students and faculty alike.
4. SecondLife Goes Back to School. Initial exuberance and hype led to hundreds of universities experimenting with 3D Virtual Worlds three years ago. The user-generated universe requires new pedagogy and curriculum considerations. Academic technologists and the education community has learned a lot over the past several years. Look for new functionality and education-centered technology capabilities over the next year. The net result should be an exciting and provocative set of new collaborative capabilities to help enable more campus control and flexible tools for learning. Dust off your avatar and get ready for one of the most important collaborative learning platforms to make inroads in the year ahead.
5. e-Book Readers Disrupt the College Text Book Marketplace. Early predictions of the demise of the college text book market in 2008 were highly exaggerated. Sony and Amazon (among others) are in e-Book Reader space for the long haul. Early in 2009, expect to see new hardware form factors reflecting a more mature and robust technology. More important, I think we'll see pilot activity among the Book publishers and the e-book publishing industry to work with the campus to create relevant tools for learning embedded in their core technologies.
6. The IT Help Desk Becomes An Enterprise Service Desk . Long underfunded and staffed with underpaid students I think we are going to hit an inflection point in the IT Help Desk world. Customer service matters. Truth is that with a few important notable exceptions most campus Help Desks are not our strongest service lines. An emergent group of higher-education focused companies have entered this space and are offering a compelling value proposition for many campuses. On some campuses, the Berlin wall between IT Help Desks and Facilities and other customer service organizations are also coming down. The trend line is about to hit a take-off point. I think 2009 may well be the year.
7. Course Management Systems are Dead! Long Live Course Management Systems! Proprietary course management systems are heading for a brick wall. The combination of economic pressures combined with saturated markets and the maturing stage of the life cycle of these once innovative platforms means that 2009 may well be the year of change or a year of serious planning for change. Relatively inexpensive and feature-comparable open source alternatives combined with some now learned experience in the process of transition from closed to open systems for the inventory of repeating courses makes real change in this once bedrock of education technology a growing possibility. As product managers and management view these trend lines, I think we might see incumbent players make a valiant effort to re-invent themselves before the market drops out from underneath them. Look for the number of major campuses moving (or making serious threats to move) from closed systems to climb in the year ahead.
8. ERP? What's That? No, I don't think the large enterprise resource planning systems that undergird our major administrative systems are going to fall off the face of the earth like antiquated dinosaurs in the next 12 months. I do think that ERP upgrades which many campuses are now facing, planning, and staging are going to need to be re-positioned. At a minimum, I think we will see decisions made to delay major upgrades for 18-24 months. It is also possible that pressure will grow in this next year on the duopoly of these integrated systems providers to re-open their maintenance and other fee schedules in exchange for continuing multi-year commitments from the campus community. We will also see new models mature in the hosting of ERP services both as shared services among the campus community and as a commercial service offering. For these glacially-moving systems, change is happening. It's just hard some times to see the rate of change until you're looking in the rear view mirror 10 years from now.
9. In God We Trust -- Everyone Else Bring Data. Decision support software and data warehousing tools have been available on campus for well over a decade. While cultures of evidence are not well rooted in the decision making on many University campuses, the growing pressures for better decision making in the context of budget pressures is compelling the campus to make better decisions. The small priesthood of campus analysts with skills to support decision making have more job security than most. At the same time, look for new reporting tools and growing expectations that metrics, scorecards, and data analytics will be used to drive tough decision making on campus.
10. Smile, Interactive High Definition Video Conferencing moves from the Board Room to the Research Lab and the Lecture Hall. Facing budget pressures and public pressure to go green, corporations around the world are investing in next generation video conferencing. Moving operating dollars into infrastructure investments in this collaboration platform technology has led to significant reductions in travel costs, better space utilization, and a growing conscientiousness about carbon footprints. As businesses continues to look for capabilities to support global operations video conferencing has become a daily part of many companies. The logic facing corporations now confront the University community. Over the past 18 months some public universities have been mandated to reduce their carbon footprints. Most everyone else is facing growing operating pressures pinching travel and other budget lines. New students care about pro-active green initiatives as part of their University experience. Over the next 12 months look for double digit growth in campus adoption of next generation video conferencing tools, including integrated collaboration technologies.
One more trend for good measure. Substitute this one if you disagree vehemently with any of the other items above.
