So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[ChrisB]

People who drive too slow on the highway

People who drive too fast in parking lots

 

[GHT]

I used to complain about old people who drive slow, until I became one.

Me too, but at least my car has indicators, not that they were ever optional extras, although you would be forgiven for thinking so these days.

 

[Edward]

I wasn’t in the first wave of “driver’s ed,” which, I was told, featured grisly films and other warnings of the horrors of the road, which really were bloodier then than they are now. (The numbers don’t lie.)

But my recollection of my time in driver’s education is that almost all of it was wasted. We had a “simulator,” such as it was. It was a trailer outfitted with a movie screen at one end and maybe 20 student stations, each equipped with a steering wheel and two pedals. Student input had no effect whatsoever on what was showing on the screen. It was the self-driving car of its time, and we were all along for the ride.

But the on-the-road instruction was worthwhile. I had started driving long before I was of legal age, some of it on the public rights of way, and some in other contexts. So I knew how to control a car going into it. But our instructor, a teacher from another high school, really did offer worthy tips. And it was fun to drive those big late-model American-made sedans, on loan from local dealerships. Those cars were equipped with two brake pedals, one for the teacher, in the right front seat, to stomp on should the occasion arise.

I remember my driving instructor's car had a footbrake and a clutch both on the passenger side - I think that was fairly standard in the 90s. I do recall seeing 'driver's ed' cars in a US film in the 90s that seemed to have a dual set of everything, including a steering wheel, but I assume that was a gag and never reality....

I remember when I learned to drive it took me a bit to get used to thinking in terms of not being 'centred'. I'd always thought it would make more sense for the driver to be in the middle rather than off to one side of the car, but then that would make overtaking trickier I suspect.

I've never driven on the wrong side of the road; I don't much fancy trying it.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

"I've never driven on the wrong side of the road;"

You drive in London? So you drive on the wrong side of the road every time you get behind the wheel!

 

[GHT]

"I've never driven on the wrong side of the road;"

You drive in London? So you drive on the wrong side of the road every time you get behind the wheel!

When you drive in London, you don't drive on the left hand side of the road, you drive on what's left of the road.

 

[Edward]

Since January 1 of this year I've received more junk texts than all of the previous years combined. Their subject matter so far has been mostly one of two types--either a contest that never existed yielded results with me in second place and they want me to contact them to claim my "prize", or a courier I've never heard of (except for the occasional invocation of "Fed Ex") wants me to contact them for delivery instructions. All lies, of course, but the moment you fall for it, follow their instructions, and call them, you've given them a valid phone number and they'll never stop pestering you.

Given such a sudden upsurge in such very specific scams, I would suggest the probability is there was a dataleak somewhere that has your email over the December period, and the hackers responsible have either started scamming you themselves, or sold the data to those who are. At least these are relatively low level threats, but that doesn't make them any more irritating, of course.

 

[GHT]

Given such a sudden upsurge in such very specific scams, I would suggest the probability is there was a dataleak somewhere that has your email over the December period, and the hackers responsible have either started scamming you themselves, or sold the data to those who are. At least these are relatively low level threats, but that doesn't make them any more irritating, of course.

Quite so, that's why I still pay cash, as in, the filthy folding stuff. Cash is anonymous.

 

[tonyb]

Quite so, that's why I still pay cash, as in, the filthy folding stuff. Cash is anonymous.

Yeah, true enough. I really ought to do more of that. But with so many of my transactions conducted online (sure is convenient), leaving a record is unavoidable.

I’ve been seeing signage at auto repair shops and the like saying either no checks accepted or limiting them to smallish amounts. I don’t fault those businesses one little bit for that. If there’s sufficient funds in the customer’s account, a debit card will clear. If not, it will be declined.

I’m confident those businesses would rather not have to adopt such policies. And I’m equally confident they didn’t do so just for the hell of it. Deadbeats make themselves difficult to track down. Not only is the business getting stiffed, it’s also tying up its personnel in attempting to rectify the matter.

 

[Edward]

Yeah, true enough. I really ought to do more of that. But with so many of my transactions conducted online (sure is convenient), leaving a record is unavoidable.

I’ve been seeing signage at auto repair shops and the like saying either no checks accepted or limiting them to smallish amounts. I don’t fault those businesses one little bit for that. If there’s sufficient funds in the customer’s account, a debit card will clear. If not, it will be declined.

I’m confident those businesses would rather not have to adopt such policies. And I’m equally confident they didn’t do so just for the hell of it. Deadbeats make themselves difficult to track down. Not only is the business getting stiffed, it’s also tying up its personnel in attempting to rectify the matter.

Cheques are pretty much dead in the UK now. When I opened the current account I use now c.2012 they asked if I wanted a chequebook; I took it just in case, but it's still intact, unused, in a drawer all these years later. The advent of Paypal was the game changer for me with that. I now see a cheque exactly once a year, a birthday gift from a relative, and it's actually a little tricky to get into my account as I'm a tube or two away from the nearest branch now.

