@sawboman
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The allegation is that the back office part is not (yet) causing problems, but that the public interface part is the area for concern. Reports talk of both errors, and failures to process within an acceptable time frame, this might also include time outs. Whichever part or parts is/are in trouble it does speak to not enough testing and understanding of the issues. The old systems did a Topsy, they just grew, dropping in a new system to hit the ground running is a whole different can of worms. We can speculate on the semantics, but it has not been a great advertisement and will make others stop and think about their situation for a very long time.
Update: apparently back office functions such as standing orders direct debits and the like are ‘fine’ but 50% of customers’ access attempts are still unable to get to use internet banking today, hinting at some fairly acute issues wherever they are. While it could be almost anything causing them problems but it is clearly not what anyone would have wanted. Reading between the lines of dodgy reports is a dangerous game but online transaction processing does appear to be road blocking for some unexplained reason.
Yes, verification would essentially be an automation, dare I say a robotic task – though that could also be subverted if it was tried sufficiently keenly.
The injection of the well known FUD into anything is well understood it was a main plank of IBM’s sales pitch when Noah was in short trousers. The use of fifth columnists to build your defensive capabilities is clearly daft – I would suggest any and all non home group territories fall into that camp. Mind you the USA vetting, supervising and management of their own resources reminds me of using open doors, windows and roofs as security barriers.
A bit of happier progress, my wife rang the ‘ring us when you can line‘ and pointed out the situation. The innocent clerk instantly recognised a major cock-up when she heard one and has shoehorned my wife in for 5 p.m. today.
Our surgery is planning an extension, but at least there is a public car park right next door with spaces normally available, free for 30 minutes, 20 pence for the first hour. So 20 pence is usually enough for the visit. Being far enough from the station and with parking day rates set high enough it is not really an all day option for commuters.
One of the issues with NHS IT is the number of users who will still not use it properly. Most procedures have codes, but some do not wish to use the codes and write long hand in hard to read scrawls and demand telephone responses as they cannot understand the electronic notes.
From a cursory reading of the linked account every chip that rolled off the production line would feature the same ‘undocumented feature’. While very cleaver in its concept and perhaps its theoretical execution, manufacturers have enough trouble trying to make chips work reliably, ‘as designed’. I am less than clear how a ‘simple’ addition to the in production silicon would ensure the avoidance of unexpected interactions during the chip’s lifetime. If the objective was to slip these dodgy chips into specific products, how would that be achieved? How would the miscreant know which devices to contact or how to get their script loaded. In practice it sounds to need something like a small army of helpers, not some lone genius. It would appear like to have an application if shoe horned into say ATM machines.
Perhaps it is an argument in favour of manufacturers maintaining clean master mask copies and ensuring the production masks comply with the master. Or is this aimed at specific limited scale ships, and not really at mass production CPUs? I would like to think that they were produced in cleaner conditions, but note that the US staff vetting, supervision and management does appear to leave everything to be desired.
Dave, as I heard, NASA was bulk buying second hand 486 chips a few years back, they were only interested in job lots of tens or maybe hundreds of units, so I lost interest when I scrapped a few old machines from various cupboards. I understand much the same position applies with air-plane makers with both types tending to run highly specific proprietary code. I am aware that some small plane makers may follow other routes including the use of more ‘mainstream’ operating systems.
Our surgery has several different GPs almost all if not all work part time. One works alternate weeks, not because of anything else except that he feels he pays too much income tax. He does not need the extra hassle for half pay, so he tends to do one week on and one week off.
While text messages can be a great way to send out reminders, – if they are sent out, but voice over mobile is pure rubbish from home. Callers get told to call the land line to have a meaningful conversation. Admin is a real bear trap, daughter had several lots of treatment and a swab was taken. Her carer, her mother, tried several times to find the results to no effect*. Then daughter was taken back to see a GP and the missing results were ‘found’. The previous treatments had been totally useless. They were no better than ‘vitamin pills’ for the infection.
*Two possible causes for the delay, the clerical ‘could certainly do better’ and the lab has internal issues where the egotist in charge is trying to empire build by slowing down throughput and claiming the need for more staff to speed things up again.
