If I get the chance, I go for a bit of a walk in the afternoon. It provides a nice break from working on the ol’ PC. Yesterday, it was lovely down by the river – still crisp but sunny. The adjacent fields were a tad waterlogged though.

If, like me, you use the BBC news website to catch up on what’s happening in the world, you may have seen evidence of the presentation of news items being skewed by external influences. I just saw something on the site today which leads me to believe it’s still happening, despite them being aware of the problem.

There’s a screenshot below of a section of their site which displays the most popular and most shared text news items and the most viewed video stories. There’s one story shown in the most read section, “Beer with 32% strength launched” about a Scottish craft  Brewery called Brewdog who have created a beer which has a very high alcohol content. Trouble is, the story was from November – why is it suddenly appearing as a ‘most-read’ story in the middle of February?

I have a suspicion that this story could be an example of one being bumped up the list artificially. It may be no coincidence that the brewery concerned are skillful in the art of viral marketing (as well as making excellent beer) and they have a share-ownership scheme which is coming to a close and has been widely promoted over the past few days.

OK, so if you like Brewdog (and you think their viral marketing methods are doing this), you may think they’re clever in the way that they’re getting national news coverage for free. However, if nothing else it should make everybody think twice about the way our news is presented and the fact that we’re constantly manipulated by all kinds of marketing and political / religious / commercial  lobbying ploys.

The local press are reporting that nationwide pub chain JD Wetherspoon are considering opening an outlet in Fakenham. A company spokesperson apparently denied they had looked at The Crown, which remains empty in the town centre, but had viewed another location.

OK – it’s sweepstake time! Any ideas as to the premises they’re considering? Could it be a takeover of The Hungry Horse? Could it be the old Godfrey DIY building by the town sign? Possibly the ex-Learning Centre premises?

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Sarah Palin has just got a job with Fox TV. “I am thrilled to be joining the great talent and management team at Fox News,” Mrs Palin said in a statement on the network’s website.  “It’s wonderful to be part of a place that so values fair and balanced news.”

What planet is she on? What planet does she think we’re on? Do Fox actually believe we’re on a planet?

Fox is owned by Rupert Murdoch. He hopes one day to actually own the planet.

This news makes the BBC look good, like Will Smith wearing those shades and that cool MIB suit. Long live the Beeb.

I can’t remember the last time we had snow like this. As you can see from this picture of my garden this morning, we’ve had a lot of it!

The Fakenham area has been quite badly affected, with nasty conditions on the roads caused by ice and drifting snow (it was very windy the night before last). We had a mini-thunderstorm that night too, which along with power line problems seems to have helped to knock out electricity for many homes in the area. I nearly had heart failure when I got into work yesterday to find no broadband!!! There had been some kind of power cut which had affected equipment at the office. Luckily, my router just needed to be unplugged from the mains and then plugged back in to get it working again, so I was able to finish all my last minute pre-Xmas work.

Keep warm!

Parking, that is. There will be free parking for up to two hours in all NNDC’s paying car parks every Saturday during the run-up to Christmas. Starting this Saturday - so you’ll be able to pop into town for the Fakenham Christmas lights switch-on, buy some goodies in town and off home again without shelling out a bean to park the chariot.

By the way, the lights are being switched on at 5pm, with the event running from around 2.30 to 5.30. The centre will be closed off from noon to 6pm, as there will be fairground rides, entertainment, performances, stalls and other interesting stuff going on.

EDIT:
SIX MINUTES. It’s a bit of a speed record for me. It may have been quicker, but I didn’t think to look until then. Maybe it’ll happen even faster next time – I’ll make sure I’m timing it. If you’re wondering, it’s the amount of time it took for this blog post to get listed on a Google search!

Here’s a thought-provoking question from a book released today - David JC MacKay’s “Sustainable Energy – without the hot air”. It refers to a quote by Sir David A. King, who was chief scientific adviser to Blair and Brown’s government.

If climate change is “a greater threat than terrorism,” should governments criminalize “the glorification of travel” and pass laws against “advocating acts of consumption”?

Here’s another gem of a question posed in the book:

Climate modelling is difficult and is dogged by uncertainties. But uncertainty about exactly how the climate will respond to extra greenhouse gases is no justification for inaction. If you were riding a fast-moving motorcycle in fog near a cliff-edge, and you didn’t have a good map of the cliff, would the lack of a map justify not slowing the bike down?

With today’s news that Tranmere Rovers have sacked their manager John Barnes and assistant Jason McAteer, putting the team physio in temporary charge, the following fan known as ‘ByeJohn’ posted this to the BBC’s 606 sports forum. It’s a classic…

“As a lifelong Rovers fan I thought I would translate the clubs press release;

The Tranmere Rovers board have concluded that for Monday’s crucial home game against fellow Championship 1 strugglers Stockport, the team will be in better hands under the guidance of the club masseuse than under John Barnes (he was honestly that bad), and the current manager will now be geeing the players up as well as giving them a good rub down.

With the weight of John and Jason’s ineptitude lifted from the club we look forward to the inevitable and ultimately futile relegation dog fight, but I would like to reassure the fans that the board is fully committed to aimlessly wandering around the board room for the remainder of the season, occasionally bumping into things, and wondering how on earth they have managed to turn a perfectly respectable local club into the biggest joke in football since Thomas Brolin’s waistline.”

Now that would have been a great press release!

The Leisure Society – Last of the Melting Snow

This is the best contemporary band I’ve found out about for a while. Their viral marketing is nice too! Here’s a Youtube video of them performing in one of a series entitled ‘bandstand busking’ (proving they can do it live as well as in the studio).

Clever lyrics, great playing and a style reminiscent of… well, perhaps a cross between Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Elbow. I’m a fan now – remarkable, as I was drawn in by a simple one-off ad on Spotify!

Story on ‘The Register’ – Nice article about lazy journalism and the way it might be being exploited by the very newspapers which employ them as well as businesses. I remember reading the story on the BBC news website. What happened to accuracy? When do we trust BBC News to get things right? We’re paying these guys, remember!