Soon after I joined facebook back in August, I tried an experiment.
I had discovered "groups" on facebook, and joined a few myself. These were either poker-related groups like "gutshot" or ones to do with Bear Stearns like "Equity Division alumni."
It got me thinking that it would be interesting to form a group for those who had played in one or more of the 8 BSPT (Bear Stearns Poker Tour) events.
I could see that quite a few of my friends would qualify for the group, and that probably a good proportion of the "qualifiers" were facebook members.
One approach would have been to invite all those people into the group. This would probably have resulted in quite a strong take-up, and then the long tentacles of facebook could get to work.
I opted for a minimalist approach. I didn't announce the group at all and relied on the idea that someone would notice (from my profile, or those facebook alerts) that the group had been created and that once a couple of people had signed up, it could start the ball rolling.
I was pleased to see that one person did do this - within about 48 hours - but the next step never happened.
It was tempting to now kick off the invites, but I decided to be really patient. I think about 3 months must have passed now with the membership stuck at 2 !
So, I think I will now deem that the experiment in mode1 was a relative failure. It is still possible that it might spark off at any time but I will probably go to mode2 where I invite people to the group and see how quickly and how far that takes things.
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Friday, 19 December 2008
And The Winner Is ...
A post from the poker world here. On 17th December, the world-famous (well, it depends what world you move in) GOSCARS awards were held at The International club.
Awards of a poker nature, obviously. Best tournament player, best "moodies" (that's speech play designed to confuse, intimidate or coax your opponents into making mistakes), best woman player (controversial one that !) and so on.
I was nominated (controversially!) for best internet player, but I actually won in the category of Forum Poster of the Year 2008. To be fair, I did deserve that award on quantity (and grammar) of posts !
Anyway, I am pleased to have won as a little recognition is always welcome no matter how parochial the award.
The evening itself was tremendous fun - firstly the champagne, buffet and awards. Then the Tag-team tournament (I played with Mat) and then the 10 hour PLO session ....
More details now, and more to follow, on Poker Actually.
Awards of a poker nature, obviously. Best tournament player, best "moodies" (that's speech play designed to confuse, intimidate or coax your opponents into making mistakes), best woman player (controversial one that !) and so on.
I was nominated (controversially!) for best internet player, but I actually won in the category of Forum Poster of the Year 2008. To be fair, I did deserve that award on quantity (and grammar) of posts !
Anyway, I am pleased to have won as a little recognition is always welcome no matter how parochial the award.
The evening itself was tremendous fun - firstly the champagne, buffet and awards. Then the Tag-team tournament (I played with Mat) and then the 10 hour PLO session ....
More details now, and more to follow, on Poker Actually.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
No Further Interest
So, the US Fed has cut official interest rates to zero. The BoE has been cutting like there's no tomorrow (they may be right about that).
I am not an economist, but as far as I can imagine this will not work.
They are obviously all following the mantra "desparate times call for desparation".
Or perhaps they just want to be seen to be doing something. Now, of course, they have left themselves with nothing more that they can do.
I can empathise with their collective desire to do this, but I'm still a bit surprised.
Firstly, it obviously hurts savers and pensions considerably and that's not a good thing.
Secondly, it is far from obvious that it helps anyone that much when it is the availability of credit, not the price of it, that is the problem.
Insofar as the price of credit is a concern, lowering the official rate does not directly help anyway. The actual rate at which individuals and companies borrow is far divorced from the base rate and to a great extent, cutting the base rate just de facto increases that gap.
Inasmuch as the cut is designed to help/encourage people to borrow money, it's not entirely obvious that it's a valid aim as all economies need to reduce borrowing dramatically.
Meanwhile, the cut doesn't necessarily help the banks that much if the real objective is to make them lend money at extremely low rates. It may help them carry their assets at a less punitive rate, I suppose but only if credit is more available (not likely to be a direct result) or if they can borrow from the Government at the new lower official rates (more likely).
The US market jumped on the rate cut yesterday, which is the usual first reaction to a rate cut. I would be surprised if that rally lasts a single day.
About the only way this cut actually works directly is that it does lower the outgoings of most mortgage borrowers, so it operates as a Government subsidy to all those households and that will have some impact, just like the VAT cut makes some impact. Like that cut, however, it leaves a big headache for later.
Overall, this move seems to me to indicate a state of denial. The assumption is that the credit problem can be fixed by dramatic steps whereas in fact it's mainly going to take time. About the best that can be said for this approach is that it might possibly shorten the time it takes, although I have a feeling it might do the opposite !
I am not an economist, but as far as I can imagine this will not work.
They are obviously all following the mantra "desparate times call for desparation".
Or perhaps they just want to be seen to be doing something. Now, of course, they have left themselves with nothing more that they can do.
I can empathise with their collective desire to do this, but I'm still a bit surprised.
Firstly, it obviously hurts savers and pensions considerably and that's not a good thing.
Secondly, it is far from obvious that it helps anyone that much when it is the availability of credit, not the price of it, that is the problem.
Insofar as the price of credit is a concern, lowering the official rate does not directly help anyway. The actual rate at which individuals and companies borrow is far divorced from the base rate and to a great extent, cutting the base rate just de facto increases that gap.
Inasmuch as the cut is designed to help/encourage people to borrow money, it's not entirely obvious that it's a valid aim as all economies need to reduce borrowing dramatically.
Meanwhile, the cut doesn't necessarily help the banks that much if the real objective is to make them lend money at extremely low rates. It may help them carry their assets at a less punitive rate, I suppose but only if credit is more available (not likely to be a direct result) or if they can borrow from the Government at the new lower official rates (more likely).
The US market jumped on the rate cut yesterday, which is the usual first reaction to a rate cut. I would be surprised if that rally lasts a single day.
About the only way this cut actually works directly is that it does lower the outgoings of most mortgage borrowers, so it operates as a Government subsidy to all those households and that will have some impact, just like the VAT cut makes some impact. Like that cut, however, it leaves a big headache for later.
Overall, this move seems to me to indicate a state of denial. The assumption is that the credit problem can be fixed by dramatic steps whereas in fact it's mainly going to take time. About the best that can be said for this approach is that it might possibly shorten the time it takes, although I have a feeling it might do the opposite !
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Snow Business
This is the Christmas Snowman that has been passed down in Karen's family for three generations so far. It is still the original snowman (in somewhat the same sense that Trigger's broom in Only Fools and Horses was still the same one he had for 20 years).
Last year, I understand Hazel performed a cotton-wool graft.
This year, I have just completed a base transplant and also HRS (hat reconstruction surgery) whereby the hat was stripped to its components and re-assembled using original crepe bindings that were salvaged during the base-change operation.
With luck and TLC, the Gough Snowman may survive a few more decades !
Last year, I understand Hazel performed a cotton-wool graft.
This year, I have just completed a base transplant and also HRS (hat reconstruction surgery) whereby the hat was stripped to its components and re-assembled using original crepe bindings that were salvaged during the base-change operation.
With luck and TLC, the Gough Snowman may survive a few more decades !
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Out on the tiles
Lately, there has been little excuse not to tackle some loose ends of a DIY nature around the house. One such niggle has been the floor tiles in the kitchen/utility. The sound made each time a cat stepped on a loose corner was a regular reminder that some were no longer secure.
Using a toilet plunger as a makeshift tester, I discovered that a total of 20 tiles (in sections of 2, 4 and 14) were in need of attention.
Perhaps I should have opted for the "quick-fix" - a few dabs of some wonder glue. However, the existing tile cement was very brittle, so it seemed only right to remove it all and re-do it properly. How hard could it be ?
As usual, I had underestimated the great complexity of all-things-DIY. So many different tile adhesives, with only the merest clues at what the real and important differences might be. The wrong kind of notches on trowels. The difficulty of measuring a "thick and creamy consistency" for the cement mixture.
However, the re-fixing of the smaller sections seemed to go smoothly. I was going along well with the 14-tile section when, with 2 left, I found I was 2mm out at the end of the row. These porcelain tiles are rock-hard so 2mm might as well have been 2 feet. No way were the last two going in, and the rest of the tiles were too firmly fixed to budge.
It was a major conundrum !
In the end, the least-worst option seemed to be to take up all 12 tiles and start again. At this point, I was hoping for the quantum theory of glue to work in my favour. That's where you want glue to be unbreakable when you want the thing to hold together, but for it to be easily unstuck when you want to pull it apart !
No such luck, although it could have been worse. Just about 6 hours to chip away all the new-old cement and do the whole thing from scratch !
The finished tiles can now be viewed on location in Bedford.
Using a toilet plunger as a makeshift tester, I discovered that a total of 20 tiles (in sections of 2, 4 and 14) were in need of attention.
Perhaps I should have opted for the "quick-fix" - a few dabs of some wonder glue. However, the existing tile cement was very brittle, so it seemed only right to remove it all and re-do it properly. How hard could it be ?
As usual, I had underestimated the great complexity of all-things-DIY. So many different tile adhesives, with only the merest clues at what the real and important differences might be. The wrong kind of notches on trowels. The difficulty of measuring a "thick and creamy consistency" for the cement mixture.
However, the re-fixing of the smaller sections seemed to go smoothly. I was going along well with the 14-tile section when, with 2 left, I found I was 2mm out at the end of the row. These porcelain tiles are rock-hard so 2mm might as well have been 2 feet. No way were the last two going in, and the rest of the tiles were too firmly fixed to budge.
It was a major conundrum !
In the end, the least-worst option seemed to be to take up all 12 tiles and start again. At this point, I was hoping for the quantum theory of glue to work in my favour. That's where you want glue to be unbreakable when you want the thing to hold together, but for it to be easily unstuck when you want to pull it apart !
No such luck, although it could have been worse. Just about 6 hours to chip away all the new-old cement and do the whole thing from scratch !
The finished tiles can now be viewed on location in Bedford.
Saturday, 1 November 2008
Thumbs Up
Matt has been adding bulges as the training regime for rowing makes an impact. However, he has recently been suffering from a bump in the wrong place. The cause of his infected thumb has been variously attributed to biting his nails and/or the duck-poo laden waters of Bedford's river.
In any case, we hope the antibiotics prescribed today will see amputation being averted.
Monday, 29 September 2008
3 and 2, and 1
Yesterday was the third "Brickhill golf" game. The first was back on FA Cup Final day when 6 of the "Brickhill dads" turned out to play 18 holes at Mowsbury organized by Derek.
Actually - Derek, Andy & I played 18 whilst Len, Alan and Boz skived off after 9 on that occasion.
In the game that went all the way, Derek beat me by about 3 shots or 2 holes despite a rearguard effort by myself.
On the second occasion, which I arranged, everyone but Derek and I dropped out before tee-off ! Derek had been taking lessons and they obviously worked, as he crushed me.
This time, I intended to do better but my poor matchplay skills were to the fore. Derek played a solid opening three holes - easily going two up before I halved in 5 at the 3rd. He then played a poor 4th hole and I (just) managed to win one back. I parred the 5th to square the match.
Now Derek handed me a golden opportunity - he scored 8-7-10 on holes 6 through 8 and I managed to win only one of those !
When Derek parred the 9th, he took a 1 hole lead into the back 9 where it was actually very close in a matchplay situation but a poor 13th hole from me saw me fall 2 behind with 5 to play.
Derek finally wrapped the mach up with a 5 on the 16th for victory 3&2.
It was now fairly dark (we had teed off at 3:15 at the twilight rate). Derek had left his glasses at home so was playing in prescription sunglasses, so he had only the dimmest view of what now happened at the dead-rubber 17th.
It's a downhill 162 Yard par3 and Derek opted for an optimistic 9-iron which went slightly left and well short.
I looked at the card and the flag and the dramatic drop to the green and my first thought as usual is "no way is that 160 yards, looks like a sandwedge to me" but I know from experience that usually the numbers don't lie and that my efforts to get there with the lofted club often result in a half-way landing.
With a big green and no particular danger behind, I opted for a 7-iron. I assume I can hit a 7-iron 145 yards which seemed in theory the right distance with the flag at the front.
It would not be unfair to say my tee-hitting was poor on the day. Perhaps the pressure was off, or the knowledge that I had plenty of club allowed me to swing more comfortably. In any case, it was a beautiful strike - it sounded great, it was dead straight, and it soared up beautifully in the way it's supposed to. It looked like it would go for miles.
"Back of the green" declared Derek (whose ball-spotting skills are not the greatest !)
I followed the ball as it descended almost vertically and seemed to make landfall just at the very front edge and in the gloom rolled out of sight but apparently in great shape. Clear birdie shout.
"Hole in one" I countered.
We made our way down and as we passed Derek's ball 20yards short of the front-edge, there was still no sign of my ball on the green.
Now, how many times have you thought "I can't see it, it must be in the hole".
I asked Derek to accompany me to the flag. Even now I couldn't tell you whether I really thought it was in but - yes - unbelievably there it was.
Hole 17, Mowsbury Golf Course at 18:45 on 28th September 2008. Won in One.
I held up the ball for the imaginary crowds to cheer.
After that, it didn't seem worth playing the 18th. Doubtful whether it's ever worth playing again !
Actually - Derek, Andy & I played 18 whilst Len, Alan and Boz skived off after 9 on that occasion.
In the game that went all the way, Derek beat me by about 3 shots or 2 holes despite a rearguard effort by myself.
On the second occasion, which I arranged, everyone but Derek and I dropped out before tee-off ! Derek had been taking lessons and they obviously worked, as he crushed me.
This time, I intended to do better but my poor matchplay skills were to the fore. Derek played a solid opening three holes - easily going two up before I halved in 5 at the 3rd. He then played a poor 4th hole and I (just) managed to win one back. I parred the 5th to square the match.
Now Derek handed me a golden opportunity - he scored 8-7-10 on holes 6 through 8 and I managed to win only one of those !
When Derek parred the 9th, he took a 1 hole lead into the back 9 where it was actually very close in a matchplay situation but a poor 13th hole from me saw me fall 2 behind with 5 to play.
Derek finally wrapped the mach up with a 5 on the 16th for victory 3&2.
It was now fairly dark (we had teed off at 3:15 at the twilight rate). Derek had left his glasses at home so was playing in prescription sunglasses, so he had only the dimmest view of what now happened at the dead-rubber 17th.
It's a downhill 162 Yard par3 and Derek opted for an optimistic 9-iron which went slightly left and well short.
I looked at the card and the flag and the dramatic drop to the green and my first thought as usual is "no way is that 160 yards, looks like a sandwedge to me" but I know from experience that usually the numbers don't lie and that my efforts to get there with the lofted club often result in a half-way landing.
With a big green and no particular danger behind, I opted for a 7-iron. I assume I can hit a 7-iron 145 yards which seemed in theory the right distance with the flag at the front.
It would not be unfair to say my tee-hitting was poor on the day. Perhaps the pressure was off, or the knowledge that I had plenty of club allowed me to swing more comfortably. In any case, it was a beautiful strike - it sounded great, it was dead straight, and it soared up beautifully in the way it's supposed to. It looked like it would go for miles.
"Back of the green" declared Derek (whose ball-spotting skills are not the greatest !)
I followed the ball as it descended almost vertically and seemed to make landfall just at the very front edge and in the gloom rolled out of sight but apparently in great shape. Clear birdie shout.
"Hole in one" I countered.
We made our way down and as we passed Derek's ball 20yards short of the front-edge, there was still no sign of my ball on the green.
Now, how many times have you thought "I can't see it, it must be in the hole".
I asked Derek to accompany me to the flag. Even now I couldn't tell you whether I really thought it was in but - yes - unbelievably there it was.
Hole 17, Mowsbury Golf Course at 18:45 on 28th September 2008. Won in One.
I held up the ball for the imaginary crowds to cheer.
After that, it didn't seem worth playing the 18th. Doubtful whether it's ever worth playing again !
Monday, 22 September 2008
Facing Up
I have 100 friends on facebook as of today ! Since this is plainly considerably more than my number of real friends, what is going on ?
Well, unlike some people on facebook, I can say that I know all 100 of these people (and they know me) but I don't send them all Christmas cards !
I started out with one friend when someone invited me to be their friend. I then invited a handful of people. Then the whole facebook effect kicked in when friends of friends who knew me invited me to be their friends too. I had a much lower "hurdle" for accepting a friend request than initiating one.
Eventually, as the numbers grew, I too started inviting people as friends who were more like acquaintances with common interests.
So it goes on, and here we are. There are 100 Million facebook users, so I guess there is still some room for my list to grow !
Well, unlike some people on facebook, I can say that I know all 100 of these people (and they know me) but I don't send them all Christmas cards !
