Wed - April 30, 2008
Mr Miserable
In the current crisis (rising
food and fuel prices coupled with credit crunch) what this country needs is a
person at the helm who demonstrates that a) he understands the problems, b) has
a clear handle on how to resolve them and c) makes it clear that he is in
charge.
Our great unelected Prime Minister was on the BBC
Today programme this morning
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7374860.stm)
- boy did he sound miserable. In the current crisis (rising food and fuel
prices coupled with credit crunch) what this country needs is a person at the
helm who demonstrates that a) he understands the problems, b) has a clear handle
on how to resolve them and c) makes it clear that he is in charge. What we had
was a miserable wretch admitting mistakes, avoiding answering simple questions
and sounding like he would rather have stayed in
bed.
A lamentable performance.
Mr Brown, the sooner you go, the better off we'll all be.
A lamentable performance.
Mr Brown, the sooner you go, the better off we'll all be.
Posted at 11:18 AM
Fri - April 18, 2008
Running a mooting competition is HARD WORK...
I've been really shocked at how
many students, keen on the law, allegedly passionate mooters, and very
interested in putting something additional on their CV, have tossed an e-mail
over the wall within hours of the contest to say that they cannot or will not
attend, often citing poor organisation for their failure to get a grip on what
is usually a tricky but far from insurmountable
problem.
...Moreover, this swapping around was possible without disrupting the preparation in our case because the grounds of appeal that were used for the first round problem were independent between Lead and Junior positions so no agreement or discussion was required between the Lead and Junior entrants (note that the term Lead and Junior is only a traditional term and that the problems were intended to be of equal complexity).
...Moreover, this swapping around was possible without disrupting the preparation in our case because the grounds of appeal that were used for the first round problem were independent between Lead and Junior positions so no agreement or discussion was required between the Lead and Junior entrants (note that the term Lead and Junior is only a traditional term and that the problems were intended to be of equal complexity).
I've been running a mooting competition for the
past few months. This is not easy. If you've ever mooted you'll know that it
involves some work to examine the problem set and to prepare a cogent argument
that you can deliver in a short and fixed period of time - and then you have to
be familiar enough with the material to respond to the judge's questions, which
can be fearsome.
However, the most difficult aspect of mooting, I have found out, is just turning up at all. I've been really shocked at how many students, keen on the law, allegedly passionate mooters, and very interested in putting something additional on their CV, have tossed an e-mail over the wall within hours of the contest to say that they cannot or will not attend, often citing poor organisation for their failure to get a grip on what is usually a tricky but far from insurmountable problem.
Organising a mooting competition is straightforward in principle:
1/ You have to decide how many rounds to hold;
2/ You have to decide how many moots you can support in each round (this is more important for the earlier rounds) and any entry criteria;
3/ You have to decide on the rules of the contest (be assured, law students will read these carefully); and
4/ You have to have sufficient support and influence to get good quality judges for each round.
In our case, we had originally planned four rounds with the objective of giving as many people as possible who put their hand up the opportunity to moot in at least the first round. However, we were plagued by drop-outs in the first round, probably 40% of those who originally wanted to moot dropped out - some as late as the afternoon of the moot.
This was profoundly disappointing but there was an easy to execute plan-B which was that we could move contestants around between moots if the drop-outs were of the same position (ie Lead Appellant, Junior Appellant, Lead Respondent or Junior Respondent) that a contestant had prepared for. The ONLY (and I say this with some reservation) advantage of having a lot of drop-outs is that it is relatively easy to get people to move around as there are plenty of open positions to fill. Moreover, this swapping around was possible without disrupting the preparation in our case because the grounds of appeal that were used for the first round problem were independent between Lead and Junior positions so no agreement or discussion was required between the Lead and Junior entrants (note that the term Lead and Junior is only a traditional term and that the problems were intended to be of equal complexity).
In the event the moots took place and everyone who wanted to moot and could be bothered to do the preparation had the chance to moot - this meant a lot of work behind the scenes but, hell, it just had to be done. Our judges for the first round were last year's students who were nearing the end of their first six months of pupillage - and we are very grateful to them for giving up their time.
The really nice thing about the first round was the feedback that the judges took the time to give to each mooter, in both written form and orally. Feedback received has been that this was a very useful outcome of entering the competition.
Last night we held the semi finals. Sadly we still had drop-outs, five in total. Nevertheless the standard of mooting was excellent - those who could be bothered gave the judges (tutors on the BVC course, kindly giving up their evening) quite a hard time to differentiate between them.
It really surprises me that anyone should drop out at the semi-final stage, especially since two of the five had done the preparatory work. What a waste of time.
My lasting memory of running this competition is certainly going to be the drop-outs, after people have worked so hard to get here and then to turn down an opportunity to practice for free and get feedback from practitioners. Folks are weird, I'm afraid.
However, the most difficult aspect of mooting, I have found out, is just turning up at all. I've been really shocked at how many students, keen on the law, allegedly passionate mooters, and very interested in putting something additional on their CV, have tossed an e-mail over the wall within hours of the contest to say that they cannot or will not attend, often citing poor organisation for their failure to get a grip on what is usually a tricky but far from insurmountable problem.
Organising a mooting competition is straightforward in principle:
1/ You have to decide how many rounds to hold;
2/ You have to decide how many moots you can support in each round (this is more important for the earlier rounds) and any entry criteria;
3/ You have to decide on the rules of the contest (be assured, law students will read these carefully); and
4/ You have to have sufficient support and influence to get good quality judges for each round.
In our case, we had originally planned four rounds with the objective of giving as many people as possible who put their hand up the opportunity to moot in at least the first round. However, we were plagued by drop-outs in the first round, probably 40% of those who originally wanted to moot dropped out - some as late as the afternoon of the moot.
This was profoundly disappointing but there was an easy to execute plan-B which was that we could move contestants around between moots if the drop-outs were of the same position (ie Lead Appellant, Junior Appellant, Lead Respondent or Junior Respondent) that a contestant had prepared for. The ONLY (and I say this with some reservation) advantage of having a lot of drop-outs is that it is relatively easy to get people to move around as there are plenty of open positions to fill. Moreover, this swapping around was possible without disrupting the preparation in our case because the grounds of appeal that were used for the first round problem were independent between Lead and Junior positions so no agreement or discussion was required between the Lead and Junior entrants (note that the term Lead and Junior is only a traditional term and that the problems were intended to be of equal complexity).
In the event the moots took place and everyone who wanted to moot and could be bothered to do the preparation had the chance to moot - this meant a lot of work behind the scenes but, hell, it just had to be done. Our judges for the first round were last year's students who were nearing the end of their first six months of pupillage - and we are very grateful to them for giving up their time.
The really nice thing about the first round was the feedback that the judges took the time to give to each mooter, in both written form and orally. Feedback received has been that this was a very useful outcome of entering the competition.
Last night we held the semi finals. Sadly we still had drop-outs, five in total. Nevertheless the standard of mooting was excellent - those who could be bothered gave the judges (tutors on the BVC course, kindly giving up their evening) quite a hard time to differentiate between them.
It really surprises me that anyone should drop out at the semi-final stage, especially since two of the five had done the preparatory work. What a waste of time.
