The Ironkeel Collection: Recent Episodes
Shon Ellerton
238. Shôn Ellerton, April 4, 2024. This is a story about a technical guy who created a niche for himself through years of hard work, but somehow, never got promoted. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-joe-escaped-from-his-niche-to
237. Shôn Ellerton, April 3, 2024. I’ve seen so many role briefs which are so complicated, irrelevant, or vague, that it’s hardly surprising that no person can be found for the job. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/a-clear-and-concise-position-description
236. Shôn Ellerton, April 1, 2024. Finally, the solution to dealing with pesky flies and mosquitoes! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/ward-off-pesky-flies-with-the-invincible
235. Shôn Ellerton, March 26, 2024. If everybody had such high standards of mental and physical attributes, getting ahead would be that much more difficult. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/lower-the-bar-to-get-ahead
234. Shôn Ellerton, March 18, 2024. A fun and quick way to determine your or someone else’s personality through the act of changing a toilet roll. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-changing-a-toilet-roll-determines
233. Shôn Ellerton, March 9, 2024. Never did I realise that I could be threatening someone simply by looking at a name badge. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-i-got-nearly-arrested-for-threatening
232. Shôn Ellerton, March 3, 2024. We’ve got a great suggestion for anyone’s bucket list of places to go for holiday. The little-known Grand Wizard Pool! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/why-not-spend-your-holiday-at-the
231. Shôn Ellerton, February 24, 2024. You can be the ultimate workaholic, but if you have poor physical fitness, than your work is going to suffer big time. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/your-physical-fitness-is-more-important
230. Shôn Ellerton, February 21, 2024. The strange feeling that one could be bending something solid just by thinking about it. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/am-i-really-twisting-solid-metal
229. Shôn Ellerton, February 16, 2024. Ever since I was a teenager, I had this crazy obsession with climbing mountains but I look back at the power of perseverance, obsession, and failure. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/my-total-obsession-and-perseverance
228. Shôn Ellerton, February 10, 2024. Just because I’m not jumping around nor screaming my head off like a lunatic, it doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying the performance. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/i-enjoy-the-show-but-dont-expect
227. Shôn Ellerton, February 6, 2024. Having recently started BJJ, I have found many parallels with Freemasonry in terms of friendship, respect, and most importantly of all. Having a bit of fun. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/why-i-started-bjj-and-how-it-relates
226. Shôn Ellerton, January 28, 2024. Australians need to stop taking it up the arse when it comes to fighting back against ever-increasing draconian road speed limits. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/want-to-drive-like-a-retard-come
225. Shôn Ellerton, January 23, 2024. If something’s on sale or on discount, I can almost nearly guarantee that something’s wrong with it. Or simply, nobody wants it. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-reason-why-its-on-sale-is-because
224. Shôn Ellerton, January 16, 2024. For all you YouTubers out there. Please stop ignoring the full stop at the end of the sentence. It is there for a reason. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-annoying-trend-of-youtubers-ignoring
223. Shôn Ellerton, December 13, 2023. Being a fan of Kraftwerk and electronica in general, I didn’t quite know what to expect at a live Kraftwerk concert. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/why-going-to-a-kraftwerk-concert
222. Shôn Ellerton, November 19, 2023. Low-stimulus environments can accentuate the senses and promote higher planes of thought and abstraction. But why? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/bleak-and-desolate-environments-often
221. Shôn Ellerton, November 14, 2023. Addressing the unhealthy obsession by the Left with posturing to indigenous activism and closing the gap. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-lefts-obsession-with-posturing
220. Shôn Ellerton, October 8, 2023. From incomprehensible timepieces to pain barriers, I run through some of my observations within the weird world of lucid dreaming. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-weird-observations-and-barriers
219. Shôn Ellerton, September 5, 2023. Finding peace and quiet in a suburban neighbourhood with barking dogs and rampant leaf blowing men is not always easy. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-leaf-blower-man-cometh
218. Shôn Ellerton, September 3, 2023. I wonder how many people are genuinely happy living in such places like Silicon Valley? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/silicon-valley-is-a-hellhole-unless
217. Shôn Ellerton, August 23, 2023. Strange how those seaside resorts battered by the elements throughout the years share that odd sense of being in a time warp. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/my-fascination-with-decaying-seaside
216. Shôn Ellerton, August 9, 2023. My upsetting experience of losing one of my best friends when he ‘found’ God in the most extreme of ways. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/losing-my-best-friend-to-god
215. Shôn Ellerton, July 19, 2023. The darkest and most nefarious use of AI is the potential to converse with someone who passed away. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/never-ever-think-of-using-ai-to-conjure
214. Shôn Ellerton, July 18, 2023. Ditch the clumsy ceremony of exchanging contact details with a smartphone and use a business card instead. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/why-all-professionals-need-business
213. Shôn Ellerton, July 7, 2023. We are one step closer in eradicating the baneful existence of unfair, racist, and unconstitutional practice of affirmative action or positive discrimination. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-death-of-affirmative-action-looms
212. Shôn Ellerton, June 27, 2023. Stop Making the Excuse That It’s Too Risky to Vote for a new party! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/break-out-of-the-mould-and-vote-for
211. Shôn Ellerton, June 23, 2023. We must be able to debate on important issues, including those which are sensitive or taboo, without fear of reprisal. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/without-the-power-of-debate-mankind
210. Shôn Ellerton, June 16, 2023. You’re obviously a racist, a bigot, and a white supremacist if you don’t support The Voice. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/you-must-say-yes-to-the-voice-or
209. Shôn Ellerton, June 4, 2023. If the size of a circle reflects one’s tolerance level to others, just how big is your circle? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-big-is-your-circle-of-tolerance
