rsmck - rsmck (Page 3)

Why do we keep paying for Eurovision when we will never win?

This is the recurring sentiment by loads of posts I've seen on Facebook and twitter, and they're beginning to grate a little. Most of the time people make stupid outlandish claims like we pay for 1/5th of the cost of Eurovision wherever it's

aviation

The most important main street in any town

GA is thriving in many countries, but practically dying in the UK. The UK has a proud aviation history; these proposed changes to the NPPF are a good start to ensure it’s preserved and protected for future generations.

aviation

Ashdown Forest and "Drones"

Now, some might accuse me of droning on (sorry) but yes, I'm opinionated. I also fly light aircraft for fun, and also own a couple of SUAs or, as they tend to be known "drones" and fly legally and considerately. One thing

security

"Pure Spam" - Or, a lesson in shared hosting and DNS.

I maintain, or am associated with, a number of websites including some quite high profile and well respected ones. Imagine my shock when one of these disappeared from the Internet (well, Google anyway) entirely overnight. Logging into Google Webmaster Tools I could see this

sip

SIP Rejection Testing

Every now and then I throw together quick little one-off scripts for testing things that might benefit a wider audience. Sometimes it's handy to test how particular devices or platforms handle specific rejection codes, so I threw together this little tool in node. Basically,

rants

Argos (again)

The expression "too many cooks" comes to mind. Anywhere I've worked, people take ownership of a customer's case - irrespective of how it arrives. There's usually some sort of ticket which can be transferred between people, but it's not a rabble of

security

Security Theatre and the Airport

I've previously ranted about "security theatre" that we all suffer every time we fly anywhere so imagine my surprise that I write this airside at a major airport holding a bag that's not been X-rayed... how did I get here? That this

rants

Argos...

Update 6th November Knew it was too good to be true. Seems Jack completely lied about what they'd done, because apparently the order has been cancelled (again) and I've been refunded (I haven't)... so I now need to phone and re-order the same products

security

HP Ink DRM

I am never buying an @HP product ever again. This “Ink DRM” is a joke, I don’t even want a colour print but I can’t use this paperweight!

consumer rights

aqva-usations

Ok, so that pun didn't really work. I've already posted a lengthy rant about aqva bathrooms and their complete lack of customer service after supplying me with defective goods. Well, today, after sending them the recording of the call in which they told me

consumer rights

aqva Bathrooms

Another day, another customer service (or lack thereof) rant this time it's the turn of aqva Bathrooms. Turns out this company has directors in common with QS Supplies, a company that I've not dealt with since 2012 for similar reasons and - had I

security

SaaS... Access Control?

There's in increasing tend towards SaaS, and indeed at work we use it extensively with services like Zendesk, Xero, Statuspage.io etc.. I've done a lot (including custom development, and quick hacks like access control notifications in slack) with Paxton's Net2 access control and

rants

Do Not Reply

I am very sorry about our delay in getting back to you, only your message was sent to a 'do not reply' email address, which is not monitored closely. This is the message I got today from a (otherwise very helpful company) because I

consumer rights

HIKvision Doesn't Want Your Business

Ok, that seems like a bit of a sensational title, but it's not far from the truth and I'm not the only one to think so as the prominent HIKvision dealer Since 2013, Use-IP, have [issued a similar statement]((https://docs.google.com/document/

personal

10 Years of Facebook

I avoided sharing the insipid auto-created video, but Facebook decided to tell me today that I joined Facebook TEN years ago today... So instead, here's an almost equally insipid post, cross-posted from Facebook :D It's an interesting landmark I suppose, so figured I'd post

roads

Stopping Distances

Following the recent tragic death of Kim Briggs, killed by cyclist Charlie Alliston riding an illegal bike with no front brakes, there's been lot of debate over whether or not he could stop even if the bike was legal. These people often cite the

security

Bizzby Privacy

Update 21st August Having spoken with Bizzby, I'm confident this is an isolated incident and that my concerns about how jobs are allocated to their service provider partners are unfounded. I expect a formal statement from Bizzby to be issued in due course. I

Web forms and 'an' or 'a'

I'm a stickler for the little things. What's wrong with this drop down box? If you don't notice, then this article probably isn't for you. However the more pedantic audience members will note that "I am a Installer" is terrible English. This

javascript

International number formatting on the web with JavaScript

In the UK numbers are typically shown as follows; 07700 900 123 020 7946 0123 This is known as the "local" or "UK National" format When dialled from abroad, the leading 0 is replaced with +44 so the 07700 number

flying

Transavia, KLM and a couple of bags...

Some people will know I've had issues with KLM in the past specifically when their policy was to allow aircraft to depart with exit rows unoccupied; a situation EASA believe represents "an inadequate level of safety". Despite this, they're one of only

telecoms

When is withheld, not withheld?

I love Three's new WiFi Calling feature (well, it's an Apple feature, but Three finally decided to support it!) – ultimately it lets me use my phone (most of the time) at home for calls and SMS (think 2FA!) where there is no signal on

rants

Road Rants - Single Track Roads

Told you I could do a series of these... I now live in quite a rural area and we have a lot of roads that seem mildly unusual to some, and seem to strike the fear of god in others! Whilst they seem to

highland life

Road Rants - Overtaking

I could probably put together an entire 'Road Rants' series, but this one is inspired by some comments I saw today on a facebook post about overtaking "Why should we have to brake in our cars with our children to let them in&

flying

G-BNHG, thank you.

Today was my last flight in G-BNHG, the aircraft I flew my first ever solo flight in. Unfortunately, it's likely had one too many hard landings at the hands of students like myself – the front oleo collapsed and, since it's spent almost 12,000

consumer rights

3G/4G Router Stores

Update May 2020: Westlake Communications entered liquidation, and has ceased trading, these websites are now operated by Millbeck Communications who are not associated with Westlake Communicatons and hopefully have a better approach to customer care and understand UK trading laws. Most of my comments,