Hi Sue!

I recently discovered that Sue Appleby (our neighbour), is a follower of my Blog. She describes it as interesting but a bit Victor Meldrew-ish. So I’m no longer just a cynic, I’m also a grumpy old man. I would vow to write more technical posts and less rants but the technical posts are usually also… Continue reading Hi Sue!

British Telecom Phishing Scam?

Recently I’ve received two phone calls, both International, claiming to be from BT. In both instances the caller had a barely understandable foreign accent and has started by telling me that BT are cutting my line rental charge. Very nice of them. On today’s call that prompted me to write this, the caller correctly stated… Continue reading British Telecom Phishing Scam?

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Categorized as Crank Calls

What is an 0844 number?

A while ago I added a Crank Calls category to my Blog and at the time it was, (like so many other rants), just a means for me to vent frustration about companies trying to rip me off with stupid offers and debt repayment schemes. It therefore came as a surprise to me that I… Continue reading What is an 0844 number?

0844 8466524

This number hassles Lou and I on a daily basis at the moment The callers are always reluctant to admit who they are but when pressed, they claim to be Galaxy Finance. If these people have a website, it’s well hidden behind false fronts. There is a galaxyfinance.com but it goes through a series of… Continue reading 0844 8466524

Spam at work

Having kept my work email address very private for almost 10 years now, suddenly it’s become a target for Spam. It started a few weeks back with a few targeted emails from companies in the computer industry, suggesting that one of our clients had probably sold their contact database. Then this morning I received an… Continue reading Spam at work

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Categorized as Rants

Think of the Children!

The subject of this post is a catchphrase you can hear in just about any technical discussion group. It’s usually stated in a cynical manner as justification for why something seemingly stupid has been incorporated into a piece of software. Today the BBC website has this article on why social networking sites now need a… Continue reading Think of the Children!

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Categorized as Rants

Understanding the X-Factor

What is it about the X-Factor that makes it so attractive to the British public? At this time every year I find myself obsessing over it, getting angry with who stays and who gets voted out. Ranting about the silly comments I read on web forums and generally getting worked up about something that will… Continue reading Understanding the X-Factor

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Categorized as Rants

0845 4585632

Just had a phone call from this number asking to speak to my partner Lou. They got her name wrong for starters which tends to make one suspicious and it went downhill from there. There was something inexplicably sinister about this caller, the tone of voice, wanting to know who I was and needing to… Continue reading 0845 4585632

The ways of the Web

It’s certainly fair to say that I’m an impulsive person. The smallest trigger will instantly turn me in the direction of a new hobby, most of which are short-lived and expensive. The latest interest is Kayaking which, as it turns out is expensive even by my standards. Then again, a combination of equipment from forgotten… Continue reading The ways of the Web

The Half Blood Prince

Yesterday Lou and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at the Vue Cinema in Plymouth. The film was pretty good although inevitably some chunks had to be cut out to squeeze the 768 page book into an acceptable length. Even so, the film runs for 153 minutes plus the inevitable… Continue reading The Half Blood Prince

The wonderful Western way

Time for a rant on a subject I know nothing about. I’m sure I’m not the only person in the UK this week who feels quite strongly about the Sir Fred Goodwin issue. To the layman it seems as though Sir Fred, the chairman of The Royal Bank of Scotland steered his great company into… Continue reading The wonderful Western way

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Categorized as Rants

Garmin GPS

Last year I treated myself to a Garmin GPS. Being someone who is often trying to find a city-centre hotel in the dark, in the rain, during rush-hour, this device quickly proved to be heaven sent. Being a bit of a geek for gadgets, I installed all the associated Garmin software on my PC and… Continue reading Garmin GPS

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Categorized as Rants

I am a Spammer!

I must be a spammer because SORBS say I am. I didn’t realise it until today when I tried to email the administrators of a Usenet Peer and the message bounced because their Mail Server uses SORBS (Spam and Open Relay Blocking Service). SORBS have a good website so it didn’t take long to find… Continue reading I am a Spammer!

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Categorized as Rants

Farmers Law

A few incidents yesterday got me thinking about the law and farming. Somehow the farming community seems to be a law completely unto itself, exempt from the rules that apply to other folk. Sunday was the annual sponsored walk supporting Teenage Cancer Trust. It was a lovely day on Dartmoor but for me was slightly… Continue reading Farmers Law

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Categorized as Rants

0845 0262572

Yet another number that’s been calling my mobile on a daily basis over the last couple of weeks. This one belongs to Phones 4U, a company in the UK mobile phone industry which firmly believes in the hard sell ethos. At the moment they aren’t going to sell me anything because despite calling me many… Continue reading 0845 0262572

00800 2794783

This is the number that shows up on my caller display when Monument try to get in touch with Lou. My issue is that they try and contact her every couple of hours, every day and seemingly take no notice of me telling them she’s at work. Are there phones available that enable me to… Continue reading 00800 2794783

0151 2441361

I know from consulting whocallsme.com that this number belongs to Littlewoods Direct. My partner Lou has an account with them that probably spends the better part of its life in the red. This being the case, they are (in my opinion) perfectly entitled to try and contact her. So having explained who they are and… Continue reading 0151 2441361

0121 7084055

I just got a call from 0121 7084055. The guy on the other end wanted to speak to my partner Lou and then just abruptly hung up when I explained she was at work. The manner of it was such that I Googled the number which apparently belongs to a company called Ocean Communication Ltd.… Continue reading 0121 7084055

Spamcop

Today I encountered the wrong end of SpamCop. My encounter was indirect in that I was contacted by my upstream provider informing me that a user had submitted a complaint. After a bit of frantic investigation to avoid conflict with my provider, I reached these conclusions:- It wasn’t spam. The SpamCop user had complained about… Continue reading Spamcop

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Categorized as Rants