208. Shôn Ellerton, April 29, 2023. A quick description of three tools used by those who want to shut down a perfectly good debate because they don’t like what they’re listening to. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/whataboutism-stay-in-your-lane-ism
207. Shôn Ellerton, April 1, 2023. The world is crazy enough as it is, but now a campaign to eliminate all forms of satire and sarcasm? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/a-campaign-to-eradicate-satire-and
206. Shôn Ellerton, March 9, 2023. I remember a time when the passion of space exploration was all the rage. What happened to it? Perhaps we have also lost the secrets from those who architected these great moments in history. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/rediscovering-our-passion-of-space
205. Shôn Ellerton, February 28, 2023. The true story of how and why the Chinese launched a spy balloon to the United States. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/xi-jinping-takes-an-idea-from-winnie
204. Shôn Ellerton, February 22, 2023. I’m sure managing and coordinating your child’s activities was simpler before the so-called paperless age. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/why-do-i-need-3-smartphone-apps-to
203. Shôn Ellerton, February 16, 2023. Without understanding the when’s, the how’s and the why’s of data, we often find what’s presented to us as useless only to spin a story. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-importance-of-understanding-how
202. Shôn Ellerton, January 28, 2023. Our entertainment and social media industries want nothing better than to force feed our hyper children with vast amounts of low grade material. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/our-kids-are-drowning-in-nonstop
201. Shôn Ellerton, January 24, 2023. If something seems trivial or merely a first-world problem, should it be dismissed in favour of a more important one? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/first-world-problems-are-just-as
200. Shôn Ellerton, January 22, 2023. A bit of a dive into why men need man caves and some of the essential differences between men and women with respect to projects and tasks. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/why-men-need-man-caves
199. Shôn Ellerton, January 17, 2023. Made famous by The Matrix, how does the analogy of the red pill and the blue pill work in today’s society? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-does-the-red-and-blue-pill-work
198. Shôn Ellerton, January 15, 2023. Allow me to share my favourite 10 all-time pieces of electronica. Enjoy! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/10-pieces-of-electronica-which-you
197. Shôn Ellerton, January 4, 2023. It seems surprising to me how workers could be allowed, or even want to work in the environment of a nail salon. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-could-anyone-work-in-a-nail-salon
196. Shôn Ellerton, January 3, 2023. A game that can last for 5 days? Field positions that are really called silly? There is nothing more strange than cricket. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/cricket-is-such-a-weird-game
195. Shôn Ellerton, January 2, 2023. The strange custom of inflexible restaurant seating policies. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/why-cant-i-sit-over-there-the-place
194. Shôn Ellerton, January 1, 2023. With December being, in essence, a complete month of holiday chaos, it’s nice to go back to normality. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/christmas-and-new-years-is-over-hooray
193. Shôn Ellerton, December 28, 2022. Should businesses be allowed to trade normally on public holidays or on a Sunday? Here are five reasons I believe they should be allowed to. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/5-reasons-trading-should-be-allowed
192. Shôn Ellerton, December 22, 2022. By following five little rules, conversations can become much better. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/5-little-rules-every-conversationalist
191. Shôn Ellerton, December 21, 2022. We will never be able to progress into new frontiers of science if we only sanction what we know and understand as being science. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/we-must-delve-into-the-unknown-to
190. Shôn Ellerton, December 16, 2022. The comparison of the 1983 film, The Running Man, and Elon Musk is all too uncanny. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/elon-musk-is-the-new-running-man
189. Shôn Ellerton, December 9, 2022. Trying to find something to eat which is healthy and low carb in a fast food environment is not only difficult, but very frustrating. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-quest-for-healthy-low-carb-fast
188. Shôn Ellerton, November 29, 2022. A question that is asked too often. What is the point of freemasonry? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/what-is-the-point-of-freemasonry
187. Shôn Ellerton, November 26, 2022. Why do we need to be permanently attached to a water bottle? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/i-must-have-my-water-bottle
186. Shôn Ellerton, November 20, 2022. The bizarre behaviour of threatening to leave a social media platform because of someone they don’t like happens to be on it. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/im-leaving-twitter-because-im-a-snowflake
185. Shôn Ellerton, November 17, 2022. Despite all our world problems, we’ve never had it better. Here’s how and why. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/innovation-and-ingenuity-will-solve
184. Shôn Ellerton, October 30, 2022. Are we becoming too dependent on the Cloud and the Internet? I think we are. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/are-we-becoming-cloud-slaves
183. Shôn Ellerton, October 15, 2022. My rather sarcastic response to the police after a failed speeding fine review. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/my-response-to-a-failed-speeding
182. Shôn Ellerton, October 9, 2022. What is the point of daylight savings time? I say, get rid of it! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/kill-daylight-savings
181. Shôn Ellerton, October 1, 2022. Post-pandemic, the question that is often raised if working from home as the norm is sustainable. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/is-working-from-home-as-the-norm
180. Shôn Ellerton, August 31, 2022. 4,000 words to describe the simple action of playing an LP? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/mindfulness-and-playing-an-lp
179. Shôn Ellerton, August 18, 2022. Imagine my surprise when I found out that kids get only 10 minutes for lunch at school. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/ten-minutes-school-lunchtime-youre
178. Shôn Ellerton, August 5, 2022. Today’s fashion shows seem as intent as ever to make fashion as unfashionable as possible. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/most-fashion-shows-are-grotesque
177. Shôn Ellerton, July 7, 2022. What is it with those ‘mystery’ cars and vans positioned on top of motorway bridges? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-motorway-bridge-mystery-car-why
