"Instead of being charged per second for your phonecalls, we will now round up to the nearest what?" J asks me.
I reply "five minutes" says I, thinking that would just be ridiculous.
"Correct" says J.
"You are having a laugh aren't ya? You serious?" says I.
You get the gist anyway.
Yes, today J received a letter from Virgin Media (despite having cancelled his contract) stating that for a phonecall lasting 4 mins 50 seconds, you will be charged for 5 minutes - meaning a 10 second call will be charged as though you had been on the phone for 5 minutes.
Virgin are taking the piss and everyone should move away now - they have terrible customer services (bar 1 nice woman) and they are about to rip you all off.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Driving Disaster
Why oh why oh why do car accidents cause the rest of us such stress? Surely a car crash that happens in 2 lanes of a 3 lane motorway is easily confined to those 2 lanes and if not serious, easily movable to the side of the road - why did a 4 car accident on the M11 yesterday cause a tailback that was only just easing 5 hours later? We were lucky as we were relatively close to the front of the queue - we saw the 7 fire engines and 1 ambulance race up the hard shoulder (although I think some of the fire engines were for someone a bit further on whose car had overheated - at the side of the road). After having to negotiate our way around Peterborough as the A1 had been shut due to an accident (where we were stuck for about an hour), a minor shunt caused over 5 hours of tailbacks on the M11. 2 of the cars seemed to have no damage and the worst was a caved in back wheel arch.
Then to top it all off, you should have seen the queues coming the other way - just caused by Rubberneckers. We need to sort out a way to keep traffic moving and either divert people earlier or at least let us know about trouble earlier.
We left York at about 12:30pm and got home at at about 7:15pm - it was not a good journey...
Then to top it all off, you should have seen the queues coming the other way - just caused by Rubberneckers. We need to sort out a way to keep traffic moving and either divert people earlier or at least let us know about trouble earlier.
We left York at about 12:30pm and got home at at about 7:15pm - it was not a good journey...
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Money Madness
With the news that Northern Rock has obtained a loan from the Bank of England, people are pulling their savings out faster than you can say "next round's on you"!
This is proof that the majority of people in this country have absolutely no idea about how financial institutions are run and the effect that taking all their money out will have...
Firstly, the Bank of England is not in the habit of lending money - have you ever heard of them issuing a mortgage? They are the lynchpin of all financial institutions in this country and they would not lend money unless it was almost guaranteed to be paid back. If people bothered listening to what they were being told they would understand that Northen Rock is not actually in financial distress. If you look at the business model of Northern Rock, it will show that they actually borrow a lot more money to fund their mortgages and loans than most other banks and building societies. Most banks/building societies fund their lending through their savers and this is why Northern Rock have requested help.
The fact they have asked for help and received it is almost proof positive that they will not go down the toilet...
That was until yesterday when mass hysteria took over and people started pulling all their money out of Northern Rock...this action in itself COULD be the downfall of the company. If there are no savers, then all their money needs to come from the money markets.
So why does the fact that Northern Rock borrows a lot of money a problem?
It is to do with the US Mortgage saga - it has become apparent that mortgages have been given to high risk customers in the US and that there is a risk to a lot of non-UK companies losing a lot of money. This has an effect on the Global money markets as there is less inclination to lend and borrow, and lenders will probably put their interest rates up.
However, as constantly stated, this is a temporary glitch - the money market will sort itself out and when it does, Northern Rock will be back on an even keel!
Therefore, it actually appears that Northern Rock are acting in a completely up-front and responsible way as they are trying to safeguard their current savers and borrowers.
The Bank of England obviously agree as they have agreed the loan.
The Northern Rock customers now withdrawing their money could actually trigger financial instability within the whole UK financial market as people WILL lose faith in the banks and building societies.
There is always the possibility that another institution will take over Northern Rock, but they will have to agree to pay back the Bank of England so there are complications there.
This is proof that the majority of people in this country have absolutely no idea about how financial institutions are run and the effect that taking all their money out will have...
Firstly, the Bank of England is not in the habit of lending money - have you ever heard of them issuing a mortgage? They are the lynchpin of all financial institutions in this country and they would not lend money unless it was almost guaranteed to be paid back. If people bothered listening to what they were being told they would understand that Northen Rock is not actually in financial distress. If you look at the business model of Northern Rock, it will show that they actually borrow a lot more money to fund their mortgages and loans than most other banks and building societies. Most banks/building societies fund their lending through their savers and this is why Northern Rock have requested help.
