Well Timed
Posted: Mon 12 November, 2007 Filed under: Customer Services, Cynicism, Travel Leave a comment »Oh, well done, One Railways. On the first sub-zero day, with frost all over the place, let’s use a train at 7am where not only is the heating off, but the air-conditioning throughout the train is jammed on.
I swear, it was colder inside the train than it was on the platform at Cambridge.
I’ll write more when my fingers have thawed…
!iPhone
Posted: Fri 9 November, 2007 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism 3 Comments »Am I interested in getting the new Apple iPhone now it’s been released over here?
Am I bollocks. In fact, I really don’t want one. If I wanted a new smartphone (and at the moment I really don’t) I’d go for either the new HTC TyTn 2 (itself an upgrade from the K-JAM I used to have) or the Toshiba Portege G900 (which looks very similar to the TyTn)
In general I’m not great at buying into hyper-branded products (Yes, Apple, I’m looking at you) anyway, and while I can see that the iPhone has its uses, they’re not uses that are on my list of requirements for a phone.
So no, I don’t want an iPhone, and I don’t plan to get one. Ever. I can think of much better things to spend the money on, to be honest. Particularly when (as DiamondGeezer points out that cost over the length of the contract works out at £900, (£269 to buy, then £35 for 18 months – on a contract that’s worse than the one I’m already on) yeah, I can think of better things.
White Deer
Posted: Thu 8 November, 2007 Filed under: Animals, Cynicism, Weirdness Leave a comment »There are some sick people in the world.
Oddly enough, this hasn’t just been in the Forest of Dean. A couple of weeks ago there was a similar occurrence down in Cornwall.
Personally, I don’t understand it at all – it’s just, well, why? What’s the point? People are weird.
Too much camera
Posted: Wed 7 November, 2007 Filed under: Cynicism, Photography, Thoughts 1 Comment »One of my colleagues at work has just bought a Canon EOS40D. I’m not quite sure why – other than as a status symbol, really – because the photos I’ve seen of theirs taken with a Sony Cybershot compact camera are (to be blunt) bloody horrible.
Seeing them buy this Canon camera, while not knowing anything about what the lenses do, or even that this meant that the lenses detached from the camera body, well, it just saddens me really.
Now OK, I’m not a great photographer – I’d like to think I’m fairly good, but I’m in no way great – but I progressed through the various stages of compact camera, bridge camera, then made my way up to the SLR. And I’m pleased with how things have gone, and will keep on learning as I go on.
But to me that’s the way it’s supposed to be – that you learn, and progress. Not just jump in to buying a bloody great SLR with no understanding, and somehow expect it to “make” you take better pictures. Because the fact is, it won’t. I went from taking pretty good photos with the bridge camera to taking some truly bloody awful ones with the SLR. I’m still learning about it now, just over two years down the line, and still make fuck-ups on a regular basis.
So I wonder how long it’ll be before this EOS 40D is consigned to a cupboard somewhere “because it’s a crap camera”. And I think it’s a pity, because it’s a fantastic bit of kit, and I’d love one. Not as much as I’d love a 5D or a 1Ds Mk III, but that’s life. Maybe one day, when I either a) have made a decent level of money from photography, and can rationalise the purchase or b) when I’ve run up to the limitations of the 20D.
Way too organised
Posted: Tue 6 November, 2007 Filed under: Cynicism, Domestic, Festering Season, Getting Organised 3 Comments »
I’m beginning to worry about myself now. Following on from a couple of conversations with Herself over the weekend about stuff for next year, I’ve just ordered her main pressie for the Festering Season™. This is notable because it’s far more organised than I usually am.
Now OK, I’ve at least waited ’til after my birthday to do this, but it’s all a bit of a surprise, seeing that I normally don’t even start getting organised for the Festering Season™ before December. At the same time, this week we’ll also complete the pre-order stuff for the Christmas Day lunch, and can get that all delivered and sorted.
All in all, it’s just a bit of a shock to the system…
Current Data
Posted: Fri 2 November, 2007 Filed under: Customer Services, Cynicism Leave a comment »I’ve just had a call from an electricity board, wanting to know if I had an account with them. Turns out that I do, in Norfolk – they’re the ones we currently use.
However, this call was based on my address in – um – Manchester. Not even the last address in Manchester, but the previous one. Which makes the data, to my reckoning, at least four years out of date. Nice to know that these records are kept current (pardon the pun) isn’t it?
Or maybe it’s just time for me to change my mobile number. I’ve obviously had that at least as long.
And visitors had they none
Posted: Thu 1 November, 2007 Filed under: Animals, Cynicism, Domestic 1 Comment »For the first time in years, last night was blissfully quiet. No trick-or-treaters at all darkened our door.
Now, I may be a grumpy old bastard (to paraphrase Gordon) but that’s fine with me. Last year at Hallowe’en we had about fifteen knocks on the door, each of which sends Hound crackers, barking all over the place.
This year? Nothing. Not a sausage.
And we still haven’t heard even one firework.
This living in the country lark is shaping up nicely…