176. Shôn Ellerton, July 5, 2022. Every good person needs at least 37 pieces of digital flair. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/im-a-good-person-because-i-have-digital
175. Shôn Ellerton, June 29, 2022. Every time my son’s birthday comes around, we become inundated with more Lego. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/childrens-birthdays-and-still-more
174. Shôn Ellerton, June 24, 2022. The Australian state of Victoria bans the Swastika, but will it backfire? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/will-victorians-ban-the-letter-z
173. Shôn Ellerton, June 8, 2022. Come hell or high water, rain or snow, or under nuclear attack, the British ice cream van man will be there! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-tenacity-and-stoicism-of-the
172. Shôn Ellerton, June 1, 2022. Bullying and harassment is a bad thing, but not for the COVID-unvaccinated. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/we-must-punish-the-unvaccinated
171. Shôn Ellerton, May 26, 2022. I found it odd that one of my colleagues on occasion would walk around the office with a metal file. Now I know why. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-man-with-the-metal-file-and-the
170. Shôn Ellerton, April 6, 2022. One of the most haunting and weird places to walk and to sail must be along the shores and estuaries of Essex. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/walking-and-sailing-the-mysterious
169. Shôn Ellerton, April 1, 2022. Unearthing the disturbing legend of one of Canada’s most feared creatures. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/in-search-of-anas-rufus-oculus-the
168. Shôn Ellerton, March 30, 2022. My thorough disgust when a troop of baboons sink their teeth into an incoming Supreme Court Justice. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-bogus-scotus-hearings-are-shambolic
167. Shôn Ellerton, March 23, 2022. Watching Star Trek as a kid opened my mind more than any formal education in philosophy. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-star-trek-can-teach-us-to-think
166. Shôn Ellerton, March 22, 2022. Two years on from 2020, we don’t hear much about BLM anymore. Wonder why? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/black-lives-matter-black-squares
165. Shôn Ellerton, March 18, 2022. Oh, did I have fun with immigration, security, and customs at airports during my travels! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/having-lots-of-fun-with-airport-security
164. Shôn Ellerton, March 16, 2022. The lunatic theatre of COVID continues to plod down its unholy course of sheer absurdity. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/thats-it-ive-had-it-with-the-covid
163. Shôn Ellerton, March 4, 2022. Here is a short account of my thoughts of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/my-thoughts-on-the-ukraine-and-russia
162. Shôn Ellerton, February 24, 2022. Finding the right candidate for a data role is much easier by asking about key data skills rather than obsessing about the Cloud and other esoteric software. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/struggling-to-find-the-right-fit
161. Shôn Ellerton, February 18, 2022. An otherwise uneventful morning turned interesting when this little chappie turned up. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/walking-to-work-with-a-parrot-on
160. Shôn Ellerton, February 17, 2022. People not wearing their masks, anti-vaxxers and science-deniers are getting us killed. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/im-angry-because-the-pandemic-isnt
159. Shôn Ellerton, February 15, 2022. Little boxes of nastiness, killer spheres, and ominous pyramids. What more could a work of science-fiction and horror need? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/cubes-spheres-and-other-geometric
158. Shôn Ellerton, February 7, 2022. A trip down memory lane of staying in a creepy old, supposedly haunted, English mansion as a child. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/growing-up-with-haunted-houses
157. Shôn Ellerton, January 19, 2022. There are futurists out there who dream of a Jetson-like world of autonomous cars. I do not share this dream. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/autonomous-cars-are-not-the-future
156. Shôn Ellerton, December 22, 2021. When absurdity and madness becomes so extreme, it is the time for the heterodox to rise and bring a new age of enlightenment again. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-desperate-cling-to-keep-orthodox
155. Shôn Ellerton, December 14, 2021. Often cited as the bible of Freemasonry, here are 33 memorable quotes from Morals and Dogma which can be applied to today’s politics. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/33-great-morals-and-dogma-quotes
154. Shôn Ellerton, December 2, 2021. Surprisingly very few people know of the powerful version history feature of Wikipedia. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-four-dimensional-world-of-wikipedia
153. Shôn Ellerton, November 23, 2021. My thoughts on the evils of capital punishment and mob justice. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-evils-of-capital-punishment-and
152. Shôn Ellerton, November 5, 2021. Smartphones and facial recognition could herald a scary new game called Dob by Mob. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/dob-by-mob-and-facial-recognition
151. Shôn Ellerton, October 28, 2021. Here I try to tackle the question of whether COVID vaccines should be mandated. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/should-covid-vaccines-be-mandated
150. Shôn Ellerton, October 20, 2021. I frequently get asked why I bother to write articles. Here I explain why. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/8-reasons-why-i-write-articles
149. Shôn Ellerton, October 18, 2021. What will future readers learn from Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic? Here’s my account. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/what-happened-to-you-australia-during
148. Shôn Ellerton, September 29, 2021. Calling someone a conspiracy theorist because you don’t like what they say is wrong. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/what-exactly-is-a-conspiracy-theorist
147. Shôn Ellerton, September 28, 2021. 5 lessons I learned when I jumped too quickly when accepting an executive’s role. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/landing-a-great-job-only-to-find
146. Shôn Ellerton, September 20, 2021. What would you say if you had the choice of permanently killing off the Internet? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/if-klaatu-can-neutralise-electrical
145. Shôn Ellerton, September 17, 2021. A striking moment in film cinema showing compassion in the worst of situations. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/clint-eastwood-comforts-a-confederate
144. Shôn Ellerton, September 1, 2021. Mushrooms! Love ’em or hate ‘em. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/my-little-story-on-mushrooms
