Monthly archives: March 2003


Heavensent- Chapter 9, Part 6

The Pigs were running late, the water in the washes had hampered them more than anticipated. Still, half their charges had been planted and now they were heading for the relative safety of the middle of the lake.

They didn�t look back, or they would have seen several of their target ships getting ready to sail. One of the fast corvettes, designated to assist the patrol boats, had cast off when the charge beneath its keel exploded. It leapt into the air, splitting in two when it hit the water.

Up and down one section of the dock, explosions rocked and shattered ships. Secondary charges ignited fuel from a ruptured tanker. A number of unmined ships were trapped behind sinking and burning hulks, but some managed to escape. Running from the incoming rockets, they too headed for the middle of the lake.


DON'T PANIC

In the event of a terrorist attack the new Home Office advice states that we should go home and listen to the radio. Anyone who remembers the ‘Protect and Survive’ leaflet from the 80s (which basically said that in the event of a nuclear war you should stay indoors and listen to the radio) will be reassured that once again the government has the situation in hand.


ClosedWorld

I’m ready, willing and able to connect to BT Openworld broadband again, but there’s a stop on my credit card at the moment, so I want to go over to Direct Debit. “I’m afraid you can’t do that sir.”

“But when I called on Monday I was told I could pay with direct debit.”

“Oh. That’s only for new customers sir. If you’re an existing customer you have to pay by credit card.”

“But I can’t switch over to direct debit?”

“No.”

“How about if I become a new customer?”

“You’d have to change your user name and details.”

“That’s not a problem.”

“……You’d also have to pay the balance of your outstanding contract.”

“Well that’s a bit crap, isn’t it?”

“……….”

“This obviously isn’t going to work. Thanks for your help anyway.” (That last bit wasn’t sarcasm, it’s not her fault she works for a company with such deliberately stupid policies.)

I’d say they were going out of their way to lose money, except that they’ll charge me for ‘defaulting’ because I can’t pay one way but would willingly pay another.

Given the content of this and my previous post, I feel justified in agreeing that BTsuck.


Billing

BT has �250 of my money. To clear a debt from this time last year, I’ve been paying a standing order of �105 a month for the last six or seven months, which doesn’t add up when the original debt was �300. And they can’t reimburse me the full amount of credit until the next quarterly statement goes out and the balance becomes official. I know I should have noticed the problem earlier, but I think I’m justified in being pissed off that they didn’t question this continued over payment. You can bet that if I’d dropped into debt again they’d have been after me quickly enough.


Wand'rin' mines

Self healing minefields have been developed to confound clearing operations. Allegedly it’s a humanitarian approach-

One of the main uses of anti-personnel landmines has been to keep mine-clearers away from anti-tank explosives. A dynamic, rearrangeable set of anti-tank mines would eliminate the need for anti-personnel defenses, the logic goes.

via GeekPress


New life for old silos

Just up the road from home (High Trees, Cumbria home, not Manchester home) is an old redbrick building that used to be the pump house for Cogra Moss (even further up the road, through a wood and nestling in a horseshoe of hills). A few years ago, it was found to contain a manufacturing lab for ecstasy. In Kansas they think bigger, using an abandoned missile silo to manufacture LSD.


Mines

Self healing minefields have been developed to confound clearing operations. Allegedly it’s a humanitarian approach-

One of the main uses of anti-personnel landmines has been to keep mine-clearers away from anti-tank explosives. A dynamic, rearrangeable set of anti-tank mines would eliminate the need for anti-personnel defenses, the logic goes.

via GeekPress


The Final Countdown

Across the table from me, the Major Incident Policy team are dividing up disasters- ‘I’ll take botulism, you can have ricin and dirty bombs’- whilst there may be a case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in North Manchester General.

Was it just me, or did Dubya look even more like a bad piece of animatronics than normal as he issued his ultimatum?

Another ministerial resignation, but Clare Short is staying.

Lots of little protests around the country. I’d take part, but I don’t think anyone would notice I wasn’t working.