Philly Y'all (Bloody Hell - I've gone blogging mad)
I have just been told I am going to be an uncle - Damn that made me feel old, despite being a Dad for the last 10 years, an uncle sound so much older. My Sister in the US is having twins (Bless). Got me thinking - Im off to America for a week or so, last time i thought that was back in 1999, 3 days later I was there....

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.

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

link 1 link 2 link 3

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"

A World of Alternatives

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).

2 Days and Counting




2 days until the engagement party, where the Byrne clan descending from Ireland/England (with a more recent small input from Jamaica) meet the Wilks clan.

If this hasnt been stress, I dont know what is, I remember someone saying "How much" to the buffet caterers, shortly followed by "We'll do it our bloody selves".

Now then, how do you cater for 150 people with a normal sized oven and normal sized kitchen, we (They) had the brilliant idea to get the family to help, so come Friday its off aon a massive shopping trip with SWMBO, then deliver the food stuff to the aunties and come home and start to prepare my own stuff.

If thats not enough, we cant make the sandwiches until Saturday or they'll go hard (sod that I say), as well as get pretty for the evening.

Now I wish we'd have paid the caterers for the stress, I've even resorted to going to the gym EVERY DAY!!!!!! to get away from it all.

Never again - Ever

3 -Sixty

Although I'm not a big fan of the XBox, Mainly due to Mossy is constantly slagging off my wonderful amazing PS2, (despite the fact Singstar and Buzz isn't available for his lesser console).

I'm still interested in the Xbox360 now the hype has settled

From Tao's constant rantings about how happy he is to be "360 Enabled". Its got me thinking. Maybe Just Maybe...

Now the PS3 launch has been put delayed to November, I can put that on my Christmas list to SWMBO and possibly purchase the 360.

The only thing that puts me off with the whole "Next Generation Console" saga, is the price of the games, and the lack of "Modding them"

However, Engadget and Max Console report the firmware has now been hacked, although the hackers are refusing to release the code to allow one to do this. (The video proof of it working can be found on any bittorrent site such as mininova - "Xbox 360 DVD Hack - 18.74mb")

... Must ... Resist ... Shopping...

(Note to Mother-in-Law: Yes I think an Xbox 360 would make a great engagement present for me and SWMBO - Hint Hint)

Simeon Grignon -

Just to update my Simeon Grignon post as this was appearing on google searches.

The family of Simeon Grignon said they were overwhelmed by the crowds of people who attended his funeral.
More than 1,000 mourners paid their respects yesterday to the keen footballer described as a "shining star".
The 26-year-old died after being stabbed in Becket Street in the early hours of January 29.
He had been out celebrating a friend's birthday.
About 600 people packed into the Assembly of the First-born in London Road, with a further 400 standing outside, to listen to the funeral service.
Speaking after the funeral, Mr Grignon's father, Michael, said: "It has been so unbelievable the amount of people who have come to be here.
"I feel so proud as a father that this many people paid their respects.
"When I came to the church I thought people were all waiting to go inside but then I realised the church was full already and people were outside as well.
"It was really touching and absolutely lovely."
Mr Grignon (45), of Lewis Street, Derby, said support had come from all areas of the community.
He added: "I'm a normal guy and I just brought up my son to be respectful to other people.
"People who only met him once were coming up in the street to me and saying what a nice lad he was and bursting into tears.
"Simeon's family would like to say a big thank-you to everyone.
"We feel very proud."
During the service, Simeon's partner, Jenni Saunders (24), said: "I was always proud to be your girlfriend.
"I'm glad I had the pleasure of being your chosen one. You made me feel so special.
"We worked so hard to build our dreams. I'll miss your smile and I know you're always with me."
His cousin, Rachel Grignon, said Simeon would be missed by everyone.
She said: "Sim was priceless, precious and angelic.
"The community has lost an invaluable member and a real role model."
Simeon's aunt, Marcia Anderson, added: "He was a shining star. As a family, when we look at him, we feel proud of what a great man he was."
Family friend Jimmy Cousins played a saxophone piece in tribute and everyone joined in the opening hymn, How Great Thou Art.
Pastor Melroy Daley led the opening prayer.
He said: "Simeon was a great son and grandson.
"As the family look around, they can see the love that Simeon had in his life."
He told the congregation that in May, a national knife amnesty would be held, but that anyone could hand in a knife to police before then.
Simeon is survived by a younger brother, Otis (11), father Michael and mother Marilyn Anderson.
He had just bought a house with Miss Saunders and had recently been employed by an agency to work as a technician for Rolls-Royce Fuel Cells.
Simeon's coffin was placed in a horse-drawn carriage for burial at Nottingham Road cemetery. There was also a separate car for dozens of floral tributes.
Police officers directed traffic along London Road and the roundabout near Strutts pub after the service.
A police spokeswoman said: "We had been working with the family because we expected there to be a lot of people.
"We knew we needed to be prepared to direct the traffic, especially with a horse-drawn carriage."