143. Shôn Ellerton, August 30, 2021. If you can solve this question, you may be a genius! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/quick-can-you-solve-this-question
142. Shôn Ellerton, August 26, 2021. Masks have their place in the right environment, but honestly, what I observe with general mask-wearing is kind of gross and absurd. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-sheer-grossness-and-absurdity
141. Shôn Ellerton, August 2, 2021. Given the same raw data, it is often very easy to spin entirely different stories. And that’s without telling one single lie! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/make-the-data-fit-the-desired-result
140. Shôn Ellerton, July 28, 2021. The most embarrassing incident report I ever had to complete thanks to a papercut I got while mishandling a set of minutes. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/papercuts-are-dangerous
139. Shôn Ellerton, July 12, 2021. How and why did I join Freemasonry? What it means to me. Some of the questions I get about it. And whether it’s a good time to join. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/what-freemasonry-means-to-me
138. Shôn Ellerton, July 5, 2021. A personal take on the chaos of the United States’ recent spate of voting bills and acts. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/voting-suppression-democracy-destroyed
137. Shôn Ellerton, June 21, 2021. Are you concerned what your children are being taught at school? Volunteering to take part in the school board is a good start. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/why-i-joined-the-school-board
136. Shôn Ellerton, June 1, 2021. Does anyone else think Facebook has dried up into a barren wasteland of mediocrity and utter boredom? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/facebook-has-got-terribly-boring
135. Shôn Ellerton, May 20, 2021. I can 99.99 percent guarantee that your data is never deleted on a commercial system! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/data-is-never-deleted
134. Shôn Ellerton, May 18, 2021. The year of 2020 proved to be the testing ground of a re-insurgence of critical race theory. Is the fight still as strong in 2021 or have we become tired of it all. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/are-we-slowly-tiring-of-trying-to
133. Shôn Ellerton, May 11, 2021. A genuine concern of how the increased trend to cocoon ourselves away from interacting with real people affects us and our children. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/escape-the-cocoon-and-be-with-real
132. Shôn Ellerton, April 30, 2021. In our age of ultra-sensitivity and seemingly diminished tolerance, I revisit the issue of whether school uniforms are good or bad. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/are-school-uniforms-good-or-bad-revisited
131. Shôn Ellerton, April 13, 2021. Let’s have some fun and pretend what our browsers would be like if they behaved like real people! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/if-browsers-were-real-people-in-a
130. Shôn Ellerton, April 9, 2021. Those who tend not to grumble are often portrayed as having good manners and decorum. But keep them well away from social media! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/keep-the-mustnt-grumbles-away-from
129. Shôn Ellerton, April 1, 2021. Buried deep in the heart of East End London, is perhaps one of the world’s most secret and unknown societies. Learn how I managed to infiltrate it. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-i-managed-to-expose-one-of-the
128. Shôn Ellerton, March 25, 2021. Getting people to do things is hard enough, but it is so much easier to meet casually in person rather than sending out a sterile email. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/yes-there-is-always-time-for-a-coffee
127. Shôn Ellerton, March 19, 2021. Looking back in hindsight is one of life’s great teachers and for me, this is especially so with respect to how I conducted myself through my career. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/if-i-could-go-back-in-time-in-my
126. Shôn Ellerton, March 9, 2021. I miss those days of the casual swimming pool just to splash around and dive in. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/hunting-for-caddyshack-swimming-pools
125. Shôn Ellerton, January 26, 2021. Be the jury of what you hear and read. My analogy of being heavily diversified across many news sources to that of being a hi-fi aficionado. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/why-diversifying-in-news-is-like
124. Shôn Ellerton, January 17, 2021. My thoughts and views of some of my favourite podcasters who have given so much to fill the void which mainstream media ignores. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-vanguards-of-free-thought-and
123. Shôn Ellerton, January 5, 2021. New Year’s celebrations for many means party and plenty to drink, but never play this drinking game! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/around-the-world-in-80-days-the-vile
122. Shôn Ellerton, December 15, 2020. My exploration into communism during my younger years has reminded me the importance of keeping an open mind. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/my-childhood-obsession-with-communism
121. Shôn Ellerton, December 8, 2020. Mixing politics or ideologies like BLM with British football seems like the perfect recipe for stirring up a hornet’s nest. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/mixing-sport-with-politics-and-ideologies
120. Shôn Ellerton, December 2, 2020. A trip down memory lane of one of my favourite Chinese restaurants known for good food and very rude service. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/wong-kei-one-of-the-worlds-rudest
119. Shôn Ellerton, November 21, 2020. If there’s one circus that hasn’t been cancelled this year, it is that of American politics. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-great-american-political-circus
118. Shôn Ellerton, November 5, 2020. Just hoping that all this election stuff will end soon because regardless who is elected in, it’s going to be an interesting four years. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/looks-like-biden-now-what
117. Shôn Ellerton, November 3, 2020. E-scooters are a great way to explore your city and they’re also a lot of fun! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/be-a-daredevil-and-hire-an-e-scooter
116. Shôn Ellerton, October 29, 2020. The CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter get a roasting by angry Democrat and Republican senators but for mainly selfish reasons. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/big-tech-giants-get-a-grilling-again
115. Shôn Ellerton, October 28, 2020, I find commuting by train to be free of stress so long as I avoid having to share a carriage with any of three other specific commuters. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/commuting-on-the-fart-express
114. Shôn Ellerton, October 24, 2020. Robin Di Angelo’s White Fragility may have been one of the most divisive books I have read, but I am glad I took the opportunity to read it. Here is my personal take on the book. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/my-critique-on-white-fragility
