The primary reason (apart from liking shiny things) is that as I spend my entire working life surrounded by Microsoft products and PC hardware, when I am at home I don’t even want to think about looking at a PC.  So I have replaced almost every bit of PC kit with Apple hardware.

Long time readers will know I have always had a Mac of some description here in the home office, and the original iMac that was used way back in the Red Rant days to record the podcast is still in use.  But I’ve replaced the desktop Windows PC with a 27″ iMac, Dell XPS laptops are out, a 13″ MacBook Pro is in.  Couple that lot with an iPhone 4 and also an iPad (not to mention the new Apple TV) and you get my drift.  The only remaining PCs in the house are a three year old quad core Dell gaming PC, and the main media centre one.

So as a regular worshipper at the Church of Jobs(TM) I was forced to make a pilgrimage to the Apple Store at West Quay, Southampton yesterday morning for a serious repair.

Unfortunately last weekend (while the country was gripped by the latest “big freeze”) I packed my MacBook up and went to visit my Mum, with the aim of fixing my nephews very broken Vista laptop.  Having to deal with Vista again after over a year of Windows 7 joy was bad enough, but the usual spyware outbreak that all teenagers get (thanks to an insistance on using Limewire) was far more unpleasant than I originally thought.

So the laptop had to come home with me (and I was forced to endure a good eight to ten hours of fixing it) and when I got home my bag sort of fell out of the car.  Not exactly a problem usually, but when I opened my MacBook screen later on I was confronted by this.

Ouch.  When you break something it’s always upsetting but on a machine as lovely as this it felt downright heartbreaking.  And as we all know, Apple hardware isn’t exactly cheap, so I knew a repair wasn’t exactly going to be one I could cover with some spare change.

So I made a Genius Bar (don’t even get me started on the ridiculous pomposity of the name) appointment for yesterday morning.

First up I give Apple props for doing a fantastic job of looking after their customers.  I know the staff all look like they are part of a cult (in many ways the staff and us customers are I suppose) with the seasonal matching red t-shirts, but from the moment I got there I was well looked after.  I was 15 minutes early for my appointment, and bang on 9:20 I sat down with my..ahem..Genius.

I was fully expecting to have to leave the machine with them for a few days, given that the entire screen assembly would have to be replaced (at the trouser troubling cost of £280 no less) but they had a replacement part in stock and it could be done by lunchtime.

So we went off and did some Christmas shopping, during the expedition I bought Sally a new Windows Phone, but that’s a story for another blog post.
After a couple of hours I went back to the store just to see how they were getting on and again was treated like royalty.  The machine was already repaired so I just had to wait a few minutes before it reappeared, working perfectly and cleaned to within an inch of its life.  I am always very careful to look after my electronics, but the notebook looked like it had just rolled off the production line again.  Even Sally thought it was a brand new machine.  Sadly, no such luck.

So while Apple hardware is rather expensive, you really can’t fault their service both technically and personally.  And that is why I will keep using them, at least while the bank account will allow.

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I’m  not entirely sure how this months entry is going to turn out.  Why?  Because I write them as the day goes on, saving a lot of photo editing and writing in the evening and we have actually gone for a joint effort this month.  As it is a week day, and I have just been to work and home again I’m starting to get desperate for photos that haven’t been done before.  So Sally has taken some with her iPhone in Christchurch today, so they will be included later.  As for my photos, I’m sorry I tried!

As an additional note, as there were a load of pictures that didn’t make the cut this month I have created a Flickr set in case anyone wants to see them.

Before we start properly, I include this pre-image as Janelle included my tweet as her first image I’m returning the favour And also to say that everyone should follow J (and me!) on Twitter, be our Facebook friends and send her some love as she battles on with cancer. 2010 is the year of remission, tell your friends.

My first photo is from my drive home from work.  England has been battered by ice and snow for the last couple of weeks which has made folks from around the globe who deal with far colder temperatures for way longer point and laugh at us.  Fortunately it is now finally on the wane, and this is the first time I have seen clear roads for over a week.  I have a really pleasant route to take into work, which half the time I never notice because I’m so focussed on getting where I need to be.  As I will be leaving this particular contract after two years at the end of February, I can enjoy it while it lasts.

Back at home and the snow is finally on its way out, just the lovely thick ice still on our driveway to go which I have a helping hand to be on its way after taking this picture.  I love the snowman across the road, I think the elderly lady who lived there had it made for her by her grandchildren.  Strange thing about it was it wasn’t there on Sunday morning, then about half an hour later I looked out the window and there he was!

Right here I was going to have a TV photo,  Food Network has just recently started broadcasting here in the UK (it’s a mix of the US shows with over UK stuff) and I relaxe with a cup of tea and Tyler’s Ultimate.  We love this show, Tyler is sort of like a US Jamie Oliver only unlike UK chefs these days HE LOOKS AT THE CAMERA!  I have also tried getting into Giada At Home, but Giada de Laurentiis scares me because she has the largest mouth on anyone I have ever seen.  Although she is extremely pleasing on the eye.

But that picture was taken away because Sally has come home with a ton of pictures so these next snaps were taken in Christchurch (where previous months pictures have proved to be popular) during her very cold lunch break.

