2 factor authentication

Over the christmas period my debit card was compromised.  I have no idea where or how.  At physical establishments (shops, restaurants, etc) I always use chip & PIN - with the PIN only known to me, that shouldn't be the source of the data leak.  I do use my card for many online purchases and subscriptions, so it feels more likely that my details were leaked there.
But how? Payment services aren't supposed to store the card data (especially the security code, aka CVC) so even if they get hacked or have an errant employee, there isn't enough information available to use elsewhere.
Do I trust the online firms? Some of them - Google, Apple, Amazon, Spotify.  But the others? I'm not so sure.
Ideally, I'd like to have two factor authentication for online transactions.  My bank doesn't offer this service (yet?).
But Paypal do, so I may well be using Paypal for my online transactions from now on.

Channel 4 News

Quick poll...

Am I the only person that finds Channel 4 News exceptionally irritating?
Dumbed down and condescending?

Return to routine

Monday tomorrow.  The first working day for many in this country after the festive season (excluding many people, I know).

As I've been stood here, pondering what to write, wondering whether I'll have enough content or thoughts or opinions to post regularly (it's not looking good, is it?) I began to consider slipping, reluctantly, back into the routine.  Early start, walk the dog, work, eat, sleep repeat.
There's only so much you can say about work, as much can't be shared due to the fact it's either terminally dull to outsiders, commercially sensitive or both.

Yeah... only 1343 work emails to plough through.  Meetings for most of the day.

I'd really like to run my day like so:

1. delete all emails
2. cancel all meetings
3. do useful stuff

However, as I'm part of a corporate machine, I don't have that choice.  At least, not until I can break free of that machine.  Bring on the lottery jackpot win.

The small thing that will help the Monday morning blues is that I have my son with me for an additional and unexpected day, so I don't need to worry about this until Tuesday.  Happy days.

Tinnitus

As I write this, I'm parked at a local pub.  Good ale, free wifi and power for the 'kit' with landlord approval.  The music in this establishment is controlled by the staff; it appears to be a huge playlist of online content (MP3, at least) as I've not heard the same thing twice in many months of visits.
However, the choice of choonage doesn't meet with my desires, so it's not uncommon to excuse myself from the surrounding public thanks to Google Play Music and Bose noise cancelling earphones.

I've 'endured' tinnitus for a number of years.  As the condition can manifest itself in a myriad of ways, I'll explain my 'condition' as hearing a high pitched sound - constantly.  If you've ever been to a decent live gig, you may have experienced the same thing, either after you've left the venue or the following day.

I have always wondered about the source of my tinnitus.  Sure, I've been to some local gigs (mostly ropey, but it's good to see that Nuclear Minogue are still doing their stuff) and a few 'proper' stadium performances by the likes of Red Hot Chilli Peppers (WORST. GIG. EVER. in Derby), Muse (x3), Foo Fighters (x2) and a slew of amazing loud performances at the Leeds Festival in 2011.
However, I'm not to be considered a hardcore live music fan and any 18yr old that's been to a festival or two will easily surpass the number of live performances I've seen (although I'll still have the edge on quality, I think).

So why do I 'suffer' this condition?

I did spend a year working behind the bar three nights (9pm-3am) in a nightclub (well, it was what was passed for a nightclub at the time) so maybe that's it?

The NHS were very helpful in identifying exactly where I'm at; yes I have a loss of hearing, but not "that much" (so no hearing aids required), only selected frequencies - annoyingly, the ones that are most useful for hearing speech.  The advice I received was both practical and extremely helpful.  The downside of this 'coping' advice was that it depends heavily on others understanding the issues I experience and taking steps to help, for example, understanding when I don't quite catch the words (I hear the sound, but can't decipher the individual words), and there's little of that understanding forthcoming.  I have pondered getting hearing aids (even in they're dummies/fake) to have people concentrate.

Perhaps there is a reason I conduct much of my business on the phone? (where I can control the volume...)

My answer appeared over Christmas.  Chatting to my 9yo son (geek talk, mostly) he told me that he can hear a noise.  A high pitched noise.   All the time.

Oh.  So perhaps it's genetic.  My son hasn't been to gigs or worked in a club, and although he does like Metallica and the Foo Fighters (that's my boy!) he's not experienced a real live "loud" gig.

The flip side, in father mode, is helping him understand how and why - I've got little to work with.

Maplin, Pi B+, fail

Today I wanted to pick up a Raspberry Pi B+ "cobbler kit".  That is, a 40 pin cable to sit on the B+ GPIO connector, plus a bunch of useful stuff, such as LEDs, switches and resistors.  It's the sort of kit that extends the Pi from a nice little computer to something that can talk to the 'outside world'.