113. Shôn Ellerton, October 15, 2020. In all my fifty years, I have never come across a year of such rampant hatred. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/2020-the-year-of-hate
112. Shôn Ellerton, October 2, 2020. Showers of ducks, polite looters, pirates, the Sargasso Sea and polar bears makes up my story of guns and some of the lessons I learnt from them. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/robin-hood-pirates-and-ducks-my-story
111. Shôn Ellerton, September 21, 2020. A fresh breakaway from the Republicans and the Democrats? Or just a pipe dream. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-nearly-forgotten-libertarians
110. Shôn Ellerton, September 5, 2020. Can you imagine if you had been in a coma since February 2020 and then, to wake up in early September to a world of madness? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/waking-up-now-from-a-coma-would-be
109. Shôn Ellerton, August 28, 2020. What do lemons and hydroxychloroquine have in common? More than you think! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/scurvy-hydroxychloroquine-and-lemons
108. Shôn Ellerton, August 23, 2020. Mr Biden, please give me a reason to vote for you. I hope my open letter is clear. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/my-open-letter-to-mr-biden-as-an
107. Shôn Ellerton, August 21, 2020. Ten simple rules to remember if you want to get the upper hand in an online social media debate. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/win-debates-on-social-media-using
106. Shôn Ellerton, August 16, 2020. In this article, I draw some comparisons between the panopticons and star chambers of old with the Internet and the power of the ‘mob’ today. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/modern-day-panopticons-and-star-chambers
105. Shôn Ellerton, August 4, 2020. The paradox of learning more about life with less choice including a brief trip down memory lane of BBC Radio 4 and long car journeys. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/mushrooms-doric-columns-and-the-shipping
104. Shôn Ellerton, July 28, 2020. Reliable and trustworthy sources of news can be created by following five simple rules. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/five-simple-rules-for-unbiased-news
103. Shôn Ellerton, July 23, 2020. If we could all focus on building our successes rather than dismantling the success of others, the world would be a better place. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/focus-on-building-yourself-rather
102. Shôn Ellerton, July 21, 2020. If we do not wake up to rationality and logic and put an end to this nonsense, we will continue down the path to martial law. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/we-are-on-the-path-to-martial-law
101. Shôn Ellerton, July 16, 2020. How to deep-dive for balanced, objective, and neutral news in a world of chaos. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-quest-for-better-news-in-a-world
100. Shôn Ellerton, July 8, 2020. Can the flames of wokeness get any worse or is it at its zenith ready to die to an ember? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/wokeland
99. Shôn Ellerton, June 30, 2020. By simply cutting down the waste we create, this may be enough to alleviate the effects of climate change. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/focus-on-waste-not-climate-change
98. Shôn Ellerton, June 25, 2020. Taking up the courage to write about sensitive subjects may be daunting, but if we want to enjoy our freedom of speech for much longer, it may be time to do so. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/courage-and-writing
97. Shôn Ellerton, June 25, 2020. From comedy to tragedy, one of the most extraordinary events of 2020 is the creation of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in Seattle. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/welcome-to-chaz
96. Shôn Ellerton, June 10, 2020. So frequently commonplace in today’s cities, it is often so easy to ignore the trials and tribulations of the homeless. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/of-homelessness-and-charity
95. Shôn Ellerton, June 2, 2020. Walking into a Glaswegian bar half dressed in green and blue could be problematic! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/neutrality-politics-and-football
94. Shôn Ellerton, May 28, 2020. I await, with open arms, all the blue-pilled protestors outside every IKEA store! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/good-grief-sweden-is-killing-its
93. Shôn Ellerton, April 24, 2020. Our unhealthy obsession with qualifying or discrediting others purely based on what degrees and diplomas they have rather than experience. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/pigeonholing-and-little-bits-of-paper
92. Shôn Ellerton, April 22, 2020. I’m putting my 22 years of telco experience to give you a quick tour on how to build a mobile phone wireless network. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/learn-to-build-a-mobile-phone-network
91. Shôn Ellerton, April 16, 2020. Just like the bushfire crisis in Australia, the COVID-19 pandemic provides the perfect breeding ground for condescending and judgmental behaviour towards each other. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/our-condescending-and-judgmental
90. Shôn Ellerton, April 8, 2020. Are we slowly losing our sense of humour? My exploration into war, pandemics and comedy. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/of-war-disease-and-comedy
89. Shôn Ellerton, April 1, 2020. My very interesting conversation with Dr Jay Gottlieb on muzak and its pivotal role as a weapon in manipulating mankind. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-illuminati-world-order-and-muzak
88. Shôn Ellerton, March 25, 2020. It’s easy to vilify the youth with irresponsible behaviour during an outbreak, but let’s look at it from their perspective. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/secretly-yearning-for-an-outbreak
87. Shôn Ellerton, February 24, 2020. My straightforward view and feeling on Brexit which I swore I wouldn’t write about, but eventually did anyway! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/brexit-a-moment-of-sadness
86. Shôn Ellerton, January 22, 2020. Does my LinkedIn profile scream to you that I need heavy-duty commercial-grade cutting machinery for making kitchen cabinets? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/im-happy-to-connect-but-dont-try
85. Shôn Ellerton, January 21, 2020. Is YouTube’s current model of copyright enforcement sustainable? Would widespread adoption of decentralised video platforms present a serious threat to copyrighted material? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/tearing-down-the-wall-of-digital
84. Shôn Ellerton, January 20, 2020. Never assume that personalising newsletters, distribution letters or other forms of mass communication is the way to go. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/too-much-personalisation-too-little
83. Shôn Ellerton, January 17, 2020. During 2019, I only managed to squeeze in nine books, but most were certainly worth the read.
