Upgrades to web sites

Is it OK for a web site to be upgraded and lose your existing data, such that you have to re-register?

Appears that First Great Western (part of the First Group) - have not only altered the website to make it 'better' - but broken it for existing users.

However, maybe it is just me Anyone else had difficulties?

Today, I was trying, for the second time to buy tickets, couldn't remember the password, after the update made me change it, and the password saved in the browser was not the 'right' one anymore.

Clicked the reset password, and waited for the email, and waited, and waited some more. Clicked the reset password again, still waiting.

Gave up waiting created a new account with a new email address and re-registered, as that was quicker than waiting to change the password on the existing account. Well done FGW!

So maybe I it is possible to write a small app that spends its life registering new customers on the FGW site? Well they appear quite willing to make the process of buying a ticket really, really hard for existing customers, so maybe it is possible to make their servers database fill up with large numbers of registered users who fail to use the system. I wonder if that is a slow denial of service attack, that is probably illegal.

Hmm, I guess that might tick some box in the management hierarchy to say that the new Website is working well and is much more usable (no) than the previous one, as look at all the new registered users!

However, that would be a foolish thing to do and I could not countenance that at all, but I am not at all happy with it.

The worst thing is when you confirm your order, it does not give you a break down on the tickets you have purchased, just the total, so I cannot double check that I bought the correct (non-refundable) tickets at the point that I actually buy them, way to go FGW.

A Delayed Post On Programming

This has been a difficult post to actually publish. Started writing it on Friday afternoon, then stopped to have a think and read up on some research and recommendations that have been put forward about the UK National Curriculum, skills shortages etc. Seems like a maze of twisty passages all alike (name that game - ed)

So to cut a long story short, here is my contention.

The problem with programming is thus: Anyone can program.

The Government's contention, along with some great and good of the Video Games industry is that not enough people know how to program!

Very straightforward, very simple and it appears this is what the changes to the UK (England and maybe Wales - devolution is a wonderful thing) National Curriculum are going to bring about. The existing ICT that is taught in schools is  not fit for purpose. Having read some (but not all - just a tad bull) of the OFSTED report - I didn't spot this phrase at all - maybe it is in report speak where the words that are used have other meanings - i.e. think of Yes, (Prime) Minister, and I missed though it was there but not in those exact words.

There appears to be a ground swell of opinion that things have to change, and as with most thinks linked to the Government, they need to change quickly (well that is after multiple years of reports, falling number of students studying GCSE and A Level Computer Science and the lack of joined together teaching of ICT across the whole National Curriculum) The UK Government are finally going to leap into action, possibly by 2014.

There is even a report, to whit,  Next Gen, that uses phrases list STEM (Science, Technology, Engingeering and Mathematics) and STEAM - that is STEM with Arts as the additional A,  (there is nothing like a dame - or in this case a good acronym - ed) which states that the  UK is failing to produce enough skilled people with the appropriate ICT skills, and the main contention of the report is that not enough people know how to program and programming should be taught

Aside: Forgive me if I am mistaken, but isn't the reason we have fallen from 3rd to 6th in Video Gaming industry is due to lack of tax breaks amongst other things? The other could be argued that we are just moving with the times and outsourcing our highly skilled work to cheaper countries  - why pay programmers UK wages when you can bring them in from around them world for a much cheaper price, or maybe more simply just off-shore the work! Makes good business sense to me. Remember all programmers are of identical standard and are interchangeable resources to be moved from job to job as often as necessary (not really - there is lot of research on the difference between the best and worst programmers in terms of quality of work etc - ed.)

So, why is there a skills shortage in programmers? There is not. There is a shortage of good, great and brilliant and exceptional programmers!

Writing code is easy, anyone can do it! Even the major of New York is now taking lessons.

