Took Mom up to see my older nephew in West Yorkshire today; he went back up there from my sister's yesterday, and we knew he would be in as he had some contractors due at his flat so decided to spring a surprise.
When he had moved in there was something of a list of jobs that needed doing, and that we had expected would have been done beforehand. Yours truly wrote to the letting agency pointing this and various other matters out, so he returned to the smell of fresh paint, to discover that many of the jobs had been attended to whilst he was away.
Nice to know that letter worked!
O2 were due to install his broadband, but because he rashly accepted their advice and booked a "backup appointment" when they texted him in the bad weather, they didn't turn up. Despite assuring him in the morning that they were coming. They only work weekdays, and so does he, as a teacher, so the earliest date is the February half-term week, although that's only slightly later than the best they could offer him.
I made a couple of suggestions so he now has a dongle for his laptop, with O2 promising to reimburse him and give him 3 months' credit on his broadband/telephone plan. Result!
We then went to a Tesco to change his microwave, only to find that they didn't have anything suitable. Refund obtained, dash over to Curry's and replacement obtained, with built in grill this time. That way he will be able to cook cheese on toast as well as beans on toast...
Spoke to the car dealership that sold Mom her new one, to be told the inspection had been completed, they were working on a minor modification we'd requested and she would have it sometime on Friday, thereby beating the VAT increase. Nothing to do, of course, with my e-mails and letters to Skoda and their delivery contractors...
Then had a text from a friend to say that following my intervention about her misfunctioning dishwasher, they had relented and were going to supply her with a new one.
So, all in all, lots of positives in the day. It's nice when things go right, and particularly so when I've helped someone else to get fair treatment from the big boys...
As my first post on this intimates, it's been a heck of a year for all sorts of reasons, some good, others bad. I'm making no predictions about 2011, but I will approach it with optimism and do my best to make the most of any opportunities that may present themselves.
Thursday 30 December 2010
Wednesday 29 December 2010
Meagre offerings...
Went to a very well known Pizza establishment this evening to collect an online order for my tea. Precisely two and a half slices of meat on one slice of what was laughingly called a "Meat Feast"!
Compared with the picture on the website, it looks laughable. Perhaps they should call it a "Crop Failure" or "Tamworth Two Escape"...
Compared with the picture on the website, it looks laughable. Perhaps they should call it a "Crop Failure" or "Tamworth Two Escape"...
Recruitment / Employment / Staff Agencies - an update
At last - found one that doesn't take itself too seriously. Have a look at Net Natives in Brighton. Great website. No idea if they are any good, but a refreshingly off-beat approach... :-)
Water, Water, Everywhere...
In an Op Ed on Liberal Democrat Voice on 20th December (http://www.libdemvoice.org/opinion-time-for-water-reform-22431.html) I had a bit of a go about the privatised water industry and its shortcomings, particularly in terms of effective regulation.
This was a very much condensed version of a draft that itself was a very much condensed version of a 22,000 word dissertation that got me my LLM Distinction.
One might sum it up by saying that it is an industry that in some ways is over regulated, where the regulation is arguably ineffective, and where we have had a 42% increase in costs to us as consumers since privatisation in real terms, i.e. net of inflation, and yet this industry sees 25% leakage as being its economic rate of leakage.
In today's news, Northern Ireland is up the proverbial gum tree because of water main bursts, and they're even running out of bottled supplies.
A good example, if somewhat trying for our friends over the water, of why it is vital that this industry and its regulation is overhauled, with more incentive for investment in innovation and significant reductions in overall levels of leakage.
Not that I'm saying "I told you so", but....
This was a very much condensed version of a draft that itself was a very much condensed version of a 22,000 word dissertation that got me my LLM Distinction.
One might sum it up by saying that it is an industry that in some ways is over regulated, where the regulation is arguably ineffective, and where we have had a 42% increase in costs to us as consumers since privatisation in real terms, i.e. net of inflation, and yet this industry sees 25% leakage as being its economic rate of leakage.
In today's news, Northern Ireland is up the proverbial gum tree because of water main bursts, and they're even running out of bottled supplies.
A good example, if somewhat trying for our friends over the water, of why it is vital that this industry and its regulation is overhauled, with more incentive for investment in innovation and significant reductions in overall levels of leakage.
Not that I'm saying "I told you so", but....
