Patronus Naturae
October 13, 2011 by admin

A couple of weeks back I changed my mobile phone, opting for a new BlackBerry Torch. A fantastic handset, I would highly recommend it, even though right now BlackBerry are not exactly flavour of the month with the outages in BlackBerry internet being widely reported (which I myself have had some problems with).

Even so, Im happy with my new phone and am sure RIM will get everything running again soon!

Anyway, getting a new phone is great, unboxing it, playing with its new features etc, but what about your old phone?

I guess like most people i am pretty lazy when it comes to disposing of my old handsets having accumulated a few over the past couple of years. This is a bit of a waste as my old handsets are also BlackBerry’s which can be sold for a decent amount second hand.

This time I decided it was time to have a clear out and decided to sell my old handsts. I initially looked at selling them on ebay but to be honest thought it was too much hassle, so took a look at some recycling companies instead. There is actually one that specialises in buying old BlackBerry phones. Whilst I was at it I found I could sell other gadgets too, and got rid of an old iPod I no longer used.

All in all it was a profitable half hour spent and I feel better for knowing that my old phones have gone to a good home!

If you are thinking of selling your mobile, then this is the site I used to sell my mobile, or at least the site I used to find the best price. There are a few of these comparison sites around which compare deals from different recyclers. Be warned though, price is not the only consideration, for example some companies (I found) have a nasty habbit of reducing the amout they pay by saying the condition of your phone is below par after you send it to them. So, its worth checking out a few reviews and making sure you are dealing with a reputable company as opposed to just going with the best price you get offered.

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May 29, 2011 by admin

Desk causing you pain?

If you spend a lot of time at a computer then you’ve probably suffered from a number of problems. I know that sitting at a desk has caused me to have a bit of lower back pain and some tendonitis in the wrist occasionally – but overall I’ve been very lucky. A lot of people suffer from quite severe symptoms from sitting at a desk.

So what should you do about the damage that sitting all day is doing to your body? One technique is to make a standing desk. The problem with this is that standing all day isn’t particularly good for you either, so you need to find a way of balancing sitting and standing so that you keep your body moving without suffering from the problems associated with both.

Another technique is to use an exercise ball to sit on rather than a chair. This is meant to activate your core muscles and be generally better by your back. It’s important to remember that if you already have back problems then these techniques may make it worse – you should only attempt them if you’re healthy at the moment but looking to avoid back troubles in the future. You should also make sure that you still setup the desk with ergonomics in mind even if you are going to be standing or sitting on an exercise ball.

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May 23, 2011 by admin

New Rockstar Game

There’s a new game that’s just come out called LA Noire that’s meant to be completely different from any other game in the past. It’s made by the same people who made Grand Theft Auto but you aren’t the criminal in this game. Instead you’re the cop who has an “interesting” past – meaning that you have to solve cases while learning about yourself and what happened in the past.

The really interesting thing about the game is that you have to interview the suspects and work out whether they are lying or not. If they’re lying then you have to call them out and work out who committed the crime. Over the course of the game you work up from a traffic cop all the way up to working on the homicide desk. It’s an interesting concept for a game and definitely one that hasn’t been done before, but I’m still sceptical about whether it actually works as a game.

From the reviews I’ve read the problem is that the questioning of the suspects is very difficult to get wrong. That means that even if you don’t read the tell tale signs of a lie correctly you still end up getting the case correct. This means that it’s almost more of an interactive movie rather than a proper game. When I’m playing a game I want to know that I have control over what is happening so this is a big problem for me. I’m still willing to give it a go though.

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May 6, 2011 by admin

Champions League Tickets

I’ve been reading about the tickets for the Champions League Final at the end of May between Manchester United and Barcelona. It looks like it’s going to be an amazing game, but I think it’s a shame that only 25,000 fans from each team are going to get tickets. The rest went on general sale a few months ago or are being given to corporate guests. If it was down to me, the whole stadium would be filled with fans of each side to provide the best atmosphere.

I think it’s fairly certain that most of the tickets that were put on general sale a few years ago will end up with United fans, so in effect it will almost be like a home game to them. Whether this will help against the passing (and diving) of Barcelona I’m not sure – but it’s definitely a bonus.

The other problem with the tickets is that they are so expensive. You expect such big tickets to sell for more than a regular game, but the most expensive can cost up to £300 per person. The worst tickets (basically the ones so high that you may as well watch on TV) cost £80. Considering £50 is considered a lot for a club to charge for a regular game, these prices seem ridiculously high. FIFA have apologies for the tickets being so high apparently, but it’s not going to help the average fan. I’m not saying the tickets won’t sell out though – they definitely will!

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