Observations on the world and its inhabitants
Well the last few weeks have been very heavy. I spent a ton of time investigating AI related issues. So this story – a true one anonymised – is a welcomed break. Oh aye it was – and I needed assistance to get up off the floor. I was in stitches. So it comes with ...
Lot’s of people waste their time with AI models. Yes – I’m fond of AI Models for what they can do well. But that does not mean I give them free reign. I do not bully people. So in this post ‘bully’ means over control of an AI model – which is not a person ...
The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 makes it a crime, punishable by two years’ imprisonment, to sell a product that Sweden used to achieve Europe’s lowest smoking mortality rate TVA2026, s.7-9. It simultaneously protects the sale of combustible cigarettes to every adult who already smokes them. Those two facts, side by side, tell you something ...
There comes a point in every great nation’s story when it must look itself squarely in the mirror, offer a quiet, slightly embarrassed cough, and ask: how did we manage to spend more than a Moon mission on a railway that still won’t reach central London for another decade and a half? HS2 has now ...
In this blog post there is a fictional account of what Mork might report on ‘the humans’. Some are too young to recall who is Mork. In 1978, a wild-haired comedian named Robin Williams played a one-off alien on an episode of Happy Days. The character, Mork from the planet Ork, was so popular it ...
Somewhere in the polished aisles of a Waitrose outlet in Clapham Junction, between the quinoa and the artisan focaccia, their veteran worker of 17‑years-of-service made the fatal mistake of caring about shoplifting (The Times 06 April 2026). Walker Smith, age 54, decided to do something about it. Not too much, mind you — just enough ...
Three hours into the Artemis 2 mission, the four bravest people on the planet found themselves staring at an amber fault light on a $30 million toilet. While NASA’s PR machine was busy broadcasting high-definition feeds of Earth’s crescent, mission specialist Christina Koch was reportedly being promoted to “Space Plumber” to deal with a “controller ...
Before I get into the numbers, I need to be entirely clear: what follows is a record of my own personal experience over the last fifteen years. It is not a professional recommendation, and I’m not suggesting everyone should go out and override their car’s handbook. I’m simply sharing the data I’ve collected from my ...
1. Introduction The Eva Vlaardingerbroek situation presents a case that demands careful scrutiny, not merely due to the specific politics involved, but because the mechanism itself appears slippery. It is generally accepted that the state must intercept “undesirables” at the border—criminals, terrorists, and those posing a physical threat. In the case of Vlaardingerbroek, however, the ...
In the era of 21st century high-quality care, where robots deliver your meds and AI diagnoses your ailments, the NHS has boldly innovated by turning corridors into the latest treatment hotspots. Who needs fancy wards or proper rooms when you can have the thrilling ambiance of foot traffic and the gentle hum of passing trolleys? ...
In a stunning blow to the “thoughts and prayers” of the school of hospital management, a new study suggests that nurses might actually be more than just decorative additions to hospital wards. In what is being hailed as the most ground-breaking scientific achievement since someone noticed that fire is hot and the sky is generally ...
The complaint is universal: “There is simply not enough time.” Individuals often feel overwhelmed, perpetually busy, and unable to commence a side hustle, acquire a new skill, or establish a passive income stream. Many tell themselves that only a negligible fraction of their day is wasted on mindless scrolling or passive viewing. Another way is ...
Publishing a first book on Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) can feel overwhelming. This guide consolidates practical lessons learned from the self-publishing process. Whether publishing fiction or non-fiction, these insights will help avoid common pitfalls. If you’re one of those people who will go, “Why would I want to publish a book, let alone use ...
🔥 The Ashtray Epiphany Gwyneth Paltrow, high priestess of curated purity, once quit smoking not for health, family, or climate—but because she “didn’t want to smell like an ashtray” while filming Mortdecai. That’s right: Mortdecai, the cinematic equivalent of a scented candle lit in a vacuum. This wasn’t a health decision. It was reputational hygiene. ...
📡 Breaking News: Meteorologists have confirmed the arrival of a Category 5 Excremental Cyclone, colloquially known as The Big Brown Swirl. Unlike ordinary storms, this one is powered not by warm ocean currents but by hot air, bad takes, and reputational methane leaks. The official government advisory reads: “When you see a shit storm, run ...
Act I: The Phantom of the Dossier Somewhere deep in the bowels of Whitehall, a dossier thicker than a minister’s skin was compiled. It contained “hundreds” of examples proving China was a national security threat. Cyberattacks, secret police stations, intellectual property theft—basically Beijing’s greatest hits. But when the curtain rose on the trial of two ...
