What would a bald person say? (No hair to pull out!)

I've been trying to get the telephone number of my local HSBC so I can go in and talk about my mortgage.
Simple huh?
I typed in the branch on Google and got the telephone number, but when I rang it, it asked to input my account details and sort code. I didn't have them on me so just left that, after all, all I want to do is arrange a visit.
I finally got through to an Indian call center where the operator literally spoke like an automated message.
I said what I wanted, but he wanted me to answer lots of questions first about accounts etc.
I said all I want to do is arrange a visit to my local branch.
I was then put on hold for ages.
Then a Scottish man came on the phone, so I went through it all again saying  all I want to do is arrange a visit to my local branch.
He said I should use the special phone service for mortgage related enquiries.
So I asked, don't you like people going into the local branch?
He said it takes 2 weeks to arrange an appointment.
So, the next day i use the mortgage hotline.
I get through to someone who wants all my account info, this time I am prepared. But then he asks for monthly payment amounts and original loan amounts. This is after answering all my name/address/account number/second account holder questions.
I don't have that on my. So I give him the figure for my current balance...but that isn't good enough and he informs me I've answered something incorrectly and now my account has been locked. I will need to visit my local branch to unlock it.
AGGHHHHHH
I explain all I wanted to do is arrange a visit to my local branch.
I am now booked in for Saturday, what a pain in the neck!!!!!

What would Lord Lichfield say?

7 Cameras of History

I've been thinking back to the very first camera I ever had, and then I started trying to piece the journey together of the line of cameras that led me to where I am now. I know I say 7 cameras, but there are 9 listed here (I don't really count the pocket cameras).

Here we go.

Christmas 1978, so I would have been 10. Like a lot of kids in the 70's I got this camera, or a similar Kodak as a present. It took a small cartridge film that slotted in the back. We took pictures of our pets, our bedrooms, our toys and our families. Maybe we got to use it for 3 or 4 films before it was broken or lost, after all, we were kids and it was seen as a bit of a toy that after our parents stopped paying for the film to be developed lost it's interest rapidly.

Flash forward to 1987. I'm almost done with school, thank goodness, and looking to go to art college. My Mum decides to buy me a camera from the local second hand shop in Newport, South Wales. A photography boffin/friend accompanies us into the shop and we walk out with the Petri GX-1 for £50. The boffin tells me it's a beauty and I treasure it for a long time. It's an absolute joy to use and I wish slightly I still had it. I only had the one lens (50mm) but that was enough. I later purchased a Gnome projector from a college girl and turned my bedroom into a dark room.

Suddenly all my money was going on paper, chemical, film canisters. Everything was black and white, and it looked amazing.

I wish I'd kept the Petri but I somehow managed to get some money together and bought my first Nikon, the EM. I still only had the 50mm lens, but I entered a world of a popular camera that my friends had, so I borrowed their lenses, discovered Cokin filters and was hooked by Nikon.

My next camera story is a bit disappointing. I was given a present of a Nikon F501, and 2 lenses. I couldn't believe it. I still had my EM, but this was autofocus! I shouldn't have got too excited as I had no autofocus lenses! Still I thought the camera was superb and spent a lot of my time courting in 1989/1990 walking the hills with my girlfriend taking pictures. The disappointment came about a year later when I was asked for the camera back! I didn't think I could say no, so it went back to the generous person.

I should just mention here that I have also owned 2 pocket camera's as an adult. The first I found in a camera shop in basildon, Essex for about £20. The Olympus XA1. A beauty of a camera. It had a built in light meter that basically gave a small green or red indicator come up in the viewfinder if the exposure wasn't right. I have no idea how it worked as there were no batteries! It also had some connections on the side to add a flash, but I never found that. As a compact camera it was the best I had ever seen.

I now jump ahead to 2001. I still am using the Olympus and Nikon EM but digital is becoming more and more talked about, and cheap enough for the likes of me. A friend at work where I am now in merthyr Tydfil, South Wales is selling his Sony DSC F505V. It's a strange looking thing this digital camera, but works very well. It's 3.34MP (wow!) swivels around so you can take high or low shots easily. Has a cracking lens (Carl Zeiss) and I have this for quite a while. I also sell all my old film cameras at this point as I can't see it surviving the digital onslaught.

I eventually replace this camera in 2003 with another fixed lens camera, the Olympus C8080WZ. Proper DSLR cameras are still above most amateur budgets. The C8080WZ is 8MP, a big step up and a very capable camera. You can still buy these on Amazon for around $100. I have this camera for about 4 - 5 years.

In 2007 I was there as my Mum passed away. We are not a rich family, and my Mum left me a little inheritance. Nothing to retire on, but enough for me to do something I think she would have approved of. Because she bought me my first camera, it seems fitting I use the money to buy a good camera, one that will last a long time. I spend a long time getting advice on this. It seems the most important purchase I will make. With very good advice on camera's and lenses I buy the Nikon D300. The best camera I've ever owned or used. I'm now in my 6th year of using this camera. I have no plan to 'upgrade' as I don't see any real advantage over this camera. If anything, I think one day I may buy a second body as a spare.

My final entry, I decided I needed another pocket camera to carry around when I don't want to take the D300 or it's not practical. I bought the Nikon S3100, about the size of the old Olympus. A simple point and shoot. Not the best in low light, but great for most things that a camera of this size/style is expected to handle.

