Category Archives: Social and Political Rants

In defense of Humility or; Confidence is no Measure of Competence

"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge." Charles Darwin in The Descent of Man,1871 For as long as I can remember, I have been desperately concerned with my level of metacognitive skill. It was the reason I gave the first story I ever wrote for public consumption to my best friend to critique, ...

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On Using Social Media for PR

… Any time you send an unsolicited message about a product directly to someone on any of these social media, you are not being an uber cool company that is down with what the kids are doing these days – you are TELEMARKETING. Not only are you telemarketing, but you are calling during a dinner party. Imagine being at that dining table when the call comes through. Now imagine the talk about you and your product afterwards – it’s not going to be good is it?…

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TED Tuesday – Tom Reilly

Because nothing should take itself too seriously, especially conventions about innovation and ideas, here is Tom Reilly taking a comic look at the TED in 2006. Enjoy!

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TED Tuesday – Ideas Worth Spreading

In my RSS travels, I recently discovered a source of inspiration about which I am no doubt very, very late on  the uptake. It wasn’t that I hadn’t heard of TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) I just didn’t know there was a place ...

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On the Future of Newspapers and Online Distribution

The sound and fury regarding the future of newspapers in the last couple of months has been getting ridiculous. In a speech recently, James Murdoch blamed the BBC’s “free” online news service (the BBC is funded by a license fee paid by any Brit with a TV or radio, for which I say "Thank you ...

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Fair Warning

I don’t often make sweeping statements about “how things should be” on this blog because: a) who the hell cares what I think? ; b) it’s much more fun to do that in conversation so you have the benefit of more than one brain ...

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Worst Bush Fires in Australia’s History.

The irony is not lost on me that while I was spending 4 days living a life-long dream at the Sapporo Snow Festival my home state was burning. I remember Ash Wednesday in 1983 vividly, the smoke in the air and the blood-peach colour of the sun, when it could be seen, is unforgettable ...

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A quick note and a huge laugh to share!

A quick post with some quick notes for friends of the blog and blogger :)   For NZ. K., in case she has any time at all in her busy busy schedule on her trip home, thinking of you and letting you know we won the quiz last night! Yay!   For readers waiting ...

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Introducing the Messrs. Appleby, Woolley and Hacker.

When in discussion about US politics lately, I have often found the situation deserved a reference to a magnificent English TV show called "Yes, Minister" (and later "Yes, Prime Minister") and I've ...

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I don’t usually do this but…

Dennis at Dead Things on Sticks (one of my favourite working-writer blogs which often crosses into politics) calls our attention to this wonderful monologue from Craig Ferguson . This blog doesn't often get political but this is really about media and politics ... give it a click - important points made expertly. Afterwards, head ...

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