Internet Psychologist
With newspapers around the world dominated by the idiotic, ignorant and insulting ramblings of an older man past his prime, you might have thought I would start this week talking about him. Instead, I want to focus our minds on something that has remained stable in British society for centuries, …
There can be no doubt that human beings can be extraordinarily resilient. This week, I listened to a radio interview with a resident of Kyiv, Ukraine. He explained that Putin’s bombers had destroyed the local heating system. Despite temperatures that were minus 15, people carried on as normally as possible. …
On Tuesday evening, I was wandering across Leicester Square in London’s West End, having just had dinner and then seen a theatre show together with my son. As we headed for the tube station after a lovely evening together, a large, hooded figure walked towards me, stretched out his arm …
On Thursday evening, New Year’s Day, a friend of mine posted on Facebook: “Is it me, or is Dry January dragging a bit this year?” He received several “laughing” emojis as people got the joke. Sticking to the goal of not drinking alcohol for a month can be tough for …
I hope you’ve had a fantastic few days over the Christmas break. Did Santa bring what you wanted, assuming you had been nice all year and not naughty, of course? How full up have you been after all that turkey and mince pies? My Christmas week started differently from most. …
It’s the time of year when The Wizard of Oz gets an outing, and families gather around to travel down that yellow brick road one more time. Children worry about the lion’s fearfulness. They get concerned by the tin man, who seizes up at the slightest provocation. Plus, they laugh …
On Thursday, I went down to Bristol to see a show. It was the only opportunity I had as the tour was coming to an end. Before the show, I went to a well-known restaurant chain for a bite to eat. There was a sign saying “Please wait to be …
As you read this, sipping your morning coffee on a relaxing Saturday, spare a thought for me because I am working. I am a Keynote Speaker on a webinar hosted in Sri Lanka. If you hurry, you can catch it “live” on Facebook at this link. Also, when I wrote …
The UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) dropped a clanger this week, showing they did not know how to use the web responsibly. Almost an hour before the Chancellor of the Exchequer was due to deliver her statement to the House of Commons, a Reuters journalist discovered that the entire …
If you have no idea what I mean by “Are you being too cheugy if you constantly mention your wheelhouse”, then you are probably older than a Gen Z. “Cheugy” (pronounced chew-gee) started to be used a decade or so ago and means you are trying too hard to be …
The BBC is currently in a bit of hot water. It is facing a $1 billion lawsuit threat from President Trump. He dislikes media outlets that say negative things about him. A rather stupid, lazy and crass edit by the makers of the programme, Panorama, seems to have suggested that …
At the start of this week, I couldn’t believe my ears as I was listening to the news bulletin on the radio. I heard myself saying, “How on earth could that be allowed?” The issue was that our High Streets are getting busy with unqualified people offering ultrasound scans to …
The recent stories involving the Royal formerly known as Prince have put the concept of lying firmly back in the spotlight. Because of his unusual relationship with what we think is the truth, Mr Mountbatten Windsor has been given a right royal dressing down and will now live in exile, …
The other day, I was chatting with a colleague about previous jobs we’d done. I started talking about one of my earlier bosses who suffered from “NIHS”. “What’s NIHS?” asked my colleague. “Not Invented Here Syndrome”, I said. Whenever I went to that manager with an idea, he’d always reply …
Yesterday afternoon, I was busy marking student assignments to make sure that I met the end-of-week deadline. To mark each assignment, I need several browser tabs open – the student’s work, the assignment brief, the marking scheme, the spreadsheet of marks, and the module guide. But I also needed my …