What would Capt. Mainwaring say?

Five times this has happened now. mostly from Amazon, but now also from Alibris.
Amazon.co.uk and Alibris.co.uk, both UK sites. Both I presumed foolishly selling me English language books. But, when they arrive the language is German! Sometimes after receiving the book I have gone back and found in small print in the description it has said German language (not in the title mind you) but the last book I bought there was no mention at all. And it was expensive! Absolute Watchmen. It really is a pain in the neck.

What would Blockbuster say?

What's happened to Blockbuster in store?
They used to be brilliant for used DVD's, you could get an armload of discs for a tenner!
Now I have a quick look round then go to Asda's to get it cheaper.
Case in point, this weekend I saw Hanna in Blockbuster X-rental DVD for £6. Asda's were selling it brand new for £3!
Blockbuster had MI4: Ghost Protocol X-Rental for £9. Asda's for £7 new.
Again and again I found it cheaper to buy a brand new disc from Asda's than a used copy from Blockbuster.
How long will these guys keep going like this?

What would Lord Snowdon say?

I joined ViewBug recently and this is the cool little badge I got:

What would John Logie Baird say?

I was watching Stargate last night on DVD when I get a knock at the door.
A man flashed me a very official looking 2 part card in a flashy wallet and said he was TV Licensing.
(I have never had TV, a License, I don't even have an aerial and have no intention of ever getting one.)
I continually get letters asking why I don't have a license, over the years they just go straight in the bin unopened. Occasionally I've had inspectors turn up wanting to view the property, in the past I have let them in to verify I am telling the truth...but no more.
I am so fed up of this badgering persistence to buy a product I don't want. How many other sales people come round your house, send letters monthly asking why you don't own there product? You don't have Microsoft coming round your house do you asking if they can come in to see if you have an XBox? or Black & Decker sending mail asking why you haven't bought an electric drill do you?
Let's be straight, TV Licensing is NOT a Govt. organisation, they pretend to be one, but they are in fact a branch of the BBC.
So, last night when he asked to come in I said NO!
He was a bit taken aback, wanted to verify what I was saying.
I confirmed I had a screen, that it wasn't for TV and that NO, I was not letting him in.
he left crestfallen.
They have no right to enter YOUR property without a court order, they cannot get a court order without proof of a misdemeanor, and if there vans are as good as they advertise they know there is no signal being watched from my house so don't have anything to go on.
I wonder if I can claim for harassment?

What would the Solar Power man say?

I just finished my first year of Solar Power. How did I do? Here is the letter I wrote to the company i purchased them from:

Dear Sir,

I e-mailed 6 months into my contract to voice concerns that my system wasn't producing anywhere near the figures quoted me. At that time I had a reply requesting that I wait for the first year to complete and then come back to you.

I just filled in my 4th quarterly FiT figure, thus making 1 complete year.

When I signed the contract a few things were explained to me.

First that it was a contract, legally binding for both parties and that if the figures didn't meet the analysis (though this was practically impossible) you would make up the difference.

Secondly, it was drummed into me over and over that the figures were so conservative, due to being based on sunlight rather than daylight hours that I would have my loan paid off realistically in 5-7 years rather than the 10 on the contract.

As said, I have just filled out my 4th FiT figure which came to 2705 KW Hours.

With the reimbursement figures of 43p & .03p this is what I calculate:

2705 x .43p = £1163.15  

2705 / 2 = 1352.5 x .03 = £40.575

£1163.15 + £40.575 = £1203.725

The 'extremely conservative' figures stated on my analysis are: 4197, over by 1492

My payments this year on the loan are £185.38 x 12 = £2224.56

So I am currently out by £1020.835

My monthly Electricity payments are £41 per month 12 x £41 = £492

So, even if the solar panels managed to wipe out all my electricity usage (which of course it hasn't) I would still be under by £528

So, the big question is what is wrong? Why is it under producing to not even meet the 'extremely conservative' figures on my analysis?

What happens now? Do I expect a payment from you to cover the shortfall?

If this is showing a shortfall in the first year, which is supposed to be the optimal time for the panels, what happens for the remainder of their lifetime?

I look forward to hearing from you with a realistic solution.

I waited a week, got no reply and started to get the details of my local Citizens Advice Bureau. That same day I had a reply with a final settlement from the company giving me a cheque of just over £2700 to take my loan period down. To my estimation this amount will roughly pay for 4 years under production, or to look at it another way, just over 1 year full payment of my loan. The amount on the cheque was apparently worked out in co-operation with thr Micro-regeneration programme and a regulatory body called REAL.

Am I satisfied?

I was surprised at the no quibble payment given me. It means I payed about 11K for a 2.88KhW 16 Bosch panel system. I still have the prospect of 8 years payments left that won't be met fully by the Feed in Tarrif reimbursement but remember there is another 16 years after that where it's all profit.

I was not impressed with the sales tactics, and the overemphasis on paying my loan off early. The sales guys for the company I was with are apparently the technical bods too who work out the solar hours from your local weather station rather than the generalised government figures.

If you too are finding the same thing with the figures not matching up I would send a message. Keep track of all the figures in a spreadsheet, when you go to them be armed with accurate figures.