Glenroy Reid (22), of London Road, Alvaston, appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on January 31 charged with Simeon's murder. He was remanded in custody.

(from www.thisisisderbyshire.co.uk)

Related links
- link 1 - link 2 - link 3 - link 4 - link 5 - link 6 -

Meet My Wife (to be)

Mrs Byrne

Well Big thank yous to Ian B for recommending the restaurant, Full Range UK for the Fantastic chauffeur service. The World Service Restaurant for the amazing meal, the Park Plaza for the hotel room.

But Most of all, thank you to my beautiful fiancee for saying yes. She has agreed to marry me (one day). I’d better start letting the millions of women* know I am now taken. Unless of course you have supermodel looks, supermodel money and lack the supermodel bitchiness.

No Monster-in-Law, that doesnt qualify you, although you do have the supermodel money…

LINKS

PMP - Is this it? (and it has an "i" at the beginning

I think I may have hit the PMP Jackpot at last. many hours of searching for an alternative to the "won't play my files" Archos AV560, it seems there are a few devices out there that might just do the trick.

Mustek PVR H140 - Creative Zen Vision - Mac Vision MC3007 - Neuros 442 - Cyberhome PMP4000 - Maxian T600

But This seems to be the one, The iStation v43 seems to do/have everything I, (being a gadget freak), need and want, and whats more it has to be great, it has the "i" at the beginning.

Features

• AMD Processor
• Linux Operating system
• Larger than normal screen (4.3")
• Touchscreen
• Codec Support
• Ebook Reader
• Dictionary
• File Manager
• FM Radio
• Calendar
• Remote Control (iStation Power)
• GPS (iStation Navi)

Unfortanely it doesn't seem to be available as yet in the UK so the only place I can get it from is this guy on ebay, which doesn't normally bother me, however if it went wrong then I'd probably be in deep shit trouble.

Addtional features from the v43mania site seem to suggest even more features including the ability to play NES/SNES/GBA games on the device too.

Very Tempting! , Just the ebay price is a bit on the steep side at £400 (+£12 P&P, +4% PayPal).

Other Links

V43Mania - Digital Cube - Engadget - istationhq - Misticaudio

... My more recent internet search for the Archos AV560 didn't bring up horrible stories from owners hating the device, although some were complaining about the device locking up and needing a reset. I decided to take the plunge and buy one from Dixons - Great news, the offer was still on. I asked Mr Dixon about what the device will play , obviously I will be using it to play my "Legally owned" DVD backups, ripped to Divx and Xvid , as well as my TV downloads and MP3s. He reliably informed me that it "should" play anything, but if it didn't, I can take it back for a full refund.

I wasnt conviced about this however and asked him to mark the receipt that I can take it back. Although he couldn't do this, he said the store policy is a "14 day money back guarantee" - "Argos Stylee"

Got it home, and spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to get the PC to recognise the device without RTFM, then had to do an IT workers no no and opened the book... Of course, I needed Windows Media Player 10.

After the download and install I was ready to dump everything onto my brand new PMP.