My lasting memory of running this competition is certainly going to be the drop-outs, after people have worked so hard to get here and then to turn down an opportunity to practice for free and get feedback from practitioners. Folks are weird, I'm afraid.
Posted at 05:15 PM
Sun - February 10, 2008
I have eaten 'lawyer'!
I have eaten 'lawyer'.
Does that make me a cannibal?
Marrakech in the winter is a great place to
be - we went there over Christmas to chill out. It is very relaxing and a
thoroughly pleasant
environment.
Although English is spoken after a fashion, the local tongues are Arabic and French. Many restaurants and bars have an English menu (although more do not) although we found evidence that these are probably created by students or, in one spectacular example, by Babelfish. One of the places that we ate at was a café that offered a special salad for not much money.
On the menu was the following:
As you can see - 'lawyer' was on the menu and I ate it!
Does that make me a cannibal?
Although English is spoken after a fashion, the local tongues are Arabic and French. Many restaurants and bars have an English menu (although more do not) although we found evidence that these are probably created by students or, in one spectacular example, by Babelfish. One of the places that we ate at was a café that offered a special salad for not much money.
On the menu was the following:
As you can see - 'lawyer' was on the menu and I ate it!
Does that make me a cannibal?
Posted at 10:39 AM
Tue - December 18, 2007
Data protection - what a nonsense situation...
Because BA say that they
have to provide 'Advance Passenger Information' to our destination country and
they do this by pre-loading a form with data trawled from the Executive Club
database.
...So it is not an infringement to retain and use old data for years after its sell-by date for a purpose that it was never intended for?
...This comes at a time when the British Government is (rightly) being lambasted for sending the confidential information of millions of people through the ordinary postal services without any encryption or, worse, sending the key along with the data.
...So it is not an infringement to retain and use old data for years after its sell-by date for a purpose that it was never intended for?
...This comes at a time when the British Government is (rightly) being lambasted for sending the confidential information of millions of people through the ordinary postal services without any encryption or, worse, sending the key along with the data.
The modern world has got itself into a
really difficult
position.
Transactions must, in some cases, now be carried out only on-line. Like buying an airline ticket from BA. The alternative is to pay a punitive fee for not doing so. Banks are going the same way.
At least the on-line travel agency or bank is open 24*7 - or is it?
Today I've been checking myself and my wife in to a BA flight for our Christmas vacation. It has been a very hard process, involving over an hour of telephone calls. This despite the fact that the check-in is 'on-line'. Why? Because BA say that they have to provide 'Advance Passenger Information' to our destination country and they do this by pre-loading a form with data trawled from the Executive Club database.
For me this is just fine. As a regular traveller with BA I keep my information up to date and I have my browser loaded with my log-in information. For my wife, who seldom travels with BA these days, this is not straightforward at all. Basically the data that the BA Executive Club holds on her is ten years old. Wrong passport number, wrong e-mail address, wrong company, wrong almost everything.
Could I get BA to change their records on her behalf? NO - on the grounds that it would infringe data protection regulations. So it is not an infringement to retain and use old data for years after its sell-by date for a purpose that it was never intended for? No, apparently not.
This comes at a time when the British Government is (rightly) being lambasted for sending the confidential information of millions of people through the ordinary postal services without any encryption or, worse, sending the key along with the data. Surprise, then, when the data goes missing. Bigger surprise when ministers retain their jobs.
We need a reset on personal information. It is getting too hard to keep track of who holds what. Data protection regulations protect nobody but the process. They certainly don't protect my data or that of my wife from misuse or wide-area distribution.
In the 21st Century, we need to have a serious re-think about what the purpose is behind these regulations and re-arrange the priorities in these process-bound institutions. Ministers should be fired too.
Transactions must, in some cases, now be carried out only on-line. Like buying an airline ticket from BA. The alternative is to pay a punitive fee for not doing so. Banks are going the same way.
At least the on-line travel agency or bank is open 24*7 - or is it?
Today I've been checking myself and my wife in to a BA flight for our Christmas vacation. It has been a very hard process, involving over an hour of telephone calls. This despite the fact that the check-in is 'on-line'. Why? Because BA say that they have to provide 'Advance Passenger Information' to our destination country and they do this by pre-loading a form with data trawled from the Executive Club database.
For me this is just fine. As a regular traveller with BA I keep my information up to date and I have my browser loaded with my log-in information. For my wife, who seldom travels with BA these days, this is not straightforward at all. Basically the data that the BA Executive Club holds on her is ten years old. Wrong passport number, wrong e-mail address, wrong company, wrong almost everything.
Could I get BA to change their records on her behalf? NO - on the grounds that it would infringe data protection regulations. So it is not an infringement to retain and use old data for years after its sell-by date for a purpose that it was never intended for? No, apparently not.
This comes at a time when the British Government is (rightly) being lambasted for sending the confidential information of millions of people through the ordinary postal services without any encryption or, worse, sending the key along with the data. Surprise, then, when the data goes missing. Bigger surprise when ministers retain their jobs.
We need a reset on personal information. It is getting too hard to keep track of who holds what. Data protection regulations protect nobody but the process. They certainly don't protect my data or that of my wife from misuse or wide-area distribution.
In the 21st Century, we need to have a serious re-think about what the purpose is behind these regulations and re-arrange the priorities in these process-bound institutions. Ministers should be fired too.
Posted at 09:42 AM
Wed - December 5, 2007
Side lights, parking lights, no lights...
What is worse is that the
lazy drivers that use only side lights are the same ones that seem to consider
the speed limit and red traffic lights to be merely advisory in nature,
optional, something that can be disregarded when they are in a
hurry.
...The reason for driving with side lights was, historically, and I am referring to ancient history here, cars with small batteries and dynamo charging systems would find that the battery would not get a proper charge after dark.
...The reason for driving with side lights was, historically, and I am referring to ancient history here, cars with small batteries and dynamo charging systems would find that the battery would not get a proper charge after dark.
I am beginning to dislike wretched London
drivers. Sadly, many of them drive like Taxi drivers at night - with side
lights, otherwise known as parking lights, once the sun has
set.
This is disturbing for one reason, as a pedestrian, their vehicles are often hardly visible at night, particularly since there appears to be another sad fashion, for very dark coloured cars.
What is worse is that the lazy drivers that use only side lights are the same ones that seem to consider the speed limit and red traffic lights to be merely advisory in nature, optional, something that can be disregarded when they are in a hurry.
For a pedestrian, this is dangerous.
For some reason it is still lawful to drive in London with a vehicle that is poorly lit. Anywhere else in the country it is unlawful. Why on earth has no one put a stop to it?
The reason for driving with side lights was that, historically, and I am referring to ancient history here, cars with small batteries and dynamo charging systems would find that the battery would not get a proper charge after dark. Driving with side lights reduces the drain on the battery and, therefore, reduces the likelihood of the car not starting at the end of the day or in the morning. With a dynamo. Today's cars use alternators. Alternators can and do deliver very high current to the battery. The battery in a large vehicle can be charged within a few miles, at more or less any speed above walking speed. The issue of battery discharge when driving after dark is no longer particularly significant. Therefore no need to drive with side lights.
