A review of the film “Danny Collins”
July 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
You might not have heard of this movie and the title is hardly a come-on, but it’s treat – full of warmth and pathos. You’ll find my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Trade unions are central to improving productivity
July 3rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
As someone who was a national trade union official for 24 years, I was pleased to see this short piece by John Earls, Head of Research at Unite, arguing the case for involving unions in the drive to increase productivity in the UK economy.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Today is Employee Ownership Day – so what’s it like working for a mutual?
July 3rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Created by the Employee Ownership Association in 2013 and supported by business, an array of trade and industry groups and across the political spectrum, Employee Ownership Day is a unique opportunity to highlight and celebrate the significant benefits employee ownership delivers to the UK economy.
Now, as it happens, I am on the Board of a mutual organisation which is owned and controlled by the staff. Only this week, I chaired a Board meeting of the Tinder Foundation which approved a suggestion – from one of the newest and most junior staff members – that has changed the remuneration policy of the organisation.
You can read her observations on working for the Tinder Foundation, together with the thoughts of a longer-served staff member, here.
I am proud to be associated with an organisation with such great staff that does such wonderful work.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
My 17th short story: “Nostalgic Reminiscence”
July 3rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I remember being at school at the aged of 15 and, in our English class, we had to study a poem. Our teacher told us that the work was imbued with “nostalgic reminiscence”.
At the time, i had no idea what this emotion felt like; half a century later, I certainly do. So I offer you now a very short story called simply “Nostalgic Reminiscence”. Enjoy.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
The impossible escape from North Korea of Ji Seong-ho
July 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Ji Seong-ho is a North Korean defector who grew up during the country’s terrible famine in the 1990s. In order to survive, Ji would exchange stolen coal for food on the black market.
While taking coal from a train car in 1996, a malnourished Ji lost consciousness and fell onto the tracks, losing his left hand and foot when a train ran over him. After a gruelling amputation surgery, Ji was left to fend for himself.
In 2006, he escaped to South Korea, where he is now a law student at Dongguk University. Ji is also the president of Now Action and Unity for Human Rights, where he helps broadcast information into North Korea and facilitates the resettlement of defectors in South Korea.
This is the short, but incredibly moving, speech he made to this year’s Oslo Freedom Forum:
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Thought the western had bit the dust? Think again.
July 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
One of the best films on current release – at least in the UK – is an independent work by a first-time writer and director. He’s British but the subject is a western called “Slow West”. You can read my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Enjoy your extra second in bed tonight
June 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Midnight will come later tonight as, for the first time in three years, an extra second is added to the official time set by atomic clocks.
The “leap second” means the last minute of June will have 61 seconds in it.
Leap seconds – and leap years – are added as basic ways to keep the clock in sync with the Earth and its seasons. However, there are concerns the extra second could cause problems for some computer systems because it has to be added manually.
More information here.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
Today is the world’s first official asteroid day
June 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“Asteroid Day is a global awareness campaign where people from around the world come together to learn about asteroids and what we can do to protect our planet, families, communities, and future generations from future asteroid impacts. Asteroid Day will be held on the anniversary of the Tunguska event in Siberia, the largest asteroid to impact Earth in recent history – an asteroid that devastated an area about the size of any major metropolitan area. Regionally organised large and small events will be held on Asteroid Day – from live concerts and community events, to lectures and other educational programmes, to support a movement calling for increased detection and mapping of asteroids. The 100x Asteroid Declaration, calling for this action, has been signed by astronauts, scientists, artists and leaders in business and technology.
Employing available technology to detect, track and defend our Earth from dangerous asteroid impacts is something we know how to do. This will assure the survival of generations to come as well as preserve our heritage and all that we have learned and created as a species. We have the knowledge as well as the technology to prevent these future catastrophic events. The fact that this initiative could save ALL the species on this planet that have evolved alongside us. We have a responsibility as custodians, not just for the planet, but for all the abundant life which inhabits it.
Continuing to orbit our solar system without the knowledge of potentially dangerous asteroids in our orbital neighbourhood is equivalent to playing the odds in a game of Las Vegas roulette – only this time, we are betting our families, homes and indeed future generations. The probability of Earth being impacted in a random location by a 100-megaton asteroid in your lifetime is about the same as the probability of you being killed in an automobile accident. These odds on any individual day are small, yet few among us would drive a car without wearing a seat belt. The 100x Asteroid Declaration calls for the discovery and tracking of 100,000 asteroids a year over the next ten years. In addition to protecting our planet, this increased capability will provide dramatically improved knowledge of our Solar System for scientific and other purposes.”
You can find more information here.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
Why customer expectations are rising in the communications sector
June 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I recently attend a breakfast meeting to discuss customer service in a part of the communications sector (digital terrestrial television). I was asked to make some opening remarks and highlighted the following reasons why customer expectations are high and rising:
- The technology itself is driving expectations as we see falling prices, increased speeds, increased capacity, increased functionality, and some truly transformative devices and services such as the Apple watch. In television, we are seeing more channels, better picture quality, and more functionality such as easier recording and catch-up services.
- The companies themselves have driven up expectations with their marketing and advertising: “superfast”, “ultrafast”, “fastest”, “up to”, “largest”, “cheapest”, “no caps”, “everything everywhere”. In television, Freeview promotes the one-off payment and then free usage, while Sky – competitor to Freeview – urges us to “believe in better”
- At both an individual and societal level, we are becoming ever-more dependent on IT products and services, so network outages, network congestion, expiry of battery life and loss of mobile signal are not simply inconveniences but can effect our ability to access information and services or work at home or obtain the best deals online. Similarly, for television, loss of a TV channel or poor reception are not simply inconveniences but effect our quality of life.
- Consumers compare every company with the best and the best are really good: the likes of Amazon, Apple, John Lewis.
Posted in Consumer matters | Comments (0)
My birthday present to myself: the Apple Watch
June 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
First, I bought an iPod. Then I went for the first iPhone as soon as it was launched. Next I obtained the first iPad as soon as it was out. Then I bought the Mac Mini to replace my PC.
Later I upgraded to the New iPad aka the iPad 3. Progressively I upgraded from the iPhone 1 to the iPhone 5 and recently the iPhone 6. Today I went all the way with Apple by buying the Watch. Oh joy!
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)