Naquada

I still really don’t get Second Life;

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 3,631,035 people from around the globe.

* From the moment you enter the World you’ll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you’ve explored a bit, perhaps you’ll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.

* You’ll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow residents. Because residents retain the rights to their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other residents.

* The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world unit-of-trade, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden Dollar exchanges.

Well I suppose in a way I do get it, I mean I know what it is.. That’s mainly because back in 1998 we came up with an idea called Bomba Dang, an environment centred around a virtual world that you controlled and interacted with, we’d planned on making money from specific advertising around the players interests and behaviour. If only I’d pushed some effort into it I might be worth a bit by now!!

Many people see Second Life as a bit of a waste of space, a place people hide form the real world. Get a First Life is a great parody on second life..

But IBM have pushed Second Life hard, we’ve set up a business unit, even Sams jumped into the virtual world, IBM pushing a $100 million investment into the virtual world to incubate new businesses.

But I’m confused.. mainly because I never got how to actually work it.. I loaded it on the Mac months ago.. I got an avatar, I logged in… and all I managed to do was to take off my clothes and sit in a fountain.. I’m probably still sat there in the fountain, butt naked and being gapped at my other bewildered virtual users.

Of course I took my clothes off purely by accident, and it wasn’t my intent to make my first excursion into the virtual world as some sort of cyber-streaker..

Even us Magishes are moving into Second Life; Sin City has put an open call out for Second Lifers to move into Nevada’s favorite destination and make it just as wild of a place as it’s flesh and blood version is;

Welcome to Ace of Spades, a modern based SL located in the heart of Las Vegas, Nevada. In Vegas, everything and anything goes, and your character has a chance to be a part of it. Just visiting? Vacation home? Resident? Star performer like Siegfried and Roy or the show Cirque du Soleil? Entrepreneur? Part of the mafia? Then you’ve come to the right place. This isn’t your typical apartment style storyline. We’re looking for fun, creative, and active members for this new, up and coming SL.

So what am I missing?? Why cant I see what I need to do, and how to do it? and why aren’t I seeing what other people see?

Maybe I’m being like the people I spoke to when I first got ‘The internet’ when I was about 18.. Their comments were pretty much ‘..well what do you wanna do that for.. it’s pointless its not going anyplace.. I don’t get it..’

So I guess some how in my onward journey in IBM I should get my head around exactly what’s happening with Virtual Environments and Businesses ?

Technorati Tags: second life, IBM, second life

It seems from the Whats New section on GMail / GoogleMail that you can get all your email from other accounts in gmail;

Get mail from other accounts

Now Gmail can check for the mail you receive at your other email accounts. You can retrieve your mail (new and old) from up to five other email accounts and have them all in Gmail. Then you can even create a customized ‘From:’ address, which lets you send messages from Gmail, but have them look like they were sent from another one of your email accounts. Please note that you can only retrieve mail from accounts that have POP3 access enabled

It’s called ‘Mail Fetcher’ and allows you to get mail from up to five other non Gmail accounts with all the functionality of Gmail.. The instructions look pretty simple, alas its not yet applied to everyone’s account; This feature is currently only enabled for a limited number of users. We’re working on making it more available soon.

It seems like a nice feature, especially as I cannot get to my home email server from inside IBM offices (not quite sure why!)

Technorati Tags: gmail, google

Reading borough council, have decided to introduce more wheelie bins than you know what to do with.. Originally we had Grey bins, when Red bins, and boxes, and then we get Green bins and bags no less..

The thinking behind this is ok, we have to reduce the amount of land fill rubbish then we dump, and try and recycle more of our rubbish, something I wholeheartedly agree with. However the whole process of the bins seems a bit confusing… I’m planning another call to them about what exactly can be recycled, just because it says recycling on it, doesn’t mean Reading Borough Council deem it or indeed want it to be recycled..

My problem here was the fact that they wanted me to buy another wheelie bin;

What is Green Garden Waste?

Things like weeds, grass cuttings leaves and garden prunings, which can be composted. It does not include things like soil, rubble and old garden furniture. We will not be collecting kitchen waste with green garden waste, please compost this or wrap and place in your grey bin. Green garden waste makes up around 27% of the contents of each wheeled bin during some times of the year.

How can I order a Green Garden Waste bin or bag?

Green garden waste bins and bags will be available for an initial discounted one off charge of £25 (bin) or £10 (bag). You can order them by calling our freephone 0800 834 035 number, or complete the Green Garden Waste Bin/Bag Request Form (which can be found on the top right of this page under Related Information). We aim to deliver the bins within 2 weeks of payment.

You can apply for one of two types of green garden waste container, either:

* A 240 litre wheeled bin – £25

* A 90 litre re-usable polypropylene bag – £10

I decided as a consumer monkey I needed to ring Reading Borough Council (RBC) and investigate exactly why I needed to pay for a bin to put something in I was already putting into another bin…

burr burr…

click…

RBC: hello reading borough council…?

drew: morning.. how are you…

RBC: err fine sir.. how are you…?

drew: just dandy..

