I can’t believe I have never blogged about the South East Northumberland Rail User Group, or SENRUG. I must have done but can’t seem to find it. Perhaps I haven’t and if not, it is high time I did. I didn’t start blogging until 2012 and some of the things I am going to talk … Continue reading On the right tracks
Story without end
Sorry but this is another blog about books, sort of. I’ve been getting through a lot of them during COVID and have just finished ‘After Dark’ by Haruki Murakami. His work is described as surrealism or magical realism and I have been on a bit of a streak of his work. Don’t worry, there are … Continue reading Story without end
Fixate on the Gini coefficient
By any standards the United Kingdom is a very rich country. It has the sixth largest economy in the world, when comparing Gross Domestic Product, at 3.32% of global production. Its citizens enjoy, on average, the 24th highest income in the world at $42,526 per capita. Why then are we obsessed with growth? It is … Continue reading Fixate on the Gini coefficient
Geopolitics and cybersecurity
From Business Insider: While US cybersecurity and intelligence officials trained their attention on securing the 2020 election, foreign hackers took the opportunity to wedge another door wide open, carrying out a devastating and unprecedented cyberattack. Details of the SolarWinds cyber attack have emerged over the last couple of weeks in what could be the world’s … Continue reading Geopolitics and cybersecurity
House of competition
The news is so depressing these days. To avoid watching the BBC at 6 o’clock I have been turning over to watch Richard Osman’s House of Games. It’s a funny programme in which four contestants ‘compete’ to win naff prizes by answering inventive and amusing questions. It is supposed to be a light hearted show … Continue reading House of competition
Proximity and trust
Flag of each of the 28 EU Member States, alongside the European flag It’s been a long time since I wrote about Brexit, even though it has never been away from my thoughts. Perhaps, by the time I post this we may well have a deal. There has been a lot of hand wringing and … Continue reading Proximity and trust
Reading your own thoughts
Twice this week I have read my own thoughts in other people’s books. On two separate occasions, one fiction and one non-fiction, I have read things that I have written before. Don’t get me wrong, I am not for one minute suggesting that either of the authors had taken my ideas as their own. There … Continue reading Reading your own thoughts
Male and pale
Bernadine Evaristo I’m male, pale and perhaps a bit stale, or so the saying goes. There is not much I can do about the first two but I hope I can work on the last point. Perhaps there is something I can do though. I could start by thinking about the issues around diversity and … Continue reading Male and pale
Vaccine, yes or no?
Image thanks to USA Today I’m not an antivaxer, I have had all of my jabs. I ensured that my daughters had their jabs and I understand the significant effect that vaccination has had on infectious diseases across the world. They have saved billions of lives. Why then am I concerned about the upcoming COVID-19 … Continue reading Vaccine, yes or no?
Find a cure
Image thanks to Yale School of Health It’s fantastic news that several vaccines have been found to address the COVID-19 pandemic. We are still a long way away from being in the clear but the pharmaceutical companies and science in general have made amazing strides forward in such a short space of time. Interesting fact: … Continue reading Find a cure
