Andy Oakley

Earlier this year, Stephen Fry gave the Spectator Lecture at the Royal Geographical Society in London and the full transcript, titled America’s place in the world, is posted on his blog. Although it’s a long read, it’s one of the most perceptive accounts of the differences between Britain and the US that I think I’ve ever come across and he captures it far more eloquently than I ever could.

An old classic that I can never find this when I’m looking for it. Reposting here for posterity.

Project design and engineering, as applied to building a rope swing:

I love these PEMCO commercials: “We’re a lot like you”.

http://www.werealotlikeyou.com/

Sometimes it is important to challenge the status quo and force change but that invariably lead to resistance and confrontation. Other times, it is so much more effective to embrace the constraints or unquestioned ‘truths’, take steps that no-one cares about within that existing framework and watch desired outcome emerge naturally.

As a means of effecting change and reducing poverty, my belief and commitment to organizations like Unitus that offer microfinancing solutions remains strong. This initiative also shows promise.

The Girl Effect:

The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society.

Because there’s poverty, and war, and hunger, and AIDS, and because when adolescent girls in the developing world have a chance, they can be the most powerful force of change for themselves, their families, communities, countries, and even the planet.

But while those 600 million adolescent girls are the most likely agents of change, they are often invisible to their societies and the world.

So what can you do about that? Help make girls visible. Stand up and be counted by becoming a fan of The Girl Effect, and getting your friends to do the same. Tell the world that you think the 600 million girls in the developing world deserve better – for themselves, and for the end of poverty.

That’s a start. Ready to learn and do more? Head over to girleffect.org.

What better way to break a hiatus than with a bit of nostalgia.

Even after seven years (this Wednesday) away from Britain, this video makes me inexplicably homesick.

I really enjoyed the recent Olympics. I have little recollection of the Athens and Sydney games but did manage to catch quite a bit more this time.

A few thoughts, in no particular order:

• NBC (and the media in general) have a definite propensity for only covering sports that are likely to be dominated by the US, quite a different approach from what I recall growing up. But I do rather enjoy the rivalry of the superpowers.
• Great Britain almost finished with the bronze on the medal table. A clear win if measured by population or land area.
• Watching on-demand video was pretty cool and made it fun to see the really close races again.
• The Opening ceremony was incredible. Very clever usage of technology as a complement to the performance skill of many, many participants, rather than a replacement for them. I’m sure things went wrong during it the level of preparation made it impossible to notice.
• Usain Bolt combined two of my favorite things in one man: raw talent and a fine example of  nominative determinism.
• I was once again reminded of the attitude at that level. As Al Oerter once said “These are the Olympics. You die before you quit.”

On the down side, the ‘it’s cool to bash China’ sentiment in the media was very disappointing. Perpetuating already off-the-mark misconceptions without any balanced discussion of the issues seemed borderline irresponsible. Such behavior has the effect of setting public opinion irrationally against something and leads to attitudes and attacks grounded in ignorance. Although in a different context, I must say that story was strikingly familiar.

Anyone who doesn’t believe there’s a huge transformation happening in China is going to be mightily surprised. The level of optimism, enthusiasm and sense of endless possibility is unmatched elsewhere at this point.

Oh, and we were doing our bit too:

I’m really enjoying the Olympics this year. Seeing Great Britain in the medal count top three was a pleasant surprise today. Although there’s been almost zero TV coverage of any sports in which the USA might not dominate, the online offerings have been quite inclusive and are making it easy to follow the other sports like rowing.

I wouldn’t exactly say I’m proud of reading Valleywag on a regular basis. It’s not so much the brainwashed feeling that trashy journalism engenders as it is the wonder of what life would be like with that time instead dedicated to some of the more noble pursuits of western civilization.

Ah yes, time. Perhaps their most valuable contribution is the ‘hundred word version’, an act of distilling down the long, meandering press releases and leaked e-mails into something more readily digestible.

It’s a good thing to remember when writing: if you can say it in 100 words, why use more?

At every conference I’ve attended during my professional career, one fixture has been ever present: the cluster of people — usually sitting on the floor in a hallway — tethered to a short supply of wall outlet charging their laptops.

One can only help this scene will soon become a quaint relic of history.