Karaoke for snobs
Those of you who know me well enough will know I’m a bit of a karaoke fiend. Stick me in a room with beer and some friends and a load of backing tracks and it will be very hard to get me to put down the microphone. The trouble is: my musical tastes and karaoke don’t strongly intersect. A karaoke playlist will always have a bit of Radiohead, REM, Kings of Leon… if I’m lucky I’ll find some other moderately popular artists like Mumford & Sons or the Manic Street Preachers. Sometimes there’s an absolute gem like Alabama 3 or Guillemots but this is really pushing it. What we need is a karaoke bar for snobs. A place where Kylie and Girls Aloud are banned and the playlist oozes with quality songs that really test a singer’s...
One of my new year’s resolutions
Was to post an insightful and interesting article on my blog at least once a week. Well, I kept that, then… Normal service will resume when I have even one spare moment to devote to this outlet!
Let’s talk about fraud prevention
Debit cards are amazing inventions. Wherever I am in the world, I can get access to the cash in my bank account through an international banking network (for a small fee). The name ‘Visa’, originally applied to credit cards and now increasingly found on debit cards, was adopted as a symbol of this worldwide acceptance. Well, that’s how it should work, anyway. Unfortunately, the modern prevalence of identity theft has caused my bank and many others to introduce a cumbersome fraud prevention system on top of this freedom. I first encountered this in force on a business trip in September – I tried to take money out of a cash machine in Taoyuan Airport, Taiwan without first contacting my bank to say I was going out there. Reasonably enough, it...
You’re grounded
This week I have been abroad on business, and suffered a major delay of about 5 hours coming home when one engine of the aeroplane failed to start during the takeoff procedure. When this happens on a long-haul flight, the passengers are subjected to something rather odd: They are asked to stay on the plane. In the dark. With nothing to do. From asking around, it seems the explanation for this has two key components: Pilots are only permitted to work for a certain number of hours, so they can guarantee alertness. For this reason, letting people back into the terminal building when there is a race against the clock could be disastrous, as one lost passenger could cost the entire flight. The main cabin lights, entertainment system and microwave/fridge for food and...
“Gay” quarter
There’s a bit of buzz amongst the Leeds Twitterati about a proposal to designate a region of Leeds city centre as the “gay quarter”. Aside from the interesting discussion about politics and about whether singling out an area in this way is a good thing, which is all very interesting, I’d like to draw attention to the proposed name itself. Inclusive, tolerant, regions of cities in this country have historically found themselves labelled with the adjective gay, but in my opinion this is a dangerous and divisive anachronism. The term gay, when applied to a person, refers to a specific type of marginalized sexual minority: specifically, someone who is exclusively or primarily homosexual. In modern times, the term LGBT is preferred as more...
Coffee and orange squash
Just a short one today. I just really wanted to post something on my blog today. Here’s something I discovered a few months back and feel I have to share with you all. Coffee and orange squash1. Not mixed together, of course, but side by side. Specifically, taking a sip of orange squash when the aftertaste of coffee is still in your mouth. You’d never believe it, but this produces a completely new flavour I can only describe as “smooth and powerful”. Give it a go and see what I mean! I have a feeling you’ll be surprised too. Disclaimer: I drink my coffee black. I cannot vouch for how this tastes with white coffee but I can only imagine it’s revolting, as is mixing milk with just about anything. American readers will not be...
Leeds-based non-binary nerd and sewist. I won't break my streak on Duolingo for anyone. 
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