So why do they do it?
To get at pedestrians?
Why do the authorities not do anything about this menace?
I dread to think...
This is disturbing for one reason, as a pedestrian, their vehicles are often hardly visible at night, particularly since there appears to be another sad fashion, for very dark coloured cars.
What is worse is that the lazy drivers that use only side lights are the same ones that seem to consider the speed limit and red traffic lights to be merely advisory in nature, optional, something that can be disregarded when they are in a hurry.
For a pedestrian, this is dangerous.
For some reason it is still lawful to drive in London with a vehicle that is poorly lit. Anywhere else in the country it is unlawful. Why on earth has no one put a stop to it?
The reason for driving with side lights was that, historically, and I am referring to ancient history here, cars with small batteries and dynamo charging systems would find that the battery would not get a proper charge after dark. Driving with side lights reduces the drain on the battery and, therefore, reduces the likelihood of the car not starting at the end of the day or in the morning. With a dynamo. Today's cars use alternators. Alternators can and do deliver very high current to the battery. The battery in a large vehicle can be charged within a few miles, at more or less any speed above walking speed. The issue of battery discharge when driving after dark is no longer particularly significant. Therefore no need to drive with side lights.
So why do they do it?
To get at pedestrians?
Why do the authorities not do anything about this menace?
I dread to think...
Posted at 09:05 PM
Tue - November 20, 2007
Smokers are lurking like vampires in alleyways...
Moving towards the other
side, I had to again change direction in order to avoid a further two people
lurking under the other side of the arch. Had it been any darker I should have
felt no further reaction had Buffy the Vampire Slayer come rushing out of the
shadows and stuck them through the heart with a pointed
stick.
Following the (welcome) implementation of
the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in England in July life has changed
for all of us.
A foreseeable but, perhaps, not well discussed consequence of the ban on smoking has been a considerable increase in the number of people smoking in the street. In London this has become quite hopeless as so many smokers try to find shelter while destroying their own health and blowing a component of that destruction in the faces of innocent passers by.
It is also noticeable how many smokers, having had a brief look at the regulations, fail to notice the provisions preventing them from huddling in doorways or in mostly covered public spaces. Scotland at least made it absolutely clear that a bus shelter was also a smoke free zone, England seems to have left that bit out.
The worst part, however, is only becoming clear now, as winter darkness descends and rainy days force smokers ever deeper into the shadows. Walking back from a nearby Tesco Metro this afternoon through London's surprisingly picturesque St. John's Gate, I noticed two shadowy figures under the right side of the covered gateway. Moving towards the other side, I had to again change direction in order to avoid a further two people lurking under the other side of the arch. Had it been any darker I should have felt no further reaction had Buffy the Vampire Slayer come rushing out of the shadows and stuck them through the heart with a pointed stick.
Smokers have become the modern day vampire. They lurk, avoiding the light, in the shadows, doorways and alleyways of our towns and cities. Their breath can kill, their teeth and fingers are stained grubby brown, and they have a haunted look about them.
Come back Buffy and slay these urban vampires and London will be a better place.
A foreseeable but, perhaps, not well discussed consequence of the ban on smoking has been a considerable increase in the number of people smoking in the street. In London this has become quite hopeless as so many smokers try to find shelter while destroying their own health and blowing a component of that destruction in the faces of innocent passers by.
It is also noticeable how many smokers, having had a brief look at the regulations, fail to notice the provisions preventing them from huddling in doorways or in mostly covered public spaces. Scotland at least made it absolutely clear that a bus shelter was also a smoke free zone, England seems to have left that bit out.
The worst part, however, is only becoming clear now, as winter darkness descends and rainy days force smokers ever deeper into the shadows. Walking back from a nearby Tesco Metro this afternoon through London's surprisingly picturesque St. John's Gate, I noticed two shadowy figures under the right side of the covered gateway. Moving towards the other side, I had to again change direction in order to avoid a further two people lurking under the other side of the arch. Had it been any darker I should have felt no further reaction had Buffy the Vampire Slayer come rushing out of the shadows and stuck them through the heart with a pointed stick.
Smokers have become the modern day vampire. They lurk, avoiding the light, in the shadows, doorways and alleyways of our towns and cities. Their breath can kill, their teeth and fingers are stained grubby brown, and they have a haunted look about them.
Come back Buffy and slay these urban vampires and London will be a better place.
Posted at 04:51 PM
Wed - October 10, 2007
Royal Mail Strikes...
It is clear to me that
the proper business reaction to the strikes that are seriously, if not
catastrophically, affecting the Royal Mail services at the moment should be to
find any means possible to avoid reliance on the service in the
future.
...The union thugs that are currently holding the country to ransom should take a small amount of time to reflect on the comparable positions of dock workers in the 1980s and mine workers over the past 50 years - in both cases lengthy strike action which was damaging to their industry in the short term resulted in substantially changed industry with dramatically reduced workforce.
...The union thugs that are currently holding the country to ransom should take a small amount of time to reflect on the comparable positions of dock workers in the 1980s and mine workers over the past 50 years - in both cases lengthy strike action which was damaging to their industry in the short term resulted in substantially changed industry with dramatically reduced workforce.
It is clear to me that the proper business
reaction to the strikes that are seriously, if not catastrophically, affecting
the Royal Mail services at the moment should be to find any means possible to
avoid reliance on the service in the
future.
Certainly I shall be making further efforts to do this. Already my business uses electronic banking, sends invoices by e-mail and receives them by e-mail by agreement with clients and the last remaining reliance on the post service is the payment of taxes.
The union thugs that are currently holding the country to ransom should take a small amount of time to reflect on the comparable positions of dock workers in the 1980s and mine workers over the past 50 years - in both cases lengthy strike action which was damaging to their industry in the short term resulted in substantially changed industry with dramatically reduced workforce. In short, they shot their foot off above the knee! When I started at University in Southampton in the early 1980s the dock workers were already on strike and they remained on strike for so long that subsequently only the container port was viable - and as a result the number of people employed is now a fraction of what it was before. It is possible, indeed correct, to argue that this progress would have happened anyway. But it is my opinion that the strikes accelerated the progress beyond management's wildest dreams.
The same is happening to Royal Mail. Its a great shame but there it is - the service is no longer essential and the reputation for reliability has been permanently undermined. RIP Royal Mail.
Certainly I shall be making further efforts to do this. Already my business uses electronic banking, sends invoices by e-mail and receives them by e-mail by agreement with clients and the last remaining reliance on the post service is the payment of taxes.
The union thugs that are currently holding the country to ransom should take a small amount of time to reflect on the comparable positions of dock workers in the 1980s and mine workers over the past 50 years - in both cases lengthy strike action which was damaging to their industry in the short term resulted in substantially changed industry with dramatically reduced workforce. In short, they shot their foot off above the knee! When I started at University in Southampton in the early 1980s the dock workers were already on strike and they remained on strike for so long that subsequently only the container port was viable - and as a result the number of people employed is now a fraction of what it was before. It is possible, indeed correct, to argue that this progress would have happened anyway. But it is my opinion that the strikes accelerated the progress beyond management's wildest dreams.
