Wabi Sabi
By Tim | March 11, 2010
![Wabi-Sabi[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/WabiSabi1.jpg "Wabi-Sabi[1]")
So what does that mean? It is a Japanese phrase, movingly unpacked in this post that I would definitely recommend reading.
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Methods of input
By Tim | February 14, 2010
![4284793474_7ce629f1e0_m[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/4284793474_7ce629f1e0_m1.jpg "4284793474_7ce629f1e0_m[1]")
A fascinating review of alternative pen based input up against touch screen keyboards on a range of devices. However it would have been a fuller examination if it had included Windows Mobile phones/PDAs and Windows tablet devices (a clear bias to Apple/Palm here).
I’ve found Microsoft’s offerings have greatly improved from the original Windows XP Tablet edition (which itself worked tolerably well), but it is interesting to see how well the Newton stands the test of time.
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Who’d be an Apple developer…
By Tim | February 12, 2010
Interesting post about the iBooks software that comes with the forthcoming iPad. If you get successful in software development on Apple devices beware!
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Dave Snowden on how to run a party
By Tim | February 10, 2010
I found this page of videos (mainly by Dave Snowden) on aspects of knowledge management theory – don’t be put off by that as these are succinct explanations of powerful ideas.
Topics: Organisation, Possibilities | No Comments »
A better future….
By Tim | February 7, 2010
I started to try and get my eldest to concentrate on homework last night but got caught up in the site she was giggling at. This is just one example from engrish.com.
![a-better-future[1]](http://www.engrish.com//wp-content/uploads/2009/12/a-better-future.jpg "a-better-future[1]")
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Awesome incredible and fantastic!
By Tim | February 3, 2010
Fascinating adjectival view of the recent iPad presentation by Steve and the crew. A good example of how suitable language can elicit the adoration of a worshiping throng…..
Topics: Mac | 1 Comment »
Cracks in the tablet?
By Tim | January 30, 2010
Having been in active conversation with my Mac loving friend Andy whilst the announcement was being made from heaven on Wednesday about the iPad I’ve already, for myself, had some fairly considerable reservations about the device.
Hearing that latter day Moses announce about the web browsing experience on the iPad being "the best Web experience you’ve ever had” brought to mind similar claims for the iPhone. A posting from CNet’s Scott Stein on the possible advantages for netbooks (a rival device slammed by the oracle) made the useful observation:
Share this Post[?]“While Steve Jobs called the iPad "the best Web experience you’ve ever had," there is a big missing piece right now, and that’s the whole Web. Browser-based apps and Flash-driven content are huge elements of cloud computing and of many Web sites, and right now it’s not even clear whether the iPad can even run Hulu or Netflix. Atom Netbooks can be slow and stuttery when playing Web video, but at least they can”.
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Flight 1549 rises
By Tim | January 26, 2010
An hypnotic time lapse video of Flight 1549 lying in the Hudson River until its rescue.
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If I had an hour…
By Tim | January 25, 2010
Great quote picked up from the Art of Hosting website.
Share this Post[?]If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than 5 minutes.
- Albert Einstein
Topics: Questions, Quotations | No Comments »
Windows 7 on a Mac officially works (at last…..)
By Tim | January 24, 2010
![Windows Vista start button_1984_18866227_0_0_14846_300[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/WindowsVistastartbutton_1984_18866227_0_0_14846_3001.jpg "Windows Vista start button_1984_18866227_0_0_14846_300[1]")
So finally Apple succumbed and issued Bootcamp 3.1 to enable Windows 7 users to officially run Windows 7 on their Macs. My only problem when installing was having to uninstall Live Mesh as the Remote Desktop element blocked Boot camp’s installer and caused it to crash.
Now I seem to have a sensibly behaving track pad at last and can operate controls that allow me to manage the built-in microphone, which previously worked but could not be switched off or adjusted in any way because it was invisible to Windows.
Having seen Apple’s servers crumble under the load with people trying to access this long awaited set of fixes it is surely obvious that the recent rise in Mac sales is significantly affected by those of us wanting to run Windows on really nice hardware rather than OS/X all the time.
