Ports Thoughts

So with our child due to be born quite soon we've obviously started to think about names. You have to be very careful as it is so easy to create a combination that doesn't quite mean what you hoped. My sister almost called her first Jenny Taylor for example. But how did this couple not spot this howler?! (Click for bigger) The playground is going to be a lonely place for this poor little lad

Ali and I are massive fans of the BBC TV show Dragons Den . In it folks offer a percentage equity stake in their companies in exchange for investment from one of 5 celebrity investors - the so called Dragons. They are called dragons because they don't suffer fools and are only interested in genuinely invest able opportunities so cranks and crackpots are in for a rough time. So when Levi Roots turned up on the show playing guitar, singing reggae and pushing his BBQ sauce, I think most people would have thought, like me, that he was in for a very hard time. But against all expectations his infectious charm wooed the Dragons and he ended up getting £50,000 investment. You can see how it all unfolded here . Very often these things just fizzle out - but in this case things have moved pretty quickly. Just a couple of days ago Levi's sauce went on sale in 600 Salisbury's stores around the country. Ali managed to get hold of a bottle and cooked up Reggae Reggae marinaded chic...

Last Monday I was flying to Scotland for a few days to have a chat with a few of our customers up there. I thought I would show them due respect so on Sunday afternoon I popped into Marks and Spencer and bought a new suit. When I got home I set to making our Sunday roast dinner so didn't think about the whistle until about eleven that night when I went to pack. To my annoyance I found this bad boy attached to the arm. Clearly the assistant in the shop had missed it when he was putting the suit in a bag for me. At first I wasn't too bothered. After all - it would just take a bit of brute force to rip it off and all would be well for the morning. However, when I looked at the other side - my heart skipped a beat. What at first look like a simple dongle to trigger an alarm at a security gate was in fact an ink tag. I immediately started thinking of the paint bombs that are placed in bags of money to prevent theft! Was this device explosive? Was it dangerous? I soon came to my sen...

I'm sure that I can't be the only person who carries two phones about with me. For over 10 years I have had a work phone and a personal phone. My cute personal phone (a Samsung SGH -E330 ) stays with me almost always hanging rather attractively from my belt. Despite what some fashion fascist may think this is a highly convenient and efficient and in no way geeky! My more business like work phone (a Nokia 6230 ) normally lives in my suit jacket pocket and I only have it with me during work hours or when I need be be contactable. So I always know depending on which phone rings whether it is a work call or a personal call. This has worked very well for me but the time has come to examine my options, There are several reasons: a) The UK Law has just changed to make using a mobile phone whist driving a serious offence garnering 3 penalty points and a big fine. So I will have to get a car kit fitted to the motor to prevent temptation and this would only be for one of the phone...