Bob, I was sorry to read of this sorry tale and commend you for being stoic enough to carry on battling. Sadly you need to become your own consultant all too often and can reflect on the way that great staff are being brought to their knees by broken systems.
Last week my wife saw an oncologist and handed over her 7 page medical History, even though it has been handed over several times in the past it was not part of the shocked oncologists understanding of her case. A further complication had also been found he set up a further consultation for this coming Wednesday and asked for an urgent scan to be reported by Wednesday 2nd May. We waited through Thursday, no call, we waited through Friday, no call but on Saturday a letter arrived in the snail mail asking my wife to call Monday to Friday between 9 and 4 to arrange an appointment… I told my wife to ring at 09:00 and tell them a 1o:00 a.m. appointment for Monday would be fine and can they ENSURE the oncologist will have the report by Wednesday. If 5 days lost in the post is their idea of urgent it is not mine or my wife’s – previously during this saga we have been called in on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.
So I wish you good luck with your unwanted battle and trust it will be sorted, ASAP. It really is not what you want or need.
After looking at the damage with a calm head it’s not worth repairing it. It looks terrible to me but my mum and one of her neighbours could hardly see the damage. I had to point all the marks out in detail. I guess that’s the autism. I’m trying to look at it this way:- better for it to happen to an older car than a very nearly new one, which is potentially closer than I thought.
PM, take it from me, sometimes it is better for you to find a way to let things like that go. Sadly I know you will wake up some nights fuming over the issue. You might be able to use one of the pen type colour restoration filler paints to make it good enough to pass muster with someone less detail oriented. If so please bask in the glow of restoring the problem and let that wash the pain away.
Bob, I was surprised that being in the trade he was not prepared or able to take on, or know someone who could take on the chassis work. Shame, a number of interesting cars went that way but for a does of care and consideration. My old physics master had a pre war Singer sports car that had a damaged chassis and in the end he could not repair it so it went to the tip, damned shame.
I think they used their V8 in one or two of the saloons as well. It never had the same image as the Jag motors though I don’t know of any major issues – I just do not know that much about them.
The Met police had a few of the Darts, I remember cycling past them on the A2 and looking enviously at such an impressive for the time motor on the way home from school.
I thought the same about PPI when I saw the headline but it is more useful and possibly important than that load of cruft in radio adverts. I need to see the Gastrologist on the 3rd of May so I will try to sound him out about a possible blood test. I might say a word or two about the blood pressure pill he has put me on, I appear to have partially traded one issue for a new one, I hope it is a only short term adjustment issue.
Tramadol, remind me what is that supposed to do? Ah yes if you are lucky it could stop the trots but has no effect on my for pain relief or anything else beyond acute stopping up for that matter. Others found they could fly like kites with no strings. Gabapentin, a multi-use treatment, it might even work for some, just no use for me.
Sedatives let me see, ah yes they make you roaring drunk so you lack any cares in the world.
Minocycline, not a well favoured antibiotic this one, especially so when you know that those who are susceptible may develop drug induced lupus and end up almost bed ridden; if it is not stopped in time they probably will end up that way. The recovery may take a long time and while blood chemistry might appear to improve within months, functional recovery takes far longer and can be affected by other conditions associated with the patient’s make up.
Those are just a few of the items to which I or a blood related family member have had ‘unusual’ reactions.
I did wonder about the drivers, but that would not normally prevent a start up via the button press. Still nothing other than time to be lost by trying a driver refresh.
As Dave said motherboard, since it runs all day but only suffers when restarted or when stressed, the motherboard sounds by far the front runner. The not starting on the button is not a good sign at all.
We had an earlier generation of the Humax machines which we have just replaced with the later models, which come network enabled allowing access to both the catch up services but also to each other and to things on your network. So it can run slide shows – if the images are suitable size, other recorded material and, I understand music as well if you have any stored on the network. I can also copy some recorded material and play it back on the PC. I have used the catch up enough to know that it works well, but unlike Steve I tend to record most things, then delete some straight away rather than go straight to catch up – not all broadcast things are available on catchup anyway.
