When No Doesn’t Mean No!
I hate spam e-mails, cold calls and text messages I don’t need.
I am very careful, to whom I give my communication details.
No-one gets my mobile phone number since I gave it to John Lewis, so they could deliver a parcel and an hour later I got a call on it trying to sell me a service to check my PPI status. I only had one issue on that and I sorted it myself.
Courier companies do get annoyed I won’t give them my mobile phone number, but as I’m generally in, what’s wrong with a landline?
What really annoy me are companies, where I’ve bought something on-line and despite saying I want no marketing calls or e-mails, the e-mails keep coming through in a flood.
One of the train companies is a bad serial offender and as I sometimes buy long-distance tickets with them, I have to give them my e-mail and other details. They recently sent me two e-mails; one of which said I might like to travel with my partner and the other that I might like to go and see my mother or other family. The first would have been offensive and truly hurtful to some and as my only family is in Walthamstow, which is Freedom Pass territory, the company did themselves more harm than good.
But increasingly, I’ve found a way to get good priced tickets for shorter journeys, both in and out of London and say between two stations anywhere in the UK.
And that is to buy the ticket after 16:00 on the previous day at the ticket machine at my local Overground station. At least Transport for London only send you targeted e-mails on subjects you have requested like weekend engineering works. And of course no-one has developed an automatic machine that senses your mobile number or e-mail address!
What is needed is a site like the Telephone Preference Service, where you can register your e-mail to stop marketing e-mails.
There is also a marketing opportunity for someone to see up a train ticketing site, for those who need to take trips out of London.
1. Such a site would generally sell out and return tickets from London.
2. It would also sell extension tickets from Zone 6 for Freedom Pass holders. At present you can only do this from a Ticket Office or one of London Overground’s excellent machines.
3. It could also find you a nice day out on say next Thursday, linking to the weather and the sort of place you’d like to visit.
4. It could be geared to Londoners and tourists alike!
In some ways the site would be a clone of the London Overground machines, which are Internet terminals anyway!
When will innovators realise that one person’s annoyance is another’s business opportunity?
Train Departure Information On The Go!
I took this picture of my Samsung S5 just before I left to get the connecting train to Leeds, before my scenic trip to Manchester Victoria.
Train Departure Information On The Go!
I just used the phone’s browser to access nationalrail.co.uk, chose Live Departures and then entered Leeds and Manchester Victoria. In the end I caught the 09:26. A god thing about this example, is that it shows all companies and routes for direct trains,
I also use it on a train, when I’m making a connection, to find out from which platform my next train is leaving. Or not as the case may be!
So simple and it works for every station and route in the country. To prove that, I’ve just found out that the 08:55 from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh is on time.
Who needs all the hassle of downloading an app for every train company you might need?
Will The Real Leroy House Please Stand Up
Leroy House is a rather drab 1970s office block near me.
They are updating the building for the twenty-first century, so I went to look.
It’s actually a business centre with lots of serviced offices, but you wouldn’t know that from the outside. It is extremely anonymous and could contain something that doesn’t want to be noticed like the Islington Parking Revenue Collectors.
If it was my building, I’d do the following.
1. Whilst the building is being updated, I’d put up some information on the wall, about what is happening and why you would want to use offices and services in Leroy House, when the updating is finished.
2. I’d give the building a web site like businesscentre.islington or leroyhouse.london and put that in clear signs on the building.
3. If the domain name extension of .islington does not exist, then I’d either get the council to create it or if they thought it wasn’t a good idea, then I’d get it for the building. It might become a nice little earner for every butcher, baker and candle-stick maker in the Borough.
4. Once the building is updated, I’d think carefully about what was plastered all over the building to entice punters to come inside.
5. A lot of the pictures I took, were taken from the top of a passing bus. The 38 actually load up the tail-gunner outside the building. So why not give all those bored passengers something witty to read? You never know, they might know someone who needs an office.
6. I would develop the cafe, they are planning to put inside, as a local business meeting point.
Updating the building as they are planning, seems to be a good idea and I can’t see it will cause local residents any problems unless offices are rented to someone with totally unacceptable political beliefs and this provokes massive demonstrations outside.
BT Broadband’s Crap Football Broadcasts
BT now deliver their sport channels by broadband, which generally makes it unwatchable, unless you’ve got BT Infinity. Which of course is not available to me, as I’m too close to exchange. BT’s words not mine!
I often joke about what Brian Redhead said about the relative merits of radio and television.
If television had been invented first, radio would be the dominant medium, as the pictures are better!
Today, it’s absolutely true, as the pictures my mind are creating from the words on BBC Radio 5, are an order of magnitude better than BT’s crap pictures of the football.
FRS Logistics Ltd.
I received this e-mail from FRS Logistics.
Greetings
We would be glad to say that we are grateful that you count our crew as your future chief. Pay attention that all aspirants are greatly wrathful for our company.Our international B2B commerce company, peculiarly in EU and Asia.
� We started to collaborate in America, we possess a remarkable potential for Administrative
� in the United States. Just now, we are looking forward to finding the Sales Assistance .
We would like to remind that, we appreciate every applying candidate, so if you will fill in a questioner to get along with your future career, we would fully acknowledge your choice.