Unfortunately, on Dec 30th, I'd received a call from the Natwest fraud detection team and after a discussion confirming that a) I wasn't an O2 customer (2x£20 for PAYG top-ups) and b) no, I wasn't at a hotel in the USA, we collectively concluded my card details were compromised (or "cloned") and my card was blocked.

Usefully, the Natwest staff helped me extract some old skool 'real' money from an ATM to use until my new card arrived.

But no active debit card means no online shopping.  Or cashless payments, which as I use debit for pretty much everything, meant an alarming realisation of just how much "cash" I spend on food, booze, petrol, etc.

But, I digress.

With no online payment option, I took the chance to stop by Maplin in MK whilst collecting my 9yo son.  I enquire about the Pi Cobbler kit, as described at maplin.co.uk, to be advised that it's a "web only deal".
Ah, I see.

One of the few things going for Maplin is that they are (one of the few) bricks and mortar stores and thus when you want/need a particular piece of electronic-ery, you can visit, get what you need and get the hell out of dodge.
Unless it's a web only deal.  This is where the "Maplin" proposition falls apart. I can't buy online due to no active debit card, and if I could make use of the 'web only' deal, I'd go elsewhere to another online retailer doing the same kit for less.

Today I realised that with the onward march of everything 'web', there's no little ability to deal in cash.  I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that.

New Year Resolutions. Or not.

As is traditional for this time of year, I have been considering new year resolutions.
Things I have considered, in no particular order:

• give up smoking
• give up drinking
• do more exercise
• do something philanthropic, which given limited cash means volunteering, at the local school, maybe

I find that my intentions are significantly stronger when I've had a few drinks, having ditched any concept of exercising and I'm outside enjoying a smoke.  Oh dear.

According to the source of all knowledge (Wikipedia):

A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail

Ah... I've read some Richard Wiseman material and liked it, so I'm going to roll with Mr Wiseman.

If I set any resolutions or goals, I'm likely to fail (88%...!) and therefore, the only way to ensure success in 2015 is to avoid defining any resolutions.

Happy New Year to you.

Mac Logic Board cooked (literally)

A long illness

Computers & electronics, sooner to later, fail.  Expect at least three years for a laptop, five is doing well, longer than that is a bonus.
So, when a seven year old MacBook Pro (owned by The Wifelette) failed to start a couple of days ago, I was fearful for the worst.  This Mac has been a loyal, if somewhat temperamental servant and Wifelette was deeply unhappy about it's severe poor health.

Diagnosis

No startup chime, blank/black screen, no response to reset SMC or PRAM.
It's not good Madam.  All signs point to a faulty or broken logic board; this means a few hundred pounds to replace (if we can find one).

The Cure

Whilst Googling around for replacement logic boards, I stumbled upon this post (by a chap called Russell); it seems he (and many others) have been in the situation that we were facing.
The "solution" is, apparently, to cook the logic board.  Literally - put it in the oven at 190C for 7-8 minutes.

REALLY?

Yes, really.

So, with nothing to lose, we began...  It's not the first time I've stripped down a MacBook or indeed, this particular one, but it was the first time I'm removed the logic board.  The iFixIt guide helped a lot - no screws were lost, nothing got broken.
With the logic board stripped out, I can see that the thermal paste on the chips was hard and flaky - not good.

Not to worry - we've got nothing to lose.  After a careful stripdown of plastic clips, tape, foam and any other debris, we're ready to start cooking.

It was all very exciting, right up to the point where the board has been cooking for about five minutes and the smell of hot plastic starts to waft around the kitchen.
Hold your nerve.... it'll be fine.... we've got nothing to lose...

After seven minutes, the board was removed and allowed to cool.  Nothing has melted.  Relief!

With much excitement, we commenced assembly.  Logic board goes in nicely, then removed again, lots of thermal paste applied, then board installed once again.  Connect all the sensor wires, power, install RAM, drop on the keyboard... connect the power cable... press the power button....

Nothing.

Oh.  Shit.  That's annoying.

Time to take a break.

Remove and reinstall the battery.
Nothing.

Disconnect and reconnect the keyboard.
Nothing.

Re-seat the connectors on the logic board.
Nothing.

At this point I'd pressed the power button so many times, I had no idea whether the Mac was supposed to be on or off.  I wandered off to fix myself a strong rum & coke.

Then I heard it... the startup chime.... YES!  It works!

The old beast lives again...

Note to self: start saving for it's replacement