following on from yesterday's whacking price rises, i was reading through BBC's "have your say" this morning, many people were calling for re-nationalisation of the energy market and water companies etc.
this is not the answer!
the major problems labour find themselves in are because the policies they thought would work, didnt work and with the best will in the world, they have failed.
take the gas industry for example: even the average man in the street, can see the basics.
when the taxpayer owned the gas supply, successive government's failed to get it under control. if wages werent spiralling out of control, then prices were hiked up, either way, the taxpayer had to bail it out with billions of pounds of money (which saw taxes increased), which could be better spent on public services and reducing the burden of tax for the individual. thatcher tried a different approach, which worked extremely well. it privatised the industry, but with hard conditions attached for the companies running the industry.
today's problems are explained away by spin... "the gas price is linked to oil prices" "we are importing gas as north sea gas is running out" this maybe correct in parts, but its not the full story and those in power know it!
"by the end of 2008, we will be buying around 10% of our energy needs from abroad" - government and industry report findings in early 2006 - now, in mid 2008, we are told "we are importing around 40% of our energy needs from abroad!" why is this? north sea gas still provides us with a large chunk of our gas requirements - additional, now the norwegian gas pipeline is open, in 2007 the company operating the pipeline, PAID the UK to take the gas 5p per therm as they had nowhere to store it!
Under privatisation rules, strict regulation was enforced regarding the percentage of our gas needs that we had to be able to store at any given time. regulation today has been relaxed, we can now only hold around 5% of the UK's gas needs in storage this was complete madness! when the government signed us upto european regulations, did they stop and think - hold on a minute, if we let more people into the country, wont our energy useage increase? how does this work with our supply chain of gas at the same time as storage capacity falls? wont this put the industry at risk? (bearing in mind that we can only store 5% of our energy needs) the energy minister's job is to stand up and warn of these dangers and make sure they are taken into account... obviously, successive ministers did not do this (or if they did, the prime minister didnt listen to them!) * why are we in the ludicrous position of selling gas in the summer to france, etc, who can store upto 20% in reserve, then buy it back from them at a higher price to cover our needs in the winter? * who allowed us to get into this position and why havent they done anything about it?
and one final point:
its estimated that more than 4 million people will be in arrears with their gas bills by the end of 2008. this is because under the original privatisation rules, meter reading was strictly enforced (backed up by customer rights) for them to be read every 3 months. the energy minister for the current government decided to relax this rule and allow them to read your meter just once every TWO YEARS! again... this was complete madness! pre payment meter customers (prepay being the clue) are now faced with huge bills for arrears. gas companies (and electric) are issuing statements telling the customer "you owe us £59-00 (in my case) but dont worry it will even itself out over the year!"
but ive prepaid for my gas! if i dont use another penny worth of gas, id owe you nothing as ive paid in advance for it. you didnt read the meter, so its your own fault that the meter hasnt been adjusted accordingly.
"its not how the system works" is the common reply from british gas... sorry i dont buy that for a second - i dont walk into argos and pay £300 quid for a washing machine, then 6 months later receive a bill from them for another £30 because their "system" didnt update the prices correctly when i bought it! no court in the land would find in favour of argos in that scenario, so why are the energy companies allowed to get away with it?
the onus under law in england and wales, is on the company to charge a price for a product and thats that, once purchased by the individual, the transaction has been completed and no future charges can apply. when i credit my gas card with £40 (for the month) then thats it, ive purchased XX amount of credit for gas. the amount of therms i get is dependant on british gas and their staff, if they dont read my meter or adjust it (using whatever system they choose) to reflect their prices, thats their problem, they cant be allowed to change the prices after the event, the transaction has been completed.
how many pensioners, vunerable people, etc, are going to receive bills or statements, telling them they owe hundreds of pounds to energy companies, in the run upto winter, when energy companies have not bothered to update or read their meters and changed the price after the individual has completed the transaction?
a simple solution would be to make meter reading compulsary once every 3 months. then change the law to stop the energy company changing the price outside that 3 month window. at the very least it would cut the number of people facing big bills made up of arrears, and may even stop cold callers knocking on doors spouting lies to try and persuade people to sign up to companies?
if they can afford to send out sales staff knocking on doors every other month, then they can afford to employ meter readers, why not use sales staff to take a meter reading?
Denz on 07.31.08 @ 01:03 PM CST [link]
Wednesday, July 30th
Labour - failing the consumer!
to make things easier for labour party supporters and the MPs themselves, heres a clear example of how they are failing.
british gas: yesterday a young lad knocked on my door, asking who im with for my electric. none of your business oh, well, errr, im from british gas and as you know EDF are putting up their energy prices by 22% for gas and 17% for electricity. if you join british gas for both (dual fuel customer) then youll save money! well lets see, if i join british gas for both forms of energy, then when you put your prices up, ill be hit with a double whammy? nope not at all, for 2007 british gas dropped their gas prices by 19% (he says showing me his embossed self typed up paper) EDF have gone up, and many people around here are signing up with us.
but british gas put up their prices in january 2008! no we havent, we have kept them low to offer good value to our customers! in january, british gas put up its prices by 15%. are you saying british gas didnt? yes i am, we dropped our prices in 2007 by 19%! then you are misleading people, as i know you increased prices in january 2008!
but EDF have put there prices a couple of days ago.... im not interested about them, your selling me british gas as a supplier and you are telling me lies about recent pricing that british gas have made (heres the full story as proof!)
but youd be saving for 3 weeks at least if you went with us for both gas and electricity! so i could opt out of british gas once your prices increase again? no but youd receive a dual fuel discount! but british gas put up dual fuel prices for customers in january 2008! no we didnt we have kept the price the same since 2007... im sorry, i do not believe you! oh well i have lots of customers to speak to so i havent got time to argue with you! but im just asking you questions about your company pricing and you are telling me lies, which is misleading at the point of sale which is an offence under the office of fair trading rules! i havent time for this, thanks, see you later...
