One of the many tedious adverts exhorting us to sue people for our own clumsy mistakes is featuring a guy who, in his words “was fitting a fire alarm system but had been given the wrong sort of ladder”. He is dramatically shown as the ladder slides away under him and he falls to the ground.

He sues and gets compensation.

However - if the guy is qualified to fit a fire alarm, shouldn’t he be intelligent enough to know that a) the ladder was the wrong one and b) know that climbing a ladder without suitable supports at the base is a very stupid thing to do?

I think we need a “should have used his common sense” test before lawsuits are allowed to proceed.

You can see the advert on the ubiquitous YouTube site.

I needed to (ahem) borrow an image to illustate an article about tracking people’s movements via their mobile phone without their permission, so wandered over to Google to do an image search for something to do with Big Brother.

Instead of getting loads of images relating the the George Orwell novel - I got loads of stuff from the TV series instead.

Le sigh.

Back to the hospital this morning to get the results of a hearing test to try and work out what is wrong with - well, my hearing.

You may have heard of cocktail party syndrome - where people are able to pick out individual conversations over the babble of the background noise. I have the opposite.

In a normal office type enviroment I am fine - but put me in a room with lots of people talking, or music playing and I am almost totally deaf.

All I hear is a disjointed babble.

It is socially very damaging as I can’t join in conversations - or risk trying to chat to strangers in a pub lest I spend all evening saying “pardon?”.

I thought it was the music volume in pubs - but everyone else seems to be chatting without problems (well, without too many problems), and over time I worked out that it is a level of background noise above which it is almost as if my ears give up and decide to go on strike.

Maybe my ears have joined the RMT?

Anyhow - last year I had a hearing test and while they found some slight loss at the higher frequencies it was nothing like enough to explain the problem. So - I had an MRI scan carried out last November and went back today to get the results (yes, six months later).

Nothing wrong.

So - all the tests say I am fine, but the fact is that in even moderatly chatty enviroments, I am practically deaf.

I have now been referred to another specialist and will have to wait for the letter, then the apointment etc.

I am guessing that it might be that the hearing is fine, but the way the brain processes the information may be at fault and it just flips out when there is too much noise around. Not sure if they can fix that.

I just wish they could find out what it is though - as I really do hate going out with friends and then spending all evening nodding and grinning to look like I am joining in - but am actually just sat there bored to tears.

They seem to play his Dance Tonight song every half hour in my local branch. I’ve noticed this trend in the past, but never heard enough of the lyrics to be able to Google and find out what the name of the song was.

I guess they might be doing it so as to dissuade the mad ex-wife from visiting?

It’s getting a bit annoying though.

Woes with the Post Office.

Today I had to make two trips to Royal Mail institutions - one to pay a “fine” of 6p on some postage, along with a £1 handling fee - then off the post office to send a parcel.

After navigating several scary road junctions I made it to the Post Office depot and located the counter where I can collect parcels and pay postage fines, I walked in to a bored looking queue of people waiting to be served. A strong aroma which I am worried may have been urine based permeated the small room and after paying my fine I was able to collect an A4 envelope which had just a small leaflet inside and a first class stamp on the front. Quite why I need to pay an extra 6p for that I just cannot begin to work out.

Whilst I was waiting though, I took time to contemplate the two warning notices informing me that from the 11th April 2005 - I will no longer be able to park my car in the car park. Oh, and I should prepare for the ID-Theft Week 2007, occurring shortly.

Anyhow - off to the post office to dispatch another item sold via eBay and whilst waiting in the (yet another) long queue - I noticed the video screen was wishing me a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. At least it wasn’t quite as out of date as the other Royal Mail venue - but it is possibly symbolic of the timeliness of their service now.

As a side issue though - why are customers required to go all the way to a sorting office to collect parcels, when they could go to the vastly more convenient Post Office instead?

Surely it is not beyond the capabilities of the Royal Mail to send all undelivered mail to the local mail Post Office and let people collect them there. It would be better for customers as the Post Office will have more staff to serve customers quicker (sort of) and also for all their problems - they are at least open sensible hours - unlike the sorting office which still seems to think opening on a Saturday is a privilege we should be grateful for.

Such a move would also drive more people into the Post Office, which tends to be better looked after than the shabby sorting office - and recalling that for the vast majority of people their only experience on the Royal Mail is the sorting office when they have to collect parcels that were delivered “while you were out” (or more likely, while you were sitting by the front door waiting), this has to be good for their brand image.

It just seems very antiquated to me.