Andrew Watson's Blog

2011-10-29T18:04:00.000+01:00

A cold wet afternoon, so I'm in the warm making some updates to www.totalmotionsystems.co.uk. Got a major revision planned for the end of this quarter, but some much need tweaks and content updates need to go on first.

The Smithys Forge in Brownhills - Sizzling Pubs a Mitchells & Butlers Brand

2011-07-27T11:19:00.000+01:00

We went to The Smithys Forge in Brownhills last night for a meal. It was actually a choice between there and Wing Wah's in Burton, and I think we made a bad choice :(

We both decided on burgers 1 Aberdeen Angus, Rarebit and Bacon, the other a BBQ Chicken Stack :) which when I went to order I was told would be on a 45 minute wait! This is a Tuesday night in Brownhills, not a Saturday night in a city! OK so we decided to stay and have a drink while we waited.

Eventually the food turned up and my BBQ Chicken Stack was Beef... When I ordered the girl who too the order asked me twice if I wanted the beef or chicken, and twice I told her chicken... The waitress offered to change the order for me however I was now quite hungry and decided that it would do. I wish I'd asked for it to be changed, I still have a powerful taste of "burnt" as a lasting memory, the burger was so over-cooked that it resembled cardboard and fell apart due to being so dry :(

It was a shame that the food was of such poor quality, as I'm sure that with a bit of care the items on the menu would have been very good, and for a very reasonable price. I'm not going to write the brand off on one bad experience, just the Brownhills operation...

myparceldelivery.com

2011-07-06T11:27:00.005+01:00

Must be one of the worst companies I've ever had the misfortune to have dealings with, booked a 3 parcel shipment to The Netherlands with them last Thursday, still hasn't been collected as of today.
No offer of compensation or upgraded level of service.
If you're looking for a cheap parcel service you could do much better than these jokes... :(
UPDATE: 12pm 6th July 2011.

A courier has just turned up to collect 1 parcel, has no details of the account to book the job on to or where the goods are going, so spent 15 mins with him filling out forms, that myparceldelivery.com have already had the information for... :(

Windows Live Mail 2011

2010-12-13T11:33:00.000Z

I use Windows Live Mail on Windows 7 at work. I thought 2010 was an acceptable product that did everything I wanted and was fairly user friendly.

Last night I decided to install Windows Movie Maker, which also upgraded Windows Live Mail to 2011.

What a load of crap.

Where has my stationary gone? On Friday I was send out emails with a corporate look, now I'm reduced to tat.
Why won't calendar sync with google? (I don't know if 2010 did or not, but it wasn't shoved in my face on my main screen so I didn't think about it)

Now trying to install Mozilla Thunderbrd and import my 4k+ emails from Live Mail :(

Shut down the British Armed Forces and save £45bn?

2010-06-24T12:33:00.004+01:00

Sir Simon Jenkins, has written an article in the Guardian, in which he responds to George Osbourne's call for the public's suggestions for public sector cuts.

His "Once-in-a-generation cut"? "The armed forces. All of them"!!

"I say cut defence. I don't mean nibble at it or slice it. I mean cut it, all £45bn of it."

On the face of it all well and good, £45bn saved.

However, apart from the question of what happens if someone decides to invade us (where us being the UK itself, our overseas territories, our national "interests" or our allies) this causes some problems:

The lost tax revenue from the 240'000+ employee's of HM Armed Forces, not to mention the civilian MOD employee's.
The redundancy payouts for the above.
The income support costs, Job Seeker's Allowance, etc, for the above.
The retraining costs of the above.
The effect on the defence contractors, such as BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, etc who would lose business as a result. And the effect on the defence contractors own supply chain.

We might "save" £45bn but we stand to lose so much more.

Personal Insolvency aka A Joke!

2010-06-15T13:49:00.002+01:00

I've recently been a creditor in a personal bankruptcy, and I've come to the conclusion that the system is a joke and has no real effect on the bankrupt.

The bankruptcy estate had assets of less that 0.1% of the liabilities, therefore no chance of the creditors getting any of their money back.

After the receiver's fees the estate was in a debit position of over £400, which I've been told is effectively paid for by the UK taxpayer!

Remind me again why this country is in a mess!

Secret Wales

2010-06-12T20:39:00.002+01:00

I've just been watching a program on BBC iPlayer called Secret Wales.

Roy Nobel visits a village with an old style village shop, which reminded me of Bryncrug in Gwynedd, where I spent a large amount of my school holidays.

There was a village shop run by Bett, who when I was last there about 8 years ago still recognised me. I dont know if she is still there.

There was also a Post Office, which was run by an old lady, I don't remember her name. The post Office was a single room building, with a brass mesh between her and the customer and the money in her handbag!

Rover 45 Coil Pack/Ignition Problems...

2010-03-15T10:37:00.000Z

I've got a 1.4 2002 Rover 45 that's got an ignition/coil pack problem.

A few days ago I got a big misfire (maybe 2 cylinders), so I changed the plugs (after recovering a dropped bolt from cylinder 2!!). While I was doing so I notice that coil pack 1 (from cam belt) had 'oozed' from the right hand side. A bit of fiddling later and the other one has also 'oozed' while firing from the first spark plug.

I've metered the 12V connectors, coil 1 (from cam belt) is showing 4.75Vdc at OFF, POS1, POS2 and 3.5-4.75Vdc at IGN, coil 2 is showing background (2.8mVdc) at off, 1 and 2 and maybe 14Vdc at IGN (I forgot to press save before the ignition was taken off, doh!)

I'm guessing I shouldn't have a) 'ooze' from the coil packs, or b) a constant 4.75Vdc on coil 1?

Anyone got any thoughts? Any other checks I should do? Don't really want to go and buy a pair of coil packs, just to have them fail... :-/

The Toadies @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford - 21/06/09

2009-07-29T11:47:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

The Toadies' MySpace

The Vouch @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford - 21/06/09

2009-07-28T23:12:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

The Vouch's MySpace

Kevin Carter (1960-1994)

2009-07-27T00:01:00.004+01:00

A lot of people have possibly never heard of Kevin Carter, except maybe for the Manic Street Preacher's song.

He was a South African photojournalist during Apartheid, who along with other members of theBang Bang Club photographed for the first time some of the horrific events of this period of South Africa's history, including the first person to photograph a Necklacing.

It was during a trip to Sudan in 1993, he took his (and possibly one of the world's) most famous photographs.

For this picture Kevin won the famous Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography on 23rd May 2994, two months and four days later he killed himself.

Today mark's the 15th Anniversary of Kevin's death, in that time Apartheid has ended in South Africa, but everyday photojournalists risk their lives and to a degree their sanity to try and show the world what is really happening in some of these country's that some of us have probably never heard of.

"I am depressed ... without phone ... money for rent ... money for child support ... money for debts ... money!!! ... I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain ... of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners...I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky."

