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On Having Kids…

  I first published this rather amusing, but somewhat scathing, anecdote on the subject of having and bringing up kids last April.... However, since then the issue has become a rather more serious one for our country's future, with some interesting, and quite chilling, findings recently brought to light. These would tend to confirm a marked unwillingness to embark upon the 'reproductive journey' amongst our indigenous population (i.e. those who were actually born here). Perchance our potential parents have looked at their ever-dwindling bank balances and rocketing tax bills...and seen the light.  And who could blame them, given the prospect of even worse to come, over the next 2 years at least? Recently announced birthrate statistics are a chilling read, and have shown a marked downward trend in the course of the last 3 years, with the overall tally for 2024 down to 1.41 births per woman in England and Wales, a record low for the 3rd year in a row. This is of course well b...
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Advanced Search Query Builder: The Easy and Quick Way to do Selective Internet Searches

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  Ever wanted to get rid of those pesky AI summaries that seem to appear nowadays every time you do a Google search ?  Want to bypass AI and 'do your own thing' with a more focussed advance internet search ? Or switch the search engine you're using at the touch of a button ?  Fed up with getting loads of links that  expired years ago ? Now you can tailor your searches efficiently - and without needing to remember the exact query syntax to use....or even opening a new window. To find out how, just read on….. Background Internet searching has changed a lot over the last few years, due largely to the automatic insinuation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents into everything but the most basic searches by the all the major search engine providers. There is no doubt that those AI summaries which now appear uninvited 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 s...
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Seasonal Flu Epidemics: Why Do They Happen and Could this Year's Turn Into a Killer ?

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  The UK's 2026-27 influenza epidemic is now well underway and is taxing the NHS to its limits once again, as predicted. One additional ‘wild-card’ we all experienced last year, courtesy of the junior doctors (or ‘Residents’ as they now like to call themselves), who decided to strike for yet more pay over what was one of the busiest periods in the run-up to Christmas, shouldn't be troubling the  NHS again this year.  Labour have already 'bought them off ' with a super-inflationary pay increase, at considerable cost to the public finances. Adverse political circumstances aside, this would be a good time to ask the question in the title i.e. is this years ‘flu virus any more potent or dangerous than the usual seasonal variety ? To answer this, we must first take a look at the causative virus and how it infects us and propagates itself with the aid of our own cells. What is Influenza ? The well-written and extensive wiki article tells us that Influenza is a high...
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