Despair and Doctrine: Suicide Across Religious Traditions

A comparative theological examination of suicide in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism, exploring how each tradition interprets suicide through doctrines of will, suffering, afterlife, and divine justice, offering context to Dante’s unyielding vision in Inferno.

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More Oracle Bollocks: The Overhyped Empire of Enterprise Software

Oracle—beloved by enterprise IT departments everywhere for its bulletproof reliability, affordable pricing, and impeccable customer service. Wait, who am I kidding? Oracle is the company everyone loves to hate: the heavyweight champion of convoluted licensing agreements, aggressive sales tactics, and overpromised software solutions. Sure, it’s the bedrock of many enterprises, but it’s also a towering monument to corporate tech bollocks.

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Innovation Canvas Example 2 – Psyber Inc.

Psyber Inc. applies psychology to cybersecurity, developing behavioural risk dashboards that assess human factors behind cyber threats. Built on academic research in cyberpsychology, the platform translates user sentiment, stress, and behavioural data into actionable cyber risk insights. Psyber Inc. is led by a neurodivergent, female founder and focuses on ethical, responsible AI. It addresses rising demand for insider threat detection, resilience measurement, and human-centric cyber tools across defence, education, and enterprise. Here’s an example “innovation Canvas” for Psyber Inc.

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Techstars Tokyo: Bridging Global Innovation with Japan’s Startup Ecosystem

This article covers the launch and impact of Techstars Tokyo, Techstars’ first accelerator program in Japan. It outlines the objectives of the program, the diversity of the inaugural 2024 cohort, the involvement of major partners like JETRO and Mitsui Fudosan, and its role in linking Japanese startups to global innovation networks. It also previews the 2025 program and its continued commitment to supporting frontier technologies.

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Mapping the Landscape: Stakeholder Grids for Startups and Ecosystems

Understanding who matters most to your mission, and how to engage with them, is vital for any business, especially in the startup and innovation space. Whether you’re building a cyber risk platform, championing cyber psychology, or coordinating a regional community like the West Midlands Cyber Working Group (WM CWG), the ability to identify, map, and actively engage stakeholders is fundamental to long-term success.

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Techstars Today: Scaling Impact through Techstars 2.0

This article examines the current state of Techstars in 2025, highlighting its strategic initiatives under “Techstars 2.0,” including a revamped curriculum, the launch of Techstars Universe, expanded corporate partnerships, and enhanced support for diverse founders. It also discusses the geographical shift to New York and continued portfolio growth, showcasing Techstars’ adaptive approach to remaining a leader in pre-seed investment.

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Cyber Across UK Government: Departments, Programmes, and Policy Players

The definitive guide to who shapes cyber policy in Whitehall, and how to work with them.

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A Critical History of Techstars and the Evolution of the Accelerator Model

This article traces the emergence of Techstars within the broader history of startup accelerators, examining its strategic differences from Y Combinator, its influence on regional and vertical innovation models, and its role as an institutional entrepreneur in shaping the global accelerator movement. It analyses the evolution from incubators to modern accelerators and critically reflects on Techstars’ legacy in ecosystem building and innovation finance.

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Modern Koan from Dune of “Fear Is the Mind-Killer”: Letting Go of the Little Death

Modern Koan from Dune of “Fear Is the Mind-Killer” is not a Zen story, nor is it a koan in the traditional sense. There’s no paradox or puzzle to unravel. But it carries the same contemplative weight. Spoken by Paul Atreides as part of the Bene Gesserit litany, it is a mantra about fear, presence, and the self that remains. Like a koan, it doesn’t resolve the moment; it holds us within it.

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Mapping the Abyss: A Journey Through Dante’s Circles of Hell

This article explores Dante’s Inferno as a structured moral and theological descent, examining the logic behind each of the nine circles of Hell. From lust and gluttony to fraud and treachery, each level reveals how Dante views sin not just as misdeed but as a deformation of the soul and will.

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Inside the UK Cyber Ecosystem: A Strategic Guide in 26 Parts

An extensive guide mapping the networks, policy engines, commercial power bases, and future-shapers of British cybersecurity.

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More Windows Update Bollocks: The Never-Ending Saga of Updates Gone Wrong

Ah, Windows Updates—the perennial thorn in the side of PC users everywhere. Promised as the silent guardians of stability and security, they’ve instead become a source of frustration, disruption, and the occasional catastrophic system crash. Whether it’s an update that bricks your machine or one that installs itself at the worst possible time, Windows Updates have earned their reputation for being, well, bollocks.

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Innovation Canvas Example 1 – Cyber Tzar

Cyber Tzar is a SaaS platform providing advanced cyber risk quantification for enterprise supply chains. It delivers cyber risk scoring, benchmarking, and compliance assessment through big data analytics, AI, and proprietary IP. Its “credit score for cyber” approach supports better risk visibility for insurers, CISOs, and supply chain managers. Cyber Tzar is revenue-generating, scaling through strategic partnerships, and aligned with DORA, ISO 27001, and other regulatory frameworks. Here’s an example “innovation Canvas” for Cyber Tzar.

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How to Create and Use an Innovation Canvas (and Why It Matters)

Innovation is often portrayed as spontaneous and unpredictable. But behind every meaningful breakthrough lies a structured process. Whether you’re launching a new product, transforming a service, or reimagining your organisation’s direction, clarity and rigour are critical.

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The Insider’s Guide to Influencing Senior Tech and Cybersecurity Leaders in the UK

Influencing senior leaders in cybersecurity and technology is no small task, especially in the UK, where credibility, networks, and standards carry immense weight. Whether you’re a startup founder, a scale-up CISO, or a policy influencer, knowing where the key conversations happen (and who shapes them) can make the difference between being heard and being ignored.

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16 Years On: Was I Right About the UK’s Industry and Innovation Imbalance?

Exactly sixteen years on from my 2009 article on the UK’s economic imbalance, I reflect on how services continue to dominate GDP, while manufacturing still punches above its weight in R&D. I was right about the R&D gap — but missed the rise of intangible capital and startup-led innovation. Cybersecurity emerged as both a strategic asset and an innovation driver. Government efforts have been patchy, and real balance remains elusive. The future lies in resilience, not symmetry.

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Of Course You’re Not Resilient… You Never Practised Failing

A blunt critique of organisations that claim to be resilient but have never stress-tested their systems, rehearsed recovery under pressure, or practised failure in any meaningful way. The article challenges boardroom bravado and highlights the psychological and operational consequences of untested confidence, arguing that true resilience is earned through discomfort, not declared in policy.

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Inside the Breach: What M&S and the Harris Federation Reveal About UK Cyber Vulnerabilities

Two senior leaders, Sir Charlie Mayfield, former John Lewis chairman, and Sir Dan Moynihan, CEO of the Harris Federation, joined BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme on 1 May 2025 to discuss the impact of recent cyber attacks on Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, and UK schools. Their stories offer rare insight into how institutions respond to major breaches and what it really takes to recover.

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