Posted on April 8, 2012 by Simon Phipps

I decided to break out! I was surprised by the reaction I got to my Venice photos, so I decided I would experiment with a separate blog for travel writing and photos. I’ve transferred a few postings from here and will in future probably post travel-related things on Global Mink and just reblog them here like this if it works out well.

Simon Phipps's avatarThe Global Mink

Jailbird by webmink
Bird of Paradise, a photo by webmink on Flickr.

Walking through the Sydney Botanical Gardens (a great place to relax) I was passing the railings around Government House and saw this fugitive from colonial oppression trying to escape, presumably seeking the paradise for which he was intended.

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✈ Behind the façade

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Simon Phipps

The architect who designed this church in Venice (Chiesa di San Vidal) tried to hide the building behind it, but ordinary life goes on behind the façade. There’s an ice cream shop doing brisk business, and the apartments above the shop seem to have no relation to the huge church window on the façade.

So it is everywhere. Religious or secular, business or personal, male or female, gay or straight. No matter how impressive the façade, real life goes on behind it if you look. It has to.

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✈ Gondola Yard

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Simon Phipps

I was in Italy on business this week and as I was flying in and out of Venice airport had the chance to spend a half-day in Venice. It was foggy and damp, but still enjoyable to walk around for a while. While I was there I stumbled on the gondola maintenance yard. It had to be there in Venice somewhere, but I’d never seen it before. It was clearly a place that had been there for a very long time – since the 17th century, apparently.

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☝ Who Loses If Oracle Wins?

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Simon Phipps

Talking to people about the Oracle-Google case which comes to court on April 16th, I realised much of the background knowledge that explains things is lost to the current generation of developers. My article on InfoWorld this week looks at that background as well as a possible bad consequence of the case for open source developers.

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April Cherry Blossom

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Simon Phipps


April Cherry Blossom, originally uploaded by webmink.

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    All views expressed on this blog are those of Simon Phipps and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other entity, including current and former employers and clients. See my full disclosure of interests.

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