Chilly
Posted: Mon 11 December, 2006 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Travel 6 Comments »Look, dear, if you’re really cold enough to be wearing a big long fluffy scarf, and Ugg® boots, don’t you think it might help to not be wearing a top that’s leaving your belly and both shoulders bare, and no jacket?
After all, how shall I put this delicately, it does make you look like a bit of a fuckwit.
First Class?
Posted: Fri 8 December, 2006 Filed under: Customer Services, Cynicism, Travel, Weirdness Leave a comment »Can someone tell me, just what is the point of buying a first class ticket when you’re on a regional train?
I can understand it (up to a point) on the big long cross-country jobs – I used to take advantage of club class, first voyager, or whatever the feck they called it when I was travelling reguarly between Manchester and Reading, because most of the time it was the only way to guarantee getting a seat. Even better, it was normally a seat that wasn’t dead opposite a squealing child, or some mad git trying to talk to everyone. And you make sure you take advantage of the free snacky things and so on that come as part of the “benefits” of ‘first class’ when you have to pay that much extra, so it kind of works out. (well, it doesn’t, but if you get enough freebies off them, you can almost convince yourself it’s worth paying double the price – and having a seat for four+ hours is a definite advantage over standing for the entire journey.)
But when it comes to the small regional trains, the only difference between first and standard class is that you’re in a different spot on the train. There’s absolutely no extra benefit. Well, maybe again you get a seat – but on all the services I’ve used of late (whether it’s London – Bracknell, Cambridge-London, or Cambridge-Attleborough) have all had free “normal” seats.
So what is the point of the first class bit on these little local services? Other than, of course, to fleece egotistical twats who think it makes them special, and to fill the coffers of yet another train company? </cynicism>
Typo
Posted: Thu 7 December, 2006 Filed under: Cynicism, News 1 Comment »I love this advert, in Guardian Jobs…
Absolutely brilliant.
UPDATED : Ah, the rotten sods have pulled the advert. No fun at all.
Avoiding Scams
Posted: Wed 6 December, 2006 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Getting Organised Leave a comment »The Motley Fool has an interesting piece today about avoiding various scams etc.
Personally, I still find it amazing that people fall for scams like these. I love the way people are so stupid that they’ll send money out as a ‘transfer fee’ to get their winnings from a lottery they’ve never entered in a country they’ve never even visited. So far as I’m concerned, that’s just like an idiot tax – you’re an idiot, you deserve to lose the money.
In a semi-related note (and I know I’ve whittled on about this one before) I also find it amazing that spam comments or emails get any results at all. I mean, what’s the point of the ones I get every day, that say things like (and this is a copy of one of the texts)
Thank you for your loan request, which we recieved yesterday, your refinance application has been accepted
Bad credit OK, We are ready to give you a $339,000 loan, after further review, our lenders have established the lowest monthly payments.
Approval process will take only 1 minute.
Please visit the confirmation link below and fill-out our short 30 second Secure Web-Form.
Does anyone respond to the damn’ things? And lets face it, if they do, they deserve everything they get…
On go the lights
Posted: Sun 3 December, 2006 Filed under: Cynicism, Festering Season Leave a comment »
It seems that our now town of residence has some interesting idiosyncracies.
Not least among these is the fact that everyone seems to have done their outdoor christmas lights today, and there appears to have been some kind of town-wide ceremonial switch-on.
All of a sudden this evening, the things seem to have gone on all over the place. It’s very strange. On the plus side, there’s one or two installations that aren’t completely chavtastic. Although that does leave the huge majority still being fit for that title….
Sorted
Posted: Sat 2 December, 2006 Filed under: Customer Services, Cynicism, Getting Organised Leave a comment »Amazingly, both BT and Sky did what they’d promised.
By the time the Sky man arrived (at about 10am) the phone line was active – broadband didn’t come online ’til about 5pm, but BT had said that it could be anytime ’til 8pm. So that’s OK.
But surely this is a sign of the impending apocalypse?