I started out with one friend when someone invited me to be their friend. I then invited a handful of people. Then the whole facebook effect kicked in when friends of friends who knew me invited me to be their friends too. I had a much lower "hurdle" for accepting a friend request than initiating one.
Eventually, as the numbers grew, I too started inviting people as friends who were more like acquaintances with common interests.
So it goes on, and here we are. There are 100 Million facebook users, so I guess there is still some room for my list to grow !
Friday, 5 September 2008
Statistically Speaking
So, the anecdotal eveidence that we are the only people in Britain who bought a new car has been confirmed by official reports of the latest car sales figures.
The news announced these as catastophic. I read more about it with interest in The Times today.
However, I discovered that (as all too often today) the stats are presented in a misleading and ultimately uninformative way.
I read that the sales of several marques are down 50 - 70% - they're listed out. But, those turn out to be the changes from July to August. With September (and new reg) just around the corner, obviously August will lag July.
Are these drop-offs much worse than usual ? Undoubtedly, but we have no idea by how much.
What we need are Year-on-Year figures, clearly, but these are not given anywhere.
We are told that the August figures compare in a shockingly bad way with August (so same month) figures from way back into the 1960s. That is certainly striking, but of course in the past, August was a bumper month as new registrations began on 1st August - it was the peak month. Now, presumably, it is routinely the lowest month as it is the month PRIOR to the new registration AND in the summer lull.
So, the comparison would have to be taken with great circumspection.
It's a shame that the real story - which most likely is bleak enough in plain fact - is so obscured by a clearly faulty presentation.
What I find even more frustrating is when journalists use completely false statistical or logical inference because they don't comprehend what is going on (whereas in this case, I am sure it was done for sensationalism which is at least understandable even if not necessarily desirable).
I think this may have overtaken my previous top irritation - reporting of news and especially of announcements before it has actually happened.
The news announced these as catastophic. I read more about it with interest in The Times today.
However, I discovered that (as all too often today) the stats are presented in a misleading and ultimately uninformative way.
I read that the sales of several marques are down 50 - 70% - they're listed out. But, those turn out to be the changes from July to August. With September (and new reg) just around the corner, obviously August will lag July.
Are these drop-offs much worse than usual ? Undoubtedly, but we have no idea by how much.
What we need are Year-on-Year figures, clearly, but these are not given anywhere.
We are told that the August figures compare in a shockingly bad way with August (so same month) figures from way back into the 1960s. That is certainly striking, but of course in the past, August was a bumper month as new registrations began on 1st August - it was the peak month. Now, presumably, it is routinely the lowest month as it is the month PRIOR to the new registration AND in the summer lull.
So, the comparison would have to be taken with great circumspection.
It's a shame that the real story - which most likely is bleak enough in plain fact - is so obscured by a clearly faulty presentation.
What I find even more frustrating is when journalists use completely false statistical or logical inference because they don't comprehend what is going on (whereas in this case, I am sure it was done for sensationalism which is at least understandable even if not necessarily desirable).
I think this may have overtaken my previous top irritation - reporting of news and especially of announcements before it has actually happened.
Going to Lapland
My desktop PC recently went into a sudden, deep and seemingly irrecoverable downwards spiral. With 4 PCS, 3 laptops, 2 internet-enabled XBOXs, 2 network printers as well as the occasional PSP etc. on our home network, I am used to trying to bring things back to life.
Generally the process involves a good deal of trial and error and, despite the incredible change in power and sophistication of the machinery, a lot of the techniques I use date back to the pre-microsoft days or even earlier.
Almost always a machine can eventually be recovered or repaired but in this case, the thing seems to be in quite a state. It won't even run properly in windows safe mode. It appears to be software-linked though, not a true hardware fault. My suspicions centre on Norton Internet Security as having triggered the decline.
I have chosen to give up and decided instead to install my laptop as the main computing centre. This has one big advantage of course in that there is no copying from one to the other.
So, after a few hours of feng shui, I have my laptop on my desk in place of one of the screens and it's wired up in all directions. Just add mouse, keyboard, screen,printer, power lead and speakers !
It seems to be working well.
I have also discovered the joys of internet radio. I am listening to Radio 4 streamed live on the iPlayer - very convenient.
Generally the process involves a good deal of trial and error and, despite the incredible change in power and sophistication of the machinery, a lot of the techniques I use date back to the pre-microsoft days or even earlier.
Almost always a machine can eventually be recovered or repaired but in this case, the thing seems to be in quite a state. It won't even run properly in windows safe mode. It appears to be software-linked though, not a true hardware fault. My suspicions centre on Norton Internet Security as having triggered the decline.
I have chosen to give up and decided instead to install my laptop as the main computing centre. This has one big advantage of course in that there is no copying from one to the other.
So, after a few hours of feng shui, I have my laptop on my desk in place of one of the screens and it's wired up in all directions. Just add mouse, keyboard, screen,printer, power lead and speakers !
It seems to be working well.
I have also discovered the joys of internet radio. I am listening to Radio 4 streamed live on the iPlayer - very convenient.
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Highway Robbery
We have our new cars. After quite a long wait when we heard nothing at all from Ford (the salesperson left the company and there was apparently some mix up in communication) they seemed to arrive quite suddenly.
Meanwhile, selling the BMW was not quite as straightforward as I imagined, with no dealers really wanting to buy it. Each time that I managed to actually speak with a trade buyer, they were increasingly bearish about the market to the point that my expectations were rock botom.
I was close to selling it even at their depressed bid level when a genuine private buyer showed up on the scene. He obviously could spot a bargain when he saw one, so although he paid more than the dealers were offering, there is little doubt who got the better deal.
Meanwhile, selling the BMW was not quite as straightforward as I imagined, with no dealers really wanting to buy it. Each time that I managed to actually speak with a trade buyer, they were increasingly bearish about the market to the point that my expectations were rock botom.
I was close to selling it even at their depressed bid level when a genuine private buyer showed up on the scene. He obviously could spot a bargain when he saw one, so although he paid more than the dealers were offering, there is little doubt who got the better deal.
Monday, 1 September 2008
Getting It
As a recent user of facebook, I must say I am remain impressed and am probably hooked on it. Seeing first hand how my own community of friends has rapidly evolved in the space of a few days, it is so easy to see how the network grew exponentially. In fact, I see today that they just passed 100 Milion members.
As well as the rapid growth in my own network, I can actually see how my “friends” are linking up with each other so there is a huge multiplier effect going on as well.
Facebook is one of those applications that you have to use to “get it”. It’s been around for a while and it’s not like I haven’t heard of it before. I just did not understand why it would be interesting. And, remember, I am not exactly a technophobe and I am already an active user of SMS, IM and indeed online forums. But, still, it was only when I actually got started that I saw the attraction.
It’s a bit like eBay in that way. When eBay came into existence (at around the same time as Yahoo and Amazon) I thought it was the least plausible of all of them. Online carboot sale ? Who cares ? Once we tried it out, we were converts!
My friends list has grown from 1 to 55 (and still rising) in 5 days. I have been fairly strict about adding Friends. Obviously I realise that the test for what constitutes a “friend” is not as strong as in the real world although I certainly know all my “friends” personally and I haven’t invited anyone as a friend whom I don’t know reasonably well. I suppose my test is something like whether I would actively accost them in a crowded room to say hello and catch up (even if superficially). It’s not as strong as would I invite them to a party.
It’s clear, though, that most people must use a still weaker test – something approximately equivalent to a passing acquaintance or “friend of a friend”. I have been more willing to accept a request FROM someone than to initiate the request. I would not be at all surprised if I migrate towards the common standard over time. If I did so, I can easily see how I would have 200+
As well as the rapid growth in my own network, I can actually see how my “friends” are linking up with each other so there is a huge multiplier effect going on as well.
Facebook is one of those applications that you have to use to “get it”. It’s been around for a while and it’s not like I haven’t heard of it before. I just did not understand why it would be interesting. And, remember, I am not exactly a technophobe and I am already an active user of SMS, IM and indeed online forums. But, still, it was only when I actually got started that I saw the attraction.
It’s a bit like eBay in that way. When eBay came into existence (at around the same time as Yahoo and Amazon) I thought it was the least plausible of all of them. Online carboot sale ? Who cares ? Once we tried it out, we were converts!
My friends list has grown from 1 to 55 (and still rising) in 5 days. I have been fairly strict about adding Friends. Obviously I realise that the test for what constitutes a “friend” is not as strong as in the real world although I certainly know all my “friends” personally and I haven’t invited anyone as a friend whom I don’t know reasonably well. I suppose my test is something like whether I would actively accost them in a crowded room to say hello and catch up (even if superficially). It’s not as strong as would I invite them to a party.
It’s clear, though, that most people must use a still weaker test – something approximately equivalent to a passing acquaintance or “friend of a friend”. I have been more willing to accept a request FROM someone than to initiate the request. I would not be at all surprised if I migrate towards the common standard over time. If I did so, I can easily see how I would have 200+
Sunday, 31 August 2008
And The Winner Is ...
What is the most annoying thing ? I think on the whole I am quite easy going and accepting of the status quo. As a counterbalance, when I find something annoying, I usually find it doubly so (or more).
Recent contenders have been TomTom’s online service, or the difficulty of finding anything to actually buy with Airline frequent flyer miles, or crashing PCs.
But at the moment it has to be franchised car dealerships.
We need to sell my BMW as our Fords are arriving shortly. One of the merits of a BMW is supposed to be strong residual values. In my case, I purchased it new from the local main dealer, had it serviced and repaired there throughout and been their “valued customer” apparently.
I’m not necessarily looking to squeeze the last ounce of value out of the car, so I’d be happy enough to see them earn their bid-offer spread. So, I call them.
They won’t even entertain buying it.
In fact, the switchboard won’t even put me through to the buyer. It makes me furious. How meaningless is “strong residuals” if they won’t buy it at any price ?
It’s enough to make me say “I’d never buy a BMW again” and to mentally pen a strong letter of indignation to their managing director.
I probably will fire off a “furious of Bedford” but the reality is that they’re all as bad as each other. Mercedes, I find, are just as hard of hearing when it comes to the S-word on an S-class and after I rang every BMW dealer within 40 miles of Bedford, I found that Elms were actually not alone in being sellers only.
I find it somewhat ironic that when I was in the business of selling complex financial products, we would not have dreamt of leaving buyers without a buyback price, but such an everyday item as a BMW is apparently unsellable to a dealer in, um, BMWs.
Recent contenders have been TomTom’s online service, or the difficulty of finding anything to actually buy with Airline frequent flyer miles, or crashing PCs.
But at the moment it has to be franchised car dealerships.
We need to sell my BMW as our Fords are arriving shortly. One of the merits of a BMW is supposed to be strong residual values. In my case, I purchased it new from the local main dealer, had it serviced and repaired there throughout and been their “valued customer” apparently.
I’m not necessarily looking to squeeze the last ounce of value out of the car, so I’d be happy enough to see them earn their bid-offer spread. So, I call them.
They won’t even entertain buying it.
In fact, the switchboard won’t even put me through to the buyer. It makes me furious. How meaningless is “strong residuals” if they won’t buy it at any price ?
It’s enough to make me say “I’d never buy a BMW again” and to mentally pen a strong letter of indignation to their managing director.
I probably will fire off a “furious of Bedford” but the reality is that they’re all as bad as each other. Mercedes, I find, are just as hard of hearing when it comes to the S-word on an S-class and after I rang every BMW dealer within 40 miles of Bedford, I found that Elms were actually not alone in being sellers only.
I find it somewhat ironic that when I was in the business of selling complex financial products, we would not have dreamt of leaving buyers without a buyback price, but such an everyday item as a BMW is apparently unsellable to a dealer in, um, BMWs.
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Money Laundering
It finally happened. Apparently, according to Karen, I am a terror for leaving hankerchiefs in my pockets. This time, dumping my wet and muddy jeans (we’d been fishing you see) in the basket, I neglected to remove my wallet.
Powder, softener, water, 1200rpm spin and a tumble-dry later, the black thing emerged just before it was subjected to ironing.
My “H-bomb” business cards and the more sobre “Howard V. Smith” versions were reduced to black and white sludge respectively. The £10 and £20 notes held up reasonably well although they had taken on new darker hues and looked like high quality fakes now. My driving license came through quite well, as did my Spanish fishing license (good to see it is long lasting having taken so much effort to acquire).
The credit cards, our flexible friends, proved indeed “flexible”. They had been moulded into the more rounded shape of my well-worn wallet. My guthot gold card was the worst-off – caked in a paper mache of washed and dried business cards, and a bit shrivelled. But I feared the worst for the rest of them – hard to believe the magnetic identities would survive wash & blow-dry.
However, I tried them all in the ATMs and they seem to be OK. I swapped the slightly damp notes in the bank for new ones and we’re good to go. Apparently I can get a new driving license online easily enough if it seems necessary.
In passing, I would mention that I was impressed with the NatWest branch. Obviously not a difficult transaction but I observed as I queued up that the staff there seemed to handle all the transactions for those in front confidently. In my case, the cashier knew how to handle defaced notes and I luckily knew enough about modern money laundering concerns to have ID with me.
So, impressed with NatWest – I always have a soft spot for them of course having worked there way back when. That, and the fact that the comparisons with Nationwide (not a bank, and it shows) and BBVA In Spain (Spanish, heaven help us) are pretty easy ones !
Powder, softener, water, 1200rpm spin and a tumble-dry later, the black thing emerged just before it was subjected to ironing.
My “H-bomb” business cards and the more sobre “Howard V. Smith” versions were reduced to black and white sludge respectively. The £10 and £20 notes held up reasonably well although they had taken on new darker hues and looked like high quality fakes now. My driving license came through quite well, as did my Spanish fishing license (good to see it is long lasting having taken so much effort to acquire).
The credit cards, our flexible friends, proved indeed “flexible”. They had been moulded into the more rounded shape of my well-worn wallet. My guthot gold card was the worst-off – caked in a paper mache of washed and dried business cards, and a bit shrivelled. But I feared the worst for the rest of them – hard to believe the magnetic identities would survive wash & blow-dry.
However, I tried them all in the ATMs and they seem to be OK. I swapped the slightly damp notes in the bank for new ones and we’re good to go. Apparently I can get a new driving license online easily enough if it seems necessary.
In passing, I would mention that I was impressed with the NatWest branch. Obviously not a difficult transaction but I observed as I queued up that the staff there seemed to handle all the transactions for those in front confidently. In my case, the cashier knew how to handle defaced notes and I luckily knew enough about modern money laundering concerns to have ID with me.
So, impressed with NatWest – I always have a soft spot for them of course having worked there way back when. That, and the fact that the comparisons with Nationwide (not a bank, and it shows) and BBVA In Spain (Spanish, heaven help us) are pretty easy ones !
Friday, 29 August 2008
Aliens Have Landed
Peace is shattered at #54 as a UFO (Unscheduled Friends Onslaught) arrives on the doorstep.
Peace breaks out again as the visitors from Outer Bedfordshire take Matt away from his noisy games and into the unusual activities of talking and playing in the garden.
It turns out the unexpected and unfamiliar visitors are in fact a related species called Girls.
The 3 girls (plus accompanying boys) stay a few hours before disappearing as quickly as they came.
Are we alone ? In fact we rarely are these days as the boys' friends become ever more mobile.
Peace breaks out again as the visitors from Outer Bedfordshire take Matt away from his noisy games and into the unusual activities of talking and playing in the garden.
It turns out the unexpected and unfamiliar visitors are in fact a related species called Girls.
The 3 girls (plus accompanying boys) stay a few hours before disappearing as quickly as they came.
Are we alone ? In fact we rarely are these days as the boys' friends become ever more mobile.
Saturday, 23 August 2008
On the face of it
Back in the UK now after what seems like a very long holiday in LA. Actually, it really was quite a long holiday by usual standards - 17 nights plus travelling.
No real poker to speak of in that period. I played a bit of limit hold'em as per my previous post and whereas my initial thoughts that Limit Poker is better than nothing, my revised opinion is that No Limit Hold'em >> No Hold'em >> Limit Hold'em.
I am sure that Limit Poker is a very interesting and skilful game in theory but a combination of inexperienced dealers, low stakes, slow play and high rake made it a really painful thing. I did win on the first night (the players were awful, which certainly helped). I lost on the second night and by the third time I played it was pretty clear that I had lost the required patience and in fact I moved over to the Blackjack table where at least I could move "all in" so to speak.
I didn't play online at all whilst I was away. I could have, in principle. Gutshot is open in the States, as is pokerstars of course. However, I didn't even try.