Ironic then that at almost the same time as this update came out I upgraded my copy of Parallels to v5, and what an improvement it is. Windows 7 with Aero support that not only works but that feels fast and responsive. If you want to actively mix Windows and OS/X use this is definitely the way to go. Adding to this mix my recent upgrade to the Seagate Momentus disk has hugely improved an already nice laptop!
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Art of Hosting
By Tim | January 23, 2010
![public_training_big[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/public_training_big1.jpg "public_training_big[1]")
I’ve just spent a quite exhilarating three days of training in (and delivered by) the Art of Hosting. The sessions, called by Mike and Linda and held in Leeds, marked for probably many attending a watershed event in many ways, not the least I suspect for Leeds itself.
I was privileged to participate with 42 other folk in delving into the varied ways that conversations of all sizes can be called, facilitated and enabled, using techniques such as World Cafe, Open Space and Appreciative Enquiry. In particular it was fascinating to watch an emergent awakening of a Leeds wide consciousness, to care for that city and to hold a space for all seeking the peace and well being of the city. The coming months will be very productive in spawning conversations I suspect!
The way the Leeds and the AoH teams worked together was also powerful as a demonstration of the process and heart and shared values behind it.
Personally the time has fully confirmed to me the applicability of these tools in enabling and empowering people to connect and work together to achieve what ever their dreams and visions for any situation and sphere might be, and that I find myself very attune and at home in collaborating as a part of a team using them – almost like finding an appropriate language for the conversations of this time.
One very helpful aspect of the team’s work has been to see how various tools can be used as the need makes appropriate – up to now I’ve used only World Cafe or Open Space for an event – and the whole aspect of calling conversations and harvesting the outcomes of conversations opened many possibilities to take things further.
You can find out more about Art of Hosting here.
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Facebooking
By Tim | January 21, 2010
![welcome_3[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/welcome_31.gif "welcome_3[1]")
I’m not that much of a Facebooker – I actually read updates etc. through Tweetdeck along with Twitter streams, and only visit to see pictures and confirm requests. So this guide from WebWorkerDaily is a handy update to using the redesigned and evolving Facebook. There is another useful guide (from Inside Facebook) to protecting your privacy on Facebook to be found here, but be warned – there are 17 (!) steps to work through.
Topics: Communication, Web apps | No Comments »
Infoporn
By Tim | January 21, 2010
![Beatles-AbbeyRoad[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/BeatlesAbbeyRoad1.jpg "Beatles-AbbeyRoad[1]")
Strange title for some but it refers to a growing collection of graphical presentations of dense amounts of information on a particular subject. The example I’m using here is an illustration that graphically covers the authorship of Beatles songs – you’ll need to zoom in to see detail and text but being a .gif file there’s only one level of zoom within the browser.
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MacBook Pro upgrade to Momentus disk
By Tim | January 19, 2010
![momentus[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/momentus1.jpg "momentus[1]")
Time for some geekiness I’m afraid. Because I have subdivided my laptop disk in two to house both OS/X and Windows 7 what was a reasonable 250gb reduces to 125gb each, and both OSs have swallowed that space up, so time had come for an upgrade. I opted for one of the new Seagate Momentus drives, a 500gb model with 7200rpm disk speed, and yet only (a claimed) 0.05% increase in power consumption.
First step was to run a crude disk speed test on both boot systems, and then a thorough back-up. For the Mac I chose to use Superduper, backing up via Firewire (the recommended route) to a 150gb external drive. The key here was to have a fully bootable system on the external disk (a Firewire external drive is a pre-requisite for this), and the process was very simple albeit time consuming – in all it took around 2.5 hours.
Then I booted into Windows and removed a number of large folders to an external USB drive (to reduce the size of the eventual Ghost image to be created), and then rebooted into Ghost using a Bart PE CD. The only problem I had was my original choice of external USB drive (an Iomega 1tb) refused to be recognised by Bart, but an older 250gb Lacie worked fine, and I ended up with a 40gb Ghost image (for those who’ve never used Ghost this is one massive file containing everything on the Windows disk).
