Golden Rules for Buying Online

1. Only buy from retailers you already know and trust

If you’ve never used the site before, skip it. A familiar and known website beats a flashy new one every time. I buy most of my online stuff (mainly functional items) on Amazon as they have a great returns policy and are reliable with fast delivery (I use Prime). Stick to 2 or 3 online retailers you have used before and trust. Don't branch out and use an unknown retailer because you are likely to be stung.

2. Stick to Amazon — but only sold by Amazon

Amazon’s own stock, own fulfilment, own returns. That’s the safe zone. Use Amazon Prime and don't deviate. I am not trying to promote Amazon. Just trying to avoid pain-in-the-arse scammers of which there are millions nowadays.

There has been a surge in fake retailer websites. Please be aware of this as it is a major problem.

3. Never follow ads to a shop

• Not Google ads.
• Not Instagram ads.
• Not Facebook ads.
• If you want Amazon, type amazon.co.uk yourself. That is AI advice. I don't do that. But it might be wise for extra certainty.

4. Treat “too good to be true” as “fake”

A £120 jumper for £39 is not a bargain.
It’s bait. Resist the temptation.

5. Check the domain, not the design

Scam sites look perfect.
Domains don’t lie:

• Weird endings = avoid
• Odd spellings = avoid
• Recently registered = avoid

6. Don’t enter card details anywhere unfamiliar

If you’re hesitating, that’s your answer.
Close the tab.

7. Returns policy tells you everything

If it’s vague, missing, or copied from somewhere else, walk away.

8. When in doubt, don’t buy

There will always be another jumper, another sale, another shop.
Your money is worth more than their trick.

If you ignore this advice (!) here are some tips on checking for a fake website:

How to spot a clone site (even when it looks perfect)

Because the fakes are now extremely polished, the old advice (“look for the padlock”) is no longer enough. The more reliable red flags are:

• Too-good-to-be-true pricing (even if only slightly cheaper than normal)

• Odd domain endings (.shop, .top, .store, .xyz) or subtle misspellings

• No physical address or a generic Gmail contact

• No returns policy, or one copied verbatim from another retailer

• Stock photos or product images that appear on multiple unrelated sites

• Checkout pages that feel “off” or ask for unusual information

• No social media presence, or brand accounts created very recently

The explosion in this problem is being fuelled by AI which can create a fake/duplicate website of a well-known retailer to order.

---------------------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

AI videos have killed off the idea that aliens can visit planet Earth

One benefit of AI - at least until we tire of it - is that there are now a high percentage of videos on YouTube that have been created by artificial intelligence. These videos are everywhere the YouTube website.

And prominent for me are those videos which present the science and thoughts of Richard Feynman. The man was brilliant but these videos are voiced by AI and the script is not written by Feynman but an anonymous - I presume - scientist or scientists. There are copycat versions all over the website too.

The videos explain conclusively and logically using the science of space/time, the speed of light and the vast distances of the universe that aliens cannot get to Earth and we can't get to see them on their planet either - if they exist. We just don't know.

People think there must be alien life out there because there are billions upon billions of opportunities for intelligent life to evolve. But the evolution of the human is astonishing and it is argued extremely rare - it took 3.5 billion years (3500000000)! Perhaps so rare that there is no other version of us or like us anywhere in our galaxy.

But there are 2-3 trillion galaxies! The point is that the science tells us that it is physically impossible or near impossible for aliens from a far off planet to visit planet Earth.

In effect humans on planet Earth are entirely alone in the black void of the silent universe. And we will remain that way for eternity or as long as the species we know as homo sapiens exists (probably a relative short time such as 10,000 more years due to the self-destructive nature of humans).

Here is one of probably hundreds of videos on this topic. I sense that many people are trying to jump on the Feynman bandwagon and creating their own versions of the same physics.

----------------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Money Is Part of the Story Behind Harry and Meghan’s Montecito Exit

For all the soft‑focus language about “new chapters” and “fresh starts,” the push to leave the $21 million Montecito mansion has a harder edge beneath it. Money isn’t the whole story — but it is undeniably part of the gravitational pull dragging the couple toward the exit. It may actually be the central reason. It has been coming when you think of the huge outgoings in maintaining this massive mansion - far too large in truth for their needs. They've burnt through the cash they earned when they were fresh on the scene having left the royal family and become independent. There was the novelty factor then. That's over. They can't earn what is required to maintain this home. That's my personal view and it is probably correct! 😉😎😱

Ah, I almost forgot. Harry is suing newspapers in the UK for hacking (The Sun & Daily Mail I recall but could be wrong). He will probably lose on my assessment. Wait and see. But it is said that his legal costs (or the costs of those suing the newspapers - more than just Harry) will (might) reach £38 million! Some disagree but I have read that number in The Times newspaper That will put a massive dent in his finances and the pain I believe is about to hit him. I think the house sale is in preparation for the exorbitant legal bill. He'll be broke and Meghan will have to do the earning! Not a good framework for a happy marriage I'd also say.