Feverdogg! @ The Old Wharf, Digbeth - 13/06/09

2009-07-21T15:31:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

Feverdogg!'s MySpace

The Vants @ The Old Wharf, Digbeth - 13/06/09

2009-07-15T15:48:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

The Vant's MySpace

Amazed! I very nearly was!!

2009-07-02T12:16:00.000+01:00

Right so I'm a little pissed off with my Ex-Girlfirend (who owes me a sizeable amount of money). The reason I'm pissed off with her is that she seems to think it's OK to make me a promise then break it, and mess me around, which she has done for the past 5 days, and for the past heck knows how many months!

So on Friday 26th June I get the following text from her:

------ SMS ------
From: +4477xxxx2252
Sent: 26 Jun 2009 3:00 PM
Subject: I will have 40 I'll drop it of i'm...

I will have 40 I'll drop it of i'm not back till this evening

------ SMS ------

To: +4477xxxx2252
Sent: 27 Jun 2009 10:40 AM
Subject: What happened to dropping this £40...

What happened to dropping this £40 off last night, would have been nice if you'd at least text saying you weren't going to make it!

------ SMS ------
From: +4477xxxx2252
Sent: 27 Jun 2009 11:12 AM
Subject: I asked if you were going to be in...

I asked if you were going to be in you didn't answer so i assumed no

------ SMS ------
To: +447787242252
Sent: 27 Jun 2009 11:13 AM
Subject: You didn't ask at all,

You didn't ask at all, you said you would drop it off "I will have 40 I'll drop it of i'm not back till this evening " I'd have text you if that was a problem

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 27 Jun 2009 11:17 AM
Subject: So what you going to do about...

So what you going to do about getting it to me?

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 27 Jun 2009 11:17 AM
Subject: Oh sorry,

Oh sorry, i got confused i'm back sunday if thats any good?

------ SMS ------
To: +447787242252
Sent: 27 Jun 2009 11:18 AM
Subject: What time?

What time? Drop it off if I'm in or not its been going on way too long now!

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 27 Jun 2009 11:19 AM
Subject: Not sure what time but i will drop...

Not sure what time but i will drop it off

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 27 Jun 2009 11:22 AM
Subject: Just a suggestion put it in an...

Just a suggestion put it in an envelope, write my name on it and post it through the door, then text me that you've done it...

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 27 Jun 2009 12:29 PM
Subject: Ok will do

Ok will do

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 28 Jun 2009 10:20 PM
Subject: What time you dropping this money...

What time you dropping this money off?

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 28 Jun 2009 11:29 PM
Subject: In the morning sorry cant drive...

In the morning sorry cant drive hurt my knee

------ SMS ------
To: +447787242252
Sent: 28 Jun 2009 11:30 PM
Subject: I really needed to pay it in on...

I really needed to pay it in on the way to work tomorrow, could you do that if you can't drop it off tonight?

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 28 Jun 2009 11:32 PM
Subject: Yes I'll text you tomorrow for the...

Yes I'll text you tomorrow for the bank details dont send them tonight i'm going sleep now please dont text again sleepy :)

------ SMS ------
To: +447787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 12:48 PM
Subject: When will you be going the bank,

When will you be going the bank, as I've said I really needed it doing first thing this morning!

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 1:11 PM
Subject: I'm trying to get to town now

I'm trying to get to town now

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 2:56 PM
Subject: Sorted yet?!

Sorted yet?!

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 4:36 PM
Subject: Bit concerned that its 4:30pm and...

Bit concerned that its 4:30pm and I've heard nothing!

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 4:36 PM
Subject: Sorry had to pick kids up on route...

Sorry had to pick kids up on route now

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 6:51 PM
Subject: And??

And??

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 10:38 PM
Subject: Any reason why, yet again,

Any reason why, yet again, this money has not been sorted out?

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 10:40 PM
Subject: Yeah i missed the bank cause i...

Yeah i missed the bank cause i left my phone couldn't text you for account details, by the time i got back to bank it was closed

------ SMS ------
To: +447787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 10:41 PM
Subject: So, you'll be going tomorrow then?

So, you'll be going tomorrow then?

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 29 Jun 2009 10:42 PM
Subject: Yeah after I've dropped the kids...

Yeah after I've dropped the kids at school

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 30 Jun 2009 9:48 AM
Subject: This money HAS to be in today,

This money HAS to be in today, text me when its done, I have to make a payment!

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 30 Jun 2009 9:48 AM
Subject: Ok will do

Ok will do

The Smokestacks @ The Old Wharf, Digbeth - 13/06/09

2009-06-26T17:01:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

The Smokestack's MySpace

Corelli @ The Forge Bar, Cannock - 12/06/09

2009-06-25T15:17:00.003+01:00

Full Set Here

Corelli's MySpace

A little puzzle

2009-06-16T16:38:00.004+01:00

One thing that puzzles me; if various statements contradict each other, which is true? Does a further contradiction or set of contradictions follow on from the original contradiction and thus add weight to one or more sides of the original contradiction or should they be treated as finite events?

It thus then begs the question (itself a circular paradox), if you were to chain all contradictions originating from the original contradiction, do you eventually end up with an infinite regressive paradox, where effectively the only outcome is that each statement, along the chain, is false? Which then further complicates if more then one side of the original contradiction has a chain of contradictions, thus potentially rendering all the original statements false. If all original statements were false then there was no contradiction to begin with as there was no true statement to contradict, thus breaking the infinate regressive paradox, thus potentially making one or more of the original statements true again, so making the original contradiction again possible...

It's been quite a while since I've thought about paradoxes and I'd forgotten quite how much they hurt my head.

Marquis Drive @ The Forge Bar, Cannock - 12/06/09

2009-06-15T14:29:00.003+01:00

Full Set Here

Marquis Drive's MySpace

I'm getting to old for this crap!

2009-06-13T09:23:00.000+01:00

After a night of trying to sleep on the porch floor I've decided I'm not 18 anymore! There used to be a time I'd sleep anywhere, in a bed, on a sofa, on the floor, in a tent, a car, in a bath, the garden, even on the A34 once! But last night was hard work, perhaps I hadn't had enough to drink, as I've said I'm not 18 anymore, meh! ;)
Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

This and that...

2009-06-13T03:32:00.000+01:00

I'm posting this as a blog entry mainly because I'm locked out (some idiot forgot his keys) and I've buggered up my facebook account on my BeardBerry.

So had a really good night tonight at The Forge Bar photographing Marquis Drive (Jack Russell Rocker's) and Corelli. Then on to Bar Sport(!) for afters, they played some rock so all was good!

Sitting here in the cold, I'm doing a lot of thinking; why people lie to me, why I do the stupid things I do, why the hell I gave my money away, why I screwed up with the girl I'm crazy about and most importantly why the hell I didn't pick my keys up before I came out!

Anyway, gonna make myself comfortable, got a busy day tomorrow, then Ovation @ The Old Wharf, Digbeth tomorrow night, bring it on!