11. The campus data center goes under the scope . Most every campus technology leader has been zinged for disaster recovery and business continuity planning. Add to this that there is exponential demand among the research community for computational research space to support high performance computing. The facilities community is under growing pressure to distribute the costs of power consumption on campus. Data centers consume disproportionate amounts of space, cooling, and power. Finally, growing green is a campus imperative leading to potential operating savings through virtualization, data center optimization, and new greener strategies. Board audit committees and senior management are going to hold technology management accountable for robust data center operations in a highly constrained budget environment.
I don't know about you but my holiday gift wish list includes an extra bottle of Tylenol three, a Teflon flak jacket, and a hope that structured innovation remains part of the campus IT portfolio. Against multiple pressures, focus on structured innovation remains our best hope of remaining central to the University's strategic mission and activity.
Lev Gonick
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
December 15, 2008
Top 10 IT Trends for Higher Education in 2009
http://blog.case.edu/lev.gonick/
What happens when tough economic times combine with fatigue across the campus community hyping the latest 'killer app', and the growing intolerance of disruptions to services occasioned by security-related activities. I think the intersection of these three realities represent the most important challenges for IT Leadership on the campus in 2009.
The truth is that we've not seen 3 years of negative economic growth since the birth of the Internet. We are one year into the global recession and the crystal-ball gazing efforts underway on most campuses are not producing rosy scenarios. CIO leaders at most universities are closing in on 'core' operations as they look for options for cost cutting requirements after more than 5 years of marginal growth. CIOs are portfolio managers. Like their counterparts, CIO portfolio management is really about combining requirements for operational excellence, customer service, and selective innovation (r&d) activity. In a three-year secular downturn, there are going to be tough decisions ahead to keep strong performance in all three core activities outlined above.
For many university technology leaders the emergence over the past couple of years of web 2.0 technologies represented a confluence of maturing underlying technologies combined with the rise of what we asserted was the first really promising set of mass collaboration tools. Here we were sitting on the precipice of the long promised 'transformational' potential of technology to the education enterprise and then the economy tanks. In reality, the economic downturn is only one reason that the campus community is less enamored with web 2.0 tools than most of us technologists. For many across the university the rate of change in introducing ever more exciting technologies has left them, to put it diplomatically, breathless. In reality, the hype over web 2.0 is only the most recent instantiation of the long held view that we technologists are amusing ourselves and the rest of the campus to death, forever one gadget or applet away from the ultimate breakthrough.
Finally, whether it is the latest facebook virus, botnets instigated from far flung corners of the world, or the now predictable 'urgent' security fixes from our favorite vendors, there is a real sense across the campus that the 'bad guys' are winning the war. What was simply a nuisance that could be solved with a bit of end-user education and throwing some hardware at the problem has emerged into our own full fledged war on the forces of evil on the Internet. Like recent international conflicts, most on the university campus are ready to conclude that we have neither a strategy for winning this war nor an exit strategy.
Combined, economic blues, end-user fatigue, and a growing sense of collective vulnerability to the forces who would seek to harm us has the campus technology community facing its biggest set of challenges in 25 years.
Against that sobering backdrop, here are my top 10 IT trends for higher education for the year ahead, 2009.
1. To The Cloud and Beyond. Watch for significant moves in the university space going well beyond cloud email services. I expect we'll see the emergence of shared storage utilities and a range of 'web services' in 2009 following industry trends, campus economic pressure, and ecological considerations. While the same resistance points will find their way into campus deliberations, resistance is too expensive, distracts us from where we can bring real value, and ultimately futile. But for the most regulated storage requirements, there really is no alternative.
2. The Consumer Reigns Supreme. There has been an academic debate in most large organizations for 5 years about how we were going to manage the growing presence of consumer technologies within our enterprises. No more. The tsunami is here. Those of us still debating the merits of attending to Facebook, iTouch/iPhone, streaming media, massive player online gaming, mashups, and virtual reality platforms are staring at the wall of this tidal wave of consumer technologies. New trends in 2009 will likely include the first college-centered breakthroughs for mobile computing after mass notification. Watch for location-based technologies and presence technologies embedded in mobile smart phones and other devices (like wi-fi enabled iTouch) to lead to the first set of scalable campus applets.
