This Blog belongs to:- Mr Omneo

A change is as good as a rest!

2008-04-29T00:30:00.004+01:00

If you normally arrive at this blog via the home page, www.omneo.co.uk, you'll have noticed the change in direction of the site. If you come here via a bookmark then it's time to update it because this is the final blog entry...

Fear not! Mr Omneo and his blog have moved into their new home over at www.mr-omneo.co.uk so if you want to keep up to date on his comings and goings that's where to go... now GO!

6 Great Magazines for only 33p a copy!

2008-04-28T08:30:00.001+01:00

OK, the past few days I've been posting links to offers for different magazines so I thought I'd just collate all the offers and put them in one entry so you can see just what is on offer!

I've found 6 great titles which are being offered at only £1 for 3 issues so there is bound to be something for everyone!

The magazines on offer are:

FourFourTwo: FourFourTwo is the ultimate football magazine.

Stuff: Stuff is the world's best-selling gadget and lifestyle magazine.

Inside United: The official Reds magazine!! Written by fans for The Fans.

Maxim: Maxim is the biggest men's lifestyle magazine in the world.

Eve: Eve has the best health pages in the business, tried and trusted beauty advice...and then some!

Delicious: Whether you are passionate about cooking and entertaining, or simply love food, Delicious is the magazine for you.

Yes, that's right everyone one of these magazines can be yours for the special offer price of just £1 for 3 issues, so what are you waiting for?!

3 issues of Eve Magazine for £1

2008-04-27T12:00:00.000+01:00

Well, for all you girls who thought I was only searching out magazine offers for the boys, I've managed to find an offer for Eve which follows the same principle, you get 3 copies of Eve magazine for only £1!

Eve magazine is packed full of challenging reads, sneaky ways to justify clothes shopping, the best health pages in the business, tried and trusted beauty advice, tasty titbits of fun facts and gossip, delicious food and gorgeous home ideas.

These are some great offers and I'll no doubt try and collate all the links I find into one post later this week so you can snap up some bargains, even if not for yourself but maybe as a gift? tho they might get annoyed if you stop their subscription after only 3 issues!

3 Issues of Maxim for only £1

2008-04-26T14:58:00.004+01:00

If you've ever read Maxim you'll know what a great magazine it is, it's the biggest men's lifestyle magazine in the world. Why? Because Maxim is both sexy and smart. Every issue of Maxim is packed with a winning blend of the hottest women from all over the world, side-splitting humour, the latest in fashion and the smartest new gadgets on the market.

AND I've found a great offer on the net, much like yesterday's post where I found a link for FourFourTwo, this one offers you 3 copies of Maxim for only £1.

OK, so they make money on the assumption that you'll continue the subscription, which is still lower than the price you'll pay in-store but all you have to do is cancel the direct debit instruction and you'll have bagged 3 copies for less than the price of 1... can't say fairer than that can you?? (OK, technically you could if they offered 3 copies of Maxim for free, but they're not!)

3 Issues of FourFourTwo only £1!

2008-04-25T19:06:00.005+01:00

Are you a footie fan? If you are you'll want to take advantage of this great offer; for a limited time you can get 3 issues of FourFourTwo for £1!

Free Hosting AND a Domain Name

2008-04-25T13:30:00.002+01:00

If you've always wanted a website but were unsure about spending a lot of money on hosting but likewise didn't want to have something that looked 'cheap' with someone else's advertising displayed as a condition of it being 'free' you should get along to who currently offer 1 years FREE hosting together with a domain name.

OK, I should point out that it is not 'technically' free as they do impose a set-up fee but this is still less than the cost of registering a .com domain for a year so the hosting package on offer more than makes up for it.

Even those who have already got their own hosting could do worse than take up this offer, as I said. The setup fee is lower than the cost of a .com registration so you can cheaply register a domain, make use of 12 months free hosting and then transfer everything back to your existing host at renewal time.

Home Contents Revisted

2008-04-17T16:10:00.005+01:00

Right, so you may recall I was bemoaning the whopping increase in my home contents insurance and my search for a new, cheaper policy?

I initially thought I'd found a bargain with the Nationwide but I subsequently discovered that my existing policy didn't include accidental cover and after re-comparing quotes with about 20 different companies almost settled for Greenbee as they had a good policy for about £55per month, a lot of money I know but the paranoid part of me felt it was better that than returning home one night to discover the house had been emptied while I was at work!

Anyway, I said, "almost settled" that was until a colleague tipped me off on the eGroup where he saved over £200 on his motorbike policy. I logged on, filled in my quote and included accidental cover and prepared myself for the worse, imagine my surprise then when the quote came in at just under £300?! I took a double take... less cash for a better policy?? No need to think twice, eGroup gets my business.

If your insurance policy is coming up for renewal, check out eHome insurance

Household Contents Insurance

2008-04-01T10:24:00.003+01:00

Well, I got home last night to find my home contents insurance renewal papers and it's risen a whopping £11 a month!! Don't think Lloyds TSB will be getting my renewal, especially when I checked with Nationwide and their quote, for an identical policy, is £8 a month lower!

*UPDATE*

Whilst the policy from the Nationwide was lower, it didn't include Accidental Cover which I wanted and when I did a re quote it was more expensive, but perhaps it might still be the cheapest for you. In the end I went with eHome Insurance, look for my other entry.