What do you get when you cross a disgraced financier, a royal wellness invoice, a billionaire’s cryptic RSVP, and a massage menu that reads like a legal deposition? A reputational ghost flight aboard the Lolita Express, where every artefact is a teachable scandal and every seat comes with plausible deniability. Are you ready for reputational ...
This is not a tutorial or how exactly to organise your files. File organisation is not for everybody. Some people insist on having the files on their computer ‘all over the place’ and stashed in downloads folders or scattered across their desktop. If you’re one of those dim people, kindly move on right now. If, ...
This will mean nothing to most people – like in the old days when people were scared to touch the very first prototype telephones. It was like, “I don’t know what that thing will do to me!😨😱” If you consider yourself a luddite or partial luddite, skip though to the conclusion at the end, to ...
The “Scout Mindset” is a compelling idea in modern self-improvement. Julia Galef (2021) [2] coined the term. It presents a powerful metaphor for how we process information. It contrasts the curious truth-seeker with the defensive soldier. The idea is simple, but its implications are profound. It touches everything from our relationships to scientific discovery. At ...
🧠 Welcome to the Dopamine Desert In the spirit of reputational cartography and ensemble storytelling, I present a diagnostic artefact so rich in irony it could be prescribed as a laxative. This post is not a scientific treatise—though it may contain traces of serotonin. You have a roast of modern pharmacology, and a cautionary tale ...
The phone rang Saturday, 5:30 PM, just as Walker was settling into his evening ritual, the gentle hum of classical music playing in the background. He glanced at the caller ID, a faint, knowing smile touching his lips as he saw Tarek’s name. He picked up the phone. “Speak of the devil. I was just ...
🕵️♂️ Scene One: Heathrow Terminal, 2025. Graham Linehan, comedy writer turned cultural insurgent, touches down from Arizona—jet-lagged, headphone-clad, and presumably unaware that his tweets have been upgraded to felony-grade contraband. Enter: five armed officers. Not one, not two, but five. Because clearly, nothing says “public menace” like a man who once wrote Father Ted and ...
If you didn’t immediately get it, it’s about clichés—the pre-chewed cud of human interaction. They arrive dressed as empathy, euphemisms, and preparation to deliver insults. But more often they function as conversational wallpaper: decorative, non-absorbent, and entirely resistant to meaning. They’re the linguistic equivalent of nodding while scrolling. Clichés operate like emotional pop-ups: they interrupt, ...
The latest moral panic to grace the pages of Scientific American: AI chatbots are apparently fuelling psychotic episodes now. Obviously, when the world’s burning, the economy’s wheezing, and public trust in institutions is circling the drain, what we really need to worry about is whether someone’s chatbot told them they’re the reincarnation of Plato. Strap ...
One minute you’re asking it for a dinner recipe, the next you’re convinced it’s whispering quantum secrets and crowning you the next Einstein. According to Microsoft’s AI chief Mustafa Suleyman, we’ve apparently entered the age of “AI psychosis,” where people believe chatbots are sentient, emotionally invested, and handing out superpowers like party favours. 🧙♂️ ⚠️ ...
🎬 Introduction: A Society on the Brink In an age defined by speed, noise, and digital saturation, the ability to think critically is quietly vanishing. This video offers a sobering exploration of what happens when a society surrenders its intellectual independence—not through ignorance, but through passive acceptance. The original video is here – full credits ...
A phone call via WhatsApp at 8:17 am on a Saturday morning. (Tarek, spotting the call thinks to himself: Alice? The only reason to call before the coffee has fully processed is either a family emergency or an existential crisis over kale. And I’m betting on kale.) The Phone Call Tarek: Good morning, Alice. Alice: ...
🧠 Core Argument Get the picture: John Oates, armed with a saxophone and a crystal ball, declares that Maneater is actually a prophecy about 1980s New York—a city possessed by the ghost of Gordon Gekko and haunted by the spirit of spoiled caviar. The sidewalks whisper stock tips, the pigeons wear Rolexes, and every taxi ...
Just when you thought the cosmic alignment of jade eggs and vagina-scented candles had reached its peak celestial absurdity, our favourite wellness oligarch, Gwyneth Paltrow herself, has once again graced the hallowed pages of The Times 29/07/2025. And oh, what a revelation it is! Forget the whispered rumours of bespoke gut-flushes and curated everything; a ...
