* Posts by Jason Bloomberg

2903 publicly visible posts • joined 8 Mar 2008

UK.gov makes total pig's ear of attempt to legalise home CD ripping

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Compensation for what?

[i]If I buy a CD (do people actually still do that?)[/i]

I buy CDs to ensure that I have a legitimate source from which my rips come. I believe that's an important differentiator between "format shifting" and "piracy".

Post-pub nosh neckfiller: Chopstick-collapsing Spam musubi

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

I quite like Spam these days

Though, given its general healthiness level seems on par with eating a salt kebab, I don't have it that often.

When the urge takes me, sliced and seared spam (as per article) with round sautéed chips and a good dollop of mustard suits me fine, no need for Shusi-ising anything.

I quite like Spam fritters but couldn't make or fry batter to save my life. None of the chippies near me do them, and supermarket's two fritters for £3 is a price I am not prepared to pay. So I "just make and do", "keep calm and carry on", which seems quite appropriate in Blighty during the 100 year anniversaries.

Ditch crappy landlines and start reading Twitter, 999 call centres told

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

If you in a vehicle crash and can see bodies and people trapped in wrecks and someone asks you what service you need which are you going to pick?

It can be a confusing question, always stalls me for a second, probably my brain parsing "don't say something sarcastic".

I plump for "ambulance" then they are on the way and I can tell them to send the fire brigade if needed. The police always seem to turn up at an accident or any incident so guess it just pops up on their RSS feed (or equivalent) and they dispatch someone, if for no other reason than to marshal traffic.

One tip I have is to always carry one of those cotton hi-vis waistcoats in the car. Drivers will be more inclined to let you control traffic flow round / past an accident than if you try without. And it's safer.

Smartphones are ludicrously under-used, so steal their brains

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Not new

It's not a new idea. But having one phone to control it all is as bad as having everything in the Cloud. If the phone breaks then everything is stuffed. In fact, why use the phone when everything could be a dumb device and hooked up to the Cloud? There is a reason most things have their own controllers built-in.

The idea of using the phone's abilities to control things isn't that bad though where the use case fits. People have been hacking routers, NASs and other kit to act as controllers for a long while.

I need a personal WiFi hotspot / captive portal which doesn't have heavy demands on it and an end of line Android phone looks set to do that job. A third of the cost of a similar Pi set-up, smaller and just as fast, no need to buy a WiFi dongle, SD card, power supply or case, battery management and UPS hardware included and it's got a reasonably good touch display, Bluetooth, camera and 3G connectivity if I ever need those. I am thinking of using another as a webcam.

Norks execute underperforming terrapin farm manager

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

We only have allegation of an execution of this guy; there is no actual evidence it happened.

The only thing which makes it sound more credible than allegations of past executions is that it's not as completely over the top as they usually are.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Putting aside the absurdity of the punishment...

As Lester says, probably for food. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with that. They have been a delicacy in the past and even affluent westerners eat things which seem particularly disgusting to others; eels, oysters, frog's legs, snails, squid, snake, and the list goes on.

Apart from taste, texture and toxicity, an animal is an animal, food is food. Though I'd just stick to the rice side-dish personally.

Furor rages over ICANN and Facebook's bid to publish home addresses of website owners

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

I have several domains registered in my own name/address from long before I ever heard of the possibility of proxy registration - as opposed to my name c/o a hosting company - what did people do before these things were available?

They either did not put up their own web site or lied about their name and/or got a PO Box address, or simply stuck with their ISP or other provider services which gave them some sort of domain which used their username without revealing their true identities.

If it had not been for proxy registration anonymity I would never have put up my first site. It is bad enough getting death and rape threats for some innocuous comment when anonymous, downright frightening when those nutjobs have your full address.

Law enforcement can obtain full details of a site owner from the proxy registrars so there is no need to have it publicly known.

UK TV is getting worse as younglings shun the BBC et al, says Ofcom

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

You will have missed some good things then.

There might be a lot of crap out there but there are still some gems to be had. I won't say what because everyone's taste is different.

