The conditions for a worthwhile panel discussion are seldom met. Therefore panel discussions are usually disappointing. From personal experience I struggle to recall a single exception to prove this rule. I can think of several great speeches. I could rattle off a long list of great talks and presentations. But …
If Chuck Palahniuk did poetry readings they might be like this. Fifty eight people out of ninety in the queue are allowed into the Demonstration Room at Edinburgh’s Summerhall venue. We have been standing with our craft beers in a small car park surrounded by shabby Seventies offices. We look …
instead of giving me customer service you gave me a stern talking to and let me off with a caution Ever had that feeling when someone you’ve known and liked for years inadvertently gives you a glimpse of their hitherto well-hidden or well-suppressed nasty side, and it irrevocably changes …
The fence is not an option in the Scottish Independence Referendum. To exercise your democratic right to vote is to get off your bum and jump down on one side or the other. Yes or No, black or white, the stark choice of the ballot box makes no allowance for …
The worst that could happen if Scotland votes Yes in the Independence Referendum is far worse than the status quo, and that’s why I’ll be voting No. ********** It’s not about the trains. It’s about the track. Independence is a licence to rip the track up and …
I published a post on Medium that I would normally have posted on this blog. In just 6 days that one post on Medium received nearly four times as many views as this entire blog receives in an average month. The post in question was my sixth on Medium since …
Jumping out of a window in a plastic bag filled with water, or feigning death in order to be flushed down a toilet doesn’t seem like much of a choice. But desperate times call for desperate measures and, if you are a wild fish trapped in a tank in a …
This blog has a new favourite button. CentUp is a simple, smart idea that enables small acts of kindness over the internet. And hopefully enough people will eventually sign up to enable lots of small acts to make a big difference. The idea is this simple… When you sign up …
In the world of physics electrical capacitance is the ability of a body to store an electrical charge. You can see capacitance in action when, for instance, LED lights take a while to fade after the power supply has been turned off. These days locations have a social capacitance. Through …
A friend of mine asked me to start an agency with him last week. Drink was involved. So it wasn’t a serious conversation in terms of real intent. But it did get quite serious in terms of terms. Under what terms would we seriously consider it? Here are mine. Not …