3. Streaming Media for Education Goes Mainstream. Students expect it. Teachers accept it. Network engineers will have to live with it. Academic technologists need to figure out how to scale it. In the next 12 months, I think YouTube, iTunes U, and the plethora of campus-based services for academic streaming media are going to hit main street. Economics plus assessment data now provide compelling evidence that student success is positively associated with the integration of streaming media into the capture and review of traditional learning models of instructor-centered delivery. In the next year I expect that we will see significant acceleration of efforts associated with video/speech to text technologies to provide real time transcripts for purposes of enhanced search capabilities. I also expect that large repositories of meta-tagged and transcoded academic assets (classes, recitations, seminars etc ...) will begin to emerge allowing for federated searches and mashing up of learning content by students and faculty alike.
4. SecondLife Goes Back to School. Initial exuberance and hype led to hundreds of universities experimenting with 3D Virtual Worlds three years ago. The user-generated universe requires new pedagogy and curriculum considerations. Academic technologists and the education community has learned a lot over the past several years. Look for new functionality and education-centered technology capabilities over the next year. The net result should be an exciting and provocative set of new collaborative capabilities to help enable more campus control and flexible tools for learning. Dust off your avatar and get ready for one of the most important collaborative learning platforms to make inroads in the year ahead.
5. e-Book Readers Disrupt the College Text Book Marketplace. Early predictions of the demise of the college text book market in 2008 were highly exaggerated. Sony and Amazon (among others) are in e-Book Reader space for the long haul. Early in 2009, expect to see new hardware form factors reflecting a more mature and robust technology. More important, I think we'll see pilot activity among the Book publishers and the e-book publishing industry to work with the campus to create relevant tools for learning embedded in their core technologies.
6. The IT Help Desk Becomes An Enterprise Service Desk . Long underfunded and staffed with underpaid students I think we are going to hit an inflection point in the IT Help Desk world. Customer service matters. Truth is that with a few important notable exceptions most campus Help Desks are not our strongest service lines. An emergent group of higher-education focused companies have entered this space and are offering a compelling value proposition for many campuses. On some campuses, the Berlin wall between IT Help Desks and Facilities and other customer service organizations are also coming down. The trend line is about to hit a take-off point. I think 2009 may well be the year.
7. Course Management Systems are Dead! Long Live Course Management Systems! Proprietary course management systems are heading for a brick wall. The combination of economic pressures combined with saturated markets and the maturing stage of the life cycle of these once innovative platforms means that 2009 may well be the year of change or a year of serious planning for change. Relatively inexpensive and feature-comparable open source alternatives combined with some now learned experience in the process of transition from closed to open systems for the inventory of repeating courses makes real change in this once bedrock of education technology a growing possibility. As product managers and management view these trend lines, I think we might see incumbent players make a valiant effort to re-invent themselves before the market drops out from underneath them. Look for the number of major campuses moving (or making serious threats to move) from closed systems to climb in the year ahead.
8. ERP? What's That? No, I don't think the large enterprise resource planning systems that undergird our major administrative systems are going to fall off the face of the earth like antiquated dinosaurs in the next 12 months. I do think that ERP upgrades which many campuses are now facing, planning, and staging are going to need to be re-positioned. At a minimum, I think we will see decisions made to delay major upgrades for 18-24 months. It is also possible that pressure will grow in this next year on the duopoly of these integrated systems providers to re-open their maintenance and other fee schedules in exchange for continuing multi-year commitments from the campus community. We will also see new models mature in the hosting of ERP services both as shared services among the campus community and as a commercial service offering. For these glacially-moving systems, change is happening. It's just hard some times to see the rate of change until you're looking in the rear view mirror 10 years from now.
9. In God We Trust -- Everyone Else Bring Data. Decision support software and data warehousing tools have been available on campus for well over a decade. While cultures of evidence are not well rooted in the decision making on many University campuses, the growing pressures for better decision making in the context of budget pressures is compelling the campus to make better decisions. The small priesthood of campus analysts with skills to support decision making have more job security than most. At the same time, look for new reporting tools and growing expectations that metrics, scorecards, and data analytics will be used to drive tough decision making on campus.
