Interesting Links for 20-01-2012

• Metropolitan Police wins appeal over 2009 G20 'kettling' tactics
  (tags: police uk london law protests )
• Nuke support in UK hits record high
  (tags: nuclearpower uk )
• Anglo-Scottish grid link approved to allow new renewable energy schemes
  (tags: energy electricity renewables uk scotland )
• What it's like for graduates being recruited into the banking industry
  (tags: banking finance mathematics academia )
• More women became UK professors
  (tags: uk academia women )
• The UK Defence Review produces a template of how armed forces would look in an independent Scotland.
  (tags: scotland military uk )
• Top Income Tax Rate: How's 83% Sound?
  (tags: tax economics equality )
• Meghalaya, India: Where women rule, and men are suffragettes
  (tags: india gender rights )
• Are There Fundamental Laws of Cooking?
  (tags: food cooking science )
• Does marriage really make people happier?
  (tags: psychology happiness relationships marriage )
• Why the feds smashed Megaupload
  (tags: megaupload piracy copyright usa )

They rip you off because they can

I just bought tickets to see Dara O'Briain when he comes to Edinburgh. I
went to the Edinburgh Playhouse site last night, which told me that tickets
were £22 each. But when I selected two tickets they wanted to charge me
£27.25 per ticket _and_ a £4 transaction fee.

F^ck that, I thought, and handily working a five minute walk from the
Playhouse I walked over there at lunch to see if they were cheaper in
person. Indeed they were - £22 each plus £2.20 if I paid by card. So I
walked to the nearest cash machine and paid for it in cash.

So that's £44 for two tickets in person versus £58.50 online - a 33%
surcharge for buying online.

The company I work for has spent a fortune on improving our website so that
people will use that rather than calling us, because automated systems are
cheaper to run than hiring people, training them, etc. What the hell is
the theatre business playing at?