I don't mind paying my £145.50 licence fee because that works out at 40p a day and even the time-filling dross is worth that. I consider a laugh a week worth the £3 it costs and I can usually find more than one. I would be surprised if anyone could not find one show (Dr Who, Top Gear, Strictly, Eastenders, HIGNFY, etc) which made a good part of the licence worth paying. I have been particularly taken by Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell despite my hate of period dramas.

I also make my own entertainment but I also like to be entertained and don't begrudge the BBC the cost of catering for that.

Get READY: Scientists set to make TIME STAND STILL tonight

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Having a single time is a nonsense

And we will eventually recognise that when the sun's coming up when we go to bed and are working through hours of darkness

If some people want a time system which is contiguous, without leap seconds, then fine by me. I can see the benefit of that, but in the real, physical world that is doomed to failure. It is no more practical than abandoning time zones and having everyone work to GMT, UTC or UTZ, or whatever it's called this week

Bitcoin, schmitcoin. Let's play piggyback on the blockchain

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Shits and Giggles

I'm tempted to buy a Bitcoin, get a couple of wallets, then engage in continually making a huge number of micro-payments between the two just to see what happens.

Microsoft sez soz over Windows 10 'freebie' balls-up

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Coat

Re: Iceberg ahead!

Not so much "too many versions" as a more simpler matter of who gets the Windows 10 upgrade for free.

Microsoft have been reasonably clear in who will get a free upgrade; it is for those who fall outside that where the confusion exists.

I thought, as some analysts had also suggested, that this was Microsoft's way of getting everyone onto 10, even if not automatically entitled to that, or were currently running older, pirated or unauthorised versions of Windows. The hard part being to do that while still holding an official position which rejects piracy etc and avoiding complaints that those who stuck with older versions were getting an unfair, better deal than those who had upgraded.

Whatever Microsoft chooses to do, someone will jump on that, find some reason to criticise, complain or fear-monger over, so it's a minefield for Microsoft at the best of times. No matter what Microsoft state, someone will read it other than it is, will read between the lines, and it then it goes on from there. With demands for completeness and clarity, with the degree of scrutiny Microsoft is placed under for every word, it is nigh on impossible for them to publish anything without that being pulled apart.

Vicious vandals violate voluminous Versailles vagina

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Me...

If I had found it offensive and wanted to address that I would have created a giant inflatable penis and stuffed it up there. Then told them *that* was art while starting a campaign to demand it was kept in place.

Why is that idiot Osbo continuing with austerity when we know it doesn't work?

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: all you lefties and champagne socialists should...

I say this as a Tory voting former Labour voter

It does seem the UK is relentlessly slipping to the right and the reason why deserves analysis. My feeling is it all comes down to encouragement and embracing of selfishness, tribalism and hatred. That can be evidenced by looking at the hate on social media and in news article comments.

I am a firm believer that Labour needs to steer to the left and educate the country as to why that is a good thing rather than moving to the right in the hope of chasing votes.

I would rather have a society which embraces all rather than one which seeks to divide and conquer, rewarding one faction at the expense of others.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

I don't worry particularly about the politics on El Reg but it would be nice to see better balance with articles and contributions which counter Tim's particular point of view.

I think everyone would benefit from a comprehensive "why Tim's wrong" article even if they don't particularly agree with that perspective. We have had weeks of economic and political argument presented from a single viewpoint and that isn't healthy in my opinion nor good for El Reg.

Don't panic. Stupid smart meters are still 50 years away

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

We will all succumb eventually

Either that or face ever increasing financial costs for not switching to a Smart Meter tariff - though they will inevitably present that as a discount for switching rather than as a penalty for not doing so.

Almost everyone has their price. My neighbour just switched to a Smart Meter because of the lower tariff; doesn't see the possibility of being hacked, cut off because of non-payment or rolling blackouts, as negatives against the money saved.

Facebook tosses creepy Place Tips beacons at stateside retailers

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: They REPEAT don't collect any information

Indeed. It's no different to an app scanning WiFi for SSIDs, or getting the cell tower ID you are connected to, asking 'HQ' if the location of those are known and getting back a report that 'you are probably here'. Using a Beacon simply makes that a lot easier and more accurate.

Power your temperature sensor with this BONKERS router hack

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: There's always

There's an apocryphal tale of one enterprising individual living near Brookmans Park Radio Transmitter who had wrapped transformer wire around their loft to tap the signal. So successfully that this was discovered as a result of the radio-dead shadow it was casting.

I expect there's similar tales surrounding every other transmitters but I do know BBC TV used to get them to lower its power when it interfered with outside broadcasts in the area.

Festival tech: Charge your mobe while you queue for a pee

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Paris Hilton

Re: This is all wrong

A festival or any outdoor event should be an escape from daily life. It should be about enjoying one self not tweeting others about how much one is enjoying themselves.

Gremlins in the first six months? It's the seller's problem – EU court

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Nothing new

If the article had included a link to the case and/or judgement it would have better explained things -

http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/P_159405/

There seems to be a growing lack of source citation by El Reg reporters lately.

Crafty fingering could let Apple Watch thieves raid your bank account

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Coat

Re: The scenario is far-fetched

There is value in a lifted iWatch even if it is not usable with Apple Pay. If it is that's a bonus.

Grand Theft Auto maker lobs sueball at BBC over biopic

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Law fail

My feeling is it might have something to do with the Micro Bit tie-in the BBC had already announced for this docudrama as part of their Make It Digital initiative. There may well be a feeling that GTA's reputation is being used to benefit the BBC and partners while Take Two are getting relatively little out of it.

Google DOG WHISTLING fails to send URLs across the room

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Already used for Chromecast

This 'tone signalling' appears to have already been available and used for Chromecast setup.

I guess it's a bit like configuring watches and other devices by holding them over a CRT and flashing pixels at them but using sound instead.

A good effort, if a bit odd: Windows 10 IoT Core on Raspberry Pi 2

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

I think it's trying to say only UAP have access to the GUI stack.

Zuck can EFF off: Internet.org is SO NOT the INTERNET

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: What might be a good idea...

And given that a good chunk of Internet bloat these days is part and parcel with the site itself, trying to strip out the bloat ends up stripping out the site itself.

If businesses and content providers can't tailor sites to suit their audience that's their problem.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Devil

What might be a good idea...

...is something which takes anything from anywhere, strips the bloat and excess and delivers that to bandwidth-limited customers for free - A proxy which turns any web content into a mobile-tailored site.

Done altruistically, transparently, without trying to profit or create lock-in or monopoly through that, I can't see too much of a problem. I'd probably not even complain if the service carried discreet "sponsored by" ads; that's the price of 'free' and the option to nothing.

That's not however what facebook seem to be angling for.

So why the hell do we bail banks out?

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Paris Hilton

Re: gosh

But it could have been cut down to a succinct -

"So why the hell do we bail banks out?"

"Because these banks are systematically important".

Next-gen Freeview telly won't be another disruptive 4Ker

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: PVR vs catch-up

There are often better options for controlling a recorded playback than streamed catch-up. Using iPlayer for catch-up on a Virgin Media Tivo seems to have lost the ability to show moving images during fast-forwards and fast-rewinds making those particularly hard to use, and despite hopes for 'no buffering' that does not always prove to be the case.

For longer programmes I have taken to recording catch-up via the Tivo on my analogue PVR so I can have better control when I come to watch it. It would be handy if the Tivo could record from catch-up but it can't (or I've missed a trick).

I mostly do time-shifting and three tuners in the Tivo is usually enough, especially with +1 channels, and I only use catch-up when the Tivo doesn't record something it was meant to, or a friend recommends something I missed and it's not being repeated later.

I also have some rather long programmes and films I do intend to watch but haven't so far, which are no longer available via catch-up.