For additional employment information, please properly glance through the vacancy characterization, additional documents or find the information on our site. We also give all the allowed certificates that allow us to work in the United States.
We hope for your beforehand answer.
We are a leading large European global company, and we are going to open launch an American branch in order to provide supply our customers with world-class services. We need a Customer Service Representative who can start begin and handle our business needs for our company in the EU, United States.What we require need from you:
1. A Computer with reliable internet connection;
2. Skills enough to use computer;
3. Accessibility by phone or e-mail during business time five days a week. Supervisor can contact you at any time;
4. Strong communication skill.
Salary starts at $3,000\month + benefits.
If You are interested in our work, please contact us via e-mail to get further information concerning the position and the company.
Please, reply to this email address wankers@internet.comYours faithfully, Andrius Kubilius Hiring Department Senior Manager
LTD. frslogiscits
It is an absolute copybook scam, so if you get one, give it a touch of the Delete key.
Some of the English and spelling definitely needs putting out of its misery.
BT Annoys The Big Six Energy Companies
You would think that BT would be very much in bed with the Big Six energy companies, as they probably draw their directors and advisers from the same pool of fat cats.
So I was surprised to find this guide to the quirkier small energy companies on BT’s web site.
I doubt a big broadband/telephone/mobile company would get into the energy business, as the corporate world is littered with failures of companies trying to ride two horses at once. But with smart meters coming in and all the connectivity that a broadband company has, they could offer you a free lifestyle application that calculated your energy usage and suggest how you could save money.
I can certainly see these applications being developed and when properly connected to your house or flat they could make a lot of difference to your lifestyle and how you sustain and support.
Electricity, gas, phone and broadband usage can all be precisely monitored and relayed to the app on your phone, tablet or laptop.
Much modern housing also has an activity monitor in each room of the dwelling. I have one in each room here and they are the controllers for the underfloor central heating. My ones aren’t but others exist that could be connected into the system. As the average adult is quite a large heat source of upwards of a kilowatt, they can effect the heat input to the room to maintain the required temperature.
Given to, that the Internet of things is coming, which will know what’s going on in the dishwasher, microwave, cooker and washing machine, the best apps will be able to tell you why you’re lifestyle is expensive.
And of course, I haven’t linked this to your car and credit card bills, yet!
Suppose too, you had intelligent scales that weighed you each morning and automatically took things like blood pressure and pulse.
Hopefully, these apps will nudge people to a better lifestyle.
I suppose in some ways, they will be a bit like automatic lifestyle coaches, suggesting things you might or should do.
The Overground And Its Class 378 Trains Turn Up In A Computer Game
My Google Alert picked up this article onPCGames, entitled Train Simulator 2015: hands on with the London Overground train.
It’a well-written article and worth reading.
But I won’t be investing in the game, as I’ve never played a computer game and probably never will.
I certainly wouldn’t play this game, as it seems to be South London-based and doesn’t simulate the iconic East London Line, with the historic Thames Tunnel.
If I want to experience a Class 378 train and the East London Line, all I need to do is walk to Dalston Junction station and take any southbound train.
And with my Freedom Pass, it’s all free! Although the excellent cafes in Dalston aren’t!
The Latest Doggie Accessory
Thry’ve just shown see the latest doggie accessory on BBC Breakfast; the iCollar with a GPS locator and other sensors? We had a setter who needed that, who roamed all over the stud, but never left it, so was often difficult to find.
My youngest also needed one, as he used to go everywhere following the horses on his own about seven.
Some of C’s divorce clients probably wished they could have locked such a device on their partners, so they could track their movements. I suspect someone is working on it.
An Impressive Visualisation
The Croxley Rail Link is a major project to improve the links of the Metropolitan line into Watford and connect the line to Watford Junction station.
Out of curiosity I looked at this 3d visualisation of the new link.
I found it very impressive.
Note the following.
1. After Croxley station, the line bends away to the right on a viaduct.
2. At present the line goes straight on at this point to the current Watford station. This line will become a siding, when the Croxley Rail Link is built.
3. As the Grand Union Canal is crossed, this is in the area of this post.
4. Ascot Road station shown in the visualisation is now to be called Cassiobridge station.
5. The next station is Watford Vicarage Road, which serves the football ground and the hospital.
6. The existing Watford DC Line of the London Overground joins before Watford High Street station, from where the two lines share the same track to Watford Junction.
Hopefully, I’ll still be here and can try this route for real to get to the football ground in 2017.
But I don’t think that the project will be implemented as is currently planned. The Watford Observer is reporting that London Underground is taking over the responsibility for the project and I think this will result bin some changes, most likely for the better.
1. Some parties want Watford station to stay open. As it will be possible to run trains from the Croxley Rail Link through Rickmansworth and on to Amersham, could a shuttle be introduced between Amersham and Watford stations? There is a precedent for this type of arrangement in that there is a shuttle between Dalston Junction and New Cross stations on the East London Line. The main purpose is to increase the service frequency on the core of the line through the Thames Tunnel.
2. Both Amersham and Chalfont & Latimer stations are served by Chiltern Railways, who may want to put their view forward.
3. Could the changes mean that costs rise further and a delay is introduced into the project?
The Anonymous Widower 