Love you all x
Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

Some of my vent post from 05/04/09

2009-06-09T10:05:00.004+01:00

So back one weekend at the start of April I wrote a blog entry that I never published, for several reasons, mainly because it was full of anger and hate, due to me writing it while I was at a very dark point in my life and due to having drunk the best part of a bottle of scotch. Anyway I think some of it is still relevant:

"Whether its being taken for granted, for a fool or just generally being lied to, then I'm your man.

I could be a happy fool if I couldn't spot a contradiction at a 100 yards or be so damn sick and tired of being lied to that I take everything with a very large pinch of salt."

""Some day you'll know just how I feel, you left me there twice before

Some day you'll know just how it feels, shattered, cast aside, stripped of your pride, like you were never nothing special, made you feel like another spoke in the wheel..."

Those lyrics are 10 years old, and I've lost track how many times they've fitted the situation and I really wouldn't like to thing how many times I've passed out with a bottle of Black Label (what else do you listen to BLS to?) in my hand listening to them..."

"take yourself to the edge and to paraphrase Van Halen; stand and look down, sometimes it a long bloody way and sometimes the bottom is much closer than you expect but which is the scariest?, live today, not yesterday or tomorrow (somewhere along the line I forgot this, and try and do all three), and grab whatever comes along"

There used to be a time I lived for the moment, let alone today, perhaps that was taking thing a little to the opposite extreme?

"I sometimes wonder if I'd lived my life more like J-Ball (still miss you, and regret so much, but we had some good times) if I would be/feel any different today, if I could take the gamble and win or lose who cares, rather than asking what if..."

That's just part of what I wrote back in April, the rest is staying put.

Just after I wrote this one of the best things to ever happen to me happened, which quickly turned into one of the worst; this is the problem I've had for quite a while, if I take that chance and flip that coin, what then...

I sometimes wonder quite where my life is heading, I've never been someone to avoid the difficult path, but at the same time I'm not a big fan of putting loads of effort in to things just to find failure.

Anyway over the past 8 weeks or so my life has been a complete roller coaster, for so many reasons, which has been half the problem. The following pretty well sums stuff up:

"Far beyond high, Dramatically low, Eternal stare as if I care to know, All of this struggle, All of this work, In the end you die like some moronic jerk"

But times be a changin', my friends still mean the world to me (some of my closest friends have always been more like family; this is one reason that I can't do what some people think I should do about a certain situation) but I'm living for me now, in simple terms The Beard is back... SDMF

After Hours @ 02 Academy 3, Birmingham - 05/06/09

2009-06-08T10:15:00.005+01:00

Full Set Here

After Hour's MySpace

No Americana @ 02 Academy 3, Birmingham - 05/06/09

2009-06-08T10:14:00.004+01:00

Full Set Here

No Americana's MySpace

Copious @ 02 Academy 3, Birmingham - 05/06/09

2009-06-08T10:12:00.003+01:00

Full Set Here

Copious' MySpace

Synergy @ 02 Academy 3, Birmingham - 05/06/09

2009-06-08T10:10:00.004+01:00

Full Set Here

Synergy's MySpace

The Yards @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford - 04/06/09

2009-06-08T10:08:00.005+01:00

Full Set Here

MySpace

Marquis Drive @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford - 04/06/09

2009-06-08T10:04:00.003+01:00

Full Set Here

MySpace

This is somehow my fault...?!

2009-06-02T13:33:00.004+01:00

A few months ago my ex-girlfriend contact me over taking a mobile phone contract out for her. Surfice to say I wasn't overly impressed by this, mainly becuase she already owed me a sizeable amount of money and secondly becuase I didn't really want any further contact with her, but at the sametime I had no reason to be un-civil to her.

So the original conversations went like this:

Andrew Watson

Chat with nicci.1985@googlemail.com

nicci.1985@googlemail.com

3 March 2009 13:56

To: andrew.c.watson@gmail.com

13:52 Nicci: Hiya would you be able to help me sort my contract?

13:54 me: i will but i need some of this other money sorting out, i can't afford to take on a £240/year contract with what you already owe me

13:55 Nicci: i'm trying my best honest, ok if i do it online i can just ask you the details cant i

13:56 me: yes, but i want the money up front every month without fail, if you go over you pay it without argument

13:57 a standing order for the monthly fees would probably be a good idea

13:58 ok?

14:00 Nicci: ok

Andrew Watson

Chat with nicci.1985@googlemail.com

nicci.1985@googlemail.com

3 March 2009 18:31

To: andrew.c.watson@gmail.com

16:45 Nicci: is there a vodaphone shop open late tonight?

16:48 me: don't know

Nicci: can you find out?

16:51 me: can't you look? busy

16:52 Nicci: i dont know where to look

me: i'll look in a bit then

16:53 Nicci: thx

16:55 me: lichfield is open until 5:30

they are open until 5:30

16:57 Nicci: any chance we could get over there?

me: i'm at work, very busy

Nicci: Oh is there anywhere open later/

16:58 me: don't know

Nicci: please look i need to sort it out so i can keep applying for jobs

17:00 me: thought you were getting one online?

17:01 Nicci: it takes up to 4 days

17:02 me: merry hell carphone warehouse is open until 9

Nicci: can we go there?

me: if you drive yes

Nicci: i can no fuel

cant

17:03 me: and i can't really afford the fuel

Nicci: oh ok then

17:05 me: what phone have you seen for £20/mth?

Nicci: sim only brb

17:06 me: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/sim-cards

59 minutes

18:05 Nicci: hiya back now

18:06 me: look at the webpage that's what they sell

Nicci: ok

what website

me: http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/sim-cards

18:09 Nicci: oh can you pick me up later and we'll do it online

18:10 me: where?

18:11 Nicci: what?

me: online where?

why don't you do it now?

Nicci: i cant understand it

18:12 me: so where do you suggest we go online later?

Nicci: your work?

18:13 me: you want me to drive home, pick you up then drive back to work and then drive home again?!?!

which bit of i haven't got the money for fuel didn't you quite get?

18:14 Nicci: forget it you asked for a suggestion

me: so what so difficult about you doing it now?

18:17 Nicci: i'll try

me: which one do you want to go for?

18:18 i can't see it being difficult

Nicci: ok

me: so which one?

18:19 Nicci: sim only £20 a month 3o day notice if need to cancel

me: where?

Nicci: vodaphone

18:22 me: i'll have to order it

18:23 "We can only deliver to your home address. This needs to be the same address as the card you'll use for payment."

18:24 Nicci: exactly

18:25 me: so why didn't you just say that i needed to do it earlier, rather than you didn't understand it?!

18:26 Nicci: because i didnt

me: what is there not to understand?!

ok if i do this now, when will you pay me?

18:27 Nicci: as soon as i can, should get jsa this week

me: you can get jsa if you quit a job?

18:28 Nicci: yes

18:29 me: i thought yu had to wait 12 weeks

Nicci: no not if in was unavoidable

me: oh

Nicci: let me know when you've done it and also thx!

