Dock Green
Posted: Sun 18 February, 2007 Filed under: General 2 Comments »As a matter of course, I try to avoid buying anything from Dixons, Currys, PC World and the like – mainly because of their insistence on getting your postcode for every purchase, and sending out shite product insurance and warranty extensions etc. all the time.
There’s a couple of other reasons as well, to do with preferring to use stores where the staff actually know what they’re talking about, and don’t charge top whack for their products. (Yeah, yeah, price guarantees etc., but still, I find them in general to be damn expensive)
During the week, I ordered a new ‘carry all the time’ camera via Amazon from Pixmania – a wee Panasonic Lumix TZ1, which should fulfil all my requirements. Anyway, it normally retails for about £270, but Pixmania had it listed for £155. All well and good. I know the TZ1 is being phased out and replaced with the TZ-2 and -3, but this one will be more than sufficient, so I figure I might as well take the discount.
Anyway – what I didn’t know is that Pixmania is actually owned by – you guessed it – Dixons Stores Group. *sob*
Beep
Posted: Sat 17 February, 2007 Filed under: Travel 2 Comments »Of all the really annoying things when it comes to public transport (and trains in particular) I still think mobile phones have to pretty much at the top of the list. I don’t mind the devices themselves, and I don’t (in general) have a problem with people taking/making calls on them. I mean obviously there’s exceptions to that (super-loud ringtones going off repeatedly, and constant ‘I’m on the train’ calls, like it’s some newly invented miracle)
Yesterday, though, I was reminded of one of the things I really, really loathe. Key-press sounds. Particularly loud ones, but any phone that’s set to fucking beep every time you press a key – that’ll drive me crackers every time.
And it’ll definitely send me crackers when the owner of said phone is sending a text message, and doesn’t even have predictive text on.
BeepBeepBeep BeepBeep BeepBeepBeep BeepBeep
That’s what it takes just to type “fuck”. (and probably some others as well, but it’s definitely ‘Fuck’) As it is, I’ve no idea what the woman beside me was typing, but it went on for what seemed like hours. Whatever, it took her from Cambridge to Ely to send what looked like one message. Thankfully, she got off at Ely. Otherwise there might’ve been some truly gory murder on the 17.12…
Holmes Place
Posted: Sat 17 February, 2007 Filed under: Customer Services, Weirdness Leave a comment »You’d think I’d have had enough of Holmes Place over the last year – and you’d be right.
Yesterday, though, I got a call from the Wokingham gym, telling me that they’d been bought out by Virgin Active, and would I like to go for a free visit there, and take a partner with me?
Me : How blunt do you want me to be?
HP/VA Person : As blunt as you want. (Ooooh, that could’ve been a bad move…)
Me : OK then. I wouldn’t rejoin Holmes Place, regardless of who owns you. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone, even my worst enemy. In fact, I’d go so far as to actively encourage anyone thinking of joining to not do so.
HP/VA Person : Oh.
[there followed an explanation of all the old crap about contracts, HP being unable to provide a gym at all, and threatening me with a bailiff if I didn’t pay the entire remaining sum.]
Me : So overall, I wouldn’t trust HP as far as I can throw them, nor their new owners. And in my opinion, they’re scumbags.
HP/VA Person: OK, well, thank you for being so honest in your response.
Now, I have to say, I think that she actually handled the call really well, and there was nothing nasty about the entire thing. An apology would’ve been nice, but now I’m done with them, I know it’d be too late for one anyway – and so did she.
All the same, though, you’d think they might’ve taken me off their ‘to call’ list…
Wide Open Vista
Posted: Fri 16 February, 2007 Filed under: Customer Services, Cynicism, Geeky 1 Comment »When it was released, I wrote a small post about why I had no intention of moving to MS Vista® – and from the news stories etc. that’ve followed on, I have to say I’m pretty cool with being right about it.
This piece from The Register demonstrates my case nicely.
The basic summary? Wait at least until Service Pack 1 is released.
Spoons
Posted: Fri 16 February, 2007 Filed under: Writing 2 Comments »I love this : a writer who can go off on a wave of wrath about the simple subject of wooden spoons in the kitchen.
A definite addition to the links on the right, methinks.
Ouch Redux
Posted: Thu 15 February, 2007 Filed under: Domestic Leave a comment »Note to self : When you have a burn in the palm of your hand, many things really hurt.
This is particularly noticeable with shower-gel, and shampoo – particularly when they’re both citrus based…
Brithday
Posted: Thu 15 February, 2007 Filed under: General 2 Comments »Oh, and Happy Birthday to Mr Dragon.
It’s obviously not a good day to be him – he’s feeling Old. Heh.