The fact they have asked for help and received it is almost proof positive that they will not go down the toilet...
That was until yesterday when mass hysteria took over and people started pulling all their money out of Northern Rock...this action in itself COULD be the downfall of the company. If there are no savers, then all their money needs to come from the money markets.
So why does the fact that Northern Rock borrows a lot of money a problem?
It is to do with the US Mortgage saga - it has become apparent that mortgages have been given to high risk customers in the US and that there is a risk to a lot of non-UK companies losing a lot of money. This has an effect on the Global money markets as there is less inclination to lend and borrow, and lenders will probably put their interest rates up.
However, as constantly stated, this is a temporary glitch - the money market will sort itself out and when it does, Northern Rock will be back on an even keel!
Therefore, it actually appears that Northern Rock are acting in a completely up-front and responsible way as they are trying to safeguard their current savers and borrowers.
The Bank of England obviously agree as they have agreed the loan.
The Northern Rock customers now withdrawing their money could actually trigger financial instability within the whole UK financial market as people WILL lose faith in the banks and building societies.
There is always the possibility that another institution will take over Northern Rock, but they will have to agree to pay back the Bank of England so there are complications there.
Dodgy Websites
Actor Chris Langham has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for downloading child pornography. While I don't condone his actions for a minute, I can't help wondering why the police keep prosecuting the easy, high profile targets rather than requesting the government make new legislation.
I believe it is really easy to get rid of child pornography from the internet...pass a law that prohibits any ISP from showing that content and fine them or stop them operating in this country. The UK Police are constantly looking into this to try to find where people are finding these pictures, so they can provide a lot of websites to ban.
It may not be as easy as this, and I accept that, but there must be some kind of control that we in the educated UK can implement. If countries such as China can limit the content of the web available to it's population, then we know it is do-able!
I did think about fining or banning providers that host the content, but as something like less than 1% of all child pornography is hosted by UK providers, this would not work as 99% of sites are not covered by UK laws.
Our freedom is being eroded at every turn now, and some will argue that making some of the web inaccessible is further proof that our freedom is gradually being taken from us. I am usually one of those people. However, this is such a big issue and is certainly not victimless, and I think these harsh measures are needed.
I will not stop children from being brought into a sick industry, but at least we in the UK will be leading the way in trying to help stop it's market.
I believe it is really easy to get rid of child pornography from the internet...pass a law that prohibits any ISP from showing that content and fine them or stop them operating in this country. The UK Police are constantly looking into this to try to find where people are finding these pictures, so they can provide a lot of websites to ban.
It may not be as easy as this, and I accept that, but there must be some kind of control that we in the educated UK can implement. If countries such as China can limit the content of the web available to it's population, then we know it is do-able!
I did think about fining or banning providers that host the content, but as something like less than 1% of all child pornography is hosted by UK providers, this would not work as 99% of sites are not covered by UK laws.
Our freedom is being eroded at every turn now, and some will argue that making some of the web inaccessible is further proof that our freedom is gradually being taken from us. I am usually one of those people. However, this is such a big issue and is certainly not victimless, and I think these harsh measures are needed.
I will not stop children from being brought into a sick industry, but at least we in the UK will be leading the way in trying to help stop it's market.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Medical sensibilty
Have a read of this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6992945.stm and tell me how this will help?
Surely a better way of spending money is to test a baby at birth for known family problems, then test at a set age of 18-21 to check to make sure all young adults are OK.
After all, if at 18 you have high blood pressure you can do something about it at an early age.
We all pay for the NHS and I have barely used the service. High blood pressure runs in my family and I have no idea what my blood pressure is.
Isn't prevention cheaper than a cure?
Surely a better way of spending money is to test a baby at birth for known family problems, then test at a set age of 18-21 to check to make sure all young adults are OK.
After all, if at 18 you have high blood pressure you can do something about it at an early age.
We all pay for the NHS and I have barely used the service. High blood pressure runs in my family and I have no idea what my blood pressure is.
Isn't prevention cheaper than a cure?
Friday, September 7, 2007
Madeline
So the police have stated that the mother of Madeline McCann is now a suspect in her daughter's murder. Despite my feelings as to their treatment by the media, I wonder how many parallels can be made between this situation and the JonBenet Ramsey case back in the 1990's. It seems as though the Portuguese police have never really come up with a valid suspect, so now they go back to the parents and try to build a case there - of course, it is a well known trick to give a suspect enough rope to hang themselves as it were. The english police quite often get the main family suspect to speak at a news conference to guage their body language and reactions. And it has been stated that Mrs McCann did not seem that upset - but then we all deal with things differently.
