My recent travels around Egypt and Greece were inspired by Lawrence Durrell’s writing. He was a self-proclaimed islomaniac, someone that the “mere knowledge that they are on an island, a little world surrounded by the sea, fills them with an indescribable intoxication”. Durrell was a poet, novelist, and travel writer, and …

Security and Availability makes the headlines. Software Delivery makes the deadlines.

Work that improves security and availability trumps work that could otherwise improve the software delivery experience. Investing Software Delivery means that an organisation can quickly respond to security events, build quality into the software as it’s developed, and can deploy and release small incremental changes that can be rolled back in seconds in case of an outage. Invest in Software Delivery …

The Pyramids are difficult to photograph. You’re close enough to touch them and yet they’re so fucking big. Standing at the base and looking up the how did they make that? factor comes into play. The individual blocks themselves, made out of limestone, are the height of a tiktok influencer – make …

What a misfortune, although you are made
for fine and great works
this unjust fate of yours always
denies you encouragement and success;
that base customs should block you;
and pettiness and indifference.

And how terrible the day when you yield
(the day when you give up and yield),
and you leave on foot for Susa,
and you go to the monarch Artaxerxes
who favorably places you in his court,
and offers you satrapies and the like.

And you accept them with despair
these things that you do not want. …