My first Friday evening in Newbury, where I can blog live! (I know I did type an entry on Friday 24th October but that was not uploaded until four days later). Quite a few things to mention and cover, this post will be a round up of sorts. I apologise it is a bit disjointed but I just have a few notes written on Post-It pads with key topics I must mention. Finally got Windows Live Messenger (the software program formerly known as MSN Messenger) onto my E65 on Thursday evening. That had been my original problem, I had been searching for “MSN on E65” and not getting very far. I tried two applications, Nimbuzz and then Fring, with different results. Nimbuzz just refused to load up and connect. With Fring, I created an account but then could not get into MSN. It was annoying, but then when I changed my search key words, I stumbled up on the application I needed but unfortunately it is currently not available in the United Kingdom. Did that stop me? No, a few additional searches, I was able to download the files I needed and install the application onto my mobile phone. Fantastic and after a synchronization which took a few minutes, I was up and running. The application is fast and you can quickly switch from IM window, MSN contact list, mobile phone with no time delays. Great! However, I must admit the problems I had getting connected to my Wireless network. In the end, I had to manually configure the IP address, subnet mask and DNS servers (I do not use Tiscali’s own, but Open DNS). Only after adding the DNS servers did internet access work on my phone but never mind, at least it is working now. I did not have the same problem with my Sky broadband at home, once the device was enabled in the MAC filtered list, it was plain sailing. So now, when I am about and about, I should be able to go on MSN, plus also update Twitter from my mobile, rather than SMS. Talking about Twitter, I noticed that MC Hammer, yes the MC Hammer has a Twitter account. I am considering buzzing him a tweet to find out what he thinks about the Utah Saints – Something Good ’08 music video, where he has a semi cameo appearance! Doubt I will get a response like this from the king of baggy trousers. Oh yes, I was just wondering like you dear reader, which other celebrities use Twitter. Fret not, someone also had that same brain wave and now there is a site you can go to. The site only started last month, so there are only a handful of celebrities, some minor some notorious. Give it time, I am sure it will balloon to a major site, particularly when one of the big sites or media outlets find out about it. What do you have for breakfast? I bet many people even skip on breakfast or just drink a coffee. Well as long as I can remember I have had cereal of some description. One of my earliest memories involves my breakfast. Back in the mid 1980s, at my house in Lane End, I was about to tuck into some Weetabix. My Mum was on the phone and I was waiting for her to get off the line, so that she could pour the milk in. (I was too young to handle the pint bottles, you will understand). In a moment of madness and frustration, I picked up the tea (not mine) and poured that on my Weetabix instead and started eating. Strange taste, I can assure you that. I then got a telling off when my Mum returned to the room. My cereal history has been a rather basic if I am honest. I had mainly Kellogg’s Corn Flakes when I was younger, then switching to Frosties for several years. I had times when I switch to new cereals for a small time, usually just a box (or two). These included Shreddies, Weetabix, Shredded Wheat and then Corn Pops (which I remember at the time had some link with Baywatch). I then switched in my mid teens to Crunchy Nut Cornflakes and never looked back. Until now. I am dropping the Kellogg’s favourite in place of Start. The cereal is not found at every store but I saw it in Sainsbury’s a while back and thought my new healthy eating plan needs a mighty push and this was a good place to begin. Although ultimately I would like to move onto some kind of porridge, but I will need some guidance oh and will power! We have to talk about the major events across the pond, I cannot avoid them. I am glad Americans made the right decision and the decent man won. I was reading my Twitter feed and it was almost a one man campaign from Jon Masters and although he is based in the US, he does not yet have the right to vote, so I thought it rather rich of him to preaching to others when he himself has yet to earn the democratic right. Having said that, I admire him and am very envious that he has taken the 20th January 2009 off to go down to DC and watch the inauguration. He won’t be the only one making the trip. For me, it is one achievement of many I look forward to in my lifetime. The next? Well it is slightly closer to home and perhaps not as significant as Mr. Obama taking up residency at the White House. I look forward to the day, when I go to Wembley to see a player of Asian heritage (any would do, but from the subcontinent would make it extra special) take the field for England. It has happened in cricket already, do we really have much longer to wait for the national sport to follow suit? Oh sorry, back on track. I would have liked to have stay up and watch the election unfold on BBC News but was too tired, so I opted to listen on my portable DAB radio. I started listening around midnight. Richard Bacon was in some bar in Chicago and you also had political correspondent John Pienaar in Washington I think. I listened for a while but fell asleep. Usually my batteries are not charged up so the radio dies a death soon afterwards but they were fully charged and at 3:41am (I remember the time clearly as I check the radio screen, with blurry eyes), it was quite clear that Mr. Obama had crossed the finish line and taken a clear lead in terms of electoral college votes. I smiled and wondered for a while how different tomorrow would be. Bhav text me in the morning on her way to work, to confirm what I already knew, but for a while I wondered if it had all been a dream, and in fact McCain and Palin had won instead. Then I switched on BBC Breakfast. So what have I been up to since I landed from Wrexham / Wycombe on Sunday evening. Well I went to the gym, which meant I missed Hamilton clinch the F1 World Championship but never mind. Hopefully he won’t leave it to the last corner of the last lap, of the last race of the season next time around. Well done to the chap, I had a feeling he would choke, just like last year but although he kept us waiting, he pulled through at the last minute. A billion pound sportsman to rival the likes of Beckham and Woods. Just please do not sign up for any cheesy Gillette Fusion adverts! I have been making the most of my unlimited internet connection and downloaded a few of my staple diet of US TV shows. Many of the programmes remain on break though, but I accidentally downloaded the HD version (1.08gb) of Sarah Connor Chronicles. I left my PC running all day on Tuesday so it could download all the movies, music videos and television shows, so I could enjoy in the evening on my ‘day off’ from the gym. I realised my mistake, when I noticed that the Terminator show was the only torrent still running. Oops. The file format was MKV, so I had to download the codec, however small problem. Window Media Player would play the video and some background sound, but not the dialogue. So, I had to load up Window Player Classic and use this as it had the dialogue. It took a minute for me to get the video and audio in sync but when I did, it was fantastic. The quality in both the image and audio was amazing. I could really feel those punches that Cameron threw. However, I will be switching back to the 350mb SD version from next week. While in the gym on Wednesday evening, I was approached by James. A new member of the team, brought in by Nuffield, who have taken over Cannon’s Health Club. So as you can imagine from January they will be pushing their ProActive Health assessments and nutrition plans. Personally I am not interested unless they are free. In the changing room, while I was getting changed, a man putting on a leotard, said that he had finally made it to the gym and his had to be the most expensive gym membership in history. My original plan for this weekend was to head into London to meet up with a friend but that has been postponed. Therefore, I am going to be spending a weekend in Newbury predominately (I have a piano lesson in Thame on Sunday). I am going to get my haircut, perhaps go to some shops as well. The main thing on the agenda is a big clear up, tidy, vacuum, clean, also get some laundry done. I actually made a long list of things I wanted to get done by the close of the weekend (during my lunch hour on Wednesday). So far, I have only ticked off two items, so plenty to get done tomorrow. I am looking forward to a clear weekend, to get as much done as I can. What is a bet I get nothing done at all?