Nokians fitted...

Back in February I posted about trying to get my hands on some winter tyres. Well, the long wait is over - I had a set of Nokian WR G2 winter tyres fitted to the car today.

Now to await the ice and snow....

Mitchell & Webb...

...poke fun at modern computer stores....


Good job I'd finished my sake...

Arrggghhhh....

Why, oh why, do shops insist on giving it's customers till receipts equivalent in length to the Dead Sea Scrolls?

I got behind in my shredding of these, so tackled the pile today and almost threw the shredder through the window in frustration, as these flimsy strips of paper refused to be fed into the shredders jaws!

Most shops aren't satisfied in handing you one of these mini toilet rolls - they seem to delight in two, three or more.
The further we seem to head into a cashless, paperless society the more paper we seem to waste...

Friendface...

Flushed down the drain...

I deleted my Facebook account at the end of May. I was getting fed up with the Twitter like outpourings of some of those in my friends list. And we know what I think of Twitter...

Seeing the Raoul Moat tribute page debacle unfold I'm glad I am no longer an account holder. The 'groups' that sprang up for the most pathetic cause célèbre exposed the dross of society.

Now we have the cretins who hail Moat as a legend and see him as some sort of modern day Robin Hood. He was a violent bully who shot dead one man, shot his ex, then shot a policeman in the face, blinding him for life. Not a legend.

This group, and the ones that have appeared since the original was closed, is like a fresh turd. It attracts the flies that swarm all over it in a frenzy - eventually the turd dries up and the flies go off to find another place to lay their eggs (or post their idiotic views).

While the internet is a good thing most of the time, every now and again this new media/social network crap bubbles up like effluent from a blocked drain...

Goodbye i(P)OS4...

I have had enough.

My iPhone 3G has been pretty much fecked since I uploaded i(P)OS4 to it. Lost a couple of apps (Qik Video being one of them) and the benefits (if there were any) of the two "improvements" (mail and folders) that i(P)OS4 brought over the OS3 are certainly not enough for me to keep this updated software on my iPhone.

So today I am following the tutorial over on TiPb.com on how to downgrade your iPhone from i(P)OS4.

I am sure there are many iPhone users completely happy with i(P)OS4 but this one isn't. Hopefully a smooth downgrade will be possible.

Thanks Apple.....


FYI:
Downgrade/backdate/reversion, or whatever you wish to call it, went fine - the phone is back to being as quick as it ever was prior the mistake of updating to iOS4. Apps open almost immediately and writing an email is back to being lag-free.

This is NOT a crèche....

Really pisses me off when yummy mummies decide to take over already cramped coffee shops with the perambulator equivalents of 4x4 off roaders. Tell you what, why not just block that seating area off completely - circle the strollers, wagon train like, to prevent anyone else from finding a seat. Leave the bloody machines outside will you!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

Neat art...

While I have resisted the urge or temptation to spend yet more money on some latest Apple 'must-have' gadget my interest is now and again piqued when I see some users making use of the iPad as a new form of art tablet.
One such example is Goro Fujita.


For now, no iPad for me....

Half price sticker placement - WIN...

I have yet to spot another example of such complete Bookcover Burqaism on the shelves....

TwoSeatsBob...

Maybe that could also be STFUBob, WhineyAssBob, SeatBlockerBob and a 100 other variables on the current farce rumbling around the internets regarding Kevin Smith and his fat lardy ass getting turned off a flight from LA to SF.
Smith claims he books two seats not because he is "Too Fat To Fly" but because he is anti-social and doesn't want to sit cheek by jowl with another fat flyer. Or a member of the human race.
This guy probably has enough money to charter his own plane to fly to SF. Then he could sit in splendid solitude while the rest of us have to deal with all the problems of modern air travel. But no, he prefers to book two seats. Then gets all arsey when he opts to fly standby then gets turned off that flight. If the flight was booked solid and some person trying desperately to get a flight for some emergency was told sorry flight is full, no seats available, would you give up your spare seat? Probably not, as you booked for your fat shadow.
Here is a tip AntiSocialBob - if you can't stand being around other people try driving. You have four/five seats to yourself. You can choose your own entertainment. You can stop to eat when you want and you have a better choice of food. You can set your own departure time. You don't have to deal with TSA. Get the picture yet Mr Director?

Or maybe just stay at home with your chubby little legs kicked back in your La Z Boy typing away furiously on your computer...

