The Amazon Formula: Making Money Online
Posted: 22/01/2012 Filed under: Blog, Advice, Money | Tags: money, blogging, Amazon Associate, Google Adwords, Amazon.com, Amazon Kindle, South America, Peru, Loreto, supplement income, increase income, get rich, make Leave a comment »
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Right. Its not what you think.
I have been trying to supplement my income for ages, and this blog is NOT set up to make me money. It isn’t entirely monotenized (there are a few links to Amazon that earn me a small commission if a sale is made) but there are no adverts and nothing else that will make me money. If I did decide that I wanted to make money, I would have to rely on selling books and speaking tours and amazon links. I won’t be raking it in ever.
In the last few weeks I have been researching into methods that one could montenize a blog and actually make money from writing about subjects that are enjoyable for the writer to write and engaging for the audience to read. I am a poet first and foremost, but out of poetry should not necessarily come poverty and in this time of economic strife and hardship, I am not the only person looking to supplement my income.
Dropshipping is an interesting way of making extra cash. You sell the goods, the supplier posts the goods to your buyer and you make the profit, albeit very small. There are plenty of resources about how to make money this way, but if you have no money to lay down to invest in fees and setting things up, its not really pratical.
So here is the Amazon Formula which is interesting but I want to know if it would actually work? Have a look for yourself. theamazonformula is a .pdf file.
The basics of this formula is that you start a blog, sign up to Google Adwords and Amazon Associates, choose a product/s you like and would want to write about and then post post post. The idea is that people like your reviews and then want to rush off and buy the products that you are reviewing. Good in theory, but in practice? I need convincing.
Related articles
- How much money can you make online – Income report #1 (aaronchua.com)
- Mrs. Money: Save Money on Infant Formula (savings.com)
- Use Amazon’s Subscribe and Save to Automate Office Lunches [Amazon] (lifehacker.com)
Occupy Movement: Some tent suggestions.
Posted: 22/01/2012 Filed under: Review | Tags: Aotea Square, Business, Criticism of capitalism, Protest, San Francisco, Tent, Wall Street, York Leave a comment »So I thought it was ironic post time. The Occupy Exeter/London/New York protesters are still out campaigning for socially responsible capitalism, enduring the cold, rain and wind. Occupy Exeter was subject to an arson attack not too long ago, and I thought that they would need some advice about their tents because they’ve been in constant use for months now. I came across a couple of ideal replacements, should they need to go and buy another one if the wind gets too gusty.
This is huge and yellow. Ideal for holding a GA meeting inside or holding a press interview!
This tent sleeps six people and has multiple rooms. I believe its dragon proof too.
£39.58 from Amazon. Not sure if this is dragon proof but certainly Warlocks will find it hard to get in. Its perfect for festivals too.
Recipe Mutiny
Posted: 09/01/2012 Filed under: Blog Leave a comment »Being the compulsive writing blogging individual that I am, I have started a sister blog to Recipe Vintage.
Recipe Mutiny is all about calories. Writing about junk food, fast food and everything that tastes nice and is bad for you. @recipemutiny is the twitter page, and there is a Facebook page too.
http://recipemutiny.blogspot.com
Indiana Jones: The Crystal Skull (2008)
Posted: 02/01/2012 Filed under: Films and Movies, Review 1 Comment »I have just come out of an hour and a half of a terrible terrible film.
Really, this justifies some explanation but I can’t say anymore than the fact it is terrible.
Shia Labeouf has wasted himself. Steven Spielberg should have left it alone and Harrison Ford must but short of cash.
Recipe Vintage: Resurrecting and Rescuing Recipes from the dark side cooking.
Posted: 27/12/2011 Filed under: Blog, Food, Links, Review, Writing | Tags: Avocado, Cookbook, cooking, food, Home, recipe, Recipe Collections, World Cuisines 3 Comments »
So here it is, my latest food-blogging project.
I have been interested in food blogs and food writing for a couple of years now, and in my ongoing education in to writing about food, I have tried my hand at reviewing restaurants, cooking, photographing food and now I am looking at the fundamental part of the cooking process. Recipes.
On the internet there is a lot of stuff about Ancient recipes, Victorian recipes in the cyber ether but every time I have tried to look for something from the fifties, sixties or seventies or even eighties I have always ended up banging against a brick wall.
So, enter Recipe Vintage. This is my opportunity to share some recipes from my extensive-ish collection of vintage recipes. It is also my opportunity to spread the no-nonsense practical nature of some of these older culinary creations and to help highlight some classics from my childhood.
