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Spending Money Like Water...
Mar. 23rd, 2006 05:06 pm...something everyone should do once in a while to feel good about themselves.
Orders have been placed for all the computer components, after certain noises were made by HSBC fraud prevention services over how fast money was vanishing from my credit card account. Apparently, having six hundred pounds authorised to two companies in the space of forty-eight hours was a little too much, and they proceeded to cancel them, ring me from India and ask if it really was me spending all this money. Cue the companies in question doubly cancelling the orders and demanding more checks with me in order to use my credit card.
Screw that, thought I.
Finally got information about how to buy offline from the various companies, but attempts to purchase anything at all with the credit card (for instance, this tent, Emma & I at larp events for the use of), had the shops asking for a verified by visa password, and preventing me from ordering anything else until I had one.
No problem, thought I.
I tried registering for verfied by visa...and found my details not being accepted because there had been a fraud alert on my credit card. I will remind you that so far, I had done nothing against the law. I had made some large purchases on my credit card. That is all.
To the bank, went I.
They were terribly apologetic (as HSBC tend to be - they mean well but occasionally make errors, as opposed to making errors all the time not giving two hoots unless you're a new customer or want to change your account to them), and signed me up over the branch phone (well, gave me explicit instructions on how to go about doing so), and finally got me authorised.
To the online marketplace, returned I.
Cheques sent out, online purchases made, and I have much stuff coming my way. Many thanks to Overclockers (HDDs, CPU cooler, DVDRW drives, chassis fan and cabling), Scan Computers (GPU and mobo), Pixmania (sound card and case) and Novatech (RAM) for making the beast of a machine that will be TheLyricsService v2.0 a financial viablility. Before anyone asks, yes, I have a PSU - my current one is only six months old and has plenty of power to drive the new machine.
Indeed, we also have said tent ordered. It's going to be like camping in a small hotel suite. The joy of being able to stand up to dress, having all the sleeping gear always set up yet out of the way, and sitting and eating in the comfort of your own tent is something I have wanted to experience for a while, and come Moot I (the first large event as a couple that Emma and I will both be attending) I get to do so. Bloody marvellous.
My new WFRP dice work. A lot better than the old ones. While Pieter was no more use than normal, he was no more use due to bad choices on my part rather than bad dice rolls. He is working towards being a noble man (if not a nobleman) - he tried (unsuccessfully) to stop Felix (Tim) killing that evening's plot hook for being no more than who he was, succeeding only in getting Felix shot in the face. He did manage to carry him out to a healer, and then prevented him from going back in to 'verify the crime scene' without the watch present. Evidently, stealing from corpses is fine when Felix does it, but not when anyone else does. Must be because he's a lawman and has dispensation to carry out theft as long as the person is a bad guy and the loot is worth selling. Must be that.
[/cynicism]
I could write a short history book with all the information I could feasibly include in Gabriel's backplot. It would be part novel, part "World of House Delacroix" reference book, and would take all of my remaining spare time between now and four months next Christmas to complete. I need to dumb myself down, but it's nice for me to be the limiting factor in how much I should write for once, rather than convention placing the limits for me. Go go gadget realistic system...
I have two different things, each in two places, hopefully growing crystals for me. Either would be nice if it worked, paricularly as there is about a chapter's worth of writing that could come from them. The first crystal in the set, got last week, was not exactly what we were looking for. Interesting, and containing everything we expected, but not how we expected it to be and so not as useful as first thought. These two have more potential to be right (as there is no viable way they can have all the right stuff and still be wrong). Time will tell - grow my pretties...grow...
Orders have been placed for all the computer components, after certain noises were made by HSBC fraud prevention services over how fast money was vanishing from my credit card account. Apparently, having six hundred pounds authorised to two companies in the space of forty-eight hours was a little too much, and they proceeded to cancel them, ring me from India and ask if it really was me spending all this money. Cue the companies in question doubly cancelling the orders and demanding more checks with me in order to use my credit card.
Screw that, thought I.
Finally got information about how to buy offline from the various companies, but attempts to purchase anything at all with the credit card (for instance, this tent, Emma & I at larp events for the use of), had the shops asking for a verified by visa password, and preventing me from ordering anything else until I had one.
No problem, thought I.
I tried registering for verfied by visa...and found my details not being accepted because there had been a fraud alert on my credit card. I will remind you that so far, I had done nothing against the law. I had made some large purchases on my credit card. That is all.
To the bank, went I.
They were terribly apologetic (as HSBC tend to be - they mean well but occasionally make errors, as opposed to making errors all the time not giving two hoots unless you're a new customer or want to change your account to them), and signed me up over the branch phone (well, gave me explicit instructions on how to go about doing so), and finally got me authorised.
To the online marketplace, returned I.
Cheques sent out, online purchases made, and I have much stuff coming my way. Many thanks to Overclockers (HDDs, CPU cooler, DVDRW drives, chassis fan and cabling), Scan Computers (GPU and mobo), Pixmania (sound card and case) and Novatech (RAM) for making the beast of a machine that will be TheLyricsService v2.0 a financial viablility. Before anyone asks, yes, I have a PSU - my current one is only six months old and has plenty of power to drive the new machine.
Indeed, we also have said tent ordered. It's going to be like camping in a small hotel suite. The joy of being able to stand up to dress, having all the sleeping gear always set up yet out of the way, and sitting and eating in the comfort of your own tent is something I have wanted to experience for a while, and come Moot I (the first large event as a couple that Emma and I will both be attending) I get to do so. Bloody marvellous.
My new WFRP dice work. A lot better than the old ones. While Pieter was no more use than normal, he was no more use due to bad choices on my part rather than bad dice rolls. He is working towards being a noble man (if not a nobleman) - he tried (unsuccessfully) to stop Felix (Tim) killing that evening's plot hook for being no more than who he was, succeeding only in getting Felix shot in the face. He did manage to carry him out to a healer, and then prevented him from going back in to 'verify the crime scene' without the watch present. Evidently, stealing from corpses is fine when Felix does it, but not when anyone else does. Must be because he's a lawman and has dispensation to carry out theft as long as the person is a bad guy and the loot is worth selling. Must be that.
[/cynicism]
I could write a short history book with all the information I could feasibly include in Gabriel's backplot. It would be part novel, part "World of House Delacroix" reference book, and would take all of my remaining spare time between now and four months next Christmas to complete. I need to dumb myself down, but it's nice for me to be the limiting factor in how much I should write for once, rather than convention placing the limits for me. Go go gadget realistic system...
I have two different things, each in two places, hopefully growing crystals for me. Either would be nice if it worked, paricularly as there is about a chapter's worth of writing that could come from them. The first crystal in the set, got last week, was not exactly what we were looking for. Interesting, and containing everything we expected, but not how we expected it to be and so not as useful as first thought. These two have more potential to be right (as there is no viable way they can have all the right stuff and still be wrong). Time will tell - grow my pretties...grow...