I'm disappointed that SWA is bending over backwards to placate this moron while all the time feeding the frenzy of his fanboys all screaming for SWA to be hung from the nearest hill.

They have a policy in place for safety reasons. Next time I am forced to sit next to an obese passenger I'll be asking to move because now I will just see flying fatties as selfish ignorant jerk offs like Kevin "SilentBob" Smith......

Macworld 2010 - "hugely successful"

They were the words of IDG's expo 'main man' Paul Kent at the end of this years MWSF 2010.

I think "hugely successful" may be gilding the lily slightly - from just searching for figures on the net for previous years there is no doubt that attendance is way down - the hi-tech graph above shows it is.

The figures for 2008-2010 are approximate - 2008 was supposed to be up 10% on the previous year, 2009 figs don't appear to be released and this year the 20,000 is sourced from www.istockanalyst.com

If a drop of such a huge amount is considered a "success" then I wonder what a failure looks like!
With the demise of Paris and then London after Apple withdrew, I wonder how long IDG will maintain Macworld in it's current form?

My thoughts after MWSF 2009...

Ordering now for next winter...

...was the reply when I tried to order a set of "winter" tyres from the UK importer. With a new set of tyres needed for the front of my car I decided on trying to source a set of Nokian WR G2 winter/all season tyres. I'd read good reviews on these tyres and contrary to what the dealer may think they are classed as all season tyres by the manufacturer, Nokian.

So, with the recent wintery weather we've experienced I thought a good set of winter rubber would be a good option over the all season brands usually sold here in the UK.
Tracking these tyres down hasn't been easy as it appears many other UK drivers are discovering the benefits of winter tyres. So I contacted the UK importer and was surprised to be told that they wouldn't be ordering any more until October! The impression I got was they believed the WR G2 was only for use during snowy weather.
My search goes on....

Nokian WR G2

Seasalt Steve?

I'll have one for Xmas...

LINK

And a follow up...

ReTwotting I just twoted all over the place...

Just cos I can...

Tis the season....

...to get fat!!!

Starbucks Eggnog latte and Turkey Feast panini...

I wish..........

Hoo bloody rah...

My broadband/internet connection has just been restored!!!....

25 Days...

...since I lost my broadband/internet.
Last Friday I was told that Pipex engineers were still trying to fix the problem. They hoped it would be sorted within 24 to 48 hours. I asked did they mean it would be after the weekend it would be fixed and when told it would decided enough was enough.
I called the cancellations department for a migration code but they tried to assure me they were doing all they could to fix the problem.
I have decided to move - I'll wait to see if they do fix my service by tomorrow (Tuesday) as promised but they have lost a customer. I have already contacted BT regarding moving my phone and line rental back to them and as I now have the MAC number as soon as my broadband is back up and running I'm moving.
Over three weeks is an unacceptable time to not have a service that is being paid for. Now to see if I can get that 'technical refund'.

I'm not completely happy with the result, as BT still has left the 'door' open regarding the PHORM Webwise snooping software partnership, but having dabbled with ISPs which have to rely on the one company (BT) which controls the infrastructure of the phone/internet system I have had enough of call centres in countries where the staff have 'westernised' names to help the customer understand them.

You know what I mean...

Spread the news...

For a few years now I have been partial to a certain butter and buy it on a regular basis.
The butter is Bridel Brittany Butter with Sea Salt Crystals. My local Waitrose stocked it and recently I noted that alongside the Bridel butter was what appeared to be Waitrose's own version.

I muttered something along the lines of "I bet they stop stocking the Bridel..." and sure enough last week I noticed that the shelf label for the Bridel had been taken off.

I asked one of the staff if they were discontinuing this line but he stated after asking a 'manager' that it was a supply problem, and they had taken the label down to prevent confusion. (Yeah...)

Normally they leave the label up with a "Currently not available" sticker over it. No confusion there normally...

I have yet to check other Waitrose branches but this isn't the first time they have removed items from their shelves which I have developed a taste for...

Two weeks broadbandless...

21 August 2009 - 4 September 2009

So today is the two week 'anniversary' of not having any broadband connection.
Two weeks ago the DSL light on my router went out and it is still out.
Several calls to Pipex/Tiscali/TalkTalk/whoever and two visits from BT engineers and a Tiscali Broadband engineer have not solved the issue.