The same is happening to Royal Mail. Its a great shame but there it is - the service is no longer essential and the reputation for reliability has been permanently undermined. RIP Royal Mail.
Posted at 07:45 AM
Mon - September 10, 2007
Eek - I'm a student again!
Wow! I've actually become a student again!
Luckily I was quick off the mark and managed to secure a place in a University
postgraduate hall of residence almost as soon as I was offered the place - so I
don't have the anguish of trying to find (and afford) a shared flat or, worse,
commute in to London each day.
With regard to affordability, I have to say that the whole position of students in England has deteriorated dramatically since I was first an undergraduate in the early 1980s. Although the course that I am doing is a postgraduate course, and would always have cost more money than an undergraduate course, the pay, pay, pay mentality has reached epidemic proportions with students accumulating very high debts with actually a rather lower likelihood of achieving a well enough paying job to get rid of the debt in an acceptable time.
This is all completely independent of my position, however, as the Bar is in an even more serious situation from the student's point of view. There are many, many more students taking the Bar Vocational Course than there are available pupillages or, worse, tenancies in chambers. As a result chambers are being (understandably) very selective (albeit based on narrow criteria) and it is now considered to be not-abnormal to fail to secure a pupillage until a year (or more) after taking the BVC. For an impoverished straight-out-of-school student, this raises the real risk that candidates will simply give up because they cannot secure the required funds to develop their postgraduate skills and then wait for a year or more before progressing to the next stage. It seems to me that many of these students will simply wander off to paying jobs, their ambitions dashed.
Some practitioners that I have spoken to have suggested that it is the fault of the institutions for offering too many BVC places. This may indeed be the case.
Nevertheless, I am excited at the prospect of being a full-time student again and having the opportunity to really focus on the law rather than trying to fit it in with other activities (since I did my Law degree part time whilst running my business).
Today was really an easy day, with only registration to cope with, but I did manage to get one step ahead and register for IT services before actually registering for the course (since the key to doing that was only knowing my registration number) so that I now have broadband in my room...
I'm saddened to note that there is no common area in the hall of residence. Although our little flat with four rooms (only three occupied so far...) has a sort of kitchen/diner, there is little prospect of meeting other students socially. This is a big change from my experience in the early '80s.
More soon - tomorrow we have our first 'lectures' and collect the first of several packages of books and materials...
With regard to affordability, I have to say that the whole position of students in England has deteriorated dramatically since I was first an undergraduate in the early 1980s. Although the course that I am doing is a postgraduate course, and would always have cost more money than an undergraduate course, the pay, pay, pay mentality has reached epidemic proportions with students accumulating very high debts with actually a rather lower likelihood of achieving a well enough paying job to get rid of the debt in an acceptable time.
This is all completely independent of my position, however, as the Bar is in an even more serious situation from the student's point of view. There are many, many more students taking the Bar Vocational Course than there are available pupillages or, worse, tenancies in chambers. As a result chambers are being (understandably) very selective (albeit based on narrow criteria) and it is now considered to be not-abnormal to fail to secure a pupillage until a year (or more) after taking the BVC. For an impoverished straight-out-of-school student, this raises the real risk that candidates will simply give up because they cannot secure the required funds to develop their postgraduate skills and then wait for a year or more before progressing to the next stage. It seems to me that many of these students will simply wander off to paying jobs, their ambitions dashed.
Some practitioners that I have spoken to have suggested that it is the fault of the institutions for offering too many BVC places. This may indeed be the case.
Nevertheless, I am excited at the prospect of being a full-time student again and having the opportunity to really focus on the law rather than trying to fit it in with other activities (since I did my Law degree part time whilst running my business).
Today was really an easy day, with only registration to cope with, but I did manage to get one step ahead and register for IT services before actually registering for the course (since the key to doing that was only knowing my registration number) so that I now have broadband in my room...
I'm saddened to note that there is no common area in the hall of residence. Although our little flat with four rooms (only three occupied so far...) has a sort of kitchen/diner, there is little prospect of meeting other students socially. This is a big change from my experience in the early '80s.
More soon - tomorrow we have our first 'lectures' and collect the first of several packages of books and materials...
Posted at 08:20 AM
Wed - July 18, 2007
London's peace destroyed...
I've been travelling to London more or less every
week for most of this year and it is surprising how much noise comes from sirens
used by the emergency services.
...In fact, in the last two months, I can count the occasions when I have seen emergency services vehicles travelling in London without their sirens wailing on the fingers of one hand.
...Worse, various vehicles appear to be experimentally using continental style sirens rather than the more conventional type normally deployed in the UK - this may be a sign that other road users are not moving out of their way fast enough having become rather fatigued by the number of emergence services vehicles pushing their way through traffic.
Additionally, the generall rule in England is that sirens and horns should not be used between 11:00 and 06:00 - yet in London the sirens wail all night.
...In fact, in the last two months, I can count the occasions when I have seen emergency services vehicles travelling in London without their sirens wailing on the fingers of one hand.
...Worse, various vehicles appear to be experimentally using continental style sirens rather than the more conventional type normally deployed in the UK - this may be a sign that other road users are not moving out of their way fast enough having become rather fatigued by the number of emergence services vehicles pushing their way through traffic.
Additionally, the generall rule in England is that sirens and horns should not be used between 11:00 and 06:00 - yet in London the sirens wail all night.
I've been travelling to London more or less every
week for most of this year and it is surprising how much noise comes from sirens
used by the emergency services. Any walk down a London street, day or night,
will be disturbed by the wailing of sirens, even if there is little or no
traffic.
In fact, in the last two months, I can count the occasions when I have seen emergency services vehicles travelling in London without their sirens wailing on the fingers of one hand.
Is this a problem of resources? Are London's emergency services so stretched that they have to make every vehicle movement an emergency in order to just keep things running?
Is this a cynical attempt to 'remind' the populace that there are threats that have to be kept under control and that everyone should be vigilent?
Alternatively, are the drivers just over-keen on the use of their emergency warning sirens and lights?
The latter point is certainly arguable when you consider that many of these vehicles are rushing around with almost no traffic in the way - so use of sirens is entirely avoidable, especially at night. Worse, various vehicles appear to be experimentally using continental style sirens rather than the more conventional type normally deployed in the UK - this may be a sign that other road users are not moving out of their way fast enough having become rather fatigued by the number of emergence services vehicles pushing their way through traffic.
Additionally, the generall rule in England is that sirens and horns should not be used between 11:00 and 06:00 - yet in London the sirens wail all night.
This all smacks of sloppy resourcing, poor training and over zealous use of the term emergency. The sooner it quiets down the better.
In fact, in the last two months, I can count the occasions when I have seen emergency services vehicles travelling in London without their sirens wailing on the fingers of one hand.
Is this a problem of resources? Are London's emergency services so stretched that they have to make every vehicle movement an emergency in order to just keep things running?
Is this a cynical attempt to 'remind' the populace that there are threats that have to be kept under control and that everyone should be vigilent?
Alternatively, are the drivers just over-keen on the use of their emergency warning sirens and lights?
