I've just joined Google + and though I haven't done much with it yet, I don't know what value it will bring yet. I suspect it might have greater value for me over and above Facebook, partially in doing more, but also because I have a Droid mobile and fb is terrible on that. However, all this does depend whether my family, friends etc start using it. So we'll see!
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Ada Lovelace Day 2010 - pledge
I have pledged to write a post about a woman in technology I admire. This is the second year I've pledged this and I will be publishing a post on 24 March 2010. If you're interested in this, please check out the Finding Ada website for much more information.
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Good Times
There is a spot in my heart
Which stores places left behind as if they were a favourite jumper
That has been pushed to the back of the wardrobe.
Returning to the place feels like drawing that old sweater
Over my head.
Warm, welcoming, comforting,
So many good memories weaved into its threads.
And though I may have a new jumper,
With many fine qualities,
For now, it is not the same.
The new jumper needs time
To make new memories.
Which stores places left behind as if they were a favourite jumper
That has been pushed to the back of the wardrobe.
Returning to the place feels like drawing that old sweater
Over my head.
Warm, welcoming, comforting,
So many good memories weaved into its threads.
And though I may have a new jumper,
With many fine qualities,
For now, it is not the same.
The new jumper needs time
To make new memories.
Friday, 9 October 2009
Waking
A poem has been percolating in my head, so I've decided to be brave and publish it here on my blog. Here goes (girding my loins) -
There is a solemnity in waking.
Before dream sloughs itself,
In the waking sleep,
A tempestuous peace refracts the early morning.
And then
A consciousness
Facing a dark day blank
Shivering with knowledge unknown
Who will I be today?
There is a solemnity in waking.
Before dream sloughs itself,
In the waking sleep,
A tempestuous peace refracts the early morning.
And then
A consciousness
Facing a dark day blank
Shivering with knowledge unknown
Who will I be today?
Sunday, 23 August 2009
Equality yet
Recently, I've been studying some of the women involved in what has come to be known as the first wave of feminism, which occurred during the 19th and early 20th century. The rights they fought for on behalf of women have given me the opportunities I have today. They have been directly responsible for my personal freedoms as a woman; amongst other things, the right to own property, the right to have a profession and earn and retain my own wages, the right to an education equal to that of men, the right to vote. I could go on.
These things have enriched my life and I am in the enviable position of being able to take these things for granted. Yet, even in this era of enhanced rights, women are still objectified. I've blogged around a similar topic before, but the recent events with Caster Semenya have shown another side to this.
Those first wave feminists set out to prove that femininity is no barrier to what women can achieve. But, the recent Semenya story seems to show that we feel it's fine to condemn women for not being feminine enough. How long will it take us to understand that these preconceived notions of how feminine a woman should be simply hold us back? There should be no benchmark on womanliness, we must embrace our individuality. I firmly believe, we are human first and women second.
Those notions of femininity are a learned behaviour, socially constructed and anachronistic. Until we see this, I fear we can never completely gain the equality we deserve.
These things have enriched my life and I am in the enviable position of being able to take these things for granted. Yet, even in this era of enhanced rights, women are still objectified. I've blogged around a similar topic before, but the recent events with Caster Semenya have shown another side to this.
Those first wave feminists set out to prove that femininity is no barrier to what women can achieve. But, the recent Semenya story seems to show that we feel it's fine to condemn women for not being feminine enough. How long will it take us to understand that these preconceived notions of how feminine a woman should be simply hold us back? There should be no benchmark on womanliness, we must embrace our individuality. I firmly believe, we are human first and women second.
Those notions of femininity are a learned behaviour, socially constructed and anachronistic. Until we see this, I fear we can never completely gain the equality we deserve.
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Split Personality - time for a completely new blog
It seems to me I have a propensity towards a split personality when it comes to my online world. I have places I go where I do work-related stuff and places I go to do personal stuff - and those two very rarely meet. For example, I use Facebook to hook up with my family and friends - these are people I know 'in reality', friends I actually know in person - and then I use Twitter for conversations based around my work, and those are people I may or may not have actually met.
When I first realised I was doing this, I thought it probably meant I was old-fashioned and outmoded. It's taken me some time, and numerous informal conversations with other people, to decide that I'm not outmoded and, in fact, many of us do exactly the same thing - we keep different parts of our lives separate, and not just online either. I was involved in an interesting conversation at a conference a few weeks ago with a fellow from another university who said he'd spent time observing his teenage son's online activity. His son, at any one time, might have three or four methods of communication open - he'd be using a gaming console and chatting with his online opponents, he'd have his mobile phone for texting close friends, he'd have email and chat windows open on his computer for other friends. And, all of these things, he would simply switch between depending on who he was speaking to and the task he wanted to achieve.
That definitely made me feel a lot better, I can't be outmoded if I use different tools because, if that teenager is anything to go by, younger people than me do it as well.
All this is apropos to the fact that I've decided to have more than one blog - one for personal stuff, where I can blog about all sorts of different things, and one for stuff that's somehow related to the work I do. Plus, having two also means I get to try out more than one blog platform.
This blog is my personal one. So, if you're reading this and wondering why it's all poncy/unstructured/touchy-feely somethings and nothings, then have a look at my work-related blog instead.
When I first realised I was doing this, I thought it probably meant I was old-fashioned and outmoded. It's taken me some time, and numerous informal conversations with other people, to decide that I'm not outmoded and, in fact, many of us do exactly the same thing - we keep different parts of our lives separate, and not just online either. I was involved in an interesting conversation at a conference a few weeks ago with a fellow from another university who said he'd spent time observing his teenage son's online activity. His son, at any one time, might have three or four methods of communication open - he'd be using a gaming console and chatting with his online opponents, he'd have his mobile phone for texting close friends, he'd have email and chat windows open on his computer for other friends. And, all of these things, he would simply switch between depending on who he was speaking to and the task he wanted to achieve.
That definitely made me feel a lot better, I can't be outmoded if I use different tools because, if that teenager is anything to go by, younger people than me do it as well.
All this is apropos to the fact that I've decided to have more than one blog - one for personal stuff, where I can blog about all sorts of different things, and one for stuff that's somehow related to the work I do. Plus, having two also means I get to try out more than one blog platform.
This blog is my personal one. So, if you're reading this and wondering why it's all poncy/unstructured/touchy-feely somethings and nothings, then have a look at my work-related blog instead.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
