Well I’ve had enough of doing my own IT support at home and pulled the pin on my 2degrees broadband.

I get a nice steady 100Mbps fibre connection when I plug my laptop into the cheap & nasty plastic German FRITZ! (yes seriously, it even has the exclamation mark) router supplied by 2degrees. I also get amazing coverage round the house with my Google Nest wifi devices. But do I get fast Internet access through the two? Do I balls!

Just spent 15 minutes on hold with 2Degrees Support to get hold of my broadband password so I could do some troubleshooting, then left my number and not had a call back after an hour. That’s pretty sucky customer support, sadly. It always winds me up when telephone support lines give you the “we’re dealing with higher than normal call volumes” as an excuse for leaving you hanging. Is it bollocks higher than normal – be honest and just admit you don’t have sufficient staff to meet demand, all to keep costs down and profits up. If more people switched to a different provider that is properly resourced you can bet your arse they’d be recruiting.

Now they’re officially getting Bodecotted (that’s just regular boycotting but by the Bodecott family, who keep our grudges longer than high court judges)

A quick search on Glimp.co.nz for offers and discovered that NOW Internet are currently offering 900Mbps Unlimited Fibre with free router on a 12 month contract for only $85 per month, considerably cheaper than the current 2degrees plan.

Now waiting on the new provider’s router and keeping the fingers crossed that it works better than the “on the FRITZ!” crap I’m getting rid of.

Just discovered that Oklahoma City manhole covers feature a map of the city with a blue dot showing where you are. How clever!

Operation SSomPD! has reached prototype stage, with option A being long slope with little chance for birdies to sit and shit, or option B with less intrusive but less vertical sloping.

Now to wait a month and see what state the window frames are in before deciding which option to take.

(BTW spikes is not an option with bird-loving friends to consider)

… is licking the spoon.

When I was bain* Mam would let us lick the whisk when she baked. If we we’d been good she’d turn the mixer off too. Badumtish, here all week, try the gluten free muffins.

* Bain is Hull speak for child.

Hoping they don’t conscript me to drive a Tesco truck.

Posting this for anyone out there starting to think about what they want to do for a career when they leave education (assuming you can’t hang around in academia for life, that’s the sweetest gig if you can manage it).

Here’s a great chart produced by website Visual Capitalist (really cool site, well worth having a browse around) showing the job roles that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reckon will grow or shrink over the coming decade.

You would be wise to aim for jobs in the top right corner, those that will continue to grow and that pay well. Or you could try flossing on TikTok or unboxing mobile phones on YouTube, apparently that pays millions for some unfathomable reason.

Thanks to a free listings offer on Trademe we’ve thrown both of our sofas up to sell, seeing as we have (yet another) 3 piece suite being delivered in a few weeks. I’ve set them both with a reasonable reserve price and auction closure at the same time, so let’s see them fight it out!

Iiiiin the sage corner – Old Sofa! Weighing in at a mere 70kgs this old girl has been a quality couch in her time. Second hand – sorry vintage – when we got her she’s the low cost option, but with good solid feet and stylish arms she’s bound to punch above her class. A favourite with the crowd already, she’s odds-on to exceed her reserve.

Aaaand in the brown corner – New Sofa! Topping the scales at over 100kgs he’s the new kid on the block. Less than 4 months old and packed with features, he’s got a high price on him that might deter the casual punter, but if he catches the right eye he could just pull off a shock win.

Join us on Sunday 3rd October at 8pm NZ time to see who wins!

Wow, Philips don’t beat about the bush with their warnings, do they?