Archive for the 'A bit of a rant' Category

Another kick in The Proms

Posted by on September 12th 2010 in A bit of a rant, On the box
Tags:

I well remember the good old days when the Last Night of The Proms was a real chance for a bit of good-natured enthusiasm for our national identity. A chance to enjoy some British classical music after 9 weeks of listening to foreign imports. Oh, and there was some "bobbing" to be done, too.

Well, according to the Beeb, that same ethos still applies: "While it lives up to its reputation of a fun Last Night party celebrating British tradition..." - sounds promising, eh?

 

It didn't deliver on that promise. We got the following:

  • Jonathan Dove A Song of Joys
  • Tchaikovsky Capriccio Italien
  • Tchaikovsky arr. Rysanov Rococo Variations
  • Parry Blest Pair of Sirens
  • R. Strauss Verführung, Op. 33 No. 1, Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1, Ständchen, Op. 17 No. 2, Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4, Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1
  • Chabrier Joyeuse marche
  • Smetana Dalibor – 'Dobrá! Já mu je dám! … Jak je mi?'
  • Dvorák Rusalka – Song to the Moon
  • Vaughan Williams Suite for viola and small orchestra – Prelude; Galop
  • Wagner Lohengrin – Bridal Chorus
  • Rodgers and Hammerstein Carousel – 'You'll never walk alone'
  • Trad, arr. Nic Raine Fisher's Hornpipe
  • Arne Rule, Britannia!
  • Parry, orch. Elgar Jerusalem
  • Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major ('Land of Hope and Glory')
  • The National Anthem

Sift the Brit-Grit out of that. Be careful, there ain't much there, and there were hardly any "bobbing" opportunities. How on Earth can anybody justify omitting works by Henry Wood, such as his Fantasia on British Sea Songs? FFS, Wood started the whole shebang, he conducted the Proms for almost half a century, his bust looks down over the whole show, and now he's snubbed.

 

Just in case you don't remember those good old days, here's what we used to get. British stuff. Red meat on the bone...

  • Elgar Pomp and Circumstance: Military March No. 4
  • Walton Crown Imperial
  • Elgar Enigma Variations: No. 9 Nimrod
  • Holst I vow to Thee, my Country
  • Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves
  • Elgar Chanson de matin
  • Coates London: No. 3 Knightsbridge
  • Handel Zadok the Priest (Coronation Anthem)
  • Clarke Trumpet Voluntary
  • Wood Fantasia on British Sea Songs
  • Arne Rule, Britannia!
  • Elgar Pomp and Circumstance: Military March No. 1
  • Parry Jerusalem
  • The National Anthem

There you go. Proper stuff.

We used to get British conductors too, but that's gone all "PC" as well.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a Nationalist by any stretch of the imagination. It's just that I get narked by this constant erosion of our national identity.

That empty feeling

Posted by on August 20th 2010 in A bit of a rant
Tags:

Looks like that Trojan has affected more than just the laptop's HDD... the latest backup and the "old" version (both on the USB HDD) are now just empty folders, and the plain copies of the applications are almost empty too. Just folders, hardly any files, nothing of any worth.

Significant total losses include all emails/addresses/attachments, address-books, organisers, maps, 30+ years of walking routes, CVs, e-books, bought software and plugins, employment details, banking records, purchase records, service agreements, encrypted passwords, the list goes on and on.

If I wasn't so gutted, I'd swear.

Offline

Posted by on August 20th 2010 in A bit of a rant
Tags:

Thanks to a bad-ass Backdoor Trojan infection, my laptop's been dead for nearly a week. The first I knew about it was when I came back to it after a short break and found that it was randomly and independently opening, moving and deleting files and folders. The mouse-pointer was whizzing about as if controlled by an invisible hand. The only way to stop the process was to pull the mains power and remove the battery.

A recommended and reputable Trojan-remover found the offending crap and dealt with it, but there's been a lot of collateral damage - the boot-sector is trashed and the registry is shredded. I have copies of most of my apps and data on the USB HDD, so losses will be minimal, but reinstalling and configuring all that software will take ages. The hardware's in the repair-shop refusing to allow a clean OS installation.

Luckily I have a kind neighbour who's been generous enough to give me access to his lappy so that I can get online now and again. Thanks, Graham, you're a star!

Sadly I've no access to my email yet, so if you've been expecting a reply from me, please be patient.

Oh no! FFS, not again!

