Posted: Thu 27 August, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: D4D™, Redesign |
Buggeration. I’ve just realised that I missed D4D™’s 7th birthday, back on the 9th August.
I’m normally pretty good at pointing out birthdays on here, so I’m quite surprised (and somewhat annoyed) that I failed to mention this one.
It’s also made me realise that all the stuff I had done for custom headers etc. on certain days has gone by the by since the redesign as well. So that’s something I need to work on a bit when I get the chance. (And I wonder if I’ve still got the list of dates somewhere. Hope so!)
But anyway, wow – D4D™’s been going seven years now. That’s pretty good going.
And Happy Belated Birthday, little D4D™. Long may you continue.
Posted: Wed 26 August, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Creativity, Media, Thoughts |
Happy, happy day.
Channel 4 have announced that the 2010 series (the 11th) of Big Brother is to be the last one on Channel Four. Viewing figures have been dropping in recent years, from the 2002 peak of 8million people down to the current series with an average of 2 million people watching.
Personally I don’t give a damn about Big Brother and/or its spin-off shows, but at least with luck it’ll be off mainstream TV after this time next year.
I’m quite certain that some other dumb-arse channel will scoop up Big Brother past 2010 – but hopefully it’ll be some little-watched satellite channel that thinks it’ll get the viewers.
And in the meantime, maybe – just maybe – it’ll be the start of a move away from these pox-ridden “reality” shows that seem to pollute so much TV at the moment.
Posted: Wed 26 August, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Customer Services, National Express East Anglia, Travel, Work-related |
In the spirit of being organised, I’ve just been booking accommodation and train tickets for the rest of the contract, which takes me through to the end of September.
I’d already booked stuff for next week, and that was all sorted.
However, it looks like 5th September is National Price-Rise Day – and in the case of the train tickets in particular, it’s abso-fucking-lutely extortionate.
This week and next, the return ticket from Attleborough to London (including Tube to get me to the office) is £39.50. Which, in fairness, is pretty good value.
For travelling on the 7th September, that self-same return ticket is – are you ready for this? – £74.
Yes, for reasons known only to themselves, National Express East Anglia think it’s acceptable to pretty much double the price. How the fuck can that be justified?
Posted: Wed 26 August, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Business, Customer Services, Thoughts, Work-related |
During the new contract, my accommodation in London is courtesy of Travelodge, also known as “The RyanAir of hotels” – well, in my book anyway. They’re definitely “No Frills”, but as a room/bed for the night they’re serviceable.
In this case, they’re also at least £25 cheaper per night – so yes, £100 per week – than their closest competition. And in this contract, where the day-rate is being squeezed so hard it’s almost screaming, that £25 per day/night is a significant difference.
It’s interesting to see over the years (He said, sounding like a right old fart) how the Travelodge rooms and facilities have changed.
Back in October 2006, for example, I had a big rant about Travelodges based on the one in Cambridge which was (and probably still is) a total piss-take. (And yes, if you look around on that month you’ll also see I swore never to stay in one long-term again. Ah well.) At that time, the Travelodge was charging obscene rates for phone calls and dial-up internet connections.
Now, there’s no phone at all in the rooms. I assume they realised there was no real money any more in having landline phones when ‘everyone’ has a mobile, and ‘all’ laptops have a wireless network capability. There’s wireless internet (in this case through Spectrum Wifi) for a fee which is fucking extortionate if you’re there for one or two nights, but works out pretty well if you know you’re there for a month. (Something like £10 for 24 hours, but £30 for a month).
And of course you still pay for breakfast – although if you book online it’s got something like a 20% discount on that too.
I still think that to some degree Travelodge and the like are extortionate – if you think there’s 150 rooms (give or take) in just this one Travelodge, and people are paying at least £60 per night, that’s a pretty good figure per week. Assuming 75% occupancy, that’s at least £47,000 per week, excluding extras for food, drink and internet access. But at the same time there’s obviously the demand there, so why not charge for it?
Posted: Tue 25 August, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Own Business, Photography, Travel, Work-related |
So. the first night in London went OK, thankfully.
Of course, I’d rather be staying back home, but them’s the breaks, there’s not a great deal I can do about it. And I really don’t fancy the commute…
The other downside of being here in London is that it means I’ll be missing out on other things, like the meeting of the local Camera Club tonight – slightly more frustrating, as it’s still all getting formed and we’re figuring things out.
Still, I’m sure I’ll find other things in London to be getting on with…
Posted: Tue 25 August, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, iPhone, Technology, Thoughts |
On the journey into London yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice how ubiquitous the iPhone now is – it seems like everyone and their dog has one.
When I used to commute in to London from Bracknell, Blackberrys were the thing everyone had – or at least all the “Look at me, I’m so important” fucksticks had, anyway.
While I do agree that iPhones are a nice bit of kit, I’m still not convinced I’d actually use one if I had one. That lack of a “proper” keyboard is (for me) still a significant factor, as most of what I do on a phone involves typing – text messages, emails, SSH connections to servers for admin, that kind of thing.
But there’s also the ubiquity of it that’s (for me) detracts from any desire to own one. It may be childish, but I have a built-in reaction to doing “what everyone else does”, and while it’s not an over-arching reason for not getting one, it certainly contributes.
Posted: Mon 24 August, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Charm School, Cynicism, Stupidity, Thoughts |
Having read this story about a rescue helicopter that couldn’t land because some people wouldn’t get out of the way (and thus endangered themselves by being in the way of the rotors) I think we’re just too nice to idiots.
In this case, once people have been told to get out the way, it’s their responsibility to do so. If they fail to do so, and don’t take into account bloody great (unmissable) rotor blades above them, then they’re idiots and thus accept all responsibility for any accidents and/or damage that occur as a result.
As I see it, people need to take more personal responsibility, rather than letting others do it for them. If you do something stupid, and your excuse is “Well nobody told me not to”, then sorry, but you damn well deserve to have been hurt.