Gadgets.

Its been ages since I've had gadgets to talk about, I have been through a few but nothing really worth a mention.

Till very recently, my personal phone has been the QTek 8500, a small flip smartphone perfect as a "socialising phone" (a phone you could take out on the p*ss with you).

Unfortunately due to a major problem with my jean back pocket, some keys, my arse and a chair, I managed to sit on the phone cracking the screen.

This led me to revert to my officially upgraded Orange phone, a Nokia N73...
I havent had a Nokia since back in the days before SPVs came out, needless to say I ave been completely useless with it, different operating system (I know it's a phone), different way of synching, texting, accessing contacts, and altogether not for me.

After a nice chat with my Vodafone man, I managed to get my hands on a HTC Vox, which accepted my Orange Sim with a smile and I am now in the process of setting up.
Good Points
Windows Mobile 6
Brilliant for working with MS Office Documents
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi
Sliding keyboard
2MP Camera

Bad Points No 3G
eMoze synchrnosation does't work
No touchscreen
Larger than a standard "Candy Bar" Phone
No Built-in GPS

My work phone is split between the HTC Artemis or the HTC Hermes (depending on what I need it for). The Artemis is great for the built-in GPS and is size, the Hermes is just a great all-rounder and has the keyboard.

The only devices out there worth looking at are the HTC s420 (the next Qtek 8500) and the HTC Athena (Hmmm).

Handyman Byrne

• Leah is now here
• The football season is over and we have been promoted
• I'm back at work (tomorrow)

Its time to focus on something to keep me busy....

As Bigfoot "Jamaica Feet" Cookie has blogged on numerous occasions, he's a dab hand at building and creating things, rather like a one-man A-Team

I have therefore decided to do 2 things.

1. Easy
Install a 2nd sky box in the bedroom, this way I can send SWMBO upstairs to watch crap soaps while I sit downstairs watching HD football, HD Discovery channel etc.
2. Not So Easy
Convert part of my garage to my office*

Rather than use up a bedroom for my office that could otherwise be used as a 3rd bedroom (by who I don't know), I had a Jack Daniels induced brainwave to convert part of the garage

My (our) garage was great when we moved in, so much room, it's now full of the crap SWMBO wouldn't let me bring in the house. I am going to sort it out and bin /sell/give away.

As said garage is 24ft Lond and 11 foot wide, I guess I could use the last 8 foot depth and 11 foot width as my office, add a door, bars across the window and Bobs yer uncle.

So there you go, the planning is straightforward, lets see how easy it is in practice. I haven't yet set a goal to have this done by - why fail.....

Links
Sky - 1 2 3
Building - 1 2 3 4 5

* When I say "Office" I also mean a Boys room, to include another sky box, LCD TV, Music System etc....

Super Duper RamsWe are Premiership, say we are premiership

Well done Derby County

A day out to Wembley, next years season ticket purchase and the stress of the playoffs has most definatlely been worth the wait/money/stress.

Unlike my Nottingham Forest and Yeovil Town supporting friends, we went all the way in what has been dubbed the most expensive football game in the world. (worth £60 million to the winner).

and we did it...... Oh yes we did it.

Well done super Rams, well done Billy Davis, and well done me for not getting completely rat-arsed that I slept through the game.

Shame it was/wasn't a sellout. The attendance was 74,500 of the 90,000 capacity, maths definately didn't add up there. Derby sold out in less than a day of the tickets going on general sale.

Garstang - Nothing to say?, if not, please change to your blog, Villa are no longer the "Midlands only Premiership Team", you will get beat by Birmingham AND Derby next year.

Back to work

Leah...How many Goals will Derby win by on Monday?

My paternity leave came and went, my week off also went just as quick, now its time for me to go back to work* and back to some kind of normality (and a rest)

I love fatherhood again (v3.0), however its been very hard work, not the baby part, that's easy (for me), Mummy breastfeeds so I can't help there, however trying to support mummy is the hard work.

Cooking I love,
Tidying I don't love,
Cleaning I hate,
Ironing I haven't

Despite all of the above, I still feel useless as I can't help through the night

Whoever says Mothers and/or housewives are lazy and should "get a real job" have never been either.

I have learnt in the past 3 weeks;

1. Too much sleep is not good for me
Going to bed early in case I got woken up by crying, only to sleep completely through it all and wake up in the morning made me feel worse than the XBozx days of 4 hours sleep a night - Althugh i did help SWMBO by bringing "Me Daughter" downstairs at the crack of dawn on a few occasions to let mummy sleep.

2. The internet is a great/bad resource for newborn baby information.
Great - babycentre and babyworld among the best, coming a close second was "12 Things No One Ever Tells You About Babies"
Not Great - You can diagnose just about anything with a quick google, this isn't always good, modern day medical dictionary where you can find something wrong with yourself

3. Midwives are great
Despite the bad press and crap the likes of the BBC and my local paper say, Midwives are excellent.
STOP SLAGGING OFF MIDWIVES - the government/NHS could save millions in compensation claims by employing hundreds if not thousands of extra midwives.

4. NEVER EVER... ...Believe your missus, if shes says "Never again" when in labour. SWMBO walked out of the hospital and decided she wanted another baby - Best contraception ever !!!!

5. Visitors are great, but make it very hard work
Everyone wants to see your new bundle of joy, your new bundle of joy loves being cuddled, however once the visitors have been and gone, your new bundle of joy does not want to go to sleep at night unless being cuddled, I was given the piece of advice - try and get all of your visitors round in the first week. This was impossible, I think we might be half way through now though. The amount of cards and gifts we have recieved is unbelievable

6. Be there for each other
Tiredness is a recipe for arguments, don't let it

7. Listen/Dont listen to advice.
This has been an adventure - everyone likes telling you how to do things, the way they did things 30/40/50/60 years ago. some good ideas, some bad, and some Im sure are now illegal

* After Wembley with the boys to watch The Rams in the playofff final.

Our New Arrival
Monday May 7 was indeed a very special day for me (and SWMBO I Guess).

The birth of our baby daughter Leah

Many thanks to all staff at the Derby City General Infirmary, in particular Annabelle for the safe delivery of my little angel

Hence the reason for my lack of blogging, I have once again been enjoying every single minute of fatherhood.

Already She has the Byrne frown mastered

Asleep in front of the fireplace

Resting (again)

One proud Mummy

The look of love

Trying to hide under the towel

Daddy will never let you go