I was relatively out of touch with the gutshot forum as well - which is unusual for me.
Today, though, will be a super-charged shot of poker. I am going into London to the club to play in the £500 main event of this week's"GSOP" (Gutshot Series of Poker). As the name implies, it is modelled on its lesser-known cousin, the WSOP.
What this means in practice is a very good structure - I think it is 20,000 chips with a 90 minute clock and the same blinds structure as the WSOP main event. So the main differences are - 90mins instead of 2hr clock (a small concession to practicality !), 100 players instead of 6,000 (!!) and of course a much higher standard !
I have to expect the field to be stuffed full of high quality players. It is generally recognised that the gutshot events attract a lot of good players, and in these high buy-in events (£500 is high for the venue and of course not exactly low by any meaure) there is a real fish shortage.
Usually in a gutshot tourney I rate myself slightly above average (say 60th percentile). In this field, I think I am solidly in the bottom 1/3rd, probably towards the very bottom. Will have to see what I can do. The hope is that the occasion will bring out my best game !
Being out of the country for nearly 3 weeks means I have some catching up to do on things - I had about 50 emails (I had email access whilst I was away - I just didn't deal with any but obviously urgent things). One was a facebook invitation from someone I know at the club.
I only have a facebook account becuase #1 son (Matt) asked me to try something out on there. I had no intention of joining the facebook world. I strongly suspect I could waste a lot of time on there.
Still, I knew the person and thought it not unreasonable that they add me as a friend, so I duly clicked. Less than 24 hours later, I have over 20 friends and rising fast. I have not really taken any positive action, but already I have a front page burtsing with activity !
So far I must say I am very impressed with the look & feel and the usability of the site. I can easily see why it is so popular.
Unsurprisingly, 90% of my "friends" so far are poker players I know from the club. I have a few requests from people I don't know (friends of friends, literally). So far I am resisiting the temptation to just add all and sundry ! I believe there is an option to befriend all friends of friends automatically (they still have to agree of course). I reckon if I did this, I could have 1,000 friends before the weekend is out !
So back to the poker. As I mentioned, I have not played for a month or so. I am not sure quite how this will affect my game. I hope it does not make m impatient for action because one certainty is that patience will be a minimum requirement for success this weekend. It's a 3-day event, so my first objective is to give myself the best possible chance to make day2 for the first time ever.
I have booked 2 nights in my hotel - I hope the poker gods see this as good karma rather than hubris ! It's mainly just practicality of course.
Wish me luck !
No real poker to speak of in that period. I played a bit of limit hold'em as per my previous post and whereas my initial thoughts that Limit Poker is better than nothing, my revised opinion is that No Limit Hold'em >> No Hold'em >> Limit Hold'em.
I am sure that Limit Poker is a very interesting and skilful game in theory but a combination of inexperienced dealers, low stakes, slow play and high rake made it a really painful thing. I did win on the first night (the players were awful, which certainly helped). I lost on the second night and by the third time I played it was pretty clear that I had lost the required patience and in fact I moved over to the Blackjack table where at least I could move "all in" so to speak.
I didn't play online at all whilst I was away. I could have, in principle. Gutshot is open in the States, as is pokerstars of course. However, I didn't even try.
I was relatively out of touch with the gutshot forum as well - which is unusual for me.
Today, though, will be a super-charged shot of poker. I am going into London to the club to play in the £500 main event of this week's"GSOP" (Gutshot Series of Poker). As the name implies, it is modelled on its lesser-known cousin, the WSOP.
What this means in practice is a very good structure - I think it is 20,000 chips with a 90 minute clock and the same blinds structure as the WSOP main event. So the main differences are - 90mins instead of 2hr clock (a small concession to practicality !), 100 players instead of 6,000 (!!) and of course a much higher standard !
I have to expect the field to be stuffed full of high quality players. It is generally recognised that the gutshot events attract a lot of good players, and in these high buy-in events (£500 is high for the venue and of course not exactly low by any meaure) there is a real fish shortage.
Usually in a gutshot tourney I rate myself slightly above average (say 60th percentile). In this field, I think I am solidly in the bottom 1/3rd, probably towards the very bottom. Will have to see what I can do. The hope is that the occasion will bring out my best game !
Being out of the country for nearly 3 weeks means I have some catching up to do on things - I had about 50 emails (I had email access whilst I was away - I just didn't deal with any but obviously urgent things). One was a facebook invitation from someone I know at the club.
I only have a facebook account becuase #1 son (Matt) asked me to try something out on there. I had no intention of joining the facebook world. I strongly suspect I could waste a lot of time on there.
Still, I knew the person and thought it not unreasonable that they add me as a friend, so I duly clicked. Less than 24 hours later, I have over 20 friends and rising fast. I have not really taken any positive action, but already I have a front page burtsing with activity !
So far I must say I am very impressed with the look & feel and the usability of the site. I can easily see why it is so popular.
Unsurprisingly, 90% of my "friends" so far are poker players I know from the club. I have a few requests from people I don't know (friends of friends, literally). So far I am resisiting the temptation to just add all and sundry ! I believe there is an option to befriend all friends of friends automatically (they still have to agree of course). I reckon if I did this, I could have 1,000 friends before the weekend is out !
So back to the poker. As I mentioned, I have not played for a month or so. I am not sure quite how this will affect my game. I hope it does not make m impatient for action because one certainty is that patience will be a minimum requirement for success this weekend. It's a 3-day event, so my first objective is to give myself the best possible chance to make day2 for the first time ever.
I have booked 2 nights in my hotel - I hope the poker gods see this as good karma rather than hubris ! It's mainly just practicality of course.
Wish me luck !
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Surfing USA
Time really flies, and no sooner had Harry turned 12 – ensuring he qualified for adult airline fares – than we were at BA’s new Terminal 5 and onto Los Angeles.
A long but trouble-free journey later, we picked up our rental car. We had chosen a “large” car to accommodate all our luggage. This turned out to be a Ford Crown Victoria – a vehicle designed in the era that style forgot. Quite astoundingly ugly. Why did Avis stock this model ? I imagine, in practical terms, if they didn’t buy them then no one would.
Nevertheless, it went forwards, backwards, left and right and after a while was comfortingly quiet and homely. We negotiated a head-on conflict between what our sat-nav said and what common sense and road-signs said, and found our beach-house with only minor amounts of wrong-way turns and no actual traffic offences.
The house – one street back from the main Santa Monica beach – was a bit haphazard in layout, but large and well appointed. Some of the contents were very popular – for example the working vintage pinball machine and the 60” plasma TV.
The owners had stocked the property up with pretty much everything one wants or needs, but some things American still puzzle me greatly. The nation that put a man on the moon does not seem to have grasped the usefulness of an electric kettle or – even more bizarrely – the electric toaster. A gas kettle is – to my mind – massively inferior to its electric cousin. And the peculiar toast-enabled table-top “oven” thingy was just ridiculous.
And why is it that the main appliances are always so big and clunky ? The oven, dishwasher and washing machines were clearly styled (like most American models it seems) by Fisher Price. Definitely Europe 1 – USA 0 in the style stakes.
Three Men and One Wheel
On the first full day, Matt, Harry and I took out some bikes. Well, after discussion, Harry and I set out on a tandem whilst Matt opted for a skateboard.
Matt held on to the tandem to get a tow, and I did most or all of the actual pedalling. Something was not quite right, though! After some process of elimination, the cause was found. The front wheel was so loose that it was on the point of actually falling off. A pit-stop later, we resumed on a one man/one bike basis and enjoyed the 5-mile bike path in the Malibu direction.
Later all four of us checked out the pier. We saw one person fishing and wondered if that was allowed. We proceeded further along and ran into a hundred fishermen. Clearly, yes. We opted to buy rather than catch, though, and dined at the Mexican restaurant at the end of the pier which featured decidedly Mexican rather than classically American levels of service!
Rather better service was to be found at Shoop’s – a “European” deli on our doorstep, which we visited several times for breakfast during our 1-week stay.
Seal the Real Deal
We persuaded two reluctant children to get in the car for an open-ended drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. After an hour or so, we pulled over in a non-descript layby. Fifty feet away was a hidden jewel – a beautiful small beach of beautiful sand, chunky exciting rocks and fabulous waves. And only 4 other people (plus 2 dogs !)
Harry crept closer and closer to the waves and soon was fully submerged and nearly 2 hours of wave-chasing began. Some way through we spotted one of the dogs, or something, in the sea. A second sighting confirmed the swimmer as a dolphin!
In fact, several dolphins. Later, we saw seals just a few feet from the shore. The final score: Dolphins 5 – Seals 4.
We had spent so long at the unscheduled beach party that we had to hurry back across town to make it to Burbank in time for the Warner Brothers studio tour. You’d have to give them 10/10 (or an Oscar) for organization and quality throughout.
The following day, from the sublime to the ridiculous. We were booked on an LA city tour, which looked good on paper but which went wrong in so many ways that it would be tedious to recount them all. We were glad when it ended, although the distance of time since makes it seem not quite so bad in hindsight!
One bad idea, in hindsight, was roller-blading. I am not sure it was harder than I expected because I expected it to be nearly impossible anyway. I could stand up so long as I didn’t move. Once moving, however, it was just a matter of time before I hit the ground hard. Matt and Harry persevered a little longer but in the end we all gave up!
On the last full day, Harry and I finally tried out the beach proper. Santa Monica beach, it turns out, is a real class act. Beautifully smooth sand underfoot all the way out and a shallow slope so that one can get miles out to try all the waves. The only downside was that I was knocked over by a one-two, and lost my hat and sunglasses. The hat came back, but the glasses were lost to the sea forever !
We bid farewell to Santa Monica and made our way via Long Beach to the Royal Caribbean cruise terminal for part 2 ....
A long but trouble-free journey later, we picked up our rental car. We had chosen a “large” car to accommodate all our luggage. This turned out to be a Ford Crown Victoria – a vehicle designed in the era that style forgot. Quite astoundingly ugly. Why did Avis stock this model ? I imagine, in practical terms, if they didn’t buy them then no one would.
Nevertheless, it went forwards, backwards, left and right and after a while was comfortingly quiet and homely. We negotiated a head-on conflict between what our sat-nav said and what common sense and road-signs said, and found our beach-house with only minor amounts of wrong-way turns and no actual traffic offences.
The house – one street back from the main Santa Monica beach – was a bit haphazard in layout, but large and well appointed. Some of the contents were very popular – for example the working vintage pinball machine and the 60” plasma TV.
The owners had stocked the property up with pretty much everything one wants or needs, but some things American still puzzle me greatly. The nation that put a man on the moon does not seem to have grasped the usefulness of an electric kettle or – even more bizarrely – the electric toaster. A gas kettle is – to my mind – massively inferior to its electric cousin. And the peculiar toast-enabled table-top “oven” thingy was just ridiculous.
And why is it that the main appliances are always so big and clunky ? The oven, dishwasher and washing machines were clearly styled (like most American models it seems) by Fisher Price. Definitely Europe 1 – USA 0 in the style stakes.
Three Men and One Wheel
On the first full day, Matt, Harry and I took out some bikes. Well, after discussion, Harry and I set out on a tandem whilst Matt opted for a skateboard.
Matt held on to the tandem to get a tow, and I did most or all of the actual pedalling. Something was not quite right, though! After some process of elimination, the cause was found. The front wheel was so loose that it was on the point of actually falling off. A pit-stop later, we resumed on a one man/one bike basis and enjoyed the 5-mile bike path in the Malibu direction.
Later all four of us checked out the pier. We saw one person fishing and wondered if that was allowed. We proceeded further along and ran into a hundred fishermen. Clearly, yes. We opted to buy rather than catch, though, and dined at the Mexican restaurant at the end of the pier which featured decidedly Mexican rather than classically American levels of service!
Rather better service was to be found at Shoop’s – a “European” deli on our doorstep, which we visited several times for breakfast during our 1-week stay.
Seal the Real Deal
We persuaded two reluctant children to get in the car for an open-ended drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. After an hour or so, we pulled over in a non-descript layby. Fifty feet away was a hidden jewel – a beautiful small beach of beautiful sand, chunky exciting rocks and fabulous waves. And only 4 other people (plus 2 dogs !)
Harry crept closer and closer to the waves and soon was fully submerged and nearly 2 hours of wave-chasing began. Some way through we spotted one of the dogs, or something, in the sea. A second sighting confirmed the swimmer as a dolphin!
In fact, several dolphins. Later, we saw seals just a few feet from the shore. The final score: Dolphins 5 – Seals 4.
We had spent so long at the unscheduled beach party that we had to hurry back across town to make it to Burbank in time for the Warner Brothers studio tour. You’d have to give them 10/10 (or an Oscar) for organization and quality throughout.
The following day, from the sublime to the ridiculous. We were booked on an LA city tour, which looked good on paper but which went wrong in so many ways that it would be tedious to recount them all. We were glad when it ended, although the distance of time since makes it seem not quite so bad in hindsight!
One bad idea, in hindsight, was roller-blading. I am not sure it was harder than I expected because I expected it to be nearly impossible anyway. I could stand up so long as I didn’t move. Once moving, however, it was just a matter of time before I hit the ground hard. Matt and Harry persevered a little longer but in the end we all gave up!
On the last full day, Harry and I finally tried out the beach proper. Santa Monica beach, it turns out, is a real class act. Beautifully smooth sand underfoot all the way out and a shallow slope so that one can get miles out to try all the waves. The only downside was that I was knocked over by a one-two, and lost my hat and sunglasses. The hat came back, but the glasses were lost to the sea forever !
We bid farewell to Santa Monica and made our way via Long Beach to the Royal Caribbean cruise terminal for part 2 ....
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Carping On
Harry's new interest in fishing took us, and a friend (Angus from Brickhill), to a new venue on Tuesday: Wold Farm Fisheries was located some way past Santa Pod raceway, in the middle of nowhere.
Tackled up to the hilt with early birthday presents and a further trip to the fishing ship at Bedford marina, we arrived just before 9am and soon took up station on Oaks Lake.
Dax, who runs the fishery, assured us we would catch. And before I could even finish setting up Harry's rod, or mine, Angus' rod was bent and he (somewhat surprised, perhaps) landed a small mirror carp.
A good sign, and one which prompted the hurry-up from Harry.
Angus moved to a different spot to allow room for us and soon afterwards a cry went up and this was a rather different fish. It is common experience that the feel of the fish tends to over-estimate the size of the catch but it was clear this was a big'un. It doesn't look quite as big in the photo, somehow, but I think it may be bigger than anything I have ever caught !
There were lulls throughout the day, but we really did have a decent haul - 50 fish between us with about half to Angus. In the morning, mainly common and mirror carp. In the afternoon, mainly bream (or what we thought were bream - maybe some kind of hybrid). I also landed a nice tench - first time ever.
Harry caught well over a dozen fish including both types of carp, and bream, and most were of decent size - very hard to judge without weighing, however. Unfortunately keepnets were not permitted on the day so we were robbed of a nice shot of the whole haul.
The slightly counter intuitive thing was that in catching so much, Harry seemed to be a bit disappointed we did not catch even more or bigger fish.
Still, it seems likely we will want to go back.
Tackled up to the hilt with early birthday presents and a further trip to the fishing ship at Bedford marina, we arrived just before 9am and soon took up station on Oaks Lake.
Dax, who runs the fishery, assured us we would catch. And before I could even finish setting up Harry's rod, or mine, Angus' rod was bent and he (somewhat surprised, perhaps) landed a small mirror carp.
A good sign, and one which prompted the hurry-up from Harry.
Angus moved to a different spot to allow room for us and soon afterwards a cry went up and this was a rather different fish. It is common experience that the feel of the fish tends to over-estimate the size of the catch but it was clear this was a big'un. It doesn't look quite as big in the photo, somehow, but I think it may be bigger than anything I have ever caught !
There were lulls throughout the day, but we really did have a decent haul - 50 fish between us with about half to Angus. In the morning, mainly common and mirror carp. In the afternoon, mainly bream (or what we thought were bream - maybe some kind of hybrid). I also landed a nice tench - first time ever.
Harry caught well over a dozen fish including both types of carp, and bream, and most were of decent size - very hard to judge without weighing, however. Unfortunately keepnets were not permitted on the day so we were robbed of a nice shot of the whole haul.
The slightly counter intuitive thing was that in catching so much, Harry seemed to be a bit disappointed we did not catch even more or bigger fish.
