How Not to Do Business

January 07, 2016 / Roger Edwards

I've been blogging for nearly nine years and by sheer persistence the audience has grown and traffic is relatively respectable. There are plenty of web based tools available that can determine how well a site is performing and as a result I have recently started receiving a great deal more unsolicited material. This consists of press releases, invitations to review content and even the occasional freebie. I'm fine with all this because it broadly indicates that Contains Moderate Peril is growing and appearing on the radar of a wider variety of organisations. Plus some of the stuff I’m sent is quite useful. At the very least it proves the old adage that if you throw enough shit at the wall, some of it will stick.

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categories / Editorial, How Not to Do Business

The Decline of UK Politics

January 02, 2016 / Roger Edwards

I’ve written this post from the perspective of politics in the UK but I daresay that some of the points are relevant to other Western countries. Please note that this is not a post advocating any particular political stance or ideology. It is a commentary about the system itself and the public’s current relationship with the world of politics per se.

Two party politics has dominated the UK for over two hundred years and the electoral system that has evolved reflects that. The first past the post system has major shortcomings when dealing with emerging parties and diverse voting patterns. In recent years the traditional parties have seen a decline in membership and they no longer enjoy the levels of support with the UK electorate that they did fifty years ago. My parents grew up in a culture of tribal politics, driven by class, wealth and left wing and right wing ideologies. I personally think the notion that a single party can adequately represent all my political, philosophical and ethical needs is risible. Therefore I have no specific party allegiance or cleave to a particular political school of thought. I am a floating voter when it comes to both local and national elections.

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categories / Decline of UK Politics, Editorial, Politics

The Secularisation of Christmas Entertainment

December 18, 2015 / Roger Edwards

The central theme of this post may well be better suited to a scholarly essay by a noted academic. I'm afraid all you'll get from me are just a few personal observations. But I wanted to raise this subject because I am at an age now where I am very conscious of the changes that have happened in UK society over the course of my life. I'm not advocating one side of the debate over another, just merely collating my thoughts on a broad cultural shift. Christmas has become increasingly secular over recent decades and because I write about popular entertainment that is the medium I viewed this process through.

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categories / Secularisation, Christmas Entertainment, TV, Editorial, Christmas

Out With the Old

October 27, 2015 / Roger Edwards

I’ve been blogging and podcasting for over half a decade and as a result I’ve left a trail of material scattered across the internet. Maintaining multiple sites and hosting old content costs both money and time. Although the world is treating me relatively well at present, I am not a man of limitless resources. Therefore I have decided that it is time to close some of these sites and archives.

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categories / Blogging, Editorial, Podcast

Working in IT

September 17, 2015 / Roger Edwards

Working in IT is an extremely broad job description that encompasses multiple subsets and disciplines. Each specific field has its own skills and academic hierarchies. You may well be an experienced Network Administrator but that doesn’t make you equally as knowledgeable with regard to Database Development and vice versa. Saying that you work in IT is pretty much the same as saying that you work in healthcare. You could be working in procurement or be a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. However none of this is of any concern to those who work outside of IT. If you get collared by someone at a social event and tell them you work in IT, it’s only a matter of time before you get asked “I’m thinking of buying a new laptop, which one is best?” or something similar. I always tell them that Purple ones have the most RAM.

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categories / Editorial, Working in IT

My Work and Gaming Environment

September 04, 2015 / Roger Edwards

I know a good bandwagon to jump on when I see one, so I’m also going to write about my personal work space. Joking aside I don’t consider this sort of post to be just filler. As a self-employed person my desk and PC set up has a major impact upon how I make my living. I spend a significant part of my week based at my desk, so it’s essential to me that it is an organised, efficient and healthy work space. As I use the same set up for recreational purposes, it is doubly important that this is an agreeable environment.

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categories / Editorial, Gaming, My Work Space

Re-evaluating my Relationship with Twitter

September 02, 2015 / Roger Edwards

I enjoy Twitter. I consider it to be an amusing diversion. It provides an opportunity to interact with friends that I’ve made all over the world. I find that swapping banter and trading quips with my twitter chums, often raises the spirits after a day filled with first world problems.

I recently went through my Twitter settings and “unfollowed” a lot of accounts. This included celebrities that only Tweet occasionally when they had a tour or a book to promote. Politicians and social commentators whose views and principles I find tiring. I even ditched a few fellow bloggers who have a tendency to whine or moan about their lot in life. You could argue that I’ve created an echo chamber and that I’m living in an online bubble. You may well be right. Humans often do the opposite of what they claim to believe. It’s like our default setting is one of cognitive dissonance.

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categories / Editorial, Migrant Crisis

Same Meat, Different Gravy

August 01, 2015 / Roger Edwards

After a short break the time has come to relaunch Contains Moderate Peril. Ironically I've returned to blogging just as the Blaugust has started, so bang goes my plan to reduce my writing schedule. So for the next month I shall be writing everyday but once this event comes to an end on the 31st, I will defer to my original idea of writing several times a week.

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categories / Blaugust, Editorial

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