The Digital Divide

November 2, 2012 in Entertainment, Technology

I live on the wrong side of a wall, it’s not a real wall, it’s a wall made up by something that isn’t there. In this case, what isn’t there is a lot of Ones and Zeros. The magic Digits of Binary code, You see, I live on the wrong side of the Digital Divide. My friends who live in Sydney, or even 50km away, can get unlimited broadband for what I pay for about 40gb capped per month. Now 40gb may sound like a lot, and it is, until you start downloading heavily or do a lot of business. [...]

The Lost Art of Spelling

October 4, 2012 in Children, Lifestyle, Parenting, Self, Society, Technology

I’m a high school teacher.  At the moment I am a learning support teacher- I help the kids who fell through the cracks- the kids who can’t read or write at a basic level. I also teach study groups where I work with seniors and help them prep for exams, assist them with their assessment tasks; I also work one on one with students who have learning difficulties. Therefore I feel qualified to make this observation: What has happened to the lost art of spelling? This is not about my students; this is about a generation of people who rely on [...]

Is Gen Y the Outsource Generation?

August 7, 2012 in Entertainment, Home, Lifestyle, Money, People, Society, Technology, Work

Are Gen Y the outsource generation? It’s a question I pondered recently as I was thinking about putting up some shelving in my garage (inspired by my brother who did) and realised I had no clue how to do it. Sure, I could go to Bunnings and I’m sure someone would help me learn, but I had no base knowledge. So my first instinct? Outsource! This led me to wonder about my values – is my time more valuable than my money? Do I no longer value knowing how to do these basic skills? The answer to these questions lay, [...]

Who Was Alan Turing, And Why Is He Still Important?

June 22, 2012 in Human Rights, News, People, Sexuality, Society, Technology

Tomorrow, the 23rd June 2012, will be the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alan Turing. Who was Alan Turing? Well, he was one of the most amazing minds of the 20th Century. He was a mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. His list of achievements are astounding: At the young age of 22, he was elected a fellow at  King’s College, Cambridge. During WWII, he worked at Bletchley Park, Britain’s codebreaking centre, where he devised a number of techniques for breaking German ciphers, including creating an electromechanical machine that could find settings for the Enigma machine. In the latter part of the war, he [...]