Cheapest Airfares with cFares.com

2008-03-25T00:09:00.000Z

I have to tell you about this great US based company called cFares.com. I'm planning a trip to the US in August to go see the Dave Matthews Band as well as some friends. Scouring the web I've been using just about every comparison site to try and get the cheapest deal and I thought I'd done well in finding a return ticket to San Francisco for £491.

Then I found cFaresand discovered they have a 'members only' set of prices which I was a little sceptical about. Usually I've found you're expected to pay a stupid membership fee which is often more than the saving, fine if you make a few flights a year abut pointless if you are an occasional traveller.

Well, the platinum membership is US$50 or approx £25 in real money and the flight? Well, travelling on the exact same United Airlines flights as I was prepared to pay £491 for, cFares.com
gave me a price of... £391.50 and if I add the £25 membership fee that brings the total to £416.50, a saving of £74.50 or approx US$149 in funny money, which covers the cost of 2 tickets to see Dave Matthews and his band! RESULT!!

So, if you're thinking about flying anywhere, check out cFares.com for Cheap Tickets to your favourite destinations!

Feelings, nothing more than feelings...

2008-03-24T04:08:00.002Z

So, I just watched a movie called Numb starring Matthew Perry, Chandler of Friends fame. It was one of those rare films that actually made me feel quite happy, in a depressingly uplifting sort of a way. The last time I watched a movie that really spoke to me was when I watched Lost In Translation however I admit that back then I may have been swayed by the gorgeous Scarlett Johansson, however even without her it was still a great movie. Numb was very good, it actually felt like someone had reached in and witnessed a little of how I feel and then penned it into a scenario in a movie, which was handy considering it was a movie!

Now that it's finished there are just two things running around in my head. The first is the realisation that I may never meet my Sara, or that I already have done and have blown it... that in itself is a depressing thought, to think that I may have to live out this life solo. In fact it is so depressing a thought I'm contemplating going out and buying an ounce of strong marijuana so that I may get so stoned that I will not be aware that my Sara is not about to enter my life any time soon... The second is the words to a Regina Spektor song that started to play in my head three quarters of the way through the film, the song in question is Better and again, it has some beautiful lyrics which are super enhanced by being matched with some pretty amazing music... I realised that even at my wildest ambition I could possibly write some decent shit but I could never pen music to match... perhaps that's a truth for some people, the ability to write words is enough for some and the ability to write music is enough for others. Somehow of course I feel half a man for knowing that I can only ever achieve one of the the two and in accepting that fact I resign myself to being able to achieve neither of them.

Here are the lyrics of Better... don't they read just fine?

Better by Regina Spektor
If I kiss you where it's sore
If I kiss you where it's sore
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all

Born like sisters to this world
In a town where blood ties are only blood
If you never say your name out loud to anyone
They can never ever call you by it

If I kiss you where it's sore
If I kiss you where it's sore
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all

You're getting sadder, getting sadder, getting sadder, getting sadder
And I don't understand, and I don't understand
But if I kiss you where it's sore
If I kiss you where it's sore
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all
Will you feel better, better, better
Will you feel anything at all
Anything at all
Will you feel anything at all
Anything at all
Will you feel anything at all
Anything at all...

I dunno, just reading them makes me feel both sad and happy. It bothers me that I should feel this way, it bothers me that I don't always feel happy and it bothers me that I feel bothered by not feeling happy. Yet at the same time, I feel happy that I can find lyrics such as these so uplifting, it would be hellish nice to find a girl to replace the words sometimes.

Wanna know how the song goes? Have a listen...enjoy!

Me, Myself, I

2008-03-24T01:07:00.002Z

I was listening to the radio just he other day and a song came on that I instantly knew I loved... I knew I loved it instantly because it was a song I had heard many times over the last 15 years or so and each time I told myself, "Mr Omneo, you must buy that song" Now, if you can accept that I seldom listen to anyone else's instructions, you can imagine how often I listen to myself, instructing myself!

The song in question is Joan Armatrading singing Me, Myself I. It is, to my mind, a beautiful song, so beautiful in fact I actually parted with real coin (79p) at iTunes in order to purchase it and own it all for my very own some!

In case you are wondering, here are the lyrics of the song;

Me, Myself, I by Joan Armatrading

I sit here by myself
And you know I love it
You know I don't want someone
To come pay a visit
I wanna be by myself
I came in this world alone
Me myself I
I wanna go to China
And to see Japan
I'd like to sail the oceans
before the seas run dry
I wanna go by myself
I've just room enough for one
My myself I
I wanna be a bigshot
And have ninety cars
I wanna have a boyfriend
And a girl for laughs
But only on saturdays
Six days to be alone
Just me myself I
Me myself and I
Just me myself I
Don't wanna be the bad guy
Don't wanna make a soul cry
It's not that I love my self
I just don't want company
Just me myself I
Me myself and I
Just me myself I
I sit here by myself
And you know I love it
You know I don't want someone
To come pay a visit
I wanna be by myself
I came in this world alone
Me myself I

Now, read on their own they give some idea glimmer of the beauty that makes up the whole song but without the music the words are nothing... luckily then I love you, dear reader, enough to share the song with you... enjoy!

London Calling...Abroad from 1p per minute!