10. Smile, Interactive High Definition Video Conferencing moves from the Board Room to the Research Lab and the Lecture Hall. Facing budget pressures and public pressure to go green, corporations around the world are investing in next generation video conferencing. Moving operating dollars into infrastructure investments in this collaboration platform technology has led to significant reductions in travel costs, better space utilization, and a growing conscientiousness about carbon footprints. As businesses continues to look for capabilities to support global operations video conferencing has become a daily part of many companies. The logic facing corporations now confront the University community. Over the past 18 months some public universities have been mandated to reduce their carbon footprints. Most everyone else is facing growing operating pressures pinching travel and other budget lines. New students care about pro-active green initiatives as part of their University experience. Over the next 12 months look for double digit growth in campus adoption of next generation video conferencing tools, including integrated collaboration technologies.
One more trend for good measure. Substitute this one if you disagree vehemently with any of the other items above.
11. The campus data center goes under the scope . Most every campus technology leader has been zinged for disaster recovery and business continuity planning. Add to this that there is exponential demand among the research community for computational research space to support high performance computing. The facilities community is under growing pressure to distribute the costs of power consumption on campus. Data centers consume disproportionate amounts of space, cooling, and power. Finally, growing green is a campus imperative leading to potential operating savings through virtualization, data center optimization, and new greener strategies. Board audit committees and senior management are going to hold technology management accountable for robust data center operations in a highly constrained budget environment.
I don't know about you but my holiday gift wish list includes an extra bottle of Tylenol three, a Teflon flak jacket, and a hope that structured innovation remains part of the campus IT portfolio. Against multiple pressures, focus on structured innovation remains our best hope of remaining central to the University's strategic mission and activity.
Lev Gonick
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
December 15, 2008
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Usual
I'm fine.. Stressed because of studying and can't believe the state of the process of teaching and learning this year.
I don't want to bore you.. and I'm tired of repeating the same old, same old.. and I'm short of words to explain just how tired and disappointed I am this year. So, I'll spare us all some time and cut it short this time.
Wish me luck, much patience, and the power to survive this without seriously hurting anyone.
I don't want to bore you.. and I'm tired of repeating the same old, same old.. and I'm short of words to explain just how tired and disappointed I am this year. So, I'll spare us all some time and cut it short this time.
Wish me luck, much patience, and the power to survive this without seriously hurting anyone.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The Spiritual Cleansing Continues
Phew, my spiritual and emotional wardrobe cleansing is turning into a real outfit retrospective.
Anyways, these are for sale as well at Tell Me a Story:
Getting rid of one's past is surprisingly time-consuming.
Anyways, these are for sale as well at Tell Me a Story:
Getting rid of one's past is surprisingly time-consuming.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
A Perioid of Changes & Some Old Outfits for Sale
Hi, I'm still alive!
And I'm going to start blogging normally very soon.
I've been going through a phase of changes in my frame of mind lately.
For me this often means going through my old things and getting rid of those I feel I don't need anymore.
It's kind of letting go of the past.
Tomorrow I'll reserve a table at a local self service flea market and tonight I'm listing many of my old outfits at Etsy.
All of the following dresses are for sale HERE.
And I'm going to start blogging normally very soon.
I've been going through a phase of changes in my frame of mind lately.
For me this often means going through my old things and getting rid of those I feel I don't need anymore.
It's kind of letting go of the past.
Tomorrow I'll reserve a table at a local self service flea market and tonight I'm listing many of my old outfits at Etsy.
All of the following dresses are for sale
Sounds of Our Time, a compilation by Hammer
Side A
Dora Motia*
Kwakwa Kwau Kese*
Wotome Agbeko feat. Paxi*
You May Kiss your Bride Bollie*
Ke Shi Ka Le Scizo
Side B
Agynoamoa Kwesi Okra*
Skillz Trigga & Nyega
The Workshop Okra & Motia
Ngbe Yee Yoo The Last Page
Odo ne Asomdwe Accra's Finest
Close Down (Outro)
*—OH SHIT
Hammer's Sounds of Our Time is some of my all-time favorite hiplife from Ghana, a highly influential mixtape when it came out in 2004. It brought mainstream attention to the then-burgeoning trend of well-known producers making compilations featuring up-and-coming rappers culled from their "stables"...At the time, Hammer was already a successful producer with an influential production style. This release introduced a slew of virtual unknown rappers that received initial air-play and recognition through their association with Hammer. A few of these artists offer incredible performances on this tape and went on to become stars, which helped consolidate Hammer's legend in certain circles.