It turned out that the swapping of the hard disk in my 2009 Macbook Pro could not have been easier – remove the power cord and USB devices, the battery cover and then the battery, and unscrew three tiny cross head screws securing the drive (one of which holds a securing bar that lifts out) that sits next to the battery. The drive connects via a connector block that fits onto the SATA connectors snugly. The only problem that arose was that the existing drive had four lugs screwed in to its side screw holes, but these were of such a tiny hex type format that nothing I had would shift them. In the end a pair of pliers loosened each one and a just about fitting flat head screw driver completed the task of removal.
The lugs were then fitted to the new drive, along with the SATA connector, then the securing bar and cross head screws. Finally the battery was replaced along with the cover and the restore process could commence. From web articles I knew that the new drive would first have to be initialized, which required the OS/X system CD. Once completed the machine could be rebooted with the external Firewire drive attached, holding down the Alt key to select the external drive to boot to.
Superduper was then run from the external drive and proceeded to copy back everything, but noticeably faster (which started to make it all seem worthwhile). Once completed I ran Bootcamp and repartitioned the disk into two equal halves and set the machine to reboot and install Windows. I wanted to just restore the Ghost image, but first booted to a Windows 7 DVD to format the Windows disk with NTFS. I then booted again from the Bart CD and restored the Ghost image. Again encouragingly Ghost was averaging 1900mb a minute which is not bad at all! But all was not well on the Windows 7 side once it had completed the restore process.
When I rebooted the Windows hard disk icon was absent as a bootable option – the image had transferred and everything was there, but the partition just wasn’t bootable. I wasn’t too surprised by this, and booted from a Windows 7 DVD to repair the partition boot sector. However despite the repair running OK the machine still refused to show up as a bootable disk. I repeated the process, and then opted to do a quick complete re-installation of Windows to the drive and left the laptop doing this while I went to work.
Once completed the Windows drive correctly showed up as a bootable option. I then rebooted using Bart, transferred the Ghost image across and this time the Windows drive still showed, although it again refused to actually boot, complaining of errors. This time a quick run of the repair option on the Windows 7 DVD and everything was back in business. But to what end?
Well, re-running the Windows Performance assessment showed the disk drive performance had improved from 5.3 to 5.9, a very significant increase. The boot times from the Bootcamp disk icon to desktop loaded for Mac OS/X changed from 49.5 seconds to 43.6, and for Windows 7 from 57.2 seconds to 50.5. I allowed both systems to reboot several times as each ‘settles in’ to a new hard disk, optimizing load routines over a number of starts. And then there is all that extra disk space 
What hasn’t changed is how much quicker OS/X is at shutting down in comparison to Windows 7……
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File sync update
By Tim | January 15, 2010
![8352506[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/83525061.png "8352506[1]")
I last wrote on file synchronisation systems back in July, and the news of Google’s storage option for any documents (not just Google Docs) prompted an update.
Basically Google will let you upload a total of 1gb of non-Google Docs content, but Word files are limited to 500k and PowerPoint files to 10mb (go on, you know you need to trim those 10mp pictures before inserting into a PowerPoint!) but you can also purchase additional storage (shared across Google Docs and Picassa) for 25 cents per Gb.
Now as useful as this might be it isn’t accompanied by a local install tool to enable automatic synchronisation between computer and web storage, and 1gb isn’t very much against DropBox with 2gb and Live Mesh with 5gb free (both of which have desktop sync tools).
As such I shall be sticking with the two afore mentioned services, DropBox for active files and Live Mesh for longer term content. The two both work on Mac and PC, and do not seem to cause each other any problems in operation. DropBox still feels a little faster at syncing, and Live Mesh still needs a firm and clear commitment from Microsoft. Both however beat a USB memory stick hands down for most needs.