Still, it seems likely we will want to go back.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Venus Rising
Venus fish bar are having their annual and well-earned break, which leaves us with quite a problem where fish & chips are concerned. On their holidays, or occasionally on a Sunday when they are closed, we struggle to find an acceptable substitute.
Some are better than others - few are as bad as the one on Tavistock street. Most are actually OK in their won way, but do not measure up to the gold standard.
This time we tried a new one - "Nobby's Fish and Chips". Actually, not awful. The staff were friendly enough and the fish & chips themselves were not too bad. But it was obvious the place had been staffed with new recruits who weren't quite firing on all cylinders.
We'll be glad when Venus are back and we have taken the precaution of going away at the same time.
Some are better than others - few are as bad as the one on Tavistock street. Most are actually OK in their won way, but do not measure up to the gold standard.
This time we tried a new one - "Nobby's Fish and Chips". Actually, not awful. The staff were friendly enough and the fish & chips themselves were not too bad. But it was obvious the place had been staffed with new recruits who weren't quite firing on all cylinders.
We'll be glad when Venus are back and we have taken the precaution of going away at the same time.
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Passing Bills
Karen just received a thank you note for here efforts in an unusual situation a few days ago when I was away in London.
She came downstairs after hearing a noise that seemed out of place, and found an unexpected visitor in the hall.
Bill, that was his name, had come in through the door which was on the latch. Apparently he was suffering a loss of short term memory and a cup of tea and a chat did not restore things. Neither did a circuit of nearby addresses jog sufficient recollections.
So, in the end, the other Bill (the Old one) were called in and they in time found out that his destination was a very short distance away in a residential home.
She came downstairs after hearing a noise that seemed out of place, and found an unexpected visitor in the hall.
Bill, that was his name, had come in through the door which was on the latch. Apparently he was suffering a loss of short term memory and a cup of tea and a chat did not restore things. Neither did a circuit of nearby addresses jog sufficient recollections.
So, in the end, the other Bill (the Old one) were called in and they in time found out that his destination was a very short distance away in a residential home.
Monday, 28 July 2008
Train Pain
I find that I rarely choose to drive into London these days. Not having two cars is one reason, but a combination of parking, congestion charge, cost of petrol, being able to have a drink and a snooze, and simply the time involved means I usually choose the train.
When I was commuting - either daily or weekly - I used to generally choose the train as well. But whichever mode one chooses, there are times when it feels like the wrong choice.
Both modes are capable of throwing up a massive problem - whether it be a motorway pile-up or the wrong type of body on the line.
Yesterday, travelling in for a game at the club in London, I elected once again to let the train take the strain. I took a precaution though. When Karen dropped me at Bedford, I asked her to ait whilst I checked the departure boards. All clear. OK.
Well, as I waited, the practised eye could discern some warning signs and - lo - at 18:06 (the exact departure time) the train was then, and only then, deemed to be running 18 minutes late.
Not disastrous yet. When it arrived, it sat ominously on the platform even though it was already late. It was also packed.
Eventually, they made a further announcement. "overhead live problems at Flitwick - no trains are running through the area". Well, why didn't you say so before ?
I decided it was not too late to abandon ship, get the car, and drive in after all. I stood up and tried to open the door. It was locked. We began moving - I was committed now. Two other travellers had also tried to take the same escape route, and likewise failed.
The fact we were moving should have indicated that the problems were resolved, but the sinking feeling was that we were simply moving into no man's land.
To say the journey was not without irritations would be an understatement. The clunk-clunk of the inter-carriage doors repeatedly opening and closing. The screaming children, the mobile phones, the ridiculous announcements ("we are closing the buffet bar so that we can have some turnaround time in London" - at least an hour away .... ).
The good news was that we did trundle more or less continuously towards London - via Flitwick (or Flit-Wick as they insisted on calling it) and arrived a modest 45minutes late.
The good thing was I was travelling to a tournament that I myself had organized, so they weren't going to start without me !
When I was commuting - either daily or weekly - I used to generally choose the train as well. But whichever mode one chooses, there are times when it feels like the wrong choice.
Both modes are capable of throwing up a massive problem - whether it be a motorway pile-up or the wrong type of body on the line.
Yesterday, travelling in for a game at the club in London, I elected once again to let the train take the strain. I took a precaution though. When Karen dropped me at Bedford, I asked her to ait whilst I checked the departure boards. All clear. OK.
Well, as I waited, the practised eye could discern some warning signs and - lo - at 18:06 (the exact departure time) the train was then, and only then, deemed to be running 18 minutes late.
Not disastrous yet. When it arrived, it sat ominously on the platform even though it was already late. It was also packed.
Eventually, they made a further announcement. "overhead live problems at Flitwick - no trains are running through the area". Well, why didn't you say so before ?
I decided it was not too late to abandon ship, get the car, and drive in after all. I stood up and tried to open the door. It was locked. We began moving - I was committed now. Two other travellers had also tried to take the same escape route, and likewise failed.
The fact we were moving should have indicated that the problems were resolved, but the sinking feeling was that we were simply moving into no man's land.
To say the journey was not without irritations would be an understatement. The clunk-clunk of the inter-carriage doors repeatedly opening and closing. The screaming children, the mobile phones, the ridiculous announcements ("we are closing the buffet bar so that we can have some turnaround time in London" - at least an hour away .... ).
The good news was that we did trundle more or less continuously towards London - via Flitwick (or Flit-Wick as they insisted on calling it) and arrived a modest 45minutes late.
The good thing was I was travelling to a tournament that I myself had organized, so they weren't going to start without me !
Saturday, 26 July 2008
The Joy of Golf
Golf has much in common with poker - masses of disappointment punctuated with moments of elation.
I have never played seriously nor consistently, but I have played on and off for a long time. Last year, during my sabbatical, I took lessons (again) and the improvement was dramatic (but very short lived).
During that time I played maybe 12 rounds in as many weeks. Since then - over the past 12 months - I have played exactly once.
So, I was very rusty, but when in Spain ....
Roger arranged for me to join his team in a regular team of 4 Stableford game. Best 2 scores of 4 to count on each hole. All very friendly he assured (which it was).
I played some good holes, but more bad ones. Roger was conspicuously generous in his assessment of my play, which was nice, but my game was weak indeed.
Still, I enjoyed it enough to play again on the following Monday. Wow ! Almost from the 1st tee, it was a totally different game. Objectively, it was still high-handicap golf - I scored a gross 98 strokes and achieved 35 Stableford points playing off 26. But it was probably my best round since records began (the records have been lost, but I can only recall one other sub-100 score).
But the manner of the 98 shots made it feel like a far better round. I regularly 3 and 4-putted, which is terrible of course. But the point is it meant I was hitting really well from tee to green. Even though those missed 6-footers are as costly in actual scoring as a mis-fire on the fairway, it feels so different.
Yes it is frustrating that I did not convert my play into a real blockbuster score, but the realisation that with even moderately good greens-play I could have shot 90 more than made up for it.
We had a team of only 3 on the day but with my run-of-form and with Greg (the third member) scoring 40 points, our combined score was a solid looking 85. On Friday, 80 won easily.
Roger "El Bandido" was rehearsing his excuses for the bandit-in-law need not have worried though as another 3-handed team turned in 97 (!!). Their "young gun" carding a net 62 playing of 15 (hmm...)
Golf, as we know, thinks nothing of building you up to knock you down, but I do expect to swap some green-baize time for green-fees time. It's such an easy game !
I have never played seriously nor consistently, but I have played on and off for a long time. Last year, during my sabbatical, I took lessons (again) and the improvement was dramatic (but very short lived).
During that time I played maybe 12 rounds in as many weeks. Since then - over the past 12 months - I have played exactly once.
So, I was very rusty, but when in Spain ....
Roger arranged for me to join his team in a regular team of 4 Stableford game. Best 2 scores of 4 to count on each hole. All very friendly he assured (which it was).
I played some good holes, but more bad ones. Roger was conspicuously generous in his assessment of my play, which was nice, but my game was weak indeed.
Still, I enjoyed it enough to play again on the following Monday. Wow ! Almost from the 1st tee, it was a totally different game. Objectively, it was still high-handicap golf - I scored a gross 98 strokes and achieved 35 Stableford points playing off 26. But it was probably my best round since records began (the records have been lost, but I can only recall one other sub-100 score).
But the manner of the 98 shots made it feel like a far better round. I regularly 3 and 4-putted, which is terrible of course. But the point is it meant I was hitting really well from tee to green. Even though those missed 6-footers are as costly in actual scoring as a mis-fire on the fairway, it feels so different.
Yes it is frustrating that I did not convert my play into a real blockbuster score, but the realisation that with even moderately good greens-play I could have shot 90 more than made up for it.
We had a team of only 3 on the day but with my run-of-form and with Greg (the third member) scoring 40 points, our combined score was a solid looking 85. On Friday, 80 won easily.
Roger "El Bandido" was rehearsing his excuses for the bandit-in-law need not have worried though as another 3-handed team turned in 97 (!!). Their "young gun" carding a net 62 playing of 15 (hmm...)
Golf, as we know, thinks nothing of building you up to knock you down, but I do expect to swap some green-baize time for green-fees time. It's such an easy game !
Friday, 25 July 2008
License to Kill (time)
Karen, Harry & I made a last-minute trip over to Spain to visit Hazel & Roger whilst Matt spent 10days with a friend in Slovakia.
As the in-laws (or parents, or grandparents depending on your perspective) live on the coast, fishing was clearly an option for Harry.
Our local experts kindly investigated the regulations concerning permits - one doubts that many tourists actually bother with this, but one expects there to be some local equivalent of our rod license.
The word was that a license should be obtained and - at 5euros for three years - cost was clearly not a consideration.
A couple of days into the trip we deemed it was time to pick up the permits. Based on experience in UK, France and Canada I had expectations that we would pop into a seafront newsagent or tackle shop and hand over the 5euros.
So, I was mildly surprised when Roger brought us to an official government building. Still, there was the sign "Licensia de pesca" and so it began.
The problems began right away. The clerk at this post clearly was not too familiar with the procedure herself and the language barrier was a factor. The all-Spanish form was reasonably self-explanatory but certainly dealing with a foreigner presented some issues for them (we had been warned to bring our passports).
Much photocopying an re-entering of data went on (it rather looked like the forms pre-dated the new IT system - and so everything on the paper form was re-done for the computer).
It did seem rather elaborate for a €5 transaction (and actually €0 in Roger's case as a 65+). Still, eventually it appeared we were ready to pay.
Oh. They don't take money at the government offices. We were directed to seek out a nearby BBVA branch - a few minutes stroll away. So, off we went, leaving the patient Karen, Hazel and Harry behind.
The branch was bright and spacious and not too threatening, but rather short on actual bank-tellers. After an inordinate wait behind just one other customer who was depositing rather less than €10 in cash (a transaction with considerable complexity, apparently) it was our turn.
The good news was that the clerk was familiar with the idea that we had come to settle the license bill. By the way - Roger had to come all this way to pay his zero Euros, it seemed.
Payment, though, was far from a simple matter. The bank had to rekey all the data into its own IT system to match that entered by the fishing authority. Now, in finance we would call this "trade matching" and it is a system with some merit although "STP" (straight through preocessing) is preferred nowadays.
Surely, though, I would not be alone in thinking this was some overkill for an average transaction value of about 2 quid?
The matching failed. It was OK for Roger who was able to settle his nought-euro bill satisfactorily, but my passport number caused a problem.
An explanation in Spanish was appended to a piece of scrap paper and we were sent back to the fisheries desk where we were asked to re-sign our original forms (yes, the ones that had been re-keyed already). Roger was in fact given his permit but I was invited to return to the bank and thence back once more to the government desk.
"manana" said I, and elected to cut our losses. I felt very strongly that having invested 90minutes, and made a genuine effort to pay, we had the moral high ground in the incredibly unlikely event of being challenged at the seafront.
I did not relish the thought of another hour (say) with the prospect of being still unable to complete the transaction.
In the UK, where the whole process is online and very straightforward, and where our banking and government services appear by comparison to be beacons of efficiency, it is hard to imagine this level of bureaucracy surviving nowadays. In Spain, I suppose it must be accepted although I do think it doubtful that many go through with this just to cast a few worms off the breakwater.
Perhaps noone has ever actually applied for one before?
For completeness, one must mention that Karen went back the next day and succesfully, and apparently painlessly, paid the fee at the second attempt and picked up the magic card which is now safely nestled in my wallet. Just 2 years and 50 weeks till I will need to brave the renewal process ...
As the in-laws (or parents, or grandparents depending on your perspective) live on the coast, fishing was clearly an option for Harry.
Our local experts kindly investigated the regulations concerning permits - one doubts that many tourists actually bother with this, but one expects there to be some local equivalent of our rod license.
The word was that a license should be obtained and - at 5euros for three years - cost was clearly not a consideration.
A couple of days into the trip we deemed it was time to pick up the permits. Based on experience in UK, France and Canada I had expectations that we would pop into a seafront newsagent or tackle shop and hand over the 5euros.
So, I was mildly surprised when Roger brought us to an official government building. Still, there was the sign "Licensia de pesca" and so it began.
The problems began right away. The clerk at this post clearly was not too familiar with the procedure herself and the language barrier was a factor. The all-Spanish form was reasonably self-explanatory but certainly dealing with a foreigner presented some issues for them (we had been warned to bring our passports).
Much photocopying an re-entering of data went on (it rather looked like the forms pre-dated the new IT system - and so everything on the paper form was re-done for the computer).
It did seem rather elaborate for a €5 transaction (and actually €0 in Roger's case as a 65+). Still, eventually it appeared we were ready to pay.
Oh. They don't take money at the government offices. We were directed to seek out a nearby BBVA branch - a few minutes stroll away. So, off we went, leaving the patient Karen, Hazel and Harry behind.
The branch was bright and spacious and not too threatening, but rather short on actual bank-tellers. After an inordinate wait behind just one other customer who was depositing rather less than €10 in cash (a transaction with considerable complexity, apparently) it was our turn.
The good news was that the clerk was familiar with the idea that we had come to settle the license bill. By the way - Roger had to come all this way to pay his zero Euros, it seemed.
Payment, though, was far from a simple matter. The bank had to rekey all the data into its own IT system to match that entered by the fishing authority. Now, in finance we would call this "trade matching" and it is a system with some merit although "STP" (straight through preocessing) is preferred nowadays.
Surely, though, I would not be alone in thinking this was some overkill for an average transaction value of about 2 quid?
The matching failed. It was OK for Roger who was able to settle his nought-euro bill satisfactorily, but my passport number caused a problem.
An explanation in Spanish was appended to a piece of scrap paper and we were sent back to the fisheries desk where we were asked to re-sign our original forms (yes, the ones that had been re-keyed already). Roger was in fact given his permit but I was invited to return to the bank and thence back once more to the government desk.
"manana" said I, and elected to cut our losses. I felt very strongly that having invested 90minutes, and made a genuine effort to pay, we had the moral high ground in the incredibly unlikely event of being challenged at the seafront.
I did not relish the thought of another hour (say) with the prospect of being still unable to complete the transaction.
In the UK, where the whole process is online and very straightforward, and where our banking and government services appear by comparison to be beacons of efficiency, it is hard to imagine this level of bureaucracy surviving nowadays. In Spain, I suppose it must be accepted although I do think it doubtful that many go through with this just to cast a few worms off the breakwater.
Perhaps noone has ever actually applied for one before?
For completeness, one must mention that Karen went back the next day and succesfully, and apparently painlessly, paid the fee at the second attempt and picked up the magic card which is now safely nestled in my wallet. Just 2 years and 50 weeks till I will need to brave the renewal process ...
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Duck !
After the relatively succesful fishing expedition of a few days ago, Harry & I made a fresh assault having re-tackled with new lighter line and having acquired a bagful of shiny new hooks, floats etc.
We headed for basically the same spot at Bedford marina. One big difference was that 2 out of every 3 pegs were occupied. There was no apparent difference in the circumstances - weekday lunchtime, sunny. But for whatever reason there were plenty of serious-looking types already in situ.
Still we found some empty spots and set up. One other key difference was Harry's long sleeved attire - taking no chances with the sun this time !
The new equipment seemed to pay off. Once again Harry was first to "score" but it was neck-and-neck as we set a new record haul (not too hard at this stage of course !) At 4-3 to Harry we nearly called it a day but 'one more cast' saw us move to 5-5 and a succession of 'last one's meant we stood 8 - 7 to Harry when it really was the final fling.
Harry's rod was already packed up and I cast once more as we tidied everything else up.
It was quite a short throw and I was only half-watching as we put things away.
