The Wedding of River Song

In an abstract way I can appreciate what Moffat was attempting to do here but I didn't really care. I don't even feel strongly enough about The Wedding of River Song to dislike it which probably makes the episode a failure.

( Spoilers under the cut )

In fact I think the episode's basic problem is that I didn't actually much care about the season arc. I never doubted that the Doctor would survive, so the question "How will the Doctor get out of this?" was sufficiently pointless that I was never interested enough in it to even try to follow the clues, let alone be either pleased or disappointed by the reveal.

The Wedding of River Song

In an abstract way I can appreciate what Moffat was attempting to do here but I didn't really care. I don't even feel strongly enough about The Wedding of River Song to dislike it which probably makes the episode a failure.

( Spoilers under the cut )

In fact I think the episode's basic problem is that I didn't actually much care about the season arc. I never doubted that the Doctor would survive, so the question "How will the Doctor get out of this?" was sufficiently pointless that I was never interested enough in it to even try to follow the clues, let alone be either pleased or disappointed by the reveal.

This entry was originally posted at http://purplecat.dreamwidth.org/55807.html.

Contactless Payments

Egg has been bought out by Barclaycard. As a result I am to receive a barclaycard. I'm taking steps to remedy this but in the interim I've been reading the wee booklet they sent me and am struck by its assurances about contactless payments

"you'll be able to make contactless payments up to £15.

...

it's really safe to use so you can shop with confidence knowing your account is secure.

....

Instead of inserting your card in the Chip and PIN reader and entering your PIN, to make a contactless payment you simply hold your card near the reader. And that's it - off you go."

No, it obviously isn't "really safe" otherwise you'd let me spend more than £15 at a time with it. In fact I can see no protection at all, under this system, which prevents someone with the right kind of reader wandering around a crowded shopping centre quietly nicking £15 from every customer in range. I had hoped that, like Chip and PIN, you might at least need to confirm your purchase with a PIN number (even though there are security issues with broadcasting PIN numbers wirelessly between devices) but it doesn't look like you do.

I'm also imagining the chaos that will be caused when the person behind you in the queue accidentally pays for your shopping because they were standing too close and holding their credit card while you were fussing around in your bag.

Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but I can't see anything which suggests that contactless credit cards aren't the plastic equivalent of wandering around with your purse open and a sign on it saying "help yourself". Well, OK, you do need the right kind of card reader and then a way to quickly launder your ill-gotten gains but I have rather more confidence in the ingenuity of the criminal fraternity than I do in the forethought that has gone into preventing abuse of these things.

Contactless Payments

Egg has been bought out by Barclaycard. As a result I am to receive a barclaycard. I'm taking steps to remedy this but in the interim I've been reading the wee booklet they sent me and am struck by its assurances about contactless payments

"you'll be able to make contactless payments up to £15.

...

it's really safe to use so you can shop with confidence knowing your account is secure.

....

Instead of inserting your card in the Chip and PIN reader and entering your PIN, to make a contactless payment you simply hold your card near the reader. And that's it - off you go."

No, it obviously isn't "really safe" otherwise you'd let me spend more than £15 at a time with it. In fact I can see no protection at all, under this system, which prevents someone with the right kind of reader wandering around a crowded shopping centre quietly nicking £15 from every customer in range. I had hoped that, like Chip and PIN, you might at least need to confirm your purchase with a PIN number (even though there are security issues with broadcasting PIN numbers wirelessly between devices) but it doesn't look like you do.

I'm also imagining the chaos that will be caused when the person behind you in the queue accidentally pays for your shopping because they were standing too close and holding their credit card while you were fussing around in your bag.

Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but I can't see anything which suggests that contactless credit cards aren't the plastic equivalent of wandering around with your purse open and a sign on it saying "help yourself". Well, OK, you do need the right kind of card reader and then a way to quickly launder your ill-gotten gains but I have rather more confidence in the ingenuity of the criminal fraternity than I do in the forethought that has gone into preventing abuse of these things.

This entry was originally posted at http://purplecat.dreamwidth.org/55919.html.