Look out, law abiding folk: UK’s Counter-Extremism Bill slithers into view

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Big Brother

Teresa May can't

I think I, Norman Smith, and quite a few others here could fix that for you ;)

UK safety app keeping lorries on the right side of cyclists

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Fate

A driver and a cyclist come together, regardless, it is always the cyclist who gets injured/killed.

Therefore when driving a vehicle, you have to be damn well properly in control of that vehicle because the lack of concentration or good driving can literally kill.

That is too close to 'the driver is always to blame' for my liking, too close to allowing cyclists the right to do whatever they please with impunity.

I have had cyclists unexpectedly jump in front of me when I had right of way. If they'd tried a little harder, performed their stupidity a little quicker, they could likely have had me kill them. That would have been their fault, not mine. I can exercise as much concentration and skill as I can muster but that doesn't mean I will always avoid the consequences of attempts to undermine that.

We really do have to accept that sometimes cyclists are the cause of their own plight and putting the responsibility entirely on the driver is simply not fair nor just. It is belief that cyclists have some god given right to invite being killed while insisting drivers are required to avoid delivering them that which has drivers hating cyclists

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Fate

Despite having been run down by a cyclist on a pavement, nearly run down by one going the wrong way down a one-way street, I am still courteous to them. I make myself aware of their presence when turning left or right, will even let them go first when queuing, give them a yard or more clearance when overtaking and won't squeeze them into the gutter or against other cars. A few seconds delay is well rewarded by a wave of appreciation and thanks.

Yet time after time some fuckwitted cyclist tests my patience as a reward. I am really surprised there aren't more killed and injured. I know there are good cyclists out there, I've encountered many, but there are a lot of wankers as well.

It's not a vehicle versus cyclist issue, it's an issue of bad drivers and bad cyclists. Unfortunately they never kill each other, it is usually some poor sod caught in the mayhem they create.

EEeeeeek, complaints! Ofcom roasts BT-wannabe-spouse

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Details of complaint levels for all providers

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/news/telecoms-complaints-may-15

FOUND: NASA's stray balloon located in the middle of nowhere

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Joke

Re: Bricks?

I was thinking they'd missed a trick in not pushing half a house under the thing to create a claim for compensation before taking photos. Perhaps they didn't.

Hey! Want a FREE TOASTER that makes BITCOIN? What? You DO?

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Losing money for the consumer

With a free toaster that is only true once it starts costing the consumer more than it would if the consumer had purchased and used a non-mining toaster. Up until that point the consumer is the winner.

Get a free toaster, flog it on eBay, and you have a guaranteed profit. Please send me a dozen.

Ha! Win 10 preview for Raspberry Pi 2 pops out of the Microsoft oven

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Rather pointless

Writing an application on a host PC, deploying it to the target, and then controlling and debugging that target from the host PC is quite common for embedded development. And there is no other option if the target does not have a display output. There is little reason an embedded target would have an OS-style desktop. If one wants a GUI interface the embedded app can create that but it usually will be a GUI more than a desktop come app launcher.

Hyping it as "Windows 10 coming to the Pi" has rather distorted expectations and has misled many. A lot of people are expecting a typical PC desktop OS when it is very different to that. For most people saying it's not for them; it was never going to be for them, it will never fulfil desires it was never intended to fulfil.

Windows IoT is not a replacement for desktop Linux on a Pi. It may perhaps be best thought of as an alternative to a minimal command line only Linux install, accessed only via SSH/Telnet, which has access to a frame buffer. If that's not good enough for what someone wants to do with a Pi then Windows IoT likely isn't either.

E-voting and the UK election: Pick a lizard, any lizard

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Missing the big picture

It's not really my decision to make, but I believe we need to get back to where 'they work for us' rather than having them elected then simply deciding for themselves and telling us what we will do. Being able to change the party in power every few years only moves us from one elected dictatorship to another doesn't fix the power issue.

I would like a system which governs cooperatively, more representatively, and more fairly, seeks to be least harmful to everyone over being maximally favouring towards one group at the expense of others. I don't believe it's a true democracy where the majority are forced to put up with being dictated to by the minority.