There is a large population of swans, geese, ducks and other birds on the lake at all times. At first these were a bit offputting and oftentimes we waited for them to pass by before casting. But over the course of many hours it seemed they were not attracted by the floats, and certainly not by the baited hooks. Furthermore they were able to swim over the line without interfering with it.
Until this time ! A male mallard duck (I think) paddled past shoreside of my float, and thus over the submerged monofilament line. The float moved ! And kept moving .... the duck's underwater pedals had caught the line.
Help !
This has never happened to me in 30 years of fishing. What to do....
I pulled gently on the line by hand. The duck moved !
It was clearly actually attached. I had no choice but to reel it in. The bird had no idea what was happening as it sailed backwards. I grabbed the offending leg and attempted to free it. The hook was not involved, but the line was unquestionably caught (possibly on the metal ring).
The duck luckily was not as strong as I feared and was not in immediate danger, but I wanted to get a clean release. However, cutting the line appeared an option and Harry began rooting through the rucksack for the necessary implement. I considered cutting the line with my teeth but opted to take the whole duck "under my wing" and picked it up (a nice big towel would have been useful) and, thus restrained, it was a good patient.
I was able to unravel the line intact and set the bemused fowl on its way - ruffled but not harmed.
Phew !
We headed for basically the same spot at Bedford marina. One big difference was that 2 out of every 3 pegs were occupied. There was no apparent difference in the circumstances - weekday lunchtime, sunny. But for whatever reason there were plenty of serious-looking types already in situ.
Still we found some empty spots and set up. One other key difference was Harry's long sleeved attire - taking no chances with the sun this time !
The new equipment seemed to pay off. Once again Harry was first to "score" but it was neck-and-neck as we set a new record haul (not too hard at this stage of course !) At 4-3 to Harry we nearly called it a day but 'one more cast' saw us move to 5-5 and a succession of 'last one's meant we stood 8 - 7 to Harry when it really was the final fling.
Harry's rod was already packed up and I cast once more as we tidied everything else up.
It was quite a short throw and I was only half-watching as we put things away.
There is a large population of swans, geese, ducks and other birds on the lake at all times. At first these were a bit offputting and oftentimes we waited for them to pass by before casting. But over the course of many hours it seemed they were not attracted by the floats, and certainly not by the baited hooks. Furthermore they were able to swim over the line without interfering with it.
Until this time ! A male mallard duck (I think) paddled past shoreside of my float, and thus over the submerged monofilament line. The float moved ! And kept moving .... the duck's underwater pedals had caught the line.
Help !
This has never happened to me in 30 years of fishing. What to do....
I pulled gently on the line by hand. The duck moved !
It was clearly actually attached. I had no choice but to reel it in. The bird had no idea what was happening as it sailed backwards. I grabbed the offending leg and attempted to free it. The hook was not involved, but the line was unquestionably caught (possibly on the metal ring).
The duck luckily was not as strong as I feared and was not in immediate danger, but I wanted to get a clean release. However, cutting the line appeared an option and Harry began rooting through the rucksack for the necessary implement. I considered cutting the line with my teeth but opted to take the whole duck "under my wing" and picked it up (a nice big towel would have been useful) and, thus restrained, it was a good patient.
I was able to unravel the line intact and set the bemused fowl on its way - ruffled but not harmed.
Phew !
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Vive la difference
For all my frustration at the Nationwide CHAPS "procedure", and the fact that the method was plainly not fit for purpose, I decided the lesser evil was to proceed with sending off the form in the mail. I thought it would actually work, despite being a bit daft.
As it happened, an instant transfer was actually not of the essence (although, usually it would be). In fact, I might have reverted to a simple BACS transfer except for other stupid restrictions on that service which rendered it useless in this instance.
So, off went the form on Friday afternoon. With Saturday intervening, I felt this meant it was all but certain that the documents would be safely in their hands by Monday morning and same-day Monday was adequate in my case.
However, by Monday night the money had not been received where it was going. I hoped this actually indicated that the recipient's bank was simply not yet showing the funds. But, no, I saw the money had not left my account.
OK. I rang them up. This time I was able to get through. I was put on hold whilst they rifled through their piles of post. No, apparently they did not have the form.
This is exactly why the post is a poor method for such important transactions. It is not possible to know whether the form had been lost in the mail (unlikely but still possible), lost at their end (quite likely in my view), or simply not yet arrived (by now it was at Tuesday morning - it was just about possible that it genuinely had not yet arrived but more likely was floating around their offices).
Essentially, it would be better not to offer a CHAPS service at all than to conduct one by post.
What could they suggest ? They suggested waiting around and checking again after 2pm when they expected a second post. This did not sound like a very sensible option - if they still could not lay hands on it, all prospect of making the transfer somehow otherwise would be foiled by the lateness in the day.
There seemed nothign else for it but to tryto make the transfer in-branch. I had eschewed this method originally since the whole point of an internet bank account is .... not to have to deal with bank branches.
Anyway, down I want and queued up for 15minutes. When it was my turn, I was advised that to make a CHAPS trasfer I had to queue up at reception and arrange to sit down with an adviser.
Taking a look at the second queue and the prospect of multiple stages resulting, quite possibly, in failure again, I instead opted to abandon the Nationwide route. Returning home, I picked up the phone to Coutts who made the transfer in somewhat less than 1 minute total.
This left me with just one important task. I thought it a significant risk that Nationwide would at any moment find the form behind the sofa or under the coffee tray and try to process it - which would cause a whole new round of problems. I had of course told them not to proceed should the form come to light, but there was no reason at all to suppose this instruction would be effective.
Instead, I moved the money to another Nationwide account (this you can do effortlessly) so as to take the funds out of harm's way. A bit of a contrivance, but worthwhile risk management I think !
On reflection, I see my main mistake. I thought that Nationwide was providing banking services.
The distinction between banks and building socieies has unquestionably narrowed very consderably and certainly many former building societies actually did formally become banks.
Nationwide very overtly has not demutualised or re-formed as a bank, and is "proud to be different". Their credit card is undeniably different and better (for the customer). What I had not realised is that "difference" works both ways. Banks are better at banking.
As it happened, an instant transfer was actually not of the essence (although, usually it would be). In fact, I might have reverted to a simple BACS transfer except for other stupid restrictions on that service which rendered it useless in this instance.
So, off went the form on Friday afternoon. With Saturday intervening, I felt this meant it was all but certain that the documents would be safely in their hands by Monday morning and same-day Monday was adequate in my case.
However, by Monday night the money had not been received where it was going. I hoped this actually indicated that the recipient's bank was simply not yet showing the funds. But, no, I saw the money had not left my account.
OK. I rang them up. This time I was able to get through. I was put on hold whilst they rifled through their piles of post. No, apparently they did not have the form.
This is exactly why the post is a poor method for such important transactions. It is not possible to know whether the form had been lost in the mail (unlikely but still possible), lost at their end (quite likely in my view), or simply not yet arrived (by now it was at Tuesday morning - it was just about possible that it genuinely had not yet arrived but more likely was floating around their offices).
Essentially, it would be better not to offer a CHAPS service at all than to conduct one by post.
What could they suggest ? They suggested waiting around and checking again after 2pm when they expected a second post. This did not sound like a very sensible option - if they still could not lay hands on it, all prospect of making the transfer somehow otherwise would be foiled by the lateness in the day.
There seemed nothign else for it but to tryto make the transfer in-branch. I had eschewed this method originally since the whole point of an internet bank account is .... not to have to deal with bank branches.
Anyway, down I want and queued up for 15minutes. When it was my turn, I was advised that to make a CHAPS trasfer I had to queue up at reception and arrange to sit down with an adviser.
Taking a look at the second queue and the prospect of multiple stages resulting, quite possibly, in failure again, I instead opted to abandon the Nationwide route. Returning home, I picked up the phone to Coutts who made the transfer in somewhat less than 1 minute total.
This left me with just one important task. I thought it a significant risk that Nationwide would at any moment find the form behind the sofa or under the coffee tray and try to process it - which would cause a whole new round of problems. I had of course told them not to proceed should the form come to light, but there was no reason at all to suppose this instruction would be effective.
Instead, I moved the money to another Nationwide account (this you can do effortlessly) so as to take the funds out of harm's way. A bit of a contrivance, but worthwhile risk management I think !
On reflection, I see my main mistake. I thought that Nationwide was providing banking services.
The distinction between banks and building socieies has unquestionably narrowed very consderably and certainly many former building societies actually did formally become banks.
Nationwide very overtly has not demutualised or re-formed as a bank, and is "proud to be different". Their credit card is undeniably different and better (for the customer). What I had not realised is that "difference" works both ways. Banks are better at banking.
Friday, 11 July 2008
Don't Bank on it
I am not usually one to moan about the banks.
On the whole, I tend to think that banks are fully entitled to their usually large profits and I think they provide a great many services, most of which I think are surprisingly cheap.
I am always surprised that they offer free banking, for example, and free cash withdrawals. These services must cost plenty of money to provide. I also find it hard to be sympathetic to those who complain about being charged for unauthorised overdrafts and so on. What do people expect ?
Anyway, this post is not really about the usual complaints.
It's just going to be a rant about Nationwide Building Society and their online banking product.
We have Nationwide accounts because they provide fee-free overseas transactions. Use their debit or credit card abroad and get the market exchange rate with no loading. This compares to a pretty much uniform 2.75% on the hundreds of other accounts.
Until recently, Nationwide was completely alone in offering this. Even now they are almost entirely out of step with all the rest of the banks.
To us, this is a genuinely useful and money-saving feature.
But, wow, do you have to put up with a lot.
For a start, to open the accounts in the first place was a trial-by-paperwork. Considering I wanted to open internet-only accounts, the amount of paper and the clumsiness of it all was remarkable. It really seems like they never want you to actually be able to get to the end of it.
Eventually it was done and all was fairly smooth until today when I wanted to make a money transfer.
I had placed funds in my flex account expressly in anticipation of making the transfer, and now was the time.
OK.
I had expected to be able to go online, supply the payee details and off you go.
Well, no.
Various ridiculous restrictions applied to regular BACS transfers but anyway I wanted to do an instant CHAPS transfer. Of course I expect to pay a fee for this, possibly to need to call and answer some security questions (although, really, I simply expect to be able to get on with it).
Well, no, the procedure with Nationwide is that you fill in, print and sign the form and MAIL IT to them.
The two reasons you use a CHAPS transfer are (i) security and integrity and (ii) speed. You might use a CHAPS transfer to settle a time-critical and large-value transaction such as completing on a house purchase, for example.
And to meet these objectives? Send the form off in the post ..... 0/10 might be a little generous I feel.
The good news is that I feel our money is probably very safe in Nationwide. The trouble banks got themselves into lately has been mainly to do with doing things too BIG, too FAST and too NEW. Since very little CDO-squared business was done by post with per-day maximum of £10k, I think Nationwide are unlikely to have got too much in harm's way.
On the whole, I tend to think that banks are fully entitled to their usually large profits and I think they provide a great many services, most of which I think are surprisingly cheap.
I am always surprised that they offer free banking, for example, and free cash withdrawals. These services must cost plenty of money to provide. I also find it hard to be sympathetic to those who complain about being charged for unauthorised overdrafts and so on. What do people expect ?
Anyway, this post is not really about the usual complaints.
It's just going to be a rant about Nationwide Building Society and their online banking product.
We have Nationwide accounts because they provide fee-free overseas transactions. Use their debit or credit card abroad and get the market exchange rate with no loading. This compares to a pretty much uniform 2.75% on the hundreds of other accounts.
Until recently, Nationwide was completely alone in offering this. Even now they are almost entirely out of step with all the rest of the banks.
To us, this is a genuinely useful and money-saving feature.
But, wow, do you have to put up with a lot.
For a start, to open the accounts in the first place was a trial-by-paperwork. Considering I wanted to open internet-only accounts, the amount of paper and the clumsiness of it all was remarkable. It really seems like they never want you to actually be able to get to the end of it.
Eventually it was done and all was fairly smooth until today when I wanted to make a money transfer.
I had placed funds in my flex account expressly in anticipation of making the transfer, and now was the time.
OK.
I had expected to be able to go online, supply the payee details and off you go.
Well, no.
Various ridiculous restrictions applied to regular BACS transfers but anyway I wanted to do an instant CHAPS transfer. Of course I expect to pay a fee for this, possibly to need to call and answer some security questions (although, really, I simply expect to be able to get on with it).
Well, no, the procedure with Nationwide is that you fill in, print and sign the form and MAIL IT to them.
The two reasons you use a CHAPS transfer are (i) security and integrity and (ii) speed. You might use a CHAPS transfer to settle a time-critical and large-value transaction such as completing on a house purchase, for example.
And to meet these objectives? Send the form off in the post ..... 0/10 might be a little generous I feel.
The good news is that I feel our money is probably very safe in Nationwide. The trouble banks got themselves into lately has been mainly to do with doing things too BIG, too FAST and too NEW. Since very little CDO-squared business was done by post with per-day maximum of £10k, I think Nationwide are unlikely to have got too much in harm's way.
Thursday, 10 July 2008
Fried Fish
On Thursday, Matt had once again disappeared off to a friend's house for an impromptu mini-holiday. Harry meanwhile announced he would like to go fishing.
There seemed no reason not to go apart from the obvious likelihood of being unsuccessful in catching anything. So, we assembled what kit we have - recently bolstered by a Christmas present from Colin & Kathleen - and stopped to pick up a pint of multi-coloured maggots on the way to Priory marina.
We headed in the opposite direction to last time and, having rejected a spot on the river, we opted for the well-marked swims on the shore of the lake.
Conditions were certainly good for fishermen (if not necessarily for actually catching fish). Sunny, calm, and the fishing locations are very well prepared with good access and a firm, flat base at each spot. Room for two, just about, which was useful as Harry needed some help with the basics.
However, he was a quick learner and very patient too.
We were rather slow off the mark with all the setting-up but, to our surprise, with less than an hour gone Harry got a solid bite and achieved his first UK fish !
We did catch a total of 3 (2-1 in Harry's favour). It's a start ! We will tackle up with smaller hooks and lighter line next time.
When we got home, via picking Matt up, we realised we had caught something else too - the sun ! Both of us had bright red arms !
There seemed no reason not to go apart from the obvious likelihood of being unsuccessful in catching anything. So, we assembled what kit we have - recently bolstered by a Christmas present from Colin & Kathleen - and stopped to pick up a pint of multi-coloured maggots on the way to Priory marina.
We headed in the opposite direction to last time and, having rejected a spot on the river, we opted for the well-marked swims on the shore of the lake.
Conditions were certainly good for fishermen (if not necessarily for actually catching fish). Sunny, calm, and the fishing locations are very well prepared with good access and a firm, flat base at each spot. Room for two, just about, which was useful as Harry needed some help with the basics.
However, he was a quick learner and very patient too.
We were rather slow off the mark with all the setting-up but, to our surprise, with less than an hour gone Harry got a solid bite and achieved his first UK fish !
We did catch a total of 3 (2-1 in Harry's favour). It's a start ! We will tackle up with smaller hooks and lighter line next time.
When we got home, via picking Matt up, we realised we had caught something else too - the sun ! Both of us had bright red arms !
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Undo My Umbrella
Heavy winds in Bedford (and elsewhere) at the weekend. The weather did not look too bad because of the sunshine and blue skies. But the winds were real enough, and caused the marquee in the back garden of our neighbours-but-one to perform a high-jump over the wall, where it belly-flopped.
Meanwhile, in our garden, the table-umbrella was in the opened position and took the full force of some mighty gusts. The pole - previously jammed into the base due to post-rain swelling - snapped and the rest of the umbrella took off before landing in a heap some way distant.
It was beyond repair, certainly. Instead, Harry and I set about dismantling it in order to make it ready for recycling. Nowadays, we can recycle all kinds of things at the tidy tip.
In this case, it was a matter of stripping off the metal parts, then snapping, sawing or chopping up the rest of the wooden pieces. Harry learned about the various means of separating one thing from another when preserving it for re-use is not a concern. The axe was his favourite implement but the hammer & screwdriver combo was the most effective.
The swing-seat, which has a matching green cover, looked like it could also attract the attentions of the wind. It had escaped apparently unscathed during the worst of it when I took the seat off to finish cleaning it. This made the thing a good deal lighter, of course, and a change in direction of the wind meant that it now was lifted backwards and crashed into the flower bed, breaking one of the uprights. Repairing that was the next day's amusement.
Meanwhile, in our garden, the table-umbrella was in the opened position and took the full force of some mighty gusts. The pole - previously jammed into the base due to post-rain swelling - snapped and the rest of the umbrella took off before landing in a heap some way distant.
