I’ve just finished reading Cory Doctorow’s novel “Little Brother”, which was an interesting experience for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it’s a great story.  In the aftermath of a 9/11 type attack on San Franciso the the Department of Homeland Security institutes draconian measures for spying on American citizens, using technology to track their every movement and detaining people on the slightest pretext.  The “Little Brother”, a tech-savvy high school student and his friends, fight back against “Big Brother”, using encrypted communications over the Internet to rally support (see this video on how protesters in Iran use technology to communicate).  The book contains extensive appendices on encryption technology and resources.

Secondly, I read the entire book on my iPhone.  I think that ebooks are going to be the way we read most books in the future, and the EPUB standard for ebooks is going to be increasing important, especially now that the new EPUB3 standard addresses many of the deficiencies of the previous version.

Thirdly, I read this book for free - as Cory Doctorow, a seminal contemporary science fiction writer and thinker, has made all of his works available for free in their ebook versions.  In a fascinating introduction to the book he argues, correctly I believe,  that “For me - for pretty much every writer- the big problem isn’t piracy, it’s obscurity” and “If you’re not making art with the intention of having it copied, you’re not really making art for the twenty-​first century”.

Worshipping

Two young guys and their friends trying to make it in New York - not family viewing, but very stylish (check the credits sequence), stunning footage of New York, and sublimely funny - especially the incomparable Luis Guzman …

… How To Make It In America is one of the best series I’ve watched in a while.

Gripping story of a large English estate, both family and servants, on the eve of the First World War, Downton Abbey is superbly acted and filmed.  Cannot wait to see the next season…

Watching a Bible story with the kids on a Wednesday evening at our kids church.

We’ve been running an Alpha Course for teenagers at our church, and this weekend we all went away for the Holy Spirit weekend.

We had a great time braaiing, worshiping together, playing games, making banners…

…and getting to know the very friendly reindeer on the farm!

It was freezing when we arrived this afternoon at our kids church in the township - and not a kid to be seen anywhere…

…but soon enough kids started straggling in, and we had a great evening singing, listening to a Bible story, and colouring in…

…and had get the teenagers to go home at the end, after we’d fed everyone!

I’m back in Cape Town working with my favourite client, the Bandwidth Barn, a great incubator for startups.  I spend a few days a month with them helping their startups to create successful strategies.

I will see a number of people a day…

…usually only leaving late in the evening, after a fascinating day of interesting work with wonderful people.

Bliss - in Cape Town on business, and found time to pop into Cavendish Square and spend some time browsing in Exclusive Books.

We took the older kids from our Greenfields Kids Church to the beach this afternoon for a holiday treat. A good time was had by all!