82. Shôn Ellerton, January 17, 2020. It’s bad idea to interact with social media if you’re angry, depressed, drunk or tired. Seems obvious but many of us do it intentionally or not. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/get-off-social-media-if-youre-in
81. Shôn Ellerton, January 16, 2020. Ah! The frustration when backwards compatibility gets broken when new updates to frameworks are released. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/breaking-backwards-compatibility
80. Shôn Ellerton, January 15, 2020. We, the manufacturers of mobile phone devices, streaming services and social media platforms insist that you have your sounds switched on. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/you-must-have-your-sounds-turned
79. Shôn Ellerton, January 14, 2020. ‘You have too much time on your hands’ is a phrase I find disagreeable. My reply is to suggest doing even more! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/doing-more-generates-more-time
78. Shôn Ellerton, January 13, 2020The Australian government has put forward a bill to make it illegal to make any transaction of $10,000 or more in cash illegal. Will it work? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/australias-proposed-cash-ban-will
77. Shôn Ellerton, January 12, 2020. Often, getting feedback from recruiters is like getting blood out of a stone. Make it easier by making your own feedback forms for them to complete. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/not-getting-feedback-from-interviews
76. Shôn Ellerton, January 11, 2020. Having spent nearly two years away from telcos, an industry I spent over twenty years doing. Why do I feel the urge to go back into it again? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/should-i-jump-back-into-a-career
75. Shôn Ellerton, January 10, 2020. Our railways should not be focussed on greed, profiteering, cost-cutting, and relegation of responsibility to the private sector. They are there for the greater good. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/railways-are-not-supposed-to-make
74. Shôn Ellerton, January 9, 2020. Many writers who start out worry too much that what they’re writing about will be too trivial. My advice. Just do it! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/theres-nothing-wrong-with-writing
73. Shôn Ellerton, January 8, 2020. Clicking on a news link only to find that it lies behind a paywall is frustrating at best, but surely, there’s a better model than the way we’re doing it now. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-future-of-paywalled-news-articles
72. Shôn Ellerton, January 6, 2020. We often refrain from reading the news from a source we don’t align ourselves with, but it’s really worth doing so to get a balanced opinion. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/stretch-your-boundaries-where-you
71. Shôn Ellerton, January 5, 2020. Celebrating Christmas and the New Year is supposed to be a joyous occasion, but for me, it was a little melancholic and a time to reflect. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-joys-and-melancholy-of-christmas
70. Shôn Ellerton, January 4, 2020. Our bushfires have been awful. Many have lost their houses. Some have lost their lives. And the bushfires keep going on. But there is one silver lining to it all. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-tragedy-of-the-bushfires-has
69. Shôn Ellerton, January 3, 2020. Politicians don’t get it easy and they usually have to work very hard to get where they are, but when it come to the crunch, we always have time to point fingers at them. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/lets-blame-all-the-politicians
68. Shôn Ellerton, January 2, 2020. From the Chamber of Horrors to the London Dungeon, not much can beat the eeriness and spookiness of waxworks museums, but their heydays are gone. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/reminiscing-on-the-creepiness-of
67. Shôn Ellerton, January 1, 2020. The struggle to maintain a healthy diet, the rise of childhood obesity and the influence of our food and drink industries to keep it that way. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-our-diet
66. Shôn Ellerton, December 31, 2019. Watching children play together in the playground is one of few places I’ve seen a world without hate. Why can’t we do the same? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-do-we-learn-to-hate-each-other
65. Shôn Ellerton, December 19, 2019. A little discourse on the art and mystique of handwriting and how we might be in danger of losing the ability to write by hand. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/of-handwriting-cursive-fountain-pens
64. Shôn Ellerton, December 16, 2019. Never let the trolls put you down on your writings. They do not write. You do! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/dont-let-the-trolls-discourage-you
63. Shôn Ellerton, December 14, 2019. I try not to get caught out on using these four words too often. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/four-little-words-to-watch-out-for
62. Shôn Ellerton, December 12, 2019. In a truly global integrated society, there will be no need for ethnicity checkboxes. But are we ready yet? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/is-it-time-to-get-rid-of-ethnicity
61. Shôn Ellerton, December 10, 2019. Is it possible that, sometime in the future, all other languages will die in favour of English? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/could-english-become-the-one-surviving
60. Shôn Ellerton, December 9, 2019. Not being able to read a map and totally relying on your GPS giving directions can lead to interesting results. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/your-gps-secretly-wants-you-to-get
59. Shôn Ellerton, December 4, 2019. The undesirable behaviours and actions of bad managers can often be felt by many others including families, friends, and colleagues. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/bad-managers-can-do-more-damage-than
58. Shôn Ellerton, November 25, 2019. Bleak outer suburbs, oppressive regimes and far out-of-the-way places can be your most rewarding vacation spots. Seriously! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/destination-drab-no-tourists-here
57. Shôn Ellerton, November 22, 2019. We can all do better to curb emissions, but signing the Paris Agreement, listening to Greta bark her head off and being disrupted by activists is not the way to do it. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/did-anyone-actually-read-the-paris