2008-03-23T09:01:00.000Z

Well, if there's one thing you are guaranteed at Easter is a couple of mad hatter-esque comments from the men in frocks. Yes, that's right, the Clergy get to spout moronic drivel having had to sit quiet since Christmas. A few posts back I posted the Bill Hicks sketch in which he discusses how the world over people celebrate Easter, the time that the 'son of God' is alleged to have risen from the dead, in the same fashion... we gorge ourselves senseless on chocolate eggs and talk about the Easter Bunny, two things that don't appear anywhere in the Bible, except the version authorised by Mr Omneo, which runs to 3 paragraphs and rest assured; chocolate consumption is in there along with wine, bread and fish.

The thing that bugs me about the latest wheeze from some mad Bishop, complaining about using human and animal embryos to create cells from which to try and discover cures for diseases such as Cancer, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease. Is the way he and others are demanding that MPs be allowed to vote as individuals as opposed to how their respective political parties wish.

So, I hear you say, what's wrong with that Mr Omneo? Well, let me tell you what I think is wrong. When someone is elected to parliament, they are elected by a group of people called constituents i.e. the likes of you and me. We elect them to vote on matters as we would like so as such they forfeit the right to go voting as they like, they are expected to listen to the people who voted for them and do as they wish... spokespeople in other words. Sigh.. even typing that makes me realise what a fantasy world I live in. These are the people who vote to give themselves bumper pay increases whilst telling the rest of us to make do with 2%, the people who vote to allow themselves to claim expenses for keeping a property that they have already paid for (with tax payers money) talk about double dipping? These greedy bastards triple and quadruple dip!! So, rather than listen to the church telling them it is morally wrong, why not listen to the people who elected them in the first place? The people who want cures for diseases... If they were so holy why don't they worry about what the alleged god will think about their greed and gluttony??

Cheap Calls Abroad from the UK

Thankfully I've taken my mind off things by re-vamping one of my websites, Selfless Mind Calls, which details how you can save a fortune on your international calls, whether you use a landline or your mobile phone you'll find rates start at an unbelievable 1p per minute to hundreds of destinations. So stop reading, get out your phone book and give a friend abroad a call. They don't need to know it's costing you pennies and maybe next year you'll get a bumper chocolate egg in the post!

To save you looking over the earlier posts for the Bill Hicks sketch, here it is again...enjoy!

Time passes slowly...

2008-03-13T21:55:00.004Z

Well, another day another dollar... well that's what they say, whoever they are... obviously not anyone who ever paid tax, national insurance or council tax and water rates!

It only seems like yesterday that I was busy celebrating the end of 2007 and the start on 2008 and here we are, almost mid-way through the third month and does anything feel any different? Does it fuck... It's really quite depressing and if it wasn't for the fact I've been there and got the T Shirt I'd be depressed right now, but still... I just can't help but think something should have happened by now, don't ask me what I think should have happened for I have not a clue but with every day that goes past I keep thinking I should be doing something and perhaps that's it... I feel like I'm in some limbo state, no idea what it is I want to do and no energy to get up off my cute arse and look for something to do...

I bemoan the fact that I never meet anyone and yet I don't make any effort to actually go out and meet people. I was chatting with a friend on MSN the other day, we started chatting about 6 or 7 years ago and often go long periods without talking but whenever we do chat we invariably refer to those early days, she remembers them better than me mainly due to the fact I was taking a crazy mix of pharmaceuticals that has rendered my brain sieve like. She married, had a kid, is getting divorced and is now living with another guy but complains that she feels lost and is sure that if we hooked up everything would be better. A part of me would like to believe her but I know what its like to live in that fantasy world of believing that the one you can't have, be it due to distance or existing relationship status, is the one and it's only because you know you can't have that one that you con yourself into believing they are the one... talk about a crazy mind fuck?!

Having said that, most of the people I regularly stay in contact with are those I've known for years, who I adored and still do but sometimes I wonder if I still adore them for the reasons above, because I can't have them... is this why I don't move on? I'm thinking this year that I should holiday back in the US of A primarily to visit some of these people and perhaps just get it all out of the way after all, it's so easy to assume the person we chat to for a few hours every few months is perfect but spend a few hours in each others company and you will either be dying to rip their clothes off or rip their throats out... it's no surprise to know I'd much prefer the former to the latter!

I guess half the battle is knowing the issue, by knowing what it is that's messing with your head it makes dealing with it easier... or so they say and I swear if I ever find out who the fuck they are I'll be delivering a swift kick to their shins...bastards!!

I was browsing a friends flcker album the other day, if you read this blog a few years ago you'd have read about her, Julie, the amazingly lovely girl who had the misfortune of spilling a glass of red wine over her white trousers, tho she insists on calling them pants. She dated a guy and they broke up and then they got back together again and I hate to admit it but they make a lovely couple... I think Julie was the closest I came to admitting I had feelings for who felt the same way, she contemplated moving to the UK at one point but a better job arose in the states so she stayed, I secretly cursed that well paid job of hers... but at the end of the day, she's found happiness and that's all anyone can wish for a friend although I have told her that if the boy hurts her again I will hunt him down and dispose of him like the mangy dog he is and thanks to flcker it's all so much easier as I have his photo =)