I have just had another update of Windows 10 1709 and this time it has really improved the screen readability, not sure what else has changed but the clarity is hugely better. I might even be able to read what I write and perhaps even what other have written. It has just run through the update in the last 30 minutes.
It has not been wet here, yet; but it is very cool and dark now, rain cannot be far away. The (fill in your own choice of adjectives) wind is the real problem it has ripped off all the blossoms and is as keen as a sharpened knife. The Husky did not care, the mixed up one, part Husky part you name it got very excited and pulled me every which way and I really did not enjoy the experience. On a day like today keeping in sounds like a darned good idea. One taxi run to the doctors, one shopping run to the supermarket – every wanted item was in stock making that a great result and four dog walks was more than I really wanted today. At least the gardener lady got the grass cut and wow what a difference it has made.
You sound to have the medical support sorted, of course you did a lot of the healing while still confined so you are off to a good start.
I agree, it is sad that you have two bungalows now empty nearby under those circumstances. At least one will have no regrets, but the other pair will have time to consider where it all went wrong. Sad that the old lady was ill and suffered a lingering end, but on balance I cannot come down on one side or the other. Both were sad ends for different reasons.
Managing to get cleaned up properly after a surgical procedure is one of the best feelings ever.I fully understand the pure simple pleasure it brings, been there, (after a less serious session or two than yours it should be said), done that , got the tee shirt – which the moths the ate.
Just do not gamble like me and have an all over wash in the shower, then find you should keep an area clean and dry for a week after your grand clean up, – oops, but I got away with that one a couple of weeks back.
It really is a good sign when simple things like that start to give pleasure and comfort, but continue to take care.
Talking of information not being passed on or actioned here is a stop press news item. Our disabled daughter has been having ear problems for several weeks and been back and forth to the GP. On the most recent trip they took an ear swab. Even though we rang several times it was always ‘no news’, because of my wife’s developments in the past week or two the subject of daughter’s ear has slipped of the front page. Well today daughter is complaining of not being able to use her right ear and having a problem with pain in her jaw. So yet another call to the GP and, in a subsequent ring back, it was finally revealed that that the swab test showed there was an active infection… So a little later it is all off to the GP for some, hopefully more effective follow up. This was not what we really wanted with everything else that was already in progress.
Today I discovered that Castle Hill hospital Admin has not passed on my consultant’s letter to my GP. That has all the details of various blood tests and vaccinations that I am due in 2 days and 4 weeks, respectively. So Richard, I can empathise with trying to get more than one Health Trust to connect the dots. My GP was very angry when I phoned him and he discovered this: fortunately my consultant had given me a copy of the letter, which I was able to photocopy and send up to our surgery, courtesy of the world’s best neighbour. I am simply too exhausted to be angry, turns out I am also now anaemic.
Yes been there and done that though not with such an urgent matter. If we can, both my wife and I like a copy of the consultant’s letter though some are better than others at sending them through. Having to use your copy when the surgery have either not got theirs or have not yet processed it – two to three week processing time has been the case in the recent past, can be vital. Though one consulant’s change had already been changed by a GP by the time the consulant’s letter came through as it was not strong enough and my blood pressure was endangering aircraft on approach to the local aircraft. I guess taking a vital part in your own health care is important, I am very glad you have a supportive neighbour who did the deed for you. My wife was sent home from the hospital with instructions to get Epipens from the GP after an anaphylaxis episode in hospital. The GP was ‘under impressed’.
As others have said harvest and husband your strength for your recovery, the margin between bold and foolhardy is razor thin. Do not do as I do and get ballistic over failures like my recent run in with Yodel over an alleged failed delivery attempt on Saturday with a possible retry on Tuesday – it turned up at 10:00 am today with a really smart, polite chap company livery, name tag and all. He was a credit to the company and I said so.
Thank you John, so far we are not just going to 1 hospital, between the two of us we used 5 different hospitals this month alone. I add a sixth, a new one this time, next month a fifty five mile round trip I need to get there early to be sure of finding a parking spot in time for my minor operation.
With my wife it is a bit easier, at a push I can drop her off and roam round to find a parking spot or in one case go to a local car park.
Get away and have a really good time, you sound as though you will, whatever the weather.
All the very best Richard
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