Recursive

Tag: Opinion

  • Recommended: iammoving.com

    iammoving.com was recommended to me by the estate agent who advertised the house we’re moving to in August.

    After registering, for free (though I would pay for the service), you select the organisations you need to notify from a large, categorised list, and provide your account number (or whatever detail is appropriate).

    You can then send each message individually, or send them all at once.

    Unfortunately, some companies still require that age-old ink on paper malarkey. In these cases, a preformatted letter is made available to print.

    iammoving.com is ‘in association with Royal Mail’, which makes sense because it could save them from thousands of undeliverable/redirected letters.

  • RAC

    The RAC have impressed me.

    Whilst driving to my fiancée’s parents’ at the end of last week, the car conked out (while on the M6 Toll).
    Fortunately, the power simply seemed to dissipate rather than instantly disappear, so I was easily able to slow to stop by an SOS box.
    I have a mobile phone of course, but the SOS box allowed me to give a very precise location.

    Calling the RAC was straightforward, just a matter of answering questions and confirming my own and the vehicle’s details.

    The RAC man (an ex F1 engineer, apparently) arrived within 20 minutes (better than the estimate given on the phone), having called my mobile to let me know that he was a couple of minutes away.

    He identified the problem simply by listening to the engine for a couple of seconds, and confirmed it by replacing the dead coil (a transformer that supplies the power to the spark-plugs).

    I’d be very happy to recommend the RAC to anyone considering them (or their competitors).

  • BBC Homepage Beta Using jQuery

    The BBC Beta Homepage is using jQuery, but unfortunately it’s ugly.

    I should qualify that – I think it’s a good move to make the homepage more personalisable, but does it have to look so Web2.0?
    Big text was a fad a year ago, but it’s too informal for an internationally recognised and respected news source, and it makes it look so childish – I dread to think what the new CBBC sites would look like!

    I realise this is only a beta, and may well change considerably, but without a bit of a shrink I won’t be likely to use it as a homepage tab.

  • Rename Terrorism

    If only [tag]terrorism[/tag] were renamed to ‘mild trepidation-ism‘ it wouldn’t be so effective.

    Fortunately, I live in the [tag]UK[/tag], [tag]England[/tag] specifically, where our stiff-upper-lip-ed-ness prevents us from being too affected by [tag]terrorist[/tag] attacks.
    It’s only when services are damaged that the country is really slowed.

    Clearly there are some who unfortunately bear the brunt, often physically, in these attacks. Life for them, and their family and friends, may well be permanently changed.
    But we have to put things in perspective: many many more people are killed by smoking than by terrorists in the UK; many more people are injured in simple DIY accidents than by terrorists. So why be so scared of it?

    Being terrified by such a slim statistic is no way to live a life.

    Calling it ‘Terrorism’ only serves to make it more powerful.

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

    Update, over 10 years later… I didn’t switch.

    nwcardreader.jpgI 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 of course.

    The whole point of online banking is, afaiac, the fact that you can use it anywhere. Now we will only be able to use it IF we have the card reader with us, IF we have the card with us, and IF it actually works. And IF the battery isn’t dead.

    I regularly use NWOLB at home and at work, so what do they suggest? “You could use someone else’s.” Well that’s just stupid.

    Further issues:

    • I have two accounts with NatWest, both of which are accessible with the same login credentials. However, only one of those accounts has a card new enough to use this card reader. When will I therefore be forced to start using the card reader? I don’t know, but I expect that they will send me a new card (meaning my saved card details at various sites will have to be updated) and probably another card reader.
    • nwcardreaderpackaging.jpgThe amount of plastic, cardboard and paper used to send the card reader is shameful. From the outside in: Plastic postage bag, cardboard box, plastic tray, cardboard box (again), bubble-wrap, plastic bag.
    • It is my joint account which is ready for the card reader, but the other holder (the gf) wasn’t informed, and certainly wasn’t provided with a reader. She has also used NWOLB from work, so that’s four places we already use the service, i.e. three places we now won’t be able unless we carry this thing with us. Which we obviously can’t both do.

    I am happy to pay the few extra pennies it would take to cover the fraud that this device might prevent.
    I am happy to take the risk that it is my account that is compromised if they just abandon this daft device.

    I am genuinely considering moving to another bank if this reader turns out to be compulsory.

  • Scientology Is A Cult

    I just wanted to use the word ‘[tag]cult[/tag]’ it since it enrages them so.

    Religions generally preach peace, forgiveness, etc., yet it appears [tag]Scientology[/tag] is all about brain-washing, coercion, and the elimination of anyone who even considers any contrary beliefs.