18:30 me: just make sure you pay me every month, and also start paying the rest back, otherwise i won't be a happy andrew

18:31 Nicci: what about a happy andy lol

me: :p

Nicci: :-p

18:32 me: ok so before i press go

£20 for this ASAP

Nicci: yes

me: £20 that you borrowed the other friday quicker than ASAP

Nicci: yes

me: £50 of January's Card the same

18:33 and £20 fuel from the other week as soon as you get a job

Nicci: i promise

me: make sure you keep it please

Nicci: i wiol

18:34 me: spell it right!

Nicci: will

me: ok they are processing it

they will do a credit check, so it might still not happen

18:35 Nicci: ok

keep me informed

me: ok

18:36 don't tell me to fuck off ;)

Nicci: ok

Well that was the original agreement.

So far I have received two invoices from Vodafone.

The first for £40, which was due for payment on 20th April 2009. According to the agreement, as per above, I should have received about £110 before this date. On the 14th April 2009 I had written her a letter, enclosing the invoice and the agreement as above, in which I asked for he to pay me £50 (the £40 mobile phone contract + £10 of cash that she'd borrowed a few weeks previously for 24 hours). Finally on the 28th April, a payment of £40 was made into my bank account.

The second invoice was for £20, which was due for payment on 20th May 2009. When I informed her that the latest invoice was here a payment was required by said date, I sent the following text:

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 10 May 2009 5:57 PM
Subject: Phone bill is in,

Phone bill is in, so required £20 + original agreement of £50 + £20, + £10 you borrowed in march, so total £100 by 19th May.

to which I got the response

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 10 May 2009 5:58 PM
Subject: Dont contact me

Dont contact me

on the 19th May I received the following:

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 19 May 2009 2:41 PM
Subject: Haven't Got it yet working on it

Haven't Got it yet working on it

on the 21st May I sent:

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 21 May 2009 9:42 PM
Subject: If you get this money on saturday...

If you get this money on saturday please let me know asap, or if you can do even the £20 for your phone tomorrow would be good

to which I got the following:

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 22 May 2009 1:13 PM
Subject: I've got 20 for the phone but i'm...

I've got 20 for the phone but i'm not back till sunday

on 26th May I was told:

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 26 May 2009 4:22 PM
Subject: I am stuck in a meeting atm i will...

I am stuck in a meeting atm i will try to in to the bank after

to which I replied:

------ SMS ------
To: +447787242252
Sent: 26 May 2009 4:30 PM
Subject: That would be very useful,

That would be very useful, or by lunchtime tomorrow at the latest please. I will need the £20 for your phone in advance of me paying the bill in the future as we originally agreed.

on 28th May I sent:

------ SMS ------
To: 07787242252
Sent: 28 May 2009 5:38 PM
Subject: Take it you haven't managed to do...

Take it you haven't managed to do anything again today

and i got the following reply:

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 28 May 2009 5:44 PM
Subject: No I will go tomorrow for sure

No I will go tomorrow for sure

Then on 29th I get:

------ SMS ------
From: +447787242252
Sent: 29 May 2009 4:17 PM
Subject: Sorry i cant do it i thought i had...

Sorry i cant do it i thought i had some money left and i dont

So I have the contract barred, which results in the following:

19:09Nicci
i suggest you get my phone sorted if you expect me to sort anything
19:10Andrew
why, you haven't paid it, why should you be able to use it, the
agreement was you paid it BEFORE I paid vodafone, I paid them 9 days
ago
19:10Nicci
up to you
19:12Andrew
its you who's not staying to the agreements, i don't have the money to
keep funding you, i would never have lent you the money or taken out
the contract without your promises, which keep being broken, so i
think really its up to you, you want your phone sorting out, I want
the £100 that you PROMISED would be sorted today by the end of the day
monday
19:13Nicci
sort it tonight or i dont sort anything
19:14Andrew
sorry can't do that, monday at the earliest, and not until you have
paid what you promised me, i don't see why i should be paying for this
contract
19:17Andrew
i told you when i took it out you paid for it, and you agreed, start
keeping your promises and agreements and you can have your phone back,
i can't keep working on your promises that don't happen, that you
decide to tell me aren't' going to happen until there is nothing i can
do about them
19:18Andrew
its your call, i can have your phone back on on monday if you keep the
promise you made me
19:20Andrew
i'm waiting for an answer
19:21Nicci
leave it cancelled i never want to have any discussion with you again
19:23Andrew
interesting, you wanted me to have your phone put back on when you
have broken i don't know how many promises, but if i expect you to
keep your agreement then you aren't interested, sounds like you want
me to have it put back on just so you could carry on pissing me
around, i will expect what you owe me to be settled by the end of next
week
19:24Nicci
you have no chance, you decided to play dirty no fucking live with it
19:27Andrew
if you hadn't let me down again, after promising me last month it
wouldn happen again, and last night that it would be sorted today, and
leaving it until it was too late for me to try and sort it, i've
already said i'm not here to fund you, i gave you £6k in 2007, you
currently owe me £3.3k, best part of £10k. not sure why it's a problem
for you to pay the money you promised me yesterday, then you get your
phone back, until then you don't
19:28Nicci
i dont give a shit now, fuck off you stupid little bastard, you wanna
play dirty so can i, if its not working by tonight i wont pay a penny
19:28Andrew
why should it working when you owe me the money? get me the money and
you get your phone back on, do not blackmail me
19:29Nicci
get my phone working or i go and get another in the morning, your choice
19:30Andrew
considering £70 should have been paid 2 months ago, this month rental
should have been paid 10 days ago and the remaining £10 should have
been paid a month ago, i'm not sure why you are getting so upset, that
was the agreement you made when i took it out for you
19:31Nicci
get it working and i'll try and sort it, if you dont i will just get
another phone tomorrow, up to you
19:32Andrew
i want more than "try and sort it" i want to know how much, when, how,
etc, as i say your promises don't mean very much
19:32Nicci
sort it or not i'm not discussing it anymore
19:34Andrew
no you tell me what you will try and sort first, or i'm guessing i
will get it sorted then you will amazingly find another reason why you
can't pay me. at the very least i think you should get the £20 that
you have had for a week sorted out before you make any further demands

So I would say I have been more than fair and reasonable over the situation.

As we stand today (14 days after I paid Vodafone), I've not been paid a penny, and all I've had from her is "fuck off", "stop harassing me", "i'll contact the police", "i'll text you when I sort it".

Corelli @ 02 Academy 3, Birmingham - 22/05/09

2009-05-30T04:28:00.003+01:00

Full Set Here

The Whiskey Syndicate @ The Little Civic, Wolverhampton - 08/05/09

2009-05-17T13:15:00.003+01:00

Full Set Here

Elle Diablo @ The Little Civic, Wolverhampton - 08/05/09

2009-05-17T13:13:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

Marquis Drive @ The Flapper & Firkin, Birmingham - 03/05/09

2009-05-17T13:10:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

2009-05-16T20:26:00.000+01:00

Over the past few weeks I've been doing a lot of thinking about a lot of things.

