Recursive

Category: Rant

  • Catharsis – the release of frustration or a dangerous trap?

    Catharsis – the release of frustration or a dangerous trap?

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    How many times have you complained about something and felt better afterwards? At least once a week probably. A problem shared is a problem halved, right?

  • The NatWest Card Reader, part deux (I didn’t change banks)

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    My last post on the subject (a fraction over 10 years ago!) garnered a lot of comments for what was essentially just a rant, and it turned out to be somewhat unfounded and sensationalistic. I’m still with NatWest, their online banking is still very good and their app is the best, and I’ve rarely had to…

  • BT (Bastards Telepunish) Woes

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    My ISP, BT, have got my goat again. They’re punishing me by crippling my (already joke-worthy) download speeds, because I used a lot last week. So they’ll probably charge me for that (fair enough, I suppose). I understand that they need to provide a fair service to all their customers, but why does that have…

  • Automatically Added Start Menu / Desktop Icons

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    I have just allowed Adobe (Acrobat) Reader to update itself, fair enough, though it is still remarkably slow to load on first use. I keep a clean desktop, with shortcuts only for the things I use on a regular basis (at least daily). I keep my Start Menu under control (am still using XP). I…

  • You get what you pay for…

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    PC World, TechGuys (PC Service Call), Parceline – One of them screwed up. The fianceé’s laptop died on a Thursday. It would POST, but it would simply restart itself before Windows started loading. It’s a Vista machine so I tried to use its self-repair options, but to no avail. I took it to work to…

  • BT (‘British’ Tele-extortion) Woes

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    BT have me in a head-lock. I get my phone and broadband service from them, and am charged, on average, £30 per month. This is not overly excessive, but I wanted to reduce it somehow, since I’ve been made better offers by Virgin Media. After digging through the website after looking at my online (paperfree)…

  • Why I might leave my bank: The NatWest Card Reader

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    Update, over 10 years later… I didn’t switch. I have received in the post a Card Reader from NatWest. They have designed this device to beef up the security around the (excellent btw) online banking. The flaw? The fact that we will eventually have to take the damn thing everywhere you go. And the card…

  • Ticketmaster Rip Off!

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    I just bought tickets for me and the gf to see Jimmy Carr in June. £18.50 each, seems okay. Total cost once Ticketmaster have added excessive fees and exorbitant postal charges: £46.75! That’s an extra 25%. Absurd, but we have no choice. UPDATE: Jimmy Carr was great! I even got a laugh myself when I…

  • AFBO – Anti Fat-Bastard Order

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    Sitting on a local train today, I watched as three larger-than-healthy people got on and found seats near me. The gran, mum and son struggled to sit at a table designed for four, while I sat at the table on the other side of the aisle. Gran was the smallest of the three, but had…

  • CCTV – Not Invading Privacy

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    Last week saw another wave of ‘public concern’ over the increasing numbers of CCTV cameras. The BBC recently used the topic as one of their ‘Have Your Say‘ debates. The majority of the replies ‘recommended by readers’ were scathing remarks against the “you must have a guilty conscience” “brigade”. Unfortunately for them, many of these…