The musical interlude for this entry is bound to raise some eyebrows and you know what? I don't care... It's by the Dave Matthews Band and was recorded live from a 3 day stint they did at Red Rocks, in Colorado. So sit back and savour Say Goodbye

Nothing's for Nothing

2008-03-12T18:52:00.002Z

OK, so how many times have you seen something advertised as 'FREE' and then discovered it's still going to involve you parting with cash? Fast food joints are classics, they hand out vouchers telling you that you can have a Super Greasy Fat Burger FREE but the small print then tells you that you only get it free if you buy another Super Greasy Fat Burger... Yes, the good old BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free)

Retailers are also guilty of it, often it's a case of,

"Buy this ludicrously over-priced 74" plasma TV for only £4,999.99 and get this DVD player worth £20.99 FREE"

That's usually a pisser because if you wait 2 weeks the TV will be reduced to £1,999.99 and you'll have change to fly to Japan and pick the DVD player up from the manufacturer!

I had my own run in with the whole, when we say free we don't really mean free double speak earlier this week courtesy of BT (British Telecom) Now, this should really not be a surprise to me as I worked for them many moons ago and I know their highly paid lawyers earn their crust by placing devilishly tricky loop holes into all that small print that accompanies every bit of literature they print, why else does a 12 page booklet require 2 pages just for the small print and of course, who can be bothered reading all that stuff anyway?

Like a lot of households, I have a landline purely to provide my broadband needs, all my calls are made on my mobile or via Skype. The landline is paid via Direct Debit and I opt for online billing and as I never think to look at it, I seldom log on to actually view the bill, I know it's about £11-£12 per month and that's roughly what comes out of my account. The other day I read that they are putting prices up for the first time in xyz years and I happened to log into my account and saw a list of bills, one month stuck out as it was about £4 more than any of the others which all varied by a few pence... I had a look and the bill in question had a charge for 'BT Caller Display' and 'BT Answerphone 1571'.. I was puzzled, none of the other bills had this charge so I had a quick look on their help system and read that everyone could have BT Answerphone 1571 FREE but if you wanted the advanced version there was a monthly charge... as for Caller Display, that was also FREE as part of the 'FREE Privacy at Home' package... SO, I drop an email to BT's Offshore 'help' desk questioning why I was being charged for these 'free' services. Several hours later I received a response... Yes, the services were free, but only if I made at least 2 chargeable calls in the month, as I had not made any calls I wasn't entitled to the free part of the service, therefore the £4.xx was the fee for not using the phone. I quickly checked back and lo and behold it seemed that most months I had in fact made a few calls, usually to Dominos Pizza or to an access number for when I call overseas but I also discovered I had paid this £4.xx a few times over the year. Now, it's easy enough to say pick up the phone, make 2 calls a month for 10p and save paying the £4.xx but I have a memory like a sieve.. So I emailed them and asked them to cancel the services as I didn't want to pay for them. They kindly replied to confirm that they had indeed cancelled my FREE services...

This irked me a little and so, like a complete sad bastard, I decided to read all the small print on a recent letter I received from BT telling me that I would get FREE weekend calls to any UK landline from 1 April. Sure enough, BT's idea of free doesn't match mine... Firstly, free means calls of 60mins are free, any longer than 60mins and you'll be charged but there's no limit to how many times you can hang up and redial... just the inconvenience of having to check the clock all the time... then I discovered point two... if you don't make at least 2 chargeable calls in the month guess what? Yup, no free weekend calls! I'm assuming that the first 2 weekend calls would count as chargeable but if you didn't make any other calls and your first 2 calls were for 60mins each that's 120 x weekend call rate, which I'm far too lazy to look up but certainly not FREE!!

I wonder how many other people have been paying BT for these free things and have never noticed? I guess if you use your landline it makes no difference to you as you're bound to pick the phone up at least twice a month but I dare say there are a few like me who probably don't, the free services came automatically when I signed up so I just assumed as they were free that it wouldn't cost me; as I have only given my phone number out to about 4 people in 4 years I don't really need their answerphone or have caller display so I won't miss them but it's the motherfucking principle!!

Anyway, now that's off my chest, let's have a bit of music... I leave you now with Freeform Five and No More Conversations

Win a MacBook Air worth £1,199

2008-03-07T17:09:00.006Z

Well, have you seen those lovely Apple MacBook Air's?? Whilst I don't approve of Apple's ridiculous policy of requiring you to return everything back to them when the battery needs replacing, I wouldn't mind so much if you knew you would get your own item back but mostly they advise, in tiny small print, that you may get a refurbished model back. Look here Mr Jobs, you charge through the nose for the replacement battery, at least have the decency to return the item that was sent or make the option of taking it into a store available. That's why I stick with my old brick of a 3rd generation iPod, I can order a battery from eBay for £6 and get another 18 months out of it. But as usual, I digress...

PC World are running a competition from now until 30 May 2008 for the chance to win a shiny new MacBook Air, all you need to do is sign-up to get their newsletter and you're in with a chance... So what are you waiting for?

Of course, you may not win the MacBook, in fact the law of probability says you very likely won't but if everyone thought they weren't going to win so didn't bother entering, there will be very few entries meaning you stand a very good chance of winning... My old mate Paul Weller sang a song that sums it up perfectly, have a listen, until next time, stay well and send me an email if you win!

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? NO!! It's...

2008-03-02T12:30:00.005Z

Mr Omneo writing a blog entry!!