now the failings: * labour relaxed the meter reading laws so that instead of every 3 months by law they can now read meters once every two years - this leaves prepayment customers who pay as they use gas or electric, in arrears with big bills and the threat of disconnection. * a complaint to the Office of fair trading (OFT) takes months to complete and almost always finds that british gas have a "training issue" - in other words, nothing is done to stop this happening again. * the energy companies walk upto my front door to try and change my company, and ignore the "no cold callers" sign thats clearly visible - under old laws they couldnt do this and could be reported for it, under labour, this is now deemed acceptable. * the cold callers can also carry confidential information about my household on their clipboards and always ask confidential questions on the doorstep - this used to be against data protection laws, under labour its perfectly acceptable for big business to buy personal information from other big businesses and openly use it in public. * price rises would be minimal if the labour party hadnt relaxed the laws for energy suppliers, that they have to store X% of energy in reserve - because of this relaxed law, we now only store just 5% of our energy needs. * labour commissioned a report in 2006 and told us that its findings showed we'd have to import around 10% of our energy needs by the end of 2008 - where they got their figures from god only knows, as the industry clearly warns that by the end of 2008, we will have to import 40% of our energy needs.
today (24 hours after my non-discussion with a british gas representative) british gas have announced a price increase of 35% for gas customers and 9% for electricity customers for dual fuel customers, prices will rise by 25% with immeadiate effect.
on my estate where i live, there are pensioners, vunerable people, busy mums, single parent families, etc, who have been misled by british gas. i dont care if hes just one member of staff, he represents a national energy company, and hes been telling lies to people around here.
- no redress for the customer, they could put in a complaint for all the good it will do - indirect labour policies which have made small problems twice as bad for millions of customers - government departments set up to stop misleading practices doing next to nothing to stop it, at a cost of millions to the taxpayer.
this is just one instance of how labour are failing the people of britain - labour havent got the slightest idea how their changes affect people's lives and never admit to getting it wrong and reversing those mistakes quickly, so the customer is protected
Denz on 07.30.08 @ 03:50 PM CST [link]
Tuesday, July 29th
Facebook surfing!
whilst sitting in waiting for 5 hours this afternoon, for yet another bt engineer (who didnt turn up or phone) and being in a crappy bored mood (theres only so many times a person can hoover and wash up on their anniversary) i went online to mess about.
i could have worked on penny pinchers but soon got distracted by facebook. from random search terms (like names of people called "tennis" rofl) i noticed that the search feature after the 2nd page of results, starts to repeat the previous results. from there, i started checking out friends facebooks to see what they were upto.. then i searched for people around the towns where i live, by town again the search results started repeating itself.
how can i just browse around finding people i might know?
the best way i found is to simply start with one friend click on profile, and look at their friends list. think you know someone? click on their profile then click on their friends list, etc.
4 hours later (and still no bt engineer) and about 800 profiles later, id found 3 people i used to hang around with hehe then i got to thinking, how long do people surf facebook for each day? me at home bored out mi tree, routine, so i googled about facebook surfing times... WOW! people spend hours each day on the site whilst they are at work... i know a few peeps mess about on it with packrat or bowling, etc, but hell fire, how do they manage to bod around on it for hours, without their boss knowing?
i always knew facebook was popular, but the time people spend on it whilst at work is scarey, i hope none of them operate machines!
Denz on 07.29.08 @ 06:15 PM CST [link]
Monday, July 28th
the airlines!
this industry is out of control!
airline companies have already been hit with huge fines for price fixing on fuel surcharges - after years of taking the customer for a ride. have you been to an airport recently?
normal airport protocol, (as it was 3 years ago) has changed dramatically. we are not talking about security here, we are looking at how the airlines and airports treat their passengers/customers.
you cant goto airports now for fish an chips or a burger, regardless of time of day. these facilities are only open now, to people who have gone through the departure gate you have to check in upto 3 hours before your flight departure time - and the prices of goods/food at regular high street outlets there, are triple what they are on the high street. parking is rediculous... everywhere to park now involves going through a barrier, issuing a ticket - not a problem in itself, i am told by the airport near ish to me, that its in the name of security!
so i asked my MP why costs are being increased as a result of "anti terror policy" and was told that it has nothing to do with the government - nice to know they take security so seriously! so i asked the airport why all "increased security measures" cost the individual more and increase profits? i got no reply.
why does it cost £3.50 for a 3 minute picking someone up? the whole purpose of increasing security, is to have less people having to go into the airport - so why force all drivers to park up and go into the airport by issuing a ticket system? why has the ticket price doubled in 6 months? and if security is really paramount, why keep the family member from parking by the doors to drop off using huge concrete slabs and increased police presence, and allow taxi drivers to drive right next to the doors and park up to drop off unchecked?
next we have the flights themselves when you search for a flight/holiday on a website, the flight costs increase depending on how many people are searching for flights at that time! i searched for flights to croatia: found the hotel and resort no problem. when i moved on to find the flights the price increased by more than £100, an hour later (at 9.30pm) the same flights had returned to their original price.
then we have whats included in the price in todays world: it used to be simple, you pay for your holiday/flights etc, youd get transfers at each end, youd get an inflight meal if it was a longish flight or dependant on the time of the flight, your luggage was fine in the hold, etc.
i looked at one flight online, the best price £209 each for a 5 hour flight. (expensive enough) it came top of the website "value" list. heres a list of what it didnt include:
* luggage - extra £18 if i wanted to take a suitcase (who the smeg goes abroad for a holiday and doesnt take any clothes? how am i supposed to carry suncream when im not allowed to take it on as hand luggage?) * transfers not included (another £18 each) * 5 hour flight but no inflight meals (an extra £10-£18) * fuel surcharge * airport taxes
the total cost of the flights per person shot up £46 for basic unavoidable needs. this put the price at £255 each (plus fuel and airport surcharges and taxes) this is illegal! a company cannot advertise a price of a flight that cannot be bought for that price. flight extras such as taxes and surcharges must be included in the advertised price! further down the list was another flight on the same aircraft, but £46 more expensive that the cheap price. this flight included fuel surcharge and airport taxes, and one suitcase upto 15kg.
