My First Bath In The New Bath
I gave the features of the bath a test.
Everything seems to be fine.
Obviously the television and the side of the bath still need to be fitted.
Bus Art
This is the first I’ve seen, but there are several over London.
This one was by the Bank of England
There is more about the sculpture trails here.
Death Of A Friend
One of my best friends has just died.
Over the last few months, information has been very short and all their friends were scrambling round for any news.
As someone, who was rejected by the devil and then she left me to cause more mayhem, this has convinced me, that I’ll blog to the bitter end. When I can no longer type, I’ll use the last of my money to hire the prettiest young lady to take dictation.
An Unusual Way To Promote Road Safety
I like this story from the BBC. Here’s the first bit.
“Sexy” lollipop men and women are being used in a road safety campaign aimed at pedestrians who have been drinking.
The move is targeting young adults who are more likely to wander across roads while drunk.
A video, filmed in Oxford, appeared to show more pedestrians used a zebra crossing when accompanied by the scantily-dressed models.
I hope it works.
I remember in the 1960s, seeing a safety poster of two railway trucks with a space between them. The heading said.
Trespassers will be executed.
Sadly, in some parts of the world, this is the law.
The First Two Shelves For My Vertical Garden
They might not look like that as they sit amongst the builders rubbish in my garage, but I’m getting ready to start assembling my vertical garden.
The pictures show the steel beams in their primed state, some of the beams in my house with their dark chocolate paint and brass bolts, and the large expanse of wall with the glazed roof above.
I’ve put the lights in the pictures, as I have masses of lights in this house I don’t like.
Ever since I moved here, I’ve searched for something better, but all I see is expensive crap more suitable for an Algerian brothel or an Arab’s palace in Mayfair.
So what if I got a length of steel beam about 600 mm long, painted it chocolate and bolted it to the wall with brass bolts. On top could be some LED ropelights and their driver. I could also put ornaments or flowers at each end of the light. I would use IP65 components, so that it didn’t matter if they got wet.
Someone actually pointed out to me that orchids don’t need watering.
I reckon each light would cost about a hundred quid and if I didn’t like the colour, I’d just change the flowers.,
Isn’t designing gardens in the air fun?
Sorting Out My Staircase
I live on the top floor of a two story house in the sun. This is my staircase.
It needs a handrail capping off the glass. The glass is 20 mm thick.
The level bit at the top is 880 mm.
The top slope is 2640 mm long and the bottom is 1310 mm.
As everything is at all sorts of angles, I think it’ll be a nightmare to fit.
I also need a handrail on the wall.
I know that brass will be expensive, but this London mongrel doesn’t want to meet the devil through falling down the stairs. She threw me back once, so she’d probably reject me again!
Where Do Vets Go For Their Christmas Outing?
I’ve just been talking on-line to a vet and their practice is going to see Cats?
I’ve never seen it myself!
In fact, I don’t think I’ve been to a show this year!
I don’t like going alone, as you’ve no-one to talk about it with afterwards.
An Open Letter To Police Commissioner Adrian Leppard
In the article in Friday’s Standard with the front page headline, Force Banks To Fight Web Fraud, you say that the banks must fight web fraud.
I agree that banks must be forced to report all frauds to the Police.
As someone, who has analysed a lot of databases in his time, I know from experience with some of the best consultants in the City, that properly analysed these reports will uncover valuable patterns that will help police locate the perpetrators. The findings should result in sensible advice that would help both the banks and customers.
My worry is that the banks will introduce levels of security, that mean you have to do things like access your bank account with a dongle or install special protection software on your computer. This approach just means that criminals use the new restrictions as new ways to fool clients.
In my view, banks need to think deeply about adding new features to their banking systems for the benefit and protection of customers.
So what would I do?
1. A friend was robbed at a cashpoint and someone took his card and got him to give up his pin at knife-point. I think we should all have an emergency pin, that if typed into a cashpoint, indicates something is wrong. The machine keeps the card and perhaps gives out a minimum amount of money, saying that the client has no funds available.
2. We should be able to set a limit on payments, above which the bank sends us a text message, to say that we’ve just paid £220 to Marks and Spencer. So if say your card details had been stolen, you would at least get an early warning.
3. We should also be able to lock bank accounts. Say you were going away for a month and during that time, you would not be accessing your bank account. You would enter an extra password, which only you would know, that stopped access to your account until it was re-entered.
If banks were to think what customers actually want and not waste their time selling them junk products, we might get a banking system that was fit for purpose and very secure.
Banks should do other things.
1. Some of the work I know was done with my software, allows banks to profile how customers access their accounts. Are they doing enough in this area to fight crime? I doubt it.
2. Banks should also only use systems and programmers based in the UK, as this would mean that those responsible for any serious breaches or problems can have their collar felt.
Personally, I also always access my banking from the same computer, which stays locked in my house and has never left. Those that use apps on their mobile for banking deserve all the trouble they get!
Ladies In Red Hats
When I was in Liverpool Street station, there was a large group of ladies in red hats.
Ladies In Red Hats
It turns out, they were on the way to their Christmas lunch. There is more about Red Hatters here.
This group certainly seemed to be living along with their motto of Live, Love, Laugh.
I am reminded of an old story of my late wife, C.
She used to be a member of the Cameron Group, that visited prisoners in Holloway prison. The prisoners used to refer to some of the visitors of the do-gooder tendency as the Ladies in Pink Hats.
A Beautiful Day For December
Yesterday was sunny.
It’s supposed to be December. Unfortunately, the average temperature was about 4°C.
The Anonymous Widower 