iWait, iPhone, iBlog

I'm sitting at Heathrow blogging on my iPhone while listening to the Zutons. They may be pretty quick to grab a gun rather than say, a wrench, but those Americans certainly know how to make some of the coolest stuff. Hope I don't offend any nation with that statement! But I guess if I am, an airport is the place to do it!

Only in America

A guy in America has injured both his legs while trying to undo some stubborn wheel nuts on his car - by blasting them with his 12-gauge shot gun at close range. Kind of indirectly shooting himself in the foot I suppose. And there is no mention of the wheel coming loose as a result. Full story on BBC News.

Where else in the world would there be anyone stupid enough to try that?!

iPhondling

I had my first encounter with an iPhone yesterday. The touch screen is brilliant both in the way it operates and in the way it looks. It is vibrant, bright, intuitive and boy does it look gooooood.

A couple of things are putting me off buying it. One is that it costs £269 and the other is that I have a feeling they'll bring out a 3G version next year.

Somethings worth considering and so far I haven't heard anyone asking:

1. What happens when they bring a new one out? Do we all have to buy it and transfer our contracts?
2. If we do that, will the our old handsets be of any use to anyone?
3. Will O2 continue to be the sole provider or will future generations of iPhones be open to all or maybe even exclusive to another operator?

But I think that even with the above taken into consideration I would have bought one - if I had the money to do so!

Wheely Good Day

Today was my little sister's birthday. But for several reasons too dull to mention we did most of our celebrating yesterday. We went out of lunch and did a spot of shopping. Sarah seemed to like the idea of nipping into shops, picking up stuff she liked but leaving the bill to her big brothers!
But the main event in my opinion was the Belfast Wheel. For those of you who don't know, Belfast City council have erected a big wheel at City Hall. For £6 you can go to the top of the world! Well, not quite the top of the world but if you are a bit squeamish about heights it feels like that. The ride was good craic and the view was great!We ended up sharing a pod (no idea what the technical term is but they looks like pods) with some Eastern Europeans. The girl who appeared to be with her mother made a call from the top of the wheel during which she stated that all was ok - this was the point that we thought it would be funny to scream. So we did, and it was.

Manila

Manila is a word used to describe those cardboard folders we all know and love but it is also a city in the Philippines. And that is where I have to go later this month!

I knew that my new job would entail some traveling but within a week of starting they are taking me half way round the world! While the journey will be tiring the trip should be a good experience.

What wasn't such a nice experience was my trip to the doctor today. I had to get two injections - vaccinations against Hepatitis A, Typhoid and a Tetanus booster. Actually I think that one injection contained a 3 in 1 vaccine so there is probably something I'm forgetting.

Anyway, my arms are sore and I now feel a tad groggy. I'm guessing that is some way I have a little bit of about four different diseases today so I suppose that was to be expected!

A Smashing Pumpkin

I'm starting to feel part of the furniture in our London office. When I arrived on Tuesday I was asked to help my new team to design and carve a pumpkin for the 5th floor's Halloween competition. But somewhat lacking in time and inspiration this was the best we could come up with.

It's pretty obvious that it is a likeness of Bono (isn't it?) but what you cannot see is my mobile phone hidden in the 'hair' that is playing a version of 'One Love' which we adapted to 'One Bridge' - the name of the new sales initiative and also the theme of the competition.

We were under pressure - being the team driving the 'One Bridge' project - and we didn't exactly come through with something good enough to win. Although a cheer-o-meter style vote was cast my rather over exuberant efforts were not rewarded.