Monday 27 December 2010
Tassimo coffee makers
Aren't they great? Freshly brewed REAL coffee.
The only problem round here is getting the refils... Why is it that Sainsbury's sell the machines in their local supermarket but long ago stopped selling the refils?
The Tesco at the petrol station a couple of miles away stocks them. What's that all about?
The only problem round here is getting the refils... Why is it that Sainsbury's sell the machines in their local supermarket but long ago stopped selling the refils?
The Tesco at the petrol station a couple of miles away stocks them. What's that all about?
Recruitment / Employment / Staff Agencies
Oh dear, this is where I may resemble a Grumpy Old Man. Bear with me though, your experience may be similar...
Over recent weeks I have looked at literally hundreds of websites belonging to employment agencies. What a complete nightmare!
Some have sites that don't work, occasionally being "parked". Okay if the firm's gone bump or their ISP has thrown a wobbly I guess that's understandable.
Yet more have e-mail addresses on them. Great. However when you click on them they don't open your Outlook, and worse still, some won't even allow you to cut and paste them. Not fun if it's some trendy named outfit with odd spellings and more syllables than brain cells.
It must really be neck-and-neck in the recruitment business these days. There are so many market leaders! Come on guys, you can't all be number one! It's like marketing hyperbole, there clearly is an arms race going on here. It's the same with their ability to reinvent themselves. Unique. Innovative. Revolutionary Concept. Please, spare me. You're not, with respect, a uniquely innovative market leader with a highly advanced recruitment "solution" if you have a website that you type your name into and upload your CV on. Trust me. I've seen 496 in a fortnight.
The ones that are really annoying, however, want you not only to upload your CV, but then replicate almost its entire contents in boxes on their web form before you can register. ARGH! Read the CV!! Oh, and what's this error message mularkey all about? You press "submit" get some weird error mesage and behold! No darned e-mail address anywhere on the site. If you own such a site and wonder why it's quiet, you haven't far to go to find out!
Lots and lots of websites are not disabled friendly. If you have a visual disability, try reading what I think is no bigger than 5 point fonts on a coloured background with poor contrasts. I really must have a good look at the Equality Act 2010 and see how much of it I can wrap around a brick and hurl in your direction...
THE GOOD GUYS
Now you'll notice I haven't named names. There are, however, some good sites. The ones that are bold, clear and allow you to either e-mail or upload with the barest minimum amount of hassle. No clearly "standard" artwork, or pictures that have sod-all relevance to your business. When you send them a message or a CV you get an acknowledgement. You also get someone who actually reads what you have sent them. 10 out of 10 for you folks. You will doubtless go far, make a million and retire to somewhere warm with a yacht moored at the bottom of your private beach...
There are a good number of good guys, quite a few not too bad guys, but there are some real penny dreadfuls out there.
Rant over
Over recent weeks I have looked at literally hundreds of websites belonging to employment agencies. What a complete nightmare!
Some have sites that don't work, occasionally being "parked". Okay if the firm's gone bump or their ISP has thrown a wobbly I guess that's understandable.
Yet more have e-mail addresses on them. Great. However when you click on them they don't open your Outlook, and worse still, some won't even allow you to cut and paste them. Not fun if it's some trendy named outfit with odd spellings and more syllables than brain cells.
It must really be neck-and-neck in the recruitment business these days. There are so many market leaders! Come on guys, you can't all be number one! It's like marketing hyperbole, there clearly is an arms race going on here. It's the same with their ability to reinvent themselves. Unique. Innovative. Revolutionary Concept. Please, spare me. You're not, with respect, a uniquely innovative market leader with a highly advanced recruitment "solution" if you have a website that you type your name into and upload your CV on. Trust me. I've seen 496 in a fortnight.
The ones that are really annoying, however, want you not only to upload your CV, but then replicate almost its entire contents in boxes on their web form before you can register. ARGH! Read the CV!! Oh, and what's this error message mularkey all about? You press "submit" get some weird error mesage and behold! No darned e-mail address anywhere on the site. If you own such a site and wonder why it's quiet, you haven't far to go to find out!
Lots and lots of websites are not disabled friendly. If you have a visual disability, try reading what I think is no bigger than 5 point fonts on a coloured background with poor contrasts. I really must have a good look at the Equality Act 2010 and see how much of it I can wrap around a brick and hurl in your direction...
