The Queuing Gene

 Despite our general loss of good manners over the last 30 or 40 years ....

Simon Jones - The Queuing Bank Robber

.... we are still a nation of queuers as was proved by a story from the spring of 2018. 

A.I. Phone Helplines

 I recently had my first clash with the imbecile known as Artificial Intelligence in quite a while .....

A.I. At Work - Limited Options

This time it was first an unsatisfactory set of web options, then an automated call handling system for Vodaphone UK.

Death And Taxes .... And More Taxes

I don't know about you ......

UK Tax Bands April 2025

But I often resent paying taxes.

Animal Oddities

The local and national (and indeed the International media) are usually full of small fillers stories, which are often described as being 'human interest' tales ...

Human Interest, Is Often Animal Interest

.... but in point of fact they are, more often than not 'animal interest' stories .... so as we at PC towers are inveterate invertebrate news 'clippers,' then we have amassed a fair number of these animal oddities clippings.

Greedy Pigs

The emergence of the ambulance chasing lawyer culture in the UK was entirely avoidable (simply don't let lawyers advertise in the media), but also was entirely predictable .... 

Ambulance Chaser

They saw the riches that a claim compensation culture like the USA's has brought to the legal profession, where according to the American Bar Association's 2020 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession, there are currently about 1.3 million lawyers in the US. Specifically, 4 lawyers for every 1,000 residents in the US i.e. 400 per 100k, and approximately 208,200 people workings as solicitors or lawyers in the United Kingdom in 2023 i.e. 226 per 100k residents.

Drugs Blood Price

Twelve percent of the global recreational drug users, come from the USA, a figure that means that three times the proportion of the U.S. population use drugs, compared to those of the rest of the world.  

Cocaine Usage Has A Blood Price

Studies in 2021 showed that about 19.4 percent of Americans have used illegal substances at least once in their life .... and that within the age range 12 and older, 31.9 million Americans are drug users, with 11.7 percent regularly using illegal substances and around 19.4 percent either having consumed illicit drugs or misused prescription drugs in 2020.

Hard Boiled Thieves

Denny's restaurants are ubiquitous in the US, but not so in the UK ...

Denny's - Scene Of Unusual Break-In

 .... and indeed I'm not sure if we have an equivalent (perhaps Wimpy or McDonald's).

Funambulist Health Finances

When 55 year old former US Olympic gold medallist Mary Lou Retton, fell seriously ill with a rare form of pneumonia in the fall of 2023, it was more than just a serious health issue that nearly cost her her life ....

Mary Lou Retton - 1984 Olympics

 ..... it was a serious finances issue as well.

Guns And Murder Numbers

If ever there was proof of the difference between a gun culture and its murder numbers, and a non gun culture its in these figures.

Despite The Skyline -
Chicago Is A City With Problems.

In Chicago, a city of nearly three million people, there were more than 1,600 sexual assaults, nearly 3,000 shootings and 649 murders in 2021.

Venting Their Anger

Exmouth in England is a rural port in South Devon on the South West coast ....

Not Just A Sewer Vent
Pipe In Exmouth

 .... and its fair to say that not a lot goes on there. 

The State of Iowa

The state of Iowa is not much different from many other Mid-Western US states ...

Iowa USA

.... with a population of 3.19 million. Its roughly 56,276 square miles, while the UK is about 94,354 square miles so its very sparsely populated in comparison.

Trump 3 Timer

As predicted, Donald Trump has been a busy boy ....

The Donald's Third Term Came With A Price

.... and consequently has kept bloggers and the news media busy as well.