Posted by on May 7th 2010 in A bit of a rant, In the News
Tags:

For 23 years we've had the same MP, and in all that time we've never actually seen him. Hardly surprising, really, as he lives 140 miles away in Billingshurst, which is even further away from here than Westminster is. He's tried to claim expenses for astrology software and for an intimate relationships course, and was guilty of accepting cash-for-questions. He's never responded directly to any of the questions that I've put to him, preferring to "sub out" the job to somebody else. We had high hopes that he'd be ousted, but he's back for another term.

I didn't much care which party ended up in government, but I really did want to see the back of this fool. Actually, seeing ANY part of this fool is unlikely. He's like the absentee landlord, happy to accept the rent-money but never there when you need him to fix the property. It's not what's expected of a public servant, and certainly not what I expect of my representative in Parliament.

We're screwed.

I am not a number, I am a free man

Posted by on May 6th 2010 in A bit of a rant
Tags:

Approaching the Polling Station the way ahead was clear and following close behind was a gaggle of retired folk. I went through the outer door and made for the entrance to the inner sanctum, where the officials reside. Mid-stride, I was accosted by an "unidentified, suited and clip-boarded older man" strategically positioned in the foyer.

"What's your number?" he asked, sharply and without any semblance of manners.

"Are you talking to me?" I retorted.

"Yes. I need your number. The number on your polling card."

"Can I see your official ID?"

"Er, no, I don't have one."

"A name-badge, perhaps?"

"No."

"So what is your official responsibility here?"

"I record the numbers of the voters."

"Are you a proper election official?"

"Er, well, not quite."

"Well, you're not recording my number. I don't know who you are or what you'll do with my number. For all I know, you could peddle the data to the highest bidder regardless of the consequences, and judging by the way you haven't concealed the information taken from your previous victims, you appear to have no regard to the confidentiality of such information. I'll disclose my details to the properly-registered and approved officials in the other room - you have no right to ascertain my number, and I have no obligation to disclose it to you, so please stop harassing me. Oh, and next time, try using some manners... you know, those things that you older folk complain that "the youth of today" don't have. "

The gaggle of retired folk was by then in a state of confusion. It appeared that none of them had ever wondered what the "unidentified, suited and clip-boarded older man" did with the numbers. Quite a few of them had never realised that he wasn't even an official. Not many of them disclosed their numbers to him.

After voting, I walked back past the rude "unidentified, suited and clip-boarded older man" and went outside. A couple from the "gaggle" were waiting for me. I was expecting trouble, but instead got thanks and a handshake.

Knowledge, not politics, is power.

At the Sign of The Prancing Pony

Posted by on January 14th 2010 in A bit of a rant, Rambling on...

I went into Lloyds Bank today to close my 34ish-year old account, considering it to be no longer needed as for the last few years I've entrusted my spondulix to a building society with better rates, more flexible conditions and excellent customer service.

I'd just about forgiven the bank for their refusal to give me a the benefits of a student account way back in the 80s (which meant that I had NO overdraft facility at all, unlike my peers), but I never did figure how they worked out their overdraft allowances. While I was earning a good salary I was allowed a maximum of £300 overdraft, but when I was made redundant back in 2002 and had no income whatsoever they immediately offered to increase my overdraft facility to £4k! WTF???

Anyway, of late their service had slipped too far behind that of other similar services, and I'd had enough.

The customer-care woman didn't try to talk me out of the closure, which was a relief. After the standard ID process was over, she worked out the interest and told me the final balance of my account. Then she told me to use my Visa card to withdraw the cash from the cashier. Now I didn't want to carry a few thousand quid around in my pockets, so I asked for the balance to be transferred to my building society account. It could be done, I was told, but it would have to be a CHAPS payment and I'd have to pay £30 for it. I could have a bank-cheque, but that would cost too. Yes, I'd have to pay to move my own money. I declined.

Having not used the account for several years, I couldn't remember the bank Visa card PIN number anyway. The only way forward was for me to produce extra ID and use the old-fashioned bank-slip method to get the money from the cashier. I produced my passport and the process continued as the woman went off to the tills, signed bank-slip in hand.

Five minutes later she reappeared with a wad of notes and some small change, declaring it to be the full closure balance of my account. Without even counting it out for me, she stuffed it all into a plain white letter envelope which was obviously a used reject as it was tatty, wouldn't seal, and was produced from the waste-paper bin. It had to be double-folded to stop the cash from falling out - she wouldn't provide any tape. This shoddy package, and a receipt, was given to me and the deal was done, or so she thought. I made a point of opening the package and counting out the contents for myself, it took seconds and should have been done by her, but what the hell, I was almost free!

As I turned to leave, she asked me why I didn't want to continue banking with them.

Hmm...

Crap customer service?

Poor treatment in the past?

Or the fact that the total interest earned amounted to less than one penny for each year the account had been open?

All three, obviously.
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »