Straying Outside the Law

I just watched this video about the new EU cookie law. I run two small websites, which don't use cookies, but I was intrigued by the claim that 90% of EU web sites violate the law. How could it be so high? A worrying idea occurred to me. I googled "does google analytics violate eu cookie law", and the very first hit confirmed my fears. I had become a criminal!

To be honest, I don't look at the Google Analytics data very often, so rather than pay £50 for someone's jQuery plugin to get me back on the straight and narrow, I just commented out the offending JavaScript.

What a relief! And what a relief too for my few visitors, knowing that I will no longer be able to know that they've visited me, even though I had no way of knowing who they were.

My only lingering worry is that leaving the commented out code in my HTML files could count as conspiracy.

Tesco Bank targets the Optimistic

The post has just arrived. (11.30am! Remember when it used to come before you set off to work?) A weighty letter from Tesco Bank has my name on it. Inside is a pile of bumpf advertising their Over 50s Plan. There's no way I'm wading through it all, but there's something to do with preserving my photos for posterity, and a free £30 Tesco Gift Card. Actually not that free, as I'd first have to take out a policy that costs at least £7 a month.

Just before I consigned it to the recycling bin, I noticed this wonderful paragraph, which I feel needs wider circulation:

The Tesco Over 50s Plan is a whole of life plan. You choose a monthly mount you can afford, from £7 to £50 a month, and as long as you pay all the premiums until you're 90 years old, you are then covered for the rest of your life.

In fairness to Tesco (and their no doubt formidable legal team), this is a Life Insurance policy, so in the quite likely event that you don't make it to 90, the policy will pay up. Also, the plan is aimed at people aged 50 to 80, and maybe when I'm writing from The Wrong Side of 70, offers like that will be more of a selling point.