Other alternatives for pure web storage (e.g like Google’s offering) are Microsoft’s SkyDrive (25gb free) and Adrive, whose free offering of 50gb is way the largest (they add file syncing with the paid versions by the way). Adrive has the disadvantage of placing adverts around the page, and not having a particularly slick interface, but for 50gb free….). Microsoft’s products both require you to have Windows Live ID of course.
I think the big issue for me is which one is going to be around for the long haul, and so far my feeling is the leader seems to be DropBox.
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Multi-Ontology, knowledge management and other fascinating stuff
By Tim | January 14, 2010
![header_logo[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/header_logo1.jpg "header_logo[1]"){kind=logo}
I caught hold of a link from somewhere a few days ago, opened a web page and left it, only to return to it today to find it has opened out into a major new seam of thinking.
The seam in question began with an article by Dave Snowden on “Multi-ontology sense making – a new simplicity in decision making”. Now you may have switched off after Multi-Ontology but this is really interesting stuff. There is so much I could quote from the article that I think I’ll blog on this separately once I’ve pondered some about the points raised. However the post led me to Dave’s web site.
At Cognitive Edge, amongst many fascinating things, there is a superb post on Rendering Knowledge which is a simple summary of Dave’s thinking around seven principles of knowledge management – a brief and pithy set of ideas on how knowledge works. For example:
Tolerated failure imprints learning better than success.
When my young son burnt his finger on a match he learnt more about the dangers of fire than any amount of parental instruction cold provide. All human cultures have developed forms that allow stories of failure to spread without attribution of blame. Avoidance of failure has greater evolutionary advantage than imitation of success. It follows that attempting to impose best practice systems is flying in the face of over a hundred thousand years of evolution that says it is a bad thing.
He talks about knowledge being fragmented, being actually tiny unstructured pieces of knowing that we naturally place together into elements of understanding, using past pattern matching, heuristics and extrapolation, mixed in with ‘complex blending of ideas and experience that takes place in nano-seconds”. All the while the systems of our society are usually placing immense value on highly structured documents that can prove taxing to get the brain around.
I also valued this comment on linking people v storing information:
Linking and connecting people is more important than storing their artifacts.
When I left my college IT job last year I made a very conscious effect to codify the knowledge I had gained during the years of being there. In reality it achieved virtually nothing, either for the team I left behind (the SharePoint server still went down and it apparently took a quite while to sort it out) or for me, as my own needs for knowledge have changed substantially in my new post, and very little of the direct knowledge of the past has been relevant in this new situation.
I have spent years ‘storing’ my artifacts, the collected data and files and resources stored on hard disks, in Exchange and now on the web, only to finally start to realise that the information I’ve always wanted to have at my finger tips is actually triggered most effectively through interactions with people, encountering needs and issues and making the connections across sometimes quite disparate threads of not just information but experience.
What I have found important and valuable from my previous job have been the experiences of varied interactions with people, and the ability to discern based on context. Effectively this is leveraging what has gone before but in reality is about constantly adapting to the demands of new situations and new people.
The final of the seven principles is very true, certainly in my experience but I suspect for many:
We always know more than we can say, and we will always say more than we can write down.
This is probably the most important. The process of taking things from our heads, to our mouths (speaking it) to our hands (writing it down) involves loss of content and context. It is always less than it could have been as it is increasingly codified.
Although stirring myself to write through the means of a blog has been a very useful discipline I have frequently found myself frustrated at how what has come together in my head has lost something by the time it has become written.
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Avatar
By Tim | January 14, 2010
![avatar-movie-poster[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/avatarmovieposter1.jpg "avatar-movie-poster[1]"){kind=avatar}
I’ve not yet been to see Avatar, (nearly made it on the wife’s birthday but she opted for a meal instead at the last minute) but it certainly seems to have induced a range of reactions from viewers.
One colleague at work having seen it in 3D felt so ill from the experience that she has vowed never to see another 3D film (which presumably means the 3D works pretty well!)
Others seem to have been underwhelmed (are we at saturation level on special effects, alternative realities etc.?)
