As I start writing questions for a forthcoming trivia night I remember the heyday of the pub quiz. A popular event that drew extra customers into the local pub on a Sunday evening or other quiet time. You came away, perhaps a little inebriated but with enhanced general knowledge and sometimes prize money. I enjoyed […]

Like many people I received a lots of emails this week, advising me to confirm that I still wished to subscribe to newsletters and other services. This is due to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR as the EU loves acronyms) effective from 25 May in all EU member states and covers your personal data […]

The media has a long history of reporting connections between Jack the Ripper and the monarchy. This week they surpassed their previous gullibility by claiming that Megan Markle is a descendant of Jack. As he was never identified this is impossible to verify yet several outlets stated it as fact. The story comes from Jeff […]

Once there was an honest landlord, who even put correct details on his tax return. Then he got a tenant who refused to pay. He asked nicely. The tenant became abusive. The landlord sought help. Instead of being able to take the tenant straight to court he had to apply to another government body, which […]

Thirteen years ago Amazon’s Senior Management Team stopped using PowerPoint presentations and adopted narrative structure. Humans are conditioned to receive and respond to this structure.  Good stories have a beginning, middle and end and tell how the hero overcomes a problem. Swap hero for business, beginning for past, middle for present and end for future […]

This week a cinema in my wife’s home town of Hawera made headlines by banning customers from wearing pyjamas and onesies. At least that’s how some of the media reported it. The actual statement listed dressing gowns and dirty gumboots as the other prohibited items. It’s really about the gumboots and the mess they make. […]

This week some media outlets speculated that holograms will soon replace conference calls. It is not a new idea and the technology is not yet mainstream. That will please the companies who have not switched from audio to visual, let alone thought about virtual reality. When you can see a hologram, but it cannot see […]

Today I noticed that my morning train was less busy than usual and there were fewer cars on the road. It wasn’t until I reached our local social club this evening and saw barmaids dressed in Halloween costumes that I realised the reasons why. The notion that Friday 13th is unlucky has spawned a horror […]

This week, thanks to a post shared in a facebook group, I listened to a 1988 lecture by Professor John Pick about Jack the Ripper. It formed part of a series on Rumour, Disease and the Madness of Crowds. Given this title I expected something like the epic study of crowd psychology, by Charles Mackay […]