Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 13-7-2025 — Live Aid.

17th July, 2025: Live Aid.

It’s officially official: I’ve had a haircut.

And?

I’m feeling a lot less shaggy.

And a lot less sweaty, as well.

That … ?

Is something to be grateful for, I think.

~≈💈≈~

I’ve ALSO managed to buy a copy of Behind the Enigma: The Authorised History of GCHQ, Britain’s Secret Cyber-Intelligence Agency.

It’s a potted history of GCHQ, the UK’s signal intelligence body.

It should be a fascinating read.

But?

The thing’s the size of a breeze block.

It’s going to take a while … !

~≈📚≈~

I have to admit, I’ve caught another episode of Max Headroom: one called “Whacketts”.

It’s an episode that sees viewers literally hooked on a TV show called Whacketts: as a result of an addictive signal buried beneath the Whacketts game show.

It’s not quite the same.

But it, and the “Blipverts” episode, the episode that saw obese people explode after watching a certain type of TV advert, reminded me of the “Dennō Senshi Porygon” episode of the Pokemon TV show.

A mix of the Japanese TV system’s frequency, and one scene’s flickering animation … caused about six hundred children in Japan to have everything from intense migraines to convulsions.

The clip gives me a headache, I know that!

My point?

Is simply this.

Sometimes, science fiction can be a little too near the knuckle … !

~≈😵‍💫≈~

The Daily Teaser — 5-9-2015: Sweet Charity

You know it’s September, don’t you … ?

You know it, I know it, we know it, they know it … what have you … 

And, to be frank … ?   You can tell the season’s are starting to change.

At least, I can.

For starters … ?

The overcast sky outside my window’s starting to look a bit … menacing.

And, on top of that … ?

I’ve switched on my heating, this morning: for the first time in a few months.

It’s not that it’s cold.   Not per se.

But there’s definitely an edge to the temperature … 

~≈Â≈~

Brentwood Mind and Copyright.

Usually, about know, I’d be watching Humans: something I’ve got on in the background.

It’s looking … pretty … damn … good: and has just given us a bit of a revelation about Leo Elster.

AND about DI Voss.

But that’s possibly for another time.

What I meant to tell you about … ?

Was the Brentwood branch of mental health charity, Mind.

And about copyright.

~≈®≈~

The Brentwood Gazette’s Weekly Teaser — 26-3-2014: Language Is A Virus

Oh, now that’s a thing … 

I thing I need to pass on a message or two, to Neville the Editor, and the rest of the gang, at the Brentwood Gazette.

I’ve had word an old friend — Kay — is doing something a bit daring for charity.

She’s doing a sky-dive … !

Bless her, you can tell she’s not worried about heights, can’t you … !

I hope it goes well for her.

And ALSO hope she manages to raise a pile of cash for whatever her charity is!

At any rate: as soon as I know more, I’ll let you know.

Let’s move on, though … 

~≈Â≈~

Give an Hour.

BBC - Give an Hour - Home page

Hmmm …

I do that a lot, you know …

Go Hmmm …

But at any rate, I’ll happily admit that what’s got me going Hmmm … — this time — is the one appeal that’s been launch, this year: partly by the BBC.

Who, I should add, having been mentioning it with a lot less frequency than the fact that the clocks go back, tonight.

But, at any rate, that’s seemingly the heart of it.

The idea is quite simple.

The Give an Hour, though, is really quite simple.

Considering the clocks go back one hour, tonight — it’s the end of British Summertime, just so my non UK readers know — the idea is to use that hour, helping someone you know to ‘get online’.

Either from something as simple as setting up an email account, to looking things up on the ’Net.

It’s a nice idea …

But I’ve got to admit, MOST of the reactions I’ve had, when I mentioned it, today… ?

Seem to be on the lines “Hang on, most of the people that want to BE online, already ARE”.

Which is sort of a good thought … !

»»•««

On top of that … ?

On top of that, I’ll happily admit that I’ve poked my head around the doors of Brentwood Library, today, to see if they were doing anything as part of the campaign.

They weren’t: beyond happily directing people to the website that let’s people volunteer.

Now, that seems a shame.

Given the local library services educational remit … ?

I‘d’ve said that’s an excellent use of time and funds.

Sir Terry’s Gone To Iceland

Which is possibly a bit of a strange title, I know.

But to be honest, there’s a method in my madness.

Or, at least a vague attempt a logic of some description.

(Says I, now my router’s stopped playing up … ! DRATTED thing … !)

At any rate … ?

Well, at any rate, I’ve got to admit, I actually went shopping this morning.

To one or two places, if you must know, but usually … ?

I usually go to the Brentwood branch of Iceland, at some point, as they usually do a nice range of cut price frozen food.

Well …

Niceish, let’s put it that way …

And Iceland, like many shops, does the occasional charity fundraising drive.

The one they’re doing at the mo caught my eye.

You’ve probably realised, by now, I’m a Terry Pratchett fan, and that I, like many of his fans, was devastated to hear of his Alzheimer’s Disease.

Especially in view of the fact my grandmother had died from the condition.

So I was rather pleased to see that my local Iceland …

Was having a charity fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Research.

Now, it’s not often I cough up cash for charity: and, frankly, I couldn’t even afford a strip of tickets for the raffle they were organising.

Which is a shame, the TV was rather impressive!

But at any rate … ?

I thought I’d mention it, here.

You’ve got ’til Friday, which is when they’re stopping it.

If you’ve some spare cash and would like to give to a good cause … ?

Well …

Yayness, on the one hand, AAARRGGHH on the Other …

No, I mean it, it’s been one of those … mixed … days, today.

It really has!

I’ll be frank, the reason local charity, The Lighthouse Project, gets a mention, is because that’s where I’ve just had to buy a new fridge freezer, in a hurry.

They’re not cheap.

But they are cheaper than Argos, who were wanting silly money for an equivalent fridge!

Here’s hoping they deliver as promised, before I go to work, at Ten, tomorrow.

But, well …

There goes the overtime … !

•••••

And the morning, seemingly, started so well.

As you‘ve probably guessed, by now, I’m one of the many people who think that computer scientist, Alan Turing, was rather badly let down, after the war.

Let’s face it, the guy was a war hero. If it wasn’t for the work he pioneered, and others took up, we’d’ve not won World War Two.

So finding out, this morning, that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has issued an ‘unreserved apology’ for Turing’s Indecency charges is a bit of good news, for those of us who’ve long felt it to be a bad way to deal with a war hero.

I think some sort of medal’s in order …

More Links

Just in case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been adding links, down the sidebars!

I’ve put in another charity link –to the Adopt a Bollock campaign, to raise awareness of testicular cancer– and a couple of gaming links, one to the Grognardia link, for those vintage Dungeons & Dragons players, and another to the official Magic: The Gathering, as I know some of my readers play.   I’ve also thrown in one to a friend of mine’s dog-walking service, and to the Hutton’s facebook group, as well.

Enjoy, folks!