the individual is being confused, stung for money, ripped off and conned. totally we just want to fly off on holiday and chill out, we dont want to be locked into an airport for 3 hours and starved into paying triple the normal price for a cardboard burger or some fish and chips. we want to be dropped off and picked up at the airport without having to pay £7 extra, we want to take a case with us as standard, not be misled on prices and forced to pay extra just to take our essentials.
ryan air announce profit warnings good! you and other airlines, dont deserve to make profit as you treat the customer disgracefully! i hope one of the big players goes bust, then maybe the other airlines will sit up and take notice.
why is the ruling bodies that drain millions from the taxpayer not doing anything about it? why are congestion charges being brought in on roads leading to the airports, under the excuse of "cleaning up pollution in the city centres" when the airports are nowhere near the city centres?
stop ripping customers off and start putting us first!
Denz on 07.28.08 @ 11:02 AM CST [link]
Friday, July 25th
glasgow east by election result
I was going to post, against the constant waffle of the labour party line, that government ministers and gordon brown spout continuously, like "we have to listen to the people" - the people have spoken loud and clear i think and "we are getting on with the job of helping people" - should have thought about policies that have caused and added to the problems?
as i was watching the results come in this morning, tony benn gave a short interview on one of the news channels, and summed the whole problem for this labour government up perfectly.
"in 51 years of being an mp, my constituents visit me every friday. not one single occasion has a person come to me and expressed concern about the dow jones, or the stock exchange! not one person has told me of their worry about a lack of charisma in the labour leader!"
he continued "politics is about changing the system to the needs of the people. for a long time now, the people are being changed to fit the system. they come to me and ask for help getting a home, they cant manage on their pension, they are unemployed, their mum cant get a hip operation, etc."
the interviewer then asked, "but isnt the message that gordon brown keeps telling us about getting on with the job, getting across to the people? isnt he right to try and point this out in today's world of 24 hour news, etc?"
once again Mr Benn put across a simple point which hit the nail on the head... "people dont care about the message or want him to listen, they want to see the practical things they expect in their personal lives! instead of running the stock exchange figures on news channels every hour, you would show the unemployment figures every hour, then the public would react very differently!"
although i dont always agree with tony been and his ilk, i have a lot of respect for him. he is what i would say is "old labour" and is refreshingly honest in my opinion. he doesnt spin or deceive people to make his point, he has a basic belief, he backs this up with hard evidence and common sense that is absent from the majority of labour MPs today. when he puts across his points, its always done with courtesy, and a well constructed - reasoned argument. he is never afraid to speak his mind, but he is also open to new ideas and different ways of doing things, he doesnt just dismiss an opponent out of hand, like he knows better than them, he respects difference of opinion to his own, and will change the way he views things if somebody puts across a convincing argument and alternative.
if i ruled the world..... id bring tony benn back into the cabinet... the man has principles! agree or disagree, his kind within the labour party have been pushed out in the name of "modernisation"
i dont buy the argument that "we need younger more vibrant government" in times of hardship, we need solid reliable consistant mps (from all parties) with principles, deep seated beliefs and experience, that they can use to work for the people!
Denz on 07.25.08 @ 10:27 AM CST [link]
Thursday, July 24th
on the move...
culture secretary discusses new agreement about internet service providers and users, on downloading music waffle waffle and more waffle.... after 10 minutes peak time news discussion, the interviewer asks, "what was the last song you downloaded?" errr hmmmmm errrr my son does all my ipod downloads... (said in a sheepish manner) "so you are brokering a deal on internet file sharing and options for a multi billion pound industry, and you dont know how to download a music file from the internet?"
ta daaaaaa: thats what we in the real world call "busted!"
keep on moving: no sooner is one moving job complete, then another one is booked for today... lifting heavy things is hard work!
Gardening: managed to get out the back yesterday and spent 4 hours (inbetween washing clothes and hanging them out) weeding, digging, cleaning up, mowing, etc. sat down at 4pm for a coffee on the flags, just sat there watching the world go by, amazing the amount of wildlife thats around! pigeons, starlings having a bath, beetles, loads of daddy long legs, spiders, (big and small ones), 4 cats, and the dredded slug
and for today.... we have tea an toast, hang the washing out, quick dip in the bath, then move a settee thats the biggest ive ever seen, then back home to carry on the work (front garden this time), then run a game in quiz, then and only then, i might get a break....
have a wonderful day in the sun shiiiiiiiiiiiine
Denz on 07.24.08 @ 08:54 AM CST [link]
Wednesday, July 23rd
random stuff...
bank of england hold interest rates 1 of the 9 voted to raise interest rates, i would have voted with him! why? because the borrowing defecit is set to grow and borrowed money will be coming back into the economy, which will increase inflation. better to prepare and steady us with a small increase than go through months of rises in the future... after the inflation has been created!
airlines someone needs to get a grip of these! yesterday's experiences show that airlines leave a lot to be desired when it comes to pricing and value. id reserved some accomodation, i went through to the list of flights... in 3 minutes the price increased by £100 per person! 30 minutes later when the clock struck 9pm, the price fell by £124 quid! clearly the more people are searching for flights.. the price rises this is wrong as its charging a price based on internet searches and not on actual costs another airline, showed three ticket prices for the same flight? i looked at each and only when i clicked on the cheapest did it appear.... the cheapest ticket was for no luggage! who the hell goes away to the sun for a weeks holiday without taking or bringing back any luggage? as another kick in the marketing dick.... the cheap flight plus baggage allowance added on = £26 MORE than the same ticket including a baggage allowance! con artists!
and finally...... well done to BBC weather for yesterday, useless bunch of gormless twonks! "getting warmer and sunnier all through the week" they confidently told us on monday... tuesday, it said "a bit cloudy in the west on tuesday"
it rained for almost the entire day and was still raining early this morning... how much are these people on for getting it totally wrong?
Denz on 07.23.08 @ 09:53 AM CST [link]
Tuesday, July 22nd
Business, spin, nonsense and misleading!
two classic examples of pure bull dished out to the british public today. lets be clear: the only interest business has in us all, is as a customer. their whole business model is designed to get us in, then out and to part with as much of our hard earned cash as possible!
Lender tells customers to "take cash and leave" a lender is offering its customers the chance to pay off their loans early at a reduced rate and waiving early repayment fees. awwwww thats nice of them isnt it!
now some facts: when a lender sells a debt to a debt collection agency (for example) it sells it for around a quarter of the actual value. thats why they buy them in blocks, for every £4000 owed, the debt collection agency can pick up that amount for around £1000. simple question, why not just sit down with the customer and sell them the debt for this price? its spiteful to sell it to a debt collection agency for a reduced fee, rather than just allow the customer to pay it off, for the same value. the lender drags out the account for as long as possible, adding on charges, interest, etc, all punishing the customer who for what ever reason has got into a financial problem. lenders just want quick turn around and quick profits, why else do you think they want us to swap loans, credit cards, mortgages all the time?
best bit of the story: "Over the last 10 months the only way we have been able to raise fresh loans is by offering steep discounts to multi-national banks. So instead of offering that to the bank we are dealing with customers directly," you mean you got greedy and thought youd sting your customers for big profits, now the markets have turned hostile to your plans, you are offering your customers a partial discount, so you can remain in profit!
utter drivel this story! 3 supermarkets lowering their petrol prices due to a lower oil price. asda are dropping diesel down 3p to £1.28 per litre! "We urge other retailers to follow our lead at a time when customers need as much help as possible." said their trading director! - im glad other retailers ignored your style of "helping the customer" as they would have been over charging the customer! wow! that would make the price they charge the same as shell garage franchises have been selling it for the past month! so for the past month they have been 3p per litre more, how many litres of fuel have they sold at their forecourts in the past month, when they could have reduced the price but didnt? quite alot i bet.
sainsburys are dropping their price by 5p per litre... BUT only for customers who spend £50 or more in one purchase at their store! cool, so you discriminate against me because i dont buy my bread and milk etc from your store, then you insult my intelligence (what little i have) by dressing it up as helping the public as a whole!
next up morrisons are reducing the price of a litre of fuel by 4p, saying "we are ensuring customers reap the benefit by passing on the saving quickly, for cheaper prices at the pump". utter tosh.
simple test for supermarkets: compare the percentage profit made on a litre of fuel now, to what you made on it 5 years ago or 3 years ago... now that would be interesting to see! undermine your whole "good value" self opinionated promotion bull
IF I RULED THE WORLD.... PRICING id go a step further, id introduce a a law that states that any retail outlet has to have a "percentage profit" shown next to each product sold on the receipt. id bet a month's wage that the prices would start tumbling down overnight!
this would certainly open the customer's eyes to the bull being spouted by the supermarkets on "convenience" and "good value" its no coincidence that as the price of fuel and food has increased, so has the percentage profit made by the big stores!
all the news stories this morning telling watchers and readers about "the supermarket petrol price war" as my nan would say.... what a cock and bull story!
Denz on 07.22.08 @ 08:46 AM CST [link]
Monday, July 21st
monday...
as i write this summats gnawing at my gum still, but at least the swelling is going down at last... still very sore tho last but one day of work at school, ive managed to be kept on for another 12 months from september as well, so thats good. i like it there, the kids can be very inventive and choice with language, but when they are involved in things, they get stuck in which is great to see. im not sure which ones will be back after the holiday, so all i can hope for is that some of them who have noticeably turned things around with hard work.. stick at it and youll go far.
those who will return, will have to put up with me annoying them again for another term, thats motivation enough to get themselves sorted.
so after tuesday, the start of the summer holidays, a time when prices shoot up for anything remotely holiday related! penny pinchers has yet more work to do.. christmas shopping has just started... watch out for companies that do not have large warehouse space to store stock, offering sales and discount vouchers! an ideal time to make a start no matter how small.
phone call this morning about a removal job, so thats wednesday booked, not bad for the first day of my school "holiday" hehe still looking around for a summer holiday, with some actual sun, sick of the rain, although the weather forecasters (you have a window.. open it!) are telling us how its going to be sunny this week getting into the high 80s on friday... that would be welcome.
gardening work needs doing, weeding etc. a neighbour has borrowed the wheelbarrow, and kindly left me a sack of dried horse dung as a thankyou, that will be used shortly. ive also signed up for guerrilla gardening where a random neglected land is planted out and cleaned up, etc, great fun and shows how if like minded people get together, just what can be acheived, regardless of where you live in the world!
very tired today for some reason, with a lawn that needs cutting and washing to do left over from weekend, i havent got the time to sleep, think its connected to this jaw ache ive got, once i take pain killers i feel relaxed and chilled out, i may just go and "test" the bed for a 10 minute chill to see if it still works... all in the name of research of course P
Denz on 07.21.08 @ 02:51 PM CST [link]
Sunday, July 20th
If I ruled the world.... mp3s
... it would be compulsary for everyone owning a website or blog, to have a single page devoted to listing their own personal MP3 playlist!
Denz on 07.20.08 @ 12:29 PM CST [link]
food chain
remember i posted about how if i ruled the world, then a pork sausage would be illegal if it didnt contain 90% actual pork?
the reason behind that post is that we dont know what is getting into our food chain, and today i came across one (of too many stories) of how the food chain, i believe, is playing a part in todays little world.
You can read the full story here everyone has been ill to some degree in their life, and its not nice. i suppose its mother natures way of grabbing you by the balls and giving you a reality check?
This story though raises some questions for me, not just about MS but about other diseases, that are becoming more common in our modern way of life:
Scotland (the story says) has one of the highest recorded rates for people suffering from MS, almost 1 in 500 of the population. Blame is also attributedto the "building block theory" which i agree with most of the time, we all have something and its something that sparks it off, etc. a combination of factors activates a gene i believe, then we develop the disease. The report then suggests what we do know of MS is that a lack of vitamin D can be a cause, as the further north from the equator you travel the more occurances of MS are to be found.
* so why not south of the equator? * why do countries further north than scotland and orkney have less sunlight hours and lower cases of MS? * gene related? must be somehowi think
theres no mention of the food chain though.. this would be the first place where id look! examine the regular diets of the scottish people, establish what chemicals are in their food chain then compare to other areas of the world where similar chemicals are being consumed and where MS has a high rate, etc. not just examine how a lack of acertain vitamin affects it.
* why would members of the public send angelina jolie gifts for her baby? shes a multi millionaire, do you really think youll see her new babies dressed in the yellow baby grows you send them? (more money than sense if you ask me)
* what is put in booze that makes everyone kick off all the time? whenever ive been drunk, i get stupid (yes more than normal) and laugh a lot more, i then feel sick so stop the drinkin and sleep. it seems more of the young uns cant seem to handle it and start getting agro, why?
* 3 days after having a tooth out, i still look like one of alvin and the chipmonk's backing singers, (or david coultard after hes slept funny on his chin) why?
* why would a town hall, book a full 10 piece live jazz band for their small town centre space, on the same day they book the poor sod who plays the panpipes with his single amp?
* why is it always upto the bloke when any decision on home stuff is to be made in front of other people? sat in travel agents - where did you have in mind? looks at the wife.... "i dont know its upto you!" - this is after 3 weeks of chewin my ear off about places to visit!
incase youre wondering, im wide awake at 4am after a teen night out "drama" which involved lots of shouting and anger and has now subsided into drunken kip... i hope!
Denz on 07.20.08 @ 04:01 AM CST [link]
Saturday, July 19th
another day slips by....
a totally anonymous day.... in pain - couldnt do any jobs - tired - finally got to have some painkillers, then fell asleep - woke up past 8pm - still raining - picked hoovergerl up from work - had a couple of brews - now off too kip!
laff of the day: watched a clip of alf garnet talkin to elsie his wife from the 60s, all done up ready to go out on the beer, he shouts at her.... "what do you look like!" shouts at her again.... "you look like ken dodd you do!" you had to see it to make you laff....
Denz on 07.19.08 @ 02:52 AM CST [link]
Friday, July 18th
instructions are there for a reason...
having had my back toof ripped out yesterday, it was a tad painful but the relief that its done makes up for it, ive had pain further down my jaw (away from where the tooth was taken out)
at first i thought it was where the needle had been in, it cant be tho, as both needles where to the back of my gob not near my chin... under my chin (to the left) has also been very tender as well as my sinus being sore. earache as well doesnt help, but the tablets i use for migrains have worked very well, numbing the pain within 10 minutes of taking them and lasting for about 3 hours.
so at 5am this morning when the throbbing pain woke me up, i took what is the last im allowed to take in any 24 hour period. (maximum of 8 tablets) had a brew... and sure enough the throbbing stopped to a mild pulse, and i hit the sack and drifted off to the land of nod. ahhhh. i woke up at 9, not too bad, mild pain i can live with, but the sore area has now swollen so i look like a cross between alvin and the chipmonks and desperate dan! very very sore to touch (i know... so dont touch it then) but throughout the morning the throbbing has increased... enuff of this i thought... ring the docs (im hoping its a small absess?) "sorry we cant see you, you have to go back to your dentist!" thanks for the help... "sorry we dont have a dentist until monday... go back to nhs direct!" thanks for that... nhs direct will arrange for someone to ring me back and ask questions...
crackin service im gettin here.... when will people in services realise that taking responsibility is THEIR job and not just palm me off to someone else?
anyhow... hoovergerl tells me to take some more pain killers, errr dont think so it could cause liver failure... but you arent overdoing it! err yes but it strictly says do not take more than 8 in 24 hours... try some paracetamol then! errrr the ones ive taken are massive shots of paracetamol, which is why they dont advise taking too many.. the doctor would only say the same as i am... i realise you are trying to help me, but unless you have studied medicine for 7 years and know the full outcome of taking drugs against the drugs own instructions, ill have to try and get through for hours until i can take some more tablets.
at the moment, avoiding complete renal and liver failure just to sort out a pain that feels like someone is scratching my gum/cheek and jaw bone with rusty nails, is no compensation...
Denz on 07.18.08 @ 12:32 PM CST [link]
Breaking news... the economy is in trouble!
its midnight uk time and a news story is breaking about the economy, that will have a major impact on every single household in the UK (full story here
for years this government have proclaimed to stick to their "fiscal rules" to protect the economy, now 1 day after parliament broke for its summer holidays... (so none can question the government) these "fiscal rules" are to be changed to allow the government to borrow more money to shore up the economy. BIG MISTAKE!
to control inflation the bank of england increases interest rates, so that people spend money on their mortgages instead of flat screen tvs and luxuries etc. this slows the economy and reduces inflation. the government can also raise taxes as another weapon against inflation.
by changing their "fiscal rules" so that they can BORROW more money, reveals the economy is in serious danger! yes they can do things without having to increase taxes we have to pay (this is the only plus sign for us)
* this money has to be paid back... with interest, and we already owe billions, so further down the line we are facing severe problems! * we have no gold reserves left to use as they have already been sold off * as the money the government borrow, comes back into the economy, it increases spending, which increases inflation!
how can the bank of england use interest rates to control the levels of inflation that pushes up our weekly shop/energy prices, etc, if, as the bank of england take money out of the economy to keep it steady, the government borrow money just as quick? the answer is..... it cant!
already the economy is struggling, energy bills are set to rise significantly, increasing inflation by borrowing money to try and stave off eby-election defeats is not the way to revive the fortunes for the people. does gordon brown really believe that the british people will be fooled into believing that a "buy now pay later" policy for short term gain will fend off election defeat?
the UK economy is in trouble and needs a sensible approach and way forward, not this approach.
if you are in debt at home, you do not borrow your way out of it, because as everyone knows the debts just increase further down the line and you end up in bigger trouble than you were originally.
someone tell gordon brown this, before its too late for Britain!
cynical as i am, there are times a company or people break through the barriers i put up to stop bad things happening, etc.
after 6 days of constant throbbing (steady gerls) i thought id lost the toothache when it went. it came back on monday, was worse than ever yesterday so in a moment of weakness i phone nhs direct for an emergency dentist. after 3 hours and 4 call centre discussions (where they advised i dont eat crisps DOH) a lady phoned me and set up an appointment to have the toof ripped out i could have had it done this morning by the local butch.. err dentist, but in discussing a previous emergency visit to a dentist 6 miles away, and how quick he was and managed to inject me without me realising it (which is the whole problem i have with dental treatment) and snap and twist a big back tooth out with only the feeling of a rubber band twisting in my gob, i was told that his emergency day was thursday, and asked would i like him to do it for me? in a flash, i said yes! the lady was puzzled, why wait another 24 hours, and put up with severe pain, just to get an appointment with this particular dentist?
because his service was first class last time i used it! no fuss in and out in 10 minutes (first time id been awake whilst havin a tooth removed) its about trust i told her... i trust them to sort it quickly and without pain. i suppose all dentists would say they do this.. but thats only part of it. this dentist is a private practice, and despite my requests they just take me on as nhs patient, and not tell anyone else, they couldnt agree to do it (ack) and still needed the £140 registration fee and higher charges for regular work, than an nhs dentist would charge. the lady on the phone then tells me she has heard they have taken on an nhs dentist at the practice and it might be worth pushing them again if theyll take me on.
i will certainly try, id love to have a dentist that i can trust (ive had just one since i was 6 years old) if i manage it, itll be worth the long trek over to get teeth cleaned and fillings etc, heres hoping that my faith isnt shattered by a painful needle this time around!
strike action im in work today whilst all the others are on strike, i tried a days holiday routine but no chance hehe, so im moving heavy things in my scruffs instead... thats providing someone is there to let me in? i dont support striking in any form... but i understand why they are doing it, patheticpay rises of under 3% whilst allaround prices go through the roof, im prepared to take it easy on them and not give them any stick for it.
after yesterdays battling and madness with the kids, maybe things will get done today instead of dealing with "issues?"
Denz on 07.16.08 @ 10:51 AM CST [link]
Tuesday, July 15th
information security in the UK!
a complete joke is what it is... i have an example for you, which is so farsical, you couldnt make it up!
i pay my mobile every month by card via their website. this involves 2 stages of security: * username and password to log into the website. * all the card details/address details.
all on a secure server (indicated by the padlock in the browser) what could be easier!
today, i thought, i know ill pay my bill. logged into the site no problems, filled out the card details, no problems, processing payment... short wait.... no problems. up pops a window which offers a "new service" from the bank - together with visa, you can register for this free service by filling out the form and setting up a unique password. at the bottom it states: by clicking on submit you agree to the terms and conditions
houston.... we have a problem! this highlights perfectly how business treats its customers:
- the form is for a bank and a world recognised symbol of trust and banking authority. so why then is it not set up using a secure server? (id have thought security of customer details would be paramount?) - the form is compulsary, in that if you dont join the service via the form you can no longer use the service to pay your bill... isnt it against the banking code that schemes set up by financial services should be "opt in" and not compulsary? - by clicking on submit (after inputting all the details on the unsecure form) it states that i would be agreeing to the terms and conditions of the "free" service.
* in the terms and conditions small print (which ironically, are displayed using a secure server) it states that i would be agreeing to the bank using all details of purchases made online using the details submitted, in anyway they see fit! whats even worse, i would also be allowing other companies owned by the company that own the bank, and their agents and their companies to use my bank details (and no doubt my online shopping habit data as well) * what could be worse than that? How about also letting them transfer, store and administer my details in foreign countries which are not covered by the data protection act! all i have is the bank's assurances that they will check that security comes upto good standards in their view!
it appears the banks have finally recognised that there is a great deal of money to be made in selling details of how their customer's shop with their debit card, especially online, as this system proves.
the existing system used, ie, 3 pieces of information that the card holder holds, satisfies data protection law in the UK. the four pieces of information requested exceeds the recommendations of security under our laws, so why else would they want to start up a "new" security system all of a sudden?
now then mr government... what are you going to do, if as you tell us, we need to stop our information being sold onto other companies for business purposes?
Denz on 07.15.08 @ 09:17 PM CST [link]
what can we believe?
im often called a cynical old fart, when i question how genuine or valid a claim is by business or government (for example) the industry on surveys, studies and reviews has generated billions over recent years, but how are we to know which ones are genuine?
this is why i trust none of them, as they always have an angle!
Example: i bought a dyson vacuum cleaner, £275 quids worth (not cheap at all) i chose it as it had an industry award for picking up animal fur and was the best in class for people with allergies. yet i found after only a couple of weeks, it would not pick up cat hair of a short piled wilton carpet. it wasnt even as powerful as the old dyson we had for 5 years, (which only conked out when i vacuumed concrete dust up)
the engineer came out checked everything was correct, then threw down his deep pile carpet tile and told me how brilliant the machine was... so i told him to hoover part of our carpet. it failed to pick up the hair instead dragged it into a line. he told me "its the wrong type of fur!" i rang the customer services, and they persuaded me to try it for a month.
this went on for almost 18 months, engineer comes out saying how fantastic the machine is, we had new tubes fitted and new hardpipe at the back and each time they sent back a report about how the suction was fantastic and they could do no more. some suggested spraying the carpet with water before hoovering, some suggested the wrong type of fur. i contacted the area manager direct, and they agreed to send out the same machine again but with a motorised brush system instead of the suction brush i had. no difference at all despite 3 engineers testing it.
then finally an engineer came out who admitted he was beaten and couldnt understand why it wouldnt pick up cat hair he sent a report back saying it was just dragging it across the carpet.... dyson's responce? "nothing more we can do. either put up with the new machine or accept a full refund!" what about the award winning certificate? i asked it didnt test cat hair from a persian cat!
so the award wasnt worth the paper it was written on.
all around us... it doesnt end there.. we are all misled everywhere we look!
* price comparison websites which are owned by companies that it recommends, those that arent owned by other companies, are "independant" and fight for the customer, yet earn millions of pounds in profit even year and float on the stock market. * government tells us today that inflation is at 3.8% yet all bills are exceeding this level by upto 17% more than "official figures" (for example milk and bread) * supermarkets self proclaim they are cheap and good value.... advertising sale prices on groceries, which more often than not see large price increases in the weeks before, only to go back down to more than the original price, when an offer is on! * car taxation "to help the environment" and we are told is "a green tax" is only partially being used on environmental projects, the rest just disappears into the economy.
even on major issues we are being misled! "its a global problem, we have no control over global markets" is the most popular saying at the moment, yet if those in power hadnt changed the rules and ways we do things, then global issues wouldnt be able to effect us all so much!
is it any wonder people are cynical?
Denz on 07.15.08 @ 10:10 AM CST [link]
Monday, July 14th
kids...
want to sort out "problem" kids? send them a consistant message via police, parents and schools!
just as business wants to dress everything up as being "easier" or "more convenient" for us, then ends up with us paying more, the system is also over complicated.
first up..... accept that there will also be isolated exceptions to the rule, some kids will go way off the scale in later life, its in their nature, DNA, whatever. next... get rid of thousands of social services staff.. in recent years they have suddenly appeared as needed when most really are not needed at all. what used to be parents, teachers and police, is now turned into "parents working closely with schools and social services!" utter bollocks!
kids are a blank canvas, they respond in ways that they LEARN benefits them! if they get away with disrupting a classroom once, they build a connection to their brain on how they got out of it. if it happens again, they use this connection again, and if it works, the connection grows stronger and they are more likely to use it again. they will then fine tune that connection, to increase the chances of it working, and the way they deal with situations is set. if a "block" isnt put on that connection it grows in strength and theyll use it more and more... leading to problems further down the line.
how can it be that my cat understands that if she has a dump in one of her litter trays or close by to where they are, its good and acceptable, yet if she does her business under the window in the front room (which she does about 3 times a year for some reason) as soon as i speak to her.. she runs a mile and knows instantly shes done wrong? she doesnt speak my language, shes not from the same species, etc. is it because she has formed connections in her brain when she was a kitten, all those times i carried her to her trays and encouraged her?
next... teach kids how to lose "non competitive sports days" this has to be one of the biggest balls ups in educational history! everybody in life has to lose sometimes!
how else will a person improve? how boring a world is when you never lose and get everything handed to you on a plate. everyone must make connections in their brain, that teaches them humility, from this stems learning new skills or learning a different way of doing things so they can win in future when faced with the same scenarios. muhammed ali didnt put on a pair of boxing gloves and suddenly become world champ after his first fight. he learned to move, he learned to create angles, he improved his skills, he changed his approach to certain fighters styles, until he was adaptable and fast and hard to hit and he gradually became a winner!
the same applies in life for all people. if i lean to the left against a southpaw, with my guard down, hell hit me in the face... in future i wont do that ill lean to the right.... see what i mean, the brain has made a connection for a bad experience and when i fight a southpaw and lean to the left i know im going to get hit, so i change my approach and lean to the right, this builds a positive connection in the brain that i switch to in future.
ive experienced this not losing approach in my family life, i see it in my working life (at all jobs ive worked) its nothing new. the difference is today, that the current crop of people have had their "blank canvass" painted in a way that they never lose, so when they do have no control and do lose, they dont know how to deal with it. they havent had a consistant message in their early years, so dont know how to handle scenarios now.
in my youth, if two people had a fight X would win and Y would lose. wether watching or taking part. that was that - sorted. todays world, X has a fight with Y, Xwins. Y then picks up a bottle or a knife or gets his mates and jumps on X when they are on their own. X then gets his mates or takes drastic action, ie, the whole thing escalates. an end to the issue is pot luck as there is no consistancy to the approach taken to deal with it.
At work, i would try and do something in a way i thought would work, if it doesnt work, id goto someone more experienced, and tell them what ive done and how its not worked and ask their advice. 9 times out of 10 the person i ask would help me or show me or tell me how to do it, and i learn from them. i dont resent that person because they know how to do something and i dont.
the final example (thankfully!) is at work. 6 year old wants to play football with the big lads... the big lads spend ages trying to move the little lad out of the goals so he wont get hit with the ball.... it spoils their game, they lose out on time theyve got etc. my approach? "hell only get hit with the ball once!"
sure enough, a few days later one lad shoots and the ball hits the 6 year old on the bonce, yes he cries, hes upset theres a spat cos the big lad who shot hasnt taken into account that the little lad is there.... but the little un no longer wants to stand in goal and the problem has been resolved because he knows hell be hit with the ball hard... his brain has built a warning connection based on his experiences!
talking to teens about knife crime is all well and good, but its talking to kids that are already well behaved and have already built connections to reflect this. the reason kids carry knives is because they havent had a consistant message and they already wont listen to adults.... this measure will fail!
