Archive for January, 2005

She abjures blog explosion

Monday, January 31st, 2005

At last I put off blog ranking,For twice ten weeksThe daysman of my thought,And hope, and doing;Being ashamed thereof,And faint of seeksAnd minutes viewing, wroughtIn its pursuing.*

*With apologies to Thomas Hardy

Where’s the “any” key?

Monday, January 31st, 2005

Back to work. Dressed for an arctic expedition, ready for the sub-zero temperature of my office. R2OB1 is sitting opposite me swathed in her scarf and pashmina, going for the Peruvian Sherpa look.
Power onBEEPKeyboard failurePress F1 to continue
doh!
Maybe I just need some coffee …

Make Poverty History

Friday, January 28th, 2005

Fighting chronic compassion fatigueI can already hear the groaning through the modems, “Not another campaign for Africa!”, “We’ve already done Africa!” or even “Why bother?” Fair question when you consider that despite continuous aid, life in African countries is getting worse. Is there a hole in the bucket? Nope. The first problem is debt relief. […]

Snow and Mosquitoes??

Thursday, January 27th, 2005

Imagine the scene. A small child sleeping fitfully under crumpled bedclothes. Silence. Zoom in to a head shot. High-pitched whine fades in and out. Child listlessly swats the air without waking. Another high-pitched whine, which stops abruptly. Pull back. Silence. Zoom in for close head shot to see a mosquito feeding on the child’s cheek.
Woke […]

And you think YOU’VE got no one to talk to?

Tuesday, January 25th, 2005

I attended a ceremony this morning with five language simultaneous interpreting. It was fun switching from one language to another, although I missed the punchline to the only joke of the day because I was on the Mandarin channel. I wonder if the interpreters are chosen for the quality of their voice - all five […]