The producer took pains to include a linguistically diverse selection of guys (and gals; see track 9) who rap in Twi, Ga, Ewe and English. Since hiplife is mostly in Twi and the non-Twi tracks here are so impressive, this record helped break new ground in encouraging young artists from less-dominant language groups to participate in the movement.
These may not sound like instant classics to you but there's not a club or party in Ghana that doesn't explode with energy when the DJ spins "You May Kiss Your Bride".
Friday, January 2, 2009
31st December 08
Date: 31st December 08
Location: Guildford, Surrey, England
Weather: Cold and crisp, heavy frost overnight 2°c
Status: Starting the final day…..
So this was how it was going to be then, the final day of my African adventure and I was playing out in the freezing conditions of the UK! I jumped out of bed though with the realisation that it’d all be over pretty soon, bar the friends and family I’d hopefully see as I crossed the finish line!
After the usual pre-marathon nipple-plastering and vasaline rubbing session I gathered my thoughts and warm top and got into the Colonel complete with Bre and Dad for the final drive of the expedition.
Dad had very professionally organised the route for me taking me back to Petersfield on the back roads ensuring I’d cover the required 26.2 miles to make it all official and together with Bre they’d form my team of water suppliers and direction givers!
We left and started the run from Shalford, just south of Guildford, and after a toilet stop started the run with cold fingers to start off with. Two hours into the run I’d made it past Haslemere and into the small village of Miland, marking the halfway point for the run, by this stage I was starting to feel the cold and shivered every time I stopped for a drink break….this is so different from African runs!
The undulating terrain around Liss and the final approach to the Jolly Drover at the top end of my marathon was exhausting, it’s easy to think halfway through a marathon that everything is going well and that the second half should be easy…but then it all starts to bite as the legs tighten, the pain kicks in and the energy levels disappear suddenly leaving me desperate to see the crest of the hill.
The drop down into Petersfield along the A3 was much better, my family and friends had started to appear at the sides of the road with even the odd banner about to motivate me for the final push into the town square where I was hoping to meet a few people. But what I didn’t expect was quite the welcome I received!!
There must have been 40 people there including an official finish line, TV cameras and reporters all wanting to talk…something that’s very difficult to do after running for four and half hours! Once the pulse had settled again I managed a hug and kiss for them all and even had a great pint of good old English ale, my first since leaving a year ago, and it tasted awesome!
And then it was over all of the dreams, plans, challenges and expectations which I had set myself nearly three years ago were lying there in front of me completed….Bre, the Colonel and I have formed the most incredible team and I sincerely hope there is more to come in the future. For now were going home to spend New Year’s Day with family and to do a good old catch up, bore them with photos and complete the website for you all to see….
Thank you all so much for reading, writing and being involved, it really has meant the world to me…..
Over and out…for now.
End of day location: Ropley, England
Distance covered: 42kms running, 20kms driving
Location: Guildford, Surrey, England
Weather: Cold and crisp, heavy frost overnight 2°c
Status: Starting the final day…..
So this was how it was going to be then, the final day of my African adventure and I was playing out in the freezing conditions of the UK! I jumped out of bed though with the realisation that it’d all be over pretty soon, bar the friends and family I’d hopefully see as I crossed the finish line!
After the usual pre-marathon nipple-plastering and vasaline rubbing session I gathered my thoughts and warm top and got into the Colonel complete with Bre and Dad for the final drive of the expedition.
Dad had very professionally organised the route for me taking me back to Petersfield on the back roads ensuring I’d cover the required 26.2 miles to make it all official and together with Bre they’d form my team of water suppliers and direction givers!
We left and started the run from Shalford, just south of Guildford, and after a toilet stop started the run with cold fingers to start off with. Two hours into the run I’d made it past Haslemere and into the small village of Miland, marking the halfway point for the run, by this stage I was starting to feel the cold and shivered every time I stopped for a drink break….this is so different from African runs!
The undulating terrain around Liss and the final approach to the Jolly Drover at the top end of my marathon was exhausting, it’s easy to think halfway through a marathon that everything is going well and that the second half should be easy…but then it all starts to bite as the legs tighten, the pain kicks in and the energy levels disappear suddenly leaving me desperate to see the crest of the hill.
The drop down into Petersfield along the A3 was much better, my family and friends had started to appear at the sides of the road with even the odd banner about to motivate me for the final push into the town square where I was hoping to meet a few people. But what I didn’t expect was quite the welcome I received!!
