Bomb.org.uk
April, 2006
25.04.2006 Having Fun with Telemarketers…
I’ve been the owner of a BT landline now for nearly three years, and despite being registered with the UK TPS (which I’ve renewed yearly). I still get lots of junk calls. So rather than hanging up on the pesky callers (of which Toucan Telecom insist on calling me EVERY Saturday morning at around 9am) I’ve started making myself a nuisance to them, and why the hell shouldn’t I? They waste my time, so I’m wasting theirs!
For instance when TT ring up and ask if I’m the owner of a BT landline (which they know full well that I am) I simply reply back with ‘no, I don’t own a telephone’. Which is normally followed by a couple of seconds of gob-smacked silence before they apologise for the intrusion and hang up. I’ve now done this about six times, but they still insist on calling. Are these people stupid or something?
I’m trying to come up with creative responses to various telemarketers now because I’ve simply had enough of getting stressed out and the TPS is a total waste of time. I can’t stop the crap calls, so I may as well have some fun with em right?
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24.04.2006 Driving a convertible…
Hmmm, one thing I can say after a few days driving a convertible car is that you suddenly become a whole lot more self conscious of your own image when you know the whole world can see you a damn site more clearly than in most cars.
Because the weather isn’t yet totally warm over here in the UK so far I’ve only been driving with the roof down and the windows up but with the removal of the roof everyone can see your music and I’ve been getting some strange looks in response to my taste in music (which as anyone who knows me will tell you, i like to have very loud).
Apparently Nirvana just aren’t cool any more.
Ah well, with the the summer months on their way I’m starting to get back into the whole dance music thang again although I know if the likes of The Prodigy, Fragma, Moloko and Chicane aren’t cool any more but I’ve decided that this summer is going to be the summer of classic dance music revival.
On the subject of Chicane, they’ve just released a new single called ‘Stoned In Love‘ (click the link to hear the track and watch the video) and it’s ace… except for one minor problem. They’ve only gone and bloody well chosen TOM JONES to do the vocals and he totally trashes a good tune! I guess this is another one of those ‘whatever were they thinking’ songs. It’s a shame really, because I love Chicane’s music and prior to today I’ve never had a bad thing to say about them but this track will certainly not be in any of my playlists anytime soon
22.04.2006 Andys New Toy
Yay…. I finally now have my new car. After nearly two months of waiting it’s hear and it’s fooking lovely, a brand spanking new 307cc.
(all pics taken on my k750i camera phone – not bad huh?)
Now all I have to do is work out how to connect my iPod to the damn stereo without using one of those bloody FM transmitter thingies and I’m sorted. I have a freelance job or two coming up soon so hopefully I should be able to afford a couple of little improvements as well if everything goes to plan 
So far the car has been nice to drive, although it’s very different to what I’m used to. I’ve only ever driven hatchbacks before now so I’m used to the car stopping at the back window – this doesn’t – in fact, it goes on for at least another two feet and the front is much longer than my old 206 so this is causing me a few problems when it comes to reverse/parallel parking etc. 
It’s nice having the extra oomph that the 2.0 litre HDI engine provides. The total horse power of 136 is nearly double what the old car had but this car is quite weighty so isn’t as fast as it could be, but lets face it… who drives fast in a convertible anyway? The whole point of convertibles is to drive slow and pose and that’s one thing that I’ll be doing plenty of.
This is certainly a sexy car (in my opinion) and it gets plenty of looks, especially with the roof down. The front grill kind of reminds me of one of those basking sharks purely because it’s so bloody big and I certainly prefer the looks compared to those of the old style 307cc which just looked a bit too tame for my liking. The only thing I don’t really like about it is the chrome surrounds on the front fog lights, but I’m sure that’ll grow on me.
Since I’ve only had it for two days, I can’t really comment on the reliability and I haven’t had it on the motorway yet so I haven’t quite had a chance to really open her up and see what she can do, but I’m heading up to see my family tomorrow and that requires a motorway trip so I’m certainly looking forward to that one.
Overall I’m happy and would say that it’s been well worth the wait, now I just have to wait for summer so I can get some serious topless action going on! I’m not going to score this review because I still have a lot to learn about the car, these are really just my initial thoughts. Hopefully I’ll get around to writing a follow up in a month or so when I’ve spent some proper time with it.
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16.04.2006 Looking For a Transfer
I’m on the lookout for a new FTP program since I’m starting to feel guilty about the dodgy version of a popular shareware mac FTP app that I’ve been running for a while now. I’m broke for now so I’m looking for either a completely free FTP program or a shareware app that doesn’t have compulsory registration.
Any suggestions?
I’ve already tried Cyberduck FTP which is ok but seems to loose the connection and stall quite a bit so I’ve kind of given up on this for now. I’ve also tried Transmit and Yummy FTP, both of which are limited trials so are out for the long run. I quite like Transmit, but can’t afford to pay for it right now, and I find Yummy to be a bit clunky (for some reason the brushed metal interface grates on me even though I love it in Safari and Finder…).
I have a feeling that I’ll end up paying for Transmit, but If I can find a good FTP app that works well and is completely free then I’ll be a very happy bunny. I’ll keep you updated if I find anything…
15.04.2006 Challenge Andy
Back in the days of greendezire (my old blog) I opened myself up to a photo challenge and I’m feeling like doing it again, so this is how it works. Leave a comment on this post with something you want me to photograph or a ‘theme’ for a photograph then I’ll go and take a photo and post it on my blog with a link to the person who requested it.
The previous challenge produced some quite interesting pictures. See here, here, here and here for examples.
I’m ready when you are!
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15.04.2006 Another Saturday On My Own
Another Saturday night has rolled around and once again I find myself with nothing but a four pack of Fosters for company. Tonight the other half took an evening off from work but not to spend time with me 
Instead she’s gone off on a ghost hunt at some castle in Gloucestershire with that frightnights company and her sisters. I think I would have prefered her to go to work cos at least she’d be home soon, but the ghost hunt goes on until dawn tomorrow so once I’ve finished the beer and watched some sci-fi I’ll be heading off to bed all on my lonesome.
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14.04.2006 Review: Placebo – Meds
I’ve been listening to Placebo’s latest album, Meds on solid repeat for about three hours now, and although it’s growing on me nothing about it seems to scream brilliant either. I’m a big fan of the classic Placebo tracks like Nancy Boy, Slacker Bitch and Pure Morning, but very little on this album matches up to the old classics. Well… except for one track.
‘Because I want You’ was the first (and so far only) song released from Meds as a single and personally I think it’s because it’s the best track on the album. This song consists of a series of highs and lows over the length of the track and has a great sing along factor. The rest of the tracks on Meds seem somewhat dull in comparison, maybe that’s because the band are ageing some what now (they have been going for 15 years!).
Overall, it’s a good album but not really up to scratch with some of the golden oldies that I love so much. Unfortunately Meds doesn’t have enough oomph for me to listen to when I’m driving or walking with my iPod but I’ll certainly put it on from time to time when I’m working and need something to make work a bit more interesting.
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14.04.2006 Impossibility…
I’m a big fan of impossible machines, and this video showcases quite a lot of them back to back.