My beef with this ongoing story, whether it turns out that the parents are involved or not, is that because they are respectable middle class people with good jobs, they have been excused for leaving their kids - all under 4 years old - alone in an unfamiliar place.
If they were council tennants with manual labour jobs and came from a less well-off area, the media would have been calling for their twins to be taken into care as they are unfit parents!
The bottom line is that they did not have to leave the kids on their own - there was a babysitting service. So it does pose the question, why didn't they use that service?
I suppose this is really going back to my problem with the media and is not the McCann's fault, but I am really upset at the fact that the McCann's lack of parental responsiblity has not been questioned in the way that other parents would be. If they had acted responsibly in the first place, they would not now be under suspicion.
Therefore, I find it difficult to sympathise - after all, is it not illegal to leave a minor in a house unsupervised under UK law?
My beef with this ongoing story, whether it turns out that the parents are involved or not, is that because they are respectable middle class people with good jobs, they have been excused for leaving their kids - all under 4 years old - alone in an unfamiliar place.
If they were council tennants with manual labour jobs and came from a less well-off area, the media would have been calling for their twins to be taken into care as they are unfit parents!
The bottom line is that they did not have to leave the kids on their own - there was a babysitting service. So it does pose the question, why didn't they use that service?
I suppose this is really going back to my problem with the media and is not the McCann's fault, but I am really upset at the fact that the McCann's lack of parental responsiblity has not been questioned in the way that other parents would be. If they had acted responsibly in the first place, they would not now be under suspicion.
Therefore, I find it difficult to sympathise - after all, is it not illegal to leave a minor in a house unsupervised under UK law?
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Grr - is it so hard to give us all the facts?
Oooh here I go! I would never have made it as a journalist due to my desire to speak the truth and state all facts - that would never create a story that sells!
Have a look at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hereford/worcs/6978118.stm - now, if this couple's excess has risen to £10,000 after the floods - but for a start, it doesn't mention if it's building or contents! Experience would tell me that it's buildings and also that it's a grade II listed house or something - which is fair enough in my eyes.
If the risk is that the house is going to be flooded every couple of years and each time materials have to be sourced to comply with the grade II listed regulations, then it's a fair enough condition as far as I'm concerned.
If the BBC journos furnished us with the full facts, I wouldn't have to write this drivel!
If the house is your bog standard box however, I would consider the excess to be a bit OTT - but then we don't know how often they have claimed in the past as well!
Have a look at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hereford/worcs/6978118.stm - now, if this couple's excess has risen to £10,000 after the floods - but for a start, it doesn't mention if it's building or contents! Experience would tell me that it's buildings and also that it's a grade II listed house or something - which is fair enough in my eyes.
If the risk is that the house is going to be flooded every couple of years and each time materials have to be sourced to comply with the grade II listed regulations, then it's a fair enough condition as far as I'm concerned.
If the BBC journos furnished us with the full facts, I wouldn't have to write this drivel!
If the house is your bog standard box however, I would consider the excess to be a bit OTT - but then we don't know how often they have claimed in the past as well!
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Why is parking in town so difficult - and expensive?
Why do councils see fit to charge so much to park in their towns - do they not want to encourage traders to pay their extortionate shop and office rates? If you require long stay parking in particular they are a complete rip off. Brentwood in Essex charges £8.00 per day for all day parking - there's nothing there shop-wise so if I hadn't had to work there there's no-way I would have parked even for 1 hour - I think that's £1.50!! Complete rip-off.
I came across a fantastic website for people looking for long-stay parking and the best part is that it's currently free! All you do is register some basic details like your name, address, and contact details and then advertise your driveway or garage for rent at a price you set - on the flip side, you can look for a driveway or garage near where you work and get guarateed a parking space everyday! Have a look at www.rentanyspace.net when you get a chance and make the most of a great service!
To read a more in-depth rant, look at www.rentanyspace.net/blog.php!
I came across a fantastic website for people looking for long-stay parking and the best part is that it's currently free! All you do is register some basic details like your name, address, and contact details and then advertise your driveway or garage for rent at a price you set - on the flip side, you can look for a driveway or garage near where you work and get guarateed a parking space everyday! Have a look at www.rentanyspace.net when you get a chance and make the most of a great service!
To read a more in-depth rant, look at www.rentanyspace.net/blog.php!
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