THE GOOD GUYS
Now you'll notice I haven't named names. There are, however, some good sites. The ones that are bold, clear and allow you to either e-mail or upload with the barest minimum amount of hassle. No clearly "standard" artwork, or pictures that have sod-all relevance to your business. When you send them a message or a CV you get an acknowledgement. You also get someone who actually reads what you have sent them. 10 out of 10 for you folks. You will doubtless go far, make a million and retire to somewhere warm with a yacht moored at the bottom of your private beach...
There are a good number of good guys, quite a few not too bad guys, but there are some real penny dreadfuls out there.
Rant over
The last week of the year - a review
2010 is drawing inexorably to a close. In many ways it has been an interesting year, challenging too.
January, much like the current month, was one of snow and transportation chaos. I went to Cyprus with my then-girlfriend, and we had a six hour wait to get onto the aeroplane followed by a two hour wait to be de-iced. Naturally there was a conspiracy theorist nearby who was certain that it was all done with the intention of getting us to spend as much as possible with the on-board shop. Er, No. The last time anyone took off from Birmingham with ice on their wings, they stalled, crashed and burned. Definitely not to be recommended.
February and March were busy work-wise, and little progress was made on my Masters dissertation. Not ideal, to put it mildly. So in April I biffed off for a week, using some long accumulated points to fly over to Chicago. Met a pal over there, but spent several gloriously uninterrupted hours each day getting some "meat on the bones". Sadly on the day I flew out, my girlfriend's father went into hospital. Not a good time to be away, and after I got back he sadly passed away. A really nice chap too.
The day of the funeral was unreal. With it being late morning in South London we set out at the crack of dawn, only to be met by a bull strolling down one of the village roads. Some nifty reversing avoided acquiring a new bonnet mascot, and when my ex-girlfriend rang the Police, their first question was "Is it a large bull?". I'm surprised they didn't ask us to go back and get its registration number from its ear tag!
The General Election in May brought about the first significant coalition government since 1945. As a Liberal Democrat of many years' standing, I was both hopeful and optimistic that this would be if not entirely a "new dawn" at least a chance to have something better than the "yah boo" confrontational politics of recent generations.
My particular ambition for the new government was, and is, one which is more libertarian, recognises and supports the needs of individuals, and which allows and encourages us to get on with our lives without undue intrusion by the so-called "Nanny State".
June saw further tragedy, with my ex-girlfriend's younger sister passing away. Her health had been troublesome for years, and whilst a lung transplant had extended her life, her passing just six weeks after her father was truly awful. We found ourselves at the same Crematorium for the second time in a couple of months. This time it was a humanist funeral, which was, in so far as these things ever can be, really good. It allowed those present to get a real flavour of who the late and much lamented person was, their views, interests, passions, the things that mattered to them. I think I'll take that route when the time comes. As long as there's Allegre's Miserere and one or two personal favourites played, I'll be happy.
I suspect mine will be packed; a few because they're sad and they'll miss me, the rest to make sure...
In July my neice got her degree results. Great news, she got a 2:1 in International Politics at Aberystwyth, and was elected as Vice President (Education) at the Students' Union. She's someone who works hard and does her best at everything, and you bet I'm proud of her.
That reminded me that the marks for my course should be available - I'd actually forgotten to check when I handed in what the results date was! Second thing to go, memory... I rang up just as the person with the answers walked into the office, and was dumbfounded when they told me their recommendation to the exam board.
I got a Distinction, the top grade. It was only a day or two before the hand-in that I realised I was going to pass, so engrossed I'd been. When your supervisor talks seriously about turning it into a professional journal article or a starting point for a PhD then the risk of failure isn't so high. I drove home to put the finishing touches with the hood down and the radio on. Mike and the Mechanics' "Living Years" was playing, and I cracked up. It's six years since Dad died, which meant that he never got to see me get my LLB or LLM, but he'd have been dead proud. Not that he would have said too much to me about it, but he'd have told all his friends.
Work, bereavement, study, all got a bit stressful, to put it mildly. I had a long-term contract come to an end at the end of July, and took a break over the summer to recover from it all. Sadly the relationship didn't stand the strain, but we do speak now and then, even though we are no longer an "item".
