07 Jan The best of what we read, watched and listened to this week
Image by Susan Cipriano from Pixabay
As we start 2022 it seems appropriate to have a brief look back at the previous year. These are one commentator’s lessons from 2021, which serve to remind us that the ‘rules’ which govern free market behaviour are not always as reliable as we might wish, particularly over short periods. [7 min read]
Back in the 2000s, we remember that the first company phones were Blackberrys. We used them for a couple of years and then upgraded to iPhones, which we’ve used ever since. Now the software which drives them has been switched off, so the Blackberry, beloved of riot organisers for its encrypted messaging, is no more. [3 min read]
Even if, for many of us, lockdown meant no discernible increase in our free time (and for some, even less of it), it’s encouraging to see there were those who made good use of the opportunity. [4 min read]
We doubt that anyone who watched the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics in London will easily forget the moment when Her Majesty the Queen arrived at the stadium by parachute after jumping from a helicopter with James Bond. While it may not come as a surprise that she used a stunt double on this occasion, this link contains a link to the podcast telling the story behind it. [4 min read]
Most people avoided the dark o’clock queue outside the butcher on Christmas Eve by some cunning forward planning, but this tale provides a salutary lesson of why it’s always worth knowing what you are cooking to avoid surprises when it emerges from the oven. [2 min read]
The Norwegians have a saying that ‘There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing’, a sentiment that rings true for many of us. This chap is demonstrating an example of what constitutes ‘bad clothing’, although at least it is transparent enough for him to observe the game he’s watching. [0:12 video]
We hope you have a good weekend.
Charles and Rob