The first past the post system means 50% of those voting may lose, often more. Even those voting for the winning party probably have to accept things they do not actually want.

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Black Helicopters

Missing the big picture

Voting isn't important. Not in the sense of it needing to be fair or democratic or fraud free.

The real need for voting is to keep the numbers up to give the illusion that people actively support the elected dictatorship systems we have in the west. When more people don't vote than do there is a danger that people will recognise the widespread contempt for the so-called democracy we have and it may all come tumbling down.

The resilience of western democracies comes from having those elected play second fiddle to the system itself. It doesn't matter who gets in, so long as the system survives.

The way to topple the system is to show it the contempt it deserves. That can be done non-violently by not voting and encouraging others to do the same. That's why politicians are so desperate to get people to vote. Every vote supports the system, keeps a politician in a job. It doesn't matter of which flavour, that all balances out over the long term, and it doesn't really matter anyway beyond fooling the electorate into believing democracy somehow works. The really important thing is to keep the gravy train running and the system intact.

If one really wants to change things; don't vote or, better still, spoil the ballot. But one needs to make sure that non-vote counts, is not discarded, discounted or ignored as if it were mere apathy or jest as it is now.

That probably all sounds a bit Russell Brandish but it's actually more extreme than that. He appears to have given up for not being able to change things and has failed to recognise we could tear the whole thing down and start anew by making spoiled ballots a legitimate choice. Of course, those who want to perpetuate the system won't want that. That is perhaps something Brand could usefully campaign for.

Quid-A-Day Nosh Posse taunted with sausage sarnie snap

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Sausages

Twelve for £2 for reasonably decent ones in supermarkets near me. Entirely good enough to eat when not on a tight budget and affordable if one is.

The problem is that one can't buy them individually at that price so it's either live only on sausages for a couple of days, pool resources with someone else, or choose something else.

This is in fact the main problem faced by anyone single trying to survive on a tight budget. The cost of food tumbles when purchased in bulk but is ridiculously expensive in small quantities. It is a typical 'poverty trap'; one can eat decently on a quid a day if there is enough money up-front to buy in quantity to make that feasible. From a standing start one is limited to what one can afford to buy at that time.

In the real world one can easily blow a week's budget just buying tea bags, a pint of milk and a bag of sugar.

The more one uses the less one pays for it. Even buying to waste it can create a saving while attempting to be frugal is punished. It seems to me that the western world is ridiculously geared towards consumerism or otherwise completely screwed-up.

US hospitals to treat medical device malware with AC power probes

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Childcatcher

False positives

I am not convinced this system would work without throwing up numerous false positives and isn't anything more than playing on paranoia and fear. After all, as they say themselves; "We are thinking about those machines that are really hard to patch, really hard to upgrade, and really hard to get inside". And really hard to get malware on to, and with little to be gained from doing so.

It seems to be following the paranoid thinking prevalent these days that if it could happen we have to accept it will happen and need to protect against that possibility. A lovely gravy train for those riding it.

We need to get back to recognising and understanding the difference between threat and risk.

Golem: Prominent plasticine phallus caught in tech consumerist nightmare

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Pint

While live theatre outside our main cities may sometimes be disappointing a number of cinemas are now carrying live broadcasts of some of London's theatre and opera productions. Unfortunately the number doing so and the presentations are somewhat limited but at least it is doing something.

Oh Em Pee! Giant Android tinkles on Apple in Google Maps graffiti

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: The Apple logo is an apple...

I always assumed the logo represents "an droid" [sic]. No idea why "Android" is "Android" though.

SUPERVOLCANIC MAGMA reservoir BUBBLING under Yellowstone Park

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Mushroom

It's the end of the world as we know it...

I am continually surprised we have never had reports of droves of 'we live only to kill' terrorists, armed with jack-hammers and blasting equipment, heading to Yellowstone or La Palma with the intent of triggering far greater devastation than a mere nuke could bring.

