"System error"

So, NAB duplicated a number of EFTPOS transactions?   I noticed the notification on NAB's log-in screen on 13 February, and it stated that the solution was [still] "underway" with reversals to occur on that day or the next.  The notification had been removed by the next day.

Errr, the transactions were on 7 and 8 February......up to 6 days beforehand.  I'm uncertain when NAB just happened to detect the problem (but the tone of the notification suggests that it may have taken a few days).  I don't know how many of these transactions there were, but even if there weren't many, it doesn't inspire confidence when it takes a week or so to identify and sort out an issue such as this.  

Valentine's Day

Everyone knows that sellers of roses are busy on Valentine's Day - but they're not the only ones.

It seems that the roses have to get where they need to be, and hence the couriers are busy, too...apparently so much so that regular clients might miss out.  This note came around  the office in which I work!



Pity about all the commercialisation, but I don't want to seem to be a grouch, so all the best for Valentine's Day!

Bitcoins

Bitcoins have been in the news lately.  Most recently, some sort of "technical glitch" has affected one of the exchanges that deal in them. Hacking and wildly fluctuating values seem to be real issues, but even if these weren't sufficient to dissuade me from even thinking about becoming involved with them (not that I am likely to have the opportunity, anyway), there's a deeper issue.

There was a report on 7.30 about bitcoins a little while back which I watched with interest.

The aspect that I just didn't "get", and the ABC made no attempt to explain, is how is this currency created?    I see that Wikipedia refers to it being "mined", but in my world, a person who derives an object as a result of mining it gets the full value of that object, paying only the cost of production.   Yes, the purists might say that this isn't perfect, but mining for gold and other precious metals is long-established and there is some sort of correlation between the cost and difficulty of mining and the value of the commodity.  Can this be compared with the cost of running a computer program to produce a unit of exchange?

The bitcoin webite didn't help me much, and I must admit that I get really, really, dubious when I read that the "mining process" is too hard for mere mortals to understand!  But, as I see it, you "mine" a bitcoin by solving a complex numerical problem, that is, it's like a prize.   In fact, I had already deduced this, when I came across this quote: "Mining bitcoins, at the end of the day, is literally solving a math problem again and again".   It seems that the difficulty of the problem is somehow adjusted (or ought that be "manipulated"?) to regulate the supply of bitcoins.

Hmm, funny basis for creating units of exchange, if you ask me.  Even if there isn't someone, somewhere who is making money as a result of the production of these units, what guarantee is there that the system won't be corrupted in the future?  Government control of our conventional monetary system may not be perfect (and there have certainly been massive failures in some countries over the years), but at least it is less opaque than is the case with bitcoins.

Mail to your door (2)

Shortly after my post about the proposal in Canada to deliver the mail to "community mail boxes" instead of to your door, a similar issue emerged here in Australia, namely, a proposal that mail (and also here) would be delivered on, say, 3 days a week with the option of paying extra for daily deliveries.  This seems to have been dropped, but instead it's intended to increase the base postage rate to 70 cents. 

Leaving aside some of the rather shrill comments on the various websites (do I detect a note of the "entitlement culture" amongst them?), I wonder if increasing the price of postage is a little counter-productive?

Don't get me wrong;   I don't suggest that the cost of posting letters should be cross-subsidised on an on-going basis, and in this digital age, conventional mail is going to come under pressure.   But I do think the proposal that Australia Post's service standards be reconsidered merits attention.   Assuming that a reduction of deliveries to 3 days a week is off the agenda (for the time being anyway), another possibility would be to look at the need for "next day" delivery in metro areas.  In most cases, would an additional day for a letter to arrive make much difference?   Or, possibly the "next day" requirement could be maintained, save that postbox clearances could be adjusted so that they occurred earlier in the day (instead of 6 pm as is usual at present in many areas).  Thus, if you wanted next day delivery, you would have to post by noon. This could reduce the amount of work required to be done overnight, presumably with a reduction in penalty rates payable.

I suppose another approach would be to charge extra for next day delivery, but to introduce this into the normal mail stream would obviously make the sorting process more complex and would seem to be counter-productive. In fact, the "Express Post" service already caters for this (even though its focus is interstate mail).

Another possibility is, do we need quite so many street postboxes?    Apparently there is a mandated minimum of 10,000;  perhaps this could be adjusted.

Fare evasion (2)

I've often noticed that a lot of people don't seem to "touch on" when they travel by tram, especially in the city.   I commented on this some time ago.

It seems that this isn't "fare evasion" if you've got a "Myki pass":  see section 2.1 of the PTV's Network Revenue Protection Plan.   So perhaps not all those who fail to touch on are getting a free ride.   Additionally, I suppose that others who don't touch on may still be within the 2 hour period of an earlier trip (paid for with "Myki money"), so wouldn't be charged any more for their tram travel even if they did touch on.   But my understanding is that they are still supposed to touch on.