Quite a few places in London now are card-only; I like to still have the option of cash, but unless I'm abroad (where I prefer to use local cash), I tend to card everything now. In 2009, 30% of UK transactions were done by card; by 2019 it was 70%. These things are moving fast. My last publication was a chapter on cybersecurity, made me very paranoid!

 

[tonyb]

Cheques are pretty much dead in the UK now. When I opened the current account I use now c.2012 they asked if I wanted a chequebook; I took it just in case, but it's still intact, unused, in a drawer all these years later. The advent of Paypal was the game changer for me with that. I now see a cheque exactly once a year, a birthday gift from a relative, and it's actually a little tricky to get into my account as I'm a tube or two away from the nearest branch now.

Quite a few places in London now are card-only; I like to still have the option of cash, but unless I'm abroad (where I prefer to use local cash), I tend to card everything now. In 2009, 30% of UK transactions were done by card; by 2019 it was 70%. These things are moving fast. My last publication was a chapter on cybersecurity, made me very paranoid!

I still get checks a couple-three times per month on average — some for business, some for personal matters. I deposit them with my iPhone, using the bank’s app. Takes maybe a minute, although sometimes it asks me to take the photos two or three times before it accepts them. Beats driving to the bank.

I still occasionally find myself in a supermarket checkout line behind a person writing a check. That person is typically elderly and a model of inefficiency. She doesn’t begin the check-writing process until her purchases are totaled and bagged and awaiting her, when she commences to fumbling around in her purse for her checkbook and for a pen, which she may or may not locate and, should she find it, it may or may not work, at which point she asks the checker if she has one.

It’s a patience-building exercise.

 

[GHT]

Quite a few places in London now are card-only; I like to still have the option of cash, but unless I'm abroad (where I prefer to use local cash), I tend to card everything now. In 2009, 30% of UK transactions were done by card; by 2019 it was 70%. These things are moving fast. My last publication was a chapter on cybersecurity, made me very paranoid!

Have you done something like a thesis on cyber security Edward? Out of interest, if I had lost or had stolen, my debit card, but I was unaware that it was missing for a given period of time, could the thief use it as in tap and go? The reason for my asking is that I have just been issued with my new debit card. The letter states that when I first use it for cash withdrawal or for something else, it will trigger the tap & go ability. Surely that means anyone can just tap & go. It annoys me that I can't opt out of the technology.

 

[Edward]

I still get checks a couple-three times per month on average — some for business, some for personal matters. I deposit them with my iPhone, using the bank’s app. Takes maybe a minute, although sometimes it asks me to take the photos two or three times before it accepts them. Beats driving to the bank.

I still occasionally find myself in a supermarket checkout line behind a person writing a check. That person is typically elderly and a model of inefficiency. She doesn’t begin the check-writing process until her purchases are totaled and bagged and awaiting her, when she commences to fumbling around in her purse for her checkbook and for a pen, which she may or may not locate and, should she find it, may or may not work, at which point she asks the checker if she has one.

It’s a patience-building exercise.

Supermarket queues can be a challenge if shopping alone I always found: either pack and wait to pay, or pay and then finish the packing. Since lockdown, we've keptcon having the bulk of ours delivered, which definitely helps!

That app sounds handy, though. I don't think my bank does it, but I should investigate.

Have you done something like a thesis on cyber security Edward? Out of interest, if I had lost or had stolen, my debit card, but I was unaware that it was missing for a given period of time, could the thief use it as in tap and go? The reason for my asking is that I have just been issued with my new debit card. The letter states that when I first use it for cash withdrawal or for something else, it will trigger the tap & go ability. Surely that means anyone can just tap & go. It annoys me that I can't opt out of the technology.

A colleague who is one of the big noises globally on fintech law and regulation has put together a volume on many different aspects; I was cajoled into writing a survey chapter on cybersecurity risks, scams and key intiatives being undertaken by industry bodies to address it. Fascinating stuff, but it left me quite paranoid!

I have a Santader debit card without the contactless. I had to fight them for it, but once sorted they have me on file for one without it.

They say it is secure because it can ask you for a pin at random, but unless it can be set to ask for the pin every single time, I won't have one. That simple change would keep everyone happy. Banks like them because it puts less wear andctear on the card than the traditional chip (which I fear they may phase out once all atms are equipped to take the contactless thing).

For now, the contactless works on a separate circuit to the chip. If you know where the aeriel for it is in the card, you can make a small cut in the corner or drill a hole in the right place which will sever it and disable contactless. It's what I was going to do had they still refused me one without it. (There are a fair few tutorials on how to do this online).

It maddens me that banks think we can all risk a card being stolen and possibly the thief spend at least a ton before getting asked for a pin...

 

[Zombie_61]

Given such a sudden upsurge in such very specific scams, I would suggest the probability is there was a dataleak somewhere that has your email over the December period, and the hackers responsible have either started scamming you themselves, or sold the data to those who are. At least these are relatively low level threats, but that doesn't make them any more irritating, of course.

