Why is the UK so bad at managing coronavirus?
The UK is put to shame by countries that manage coronavirus well. The lesson is to lock down early and implement track and trace.
Section: Society
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Idlis and the Conservation of Flavour Principle
The BBC reports on a Twitter row about idlis, which are lentil and rice cakes often eaten in Southern India. I add my own take on this food. -
Cambridge's crazy roundabout
Cambridge recently created a new roundabout that operates in the Dutch style. It's supposed to be safer but the jury's still out on that. -
Will hacking one day be an act of war?
The BBC had a video which considers the how hacking can lead to death. I add my opinions to those of the BBC. -
A plea to product manufacturers
Why do product manufacturers write instructions in a font only an eagle could read? -
The law and banks
Why the law remains an ass and why banks still stink. -
Trump, Twitter and Facebook
My own opinions about Trump's recent spat with Twitter and Facebook's subsequent lack of action. -
Prospect theory still holds
Apparently we still view gains in a different way to losses and Prospect Theory still holds. -
Confirmation bias and how to avoid it
Confirmation bias is blight on human decision making. Are there ways we can avoid it? -
Ryanair and social distancing
Ryanair speaks out against the government's social distancing plans for planes. -
The UK coronavirus tracking app
How the UK's coronavirus tracking app will leverage APIs from Apple and Google. -
The useful people
Will society learn lessons from this coronavirus pandemic? Will it reward the people we depend on in the long term? -
Tekashi 6ix9ine
Tekashi 6ix9ine gets released from jail but can still punish us. -
What's the difference between Paul Daniels and Uri Geller?
Uri Geller claimed to be an actual psychic rather than just a stage magician and this caused a lot of friction over the years. -
Chickens and eggs
There really should not be an egg shortage. I blame lazy chickens. -
44 vaccines being developed and tested for coronavirus
An article on Wired summarises the vaccines currently being developed to fight coronavirus. -
Can an entire planet's economy collapse?
How does the entire economy of a planet collapse? Surely these things are only relative. -
It's a strange world we're living in just now
Just some fairly pointless thoughts about the current coronavirus situation. -
Toilet paper
Idiots deprive sensible people of goods, showing a selfish streak and a single digit IQ. -
Ducks and locusts
Creating a problem by curing a problem. -
Baboons run riot in vasectomy protest
The BBC reports that baboons ran riot in Australia as one of them was scheduled for a vasectomy. -
The bridge in the Irish Sea
The UK government is investigating the idea of building a bridge from Scotland to Northern Ireland. Here are my thoughts on this idea. -
Universal Credit's problems
I've sorted out the problems with Universal Credit in a few paragraphs. I wonder why the government finds this so difficult? -
BBC licence fee and banging MPs
Why the hell do televisions need to be licenced? They're not dangerous. Also, was an MP banged over a wheelie bin? -
Young, middle-aged and old
At what age are we considered young, middle-aged or old? I've done a little research. -
Royalty and Flybe
Why all the fuss about what the Royal Family does? Also, the Flybe potential collapse situation. -
Council planning departments need to put more thought into things
A rant at council planning departments and the lack of thought they show when approving planning applications. -
Rail fares and the suffering of UK commuters
Comments about how the UK rail network is so expensive these days. It seems to have lost the main reason it exists. -
I'm sick of baby boomers getting all the blame for climate change
Why do baby boomers get all the blame for climate change? All generations have played their own part in it. -
Why not do away with world timezones altogether?
Steve Hanke and Dick Henry suggest doing away with timezones. And they suggest reformatting the calendar whilst we're at it. Here's my take on that. -
Crashing a fighter jet
Pilot has a bad experience after crashing his jet and bailing out. -
HS2 and government projects in general
The government underestimates another project, this time it's HS2. Why do they always underestimate these things? -
On optimism
Optimism is overrated anyway. -
Brexit and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
The puzzling issue of the Brexit backstop, and the even more puzzling issue of The Rock's acting. -
Drug crime
Just some nonsense about drug crime in relation to my area. -
The crackers world we live in now — my weekend rant
An advert draws the ire of the Advertising Standards Authority because someone jumps off a cliff and sprouts wings. -
The UK’s Online Harms white paper - summary
A summary of the UK's Online Harms White Paper, which aims to prevent 'online harm' by regulating certain internet-based companies. -
Brexit demystified
My own view of the Brexit situation based on an (admitedly small) number of friends whose preferences I'm aware of. -
Cloth nappy influencers — the world has gone bonkers
It seems we now have cloth nappy 'influencers' and I wonder if the world has reached a new level of crazy. -
We can't comment on individual cases
Why do organisations use the phrase 'we can't comment on individual cases'? Is it really always for confidentiality? -
The biggest threats to humanity
The BBC looks at the biggest threats to humanity but I believe it overlooks one of the most important ones. -
Saving the UK high street - do we want to?
The High Street appears to be in trouble and Mike Ashley recently told MPs how to save it. But I'm not so sure we want to save it anyway. -
What do people do at cashpoints?
Why do people spend so long at cashpoints, standing in front of me, making me get wet in the rain? -
Trump blustering on about Google
Donald Trump now thinks Google Search is biased agains him and blusters on about it, threatening consequences. Google issued denial. -
Corbyn's plans for Big Tech
Gizmodo takes a look at Jeremy Corbyn's plans to promote journalism by levying a windfall tax on big tech. There are some problems with this plan. -
Instagram face and the quest for perfection
An interesting article by Alexandra Jones on the BBC about 'Instagram face'. I'm more interested in how this reflects on society in general, if indeed it does at all. -
Clamp down on fake news, says MP
An article by the BBC about the prevalence of fake news. Some MPs are calling for greater regulation to combat this, particularly online. -
Flying cars are as likely as flying pigs in the UK
A BBC article announces that Larry Page's flying car company is now training people how to fly them. -
Is it illegal to do something someone might 'take offence' to?
A BBC article about a butcher who has been told his light-hearted, humorous signs might be offensive. -
There’s too much pointless fuss about politics
A rare diversion into politics for me about why it's all rather pointless when it comes to effecting real change.