“Simple knowledge; simply conveyed”
The learning we acquire during our working life with its associated career twists and turns tends to permanently influence our wider attitudes, opinions and behaviour. We accumulate a wealth of anecdotes which we often use in conversations with our colleagues, friends and families! The Information Badger’s Blog provides diverse reflections, anecdotes, encouragements and musings relevant to many of the Nuggets and Fragments on this site. Entries are no more than 500 words and many will make you think!
Recent Blog entries can be accessed from the footer on any page of the site, by following the Badger on Facebook, or from the lists below. The first list covers the six most recent items with the most recent first. The second list contains earlier blog posts so you can dip into any that might be of interest.
Current
A walk in the woods, swarms of drones embodying AI, and fly spray…
Fixing dud pixels on a Smart Meter’s in-home display unit…
When is a service not a service?
History suggests that a future generation will face a ‘Digital Crisis’…
Systems failure? keep calm and carry on…
A first-time Project Manager and scrutiny…
Earlier
Air Canada and the ‘hallucination’ of a chatbot…
It takes more than a job title to be good in a crisis…
Describe the internet without referring to technology using a maximum of 10 words…
Future-gazing while eating fish in Riyadh…
Fun using Microsoft Copilot (Bing Chat with GPT-4)…
I read the news today, oh boy – The Post Office and Horizon…
The biggest challenge of 2024 and beyond…
The delivery of letters…a pre-Christmas musing
To stay on X, or not to stay on X…that is the question
Are Management Consultants useful and good value?
Electricity – Domestic self-sufficiency…
Public inconvenience – A tale of a project gone wrong…
Leadership; never, never, never give up…
What development has had the most detrimental impact on society in the last 20 years?
Children’s toys and ‘invisible’ e-waste…
EVs, Fire, and the demise of the garage…
Expect the unexpected; when the unexpected happens, respond rather than react…
Gas boiler, heat pump…net-zero fatigue…
Under pressure; wellbeing in the workplace…
To buy a battery-powered EV now…or not…
‘Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future’
India, a technological force to be reckoned with…
The human dimension, not tech, underpins crisis management…
The UK 2030 ban on new petrol/diesel cars, and a battery powered EV…
When your home broadband goes wrong…
Your face, your voice, AI, and human rights…
Change starts with the individual…
The freedom to access your money and use it as you wish is being diminished…
Seven small, fundamental, inventions without which the modern world would not be as it is…
UK Smart Meter rollout…a dog’s breakfast
Marmite, IT systems…and the NHS at 75
Should ‘information’ be thought of as a poison?
Are optimists, pessimists, or realists the most successful leaders?
This item contains nothing generated by Bing Chat…
Science and technology change lives for the better…
The Uk cellular national emergency alert test…
When ‘Smart’ technology dominates mindsets, smart decisions are unlikely to be made…
Being moved to a new system shouldn’t mean the services in a customer’s account go backwards…
Problematic underperformers – the dog must wag the tail!
Computers, systems, satellites and…potholes!
Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes…
Communications networks; one day the unthinkable will happen…
Walking out of a meeting with a client…
‘Why haven’t we learned lessons from other problematic projects?’
‘Leaders aren’t snowflakes that melt away under pressure…’
From slide rule to calculator app to…ChatGPT?
Software updates and a ‘Smart’ washing machine…
‘Read Aloud’ is no match for the natural intelligence of the human brain…
Obsolescence; from ink cartridges to Smart Meters
Upset your client and spoil your career…
Wisdom for a first-time Project Manager…
The UK energy crisis has done more to change consumer energy behaviour than Smart Meters…
There’s more to getting a smart education than ever-smarter technology…
Showbusiness for ugly people, Mr Blobby, and the credibility of elderly people with power…
To recycle an old radio-cassette player…or not
Take the smartphone challenge…
Smart Motorways: an incident cements an opinion
Social media: Molly Russell deserved better…
There’s no such thing as a grouchy old person…
Driverless trains; a necessary transformation…
The ‘Decade of Great Correction’…
Troublesome projects…and Bertrand Russell
UK Smart Meter rollout; updated official statistics due shortly…
Returning to balance in supply chains…
What’s colourless, odourless, beneficial and toxic, and runs the world?
The Metaverse; What matters most will be trust…
Innovation, USPs, and the herd instinct…
Speaking truth to power in a commercial organisation…
From Ziggy Stardust to autonomous trains…
A retrenchment to globalisation…
The power of techies talking to clients…
Smart Meters; a continuing tale of woe…
Listening, selective hearing…and hidden motives
Information Technology Year was 1982…
School kids’ imagination and driverless vehicles…
An independent review and temporary traffic lights…
Young people regard scientists as trusted voices in society…
Serious internet failure – never say never
Describe the dynamics of today’s digital world in one word…
Spike Milligan, Nuclear Fusion and Smart Meters…
From Self-driving cars to the Thought Police and Big Brother…
The Web at 30, and getting cancelled…
Smart meters – Time for a refund
Notable events, Weather & Sport – News
5G, Satellites, Synthetic fuel, and Thomas the Tank Engine…
The origin of the word penguin…
Saving, inflation, and a takeaway…
Embarrassment facilitates learning…
Time for a new microwave oven…
Technology has redefined normal life…
Has tech lost its association with ‘fun’ as a result of the pandemic?
London, millennials, a stag night, and immersive television…
A ‘man in a van’ and his drone…
Hinkley Point C and the Marble Arch Mound…
Drones, dinosaurs, and a private life…
Priorities: Space commercialisation or mankind living in equilibrium with our planet?