Over the past 12 months some of the best and worst things for a very long time have happened to me, however for a number of reasons the worst things seem to outweigh the best things.

From the things that have happened and the thinking I've been doing, there are a lot of things I want to change, some of which I'm already trying to.

One of the big things is that despite what disasters are going on around me and getting me down, I'm trying to look to the future, which isn't always much better, but at least its a new day.

Another thing is that I'm trying to rearrange the priorities in my life, a lot of the things that were important to me, maybe only 3 or 4 months ago are not as important as they were and in some cases are completely meaning less. The past is the past is the past! There are things from the past that are important to me, don't get me wrong, there are also things from the past that I want to try and un-fuck-up, but my life lives in the here and now and moves forward into the future.

Some things that I live by (my moral code if I have such a thing) are:

My promises are something I try my very hardest not to break, if I break a promise to someone I have let myself down.

My friends are my most cherished possessions, some of my closest friends are more like family. Just want to say Sorry to all my friends if I've ever let them down, hurt them or anything else. I want to say a very big thank you to some of my very closest friends for putting up with me, especially over the past 12 months or so, it means a lot it really does, one day I will repay you all with interest. One thing that I don't do enough is keep in touch with my friends, that's on the list to change, starting pretty damn soon.

I very rarely hate people, in fact I can only think of 1 person who qualifies, but he is so far in the past that I really don't care anymore. I've always tried to keep an open mind about what people do and say, because I know that I can from time to time (all the time it seems at the moment) do things and say things that are stupid, heat of the moment or just from too much drink.

The one biggest thing that I want to change, is the fact that everything I seem to do at the moment I seem to screw up, mainly through being a complete world class idiot, I've been screwing up too many things just recently (work, home, social, you name it) to keep doing it.

Anyway, that's enough rambling from me, I'm going out for a few beers and some 80's classics, enjoy your evenings x
Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

annus bloodycatastrophicus

2009-05-11T10:37:00.008+01:00

So my crap year goes from terrible to bloody awful.

It really has been a rollercoaster, one with one of those dodgy shopping trolley wheels that goes it the completely wrong direction but could fall off at anytime.

I've never really had any major regrets (there is one of which I can never do anything about - RIP Bro...) but some of the stuff that has happened over the past few weeks I regret enormously, in fact I will probably regret for the rest of my life

Roll on 2010...

Jim Bob from Carter USM @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford - 29/04/09

2009-05-05T19:19:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here (that's almost funny there are a total of 3 shots)

Marquis Drive @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford - 29/04/09

2009-05-05T18:58:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

Eureka Machines @ The Varsity, Wolverhampton, 19/04/09

2009-04-26T18:39:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

Elle Diablo @ The Varsity, Wolverhampton, 19/04/09

2009-04-26T18:36:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

Tom Hingley (Ex-Inspiral Carpets) @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford, 18/04/09

2009-04-26T18:35:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

Andy from Low Orders @ The Uxbridge Hednesford, 18/04/09

2009-04-26T18:34:00.004+01:00

Full Set Here

The Vouch @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford, 18/04/09

2009-04-26T18:33:00.003+01:00

Full Set Here

Tenpole Tudor @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford, 12/04/09

2009-04-26T18:31:00.002+01:00

Full Set Here

KMA, The Uxbridge, Hednesford, 12/04/09

2009-04-26T18:29:00.001+01:00

Full Set Here

Vincent and the Onepotts, The Uxbridge, Hednesford, 12/04/09

2009-04-26T18:27:00.004+01:00

Full set here

Dive @ The Uxbridge, Hednesford, 12/04/09

2009-04-26T18:25:00.003+01:00

Full set here

Corelli @ Actress & Bishop, Birmingham, 03/04/09

2009-04-26T18:23:00.002+01:00

Full set here

...

2009-04-21T22:44:00.002+01:00

So a lots been going on over the past few days, some of the best stuff for a very long time.

Friday night I went to see a gig I've been waiting for for 6 months and a few months before that would never have believed I would have been going to...

I went to see Ultravox.

Bloody Hell it was good! Want to do it again!!

Then went to see Eureka Machines & Elle Diablo, which was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

Unfortunately for a load of reasons the past two days have been really crap, universal balance I guess...

...

2009-04-13T12:34:00.007+01:00

After the events of the past week, I've been doing a lot of thinking, probably too much thinking if I know myself as well as I think I do; I have a very bad ability to over analyze and read into things; and after some very good and kind comments from some people (thank you) I've started to rationalise some aspects of my life.

Again I don't want to go into the issue in great depth, if you want to talk to me, like some people have, (and I thank you for what you've said it means more than you'll ever know, and to one person particularly no you're not intruding like you said we've know each other a long time, 24 year I think), you know where I am.

I see a lot of changes coming in my life, some for the good some for the bad, but one thing I have decided it to try my very hardest to put some very major issues behind me (I haven't forgotten them, I never will forget them and I still want them resolving, especially as promises have been made to me that it will get sorted but from this point forward they no longer bring me down, and if I really heard what I think I heard today and if it ever happens again I stop playing nice, consider yourself on notice).

Too much of my time over the past few years has been spent looking out for other people, (I'm not sure if anyone realises that I was one of the only people not to properly mourn at Roy's funeral 3 years ago mainly because my friends were struggling around me and I saw that as my job; I finally had my time with him last weekend) I'm not saying that looking out for my friends will end, far from it but myself and a hopefully very good situation (I've made a promise and I intend to keep it) take priority.

One thing that is really good is keeping busy, I washed the car for the first time in three years yesterday, and I'm right proud of it ;)

When you're talking to yourself, and nobody's home...

2009-04-11T13:43:00.011+01:00

Last weekend I started to write an epic piece that never saw the light of day. I never published it because I was on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown and in a place that quite frankly scared me (and a couple of my good friends who were around me at the time, thank you to both of you, you know who you are), most of the things I wrote were not what I really felt and would have hurt the people that don't need to be hurt, it turned into a lash out and destroy piece of text. I still have this and read it from time to time and see how wrong I was about some of the things that I had written, and how right I was not to press go...

Anyway, last weekend was the culmination of many things, some of which I'm still not sure quite what to do or think about, some of these things will potentially scar me for life, but one thing I do know is that the majority of what I experienced was panic, loss of self-confidence and respect, lots of anger, at myself mainly but at other people, some of whom are some of my best friends (some who are no longer here) and don't deserve it.

As I say I still have a copy of what I wrote last weekend and some of it is true, some is complete crap and some I just don't understand and I wrote it; there is a whole section where I try and explain some lyrics of a Black Label Society song (Spoke in the wheel, if anyone knows it) and how it's, after 10 years, part of my soul, which just turned into a general rant about God knows what. If you really want to understand it take me back to '98 and lets start there...

"Some day you'll know just how I feel, you left me there twice before

Some day you'll know just how it feels, shattered, cast aside, stripped of your pride, like you were never nothing special, made you feel like another spoke in the wheel..."

