Out and about – Edgbaston Reservoir

Today I decided to head over to Edgbaston reservoir, and enjoyed a nice long pleasant walk all around this man-made lake.

I could see in parts where the water was spilling over the edge, just goes to show how much rain we’ve had recently.

The birdlife seemed to mainly consist of coots and moorhens, as well as seagulls, with a few mallard ducks scattered around, in couples.

The waters at the western end of the reservoir were quite calm, only being stirred by the brisk wind blowing around. However the waters at the eastern end, presumably where the reservoir is at its deepest, were very choppy, and quite akin to being at sea!

Unfortunately there was nobody out sailing today, only a couple of joggers, some old chaps fishing, and an Eastern-European family enjoying a walk with the dog.

But I did get to see the “two towers” which would inspire a young J.R.R. Tolkein, who lived in the area at the time, to write about them in his Lord Of The Rings books.

Birmingham Mail: Tolkein’s Tower bought for a quid

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Windows 8 issues – the solution

brkwind_zps163ec85bThere have been many complaints from users of Windows 8, and many people reporting issues.

There is a very simple solution that will solve all these issues and complaints, and the two very easy stages are as follows:

  1. Format your hard disk
  2. Install Windows 7

And there you go, now you have a fully functional desktop operating system that just ‘works’ and gives you full control of what you do.

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New hardware support forum

Earlier this year, I wrote about a new project I became involved with, following my resignation as the administrator of MSI’s Global User-to-user forum.

We set out our new project to independently assist users of MSI products, however I’m pleased to announce that we have now evolved our project further, and renamed it, in order to provide technical assistance for users of hardware from other manufacturers also!

Our project is now called HardwareGurus.net and if you have an account already at our MSI Users forum, then you’re already set up on our new site and your bookmark will redirect you to our new forum.

So whether you own an MSI video card, an ASUS motherboard, a Dell notebook, or a Belkin wireless router, if you want the best independent support and advice for any problem you’re having, please feel free to drop by, sign up, say hello, or ask for help!

http://www.hardwaregurus.net

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Sandwell Bus Network Review

The latest bus network review is due to take place in the Sandwell area from 28th October 2012. Confirmed details are expected to be released early in October, but in the meantime I have obtained some current details of the changes that will be taking place, courtesy of Tony Hunter, an NXWM inspector, from his website.

Here is most of the network, there are still a few minor details to sort out
X1 – new service Wolverhampton to Merry Hill 7 days a week hourly during shopping hours
4H – Every 30 minutes Walsall – Blackheath then on to Halesowen (mon-sat)
4M – every 30 minutes Walsall – Blackheath then on to Merry Hill 7 days a week including evenings
4 – Walsall – Blackheath making the above services every 6 minutes
5 – replaces 451 with more journeys added
9 – no change to route, timetable changes
40 – replaces 410 with revised timetable
41 – 414 renumbered
42 – replaces 402 but extended to Dudley via Tipton Owen Street
43 – replaces 401 with revised timetable
44 – 644 renumbered
45 – 405 renumbered
46 – 406 renumbered and also alternate buses extended to Londonderry replacing part of 444
47/47A 428/9 renumbered, evening and Sunday buses added to replace 478
48 – 448 renumbered with minor route and timetable changes
49 – 449 renumbered and also extended to Bearwood
53 – new service West Bromwich to Merry Hill replacing 450 between West Bromwich and Bearwood and 123 between Bearwood and Merry Hill
74/75 Timetable starts earlier on Sundays, no other change
79 – no change
80 – minor timetable change
82/87 no change at the moment, Birmingham city route may change later
83 new route Birmingham to West Bromwich via Windmill Lane replacing part of 444
89 extended Oldbury to Blackheath via 128 route, evening & Sunday buses added
120 – service will start earlier in the morning
121 – 688 renumbered
127 – unchanged
128 – cut short at Oldbury
129 – new route Birmingham to West Bromwich via Londonderry and 447 route
140 – extra evening journeys added
141 – unchanged
205 – unchanged
222 – unchanged
289 – 238 renumbered
297 – minor timetable changes
311 – no change
311A – evening and Sunday journies withdrawn
313 – new evening & sunday services introduced

As stated, details are yet to be fully confirmed, but as expected, there will be a lot of renumbering of services, mostly of those currently in the 4xx range, as has happened in previous network reviews, but it will be interesting to see the final changes in full, and to see how passenger usage changes with the new network.

And remember, if you didn’t voice your opinion during the consultation period earlier this year, then your chance has come and gone!

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Out And About – Sutton Park

 

Quite often when I have some free time on my hands (which isn’t often) and when the weather is fine (which isn’t often), I’ll go off and explore parts of Birmingham and the surrounding areas, if only for a good walk and to get out the house for a few hours. Oh, and to check out nature and beautiful scenery!

Previously, I’ve been to Sheldon Country Park, Lickey Hills Country Park, The Shire Country Park, and Elmdon Park. Yesterday, I decided to visit Birmingham’s largest park, Sutton Park in Sutton Coldfield, which I hadn’t been to since a family day out when I was a child.

As usual, it was a case of ‘have bus pass, will travel’! Even on a Sunday, it only took about an hour to get there, and a bus on the motorway (the Sutton express buses travel along the Aston Expressway!) is a novel experience! From Sutton Coldfield town centre, the park’s Town Gate is a short ten minute walk away, and then it’s off into nature!

Sutton Park is big. And I mean BIG! I must have walked around for nearly three hours, and didn’t cover all of it. The beauty is that its all open, from large grassy fields, to hidden tracks through woodlands, so naturally I strayed off the beaten track on more than one occasion.

