mistergough

Park life.

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 13:17:47 +0100

Park life.

High ropes.

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:44:06 +0100

High ropes.

Retro gaming. #gameboymicro

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 16:37:18 +0100

Retro gaming. #gameboymicro

#toomuchrandomvinyl

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 10:54:29 +0000

#toomuchrandomvinyl

Live Welsh translation, courtesy of Gwynfor.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:05:12 +0000

Live Welsh translation, courtesy of Gwynfor.

Dis-Economies of Scale

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:18:49 +0000

The bigger an organisation gets the less it can benefit from the individual consumer and the more it can benefit from other large organisations.

Last night’s programme on the car insurance industry showed how kickbacks from paint and parts manufacturers brought in substantial profits. Insurance companies can’t get this kind of return from individual consumers. They don’t scale this way.

So the insurance companies work hard on their relationships with the paint and parts manufacturers. Not so hard on their relationships with the individual consumers. And an extra £10 on an insurance premium might not mean that much to each person. A £100 million kickback is worth the effort.

Public services work the same way. The doctor had no time for our suggestion that giving up dairy might help our daughter’s eczema. We did it anyway. No more eczema. Prescribing drugs brings all sorts of rewards to doctors. Suggesting we might treat ourselves doesn’t scale so well.

This is an inherent problem of scale. The larger an organisation gets the more it needs to relate to other large organisations. And the less the individual matters.

For all the doubters.

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:10:50 +0000

For all the doubters.

Worrying new Angel Bollocks genre.

Sun, 23 Dec 2012 15:00:04 +0000

Worrying new Angel Bollocks genre.

"The Way is shaped by use, But then the shape is lost. Do not hold fast to shapes, But let sensation..."

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 17:38:42 +0000

“The Way is shaped by use, But then the shape is lost. Do not hold fast to shapes, But let sensation flow into the world. As a river courses down to the sea.”

- Dao De Jing.

Fire experimenting.

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:47:50 +0000

Fire experimenting.

Thanks to this highly recommended book I shall be engaging in...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 08:57:20 +0000

Thanks to this highly recommended book I shall be engaging in subterfuge for the rest of the day.

What does the incubator model mean for MOOCs?

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 11:35:22 +0000

What does the incubator model mean for MOOCs?:

According to this article incubators have much more potential than business schools. And a key factor in that is the focus on doing and experimentation.

So how does this compare with other forms of higher education? It seems that in other areas we’re moving in the opposite direction. MOOCs (online courses) often involve the crystallisation of expertise, an attempt to present the perfect example of knowledge about a subject.

This looks like the opposite of an incubator model, the opposite of learning at the cutting edge of practice. Does this mean that MOOCs have the potential to make universities even less relevant than they already are?

#bristol #floodmageddon

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:31:11 +0000

#bristol #floodmageddon

Ravensbourne #penrosefestival (at Ravensbourne College)

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:46:36 +0000

Ravensbourne #penrosefestival (at Ravensbourne College)

Advertising

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 16:59:01 +0000

There’s an honesty about advertising. As much as adverts might over-inflate the benefits and mis-represent the realities, we know that adverts are trying to sell us stuff.

It’s different on social media. Did they share that blog post because it was genuinely good or because their friend wrote it? Are they going on about a bit of tech because the manufacturer sponsors them?

Trust brings with it responsibility. We never trusted advertising so we didn’t expect responsibility.

Evilz.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:14:28 +0000

Evilz.

Very Flexible Terms.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:11:02 +0000

Very Flexible Terms.

The Tool Shop.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:06:25 +0000

The Tool Shop.

Yeovil.

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:04:52 +0000

Yeovil.

Carnival 2

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 21:43:41 +0100

Carnival 2