State banquet A state banquet is business entertainment, to strengthen ties with 150 guests invited for their cultural, diplomatic or economic links. Preparations begin a year in advance. Each dish is handmade. Every last detail is inspected & approved by the Queen herself. Some things in business are too important to delegate Guessed the Word? …
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Santacon Santacon draws attention to mindless consumerismCacophony Society founded 1994 in San Francisco, to broaden perceptions & challenge mainstream culture, by pranks. Huge & long-lasting influence through flash mobs, urban exploring, Fight Club, Burning Man & Santacon. Jingle tills, ho ho ho Guessed the Word? Series 34 (5/8) …
Spam EU’s GDPR, meant to curb unwanted marketing, unleashed the biggest spam explosion in historyin the month spam turned 40, on 3 May. US is world-leader in spam output (Uncle Spam!), then China & Russia. 60% of email traffic is now spam Guessed the Word? Series 24 (1/7) [pic:…
Sudden Sudden change in rules/ markets can cause a sudden end. Unexpected EU ban on shipping rosewood (used in fingerboards) across borders led to sad collapse of USA’s fabled Gibson, founded in Nashville 1902 Guessed the Word? Series 23 (5/8) [pic: Gibson Les Paul/ SeanKearns]
Scam Web scammers don’t need to guess who’ll fall for their cons. Social media’s trove of user data + algorithms target their fake ‘news’ & ‘endorsed’ ads across multiple platforms – by age, interests, location or IP address – based on previous clicks on their links Guessed the Word? Series 22 (8/8) [pic:…
Sleep Lack of sleep knocks 2% off UK GDP, and causes more accidents than alcohol & drugs combined. But firms & government ignore it. 2 in 5 people in the UK aren’t getting the sleep they need Guessed the Word? Series 22 (7/8) [pic:…
Small print is long to bury key details. Can be >38,000 words! Longer than Hamlet, Shakespeare’s longest play. It’s how insurance co’s avoid paying for “pre-existing conditions”, leasing co’s hide true costs, & social media giants secretly mine personal data Guessed the Word? Series 22 (3/8) [pic: Shakespeare’s Globe]
Shoebox home UK has smallest homes in Europe. Average 3-bed home is 88m². Germany is 109m², Holland is 115m² and Denmark is 137m². Change commercial to residential use, and minimum stipulated sizes of 37m² for flats and 93m² for houses, do not apply Guessed the Word? Series 19 (7/7) …
Safe deposit box Film characters store what they like. But banks’ prohibited items can include cash. And drugs, chemicals, guns, knives, ammunition, banned items, anything offensive, immoral, obscene, indecent, defamatory, slanderous or used in terrorism Guessed the Word? Series 19 (6/7) [pic: Igor Shubin]
Sandbox trial Singapore’s sandbox framework creates ‘safe spaces’ to test new energy solutions in a live environment, without usual regulations, but with safeguards to minimise risks. The way to encourage innovation in other products/ services? Guessed the Word? Series 19 (1/7) [pic: RAMillu]