B*ll*cks - It wouldn't copy 24 (Season 5), or any other TV program for that matter, in fact none of the film files I have stored in my "backed up" folder. Music, photos would copy ok, tried the firmware upgrade and still nothing.

Another search on the interweb and I found the bitrate of my files was too high, as well as the Archos not having the correct codecs, I could convert the files to play on the Archos, but this would take hours for each file. I THINK NOT !!

Back in the box it went and back to Dixons and I am back at the drawing board unless Archos AV440 owning Mr Moss can convince me to go and buy one again.

EDIT: CONVICED
Well Mr Moss brought his Archos AV440 round tonight and I have copied the same files to his..... It bloody works, He got his as a 2nd user model from Ebuyer, it seems this model is being phased out, but you can get it from several places, or ebay

RIP Simeon Grignon
-------------------------
26 Years old, out on the town with his friends, to end tragically when he was stabbed and died later in hospital. My heart goes out to his family and friends, although I didn't know him, I knew who he was.

People who carry knives with them should be locked up. What reason do people have for having to carry a knive around them, I'm damn sure its not for "protection", is it to "look hard" or "scare people", well in this case it caused a murder, and hopefully the 23 year old that has been charged for it, will be tried as such. Carrying a knives should be treated in the same way as carrying a gun.

Archos - The return

Dixons are tempting me again, As stated before, I am on the lookout for a media player, although Dixons are still advertising the Archos 560 for £399, but the guy at the store has informed me if I buy the media player and some £60 speakers, I can get it all for £319.... WTF.

Seems to have been miscalculated, but nonetheless, I will check the interweb for reviews on the device, and purchase tomorrow all being well (unless the price goes up again) unless I can find something better in the meantime.

Oh Shit !!!! - Bring on the Pisstakes

“Imagine the most beautiful offices in the world, then imagine that is not where you work. Actually, you work in a horrible, dark basement underneath all of this, as you are in the I.T. department..."

T-Minus 7 Days.....

A new program starts next Friday on Channel 4 - The IT Crowd. It appears this will do for us wonderful IT people what The Office did for all those office workers. Prepare to cringe, prepare for the onslaught of "you're just like that lot off that Channel 4 thing", I can see it now.

I think the only similarity in the program is Moss and our very own A****Y

Moss
"the social skills of a serial killer. The closest he's got to a woman is Lara Croft, and he struggles to communicate with anything that doesn't have a keyboard."

The rest of our "crowd" are Hard working (Steve & Julie ), Hard drinking (Dave Howster), Hardcore (Ian & Stuart), Hard Coded (Andy) Hard to keep from falling over(PM/Naked Jim) or just plain Hard up (Me, Ade and Lee).

Save Money on Petrol

Had an interesting link sent to me at work, similar to the old PetrolBusters site that was very good until, the AA bought it and shut it down.

The Image below links to a .PDF poster to print out and put in your staffroom/fag shelter/noticeboard etc.

Talking of fags.

Well done to "Our Mate in the South" Jase (Senior Scheduler to the stars) who has given up smoking..... However he has since told me he refuses to give up fags...

By the way, the photo on the left shows him holding a Pint O' Beer, Now we all now you Jason and that pint was "on loan". Your favourite tipples are Woo Woos or Sambucas.

Telly Addict

I have become a self confessed Telly Addict since the New Year began, not just the normal crap though... this is SERIOUS, and i'm not talking about the Holby Cities and Eastenders that SWMBO Makes me watch or Sky+. We're talking the BIG Guns

Life on Mars - (Torrents / Newsgroups)
24 - Season 5 - (Torrents / Newsgroups)
Lost - Season 2 - (Torrents / Newsgroups)
Las Vegas - Season 3 - (Torrents / Newsgroups)
and since last night
House - (Channel 5)
Prison Break - (Channel 5) - Bloody good first episode anyway !!!

As soon as Spooks and Hustle come back to the BEEB, I won't be leaving the house. However despite the good programs on the BBC, still don't agree with them putting up the licence fee.


