Started the day on the beach walking the dog as the sun came up. A great way to clear the mind for the day ahead.

At last, the word is out. The ISSIG newsletter reports that Tim and I are here, live in cyberspace. Open all hours, visitors welcome.

We're near the end of our course and the students are trying to come up with atopic for their final assignment. One that should be interesting is from a ni-Vanuatu on cross-cultural communication in project teams. (ni-Vanuatu is a native of Vanuatu, a Pacific Island nation that the colonialists (British and French) called the New Hebrides). It was ruled as a condominium jointly by France and Britain - but they didn't get on very well and it became known as more of a pandemonium than a condominium).

Start with a bang? Is this an example of the cobblers children (being the worst shod)? This project has been on the go for almost all this year and has missed its original deadlines. This is not unusual when dealing with volunteers who have another life they need to maintain to pay the bills. It's an interesting topic - how to work with volunteers. You don't have the same authority or power relationship - you can't discipline them (or they'll pick up their ball and go home). Or can you? How can you work effectively on a project staffed by volunteers?

 The Lessons Learned report should be interesting.