It was beyond repair, certainly. Instead, Harry and I set about dismantling it in order to make it ready for recycling. Nowadays, we can recycle all kinds of things at the tidy tip.
In this case, it was a matter of stripping off the metal parts, then snapping, sawing or chopping up the rest of the wooden pieces. Harry learned about the various means of separating one thing from another when preserving it for re-use is not a concern. The axe was his favourite implement but the hammer & screwdriver combo was the most effective.
The swing-seat, which has a matching green cover, looked like it could also attract the attentions of the wind. It had escaped apparently unscathed during the worst of it when I took the seat off to finish cleaning it. This made the thing a good deal lighter, of course, and a change in direction of the wind meant that it now was lifted backwards and crashed into the flower bed, breaking one of the uprights. Repairing that was the next day's amusement.
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
By The Numbers
Harry is showing some signs of mathematical awareness. This morning he proposed a "negative win" bet on Euro2008 - he would wager minus £100 on Croatia.
Whilst not a fully-formed idea, this showed some appreciation of the concepts of laying bets (as opposed to backing) and/or of odds-on events or of "The Field" as a betting principle. Of course, since he wanted to do this bet at even money he simultaneously showed an interest in +EV situations and of course a lack of concrete knowledge of betting mechanics.
By later modifying his bet-proposal to -£35 he showed that he understood the concept of bankroll management.
He also sought information on who was the weakest remaining team and enquired about who had already qualified - thereby indicating an understanding of the importance of good research.
Last week, when Harry was banned from playing on his PC or XBOX we played card games - he beat me in first-to-100 at contract whist and also at "finders keepers" which was a more elaborate version of "pairs". That game was in a book of card games for children which was good in that it contained a lot of games I had not come across before, but it did suffer from poor elucidation of the rules. In particular, it appeared that some of the games had not been well-trialled for "what if ..." situations.
The Monopoly rules, I think, are a good example of what a solid set of game rules should be - they clearly cover all plausible game-play situations with clear and sesnsible outcomes.
Anyway, in the case of finders-keepers, when we reached a game-state not contemplated by the book, we invented a new game to play out from there, which is often more fun than the original game.
Whilst not a fully-formed idea, this showed some appreciation of the concepts of laying bets (as opposed to backing) and/or of odds-on events or of "The Field" as a betting principle. Of course, since he wanted to do this bet at even money he simultaneously showed an interest in +EV situations and of course a lack of concrete knowledge of betting mechanics.
By later modifying his bet-proposal to -£35 he showed that he understood the concept of bankroll management.
He also sought information on who was the weakest remaining team and enquired about who had already qualified - thereby indicating an understanding of the importance of good research.
Last week, when Harry was banned from playing on his PC or XBOX we played card games - he beat me in first-to-100 at contract whist and also at "finders keepers" which was a more elaborate version of "pairs". That game was in a book of card games for children which was good in that it contained a lot of games I had not come across before, but it did suffer from poor elucidation of the rules. In particular, it appeared that some of the games had not been well-trialled for "what if ..." situations.
The Monopoly rules, I think, are a good example of what a solid set of game rules should be - they clearly cover all plausible game-play situations with clear and sesnsible outcomes.
Anyway, in the case of finders-keepers, when we reached a game-state not contemplated by the book, we invented a new game to play out from there, which is often more fun than the original game.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
The Knowledge
It is a little over 3 months since I stopped work in London. My plan/expectation was that with poker and other reasons to visit, I would probably travel in about once a week in the post-job era.
It has worked out a little less - maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Recently we have been without a 2nd car, also, which tends to mean I favour taking the train. This in turn (when combined with poker plans) tends to imply staying overnight. I can tell you that hotel rooms in central London are in short supply.
What I also notice is that not being in a regular commuting routine means that one is lacking an important weapon - detailed tactical knowledge of the rail network.
This leads to weaknesses and critical errors in the travel game.
For example, on Monday, I was due to travel to Mill Hill for a lunch meeting, then onto Central London for an afternoon appointment.
I checked the timetable ahead of time and found a good one-change route (change at Luton Airport Parkway).
Things went slightly awry when I arrived at the station in good time for the 10:51. The board showed this running late. Alas, without my commuting knowledge, I did not know whether 9mins late was enough to make me miss my connection. I also did not know whether the 10:40 - which I might just make - would stop at Luton Airport. Neither did I know if my connection could be picked up at an alternate interchange.
Whilst I wavered, an update meant the 10:51 was now 12 minutes late. Had I been properly in training (pun alert) I would know whether 12 minutes was in the "change" window. I know generically that East Midlands trains are faster than FCC and I know my originally time-tabled change at L.A.P. would have at least 5 minutes grace.
I was seriously short of data. I also should have been able to evaluate whether a 9min to 12min re-calibration was likely to foreshadow a further slippage or whether we were already in the accurate-forecast horizon.
Anyway, I now decided to take the 10:55 on-time departure by FCC which I knew stopped at Parkway. I had missed the 10:40 anyway by dint of needing to buy a ticket - a disruptive event.
In my state of knowledge-starvation, I had inadvertently purchased a ticket to Parkway instead of my actual destination of Mill Hill Broadway. This meant facing a ticket-buying delay at the interchange point which could potentially see me miss an otherwise catchable connection. This would be a tremendous faux-pas.
Fortunately, I missed the connection by 2 full minutes anyway but I also saw the East Midlands train overtake us so I know that if I had opted to stick with that, I would have been able to miss the connection whilst buying the 2nd part of my ticket.
Arriving at Mill Hill 27minutes late (the interval between services departing Parkway to this non-prime stop), I failed to purchase my Mill Hill to St Pancras ticket on LEAVING the station on the way to lunch - a straightforward safety play.
This allowed me to miss my post-lunch train by <40 seconds which a real benchmark for disappointing results especially since the platform was < 50 metres from the ticket machine.
So, an aggregate of 1 hour late into St Pancras caused by basic knowledge deficit.
This was partly compensated by the knowledge that I wasn't in any real hurry.
It has worked out a little less - maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Recently we have been without a 2nd car, also, which tends to mean I favour taking the train. This in turn (when combined with poker plans) tends to imply staying overnight. I can tell you that hotel rooms in central London are in short supply.
What I also notice is that not being in a regular commuting routine means that one is lacking an important weapon - detailed tactical knowledge of the rail network.
This leads to weaknesses and critical errors in the travel game.
For example, on Monday, I was due to travel to Mill Hill for a lunch meeting, then onto Central London for an afternoon appointment.
I checked the timetable ahead of time and found a good one-change route (change at Luton Airport Parkway).
Things went slightly awry when I arrived at the station in good time for the 10:51. The board showed this running late. Alas, without my commuting knowledge, I did not know whether 9mins late was enough to make me miss my connection. I also did not know whether the 10:40 - which I might just make - would stop at Luton Airport. Neither did I know if my connection could be picked up at an alternate interchange.
Whilst I wavered, an update meant the 10:51 was now 12 minutes late. Had I been properly in training (pun alert) I would know whether 12 minutes was in the "change" window. I know generically that East Midlands trains are faster than FCC and I know my originally time-tabled change at L.A.P. would have at least 5 minutes grace.
I was seriously short of data. I also should have been able to evaluate whether a 9min to 12min re-calibration was likely to foreshadow a further slippage or whether we were already in the accurate-forecast horizon.
Anyway, I now decided to take the 10:55 on-time departure by FCC which I knew stopped at Parkway. I had missed the 10:40 anyway by dint of needing to buy a ticket - a disruptive event.
In my state of knowledge-starvation, I had inadvertently purchased a ticket to Parkway instead of my actual destination of Mill Hill Broadway. This meant facing a ticket-buying delay at the interchange point which could potentially see me miss an otherwise catchable connection. This would be a tremendous faux-pas.
Fortunately, I missed the connection by 2 full minutes anyway but I also saw the East Midlands train overtake us so I know that if I had opted to stick with that, I would have been able to miss the connection whilst buying the 2nd part of my ticket.
Arriving at Mill Hill 27minutes late (the interval between services departing Parkway to this non-prime stop), I failed to purchase my Mill Hill to St Pancras ticket on LEAVING the station on the way to lunch - a straightforward safety play.
This allowed me to miss my post-lunch train by <40 seconds which a real benchmark for disappointing results especially since the platform was < 50 metres from the ticket machine.
So, an aggregate of 1 hour late into St Pancras caused by basic knowledge deficit.
This was partly compensated by the knowledge that I wasn't in any real hurry.
Monday, 16 June 2008
Games People Play
As Summer is here (Summer is clearly here in my opinion: I do not accept that Summer begins on 21st June. How could it begin on the longest day of the year?) the boys are playing more in the garden (which is looking lovely, despite football damage to the borders).
They are still playing more on bloodthirsty internet games, but at least they do go outside. Likewise, I am playing more on internet poker games (mind you, that is generally when it's dark).
In any case, the top-rated game at the moment is table-tennis - the "new" table is still a bit of a novelty. Wins by Dad are now a rarity. The competition between Matt and Harry is quite even.
But there are other games on the roster - there is ping-pong (yes, that is different to table-tennis: I only discovered this recently) and badminpong (in which, we use the table tennis bats, ball, net and table but the rally consists entirely of volleys: 116 is the record).
Then there is TABLE table tennis. In this, one half of the folding table is folded up into the vertical position as if one were playing in one-player practice mode. However, the vertical section is manned by the other player who manipulates it slightly to create speed and direction cues for the ball.
In other words, one player uses a standard bat and plays the ball onto the upright half-table but the second player actually PLAYS the table and conducts the rally in this way. After a while you find that the natural flex of the table and the ability to modulate the speed and amplitude of the nudges allows quite a nuanced game.
This week, on the way back from the bottom of the garden, Matt and I invented swing-cricket.
The equipment needed is a football, and a 2-seater garden swing seat. One player (the bowler) has the football and the other (batter) sits in the seat leaving half of the chair open. The bowler kicks the ball towards the empty part of the seat.
Depending on the speed and height of the shot, and the skill of the batter, many results are possible. The most resounding effect is if the seat is swung in such a way as to make a sweet connection with the incoming ball producing a strong rebound which may travel for 4 (rolls onto the patio) or even 6 (lands beyond the gravel path without bouncing).
Of course, such a shot may be caught.
A yorker can strike the cross-beam below the seat and result in a clean-bowl. Other rules are quite complex depending on the way the ball hits and interacts with the various parts of the seat.
A full set of rules for an international match have not yet been agreed at the governing body, but a $200MM series to be funded by a secretive billionaire is being discussed.
They are still playing more on bloodthirsty internet games, but at least they do go outside. Likewise, I am playing more on internet poker games (mind you, that is generally when it's dark).
In any case, the top-rated game at the moment is table-tennis - the "new" table is still a bit of a novelty. Wins by Dad are now a rarity. The competition between Matt and Harry is quite even.
But there are other games on the roster - there is ping-pong (yes, that is different to table-tennis: I only discovered this recently) and badminpong (in which, we use the table tennis bats, ball, net and table but the rally consists entirely of volleys: 116 is the record).
Then there is TABLE table tennis. In this, one half of the folding table is folded up into the vertical position as if one were playing in one-player practice mode. However, the vertical section is manned by the other player who manipulates it slightly to create speed and direction cues for the ball.
In other words, one player uses a standard bat and plays the ball onto the upright half-table but the second player actually PLAYS the table and conducts the rally in this way. After a while you find that the natural flex of the table and the ability to modulate the speed and amplitude of the nudges allows quite a nuanced game.
This week, on the way back from the bottom of the garden, Matt and I invented swing-cricket.
The equipment needed is a football, and a 2-seater garden swing seat. One player (the bowler) has the football and the other (batter) sits in the seat leaving half of the chair open. The bowler kicks the ball towards the empty part of the seat.
Depending on the speed and height of the shot, and the skill of the batter, many results are possible. The most resounding effect is if the seat is swung in such a way as to make a sweet connection with the incoming ball producing a strong rebound which may travel for 4 (rolls onto the patio) or even 6 (lands beyond the gravel path without bouncing).
Of course, such a shot may be caught.
A yorker can strike the cross-beam below the seat and result in a clean-bowl. Other rules are quite complex depending on the way the ball hits and interacts with the various parts of the seat.
A full set of rules for an international match have not yet been agreed at the governing body, but a $200MM series to be funded by a secretive billionaire is being discussed.
Saturday, 31 May 2008
Lying Low
No posts on any of the blogs for the past couple of weeks, as we have been on holiday in The Maldives. We've never been there before - one reason being the long travelling time.
I had not given too much thought to what it would be like there. Everyone associates it with idyllic beaches and so on, and in fact it is stunning.
What I had no idea about before going is just how different the geography is to most places - even compared with, say, Caribbean islands.
The key thing is just how small and flat the inhabited islands are. Our resort was on a piece of "land" that was about 700m long and less than 20m wide. And the highest point of the landmass is about 2metres above sea level !
The other really remarkable thing is how clear and shallow the sea is. It's about 3 - 4 feet deep for as far as you can swim. From the air, you can see how the individual islands are sitting in these shallow lagoons which are doted around in the deeper Ocean surroundings.
And the colour of the sea is literally aquamarine. Very beautiful.
I had not given too much thought to what it would be like there. Everyone associates it with idyllic beaches and so on, and in fact it is stunning.
What I had no idea about before going is just how different the geography is to most places - even compared with, say, Caribbean islands.
The key thing is just how small and flat the inhabited islands are. Our resort was on a piece of "land" that was about 700m long and less than 20m wide. And the highest point of the landmass is about 2metres above sea level !
The other really remarkable thing is how clear and shallow the sea is. It's about 3 - 4 feet deep for as far as you can swim. From the air, you can see how the individual islands are sitting in these shallow lagoons which are doted around in the deeper Ocean surroundings.
And the colour of the sea is literally aquamarine. Very beautiful.
Sunday, 11 May 2008
Awards Season
Last night was presentation evening at Brickhill. We went last year, of course, when Harry unexpectedly won the Most Improved Player award in the U-11 team. This year we went for the last time, since Harry has decided to retire from the team.
We know the parents of the team much better now and we hope to keep in touch with them since they are a great group to know. The social aspect to the team is a really strong feature.
Karen, along with Andy & Rebecca (and Sarah who wasn't there last night), did a really top-class effort on the Hawks tombola. We were not able to buy any tickets, really, since 80% of the contents was ours to begin with ! If you are reading this blog then there is a fair chance that some of the content came from you originally at a birthday or Christmas !
Karen also helped out with the behind-the-scenes presentation work.
Harry was obviously not in the running for any footballing awards, but Sandra arranged for him to be presented with the matchball, signed by all the playes and coaches etc - which was great. I even got a departing-reporter gift which was a nice thought.
We are sad to see Harry leave the team but we are glad he was part of it for nearly two seasons.
The full report of the award winners etc is on the Hawks Blog.
We know the parents of the team much better now and we hope to keep in touch with them since they are a great group to know. The social aspect to the team is a really strong feature.
Karen, along with Andy & Rebecca (and Sarah who wasn't there last night), did a really top-class effort on the Hawks tombola. We were not able to buy any tickets, really, since 80% of the contents was ours to begin with ! If you are reading this blog then there is a fair chance that some of the content came from you originally at a birthday or Christmas !
Karen also helped out with the behind-the-scenes presentation work.
Harry was obviously not in the running for any footballing awards, but Sandra arranged for him to be presented with the matchball, signed by all the playes and coaches etc - which was great. I even got a departing-reporter gift which was a nice thought.
We are sad to see Harry leave the team but we are glad he was part of it for nearly two seasons.
The full report of the award winners etc is on the Hawks Blog.
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Window on the world
Recently a friend gave me a 2nd-hand PC to replace the one I had to return to work.
This was certainly useful, as choosing a new PC is a pain. The difficulty was that the PC had been gathering dust in an office (the previous user having moved on) for a while. In the meantime, everyone had forgotten the password.
Attempts at remembering or guessing the password failed. It was becoming rather a frustrating problem. However, I was pointed to a tech forum which gave instructions on how to reset the administrator password.
I have obviously heard how windows is supposed to be rather leaky from a security perspective, but never gave it much thought.
Quite a revelation ! This was a completely legitimate password reset, but it was still rather amazing what can be done with the right knowledge.
The procedure required no more equipment than an original Windows XP disk. It then involved rebooting the PC and interrupting the boot with a particular sequence of keystrokes. This led to a "secret" menu where, indeed, one could reset the administrator password (and do other low-level tasks).