Oh - Hello to the Mother in Law who started reading last week, shame she's started looking, I'll have to tone down the things I say and stop making references to her threats of wearing a thong on the beach.

We all know there's a right way and a wrong way to wear a thong..... Nuff Said.

Get Away




SWMBO and I decided its time to think about our holidays this year, Monster Mother-in Law has already booked a couple of weeks in Spain in June and we have been Ordered Invited to spend a week with them, You thought that was bad, she has threatened me with Topless or wearing a thong. PLEASE GOD - NO.

The only problem is deciding where to go, I/we want to go somewhere in August/September or October, with a nice beach, for bird to play "get brown catchup" with me , but where there's a nightlife for walks/drinks...... etc. I am refusing to go to Tenerife as I've been there 5 time is the last 4 years, so the choices are

• The Maldives
• Mexico (Cancun)
• Cuba (Varadero & Havana)
• Caribbean
• Skegness
  

As long as it's not hurricane season, Bird flu country or any other reason to stay away, then I'm up for anywhere. Oh and SWMBO can't have jabs due to her dicky ticker.

Help !!!

Gadget #1

Looks like its almost here, my first purchase of the new year, the Sony DSC-T9 camera should be available from Monday.

Engadget have another entry in reference to the camera Here , as well as a CNET write up Here . The general opinions are that the camera is a great model, although loses points on the "camera's lens, including sluggish low-light performance and relatively unsaturated colors" (Engadget).

I also found an independant review and some sample images at Wilsons Onilne Repository , who describes the camera as being "one of the best I have tested in the last 6 years",

Well thats enough for me.

Ere we go, Ere we go, Ere we go.....

Thanks to our wonderful contact at Vodafone UK who we (Work) spend thousands of pounds each month, we (Me, PM/Naked Jim and BossMan Dave) are off to see Man Utd v Burton Albion at Old Trafford.

Although I am (secretly) hoping for a Burton win, I feel I must stay quiet, Vodafone being sponsors of Man Utd (for the next year at least) probably wouldnt want me cheering at Burton scoring, although wouldn't it be great. BM Dave will undoubtedly disagree, being a Man U fan.
From next year, Vodafone will not be sponsoring Man U, but rather the Champions league along with the F1 Team; McLaren Mercedes. I've already asked for tickets for the Monaco GP, not sure what I'm gonna have to do to get a weekend in Monaco, but I'm sure Naked Jim would go out of his way, What that man wouldn't do. I even think BM Dave will get in on the pressure as Next years cars are probably going to be his "Colour of the moment", Yup, they're Orange.

... Still waiting for my camera though, have the reddies ready, Come on Sony UK, lets have it (and in black)

ShaLebrity





So it's Reality TV time again now I HATE REALITY TV, especially "Enter a Nobody, leave a Star" Big 'Kin Brother....

... However, Sorting crap out in Bedroom 2 with Channel 4 and its Reality Big Brother, I wouldn't normally get into, but with Dennis Rodman in, I'm sure this is going to be very interesting. This scary tattoo wearing, piercing addicted, hair coloured freak is amazing, Screwed Madonna and dumped her, married Carmen Electra and divorced a few days later and won the NBA about 6 times. Oh, he also dresses in womens clothes and once wore a brides dress when he married... himself

Wonder whos first. Jodie Marsh, Traci Bingham or.... Chantelle the Non-Celeb-Celeb.


Never rated Jodie Marsh as a tasty bird, but she looked a bit of alright tonight, at least when she doesnt speak

All Contestants:
Chantelle : Michael Barrymore : Pete Burns : Traci Bingham : Maggot : Rula Lenska : Dennis Rodman : Faria Alam (Shagged Half the FA) : Preston (Ordinary Boys) : George Galloway :

Matter Closed (Unless Rodders Plays Ball)

Bugger
It's annual payrise time, I did decide to spend part of it on a PMP, I found This seemingly perfect one in Dixons, Brilliant that it had been reduced from £449 to £299, even better that I even managed to get them to drop the price another £50 to £249.

