Cory Doctorow and Little Brother (photo by me)

At the same time, I also picked up a copy of Zoe’s Tale from John Scalzi. As with Cory, this is another author I started to read via free books, this time Old Man’s War which was available at Tor. I started reading his blog from there and am definitely looking forward to reading this (Hello John, if you pop by due to the law of Invocation)

Mobile Geeks of London. Run by Whatleydude, this event is a drinking and connecting event, run every few months or there about. I got there later in the evening, after my trip to the IET, to find the place buzzing. There was a special preview of a really cool mobile app, involving barcodes, utilising the idea of putting virtual objects in your screen. The project launches next week (it’s a marketing project) and I’ll be writing about it on Digital Stuffing. I had a great time, buying my ticket for the Mobile Industry Review Christmas Presents and having some great conversations.

Amplified08. I managed to get to the last session at Amplified 08, the first in a series of ‘conferences’ trying to connect the multiple networks across the country. My original choice of session was one on using social networks for change, to compare it with the previous night’s lecture, but I ended up skipping that and joining in an impromptu session about Hierarchy of communication and adoption of the tools. There’s no doubt that many people at these sessions are edge cases, using online tools to connect far more than most, but it was interesting to see how we used things differently. We all had out own hierarchy, the different levels and ways you connect with people.

Team Building and Farewell Parties On Friday, the team got a few hours out of the office to discuss some works processes, but if you were following my Twitter stream you would have noticed the conversation varied a little. We talked about internet use, I was surprised of the lack of usage for someone working building websites. We discussed communication strategies, from email and phone only, through to me who uses a lot more channels. Other topics included Kaplan and Norton’s Balanced Scorecard, co-relation coefficients and the Netflix challenge and the learning of languages. We also got onto London, how it’s a palimpsest of history, multiple layers of meaning. At the end of this, after calling into see James, I went to say farewell to my cousin, who’s back off to Australia after spending a few years here. The pub was just round the corner of Pudding Lane, another reminder of the city’s history.

That’s enough; next week there’s a few things I’ve not confirmed plus a trip to Leeds for the office Xmas party.

This evening, I went along to the IET for a Pinkerton Lecture, on using social media to inspire change. Delivered by Alex Balfour, who is the Head of New Media for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, it was a brilliant run through of the social media landscape (targeted at the majority of the audience who wouldn’t necessarily play in the space) and an introduction to what LOCOG is doing when it comes to social media.

As Alex ran through some of the innovations that his team has been repsonsible for, such as putting education packs online instead of using mailouts, of putting information for training camp venues up on the web, I wanted to challenge him. Where was the social media, where was the innovation? What he was talking about wasn’t ‘new’, but only new in the old definition of media. An understanding of the mindset of the overall organisation was given when, in answer to one of my questions at the end of the session, let it be known that the media broadcast rights for the 2016 Games, which included digital broadcast, will be signed up in 2009, 7 years before the games, even before the host city is confirmed. Whilst I could understand agreeing traditional TV rights, how can you even understand what could be done online that far ahead? The reasoning given was financial, that TV rights in effect add a huge amount to the running of the games. But why assign them before you know how much it’s going to cost, before you know which city is running it and how much they need. Given the current negotiations with the London budget and how they are going to afford the games, surely it would be better to sign things up closer to the time, when you know costs AND now what you can sell given a changing rights landscape.

Alex also mentioned that the 2010 Winter games are having to work out how they will cope with the media applications from non-traditional outlets, meaning bloggers and online newsites. I asked about this for 2012, but the answer was not clear about the access that would be granted for online reporters.

Alex covered some of the initiatives they have been running with, for example one around the handover parties that took place in August, where they asked people to contribute videos and images of celebration to add to a video they would show at the parties. Another example would be a call for images and content that could be used as part of the venues, either a collection of the content built up over the lead into the games, or ‘live’ stuff created during the games. They are working in a difficult environment, hampered by what sound like unbelievably stupid rules, such as a ban on linking to any site that is not a sponsor, but I’d like to see how they are going to approach some of the challenges

• One of the basic tenets of social media is sharing. How are they going to let people share the Games, through images, video, remixes, mashups of broadcast content (after the live broadcast)etc if all the ‘rights’ are tied up.
• With the assumption that every single person at the games will have a mobile phone capable of photography, video capture and live broadcast to the web, how are you going to support that?
• The sharing of content is often dependent on the use of tags but most of the expected tags wouls be copyrighted or trademarked. Are you going to police that?

One definite conclusion I came away with is that the games will allow social media as long as they control it, as long as it’s on their terms. A couple of videos were shown, one from the Handover celebrations and one from the announcement of the London win. I was in Trafalgar Square that day and recall vividly the rush of adrenaline and the euphoria of that moment, but it’s indelibly linked in memory to the happenings of the day after, so much so that I can’t watch celebration pictures without getting emotional. As I was listening to the how they plan to manage and initiate social media conversations, I was watching news and images come in on my phone about the Mumbai terrorists attacks. There is much irony for me in the contrast of social media used to connect people about what is happening in the world in real time compared to what the Olympic Committee may be forced to do, which is use the tools to leverage a commercial connection.