Denz on 07.14.08 @ 11:00 AM CST [link]
Friday, July 11th
If I was in charge... food
always moaning... yep i know. every now and again when i have an idea, to make things better in general, then ill post em under the heading.... "if i wer in charge..."
food: something, i dont know what, is adding to illness and the burden on the NHS etc, via the food chain. kids are permanently ADD (attention def disorder) or hyper active, or running around like mini looneys and out of control... etc. then we have the oldies, that seem to suffering ailments that were quite rare a few years back...
anyhows... thing is we need some action on our food chain. nothing seems to be exempt from big business fiddling with it. * why cant ya find out how much salt (or sodium) is in a macdonalds shake? * why when you eat a good old british banger, which is supposed to be made from pork, in today's world, is it allowed, that less than 30% of that sausage is actually pork? * why is information about what the nation is shovelling down in their gobs everyday, so hard to find? and when you do find it.. why is it always so damned complicated? (ie, glucose as well as sugar, sodium as well as salt, etc.)
my solution: give the food industry say 3 months. if you sell a product such as a pork sausage, then it must be a minimum of 90% pork, no exceptions, no moaning, do it. to sell a pork sausage that isnt even 50% pork, is misleading, change it or go out of business. if its a fish finger. then its 90% fish or its illegal id apply this to every food product, if its a milkshake then its 90% milk or it isnt allowed. you get the picture.
after 3months, random tests would be made on any one of your products when bought off the shelf. fail that test and your product is banned until you submit a new one falling within the guidelines.
aim: with reduced salt and sugar being used in our food and god knows what else chucked in, disguised in a sausage or milkshake or fish finger, etc, then watch the heart disease levels fall... slowly but surely this great nation of ours would regain trust in its food chain and feel all the better for it.
as you know, over at Penny pinchers we have been warning people for sometime now, about the various ways your personal information is being used by companies, to use marketing techniques to part you from your hard earned cash.
weve also been warning about how your information and mouse clicks are being sold on for big profits, which rewards are not being "put back into the website to keep it going" - everything from your tesco clubcard data, to the friendly local forum for your area online that you are a member of.
search engine searches, target advertising at you and restrict your searches.
In a report today, (Click here for the full story) the powers that be are saying rules should be tightened as to redress for the individual and how your personal information is sold on by companies and official bodies.
examples: * a new line is put in by BT, within 30 minutes and automated competition call rings up... yet the company charge for a feature to stop cold calls - why are you selling my details on then? * if you goto court to claim back banks charges (or for what ever reason) then this information is being bought by companies to target junk mail drops that try to sell you loans! * shop at a supermarket with a credit card? this information is used to target promotions and marketing at you when you are most likely to visit in the future - read up on tesco's clubcard for example, its amazing how much data they collect on us, and use to increase their profits - which is why a penny pincher would mostly use cash! * price comparison websites - why do you think so many of these are owned by companies that also work in the same area you are searching in, for cheaper prices? - they have been found to run a form of credit check on you, which can also discriminate against the individual, by gathering information (the latest one is car insurance, where a person's occupation changes the price charged for the same policy!) * doorstep agents from rival energy companies to the one you are with, turn up at your door with a clipboard, and all your household details on it, and start asking you to confirm who you are, your details, etc. (and you dont even do any business with them!)
there are strict rules supposedly, where a company have to have a person available to tell you where they bought your information, but seldom is this person "available" at the time you call, nor do they have the capacity to delete your details from their database, and they cannot ensure your details are not sold on to other companies, even when told not to do so by you!
how many companies have been fined in the last 5 years for this way of doing business? not a single one! its all very well releasing yet another study into the problem, the problem is, selling of our information should never have been allowed in the first place. the old addage applies: when asked for your details, the attitude to take is to say "mind your own business!"
a few questions..... we all know the price of a barrel of oil has gone up, but:
* more than 2% of a litre of fuel, is now biofuel, so why are we still paying the same price as when it was 100% fuel? * why has the price of diesel gone up faster and overtaken the price of unleaded? * why are petrol stations allowed to charge sometimes upto 3 price increases on the same delivery of fuel? (which costs them one price) * In 2007, less than £9 billion pounds of taxation on the motorist was spent on road projects. The treasury raised over £48 billion via the motorist, so where did the other £39 billion go? greg pope, labour MP for hyndburn, is suggesting to people who ask this question, that they would prefer to see schools and hospitals closed - in other words, no answer! * if taxation on the motorist is a form of "green taxes" then why is the money raised not being used on "green" projects? * this year due to fuel price increases, the government is to receive a £4 billion windfall from tax revenues, why arent these being used to reduce the burden on the public?
and a final question:
* why are local authorities (our county councils) working to road building and repair plans, that are two years old?
I can understand certain forms of taxation being used in certain areas, ie, taxes on smoking being used in the NHS, but i don't understand why taxes which fall on the majority (eg, the motorist) is being called "green" taxes and then spent in other areas not related to the "green" issue or the motorist?
Denz on 07.10.08 @ 09:50 AM CST [link]
Wednesday, July 9th
Rain rain go away!
still testing here...
are you, like me, sick of the rain? i cant do anything outside, i cant move the garden mound around, i cant plant stuff... and apart from this, i have to do housewerk (once this thing is working again)
maybe the BBC weather will shed some light on it...
Denz on 07.09.08 @ 05:58 PM CST [link]
more testing...
calm yerself we are still testing!
Denz on 07.09.08 @ 03:21 PM CST [link]
hello were back!
we are testing stuff out and checking things.... suck yer thumb or summat
Denz on 07.09.08 @ 02:31 PM CST [link]
P
