Category: Aside
How big a loss to society would Twitter’s demise be?
As Elon Musk continues remaking Twitter in his own image, I wonder what tomorrow’s Twitter will look like, if it survives the current carnage. The question of Twitter’s survival as a going concern isn’t a far-fetched point given the extraordinary events that have happened since Musk acquired the social network in October. The chaos in recent weeks has led to the exodus of many users, although only a trickle at the moment. We’ve seen the dismissal of the majority of… Read the rest →
The end of days
The front page of the i newspaper succinctly portrays the political landscape in the UK this morning. It’s almost beyond reasonable belief that this country has arrived at such a state of chaos with not only a government in utter disarry and the economy in tatters but also the political party it represents being one that seems clueless as to what it stands for and what it offers the people of this country. Three weeks ago I wrote that this… Read the rest →
Who is the creator?
The photo you see above of a spectacular post-dawn red sky is the scene that confronted me early on Monday morning when I opened my front door. It took my breath away! I captured the scene with a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 foldable smartphone and posted the photo to Instagram. But that photo is actually not the same as the photo above. The photo here is a subsequent enhancement of the original photo, known as a “stylized photo,” automatically created… Read the rest →
The ship of state is all at sea
For the past week, I’ve been trying to make some sense of what Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer respectively, are attempting to achieve in and for the UK with the not very “mini” budget announced to the House of Commons a week ago today. Reaction to that announcement was swift, not only in terms of wide criticism almost anywhere you cared to look but also in a hard negative financial reaction through what… Read the rest →
Assessing the choice of self-charging hybrid cars vs EV
Increasing alarm at rising energy costs in the UK has dominated the news agenda in recent weeks, reaching its current peak after the energy regulator Ofgem (the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) announced the widely-expected huge increase in the cap on average energy bills on August 26. What it means for everyone in the UK is that the cost of gas and electricity in the home will increase by about 80% on October 1. Right now, the average annual… Read the rest →