Thomil's Random Ramblings

This last Thursday, NASA's latest Mars Rover, Perseverance, safely touched down in Jezero crater on the red planet, following a six-month journey from Earth. Launched back in July 2020, this latest robot emissary carries a plethora of scientific instruments, some of which will be crucial to determine the next steps in humanity's effort to set foot on, and ultimately colonise that frigid, arid world. Personally speaking, it is embarassing that at the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century, we're still only sending robots to Mars and haven't managed a manned expedition yet, but that is beside the point. More to the point, Perseverance's fiery arrival and landing were watched live by millions of people all over the planet. Well, as live as the 20 minute light delay between Mars and Earth will allow. I was one of these millions, as the landing provided a much-needed break from the ongoing lockdown drudgery on Earth. However, I also had a more immediate reason...

Judging from the analytics, my last list article about working from home did pretty well, so I guess I’ll take a page from the traditional media playbook and squeeze the life out of this whole work from home subject until it is nothing but a shrivelled and dying husk. Okay, that got dark a bit too quickly for my taste. Seriously though, there’s still a ton of stuff to write about when it comes to my current exile to the home office, so I might as well make use of that stuff. Anyway, over this last year almost that I’ve been working from home, I’ve come to realise quite a few things about the reality of this situation, given that we’re probably going to be stuck in our home offices for quite some time to come. Now, just to be clear, these are my personal thoughts and observations and your views may, and likely will, vary. So why not share your takes on these in the comments below? Set up your Workspace To start off, let’s get physical. No, not like that, please, put that thing back on!...

So, Podcasts. When the hell did they get so popular? Seriously, podcasts aren’t really new, I started listening to them back in 2013, but they seem to be everywhere all of a sudden, no matter where you look. Your favourite news source? It probably runs at least one podcast, many of the major news outlets have many. The same goes for all types of content creators, from Twitch streamers to YouTube creators to almost every type of celebrity or influencer out there. Hell, even politicians or political parties are getting in on the act now, as are companies of all shapes and sizes. However, with this explosion of podcasts over recent years, I can’t help but wonder whether this is sustainable in the long run or whether this is a gold rush that will burn itself out? Mind you, I’m not writing this to be a naysayer or a begrudger. I’m a content creator myself and if podcasting enables some people to find their inner voice and share it with the world, then go for it. However, as a content creato...