The PTV's plan notes that the failure by Myki pass holders to touch on may contribute to a "domino effect", in that, if the pass holder doesn't touch on, other passengers may gain the impression that they're evading payment. I'm not sure that there's any easy solution to this.   To impose a penalty if pass holders don't touch on seems a bit heavy-handed. 

In the meantime, I notice that continued focus is to be given to measures such as checking disembarking passengers at platform stops.   I noticed this action occurring at a city stop recently, but it was occurring at a quiet time of day (the AOs out-numbered passengers).  Although I can't say with certainly, my impression (albeit based on fairly limited observation) is that ticket checking seems less likely to occur at busy times, and certainly never on busy trams or trains, although AOs do monitor barriers at city stations at busy times.

Further, few if any of the AOs in this particular exercise appeared equipped with Myki card readers.  I wasn't close enough to see with certainty, but at least some of the passengers who were checked appeared merely to show a Myki card to the AOs, who looked as though they were concentrating on passengers with no Myki card at all.  I guess this is better than nothing, but it seems less than perfect.

Private Lives

Noel Coward's Private Lives is a witty comedy, enjoyable because of the sharp dialogue and farcical story-line.  Of course, it's all very light-hearted and 1930s-ish, but there's nothing wrong with that.

MTC's production has great sets making full use of the revolving stage.  It includes a little music and singing.  The different personalities of each the characters shine through - as do the traits that (it turns out) they share!

A good night out.

Retuning

It was 7 February, and SBS was showing "no signal".   I then remembered that somewhere I had read that further changes of the some of the TV channel frequencies was occurring.    In fact, it was an advertisement in the local paper that I had read.  If it had been mentioned on SBS - the channel that, at least so far as we were concerned, was affected - then we'd missed it. [Edit - seems that this is in fact what had occurred, or perhaps we watch at the wrong times.]

The challenge then was to do the retuning.   I scrolled through the menu, and tried "update".   After this had finished, still no SBS (even though I got a report that 7 channels had been found - must see if we really do have anything new).  Only when I set it to "install" was SBS again available.

Credit cards and PINs (2)

I've already posted about the fact that we'll all be supposed to use PINs when we use our credit cards from later in the year.

One bank is wasting no time in "encouraging" this move.  Within days of the news about the need to use PINs, I received a letter from the bank stating "We've noticed that you currently do not use your PIN with ...[the particular credit card]".   So the letter set out my PIN number.

True, I may not have used the PIN on this card - but I haven't used it for transactions where I sign, either.  The reason I've never used a PIN with this credit card is that I use the card as a "back-up", mostly for on-line transactions.   I don't generally use it for transactions where I am asked to sign.  Perhaps I'll make an effort to use it for a normal purchase just so the bank's computer has a record that I have in fact used the PIN.

On a similar note, I wonder how long it will be before cheques are phased out?  It was announced some time ago that they were to be on the way out in Britain, although later reports seem to suggest that they might last a little longer than originally intended (although "for as long as customers need them" sounds very vague to me!)

The ward newsletter

Intermittently we receive in the letterbox a "ward newsletter" from the Council.   There's probably a schedule for their issue, but I haven't bothered looking for it.  Be that as it may, one has just arrived.  It seems to have shrunk in size - although the inevitable write-ups about each of the ward councillors have suffered no reduction in space.  I suppose that this is one of the perks of incumbency.

I'm not sure whether it's by accident or design, but this issue arrived a few days before the rates (when paid by one annual amount) are due to be paid.   It couldn't be that the newsletter is intended to convey the impression that we're getting some sort of value from our rates, could it?

The other time when we can be sure of receiving one is in the weeks leading up to council elections!

The National Archives

Housed in the East Block, the display rooms of the National Archives are quite interesting.    Like the National Library, one hopes that what is on display is only the tip of the iceberg and that somewhere there are warehouses full of historical records.    Like the the bookstacks that I now understand the National Library has in an out-of-town warehouse, boxes of old documents aren't on display at the main Archives building!

I visited the Archives when in Canberra, and the material on display was interesting, even though the  theme is similar to that encountered elsewhere in Canberra:  a look at aspects of our country's history (often through a "politically correct" lens).  The first room is an introduction to the Archives' work, and is called "Memories of a Nation".   Other areas deal with early photographs of Canberra (the Mildenhall photos) and there's quite an area devoted to the Snowy scheme.

At present, there's also a special exhibition called "I've been Working on the Railway", devoted to the experiences of indigenous people working on railway construction and maintenance in the 50s, 60s and 70s.   This was an era that included the re-construction of the Mt Isa railway as well as the large scale construction of the first Bowen Basin coal lines and Pilbara iron ore lines.    Apparently many indigenous people were employed on these projects, which involved hard physical work, separation from families and camp life.   I found this well presented and interesting, although it needs to be remembered that although indigenous people were involved in this work, and the display is all about their story, other people were also involved - a fact that, at least so far as I could see, was only mentioned once.   It would be helpful to know, for example, what percentage they comprised of the workforce, even if only an approximation.


It was also interesting to have the opportunity to see inside parts of the East Block, one of the original Canberra buildings.