I’ll accept that I am not the only person to have started doing this. Have a look at this amazing website with some Vintage Weightwatchers cards to give you some seventies inspiration, but my aim is for this website to be a recognised reference hub for obscure, forgotten recipes, ideally from the last forty years but also curiosities from beyond my parameters. If the idea interests you, or if you want to take part by sending me old recipes or even sponsoring the website (I need a URL!) or doing research then comment on this post or send me an email at lateshiftnudist@gmail.com
Finally visit www.facebook.com/recipevintage and http://twitter.com/recipevintage and join the team by following. If you know someone who’d be interested, send them to http://recipevintage.blogspot.com
The Ruffwell Inn, Thorverton – A Review
Posted: 27/12/2011 Filed under: Blog, Food, Review | Tags: Cott, Exeter, food, Public house, Pubs, Restaurants and Bars, Review Leave a comment »The Ruffwell Inn lies on the A396 between Exeter and Tiverton. It is one of those ‘you can’t miss it’ pubs that has changed hands many times over the last few years. Up to recently it was boarded up, looking forlorn and neglected but I can happily say that it has now changed hands again and it seems to be on the up.
The pub falls in to the category of establishment that is not trying to break new ground, be controversial or even slightly risque in any sense. In fact, the new owners have taken this pub and created a homely traditional feeling with lots of brasson display and a carvery, an open fire and a beer garden coupled with some pretty amazing food.
We visited on a day when the weather was out to get us, it was blustering and miserable and our party was out for a special occasion. My in-laws fiftieth anniversary was a quiet affair generally but one we felt needed some special celebration, a nice meal out.
The Ruffwell is a ‘destination pub’, which puts itself high above other pubs given it has to attract its clientele from quite a distance rather than from ‘just over the road’. It has to have exquisite food, impeccable service and something worth travelling out for. The Fisherman’s Cott, just up the same road has taken this concept and made good with it. It’s reputation as not just a place to eat but somewhere to visit means that having this competitor a little way up the road, the Ruffwell has a hard act to follow.
The prices are average but the menu is large enough to cater for all tastes. It is not simplistic and gives you a nice write-up of what each meal is. But at the same time it is not complicated and hefty, which is was good.
I went for the Battered Cod option, as it is my control meal. I have had this meal quite a few times in pubs around the area, and I was pleasantly surprised. The chips were alright, although a few were a tad soggy but the number of soggy over crispy wasn’t anymore than about 60/40 and it came with a nice plump salad with fresh ingredients. The batter was crispy and light, almost perfect.
The atmosphere was busy as it was lunchtime, but from other tables I was able to spy some really full plates of food. The portion sizes are generous, and this was in the proof when my fish came out.
The peas (and this is a very important factor) were done perfectly. Slightly bite but not squisy. Although the fish had a lot of taste to it, it was slightly dry at the ends and parts of the fish itself tasted a bit bland, but this was more to do with the fish itself rather than the cooking of it.
Other people in my party had the Carvery which they reported was one of the nicest carveries they’d had in a while.
The service was brilliant. They waitress came to tell us that our food was about to come out and that those of us could go up and get the carvery, but it was rather spoilt by the sour sullen face of the girl who came to collect our plates and glasses. She killed the atmosphere instantaneously without saying anything, not even a glimmer of the movement of a facial muscle, which was a spectacular feat by itself but something which I would be quite concerned at, should I be the manager.
Overall the experience was extremely enjoyable. I didn’t note what Real Ales they had on draft as I was driving but there was quite a selection. I would go as far as to say that pubs like the Ruffwell have a well Rough (pun?) time of it generally and our support is the one thing that Free Houses like The Ruffwell Inn needs.
If I was running a rating system, it’d get a four out of five but as ‘rating systems’ are frequently flawed the best thing to do is go there yourself. Food is served at specific times. Visit this link for all the details.
Three Understated Christmas Carols.
Posted: 17/12/2011 Filed under: Books | Tags: Aled Jones, Arts, christmas, Christmas carol, DVD, Jesus, music, Religion and Spirituality Leave a comment »Gaudete -
Medaeval Babes version
The version that appears on an Aled Jones DVD, note the badly dubbed recorder player.
