quirky

Here’s Dr Clare Craig [https://twitter.com/ClareCraigPath] discussing coronavirus test lab strategy, as broadcast [https://youtu.be/i7EtXaZmxDI?t=10399] 27 October 2020; > There are three things that labs can do, and they can do two of them well. They can process a whole load of cases, they

Hearing Dr Clare Craig citing research of what sounds like physicist Christine Padgham reminded me of the ‘weekend effect’. A stark example of which can be seen with 2013 British government-run health outcomes. Chances of dying [http://salespodder.com/weekday-effect/] from an operation at the weekend of 82% dwarf those

More clickbait this month for the sofa psychs. This time, specifically not a scientific classification, from a Kiwi practitioner [https://onthecouch.co.nz/]. Insights into relationship behaviour, rather than how we connect with another, from experience alone, boiled down into this octet [https://medium.com/on-the-couch/the-8-relationship-archetypes-which-one-are-you-49cc20b8aa33] ; > Avoider Pleaser Worrier

The biggest waste of a salesperson’s time? Coming second. For once, the ultra-competitive taunt correct; well done, First Loser. Ouch. This recent blog by a writer on risk and uncertainty [https://geraldashley.blog/2020/07/29/animal-spirits-and-beauty-contests/] suggests Keynes had a response to this. I duly remix for our

There’s been a lot of classic telly recommended during lockdown. I ignored most calls to re-watch. Yet one show I momentarily (and happily) dipped back into was Spooks [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spooks_(TV_series)]. (Known in some territories as MI-5). Of the 86 hour-long episodes, I saw

A media research ad man has coined a formula. Part of his thesis on filling The Brand Gap; > P² + C = 5 is the formula for how marketers can harness the power of the public screen alongside the private screen to drive success throughout the brand funnel. So the launch spiel

[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8831633/PM-plunges-millions-deeper-lockdown-Three-Tier-plan.html] Daily Mail fail – make sure you align your boxes in neat columns… -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Much consternation across the rabid English media. Despite averting a second national lockdown – those peshky kidsh – the politicians (specifically, the one holding the purse strings) overruled the consequence-free

Apple’s imminent latest iphone update (’12’), brings to mind the storied history of the device. Remember the ‘iphone ten’ launch facial unlock demo FAIL? Or recall more the audience gasps at the smartphone era emergence? Their Project Purple was famously the name of their designers’ efforts to create the

Everyday economist Tim Harford began a new podcast series; Cautionary Tales [https://timharford.com/articles/cautionarytales/]. To check it out, I chose the second episode. It’s subtext being why we fall for cons [https://timharford.com/2019/12/why-we-fall-for-cons/]. Throughout, the fascinating yarn of a 1906 Berlin robber dressing

The NHS. Britain’s National Health Service. A sacred cow in the country. The pride being that it is available to prince or pauper, from cradle to grave, and is “free”. Yet none of this spin holds true. Genuflection at the altar of widespread mediocrity is mind boggling. Not only