The latter point is certainly arguable when you consider that many of these vehicles are rushing around with almost no traffic in the way - so use of sirens is entirely avoidable, especially at night. Worse, various vehicles appear to be experimentally using continental style sirens rather than the more conventional type normally deployed in the UK - this may be a sign that other road users are not moving out of their way fast enough having become rather fatigued by the number of emergence services vehicles pushing their way through traffic.
Additionally, the generall rule in England is that sirens and horns should not be used between 11:00 and 06:00 - yet in London the sirens wail all night.
This all smacks of sloppy resourcing, poor training and over zealous use of the term emergency. The sooner it quiets down the better.
Posted at 08:14 AM
Wed - May 3, 2006
The Blue Frog - its war out there...
When Blue Security developed their active
deterrence approach to fighting e-mail spam, little did anyone know how
effective it would be, or how annoyed the spammers would eventually get! This
user will continue to use, and recommend, the Blue Security approach - it really
does work and it really does feel good to actually be able to get back at the
spammers.
Blue
Security came up with a bright idea - fight spam by actually
contacting the companies that benefit from spam to request that they cease and
desist. Their approach works, put simply, as
follows:
i/ The user joins the Blue Security 'Do Not Include' registry (free) and his or her e-mail address(es) is (are) added to the list that is made available to spammers to exclude from their attacks;
ii/ The user (optionally) runs a small program on his computer called the Blue Frog, which communicates securely with Blue Security's servers;
iii/ On receipt of e-mail deemed to be spam, the user forwards the unwanted message to Blue Security for processing;
iv/ When Blue Security develops an opt-out script for the spammer in question, the Blue Frog is activated to post an opt-out for each instance of spam received from that sender. As far as I understand it, there is a one-to-one mapping here - this is not a denial of service attack by another name.
The effect is that a spammer failing to remove e-mail addresses from his list will suffer a deluge of opt-out requests from those registered with Blue Security. The requests come from the affected person's computer, not from Blue Security. If it is a denial of service attack then it is self-inflicted and no less justifiable than if the spammer had posted his telephone number and received a deluge of angry 'phone calls (all night). Under those circumstances, a person can always leave his 'phone off the hook, you might argue. The same applies to the spammer's computer.
The Blue Frog is very effective. It can be downloaded (free) from SourceForge and installs on Win XP, Win 2000 or most flavours of Linux. Sadly the Frog is not yet available for Mac OS X so I have a dedicated Linux machine running the Frog for myself, a not-for-profit organisation of which I am webmaster, and a charity. So far the collective spam has decreased by over 95%, to only a few e-mails per day over nearly a dozen e-mail accounts. Job done?
Not quite: in the last few days the spammers have started fighting back by sending threatening and malicious e-mails to those they believe are on Blue Security's registry (because, in fact, the registry can only be accessed in such a way that the spammer can not see the whole list). This has meant a local increase in spam for some accounts (one of mine received 20 messages yesterday, up from about four). Some users report having discontinued use of the Blue Frog. Blue Security's own web site was hit by a massive denial of service attack. Nevertheless, the Blue Frog servers have continued to work and the Frog continues to post (now even more) opt-outs. Today the deluge seems to be over - and even with the 20 extra messages the situation was still a vast improvement - and some accounts have now received no spam for days. So the battle has been joined and almost won. At this site for sure, we'll keep on supporting the Blue Frog and the community that it has engendered.
i/ The user joins the Blue Security 'Do Not Include' registry (free) and his or her e-mail address(es) is (are) added to the list that is made available to spammers to exclude from their attacks;
ii/ The user (optionally) runs a small program on his computer called the Blue Frog, which communicates securely with Blue Security's servers;
iii/ On receipt of e-mail deemed to be spam, the user forwards the unwanted message to Blue Security for processing;
iv/ When Blue Security develops an opt-out script for the spammer in question, the Blue Frog is activated to post an opt-out for each instance of spam received from that sender. As far as I understand it, there is a one-to-one mapping here - this is not a denial of service attack by another name.
The effect is that a spammer failing to remove e-mail addresses from his list will suffer a deluge of opt-out requests from those registered with Blue Security. The requests come from the affected person's computer, not from Blue Security. If it is a denial of service attack then it is self-inflicted and no less justifiable than if the spammer had posted his telephone number and received a deluge of angry 'phone calls (all night). Under those circumstances, a person can always leave his 'phone off the hook, you might argue. The same applies to the spammer's computer.
The Blue Frog is very effective. It can be downloaded (free) from SourceForge and installs on Win XP, Win 2000 or most flavours of Linux. Sadly the Frog is not yet available for Mac OS X so I have a dedicated Linux machine running the Frog for myself, a not-for-profit organisation of which I am webmaster, and a charity. So far the collective spam has decreased by over 95%, to only a few e-mails per day over nearly a dozen e-mail accounts. Job done?
Not quite: in the last few days the spammers have started fighting back by sending threatening and malicious e-mails to those they believe are on Blue Security's registry (because, in fact, the registry can only be accessed in such a way that the spammer can not see the whole list). This has meant a local increase in spam for some accounts (one of mine received 20 messages yesterday, up from about four). Some users report having discontinued use of the Blue Frog. Blue Security's own web site was hit by a massive denial of service attack. Nevertheless, the Blue Frog servers have continued to work and the Frog continues to post (now even more) opt-outs. Today the deluge seems to be over - and even with the 20 extra messages the situation was still a vast improvement - and some accounts have now received no spam for days. So the battle has been joined and almost won. At this site for sure, we'll keep on supporting the Blue Frog and the community that it has engendered.
Posted at 09:33 AM
Sat - April 22, 2006
The incredible importance of literacy...
Travel to a country where I understand neither
the language nor the alphabet has illustrated the degree to which literacy is
truly an essential element in today's society.
As I write this I have been in a country where
Russian is a dominant language for two weeks. I don't speak a word of Russian
(well, I can't put a sentence together which is what really counts) and I cannot
read the cyrillic alphabet. Effectively, despite several years of education and
two degrees, I am illiterate in this country. The feeling is very
humbling.
I have often come across illiterate people at home, perhaps once per year. Very often they are delivery drivers who are looking for an address - if they have not properly understood the verbal instructions that they have received and get lost, all they can do to describe where they are looking for is to thrust the delivery note at someone trying to help. Nevertheless, I had always thought that being illiterate could only be a moderate handicap. It is possible to work out how to use most equipment by watching and learning and following pictograms on the instruction manual; if you can at least read the numbers then making telephone calls is pretty straightforward.
However, I've changed my view after these two weeks. Wandering around unfamiliar streets in an unfamiliar town it is not possible for me to tell what most shops sell - in particular shops here don't always showcase their wares in a large window and few have English descriptions as to what they sell. I have been reduced to looking at the pictures in the window, where they exist, to determine what the shop might sell (a shop with a picture of a woman's head with hair blowing in the wind emblazened 'Wella' is a sure sign of a hairdressers!) or, worse, hanging back to see what sort of people are going in and out and also getting a glance through the door to see inside. I've felt rather odd doing this, as you might understand, but the first 'shopping centre; that I found sold only lingeré and I beat a hasty retreat.
