A few weeks ago Imran Ali tweeted a modest proposal that Leeds' Temple Works needs a giant robot. As a fan of Miyazaki's Laputa, I thought this sounded quite cool. What I didn't realise until today is that Leeds already has a giant walking robot. If you're in the area for one of its rare … Continue reading Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me There Was A Giant Walking Robot?
I've always found it strange that Eric S. Raymond chose the cathedral as his metaphor for closed development in free software, because the construction of our great medieval cathedrals must have been a very open process. Passing peasants were doubtless discouraged from picking up a chisel to hack at the nearest stone, but Gothic buildings … Continue reading Mobile Gothic: a flight of fancy
I'm not sure where this is pointing, but I think it's the future. A strange cast of people have occupied my reading in recent months - English and French, writers and scientists, aristocrats and hackers. Now, like a Heroes season finale, I find them converging on a single year. To keep track of the people … Continue reading 1794, so much to answer for
Tuesday is France's Fête Nationale, and @cdesmoulins1789 will be live tweeting the Revolution. Can social media change the course of history?
From time to time I like to indulge in crazy counter-factual history. How different things might have been had social media been invented a few hundred years ago! What if Samuel Adams and his Bostonian compatriots had mobile phones to video their protests against the Tea Act. They might have led to more dramatic results. … Continue reading What if…
In December I blogged about the perilous state of Leeds' Temple Works. Neglected for several years, this Grade I-listed building had suffered a partial collapse, blocking the road outside with shattered masonry and opening up a gaping hole in the roof where sheep once grazed on a covering of grass. Six months on, I'm pleased to report … Continue reading Temple Works 3.0 Alpha
A few weeks ago there was a "Twitter Makes Us Better People" meme doing the rounds. It reminded me why I'm suspicious of claims about technology changing behaviour. In particular some social media evangelists seem to appropriate the language of radical politics to describe the alleged impact of Facebook, Twitter and the rest in some … Continue reading One song to the tune of another: the 18th Century prophet of social media revealed
The words of radical orator and writer John Thelwall, 1796: "The fact is that the hideous accumulation of capital in a few hands, like all diseases not absolutely mortal, carries, in its own enormity, the seeds of a cure. Man is, by his very nature, social and communicative - proud to display the little knowledge … Continue reading “Whatever presses men together…”
If, as David Ogilvy said, diversity is the mother of invention then the technology media and telecoms sector is missing out on untold opportunities to innovate, stuffed as it is with people who look like me, white and male. I'm proud to work for a company that wants to change this. Today is Ada Lovelace … Continue reading “Embellish your Country with useful inventions & elegant productions”
It was a privilege to present at this week's GeekUp Leeds on a topic close to my heart, the amazing industrial heritage of Leeds and why it should be an inspiration to those working in the technology sectors today. Thanks to Deb and Rob for organising another great event, and to the GeekUp participants for putting … Continue reading The history of Leeds: What every geek should know
In the spirit of Chris Heathcote's excellent abstract pointillist powerpoint toolkit, I spent a couple of happy hours putting together 20 slides about Leeds, its industrial heritage and why I find it so inspiring. I was too late to submit to this week's Ignite UK North event (but thanks, Imran, for the kind tweet in any case), … Continue reading Abstract innovation
Steven Johnson's The Invention of Air sparks a delightful reverie on the pivotal role of 18th Century scientist, non-conformist minister and poltical thinker Joseph Priestley. Living in Leeds, I was vaguely aware of Priestley from local museums and the blue plaque at Mill Hill Unitarian Church on City Square. What schoolchild could fail to be … Continue reading Reflections on Reading of Mr Joseph Priestley and M Antoine Lavoisier While Travelling by Air Plane Between Leeds and Paris
Temple Works is a one-off. Its construction as a flax mill in 1840 must have made a powerful statement about Leeds' status as global pioneer of industry. At the time it was said to be the "largest single room in the world," with innovative air conditioning under the floor and sheep grazing on a grass-covered … Continue reading Help, our industrial heritage is falling down!
"I have got the Drawing for Your Arms in the Pediment done to a quarter of the size, shall order it to be such next week" - Robert Adam in letter to Sir Rowland Winn, owner of Nostell Priory, 1774 Now that's what I call unfinished.
Working for a company in a rapidly changing industry, it's easy to overlook the contributions of the team members who deliver the goods day-in day-out. It's important that these unsung heroes are recognised, and their milestones marked. So when my coworkers spotted that the office coffee machine was approaching its 100,000th drink they decided it … Continue reading The unsung office hero
Matt Edgar writes here 