I know what they mean to me, I have listened to that song for as I say 10 years, and it's always there in the background.

The stresses that have caused this have not gone away, they have in reality got worse and stand to get even worse (especially after a conversation I had a few days ago with one of the people involved).

Some good things came out of last weekend, one of which is that I went to see J-Ball (RIP dude, I still don't mean what I said) which I haven't done for a very long time...

2009-03-30T14:08:00.000+01:00

Geek Code

2009-03-30T10:24:00.002+01:00

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----   Version: 3.1   GIT/E d- s: a- C+++ ULU++++ P++ L++ E-- W+++ N o- w   M- V PS PE++ PGP+ t- 5? X R- tv b++ DI++ D++   G e* h! r% y+ ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

Bored much? meh!

Johnny Doom Presents...

2009-03-28T17:38:00.002Z

Elle Diabloplayed atThe Wharf Bar, Walsallas part of Johnny Doom Presents...

Full gallery here...

Das Blinkenlights

2009-03-25T12:20:00.003Z

Still a classic in my book ;)

Borrowed from here

Chris Difford's Review of The Tackeroo Gig 15/03/09

2009-03-19T11:47:00.003Z

"Cannock
The club was set at the end of a long road full of what seemed to be council houses, this once fine social club was now a home for local covers bands. Think Floyd, U2 me, Twin Lizzy, that sort of thing. Run by chain smoking chap with big belly and braces over a Jucy Lucy t shirt. Our set ran well enough until I knocked the size of the dressing room, a cupboard at best. The tubby one finished us all off with a very loud Labelled with Love through the PA. We leapt in the car and drove home. Tonight another curry. A good one for a change."

Taken from Chris' Facebook page

Off to see him again tonight at Katie Fitzgerald’s, Stourbridge :) More Info Here

The missing photoshoot from January :)

2009-03-18T23:03:00.002Z

Photographed a gig back in January, edited the shots (what there is of them) but for some reason never posted them. Haven't even bothered with the main act as I really lost interest in them after about 2 minutes :(

Wasted Saints - 25/01/09 -- MySpace

Corelli (Was The Lodgers) - 25/01/09 -- MySpace

Links to the bands & artists I've photographed

2009-03-18T22:06:00.006Z

Third Angle Projection

Venues

w00t! I'm credited on Elle Diablo's EP :D

2009-03-17T20:09:00.002Z

Buy you copy now from Elle Diablo Online Store

Band information

2009-03-17T10:36:00.002Z

It occured to me while I was just posting the Chris Difford photosets that I post links to my photographs, but don't give any information about the actual artists or bands or venues or anything else. So (not that I'm lacking in content or anything) I'm gonna work through the photosets that I've done, with links to myspace, official websites, venues, etc...

More Photosets

2009-03-17T10:16:00.002Z

Went to see Chris Difford [MySpace] [Official Website] (Squeeze) on Sunday night. If you get the chance to see him on his current tour [On my own (I'm never bored)] a good night should be had.

Dorie Jackson & Emily Baker - 15/03/09

Ella Edmondson - 15/03/09

Chris Difford - 15/03/09

gmail

2009-03-17T09:49:00.004Z

So I just happened to press "oldest" instead of "older" today on my gmail (yes I'm in the UK and I have a gmail not googlemail, that because I had it before google changed to name) and discovered a few of interesting things (well I found them interesting anyway):

I first started using gmail on 24 August 2004, so I've been using it for just over 4.5 years
I have aprox. 8'000 message threads
Each message thread has aprox. 4 messages
A quick calculation later so I have aprox 32k messages
I'm only using 300Mb out of the available 7Gb, that's about 4%

So that works out to be aprox. 1777 message threads per year, aprox. 7000 messages per year and about 70Mb per year.

So assuming that in August in 41 years time (I'll be 70 and will have been using gmail for 46 years) I am still using gmail, I will have aprox. 82k message threads, 330k messages and will still have only used 3Gb which is less than 50% of the 7Gb that I have available today...

Quite amazing and shows I'm pretty damn bored ;)

Latest photosets

2009-03-14T17:38:00.004Z

Marquis Drive - 08/03/09
The Gordyz - 08/03/09
The Scarlet Harlots - 08/03/09

2009-03-14T17:25:00.001Z

Last post was a test post for Rory Cellan-Jones

Super-charge battery breakthrough

2009-03-14T17:20:00.002Z

Pictures for Sale

2009-03-02T20:54:00.002Z

I now have some pictures for sale at redbubble.com

8 weeks and counting...

2009-03-02T09:45:00.002Z

I stopped smoking on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT.

It has been 8 weeks, 0 days, 14 hours, 56 minutes and 0 seconds since I quit.

I have saved £135.89 by choosing not to smoke 566 cigarettes.

More importantly, I saved 0 weeks, 4 days 7 hours 48 minutes of my life!

More photo sets

2009-02-22T21:05:00.002Z

Twycross Zoo 21/02/09

So Called Enemy 20/02/09

Gunslinger 30/01/09

White Rose 30/01/09

New Elle Diablo photo set

2009-02-21T18:06:00.005Z

Elle Diablo @ The Actress & Bishop, Birmingham - 20-Feb-09

Photo Collections So Far

2009-02-20T11:10:00.003Z

Marquis Drive 30-Nov-08

Miles Hunt & Erica Nockalls 30-Nov-08

Midge Ure 02-Dec-08

Mostly Autumn 14-Dec-08

Third Angle Projection 16-Dec-08

GUN 16-Dec-08

The Vouch 21-Dec-08

Marquis Drive 21-Dec-08

Elle Diablo 09-Jan-09

Elle Diablo 18-Jan-09

Sarcastic Comment 18-Jan-09

Discotheque Wreck 18-Jan-09

Eureka Machines 18-Jan-09

Hollowood 01-Feb-09

Marquis Drive 01-Feb-09

Chris Helme 01-Feb-09

Still to come Gunslinger...

Tap Tap

2009-02-17T23:26:00.002Z

Is this thing still on? ;)

Blog has been a little bit neglected over the past few weeks, especially since I've started twittering (averaging 9 tweets/day) but I am planning to get some updates in here, like a little review of my cheepo camera for £39.99 and try and do some entrys for the bands I photograph.

Anyway until then, follow me on twitter maybe?

3 weeks :)

2009-01-26T11:23:00.001Z

I stopped smoking on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT.

It has been 3 weeks, 0 days, 16 hours, 23 minutes and 0 seconds since I quit.

I have saved £52.04 by choosing not to smoke 216 cigarettes.

More importantly, I saved 0 weeks, 1 days 15 hours 45 minutes of my life!

Busy Busy Busy

2009-01-23T01:00:00.002Z

Everything seems to be busy at the moment, tons on at work, I've even had to make a daily to-do list just to keep things in order. Finally got around to tidying my desk up today, can now see the actual desk, however I really need to tackel the 3 piles of crap to sort out, think I might go in over the weekend and have a good sort/throw out...

