{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs","title":"Songs of innocence and of experience","subtitle":"Fair and Balanced","author":{"name":"Douglas Spencer"},"link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"service.feed","type":"application\/x.atom+xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom","title":"Songs of innocence and of experience"}}],"updated":"2025-06-14T16:44:46Z","entry":[{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:889490","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/889490.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=889490"}}],"title":"New email address linked to this account","published":"2025-06-14T16:44:46Z","updated":"2025-06-14T16:44:46Z","category":[{"@attributes":{"term":"spam"}},{"@attributes":{"term":"using lj"}}],"content":"Because the old email address associated with this account somehow has got into the spammer's address book, and now I'm receiving emails to that address that don't originate from LJ's servers, I've now changed the email address associated with this account.

Spammers can FRO."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:889313","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/889313.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=889313"}}],"title":"\u0421\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0430 \u0423\u043a\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043d\u0456!","published":"2022-03-03T17:11:26Z","updated":"2022-03-03T17:11:26Z","content":"Obviously, I'm available on other social media platforms."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:888975","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/888975.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=888975"}}],"title":"Women Bishops in the Church of England","published":"2014-07-14T16:30:51Z","updated":"2014-07-14T16:30:51Z","content":"Warmest congratulations to the Church of England, which has recognised the validity of the ministry of women in the role of bishop.

It seems to me that, having recognised the validity of the ministry of women in the role of priest years and years and years ago, it made no theological sense at all to deny to us the validity of their ministry as bishops. I'm glad the church is gradually getting a clue.

Now all we need to do is grant parishes who don't want to be overseen by a male bishop the opportunity to opt out and be overseen by a female bishop instead. That would be a suitable concession by those who demanded the opposite \"suitable\" concession before they grudgingly assented to this measure.

Oh, wait, I'm being mean-spirited. Stop that.

Next stop, recognising that not all people who offer themselves for ordained ministry are exclusively heterosexual. How long, do we think, before that happens?"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:888811","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/888811.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=888811"}}],"title":"Twenty-four tweets to Network Solutions","published":"2014-02-13T16:21:52Z","updated":"2014-02-13T16:21:52Z","content":"I've just posted the following tweets to @sguod<\/a>:

Apologies in advance to users who aren't interested in the next twenty-four tweets -- feel free to fast-forward as required.
(01\/24) I think it's fair not to leave Twitter users with an incomplete picture of my dealings with Network Solutions, my domain registrar.
(02\/24) Since my domain expiry took place in public view (WHOIS records are world-readable), the reasons why should be in public view too.
(03\/24) For those who have been following my interactions with @netsolcares here over the past few days, this is the current position:
(04\/24) I've just had a long telephone conversation with Kathleen Hearity from Network Solutions, where the situation was discussed.
(05\/24) She's in the CEO's office at Network Solutions, where (amongst other things) she works closely with their social media team.
(06\/24) She has confirmed that Network Solution's practice with country-specific domains is to let them expire BEFORE they submit a renewal.
(07\/24) She has confirmed that this is policy, the result of a deliberate considered decision -- and she does not think that it will change.
(08\/24) I suggested that when a domain name registered with them far into the future, they should ensure that it does not expire;
(09\/24) I suggested that the policy might prompt an independent observer to conclude that Network Solutions was not fit to be a registrar.
(10\/24) Her response, almost word-for-word, was that I was at liberty to take my business elsewhere and her team could help that to happen.
(11\/24) I echoed her position as I've quoted it here back to her, and she confirmed that I'd understood her position correctly.
(12\/24) I then asked her about the formal complaint which I'd submitted (as instructed by her twitter team) via the online support system.
(13\/24) I asked why it had been deleted from the support tracking system; she said that this was a deliberate act by the executive office.
(14\/24) I reminded her that a customer could take a view about having their complaint simply deleted from the system; She agreed.
(15\/24) Finally I asked her about the conflicting statements made to me by the twitter team; I wondered whether they were ill-informed,
(16\/24) whether they had replied to me without checking first, or whether they had deliberately been misleading me for some reason.
(17\/24) She said she'd find out, discover where they'd failed, and take the necessary management steps to improve things.
(18\/24) The entire conversation was civil and (except for the rigid holding to the let-it-expire-first policy) was also productive.
(19\/24) She assured me that she'd make sure that my feedback would make its way through to all the appropriate people.
(20\/24) We thanked each other for making the time for the call, and I wished her good luck in improving their processes in the future.
(21\/24) She refused to undertake to keep me up-to-date with any progress they might make fixing the issued I'd hoped to help them with.
(22\/24) I have a couple of .UK domains registered with them until 2016 which the UK registry show as expiring on 20th July 2014.
(23\/24) I shall keep a very close eye on that expiry date as it approaches, as it passes, as-and-if it gets updated to reflect my contract.
(24\/24) I remain happy -- nay, eager -- to assist Network Solutions as they try to repair their policy, their processes, their support.<\/a>
That's it; Sorry to non-DNS-wallahs for flooding your timeline."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:888344","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/888344.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=888344"}}],"title":"Support request to Network Solutions, submitted via their help-and-support online systems","published":"2014-02-11T23:38:36Z","updated":"2014-02-11T23:38:36Z","content":"This is a complaint: It should be fielded and handled as such.