    How anyone can defend such behaviour is beyond me.

    I am glad to learn that its requests to be recognised as a [tag]religion[/tag] here in the [tag]UK[/tag] have been rejected, but am concerned that it could still happen.

  • AFBO – Anti Fat-Bastard Order

    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 to be convinced that it would be okay for her to sit next to her grandson, rather than take a seat behind.

    I noticed the Mum noticing me noticing them. She probably thought that I was rude, that I couldn’t possibly presume that her [tag]size[/tag] was just possibly because she simply eats too much.
    And then she opened a cool-bag (the size of a standard cool-box BTW) stuffed full of sandwiches, fizzy drinks and (I heard mention of) pork pies.
    I’ve heard many people say that it’s not enough to just eat less, but this doesn’t mean continue eating too much.

    With the recent discovery that there’s a [tag]gene[/tag] which apparently contributes to an individual’s likelihood of becoming [tag]overweight[/tag], I am concerned that many may use this as an excuse. Fat people already claim it’s genetic, “well, Mum’s fat and so’s Dad, …”, never thinking that as a baby it was up to these people how much they ate, that as a child they were encouraged to finish their jumbo portions.

    Eating is addictive, but because we HAVE to eat, it isn’t treated as something to do in moderation (as with alcohol consumption).

    I’ve said it before, and I still think it – Fat people need to be reminded that they need to do something about their weight, not pitied for their struggle.

    I will not deny that losing weight is difficult, and that getting overweight is easy, but there are good habits as well as bad habits.

    Minutes after eating a couple of sandwiches, the Mum on the train had to go and get two seats to herself, and wheezed to herself for a bit. If this isn’t sending her signals, what will? A lecture from her GP? Doubt it. We, as a society, need to make obesity a taboo.

    Society encourages and expects respect from others, and it ought to encourage self-respect too.

  • Run away from Dogma

    Lifehack: 10 MORE ways to create a breakthrough in your life.

    Run away from any kind of dogma. Dogma is the product of a closed mind. It’s an idea with a threat attached. If you suffer from dogma, get it out of your life. Let it go. Kick it out. Try thinking the opposite. Treat it like a crazy joke. Do anything you can to get rid of it. It’s the greatest source of barriers to breakthrough.

    I was surprised (and happy) to see an American openly recommending avoiding religion, even if he did include it as part of a greater collection. I then read that the author, Adrian Savage, is in fact an Englishman.

    He’s right though – traditions often stand in the way of innovation, and what’s more traditional than religion?

  • Christmas Is Coming (Apparently)

    Well, I’ve received my first [tag]Christmas[/tag] catalogue.

    I’m unwilling to accept even the arrival of the autumn, let alone winter. (Maybe it’s [tag]global warming[/tag]…)

    To be fair, the RNLI catalogue wasn’t purely Christmassy, but it does have ‘snowy morning’ 1000-piece puzzles and mulled wine whisk sets.

    Is it too early to even mention the ‘[tag]holiday season[/tag]’?
    Or is there harm in it? Does it devalue ‘the meaning of Christmas’, making it more and more about [tag]materialism[/tag]?

    Are ‘Seasonal Products’ made available ahead of time for those who can’t afford it any other way? Or are those people simply lacking in [tag]will power[/tag], or the ability to simply save money?

    UPDATE: I have since received the actual Christmas catalogue from the RNLI, nearly 3 month early!

  • Cars Review

    Cars was a real visual treat.

    If you can look past the cartoony style of the characters in the film (all vehicles of some kind, even the wildlife) you’ll see that an enormous amount of effort has been put into the look of the film.
    Genuinely photo-realistic, make that ‘actually-in-front-of-you-realistic’, backdrops and scenery, complemented by great little visual details make this real eye candy.
    There are many who, I’m sure, won’t fully appreciate the graphics – not because they’re not impressive, but because there’s much more to the film.

    Yes, the jokes are mostly for the younger ones, with occasional slap-stick, but there are a couple of great lines for the adults which I won’t spoil here.

    Great casting too: Owen Wilson as the lead, ‘guest’ spots from Michael Keaton, Jeremy Clarkson, Michael Schumacher, and a Pixar perennial John Ratzenberger supply very fitting voices.

    My criticisms lie mostly with the script – at 2 hours and 1 minute (5 more minutes than in the US), it’s a long film – especially given that it’s a PG rated film. There were a couple of flat spots, too deep for a ‘cartoon’ and boring for the youngsters.

    I was happily surprised and I’ll definitely recommend this film to those who aren’t sure.
    [tags]Cars,Film,Movie,Review,Opinion[/tags]