I'm really impressed with BBC iPlayer, really is one of the best uses of 'public' money I encountered in years. Right now I'm watching Million Dollar Traders from Monday night. The best thing I've found is that Virgin Media have the iPlayer integrated into their service so you can watch on the TV which is really cool.

After going to The Little Civic on Sunday night I ended up with over 1300 photos. This was over four bands, so far I've worked through Elle Diablo's, so over the next few days I need to start working through Sarcastic Comment, Discotheque Wreck and Eureka Machines...

1 week down...

2009-01-12T11:48:00.001Z

So I've done a week of not smoking, hasn't been easy!

I stopped smoking on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT.

It has been 1 weeks, 0 days, 17 hours, 0 minutes and 53 seconds since I quit.

I have saved £18.5 by choosing not to smoke 77 cigarettes.

More importantly, I saved 0 weeks, 0 days 14 hours 7 minutes of my life!

Cadair Idris

2009-01-09T13:24:00.007Z

I got thinking about when Cadair Idris was our playground, me, Steve, James & Matt would spend countless hours on that very special and unique welsh hill.

However thinking back I think one of the most memorable times was when myself & Matt decided to attempt Great Gully, which is a Hard Severe Winter Ice Climb, considered extremely dangerous in the summer.

So being safety conscious type of guys, and loving to live on the edge, we decided to do it on my birthday (16th IIRC so 1996), which is in August! We also decided to treat it as a solo scramble ;)

Once you were in you were in, boulders the size of mini's, I thought it resembled being in a valley in Borneo, but it was straight up!

A couple of hours and a completely battered pair of Oakley Frogskins later and we got to the top.

The two pictures not with snow randomly nicked off 'net...

The one with snow taken by moi!

Twitter

2009-01-09T12:59:00.002Z

I've gone Twitter crazy at the moment, something to keep my hands occupied instead of smoking...

I've got twitter, twitterberry and twitter on facebook...

Smoking...

2009-01-09T10:47:00.002Z

I stopped smoking on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:01:00 GMT.
It has been 0 weeks, 4 days, 15 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds since I quit.
I have saved £11.18 by choosing not to smoke 46 cigarettes.
More importantly, I saved 0 weeks, 0 days 8 hours 32 minutes of my life!

Blah!

2009-01-07T14:54:00.002Z

So I'm bored, yup very bored...

So bored I think my creativity has packed up and gone away, hmmm what to do to amuse myself? I could... re-read userfriendly.org that will while away a few hours (or weeks). Hmm normally if I was this tuck I'd go for a smoke, but that's not an option now, must think of inventive stuff to do, hmmm what mischief could I get up to? not much I' don't think not much really to meddle with at the moment, and nothing to make go bang! :(

Sleep

2009-01-07T12:17:00.003Z

So for some reason I've hardly slept over the past three nights, grrr!

Sunday was a couple of hours then awake the rest of the night...

Monday was straight off, then some crazy dream, then awake the rest of the night...

Tuesday about an hour, then awake until about 5ish...

Don't know if this is to do with trying to give up smoking, cutting the drink down after the holiday, getting back into work routine or what, but just at the moment it's fscking annoying!!

2009

2009-01-06T15:53:00.003Z

So it's that time of the year again...

So from last year:

Cut down on the drink
Give up smoking (I've always said that I don't want to give up and that making me smoke outside won't affect this decision, but spending the past few days on my death(!) bed without a cigarette has been wonderful!)
Get my money back on track
Turn up to work on time (well at least 25% of it anyway)

Don't think I've done too bad:

Worked until about three weeks before Christmas, but oh well!
Not quite there yet, been on 5-10/day for about 4 months now down from 20+. Also now gone 2 days without so we shall see...
Going very well
Managed it today, so here goes nothing...

Decided not to make any new ones, just keep going with these bad boys!

Midge Ure

2008-12-02T23:50:00.002Z

Went to see Midge Ure tonight at The Robin in Bilston.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29904720@N06/sets/72157610595280695/

Miles Hunt (part 2)

2008-12-01T22:03:00.003Z

So finally got the pictures from Miles' section of the show sorted out...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29904720@N06/sets/72157610623191522/

Miles Hunt from The Wonder Stuff

2008-12-01T11:50:00.002Z

So a few of us took a trip out last night (yeah on a School night and
everything ;) ) to a local live music pub The Tackeroo, to see an
acoustic set by Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls (from a band called
The Wonder Stuff).

So myself and Steve decided to take the cameras and I had a crash
course in live photography, push the ISO, open the aperture, and
sacrifice a passing chicken for luck...

There was quite good access to the front of the stage, however for
some reason (the shelf for my beer, and convenient flight case to
stand on) I chose to spend most of my time stage left, right by the PA
cabs...

Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the set that I took of the support,
Marquis Drive, haven't had chance to have a good look at the ones
of Miles and Erica, but I have a feeling that the beer may have been
starting to affect my abilities slightly...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29904720@N06/sets/72157610588701838/

being quite pleased personally with

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29904720@N06/3073465193/in/set-72157610588701838/

I've copied the pictures above from my facebook account, I'll get
around to uploading some larger versions when I get home tonight...

Update

2008-11-14T11:10:00.002Z

Monday 10th November 2008

4 Pints of Beer (@£2.50/ea) and aprox 5 cigarettes.

Tuesday 11th November 2008

No drink, couple of cigarettes

Wednesday 12th November 2008

1 can of beer, couple of cigarettes

Thursday 13th November 2008

No drink, couple of cigarettes

2008-11-09T23:25:00.001Z

Sunday 9th November 2008

At 7pm 1 day without a drink.
No drink all day and 1 cigarette.

In 8 days (3am Monday morning) I have only had 3 pints of beer costing £2.50/each.
Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

2008-11-08T23:41:00.000Z

Saturday 8th November 2008

At 3am 6 days without a drink.
Three pints of beer and 3-4 cigarettes.
Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

2008-11-07T22:42:00.001Z

Friday 7th November 2008
At 3am 5 days without a drink.
No drink all day, smoked 1 cigarette.
Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

2008-11-06T22:25:00.001Z

Thursday 6th November 2008
At 3am 4 days without a drink.
No drink all day, smoked 2 cigarettes.
Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

Smoking and Drinking

2008-11-05T22:05:00.000Z

So due to a cold/virus thing that I picked up at the weekend, I have decided to considerably cut down both my smoking and my drinking, for at least this week while I recuperate... (Note: I don't have any plans to stop drinking totally however I am considering stopping smoking.)

So a little bit about my habits, I smoke probably between 5 and 20 a day depending upon the day and how much I have had to drink. I used to smoke 'real' cigarettes, but have in the past fortnight, switched to roll-ups. Where 20 'real' cigarettes would cost me around £5 and last maybe 2 days tops, a 12.5g of rolling tobacco costs about £3 and will last towards 5 days. Also I a currently working through a 50g packed that was given to me for nothing.

Drinking, I usually end up in the pub most nights, week nights often from work and weekends, well they start Friday night and finish when I go to bed Sunday. It is rare but not unheard of for me to stay in. Usual drink is either lager by the pint at £2.60, or JD and Coke at £2.25 per half.

