From an Apple to a Berry

I was going to do a phone review for my new Blackberry 9900 but then I wondered if there was any point.  The phone has been out for a while now, there are tons of reviews out there already, written and video and all the information is at your finger tips. 

I’m a firm believer that if you are to commit yourself to something, particularly technology, you need to do your research first.  I hate the people that buy a product, be it a phone, laptop whatever and then complain after purchase that it doesn’t do this or that.  If you had done your research, you would know what you are getting.  I knew for example that the battery wasn't great and would need charging once a day.  Coming from a phone I used to have to charge twice a day, that didn't faze me.

The reason I decided to do this post in the end was the amount of people who have been surprised, some shocked at my decision to move from Iphone to Blackberry.  I don’t see my decision as shocking, although as it is my decision, I guess I wouldn’t.

I wrote The Defection a few weeks ago before I committed and bought the 9900.  I said at the time that time would tell if I loved it or hated it.  Would I miss the full touch screen, would I miss all the apps?  The answer, no.  I am in love with this phone.

My requests from my new phone were clear cut.  I wanted a keypad but still with a decent touchscreen.  I wanted to still have the apps I used to have on my Iphone.  I also wanted to still be able to have all my music. 

The 9900 suits me down to the ground.  I love the keypad.  The geek in me loves all the lists, the countless options.  Anything I want to do on the phone, it can tell me how.  I have a media card in the phone so all my music is there, and unlike with the Iphone where you might have to limit yourself to an 8G due to the price of the phone, with this you can have 64G for a the price of a SD card.

Everyone told me I would regret it, that I was crazy to change.  But come on people, it’s only a phone.  It isn’t a life changing decision.  You decide what works for you want and you see what is out there that fits your specifications.  You shouldn’t have to limit what you want to fit with “the brand”.

I am slightly worried about myself however, now and again I find myself just looking at it, stroking the keys.  I may need to go Blackberry addicts anonymous.  But who cares, it’s mine, and I love it.  Plus, now I get to see this every time, am a McClaren girl through and through.

Tigers – Wild & Free?

I’ve always wanted to see a tiger.  Big cats in general are a fascination for me but tigers in particular hold a little piece of my heart.

When I say I’ve always wanted to see a big cat, I mean in the wild.  Where they belong, where they are meant to be.  Where they were intended to be. 

Yet countless circuses are still allowed to parade these animals to the public, teach them tricks, cage them.  It isn’t of course just the big cats, there are the elephants, the zebras and many more.

Last year, after the massive publicity regarding Anne the elephant, a lot of the public finally woke up and joined the cry, that many of us have had as long as we have had intelligent thought, that these animals do not belong in circuses.

The Government claim that they will impose this ban.  Some time before 2015.  The MPs voted in the Commons last year for the ban of wild animals in circuses, yet now we hear “Oh but we have to change the licensing, then hopefully implement the ban”.  This does not placate me.

What the Government should have been doing, and continue to be doing with regard to the ban is find out exactly what animals are where, find alternative places for them, work effectively with DEFRA and bring the ban into force.

Let’s be realistic, these animals can never be re-introduced into the wild, it is far too late for that and whilst I do have a problem with zoos, there are some of them that have integrity, are sanctuaries and do work with getting wild animals back to where they should be, in the wild.

Future generations of these circus animals could end up back in the wild, that gives me hope.  An animal in a cage, on display for the public does not.

Numbers of the big cats have been in decline for as long as I can remember.  Deforestation, hunters, poachers, everyone in the world is an enemy to the big cat.  Would you like to live in a world where there are none of these beautiful creatures left in the wild but instead, behind bars?  Because I wouldn’t.

Which would you prefer.  This?

Or this?

Trashing the Memory Palace

You can read many articles and "How Tos" about memory palaces.   Why you should have one, how much easier is to remember things etc etc.

If you don't know what a memory palace is by the way check out this -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci

I think I have the haunted, creepy "You shouldn't go in there Timmy" type of memory palace.  It isn't one that I intentionally created for myself.  It evolved over the years.

I'm not naturally someone who will share their innermost feelings.  I can rant about anything and everything till I am blue in the face, but on the really personal stuff, the stuff that has hurt me and bad memories, I close up very fast.

When I am depressed, when something sad happens or I have a bad experience, my default mode goes into an action. 

• System check……… Status bad
• Clean up bots sent in
• Remove bad thing
• Tie up with rope
• Throw into dark cupboard
• Lock door
• Reboot
• System check…… All clear

The haunted memory palace is different from the one that you intentionally create to store your good memories, your facts and figures.   Because the haunted memory palace really does have a ghost in the attic, rattling it’s chains.  There really is something scary around the corner and if you try to open that locked door, something really will jump out and bite you.

Doing the blog over the past year has been cathartic for me.  I get to rant away on passing subjects and things that irritate me and in turn, putting those things on the blog, on paper so to speak, gives me time to sort through the rest of the crap in my head.

So today, I’ve started a mission.  A personal mission.  I’m masterminding a war on the haunted palace and little by little, the curtains will be opened, the light will be let in and the doors will be unlocked.  The ghost in the attic will be evicted.

Because the thing is, just like a real haunted house, you are always at your most scared before you step through the door, and then you tend to find that things aren’t as bad as you originally feared.