As some of you may know, for the last 4+ years I’ve been organising and hosting a wee event here in Wellington called Nerd Nite (you guessed it) Wellington. I’ve made mention of it occasionally here over the last few years, and today seemed as good a day as any to mention it again! For two […]
Culture
IdeaForge: the NEW engine of creation
It’s possible some of you have noticed I’ve not been around much recently. For which I am sorry - I miss blogging about sciencely things on a regular basis :) However, life has been…busy. In addition to the whole ‘paying the mortgage with day job’ thing, I’ve been spending time trying to get various projects […]
Academic kindness
The academic world can be a harsh mistress, as anyone who’s been anywhere near it knows. Not only can it feel like your colleagues are out to get you, but your bosses, funders, the public, governments and officials and, well, the world. Through all of this, fledgling (and lovely!) tumblr blog Academic Kindness shines a […]
Thoughts on using people to get into restaurants
I’ve not blogged for a while (sorry!), and today I’m going to do something a little different. I’m NOT going to blog about science*. Instead, I’m going to write down my feelings on why I don’t particularly think what this lady has been up to, is particularly awesome. And I’m going to be coming from […]
Where does NZ rank in the Global Innovation Index 2013?
How innovative would you say New Zealand is, comparatively? Well, we have an answer, according to the Global Innovation Index 2013 - produced (since 2007) by economists from Cornell University, INSEAD and WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization. This year, the report looks at 142 countries from Zimbabwe to Switzerland. Together, these countries represent almost […]
My Skeptics Conference 2013 talk and slides - ‘Nerds, nerds everywhere’
The weekend just passed saw the annual NZ Skeptics Conference 2013, held in my home town of Wellington. The theme was around science communication, and speakers featured such stars as Pamela Gay and Kylie Sturgess, as well as local speakers such as Martin Manning and fellow Scibloggers Siouxise Wiles and Elf Eldridge. For some unfathomable […]
Book review: The Year Without Pants
UPDATE: Free book chapter here, the movie trailer here. And in case you such things, them to make a decision, high profile endorsements here. You can also buy the book here. Oooh, and interesting interview on WordPress.com with Berkun, here. If sometimes you wonder whether everything possible hasn’t already been written about startups, business, software startups, software […]
Future Timeline – a visual representation Pt 2
After some agonising, I’ve decided to go with the easy route. Confused? See Pt 1 for an explanation of what this is all about :) So, here’s the full thing, in two formats: 1) Future Timeline - visual (a webpage, sorry about some of the mashed formatting. Time mutter grumble grumpy grumble) 2) A PDF (see […]
Future Timeline - a visual representation Pt 1
Future Timeline is an extremely interesting site. Calling itself a “speculative timeline of future history”, it has page upon page of really interesting content. Some of it is very much based on fact, while others is based more on supposition and hypothesis. It’s an excellent exercise for casting one’s mind forward. Unfortunately, however, the structure […]
Jawdropping (also ft ICT sector reports, fiscal calculators and Mongolia)
Well, that was my reaction to this video, at any rate. Picked up off Twitter, from fellow Sciblogger Mr David Winter (@TheAtavism) himself*, it’s stunning high-speed camera work explaining the mad physics behind the Prince Rupert’s Drop. Don’t know what that is? Well, watch the video, and the marvel, MARVEL I SAY, at what you’ll […]