However, the issue is that the vast majority of code that is written :

• is not robust
• is not test driven (and ain't that a subject for discussion - but not today)
• is not performant
• is not reliable
• fails to meet the end user requirements (even when the end user knows what they want, and in the vast majority of cases they do not have a clue what they actually want - but they do know what they don't want!) If you cannot believe this - see UK Government IT Blunders
• is not maintainable
• is incomprehensible 
• is unthinkingly cut and pasted
• is sometimes not even under source code control (yup - that is real scary)
• is not part of a continuous integration process (even though free tools do exist to help do just this)
• is written against out of date business requirements, high level designs, low level designs and other specifications written in a language that is open to interpretation (English).
• is not cared for by the very programmers creating it
• is unsupportable 
• is unrepeatably built  (i.e. build once and forget - almost like fire and forget)
• is not tested much (how many projects have test code coverage of  > 90% and when it is that high the statistics have been gamed so are useless. How we cheered when the test coverage on one project I worked on moved from 0% to 1%)
• fails to be "I've started so I'll finished" - but I've started - now I am rotated to another short term contract and couldn't care less about the mess I have left behind; and never learn from mistakes as they are sorted by someone else!
• fails to log useful information - real Goldilocks stuff this one - not too little logging and not too much logging - needs to be just right!

Argh, now I have run out of STEAM ! There is a rich seam to be picked here, and pick at it I will; it is like a scab that has hit that itchy stage!

The above is the start of a much longer discussion (rant - ed) that I shall continue with over the coming days and months. 

I have to say that I feel that I am kicking the donkey that has fed me for the last 30+ years.

Minor Bio: I have been programming to little or no effect since the early PC days, Sinclair Spectrum, Commodore PET/64, initially mostly in BASIC, even had a FORTH machine for a while! The vast majority of the time in C and Java, with forays into a number of other languages, C++, Scala, PHP,  on most flavours of *NIX, Linux - for small, medium and large companies, almost all on contract. Had my contract renewed most (if not all?) of the time - so must have been doing something right I suppose.

For reasons of NDA's I will not name the companies directly, and will change the names of any protagonists to protect the guilty, but I am findable on LinkedIn and that has a potted history of many of the companies I have contracted at, so with a little thought you should be able to work out which companies are which!

As Zebedee says, "Time For Bed." Boing.

BTW: Don't ask me about "IR35, Gordon Brown, Dawn Primarolo, Section 660A, Business Tests and Hoops" - as that will definitely cause a rant.

Post Painting Post

Have spent most of today doing a new oil painting. Looking like a Caribbean sea/sky scape, with a setting sun and a sail boat on the horizon...D'oh - why don't I just upload the painting as it is so far... one second.

View from Barbados looking west into setting sun.

It is incomplete - need to sort out the right hand bottom tree/bush. Also the sail boat needs some fixing - but needs to dry a little before I do any more. I like the sea colour, managed to capture some of the turquoise in the sea that was visible - but the photo failed to do justice too.

As ever, room for improvement. Another second and I'll put the photo that this is based on.

I have accentuated the colours a little, artistic licence (Artistic licences are available for £75.65 from all good post offices - ed).

So tonight is a special night, was my 52nd on Monday, and we have saved the minor celebration until this evening. Looks like it is going to be Smoked Salmon & Champagne (Bit cheesey - ed) - absolutely no cheese, but some crispy things for the Salmon to sit on.

So cheers, have a great weekend, I intend to.

But what happened to any Leveson comment. Well, I will have to read up on it before I comment. But given my liberal (note the small L) and libertarian instincts - the thought of the state getting involved with direct regulation of the press looks to me like the thin end of a very dangerous wedge.

Remember Income Tax was a temporary tax that only the wealthy had to pay for.

The week as a series of slopes

People who have spent any time in my company, soon begin to realise that I have some what of an off beat and very dry sense of humour (that is humor for my USA friends - ed). What I am noticing so far, and I fully expect to come out in the wash over the coming days, weeks and months, is that it appears here!