I have several domains in the .UK space.
The UK Registrar, Nominet UK, has a period of six months before a .UK domain expires, during which you can send them a renewal request.

And yet the renewal request for the domain \"dougs.org.uk\" will not be actioned until fifteen days AFTER it expires.

This is more-or-less the definition of not-fit-for-purpose in a registrar.

THEREFORE this is a complaint about your handling of the renewal of the domain \"dougs.org.uk\", and specifically about the fact that, in general, you don't renew the domain with the national registrar until fifteen days after it expires.

Please explain to me on what planet this is considered acceptable behaviour, and on what basis I should consider you as fit-for-purpose to host any of my (multiple) other country-specific-TLD domains.

Please further explain to me what steps you will make to repair the God-awful provisions you have in place for hosting .UK domains in time for the next occasion when I have a .UK domain hosted with yourselves which is about to expire with the national registry.

Be aware that this issue won't go away, and I'll be rigorously checking your progress in the latter part of July when, without doubt, the fact that I've chosen you as my registrar will return to bite me in the arse once more.

Customer Service 101: Treat your customers in such a way that they aren't trained to fear or despise you.

Please keep me up-to-date with your progress repairing this systemic mismanagement.

Thanks in advance..."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:888196","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/888196.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=888196"}}],"title":"Celebrity Come-Dine-With-Me","published":"2013-10-16T16:26:38Z","updated":"2013-10-16T16:26:38Z","content":"I watched an antique traveller, from a band,
Who seemed too stoned and legless, vast of trunk,
Try his dessert. It wasn't as he'd planned
(A shattered souffl\u00e9, dried and burnt, half sunk);
With wrinkled lip and sneer, he called it \"bland\",
This dish that he had sculpted, left for dead.
But wait! He had not cooked his spicy wings,
Suffused in scobels, marinated red!
Yet when the guests came round he boldly bloked
\"My name is Ozzy, man! Dine on these things!\"
They looked upon his works and nearly choked;
Nothing but sweet was cooked. The wings were raw
As was the main course, while his souffl\u00e9 smoked,
The sacrificial pyre of cooked-too-far."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:887810","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/887810.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=887810"}}],"title":"Free stuff!","published":"2013-08-27T22:13:41Z","updated":"2013-08-27T22:38:13Z","content":"Julia and I have a new food processor, which means we are retiring the one we inherited from Julia's mother.
The old food processor (Moulinex Masterchef type 663) comprises a big solid electric motor\/gearbox unit, a bowl that sits on top of it, a lid for the bowl that has one of those cunning holes in it with a plunger, for feeding bits of food in, and a small handful of rotating knives and so forth to cut up, shred, mix, and generally molest the said bits of food.

One only, very old, no warranty, no manual but we can show you how to use it. \"What condition is it in?\" -- \"it's in free condition\". Does anyone want it? Free if you make it easy for us to hand it over. Non-Sheffield types might have to wait until a convenient point, Sheffield types might get it a bit sooner.

Edit:<\/b> Looks like we have a taker over on FB. Didn't take long."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:887623","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/887623.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=887623"}}],"title":"HSBC generating useless unwanted bits of paper.","published":"2013-07-31T10:28:03Z","updated":"2013-07-31T10:28:03Z","content":"A few years ago, those clever chaps at HSBC gave me the option of no longer receiving paper statements in the post for the business account, instead relying on just the PDFs from the website, so that they could save the planet, save a few bob, and make life easier for people like me who can't be doing with the tedious business of moving bits of paper about.

All well and good.

I don't, therefore, get bank statements from them in the post. However, they still send me, on paper, in the post, every month, a breakdown of all the bank charges and fees that they levy against the account -- information which appears on those PDF statements I can get off the website.

Today, I received this month's mailing -- two A4 sheets of paper in an A5 envelope detailing, on a single line, bank charges accumulated during July of \u00a31.16. I get something similar every month.

I'm glad I'm not an HSBC shareholder."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:887044","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/887044.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=887044"}}],"title":"Popery","published":"2013-02-12T12:30:44Z","updated":"2013-02-12T12:30:44Z","content":"I suppose it's time to roll out this icon once more.

Who would you like as the next pope? non-serious answers only, please. And I was voted in last time (hence the icon), so someone other than me."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:887027","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/887027.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=887027"}}],"title":"Text Editors","published":"2013-01-27T21:23:02Z","updated":"2013-01-27T21:25:54Z","content":"This is a question about what you use when you want to edit a file that contains text.

