The Weather in Bilbao, Spain October 21, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : internet , add a comment
Santander
TV-B-Gone gadget October 21, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Uncategorized , 4commentsWhat fun we could have with this at the local on cup-final day, or anytime when Man U are playing 
Blogs vs Forums what’s the difference? October 21, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : meta-blog , add a commentNeville Hobson offers some clear explanations and a prediction on his NevOn blog
“I’d hazard a strong guess, though, that for inter-relating and developing online conversations, blogs will soon surpass structured discussion forums as the informal communication channel of choice for most people.”
Goldsmiths new arts complex October 20, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : hi res photos, London , add a commentThe new arts complex for South London’s famous Goldsmiths College is nearly finished, this will make Goldsmiths’ ( “World leader in creativity” ) physical presence much more visible and put the New Cross Gate area on the map.
I like these sort of landmark buildings, they help people to feel good about the city they live in and it reminds of Paris in the 1970s when all sorts of interesting new buildings were springing up around Les Halles and La Defence.
Could this one make the shortlist for next year’s building of the year?
Building of the Year October 18, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Art, London , 2commentsThis year’s award goes to the Gherkin, although a new open plan South London school ( “The Bexley Business Academy, also by Norman Foster ) made the RIBA Sterling prize shortlist and the War Museum, Manchester looked very impressive.
I knew I had some photos somewhere, here’s one taken from along the route to Liverpool St Station:
Apparently the Gherkin is particularly well designed on the inside, as well as being a landmark, but we the public have no opportunity to experience the interior with it’s spectacular views for ourselves.
And half of the office space is still vacant.
Later, I shall post a photo of next year’s winner, as it is being built
Addendum
I think it’s worth highlighting this extraordinary claim for the school building:
“Built around three courtyards, the Academy is open-plan. There are no classrooms, but lessons are carried out in alcoves. The idea was to create a transparent space, where ‘everyone could see what was going on’, says David Garrard, one of Bexley’s sponsors. ‘It would create an atmosphere of brightness which would encourage learning.’
By thinking outside the hermetically sealed boxes in which young people are usually taught, The Business Academy has succeeded. The proportion of children at the school achieving five good grades at GCSE has leapt from just 6% to 36%. In one of London’s most deprived areas, a piece of architecture is changing the lives of the next generation. “
who is it October 17, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : Music , 3commentsBjork’s Medulla album is superb. I’ve been listening ever since it arrived by post from Amazon as a birthday present. Now you can see the video of the single “who is it” performed with the handbells, not present on the album version.
from Medulla
right or wrong way to do it October 15, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : learning , add a commentAn interesting lesson today as a year 5 teacher asked me to demonstrate spreadsheet modelling. The intention was to recap columns, rows and formulae using a times table model. I used questioning in order to try and maintain the attention of those at the back. To make a series of constants I explained the use of “Fill special - increment by 1″ then I asked how we might be able to get the computer to calculate the 7 times table. The idea was to use a formula such as ( =C3 * 7 ) but the little boy I asked had an alternative solution “highlight, calculate, fill special, start from 7 increment by 7″. So I followed his instructions, and we eaxamined the results. The answers were correct. “yes, well done!” The class teacher looked at me slightly alarmed “is that the way you meant ?”
OK, let’s freeze the action there.
The demonstration hadn’t gone according to plan, the offical lesson objective may not be exactly achieved but there was no way I was going to tell that bright young spark he was wrong. I’ve been thinking recently about how questioning often gets reduced to “guess what the teacher is thinking” and also about how the nature of modern software means that there is nearly always more than one way to arrive at the desired results.
I decided on the spur of the moment to go with the flow and send the class to their computers and use Huang’s technique to make their times tables. They set about the task. After a bit, the class teacher left the room, returning later. She wanted to show them how to use formulae, so I had to show her first, and then that was covered in a rare mid-lesson plenary, great. The point being that we couldn’t really say “this is why this method is better” because with the simple example being used, it isn’t.
So we learned how two techniques can both work. I was pleased with the decision I made, the effect it had on the lesson, the learning and the teacher. I wouldn’t have had that confidence in action a short while while ago.
Southbank movie October 15, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : soundvideo, movie clips, London , add a comment
This was shot at the same time as the stills in the previous entry, I’m interested in the comparison. Does the low quality movie - with movement and sound - add anything of value to the sequence of high quality stills?
South Bank October 14, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : internet, Art, London , add a comment
I took a few photos yesterday evening along the south bank of the Thames, while the light was quite amazing. To save messing about, I just uploaded them straight to my other blog, using Hello and Picasa.
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One Hundred Eggs October 9, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : meta-blog , 1 comment so far
( image depicts a vietnamese legend 100 eggs )
For this 100th entry in the blog I’m hoping to assess the progress made so far and think about future development. Frst then, a numerical analysis:
100 entries
216 comments
4 trackbacks
Number of articles posted per Month:
Total articles per category:
So the blog seems quite varied in subject matter and style, the only real common factor linking all the articles being the author. That may suit some people who like a mixed diet, or people who know me but it’s unlikely to hold the interest of those who are only really interested in one specialism. I think it was Michael Feldstein who recommended that 80% of blog articles should be relevent to the core subject. I break that rule. The category count reveals few surprises. I”ve suceeded in keeping the meta-blog posts down within acceptable limits, video is intended to be a major category and it’s only natural for the blog to be situated in London where I live and work. The ones which worry me most are music and business. I discovered a way of making reasonable sound recordings using the DV camcorder but only got around to the one song - shifting sands. So the music project, which I claim to hold as a high priority, is proving to be really hard to push along in the present circumstances. Ultraversity work could feature more highly in future, although it does tend to get spread across multiple forums. Workplace issues get an occasional airing, but I am carefully aware these may be read by anybody.
Can I justify retaining the subtitle “have envelope, will push” ?
Well I feel I’ve expanded some aspects a fair way, the digital photography, video editing and blog itself have developed at a good pace over the past 8 months, together with some ideas about community and interaction. The fact that I spread my attention over many different endeavours at once these days, probably slows the pace of development of each one, so I have to ask myself if this is the best use o my efforts. Would I be better off ditching some projects and concentrating on one or two things which I could identify as most important to me? My inclination is not to go down that path right now, since the priorities are nowhere near clear enough and I’m beginning get better at coping with multitasking, which is a useful skill in itself.
Whither blog?
Which corner of the envelope gets a shove next, will depend more upon events than on planning, and there may be a shift over to other spaces as well. Larger video projects should find a home on the CuttySnark blog, local stuff on Manor Park. I may write a bit more autobiographical stuff like ‘Computer Operator’ and report more experiential incidents from the workplaces. Short link articles are less likely now that I have my latest Furl entries displayed in the side bar.
hosting
There are some issues to do with backup, scalability and ownership on the slartibartfast server but I’ll stay there for the time being. It’s nice being part of the ultralab blogfeed community.
meta-reflection
The 100th entry struggled to be born causing something of a blog-jam! For the 200th I might just post a picture of cake instead.
is an online professional who initiated DARnet 