Herbert Howells – Here Is The Little Door
Chanticleer’s version
Jesus Christ The Apple Tree - Elizabeth Poston
Kings College Choir’s version
The Three Kings – Peter Cornelius
Kings College Choir
Christmas Shopping
Posted: 05/12/2011 Filed under: Blog 1 Comment »Like a ship, breaching the crest of a wave, we are at the time of insanity that we call ‘Christmas Shopping’. This year, I have such little money I am considering what flavoured cheap shower gels I could get away with pouring in to a candle and passing them off as ‘hand made’. OK not that bad but the pressure to buy nice things for the ones you love will this year, force people further in to debt and increase the hysteria that captures everyone about this time of year.
So, in a slightly inconsequential blog post, I have to remind everyone that we ought to be thankful for what we have, be it people in our lives or the house that we live in.
In other news, I am addicted to sausage rolls. My head forehead is itching. There is less than two weeks until I break up for Christmas. *w00t*
Dead Calm (1989) – A Review
Posted: 21/11/2011 Filed under: Blog, Films and Movies, Review | Tags: Billy Zane, Bone Collector, Cinema of Australia, Dead Calm, film, movie, Nicole Kidman, Phillip Noyce, Review, Richard Francis-Bruce, Sam Neill Leave a comment »
Cover of Dead Calm
1989 was a good year for quite a few things. The Eastern Bloc Revolutions took place, and a whole lot of other stuff too but an Australian film was released directed by Phillip Noyce called Dead Calm. It was edited by Richard Francis-Bruce takes place entirely (apart from the beginning 15 minutes) in open water on a boat.
The premise of the film is simple.
Man and woman take a vacation on a boat. Man and woman find battered schooner mysteriously floating. Psychopath finds them and rows over to boat on premise he’s a stranded sailor. Man is suspicious and goes over to battered schooner to find everyone has been murdered. Man realises too late and realises that wife has been kidnapped by psychopath on his own boat.
Woman finds out the battered schooner is sinking, Man also realizes this as he tries to repair it and head off to rescue woman who is by now having unwanted sex with psychopath. Woman manages to save the day by feeding psychopath sedatives and skewering him with a harpoon whilst rescuing her Man from the sinking (and by now) burning battered schooner. The film is loosely based on the novel by Charles Williams, only keeping the characters and the scenario but leaving out several other main characters and portraying the character of the psychopath in a different light.
The Man (John Ingram, a Royal Australian Naval officer played by Sam Neill) and the Woman (his wife, Rae Ingram played by a young Nicole Kidman) are vacationing after losing their son in a car crash, in which Rae Ingram was involved. The Psychopath in question is the handsome yet troubled Hugie Warriner played by Billy Zane (of Titanic fame?) who rows desparately over to the Ingram’s yacht when they hail Warriner’s battered schooner named The Orpheus.
The film is classed as a psychological thriller, and it does this amazingly. Expert editing and the intelligent use of sound makes this film a proper seat gripper from twenty minutes in. The first twenty minutes concentrates on the couple’s background, the loss of their son/car accident etc. which is heart wrenching and sets you up to sympathize with the main characters all the way through. Other reviews have concentrated on the rather OTT ending (one woman having survived a rape and the ordeal of shooting a man with two harpoons singlehandedly sailing a boat in the dark, in the middle of the pacific and knowing exactly where her husband was?) but the film is well rounded with a slightly crazy ending which sets it aside as being one of the best films of the eighties.
A few picking points. The film does not concentrate that much on Hughie’s past. We find out that he studied fine art, and through the detective work of John Ingram we also discover that the people Hughie was sailing with were taking glamour shots and possibly porn films, but all is quite mysterious. It would have been good to concentrate a bit on why Warriner was the way he was, I think some sort of brief background story would have been good. However, the film does seem to work happily with the audience in the dark as to who he is, the air of mystery works at times.
Phillip Noyce (who also directed the Bone Collector) does a great job in this engaging and memorable thriller. If I had a rating system it’d most probably involve five out of five, or even ten out of ten. Either that or I would simply give it a thumbs up.
Debt – A Small Dose of Advice
Posted: 19/11/2011 Filed under: Advice, Blog, Money | Tags: CCCS, Citizens Advice Bureau, Consumer Credit Counselling Service, Creditor, Debt, Debt management plan, Finance, Financial services Leave a comment »
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I am, like many people in this country am in debt. Although I might have gone in to details about it in previous posts, this post is not about the hideous emotional suffering that my debt has caused me, but a quick condensed shot of advice for those who are in trouble and who are wondering what in hells name to do.
