Good morning, everyone! :am: I've just come in from walking my son to kindergarten. It's a misty day but lovely & fresh. The woods have a carpet of bluebells & purple crocuses & the daffodils are now making an appearance - beautiful! pring:

I hope you all have a fabulous day! :lovef:

By Chris Long
Click producer

Remote control
Any device with a remote consumes electricity when on standby
Electrical power has changed our lives and given us phenomenal freedoms, from talking to people around the world, to going to the moon.

But do we know just how much power we are using when we switch things off or put them into standby mode?

Energy management consultant John Field says: "Electronic devices like TV or video or stereos, anything which has a remote control, have to be live so you can switch on remotely.

Read more here....

By Linda Daniels

President Thabo Mbeki's decision not to sign a controversial amendment bill into law because of concerns about its constitutionality has been applauded by the communications industry.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...423C917600

On TV's Sex and the City, what was the name of the off-Broadway play in which sexy waiter-turned-actor Smith Jerrod bared his butt?

What is the pro's and cons of using a Firefox browser. Should I download it or not?

:bashpc:

:jive:

Just a quick hi.....have extended my stay for a few weeks...leave the middle of May

This article will help all of those who have had then misfortune to be overdrawn, or who have had a late payment etc.etc.etc. If you are the member of any other forums, then please post it there as well.

Current credit card default charges unfair

OFT sets threshold for intervention

68/06 5 April 2006

Credit card default charges (see note 1) have generally been set at a significantly higher level than is legally fair, said the OFT today. The OFT estimates that across the industry this has led to unlawful penalty charges currently in excess of £300 million a year.


http://www.oft.gov.uk/News/Press+release.../68-06.htm

We're busy planning our delayed honeymoon, with my 4 year old son in tow, & are thinking of going to Mallorca. urfing: Have any of you been there? Is it worth visiting? Can you recommend what to see etc?

The following is claimed to be an actual letter that was sent to a bank by a 96-year-old British woman.

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my cheque with which I endeavoured to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his depositing the cheque and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly transfer of funds from my modest savings account, an arrangement, which, I admit, has been in place for only thirty-one years.

You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account £40 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to the bank.

My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity, which your bank has recently become.

From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope.

Please find attached an Application Contact Status form, which I
Require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history, must be countersigned by a Notary Public; and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof. In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN number, which, he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modelled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Please allow me to level the playing field even further. When you call me, you will now have a menu of options on my new voice mail system to choose from.

Please press the buttons as follows:
1. To make an appointment to see me.
2. To query a missing payment.
3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer
is required. Password will be communicated at a later date to the Authorized Contact.
8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7.
9. To make a general complaint or inquiry.

The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee of £40 to cover the setting up of this new arrangement. Please credit my account after each occasion.

May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.

Your Humble Customer.

Here's wishing you a very Happy Birthday.

:bday2: