May 2011
1 post
I came back to the town hall today, after a few years of absence. I’ve been here, but just for admin and odd jobs. Today I am back at my desk - to actually be here. It’s work, but it’s my space. I really do love this place.
February 2011
4 posts
October 2010
2 posts
3 tags
Woody in the Woods
At the beginning of September, when Woody was 7 months old, we had a celebration in the woods. About 30 people came along, there was a made up ceremony. a sacrificial beast and Loolie got naked. It felt like a holy day.
I will choose to begin in August when we drove out of London to attend a baptism. A clear day at the end of summer, a small village church and pretty white dresses. Words were...
June 2010
2 posts
I just got spam from the Labour party ! Is there...
Labour: I want to email you personally. We are the only progressive party in the UK. Please give us £10.
Me: What? Can you do this ? Vote for me spam ? Damn, you guys give me hope.
I quit (Wednesdays) !
Quitting a job is one of the best feelings ever, but just quitting one day is pretty darn good too. On my days off, I plan to hang out in the park with Woody and remember what it’s like to have friends.
So, if you also happen to not work on Wednesdays, or can manage your time in a flexible manner, I would really like to be able to spend time with people again - come visit. It has been...
May 2010
1 post
Woody laughed for the first time. How about that ?...
March 2010
4 posts
4 tags
A picture of me taking a piss. Honest.
I never was much of a fan of art galleries, but this one I am proud of. I have always considered the bland white of a gallery to be a prison for creativity, a place to lock it away and stick a price-tag on it, but when the white cube is a toilet, it’s much more my game. In Feb 2005, the Space Hijackers set up a gallery in the loo of a pub, and had a party (as usual). It was actually our...
1 tag
2 tags
Dorkbotlondon #67 - Gonna be a cracker. But then I... →
3 tags
My son knew how to use the loo first time. How...
A small rant about consumerism, the story of Woody’s birth, a little bit of moralising and the obligatory baby photo.
I picked him up, help him over the loo and said “Psss”. And he did. He still does a regular bit of pooing in his nappy, but we do catch him a lot of the time. We’re getting better at recognising his signals. He knew how to drink from his mothers breast...
February 2010
5 posts
Greenman on the BBC →
2 tags
Being born in England, my great fear was that my...
Please forgive my very obvious prejudice. I am an African, and I tend to pour scorn on the dancing ability of Europeans. Sure there are a few exceptions, but most struggle to bust a move without being completely out of their heads…. and even then it’s iffy. Anyway, I do feel that there are some serious disadvantages to not being born on African soil, and the lack a sense of rhythm is...
3 tags
When the pupil is ready the master will appear.
My main objection to having a baby was the feeling that it was a sign I was getting old. For many years I was sure that becoming a parent would mark the end of my youth, that it would mean I had forgotten all those things that only The Young know. Then, one day, I realised that the very problem itself provided the solution.
If I was worried that I would lose the knowledge of what it meant to...
December 2009
14 posts
Goodbye naughties and welcome twenteens! I’m off to spend 10 days in silence. http://is.gd/5sDdM
It sounds scary at first, doing absolutely nothing for a whole ten days, but once you have been through it, it’s the best holiday ever. Ten days to actually stop and rest. When last did you get a chance to do that ?
The first time I did it, I learned to sleep for the first time since...
I actually bought a track on Itunes: “Killing in the name of” is now mine, again.
Watch
Walking. It’s sometimes the best way to think. Maybe I’ll reach the office, maybe I won’t.
1 tag
The birds escorted me through the park. It felt a bit special - but I think they are just hungry.
I had just stopped for a moment next to the pond. I had my headphones in my pocket and thought it might be nice to use them. I put the vegetables down on the bench and reached into my jacket. I think this was a signal.
In a matter of seconds I was surrounded by birds. Ducks first, they are fast and...
I love the idea of software that runs on humans.
As Open source software projects grow the cost of communication grows even faster.
At some point in the life of the project the energy required to develop the community process becomes greater than what is needed to develop the software.
In order for any kind of open project to succeed, the “social software” must be developed as a fully fledged part of the process.
exactly two women at the openhardware conference. This is a problem. #openhw
I have a great belief in the big ideas behind open source. Although the modern version of all this has come from a traditionally male dominated software world, I really think that there is something very female about it. It is very important to break this male / female divide.
So much of any open source project has...
Insurance. One of the great scams of the modern world. As a South African, I have been trained to get medical insurance, but for the last seven years I have been pumping money into the coffers of evil money launderers for what seems to be absolutely no reason.
I think it’s time to stop.
Learning to use my brain is taking a little longer than expected. I had assumed that it would all just come naturally, but that does not actually seem to be the case. Slowly, and only with a lot of effort, am I learning to bring my mind under my comtrol.
Beginning the process of learning to meditate is one of the most important things I have done in my life. After a few years of regularish...
Reinventing School of Everything →
It’s been amazing to watch School of Everything grow, but something has to change. One of our fundamental principles with the whole project has been our belief that, in order for us to achieve what we wanted to achieve, we needed to be a sustainable business. So far, the money has not matched our growth - and it’s time to step back and take a fresh look.
Notes on Open Source
I think I am becoming more and more sceptical of technology as I get older. Sometimes it’s best just to use pen and paper. For my last presentation, I just scanned in the pages from my notebook.
Notes on Open Source
In the beginning (again)
I’ve started again. A new blog, a new phone and now I need some new friends. Well, it’s not quite that bad, I just want to sort out my address book. I’ve got over 1000 contacts and I don’t even know who they are any more.
I collected many personal details during my first few years of arriving in London. I went everywhere and just got involved. Now, I am a little more...