Resolving
Posted: Wed 9 February, 2005 Filed under: D4D™, Resolutions 1 Comment »Well, I’m getting round to writing a proper “resolutions” page at last. It needs doing, particularly with WordPress’s archiving bits being tits up and an utter pain in the arse. Oh, and yes, yet again, the support forums were about as much use as a kick in the crotch. Utter cunts, the lot of ’em.
Anyway, the resolutions are slowly being whittled away. With luck the resolutions page will be up later and I’ll have some information on what’s being crossed off, and why. For now though, we’ll leave it like this…
- Making a photo portfolio, and taking it to a couple of agents, seeing how I do – Getting there, the photos have been printed and I’ve gone through them.
- Sorting out the Driving Test *cough* – getting there – the first lesson in the new set is tonight
- Doing a few more bits of proper writing – yes, well, not yet.
- Taking time out, and not running round like quite such a silly bastard – getting there.
- Enjoying life in its new facets – ditto
- Debating whether to close my current company and restart with something new.
- Or Not.
- Lots of other things that I’ll list as I go on
London Thoughts – part 2
Posted: Tue 8 February, 2005 Filed under: General, Thoughts 2 Comments »So – the book launch. It was pretty good fun – the only problem was that the bar it was set in was actually quite small, and so got very warm and crowded very quickly. Other than that though (and a certain lack of cloakroom space) it was a pretty good venue.
It was a busy event, as I’ve said already, but I still got to talk to a few people, including Mik Scarlet, who I’ve known of for years, so it was good to actually meet him.
Unfortunately, the camera threw a wobbly and didn’t like the lighting in the bar at all, so photos were a bit of a no-no. Bummer. I really must start thinking about upgrading to either the Canon 20D or the Fuji S3- although as they’re both over £1000 (and the Fuji’s currently closer to £2K) it’ll be a while yet. It was the first book launch I’d been to, but hopefully won’t be the last – but it was a good event, for sure.
As for the freebies, well, what can I say? Heavy sponsorship by www.sextoys.co.uk and Trojan condoms obviously helped, but there was a whole bundle of stuff that all arrived in its own carrier bag (helpfully emblazoned with “I love www.sextoys.co.uk” – I wonder how many other people shoved it all into another bag? *grin*) it was a pretty good night all round.
co-proxamol 2
Posted: Tue 8 February, 2005 Filed under: D4D™, Geeky Leave a comment »Hey, scary – after last week’s post about Co-proxamol (or coproxamol if you prefer) I’m currently number 2 in google.co.uk for ‘co-proxamol’. I must still be doing something right after all…
Safer Internet
Posted: Tue 8 February, 2005 Filed under: Geeky, News Leave a comment »According to The Register and Insafe, today is officially Safer Internet Day. Which is likely to mean absolutely keff-all to anyone who’s actually interested, or cares.
The day will see the launch of several new online safety websites – including a new Insafe portal and a site for Finnish kids to air their views about the web – internet literacy programmes fro schools, and a storytelling competition, open to 19 countries. In the UK, there will also be a full day’s conference on young people’s use of mobile technology.
Of course, I’d be more impressed if the new ‘Safe’ portal that’s supposed to launch today had actually done so. But hey, no-one’s perfect…
I’m sure I’ll rant more about this one later.
London Thoughts – part 1
Posted: Tue 8 February, 2005 Filed under: General, Thoughts, Travel, Weirdness 4 Comments »Well, I made it unscathed. It’s a lot easier getting to London from Bracknell than it is from Manchester, that’s for sure. It’s a sod-load cheaper too!
London still strikes me as a strange place though. I suppose that a lot of it is to do with being a city, and having all types/genres of people in a fairly small space. Seeing homeless people outside the ultra-expensive stores like Liberty and Aquascutum always leaves me fairly sad, particularly after the work I did with the homeless charity in Manchester. But it’s more than that – for a city where everyone always seems to be in a rush (while sat at Waterloo it was quite comical seeing all the people running for trains etc.) the pedestrians on Oxford Street and the like seem to have some of the slowest walking speeds known to man.
Also, people seem to be so security unconscious. Travelling on the tube,I could easily see who was listening to an iPod – and if I were of that mindset, I’d probably aim for iPod users as those who’d be likely to have other gadgets and high-cost small-size items on their person. Disposable income, and all that jazz. But there’s the other things too – seeing people with laptop bags slung over one shoulder, dead easy for someone to run past and snatch it without even stopping. And an amazing number of people with bags slung over shoulders and pocket flaps open etc. – just open targets for pickpockets, particularly in busy and crowded environments like Waterloo. People are strange.
Cultcha
Posted: Mon 7 February, 2005 Filed under: General, News 4 Comments »I’m off to London tonight – one of my Linkees, Emily is having her first book published , so I’m going along to the launch party tonight. It’s just off Regent Street, and promises to be quite an interesting event *cough*, so I hope the camera gets some use tonight too…
B&Q – the Complaint Letter
Posted: Mon 7 February, 2005 Filed under: B&Q, Customer Services, D4D™ 4 Comments »Following on from the B&Q saga, this email has just been sent to their customer services…
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am emailing you because I am utterly furious about the incompetent way our order has been handled by B&Q. At the end of December we placed an order via your website for 2x3000mm Stardust black worktops and 2x worktop edges. Personally, I wouldn’t have thought that this was a complicated order, but when it comes to B&Q, I’m obviously grossly overestimating their capabilities.
We first received the order at the start of January. This managed to consist of 1x3000mm Worktop – in Blue – and 1x1000mm wall unit carcase, 1x800mm wall unit carcase, and 4x 500mm cherry wood finish doors. In short, epically, spectacularly wrong.
We organised a re-delivery, and for the delivery company to remove the incorrect items. This time they turned up with two worktops. Great. Except they’re Red Marble finish. And we got a metal hanging rack as well.
For a third time we organised a re-delivery, and an uplift of the incorrect stuff. My partner checked it before it came off the lorry, and this time we had 2x 3000mm worktops. In Grey. We didn’t even take the worktops off the delivery truck. As for the items that were delivered incorrectly last time? Your wonderful delivery service hadn’t managed to detail that there was anything to come back, so they didn’t take anything.
To date we’ve now had three deliveries, none of which have been correct. We’re still waiting for the correct worktops, and the worktop edging. We’ve still got two Red Marble worktops we don’t want, and haven’t ordered, as well as a wall carcase we don’t want and didn’t order, and a metal hanging rack we don’t want and didn’t order.
Is it too much to ask that B&Q manage to sort out this delivery immediately? I can’t believe that this is how B&Q normally operate – otherwise you must be losing hundred of thousands of pounds per year delivering unordered items to people.
I would also like to point out that I’ve just risked serious damage to myself by looking at your website and nearly busting a gut laughing at your statement “Supporting our employees, delighting our customers“. “Committed to great service” is also – in our case – an outright lie.
I would like to be given a call today (Monday 7th February) on 07xxx xxxxxx to tell me what B&Q intend to do to rectify this utter farce. So far it has cost my partner and I 8 hours off work to be present for deliveries, and god only knows how much time in phone calls, emails, and trying to fight our way through the most obstructive AVR phone system known to man.
At this precise moment, I intend to never shop with B&Q again, and would heartily advise anyone else thinking of doing so to go to Dodgy Bob’s DIY Warehowse instead of using B&Q’s “services”.
I hope we can bring this matter to a swift and satisfactory conclusion, and I look forward to receiving your call.
Sincerely
Lyle.