Oooh cool, I just came across Twitter status updater, a UK based text messaging service that let’s you update not only your Twitter status but also your Facebook status by simply sending a text — I got excited because I am lame, but also because it’s rare to get services like this in the UK, they usually only cater for their USA audiences. It’s a shame, I remember when it was free to get Twitter updates via text and then they stopped it because it was too expensive for them, I went through hardcore withdrawal symptoms haha

I got over it quick though in my defense!

If you are into your punk rock and bands like Blink 182 and Nirvana, then you might want to check out a Belgium group I just heard about called Pignition. You can listen to some of their music on their myspace page, they are already well known in Belgium for their high energy gigs and I hope that they will get big so that some day they can come here to the UK and I can see them for myself

I love my Linksys router , I have had loads of routers in the past and all have had their problems — then I bought a top end Linksys one and have never looked back, it has always done exactly what it is meant to do, it was definitely worth spending that little bit extra on it. It just goes to show that in the long run it pays to pay for quality

One of the few downsides of having the reputation as the Internet expert among your circle of friends and family, is that people expect you to know everything and when you don’t they expect you to research it for them — it happens all the time and I feel like telling people to look for themselves, but I never do…grr….I need to stand up for myself more!

Today my boss asked me about Internet video conferencing as it is something he hopes to start using in the near future, I told him that as long as he gets some reliable software and a decent service provider it should be pretty simply and straightforward to both set up and use, and now apparently it is my job to search for those things and tell him which services to use!

I suppose I don’t mind really, it’s nice to feel needed.

I need to get a new video card, it doesn’t seem like five minutes since I last needed to upgrade it but the time has already come again — I do a lot of video editing so need to keep it tip top so that I can continue to use the latest and best video editing softwares I get given for work. It’s a pain and can be expensive, but what can you do? I will sell my old one on EBay, they usually bring in enough to take the sting off the cost of the new one!

I wish I still needed to wear eyeglasses, I wore them from a very young age up until I was around 20 and unlike a lot of kids — I actually loved wearing them, especially as a teenager, they were just another accessory and way to express myself.

I was sad when I was told it was redundant me wearing them, and as an adult I no longer had my parents to pay for them for me so I stopped wearing them.

That is until a few years ago when I discovered Zenni Optical, an online eyeglasses specialist who have had much recognition in recent times, even getting a nod in the New York Times.

They sell frames for as little as $8…at that prices, who cares that I don’t need to wear them? I have already had 3 pairs off of them with clear lenses and I am sure I will buy more in the future also.

I am tempted to go for these ones next, they are so delightfully nerdy that I fell in love with them the second I saw them. However I am not sure I could really pull off the look — I want to look nerdy cool, not nerdy nerdy.

I have been designing websites now for a long time, I think that I created my very first page back on Geocities — it used frames, had a dancing elmo on it and was covered in animated GIFs. I thought it was the coolest website ever, how funny.

I have not actually done very much web design in recent years though. With so many free wordpress themes out there, and the majority of my blogs running wordpress, it is very easy to get lazy and that is exactly what I have done. Free themes are all well and good for sites like mine, but hardly professional for people who are more series about their sites/businesses, having a unique design is surely a must?

Q-Industries is a web design company that offer stunning design work, web marketing as well as other web development services. I have just been looking through their portfolio of work available to view on the website and I am very impressed. I could see them doing a really great job on my boss’ business site — it was designed by a friend of his and is currently ‘passable’ at best. I keep telling him he should get some professionals in to really make the site stand out, but he doesn’t pay much attention to me apparently.

A few weeks ago now I took out a free 90 day trial DVD rental from Tesco, when I signed up I signed up for the wrong package — I couldn’t rent Wii games as well and that was the main thing I wanted. So I added them…and a few days later realised they had cancelled my free trial and charged me the full £18 for a one month service — booooo.

It took several emails with me complaining, but eventually today I won the battle and they agreed to refund the charge. So a happy ending, but an annoying time.

So far I have rented a few DVDs for the parents. Sonic, Crash of the Titans and Worms — I only really liked Crash of the Titans out of those. They just emailed to say that Raving Rabbids is the next one on the way — yay I am looking forward to this That, along with My Fitness Coach are the ones I want the most!

…make sure you know the people you are paying are good at their job.

I consider myself an average web designer, meaning that I understand HTML and CSS, can use Paint Shop Pro to create graphics and am capable of designing a basic website suitable for use on a personal blog or basic site — but when it comes to professional, more creative web design, or something that would be used for a business site, I’d definitely not be confident enough that I could pull something decent off.

Last year my other half’s boss asked me to design his website, I explained that I didn’t feel confident enough to do it, so he asked another friend instead who is actually qualified — he paid him £300 for the design and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw it, it looked like it took an hour at most and was easily something I could have done. It used deprecated code, was littered with spelling and grammar errors and didn’t even work correctly in all browsers — and most importantly looked average at best.

If you are going to use a web design company make sure you look for a trusted name in the web design field. A site that will create 100% original, unique and custom templates for professional sites is essential. Also make sure you can view their portfolio online to see the work they have previously done — it must be of a very high standard and well worth the money they are asking.

I have been happy with my ISP for a few years now, and a part from a few hiccups last week that annoyed me I still am happy with them, but I have been lured away by a bargain — I just can’t resist them can I?

It costs just £9.79 per month, which is already less than half of what I am paying now — but that’s not where it ends, they have a promotion on at the moment where you get your first 3 months free.

So 9 x 9.79 = £88.11. Compared to the 12 x £19.99 = 239.88 I am paying now I am sure you can see why I was tempted.

But still that’s not it, until the end of the month Quidco, a cashback site I use, are offering a whopping £70 cashback on all new sign ups making the total for a year of upto 20mb speed and unlimited download broadband just £18.11 — less than one month on my current ISP.

Crazy, huh?

Like I say I am not moving because I am unhappy with my host, so lets just hope I don’t live to regret moving for a bargain!