Well, much has happened since my last entry. Some familial issues which whilst not wholly unexpected were still...unexpected. This then set off a chain of events which then brought about more less than happy events but also something quite unexpectedly good. Anyway, I'm not here to drone on and on about my fucked up family, the more I talk with others I discover just about every family is fucked up, whereas once I felt I was in the minority I realise I'm in the majority and the minority comprises of people with perfect families.

Work has been busy, busy both the day job and my own little enterprise. I sat up till 3.30am trying to submit my self assessment tax return after putting it off every weekend for about 4 months, I did vow that I would be better prepared for this years attempt... needless to say the closest I've got is to make one huge pile of paperwork on my desk as opposed to 3 or 4 smaller piles!

Yesterday I finished a site for Ross Trevail, a photographer, pop over to www.rosstrevail.com and have a look, recognise that shade of blue? I'm also working on a designa dn shopping cart for www.chopandcut.co.uk, a supplier of diamond blades and cutting tools; no real idea when I'll finish that maybe a month or two as I'm still awaiting details of the products that are actually for sale.

Anyone whose read a few entries here will know I keep recommending Sellaband.com and this entry is no exception. My biggest investment is in Kaitee Page, think Alanis Morissette but a bit rockier and with violins and you're close to getting an idea but of course the easiest way is to head over to her page and have a listen for yourself. Kaitee has accumulated almost $36,000 and once she reaches $50,000 the band will be off making their record, so get in while you can. Another artist I like is Grant Stevens. Grant has only recently signed up to sellaband so could do with a morale boost by a few of you readers buying a part and letting him know that not everyone is interested in listening to Britney Spears, so go on, head over to Grant's page, have a listen and part with $10 (or $20 or $30 or more!)and if you do invest in Grant, let him know Mr Omneo sent you and you may just find you get something special from the great man himself!

OK, perhaps you're wondering what Sellaband is all about and don't want to wade through their site, let me sum it up in non-hype speak... You listen to the bands on sellaband, each artist has 3 tracks up for you to listen to. You like someone you buy a part, each part is $10. When the artist reaches $50,000 they go off and record an album. For each part you buy, you get 1 limited edition CD at the end of it which you can either keep or sell, if you sell it you can get back between $9 and $11 . Hmmm you say, that doesn't sound like much but wait... there's more! In addition to the sale of the CD's you own, you also get to share 90% of the artists overall net profits from CD sales and MP3 downloads, the artist gets 10%. But what is you change your mind? Simple, you just cash in your parts and the money is transferred back to your account so you really do have nothing to lose and lots to gain. Worst case scenario is you end up with a limited edition CD which has cost you $10... that's less than a happy meal and a beer, unless of course you're in the UK like me where you won't even get a happy meal for $10 never mind a beer!

With Easter just around the corner I thought that rather than leave you with a musical interlude, I'd remind you of the amazing work of a special man. No dummy not him, I mean of course the great Bill Hicks! Listen and leave enlightened

buy-cheap-viagra-consolidate-your-debt-watch-porn

2008-01-03T22:27:00.000Z

So, if you didn't come here for the enlightening thoughts of the day and instead were brought here because you entered something like buy-cheap-viagra-online-consolidate-your-debt-watch-porn into the search engine, it's only fair that you get taken to the site that offers you all that AND more!

Jeezus, I'm far too good to you lot. Supplying links to all the stuff the internet was created to supply, all from the comfort of your own home/office/internet cafe. Actually, you may laugh and say, "Internet cafe? Yeah right!" but here's a little story for you...

I was recently in the Czech Republic, having flown with Ireland's shittiest but cheap airline, I won't mention them by name as I don't want the Irish git to start leaving dead horses heads in my bed, tho given he's so tight they'd probably be from his daughter's My Little Pony collection anyway. But I digress, this bucket shop airline requires you to 'check-in on-line' if you want to have the cheapest tickets and wanting to have the cheapest tickets, that's what I chose to do, then I read the small, small, very small print... you need to check in between 48 and 4hrs before the flight, fine when I'm at home and have access to a printer, not so fine when I'm in Moravia and find it nigh on impossible to find an internet cafe with a printer!

However I finally found one and busied myself with printing off my boarding card and catching up on emails while I was there, going slightly crazy over the Czech keyboard which took some getting used to, however it did mean I was more inclined to delete emails than reply to them as it was far too much effort trying to figure out where the apostrophe was hiding, it was bad enough that the key that said Y was really the Z!! But again, I digress... having finished my email reading and shit I look up and see that the guy in front of me, a 'gentleman' in his late forties/early fifties, was avidly perusing a porn site and we're talking full on, hardcore porn!

He must have felt me watching as he looked round, saw me looking and then gave me a look of disgust as if to say, "How cheap! You're looking at another man's porn, go look at your own!" and me? I felt embarrassed for looking at another man's porn... perhaps because it was all 'fetish' stuff,. all that rubber and leather has never really done anything for me, just makes me think of 'The Gimp' in Pulp Fiction!

Somebody's Gonna Steal My Carbon!

2007-12-30T18:23:00.000Z

I was in the kitchen a little while ago preparing dinner, roast chicken a la Omneo, when Modest Mouse's song 'Parting of the Sensory' came on, courtesy of shuffle mode. I like Modest Mouse, they have a 'raw' sound, I think it's the lead singers voice that does it, some like it, some despise it, some think they've sold out and become more 'radio friendly', quite frankly I couldn't give a fuck. I like them.