Everyone I have spoken to who is in some sort of debt will often have their reasons for being in the pickle that they are in. I am not some sort of debt guru but my experience has come from nearly a year and a half talking to creditors and various sources of advice. It is not professional, and there are plenty of proper places you can go to for advice and support but here are the are three golden rules which I followed when I realised I needed to sort myself out.
- Budget
- Get Advice
- Communicate
The 1985 Argos Catalogue (courtesy of @firewasp)
Posted: 16/11/2011 Filed under: Blog | Tags: 1980's, Argos, Catalogue, nostalgia Leave a comment »http://www.flickr.com/photos/38301877@N05/sets/72157619206330728/with/3592238871/
@Firewasp tweeted this Flickr stream. Most probably the best thing I have ever seen. Ever.
Waitrose Exeter – A Review
Posted: 14/11/2011 Filed under: Blog, Food, Review | Tags: Customer service, Exeter, food, Harrods, Heavitree, Heston Blumenthal, Jamie Oliver, Morrisons, Review, Sainsburys, shopping, supermarket, Waitrose Leave a comment »With my foody hat on I decided that after an acerbic, anti posh-shop rant post yesterday I would give Waitrose a chance. 
I can’t sit here and not offer some sort of balanced perspective. And in many respects, I am damn glad I did. I feel a bit of a hypocrit shouting about the fact that Posh Shops were taking over and that they should be stopped, and now here I am saying that in fact Waitrose was very nice to shop in.
Before there was Waitrose, there was part of the Heavitree hospital. They then sold it and then we find out we’re going to have a Waitrose.
I of course being the foody/socialist/proto-libertarian type of chap that I am wanted to desperately condemn it and to rant about it but for some reason couldn’t quite do so. So I gently grumbled about it to myself and got on with life until tonight when we thought, “hey lets go and see what all the fuss was about”.
Waitrose is really only good for three things. Wine. Customer Service. Special Stuff.
Wine
If there is anything to say about Waitrose, it is full of damn good sounding wine. The prices are to be expected but you will have at your disposal an amazing selection which you really could only expect in a wine shop.
Customer Service
In Waitrose, you can use the ‘Quick Check’ system which through a handset allows you to tot up your purchases as you go.
For just signing up you get some free Waitrose bags and a very helpful assistant showing you the basics of using the handset. Yes, you have to give your address etc. which undoubtedly you’ll end up receiving junk through the post as you do. But for that the novelty and joy of scanning, whilst keeping tabs of what you are spending makes the experience pleasurable. And for shopping, that is something I never thought I would say.
The friendliness of the staff is something that is noticeable. True we might have caught them on a good day, but the feeling of calm and good karma seemed to eminate from the fingertips of everyone that wore a Waitrose uniform.
Special Stuff
Let me introduce you to Mustard Ice Cream. Only a Heston Blumenthal endorsement could create such things, and that is exactly what you find throughout the store. Heston at Waitrose, is a bit like Jamie Oliver and Sainsburys, but like all good super
markets you need a bit of celebrity flashness.
Throughout the store you find things that would be found mostly in the little Deli shops but then there is the staple stuff such as bread and milk and other bits and bobs which you can find in normal shops for roughly the same prices. The main difference does seem to be less emphasis on offers and more attention and effort given to the quality of the products.
Bad Points
So, bad points.
Its full of posh people mostly. I did see someone walking around in a hi-vis but I have a feeling they were lost.
The prices denote quality but it makes me wonder how people use Waitrose to identify themselves amongst their fellow human beings. Do people shop here because it is better or because it gives them a smug glow that in someway or another makes them truly believe they are better than everyone else? Jake Macmillan talks about the hierarchy of supermarkets in his blog which makes you realise that to shop at Waitrose, is the ultimate shopping statement. I wonder how secure a Waitrose shopper would be, should they be faced with the northern brashness of Morrisons?
The prices are prohibitive if you are on a budget, it is a treat and a special occasion destination. But hey, this is Waitrose, and for me to whine about the prices would be like walking in to Harrods and moaning for the same reason. What I will say is that for the pure shopping experience it would be hard to beat Waitrose, for the selection of the more specialist and exotic Waitrose is brilliant. For anything else, then shopping here is just posing, but having fun whilst doing it.
I will say that with the building of Waitrose, it has put it in direct competition with local businesses especially in Magdalen Road. My favourite little shop is Bon Gout which is pretty much The Best Deli In Exeter, plus my friend Greig’s wife works there too. Please visit the businesses around there particularly at this time they will need our support.