My equipment is not to blame. Rebooting/reseting the router made no difference. Swapping to a spare router made no change. Changing the micro-filter made no difference. Pipex tested the line with a '680 error' reported (that's no dial tone to save you Googling it).
BT arrived eventually but could not help as the line was fine and he was told it was a line fault then departed after trying to confuse me with a shitload of acronyms/abbreviations (he succeeded).
Tiscali Broadband engineer arrived about 10 days later and said it wasn't my equipment (surprise) as his router failed to illuminate the DSL light, and went within ten minutes. Couple of days later another BT engineer arrived to fix a line fault but not a BB fault!

What? Wait, it was reported as a line fault NOT a broadband fault? I sense I'm getting stuck in a loop here....

He did go to the exchange and checked the "mapping" (OK) and the line (OK) and swapped out the BT socket (just in case) and now, today, I have been sitting around since 8am waiting for the broadband guy to arrive. Appointment was set for between 8am and 1pm and it is now 1215pm.
Wonder if he'll turn up at 1259pm?

Wonder if he'll get me back online?

Wonder if I'll still be relying on a 3G modem on my Macbook in an area where there is no 3G coverage.

Wonder where I will take my business to, once that little green light on my router starts to flicker and pulse again?....

Facebook - the truth hurts?

Found this article in the Wall Street Journal which rings true for me -
http://bit.ly/iuTRk

Some of the commenters are obviously hardcore MyFacing Twattering saddos......

Where have I been?...

Travelling.
Break.
Vacation.
Holiday.

Take your pick.

I missed this though -

Twitter Goes Down Again After More Cyberattacks...

Must have sent waves of panic thought the breasts of all those Twatters....


Awww.....

At Last....

"PithHelmet 2.8.5 finally adds support for Safari 4."


LINK

Phucking Phuming @ Phorm

I'm a Pipex customer.
Pipex was taken over by Tiscali.
Tiscali went bust and was eventually taken over by TalkTalk (owned by Carphone Warehouse).
TalkTalk (along with BT and Virgin) are linked to the Phorm advertising/snooping company.
TalkTalk have stated that customers will have an opt-in choice to be subject to their 'traffic' being monitored (rather than BT's opt-out).

Opt-in or opt-out, I want nothing to do with this and have written to Pipex requesting clarification of whether they will be subjecting their customer base to it.

Time to look for another ISP...

What is this butcher saying about his pies...

I just twoted all over the place...

Enough is enough...

Back in January 08 I had a few words to say about the likes of Twitter and those who use it and similar micro-blogging tools.
Well, I have to say, my stance on these hasn't changed. In fact, I think my hatred of Twitter et al has actually deepened, with the news that UK politicians are now signing up for Twitter accounts, in order for us to see what they are wasting their time doing.
While the uptake on Twitter accounts is low (only 35 use it so far, 1 in 18 MPs) there is a site where you can read all their collective daily "Tweets" together - http://tweetminster.co.uk/
One Labour MP tweets so much I wonder if he gets any work done? Tom Watson [Lab] - West Bromwich East (1750).

More and more people are seeing the need to share the drudgery of their everyday lives, and maybe my voice is alone in the wilderness of internetwebland, so I will just have to tut and roll my eyes in frustration.
And live on in the hope that Twitter hurries up and dies...

---000--*U*--000---

On a side note, I did have a chuckle at the 'news' that Twitter were going to launch 'premium accounts' - Twitter Unveils New Premium Accounts - I watched in some amusement as the Twitterers "retweeted" this around the 'net (or the "Twittersphere", as they have named their corner of the 'net' ).

Many were completely fooled by this satire and I expect some were getting quite excited at the thought of having more than 140 characters to spell out their activities with.
100 pages of search results exist for "Twitter Unveils New Premium Accounts" and I suspect there would be more but it appears Twitter won't show up any more than 100 pages!!!

And still they post 'tweets' on it - 3 days after the piece was published!!!

A great joke on the Twitter users - but I wonder if it will backfire on the author when Twitter does introduce 'premium' accounts...

...and will he be offered a "secret "Black" account"?...

Oops...

iWhat?
I wonder if anyone at Apple realised that this App Store application spelt out a rude word?
Apple is being a little odd with some of the apps it is approving or not approving on grounds of 'taste' so I wonder if this app logo slipped past those responsible?...