After Telling SWMBO all about it (like she was interested anyway) Checked the site last night to se what time they opened, SHOCK:HORROR, they have put the bloody thing back up to £399. Nooooooooo !!!!

After searching the sister sites (Currys & PC world) I googled it and found several sites showing how crap and buggy the device is.

So SWMBO, I didn't 'need' one of these, I just wanted one, as with all Gadgety stuff, it's never about needing it.

I guess I'll have spend my "hard earned" bonus on something else now.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT:
Minutes Later, I find this alternative or any one of these
Then again I could just go for the Sony PSP (albeit without the storage space !!!!!)

Goodbye 2006

Well what a month that was, I have been (pretending to be) so busy that I haven't even been able to update my blog,

My Christmas partying started 3rd December with a family party to celebrate half of them pissing off to South Africa as well as 2 family birthdays.

So the bad luck began, I managed to "lose" my beloved camera (Sony DSC-P12) while sitting at the restaurant table all night, to the theiving bastard in the Kings Corner Pub where we ate, I hope you enjoy it/rot in hell for keeping hold of the camera rather than doing the decent thing and handing it in/Selling it on eBay.

My lovely home insurance have come good though and I'll be replacing it With the Sony DSC-T9, so with new camera comes new year and heres to 2006. 'Appy New Year.

Unlike Mr Cookie T' Big Foot, I will be making new years resolutions and they are as follows

1. Clear out crap from the House
2. Clear out crap from the body (The Diet & Exercise way)
3. Clear out crap from life
4. Enjoy Life
   

That's about it, I have tonnes of rubbish that I need to 'Bay, Bin or give to charity shops, I have binged for the last 9 months on junk food and beer while working away so can now work on that.

I've made a great start, purchased The Food Doctors book, although I don't watch Richard & Judy*, a "friend" mentioned this guy Ian Marber aka The Food Doctor who helps people with a tasty & healthy Diet.



One more party to go and "The Diet Starts Tomorrow"

Happy New Year Everyone.

Perfect... ilo CA3000V

Walmart in the good ol' U.S of A, are selling this wonderous machine that needs to be in my car.

The Price - A measly $176.37 (£102.00)

Check the Specs.

• SD Card slot for playback of digital image and music files.
• Plays MP3-CDs
• 2" TFT-LCD Display
• XM-Ready AM/FM Tuner
• SD Card slot reads JPG images and MP3 files
• 160W Total Power
• Detachable Face Plate provides security

Trouble is, I have already tried to buy it from Walmart as I am pretty sure my Local ASDA won't be selling them, but the small disclaimer on Walmarts' site that says "We do not ship to Canada or other destinations outside the United States"

GUTTED...

So it's day 5 (or something) of the low cholesterol diet and SWMBO made me a fry up. Not just any fry up mind, but SWMBO approved, no oil, 1 egg etc. Very tasty, even beats my jacket potato and cottage cheese 2 days ago.


At least I have the support from my colleagues at work whoch means a lot, they Monday being the first full week of healthy eating.... and they all went to McDonalds, I managed to skip food as for some strange reason I was working.

at least my blood pressure has now gone down to 120/70 (considerable decrease since my last scare/test)

Rest assures I'll be all fit and healthy before you can say Mushroom Bhuna.
(must ... be ...... strong.... must..... resist

Sunday Surfing

Aint Sundays great, spend mornings having a veggie bacon and egg sancwich to get over the "Saturday Night Jack Attack, mummy dong Sunday dinner, watching the "BIG GAME", having a fry up for tea and surfing the Interweb. I clearly can't have the start/end of day cholesterol giver, but I'm not giving up ANYTHING ELSE...

Found some good sites today, and some of which are moving me away from Micro$oft.

Torrent Plugin for Mozilla Firefox (Mozilla Firefox available Here)
Moztorrent - Similar to above
Open Office is a great (and free) alternative to MS Office
Google Web Accelerator - Not sure about the privacy issues on this one though
Google SMS - Useful search tool for mobile phones, and you only pay normal rates to send the SMS.

