Monkey Business!!

Now and again I come across a gadget that I really HAVE to have.

One such item was the Powermonkey Classic V2 Portable Charging device from Powertraveller.com .

I read briefly about it on a friends Facebook page and decided to check it out. I was impressed, and I picked one up in Duty Free on the way through Dublin Airport, en route to New York for a family break.

It isn't much to look at as a piece of technology. Just a little oval shaped plastic device with a sliding power button and an LED that flashes green or red depending on what you are doing with it. It has an output lead that connects, with the aid of the relevant tip, to whatever device you need to charge and a mains input for charging the device itself.

It can be charged from the mains, with the supplied AC Adaptor or from a PC using the supplied USB connector. It has to be said that if you decide to use your PC to charge it, it takes up to 6 hours to fully charge, over twice as long compared to the AC adaptor.

Once it is charged though, you just pop it in your pocket or bag and forget about it until you need it. It can hold a charge for up to one year and can extend the battery life of an average mobile phone by up to 96 hours and an iPod up to 40 hours. These are the manufacturers guides, I haven't had time to check their accuracy yet, but I'm guessing they might be on the optimistic side If I'm to judge by other manufacturers claims about their products.

For under €50 for the Classic (I bought the standard Silver, for some crazy reason it's more expensive for one of the alternative colours) it's the kind of gadget that will just keep on giving.

While in New York it was passed to everybody in the family at some stage, charging MP3 players, iPod Touch's, mobile phones and even a small digital camera while on the move.

The most common utterance while we were out walking was usually "Who has the Monkey?".

If your chosen device is not among the included tips (seen below) then the manufacturers have a huge range of Tips for sale on their website. I've just ordered one for my Panasonic Lumix TZ5. Most of the Tips retail for about €4 + postage.

The Powermonkey Classic V2 is definitely my Gadget of the Month :-)

Self Critical

Sometimes, like most people, I am forced to look at myself with a critical eye.

I am not always happy with what I see. I guess like most people, I like to think of myself in a positive way, see the good in myself and not the bad, concentrate on the light and push the dark to the back of my mind.

But like most people, I am not perfect. Sometimes I fuck up. Sometimes I do and say things that, with hindsight, I might have done or said differently.

This applies most commonly when dealing with other people, people that do not think the way I do, who do not necessarily ascribe to my point of view.

It can be hard to see past our own viewpoint, to put ourselves in the other persons shoes and feel their pain or joy or their fears.

I don't know if it's something that can be changed, if there would even be any point in trying. Maybe being aware of it is enough.

I guess that is what the word "sorry" was created for.

Damn I'm so bad at this Blog Lark Part 2!

I really am.

I can't decide whether to bother with this or just stick to Facebook only.

Most everything happens on Facebook, but it's fast moving. Stuff comes and go's. Posts appear an disappear. Whole threads fade into the fullness of webtime never to be seen again.

At least with a dedicated blog, it's easily searchable..right there... anytime you...or heaven forbid...an interested third party...might want to read it...again even.

I'm not even suggesting I have anything of particular interest to say most of the time. But sometimes I surprise even myself.

I've never been good with anything diary related..I'm way to undisciplined for that. But I LOVE the idea. I can string a few words together..my grammar and spelling are not that bad...I DON'T do text speak...I HATE it...and I can usually back up my thoughts with some half decent photographs of my own making.

So really it should be a no brainer. But everytime I end up just posting on Facebook..and it fades..along with all the other gazillion world changing posts that appear there every second of every day.

Oh and this year has been pretty eventful as far as my life goes. Tons of stuff to talk about...discuss..complain about...sing about...whatever your chosen means of discourse. But have I bothered...?

No...I just Facebooked ...and now I couldn't find the posts even if I was half bothered too.


I've a feeling that the next few months will be even more eventful than the previous months of this year put together...so really I should force myself to be more disciplined (there's that word again) and use my blog.

Will I?

I'm fucked if I know Terry!!

Day 40 alt - Watching

My new Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro arrived today and I wanted to see just how close it can get.

The answer is pretty darn close!!

I saw some macros of peoples eyes lately on another stream and they looked amazing. So I tried one. It's not perfect..and I'll definitely be trying it again and trying to get the lighting and shadows right :-)

2lbs :-)

Yep. I went for my weigh in tonight at my local Ww and I'd lost 2lbs. Pretty happy with that, especially since I did zero exercise last week and just cut back on my food.

So that's 1 bag of sugar down, 21 to go ;-)

Time to start walking though :-)


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Nervous!!

Tonight is my first weigh in with Weightwatchers. Well..my first since my initial join up. I've been really good this week..sticking to my points and trying to be sensible with portions. It's not easy as I'm used to just serving myself BIG portions.

What can I say..I LOVE food!!

So gone are the buckets of rice...chinese takeaways..Indian takeaways...creamy home made dishes...butter...choccy biscuits...and all the other tools of satan..hehe!!

In are Ryvita..tomatoes..fruit..tomatoes..low fat mayo..tomatoes..teeny portions of rice and pasta..tomatoes...zero point soup...tomatoes....oh and did I mention tomatoes?

Anyway, tonight is the tale of the tape. I'd be lying if I said I wont be disappointed if there's no change, or heavens forbid, I've gained weight. I'd be hoping to have lost at least a couple of pounds. Although the lack of any real exercise in the last week has me worried slightly.

But we'll see.

On the good front....my new Tamron 90mm DI F2.8 Macro lens arrived today, so I can't wait to get home and get my hands on it.

The things that make me happy huh? ;-)

17 stone 13 and a half pounds!!!

First day doing the weightwatchers thing. Not too bad. Survived it and didn't try to eat anyone's babies. Luckily I like vegetables and fruits and pulses. Looks like I might be eating a lot of them in the foreseeable future.

My favourite alternative snacks of the day are Sugar Snaps and Picked Gherkins... Both of which are zero points. So I can eat all I want of them.

So when I weighed in last night I was 17 stone 13 and a half pounds!! I take that to be 18 stone then ;-) that's an awful weight and the heaviest I have ever been. According to the Ww booklet my ideal weight is just over 13 stone, but I think that is a little extreme. I haven't been that weight since I was a teenager, except for one brief period in my thirties when I was into weights and going to a gym 5 times a week. Everyone said I was too skinny then.

No, I'll be happy if I can get down under 15 stone. It's a big ask, but after looking at some video footage of myself recently I'm determined to give it a shot.

After all, I have nothing to lose but my belly ;-)