Posted: July 28th, 2008 | Author: Jon | Filed under: Technology | Tags: 2009wfp, dell, flatpanel, monitor | 6 Comments »
The time has come to retire my Hyundai ImageQuest Q910 and join the world of flat panel monitors! I ordered a Dell UltraSharp 2009WFP monitor yesterday while Dell are offering a 25% discount plus free delivery. The offer runs out on the 30th July so tomorrow is your last chance if your in the market for a new monitor. According to the very weird call I received this afternoon it should arrive tomorrow! It’s kind of a birthday present to myself. 
I’ll post a mini review once it’s been used for a while. If anyone (in the North Wales area as it’s bloody heavy) wants my old monitor leave a comment.
Posted: July 23rd, 2008 | Author: Jon | Filed under: Finances, Rants | Tags: banks, cross-selling | No Comments »
On Monday the local branch of my bank called regarding my account. They queried a direct debit due to go out of my account on Tuesday, my first thought was that there’s something wrong with the direct debit. They asked if the payment was for a credit card, which it was. Pretty obvious really as the name on the direct debit is of a very well known credit card company. I was then told that due to the bank account I have I’m guaranteed a credit card and at the moment they are offering a 12 months interest free period on balance transfers. I then asked a few questions about the card such as what the fee was on a balance transfer etc. The woman on the phone was unable to answer any of my questions. She only knew that a. I was entitled to a credit card and b. it has a 12 months interest free period on balance transfers! After being put on hold for a while I finally got some answers. I quickly ended the call at this point as I didn’t see much point in it.
A while after the call it occurred to me they must have looked through my account to see what direct debits I have so they knew what services to cross-sell, in this instance it was a credit card. To be honest I’m bit annoyed about this, I feel like my privacy has been invaded. I’m aware that the staff in my local branch have full access to my bank account, they need to, to be able to provide me with customer service. However I don’t expect this access to be used to find out what services they may have a better chance in cross-selling to me! Are they allowed to do this? As it seems to me to be an unfair advantage?
Having said that I doubt the bank is going to get very far if their staff don’t know anything about the services they are trying to cross-sell!
All of this is on top of the constant badgering I get whenever I go into my local branch about home insurance, financial reviews etc. It’s got so far that I actually dislike going into my branch now! I think it’s time to start looking for an Internet only bank!
Posted: July 10th, 2008 | Author: Jon | Filed under: Sports | Tags: andyjohnson, everton, Football | 1 Comment »
There are rumours that Wigan & Sunderland are interested in buying Andy Johnson from Everton for about £10 million. If we could get around £12 million for him then I’d be very tempted to sell him. He had a great first year with us but last year was interrupted by injuries however we didn’t really miss him with the Yak, Jimmy & Vic all playing well. I also like Timmy playing up front so I don’t think we’d miss him and £12 million seems like a good deal for a player we paid for £8.6 million for 2 years ago.
While Moyes has said he’s not interested in selling I have a feeling he won’t be with Everton by the time the season starts.
Posted: July 9th, 2008 | Author: Jon | Filed under: Sports | Tags: britishgp, donington, f1, silverstone | No Comments »
At the weekend Lewis Hamilton became the first Englishman to win the F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone since the legendary (in my eyes anyway!) Johnny Herbert back in 1995. It was an excellent race to watch with plenty of eventful moments. I’ve always thought the races in the wet are much more exciting to watch, there’s always more over-taking for a start.
This was the first year that I’ve not been to the grand prix after going for the past 4 years (my photos are up for 2005, 2006 and 2007) and, of course, it would be the year a British driver wins the race! Bloody typical! Although I enjoyed watching the race on the TV for a change I missed the camping as that was usually the highlight for me, getting away from everything for a while. I didn’t miss the weather though!
There was also the news this weekend that the F1 British GP will be moving to Donington from 2010. While it’s good that the British GP has been saved for the foreseeable future I, for one, will miss Silverstone. I’ve enjoyed every year I’ve been and it’s improved a lot from the point of view of the fan since I first went. However I’m not quite sure we’ve heard the last about this as there seems to be lot of work needed to get Donington up to F1 spec in just under 2 years.
Regardless I’ll be back at Silverstone next year!
Posted: July 2nd, 2008 | Author: Jon | Filed under: Site | Tags: nyc, photos | No Comments »
I’ve finally uploaded the photos from my trip to New York City back in 2005 after being reminded by Rhys‘ recent trip to New York. In summary I had a fantastic time and can’t believe nearly 3 years have passed already. I can’t wait to go back! If you get the chance, go, you won’t regret it!
A few of my favourite photos are included below…