The numbers alone tell you why they have to exit this money pit. Maintaining a Montecito estate of that scale costs $5–6 million a year, once you factor in staff, upkeep, and the single biggest line item: private security. When the Netflix megadeal was active, that burn rate was manageable. With the partnership ended and no equivalent revenue stream replacing it, the arithmetic becomes less forgiving.

Then there’s the house itself. The property carries a $9.5 million mortgage, with monthly repayments estimated between $50,000 and $100,000. Even for wealthy public figures, that is a heavy fixed cost — and one that becomes harder to justify if the home no longer serves their strategic needs.

Some reports go further, suggesting Meghan has been “straddled with debt” from the LA move and sees selling the mansion as a way to reset financially while relocating closer to the industry power centres she wants access to. The sourcing is tabloid‑grade, but the logic aligns with the broader pattern: high costs, reduced income, and a desire to reposition.

And that repositioning matters. Montecito is beautiful, but it’s also quiet, remote, and socially inert for people trying to revive or expand entertainment careers. Meghan reportedly spends hours commuting to LA for meetings. Neighbours keep their distance. The area skews retirement‑village calm, not Hollywood‑adjacent dynamism.

So...money pressures are part of the reason, sitting alongside ambition, relevance, and geography. The couple aren’t broke, but they are living a lifestyle that demands constant high‑octane income. When the income dips and the career momentum stalls, even a $21 million mansion can start to feel like a liability rather than a sanctuary.

---------------------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

US naval blockade to beat Iran's Hormuz blockade. How it's meant to work.

The video explains what looks like another bizarre strategy from Trump. It's not as mad as it first looks to give him credit (which I hate to do!). Frank Gardiner is one of the BBC's best reporters and he explains things really clearly in the video. Note: the US blockade blocks Iranian ships leaving and entering Iran's ports as I understand it.

Many commentators were and are flummoxed by the US strategy. But the idea is to force Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz by harming the country economically.

However, it is a very dangerous strategy, high risk and it might and quite possibly will backfire mainly because China will be forced to become directly involved as it gets a lot of its oil from Iran. 

And what if a Chinese ship is boarded or fired upon by a US warship? This might end up with US fighting China as well as Iran.

News:

Update (written by AI on my strict instructions): Iran’s response to the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has been swift and deliberately unsettling. Within hours of Washington’s move, senior Iranian commanders warned that if the U.S. tries to choke Iran’s economy at its own front door, Tehran will answer by turning off the lights somewhere far more globally painful: the Red Sea.

The message was blunt. If America blocks Hormuz, Iran will “block all trade” through the Red Sea and, by extension, the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait — the narrow funnel that feeds the Suez Canal. It’s not an idle threat. Iran has spent years building the capability to project power far beyond its coastline, using a mix of naval assets, drones, and regional partners who can strike shipping lanes with deniable force. The point is simple: if Iran’s exports stop, everyone’s exports stop.

A Red Sea shutdown would be a gut punch to the global economy. Around a tenth of world trade moves through that corridor. Europe’s supply chains depend on it. Gulf oil heading west depends on it. Container ships already reroute at the first hint of trouble; a declared Iranian blockade would turn a strategic headache into a full‑blown crisis.

This is Iran signalling that the U.S. cannot isolate the conflict to one waterway. Close Hormuz, and Tehran will widen the battlefield to a second chokepoint — one that drags in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Europe, and every shipping insurer on the planet. It’s escalation by geography, and Iran knows exactly how much leverage that buys.

What would happen if the US bombed/shelled an Iranian ship carrying oil owned by China and destined for China. China owns the oil but not the sip? Chaos I'd say. And China won't be happy.

-----------------------------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

Trump's war farrago to cost each Brit an extra £480 in 2026

Op-ed: Trump's reckless and badly planned excursion into starting a war with Iran will cost each British citizen - many of whom are already broke - £480 more in 2026. Thanks President Trump. I think we can extrapolate that prediction to many other countries to varying amounts.

The extra cost of living due to the Iran war is, as predicted, due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump and his team appear to have failed to foresee, which has forced up energy and gas (petrol) prices.

The £480 is based on the projected difference in household income, adjusted for size and composition as a result of inflation pushing up oil prices and the projected household energy price cap rising to £1929 in July.

Note: More than 2 child families in receipt of child benefit  will see income increases! These are low income families that have been catapulted into a decent income level thanks to Starmer's generosity on welfare which the country cannot afford and which takes away from defence which needs urgent financial support in a more dangerous world.

Source: The Times 13th April 2026.

-------------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.