2011 – End of Year Roundup!

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Wow! The end of another year is upon us….. and what a year it’s been. Some really good memories this year – I’ve enjoyed it immensely!

From having several great times with friends new and old (various posts), changing jobs (not going so well), getting a sports car (one of the best moments of the year) to replacing my stereo with a 1989 Sony model (view stereo setup) to enjoying many many happy driving days with the top down. I don’t think I can summarize in a few paragraphs …

Work on all my projects is going well, my Freelance IT work (Frantik) has really started to pick up and with the help of word of mouth everything else is going jolly well. Death Cap Records (my record label) is continuing to build and am starting to really get a feel as to what I want to get out of it. I am also working on another project which I really hope will materialize soon, will write more as it does!

I must also add that it’s continued to be a great pleasure doing work for Club 85 in Hitchin – big thanks go to Bob and everyone there. You’re my second family!

In October, the death of Steve Jobs (my post) hit me most probably worse than most people – Apple has been part of my life since I was around 11 and earlier, and has a lot to do with my interest in computers and more. My Dad got me into Macs, and we had a Quadra (I think) before getting an iMac 350 in 2001. Many, many, happy memories indeed.  I had a kind of emotional attachment to Steve and the Apple brand he had saved from 1997 onwards … as did many people … this also leads me to iTunes and the iPod – all devised by Steve whilst he was in charge of Apple again, and as you know, music is a big part of my life. So in one way or other – that day was very upsetting and I still can’t help well up when reading or watching about him… most recently when receiving his biography for Christmas… and indeed again now writing this (?!)

I think it would only be just to say in the words of Steve then:

Stay hungry, Stay foolish!

All the best for 2012, may it be the year of progress and good health!

P.S. Yes I am still single … any offers? 🙂

Why do I drive to see bands?

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Or should I say ‘why do I drive further than normal’…?

I like music, very much. There are only a few things in life that come close, such as friends and family.

I like visiting new locations, and places where I may not have been before.

I also like my car a lot, and it’s pure pleasure to drive – and puts such a smile on my face wherever I go. (For info on my car click here – link)

Technology is also something I like a lot and when I drive to new locations I ‘check-in’ on Foursquare.

So there you have it, why be boring and go to the same venue, when you can go somewhere else and have an adventure. Make the most of life, I try!

RIM recommended I don’t downgrade my BB OS, but I did anyway!

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DM from BlackBerryHelp on Twitter

DM from BlackBerryHelp on Twitter

Yes, that’s right. I was left with a near useless BlackBerry Bold 9700 (originally shipping with OS 5) after having upgrading to 6. Normally an upgrade is a good thing, but it turned my previously very good phone into nothing more than an expensive paper weight.

As you can imagine I was not too impressed. I couldn’t find an obvious way to downgrade to a previous OS and as you can see from the screen shot I’ve taken, RIM weren’t too forthcoming with help…

There was no obvious way of downgrading to a previous OS from BlackBerry Desktop for Mac and I only found out how to go back when trying to upgrade! Yes, I’m fairly certain the only way you can attempt to downgrade is when clicking on the option to install/update software. (Don’t quote me). I eventually managed to downgrade to OS5 again from 6 and my phone is useable again. Surely other people experienced this issue? The 9700 is near useless running 6 but RIM didn’t seem to acknowledge this!

Either way, I’ve not been too impressed with RIM’s customer service, and their well publicized recent outage hasn’t filled me with too much confidence.