There must have been 40 people there including an official finish line, TV cameras and reporters all wanting to talk…something that’s very difficult to do after running for four and half hours! Once the pulse had settled again I managed a hug and kiss for them all and even had a great pint of good old English ale, my first since leaving a year ago, and it tasted awesome!
And then it was over all of the dreams, plans, challenges and expectations which I had set myself nearly three years ago were lying there in front of me completed….Bre, the Colonel and I have formed the most incredible team and I sincerely hope there is more to come in the future. For now were going home to spend New Year’s Day with family and to do a good old catch up, bore them with photos and complete the website for you all to see….
Thank you all so much for reading, writing and being involved, it really has meant the world to me…..
Over and out…for now.
End of day location: Ropley, England
Distance covered: 42kms running, 20kms driving
28th December 08
Date: 28th December 08
Location: The middle of the Mediterranean Sea
Weather: Cloudy, cold and fiercely windy. 15°c
Status: Scared for some reason….
After a good nights rest we copied the last of our photos and videos from Kees to my collection, Bre did some more memory book and we all prepared for the departure and goodbyes which would be happening in a few hours time.
Its strange I had a mixture of feelings throughout the last few hours and days and they now became stronger and harder to deal with, firstly the happiness of leaving Africa after battling for so hard over the last few days and weeks but then when thinking about it, it was replaced by a feeling of disappointment that the adventure no longer continues and the harsh reality of the fast, uncaring lifestyle that is presented to us in Europe of money, work and generally selfish people.
I understand that this is a harsh statement but some of the people I have met in the last year have been hugely caring, will go out of their way to help you and think nothing of spending an entire day helping you out with no reward. There’s always exceptions to the rule but I find it hard to think I could easily find the same as easily in the UK as everyone needs reward or gratification for the simplest of things.
We docked in Genova in howling northerly winds with snow sweeping down off the mountains and it gave us a taste of what a stupid decision it had been to return to the UK at this time of year! We eventually managed to get the trucks off the ferry after waiting for ages for a broken down car to move and drove through the customs area without challenge.
Kees led us out of the city on our last journey together for now and we pulled into a service area to have a final meal together, buy some supplies for the journey ahead and say our final farewells to the big yellow tortoise and its amazing driver, Kees and Bindhi….for now!!
Bre and I drove on for another 150kms until we arrived at the foot of the Alps to be greeted by snow and ice everywhere and made a freezing cold camp in a car park.-5°c overnight so big cuddles were needed!
End of day location: Mont Blanc, France/Switzerland border
Distance covered: 300kms
Location: The middle of the Mediterranean Sea
Weather: Cloudy, cold and fiercely windy. 15°c
Status: Scared for some reason….
After a good nights rest we copied the last of our photos and videos from Kees to my collection, Bre did some more memory book and we all prepared for the departure and goodbyes which would be happening in a few hours time.
Its strange I had a mixture of feelings throughout the last few hours and days and they now became stronger and harder to deal with, firstly the happiness of leaving Africa after battling for so hard over the last few days and weeks but then when thinking about it, it was replaced by a feeling of disappointment that the adventure no longer continues and the harsh reality of the fast, uncaring lifestyle that is presented to us in Europe of money, work and generally selfish people.
I understand that this is a harsh statement but some of the people I have met in the last year have been hugely caring, will go out of their way to help you and think nothing of spending an entire day helping you out with no reward. There’s always exceptions to the rule but I find it hard to think I could easily find the same as easily in the UK as everyone needs reward or gratification for the simplest of things.
We docked in Genova in howling northerly winds with snow sweeping down off the mountains and it gave us a taste of what a stupid decision it had been to return to the UK at this time of year! We eventually managed to get the trucks off the ferry after waiting for ages for a broken down car to move and drove through the customs area without challenge.
Kees led us out of the city on our last journey together for now and we pulled into a service area to have a final meal together, buy some supplies for the journey ahead and say our final farewells to the big yellow tortoise and its amazing driver, Kees and Bindhi….for now!!
Bre and I drove on for another 150kms until we arrived at the foot of the Alps to be greeted by snow and ice everywhere and made a freezing cold camp in a car park.-5°c overnight so big cuddles were needed!
End of day location: Mont Blanc, France/Switzerland border
Distance covered: 300kms
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