As I was busy pounding garlic, chilli and lime juice in the pestle I reflected on the lyrics. There's so much talk about 'Carbon' and 'Carbon Footprints' these days it's no wonder most peoples eyes glaze over at the mere mention of the word carbon. For myself, as soon as I hear someone mention carbon I hit my internal 'snooze button' This ensures that my brain goes to sleep for 15 minutes before prompting me to wake up and re-join the conversation, during this time I display a look of blank affirmation, I may nod a few times and occasionally I will repeat some of what is being said with a sound of either surprise of disgust.

When I'm aware that the speaker has finished I will announce, "Who gives a fuck? The Earth has to go through a cycle of birth and re-birth, it's karma man. We're just pawns in the game of life, stop thinking you have some higher purpose, our purpose is to live and die and if we're lucky we might have time to throw in a spot of loving"

Usually by that point people realise I have no interest in saving the planet, the end? Bring it on! Won't be a minute too soon if you ask me.

Anyway, back to Modest Mouse's lyrics, as I stood there pulverizing the ingredients for my dinner I thought about my own demise, or more exactly, I thought about millions of years after my demise, when my own carcass had become a bundle of carbon, lying dormant under layers and layers of rock and what have you. Suppose I turn into a diamond? How cool would that be? Actually, even if I only end up as a chunk of coal, ready to fuel some futuristic retro furnace, it would still be a pretty cool legacy to have, either I keep someone warm or I become a trinket that people lust after. Both have their pluses and minuses but right now I'm not too fussy, after all, it's only carbon *snooze*

OK, so you don't know the song I was talking about? Here are the lyrics, the song can be found on the album 'We were dead before the ship even sank'

Parting of the Sensory Lyrics
There's no work in walking in to fuel the talk
I would grab my shoes and then away I'd walk
Through all the stubborn beauty I start at the dawn
Until the sun had fully stopped
Never walking away from
Just a way to pull apart
Dehydrate back into minerals
A life long walk to the same exact spot

Carbon's anniversary
The parting of the sensory
Old old mystery
The parting of the sensory

Who the hell made you the boss?
We placed our chips in all the right spots
But still lost
Any shithead who had ever walked
Could take the ship and do a much finer job
This fit like clothes made out of wasps
Aw, fuck it I guess I lost

The parting of the sensory
Carbon's anniversary
Just part it again if you please
Carbon's anniversary

Who the hell made you the boss
If you say what to do I know what not to stop
If you were the ship then who would ever get on
The weather changed it for the worse
And came down on us like it had been rehearsed
And like we hope, but change will surely come
And be awful for most but really good for some
I took a trip to the exact same spot
We pulled the trigger, but we forgot to cock
And every single shot

Aw, fuck it I guess we lost

Some day you will die and
Somehow some thing’s going to steal your carbon

Some day you will die and
Somehow some thing’s going to steal your carbon

Well some day you will die somehow and
Some thing’s going to steal your carbon

Some day you will die and
Someone’s or some thing’s will steal your carbon

Some day something will die and
Somehow you'll figure out how
Often you will die somehow and
Something going to steal your carbon

Well some day you will die somehow and
Some thing’s going to steal your carbon.

Back in Black

2007-12-28T13:12:00.000Z

well, that's it over for another year. Christmas... it comes around at the same time every year and yet it never ceases to amaze me how many people scrabble around in the first few weeks of December in a panic as if somehow it was all some new event that had only just been introduced.

This year I spent the day with friends. I ate far, far too much and washed it down with fine wines; no seriously, they were fine wines, Withnail would have been proud of me! It also gave me a glimpse into the life of a TV watcher as my friends are fairly normal and have a TV (I do not) Man alive, what a load of shite they showed on Christmas day! I guess TV Schedulers figure no one has any appetite for TV after gorging senselss on food and alcohol but come on, is that any excuse for the BBC to show 'Speed' as their evening movie?? It made me wonder why people bother buying HD plasma TV's I mean who wants to watch re-runs of old crap in HD? Most of them weren't any good in LD!!

Now, whereas films and TV shows soon fade, Rock n Roll will never die and that was beautifully summed up in AC/DC's closing track on their superb album, Back in Black. If you haven't listened to Rock n Roll Ain't Noise Pollution, where have you been hiding?? Here are the lyrics but of course, without the music they're a bit like a bowl of Ying waiting to be placed with a bowl of Yang.

Rock 'N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

(A. Young / M. Young / B. Johnson)

Hey there all you middle men
Throw away your fancy clothes
And while you're out sittin' on a fence
So get off your arse and come down here
Cause rock 'n' roll ain't no riddle man
To me it makes good good sense
Good sense yeah let's go

Heavy decibels bells are playing on my guitar
We got vibrations comin' up from the floor
We're just listenin' to the rock
That's givin' too much noise
Are you deaf you wanna hear some more
We're just talking about the future
Forget about the past
It'll always be with us
It's never gonna die
Never gonna die
Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution
Rock 'n' roll ain't gonna die
Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution
Rock 'n' roll it will survive
Yes it will

I took a look inside your bedroom door
You looked so good lyin' on your bed
Well I asked you if you wanted any rhythm and love
You said you wanna rock 'n' roll instead
We're just talking about the future
Forget about the past
It'll always be with us
It's never gonna die
Never gonna die
Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution
Rock 'n' roll ain't gonna die
Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution
Rock 'n' roll is just rock 'n' roll

Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution
Rock 'n' roll ain't gonna die
Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution
Rock 'n' rolling will survive
Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution
Rock 'n' roll will never die
Rock 'n' roll ain't noise pollution
Rock 'n' roll
Rock 'n' roll

Is just rock 'n' roll

Nostalgia...