Presentations; Long live making an impact presenting to physical audiences…
Bank branches, the decline of the High Street, and risk with online-dependence…
Never take media content at face value…
Every generation blames the one before…
Assume nothing, Believe no one, Challenge everything…
All-lane running motorways and electric car breakdowns…
To impress at an interview takes more than qualifications…
Connection lost, please move your display closer to the meter…
Beware of the downsides of the ‘Bandwagon Effect’…
Giant smartphones with motors and wheels…
Improve team spirit and teamwork – deploy a brick!
S.E.P – Somebody Else’s Problem
Think before you write, never write before you think…
It’s impossible to live without failing at something…
Safety on ‘Smart’ Motorways is no laughing matter…
Fully autonomous cars – time for realism
‘Blue Christmas’ and Alvin and the Chipmunks…
Smart meters update – eat more salads…
Tech regulation; learn the lessons of the past…
Dubious data or dubious analysis lead to dubious decisions and distrust…
Dark comedy and driverless cars…
Millennials; 100 years ago and today…
In remembrance…and extended service contracts…
The bathtub and smartphone reliability…
Everyone seems offended by everything all of the time!
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should…
‘Discuss, decide, do’…life’s full of decisions…
So you think you’re not biased? Think again…
V-J Day, Animal Farm, and the digital world; a poignant moment…
Is the death of the physical desk finally nigh?
ITER – Another step forward to the world’s new normal
Your privacy? Look before you leap…
Less Twits, better education about what matters in life…
The ‘Smart’ prefix has had its day…
Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium…
The most powerful people in the world are not who you think…
With every generation comes change…
An 88 year-old’s take on tech during pandemic lockdown…
Where have all the STEM-educated news correspondents gone?
Cyber attacks on the ‘Middleman’…
Want to be a Project Manager? Read Kipling’s ‘If’ first…
Time for a ‘Smart’ National Healthcare System…
What’s the purpose of this meeting and is it necessary?
From OneWeb to Hydrogen Fuel Cells…
The 6 Cs – Control, Care, Commerce, Community, Consumption & Communications
Crisis! A time that always exposes ‘True Colours’…
Quick to blame or complain, slow to praise…
There’s no ‘Smart Living’ without ‘Smart Working’…
‘We are all doomed!’… No we are not…
Time for ‘manned’ Space missions to be curtailed?
Software defects…a fact of life.
Anything ‘Smart’ or New Technology always has a downside…
Hone your Delivery Leadership skills by taking a central, company-wide role…
Youngsters, gaming, ‘STEM’ and a 3D printer…
Being educated and aware of ‘Fake News’ leads to intellectual stimulation and entertainment…
A New Decade Beckons(2)…Bumble Bees and Satellite Constellations!
A new decade…’Sustainability’ will be its key word…
‘Swagger’ – A qualitative indicator of an organisation’s future.
‘Stench’ – a virtual fragrance for the festive season?
Don’t confuse enthusiasm with capability…all is never what it seems.
Work Meetings: Be more selective with your attendance…
‘Smart’ motorways help to decide on a car purchase!
Have you been asked to ‘drain the swamp’ to fix a project?
Delivery is about people and teamwork…obviously!
Automation, AI, and recruitment interviews…
‘Techlash’…’Backlash’…An inevitable part of the lifecycle of progress…
Education – A powerful force wielded by a Jedi knight…
Has ‘Tech’ made life ‘better’ today than it was at the time of 9/11?
Recycle your hoarded personal tech…
An inspiring day out with codebreakers and the first electronic computer…
Customer centricity in online banking? It’s people not technology that make you feel valued…
A Tidy-up leads to ‘Privacy Rebellion’…
Quiz night, ‘What 3 Words’, and is tech solving problems that aren’t really problems?
‘A flock of corporate seagulls arriving from abroad’…
What’s more important….Fortnite, or an education?
Smartwatches? Remember to be an individual not a data point…
The Moon, Mars, and the next giant leap for mankind…
‘The arrogance of acquisition’…
Mother to Daughter: ‘What would you do if all this ‘smart’ stuff stopped working?’
Social Media; Key for heritage and social history
Electric and self-driving vehicles for the masses? One day, but perhaps not soon
Smart Meters; Hardly a success…
Lest we forget; Today’s technology is tomorrow’s antiquity…
Consumers; key to helping the planet…
Explaining what’s at the roots of AI to a gardener…
Driverless cars; now there’s a transformation challenge!
Systems Integration; the downfall of many a plan…
The builder and his ‘critical infrastructure’…
Meetings; beware of the HIPPO and the Abilene Paradox!
Digital Transformation – is it really a new concept?
So, you want to be a project manager…
Software, AI & Robots – Are patents still relevant?
FANG breakup & regulation – The Force Strengthens?
Have large mainstream IT services companies become mediocre?
Smart meters & devices – How much do you value your privacy at home?
Laugh, laugh…and laugh some more.
Privacy & data protection education doesn’t auger well for social media goliaths…
Burglary, the Police, and ‘Smart Doorbells…
Do we, as individuals, think enough about digital devices and the environment?
Smart Shoes, the ‘Little guys’, and DAVOS…
When you give your knowledge to help others, you don’t lose it!
If you are reading this today then…
Smart washing machines…is there a real need?
Smart phones, network glitches and people behaviour…
Called a Call Centre as a consumer? Was technology any help?
Why do I need a Smart Meter?… A question from the elderly.
Will Social Media Platforms make it to 30 years and beyond?