Related articles
- Aldi and Waitrose win supermarket stores war in two-nation Britain (mirror.co.uk)
- Waitrose trebles ‘hidden’ pudding orders (telegraph.co.uk)
The Invasion of the Pennysnatchers: Why posh shops should be stopped.
Posted: 13/11/2011 Filed under: Blog, Rant | Tags: Apple Store, devon, Exeter, Fore Street, Heavitree, High Street, opinion, Poundstretcher, shopping, Urban Outfitter Leave a comment »
Image via Wikipedia
A stroll through the centre of Exeter is something of an enigma for me. Exeter is a developing city full of coffee shops, clothing shops, mobile phone outlets and foody places that all seem to believe that the entire population of Exeter has lots of money.
We welcome to our beloved High St (believed by some to be the best shopping in Devon and others to be the worst, I love contradictory statistics) Republic and Urban Outfitters, closely followed by a John Lewis Home store. Up the hill in Heavitree a Waitrose has just appeared and no doubt countless other branded miserable names are going to emerge like some consumerist pustule.
Harsh words? Yes. Am I being backwards in my outlook, possibly a bit NIMBY in my state of mind? Possibly.
If you have never been to Exeter before then a brief guided tour of the city can be digested in a nutshell. Starting at the ‘top end’ of town one has Sidwell Street with its eclectic mix of music shops, restaurants and charity shops. Functional shops like Johnsons Cleaners and the NHS Walk-in Centre all housed in drab decaying concrete, and Poundland, Poundstretcher and other cheaper shops.
Then there is the High Street which has been pretty much the bastion of the traditional High St names (obviously) then behind that the new Princesshay Shopping bit with the Apple Store and expensive shops like Debenhams and oddly HMV which isn’t that expensive, plus clothes shops and some shoe shops. Then the Guildhall Shopping Centre being the bastion of sanity with Wilkonsons, Argos, Primark etc and some nice coffee shops and CEX to mention a few. Finally you have South Street which is mostly made up of estate agents and Indians and finally Fore Street with a cluster of wonderful independent shops.
With more clothes shops in the high street (Urban Outfitters is occupying the old premises of Topshop admittedly) we have a glut of mostly clothes shops and shoe shops, choking what little variety is left on the High Street. The overpriced clothes shops will just stifle what little is left of the shopping experience in Exeter if we end up with anymore.
Occupy Exeter is occupying the Cathedral Yard and, in a city plagued with such a variety of apathetic clone names, I love their message given the surroundings. But without going off on a tangent, the relentless march of the posh shops must stop.
So, if you are reading this and have any decision making power, read the following.
Please, no more fucking clothes shops.
Thanks.
for tomorrow we clean.
Posted: 12/11/2011 Filed under: Blog Leave a comment »Tomorrow we clean the carpets. Everything is vaguely ready, well mostly.
No lie-in, no lounging around and if we’re lucky we might get to relax after it is finished.
A quick sign off as today has been quiet yet strangely stressful at work, need some headspace more than anything else. Dearest sleep…
Writing Again
Posted: 10/11/2011 Filed under: Blog Leave a comment »I have forgot that I have this blog, it is a bit like dusting off the cobwebs on the walls…
I am about to go to bed but I have just enough energy to write something vaguely intelligent. So here goes with some intelligence.
The last foreign nation to invade the British Isles was not the Normans in 1066 but the Dutch in 1688. William of Orange landed in Torbay and marched to London, he had support from English Protestants who had invited him over after James the…IV (might be wrong) who was Catholic ran off in to exile. William pretty much declared himself King and that was that.
That was intelligent, yes?
Flatshare, Houseshare or Room To Let: My Experiences
Posted: 18/05/2011 Filed under: Blog, Review | Tags: adverts, Blog, Exeter, experience, flatshare, house, houseshare, lessons, money, property, renting, room, room to let, roomshare, websites 2 Comments »Tonight I am going to be welcoming a new lodger to my strange and ever increasingly bizarre household. He’s called Robin and he’s Belgian and it is exactly an entire month from the date that Bridget moved out. It has taken me an entire month to find someone who desparately wants a room on a very short term let.
The whole process has introduced me to a new and strange world, full of some strange etiquettes and lots of email contact with strangers of whom some reply to you and others just ignore you. It is a world where luck plays a large part and you realise how vulnerable you are when you know that you need someone to pay you rent. It is even worse when you realise how many enquirers DO NOT read the advert properly.