RBC: good..

drew: ..except… I’d like to make an enquiry about your new green bins…

RBC: the garden rubbish ones…?

drew: yeah… those…

RBC: what is it?

drew: why do i need to pay £25 to have one.. ?

RBC: because its unfair on the people without gardens to have to pay £25 to fund a service they don’t use..

drew: well thats nice… I’m glad your thinking about them… however.. I’m a little bit miffed you’ve not thought about me…

RBC: why…?

drew: well I pay my council tax.. which should cover my rubbish right…

RBC: yes..

drew: except for my spanky new green bin?

RBC: no thats covered.. its optional..

drew: what is.. paying my council tax or the green bin?

RBC: the bin..

drew: so its optional for me to buy a green bin from you for £25, fill it with garden rubbish and have you collect it…?

RBC: yes..

drew: can I still put garden waste into my normal bin?

RBC: yes.. we’ll still sort the recyling rubbish and the garden rubbish and burn what we can, and landfill the rest..

drew: hmmm.. have you recently had a ‘take your monkeys into work day?’

RBC: sorry?

drew: oh i just though that might have been when the idea for this came up… ‘lets get people to buy a bin, to put the stuff they can normally put into standard bin, but we’ll make it really appealing.. and paint it green…’

RBC: its not quite like that… you pay for the extra bin.. for garden waste.. you can have a normal wheelie bin, a recyling red bin, and the optional green bin..

drew: so three bins..?

RBC: yes sir three bins..

drew: if I loose one… can i have another… I mean three bins is a lot of responsibility… I mean do you have kids?

RBC: yes sir..

drew: how many…?

RBC: two but..

drew: ever lost any when your out and about?

RBC: not really but they can be hard to keep track of..

drew: exactly!!! imagine taking three out… and then there entertaining them in the holidays… cleaning… three bins is a lot of work.. I’m not really sure if I can cope…

RBC: its not quite ilke that is it?

drew: what happens if I do loose one?

RBC: its stolen you mean..?

drew: yeah.. or kidnapped!

RBC: if you lost a black or red wheelie bin we’re replace it for you free of charge…

drew: excellent… do you sell green paint as well??

CLICK…

drew: hello???

So it seems Green bins, and bags, are completely optional.. although you cant paint your bin green and put garden rubbish in it, as someone tried!!

Technorati Tags: consumer Monkey, consumer revenge, time wasting

A few months back, well last year a large group of us headed up to Birmingham for a party in a certain large hotel, we were having lamb and keep in mind that there were well over 800 of us.. We got the wine list from the hotel a week or so before we went up, and it seemed quite expensive.

A bottle of Casa La Joya chardonnay, which you can get from Oddbins, or Sainsburys for about £7-£9 was £23.50 a bottle at this hotel.. I decided to check up on the facts…

briing briing….

hotel: “hello hotel xxxx birmingham….”

drew: “good morning.. how are you??”

hotel: “good sir, my names suzy.. how can i help..?

drew: “whats with the £23.50 for a £7 bottole of Casa La Joya chardonnay then?”

hotel: “sorry?”

drew: “well i mean it is a delightful merlot dripping with ripe blackcurrant fruit and with a dash of vanilla and vying for the top spot against the new raft of Aussie merlots, and yes most people reckon this particular number is top dollar and will have no troubles scooping the wine prizes, and I fully understand it’s not a wine to stand on ceremony and should be drunk in quantity as you let the good times roll, and I should keep it simple on the food front and maybe dish up some pasta, but probably not lamb.. but £23.50 a bottle??”

hotel: “errr…. well… you’d need to talk to the beverages manager..”

drew: “can you talk to them and just double check the price please.. I’m sure its a printing error…”

hotel: “err ok… please hold…”

pause….

hotel: “hello hotel xxx birmingham….”

drew: “morning… is that the beverages manager?”

hotel: “no this is reception sir..”

drew: “oh. sorry I guess someone made a mistake.. I was talking to someone called suzy about beverages…”

hotel: “oh let me put you through…”

drew: “thank you..”

hotel: “hello…”

drew: “hello suzy… its me again.. you seem to have accidently passed me back to reception.. but thats ok.. I’m back now…”

hotel: pause……

drew: “suzy?”

hotel: pause…. “err yes sorry i must have made a mistake…”

drew: “thats ok.. its just me and a few of my friends would like to know the price of the wine… we’re coming up to stay with you soon so…”

hotel: “errr… well they say its £23.50 a bottle…”

drew: “thats quite expensive isn’t it?”

hotel: “I can’t comment on that one…”

drew: “who can…”

hotel: “the beverages manager”

drew: “whos….?”

hotel: “not here at the moment..”

drew: “you’re going to get him to ring me aren’t you?”

hotel: “yes…”

drew: “and you not going to transfer me back to reception are you?”

hotel: “no..”

drew: “ok… thank you suzy for you help, you’ve been very patient and helpful, and I’ll ring you back if I have any problems…”

hotel” “err..”

drew: “gooood..”

click….