Only January and already the Easter eggs are in Marks and Spencer.  They do look rather nice though.

Across the road from M&S, the old Christchurch town hall.

A stern warning for any witches around the borough, Christchurch still has its ducking stool!

Wondering about the life saver?  It’s because this house sits right on the rover.  Normally this photo couldn’t be taken unless you enjoy standing in the middle of a busy road.  But one of the town’s primary roads is closed for six weeks for repair works.  Bad for the local residents, good for photo enthusiasts!

Can you spot what is wrong with this picture?  The window at the top right isn’t a window.  It’s painted onto the brickwork!  The house was built when there was a tax on how many windows your property had!

Just the one more from Christchurch, more of the river houses.

Back at the homestead, Will impatiently sits on the side while I get to work cooking dinner.

And just to prove that I can actually cook!  Our Food Network fanboy gets to work.

The net result.  Steffi, I tried to get a better picture!  It was mushroom and bacon (sorry J) pasta with tomato and basil sauce topped off with some ciabatta bread.  Very nice.

And finally because he’s just so damn cute and popular.  That’s 12 of 12 done for

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I’ve performed yet another blog u-turn with this site.

I know I said it was going…again.  I wasn’t going to continue…again.  Haven’t got enough time to continue….blah blah de blah.  Sorry.  I’ll hang my head a little bit but hopefully my loyal readers (yes there are still several of you) will continue to stick with me.

I spent a bit of time recently thinking about what this site has given back to me over the years and it far outweights both the financial and time constrictions.  There have been lots of little things nudging me along, some new Freesat stuff, the offer of some more review Blu-rays and other factors.
My superb hosters Netmotivated have just migrated both this site and Cullen IT onto newer, probably shinier servers running PHP and MySQL 5.  I’ve noticed a performance increase already.  Not everything went according to plan, with the previous theme I was using here failing to work.

Long story short (and a better story would be why on Earth I have spent a large chunk of Christmas Eve getting this stuff working again) everything is working fine, and as you can see I now have a new theme.  It’s yet another Solostream premium theme which I actually purchased as a new skin for the business site.  But that site can wait until the new year for some changes.
Hopefully this new theme is pleasing on the eyes.  It’s very similar to the old one, but with a few extra bells and whistles added for good measure.

Time for me to sign off, I’ve been getting some slightly aggravated looks at the amount of time I’ve spent getting the site up and running again today.  Time to power down and enjoy the Christmas holiday.  I suggest you do the same.

Onwards and upwards into 2010, thanks for sticking with me.

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We begin this month with a rarity, us still being awake at the stroke of midnight.  I’ve been playing Wii games all evening that have been sat on a shelf for at least six months.  This was rather enforced due to the Xbox 360 throwing a hissy fit and is currently on its way back to Germany for repair.

While all this was going on, Will (who is rather poorly at present) decided to make friends with our festive blanket (he paws constantly at them which is why they look a little blurred).  He stayed here until 3:10am at which time he lept on the bed and miaowed.  Waking up with a cat in your face is never a fun thing, especially at that time.

A few hours later I was awake before sunrise (no idea why) and he was quite keen on an early breakfast.  Sadly that enthusiasm was not caught on camera.

While Will began another light sleep (five hours at the time of typing) I relaxed in our lightly decorated winter wonderland and waited to Sally to wake up.

As we are getting close to Christmas we made sure we were out and about early this morning, and by 9 we were down in Christchurch for breakfast and a walk around the town.  A couple of months ago our stroll round the village proved to be quite popular so hopefully we have some crowd pleasing shots here.

This is Christchurch Priory taken from the rear (so to speak) in the car park.

Walking through the church yard on the way to breakfast and warmth.

Sally said I should take a photo of this plaque for you all as well.

It wouldn’t be a 12 without a food photo.  Apologies to my vegetarian and vegan friends, but I love my full English breakfast.  This certainly fuelled the furnace for a good few hours.

After breakfast we had a walk around Christchurch and spent way too long nosing around the shop that this window display comes from.  Unfortunately the photo doesn’t do the display justice.

After our wander round I dropped Sally off in New Milton and headed back home to compile the photos so far.  But then made a special trip out to go and snap this little guy.  This ceramic cat ornament is cemented onto the wall outside the home of the local Waggy Tails pet rescue lady.  I’m amazed nobody has taken the little scarf and hat, we must live in a nice area

Earlier this week Microsoft sent me an utterly surreal package as part of my Small Business Specialist accreditation which included an enormous flag.  Bush told me on Twitter I could wear it as a cape.  Happy to oblige!

We spent much of the afternoon re-watching episodes of the simply sublime Community before checking out the first episode of Glee.  Then after that we went to visit a local resident who decorates his house each year to raise money for various local charities.  This year it is the local air ambulance.

What started off as one house has now spread to the entire street, which is a nice little bit of community spirit.
And that brings us to the end of another month and year of 12 of 12.  It’s certainly been an eventful 12 months, but if Chad keeps posting I’m sure we’ll all keep playing.

Whatever you celebrate at this time of year, have a happy one

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