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Customer Safety & Corporate Morality vs Commercial Viability

October 7th, 2008, by Rich, in Society.

Customer Safety & Corporate Morality vs Commercial Viability

Is it wrong to gain commercial profit through somebody else’s law breaking? Morally wrong, certainly, but maybe not unlawful; so every day the corner shop near us profits indirectly when its customers ignore parking laws. More…

The Smoking Litter Police

October 6th, 2008, by Rich, in Ecology, General, Society.

The Smoking Litter Police

Today at lunchtime I was alerted by a colleague, to an uncommon sight: a uniformed officer of the law, smoking. A smoking plod is probably just as likely as a smoking anybody, but I can’t remember ever seeing an officer smoking in uniform. This one wore little blue epaulettes and a bright yellow arm band that suggested that he was a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) rather than a Police Constable (PC). He had his hat off, so perhaps he was on a break, but it was a strange sight nonetheless. More…

United States of Emergency

September 30th, 2008, by Rich, in Politics, Society.

United States of Emergency

In March, the US federal reserve made a 29 billion dollar investment bailing out the collapsing Bear-Stearns bank. Last month the behemoth mortgage lenders Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac were underwritten to the tune of 200 billion dollars. Yesterday the seven hundred billion dollar bail-out bill on federal intervention in financial markets was rejected by the House of Representatives. More…

iPhone Network Lost

September 24th, 2008, by Rich, in Mobile.

iPhone Network Lost

The iPhone has a quirk that is starting to become a hindrance. Every time the phone goes through a patch of dead air where there’s no cell signal, it pops up a dialogue box saying “network lost”. This obviously could be useful at times, but it’s bad for two reasons: More…

Guide to Gran Canaria

August 18th, 2008, by Rich, in Europe, Family, Travel.

Guide to Gran Canaria

If you’re considering a move to a new country, learning from the experiences of those who’ve done it already can do wonders for cutting through red tape and easing the transition from newbie to seasoned knowledgeable resident. My cousins Ros and Rich moved to Gran Canaria several years back, and they’ve just launched a website (Gran Canaria Guru.) that details almost everything you’ll ever want to know if you’re thinking of doing the same. Although the site is still in its infancy, the first thing I looked at was the guide to Surf Spots, and it’s already comprehensive!

Check out: GranCanariaGuru.com

Irony: Flame or Funny?

August 4th, 2008, by Rich, in Questions, Society.

Please help! A comment just arrived on the “contact us” page, and it’s a work of art. I can’t decide if it’s a flame, or something intentionally funny. The irony is beautiful. More…

Buying Donuts

July 22nd, 2008, by Rich, in General.

I’m buying donuts for software engineers to enjoy. Tests prove that donuts increase productivity in geeks by up to 3.147 percent. If you know a computing professional, buy them donuts today and enjoy better software tomorrow. More…

WordPress for iPhone

July 22nd, 2008, by Rich, in WordCamp, WordPress.

WordPress for iPhone

One of the coolest future applications that was discussed at WordCamp UK last weekend is the WordPress client for the Apple iPhone. Well, it’s just arrived on the iTunes store (here), and I’m using it to write this short test article. More…