Reflections on life at “De Witte Wand”…
Seven years ago today, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) released the first specifications of XML (eXtensible Markup Language).
Today, XML is everywhere: in applications, databases, operating systems and information objects of all kinds. It’s well on its way to becoming the TCP/IP of the information network.
XML: the DNA of Digital Darwinism.
– #1 in an occasional series.
Janine Gibson has a witty piece in today’s Guardian about the tyranny of the Blackberry – that insidious piece of organisational gadgetry that delivers your email to you at all hours of the day or night.
It looks so innocent and so convenient at first, but I reckon the associated addiction bears many of the hallmarks of addiction to class A drugs. What is worse is the subliminal expectation from those senior to you in the organisation that you are expected to respond instantly to their emails at all times.
Whatever happened to the pause for thought?
I’m gradually getting into the way of Blogging. Not only is it a question of mindset change, but there’s also the need to learn new tools. I decided that I would make that latter hurdle as low as possible by using the beta of Microsoft’s MSN Spaces blogging environment. I liked the fact that it was easy to get started, yet had some nice features. Of course nothing’s perfect (it is a Beta, after all), but it’s good to see that others are starting to push the envelope. Abbie has started to collect tips and tricks about MSN Spaces on her blog:
Quote
MSN Spaces Tips, Tricks, Gods and More
I have decided, for the sake of convenience, to keep this entry as a link on my space simply because I was coming across soooo many great posts about Spaces, tips, ideas, and more that I needed a better way to organize them all for my own information as well as to share with all the wonderful Spaces users. I shall update this often with new links and information as I come across them. If you have a post or know of a post that offers great information on spaces, please let me know in my comments.
<snip>
Understanding RSS and Using BlogLines! – RSS confusing? Want some info on using Bloglines? Look here!
Give Your FeedBack and Ideas for Spaces – Have an idea for Spaces? Get it heard here!
Who Owns Your Spaces Content – a small but great FYI post regarding your content
Spaces Factoids by Ryan – some information about the bones of Spaces
End Quote
The link above to Feedback and Ideas leads to a Wiki on Channel 9. Worth visiting – and Channel 9 itself gives an insider’s view on Microsofties; their work and their culture
I worked in the IT services of Shell as an IT architect. One of the things that I have been pleased to see over the last few years is an appreciation by the IT vendors of the importance of architecture. Both IBM and Microsoft have been doing good work on documenting and sharing their work in this area.
Last month, Microsoft released the latest version of its Enterprise Library – containing patterns designed to assist developers with common enterprise development challenges.
This version of the Enterprise Library Patterns and Practices can be found here.
Michael Platt points out something that had struck me as well: the difference between a typical US training video and a typical UK training video. The former is usually squeaky clean and perfect teeth, while the latter is often lovably ramshackle and altogether more human (and I agree with Michael: more memorable).
The cultural differences that exist between the UK and the US (and indeed with other countries and cultures) are something that often derail the best laid plans of global enterprises. One of the better books on the traps and minefields that exist here is Nancy J. Adler’s "International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour"
A couple of depressing items on the pseudoscience front today. First, the Guardian reports on how the Religious Right is fighting Science for the heart of America. It follows the debate currently going on in Kansas, where state educators are to decide on curriculum changes for high school science teaching. As the article says: "If the religious right has its way, and it is a powerful force in Kansas, high school science teachers could be teaching creationist material by next September, charting an important victory in America’s modern-day revolt against evolutionary science."
And in another newspaper, this time the New York Times, Michael Behe has an opinion piece, Design for Living which has as its opening sentence: "In the wake of the recent lawsuits over the teaching of Darwinian evolution, there has been a rush to debate the merits of the rival theory of intelligent design." Er, excuse me? "Rival theory"? – that’s like saying a gnat has the same weight as an elephant. The Panda’s Thumb web site carries a good refutation of this piece from PZ Myers: Behe Jumps the Shark.
– I think I’ve gone and done it in! Started at lunchtime – a feeling of pain whenever I moved, and it’s got rapidly worse and more painful since then. I was hoping to goto the gym today, but that’s right out now. I went out for a gentle cycle ride, but I think rest is called for… That, and probably a paracetemol if the pain gets any worse.
Old age, who wants it?
Hello GeoffWe saw you on the cycle between Driebruggen and Gouda.It was a wonderful day, indeed !!!But i am worry about you. Isn’t your condition very good???? Was your bottom very painful. I thought your condition is very good. You can go for a ride for 50 km !!!I hoop you can reed mine reaction .Your site is good.Good lukeWith kind regardsArianne
Hi, Arianne!It wasn’t my bottom that was painful, but my back! 🙂 I don’t know what brought it about – but I’m feeling better now. Thanks for asking.Groetjes, Geoff
Beautiful day today. Helped Martin in the garden – trimmed back the willows and cut up the branches. Then he went off in the car with some plants to do some work in a friend’s garden. I cycled over (about 13 km) through Reeuwijk to the friend’s house.
The lakes in Reeuwijk were looking good. Lots of waterfowl about: the inevitable ducks, coots and moorhens, of course. But I also saw large numbers of greylag and canada geese, and quite a few cormorants.
What is it about MSN Spaces? I have yet to find anyone out there who is even approaching my age. The vast majority seem to be students who are less than 20. And looking at what they blog about, I fear for the future of the human race. Victor Meldrew lives!
