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Rick Ogden

@rickogden.com

Music lover, beer enthusiast, guinea pig owner and software engineer & architect. Opinions aren’t necessarily mine and are likely to change.

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06.07.2023
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Latest posts by Rick Ogden @rickogden.com

Manchesters best beer pubs and bars second edition, by Matthew Curtis

Manchesters best beer pubs and bars second edition, by Matthew Curtis

This is exciting isn’t it. Art by David Bailey, foreword by Matty White, 50 new additions, out April 2nd. I imagine you might want a pre order link, eh?

01.03.2026 15:47 👍 55 🔁 12 💬 4 📌 1

my god I need to wake up Friday morning to the news that Matt Goodwin is not an MP, I can't bring myself to feel strongly about who wins but I really, really need him to lose

21.02.2026 19:07 👍 1894 🔁 149 💬 72 📌 25

This world needs more people who are less sure about things, particularly journalists. Thank you.

22.02.2026 10:00 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

My gut feeling (and I’m far from an expert) is that Burnham is the only way Labour stand a chance of retaining that seat. Am I wrong?

24.01.2026 18:24 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

This is part of the wider enshittification of the internet, and we are now in the robber baron era. If you’re not doing things which empower the huge players, you get lost in the noise.

23.01.2026 14:15 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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Wicked composer latest to cancel Kennedy Center gig after Trump name change Stephen Schwartz says he will not appear at the arts venue as it

"The Kennedy Center was founded to be an apolitical home for free artistic expression for artists of all nationalities and ideologies"

What he doesn’t mention is that he was actually the lyricist of the piece that was commissioned for the opening of the Kennedy Center. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

23.01.2026 08:51 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Shorter Trump: ICE, ice, navy

21.01.2026 14:22 👍 36 🔁 7 💬 3 📌 0
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More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland.

They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”

17.01.2026 17:36 👍 18862 🔁 5033 💬 1262 📌 1246

I said this at the time; the state visit should have been arranged for the end of his term. Then it could have been used, continually, as leverage.

17.01.2026 18:12 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Thanks for this. As a huge fan of Sleep No More and The Drowned Man, this may be one I don’t bother travelling to London for.

17.01.2026 13:22 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Graph from NetBlocks showing network connectivity in Uganda from January 8, 2025, to January 16, 2025. The y-axis represents normalized connectivity, ranging from 0% to 100%, and the x-axis represents the dates. The green line representing Uganda's connectivity remains normal most of the time period, with a sharp drop on the evening of January 13. The drop in connectivity aligns with general elections. The minimum and current connectivity levels are indicated as 17% and 23%, respectively. The chart has a dark background.

Graph from NetBlocks showing network connectivity in Uganda from January 8, 2025, to January 16, 2025. The y-axis represents normalized connectivity, ranging from 0% to 100%, and the x-axis represents the dates. The green line representing Uganda's connectivity remains normal most of the time period, with a sharp drop on the evening of January 13. The drop in connectivity aligns with general elections. The minimum and current connectivity levels are indicated as 17% and 23%, respectively. The chart has a dark background.

⚠️ Update: It's just past midnight in #Uganda where a widespread internet shutdown imposed before elections remains in place.

The disruption continues to hamper news verification, amid reports that opposition leader Bobi Wine has been abducted by an army helicopter.

16.01.2026 21:22 👍 16 🔁 8 💬 1 📌 3

A lot of words to basically say: OK, GOING TO THE PUB MIGHT NOT BE GOOD FOR YOUR WAISTLINE/SLEEP/WALLET but it might be really really good for your friendships, stress, connections and happiness. So it's actually healthy to go to the pub, you guys, and maybe we should all just do that a bit more

13.01.2026 18:42 👍 77 🔁 13 💬 10 📌 6

Strange isn't it... the people who actually live in London overwhelmingly think it's safe.... almost like everyone else is falling for a lie

11.01.2026 10:20 👍 2059 🔁 586 💬 143 📌 26

This is a great listen. Never wanted a mixed grill and a pint more

10.01.2026 12:08 👍 4 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0

Good news everyone, the fascist sociopath has added a sexual assault generator to his website! At this point it’s fair to assume that any brewery / football team / MP / rando still using it actively supports these things.

02.01.2026 08:48 👍 28 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 1
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Get more from Pellicle on Patreon Creating an award-winning drinks magazine and podcast

Today, like any day, would be a great day to start supporting your favourite independent drinks publication with a subscription. Support our award-winning journalism here:

Patreon.com/pelliclemag

14.12.2025 14:31 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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I found this today (from Peter Kellner/YouGov) which answers part of your query.

09.12.2025 20:40 👍 626 🔁 144 💬 28 📌 54
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I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.

02.12.2025 10:58 👍 10952 🔁 3211 💬 210 📌 256

Oh this is sad. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is one of those plays that had a huge impact on me. RIP Tom.

29.11.2025 20:42 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I was working for a university during this period, and I also really noticed the difference in attitude change from “studying for” to “buying a” degree. Obviously not everyone, but definitely a shift.

29.11.2025 13:19 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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A @gailmyerscough.co.uk graphic of an Accuphase E-3000 - now. What shall we do with it?

20.11.2025 22:10 👍 9 🔁 6 💬 3 📌 1
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Why can't the BBC just be more impartial towards President Trump, like GB News, says Nigel Farage.

GB News:

10.11.2025 21:26 👍 788 🔁 237 💬 82 📌 17

The utter preposterousness of this interview. A media figure talking about BBC bias while describing the president as his "friend". A child could see trough it.

11.11.2025 08:39 👍 695 🔁 192 💬 22 📌 2

🚨🚨🚨 The jury has reached a verdict. Sean Dunn, aka the DC Sandwich Guy, has been found NOT GUILTY of assault.

06.11.2025 19:25 👍 6714 🔁 1461 💬 138 📌 957
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How the world's richest man is boosting the British right How the world's richest man is boosting the British right

A fantastic piece of data journalism from Sky News. A masterclass of data visualisation. news.sky.com/story/the-x-...

06.11.2025 13:36 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
What I always liked about Wikipedia — even more so now — is its absence of an algorithm. If you started off searching for who defeated Bill Clinton in the 1980 Arkansas gubernatorial election (answer at the end), there’s every chance you’ll fall down a rabbit hole and half an hour later you’ve missed your flight but at least you’ve learned everything there is to know about the 1824 Constitution of Mexico.

Everywhere else, what we watch is either pre-determined — or highly curated. On YouTube, the world’s largest video-sharing platform, algorithms drive more than 70% of all content consumed. On TikTok, it is the entire model. Whether these systems are simply giving us more of what we want or deliberately nudging us toward extremes, the result is the same: our curiosity is no longer our own.

But on Wikipedia, you are in control. The hyperlinks may be vying for your attention, but there is no autoplay widget or blackbox deciding what you’ll see next. To borrow from video game terminology, Wikipedia is open-world, rather than linear. In that sense, it harks back to the messy early days of the internet. Whereas Grokipedia seems to be its modern-day equivalent — an attempt to repackage knowledge inside a single, curated worldview.

Wikipedia is not unbiased. It is open source and while, theoretically, anyone can edit it, it is in reality largely maintained by a group of ‘super editors’. But it still provides a refuge from the never-ending conveyor belt of pre-determined short-form videos and AI slop. For that reason, if you have fallen down a Wiki rabbit hole, it is, gloriously, entirely on you.

What I always liked about Wikipedia — even more so now — is its absence of an algorithm. If you started off searching for who defeated Bill Clinton in the 1980 Arkansas gubernatorial election (answer at the end), there’s every chance you’ll fall down a rabbit hole and half an hour later you’ve missed your flight but at least you’ve learned everything there is to know about the 1824 Constitution of Mexico. Everywhere else, what we watch is either pre-determined — or highly curated. On YouTube, the world’s largest video-sharing platform, algorithms drive more than 70% of all content consumed. On TikTok, it is the entire model. Whether these systems are simply giving us more of what we want or deliberately nudging us toward extremes, the result is the same: our curiosity is no longer our own. But on Wikipedia, you are in control. The hyperlinks may be vying for your attention, but there is no autoplay widget or blackbox deciding what you’ll see next. To borrow from video game terminology, Wikipedia is open-world, rather than linear. In that sense, it harks back to the messy early days of the internet. Whereas Grokipedia seems to be its modern-day equivalent — an attempt to repackage knowledge inside a single, curated worldview. Wikipedia is not unbiased. It is open source and while, theoretically, anyone can edit it, it is in reality largely maintained by a group of ‘super editors’. But it still provides a refuge from the never-ending conveyor belt of pre-determined short-form videos and AI slop. For that reason, if you have fallen down a Wiki rabbit hole, it is, gloriously, entirely on you.

Wikipedia vs Elon Musk

In a world of algorithms and AI slop, the simple joy of aimlessly wandering through a website of ideas is worth preserving.

✍️ www.linestotake.com/p/wikipedia-...

My newsletter, out now.

29.10.2025 07:57 👍 189 🔁 42 💬 6 📌 4

A bit out of town, but if either of you have time, I highly recommend checking out The Magnet. A wonderful pub with an excellent beer selection.

15.10.2025 22:19 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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They Helped Topple Roe v. Wade. Now Their Sights Are Set on Britain.

This is a huge story but massively under the radar in the UK.

A US Christian legal org called the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is working to roll back abortion rights here using the same playbook it used in the US: briefing politicians, watching, waiting.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/w...

14.10.2025 12:13 👍 131 🔁 94 💬 17 📌 18
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Signs of kindness put up along Nottingham road in place of flags It is not clear who put up the signs, which have appeared on lamp-posts along a road in Nottingham.

Lots of flag-botherers over on Facebook now suddenly demanding the council step in to take these down
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

10.10.2025 14:00 👍 661 🔁 174 💬 24 📌 13

These guys look adorable and their demand is very reasonable

06.10.2025 16:06 👍 528 🔁 39 💬 26 📌 1