Face recognition app taking Russia by storm may bring end to public anonymity | Technology | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... -vkontakte

Letting the public willingly spy on each other is why we will eventually just let the security forces get even worse in those terms. Until Mr and Mrs Average realises they've given away every personal freedom and actually does something about it, we're fast looking at a form of enslavement.

Teenagers jailed for Facebook baby-kidnap plot | UK news | The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016 ... idnap-plot

Cyclist died after three ambulances could not find Olympic velodrome | UK news | The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016 ... -velodrome

Er, what did we do before sat-navs?

Before sat-navs, people used to have to know the area where they operated! Although I do remember talking to the fireman who lived next to us as a teenager and he said that there was an occassion that they were sent to the wrong side of a farm and had to reverse back up a single lane road...

It is one of the reasons why I don't use sat-nav (often). I probably use it twice a year on average. It is funny, I drove back to England last summer and the sat-nav took me up the wrong road in Belgium. I thought I had to stay on the main motorway, but it said I needed to come off, then after 10KM, it tried to turn me around to get back onto the main motorway that I didn't want to leave! I gave up on it in the end and just followed the signs for the main towns that I had to pass by.

Launching soon: Europe's first and only professional cuddle agency:
http://www.becuddled.today


Now recruiting for Professional Cuddlers.

I miss cuddle party!!

No, seriously, that's got to be a mickey take. Surely?

Who knows, I wouldn't be surprised these days! I couldn't think of anything worse - I don't even like shaking a stranger's hand!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt1RrAdbyIs

'If I could turn back time...'

Science reveals its latest genetic modification experiment results - they have created an artificial human using a mix of DNA from Julian Assange and John Inman.

Sheldon, is that you?!

Start to worry (more) when the moustache starts to recede towards the centre of his lip.

Bizarre experience with Virgin Media this week. Out STB packed in, so my wife phoned on Tuesday. They wanted the password for the account (we don't have one - one was never set up, so they are posting one to us), and they went through a whole ton of questions before they started to deal with the problem.

New STB arrived, but when I set it up, it wasn't working properly. I left it a day to give the password time to arrive, but it hasn't. So we gathered up all the information that they were asking last time so I could get straight to the point (things like package, last bill amount, line speed, etc.).

I phoned, ignored the password entry stuff, was asked to confirm name, address and postcode and went straight to the problem, and got it resolved in about 15 minutes (they had to reboot the new STB a couple of times).

Now, I have no idea why this happened or why I got better treatment than my wife did. I hope it's not a gender thing. The call on Tuesday could have been as easily resolved as mine was today - actually far faster as it was a case of just getting a new unit shipped out to us.

I suspect is a 'competence of the person on the end of the line' thing. BT phone engineers have the same problem.