Thursday 31 March 2011
Saturday 26 March 2011
Quote of the day
‘what you have at work is a whole range of people coming together who didn’t choose to work together. Of course there will be differences. Now, I hope I am the type of boss who appreciates differences, but not everyone has the same attitude.’
‘Isn’t that a pessimistic view of work?
’Not at all. Just realistic. And if it’s realistic, you just need ways to cope with different situations.’
(The Boss by Andrew O’Keeffe, 2006, p.55)
Wednesday 9 March 2011
Hackers Discover Google's Unreleased Cloud-Based Music Service | Fast Company
Hackers Discover Google's Unreleased Cloud-Based Music Service | Fast Company‘A hacker from the XDA-Dev forum found something interesting when he forced the Motorola Xoom Android tablet's music app onto his Android smartphone: a "Sync Music" feature. So the hacker tested the out the feature. He uploaded the music from his memory card into Google's cloud, wiped the memory card clean, and found that he was able to pull the music back down from the cloud. […] Google is reportedly launching a music service later this year that will feature cloud-based storage and a subscription service. No word yet on a release date, but the existence of the "Sync Music" button leads us to believe that it isn't too far away.’
Lisa Gilbert: The Unified Pay Theory
And the story goes on…
‘The disparity between regular Americans struggling to make ends meet and billion dollar bonuses has never been more stark.’
Monday 7 March 2011
On the leadership style of Attila the Hun
‘It’s unlikely that anyone actually expected Priscus to praise Attila. Yet in his account of the feast Priscus made a point of emphasising Attila’s moderation, frugality and restraint: he wore no jewels; he did not find [the mentally ill] Zercon amusing; during dinner he was served only simple food and used a wooden plate and mug. ‘For us there were lavishly prepared dishes presented on silver platters, for Attila there was nothing more than meat on a wooden plate. He showed himself moderate in other ways as well. For while gold and silver cups were handed to the men a the feast, his mug was of wood.’
The educated knew hot to read such signs. For nearly five centuries, ever since the first Roman emperor Augustus, behaviour at banquets had been one of the moral measures of a ruler. Gluttony and excessive feasting were indications of a dangerously capricious monarch unfit to govern. It was at dinner that the most hated emperors of the seating at a sumptuous banquet that for many confirmed their suspicions of Caligula’s incest with his sisters. According to his biographer Suetonius, Nero held feasts that ‘lasted from noon to midnight, with frequent breaks for plunging into a warm pool or in the summertime into a snow-cooled water’. It was over dinner that Nero was first seduced by his mother Agrippina. By contrast, the best Roman emperors were restrained and moderate. […]
The pointed contrast between Theodosius and Attila is too sharp to miss. On this view, Attila the Hun was a successful leader, not because he violated Roman moral codes or stood defiantly outside them, but because he fulfilled them. Judged by Roman standards, Attila was in some ways a more praiseworthy monarch than Theodosius. In Priscus’ opinion it was precisely Attila’s frugality, moderation and shrewdness as a ruler – rather than any uncontrolled savagery – that made him truly frightening.’
Attila the Hun by Christopher Kelly (2009, p.154)