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.
A Brass Band At Spitalfields
It’s good to have read music and this brass band were in Spitalfields.
It reminds me of the time a few years ago, when Ipswich played in Luxembourg and fans were playing musical chairs with a brass band in the main square. Hilarious!
The Spitalfields Snow Dome
Spitalfields have installed a snow dome for the season.
And it’s free to use.
Farage On Breastfeeding
Nigel Farage has been giving his views on breastfeeding, on his phone-in show on LBC. The BBC reports it in full and says this.
“This is just a matter of common sense isn’t it,” he added. “I know particularly people of the older generation feel awkward and embarrassed by it”
As a member of the older generation, I don’t feel awkward and embarrassed by breastfeeding.
But Mr. Farage and his outdated views certainly embarrass me!
Thoughts On Solar Energy
On my trip to Wales on Wednesday, I was surprised at the number of houses and buildings in the valleys that were sporting solar panels.
I was surprised because according to the general view of the Welsh weather, there doesn’t appear to be enough sun. Although to be fair, Wednesday was a day of clear skies and a warm sun.
The cynic in me, asks whether the Welsh government is giving out a big subsidy or there are a lot of aggressive and ultimately successful salesmen about. But as to the latter, the Welsh have never struck me as particularly gullible. They also have a reputation of being rather careful with their money.
So, I have to come to the conclusion that the economics of solar panels must be getting better.
Here, in Central London, you don’t see too many solar panels, although Blackfriars station is roofed with solar panels. Wikipedia says this.
In January 2014 the Blackfriars Railway Bridge became the world’s largest solar-powered bridge having been covered with 4,400 photovoltaic panels providing up to half of the energy for the station.
Blackfriars station is a station that it is a good place to put solar panels.
1. It is an all-electric railway with no polluting smoke from diesel engines, that might damage the panels.
2. The platforms are a long low horizontal building with quite a large roof area.
3. Because of its position on a bridge, Blackfriars station is probably not a prime candidate for building offices or housing on top of the station.
4. Stations are also designed for the long term and I doubt that any major work will be done at Blackfriars for several decades.
I think we’ll be seeing several other stations being given solar roofs if the economics are right. Not all stations have magnificent Victorian train sheds like Kings Cross, Liverpool Lime Street, Paddington and St. Pancras or are candidates for serious oversite development like Euston, Liverpool Street or Marylebone.
Even Sainsburys are getting into the solar game. With supermarkets and other sheds, the adding of solar panels can help to make the stores less dependent on the grid, but I doubt many will last as long as Blackfriars station without a complete rebuild.
It would seem to me that large commercial applications, will have one major effect. They will bring the prices down.
Coupled with technological improvement like this one, we could be entering a virtuous circle for solar energy, as the shorter the payback time, the more likely a company, organisation or individual will invest.
Solar energy as a local power source has a few advantages.
1. As it produces electricity that can be fed back into the grid and the control systems can be very sophisticated, it is a very efficient way of generating and distributing electricity.
2. The drive is on for electrical equipment like lights, washing machines and cookers to use less electricity, which means people are getting used to pay to save energy, thus making the decision to cut energy bills further by installing solar panels easier.
3. Battery technology is getting better and it won’t be long before the sight of small solar powered units which can power the office-in-a garden or other remote sites become very common.
4. There is nothing mechanical to go wrong, as there is with anything to do with the wind.
The only problem that at present seems to hinder the installation of solar panels on buildings, is the attitude of some councils. Getting a better attitude is partly due to better design and sighting, but a bit of government push would help.
Progress Is A Lot Of Small Steps
In Liverpool University’s Insight magazine, there is an article entitled A Surprising New Use For Tofu Ingredient. The details are here on the University’s web site, This is the first paragraph.
The chemical used to make tofu and bath salts could also replace a highly toxic and expensive substance used to make solar cells, a University study published in the journal Nature has revealed.
It appears that a researcher has found that you can replace expensive and highly toxic cadium chloride in solar cells with cheap and safe magnesium chloride.
Small developments like this make me think that the day when I fit solar panels to my flat roof a bit closer.
Zopa Goes With The Flow
This article on CrowdfundInsider talks of a tie-up between a boiler maker; Flow and a peer-to-peer lender; Zopa. This describes the link.
The Flow boiler will be launching in January 2015 and will be available to customers through a new finance package. This will provide a payback time of five years for the complete cost of the boiler. Customers may purchase the Flow boiler using a separate unsecured personal loan via Zopa, with repayments being off-set by reductions in your home energy bill from the value of the electricity generated.
I think we’ll see a lot of deals like this, where two new companies in different fields link up to make two and two add up to six.
This is disruptive innovation at its best.
The Anonymous Widower 