Oh tell me about it – I’m ‘only’ 32 and feel like an old git here. And why are all these 15 year olds so bored all the time? And if they’re not bored, they’re going to the Green Day concert – surely not the same concert?
Hi, Katie,32? – You’re a mere slip of a thing compared to an old fogie like me 🙂 I get the impression that the youth of today (isn’t that a wonderful expression? – and here am I now saying it, when in my mind I still think I’m 25) have grown up in a society where everything has to be reduced to a 3 minute attention span. Coincidentally, I’m writing this while watching the Culture Show on BBC2, where Paul Morley has just asked Michael Stipe whether (in effect) he thinks that, at his age, he should still be doing rock and roll for a youth audience. Stipe looked non-plussed, as well he should have done.
Martin and I went to Groningen (north Holland) last weekend to go to the Diaghilev Festival – saw the Joffrey Ballet and the Kirov Ballet. The productions were all recreations, as far as possible of the original Ballet Russe performances. L’Apres Midi du’un Faune was wonderful to see – the Nijinsky choreography was influenced by Egyptian friezes, and the movements were highly stylized and as two-dimensional as possible. The Kirov did L’Oiseau du Feu – which was spectacular to see, but it was like a pantomime – I half expected the audience to boo the evil wizard and cheer the firebird.
Went to Deksels in The Hague to have dinner with an ex-colleague. Deksels is currently my favourite restaurant in The Hague (I’ve been going there for at least a year). Fusion cuisine. I see that it has now made an entry into Lekker (the Dutch restaurant guide). This will doubtless bring pressure on it to maintain standards in the face of a noticeable increase in popularity. I hope that Deksels is up to the challenge.
During the meal another six of my ex-colleagues came in to a separate table – I’d taken some of them there when I still worked in Shell. The nice thing was that they were all pleased to see me!
Olive Josephine Coupe (née Johnson): 12 June 1904 – 7 June 2001
Percy Coupe: 23 July 1903 – 9 October 1989.
A picture of my mother and father, taken in Ramsey on the Isle of Man, in 1978.
The first week in August 1998 saw the holding of the fifth Gay Games. And, for the first time, the Gay Games was held outside of North America. This time, Amsterdam was its home for one remarkable week, even by the standards of this city.
The first Gay Games was an initiative taken by the late Dr.Tom Waddell, participant in the Olympic Games in Mexico. From the first Games, which attracted 1,300 participants, the scale and popularity has steadily grown. Amsterdam had 14,299 participants and 250,000 spectators – one of the largest sporting and cultural events in the world.
The day of the official opening of the Games coincided with Amsterdam’s third annual Gay Canal Parade, where carnival floats literally do just that.
This was the official boat for the Gay Games. The two rainbow towers went up and down, and raised and lowered the yellow flag of the Games. In the background you can see the Amsterdam Opera House – the Stopera. This, and the area around it, became Friendship Village for the week of the Games.
Royal Dutch Airlines – KLM – was a major sponsor of the Gay Games, so what more justification was required for GayLM – the “Legs in the Air Line”. And, of course, there were passing royal visitors…
Ancient and Modern…
And just to prove that we shouldn’t take anything for granted in August, it rained for part of the time…
The opening ceremony of the Games was held at the Amsterdam ArenA. The entry of the participants (all 14,299 of them!) was both joyful and stirring, every last one of them being cheered and clapped by some 30,000 spectators. What was also striking was the number of countries represented by the participants – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Sobering to realise also that in many of these countries, gays and lesbians are persecuted – up to and including capital punishment.
There’s been quite a lot of discussion over why we should have a “Gay Games” – some have said that it is separatism, when we are simultaneously seeking integration with society at large. While I can see some small justification for this view, to my mind it is swept away by the fact that we should celebrate our diversity, particularly in the light of the continuing existence of prejudice and persecution. The positive feelings that the opening ceremony ignited in the hearts and souls of those of us present are sparks that I’m sure we will carry back to our respective communities. As Harvey Fierstein said, to ringing cheers, “We are not different, we are extraordinary!” His speech that night was truly magnificent – reminding us that the journeys that we made by train, boat and plane to get to Amsterdam were short in comparison with the journeys in our souls to reach this place. “We were carried here on the backs of the millions of gays and lesbians that went before us… some of whom paid for the struggle against prejudice with their very lifeblood.”
I was impressed too by the speeches (at both the opening and closing ceremonies) made by Schelto Patijn, the Mayor of Amsterdam at the time. He epitomised the strong support given by the wider community of Amsterdam for this event. He rightly deserved the applause he received on both occasions.
And then there was the music and dancing… The 200 sailors stripping to the Weather Girls “It’s Raining Men”; Dana International, Mathilde Santing (now apparently christened as “the Dutch Diva”).
A friend of ours, Jim Atkinson, was taking part in the weightlifting competition at the Gay Games. On Sunday, 2nd August, I went along to watch some of the competition, and give moral support…
Jim with Chris Morgan on the right. The end result – Silver and Bronze medals! Well done, Jim! You can see the results for all the sports at the Gay Games web site here.
The participants once again marched into the ArenA, this time with their medals and memories…
The Scottish contingent proving that traditionally, nothing is worn beneath a kilt (it is all in perfect working order)…
You can visit the official Gay Games Federation web site by clicking here.
Geoff Coupe's Blog 
Leave a comment