The last time I was here I was whisked about from hotel to office to meeting to dinner and the menu was translated for me - so I hardly noticed. This time I have been pretty much left to my own devices and while I have not put on any weight (fewer corporate dinners) it has certainly been an eye opener. As very few people here speak English I have been forced to attempt some sign language to ensure that what I was buying was what I thought it was (imaging 'fish' etc). Its been pretty hard work.
The bottom line is that I've certainly resolved to at least get the hang of the cyrillic alphabet so that I can work out what the signs are saying and the menus - but also it has made me even more aware of the value of literacy in my own environment and thank goodness that I payed attention at school.
I have often come across illiterate people at home, perhaps once per year. Very often they are delivery drivers who are looking for an address - if they have not properly understood the verbal instructions that they have received and get lost, all they can do to describe where they are looking for is to thrust the delivery note at someone trying to help. Nevertheless, I had always thought that being illiterate could only be a moderate handicap. It is possible to work out how to use most equipment by watching and learning and following pictograms on the instruction manual; if you can at least read the numbers then making telephone calls is pretty straightforward.
However, I've changed my view after these two weeks. Wandering around unfamiliar streets in an unfamiliar town it is not possible for me to tell what most shops sell - in particular shops here don't always showcase their wares in a large window and few have English descriptions as to what they sell. I have been reduced to looking at the pictures in the window, where they exist, to determine what the shop might sell (a shop with a picture of a woman's head with hair blowing in the wind emblazened 'Wella' is a sure sign of a hairdressers!) or, worse, hanging back to see what sort of people are going in and out and also getting a glance through the door to see inside. I've felt rather odd doing this, as you might understand, but the first 'shopping centre; that I found sold only lingeré and I beat a hasty retreat.
The last time I was here I was whisked about from hotel to office to meeting to dinner and the menu was translated for me - so I hardly noticed. This time I have been pretty much left to my own devices and while I have not put on any weight (fewer corporate dinners) it has certainly been an eye opener. As very few people here speak English I have been forced to attempt some sign language to ensure that what I was buying was what I thought it was (imaging 'fish' etc). Its been pretty hard work.
The bottom line is that I've certainly resolved to at least get the hang of the cyrillic alphabet so that I can work out what the signs are saying and the menus - but also it has made me even more aware of the value of literacy in my own environment and thank goodness that I payed attention at school.
Posted at 11:29 AM
Thu - April 21, 2005
So what is the big deal about the small format?
It seems like only a few weeks since The
Independent moved to its new tabloid format, followed soon afterwards by that
stalwart of broadsheet newspapers, The Times. There was an outcry from the man
on the 08:27 that the papers were 'dumbing down', a euphamism for a mean attempt
to make the content more accessible for a less discerning audience. The
experience of this writer suggests that it may not have dumbed down as such but
the reduction in quality of presentation of the paper leaves a lot to be
desired, and the reader was not impressed.
Arriving at Derby railway station this morning on
the 06:01 from Matlock I was in need of news. The news-agent had not yet opened
his doors in Matlock when I left and I was too awake, and the branch line to
darned bumpy, to be able to get any more sleep. In the First lounge at Derby
station, apparently the only part of Derby station that does not seem to be
permanently under siege from a cold Arctic wind all year round, the choice of
papers was The Times or The Guardian.
I cannot read the Guardian. Although its broad range of articles on a variety of subjects of interest to me exceeds the other quality papers by a considerable margin, I cannot stomach the political bias. In addition, I cannot tolerate the incredibly poor production with a thsepkh of skmhrfbg msidtnca. You got it - the old days of 'The Grauniad' are still with us.
So I chose The Times in its new (for me) 'tabloid' format.
What a mistake.
The paper was really very poorly put together. It looked rather like it had been cut at an angle. The fold was not in the middle of the page and each page seemed to be a different size. Those of us used to broadsheet newspapers have had years of perfecting the finger-separation of pages and the quick flick of the wrists to enable the pages to be turned and the paper flipped over were comfortable with the additional agility required to enable the paper to be read from cover to cover in a crowded bus or train, even while standing up. However, this new offering was slated to be extra convenient, handy and generally easier to use. What rot! The paper, for one thing, is thicker than that used in the old broadsheet format, making it feel heavier and more bulky. Second, the poor cutting edge and extreme mis-alignment means that the finger-flick to turn pages just doesn't work. Actually handling the paper to turn from page 1 to page 2 was difficult.
I was not impressed. Others in the lounge were apparently satisfied so I presumed that the paper that I had chosen was a bad example. I left it behind and caught my train.
I was then, as you might imagine, somewhat shocked that the copy of The Times handed to me by the train staff was remarkably similar to the poor example that I had left behind in Derby. No matter, the train started out in Leeds, or was it Sheffield; perhaps the Northern editions (are these early editions or editions printed in Manchester?) are all faulty. I left the second bad example on the train.
I have to say that I was not prepared for the next example - note that at no stage have I had to actually pay for these papers - which was in the British Airways lounge at Heathrow. This wretched paper was as bad as the two previous examples - just plain difficult to read. The on-plane version was similarly mis-shapen and poorly put together.
All in all, unless someone can tell me that today was a particularly bad day at the press, is to assume that The Times no longer takes much care of its presentation. The copies of Metro that had, by the time I got on to the Circle Line at South Kensington, been well-thumbed by countless commuters already, were in better shape than four fresh copies of The Times sampled from Derby to Heathrow. The presentation of The Daily Mail is also, from a sample of one, substantially better. What is it about Times readers that makes them put up with such appalling quality.
Come on folks, get real, don't buy The Times unless it passes inspection at the news stand first. Make a stand for quality, at any size.
I cannot read the Guardian. Although its broad range of articles on a variety of subjects of interest to me exceeds the other quality papers by a considerable margin, I cannot stomach the political bias. In addition, I cannot tolerate the incredibly poor production with a thsepkh of skmhrfbg msidtnca. You got it - the old days of 'The Grauniad' are still with us.
So I chose The Times in its new (for me) 'tabloid' format.
What a mistake.
The paper was really very poorly put together. It looked rather like it had been cut at an angle. The fold was not in the middle of the page and each page seemed to be a different size. Those of us used to broadsheet newspapers have had years of perfecting the finger-separation of pages and the quick flick of the wrists to enable the pages to be turned and the paper flipped over were comfortable with the additional agility required to enable the paper to be read from cover to cover in a crowded bus or train, even while standing up. However, this new offering was slated to be extra convenient, handy and generally easier to use. What rot! The paper, for one thing, is thicker than that used in the old broadsheet format, making it feel heavier and more bulky. Second, the poor cutting edge and extreme mis-alignment means that the finger-flick to turn pages just doesn't work. Actually handling the paper to turn from page 1 to page 2 was difficult.
I was not impressed. Others in the lounge were apparently satisfied so I presumed that the paper that I had chosen was a bad example. I left it behind and caught my train.
I was then, as you might imagine, somewhat shocked that the copy of The Times handed to me by the train staff was remarkably similar to the poor example that I had left behind in Derby. No matter, the train started out in Leeds, or was it Sheffield; perhaps the Northern editions (are these early editions or editions printed in Manchester?) are all faulty. I left the second bad example on the train.
