I know I'm going to get slagged off for this.. but here goes...

I added another two bird feeders to the garden on Sunday because, for no obvious reason, the birds aren't interested in my nuts at the moment. [insert comedy drum/cymbal crash here].

Two days later - still no takers.

I've tried spread my seed all over the ground [insert another comedy drum thing here].... still no takers.

Finally - I added a Road-Runner style sign "FREE BIRD FOOD"... 10 minutes later, the birds were feeding again!!! Ha!.

Now all I need is an unexpecteed train to come speeding through the garden and wipe out the lot.

Or .. maybe I should just get on with some work?

Meep Meep.

If you have a G1 or another Android phone have a look at the excellent free download called WorldTour by BoD.

I've been running this app for a week now with no problems.

This great little app goes online every 30 minutes and grabs a live snapshot from one of hundreds of live web-cams around the world, then sets it as your background wallpaper.

It really makes me want to go travelling asap!

Just search the market place for "worldtour".

Looks like my ISP has some strange connection problems, so rather than sit here waiting for the site to come back online, I'm going to share my current weekly listening...

Podcasts

This Week In Google - Very geeky, but great fun if you know what they are talking about.
Mayo and Kermode Film Reviews - I now cannot go to see a film before hearing the Good Doctors wise words
Kermode Uncut - 'cuz you cant get enough Kermode
Friday Night Comedy - properly belly laughs every week.

Dance Stuff

Trance Around The World - Goddam it I just love Above and Beyond!
Solaris International - Can get a bit random at time, but mostly brilliant Trance.
Nightmusic Podcast - The Thrillseekers monthly tune-fest.
House Music London Style - Updated every 3 months - Cracking funky house music and great quality too.

Come to think of it, it's a wonder I do any work ;-)

I'm not going to say anything about the poor battery life, slow software, lack of headphone socket.. it's all been said before.

This story comes about because these two needed to take their G1's back to the shop to be repaired.

Both of those people and, stunningly, the t-mobile shop manager did not know that the G1 integrates with your Google account meaning your email, calender and contacts are all kept synchronised all the time. There is no need to "copy the numbers to the SIM card."

This isn't a dig at those three people for not knowing this, they are all intelligent people, it's a dig at the people who gave us these phones for not boasting about one of the most fundamental and game-changing features of the G1.

To these three people the G1 is just another phone albeit with Internet access and fancy applications.

To me its a bit of kit that allows me to be fundamental better organised and connected in both my work and play.

I think its a real shame the boat has clearly sailed on this one.

If, like me, you always have a couple of tabs permanently open when using Firefox you'll like this.

Have a look at the screen grab - see that tiny wee blue Gmail tab? The one with the unread emails on it?

That's my email open and it's permanently there! Its only been installed for one day and loving it.

These two little Firefox addons do the trick:

FaviconizeTab

and

PermaTabs

(You'll might also want Better Gmail 2 to get the unread count up there).

All credit to Gina Trapani for that handy tip.

The General Manager of the Eagle May just phoned, explained the problems they had last night, offered a sincere apology and arrange for a free meal at our convience.

You can't say fairer than that - AND - handled perfectly. Well done to them. And - yes - they DO have a good website.

"We should be flying around in space ships by now." That was a comment we always used to make back in early 2000 when companies insisted on using Fax as their prime means of communication. Sadly - it's still being uttered in late 2009.

Last night both myself and my friend independently tried to order a take away to be delivered.

I've been a bit fan of the pricey Eagle May for 9 years, but recently their customer service level has dropped significantly. When you are selling a commodity such as Asian food, especially in a large city, you simply cannot tell people "45 minutes", then take 1 HOUR AND 50 MINUTES! It was the second time they have badly let me down so now, despite loving their food, I have to go elsewhere.

I tried searching online for someone else but quickly gave up, which is where I hand this story over to my friend.

After hearing of the bad service from the Eagle May, he decided to go online to find something nice. Here's the important bit - he wasn't expecting to be able to order online [inexplicably that simple process seems to be reserved for the big pizza chains] Amazingly, almost without exception, the information online about Aberdeen take away is either none existent, or hopelessly out of date.

So - instead of moaning (not like me) - here is a simple plan for every take-away/delivery company in Aberdeen.

Before you blow another £100 on awful English-centric webshite or some crappy newspaper advertising....

1. Register your domain name - £6-£10.
2. Point your domain name at your blog (FREE)
   
3. Fill your blog with... [it doesn't have to be 'designed' - just type it yourself up neatly and professionally] (FREE) :
   • Your Menu - WITH prices
   • Your Opening Hours (be honest please - if you wont deliver after 10.30 just say so)
   • Your Specials - updated weekly at a minimum
   • Your Address
   • A google map for your location (FREE)
     
4. Submit your site to the major search engines (FREE)
   
5. Create your Google Places Page so you can be found easily (FREE)
6. Create your entries in Qype, Yelp and similar review services (FREE)
   
7. Update the website at least once a week - even if it's just to acknowledge the time of year (FREE)

Are you surprised? It's (nearly) all FREE! Therefore some takeaways [geddit?] Please belive...

YOU ARE SELLING A COMMODITY

YOU NEED TO BE ONLINE

THERE IS NO EXCUSE

IT IS NOT 1997

On a positive note, if you would like help setting all this us (and only if you are prepared to update your information weekly) please get in touch.

If you dont already receive Martins money tips, via email, on a Wednesday morning you are missing out.

You can sign up at the MoneySavingExpert homepage here.

One that caught my eye today is the code for the free SkySports for 3 months on your iPhone. It only works via WiFi.

Full details:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=26751803#

I find it very interesting that Sky are doing this and I'd be interested to hear how people get on ... will it be reliable? will the quality be acceptable?

Just testing this out. Dont panic.