Territoriality

Technology has allowed us to become flexible workers. It has released us from our fixed desks. It has turned work from somewhere we go, to something we do. And those of us (and I include myself) who have embraced this new way have reaped real benefits in terms of productivity and work life balance. This is been proven through many pieces of research. However, human nature doesn’t give in that easily. During recent office moves at the work place I go to most, I was surprised about how territorial people can still be and I was given a sharp reminder that even in organisations which are truly world leaders in flexible working, it is far too easy to overlook the seemingly fundamental human need for security, stability and territory. Making the transition from office based to fully flexible requires coaching, support and a little time. It doesn't always happen naturally.

Everyone Loves A Bargain!

I’ve noticed a trend for Google searches for products to return links to voucher sites such as My Voucher Codes. What will happen when everyone is using these voucher sites to get a better deal from retailers? Where will the canny internet shopper go then? And how will online retailers be able to differentiate themselves? Until then, don’t buy anything – either online or in the real world without checking for vouchers first.

Avenue Q

I finally managed to get to see Avenue Q at the Noel Coward theatre. Brilliant, irreverent fun involving puppets and actors sharing the stage to tell a modern tale in a unique way. Very clever, uproariously funny and with some touching moments, this is well worth getting see before it closes in March. I saw a Friday afternoon matinee which started at a very sensible 5.00pm. Tickets via Lastminute.com were not much more than the price of a West End cinema seat. It’s very rude in places so probably not suitable for kids – especially the puppet sex scene (yes really!) which is probably one of the funniest things you will have seen for a long time. Enjoy!

Joseph

Oh dear! I bought tickets for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End some months ago. I remember seeing it way back with Jason Donovan in the lead role and when it was revived as part of the ‘Any Dream Will Do’ TV talent show, I thought it deserved a further viewing. How wrong I was.

The production was mediocre, too many trivial attempts at humour gave it a panto-esque feel, and I’m sorry to report that Lee Mead – the TV show winner playing the part of Joseph – was very disappointing. His acting (such as he needed to do) was not great and his signing was very odd – nasal and flat. His phrasing of the songs had all the hallmarks of someone who has been in the role too long. Perhaps that’s why he’s being replaced by Gareth Gates shortly. Jenna Lee-James playing the narrator had a better singing voice – pretty good actually – but her extreme facial expressions were really off putting.

Of course, the audience loved it. A mix of kids and West End virgins almost guaranteed a standing ovation. How disappointing. If only they’d seen the revival of Evita at the very same theatre just a couple of years ago they’d have realised how very good Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Time Rice actually were.

Edinburgh

Aaliyah once said, “Age ain’t nothing but a number”. Having reached a significant milestone – involving a ‘5’ and an ‘0’ – I have to tell you I feel no different to when I was in my forties, thirties, twenties even! In fact, I feel healthier, fitter and happier now than I've felt for a long time!

To celebrate, I was treated to a long weekend in Edinburgh. We stayed at the Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street, a hotel which I used to stay at regularly many years back when I was a frequent visitor to Edinburgh. It’s where I wanted to go. I remember it as being a wonderfully Scottish hotel, all tartan, Thistle and wood-fire warm. Of course it’s changed hands since I was last there, and is now a Rocco Forte hotel. The décor has changed and is all trendy beige and chocolate, which is a little disappointing for a hotel in the heart of a great Scottish city and which very much forms part of the backdrop of the landscape. One thing that hasn’t changed though is the standard of service. It is truly outstanding. Just the right attention to detail, without being overbearing. The Number One restaurant is proud of its Michelin Star, and it’s easy to see why. Exceptional cooking, well served – by a surprisingly young staff.

I thoroughly enjoyed being a tourist for the weekend. We took a bus tour, spent time on the Royal Yacht Britannia out at Leith and trudged up the Royal Mile to spend an afternoon at Edinburgh Castle. All well worth a visit. It’s a wonderful place at Christmas.

My abiding memory of Edinburgh is the skyline at night. Standing on Princes Street, looking out towards Old Town, has to be one of the best cityscapes in Europe.

Get there if you can. And if you live there, don’t take it for granted.

Do we need words anymore?

Earlier this week I was in a large office in Central London and I found myself listening to the things that were going on around me. There wasn't much talking, but there was an awful lot of tap-tapping as people punched out emails, composed Word documents on their computers, or entered data into web forms and applications. A huge volume of written content was being created just on that floor. Multiply that by the number of floors in that building; by the number of buildings in London; by the number of cities around the world and you'll end up with an (almost) incalculable number of words. Most of that content will be available to us via the web.

I've read reminders that Moore's Law does not and cannot apply to the human brain. Human beings are beginning to suffer from information saturation. And what about people in developing countries who cannot read or write. They don't have this skill, but they are increasingly getting access to the technology allowing them to connect to content. What use are all those words to them?

Is the answer video? We can assimilate knowledge video messages much faster than we can through the written word, and it allows an additional dimension to the message - facial expression, body language and so on. The barrier to entry has really dropped with the growing popularity of YouTube and other video sharing sites. Creating content is also easy with the wide availability of video capture capability on mobile phones and portable mini cameras such as the Creative Vado. With all these tools it may even be quicker to create video than writing the same content as words.

Hmmmm.

The longest reboot - EVER!

Last Friday, as I plugged in the mouse to the USB port on my 5-year old Toshiba notebook computer, there was a small spark, followed by darkness. No display, no hard drive whirring, no fans buzzing. Nothing. I tried all sorts of things to bring it back to life, but nothing worked. Even though the power light was on, there was clearly no-one at home. So, I packed it up, unplugged everything rerady to take it to a repair shop and left it on the table. There followed some web searches, a trip to PC World and so on and by Sunday morning I had a fresh new Toshiba laptop. By Sunday might all the applications had been re-loaded and I was feeling quite satisfied that the house laptop had been restored with only a couple of days loss of data.

Then, without warning or being touched, the fans on the old 'broken laptop' came on. I opened the lid and sure enough it started to boot. And it has worked ever since. So well done Toshiba for building a piece of kit that seems to be able to heal itself! Even if 48 hours does seem an awful long time to re-boot.