The one piece of information I neglected to include in my previous post is that the increase in scam texts has always followed my retiring my previous-and-not-working-particularly-well cell phone and getting a new and allegedly better one. The overall amount of scam texts is about the same, but the tactics and subject matter of those texts changes.

Cheques are pretty much dead in the UK now. When I opened the current account I use now c.2012 they asked if I wanted a chequebook; I took it just in case, but it's still intact, unused, in a drawer all these years later. The advent of Paypal was the game changer for me with that. I now see a cheque exactly once a year, a birthday gift from a relative, and it's actually a little tricky to get into my account as I'm a tube or two away from the nearest branch now.

Quite a few places in London now are card-only; I like to still have the option of cash, but unless I'm abroad (where I prefer to use local cash), I tend to card everything now. In 2009, 30% of UK transactions were done by card; by 2019 it was 70%. These things are moving fast. My last publication was a chapter on cybersecurity, made me very paranoid!

These days I write one check every month, to pay the man who owns/runs my gardening service. I've never really discussed it with him because he seems fine with receiving my check, but I really don't know how else I'd pay him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Edward]

The one piece of information I neglected to include in my previous post is that the increase in scam texts has always followed my retiring my previous-and-not-working-particularly-well cell phone and getting a new and allegedly better one. The overall amount of scam texts is about the same, but the tactics and subject matter of those texts changes.

Alas, yes - the downside of more opportunities with tech also means it seems there are also always mor4e opportunities to try and scam other folks with it. We've come a long way since the height of it all was those Nigerian bank scams.

These days I write one check every month, to pay the man who owns/runs my gardening service. I've never really discussed it with him because he seems fine with receiving my check, but I really don't know how else I'd pay him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I think cheques are still in a lot more common usage in the US, at least as far as I gather from the outside. Paypal and such have taken off in a big way over here, though I expect a lot of the change will ultimately be generational, and/or driven by what businesses accept. Card-only payment, or card-preferred payment got a huge boost during Covid here, for obvious reasons.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Is it just my impression or are the marketing boys going into "fashionable" hearing aids, actually??

I had to look twice in our railcar to make sure, that it's not an Borg implant.

 

[Trenchfriend]

I sincerely hope you're able to keep your medicaments to a minimum as you grow older.

This time, a new assistant viewed my data in the usual sideroom and said:
"OH, your sitdown wasn't worth it!"

Doctor's office, Monday morning in Germany. Opens 8:00 (7:30 for laboratory), the smalltown floodwave comes in and than, when the flood ebbs away, the "one-medicament-alien" comes.

 

[Edward]

"I've never driven on the wrong side of the road;"

You drive in London? So you drive on the wrong side of the road every time you get behind the wheel!

When you drive in London, you don't drive on the left hand side of the road, you drive on what's left of the road.

I've never been daft enough to try and drive in London at all.... I hated driving enough when it was a necessary evil in the Old Country (actually, as soon as I had my licence I basically gave it up and sacrificed any social benefits it might have had in order to avoid it) that I was only too happy to move to a city with first-world public transport and never need a car. In any case, I doubt I could afford to run a car in London on my academic salary.

Is it just my impression or are the marketing boys going into "fashionable" hearing aids, actually??

I had to look twice in our railcar to make sure, that it's not an Borg implant.

As with vision, so with hearing. You can go invisible (contact lenses / tiny, in-ear hearing aids), or make it look good (nice glasses, borg-implants). In the "looking good" category, I'm also happy to include "intimidates people out of trying to speak to me on public transport"!

 

[tonyb]

Is it just my impression or are the marketing boys going into "fashionable" hearing aids, actually??

I had to look twice in our railcar to make sure, that it's not an Borg implant.

To paraphrase Edward, if your life might be improved by such devices, they may as well be better rather than worse looking.

I already own the cane I hope I won’t be needing anytime soon. It’s a simple wooden crook, which to my eye is far better looking than those aluminum things, and much more elegant than those fancily carved jobs.

 

[Turnip]

Leaving home for daily grind now…

 

[GHT]

I already own the cane I hope I won’t be needing anytime soon. It’s a simple wooden crook, which to my eye is far better looking than those aluminum things, and much more elegant than those fancily carved jobs.

In the UK we use term, walking stick, rather than cane. My own is really more of a comfort blanket, the surgeon who performed my hip replacement surgery recommended it. He explained that should I stumble, using the stick to steady my balance will help prevent a fall. How right he was, twice it's saved me from a serious tumble.

Going back to Tony's simple wooden crook, I have a number of walking sticks, they are like an accoutrement, an accessory to go with whatever I'm wearing. I joke about my walking stick, calling it Michael. When asked, "why Michael," I answer the question with a question: "What is a walking stick called in America?" "A cane." Wait for the groan............Michael Caine.