2007-12-19T23:20:00.000Z

Tonight I did something I haven't done for a while... I played a CD! Yes, that's right, you read correctly, I came home and decided that rather than open up iTunes and play one of the 18,000+ tracks I have there, I'd forsake them and pull out a real, live, CD... a shiny circular disc from the collection on the wall... amassed in ye olden dayes when shiny silver CD was a superior format (OK, so it still is but MP3 is easier and smaller to store!)

I like playing CD's although I don't play them that often, it's so lazy to play MP3's, I know that when all I have to do is open iTunes and click play on a play list, I can settle down and do nothing for hours whereas with a CD I know I have a 72 minutes maximum before I have to get up and find another CD to replace the previous one and somehow, when I play CD's, I feel compelled to ensure that whatever I play follows on suitably from the previous CD... heaven forbid I would choose to voluntarily follow Pearl Jam with the Ozric Tentacles, even though I love both bands! I just feel CD's deserve more thought than simply 'shuffle' on iTunes... so fuck me sideways if I'm wrong! (No, that wasn't really an option, just a turn of phrase!)

So I hear you ask, what CD did I select from the 350+ albums on the wall? It was The Kings of Leon's Aha Shake Heartbreak... bloody lovely...and only £9.99 at HMV

Simply THE Soopa Store

2007-12-17T07:12:00.001Z

Well, as I continue my quest for world domination I figured I'd dip my toes in the murky waters of auction sites. There are many people making lots of money from ebay, Smokey McPot, my soon to be ex-colleague, has a steady trade selling bits n pieces and I often think to myself that I could probably rake in a few sheckles if I got my arse in gear and sold the junk lying around the house that I no longer use but I'm a lazy sonofabitch and don't have that much worth selling so that road is kinda closed to me. Then there are those 'power sellers' who sell 'brand new, fell off the back of a lorry guv' items and have swollen PayPal accounts. I'm just no where near any lorries with loose doors, so that's out for me as well.

So where then, gentle reader, does a lazy guy with nothing to sell go when he wants to make his fortune on ebay? The answer is, he opens up the one and only

www.soopastore.com

of course! What? you've never heard of it before? Well, that's no surprise as it only opened it's virtual doors in the very early hours of Sunday morning, probably while you were out getting drunk ;)

So far the two departments open for business are the UK based MP3 Soopa Store and the US based Gardening Soopa Store but new departments will be opening up very soon, so make sure you check it out and more importantly...check out!!

Oh Please...lover lay down

2007-12-08T05:14:00.000Z

There's not much to be said, yet I have so much to say... do you ever get moments like that? You have so much to say and yet you have nothing to share with anyone, not even yourself?!

It's complicated at times, nothing in particular, just 'being' is complicated, even if you're nothing to anyone else, not even yourself, you still somehow have to manage being who you are, in spite of all the contradictions that the 'self' brings with it.

Today I discovered that someone I thought liked me doesn't, it was weird... all along I thought, "Hmmm why does she like me?!" I was flattered that she did like me but deep down I wondered, "Why?" then today, or is it yesterday? Whichever, she emailed me to say she didn't like me in the way she had led me to believe and she doubted she could ever like me in a way that I would want... I wondered why she chose to write to me at all... I mean, who writes to tell someone they don't like someone?! it's not like I had professed un-dying love and admiration for her (Kinda strange for me!) All that had happened is that I had told her, before she embarked on a round the world trip, is that I would like to go on a date with her when she returned, assuming we were both single at the time...she had agreed, but now feels she has to tell me that she doubts she will ever feel anything for me, hence she no longer wants to go on a date with with me... You know, there was a time I would really have cared but now... now I strive to make this a blog topic.. I mean I like her, obviously, why else would I have wanted to go on a date with her but really... the whole idea was to go on a date or two and see what happened, suddenly she's decided that she can't even face that idea... it's not about me... it's about something else but she seems to feel that by pushing me away it solves whatever the problem is... there was a time I would rebel and tell her, "**** don't be such a stupid girl, just go with the flow" but now I can't be arsed... if she wants to push me away so be it, baby can get put in the corner, in fact baby likes the fucking corner, baby loves the frickin corner, baby was born for the god-damn corner...baby hates Patrick Swayze tho ;)

Oh, we're blog, blog, blogging along...

2007-12-05T21:43:00.000Z

Well, not a typical blog entry today folks. I know some of you have been wondering just where the hell I've been but I've been here, sitting in front of my lovely Fujitsu Siemans screen, just pre-occupied with 'work' to have the energy to blog.

