ANALYSIS-IN-BRIEF, Global –Tim Berners-Lee is the father of the internet as a useful tool, in the form of the Web. He was there at the web’s birth, as the picture of the CERN web server following shows.

If you want to understand the future of the internet, as a communication medium then read Berners-Lee’s book, “Weaving the Web”.

[ratings] TRAVEL COMMENT, PARIS — So here are 4 top Paris Hotels if you like luxury travel. There are many others, especially those of the boutique kind.
These are French people’s Paris hotels, as far as I can tell, and if you like a Marriott or other US chain instead stay there.

COMMENT, Melbourne – 3 Breakdowns in 1 hour in a 2 kilometre stretch of the busiest tram route in Melbourne, St Kilda Road, as of 10.15 am today.
There was a recent crash on St Kilda Road on Monday, in the same spot 3 breakdowns occured in one hour today.
This is happening very frequently, almost EVERY day, so as a majority of people who catch a tram to work are or meetings, study or family are inconvenienced every day.
It is seriously impacting lives, and forcing people to drive even …

Just as it seems fast has come todominate our lives, the new trend of Slow … Slow Food, Slow Money, Tree-Changing is become more prominent…

[ratings]COMMENT, Melbourne — Yet another traffic accident. See the Age here: here’s a tip: Drivers will be blamed again. Yet more proof the current state government do not have the ability to deliver decent public transport.
As Sylvester would say
“Thufferin’ Thuccotash ! we need a Bracks-yard Britz! to fix the Thystem!”

COMMENT, Global — Become an Ideas Person Part II: [ratings]
Reading books is one of those few great things that no-one can take away. Ben Franklin used books to raise his intellect and become a great thought-leader and statesman of his day.
Ben Franklin was a lifelong avid reader, having being a tradesman-printer and never attended Harvard the university of the town of his birth.
Ben Franklin started the first lending library in the USA (or at least that is the popular wisdom). He also had a private scheme of a group …

This blog is about to undergo a change.
I am going to drop the political commentary. Too much unwelcome ‘response’.
Culture, art, ideas, innovation
From now on we’ll be sticking to art, culture, ideas, food, wine, language and more positive things. Some environmental posts. Innovation through inspiration.
These have been the most popular and some of my favorite posts -

Top 7 Art Galleries you must visit in europe
Understanding Modern Art
Generation X and Y is the Creative Generation

End of Cheap Goods
7 Inspirations of the World

Many of these posts had 1000 plus readers, and still have …

CULTURE COMMENT, Global – I am learning French at current at the Alliance Française, Melbourne.
Why is French so important?
Simple.
French is a culturally rich language.
French has traditionally been the language of diplomacy.
French is a language and a system of thought. French culture and intellect is integrated into French language.
The French are a culturally inventive and creative people. Part of this is the language.
Learning French can help you become an innovator, an ideas person.
And whether French or not, we should all learn languages to broaden our minds.
Learning French and other languages
There’s 4 …

COMMENT, Sydney, Parramatta – APEC is over and the last of the politicians has gone home. So I am back in not-so-central Parramatta.
Parramatta is the demographic heart of broader Sydney, being the secondary centre and a major work and residential hub.
The tale of two Sydney’s
APEC Sydney.
Glitzy. Glam. Harbour. Flashy. If you have money and a local on your arm a good place to dine out. Not my taste, but popular. If you like LA, you’ll like Sydney.
Add to that the Eastern beaches and the leafy green North shore. (When …

COMMENT, Global – A few of you will recall I started a travel log of global travel & food some time back.
My focus was food, wine, airlines & accommodation as they effect global cultural innovation.
Particularly food, wine, hotels, airports, galleries, museums, cities and cultural destinations.
Why is culture everyday important?
Nothing inspires our better ideas so much as art, food, wine, song, language, design, beautiful architecture.
Inspiring cultural destinations like the Bristol in Vienna, Louvre in Paris or inspiring transit points like the Qantas First Lounge will make you want to be there.
But …

COMMENT, Sydney and Global – Global is a word often thrown around like candy at Halloween.
Too often global operations have inbuilt assumptions that people are the same everywhere. We all do it.
The assumption of homogeneity effects Customers. Employees. Suppliers.
Assumptions of homogeneity are exacerbated when people speak the same language, often English.
These assumptions can cause big issues. Issues that surface when expanding into overseas markets or staffing a remote operation or even visiting foreign lands.
Why do we assume?
Too often we see similar western accoutrement’s like McDonalds, CDs, computers, internet, CNN, DVDs, …

COMMENT, Global – Often that is just too much information. Cell phone users in public often have little discretion.
Cell phones on trains.
Cell phones (or mobiles if you prefer) in restaurants.
Famously, I once heard a man chatting up a woman in a toilet cubicle with the door closed at a cinema. I first thought she was in there with him, then he came out holding a phone.
I wonder what she thought of the loud ‘flush’?
The Market Opportunity for Quiet
Expect a pendulum swing back to quiet and focus.
In the meantime expect a …

ANALYSIS, Sydney & Melbourne, Australia –
An open letter to visiting President Bush.
Mr Bush is in Sydney Australia at current for the APEC summit, this was written just after his joint speech with Mr Howard today.
Dear Mr President,
You spoke at the APEC Summit with our Prime Minister, Mr Howard.
I agreed with your remarks Sir, about freedom and human rights being critical to the world’s future.
But the Oil War is not the way to spread freedom.
This war is deeply unpopular because the people ‘get’ it was not an honest war.
Another’s freedom …

ANALYSIS, Global – The answer is to ‘Stand on the Shoulders of Giants’.
This is the first part of a regular series on how to speak the language of ideas in coming weeks. How to be an Ideas Person.
Ideas and an intellectual education are important no matter how old we are. Both help us make better decisions in terms of positive change in our societies.
How do we personally understand what is positive change and what is not?
We talk incessantly about success, about wanting positive change.
We talk about love, relationships, children, families, …

ANALYSIS, Global –Sometimes the logic for oil usage sounds crazy.
Rather than reduce use of oil we go into a war using oil to fight for more oil supplies so we can have more plastic goods made from oil.
This itself increases global oil consumption further reducing oil supply.
Huh?
Does that Sound rational? Read it out aloud. No.
Economically it is not rational. Common sense tells you it is not rational.
Sounds like a panic because we might run out of oil to:
a) drive our big cars/SUVs/motor homes
b) manufacture more plastic cr*p we don’t …