One common question that popped up is what would you do in that situation, how would you rebuild. Well, the odds are that you, or me, or most of everyone would be dead anyway. The show said something like 90% infection, which would still leave 6million in the UK alive, but the impression was there were a lot more dead than that. Even if you weren’t killed in the first infection, you’re going to have to be lucky and good to escape ongoing death from disease, cold or starvation in the first year or so.

The first episode ended with our group of heroes finally meeting and wondering what to do next - only one of them had done any thinking and collecting of goods to get to the next stage. The rest seemed woefully inadequate in their outlook. But, if, by some chance, you did survive, would you have any idea of what you would have to do? I thought I’d throw up some thoughts - and these have been done with no research, just mulling around what would need to be put in place. I’m pretty sure if I looked, I could find a whole bunch of websites giving me the information I needed. One assumption is that there is enough stuff around to survive the first month or so. Canned food, bottled water and transport with available fuel, to get to somewhere. This is about longer term thinking.

• Key things are shelter, water, food and sanitation. You’ll need a place to live, which has its own water supply - a well or a spring - and has arable land to grow food. Ideally, it should be defensible; law and order won’t be around and humans tend to fight a lot, especially over resources. A septic system would be a advantage.
• Ideally, you’d want to be away from any nuclear plants and from prevailing winds that could bring radiation. I’m not sure how safe these plants are with no electricity, no water and no manning, but some may go boom.
• You’ve found your farm, castle or where ever it is. (I fancy Windsor Castle actually, but probably a little too close to major population centres for the start, so it would be smelly and potentially disease prone in the beginning.) Now you need to start stocking it. First of all, work out where to get fuel, stock up some tanks so you have transport as long as possible. Go and raid supermarkets and get enough food (tinned, dried) for at least a year.
• Find a library/book store and grab lots of practical books for the things below. Also writing things and lots of paper, so you can start recording the new history.
• Hope the farmer had a shotgun and rifle, if not, go find some. You won’t be the only one, you’ll probably have to defend your place and you can go hunting.
• Tools - axes, knives, carpentry, farming, scissors. As much as you can
• Find some generators. You’ll need to have the option as you build up for the longer term
• Clothes and linen- stock up with tough stuff, it’s going to have to last. Store a lot for future use - including material. You’re going to have to learn to weave at some point but t may have a lower priority than starting the food supply.
• Growing things. Find agricultural suppliers and get everything you can - seed, fertiliser, pesticides.
• Animals - sheep for wool, cows for milk, meat and leather, pigs for meat, chickens for eggs and meat. Rabbits, guinea pigs and all the small stuff could be good.
• Farming. you may have a tractor and enough fuel for one year, but longer term I’d be looking for a plough and some horses. You should probably grab some horses for transport as well, along with some bikes
• Medicine. It’s not going to last, but grab what you can. Antibiotics, diarrhoea medicine, painkillers, antiseptics. (Stock up on soap as well). Iodine tablets may be useful as well

Now, you have to learn how to use all these things, how to farm, how to metalsmith, how to manage sanitation. A bit of medicine.

What have I missed, what else would you add to the list to gather and control in the first year?

