Author Archives: davidsprott

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About davidsprott

Artist, writer, veteran IT professional

The True Story of How the UK Post Office became a Failed Organization.

Posted on April 26, 2021 by davidsprott

A modern fable. In 1999 the UK Post Office introduced a new computer system named Horizon into its network of post offices throughout the UK. The system managed the important tasks of transactions, accounting and stocktaking. Soon after it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Transformation, Governance, Technology and Society, Trust | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Out of Africa – Malawi

Posted on April 16, 2021 by davidsprott

Disclosure: I love Africa and have a long history of involvement there. I first travelled to South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya on business as early as 1979, lived in Johannesburg for five years in the 1980s and continued to travel occasionally for business and family purposes until a few years ago. So I watch African matters with interest, and am not at all surprised that Africa continues to lag the rest of the world in all matters, particularly Covid19. Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Covid19, Malawi, Technology and Society, Travel | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Let the Majority Speak!

Posted on March 28, 2021 by davidsprott

It’s not just in Ireland that minorities seem to hold sway. It happens worldwide in democracies. Today it’s evident that this policy is the new normal everywhere. It applies increasingly to Covid19 but equally climate change where it’s also a major challenge because there are many lobbyists that continue to peddle climate nonsense as unchallengeable fact. Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus, Covid19, Democracy, lockdown, Pandemic, Truth | 3 Comments

UCC Climate Conference 2021

Posted on March 21, 2021 by davidsprott

I virtually attended most of the UCC climate conference yesterday. It’s was a useful experience, not really because of the content which was highly variable, rather because it allowed me to think about where we are at. Here are my … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Economic Model, Organic Farming | Tagged , | 1 Comment

There’s More Bad News – Plastic is Even More Deadly than We Realised

Posted on March 18, 2021 by davidsprott

Just when we are starting to hope that we can see an end to the Covid19 pandemic along comes more bad news. I read today that research now shows that tiny plastic particles in the lungs of pregnant rats pass … Continue reading →

Posted in Plastic Pollution, Survival of the Human Race, Sustainability, Technology and Society | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Tell me No Lies,

Posted on March 11, 2021 by davidsprott

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynihan This post is also available as a podcast: Over the past few years I have commented frequently on what many of us believe is … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Governance, Open Source Intelligence OSINT, Technology and Society, Technology Platforms, Trust | 2 Comments

Technology’s Crucible – Cause or Solution to Our World in Crisis?

Posted on March 3, 2021 by davidsprott

Back in the 1970’s I, like many in the tech industry, followed the work of James Martin – a genuine guru and polymath who between 1965 and 2006 wrote over 100 books, many of which were huge best sellers. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Transformation, Governance, Personal Technology, Politics, Technology and Society, Technology Platforms | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Why listen to Bill Gates on How to Avoid a Climate Disaster!

Posted on February 22, 2021 by davidsprott

Bill Gates is not a climate scientist. He’s not a politician. He has a “lot” of money and investments that could be seen as conflicts of interest. Why on earth should we listen to him? This post is also available … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon Footprint, Climate Change, COP26, Electric Vehicles, EV | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Have We lost the Covid19 Plot? A Case Study.

Posted on February 18, 2021 by davidsprott

My conclusion is that unless we do something different now, we may lose this battle and be battling the pandemic for at least another year! I summarize a report on South Korea’s experiences and how we might learn from them. Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus, Covid19, lockdown, Pandemic | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

My Personal Experience Highlights How Brexit has thrown a Spanner into Smooth Running 21C Businesses

Posted on February 10, 2021 by davidsprott

I would never knowingly have placed an order for a relatively high value item knowing it was sourced from the UK post Brexit. And my experience is clearly one of at least hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of disrupted transactions. Every one of them is someone’s nightmare. However, I doubt very much that it will cost Messrs Gove and Johnson any lost sleep. And down the line it probably won’t lose them any votes either. Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, Brexit Britain, Digital Transformation, Personal Technology | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment