Wednesday 24 March 2010

ALD10 Lucy Suchman


Lucy Suchman is an anthropologist of science and technology. She used to hold the position of Principal Scientist and manager of the Work Practice and Technology area at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center). Nowadays, she is the Professor of Professor of Anthropology of Science and Technology at Lancaster University, and the Co-Director of the Centre for Science Studies. Her home page is here.

Lucy's work has had a big influence on both my PhD, and the way I try to work with clients. When I was starting out in IT, everybody wanted to get down and build stuff, but compared to me, it seemed they didn't want to sit with the business people, "the users", and talk to them, and listen and observe, and find out what they do all day before they started designing stuff. That's what anthroplogists of technology do, and my journey has been all about finding out what I'm comfortable with, and what I'm good at, and how I can add value.

Lucy's most famous book (still, I think, though I'm no expert) is called 'Plans and Situated Actions'. It explores the differences between they way people talk when people ask us what we're doing ('Plans') and what we do when we are actually trying to get the job done (the Situated Action part.) This is a very important distinction for feminists, because a lot of the talk about work has been done by bosses who are male, and not by the people who actually do the work. It's also very important for knowledge workers in general, and anyone who has ever struggled to explain to an asshat bureaucrat - *cough*, sorry, to a manager, what is that's going on and why it matters. And of course, it is incredibly important for designers, who need to understand people's working practices well enough to create technology that serves its users, rather than slowing us down and getting in our way.

In a profession where most of the geeks are men who fancy themselves as engineers, I'm happy to be known as an anthropologist and an aspiring feminist.

Lucy is a real hero of mine. I'd like her to be your hero too.

Saturday 20 March 2010

September Gurls



This is the tune that all the Alex Chilton fans seem to be playing this weekend. It's so utterly pubescent: "I loved you... well, never mind".

September gurls do so much
I was your butch and you were touched
I loved you well never mind
I've been crying all the time
December boys got it bad.
December boys got it bad.

September gurls I don't know why
How can I deny what's inside
Even thought I keep away
Maybe we'll love all our days.
December boys got it bad
December boys got it bad

When I get to bed
Late at night
That's the time
She makes things right
Ooh when she makes luv to me..

September gurls do so much
I was your butch and you were touched
I loved you well never mind
I've been crying all the time
December boys got it bad.
December boys got it bad
December boys got it bad
BIG STAR

Alex Chilton

“Children by the million / sing for Alex Chilton
When he comes ’round

They sing “I’m in love. What’s that song?
I’m in love with that song.“
('Alex Chilton' by The Replacements)

Alex Chilton sang about teenage love in ways that no other man managed before or since. He sang about a teenage boy's love. Songs like 'Thirteen', 'September Gurls', ''I'm In Love With A Girl" (all 1 minute 48 seconds of it!)

About a year ago, I posted the lyrics to Thirteen,
Won't you let me
Walk you home from school?

Won't you let me
meet you at the pool?
a song that perfectly expresses that astonishing season when you suddenly discover that girls are interesting (what do you mean? well... just... interesting) in a way that they have never been before. A season when you know nothing about girls, but you suddenly decide that you would quite to be with one of them.

(Be with? What the hell are you going on about?
What kind of wanting is that, wanting to be with someone?)

Alex Chilton died in New Orleans on Wednesday night. He was fifty-nine. Old for a teenager; young for a man. He was a year older than my dad when he died. (Nowadays I know, that is young.) And that song, Thirteen... that's the song about the year I discovered girls, which was also the year I discovered my dad was dying

Important stuff. A great many questions,
and no-one to answer them.

The Alex Chilton aong everybody seems to be turning to right now is 'September Gurls' (love that spelling.) I'll go and find the words, and post them here later today.

Wednesday 17 March 2010

My Decade


Ten years ago, I was working for my second Internet startup. Lastminute.com had just floated, and we were worried that the bubble was going to burst before we launched.

The bubble did burst. But it's not like we deserved any better. Ten years on, the most important events haven't been about work.

  • The loss of a marriage
  • The death of a child
  • Helping a friend off heroin
  • Bringing a paedophile to justice.

And now it's spring again, I'm starting to feel my way around.

I'm wounded, but healing.

Just so you know what all the song lyrics and cryptic references are about.