I have to say that I was not prepared for the next example - note that at no stage have I had to actually pay for these papers - which was in the British Airways lounge at Heathrow. This wretched paper was as bad as the two previous examples - just plain difficult to read. The on-plane version was similarly mis-shapen and poorly put together.
All in all, unless someone can tell me that today was a particularly bad day at the press, is to assume that The Times no longer takes much care of its presentation. The copies of Metro that had, by the time I got on to the Circle Line at South Kensington, been well-thumbed by countless commuters already, were in better shape than four fresh copies of The Times sampled from Derby to Heathrow. The presentation of The Daily Mail is also, from a sample of one, substantially better. What is it about Times readers that makes them put up with such appalling quality.
Come on folks, get real, don't buy The Times unless it passes inspection at the news stand first. Make a stand for quality, at any size.
Posted at 03:48 PM
Sat - April 16, 2005
Is the law being made an ass by politics?
A quick review of a recent new regulation on
motoring reveals that it may be having only limited effect on the drivers whose
behaviour it was intended to change. The resulting question goes to the heart
of our society - which comes first, the general lawlessness or the
over-regulation?
Some years ago one of the UK motoring
organisations made the claim that the average driver is likely to be stopped by
the police for speeding only once in a driving lifetime. Even then it was quite
a frequent occurrence for a driver on a journey of reasonable length to see a
police car with flashing lights parked behind some alleged miscreant's car, the
driver being talked to by one or more
officers.
I have not seen this for a couple of years in UK. Contrast my occasional visits to the USA and Canada when it is quite a thing not to see any traffic police in action even when driving from the airport to the nearest hotel.
Meanwhile, we now have a plethora of motoring laws that can only reasonably be enforced by the diligence of a police officer. For instance, the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003 introduced a new regulation making it a specific offence to operate a hand-held mobile 'phone while driving (see http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032695.htm) and there was a great deal of publicity surrounding the coming into force of this regulation on 1st December 2003. No driver can reasonably claim not to know about this new regulation. They bored us nearly to death with it. Nevertheless, I still see drivers deep in conversation on their mobile 'phones on a daily basis. Some of these are running around town at relatively low speeds (but where the likelihood of colliding with a stray pedestrian is, of course, all the greater) and others are hauling down the motorway at breakneck speed.
Why bother to introduce a law that criminalises this sort of behaviour if there is no intention to enforce it?
There have been other laws and regulations introduced in the last few years that are similarly ineffective. The question has to be asked - what is the effect of introducing laws and regulations that cannot, for reason of police resources or the nature of the offence, be policed or even detected? I imagine that some sociology students and academics will eventually point out the very obvious answer (but with better than a gut-feel that I have when writing this - which I believe is that it has the effect of lowering the overall respect for the law held by the general population. People are gradually becoming more and more lawless. There is more speeding in areas not heavily policed by speed cameras (which will have the effect of encouraging the speed camera bodies to deploy them more and more widely of course). There is more and more illegal parking in areas where parking controls are loose because the authority cannot afford to pay the attendants. There is more and more litter being thrown from vehicles in areas of natural beauty (actually I don't believe that people that do this really discriminate where they throw their trash - but it is certainly more noticeable). There is more and more chewing gum on the streets.
The question is, what is the cause and what is the effect. Is the cause the lack of discipline amongst members of our society and the effect the state bodies doing their best to control these actions or is the cause the state introducing ever more petty legislation and the populace rebelling by doing more of what they like when out of sight of the agents of the state?
I don't know but I have to say that I do not much like it. Sometimes driving along a road with a 40 mph speed limit I feel like the odd one out because I am driving at 40 mph. I certainly feel like the odd one out when putting my sandwich wrapper into a public litter container. I don't much care for Singapore style authoritarianism but I have to say that my mind is not so set against it as it was ten years ago.
I have not seen this for a couple of years in UK. Contrast my occasional visits to the USA and Canada when it is quite a thing not to see any traffic police in action even when driving from the airport to the nearest hotel.
Meanwhile, we now have a plethora of motoring laws that can only reasonably be enforced by the diligence of a police officer. For instance, the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003 introduced a new regulation making it a specific offence to operate a hand-held mobile 'phone while driving (see http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032695.htm) and there was a great deal of publicity surrounding the coming into force of this regulation on 1st December 2003. No driver can reasonably claim not to know about this new regulation. They bored us nearly to death with it. Nevertheless, I still see drivers deep in conversation on their mobile 'phones on a daily basis. Some of these are running around town at relatively low speeds (but where the likelihood of colliding with a stray pedestrian is, of course, all the greater) and others are hauling down the motorway at breakneck speed.
Why bother to introduce a law that criminalises this sort of behaviour if there is no intention to enforce it?
There have been other laws and regulations introduced in the last few years that are similarly ineffective. The question has to be asked - what is the effect of introducing laws and regulations that cannot, for reason of police resources or the nature of the offence, be policed or even detected? I imagine that some sociology students and academics will eventually point out the very obvious answer (but with better than a gut-feel that I have when writing this - which I believe is that it has the effect of lowering the overall respect for the law held by the general population. People are gradually becoming more and more lawless. There is more speeding in areas not heavily policed by speed cameras (which will have the effect of encouraging the speed camera bodies to deploy them more and more widely of course). There is more and more illegal parking in areas where parking controls are loose because the authority cannot afford to pay the attendants. There is more and more litter being thrown from vehicles in areas of natural beauty (actually I don't believe that people that do this really discriminate where they throw their trash - but it is certainly more noticeable). There is more and more chewing gum on the streets.
The question is, what is the cause and what is the effect. Is the cause the lack of discipline amongst members of our society and the effect the state bodies doing their best to control these actions or is the cause the state introducing ever more petty legislation and the populace rebelling by doing more of what they like when out of sight of the agents of the state?
I don't know but I have to say that I do not much like it. Sometimes driving along a road with a 40 mph speed limit I feel like the odd one out because I am driving at 40 mph. I certainly feel like the odd one out when putting my sandwich wrapper into a public litter container. I don't much care for Singapore style authoritarianism but I have to say that my mind is not so set against it as it was ten years ago.
Posted at 06:52 PM
Sun - February 13, 2005
Do corporations really understand security?
Major e-mail clients reject digitally signed
e-mail, major banks issue Chip-and-PIN credit cards but do not activate them.
Does this mean that these corporations don't really understand security at
all?
The AOL e-mail client rejects mail sent with a
digital signature. Outlook (as opposed to Outlook Express) also puts up a
message that frightens users into thinking that there is something wrong with
that message. All that a digital signature does is to give the recipient some
confidence that the person who sent the message is who he says he
is.
I also shudder to have to report that for the two (of five) cards issued by a major UK bank that I have that now have a Chip & PIN device fitted (the remainder, being means of access to accounts that hold my money as opposed to the means by which I might take out a small loan using _their_ money), the wretched bank failed to remind or inform any customer of the PIN at all and, despite many shops (but by no means all) locally being equipped to deal with these new fangled devices, I note that the cards from this particular bank still do not require me to enter my PIN. They are also, apparently, currently not compatible with the European systems. The words 'worse than useless' spring to mind.
