Three Window Cleaning Stories For Friday

Noreen and Derek Walton of Todd Lane North, Lostock Hall, with the remainder of the window treatment they believe they were duped into buying.

Couple fear firm has duped others: It was supposed to be a simple window treatment that would make life easier for pensioners Derek and Noreen Walton. But the trusting couple, aged 78 and 74, shelled out £1,410 to unscrupulous salesmen to paint conservatory window panes with “self cleaning liquid” and replace two panes of glass at their bungalow. Now, they are urging others targeted by Vistec Energy, which was fined £14,200 over 10 similar cases last week, to come forward. Retired Royal Ordnance factory worker Noreen said: “We only realised we were victims after seeing the Evening Post last week, although we grew suspicious after the work. We know they were already fined but are worried people who couldn’t afford it were tricked and are afraid to speak out.”

After agreeing to a visit via a cold call, the couple, from Todd Lane North, Lostock Hall, near Preston, were told Clearshield treatment would make windows self cleaning. Salesman James Meah, who admitted two counts of engaging in unfair practice during last week’s case, told the Waltons the £3,900 work minus a ‘grant’ of £2,400 would be £1,410. Clearshield actually costs around £50 to treat a three bed semi. Noreen added: “He even made a call to check about the grant - now we know it was fake.” Nick McNamara, principal officer at Trading Standards, said: “Six other calls have been made to Consumer Direct since the sentencing.” The firm was fined £14,200 last Wednesday after pleading guilty before Preston magistrates to 10 charges under unfair trading regulations. They were unavailable for comment.

Media Distortion: The Economy Roars Back: There's an interesting story to start with today.  This is a Politico story, and it was out last night.  Obviously this story was written before this morning's unemployment report came out.  Now, the unemployment number, 8.3%, no change, and you would not believe the way this is being reported.  Why, we are in a roaring-back economy.  We have got a recovery that's unprecedented.  Have you noticed it, Dawn?  No, I mean the reporting.  Wherever you look on radio, television, and print, you would believe that we are sitting atop the greatest powder keg of an economic recovery that there ever has been.  It is universal.

The labor force participation rate is essentially the entire universe of jobs available in the country, and there are over two million less jobs, two million fewer jobs. They just don't exist anymore. Whereas there used to be an ABC Window Washer outfit, for example, when Obama was immaculated in 2009, the place has shut down. So the ABC Window Washer jobs are gone. That is why people talk about creating new jobs. If we need to create new jobs and we need new jobs, it means there are fewer jobs to fill. So if same time number of jobs existed...

If all the ABC Window Washer outfits had been closed down, if they were still open, and those jobs were still available, based on current numbers the actual unemployment rate would be 10.8% not 8.3%. So the universe of available jobs matters. There is no way you can tell me that the American economy, with two million fewer jobs today than three years ago, is in any way upbeat. You've got the same number of people looking for fewer jobs. That's why the percentage changes. You have the same number of people looking for fewer jobs. It's like musical chairs: Every time the music stops, somebody's left out because there aren't enough chairs. It's the same principle here. So the 8.3% unemployment rate is meaningless. It's bogus because we're not comparing apples to apples. Part of the Obama economic record is that there are two million fewer ABC Window Washer jobs than there were when he was immaculated in 2009.

And finally...

Move Carefully or Get Caught In The Act: Fresh from this year's Game Developers Conference, we have video from Kotaku's Stephen Totilo showing upcoming iOS title The Act. The lush, cinematically animated 2D game is a comic cartoon in which players control Edgar, a hapless window washer in pursuit of Sylvia, the woman of his dreams.

As the video demonstrates better than a description can, players have only one control — a gesture to the left or right — but through it can control the pacing, timing, and mood of the scenes they play. The brief demonstration above shows that even the choice of how quickly or slowly to move across a room can affect what happens when you get where you're going.

Originally designed as an arcade game in 2007, The Act is now finding a home on iOS devices and will be available for download in spring or summer of this year. The developer's website has a thorough summary of the title's complicated development history, as well as short bios on all the major characters.

The story follows a Brooklyn hospital’s window washer, named Edgar, as he pursues the affections of the beautiful nurse Sylvia. The game opens with Edgar gazing longingly through a window at his lady love; his work falters as he slips into a daydream. We see Edgar now looking slick in a white-on-white suit with a black bowtie in a restaurant/bar with a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor. He’s essentially become Bogie in Casablanca. His very own Ilsa, Sylvia, sits at the bar, turned away from him.
The game’s controls are relatively simple to explain. Whenever a movie slate-style “Play Now” icon appears on the screen, it’s up to the player to swipe to the left and/or right to influence what’s happening on the screen. In this case, the idea is to swipe very gradually to the right, edging Edgar toward Sylvia in stages, closer and closer and she becomes more and more responsive. The sequence that follows adds another wrinkle. Edgar is back in the real world, yanked there by an angered boss unhappy with his and his brother’s flagging work. A balancing act begins, with leftward swipes pushing the boss back through the window while rightward swipes keep the oafish brother working.