Here's a conversation I'm having with my bank, Smile. Since it doesn't show them at their best, I thought I'd preface the thread by saying that Smile are an excellent bank in general. Their customer service is usually very good, and even in this instance everyone's polite and doing their …

In Macleod's book, the Execution Channel is a TV channel that shows judicial executions in real time. The idea is that the Chinese write most of the software in the world, including surveillance cameras for prisons. They include code that sends a copy of what's recorded back to a TV …

I've noticed the phrase 'fuel poverty' being used. I find this phrase infuriating because it implies that someone could be wealthy in every way apart from fuel, which is absurd (assuming we're talking about the UK in the present day). It also implies that someone could be in poverty in …

Just sent this to my bank, Smile:

Hi,

When I signed in to Smile today, I was presented with a message encouraging me to download Trusteer's Rapport product. I read the licence agreement at:

http://www.trusteer.com/rapport-end-user-license-agreement

and I'm reluctant to install it because the licence doesn't …

Kazim was over last weekend, so on Saturday we went to Bath and had lunch at Komedia, then went to the Victoria Park approach golf course. After that we had ice-cream at Pattisserie Valerie, and then Opa for some drinks and food afterwards.

The next day was Wimbledon, so we …

Jamie was in Timing by Alistair McGowan at the Rondo theatre, so we went along to see it on Friday last week.

Jamie was the first person on stage, and he looked very different to normal. I know that's what actors are supposed to do, but when it's someone you …

When I was given a Kindle, I was delighted that the cable connecting the Kindle to the plug could be unplugged and used to connect the Kindle to the computer! I thought this a great breakthrough and thought that everything should work like that. I was surprised therefore when my …

Greece should not be bailed out, not by the EU or by the IMF. If it's bailed out, it will have its policies dictated to it by the IMF, which will cause huge resentment. A bailout will also reward financial recklessness, because other countries will think that they can spend …

I had my trusty HTC Magic for over 2 years; it was getting a bit long in the tooth. Battery life wasn't too good, it was slow etc. So on Monday I took delivery of a Nexus S.

It's really an incremental upgrade, bigger screen, better battery life, faster. The …

You only say that because you're a gay con artist who has joined the Hittler youth and privately enjoy X factor.