The RPS Advent Calendar 2022, December 7th
A week of Advent Calendar posts already! Time flies when you’re having fun, but it also flies when you’re very small and have to survive in garden that’s suddenly the size of a forest. Mind the spiders.
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A week of Advent Calendar posts already! Time flies when you’re having fun, but it also flies when you’re very small and have to survive in garden that’s suddenly the size of a forest. Mind the spiders.
Today’s game on the RPS Advent Calendar is a story that spans generations, but you’ll need plenty of ink and paper to get it down. How’s your handwriting? Good, is it? Can you read Latin?
It’s the fourth day of the RPS Advent Calendar and today it’s rainy. But it’s nice rainy – relaxing. There’s a purring cat. You’ve got a brew on, and nothing in particular planned. Maybe you’ll recatalogue your rustling, living inventory.
Welcome to day three of the RPS Christmas Advent Calendar. Well, I say day. Actually it’s night, but there’s surely nothing to hurt us in this quaint old town. Wait. Did you hear that? Is there… is there something behind us? I swear it sounds like something is following us. I don’t like the sound of that rattling at all. Do you have a map? Oh my god you don’t have a map?
This time of year can be stressful, but it’s only the second day of December and already it seems you can’t quite control your face as you’d like to. Perhaps you can ask someone to arrange it into the right emotions for you…?
IF you’re looking for a quirky gift this Christmas, there’s no need to mull-et over.
The World’s Greatest Mullet 2023 calendar, created by The Calendar King, is available for £13.95 on Etsy.
The calendar is available for £13.95 on Etsy[/caption]
Each month of the year has two pictures of different variations of the mullet – when the hair is short on the top and sides but long at the back.
There is also a space to fill in those all important dates.
It’s described as “the ultimate quirky calendar gift” which will “be sure to cheer up a loved one, family member, friend, work colleague or win that special someone over.”
One punter reviewed the item online: “So funny! Can’t wait to give it for Christmas!”
Another said: “This is the best white elephant gift ever! I can’t wait to see who gets this for Christmas!”
The mullet was a popular hairstyle in the 1970s and 80s.
Celebrities famed for their mullets included David Bowie, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Rod Stewart.
In his memoir U2 star Bono revealed he hates watching himself play at Live Aid because of his awful mullet.
He said: “I find it excruciating. It’s a little humbling that during one of the greatest moments of your life, you’re having a bad hair day.
“Some people would say that I’ve had a bad hair life, but when I am forced to look at footage of U2 playing Live Aid, there is only one thing I can see: the mullet.”
As expected, Zoom is looking to take on the likes of Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace in more areas than group video calls and chats. At its Zoomtopia conference, the company announced a bunch of features that are coming to its platform, including two key ones for productivity: email and calendars. You can connect third-party email and calendar services to Zoom and access them through the desktop app. The company says that can help save you time instead of having to switch between apps and perhaps needing to hunt for the right tab in your browser.
Those on the Zoom One Pro or Zoom Standard Pro plans will be able to set up email accounts through the platform, and folks with certain plans have the option to use custom domains. You’ll get up to 100GB of storage included. The key selling point is that messages sent directly between Zoom Mail Service users (i.e. those who use Zoom’s email hosting services) will have end-to-end encryption. You’ll also be able to send external emails that can expire and contain access-restricted links.
As for Zoom Calendar, there will be options to see which of your contacts has joined a meeting, and you can schedule Zoom voice and video calls in the app. Zoom’s own calendar service will include the ability to book appointments.
On the way in 2023 is a feature called Zoom Spots. The company describes this as a virtual coworking space where colleagues can stay more connected during the workday via video-first conversations. While the company didn’t reveal too much detail about Zoom Spots in its blog post, there may be a downside as the feature could enable bosses to keep a closer eye on what their employees are doing.
Businesses will soon be able to employ Zoom Virtual Agent, a conversational AI and chatbot designed to help customers resolve issues. That tool will be available in early 2023. Other things in the pipeline include a way for developers to make money from the Zoom Apps Marketplace and a virtual coach to help sellers perfect their pitches.
As for the core functions people know Zoom for, there’s a feature on the way that connects team chats with in-meeting chats. You’ll be able to carry the conversation from one to the other and back again to keep things flowing. The company is also looking to roll out translation options for team chats in 2023. In the near future, you’ll be able to schedule a chat message to send at a later time.
Zoom Phone is coming to the web, which should be handy for many folks. A progressive web app will be available for ChromeOS too. Meanwhile, users will be able to use a one-click chat message as a response when they can’t answer a call. As for Zoom Rooms, there will be a way for folks in one of those to join a Google Meet room and vice versa.
Last, but by no means least, Zoom revealed a string of updates for meetings. The Smart Recordings feature uses AI to generate summaries, next steps and chapters to make archived meetings more digestible and help you get to the part you’re looking for. There will be meeting templates that can automatically configure the right settings and a way to record videos with narration and screensharing that you can send to colleagues. On top of that, you’ll have more avatar options, including the ability to use a Meta avatar.
A MIND-numbing motorway calendar is enough to drive you to distraction.
It features 12 desperately dull images along the M40.
They include unremarkable road signs, pylons, a water tower, bridge, factories and a fence with graffiti along the 89-mile stretch from London to Birmingham via Oxford.
The Landmarks of the M40 was dreamed up by media firm coworkers Michael Lee and Jim Thornton as they commuted from the capital to Stoke-on-Trent while setting up a new office.
Jim said: “Like most of the British Isles, if you look hard enough, the M40 turns out to carve its way through a wonderland of history in all its eccentric British glory.
Doing research on the landmarks has given us a renewed love and admiration for the British landscape, and the M40 in particular.”
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Photographer Peter Meadow said: “I don’t actually own a car so when Michael approached me with the idea, my first goal was to try and put myself in the mindset of the average M40 commuter.
“The photos tell the story of all those little milestones that help keep you going until you reach your goal and celebrate those, which I kind of like.”
The calendar costs £7.99 from publishing firm Motorway Vistas.