Author Archive

Home Cover Worries!

Jun 12th, 11 / 0 Comments

I’ve had a bit of trouble with my home insurance recently. I’m sure most people around here know the pure frustration that goes along with trying to work out exactly what’s covered in a home insurance policy – there are so many factors that it’s almost impossible to know until the time comes – but I really wanted to know what was and wasn’t covered.

One thing that’s had me in a bit of a state is whether or not I’m covered if I get frozen pipes and the pipes then burst. My aunt had this happen in her home, and trust me it is not a good thing to deal with! Luckily the water in her home didn’t too much damage, but it could have been a lot worse. I’ve read stories of people having to tear down their homes as the damage is too much.

The insurance deal seems to say that I would be covered if this happened but only in circumstances where nothing could be done about it. Does that mean I have to install some sort of frozen pipe protection system and then if it were to fail I would be covered? Because it seems like this would only ever happen in circumstances that were unavoidable with the equipment available at that time.

If anyone has a bit of an expert at this sort of thing then please let me know – I’m tearing my hair out trying to work out whether I’m covered or not! And that’s before even thinking about contents cover, burglary etc and what I need to do to get up to the insurance company standards. It’s almost enough to just make you give up and take your chances!

Stupid Stuff

Drowning My BlackBerry

Mar 10th, 11 / 0 Comments

Another not so comical incident lately has been the demise of my trusty BlackBerry. I had had this phone for some time, so it was kind of due for replacement, but I had been running it on pay as you to to save a bit of cash, there is a recession on you know!

So, I was really trying to avoid taking out another monthly contract that was going to cost me more.

Anyway, fate decided otherwise. I was bathing my daughter, as I do, and realised that by phone was in my pocket. Knowing that I may well get a little damp from the cleansing exercise, I decided “better safe than sorry” and thought I had better put my phone somewhere safe, where it would not get wet, you know, somewhere safe and dry :p

So, having realised the peril my phone was in I whipped it out of my pocket and started looking for some place to put it, at which point the little devil leapt out of my hand, well, it felt like it lept, but with hindsight, I think “dived” would have been a better description. It leapt up, hopped to the edge of my hand and “dived” off into the bath.

Time stands still in times of crises, or at least slows down, so, in slow motion I grappled with the little blighter trying to stop it hitting the water. Like a cat, the wretched thing squirmed around and avoiding my grasp until it dissapeared into the bath.

Of course I was not far behind it, and was straight in their after it. The problem is my daughter has to have emoliant in the bath so the water is cloudy, and my foolish blackberry was nowhere to be found!

When I got it out the thing was well and truly soaked, but sill working, kind of. I dried it off with a hair dryer and all looked good, until I realised the track pad was defunct, without which you cannot operate the phone.

So, repair or renew, that was the question. At 50 smackers I did not think the repair was worthwhile TBH so I began the hunt for a new contract. I found a site called Berrydeals that specialises in comparing blackberry contracts and managed to grab a bit of a bargain :)

So now I am the proud owner of a BlackBerry Curve 3G, which, so far has eluded a watery grave!

Although Im still a bit annoyed with myself over this, every cloud has a silver lining, I managed to get a new phone without my wife running the “whats wrong with your old one” routine, well, she did, but I had a decent answer… to which she responded to the effect of “you stupid fool, why cant you look after anything properly…”, so it was not all plain sailing :|

The up side of this phone is that its a lot faster, I use the internet a fair bit, as, due to another cost cutting exercise I catch the train to work, and having a 3G phone makes online stuff a lot easier. The keyboard is pretty good too.

And on that note, I shall end this worthless ramble, as my train is about to pull in… yes… this was written from my new BlackBerry on the train to work… one of those crappy “post written from my new phone” exercices never to be repeated… but, if you check the lenght of this little ramble you will see how good this thing actually is for working online, even if the screen is a bit small :p

Sent By My BlackBerry Curve Threeee Geeee!

Stupid Stuff

Lost – My Views

Oct 16th, 10 / 0 Comments

I know I’m a bit late to the party, but I recently started watching Lost and love it. I’m on series 4, so no spoilers please! It’s getting very confusing, but I’m intrigued enough to find out what happens. I know a lot of people gave up at this stage and I can sort of see why, but I think it’s very cleverly done.

Firstly, my favourite series is probably the first, as the plot was simpler and the characters were given more chance to grow. As the series has gone on it has become more convoluted, which results in a number of side stories and plots that don’t seem to have a lot of relevance. I’m sure it will all come together in the end, but there does seem to be a lot of extra “fluff”.

The production is fantastic, with good visuals and a believable environment. The story is skirting around the edges of being ridiculous at the moment, but I’m hoping the last two series will help to explain things like the “Numbers”, what the black smoke is and what the island is actually about. Whether this can all be explained in a believable way is another matter, but I’m looking forward to finding out!

Some people don’t like the constant flashbacks/flash forwards, but I think they are great. The whole concept of the island must be something to do with time, so it makes sense to learn about the survivors history as well as what they do after the island. I’m very interested to know whether the six decide to go back, but again that will probably be revealed in a later episode.

All in all, if you haven’t started watching Lost yet then I recommend it! The box sets are around £15 each, but they are worth the money as a lot of picture quality and detail is lost (no pun intended) when watching online.

TV

Cooking the perfect baked potato

Oct 16th, 10 / 0 Comments

If you want a quick and easy meal, and don’t have any time to cook, then try a jacket potato! Yes, it’s not the most exotic food, but it’s simple and is hands free. Here’s my “recipe” for cooking the perfect jacket.

First, start by getting a reasonable size baking potato and scrubbing it to get rid of dirt. This should only take a few minutes, but is an important step. Once you’ve scrubbed it, make sure you dry it carefully using a kitchen roll.

Next, put it in the microwave for 10 minutes. This will help to cook the centre of the potato, and will also speed up the process. Putting it in the microwave for 10 minutes cuts down on around 30 minutes cooking, and gives you a better end result.

Once the potato has been in the microwave, carefully put a small amount of oil on the skin making sure you don’t burn yourself. Then transfer it to the over. The oil will help to make the skin of the potato as crispy as possible, and the centre should be soft from the microwave.

Leave the potato in the over for around 20 minutes, until the skin is crispy. If you want to make sure it’s cooked through then put a knife through the middle. If it’s soft all the way through, then the potato is done.

Now the toppings! I usually keep it simple with butter, grated cheese, baked beans and ham, but you can put almost anything with it. Left over chilli con carne or even curry will go well with a baked potato.

Food

How to “Fix” the England Team

Oct 16th, 10 / 0 Comments

Everyone’s got an opinion on how to make the England football team perform to a higher level, so I may as well post mine! If you agree/think I don’t know what I’m talking about then I want to hear from you either way!

I think what we all want more than anything is to see the team play with passion and pace. Yes, technical skill is essential, but in that area we can’t compete with the vest teams in the world, so we need to play to our strengths. Raising the tempo of our play and not trying to be something we’re not is one way to do that.

Bring Through Young Players

Using young, hungry players is one way of raising our tempo and desire to a more acceptable level. Wilshere is an obvious choice, although I still think he has a lot to prove, but there are others who might be worth looking at. Henderson is meant to be a good prospect, for example. Players like Tom Cleverley at Manchester United, Albrighton and the like should all be given chances once they start playing regularly for their clubs.

Get Rid Of Barry

I’ve always thought that Gareth Barry is overrated, but that he could do a job for England. After watching the last few performances though, I can’t believe how slow he is. We need a mobile and quick player for the defensive midfield role – not someone that can’t keep up. Owen Hargreaves will be the obvious choice once he returns, but there is always going to be question mark over his fitness. Tom Huddlestone is probably less mobile than Barry, but at least he brings a fantastic range of passing to the midfield and a goal threat. It’s difficult to see what Barry gives to the team. Wilshere, while not a defensive midfielder, could be an option. Especially when we play teams with very little attacking intent.

Play Players In The Right Positions

This has always been a problem with England, but we play so much better when the best players for the job are picked – not those with big reputations. Frank Lampard is a good player, but he doesn’t play well with Gerrard in the centre, isn’t versatile enough to play anywhere else and has a poor range of passing. He should be used as a direct replacement for Gerrard when he’s not playing well or injured, but other than that should not be in the team.

With that said, I still think a lot of the criticism given to the England team is unfair. We’re – at best – a top 10 team on the world stage, so we shouldn’t expect to win competitions. Instead, we should aim to get to every major event and then get to the quarters – from there anything can happen. I’d much rather see young talent used though, rather than relying on the same old players who seem to have very little chance of making a major impression.

Football