These notes are a tool I use for reflecting, remembering (because I can't), networking and public accountability. Read more here.
You know the start of apocalypse films when the TV news in the background runs reports of an approaching meteor and/or megalomaniac politician and/or evil tech boss? That’s just life now. Three for three. Maybe an asteroid hitting earth (or the White House) is all we deserve at this point.
Friday was my 3rd anniversary at the BFI. Thanks for the touching LinkedIn messages. You guys! Arike mentioned this metaphor of 3-year sleep, creep, leap gardening cycles which I guess means I should have been leaping this past year and now I can sleep again?
I do feel sleepy. Still not exercising enough, that’s why. I’m now the age my old BIS boss Rod was when he told me he swims every lunchtime without fail “to have the energy to do this job” and I’m just now understanding what he meant. Doing it is another matter though.
He also warmed his dirty underpants on the office radiator, farted all the time at his desk and treated his PA like shit so I take his mentorship somewhat under advisement.
Work, work, work
Of all the things I need to be across, cyber security and AI are certainly two of them. This week I dedicated the best part of a day to each.
I spent several hours of Tuesday reading up and distilling my messy thoughts on AI to clarify (for myself and colleagues) my position on it as things stand. I’ve published the resulting notes here. It’s a work in progress, feedback welcome.
I spent Thursday attending Cyber Confex – the (free to attend) annual public sector cybersecurity conference, at the QEII Centre.
It was a gorgeous day to be out and about in my old stomping ground (half my career was in gov buildings on Victoria Street) and the view from the 5th floor was luvverly.
I’d joked to my sons the night before about my dull day ahead (cyber + public sector = yawn) but I couldn’t have been more wrong, it was gripping!
Observations:
- The room was wonderfully diverse in gender, race and age – not at all what I would have guessed up front. I wonder if a private sector cyber conf could say the same.
- Cyber people are funny. There were jokes aplenty in talks from the NCA on taking down LockBit (a UK-led international operation that embraced memes as part of its strategy to discredit the LockBit brand and humiliate its leaders) and in a talk from Halcyon’s Ross Asquith about ransomware (which apparently is as old as Tim Burton’s Batman).
- The community vibe is hella strong. It was palpable. Cyber’s a profession where collaboration is power (the mantra is ‘defend as one’) and people are people people not just tech and risk nerds (culture and behaviour change being so key to it all).
- I learned loads about the state of the art, and tips for awareness and behaviour change campaigns. There was a talk on attracting, retaining and developing women in cyber so I sat up for that one (but had hoped for more substance, tbh).
- Cyber sponsors give good swag. I’m wearing mimecast socks as I type, sitting on a throne I’ve fashioned out of A5 hardback notebooks.
Back at HQ (the cold box room I call a home office) I got into an interesting back and forth with a colleague on the use of the phrase “continuous improvement” which is one of those words (like digital, service, agile, user-centred) that we hope will communicate so much but are too easily heard as general vocabulary. Of course we continuously improve, of course we are flexible and adaptable. Indeed, but… we actually mean all of this.
Links
Matt Jukes wrote here about his internal AI Natalie Imbruglia imbroglio – like many of us he’s torn, cold and shamed, lying naked on the floor.
The heirloom tomato org chart [YouTube]. Rob Cawston put me onto this counter-argument to the received wisdom on product teams of 5-8 people (Spotify squads, Amazon 2-pizza teams etc). Given Conway’s law that you inevitably ship your org chart, this talk argues you should resist symmetry and instead shape teams with a point of view on what matters most – like a lumpy, tasty tomato not a tasteless supermarket sphere.
Harry Metcalfe is blogging! Awesome. Read his exasperation that the State of digital Government report is pointing out the same stuff yet again and this on sustainable pace and this on why AI is useful but not.
Atika’s categorisation of digital skills for people at all levels of the org is👌and worth stealing. (And she’s got the team blogging now too, good work).
The hidden value of digital maturity assessments.
I liked this thoughtful post from Poss on gut feel.
Brian Eno’s notebooks are worth a skim.
It’s not all work, work, work
We visited the National Army Museum last Sunday to satisfy Joel’s sudden all-consuming fascination with Napoleon-era battle tactics and guns. It’s an impressive place, albeit not enthralling for pacifist-leaning people whose memory-free minds find the past dull. Genuinely love these saluting toilet signs though.
Dylan just submitted his application for Bafta Young Game Designers Awards, how very exciting. One half of my twin nieces, Lily, came to stay again while doing her work experience. Joy has gone away for the coming week, so it’s just me and the boys.
This planning application for a Nandos in Crystal Palace triangle gets my vote, nimbys be damned!
I don’t mention it often (because diddums) but I’m in pain most of the time with neck and shoulder tension. It’s been especially bad for the past fortnight. Distracting, nagging ball of sharp pain in my right upper traps, and frequent headaches. Not been great for my overall mood.
Cultural consumption
🎬 Longlegs. I thought this was dreadful, and not even a bit scary.
📺 Finished our Veep rerun, will miss it. Started The Traitors US.
📺 Boyzone: No Matter What and Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands. Guess what lads: the music industry is exploitative. Middle-aged Ronan would like you to note his impressive arms. Why did the journalist from The Mirror film all his bits in his car?
📺 Ladies & Gentlemen: 50 Years of SNL Music.
📓 Started reading Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman and I’m hooked. Such a fun, easy read. The Running Man meets Ready Player One meets The Hunger Games meets Labyrinth meets Hitchhiker’s Guide meets Fighting Fantasy. Spotted it via MBS’s GoodReads activity. Side note: MBS has an excellent cyber security newsletter here
🎬 Showed the kids Purple Rain. I still love the music, performances, Prince’s outfits and bike, the eye artwork in his boudoir etc etc …but man oh man the sexual politics.
🎬 Girls Will Be Girls on BFI Player. The latest Kermode pick, and he’s not wrong it’s a good’un.
Distractions
- I fucking hate Jira
- Cats vs aluminium foil [TikTok]
- Final Destination Bloodlines teaser trailer – does not disappoint!
Thanks for reading, bye!