Cosmonaut Keep Ken Macleod. another story of humans out there creating new worlds. Great story, approached from different angles until you put the whole tale together at the end about using alien tech to build new ships and bestow immortality.
Revelation Space Alastair Reynolds. Took me a couple of goes to get into this, but once there, enjoyable character story and a take on the Fermi Paradox.
The Queen’s Fool, Philippa Gregory. I like historical fiction, and Philippa writes some of the best. Form the POV of a fictional fool, you see the years 1553-1558 as the children of Henry VIII contend for the thrones.
The Sky Road, Ken MacLeod. Another story of humans in the future, with 2 stories of different times gradually coming together, so you realise how the one world make the next. This one is all set on Earth and includes ‘magic’.
War for the Oaks, Emma Bull. Another free TOR book, it got strong recommendations in the comment thread of the post announcing the download. I can see why, I devoured it in a few hours. Modern fantasy.
Smoke and Mirrors, Neil Gaiman. A re-reading, still love it. Except for the poems, I never getinto narrative poems.
The Favoured Child, Philippa Gregory. Not one of her Tudor series, but more of a straight-forward historical romance.. Finished it, but ended up skimming a lot, not as good as some of the others.
The Execution Channel Ken Macleod. One of the few books I ever remember being advertised on TV, finally managed to read it. A thriller with strong sci-fi elements, really good read.
Conspirancy of Violence Susanna Gregory. Historical Thriller, with slightly incompetent guy solving crimes in Restoration England. This is the start of a series and I’m not sure I could take the number of co-incidences required for this plot across a number of books, but I’ll look out for the next one.
Prince of Dogs Kate Elliot. Part 2 and I got through this very quickly again. Good characters and writing for fantasy.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison. Love it, makes great stews. I had venison sausages last night.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros. Tried in Austin at SXSW. Not really a favourite.
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile. Tried at a speciality restaurant. OK.
6. Black pudding. One of Dad’s favourites. I like it in small doses fried with a full breakfast.
7. Cheese fondue. Love making these/
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari. Most memorable onthe harbourside in Pireus, Athens.
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses. Well, I think I have. It looks familiar.
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes. We used to make it - blackberry and elderberry wines.
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream. Bleurgh. Give me chocolate, or Rum Raison
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries. Well, blackberries and elderberries at least. Plus strawberries.
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese. No thank you.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper. I’ve had the sauce. Never wanted to try the raw ingredient.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters. I prefer them cooked rather than raw
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi - I’ve had one sip. Don’t really like yoghurt drinks and I don’t like salted/savory stuff very much.
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float - I’ve had floats, but never root beer as don’t like that pop.
36. Cognac with a fat cigar. Cognac yes, but I don’t smoke. I’ve had cognac with friends when they were smoking fat cigars - does that count?
37. Clotted cream tea. Mmm, scones. Jam, clotted cream. Lovely
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects. Chocolate covered are best
43. Phaal. Just tastes. Too hot for me.
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more. I used to work for a distillers, so probably had whisky worth far more, usually straight out the cask!
46. Fugu. Never wanted to
47. Chicken tikka masala. It’s the UK’s national dish
48. Eel. Love it smoked more than jellied.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads There are some things I really just don’t want to try
63. Kaolin. Well, as a medicine. I always run this together as ‘kaolin and morphine’ as that’s how it used to be sold.
64. Currywurst. Tried. Didn’t like
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs. Tried one, that was enough.
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis.
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. I’ve only managed a 1 star. Need to up my game!
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Not too bad then, I’ve tried 78 of them. How about you?

Google Logo celebrates the LHC

They’ve not started the collisions yet, that’s later in the year. But just in case you’re worried the world is going to end, you can check with this handy website “Has the Large Hadron Collider Destroyed the World Yet?“

Not sure if it’s ever going to be out in the UK, but here’s a teaser.

• Battlestar Galactica, Jeffrey Carver. Another free pdf from Tor, this was good as I’ve never seen the mini-series/pilot for the re-imaged series. That said, the book was a little too much like a transcription of a TV story, Ok written, but not a brilliant read. I did quickly get through it though, as I wanted to find out how they got to various places.
• Friendly Fire, Patrick Gale. I got this from the 4th Estate Book tombola at the Innocent Village Fete and I finished it in less than 24 hours. I loved it, the story of a girl and 2 boys at school, growing up in the 70s. and learning about wh they are. Brilliant story and writing.
• Soul, Tobsha Learner,. This is another book from Tor. It confused me slightly as I was expecting more fantasy, but this is a straightforward novel, telling the stories of 2 women and how they deal with disappointing men in their life. Solidly plotted and well told, I really enjoyed this.
• Halting State Charles Stross. Love this, all about a connected world, augmented realities and a murder mystery,
• Learning the World. Ken Macleod. Liked it, liked the world he portrayed. A good starting point about what we would do if we were contacted.
• A Sudden Wild Magic, Diana Wynne Jones. OK, a little muddled for me and left too opened ended.
• Sphere of Influence, Kyle Miles. A great thriller that kept me reading. Although some of the main characters choices required a little bit of belief suspension
• Lots of John Scalzi stuff, I worked my way through his list of online short stories
• Charles Stross, Iron Sunrise. Loved it, once I’d put all the bits together. The chopping between all the character’s story lines was a little disconcerting at first, but it eventually made sense
• The Risen Empire, Scott Westerfeld. I got this as I’d read so much about Westerfeld’s YA books and they weren’t in the library! A long, long read, but enjoyable story, well characterised, even if slightly predictable.
• Singularity Sky, Charles StrossIron Sunrise is a sequal to this, so I was reading it knowing what happened to some of the characters. Again a world and story I loved, this one was a far more straight forward story than the other book
• Longitude Dava Sobel A quick romp (it’s a short book) about how John Harrison spent his life on developing a chronometer to take to sea, so that longitude could be measured, whilst battling against the ‘establishment’ who preferred a lunar method.

I read a lot more SciFi this month than I have done for a long time, I usually prefer the fantasy end of the genre. I found at one point getting confused across stories and worlds, as they were using a lot of the same principles, eg for FTL travel.