Food for thought cafe - maintenance sign

Food for thought cafe - maintenance sign, a photo by ellen forsyth on Flickr.

"The air con is down with a fever" a different way of saying there are issues. It is nicely worded without it becoming an apology.

"connecting plants & people since 1859"- Singapore Botanic Gardens

"connecting plants & people since 1859"- Singapore Botanic Gardens, a photo by ellen forsyth on Flickr.

This was on one of the entrance gates to the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The gardens were very well used, with lots of people out and about, using the gardens in the way which worked for this.

I liked the way that this statement was worded - "connecting plants & people since 1859"

La'o Hamutuk

The library of La'o Hamutuk,  the Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis only tells part of the story, if you only look at what is on the shelves.  Like many libraries, the online resources are very important too.  They have a website with very detailed information

and a blog with highlights.  They use plain language in their writing, so as many people as possible can understand what they are writing about.

All their publishing is in English and Tetum.

They have also made their online information available via a DVD as internet access is not widespread, and it is too expensive for many of the population, This may change with competition coming to telecommunications in Timor Leste.

This is how La'o Hamutuk describes itself (from their blog)

La'o Hamutuk is a Timorese non-governmental organization (NGO) which has worked since 2000 to monitor and analyze the activities of international and government agencies in Timor-Leste, to make development responsive to the needs and desires of the people. We focus on international institutions and systems, trying to protect food sovereignty and avoid the "resource curse" in petroleum-dependent Timor-Leste, as well as to enhance democratic governance and justice.
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La'o Hamutuk, hanesan Organizasaun Naun-Governmental (ONG) Timor-oan, ne'ebe servisu desde 2000 atu monitor no analiza atividade sira husi ajensia internasional no governmental iha Timor-Leste. Hodi hanoin katak dezenvolvimentu iha ne'e tenke responde ba povo nia nesesidade no povo nia hakarak. Ami foka ba sistema no institusaun internasional sira, atu proteje soberania ai-han no evita "malisan rekursu" iha Timor-Leste, ne'ebe depende makaas ba rendimento petrolifeiro. No mos atu hadiak liu tan governasaun ne'ebe demokratiku no justisa.

You can also read their mission statement.

Dili Institute of Technology

The library for the Dili Institute of Technology has an online library management system, and ten public access computers with internet access.  Staff are encouraging students to use online databases as well as the books in the library.

Universdade Dili – UNDIL Biblioteka

The library at the Universdade Dili currently has a manual loan system, with plans to move to Koha in the future.  The library has a book and journal collection for students. Internet access is planned for later in 2013.  The library was closed on the day of the visit.

Biblioteka Ermera

Biblioteka Ermera has has two branches, one a Gleno and one at Hatolia.  You can read all about the plans for the library service on their website.  There are many ways you can help this library service, and you can read about this also on their website.

You can see photographs of the library at Gleno in the slideshow below
If you follow this link you can read descriptions of the photographs.

You can see photographs of the library at Hatolia in the slideshow below


if you follow this link you can read the descriptions of the photographs.

I would like to thank the staff of Biblioteka Ermera for their kindness in showing me their library

Feeling cranky - clear signs

Feeling cranky, a photo by ellen forsyth on Flickr.

This sign was at the entry to a walking trail. It was the only opportunity to obtain water on the trail. I like that they cut to the critical idea - and went for the symptoms. I think it is an excellent sign.

branding at the farm gate

branding at the farm gate, a photo by ellen forsyth on Flickr.

I thought this was an interesting example of brand awareness, and an interesting location for it.

#DareMightyThings

What are your goals for 2013? I'm looking forward to using my drill & driving to Mars' Mount Sharp #DareMightyThings
— Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity)

I saw this on twitter earlier today, and I have been thinking about it. Lots of other people have been thinking about it too.  I collected some of the tweets in Storify.

I like it because it is about trying, daring, which is more extreme, more risky.  We might fail, we might stuff up, and even more excitingly we might learn some amazing things because we dared to do mighty things and they worked out differently to what we, and others, expected.  That is the bonus for me - different, and yet often better outcomes.

Yes, we need to plan, work hard and all of those things, but we need to take risks without always being totally sure of the outcome, and without re-writing the outcome so it looked like we planned it that way.  I know this can be hard, very hard. 

I think #DareMightyThings is exciting - I am starting to think about what the mighty (and not so mighty) things I may dare.

2 January addition - don't forget that you can #daremightythings in collaboration - as often more amazing things can be done by working together than individually.  It needs a mix - some things by yourself and some things with others.