View Poll: Text Editors<\/a><\/div>

[ Context<\/a> ]"},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:886747","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/886747.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=886747"}}],"title":"Don't facilitate spammers","published":"2013-01-14T16:39:11Z","updated":"2013-01-14T16:39:11Z","content":"In case I haven't made it obvious before -- If you have my email address, don't pass it on to financial services companies in order that they can email me telling me that you recommend them. It won't earn you any rewards or commission, all it will do is earn my contempt for you. If you want to recommend a company you use, do so by passing their details to me and not by passing my details to them, and even then only in response to a need for those services expressed my me."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:886427","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/886427.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=886427"}}],"title":"How Richard is","published":"2013-01-04T17:09:05Z","updated":"2013-01-04T17:09:05Z","content":"New readers start here<\/a> -- On Tuesday, it rather looked like my brother was more-than-usually unwell, and Mother was sure that he wouldn't be lasting much longer.

Things have changed somewhat in the last few days -- he's been into hospital and they've pumped him full of antibiotics (to beat down a lung infection he didn't know he had) and extra steroids (a treatment he's already on for emphysema), and the improvement since then is remarkable.

So it's now no longer any more likely than usual that he'll die in the next week or two, we're back once again to the \"sometime in the next few months\" that we've been working with for the last year and a half.

Of course he has some of the side-effects you'd expect from using substances like these in quantities like these, but they're making a real difference to how easy he's finding it to breathe.

Thank you all for your good thoughts and kind words over the last few days.

In other news, I've been occupying myself productively by wiping and re-installing a laptop he's received from his son, full of viruses and other nasties."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:886258","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/886258.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=886258"}}],"title":"My brother Richard.","published":"2013-01-01T12:58:55Z","updated":"2013-01-01T12:58:55Z","content":"Some of you will have met my brother Richard. He was the skinny sweary one on Top Table at the wedding; he was the one still dancing after the music had stopped at TCASU, a convention in Ireland in October 2003.

For the last twenty years or so, he's been going to die sometime in the next couple of years. For the last couple of years, he's been going to die in the next couple of months.

Mother tells me that it rather looks like he might be going to die in the next couple of weeks. The theory is that he has a 52nd birthday on January 15th; there's a significant chance he's going to miss it. He can't get out of bed, and he can't string more than three or four words together before stopping to catch his breath.

I'm supposed to be going down there on Thursday; I may yet decide to go down there rather sooner.

Do please join me in hoping that his final few days aren't harder for him than they need to be."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:885967","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/885967.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=885967"}}],"title":"Ready for Christmas","published":"2012-12-24T18:16:34Z","updated":"2012-12-24T18:16:34Z","content":"It's a little while since I updated on LJ but seeing as it's you lot I'll make the effort.

Julia's father arrived here yesterday evening and has generally providing assistance as we move the furniture around and get further shopping in. Tomorrow morning Julia's sister and family will be arriving in time for lunch -- so we'll be feeding 7 people (rather than the 13 that we feared we might get when we first made the offer and before her brother's family decided they'd rather be in Spain).

Feeding 7 people is, comparatively, a doddle. However, preparing the house to put up 7 people overnight is a little more complicated -- when we have friends overnight we can make them wait until everyone else has gone to bed and then make them sleep on the floor in the lounge, but apparently we can't do that with family so we've had to arrange five proper bedrooms, repurposing the study and conservatory, and stacking all the junk which normally lies about the house into leaning towers of cardboard boxes in the garage. There have had to be extra shelves made, and real carpentry with proper dowelled joints. Yikes.

Now, however, everything is prepared for the oncoming onslaught and we've been collapsed in front of Captain Mainwaring's Brother on the telly. Later, Julia's father (who has declined the chance to participate in my nonconformist nonsense) will be heading out for Mass, and later still I'll be heading out for a nonconformist midnight (but with an Anglican at the helm, we're not proud).

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas, if such a hope fits well with your tradition, and I'll see you all on the far side."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:885621","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/885621.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=885621"}}],"title":"Tumblr","published":"2012-11-04T18:47:52Z","updated":"2012-11-04T18:47:52Z","content":"Years after the cool kids did it, I've created a Tumblr account -- if you think I should be following you over there, please let me know what usernames I should be following."},{"id":"urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:dougs:885270","link":[{"@attributes":{"rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/885270.html"}},{"@attributes":{"rel":"self","type":"text\/xml","href":"https:\/\/dougs.livejournal.com\/data\/atom\/?itemid=885270"}}],"title":"I filled in a Feedback Form on a shop's website","published":"2012-10-16T14:18:22Z","updated":"2012-10-16T14:18:22Z","content":"I filled in a Feedback Form on a shop's website as follows: