Mike Southby

As those of you who follow me on Twitter (@mikesouthby) will no doubt have noticed, I have been having some issues over the past month with my BT Broadband service. I’ve had BT Broadband for some time now and usually, it just works. Perhaps it’s not the cheapest solution, but having the convenience of simply having my usage charged directly to my BT account is convenient; and I’ve simply stuck with it. Of course another reason if the inclusion of the Home Hub for free which saves having to go out and purchase a router independently, the Home Hub itself isn’t a bad piece of kit and once you delve into the settings, can do most things; specification wise it even has 802.11n which is an added bonus for home networking.

The service until recently has been OK, being that I live close to my local Exchange (perhaps no more than 600m) I achieve a reasonable download speed of around 6.5Mbps off peak, although this does of course drop owing to contention during the busy periods. Recently however, the problems began.

I noticed around a month ago that randomly, my connection would disconnect and reconnect automatically, sometimes just the once and sometimes 3 or 4 times in a row. There is not particular pattern to when the problem occurs; sometimes it’s in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon and sometimes in the middle of the night. At first I simply put it down to ‘one of those things’, I mean once it had reconnected the service was again stable and would resync at the same speed so no harm done. But after a few days the novelty soon wore off, especially as I am often working over a remote connection.

It was then that I started to make a few comments on Twitter and not long after, was contacted (via Twitter) by BT Care (@BTCare). Now before I go any further, let me just say that I think it’s great that a company like BT are moving with the times and communicating with their customers through modern channels such as Twitter, but as I have learnt over the last few weeks, they let themselves down miserably by not keeping me (or others like me) informed as to what is going on, or even more frustrating, give standard responses that in no way make any sense in relation to the thread of conversation that preceded; it’s almost as if they do not read all of the messages that you send, or that they do not have the ability to group them together into conversational threads and thus, making it easier for them to help.

Back to the problem.

After a few tweets to and fro, I was told that an engineer would need to visit my house to investigate the issue – I already had a good idea what the issue may be but understand that an engineer visit was required – and was given a PM slot on Tues 3rd August. Tuesday comes, Tuesday goes. No engineer arrives and the disconnect/reconnect cycles continue. So I contact BT Care again through Twitter:

• Me: (03/08 18:12) @BTCare Thanks for organising appt. just a shame no-one turned up. Wasted afternoon off work. Still, it’s only money hey? #frustrated
• Me: (03/08 20:06) @BTCare So no visit from engineer today as promised and connection still dropping. Please advise
• Me: (03/03 22:25) @BTCare More drops tonight guys, can this PLEASE be sorted
• BTCare: (04/03 12:27) @mikesouthby That’s not good. I have checked the fault today and another engineer visit is required. Can you tweet me when would be convenient

Another engineer visit is required? No mention of the one who never arrived funnily enough. Still, I need the issue resolved so again, say that I will make myself available at any time convenient for the next engineer to visit.

• Me: (04/03 12:48) @BTCare Another? What happened to the one who DIDN’T turn up yesterday? Again, I am flexible for rebooking.
• BTCare: (04/03 15:15) @mikesouthby I am really sorry the engineer didn’t show yesterday. When would be best for you for the visit. Let me know and I will get on it

Well, it’s good that I finally get an acknowledgement about the engineer not arriving, but surely if they had read my previous tweet they would have read that I am flexible for an appointment instead of having to ask again when I am available. Do they read all my tweets I wonder.

• Me: (04/03 15:25) @BTCare As mentioned in my tweet this morning, I am flexible so to suit
• BTCare: (04/03 15:45) @mikesouthby I have booked an engineer visit for tomorrow between 8am and 1pm. Drop me a tweet to let me know if this doesn’t suit
• Me: (04/03 18:23) @BTCare OK thanks, let’s hope they remember to come this time lol
• BTCare: (05/08 09:36) @mikesouthby I’m sure they will :) Keep me posted

So later on the 5th, a BT Openreach engineer arrives as promised. He asks me what the issue is and I explain it to him, I also say that I think it is most likely a dodgy leg on the line card (having worked on many ADSL installations, I have encountered this a few times); he agrees. However, to be sure he runs all of the various tests that he can on my installation and heads off to the Exchange satisfied that there are no issues here and that the line card is the most likely problem. We’d already discussed changing my routing and moving my connection onto another line card, he said that he would have to contact my provider (BT ironically, you’d have thought it would have been simple, left hand talking to right hand and all) from the Exchange and ask permission to move me. He says he’ll call me with the outcome. Back to Twitter:

• Me: (05/08 10:55) @BTCare Engineer has been, suspected line card issue, as thought. At Exchange now seeking permission to change routing from powers that be

A while later he calls and says that my provider would not allow him to move the connection but was already aware of my problem and had been monitoring the disconnections for a while (like no really, thanks, although I would have preferred you to have done something about it instead of just being ‘aware’ of it waiting to see if I would notice and complain), he went on to say that they would change the latency on my line and see if that made a difference, and would continue to monitor the line for a few days. Back to Twitter once more:

• Me: (05/08 12:08) @BTCare Update. Provider says no to change of routing, instead is reducing speed to compensate for drops. Not best outcome! Will monitor…

Sure enough, later that day during another disconnect and reconnect I notice that my latency changed from Fastpath to Interleaved.

The engineer says that there is nothing else he can do although we both ‘agree’ that changing to another line card would have been a better option; line cards do occasionally cause issues and moving connections onto another so it can be rebuilt is the right way to solve the problem. Let me try and explain it by using an analogy. Imagine driving down the road in your car and out of the blue the engine starts making noises; remembering that until that moment in time the car has been reliable, and hasn’t made any noises that it shouldn’t have done. You’re now faced with two options, you either get your car fixed (obviously the best choice as it shouldn’t be making noises) or alternatively, you overcome the problem by turning the stereo up so you can’t hear it anymore. Of course this essentially is what BT have done, changing the latency will have the effect of making the line less sensitive to error and – they were hoping – stop the disconnections.

Let me try and explain Latency for those who may not fully understand it. There are 2 types of error correction on ADSL; normal forward error correction or FEC, which is based on a set algorithm and Interleaving, which is set on longer lines (by distance) if the line has noise above a prerequisite level. Interleaving complements FEC. During showtime, Fastpath is up to level 2, anything required above level 2 to keep FEC working properly and interleaving will be applied automatically at varying levels up to level 32. High levels of interleaving plus the FEC can cause latency (decrease in speed), even though in theory this will only be in milliseconds.

On a long and/or noisy connection turning off Interleaving (or changing latency type to Fastpath) can cause disconnections. Frequent disconnections can result in the reduction of your IP Profile and throughput/download speeds.

In my case, I live what is deemed to be close to my Exchange (around 600m) and my house is less than 2 years old on one of the many new housing developments in North Swindon. The engineer who visited ironically said he remembered working on installing some of the copper in and around the estate, certainly he said I should have no distance or copper quality issues where I live. What does this prove? Well, coupled with the fact that until now I have had a fast, stable connection with latency set to Fastpath, it means that I should not need my latency changed to Interleave; the distance to the exchange is not long enough, the installation in my house is new enough and neither distance nor age should have a detrimental issue on my connection causing noise or error. The problem didn’t develop, it appeared overnight. In essence, it means that the ‘solution’ given to the engineer by the provider is like turning the stereo up in the example above. The proper solution would be to identify and remedy the problem; the most likely cause would be a developing fault on the line card.

So later that evening, the Twitter thread continues:

• Me: (05/08 19:08) @BTCare More drops. Latency has been changed from Fastpath to Interleaved this evening. Fixing, not overcoming would be preferred
• BTCare: (05/08 19:49) @mikesouthby Hi I checked with our suppliers and they have confirmed everything is now fixed. Tweet me to let me know if this is the case
• Me: (05/08 19:51) @BTCare Not so. Was told they would monitor and leave open. Also, line dropped 45mins ago! What time did they say it was resolved?

Next day and no response, this is where I found the lack of communication start to become frustrating. If a company is to use social media such as Twitter, then it has to do it correctly, not to do so will have a negative effect on what they are trying to achieve; it would have been quicker and less stressful to revert back to the old method at this stage and use the phone (well it is good to talk, right?)

• Me: (06/08 10:03) @BTCare More drops already this morning, and sluggish connectivity. Becoming more frustrating by the day #btbroadband #fail
• BTCare: (06/08 10:24) @mikesouthby Hmm strange, the fault has been closed & all looks good from this end. Are you still experiencing drop outs? Let me know

Evidently, they did not read my tweet less than 20 minutes previously where I clearly stated I was continuing to have issues.

• Me: (06/08 10:36) @BTCare Please READ my tweets before furnishing me with generic responses. If you had, you’d have read ‘more drops already this morning’…

I must have upset them at this stage as they chose to ignore me for the rest of the day. The random disconnections persist and using BTs own speed check test, I get random results, often dropping down as low as 0.69Mbps which on a line with a downstream sync of 8,128kbps is pretty poor. I get my next contact on Saturday morning, again via Twitter:

• BTCare: (07/08 09:54) @mikesouthby I have let the engineers know the problem still exits, updates to come, also if you haven’t used an i-plate,see tiny.cc/1zftp
• Me: (07/08 11:07) @BTCare No, not used an i-plate. Lots of drops today already
• BTCare: (07/08 13:58) @mikesouthby Hey, i tested it and seen the dropouts, i want to get an engineer out to look at it, when would be suitable?

I found this quite funny. So they test my line from their end and can clearly see all of the disconnections, would this not have been a good idea a few nights before when they were happy to close the case; surely it would have made sense to have run a quick check then to make sure for themselves that they were being given good information. Another engineer? I wonder if this one will arrive. Trying to remain positive, I again give them total flexibility in the dates so that I am not causing a delay by not being available.

• Me: (07/08 18:15) @BTCare Anytime I am flexible, just let me know
• Me: (07/08 19:09) @BTCare Can I pre-request a switch to another line card at the Exchange, I suspect this to be the issue. Perhaps it needs rebuilding…
• BTCare: (08/08 16:25) @mikesouthby Hi I have booked an engineer visit for tomorrow between 1 pm and 6 pm. Drop me a tweet if this doesn’t suit
• BTCare: (09/08 11:57) @mikesouthby The engineer will decide during the visit how best to resolve the issue. I’ll tweet you this evening to see how it went :)

I thought it would be good to mention the line card issue directly to BT Care, whether they made a note of this in the case notes I’m not sure, but surely by now they would want to do whatever they could to resolve the issue and get me off their case! Monday comes, Monday goes. No engineer.

At this point I start to get quite angry. I know for a fact if I had not been available when an engineer arrived at a pre-booked time I would have been given the standard £50 invoice for wasting their time, well guess what BT, my time is valuable too and I have already taken 3 half days off by now to wait in for engineers, of which 2 have not arrived. I’d charge business clients £45 an hour so I’m sure you can imagine what’s next:

• Me: (09/08 18:03) @BTCare So yet again the engineer has not turned up. Not happy. Who do I send the invoice to for MY time? #btbroadband #btcare#bt #fail

I get no response.

• Me: (10/08 10:08) @BTCare Still awaiting a response re: yesterdays engineer who didn’t turn up, again. You also said you would contact be last night & didn’t
• BTCare: (10/08 11:24) @mikesouthby Hi our suppliers are currently working on this at the moment. I will tweet you later today once I know more
• Me: (10/08 11:51) @BTCare More drops, expect progress 2day or complaint being filed with #ofcom. This has been going on far 2 long with 2 many false promises
• BTCare: (10/08 15:56) @mikesouthby Hi another engineer appointment is required.Slots are Monday-Friday either AM8:00-13:00 or PM13:00-18:00 let me know what suits
• Me: (10/08 16:37) @BTCare Anytime. I expect them to arrive this time. You still haven’t let me know where to send the invoice for my time for the 2 non shows
• Me: (10/08 16:41) @BTCare Can you also DM me an email address for your complaints dept., and the names of the people who have been dealing with this, thanks
• Me: (10/08 19:04) @BTCare Can you please confirm the appointment details, thanks
• Me: (10/08 22:04) @BTCare Still waiting on an update for engineer booking please?

Finally I get a response this afternoon.

• BTCare: (11/08 13:47) @mikesouthby I’ve booked engineer appointment for tomorrow 12/08/10 PM (13:00-18:00) Let me know if this doesn’t suit. Thanks
• Me: (11/08 14:05) @BTCare No, that’s fine thank you

So there we are; I wonder if the engineer will turn up tomorrow.

My experiences with BT Care over the last couple of weeks have highlighted to me an inherent issue with the way companies are embracing new technologies, Twitter in particular. It seems to be the ‘cool’ thing for companies to complement their online presence with Twitter, Facebook and other similar forms of communication. It’s great; but only if it’s done right.

The moral of the story is that if you do not have the resources or manpower to effectively use Twitter, then don’t. At first I was singing BT’s praises for approaching me about my problem after tweeting, but this has now been tarnished into a frustration that will be hard to shift. I find it hard to praise their efforts when my tweets often go unnoticed or unread. As for not giving me the details of who I need to complain to when asked, that’s inexcusable for such a large company (well, any company actually).

I guess I’ll find out tomorrow if my problem is going to be fixed as it should have been on the very first engineers visit, but regardless, BT you must do better. Either put more people on the BT Care team to work with Twitter if understaffing is the issue, develop a better system of working or educate your staff to better their Customer Service skills.

Rant over.

• Off to watch Star Trek, laters!
• @philspray what a joke!
• Strategic voting by Simon? I wonder who would have been a threat at the end to ‘his’ boys, #jedward or #lucie. Utter disgrace #xfactor
• Lucie? What a shambles. I HAD started 2 enjoy it but that’s it, I’m not watching it anyone. Simon has just ridiculed the whole show #xfactor
• Judges? haven’t got a backbone between them #xfactor
• Jail broken your iPhone? You’d best check this article out quick! A worm has been identified… http://bit.ly/17lGJu
• If #jedward don’t go now, the world is a f*&ked up place… Lucie in the bottom? #xfactor
• LLOYD THROUGH? Now THAT is interesting! #xfactor
• Another #win7 ad on the TV. ENOUGH already!
• Lines are now closed..! #xfactor
• I quite enjoyed that apart from those two idiots on the end #xfactor
• Really hopes someone brings the Motorola droid to the UK; £450 SIM free is harsh…
• @jonnybowley that’s what I forgot, sorry.. Use a proxy service to sign up to sipgate using a US IP..!
• Feeling really tired tonight, I think I’ll call it a night..!
• Am I just getting old or do fireworks get crapper and crapper each year? Professional displays aside of course.
• Big brother is watching. Find out what Google knows about YOU now..! http://bit.ly/300oK4
• Glenfiddich has won the day, a far superior heating option than a winter coat stood in a cold and wet field!
• RT @tomwittlin Firefox finally passes IE6 in market share – http://bit.ly/1KkR75
• Fireworks tonight? Or veg in front of the TV in the warm with my old friend Glenfiddich? Now that IS a hard choice!
• Having a Linux day today… the joys of grub!
• Is it me or is it a bit parky today?
• Just had #spooks interrupted by dripping sound, on investigation found water pi$$ing through landing ceiling. Heating engineers? Grrrr
• Having a play with Linux Mint whilst waiting patiently for #spooks – hope it’s work the wait!
• Can’t believe I have just eaten a chicken kebab. How wrong!
• Aberdeen Angus cottage pie tonight. Yum.
• Why didn’t Sony Ericsson use Android 2.0 like Motorola! Do they know something we don’t? http://bit.ly/lMxLV
• @tomwittlin I believe you on the css3 mate, I’m not a designer; so not familiar with all that!
• @tomwittlin overall for me. In terms of the logo I think it’s because the tagline is a lot smaller so exaggerates it
• @tomwittlin oh, and dedication is spelled wrong on the homepage – sorry!
• @HigherSites @tomwittlin the overall look is great though, just the font for me!
• @HigherSites @tomwittlin I like the overall look, but the font doesn’t render very well and looked too small and compressed in the logo.
• If you host your own email on your own domain, are you using Google Apps yet? If not, why not? It’s free. It’s good. http://bit.ly/1jJgzl
• We are going to be taxed to use broadband? Whatever next. This country is outrageous. http://bit.ly/3AZjWJ
• For all you Nokia owners, Opera Mobile 10 beta is here! http://bit.ly/3p3BGE
• EBay is full of scammers! Grrr
• RT @kenrayner: 2 min national Twitter silence at 11am on the 11th November #armisticeday
• Off to #tesco for some essentials including of course breakfast!
• Google make next big step with Wave, now YOU can install your very own Wave server… http://bit.ly/6QJHO
• TweetDeck vs. Seesmic Desktop; what’s your choice? http://bit.ly/Bv9d8
• Looking forward to #flashforward tonight, still a long way to go, we’re only on episode 6 of 22!
• Inside one of Microsoft’s data centres inc. pictures. Pretty cool stuff! http://bit.ly/49TboH
• Finding shooting people with a toy gun worryingly therapeutic!
• Surfing the waves, tweety style..!
• Twitter ‘remember me’ has forgotten me, again!
• @DeeClayton I have to be honest, I didn’t rate it too highly, would have much preferred them to have sung one of their classics! #xfactor
• Orange has announced its iPhone pricing plans http://bit.ly/22Welg
• New battery has arrived! Thanking you kindly mrs post lady. I can finally move away from the power point!
• Another week, another wait. Did my battery get lost in the Bermuda triangle?

• I wasn’t expecting THAT..! #xfactor
• Cheryl really went to town with that introduction! #xfactor
• What do we think then.  Goodbye Lloyd? #xfactor
• #jedward.  Again.  And the public vote on talent?  How funny! #xfactor
• So will you be rushing out to buy bon jovi’s new record? #xfactor
• Rain, rain go away.  Come again another day…
• @Engineerant  on a Sunday!  Why aren’t you in bed…
• Fry has made up with his tweeting critics! Finally. Business as normal again then!? http://bit.ly/2edJxG
• Since when do we get hurricanes in the Cotswolds? It’s blowing a hooly out there this morning!  Brrrr.
• Fireworks? They have 7 minutes before i get upset. Grrrrrrrrr.  What a time to be setting them off.  ASBO’s
• @purrrrr yeah, thought he was!
• Rachel. Oh dear. And she was so good last week too, ah well. enjoy the twins everyone, my battery has had it #xfactor
• Loving the judges bitching this week! #xfactor
• Agreement in the Southby house. Jamie definitely the best performance so far! #xfactor
• Here comes the afro..! #xfactor
• grrr. Another windows 7 TV commercial. Enough already.
• Stacey. A bit like listening to a battery run out tonight no? #xfactor
• Lloyd. Oh dear. Get ready for the judges abuse! #xfactor
• What’s gone wrong with danyl this week? #xfactor
• #xfactor judges. Hmmm, shows what I know then! Still, I didn’t like it so there..!
• Lucie. hmmm, not sure if I liked that tbh #xfactor
• Now I really like the new windows 7 os, but, frankly I’m getting a bit fed up with the TV ads – they are pretty rubbish at best!
• Comprehensive list of ALL Google twitter accounts – enjoy http://bit.ly/1TwVJr
• Feels like a Sunday today. Maybe it’s the roast dinner I’ve just had?!
• It’s official – I’m warm again..!
• Lots of talk. Not a lot of word. Should I name and shame..?
• The workers are having their 4th lunch break of the day. How does that work then?
• @MSLearning in fairness, that WAS a tight fit..!
• I have heating engineers in the house, after how long? Looking forward to a nice warm house tonight..!
• Hmmmm, so it would seem I now have twitter lists – which one do YOU want to be in?
• For all you foodies out there; this is why you’re fat! http://bit.ly/57ZPQ
• Still waiting patiently 4 my battery. Let’s hope the royal mail haven’t got their hands on it! Surely the usps wouldn’t have been so cruel?!
• RT @dayVboy: Surely it’s time to bring back hanging in the UK? http://bit.ly/2NVgrU
• @dayVboy without a doubt. how people are allowed to get away with such menial punishment for heinous crimes like this is beyond me.
• Bedtime..!
• Stuck for a Christmas gift idea? I take cold hard cash or PayPal… :- )
• Facebook reveals its next 6 month plan. great, let’s see what they can mess up this time http://bit.ly/318liE
• Glenfiddich the ONLY way to keep warm on an autumn night, 18 years waiting to be liberated..! Nice.
• RT @mashable: Mozilla Releases Firefox 3.5.4 to Fix Security Vulnerabilities – http://bit.ly/3dhxvv
• RT @google: We just released Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0, packed w/useful features: http://bit.ly/2e4UXX
• Only 6pm?! Feels much later than that, more like 9pm… Not sure the match sticks will help much tonight at this rate..!
• My laptop screen has developed a mysterious scratch. Not happy. I WILL find the culprit..
• ..time to press the shutdown button.
• Watching csi. Air hostesses. pah!
• Back to report writing, it’s been a long week! The end is in sight, I WILL finish tonight..!
• @Engineerant bummer dude, at least you have your g1 for company!
• RT @mashable: iPhone Reaches 100,000 Approved Apps – http://bit.ly/2o8mKI
• Looks like it’s another day bust writing reports. Thankfully, the end is in sight!
• Is now riding the Google waves – thanks Anthony..!
• @dayVboy with a lead weight attached to you balls.
• Is having an early night. All social media officially logged off until the morning…
• Is busy configuring Google apps.
• luv tv ads 4 xbox games that say ‘graphics representative of gameplay’, if its so gd, y not show us the real stuff. thats rt, it’s not!
• Christmas ads on the TV already, how depressing..!
• Wonders where my new battery is. let’s hope the usps is not on strike too..!

• right decision but disgrace that the judges voted on loyalty & against 1 another instead of pure talent.  it’s a talent show no?
• well, danyl hasn’t even had his chance to sing yet but he gets my vote.  miss frank are not for me.
• danyl in the singoff. wtf?!
• john and edward back for more next week. you’ve GOT to be kidding me
• watching flash gordon – how very retro.  Oh how I hate Sundays
• boy its windy today
• wonders how many of his ex-colleagues in radio are stressing right about now.  you’ve just got to love bst!
• has just travelled back in time, spooky.  bit of déjàvu going on, wasn’t it 1am an hour ago? so, in2 the 1am hour 4 the second time 2day!
• whoops then… RT@guardiantexh: Guardian Jobs website hacked http://bit.ly/UZyJ7
• and here we go, into the 1am hour for the first time today!
• so do I have to do ‘extra’ work tonight as there is an ‘extra’ hour to work through?
• “she bangs, she bangs” BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.  sum1 do the decent thing, get them off my screen!
• “everyones talking abt them”, yes dermot but same could b said abt nick griffin, but no-one likes him either! Y R they still in?!
• It’s nearly time for the twins.  ear defenders at the ready
• stacey’s turn for drugs this week then… lol
• oh my god, oh my god.  can i just say oh my god.  oh shut up..!
• is it bedtime yet? its been a long day already…
• @an2ony not fair!
• just given 2 huskies a wash and blow dry.  i think i need a holiday now
• Windows 7 Whopper, oh dear… http://bit.ly/Sayxe
• is once again working the graveyard shift… caffeine mandatory
• Google updates the Google Maps UI http://bit.ly/RZWTz
• just got to love ‘the it crowd’, classic humour
• @londongtug yeap J looking forward to it..!
• top free twitter apps for android http://bit.ly/4FE5kj
• Darren Miller.  WTF!
• @MSSpringboard do we win a prize?
• oh dear.  new facebook homepage is live.  the change is subtle but annoying
• who’s the daddy.  not long now..!
• The old ones are the best, how funny http://bit.ly/1oOFkv
• BTCare Customer Service via Twitter.  Good stuff!
• RT @mashable Apple Fires Back st Windows 7 in New Ads – http://bit.ly/4vG0xF
• far too much political excitement for me tonight.  i’m off to bed
• ‘I didn’t want this whole program to be about the BNP’, yeah right.
• BT and the TPS service are pretty useless…
• having a night off tonight, too wet and cold to find any motivation to do anything..!
• @kenrayner yeah I see what you mean, it’s taken a while to get here but we have the monsoon rain now!
• @brandonleblanc yeah I always seem to forget about the 140 character limit lol
• thanks the nice post lady for not going on strike today but disappointed what i was waiting for didn’t arrive.  typical!
• @kenrayner nice, so much for me going on a walk this afternoon, looks as though it is coming my way too!
• @kenrayner odd economics indeed.  Some people just don’t have any computing power in their little heads..!
• First Bing and now Google..! RT@google Tweets and updates and search, oh my! http://bit.ly/3rZqrK
• twitter running especially slow tonight with loads of overcapacity errors!
• headache tonight.  Think i’ll just mush on the sofa with a blanket and slippers
• I wish I could say I’m sorry but I’m not RT@politicshomeuk: Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi dies
• Beating Harry Potter, some achievement lol! RT @guardiantech: Windows 7 set to break retail records http://bit.ly/1QNxGS
• neighbour has decided to park his car across the entrance to our drive, lucky I’m not going out then!
• @engineerant Chav!
• needs a new battery. cheaper to buy a 9 cell oem from the states inc. postage than a 6 cell in the uk! crazy stuff
• Windows 7 Compatibility and Upgrade Advisor Tool now available http://bit.ly/1BOlvB #f
• RT @google: More accessibility features in Android 1.6 http://bit.ly/3IfEc9
• @Engineerant afternoon naps, I always feel much worse if I do, no, I guess I’ll just have to grow old with less and less sleep..!
• wonders why as we grow older we go to bed later and later and get up earlier and earlier. surely we still need proper sleep
• is in need of a kick.  Caffeine that is
• RT @mashable: Apple Releases New iMacs, 7-hour MacBook and Multi-Touch Magic Mouse – http://bit.ly/QRXrA
• @Engineerant used chip fat all the way! though you would need to eat a hell of a lot of takeaways!
• Day 2 and still no heating engineers, and they expect to be paid?
• absolutly hates tuesdays.
• is back from his #flashforward and is now back in the here and now: Monday 19th October 2009 22:01
• leaked details of the new facebook redesign including piccies! http://bit.ly/3nRS0r
• Yep, that’s right. I’m still waiting…

• taking the sensible option tonight and going to bed before midnight. night all.
• #whitney a recovering drug addict? I beg to differ based on tonights performance. What planet was she on, it wasn’t this one! Shocking
• great result today for british sport, go jenson!
• wonders whether it’s even worth going to bed now 4:16am…
• doesn’t the time go slow during the still of the night…
• tv off. kettle on. caffeine spooned into mug. i sense more report writing, let’s hope i finish it tonight..
• can’t believe I actually just watched part of #xfactor without falling asleep or turning the tv off. those twins are shocking..
• just done a round trip to cheltenham for tgi. car park full. restaurant full. great. now home again, still hungry..
• has a lot to do today but somehow just can’t find the motivation to start any of it! pah.
• is wondering if anyone has a Google Wave invite for me? you know you want to share!
• Google Wave ‘demonstration’. Love it. http://bit.ly/4pINcJ
• enough of android for tonight, I have a date with some paperwork :(
• is fast becoming the g1 rooting expert…
• back to report writing, friday afternoons don’t come any better than this. not.
• tgif, it’s been a mad week!
• You’ve just got to love the measuring spoon at KFC Cribbs Causeway… http://twitpic.com/llyml
• off to Bristol – wish me luck ;) lol
• thinks I will be having a semi early night tonight
• not impressed with local food delivery options. 3:30am and I’m starving but no one will deliver! ah well, maybe it’s time for bed then…
• #twitter having a few issues again, oh dear. http://bit.ly/IN7Ne
• 2 reports to go..! just like British Rail, I’m getting there (although they never did so perhaps that isn’t a good analogy after all)!
• #Melanie: Ruby Tuesday. iTunes *does* occasionally throw out a good tune!
• desperately needs caffeine. Questions is, do I have the energy to walk to the kitchen!
• 3 more reports to go tonight. Pah.
• really should be working – at this hour – but somehow social networking is more fun..!
• no hot water and a boiling house tonight, the fun and games continue! still, new boiler coming next week. finally!
• glad to see #twitter have finally added an option to mark users as spam! http://bit.ly/193o2R
• wonders just how useful gLatitude actually is on an iPhone? real time location awareness that isn’t real time unless app is open…
• needs a new boiler, apparently. great!