So, what's been keeping me busy you ask (OK, you may not be asking that but as the owner of this 'ere blog, I answer what I wanna answer!) The short answer is, I'm trying to make some cash... The longer answer is, I'm busy transferring a bunch of websites I own and manage over to a new web hosting company... and as that web hosting company is mine, it's not something I can have anyone else but myself deal with. So, I hope you'll accept my, for once, very good reason for being ever so intermittent with the blog entries =)

Of course I have managed a few nights away from the computer, on Monday I went to see Kaitee Page perform at the Halfmoon in Putney. Kaitee is an American artist now living in London who is on Sellaband. I like Kaitee, I like her to the extent that I'm willing to put cold, hard cash where my mouth is... I've so far invested $250 in her via Sellaband.com. if you haven't visited the site, please do. It's basically a bunch of unsigned bands putting their faith in their music and in turn to the people who listen to it. 'Believers' buy parts in the acts they like, I part is $10 when an act gets to $50,000 they get sent off to a recording studio, with a producer to make a CD, that CD is then sold online, at gigs etc MP3's are done likewise and everyone gets a share, the artist makes money, the 'believers' make money and yeah of course, Sellaband make money but it's a win-win-win situation. It's a radical concept but so far 11 acts have made it to $50,000 so there are a lot of 'believers' out there helping the bands they believe in; I'm doing my bit... why not join me?

Anyway, I'm off now to do some more work before bed.. I should hopefully be able to 'launch' my new webhosting company before the end of 2007 and I'll have a special offer available for all you blog readers so stay tuned....

Also, no musical interlude, just check out Sellaband for loads of free MP3 downloads!

Trent Reznor Misses the Pink One

2007-10-31T15:57:00.000Z

Mr Omneo gives credit where credit is due... the following article was penned by enigmax over at TorrentFreak, that probably explains why it was so well written =)

Following the bust of the OiNK BitTorrent tracker, most of its 180,000 members are keeping their heads down and trying to stay inconspicuous. However, Trent Reznor, frontman of Nine Inch Nails isn’t worried: “I had an account there” he said. “it was like the world’s greatest record store.”

The driving force behind the Nine Inch Nails isn’t frightened of talking about file-sharing. Back in May 2007 he admitted to sharing himself: “I steal music too, I’m not gonna say I don’t” he said.

Now Trent has gone public and admitted where he did a lot of sharing - OiNK.
In an interview with New York Entertainment he sent his clearest pro-sharing stance yet. When asked what he thought about OiNK being shutdown, he had this to say:

“I’ll admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often. At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world’s greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted.”

Everyone knows that OiNK was free to use and this fact was backed up by Trent: “If OiNK cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn’t the equivalent of that in the retail space right now.”

Levelling criticism at professionals who are failing to make a better job of music distribution than OiNK and failing to create a brand which people like to be associated with, Trent explained: “iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don’t feel cool when I go there. I’m tired of seeing John Mayer’s face pop up. I feel like I’m being hustled when I visit there, and I don’t think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc.”

Trent says he prefers Amazon to iTunes but says none of them address the issue of pre-release leaks, calling it a ‘difficult puzzle’. “If your favorite band in the world has a leaked record out, do you listen to it or do you not listen to it?”

The quality uploaders at OiNK get a mention too: “People on those boards, they’re grateful for the person that uploaded it — they’re the hero. They’re not stealing it because they’re going to make money off of it; they’re stealing it because they love the band.”

Underlining the fact that sometimes people pirate because they aren’t getting what they want from the music labels, Trent finishes up: “I’m not saying that I think OiNK is morally correct, but I do know that it existed because it filled a void of what people want.”

And what people seem to want is OiNK replacement sites - and that’s what they seem to be getting.

Need any invites Trent?

What track could accompany this but that wonderful cover of NiN's Hurt by Johnny Cash

Too much time...not enough time...what is time?

2007-10-14T19:40:00.000+01:00

Today was one of those days when it seemed like all the niggly little things that I don't like about my life - think: work (abundance of), love life (lack of), social life (lack of), money (lack of), inspiration (lack of) - descended en masse to annoy the shit out of me, knowing that I am powerless, due to apathy, to do anything about them.

Now, before you start dispensing a lecture to me, via the screen (trust me, I can't hear shit) that everything is within my control, rewind and read what I said... I'm powerless due to apathy. I know what the root cause of the problem is, I just can't, at this moment in time, be fucked dealing with it... 2007 is heading into the final straight so why worry about it for now? I shall try making one of those new year resolution things, you know the ones, make n break within a month...2008 I'll try being less apathetic, or something like that, who gives a fuck anyway?!

I tell you one thing tho, I'm back at that stage in my life where I wish I had kids but at the same time wondering what sort of irresponsible fuck up would I be to bring a child into this world which, if you would believe the media, is on course for meltdown in 30 years or so... Don't they get it? Earth goes through a whole cosmic Buddhist cyclic birth/re-birth thing... where else do they think the dinosaurs and cavemen went? It's quite obvious the high levels of methane in the farts of those herbivores shot a hole in the ozone layer the size of Kazakhstan and put an end to them, why should we try and fight the inevitable? Let nature do it's thing.. now get up and turn on all your electrical appliances and print off my blog on your colour printer, not only will it save your eyesight it might help you spot the end when it comes...

Now, I might as well end this entry with a suitably upbeat musical interlude and what better than a remixed, dance version of a classic Rolling Stones track?? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you Alex Fakey and Painted Black