London man arrested over $40 MILLION HFT flash crash allegations

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Blame the foreign guy

It feels to me that the markets bombed and they simply looked for a scapegoat, anyone to blame but themselves.

Your city's not smart if it's vulnerable, says hacker

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Insurance companies might want to hear this talk.

In Europe one would hope the EU could come up with some regulation insisting on security across the bloc and every government would comply with such regulation.

Of course, some see that as a bad thing in principle and will actively oppose regulation. Some even want to leave or opt-out of the EU as what may help society as a whole is often "bad for business" or imposes additional costs.

Governments seem to prefer to pay the cost of failure later than pay the cost for protection now. As long as failure doesn't happen on their watch they can blame others for their own failings.

Transparency thrust sees Met police buying up to 30,000 bodycams

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Can't wait for...

Police officers can claim whatever they like but it is whether anyone believes them which is what really matters.

If society is not properly holding the police to account, willing to accept any flimsy excuse or lie from bent coppers, then that is a societal failing. Police can only exploit that when we let them.

RAGING Google SLAPS naughty Chinese root cert kingpins CNNIC

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: over reaction?

I would guess Google saw an opportunity to grab them by the balls and seized their chance. It is always advantageous to hold a 'you do this and we'll do that, or we can leave things as they are now' position; the more someone wants something the more one can get in return.

Google Glass NOT DEAD. We're just making it 'ready' says chief

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: something like glass has its applications

The notion of some sort of HUD or Enhanced Reality as we go about life has been around for a long time in movies, many saw it as cool and some thought it would be useful, so well done to Google having a crack at it in reality. You really don't know what works and what doesn't until you give it a trial.

The first attempts will never be perfect; you learn your lessons, move on, improve what works, rework or drop what doesn't. The assertions that Google had simply canned the project seemed unlikely to me, and they certainly never said that in their earlier announcements. User trial done, experiences logged, on to Phase II, is how I read it.

I imagine the 'Glasshole hate' came as a bit of a surprise for those who did not see that coming but that wasn't really surprising when people get beaten up for their skin colour, race, clothing and other lifestyle choices. I don't know how, or even if, Google can address that hate of Glassholes, or to what extent it is their responsibility to have to. Perhaps they should just print "Je Suis Charlie" across the head band?

Taylor Swift snaps up EVEN MORE pr0n domain names

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Gimp

ITaughtTaylorSwiftHowToShoveAHamsterUpHerArse.com

Surely the whole "I Taught..." battle is a game of whack-a-mole with the lawyers having to be more perverse than everyone else to get in first and inevitably doomed to failure.

$30 Landfill Android mobes are proof that capitalism ROCKS

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
Alien

"Higher prices mean cheaper electricity for everyone"

Is it just me who feels they are being sold snake oil when reading these Worstall articles, are being bamboozled with smoke and mirrors and claims that 1+1=3 so long as you do the maths the right way?

I don't know why but I always have a suspicion that I am being taken for a ride but am not bright enough to know what ride that is. I am left thinking "if you say so" with a feeling of having been suckered into not seeing the trick being played. My gut feeling is there's some logical fallacy or similar buried in all of it but I just can't see where that is, and I don't have the energy or time to unravel it all.

Internet Explorer LIVES ON, cackle sneaky Microsoft engineers

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

Re: Waiddaminnit!

Because what was true then must to be true now, nothing has or could have changed in the last decade?

The way I understood it, though it was a while ago, it came down to exactly what "IE" was. It was two parts if I remember rightly; the underlying gubbins which Windows itself and apps running on Windows used to do their things and a front-end which created a browser using those underlying gubbins. It was possible to remove the front-end but not the back end, so "IE" could not be fully removed without adverse consequences. It was thus 'integrated' into Windows, removing the big blue "e" wasn't enough to remove it.

BT fined £800k over lax emergency text relay delay blunder

Jason Bloomberg Silver badge

I suppose the thought is that BT could pay the fine by taking a cut in profits, reducing share holder dividends or staff salaries, or buying a few less biscuits and biros, rather than just passing the fine on as increased charges to customers.