I don’t know whether there are many fake South African passports in circulation, but Ryanair seems to think that there a sufficient number to make some U.K.-bound travellers of apparently South African origin take a test to prove that they’re really originating in said country. Passengers to be assessed are probably chosen at random, and […]
Podcasts of a different kind
Podcasts are fantastic: I can listen to them while doing chores or cooking, or when walking to and from my place of work, which particularly now in spring and summer is not only enjoyable, but a good way for me to get some exercise as it is an approximate 2 to 2.5 miles walk each […]
Shoplifting
Shoplifting, large and small, tends to rise during times of crisis. As inflation makes things harder for more families, retail theft data will be a telling gauge for consumer distress. With prices rising exponentially, expectations are that this will become even more of a problem as long as high inflation persists. And it is’t just […]
Autocracies vs democracies – A question of personal choice
The war in Ukraine is showing once more, how interconnected the global economies are and hence to what extent our lifestyle depends on what in democratic terms are unfriendly governments. Russia provides a substantial share of oil, gas and coal burnt in Europe, and hence the ‘special military operation’ against pro-western Ukraine poses a dilemma. […]
Refugees
At the time of writing some 10 million people in Ukraine have left their homes. Many of them are, for the moment at least, still in Ukraine and hence do not yet fit the UNHCR‘s definition of refugees. Then add to these to 82,400,000 forcibly displaced people at the end of 2020 of which, according […]
Strange names
The Austrian town of Fucking (in German it’s pronounced Foocking) for pretty obvious reasons on 1 January 2021 changed its name to Fugging. It’s inhabitants, I suppose they were previously known as the Fuckers, are now Fuggers instead. And that’s by far not the only unusual location name (as you no doubt will have guessed), […]
Smart everything everywhere – one year on
Just about a year ago I was writing a blog about the Internet of things (IoT) and some of its stranger permutations (you can read it here: Smart everything everywhere). And, 12 months later, again I find plenty of intriguing to outright weird contraptions which connect to the Internet. Admittedly, some of these applications are […]
The future of cars… WTF
I am a bit of a technophile as far as new technologies and gadgets are concerned (I suppose others would call me a geek or a nerd), and so it’s always interesting (and sometimes amusing) to read about what the manufacturers are tinkering with. And this also increasingly includes cars, although I am not a […]
How to hook your customers early
Tesla has many grownup fans around the world, and their cars are admittedly among the most popular EVs sold. And as any marketing guru would tell you, better get your customers hooked early: and that is exactly what Tesla is doing. The famous manufacturer of cars and batteries has launched – wait for it – […]
The grumpy older man 