Obviously, with a new admin password, the whole PC is opened up and I was able to proceed as necessary.
This was certainly useful, as choosing a new PC is a pain. The difficulty was that the PC had been gathering dust in an office (the previous user having moved on) for a while. In the meantime, everyone had forgotten the password.
Attempts at remembering or guessing the password failed. It was becoming rather a frustrating problem. However, I was pointed to a tech forum which gave instructions on how to reset the administrator password.
I have obviously heard how windows is supposed to be rather leaky from a security perspective, but never gave it much thought.
Quite a revelation ! This was a completely legitimate password reset, but it was still rather amazing what can be done with the right knowledge.
The procedure required no more equipment than an original Windows XP disk. It then involved rebooting the PC and interrupting the boot with a particular sequence of keystrokes. This led to a "secret" menu where, indeed, one could reset the administrator password (and do other low-level tasks).
Obviously, with a new admin password, the whole PC is opened up and I was able to proceed as necessary.
Friday, 2 May 2008
Blind Justice
Matt and Harry continue to be very taken by the table tennis. I enjoy it too and it's fairly close between the three of us.
Yesterday during a winner stays on series, I was playing Harry whilst Matt lay on the lawn face down. Matt was able to score the match by sound alone. He had to be told when there was a let, but apart from that he could apparently follow the progress of the point from the sounds of the ball hitting the bat and table and the rhythm of the rally, which is is obviously broken when the ball hits the net or is not returned etc.
Harry believed Matt was in fact peeping and could see, but as a non-skeptic I am inclined to accept the feat on its merits.
nb - Harry was the big winner last night with a 5-match streak.
Yesterday during a winner stays on series, I was playing Harry whilst Matt lay on the lawn face down. Matt was able to score the match by sound alone. He had to be told when there was a let, but apart from that he could apparently follow the progress of the point from the sounds of the ball hitting the bat and table and the rhythm of the rally, which is is obviously broken when the ball hits the net or is not returned etc.
Harry believed Matt was in fact peeping and could see, but as a non-skeptic I am inclined to accept the feat on its merits.
nb - Harry was the big winner last night with a 5-match streak.
Thursday, 1 May 2008
Good Form ?
Yesterday I had occasion to fill in a form for an online bank account. Name, address .... OK
Occupation ?
Lots of choices offered, but which is correct ?
Unemployed ?
Retired ?
Homemaker ?
Self-employed (in which case, professional or non-professional).
Studying ?
I went for Other in the end.
Occupation ?
Lots of choices offered, but which is correct ?
Unemployed ?
Retired ?
Homemaker ?
Self-employed (in which case, professional or non-professional).
Studying ?
I went for Other in the end.
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Officially Speaking
Today is actually my last day as an employee of Bear Stearns. Although I resigned 3 months ago, and left on gardening leave over 4 weeks ago, today is really the end of that chapter.
Monday, 28 April 2008
First in Class
A "first" for me ...
Over the years, I received a fair few class-action notices which invited me to apply for compensation in a lawsuit against companies whose shares had fallen sharply. Typically these came from the dot-com days.
Until now, I have universally binned these forms for a number of reasons.
One reason is that I do not agree with the principle of it. In my view, equity buyers know what they are letting themselves in for - shares can go down, sometimes precipitously. And if the reason was mismanagement, or even fraud by the directors, well that is one of the risks of share ownership.
Also it is profoundly illogical to sue company X to seek compensation for shareholders of X.
Other reasons included the fact that the amounts involved were somewhat small - my losses were modest (a few thousand dollars at the most) and of course the recovery in the lawsuit would be a fraction of that. Plus, it would take years to come through, if at all. I think 5 - 15 years from suit-to-cash is about the range.
But, when I received a class action notice relating to Xerox (the suit was filed in 2000, relating to trading in 1998 - that's how long these things take !) I decided to give it a go.
In this case, the lawsuit itself seemed slightly more meritorious and KPMG are held partly to blame and are putting in some of the money (although most of it, still, comes from Xerox themselves - I still do not see how that makes sense). Plus, my loss and expected recovery seems like it will at least cover the postage (£1.22). I think I might get about £200 eventually although I would not count on receiving it for another 2 years at least.
I need to get income from whatever source these days !
Over the years, I received a fair few class-action notices which invited me to apply for compensation in a lawsuit against companies whose shares had fallen sharply. Typically these came from the dot-com days.
Until now, I have universally binned these forms for a number of reasons.
One reason is that I do not agree with the principle of it. In my view, equity buyers know what they are letting themselves in for - shares can go down, sometimes precipitously. And if the reason was mismanagement, or even fraud by the directors, well that is one of the risks of share ownership.
Also it is profoundly illogical to sue company X to seek compensation for shareholders of X.
Other reasons included the fact that the amounts involved were somewhat small - my losses were modest (a few thousand dollars at the most) and of course the recovery in the lawsuit would be a fraction of that. Plus, it would take years to come through, if at all. I think 5 - 15 years from suit-to-cash is about the range.
But, when I received a class action notice relating to Xerox (the suit was filed in 2000, relating to trading in 1998 - that's how long these things take !) I decided to give it a go.
In this case, the lawsuit itself seemed slightly more meritorious and KPMG are held partly to blame and are putting in some of the money (although most of it, still, comes from Xerox themselves - I still do not see how that makes sense). Plus, my loss and expected recovery seems like it will at least cover the postage (£1.22). I think I might get about £200 eventually although I would not count on receiving it for another 2 years at least.
I need to get income from whatever source these days !
Monday, 21 April 2008
A funny thing happened on the way to Vegas
After my previous post, where I gave news of my good fortune in securing an upgrade, I thought I may have to follow it with news of a "bad seat beat".
As I sat in the lounge, I received a call from the check-in supervisor. A mistake had been made, and there was in fact no Upper Class seat available for me. They could fit me into Premium Economy, and would refund all my miles. Having thought I was in Upper Class, it felt like a downgrade of course.
Still, I was philosophical - net/net it was a free upgrade to Premium.
It was a bit like I flopped the nuts, and got out-drawn on the turn. However, there is always the river, and my redraw came in - there was a no-show and they gave me back my Upper Class boarding pass. I'd started in 7K, gone back to 75K and now moved up to 6K.
Result!
I boarded the plane and found that 6K was right at the very, very front of the plane. I started to get settled in when I became aware that two passengers travelling together had arrived and seemed to have been given 6A and 7K - not too convenient for being sociable during the flight.
Naturally I turned to offer Mr 7K the chance to swap. Well, who should it be but the Great Dane himself - Gus Hansen. His travelling partner turned out to be fellow Scandi pro Erik Sagstrom.
Gus declared himself very tired, but this did not stop him flirting constantly with the cabin staff. Eschewing sleep, he and Erik embarked on a non-stop game of Chinese Poker. When their tables had to be used for serving their meals, they carried on with the hands squeezed into the remaining space. The plane was practically on the ground before they would put the table away at the third time of asking.
Whilst I was too polite to remark on their celebrity, Gus's presence was certainly clocked by others in the cabin.
One such was Glen Chorny in seat 12K. Just yesterday, Glen won the EPT Monte Carlo main event and took down a cool €2.02 Million. I know this because in the plane he opened every conversation by saying "I've just won the EPT Monte Carlo and made 2 million Euros".
He also started every other sentence with the words "I swear to God....".
He was a nice chap, though, and he must be on one helluva high ... he was dashing over to make the same $25K Bellagio tournament that Gus and Erik were travelling to. I think we can forgive him a little effusiveness.
Still, between just winning the EPT and just starting the Bellagio, he obviously did not have his fill of poker and I had to lend him a pack of cards so he could play heads-up with a fellow passenger. After that (he won), he was going to give them back but I didn't put the cards away and lo-and-behold he borrowed them back shortly afterwards to play with the crew !
I felt I was being suitably abstemious in not trying to get in a game. This, in fact, was a good start on the road to proper game selection: playing world-class proven million+ winners is probably not a good expected value trade for me.
As I sat in the lounge, I received a call from the check-in supervisor. A mistake had been made, and there was in fact no Upper Class seat available for me. They could fit me into Premium Economy, and would refund all my miles. Having thought I was in Upper Class, it felt like a downgrade of course.
Still, I was philosophical - net/net it was a free upgrade to Premium.
It was a bit like I flopped the nuts, and got out-drawn on the turn. However, there is always the river, and my redraw came in - there was a no-show and they gave me back my Upper Class boarding pass. I'd started in 7K, gone back to 75K and now moved up to 6K.
Result!
I boarded the plane and found that 6K was right at the very, very front of the plane. I started to get settled in when I became aware that two passengers travelling together had arrived and seemed to have been given 6A and 7K - not too convenient for being sociable during the flight.
Naturally I turned to offer Mr 7K the chance to swap. Well, who should it be but the Great Dane himself - Gus Hansen. His travelling partner turned out to be fellow Scandi pro Erik Sagstrom.
Gus declared himself very tired, but this did not stop him flirting constantly with the cabin staff. Eschewing sleep, he and Erik embarked on a non-stop game of Chinese Poker. When their tables had to be used for serving their meals, they carried on with the hands squeezed into the remaining space. The plane was practically on the ground before they would put the table away at the third time of asking.
Whilst I was too polite to remark on their celebrity, Gus's presence was certainly clocked by others in the cabin.
One such was Glen Chorny in seat 12K. Just yesterday, Glen won the EPT Monte Carlo main event and took down a cool €2.02 Million. I know this because in the plane he opened every conversation by saying "I've just won the EPT Monte Carlo and made 2 million Euros".
He also started every other sentence with the words "I swear to God....".
He was a nice chap, though, and he must be on one helluva high ... he was dashing over to make the same $25K Bellagio tournament that Gus and Erik were travelling to. I think we can forgive him a little effusiveness.
Still, between just winning the EPT and just starting the Bellagio, he obviously did not have his fill of poker and I had to lend him a pack of cards so he could play heads-up with a fellow passenger. After that (he won), he was going to give them back but I didn't put the cards away and lo-and-behold he borrowed them back shortly afterwards to play with the crew !
I felt I was being suitably abstemious in not trying to get in a game. This, in fact, was a good start on the road to proper game selection: playing world-class proven million+ winners is probably not a good expected value trade for me.
Saturday, 19 April 2008
Miles better
On my way to Vegas this morning. Had arranged to travel down by train to Gatwick, which was handy since we sold Karen's car on Thursday. If I drove to the airport it would mean walking to school for the boys for the best part of a week - an unpopular outcome for sure.
Very smooth journey in fact - no delays and very short transits at each interchange. The Gatwick Express was as efficient as ever.
The whole journey in 2nd class - something I'm not used to but it's all in the name of bankroll discipline.
Likewise, booked in Economy Class on Virgin for the 10hour flight. Well, I arrived at the ticket desk and made enquires. No seats left in Premium, but for 30,000 miles I can upgrade to Upper Class. Insta-call.
The ticketeer radio'd through to check -- last one ! Seems my luck is in.
From experience I know that securing an upgrade on the return leg is tougher, so it could be a very unhappy return trip if I go broke and get no sleep on the flight back !
Very smooth journey in fact - no delays and very short transits at each interchange. The Gatwick Express was as efficient as ever.
The whole journey in 2nd class - something I'm not used to but it's all in the name of bankroll discipline.
Likewise, booked in Economy Class on Virgin for the 10hour flight. Well, I arrived at the ticket desk and made enquires. No seats left in Premium, but for 30,000 miles I can upgrade to Upper Class. Insta-call.
The ticketeer radio'd through to check -- last one ! Seems my luck is in.
From experience I know that securing an upgrade on the return leg is tougher, so it could be a very unhappy return trip if I go broke and get no sleep on the flight back !
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Tortoise and the Hare
Matt and I played a first-to-101 table tennis game yesterday. Matt (read Hare) kept sprinting ahead, then letting me (read Tortoise) catch up and overtake. Unfortunately for him, his timing was slightly off as I edged over the line to win 101-99.
All Change
We seem to have finally agreed a deal to change our cars for shiny new ones. The prime mover for this was the realisation that the ML was too big a car for Karen to drive around on short, local journies.
Once we had decided the Merc had to go, then we really needed to change my BMW for something with more "boot" (of the in-boot rather than boot-in meaning).
As is typical, we thought for months about the general idea of changing (i.e. Karen re-reminded me for ages before I agreed to do anything) but the actual change happened very quickly in the end.
As is also typical, we thought about going for 2nd-hand or lower-spec cars to reduce the cost (actually it would have been a cash-positive trade in that case) but as we came closer towards decisions, the spec and newness of the cars drifted upwards till they were both brand-new factory-ordered cars with the top spec available. Hmm.... actually Karen's is not the top listed spec, but that is only because Ford are not taking orders for that derivative!
What was interesting is that CO2-emissions, fuel-economy and green-taxation actually did play a part in the choices. It is really the first time I can remember being genuinely influenced by the tax-treatment of cars.
The first influence was that the motivation to change the cars at all was given impetus by the imminent hike in excise duty for our two high-CO2 cars, and the new £25 congestion charge proposal.
Secondly, when looking at models, we really did reject many cars on a CO2-basis. In my case, it meant I did not consider the biggest engines and I opted for a manual gearbox. In Karen's case it led to the choice of a particular kind of dual-clutch semi-automatic which has manual-type emissions.
I have to say that whilst we were looking quite closely at the emissions data, I doubt we would have stuck to the choices without the tax factor. Of course, the total CO2 effect of our choice is minimal especially as we do low mileage but one can see how the virtuous circle can start to take effect.
I can imagine that used-values for high-CO2 cars may tumble as people start actually paying the new bills.
A word or two on the selling-side of the equation. As usual, I was frustrated at the myth of high-residuals for prestige cars. The Merc is 2years old and has done <10k miles, but the dealer bid for the car was still only 60% of new. In fact, it was hard to get them to make a price on it at all.
BMW was even worse - they literally did not return my phone calls when I rang up to get a price.
I had no valid excuse for not trying to sell the Merc privately, despite the hassle. So, autotrader.co.uk .... got zero calls. However, did get a call from a car-broker who did a deal between us and Mercedes in Reading - for a considerable increase over the p/ex value. The car is being picked up this morning and so long as the cheque doesn't bounce, all's well that ends well.
Once we had decided the Merc had to go, then we really needed to change my BMW for something with more "boot" (of the in-boot rather than boot-in meaning).
As is typical, we thought for months about the general idea of changing (i.e. Karen re-reminded me for ages before I agreed to do anything) but the actual change happened very quickly in the end.
As is also typical, we thought about going for 2nd-hand or lower-spec cars to reduce the cost (actually it would have been a cash-positive trade in that case) but as we came closer towards decisions, the spec and newness of the cars drifted upwards till they were both brand-new factory-ordered cars with the top spec available. Hmm.... actually Karen's is not the top listed spec, but that is only because Ford are not taking orders for that derivative!
What was interesting is that CO2-emissions, fuel-economy and green-taxation actually did play a part in the choices. It is really the first time I can remember being genuinely influenced by the tax-treatment of cars.
The first influence was that the motivation to change the cars at all was given impetus by the imminent hike in excise duty for our two high-CO2 cars, and the new £25 congestion charge proposal.
Secondly, when looking at models, we really did reject many cars on a CO2-basis. In my case, it meant I did not consider the biggest engines and I opted for a manual gearbox. In Karen's case it led to the choice of a particular kind of dual-clutch semi-automatic which has manual-type emissions.
I have to say that whilst we were looking quite closely at the emissions data, I doubt we would have stuck to the choices without the tax factor. Of course, the total CO2 effect of our choice is minimal especially as we do low mileage but one can see how the virtuous circle can start to take effect.
I can imagine that used-values for high-CO2 cars may tumble as people start actually paying the new bills.
A word or two on the selling-side of the equation. As usual, I was frustrated at the myth of high-residuals for prestige cars. The Merc is 2years old and has done <10k miles, but the dealer bid for the car was still only 60% of new. In fact, it was hard to get them to make a price on it at all.
BMW was even worse - they literally did not return my phone calls when I rang up to get a price.
I had no valid excuse for not trying to sell the Merc privately, despite the hassle. So, autotrader.co.uk .... got zero calls. However, did get a call from a car-broker who did a deal between us and Mercedes in Reading - for a considerable increase over the p/ex value. The car is being picked up this morning and so long as the cheque doesn't bounce, all's well that ends well.
Monday, 14 April 2008
UK Exchange Rate
Last night and tonight, we have some unexpected guests. We had a call on Friday from one of ther parents at BMS. He had arranged (partly with the school) a trip to the UK of a group of 14-16 year olds from Ukraine.
