Saturday, April 29, 2006
I was thinking of blogging on recent news reports such as the BNP gaining what seems to be more and more votes due to their "special way" on canvassing votes. They're telling people they are against the immigrants coming into the UK and taking classroom places, hospital beds, jobs etc. Unfortunately they dont tell these people the other issues they fight for.
I also had thoughts on the England football managers' vacancy - it all seemed a bit dodgy that everyone is talking about who they believed would be best for the job, Curbishley, Allardyce, McClaren or O'Neill then suddenly it's announce Felipe Scolari is offered it, I neve believed he would be the next England manager, it did seem to lessen the hype and pressure on all the other "runners" however I believe was the purpose.
I read this morning Scolari has "Declined the offer" - Surprise surprise (Ladbrokes Odds - Place your bets please)
Then I realised I didn't really give a shit and decided to watch Chelsea v Man Utd, wash the car, go to the gym and go out for several cheeky Jack and Cokes, life's too short, although the BNP could pose a problem for me, (and millions of other non-white Brits) living in the UK.
It won't come to that though ... will it
links - (For obvious reasons, I refuse to link to the BNP)
- Link 1 - Link 2 -
Update to my Pipex Issue - Here is their reply
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Thank you for your e-mail.
We have implemented various network traffic management systems in an effort to provide optimum levels of service to each of our customers.
We are constantly trying to improve the reliability and performance of our network which means such systems and strategies will be implemented and tested.
The network traffic management systems are active on all of our packages.
P2P services are among some of the types of usage that are involved in this process.
If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards,
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Does it appear that they haven't actually replied to me, more like sending a "standard template email", well did to me, see if they reply to this time to...
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"Hello there
None of my questions have actually been answered, rather than send me a standardised email, could you please respond to my email. "
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We'll see
Friday, April 28, 2006

Unfortunately the last time I went, the flight cost £199 with BA from London to Philadelphia, I am getting prices now of over £500. What the hell happened. Did 9/11 cause this, surely not.
I have looked at all the travel internet sites, (Opodo , BA , Ebookers , Virgin Atlantic & Priceline), but are all roughly the same price, I (we - SWMBOs' coming too) have 2 options.
1 - Fly to "Philly" and stay with my dad, or
2 - Fly to New York and stay in a hotel, then get the Greyhound train to my Dads' for a couple of days.
The flight to New York is silly cheap, in fact a flight and accommodation in New York is cheaper than tha flight to Philadelphia. We can then get the Greyhound train from New York to Philly for $80 return (for us both), we then get to do it properly and get to see more of the east coast, eat Hoagies (2) , speak "English", tell people we know the Queen etc (cos they always ask),
If I can't find a site that can do a better deal, looks like I'll have to resort to Teletext (on the Tele that is - Old style) or asking around...... anyone.... anyone.... Ah come on, (here comes he hint) someone must know a good site to get cheap flights to Philadelphia (Airport code PHL) from Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), Manchester (MAN) or Birmigham (BHX) any time in September (as long as we're not flying on the 11th - She won't have that)
Taoski - You really should help - Its your trip to New York that got me thinking.
Thursday, April 27, 2006

Is it Time to say Bye Bye Pipex
After 4 good years, it appears Mr Byrne is forced to end a relationship, one of the most important relationships one could have, that with my ISP, not only is my secondary email address @pipex, I have also referred several family and friends to them as they have provided great service and support when i needed it.....
However....
Just as I was looking forward to upgrading from a 2Mb to an 8M connection, it appears that the sneaky Bast.... people have decided to limit my download speeds for torrents, with my 2Mb connection I could download from Easynews (Newsgroups) at almost 240kps, but with my bittorrent client (Burst) I seem to be capped at 20kps (very bad).
It seems that there is really no point waiting for 8Mb when it won't make a blind bit of difference to torrent speeds, and let's face it Everyone is doing it, no matter what they tell you.
Looking on t'internet shows there are several sites proving this, Pipex T&Cs state that if you exceed the "Acceptable Use Policy" and your connection will be "Managed". Unfortunately, Pipex do not state what is acceptable and I doubt I really take the piss.
Not one to be Hasty, I am going to email Pipex Support and ask them if my account is being "managed". If so, then I would like to know a) what is regarding as "acceptable use" and b) how much I have downloaded.
I will update when I have emailed them
Email to Pipex
"I am writing to discuss my account as it appears my download speeds have dropped to what I would regard as an unacceptable speed, I understand that the changes to your terms and conditions mean you have been forced to introduce "network traffic management" for heavy users.
I would be grateful if you could let me know if you have this in place against my account. If this is the case, please could you advise me of the following
A) - What do you regard as "Heavy Usage" for a 2mb connection ?.
B) - What amount of data have I downloaded ?.
I appreciate that you have introduced this, however I don't feel that I have been "taking the piss" when it comes to usage. I have been a very happy customer of Pipex for several years now (since Pipex was set-up), I have recommended you to several family and friends who have since joined, but recently, not only am I paying considerably more for my service that the people I referred (something I feel strongly against - not really a reward for being a loyal customer) but I feel I am not getting the level of "Service" I am paying for, I have stayed with Pipex for its "unlimited usage", not only this, I stayed and am looking forward to my Pipex Max 8Mb connection, but fail to see any benefit of staying if you intend on "restricting" my speeds.
Please advise asap, if these restrictions are to be held against my account indefinately, please could you advise what options I have, or how I would go about cancelling my service in order to move to another ISP.
kind regards
Damian Byrne"
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Almost been a month since I last blogged, it's not down to the fact that I've had nothing to say, but to the fact I've had no time to say it.....
So I'll be sure to report on the Villa/Blues Game, The engagement party (although can't remember too much apart from SWMBO giving orders to the boss and the fantastic DJ),
Any Hooo
As Taoski recently blogged on an alternative to iTunes, it got me thinking about the other alternatives. He mentioned Yamipod (which I thought was iPods for people living in Wolverhampton).
I have been "mostly" using;
Anapod Explorer as an alternative to iTunes.
Firefox as an alternative to Internet Explorer
Google Calendar instead of ..... Nothing (not quite ready to quit Outlook as I use it at work)
Some other useful apps and links to get me through the day are;
Desktask - Displays Outlook Calendar items and tasks on your desktop
Scribble - Handmade and handwritten cards that get there next day - perfect when you're stuck in the office and forget your Boss'/Monster-in-Law/Missus/Mistress/Masters' birthday/wedding/bar-mitzvah (I have Outlook and Google calendar so really have no excuse - nor do I know anyone Jewish - That I know of).