Hi-Tech Nomad

TechHub

brett — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:04:19 +0000

Last Tuesday, “Caveman Klaus” and I went and checked out the TechHub space. A group of about 10 people turned up for the tour, and we were shown around the facility by Michelle, who is in charge of TechHub memberships.

TechHub is ideally located right near “Silicon Roundabout” – an area near the City of London in Zone 1 where a lot of tech start-ups are based.

There are roughly three areas of TechHub, that correspond to the three different kinds of membership plans. The main area is a co-working space, which operates on a first-come first-served basis. There are triangle shaped desks on wheels littering this area, and with an annual membership you can just choose a desk and start working at it. This area is based on a “Fair Usage” policy, so if you are paying for an annual membership, you shouldn’t really turn up all day, every day. Access to the facilities on the annual membership is from 9am to 6pm.

The second areas are partitioned from the main room, and are the monthly membership allocated desks. If you pay a monthly membership, you have a desk assigned to you. The minimum period of working there is 3 months. You have 24/7 access to TechHub on this plan, but it is obviously more expensive than the annual membership.

The third area is office space on one of the floors about TechHub. This area is charged on a per square foot basis, and you are responsible for fitting out the office area as you see fit. The minimum space available is 200 square feet.

The emphasis at TechHub is very much on acting as an incubator. Their aim is to provide an environment for tech start-ups to grow. As such, you need to apply to join TechHub, and they are actively filtering out consulting firms or businesses not focused on technology. They run lectures at nights in the main area that members can go to for free.

The Best Burgers in London

brett — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:12:01 +0000

Mmmmmm. OK Daniel, I am salivating! Daniel Young has posted the 10 best hamburger restaurants in London. The top spot is claimed by Goodman restaurants.

Self-Defense Techniques from Tim Ferris

brett — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:53:52 +0000

Tim Ferriss has some great self defense videos up on his blog. Having done a lot of martial arts over the years, I’ve seen a lot of self-defense classes. In my opinion you just can’t teach someone rote techniques, you need to teach them general principles. I like how Tim emphasizes some key points in these videos, rather than a rigid set of moves.

If you are attacked, unless you are very experienced, you will immediately forget any fancy techniques you have learned, so it’s important to keep things as simple as possible. Fighting back takes a lot of courage, so it’s important to learn to have the right attitude – the attitude that you won’t give up.

Defending the head

It’s important to defend the head if you are attacked. Notice how the hand stays close to the head, and you are defending with your upper arm. This is especially important if your attacker is much stronger than you are.

Defense from choke hold