phones – don't confuse the narrator

what a difference a week makes

Yesterday I went out to the local shop at lunchtime. I was in a bit of a hurry as I had come out of one virtual meeting later than expected and had to hurry back for another. But I got to the shop, bought the couple of things I needed, and set off home before I realised I didn’t have my phone.

I paused in the middle of the street and did a quick mental check of pockets and was shocked to realise there was no way I’d dropped it or left it in the shop: I must have left my phone at home.
Continue reading “what a difference a week makes”

all mod comms

Yesterday I said I didn’t really know what to post, so made do with some old photos.

I’m not doing much better for inspiration today, but even if I still don’t have much idea about what to post, I do have a picture of a post box.

It’s a typical old pillar box – I think it’s Victorian – and the modern red brick houses in the background don’t exactly set it off very well.

Fortunately I didn’t need to go far to find another one with a better backdrop, and with a traditional red phone box alongside as well:

Continue reading “all mod comms”

dressing it up

Still with telephones – or, more accurately, still in search of phone and internet connections while travelling – I happened upon this:

About Telefónica: We open new pathways in order to continue transforming possibilities into reality, with the objective of creating values for our costumers, employees, society, shareholders, and partners globally.

In the same way that BT is ‘affectionately’ known as British Telecon, the Spanish company Telefónica is frequently called Timofónica. Perhaps this mission statement from their website explains it: instead of spending money on customer service, it’s going towards ‘creating values for [their] costumers’.

Perhaps someone should tell them that dressing it up nicely won’t help if the basic service is a pig’s ear.

cyber support

I’ve been dealing with a number of phone help lines in the last few days, with all the frustration and button clicking that involves. But much as I felt the helpdesk and support staff I talked to were neither as helpful nor as supportive as they might have been, I was still startled to see this image in a BT leaflet.

I really hadn’t expected their phone lines to be manned by cybermen.

a knotty solution

Well, the problem with my phone and internet connection was finally identified: apparently you can’t hope for a telephone to work when the cable is totally unattached.

I have my suspicions about which of the ‘technical’ guys was responsible, as there have been no more high winds since last week when it was fixed temporarily, and I don’t think the eagles that the village is proud to claim have started frequenting the area have been trying to perch in my orchard, so I can’t blame them.

Perhaps the most worrying thing is that the photo shows what is considered to be a solution. Just what do they think is going to happen to those exposed wires the next time we have a storm?