Podcasts, Radio, TV, Books, Cycling, Photography and More
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HBO Max and Paramount+: What It Might Mean For Sports
Today the deal was done, and Paramount took over Warner Bros. Discovery in a massive deal that has much of Hollywood quaking. There were some last minute wrinkles with a deal being struck a couple of weeks ago with a group of US Attorneys General, with the general view being that they folded and didn’t…
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Four Months In – Many Politicians are Still ‘Zooming’ Badly
I posted a Twitter thread on this subject earlier, but I thought it was worth exploring a little more here. This morning I was watching BBC Breakfast, and Louise Minchen was interviewing Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds from his home constituency in Torfaen. What I couldn’t get over was the poor resolution of Thomas-Symonds’…
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The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Richard Osman’s first novel is as delightful as it is unexpected. Writing a crime novel didn’t seem like the obvious next thing for Richard Osman to do, and I always get a little nervous when celebrities turn their hands to something outside their previous career. Are they just being published because they’re famous? Well that’s…
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Micropayments and Transaction Fees
Yesterday I wrote about my frustration that every news outlet that doesn’t want to – or more likely can’t – rely on advertising alone, wants to push me down a subscription route. I said that I am basically maxed out as far as news subscriptions go right now. I’d like a pay-as-you-go offering, much as…
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News Subscriptions – and the Lack of Alternatives
I’m a bit of a news junkie. I always have been. I read a newspaper each day – and spend a lot of time online reading lots and lots of stories from lots and lots of sites. I might regularly have 60+ Chrome tabs open on my browser full of long reads that I’m planning…
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The Chalet by Catherine Cooper
The Chalet is a debut thriller, and it’s a great ride. Told from several vantage points, and from two timelines, we are taken to an Alpine ski resort. In the present day, a wealthy group has gathered in a luxury chalet, and of course there are secrets. Ria has come with her husband Hugo, who…
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RAJAR During COVID-19
This afternoon RAJAR, the UK’s radio research body, published a press release explaining changes they were making to the survey during the pandemic. It’s worth reading in full. In essence, because their research partners have been unable to conduct face-to-face interviews due to lockdown and social distancing measures, published RAJAR numbers will be based on…
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North Norfolk
I actually got out of my home town for the first time in months recently, to visit my parents on the North Norfolk coast. While I was there I dusted down my drone at shot the footage above in Sheringham and Blakeney. Note that while flying in Blakeney, my drone came “under attack” from some…
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Comet NEOWISE: Part 3
After a week of mostly cloudy weather, Friday night looked like it might be slightly clear. But I also wanted to find somewhere new to take pictures. As it happens, I ended up where I was previously. I cycled over to a high point on a road near a local country park. But I was…
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Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
Of course I’m going to read a new Michael Connelly book, and it’s interesting that he’s one of the relatively few authors still being published during lockdown, with so many spring books being pushed to the autumn. While I’ve read everything Connelly has published in recent years, this is actually the first book featuring his…
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Just Like You by Nick Hornby
This is the first Nick Hornby novel I’ve read in a while, although I’ve certainly read most of his more famous work. I couldn’t quite put a handle on why I’d stopped reading him, but I definitely enjoyed this new work. Lucy is a white school teacher in her forties who’s getting over a breakdown…
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Comet NEOWISE: Part 2
Following my previous attempts at photographing Comet NEOWISE, I went out again late on Sunday evening. With Nautical Twilight ending at just after 11:00pm, I headed off just before then to see if the visibility would be decent for another stab at photographing NEOWISE. I was keen to get out on Sunday because the weather…
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Hunting Comet NEOWISE
There’s a new comet in the skies, and it’s perhaps the most visible comet we’ve had for 25 years. Comet NEOWISE (or more formally, C/2020 F3) is so named because it was discovered by the NEOWISE space telescope back in March. It’s now visible in our skies and is actually pretty bright if you go…
Hadrian’s Wall
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