Bye Bye Fry-Ups

Had a health check at work today, Denial really is the best form of cure... Have been told I have High Cholesterol Level (6.19) and High Blood Pressure (160/105). WHO ME !!!!!?

Even h Jim at 85 years of age* is healthier than me it appears, I demand a re-match, testing me at 8.45am isn't fair. My drive to work would have caused increased stress levels.

I have been "advised" to cut down on the types of food I eat and start excercising. Worse still SWMBO says I can't have fry-ups and no more crap.

* Jim is 50 really

Being a Veggie also means these levels are worrying as I can't blame it on the Meat.
Still... I keep meaning to go to the gym, Now I have the motivation.

Now then. Anyone have some Tasty Recipes... Tao, You're a part-time veggie, Suggest something Nice?

Who You Calling Ipoddy




Been a while since my last post (Sorry Ian - I know you've been waiting)

I think I have now found the pefect PDA/Phone thing- The Qtek 9100/iMate K-Jam/02 XDA Mini S, great as a phone, as a keyboard, and not huge either, only downside is no 3G but then I have no-one to video call and there's hardly any coverage so not much to miss out on really.

So much Trouble...
...Anyone out there that recorded the part 2 of "Walk Away and I Stumble" last week, please please let me have a copy, (I don't have a video so will need to be a Deev), trouble with SWMBO as I accidently deleted it. The old chestnut of "at least I recorded the first episode" didn't go down too well either.

Got my hands on a copy of MSN Messenger 8, Needs a patch applying to make it work and it'd not that different to the last version I was using (7.5), but ipoddy as I am, Had to get the latest version. Quite a few features apparently, I'm just waiting for them to combine MSN and Yahoo Messenger so I can get my yahoo emails from the Messenger box. The only other thing I use is the voice calls function but will one day invest in a Skype phone, which will need other people using it too, (I talk to myself enough as it is).

MSN 8.0 Feature list
• Change of Messenger Skins
• Real-time Emotions
• Messenger Built Internal Windows Media Player 10
• Pause/Resumed File Transfers (File Blocked Extension Applied)
• Detailed File Transfer (Download/Upload Speed)
• Animated Display Pictures (.gif .jpg .png (File Support under Consideration))
• Mood Status
• Faster Contact List Loading and scrolling
• Public Profile and MSN Spaces Combined
• More MSN Space features• New Hotmail and MSN Messenger Integration
• Downloadable MSN Messenger on Mobile
• News Updates according to Location
• Top 10 MSN Music Radio
• New Stylish Notifier Pop-up
• Downloadable Skins for MSN (Contact Window & Conversation Window)
• Complete Integration with Windows XP® & Windows Vista® Codename: Longhorn®
• Offline Voice/Message Machine
• Animated Buddy Icon Helper
• Display Picture Ratings

Gadget of the day #1

Fuji Finepix S9500 at just over 400 quid, this might just be my venture into decent photography instead of taking drunken night out photos.





Gadget of the day #2
although lacking space in my TV/Video cabinet, I am very tempted by this, although I have my Sky+ , Divx player, home cinema system, DVD recorder and PS2, this seems a must buy.... the slot for a PC hard drive may just mean something gets relocated to the bedroom (where all the older kit goes).

Sunday again...

Usual Sunday spent looking around the interweb brought up a few things.... decided to go to suprnovas' website to see if they have stayed on the correct side of the law and not host torrents, Yup unfortunately they have, however newnova is an exact replica of the legend that was Suprnova, It's in it's very early stages so is quite buggy and up and down like a..... yo-yo, but definately has potential I have bookmarked it...

Suprnova contains links and news, nothing else.











Now here's s a phone I wouldn't mind upgrading to,the Nokia 888 concept phonehas speech recognition, touch screen and looks pretty cool too (important factors for an ipoddy life). Although I love my XDA Exec, it's not too great as a mobile phone. Then again, I am waiting for the iMate SP5m

Hey... almost forgot, Uncle Steve is back in Eastenders... Welcome back Psycho Steve

I was reading in Men's Health magazine this month, the new craze at the gym is to download a workout to your Ipod/Mp3 player and have your very own personal trainer in your ears, This is almost an excellent way to get me vack to the gym to lose those extra "comfortable kilos".

