A Verified-By-Visa Scam
Moneywise is reporting a scam on that stupid so-called security system, Verified-by-Visa. I’ve never liked it.
I also only ever use my Visa card on the Internet, when I have no choice. But as the Olympics will be over soon, I shall probably be sticking my Visa card somewhere, where I’m not tempted to use it on-line.
Death Of A Cyclist
It is always very sad when someone dies, but the death of a cyclist outside the Olympic Stadium is creating a few waves as well.
He was knocked off his bike and killed by a media bus, at a place that cyclists have said was dangerous for years. It was the typical cyclist under a turning vehicle accident, if any accident is typical.
I know it doesn’t help his family, but Bradley Wiggins has made strong statements about safety and said that all cyclists should wear helmets at all times.
One subsidiary point, was that quite a few of the soldiers guarding the Olympics were about but sadly couldn’t save the victim. Surely, this in itself is an argument for using soldiers at big events, as I suspect their emergency medical skills are a lot better than your average security guard.
Free Pussy Riot
This was the slogan on a placard objecting to President Putin’s policies in London today.
I do know what Pussy Riot is, but taken in straight English, it could be read another way.
Free Newspapers Anyone?
This guy in red was handing out free copies of The Sun and The Sunday Times.
Free Newspapers Anyone?
Well they certainly looked to be free and News International was doing the same at BTLondonLive.
The Scandal of the Empty Seats
The BBC and most of the newspapers are complaining about the empty seats at some of the Olympic venues. Here‘s the BBC on the subject.
No-one is sure of the reason, but it would appear to be mostly expensive tickets, many of which went to corporate sponsors.
Could it be that when those with the tickets, found out they’d have to slum it on public transport as there is no reserved parking space for the Bentley, they have decided to forgo the privilege of seeing some of the best sport in the world?
I’ve just checked one of the world’s luxury hotel group and there are still rooms available at an affordable price for those who could afford it, like a corporate sponsor. C and I used sometimes to stay in the world’s best hotels and then use the local public transport and I know quite a few Americans, Europeans and Aussies, who have or still do that regularly. But if you’re on expenses paid by a corporate sponsor, you can’t even use a taxi in London to get to Stratford.
I also wonder if the organisers got their ticket allocation wrong, with too many expensive tickets. And given the current state of the economy, even the rich are feeling the pinch.
I live in London N1, which is an affluent area, close to the City, and I’ve never seen the buses and the streets so empty. Lots of people have gone on holiday. A friend, who works at a high level in one of the sponsors, who I thought could expect tickets, has gone away.
It’s a real conundrum, but it’s not as simple as some have said.
When You’re In A Hole Stop Digging
Mormon Mitt seems not only to have a lack of diplomacy, but also the common sense, one needs to avoid trouble. Just read this piece by the respected BBC correspondent, Mark Mardell. Mark also questions whether his wife’s horse will go down well with blue-collar Republicans.
It is safe to say that dressage does not have the same place in the heart of the American blue-collar worker as Nascar racing or baseball.
It would appear though that the wags out there are already having great fun. Just type “moron Mitt” into your preferred search engine.
I particularly liked this one.
The size of the hole gets bigger every minute.
So make sure you’ve got a few hours or even days to spend. It will be an ideal pastime for sport-phobics in the next couple of weeks.
If Mitt Romney Is The Next US President, Diplomacy Goes Out The Window.
Mitt Romney’s comments on the Olympics show that he is no diplomat. Read about it in the Independent here. The fact that he is a Mormon too, doesn’t go down well with me. In fact, being part of a small powerful sect, should disbar one from being Head of State.
i hope the Americans see sense and return Barack Obama for a second term in November. Hopefully, Mormon Mitt, will put his foot in his mouth many times in the next few months.
Why Not A Standard Hospital Chart?
I’ve been presenting information by computer for forty years and before that my father was a printer, who designed forms for companies for probably fifty years. So to say I have a lot of experience both in my brain and having been taught by several masters, I was surprised when I saw this item about hospital charts, I was initially surprised that it wasn’t already happening.
On the other hand though, when was healthcare anywhere in the world logical?
Every hospital chart and report on a world-wide scale should be the same, so let’s say like I did you go to hospital after an attack in Italy, your GP or British doctor can get a hang of what happened and what drugs you got. So in my case it would have been in Italian, but because everything would be in the same place, a doctor could get the gist of it.
But of course, it would remove the independence of a doctor to do what he or she wanted.
Now Nationwide Drops A Clanger
According to this report on the BBC and a message on their site, Nationwide have processed debit card transactions twice. It didn’t affect me, as I only use a debit card to get money from a cash machine.
This should never happen.
I have said that processing and senior management should be co-located and preferably at the same place where the programmers work.
As in this Nationwide clanger over 700,000 accounts were affected, it is quite likely that several senior managers or their friends would have been effected by the error. If those managers were worth employing, they should have been straight on to those responsible to find out what had happened. Co-location puts the fear of God into operators and programmers. Try doing that if they’re halfway around the world.
But at least in this clanger, Nationwide found out what had happened quickly and rectified it within 48 hours. But how much did the whole incident cost Nationwide and its customers? And as Nationwide is a mutual, how much did it indirectly cost its members?
I always remember Bob, the guy who taught me cost accounting, said that banks had a totally different approach to the way things added up. Perhaps things haven’t changed all that much!
The Anonymous Widower 