Posts

Advanced Search Query Builder: The Easy Way to Compile your Internet Searches

Image
  Ever wanted to get rid of those pesky AI summaries thatseem to appear every time you do a Google search ? Want to bypass AI and 'do your own thing' with an advance internet search ? Now you can - and without knowing what query syntax to use. To find out how, just read on….. Background Internet searching has changed a lot over the last few years, due largely to the automatic introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents into all but the most basic searches by the all the major search engine providers. There is no doubt that the AI summaries which appear ‘by magic’ in response to most queries can be very useful, particularly for those who know little about a particular subject to start with and aren’t quite sure where to start looking. They are not always needed, however, and can get in the way if you already know what you’re looking for and want to narrow down your search accordingly.   AI intervention also has the disadvantage that the results presented in t...

Travelodge: The New ‘Blind Date’ Scheme

  Followers of the now somewhat notorious hotel chain may have noted an item in the news recently regarding several instances of occupied room keys being issued in error to unauthorised persons. Rumours abound as to why this might have happened, citing lax hotel security policy, poor staff training, etc. However, an interesting alternative explanation surfaced recently on social media, based on the possibility that this 'lapse' wasn’t actually a mistake after all…. The theory advanced by its proponents is that in attempt to spice up their hotel offering, Travelodge’s Marketing Development Department (TMDD) have come up with a ‘blind date’ type scheme whereby rooms occupied by single travellers are selected at random and a surprise additional occupant, also selected at random, is issued with a second pass key. Presumably neither 'victim' is aware of what the hotel (or fate!) has in store for them.... This scheme is apparently designed to ‘make life more interes...

Publication Paywalls - and How to Bypass Some of Them

  Just a quick heads up on a useful tool I discovered recently while on a quest to view Medium articles.  For those who haven’t come across it, Medium is a blogging platform with a (hitherto!) fairly wide following in the blogging world, where authors can contribute articles, and also receive payment if they are members and are prepared to pay a monthly subscription. Some of these articles are worth reading, but almost all of those that are remain inaccessible behind a paywall. As a new user of this platform, I did some research and discovered quickly from other sources that Medium was losing readership and contributors…much in the same way that Blogspot did some time ago, although apparently at a faster rate.   I’m convinced that this is fall-off is because of the paywall and their aggressive marketing messaging about membership subscriptions. It’s interesting to note that some of their recent output includes reports of a study on the effectiveness or otherwise of pa...

GLP-1 Agonists and Weight Loss Therapy - Efficacy and The Side Effects

Image
 Editors Note: Please see update of 1.9.26 for recent developments, including Retatrutide --------------------------- Weight loss therapies using GLP-1 agonists have been implicated in the news recently as having a tendency to cause gallstones, and in some cases more serious gall-bladder damage. A recent report confirmed that there has been a marked rise in gall-bladder removals in UK over the last few years, and MHRA have recently updated their guidance on weight loss jabs. Should we have expected this, and what might be the consequences ? The short answer to this question is …Yes - this particular side effect was predictable, particularly after longer-term exposure..... To explain this more fully, we first need a little background. GLP-1 agonists are one of the most successful weight-loss inducing agents produced by Big Pharma of recent times; they have already generated a level of demand in the otherwise healthy population which far outstrips the available supply. Origi...