One of my thoughts is how to draw a diagram of the week.... uh? What do I mean. Well I reckon that the lowest point of the week is, not in fact, Monday morning, but Tuesday morning, ok Monday is low, but was it good about Tuesday mornings?. So from hitting bottom Tuesday morning, the week then climbs up until the highest point of the week (note, not the weekend) that is Wednesday lunch time. After that point we are heading down slope, at some speed through Thursday and accelerating through Friday ('Happy Friday', as Rajat used to  say) and off the end of the slope to soar through the weekend and then being falling back around Sunday evening as the start of the next week impinges on us.

Think of Eddie the Eagle and ski slopes.

Well I have to head off now. Eastleigh beckons, and that is a two edged thought at the best of times.

Not Leveson

This is a post that is not about the Leveson report. I have chosen not to listen to any of it so far, as it will be well and truly plastered all of the newspapers tomorrow, and I can catch up with it all there.

So, what delectations and delights do have I to warble on about today. Well saw 'Brave', the movie last night. Have to admit, though pleasant as it was, it just didn't hit the spot for me. Graphics were good, the story just failed to engage me sufficiently, which was disappointing. I have to admit, that given I have watched 'In Bruges' and 'My Name is Khan' over the last couple of days, there is probably not a lot that would have engaged me.

If you have not seen 'My Name is Khan', I strongly recommend it. Brought out the tears (but you are a man - ed), which I am not at all bothered about admitting too. One of the many scenes that did me in, was when Ammi asked for a hug from Rizu, struck a deep resonant chord with me that one. At least my teenage boys still allow me to hug them.

'In Bruges', causing a turning of the tap of tears, which was most unexpected. It is in the genre of 'The Guard' and to an extent 'Perrier's Bounty' - all three of which had Brendan Gleeson. Is it now mandatory for any Irish made films to have either Brendan Gleeson or Liam Cunningham in? Their agent has got a very good deal for them there, luckily for him they are both wonderful actors (is their agent paying you - ed).

Child Support Agency - CSA

Well I for one would like to give this much maligned organisation a pat on the back.

I have been dealing with them since July and after a slight initial hiccup they have been brilliant! Great telephone support and knowledgeable staff to boot!

Now for many reasons, that I am just not in the mood to talk about (ooh ooh hark at her - ed) ... yet;  I have had to deal with more than my fair share of large organisations of late. Just don't ask. The disappointing thing is that my customer experience has generally been poor. One moment, no, that is too generous, rubbish would be more appropriate.

The ability of organisations to lose information (is it an ability - ed) , ask for the same information multiple times, ask totally irrelevant questions, use no longer relevant information, magically lose physical mail and then miraculously find it when challenged is quite simply breathtaking. I have had to jump through hoops and then some more hoops and to cap it all more hoops!

Governor of the Bank of England

It is wonderful to read in the papers that a new Governor of the Bank of England has been appointed. What is astounding is that everyone (well politicians, The City etc.) seems to think he is a good selection. The man on the Clapham Omnibus was not asked as the answer, 'Who He?', doesn't make for good television.

What I understand is that he is going to single handedly save the Economy! It is therefore such a  disappointment (for a girl - ed ) that he is not due to start the job until July 2013.... makes you wonder whether the Economy is going to continue to flat-line until then or maybe we should all just hold our breaths until he arrives.

So what happens in the mean time - we shall have to hope that Merv the Swerve will continue to pump billions of pounds into the coffers of the banks. It seems to me that in the not too recent past farmers were paid large amounts of money to not grow stuff, not it is the bankers that are on the end of this largesse, they are being thrown large amounts of very cheap money, but they don't lend it! That wonderful phrase, 'Go Figure!', leaps to mind like a somewhat uneasy gazelle.

A song also comes to mind, 'Banks Uhhhh - What are they good for! Absolutely nothing, say it again'. Maybe the dark winter nights of cynicism are coming in early to roost.