The first thing that I have learnt is about advertising. Advertise Advertise Advertise, but don’t sound desparate.
There are literally hundreds of virtual outlets to advertise your room from, and they are nearly all the same. A few large companies own smaller websites under different names, but the backends are all the same as you input your details and you think ‘I’ve done this before?’. There isn’t really one that shines over the others, but in terms of value and coverage I would have to say that www.spareroom.co.uk seems to be the better website. The other contenders are http://uk.easyroommate.com and http://www.gumtree.co.uk and http://www.freeads.co.uk
1. EasyRoomMate
This website is most probably the best one to use if you are looking for a room. If you are trying to advertise a room then it is frustrating and mostly fruitless unless you pay their ‘Premium’ fee. (£24 for 30 days). The website is relatively easy to use, however if you have to ring up ‘Frank’ (like I had to do when I had a payment query) then you will more than likely get some slightly irate lady who’ll talk to you like you’re five and not listen to you. If I had a hashtag it would be #customerservceepicfail. Sorry EasyRoomMate but you were not easy to use and not easy to like.
2. Gumtree
Gumtree has been the easiest to use so far, and the prices are reasonable. You don’t HAVE to pay anything to get results, but it does help if you pay the £5.95 ‘Bump Up’ fee to keep your listing further up the page. The interface is nice to use and it allows you to upload YouTube videos too. It is a very well known source for classifieds too so you are likely to get lots of enquiries.
I had two possible lodgers as a result of Gumtree and although they did not materialise due to external circumstances, they did give me more positive (only one misread enquiry) results than the other websites. Gumtree is generally good for foreign students too, a friend of mine who has been renting out rooms for years recommended Gumtree to me for this purpose.
3. Freeads
Freeads was the wildcard in the selection. If you want to buy a car, you go to Freeads, if you want to buy a puppy then you’ll look on Freeads. If you want to rent a room, then you might not think to go to Freeads, but they do advertise rooms and flats for free. I didn’t get any results from them, but then I wasn’t really expecting to.
I never really thought that I would get a result from Spareroom, but I did. I had an equal mixture of people who had misread the advert and people who genuinely wanted it for a short term lease, but this is where Spareroom won, over EasyRoomMate. Landlords can actually communicate directly with the enquirers and you do not have an email saying that you have to use their communication service (as you do with EasyRoomMate).
They were relatively cheap. You paid a bit extra to get your advert listed as ‘bold’ and you would also pay some more if you wanted to become an ‘Early Birder’, but there is no immediate obligation to pay them anything if you don’t want to.
The second thing that I learnt is to clarify the advert with the enquirers. If there is anything that you might not see in a typical advert for instance ‘must like a Dogs’, ‘Room is not ensuite’ or ‘Until 2nd July’ or ‘Short Term Lease’ then reiterate it.
A lovely couple came to see the room last week, they were Polish and they seemed really taken with the house and the slightly messy garden. They turned to me and then wanted to talk about money and rent. I had reiterated on the phone and through text messages, that the room would be ‘until the 2nd July’. Unfortunately the husband’s English wasn’t great and he didn’t realise that this meant that the lease would be ‘until the 2nd July’ rather than the room isn’t available ‘until the 2nd July’.
This meant a very strange look from the wife, and a very hasty exit, never to be heard of again.
This also leads very nicely in to my third lesson learnt.
Ask questions and do not be afraid. Do not be scared to be forthright and ask about religion or job status. With the Polish couple, I was under the impression that there was only one of them and given the house is not extensively huge, this would have put me in an awkward position should they have wanted the room.
Frequently I would get a two line enquiry, that normally went to the extent of ‘is the room available, if so call me’ or something like that. No information, nothing about their backgrounds or habits or anything, and why would they? It is up to you as the offerer to ask the questions, make sure that they are employed and make sure that they are ‘legit’. But even then it is hard to actually gauge this just through emails.
Most of the time you will be talking to genuine and nice people with no dodgyness about them, but some people are good at hiding this and you will only find this out when they’re in your house. Gut instinct is very very important, and sometimes that is all you have to go on.
I hope that I will never have to do this process again and that I will have a nice smooth transition from lodger sharing to married life with no hitches whatsoever. But for those of you who are thinking of renting out that extra space, then just make sure you read and research. Make sure your contract is water-tight and make sure you take a security deposit. The best thing to do is to keep it as cash in the house (secretly) if you think that they’re trustworthy, rather than stashing it away electronically. If not then there are plenty of deposit schemes you can sign up to, Google them as I haven’t got time to list them here.