56. Shôn Ellerton, November 13, 2019. Greedy software vendors have milked the concept of subscription software; however, there is a silver lining. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/i-hate-subscription-software-however
55. Shôn Ellerton, November 12, 2019. Many of us avoid eye contact and ignore anyone doing something weird or out of the ordinary. But doing so might miss the opportunity of a positive experience. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-i-got-blessed-today-on-the-train
54. Shôn Ellerton, November 10, 2019. If you have always worked as a permanent employee, you could be missing out on some of the advantages of being a contractor. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/10-reasons-to-consider-contracting
53. Shôn Ellerton, October 18, 2019. Many of us get tired and stressed before we step into the office just by driving their cars. Here’s my story. What’s yours? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-bliss-of-not-driving-a-car-to
52. Shôn Ellerton, October 16, 2019. A very simple way to understand the DIKW (Data Information Knowledge Wisdom) Pyramid in terms of avoiding a car crash. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/dikw-pyramids-and-car-crashes
51. Shôn Ellerton, October 2, 2019. Don’t get caught out on some of the pitfalls of data warehouse design. Avoiding these 10 common pitfalls can save one a lot of time and money. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/10-pitfalls-to-avoid-with-data-warehouses
50. Shôn Ellerton, October 1, 2019. With each passing year working in IT, I’ve become aware of a growing ageing workforce of computer programmers and coders. Why would this be? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/our-ageing-computer-programming-workforce
49. Shôn Ellerton, September 30, 2019. A great way to make TV interviews look exceptionally important and engaging by simply having people in the background doing absolutely nothing. Brilliant! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/how-to-make-tv-interviews-look-very
48. Shôn Ellerton, September 19, 2019. I think I have disposed of or destroyed at least ten printers in my life! Imagine all the printers we throw away because we cannot afford the spare parts and consumables to keep them going. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/will-i-have-to-destroy-another-printer
47. Shôn Ellerton, September 12, 2019. Let’s take a journey of how overcomplicated systems come into being, why they frequently fail and how to avoid them. It’s time to embrace simplicity. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-rise-and-fall-of-overcomplicated
46. Shôn Ellerton, September 6, 2019. What does it take to be an effective technical lead? Here are 9 simple ways to be that person. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/9-ways-of-being-an-effective-technical
45. Shôn Ellerton, September 3, 2019. We see the dentist on a regular basis to avoid having bad teeth. We see a GP to check that everything’s okay with us physically. But what about our mental state of mind? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/its-ok-to-see-a-psychologist
44. Shôn Ellerton, August 25, 2019. Do you suffer from stress and pain on long-haul flights? Tai Chi could be one way to alleviate these symptoms. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/tai-chi-for-frequent-flyers
43. Shôn Ellerton, July 20, 2019. A campaign to stop fake reviews is just about as effective as throwing a campaign to make farting in public illegal. However, we can educate ourselves to work around them. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/working-around-fake-reviews
42. Shôn Ellerton, June 24, 2019. Do you feel like a dinosaur or get condescending looks from programmers when you state you’re an expert with VBA? So why is it that job profiles are increasingly seeking VBA experts? Will VBA ever become a deprecated feature of MS Office? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/vba-will-it-ever-die
41. Shôn Ellerton, June 3, 2019. The sad story when a geological treasure is caught up in superstition, race and politics. All climbers will be banned from ascending Uluru (Ayers Rock) starting from October 26, 2019. There will be more iconic wonders to fall victim to the same irrational reasoning if more of us do not express our concerns. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/there-will-be-no-more-climbing-on
40. Shôn Ellerton, May 18, 2019. Many of us are far more at ease when meeting up face-to-face at a job interview rather than through a phone. If you are not comfortable with phone interviews, you are not the only one. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/scared-of-phone-interviews
39. Shôn Ellerton, May 10, 2019. Anyone driving a petrol-engined car in Australia will be familiar with massive fluctuating petrol price differences. Many of us simply grumble that the petrol retailers are colluding with each other to rip us off. Instead, what can you do about it? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/you-too-can-discourage-petrol-price
38. Shôn Ellerton, April 23, 2019. Whether an accident or intentional, the burning down of Notre Dame Cathedral is a massive cultural loss for many of us. The community seems divided whether it should be restored or not. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/should-notre-dame-cathedral-be-restored
37. Shôn Ellerton, April 20, 2019. Love it or loath it, social media is here to stay but with the ever-increasing number of platforms being introduced, which ones to use? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/using-social-media-to-promote-your
36. Shôn Ellerton, March 23, 2019. We are becoming increasingly relaxed with wearing formal clothes in the workplace yet many are intent on retaining the tradition of forcing school children to wear uniforms. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/are-school-uniforms-good-or-bad
35. Shôn Ellerton, March 5, 2019. Most of us hates junk mail and will do anything to stop it. However, take a step back to look at the benefits of junk mail and why many businesses rely on it. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about
34. Shôn Ellerton, February 14, 2019. Are you a perfectionist or someone who just wants to scrape through with the minimum amount of effort? How does Spaghetti relate to life and, in my case, databases? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/5-levels-of-spaghetti-databases-and
