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There seems to be so much peer pressure on the kids. My nippers who are 5 and 7 are both aware of Facebook and have asked if they can join it! After an obvious flat "not until hell freezes over",  I then got asked by the eldest if I can put things on Facebook for her.

So we had a chat about it trying to find out where the interest was coming from, and although she has overheard me and the missus talking about it, it seems to be the topic of conversation for 6 and 7 years olds in the playground, with some parents being a bit more relaxed than I think is appropriate.

But from a school curriculum point of view, both kids are fully aware of online stranger danger, can tell you that they mustn't use their own names or personal details online, and that there are some bad people out there. So it's great that online safety is now taken so seriously, with the concept of social media and online profiles being explained, but another part of me finds it sad that kids so young have to be made aware. The bubble of innocence is so small, it's seems a shame to have to pop it so early.

I think Stratford is a bit of a technology blackspot, after all we're still waiting for 2G let alone Amazon drones and supermarket automation.

Most mornings I end up buying a sandwich from Morrisons, and they just don't scan. After umpteen attempts, I don't bother now and go to the girl on the till and have a bit of banter about how useless the labels are.

If you buy alcohol, you have to wait at the self service till while they check to see if you are old enough. Normally I can convince them.

If like me, you use a few a few of their 5p bags and open them up ready, it normally sends the machine into a panic asking you if you have brought your own bags, which I say no, and the red light comes on

But the one thing that bugs me, and I'm half deaf, is the full tinny volume the machine bellows at you "thank you for shopping at Morrisons".

The missus swears by click and collect, so no longer has to step foot in the supermarket, as opposed to paying a fiver to have it dropped off at the door. I'll pay a fiver if they unpack it and put all the stuff in the cuboards and fridge. Hmmm, business model??? 

New 6th December 2016 12:48 PM
I've just googled vegan shoes and surprised by number of websites.

The ladies shoes aren't the height of fashion though......”

 

Thinking it through, where does it end? What about cars? I can't believe there are no animal products anywhere in the production of a car?

Or your house  Maybe you can get vegan friendly cars and houses?? How about planes? How do extreme vegans go on holiday? 

All these questions I never thought of before, I think I need a lie down...

Ubers nail biting business model 6th December 2016 11:32 AM

I think you have to have nerves of steel if you are at the executive level of a firm like Uber. Their mission is to be the worlds dominate taxi company and to force growth, they subsidise fares to the point that according to the Beeb, they lost $2bn last year 

But their strategy is fascinating and they realised early on that their biggest overhead is the driver. So get rid of them

They want to automate their taxi service with self driving cars, eventually doing away with that expensive overhead, drivers!

But they have joined the self driving car game quite late in the day, with Google quite advanced in their research, and traditional car manufacturers are also playing catchup. So to make ground, they have attracted monumental investment and are buying in expertise and acquiring companies that are working in this field.

But talk about playing the long game. Law and legislation hasn't caught up with technology which will take years to iron out, and in some Countries maybe decades. It's taken us 14 years to not agree to build a new runway at Heathrow, imagine the legislation for driverless cars in Wimbledon? We'll be going back to a man with a flag walking in front of the car...

But it does show the incredible vision of some people, and although you may not agree with Uber or their subsidised tactics, you have to admire the long term strategy and the juggling of all that debt 

Remember when Amazon were written off by the pundits in the early days as a book shop that will never turn a profit and will sink into all the debt they had amassed. Another longterm vision, but look at them now.

So how long before we see driverless Uber cabs? 10 years, 20?

Thanks Barney, yep it's been flagged and our man is on the case. We've got a couple of gremlins which are proving hard to replicate between different operating systems and browsers.

I suspect it is the browser continuing to cache settings, which will eventually sort itself out, as we get different results from different machines. After weeks of testing, this only comes out when it goes live  But we will get it cracked within 4 years!

Yes...... thanks for taking 4 years to sort that problem out, you cannot beat good quality prompt customer service.....

 

In the immortal words of British Rail... "we're getting there" 

Amp html sites 5th December 2016 5:37 PM

Welcome to the forum. I've had AMP pages on the radar for some time, but with the latest updates we've rolled out and talking to other publishers, the effort/cost versus reward isn't there yet.

But it's not going to go away and Google is really pushing AMP, so sooner or later we'll all have to follow suit. We are looking at making the blog pages AMP friendly as an experiment, and see what difference it makes.

Congratulations on taking the leap, always an advantage being a trail blazer. If we hit problems, I know who to ask! 

New 5th December 2016 5:28 PM

I'm sure most vegetarians wear shoes and don't moan. Although I did know a bloke who bought specialist vegan shoes that were 100% animal friendly, although cost a small fortune.

But I suspect that's not the norm.

Sully - the Miracle on the Hudson 5th December 2016 5:19 PM

Saw this advertised and remember it in the news, absolutely incredible. Not so convinced of the film format though, is there enough meat to make it interesting enough? After all, you know whats going to happen, so there isn't a twist, or is there?

Sleep Deprivation 5th December 2016 5:08 PM
The government are now encouraging employees to build nap rooms to emphasise the importance of sleep! How cool is that, don't mind if I do  ”
 

Ahhh so that's why you were snoring at your desk!

I must confess I only sleep on average around 6 hours a night, and always have done, although try and catch up on a Sunday. 

Interesting to read Barneys point about fruit, in that case I'll stick with the whiskey