I then noticed after the revies of 3 downloads, this funny little "£" sign. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this means I am expected to pay for the priviledge of having someone making me excercise, if this be the case, I would have paid the bloody personal trainer.

After searching the interweb to attempt a cheaper (free) alternative, I found this one , which has high energy, walking, stretching and lots of other excercise podcasts relevant to your workout needs (No drinking JD at the pub exercise ones mind). I have subscribed to a few and will try the walking one this weekend.

Have to have an early night now, apparently it's good for you, not to mention my flight tomorrow leaves at 6:50am (oh and the fry-up and 3 pints for tea has made me tired)

...Diet starts tomorrow .... in Glasgow

Old Timer

So I have today turned 31, Sad news that I no longer qualify for those Club 18-30 holidays . SWMBO will have to buy me the pipe & slippers I forgot to put on my list.

The young man in me had 2 consecutive nights out (1) (2) with my good friends Jack and Stella (Daniels & Artois), however the old man in me will probably need a month off.

All those things I should have done by now and haven't, I'll have re-re-do that list of things to do before I'm 30 - 31 32...

Number 1 - London to Brighton Bike Ride 2006 (8 Months to prepare)


iPoddy - (Cont'd)

So the latest gadget is finally here...

I Must say I think this is the one (for this week anyway) O2 have actually done something good here, 3G, PDA, mobile phone, video calling, wi-fi, proper connection (USB), decent battery life, keyboard that me and my fat fingers can use...

....Only trouble is, the lack of 3G coverage from O2, the nice (useless) bloke in my local O2 shop said "O2 are aiming to have 100% coverage for 3G...... before the end of 2006".

Well done O2, stocking and selling equipement with such great technology but failing to let anyone use it. Bring on Vodafone and Orange......

Pipex have just bought up yet another competitor, (Freedom2Surf), I am getting ever-so-close to the magic 24Mb/s Super-Duper-faster-internet.

Unfortunately, Pipex have also changed their Acceptable Use Policy which aims to stop people taking the piss when downloading, anyone caught doing so will be sent an email/letter, advising them, they are downloading too much and are given 2 weeks to "change their ways", if it continues they are then sent a final email before they have their Internet service "Managed" or given the option to leave Pipex without being charged.

Although Pipex haven't disclosed what defines "taking the piss", it seems to be roughly downloading 50-100Gb per month. Luckily I don't quite reach this amount, (I haven't had the email...Yet), But when they introduce ADSL2+, My downloads will be 12 times faster which equates to downloading a DVD every 30 minutes (hmmm). This means reaching the acceptable monthly usage after just 10 hours.

We'll See...

Project Management

PM Jim asked me about Starwreck and what I thought of it which has reminded me I must Re-download it, For some reason it didn't work (Ran out of Hard drive space again), Even PM Jim has beaten me to a download (not counting "Lost" as it had french subtitles) and he's even watched it , his in-depth review can be found below. Typical Project Managers huh, nothing to do but give everyone else work (and drink Guinness), It's a hard life eh Jim.

Project Manager Job Description (1) (2) (3)

In depth review

"its good"

That Friday Feeling - aka POETS Day

Dont ya just love Fridays, the day where we all wind down (in the pub), plan the weekend (in the pub) , clean the house*, finish work early (to go to the pub), see the family (in the pub). Have been deliberating and cogitating about the Ipod Video, almost wanting one, then deciding against it, I now don't want one. I want a Mobile DVR. !!!! (Ipoddies and geeks only need click the link).SWMBO - PVR please !!! and a curry night, and some beers and.....


*Lie

SWMBO - I have found my birthday present

Darling!!! SWMBO (& Mum, & Mum2). Here it is, Apples big announcement. The odds of it being a video Ipod were apparently 6/5 , not really worth putting a tenner on I guess.

Bet I know whos gonna be second to get one. Mr Ipoddy himself, Tha (work) Boss .

