rsmck - rsmck (Page 3)

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,

flying

First Solo

Firstly, I hate selfies... and photos of me in general, but this is a moment I don't want to forget... Sitting on the taxiway for the first time, in a

A Revolut-ionary way to pay abroad

I recently went to the USA for the first time and, in common with my travel anywhere else, didn't take any foreign currency. I took the following; A Revolut Card A Curve Card My American Express Card My UK Debit Card I was impressed

mobile

SMS 2FA and the Modern Smartphone

SMS has been around for over 20 years now and yet this basic 160 character instant messaging service is still widely used for marketing, transactional messages and two-factor authentication ("2FA") This was just a random thought when trying to log into something

security

Alarm Monitoring (With Raspberry Pi)

I'm responsible for a commercial buildings that, as you would expect, have monitored alarms, access control and such like. However, commercial alarm monitoring is horrendously expensive, and most of them are stuck in the dark ages; I want to be able to monitor the

security

iMessage Preview

So, iMessage has a handy new feature - both on iOS and MacOS - where if you send someone a URL it will extract some metadata from this URL and display it as a clickable link; You'll be used to this behaviour if you

What a difference a 0 makes

Or, why it's really important to dial the correct phone number. Or, alternatively, how to have people willingly hand over personal details to scammers. Nuances of the UK phone system Two thing conspire to make this possible in the UK; Overdialling The UK phone

I'd like an Invoice please (Avis)

As someone who reasonably regularly has to claim expenses for business travel it never ceases to amaze me quite how inept some companies (for whom people like me make up a large percentage of their business) are at the simplest of things. I regularly

moving

Estate Agents - a follow up...

One of the professions many love to hate, estate agents. I recently posted my rant/review of a few estate agents when selling in Glasgow for a move north to the Highlands. The right choice? After inviting four agencies to quote (three of which

rants

How not to do APIs

The company involved here will remain anonymous, as they offer a good (and relatively unique) service and I don't want to damage any relationship with them, nor discourage others from using them just for this reason! Additionally, their support has been excellent. I hope

lx

Eurobeat: Moldova!

I have provided voting for numerous (almost 20 now!) productions of Eurobeat: Almost Eurovision and am pleased to announce that one again I am providing the voting for the new professional production of Eurobeat (and the visuals are looking better than ever!) And the

automower

Husqvarna Automower Challenge - Communication

For a bit of background on this see my first post on this. But, in summary, I am a participant in the automower challenge. Automower Connect The larger Automowers (430X, 450X) support a smartphone app called "Automower Connect" which allow you to

The Wrong Lizard

So, in a tumultuous week in UK politics our Prime Minister resigned after losing a referendum he didn't want to hold in the first place which was basically the result of trying to appease some internal party squabbling. Now, when an MP resigns, we