Don’t dial 0870
Posted on September 4, 2008
Filed Under Internet Stuff, Life Stuff, Stuff | Leave a Comment
There are days when you need to contact a company’s customer services of some kind. You tend to call and have to wait for them to pick up, sometimes for 1 minute, sometimes 10, sometimes 1 hour. A lot of the time, these services have an 0870 number which is a national rate phone number which can get quite expensive if you are spending a long time, and generally, on your mobile, this will not be used on your free minutes.
So I went an discovered something that is genius, or helpful at the very least. 0870 numbers have to be attached to a normal landline number. There is a site that has these landline numbers in a database and it is called SayNoTo0870. You can then look up the 0870 number or company name, and get the cheaper normal landline number. Brilliant!
Now go and save those pennies!
World’s greatest unboxing
Posted on August 20, 2008
Filed Under Stuff, Technology, YouTube Videos | Leave a Comment
I’ve just seen something wonderful. For anyone not au fait with unboxings, they are usually a video or sequence of photographs showing the packaging of a product, for example, an ipod. It’s usually done by Apple fans as Apple’s product wrapping is great. This one’s, erm… quite different.
Beer for your car
Posted on August 12, 2008
Filed Under Drinks | Leave a Comment
I recently attended the London CAMRA (CAMpaign For Real Ale) beer festival. A great time was had by my better half and I as we tried to get the best beers, a lovely night out.
So I decided to have a look at the CAMRA website to look at what was hot in the hoppy world of ale, and I noticed an add-on for your Tom Tom GPS which says when you are near a good real ale pub for a mere fiver. At first I thought “fantastic idea” which it is. Then I thought, some are weak, some would have this add-on and be driving merrily, stop off, pub, and drive off even more merrily, and how often would this happen? Anyway, great idea, but be careful out there.
Those outdoor toilets
Posted on July 24, 2008
Filed Under Life Stuff, London Life | Leave a Comment
So there I was, walking home last Friday. And I saw the photo pictured to, hopefully, the left of this text. I found this funny, why? I love these things. I love them because every time I am quite drunk round town. I look for the darkest alley I can find, and usually find one of these bad boys. It makes me feel good that I don’t have to sully someone’s doorstep, and now it isn’t even an option to try and find somewhere else.
The reason i found this funny was because while Westminster do it well (alleys) Hackney council don’t do it well at all. First, note the chain on the smallest branch of the tree. Now some drunken nutters will be tempted to tip the thing. But best of all is its location, on Old street. The centre of it all. Right in the middle of everything. Now, there are tons of alleys and small areas (only last week I heard a man loudly vomitting outside my flat, he really went for it), so why not put it there? Not sure. Keep on the Hackney, keep on.
He’s gone a bit Gordon
Posted on July 23, 2008
Filed Under Food, Thoughts | Leave a Comment
I’ve been enjoying the F-word a lot recently, in fact i’ve also enjoyed Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen nightmares too. It’s probably old age.
Something I find amusing is that everytime our man Gordon starts a dish he says “it’s very simple” then proceeds to make a simple dish, but then, all of a sudden, it becomes more and more complicated till we have a final, amazing looking dish that our man Gordon has created. But you’re lost, you got the bit with the fish, and the spices, then it all went beans (meaning wrong, rather that literal beans).
I had a thought though. Similar to my dear lad Richard Hale and his phrase “Come on Tim” for anyone who has no chance of winning. I suggest that when someone starts off, then completely loses you in a conversation you could say “You had me, but you went a bit Gordon there”. Have a go, see if it fits.
New “bury your wife” kit
Posted on July 16, 2008
Filed Under Stuff | 1 Comment
Today, this is making me chuckle.
I was reading one of my favourite sites Uncrate and it had this. The reason why it’s making me chuckle is, I have never seen anything so obviously geared for killing and burying someone. A shovel, knife, hatchet, torch (for the night time burial) and to top it, the multi tool with pliers (to make sure he or she won’t be identified by their teeth). All it’s missing is the matches.
Lovely! Now I don’t know whether to categorise this as “life stuff” or to have to make another category.
Thoughts for the pub or the bus stop
Posted on June 26, 2008
Filed Under Observations, Thoughts | 1 Comment
I spend a lot of time bored; standing at the bus stop, waiting for erm… olives at a delicatessen. Anyway, I tend to start pondering things in the world which people might never think about/want to think about/think it’s too boring to think about.
Today I am in a pensive mood, a good mood, but pensive. So I decided to share my fairly boring, but could be made interesting in a pub, thoughts.
- Does the world have less, more, or the same water as it had in the beginning? (in any form, including ice).
- If we have hydrogen cars, will it mean it will rain more if everyone has a hyrdrogen car?
- Can you pull your tongue? And if so, how? (as in pulling a muscle, the toungue is meant to be a muscle)
So, there it is, something to bring up in the pub. Scintillating!
Sweat shops
Posted on June 23, 2008
Filed Under Opinion | Leave a Comment
I was recently reading an article about Sweat shops. In fact it seems to have been something of a topic for a while, with programmes showing on different levels. I did watch one very interesting programme last week where they sent 4 young whipper snappers to Mumbai, India to see the conditions. Something that I found very interesting though, was the attitudes. At first these kids were saying “this is disgusting, it’s horrible”, then they spoke to the workers who were saying “if we didn’t do this, we’d starve”. By the end of the programme, the youngsters had 2 views on the subject.
Now, I’m not a sweat shop advocate, far from it, I think the conditions are appauling. But maybe we should think this through in a less black and white way, yes, they work all hours God sends (as some of the workers said, it is (some of the time) their choice, the more they work, the more they get). Taking the work over to LA (as American Apparel are doing) is lovely, or simply not buying clothes made in India, it stops sweat shops, then the workers without jobs in India claim income benefit? No, they potentially starve (along with the families they are supporting), or, go to another sweat shop to work.
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Get your terms right
Posted on June 20, 2008
Filed Under Observations, Rants | 1 Comment
Sorry for all the ranting which I do on my blog. I think as I approach 30. I turn from “man” to “grumpy old man” which I seem to be embracing well, roll on 30!
Anyway, today’s topic is about using the wrong term for something. E.g. saying Java instead of JavaScript. These are different terms. Saying this to someone who understands, it is similar to saying “it’s sunny outside” when in fact it’s just cloudy and day time.
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Check your business ideas with people
Posted on June 19, 2008
Filed Under Observations, Opinion, Rants | Leave a Comment
Sometimes I get the feeling I am the only one who realises a failed company before it’s set up. In fact, I’m sure everyone else does before the company realises itself.
Take for example the Gizmondo, the handheld gaming device. It had no chance. It was competing against Nintendo’s stronghold in the handheld gaming market, also the PSP and the mobile gaming market. But still, they thought “I know, we’ll set up another handheld devied, with GPS, and a mobile built in”. Lovely idea, but it cost a small fortune. Knock in the fact that they had no deals with the big games developers (or any good ones for that matter). Add to that, the hugely expensive shops on Regent Street etc, and , BAM! 1 year later, it’s nowhere.
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