But then there is this sad article published on Mashable about some experiencing intense depression after seeing the movie.
Makes you realise how lonely some people are, and how simple friendship could help help keep people connected to the real world, but do I/you make the time for those on the edges of our worlds?
Addendum:
It is well worth reading this post about the film, and in particular its ‘White Messiah’ theme.
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Stock tip – thermal underwear?
By Tim | January 13, 2010
![apparel.underwear.collage[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/apparel.underwear.collage1.jpg "apparel.underwear.collage[1]")
Given the recent press about gas shortages during this lengthening cold snap there was an interesting article in the FT today about gas, and the precarious position this country could be in within 4-5 years. The threat comes from both our own declining production (down 40% since 2000) and the failure so far to bring on line new supply sources from Russia and Turkmenistan.
Add to this the looming closure of old nuclear and coal fired power stations, together with this country’s limited offline storage (15 days supply, compared with around 80 for Germany for example) means now might just be the time to invest in the stock of thermal underwear manufacturers, especially if winters like this repeat in the coming few years…..
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Godmode
By Tim | January 7, 2010
![Windows_7_godmode_610x404[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Windows_7_godmode_610x4041.png "Windows_7_godmode_610x404[1]")
A fascinating discovery by some bloggers of Microsoft hiding goodies within Windows (principally Windows 7 but might work with 32 bit Vista). Create a folder anywhere, and rename it with the following string:
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Lo, a complete listing of every command to customise and configure every part of Windows. More custom strings are listed in this CNet article.
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Not who but when
By Tim | January 7, 2010
![SowingSeeds[1]](http://www.working-faith.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/SowingSeeds1.jpg "SowingSeeds[1]")
Sometimes the biggest surprises and internal changes come from such tiny moments you look back and wonder ‘where did that come from?’ Although this post involves the bible it is relevant to any situation where you might want to communicate something important to you on to someone else.
Last Sunday our gathering had been looking at Chapter 4 of Mark’s Gospel, particularly at the parable of the sower and the seed. This is a passage I’ve both read and heard others expounding on countless times over the years, but yesterday morning something, quite small in a sense, transformed how I understand this passage.
The story is about a sower trying to sow seeds onto different types of soil, and getting varying levels of fruitfulness from each. In traditional church thinking the soil has usually been used as an image of different types of people and how they respond to ‘the gospel’, and has subtly (or not) then been unpacked as needing to concentrate on the ‘good’ people and not to bother with hard hearted or easily swayed folk.
The problem is that this firstly misses a fundamental point about Jesus’ own life, in that he was always with ‘sinners’ and spent not much time with ‘good’ people. Secondly though it tends to justify a ‘preach it at them and if they don’t respond move on to someone more responsive’ type of attitude that has dogged church attempts to reach out to community, as most people pick up when they are being spoken to with the aim of getting a response out of them rather than from the basis of building genuine relationship. Here the soil is about ‘who’.
But what if you remove who and substitute ‘when’. The parable then reads as a guide as to when best to try communicating to people, rather than a guide to judging them as responsive or not. For instance there is no point trying to hold a meaningful conversation about anything with someone holding a screaming child, but catch that same person in a cafe after having dropped that child at nursery and you probably could begin dialog.
All of us have times when we are not ‘good soil’ for communicating to, or when we might like to think we are listening but in fact our mind is highly open to other distractions, but we all alternate eventually to more a responsive state. Although this might take days sometimes (!) there will be a ‘when’ time.
Seeing this has helped me to think more about when is the right time to engage in certain types of conversations – at school talking to a hard pressed teacher about e-learning just before they go into a lesson is pretty stupid, but catch them in a free period and it can be a different matter.
Before sharing your latest inspiration or need for knowledge just take a moment to consider your listener – what kind of soil are they at that moment? If you sense you might be wasting your time ‘sowing’ at that point don’t sow, bless them in some way and wait for a ‘when’ moment – it will come and it will be worth it for the hugely improved ability to communicate.
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