Sunday 14 March 2010

Alone With My Monsters

(picture posed by models)


Slow down: Don't fuck with my high
I want be left alone here with my monsters
And say: now it's time
To ride to see lonely girls
And to not put the moves on them

All them tremendous brunettes around
All them tremendous brunettes
All them tremendous brunettes around

Praise now the baby genius
She skips in the shade
Of the lonely sour apple tree
While she snaps on her gum
Her gleaming teeth bared
And the shine that she shows to me

Tremendous brunettes around
All them tremendous brunttes around
Tremendous brunettes around
All them tremendous brunttes around

All of your ill-gotten games
That you have wipped up to a rich, foamy lather, girl
Nameless gnaw off my pains
Like three hundred trumpets and just one is out of tune

All them tremendous brunettes around
All them tremendous brunettes
All them tremendous brunettes around
MIKE DOUGHTY

Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most.


Once I was a sentimental thing,
Threw my heart away each spring;
Now a spring romance hasn't got a chance
Promised my first dance to winter;
All I've got to shows a splinter for my little fling!

Spring is here there's no mistaking
Robins building nests from coast to coast
My heart tries to sing
so they won't hear it breaking
Spring can really hang you up the most!

Mornings kiss wakes trees and flowers,
And to them I'd like to drink a toast;
I walk in the park just to kill lonely hours,
Spring can really hang you up the most.

Love came my way, I hope it would last;
We had our day, now that's all in the past!
Spring came along a season of song,
Full of sweet promise but something went wrong!

Doctors once prescribed a tonic,
Sulphur and molasses was the dose;
Didn't help a bit, my condition must be chronic,
Spring can really hang you up the most!

All alone, the party's over,
Old man winter was a gracious host;
But when you keep praying for snow to hide the clover
Spring can really hang you up the most!

Sung By: ELLA FITZGERALD

Saturday 13 March 2010

Too Much Caffeine


Video on YouTube

Hangin' round
Downtown by myself
And I had too much time
To sit and think about myself

And then there she was
Like double cherry pie
Yeah there she was
Like disco superfly

I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting
Devious stares in my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream

Hangin' round
Downtown by myself
And I had too much caffeine
And I was thinkin' 'bout myself

And then there she was
In platform double suede
Yeah there she was
Like disco lemonade

I smell sex and candy here
Who's that lounging in my chair
Who's that casting
Devious stares in my direction
Mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this surely is a dream
Yeah mama this must be my dream.

Words and Music: JOHN WOZNIAK
Performed by: MARCY PLAYGROUND

Video on YouTube

Tuesday 9 March 2010

Sunday 7 March 2010

Just When You Thought It Was Safe


The ink wasn't even dry on that last post when I hard that Mark Linkous was dead.

Mark was the leader of a band called Sparklehorse. I didn't know him, I just bought his records. He'd try to kill himself before. His family released the news. They didn't give details.

So I got out my copy of
Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
( yes, that is the title of the album; yes, it is all one word)
and I had a little cry.

Suicide is still an alarmingly common form of death among men. Especially young men. Me? I prefer the crying.

Spring In My Heart


It's spring in my heart.
Time to begin again.

Friday 5 March 2010

Keep The Wrong Ones Out


I know. I've been neglecting the blog again.
(I've been in France. It's not an excuse. Sorry.)

When I was a child, I learned to be very good at getting people to leave me alone. Especially predatory paedophiles.
(Are there non-predatory paedophiles?)

Unfortunately persuading people to stay away from me is probably my most sophisticated social skill.

I think it's time I developed some others.

Thursday 11 February 2010

Catholics

Oh, it's all fun and games until someone loses their faith.

Teaching the Cat About Mornings


I woke up; it was only fifteen minutes before the alarm went off, so my frustration at being awake in the night immediately changed to "cool! I'm alert, and I can face the day!".

Then, my cat came into the bedroom and decided to sit on my chest. So I talked to her, and stroked her, until I realised that I was trapped, and couldn't do a thing without pushing her off me. So, I gently explained what I was about to do:
"Sorry, baby, but I have to put the kettle on.."

"And now I have to put the heating on..."

"And now I have to put some trousers on..."
It's all about putting stuff on isn't it? I never realised before quite how much.