Cool, it flys over our house ! :D

I’ve never heard of Panamoz before, but they get a poor rep on Web of Trust:
http://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/panamoz.com?utm_source=addon&utm_content=popup-donuts

Dunno, there’s a load of people on Talk photo who have had good experiences, I’ll be using them for my next camera.

Panamoz, HDEW and DigitalRev all have decent reps…the cost savings can be very significant.

It’s getting to be a problem if you don’t buy from them, as the s/h value of camera gear is pinned by the grey import price, which for a 5Dmk3, is about £600 cheaper than uk retail.

My Mrs went on a similar deal to that one, she’s not a big phone user, but so far, it seems fine.

It’s fantastic, and you would never, ever run out of things to do ;-)

Deltic / Class 55..best name and best looking diesel.

Wilst I can sympathise with some of the anti agancy sentiment, there are some good ones. Most companies I deal with will not recrit directly, so like it or not, you have to go through an agency.

It’s easy to get taken for a ride when you are new to using agencys, but if you have a lot of interest, just take your time and let market forces direct you. Personally, I know a lot of people who delight in treating to agents like they are scum, but IMHO they are just stroking their egos. There are a lot of decent agents out there, and if you are polite and honest with them, they can help you.

If you not good at negotiating, an good agent can be worth their weight in gold, especially if you have been somewhere for a long time and your confidence is low about getting a decent salary somewhere else.

If you new to it, my advice would be take it steady, be polite and honest and look at what the different agents propose.

Just been watching a mini documentary with Richard Thompson recording a film soundtrack…jesus, he’s good.

My Morning Jacket – Z

agreed.

Common Flashy….put your vote for the Darkness in ;-)

TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain

Tom Waits – Alice

Field Music – Measure

Santigold – Santigold

Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam

NES have a decent reputation as an engineering agency, not worked in the NW for a while, but there is lots of work out there.

Looking on the bright side, at least your seeing the new Darkness album, not hearing it :-)

It was at the Carfone warehouse, phone was a 710, network was Carfone’s own (which I think uses Vodafone). It was a weekly deal so dunno if it’s still on, but they have this….

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/NOKIA-LUMIA-800/MONTHLY?intcmp=HP_Aug_Lumia800SD

which looks like a better fone on the same tarrif, but slightly more dosh.

My Mrs picked up a Nokia / Windows phone a few weeks ago, and I must say, I think it’s pretty good. The sat nav is far better than Google maps and I found it pretty intuitive to use. The only downside is that I think you have to install an application (Zune) on your PC to transfer music to it, otherwise I’d get one.

The phone was dirt cheap (7.50pm w/free phone on a decent contract). I’m pretty impressed.

I must admit, we had a pretty horrible start to caravaning. After 2 trips out I’d have been quite happy to never see it again.

A year on and things are looking a lot better, just come back from our first main holiday in the van…I love it! Some of the best caravaning was late autumn / early spring when it’s hard to camp, but ace in the caravan as there is not many people about.

I’d third the idea of going locally for your first outing, there is a fair learing curve to get up when you start.

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Graham, sorry it’s a bit late, but I tried the iplayer app on the T2, and it appeared to work OK…not the fastest app in the world, but appeared to be usable (based on a 5 min test).

Have you bought one yet (and do you like it!)?

We have a 9200 and a fox-T2 and the T2 is miles better. I found the ‘apps’ pretty slow on the T2, but the basic functionality is streets ahead of the 9200. I’ll ask the Mrs what iplayers like on the T2 when she wakes up!

We have a 9200 and a fox-T2 and the T2 is miles better. I found the ‘apps’ pretty slow on the T2, but the basic functionality is streets ahead of the 9200. I’ll ask the Mrs what iplayers like on the T2 when she wakes up!

I don’t think singers are Beckham’s type ;-)

Time is the real issue

At the risk of sounding rude, you spend a lot of time tossing it off on STW, and then complain you don’t have enough time for more meaningful stuff?

I think your actually in a pretty strong position…you have skills which allow you to freelance and the contractor market is buoyant at the moment.

You have a family, and you need to keep them secure. From what you have posted on this thread, there seems a pretty obvious path to realising a lot of your aspirations…go back to contracting, knuckle down, and use the money wisely to pay off your mortgage and buy some freetime to indulge the things you want to explore.

You said you freelanced before, but the money evaporated. The thoughts you are having now should be making you revaluate what you can achieve with your money. You don’t have to fall into the contractor bullshitfest lifestyle. Use the money to strengthen your (and your families) position.

Your really fortunate, you should approach this from a position of strength, not weakness.

TBH, I don’t have such a problem with ebay, it’s paypal that’s really putting me off using it. I’ve taken to using old syle classified ad’s and selling stuff cheap as I can’t be arsed with the fee’s / paypal agro.

Cool, thanks for posting. :D

IMHO, having owned a GF3 (for a few weeks) and Canon S95 I’m amazed at how bad the ‘Auto’ settings are. Both appear to be very reluctant to increase the ISO to a level where the shutter speed is above 1/60th of a sec.

I ended up using aperture priority and (as you suggested) capping the ISO at 1600. I found it gave a lot better results than using full auto, and personally, I found it easier to work out what the camera was doing. The fully auto flash pictures were horrible….at least using AV you have some control over the flash.

Have a play around, but I expected ‘full auto’ to give sensible settings for most situations, but in reality AV proved to give a much more consistent output.

She’s trying to help you out? At least show here the respect of talking to her about it, not bitching on the internet.

Didn’t Dave Mustaine express some Pro IRA sentiments while playing a gig in Ireland….Northen Ireland 8O ? I think he was surprised when it didn’t provoke the response he expected.

He also visited Auschwitz with a ‘Megadeth’ logo in the back of his jacket, which could be construed as the actions of a bellend.

Sounds like what you’ve got isn’t “semi-working functionality that Android devices have”, rather you’ve got a broken phone. Have you considered getting it repaired / replaced?

I think it’s pretty unlikey the phone is broken, given that I work 10 feet from someone who also has a Senstation, on a different network, who has similar issues with connectivity. He also upgraded from a Desire, which worked fine, and now has loads of connection problems with a Sensation.

Added to this, there is a ton of people with the same phone who have the same problems, i think it’s pretty unlikely to be the phone?

I too had a Desire, worked fine, but ran out of memory, so I upgraded to Sensation. Big mistake.

Problems….
The ability to remain on the network, Desire worked fine, Sensation spends hours unable to connect. I started with Vodafone, then switched to T-Mobile. Both are hopeless with the Sensation.
Data connection can drop off for days…Some days I have to constantly reboot to try to get to connect for mobile data, even if the phone has good signal strength for calls.
Screen won’t turn on, once every few day’s it just won’t turn on…have to take the battery out to get it to work.
Bluetooth, only let’s me switch it off once. After one switchoff, it won’t restart until I take the battery out, so it has to be left on all the time.

Must admit, owning an HTC Sensation has put me off Android for the foreseeable future….in theory it’s does everything, but in reality it does everything badly. It’s like buying a half completed school project where you have to spend a month on the internet to get it finished.

Personally I can’t be arsed….iphone next time round. I really can’t see that Apple could get away with releasing devices with the level of semi-working functionality that Android devices have. In fact, thinking about it, I have a 1st gen ipad, and pretty much everything works without any fuss.

Reported.

For breaking forum rules or recommending s*** headphones?

I thought that most pension ‘products’ were only available through an IFA? I’d be genuinely interested to hear if that’s not the case.

If it were me, for such a small amount, I’d transfer into your current pension, so it’s not forgotten about in 20 years time.

Good luck with finding a decent IFA :D

Totally agree with joao3v16, you only have to stay home if your poor and have no imagination. We took our kids to Legoland a few years ago, even with discounts it’s a fair chunk of change to stand in a queue with a load of scabby chavs.

Jesus hora…I could never understand why you got so much shit on this forum, but now it’s all become clear….Nickelback FFS?

TBH, I hated JCM800’s first time round, why would anyone want an overpriced , underpowered copy? :-) (ducks for cover)

Did it for 4 years on the trot. We went to Landal, and after UK Centre Parcs it’s a breath of fresh air….like CP but done right. Prices are cheaper (although you have to get there), the dutch school holidays are different, so if you book direct, you don’t get shafted.

I’d really recommend it, there is more space round the accomodation, the atmosphere is better, great for biking (although it’s generally flat)…it feels a lot more ‘outdoors’ then UK centre parcs.

I have been to CP in the UK 3 times, and TBH, I though it was total shit. It’s too busy, packed full of chav’s, you have to prebook everything, the parking is horrible, the food is really expensive. I thought the dutch experience is much better in every respect.

Nels Cline…..

Solo starts at 3:48 if your impatient :-)

Why cant Paxman be so belligerent with call me Dave or Gideon?

Because he’s a bully, plain and simple.

He’s passed his sell by date…i’m sick of his pointless point scoring, he’s viewed as someone how brings the politicians to account, but he’s becoming part of the reason the politicians are all cynical careerists’.

I feel for you, it’s a horrible black feeling when someone does this.