October saw a trip to Huddersfield, one of my old haunts, with my older nephew who had recently completed his teacher training course, following on from a Bachelor of Stinkbombs degree from Plymouth. He'd had a few interviews, and stayed over at the weekend as getting from Caerphilly to Huddersfield for 8-30 a.m. by public transport isn't on.
There was a teaching element in the morning, with the interview proper after lunch. I wouldn't say I knew he'd get it, but I spent the bulk of the time scouring the letting agencies for somewhere for him to live. On the way back to Birmingham, where I was to put him on a train, they made him a conditional offer, with one or two things needing further thought before he gave his response. Teaching seems to want same day or next-day answers, and he had another interview lined up later in that week. So, I drove, we talked, and it wasn't until we were past Worcester he realised I was driving him back home... 484 miles in on day. Boy did I ever have Taxi Drivers' Bum at the end of it!!
November saw a return trip, this time to view places. Some were okay, others a bit iffy, and one was a flat where the letting agency hadn't seen the lease and which, I disocovered, it would have been unlawful to let! Found a converted mill in a nice village just out of town, best of the lot and a decent rent.
So December saw the move. What a pantomime. Snowy, (the 40 degree slope to the car park was challenging!) our major good fortune was the fact that the place was near a bus route, so gritted and ploughed apart from the last couple of hundred yards. Nearest pub - the Slip Inn - talk about well named!
The letting agents were awful. They'd misfiled his deposit, given him duff info, and not done the various repairs that they had promised. Not only has Uncle got a couple of law degrees, he's done housing disrepair claims professionally, so you can imagine the letter that was sent!
Ikea at this point rather let the side down, as there was a manufacturing fault that meant the bed wouldn't go together properly. The nearest branch (Leeds) was out of stock, but would have some available on the day he went home! Oops!
Christmas has been quite quiet. Had a few discussions with a Skoda dealership about the delayed delivery of my mother's new car. It has been on the docs for a fortnight, although thanks to the first lot of duff information we thought it had been there longer, so she's wasted some money on change-over insurance that will expire too soon. Having arrived on12th December, they reckon they can give us an ESTIMATED date of delivery by around 30th December. VAT goes up in January - thanks folks!
So, that's my personal review of the year, and my first Blog posting.
BLOGGING POLICY
Simple. I'm not necessarily going to post every day. When something interesting happens, or there's something I want to say that won't fit into a Twitter posting, I'll put something up on here. I have, of course, no idea of who / how many will read this, so to the intrepid pioneers who have endured this massive missive, my thanks, whoever you are.
January, much like the current month, was one of snow and transportation chaos. I went to Cyprus with my then-girlfriend, and we had a six hour wait to get onto the aeroplane followed by a two hour wait to be de-iced. Naturally there was a conspiracy theorist nearby who was certain that it was all done with the intention of getting us to spend as much as possible with the on-board shop. Er, No. The last time anyone took off from Birmingham with ice on their wings, they stalled, crashed and burned. Definitely not to be recommended.
February and March were busy work-wise, and little progress was made on my Masters dissertation. Not ideal, to put it mildly. So in April I biffed off for a week, using some long accumulated points to fly over to Chicago. Met a pal over there, but spent several gloriously uninterrupted hours each day getting some "meat on the bones". Sadly on the day I flew out, my girlfriend's father went into hospital. Not a good time to be away, and after I got back he sadly passed away. A really nice chap too.
The day of the funeral was unreal. With it being late morning in South London we set out at the crack of dawn, only to be met by a bull strolling down one of the village roads. Some nifty reversing avoided acquiring a new bonnet mascot, and when my ex-girlfriend rang the Police, their first question was "Is it a large bull?". I'm surprised they didn't ask us to go back and get its registration number from its ear tag!
The General Election in May brought about the first significant coalition government since 1945. As a Liberal Democrat of many years' standing, I was both hopeful and optimistic that this would be if not entirely a "new dawn" at least a chance to have something better than the "yah boo" confrontational politics of recent generations.
My particular ambition for the new government was, and is, one which is more libertarian, recognises and supports the needs of individuals, and which allows and encourages us to get on with our lives without undue intrusion by the so-called "Nanny State".