They are spending most of their time in London staying in a hostel in Russell Square and taking in the sights.
However, they are spending a day at BMS today and so they needed accommodation for a couple of nights. The group are dispersed amongst a few families. We thought we would get 2 girls but in the end we had 3 boys which was easier for Matt and Harry to acclimatise to, although they are all extremely easy guests to have.
Based on the ones we have, they are very polite, speak excellent English and are both interesting and interested.
Fact of the day: Ukraine is the biggest country in Europe by area - I would not have known this, but one of the boys told me (in fact he gave the actual area in sq.km). When we checked in the Times Atlas, he was indeed correct !
They are spending most of their time in London staying in a hostel in Russell Square and taking in the sights.
However, they are spending a day at BMS today and so they needed accommodation for a couple of nights. The group are dispersed amongst a few families. We thought we would get 2 girls but in the end we had 3 boys which was easier for Matt and Harry to acclimatise to, although they are all extremely easy guests to have.
Based on the ones we have, they are very polite, speak excellent English and are both interesting and interested.
Fact of the day: Ukraine is the biggest country in Europe by area - I would not have known this, but one of the boys told me (in fact he gave the actual area in sq.km). When we checked in the Times Atlas, he was indeed correct !
TTT update
Further to the Turning The Tables post, Harry has now upped his game so I can't beat him either. Most recently he beat me 6 games to nil in a best of 5 match.
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Turning the Tables
I wonder when is it that you stop having to let the kids win, and they have to start letting you win?
Well, with Tennis, for example, we are not quite there. With poker, I think we are still a way off as well although Harry does have a good record against me in heads-up play. This week for example we played and he was very solid. He won, in fact, when I attempted what I thought was a well-timed bluff. It turned out he already had the top full-house ! Oops.
Anyway, whereas in tennis both Matt and Harry have a bit to learn, it seems that in table-tennis Matt is already there.
We just agreed to buy an outdoor table and with some "help" from the boys, it was assembled on Tuesday night.
In the first few games, I did enough to stay in front. Then Matt figured out how to smash the ball. He's absolutely deadly and before long he had to resort to blatant point-throwing to allow Harry or I to keep up.
Since then, Harry has also learned the real-world equiv of the Wii-power shot and is catching Matt up fast. Only the fact they have exams is keeping them from practicing more and becoming unbeatable.
Well, with Tennis, for example, we are not quite there. With poker, I think we are still a way off as well although Harry does have a good record against me in heads-up play. This week for example we played and he was very solid. He won, in fact, when I attempted what I thought was a well-timed bluff. It turned out he already had the top full-house ! Oops.
Anyway, whereas in tennis both Matt and Harry have a bit to learn, it seems that in table-tennis Matt is already there.
We just agreed to buy an outdoor table and with some "help" from the boys, it was assembled on Tuesday night.
In the first few games, I did enough to stay in front. Then Matt figured out how to smash the ball. He's absolutely deadly and before long he had to resort to blatant point-throwing to allow Harry or I to keep up.
Since then, Harry has also learned the real-world equiv of the Wii-power shot and is catching Matt up fast. Only the fact they have exams is keeping them from practicing more and becoming unbeatable.
Monday, 31 March 2008
What's Up With That ?
I noticed yesterday, after 11 years, that the brake levers on my bike are fitted in a bizarre way - they sit above the gear changers and are pointing up at a ridiculous angle. I can't believe I have never noticed it before.
However, I can believe this happened in the first place. I have realised previously that the bike-supermarkets have absolutely no idea how to assemble a bike in a basically correct fashion. On mine, for example, the rear tyre has been fitted back-to-front. An easy mistake to make, and not that serious, but you would not expect a bike shop to do this.
On a previous bike that we bought for Harry, there were 8 obvious (albeit minor and only moderately dangerous) errors. I didn't bother to take it back as there seemed little chance they would do a good job of correcting them if they could let them happen in the first place.
Anyway, all 4 bikes went out yesterday on a family tennis trip to the park yesterday afternoon. Karen wasn't too sure at first, but turned out to be pretty good (at tennis) in real life.
No serious games were played, but we did invent one or two new variants: most significantly, ping-pong tennis in which the ball had to be bounced on one's one side of the net before crossing over. Quite tricky, but achievable once you're into the rhythm.
However, I can believe this happened in the first place. I have realised previously that the bike-supermarkets have absolutely no idea how to assemble a bike in a basically correct fashion. On mine, for example, the rear tyre has been fitted back-to-front. An easy mistake to make, and not that serious, but you would not expect a bike shop to do this.
On a previous bike that we bought for Harry, there were 8 obvious (albeit minor and only moderately dangerous) errors. I didn't bother to take it back as there seemed little chance they would do a good job of correcting them if they could let them happen in the first place.
Anyway, all 4 bikes went out yesterday on a family tennis trip to the park yesterday afternoon. Karen wasn't too sure at first, but turned out to be pretty good (at tennis) in real life.
No serious games were played, but we did invent one or two new variants: most significantly, ping-pong tennis in which the ball had to be bounced on one's one side of the net before crossing over. Quite tricky, but achievable once you're into the rhythm.
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Tennis Rules
We're fortunate to have a large number of tennis courts nearby, and Harry & I went up to play at short notice on Thursday.
It's very informal there. There is no booking of courts etc. In the summer they get quite busy, but on a cold March afternoon there is always plenty of space. In this case, two courts were in use (there are about 8).
Our method of play is also rather informal.
To even up the match, Harry can make use of a variety of rule modifications. These include:
- unilateral double bounce
- unilateral use of double lines
- self-select service position
- freestyle service stroke
- elective third service
- optional 2nd-party serve call-in
- multi-style Mulligans and score-correction facility
It's good fun, though, and a close match is assured by the self-correcting use of the rulebook. I won 3-2 on this occasion (match cut short by requirements to be back for tea: very nice - lamb cutlets).
I think it will not be long before I need to use the flexible rulebook to my advantage, or else I will need to improve my game rapidly to keep up with the boys.
It's very informal there. There is no booking of courts etc. In the summer they get quite busy, but on a cold March afternoon there is always plenty of space. In this case, two courts were in use (there are about 8).
Our method of play is also rather informal.
To even up the match, Harry can make use of a variety of rule modifications. These include:
- unilateral double bounce
- unilateral use of double lines
- self-select service position
- freestyle service stroke
- elective third service
- optional 2nd-party serve call-in
- multi-style Mulligans and score-correction facility
It's good fun, though, and a close match is assured by the self-correcting use of the rulebook. I won 3-2 on this occasion (match cut short by requirements to be back for tea: very nice - lamb cutlets).
I think it will not be long before I need to use the flexible rulebook to my advantage, or else I will need to improve my game rapidly to keep up with the boys.
Monday, 24 March 2008
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Which Season is it Anyway ?
Yesterday, when I was out on my bike, it was most definitely cold. And windy. Not summery, or even springlike.
Despite this, the ice-cream van was in place and there were short-wearing people in the park.
Today, we had all manner of precipitation - standard rain, sleet, vertical and horizontal snow, and - when I went out on the bike again - hail (I would describe them as ice-chips rather than hail-stones).
At the same time, it was definitely sunny.
What's going on ?
Despite this, the ice-cream van was in place and there were short-wearing people in the park.
Today, we had all manner of precipitation - standard rain, sleet, vertical and horizontal snow, and - when I went out on the bike again - hail (I would describe them as ice-chips rather than hail-stones).
At the same time, it was definitely sunny.
What's going on ?
Friday, 21 March 2008
Never Fitter
My friend Jim once told me of a "theory" that he'd heard, which stated that one never becomes any fitter than one was at the age of 40.
I'm sure this is not literally true, but equally it has a strong ring of reason about it, and it is something that stayed in my mind ever since he mentioned it.
Assuming it is basically valid, then I am rather worried, as I don't think my current state of fitness is something I want to be stuck with !
The only good news is that I am 40 for another 6months+ so I have a chance to reset the baseline before it's too late.
I decided it was best to start asap on the repair work so I took the bike out around the park today. Just once round, which is a pretty modest achievement, but at least it is a beginning.
I'm sure this is not literally true, but equally it has a strong ring of reason about it, and it is something that stayed in my mind ever since he mentioned it.
Assuming it is basically valid, then I am rather worried, as I don't think my current state of fitness is something I want to be stuck with !
The only good news is that I am 40 for another 6months+ so I have a chance to reset the baseline before it's too late.
I decided it was best to start asap on the repair work so I took the bike out around the park today. Just once round, which is a pretty modest achievement, but at least it is a beginning.
54th State
This entry finally takes this post-sabbatical blog past the 53 that the original "Vegas to Vegas" achieved .... not a very interesting fact, I realise, but it came to my attention so I thought I would mention it !
Thursday, 20 March 2008
End of an Era
Today was my last day at work. My exit date was brought forward a few weeks since it's obviously all change at the firm right now.
Finally leaving felt almost sudden in the end, even though it has been in the works for a while. It was also somehow unsatisfying because of the recent sad events.
However, the first few hours of retirement were most enjoyable - I arrived home to find a house full of balloons, with cards & cake to follow !
Why didn't I think of this sooner !
Key: one candle for each year ....
Saturday, 8 March 2008
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Friday, 15 February 2008
Case Closed ?
In poker-related news, the appeal verdict has come back in the "Gutshot case". It was reported a few days ago - I believe it was delivered simply as a written ruling.
I attended the appeal hearing back in November. It was well argued for the defence, I thought, but it was always likely to be an uphill struggle to actually win the appeal.
If the appeal had been successful it would certainly have been a real landmark result. As the appeal failed, this is far less significant. This is especially true since the law has been changed subsequently, albeit the new Act is not dramatically different.
Poker is hardly mentioned in the law itself. It does not appear to have been drafted with poker in mind one way or the other, really. It mainly seems to want to deal with gaming (against the house). One of the real problems is that there isn't really any sensible provision for poker.
In any event, there is some possibility of an appeal to the House of Lords - that would be very interesting ! I daresay they would give a really considered verdict, although I am equally sure that the press reporting of the case - should it go that far - would be as ill-informed and trite as ever.
I attended the appeal hearing back in November. It was well argued for the defence, I thought, but it was always likely to be an uphill struggle to actually win the appeal.
If the appeal had been successful it would certainly have been a real landmark result. As the appeal failed, this is far less significant. This is especially true since the law has been changed subsequently, albeit the new Act is not dramatically different.
Poker is hardly mentioned in the law itself. It does not appear to have been drafted with poker in mind one way or the other, really. It mainly seems to want to deal with gaming (against the house). One of the real problems is that there isn't really any sensible provision for poker.
In any event, there is some possibility of an appeal to the House of Lords - that would be very interesting ! I daresay they would give a really considered verdict, although I am equally sure that the press reporting of the case - should it go that far - would be as ill-informed and trite as ever.
Sunday, 10 February 2008
In a Roundabout Way
Today's fixture at Dunstable (first of back-to-back matches against this team) saw us making one of the longest journeys of this year's away campaign. The trip was made more challenging by the apparent overnight disappearance of an ancient roundabout near the destination. Google said it was there, but there it wasn't, and pretty much everyone was wrongfooted.
Even the manager wasn't pitchside until 10:15, and last-to-arrive Sam C was only in situ moments before kick-off. The boys who arrived earlier were, of course, involved in useful pre-match exercises, except when they were playing "drop-kick the Evian" or climbing trees.
Nevertheless, by 10:30 we had 14 players (Romao unwell), 2 coaches and a linesman. Last week's emergency linesman, Boz, was re-assigned to reconnaissance duties behind enemy lines in the home crowd.
We kicked off playing up the noticeable but manageable slope. The pitch appeared small by comparison with last week's vast expanse, and the lack of a gale-force wind was most pleasant.
If Brickhill were at all put off by the haphazard start, then it was not apparent as we played good open football and were rewarded early on when Dominic got the ball over the line inside 2 minutes - Fred & Elijah also getting an attempt on target in the move.
Luke & Greg were also in a lot of the action upfront. We did not appear to be disadvantaged at all by playing uphill. At the back, Cameron was making some key interceptions. Sam H was back in the starting line-up and using his head wisely.
However, despite the good possession, the 2nd goal was elusive and we nearly paid for it as Dunstable broke clear and fired a shot decisively past our defence. Fortunately the post was equally decisive in preventing an equalizer.
We moved forward again and, a few minutes later, we did find the second goal when Greg and Fred combined well.
"There's still hope" cried the opposition captain. No kidding we thought - you should have seen us last week ....
And Dunstable hopes were still well afloat at Half Time: 2 - 0 it remained.
This scoreline wasn't seriously threatened until well into the second half. Once again, Brickhill created plenty of good moves - Ewan apparently in all of them. Niall was also in really good form in a creative/defensive role.
Now, Dunstable found their hope. After putting Harry to the test at close range, they converted the rebound. With a little less than 15 minutes to go, they visibly and audibly upped their game. They were now clearly willing to fight for the game.
Their spirit wasn't diminished when we restored our 2-goal margin: Angus started the move and found Ewan. Fred & Dominic then sandwiched the keeper on the edge of his box. When the ball escaped, Dominic gave it enough of a touch to take it across the line.
With the increased tempo from Dunstable, however, it wasn't clear that this would be enough of a lead. Harry parried one excellent free-kick and still another dead-ball shot came close to finding the corner. The home side were making repeated runs into our box.
With a minute left of regular time, they reduced the deficit to a single goal again from an effective cross.
Once again, it was tough on the supporters as the clock ticked down. Probably we could have been more effective at keeping the ball in this crucial phase, but we did enough to prevent any late equalizer.
In the end, the three points were safe and we did what we needed to do. Hopefully we can make a more straightforward job of it next week at home.
DUNSTABLE YOUTH 2 - 3 BRICKHILL WANDERERS
Dominic (2, 53), Fred (26)
Even the manager wasn't pitchside until 10:15, and last-to-arrive Sam C was only in situ moments before kick-off. The boys who arrived earlier were, of course, involved in useful pre-match exercises, except when they were playing "drop-kick the Evian" or climbing trees.
Nevertheless, by 10:30 we had 14 players (Romao unwell), 2 coaches and a linesman. Last week's emergency linesman, Boz, was re-assigned to reconnaissance duties behind enemy lines in the home crowd.
We kicked off playing up the noticeable but manageable slope. The pitch appeared small by comparison with last week's vast expanse, and the lack of a gale-force wind was most pleasant.
If Brickhill were at all put off by the haphazard start, then it was not apparent as we played good open football and were rewarded early on when Dominic got the ball over the line inside 2 minutes - Fred & Elijah also getting an attempt on target in the move.
Luke & Greg were also in a lot of the action upfront. We did not appear to be disadvantaged at all by playing uphill. At the back, Cameron was making some key interceptions. Sam H was back in the starting line-up and using his head wisely.
However, despite the good possession, the 2nd goal was elusive and we nearly paid for it as Dunstable broke clear and fired a shot decisively past our defence. Fortunately the post was equally decisive in preventing an equalizer.
We moved forward again and, a few minutes later, we did find the second goal when Greg and Fred combined well.
"There's still hope" cried the opposition captain. No kidding we thought - you should have seen us last week ....
And Dunstable hopes were still well afloat at Half Time: 2 - 0 it remained.
This scoreline wasn't seriously threatened until well into the second half. Once again, Brickhill created plenty of good moves - Ewan apparently in all of them. Niall was also in really good form in a creative/defensive role.
Now, Dunstable found their hope. After putting Harry to the test at close range, they converted the rebound. With a little less than 15 minutes to go, they visibly and audibly upped their game. They were now clearly willing to fight for the game.
Their spirit wasn't diminished when we restored our 2-goal margin: Angus started the move and found Ewan. Fred & Dominic then sandwiched the keeper on the edge of his box. When the ball escaped, Dominic gave it enough of a touch to take it across the line.
With the increased tempo from Dunstable, however, it wasn't clear that this would be enough of a lead. Harry parried one excellent free-kick and still another dead-ball shot came close to finding the corner. The home side were making repeated runs into our box.
With a minute left of regular time, they reduced the deficit to a single goal again from an effective cross.
Once again, it was tough on the supporters as the clock ticked down. Probably we could have been more effective at keeping the ball in this crucial phase, but we did enough to prevent any late equalizer.
In the end, the three points were safe and we did what we needed to do. Hopefully we can make a more straightforward job of it next week at home.
DUNSTABLE YOUTH 2 - 3 BRICKHILL WANDERERS
Dominic (2, 53), Fred (26)
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