Cycling in Exeter: The Reality.
Posted: 11/05/2011 Filed under: Blog, Cycling | Tags: bicycling, bike, cars, cycle lanes, Cycling, Exeter, footpath, green, sowton, sustainable, track, traffic, Transport 1 Comment »Since my urge to buy a bicycle and start cycling a few weeks ago, I have to admit that I haven’t really cycled that much. Well, not as much as I thought I would. I cycle to Sowton every Wednesday as I work out there that day, and I have been tempted to cycle in to work when I am on the Hele Road site too, but the main thing that has put me off has been the horrific traffic and the even more horrific hill that lies between me and work. It’s not steep, its just long.
From my previous experiences as a soft, balancing fleshy target on two metal wheels, I knew that the road was going to be a busy and dangerous place. Not much has changed since 1999 when I last cycled (just before I passed my driving test) as the motorists are still genreally impatient with cyclists, you are still mostly invisable until you hit someone/something and get shouted at and you are still resented by pedestrians who are quite convinced that EVERY cyclist is hellbent on mowing you down. I have to correct them. SOME of them are.
But Exeter has something which I think we should be proud of, something that makes the whole experience of cycling much less agro filled. The network of cycle lanes and shared footpaths that stretches through Exeter are a blessing, and although they are filled with perils of their own, the experience is a good less more stressful than road cycling.
When I get to cycle to Sowton I can make use of the cycle trail that goes from Exeter St Davids, all the way down to the Double Locks pub and down to the draw-bridge on the Countess Wear bypass. From there, it’s up another cycle path over the hill and past Tescos and KFC and then down past Digby Station, gently landing at Falcon House.
The whole trek is nearly 14 miles there and back, and most of those miles are on a cycle track. It is bliss.
So. Exeter City Council, if you were a person I would wave a plackard in your face and say BUILD MORE cycle paths.
The Passion of The Librarian, from an outgoing member of the information profession.
Posted: 10/05/2011 Filed under: Blog, Books, Rant | Tags: Academic, books, CILIP, COFHE, education, FE College, HarperCollins, librarian, Librariana, Libraries, library, Library and Information Science, Medical Library Association, Resources Leave a comment »
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Today has been a turning point in that infinite quest to discover who I really am. These days, my job does not define me anymore but my interests and passions do. For a long time I was defined by my label ‘Librarian‘ and this meant more to me than being a poet or a writer in many ways, it was like I was part of a secret society made up of MyPC discussions, Heritage issues and behaviour control meeting in secret amongst fellow lovers of tea & biscuits, urns and taking great pleasure at seeing ‘lunch provided’ when we met in these secret meetings.
Having taken on a new position as a Technical Support Monkey, one has to move away from the concept of ’information’ and realise that plugging in PCs and turning them on, fiddling with projectors and twatting around with network domain addresses is actually nothing to do with library work, and therefore I am not doing library work. Ergo, I am not a practicing librarian.
When does the soldier stop referring to himself as a soldier when he finishes his time in the Army? Can you still consider yourself a climber if you develop vertigo? And for that matter, how do librarians that have been made redundant in the cuts of the last months redefine themselves?
Take this extract from http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2010/8/8/you-know-youre-a-21st-century-librarian-when.html
- You have to remind kindergarteners to turn off their cell phones before the story starts.
- You know what an IP number is but not an ISBN number.
- You have a student who does a better job troubleshooting the circulation system than the district technician.
- Your students think both The Princess and the Frog and Meet the Robinsons were written by Walt Disney.
- You know more librarians in Texas than you do in your home state because of LM_Net, TL-Ning and SecondLife.
- The best way to remind a student about an overdue book through Facebook.
- You don’t talk in the teachers lounge about a project because it is not tied directly to a state test.
- When answering a reference question, you head to an Internet terminal.
- You’ve started dressing like your avatar.
- Kids look at you funny when you call it the “the card catalog.”
- You have 5th grade girls who sport more tats and metal studs than a biker gang.
- You have more polo shirts with computer logos than you do book logos – and 25% of your wardrobe comes from vendor booths at conferences.
- Your students show you how to get around the district Internet filter so you can teach a lesson.
- Your aid spends more time troubleshooting the network than reshelving books.
- You never see anyone copy out of the print encyclopedia anymore.
- Your index finger has a callous from tapping the SmartBoard.
- You didn’t get your last grad class assignment turned in on time because the network was down and you haven’t attended a F2F class in years.
