Youngsters put NRA on Back Foot. Cabinet Agrees Brexit Strategy. MacroPhotography, GDPR and Managing Archives. Mune.

Liverpool Street Station Arrival

Impact of Florida shooting continues, with young generation grabbing the initiative and generating interest in change in gun laws, the NRA reacting vocally and President Trump promotng arming teachers in school. Apparently they would have been able to kill the shooter who had a semi-automatic rifle, with a concealed handgun. The likelihood of success perhaps placed in doubt by the the fact that trained armed deputies arrived on scene but did not go into building. The other risk being that a child brings in a toy gun, or just really really annoys the teacher on a later Friday afternoon and provokes a shooting by the teacher.

Theresa May dragged her Cabinet to a work-day out to hammer a consensus on the approach to Brexit, which will not be revealed until a speech by the Prime Minister next Friday. The policy is likely to include a 'three baskets' approach to regulations

1. Regulations to keep unchanged to the EU
2. Regulations to modify
3. Regulations not to follow

The EU Commission has since reiterated that the three basket approach is cherry picking, and that the EU would not permit it.

AS well as work, had four different activities over the past three days.

Thursday evening was the CETC event on Risk and Risk perception, with four industry and academic speakers covering anything from the spread and impact of a pandemic to safety in Aviation. 

Friday morning, I gave the talk/demonstration on macro-photography to the U3A, which was well received and may result in future speaking engagements. 

Friday afternoon, attended the HBN presentation on the new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) which all companies will have to register for and comply with  from May onwards. For small companies it appeared to be a matter of common sense:

• Identifying personal data held by the company/business. This includes names and contact details, held on company PC's, paper files, and contacts in Smartphones or other devices.
• Creating and keeping a record of a GDPR strategy to ensure that the data is held securely.
• Having a named individual in a smaller company as a contact for GDPR related issues, or a designated Data Protection Officer for larger companies.

The big change is that ALL personal data is covered, including simply names and addresses of business contacts, which had previously been excluded from the current DPA.

Today, traveled to London from by train to Liverpool Street Station and then on to the Natural History Museum at South Kensington. The Circle Line was out of action for that stretch and the route taken was first to Holborn via the Central Line and then taking the Piccadilly line. The Morning was taken up with a Quekett Committee meeting. Lunch in discussions about actions arising from the meeting. The afternoon was a presentation on the digitisation and recording of the clubs extensive collection of historically and scientifically important slides.

Returned tired after a 12h day.

Watched the french fantasy animation film Mune again and found it to be still as good as the first time. Very original story and visualisation of a different fantasy world where The sun is stolen, the moon lost and three unlikely heroes have to recover them.