Pick My New Phone

by cameron | Nov 20, 2006 | Uncategorized

Well it’s official. I hate my two-year-old XDAii. It’s hard-reset on me about 6 times during the last month. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t trust it enough to put any data in it. So it’s time to get a new phone. I’m finally going to get off the Microsoft Office crack as well. My XDAii is the only thing keeping me using Office and I’m determined to move 100% to using free, online services such as Google Calendar.

I’m also going to dump my mobile service provider, Optus, because their customer service sucks ass. My two year plan expires in December (coincidentally just as my phone dies???) and when I rang them up two months ago to make sure they cancelled my plan on the expiration date, their customer service rep I spoke with told me he couldn’t go that and that I’d need to ring them back closer to the date.
ME: “Why? I’m telling you now.”
DUMP OPTUS REP: “Because I can’t remember to cancel it.”
ME: “You don’t have, like, a COMPUTER you can put the information into?”
DUMP OPTUS REP: “Our systems aren’t set up for that.”
ME: “You guys made a $600 million profit last year and you don’t have systems that work?”
DUMP OPTUS REP: “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

So anywhoo… I’m thinking about getting a Nokia e61 on Three so I can use Skype over wifi via the Soonr client.

Here’s my phone wishlist:

– wifi
– 2MP+ camera
– expandable memory (pref SD card but MicroSD will do)
– quadband so it works in the US
– bluetooth that works
– can access my gmail and google calendar on it
– speakerphone
– GPS which will work with a mapping service

I think the Nokia hits all of these except the phone.

Ewan? Shane?

Does This Movie Make My Hate Look Big?

by cameron | Nov 18, 2006 | Uncategorized

That line is a quote from Dan K’s Box Office Weekly #41 where his commentary is about BORAT. If you aren’t already subscribed to Dan’s show, and you are interested in the world of film and TV, you should check it out. I always learn something new and have a laugh along the way.

TPN makes EContent Mag’s EContent 100 List

by cameron | Nov 18, 2006 | Uncategorized

I was notified today that TPN made EContent Magazine’s list of “the 100 companies that lead the digital content industry today” which is nice recognition. I give all of the credit to our great hosts, the talent that make TPN happen. Well done team!

Rolling Stone interviews Sacha Baron Cohen

by cameron | Nov 18, 2006 | Uncategorized

From Dan Krause over at Box Office Weekly:

There’s this guy, Sacha Baron Cohen, who is connected to Borat in some way… I think he’s his agent. Anyway, Baron Cohen gave an interview with Rolling Stone about Borat, and why you people are missing the point. And he’s right, of course.

First of all, understand that Baron Cohen NEVER interviews as himself. Even when he was doing publicity for TALLEDEGA NIGHTS he created an overbearing actor character for the publicity tour. So this is a big deal. It is the rare person who has been in the room with him and didn’t find themselves interfacing with Ali G. or Bruno or Borat.

The excerpt from the interview that is online is terrific. Apparently Baron Cohen has not done one single interview as himself in the UK since he became well-known in 1998. As Dan says, there is finally a reason to buy a copy of Rolling Stone magazine again.

Are San Pellegrino kidding me?

by cameron | Nov 18, 2006 | Uncategorized

I’m back on the diet wagon again. I’ve been off of it now since August and I’ve put on a couple of kilos from where I was when I finished the process. So I’m back on it. Lose a kilo a week.

So anyhoo, I got back from taking the kids to their chess club this morning and grabbed a San Pellegrino Limonata out of the fridge. As i have to write down everything that passeth through my lips, I read the label.

Get this. You know those little bottles of Limonata? How many servings would you say is in one of those? Half? A quarter? Oh no. According to the nice folks at San Pellegrino, that there is TWO SERVINGS. Right. Maybe in Oompa Loompa land. Give me a frakkin break you morons. The Limonata bottle is 200ml and according to the label contains 226kj per serving of 100ml. That’s 452kj per bottle for those of you failed Grade One math.

Compare that to the 340ml bottle of Bundaberg Diet Ginger Beer. They think a serving is 250ml (we must grow ’em bigger in Bundy than they do in Italia). And each serving of BDGB contains only 85kj. So a whole 340ml bottle contains 119kj – a quarter of the kilojoules in the tiny little munchkin-sized bottle of San Pellegrino.

Now I know one is diet and the other isn’t but that isn’t my point. My point is the BULLSHIT they try to feed you on these labels. If you want to lose weight, learn to read the labels. Shouldn’t there be a standard servings size for drinks like this?