I wonder if this is symptomatic of high-level incompetence at these companies or whether, in reality, they do not really understand security at all. In the former case I suspect that this is indeed the case. Companies who make e-mail clients that actually refuse to display digitally signed e-mail are clearly doing so deliberately. Old e-mail clients seem to pass the messages without difficulty - so there must be something designed into the AOL client that prevents a signed message from being read. Shame on them.
However, in the case of the banks I suspect a combination of the 'not invented here' syndrome and basic incompetence. It hardly seems credible that after investing a huge amount of money on issuing new cards, sharing TV advertising costs with other banks (to raise awareness) and a national fanfare at the beginning of 2005, to fail to activate the cards can only be a blunder, albeit one of some seriousness. The Chip & PIN was introduced to prevent cards from being 'cloned'. If the chip is not used in the transaction process it has no value and the card can still be cloned in the apparently usual manner (copying the magnetic strip using a $5 device). Shame on the bank, however, for not getting this fixed yet (it is the middle of February) and I do hope that they get sued by someone whose card is cloned as a result of this screw-up.
I am looking for a new bank.
I also shudder to have to report that for the two (of five) cards issued by a major UK bank that I have that now have a Chip & PIN device fitted (the remainder, being means of access to accounts that hold my money as opposed to the means by which I might take out a small loan using _their_ money), the wretched bank failed to remind or inform any customer of the PIN at all and, despite many shops (but by no means all) locally being equipped to deal with these new fangled devices, I note that the cards from this particular bank still do not require me to enter my PIN. They are also, apparently, currently not compatible with the European systems. The words 'worse than useless' spring to mind.
I wonder if this is symptomatic of high-level incompetence at these companies or whether, in reality, they do not really understand security at all. In the former case I suspect that this is indeed the case. Companies who make e-mail clients that actually refuse to display digitally signed e-mail are clearly doing so deliberately. Old e-mail clients seem to pass the messages without difficulty - so there must be something designed into the AOL client that prevents a signed message from being read. Shame on them.
However, in the case of the banks I suspect a combination of the 'not invented here' syndrome and basic incompetence. It hardly seems credible that after investing a huge amount of money on issuing new cards, sharing TV advertising costs with other banks (to raise awareness) and a national fanfare at the beginning of 2005, to fail to activate the cards can only be a blunder, albeit one of some seriousness. The Chip & PIN was introduced to prevent cards from being 'cloned'. If the chip is not used in the transaction process it has no value and the card can still be cloned in the apparently usual manner (copying the magnetic strip using a $5 device). Shame on the bank, however, for not getting this fixed yet (it is the middle of February) and I do hope that they get sued by someone whose card is cloned as a result of this screw-up.
I am looking for a new bank.
Posted at 04:43 PM
Wed - January 19, 2005
Service restored...
A problem with the blog software is solved with
the aid of an on-line forum - in such short time that it triggers the thought
that the internet is far better able to provide user support than many corporate
IT departments.
My blog software stopped working recently. There
was I typing away happily not realising that the update was not being applied to
my on-line file. What made me realise was not the fact that I could not see it
on the web (because I don't look at it!) but because the day after my last entry
was typed I noticed that the iBlog application was still 'whirring away'. How
odd. Needless to say the problem was not that straightforward to solve and I
had to resort to an on-line help forum to get the answer. Thanks to 'Fish
Wheels' who responded very quickly to my query on the Your Mac Life
technical forum. Thanks also to Shawn King for creating the forum in the first
place.
The point of this entry is not really about the failure of the blog software, which was a nuisance but not critical, and not about the support forum, which is always useful. No, my thoughts in the past couple of days have been around the future of the IT industry altogether - fueled by the fact that I do not really think that many corporate IT staff can, these days, hope to match the service provided by the general community for free. I am an IT anarchist - not a hacker, nor a vandal, I just believe that corporate IT departments, by and large, add substantially less value than their cost to the business. These recent events, however minor, serve as an illustration that the days of the corporate IT fortress are, in all probability, numbered.
Since I last worked as an employee of a large corporation in 1999 I have had many such as clients. In each and every case they have had significant expenditure on IT and significant issues with it. This is not a rant against the 'evil empire' , nor a plug for open-source software but an observation that, if you look hard enough (and google is very helpful in this regard), you are quite likely to find a forum, somewhere on the internet, where people take the time to offer their thoughts to help you solve your problem. What is more, in general, they can do so in much shorter time than an overworked corporate IT department can. I am of the view that they should be disbanded altogether and replaced with one or two people managing corporate IT security, which is more important and more focussed.
When I was playing around with phpBB a few months ago I was having difficulty with an add-on utility that was required to ensure greater user privacy. I logged on to the phpBB support forum where there always seem to be thousands of people logged on at any time. My query was answered within twenty minutes! What is more, by the time that 30 minutes had elapsed my query was two pages down the list - so if a query is not answered within a few minutes it may, in fact, not be read at all! This is a very fast moving forum - the last corporate IT department that I dealt with hoped to provide a response to non-critical user problems within 72 hours. By the time 72 hours had elapsed the entire forum had been established and opened to users. The IT department would have slowed things down, rather than speeding them up.
So, all you corporate IT managers out there, watch out - the internet is now replacing you.!
The point of this entry is not really about the failure of the blog software, which was a nuisance but not critical, and not about the support forum, which is always useful. No, my thoughts in the past couple of days have been around the future of the IT industry altogether - fueled by the fact that I do not really think that many corporate IT staff can, these days, hope to match the service provided by the general community for free. I am an IT anarchist - not a hacker, nor a vandal, I just believe that corporate IT departments, by and large, add substantially less value than their cost to the business. These recent events, however minor, serve as an illustration that the days of the corporate IT fortress are, in all probability, numbered.
Since I last worked as an employee of a large corporation in 1999 I have had many such as clients. In each and every case they have had significant expenditure on IT and significant issues with it. This is not a rant against the 'evil empire' , nor a plug for open-source software but an observation that, if you look hard enough (and google is very helpful in this regard), you are quite likely to find a forum, somewhere on the internet, where people take the time to offer their thoughts to help you solve your problem. What is more, in general, they can do so in much shorter time than an overworked corporate IT department can. I am of the view that they should be disbanded altogether and replaced with one or two people managing corporate IT security, which is more important and more focussed.
When I was playing around with phpBB a few months ago I was having difficulty with an add-on utility that was required to ensure greater user privacy. I logged on to the phpBB support forum where there always seem to be thousands of people logged on at any time. My query was answered within twenty minutes! What is more, by the time that 30 minutes had elapsed my query was two pages down the list - so if a query is not answered within a few minutes it may, in fact, not be read at all! This is a very fast moving forum - the last corporate IT department that I dealt with hoped to provide a response to non-critical user problems within 72 hours. By the time 72 hours had elapsed the entire forum had been established and opened to users. The IT department would have slowed things down, rather than speeding them up.
So, all you corporate IT managers out there, watch out - the internet is now replacing you.!
Posted at 04:45 PM
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Published On: Apr 30, 2008 11:21 AM
Published On: Apr 30, 2008 11:21 AM