Update :- Apparently not - Boss says "Screen is too small", so has now put me off too....

Back to the drawing board then...

Ipod Video Pt II

Rumours, Rumours Rumours - It seems as though theres more news about the Ipod Video that I,(and seemingly the whole world) am waiting to hear. Let's just wait and see hey,

Update - Woo Hoo !!!

Finally... A Legal P2P download

Here it is, One of the FIRST EVER !!! Legal P2P (Peer 2 Peer) downloads, 100% not a threat in site from the authorities, and what is it, Star Wreck, a parody made by Sci-Fi fans, although I'm definately not a trekkie (I hate Star Trek) and am not into Babylon 5, Stargate etc, I am downloading it for the following reasons


1. Its 100% legal
2. Its 100% free
3. Spreaing the word helps the people who created it and lets me link to a bittorrent file.

DOWNLOAD IT ¦ IMDB ¦ BBC NEWS ¦ ADSL GUIDE

Sundays - Just waiting to go to work


After months and months of ignoring the craze that is Sudoku , I thought I'd have a go on my Mong out "Day After the night before", as I wasn't really in the mood to do anything else. Not too bad, but 'm not really one for having to use my brain on a Sunday (clearly I don't use it during the week). It's more a day for football (watching, obviously), Mums' or Mum2s' Sunday Dinner, Motor racing and the forthcoming perfect Sunday Night TV (Dream Team, Nip/Tuck, 24 etc).

Dearest SWMBO

As requested by your good self, I have put together a birthday list, apparently being hard to buy presents for (not that I really want anything) I have gathered a list of stuff that I need to buy. Hope this is ok. (List on the right ----->)

But Darling... Not too big a party this year lol

Video Ipod

So there I was doing my daily gadget scan when I came across an entry on Engadget stating Apple were having a press release, could it be, oh could it just be they were finally announcing to the world they are to do the Video Ipod. Alas no, they are just releasing new Apple iMacs, great, like who cares about that

Come on Apple, stop the sceptics and make the damn thing.... Please




07/10 - Surely this confirms it !!!

White Rabbits Old Boy

Woo Hoo !!!! Its a coming, goodbye slow 2Mb Forget 8Mb, Hello 24Mb. "I Love My Pipex" :-)

SWMBO woke me yesterday pointing to the pillows on the bed and sticking 2 fingers up either side of her head. Just the being the usual crazy woman I thought, then realised she was trying to get me to say white rabbits (obviously).

She then cheered me up by telling me I will be 31 this month. Cheers Darling, love you too.

OK so its a new month, so Im going to compile my to do list for the month.

(and my birthday list), now where's them links ???

Damn you Coookie !!!!

You and your Jamaica Feet got me into this biking Lark, I left you guys in the dungeon in Brum, After reading your article, I feel the need to get back on my bike. Now I would love to jump in my car and go to the Chase Trails, But thing is a) it's a bit far to drive for a 5 min.comute ride before I'm knackered and 2) SWMBO wouldn't be up for the big ride, she can 'Almost' manage the 4.7 miles from my house to her parents, but then needs a 3 week rest.

I Think I'll start with somewhere Local (1) or (2) but I like the idea of the trails, Hmmm, hoping there is somewhere close.

Long QT - No-ones' heard of it !!!!!

Wow - My (Girlfriends') Grandma has just been diagnosed with a condition called Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), THis is a a rare heart condition that affects one in 7000 people and makes their heart beat in a strange way, unfortnuately my girlfriend lost her sister a few years ago, this was put down down to Adult Cot Death Syndrome, however after her mum looked into it, it turns out that is was more than likely LQTS, My G/F has also has it as has her mum (now has a defibrilator fitted to her heart). Its amazing that G-Ma has only just been diagnosed at 81 though. and moreso that it was diagnosed by her own daughter (The Doctors has never heard of it) !!!!.
Still they looked it up on the internet and now know (Good old Google !!!) .

This is what killed Mark Vivien Foe a couple of years ago.

Get well soon G-Ma !!!!! xxx

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