So I had a long chat with the beverages manager at the hotel Mr lina, tommy or tom to his friends.. funnily he wanted me to call him Mr Lina… and I also asked in the customer services could ring me about my issues with their hotel, namely the car parking fee and the wine….

It seems that Kathy Vinton (or Bathy Winter as the somewhat disgruntled receptionist at hotel’s head office pronounced her name) is the responsible adult in charge of keeping customers happy in the uk…

Unfortunately, Kathy was on holiday the day I rang.. so I decided to talk with the lady that works with her.. jenny….

It seems that this hotel group run a lovely strange world of hotels, somehow involving cows, grass, tarmac, and seem very concerned about preserving the state of carparks around the uk… Keep in mind.. we’re eating lamb for the main course..

Drew: So, jenny, I’ve got a few things I’d like to discuss with you about your chain of hotels

hotel: err yes, I’ve been informed there were a few things you wanted to discuss…

Drew: Yes, can I start with wine… I’m staying with you this weekend, and I have some difficulty understanding the huge mark up on your wines…

hotel: yes.. which one?

Drew: all of them… lets take the casa la joya… its £23.50 when actually its about £6..

hotel: from where…

Drew: well anywhere really… Oddbins, bargain bucket wine, ok thats really cheap but hey…

hotel: Well obviously your paying for a service at the hotel

Drew: sorry?

hotel: well you in a serviced environment…

Drew: No, I’m in a hotel…

hotel: yes.. you paying for the hotel experience…

Drew: which you class as different to jumping in the car and shooting down the offi?

hotel: well yes, theres the serving of the wine

Drew: yeah me asking the bar guy for a bottle of wine, and him handing it to me…

hotel: and the service

Drew: the guy saying for £23.50 ?

hotel: no your not understanding.. its the whole hotel experience..

Drew: gotta be some experience for the £17.50 mark up…

hotel: well yes, but the hotels do work to our guidelines..

Drew: so why the massive mark up?

hotel: well theres all sorts of things that effect the price, and its very competative…

Drew: ok… but your hotel group made £156million in profit… and theres about 400 (ok so i think its closer to the 700 mark) are you looking to double your profits this year ?

hotel: no.. but theres the housekeeping as well…

Drew: oh my god, you charge for that too ? or do they drink the wine??

hotel: Neither, but we have to pay for that, and then theres the gas, electricity, water, and things go up in price, like gas has gone up 13%..

Drew: I thought you were a hotel?

hotel: we are.. why ?

Drew: oh its just I thought I’d suddenly started talking to my nan!

hotel: so.. is there anything else I can help with…

Drew: yes.. the parking…

hotel: yes?

Drew: so.. not only do I pay quite a high rate for your room, and that hotel experience I also have to pay £7 to get out of the carpark… why do you charge for the carpark as well?

hotel: well we charge that for the upkeep of the carpark..

Drew: upkeep ?

hotel: yes the upkeep..

Drew: isn’t it just a carpark?

hotel: well no.. for years our group of hotels have not passed on the charges for maintaining and preserving the carparks, but we felt its now time to pass on that charge to the customers..

Drew: your preserving carparks ?

hotel: yes..

Drew: isnt it just a hole in the ground under the hotel ?

hotel: no.. theres grass to be tarmac’ed over, and concrete to be layed, the car parks need to look nice

Drew: tarmac’ed grass and concrete.. sounds lovely..

hotel: yes…

Drew: So why charge for all this stuff…

hotel: As I said its very competative…

Drew: so you put the prices up?

hotel: no…

Drew: ‘cept the wine, the carpark… and….

hotel: ..gas.. water.. electricity..

Drew: ok enough of the my nan bit… Do you get alot more customers?

hotel: no..

Drew: why do you think that is… I mean I used to have meetings in the hotels, but not stay.. I used to order food and tea.. I don’t now… do you get alot of customers like that now?

hotel: no not as much as a whole..

Drew: why do you think that is..?

hotel: the cows…

Drew: the cows… Confused Pause

hotel: foot and mouth, 911, the london bombings..

Drew: the cows did all that?!?! Confused Pause

hotel: no but the foot and mouth issues hit hotels hard..

Drew: I’m not going to ask if there was a drop in the number of bovine bookings…

hotel: laughs.. no.. but that whole cow thing was one of the reasons behind the carpark charges, especially as we’ve kept our tarrifs the same for years..

Drew: so in summary then… its because of the cows that I need to pay £7 to get out of the carpark, and the overpriced wine, the bar guy saying £23.50 and handing me a bottle and glass, and just the fact that I’m in a hotel is what I’m paying for.. the tarmac grass, the concrete, the increasing gas and water prices, and the cows.. all part of the hotel experience..

hotel: well in a way yes…

Drew: you know were eating lamb on saturday.. ?

click……..

I did actually enjoy the hotel experience from that particular chain of hotels, especially the two glasses and candelabra form our table, and the two sets of slippers from the hotel room.. we now make good use of them at home… moooooo!

Technorati Tags: consumer Monkey, consumer revenge, time wasting