- You’ve Googled the new teachers in your building – and all the kids have Googled you.
- You don’t remember the last time you’ve had to alphabetize something.
- You have all your passwords and PIN numbers are on your PDA – and you can’t remember the password for your PDA!
Sometimes I think that the librarian in the 21st century is more like a cross between a teacher/web designer/saviour/gadget geek rolled in to one strange and mis-labeled entity that is forced to constantly strive to justify their existence to their clientele or the upper echleons of an unresponsive and frequently unsympathetic management. And I would like to think that I am half right on that one, given the experiences of us information professionals across the UK in the face of hefty public spending cuts.
But when one has been a librarian for a total of nearly 10 years (counting my part-time experience at Exeter Central and the Thomas Parry library in Aberystwyth) there is something that overtakes your being, that transcends labels and thoughts of self identity, and that ‘something’ is found in your heart. It is subjective, but it is a deep enthusiasm for information and the written word that takes it further than just a job. If you have met some of the folks that I have met in my career so far, you will realise that every librarian is passionate about their job.
If you have a qualification or any inch of experience in the information profession, you are a lot more then just a mindless drone. I have learnt from the enthusiasm and the constant contact I have had through CoFHE and CILIP, is the absolute dedication of those who work in this profession. As a strange man I met whilst working in Employer Direct (Jobcentre for the uninitiated), said to me the first time I met him, “Once you’ve lived in California, you’re always a Californian”. And I am happy to say that this transfers nicely to being a librarian.
Once you’ve been a librarian, you’re always a librarian.
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Nokia n810
Posted: 11/04/2011 Filed under: Blog | Tags: Android, Bluetooth, Debian, Inspector Gadget, IPhone, Maemo, MeeGo, nokia, Nokia N8, Nokia N810, Nokia N900, Operating system, Review, WiMAX, Windows Phone 7, Wireless Leave a comment »
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Thanks to the generousity and forthought of a good friend of mine, I recently acquired the ultimate gadget. The Nokia n810.
I know that it has already been preceeded by the Nokia n900, I know you can only connect wirelessly to the internet or through a bluetooth connection to a GPRS phone. But in comparison to the Disgo Net Browser 3000, well there is no comparison.
This isn’t really a review as such, moreso first impressions after a week of using it.
I recently upgraded to a Blackberry 9300 so now I wander around with two perfectly good gadgets in my pocket. I have become some bastard son of Inspector Gadget. I am not going to write a comparison between a Nokia internet tablet and a Blackberry as that is not my forte and I am not overly familiar with both devices yet, but I have a few thoughts that I would like to mention here for anyone who is thinking of buying an n810.
When Nokia released the N810 the market that it was being fired at was the early adopter market. In other words, the gadget-heads that would really be able to appreciate the amazingness of this piece of tech, those people that wanted it for the sake of wanting it. This meant that a few things would be guranteed.
1. Build quality. The case of this machine is brushed metal, it feels expensive. When you hold it, you feel that this machine could easily hurt someone should you have the urge to beat somebody over the head with it.
2. Operating System. Running OS2008, based on Maemo 4, a variation of the Debian linux OS, this was developed for the N800 series of tablets which gives users an application rich environment, allowing for personalisation and good application cross compatibility over the various versions of Maemo.
My main bugbear with this machine is the lack of connectivity with 3G and GPRS. Thankfully it allows Bluetooth connections with compatible phones, but you are reliant on the proliferations of open Wifi networks if you’re out and about.
The keys are firm and feel great, there is no feeling of cheapness in any aspect of this machine but you have to be very careful with where you are typing especially if you are a touch typist on a regular keyboard.
The processor runs at 400Mhz, this means that you are likely to find running a single app perfectly fine, but alas it gets easily overwhelmed as the memory starts being eaten up from underneath your eyes and it grinds to an irritating hault.
Compared to the Disgo Net Browser 3000, which I reviewed a couple of years ago, this machine does knock the proverbial socks off it. Windows CE 6.0 versus Maemo 4!
Update
Posted: 26/03/2011 Filed under: Blog Leave a comment »Just to let everyone know that I am doing good. Lots of lovely people have been quite worried about my situation at work and financially, I am alive and although no closer to finding answers about whether I will get another job in the ‘new structure’, today has been a good day. We have dug and weeded, and although there is a massive amount of things yet to do to make the garden habitable for our wedding ceremony in 148 days time, it feels like we are going in the right direction.