So as this really started on Sunday/Monday a quick recap.

Sunday 2nd November 2008
Finished drinking around 3am Sunday morning. Did not drink all day after this time. Smoking unknown maybe 5ish?

Monday 3rd November 2008
At 3am 1 day without a drink.
No drink all day, smoked 1-2 cigarettes.

Tuesday 4th November 2008
At 3am 2 days without a drink.
No drink all day, smoked 1-2 cigarettes.

Wednesday 5th November 2008
At 3am 3days without a drink.
No drink all day (I'm in bed as I write this so I'm 99% sure I won't drink tonight), smoked 1-2 cigarettes.
Sent via BlackBerry® from BT

Personal Services Required

2008-07-16T23:08:00.000+01:00

Watched the Au Pair episode of Personal Services required tonight on Channel 4. I thought last weeks (housekeeper) was over the top but tonight was almost made (what I've seen of) Big Brother seem like serious TV. The one employer AJ was downright aggressive and almost racist with the comments about foreign workers being stupid and the other employer, I forget her name, appearing to be wanting the equivalent of last weeks housekeeper with salary offers of between £19k and £40k for the amazing sum of £60/week! I was absolutely amazed at how when the favourite of both picked AJ the other person did some serious back tracking and picked a girl who 5 minutes earlier she had said was too young and wouldn't be offered the job. Modern TV isn't it great...
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Current Reading

2008-07-15T21:54:00.001+01:00

So I'm currently working my way through John Grisham's quite large collection of books. Over the past few weeks I've read: The Pelican Brief, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The King of Torts, A Painted House and I'm currently on The Testament.
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Rugeley

2008-07-15T15:29:00.001+01:00

I've decided that I don't like Rugeley, for a start who in their right mind thinks 70p is a reasonable amount to pay for 1 hours parking? Especially as there is nothing in Rugeley to park for except the bank which on a bad day might take 10 mins. Bah!
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Blackberry Video & myspace blog

2008-07-14T22:47:00.001+01:00

Hmmm been a while since I've posted here...

I've had my Blackberry Curve for about 6 weeks now and I think it is one of the most genius things in the world except for one thing... No video recording, according to crackberry.com the latest OS version should enable this, must get onto BT and find out when we might get upgraded...

I currently writing this blog entry on my 'berry which through the magic of email ends up on my blog here at blogspot.com so why can't I do the same with my myspace blog?

Test from 'berry

2008-07-14T20:52:00.001+01:00

This is a test from my blackberry

New Products at Work

2008-01-22T22:04:00.000Z

At work we have a new range of Stepper Drives from RTA in Italy. The NDC range replaces the existing SDC and HGD ranges.

The NDC series, available with plug and socket connections or screw terminals, has the benefit of ministepping at up to 4000 s/r and has a built in oscillator, useful in simple move applications. The NDC will operate from a DC power supply in the range of 24 to 75V dc and the two model variants offer a wide current range making them suitable for use with a variety of stepper motors. The similar SAC series operates from AC supplies.

Hopefully we will find some applications where we can target this drive.

Not much going on

2008-01-21T21:00:00.000Z

So it's been a few days since I last posted and to be perfectly honest not much has happened.

Finally got the new website for work finished; www.totalmotionsystems.co.uk for all your motion control requirements ;)

Been to a half day seminar about Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools at the University of Warwick, which was run by the National B2B Center.

Been looking at some SEO and PPC in relation to the website, but on top of everything else that hasn't developed very far just yet.

I thought the other day while I was looking through dmoz Open Directory Project, about becoming a subject editor, but again haven't quite got around to that yet...

2008-01-02T13:45:00.000Z

Petrol Prices at Burntwood, Staffs.:

	Avg.	Min.	Max.
Unleaded:	103.1p	99.9p	107.9p
Diesel:	108.2p	104.9p	111.9p

And for the UK:

	Avg.	Min.	Max.
Unleaded:	103.8p	99.8p	114.9p
Diesel:	108.0p	100.9p	119.9p

Data taken from www.petrolprices.com

Back To Work

2008-01-02T13:39:00.000Z

So it was the first day back to TMS Towers after our enforced Christmas Break of 11 days. Nothing much seems to have happened over Christmas, a few enquiries from the parts of the world that were open a couple of orders on the fax, but otherwise looks like people are still on holiday. Should have the new website online either late today or early tomorrow, which is a job well done.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T21:48:00.000Z

Here it is again 1st of January! So goodbye to 2007 and hello to 2008...

What can I say about 2007, to be absolutley honest not a lot, as I can't really remember anything from the past 12 months. I turned 27, I'm still in debt, I still have a job to go to, I didn't blog as much as I did in 2006 (39 in 2007 to 191 in 2006) and thats about it. Somehow I missed the main event, I think it all started last new year's eve, I can't remember that either...

Went to the Uxbridge for our Annual new years gathering, didn't feel to good, this man flu (which I've had since Christmas Eve) is still getting me down a bit.

New Year's Resolutions

Cut down on the drink
Give up smoking (I've always said that I don't want to give up and that making me smoke outside won't affect this decision, but spending the past few days on my death(!) bed without a cigarette has been wonderful!)
Get my money back on track
Turn up to work on time (well at least 25% of it anyway)

Petrol Protests

2007-12-19T10:55:00.000Z

So it sounds like the Petrol Protests at the weekend were a bit of a wash out. One depot at Purfleet, Essex, where a demonstration was due to be staged - but there was a protest from a lone pensioner.

June Walker, 61, of Rainham, Essex, said: "I've got nothing to do with the haulage industry. I'm just a pensioner who pays £57 to fill up a Peugeot 307."

Full article Here from BBC News

Another article Here from Sky

Prehaps people couldn't afford the fuel to get there!

Petrol Prices at Burntwood, Staffs.:

	Avg.	Min.	Max.
Unleaded:	102.7p	99.9p	107.9p
Diesel:	108.0p	104.9p	119.9p

And for the UK:

	Avg.	Min.	Max.
Unleaded:	102.8p	98.9p	114.9p
Diesel:	108.0p	100.0p	119.9p

Data taken from www.petrolprices.com

miniWIZ [ HYmini | miniSolar ]

2007-12-11T00:32:00.000Z

Saw this tonight on The Gadget Show on five:

Environmentaly friendly ways to recharge your mobile, iPod, PDA, camera etc.

There is the HYmini, which harnesses wind, solar, usb and mains power and the miniSolar solar panel.

Petrol Protest

2007-12-11T00:17:00.000Z

From petrolprices.com blog:

----
BREAKING NEWS
----

UPDATE: This morning (10/12/07) Transaction 2007 announced a firm date for the protest. Protests will start Saturday 15th December 2007 at 10:00am. They say the date was decided by members as "the best possible to enable those who would normally be working during the week to attend." According to a press release on the site, they plan to protest outside refineries or storage depots across the country.