33. Shôn Ellerton, February 10, 2019. In a world infested with memes, tweets and one-line posts, we need more of us to take the time and gather courage to write longform articles. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/dont-be-afraid-to-write-your-own
32. Shôn Ellerton, February 4, 2019. Have you ever survived an impossibly boring French movie only to find out later that it had amazing reviews? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-absurdity-of-french-arthouse
31. Shôn Ellerton, December 2, 2018. Stick your head above the parapet and do something rather than just talk about it! https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/who-will-put-the-bell-on-the-cat
30. Shôn Ellerton, November 30, 2018. Every German or Swiss student that has stayed with us stated that Australian schools are too much on the easy side. But is this really true? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/should-we-bring-in-the-germans-to
29. Shôn Ellerton, November 11, 2018. Is this one of Aldi’s sneaky ways to save a few dollars by deterring customers from using their shopping trolleys? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-infamous-coin-operated-shopping
28. Shôn Ellerton, October 23, 2018. Property investors are fully aware of the profitability of subdividing properties, but, as with most speculative instruments, there are underlying consequences, one of which is, what eventually happens to the neighbourhood? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/are-property-subdivisions-going-out
27. Shôn Ellerton, October 19, 2018. We often think our own beliefs are the correct beliefs, but put that aside for just a moment. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/immerse-yourself-into-something-you
26. Shôn Ellerton, September 23, 2018. Before I was born back in the Jet Age of the 50s, the idea of everything being self-service seemed really cool and everyone wanted to use it. But those days are long gone. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/are-self-service-checkouts-still
25. Shôn Ellerton, September 20, 2018. Would it not make sense to build shared cycleways at the time the railway is being constructed? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/building-railways-with-shared-cycleways
24. Shôn Ellerton, September 19, 2018. My personal experience of how motorcycle riding might have made me a safer driver. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/motorcycle-rider-mentality-could
23. Shôn Ellerton, July 21, 2018. A strong friendship should never be affected by differences in ideology whether it is based on faith, belief, culture, religion or political bias. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/true-friendship-should-always-prevail
22. Shôn Ellerton, July 17, 2018. A frank and candid discussion about my disagreeable experience with a local council. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/are-you-being-bullied-by-your-local
Shôn Ellerton, Feb 14, 2018 Can you imagine living in a global society where time is the only accepted universal form of payment? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/using-time-as-the-universal-currency
Shôn Ellerton, Dec 3, 2017. Have you ever wondered why people used to flock to the Iron Curtain just to be able to see the other side? Why is there a such a sense of thrill when crossing a fortified international border?https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/what-makes-fortified-international
Shôn Ellerton, Dec 1, 2017. Many thought that vinyl LP records would die a painful death with the advent of CDs but they are more popular than ever now. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/whats-the-big-deal-over-vinyl-lp
Shôn Ellerton, Nov 28, 2017. Is digital technology getting the better of us? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/are-we-being-overwhelmed-by-digital
Shôn Ellerton, Nov 25, 2017. The powder-actuated nailgun is, inarguably, one of the most dangerous and abused piece of construction kit. Here is a little story from my personal experience with this tool. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/the-notorious-powder-actuated-nailgun
Shôn Ellerton, Nov 24, 2017.
How the art of lucid dreaming can help alleviate stress levels and boost creativity.
Check out your ‘pantry’ before buying more software and IT services for your business. You may be surprised what you already have.
Jun 2, 2017. A re-think on our absurd obsession of adopting lower and lower speed limits.
May 24, 2017. Shôn Ellerton. For those who spend most of their working life behind a computer, you may want to explore some of these free pieces of software if you haven’t done so already. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/11-really-useful-pieces-of-free-software
Apr 26, 2017. Shôn Ellerton. If your project is making no headway in getting your corporate IT to implement a tracking solution for your project, why not try putting something in place with little or no corporate IT involvement? https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/but-we-need-something-to-track-our
Apr 1, 2017. Shôn Ellerton. The rise and fall of British Rail’s ingenious scheme to attract more passenger traffic during the 1980s revealed. https://shonellerton.substack.com/p/british-rails-secret-scheme-finally
Mar 22, 2017. Having been to China several times, I never fail to stumble upon something which causes either disbelief, frustration or sheer surprise.
Feb 10, 2017. Here is a list of my top bugbears in Australian road design and ideas to overcome them.
Feb 3, 2017. A student once approached me and asked which computer language should he learn. I pondered over the question and then asked him what he wanted to write code for?
Jan 28, 2017. The power and simplicity of using refreshable Excel reports for your reporting needs.
Jan 7, 2017. Your business is not running as efficiently as it should, so should you implement that expensive online work management system?
Dec 30, 2016. Every time our family receives an actual Christmas or birthday card from a relative or friend, I feel a little twinge of guilt.
Dec 5, 2016. It is not wholly surprising why A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) has such a bad rap.
Nov 1, 2016. Let’s bring up the subject of the most abused and addictive type of software known to the business world. The humble spreadsheet.
Originally published April 8, 2020
Are we slowly losing our sense of humour? My exploration into war, pandemics and comedy.
Originally published March 25, 2020
It’s easy to vilify the youth with irresponsible behaviour during an outbreak, but let’s look at it from their perspective.