June saw further tragedy, with my ex-girlfriend's younger sister passing away. Her health had been troublesome for years, and whilst a lung transplant had extended her life, her passing just six weeks after her father was truly awful. We found ourselves at the same Crematorium for the second time in a couple of months. This time it was a humanist funeral, which was, in so far as these things ever can be, really good. It allowed those present to get a real flavour of who the late and much lamented person was, their views, interests, passions, the things that mattered to them. I think I'll take that route when the time comes. As long as there's Allegre's Miserere and one or two personal favourites played, I'll be happy.
I suspect mine will be packed; a few because they're sad and they'll miss me, the rest to make sure...
In July my neice got her degree results. Great news, she got a 2:1 in International Politics at Aberystwyth, and was elected as Vice President (Education) at the Students' Union. She's someone who works hard and does her best at everything, and you bet I'm proud of her.
That reminded me that the marks for my course should be available - I'd actually forgotten to check when I handed in what the results date was! Second thing to go, memory... I rang up just as the person with the answers walked into the office, and was dumbfounded when they told me their recommendation to the exam board.
I got a Distinction, the top grade. It was only a day or two before the hand-in that I realised I was going to pass, so engrossed I'd been. When your supervisor talks seriously about turning it into a professional journal article or a starting point for a PhD then the risk of failure isn't so high. I drove home to put the finishing touches with the hood down and the radio on. Mike and the Mechanics' "Living Years" was playing, and I cracked up. It's six years since Dad died, which meant that he never got to see me get my LLB or LLM, but he'd have been dead proud. Not that he would have said too much to me about it, but he'd have told all his friends.
Work, bereavement, study, all got a bit stressful, to put it mildly. I had a long-term contract come to an end at the end of July, and took a break over the summer to recover from it all. Sadly the relationship didn't stand the strain, but we do speak now and then, even though we are no longer an "item".
October saw a trip to Huddersfield, one of my old haunts, with my older nephew who had recently completed his teacher training course, following on from a Bachelor of Stinkbombs degree from Plymouth. He'd had a few interviews, and stayed over at the weekend as getting from Caerphilly to Huddersfield for 8-30 a.m. by public transport isn't on.
There was a teaching element in the morning, with the interview proper after lunch. I wouldn't say I knew he'd get it, but I spent the bulk of the time scouring the letting agencies for somewhere for him to live. On the way back to Birmingham, where I was to put him on a train, they made him a conditional offer, with one or two things needing further thought before he gave his response. Teaching seems to want same day or next-day answers, and he had another interview lined up later in that week. So, I drove, we talked, and it wasn't until we were past Worcester he realised I was driving him back home... 484 miles in on day. Boy did I ever have Taxi Drivers' Bum at the end of it!!
November saw a return trip, this time to view places. Some were okay, others a bit iffy, and one was a flat where the letting agency hadn't seen the lease and which, I disocovered, it would have been unlawful to let! Found a converted mill in a nice village just out of town, best of the lot and a decent rent.
So December saw the move. What a pantomime. Snowy, (the 40 degree slope to the car park was challenging!) our major good fortune was the fact that the place was near a bus route, so gritted and ploughed apart from the last couple of hundred yards. Nearest pub - the Slip Inn - talk about well named!
The letting agents were awful. They'd misfiled his deposit, given him duff info, and not done the various repairs that they had promised. Not only has Uncle got a couple of law degrees, he's done housing disrepair claims professionally, so you can imagine the letter that was sent!
Ikea at this point rather let the side down, as there was a manufacturing fault that meant the bed wouldn't go together properly. The nearest branch (Leeds) was out of stock, but would have some available on the day he went home! Oops!
Christmas has been quite quiet. Had a few discussions with a Skoda dealership about the delayed delivery of my mother's new car. It has been on the docs for a fortnight, although thanks to the first lot of duff information we thought it had been there longer, so she's wasted some money on change-over insurance that will expire too soon. Having arrived on12th December, they reckon they can give us an ESTIMATED date of delivery by around 30th December. VAT goes up in January - thanks folks!
So, that's my personal review of the year, and my first Blog posting.
BLOGGING POLICY
Simple. I'm not necessarily going to post every day. When something interesting happens, or there's something I want to say that won't fit into a Twitter posting, I'll put something up on here. I have, of course, no idea of who / how many will read this, so to the intrepid pioneers who have endured this massive missive, my thanks, whoever you are.
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