When no-one else is around, it’s like being on another planet. Not much in the way of wildlife, save the odd crow, magpie or squirrel, but there were a few cows wandering freely around, munching contentedly on the grass, and a handful of ducks and coots swimming around on Blackroot Pool and Bracebridge Pool.

Luckily I had my phone with me, with its GPS tracking, otherwise I may have got seriously lost! And in parts, the tracks were very muddy, and I wish I’d worn appropriate footwear instead of trainers! But it was all fun, even though I was by myself, I imagined myself on a fantastic adventure of exploration!

And that to me was all that mattered, I knew no-one else there, I was alone, though a few friendly people did smile and say hello. Everyone else, from the joggers and cyclists, the old couples having an afternoon walk, the teenagers hiding in tents by the pool, and the men relaxing by the pool listening to reggae music, were all having their own adventures.

By the time I got back into Sutton Coldfield, I was exhausted, but felt all the better for it, and slept soundly that night!

Find out more: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/suttonpark

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Virgin Media – how to get a free upgrade from 10meg to 30meg

I’ve been a customer with Virgin Media for nearly seven years now. I’ve always been on a ‘basic’ broadband service (originally 2meg, then 4meg then 10meg via free customer upgrades). And I was quite pleased earlier this year that as part of their ‘double-speed’ network upgrade (launched in a blaze of publicity, featuring the worlds fastest man Usain Bolt), I would then get another free upgrade to 20meg.

This was originally slated for my area (Birmingham) to be done in ‘July 2012′, however I recently learned that this double-speed upgrade would now not be taking place until ‘December 2012 – May 2013′

http://doublespeed.virginmedia.com/

I was then further miffed when, upon browsing their website, it seems that all new customers who sign up, get a 30meg service as a bare minimum! With six months at half price! Even then, at full price, new customers are paying a little less than what I am now!

So I sent off an email to Virgin Media, basically complaining that as an existing loyal customer I was only receiving a 10meg service, while all new customers received 30meg as standard, for less than I was paying, while also adding in a mild threat to cancel my contract due to overall dissatisfaction wit h their service as a whole.

I received a standard email response back, that my query had been received, but after a week I had received no further response.

Well today, I got home from work, and had received a letter in the post from Victoria O’Gorman from Virgin Media Customer Complaints (dated 19th July).

Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding your Virgin Media account, I apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. I have tried to contact you by phone today, I’m sorry I have been unable to reach you. I am replying in writing to ensure you received a response.

30mg broadband is the lowest speed we now offer new customers. I can upgrade your broadband free of charge to 30mg. This would have been happening in the near future however I can get this upgrade put through sooner for you as a gesture of goodwill. You would be sent a new super hub to support the new speed. Once this has been received the instructions included will explain how to set up the new equipment and provide the number you need to call to activate the service.

Our new customers pay the same for the services as our existing customers. They are entitled to introductory promotional offers however once these expire they pay the standard prices our other customers pay.

If you would like to accept my offer of an earlier upgrade to 30mg and a new super hub, please contact me on (telephone number redacted) and I will arrange this for you.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us, I assure you we take all customer comments seriously.

Kind Regards,

Victoria O’Gorman
Customer Complaints
Virgin Media

I will of course be contacting her tomorrow, and we’ll see how this pans out!

For now, my advice to you is if you’re in a similar position, being a Virgin Media customer and only currently paying for (and getting) a basic 10meg broadband service, go to the Virgin Media website, log into your My Virgin Media page, and contact them to make a complaint, and see if you can get a similar result yourself.

I just find it quite sad really, because I can remember the days when long-term loyal customers were the ones that were rewarded, sadly those days seem to have long gone, and it’s only the new customers that get the rewards, just to tempt them in.

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Birmingham City Centre is changing!

Since July 15th 2012, motorists driving round the city centre in Birmingham, will have noticed that roadworks on Moor Street Queensway have now been pretty much completed, and it has now become a ‘proper’ dual-carriageway, with traffic now flowing in both directions, rather than the marginally less confusing one-way system that operated previously.

The bigger change that will be happening, is on Sunday July 22nd 2012. From this date, Corporation Street will be closed to traffic (except service vehicles), and buses that currently serve this street will be rerouted to new stopping locations.

Why is this? It’s all part of the ‘Connected City’ plan for the heart of Birmingham city centre, a long-term plan which will be finalised when the Midland Metro tram service finally terminates at the new ‘Gateway’ at New Street station sometime in 2015.

As well as the Midland Metro coming into the heart of the city centre, providing links from Wolverhampton and the Black Country, as well as local and national rail services from Snow Hill, to the state of the art new station being developed at New Street, public transport interchanges will be located at key points around the city centre, which will see Birmingham’s inner city centre transformed into a European style pedestrian friendly space.

The new public transport interchanges are:

  • Snow Hill Interchange – with bus stops on Colmore Row and Livery Street, serving Snow Hill rail station and Metro stop
  • Bull Street Interchange – with bus stops also located on Priory Queensway, Albert Street and Corporation Street, next to the Square Peg
  • Moor Street Interchange – with bus stops also located on Carrs Lane, serving Moor Street rail station
  • New Street Gateway Interchange – with bus stops on St Martins Queensway, serving the new New Street Gateway rail station
  • Markets Interchange – with bus stops on Upper Dean Street
  • Paradise Circus Interchange – with bus stops next to the Town Hall and on Broad Street

In the vast majority of cases, bus services that serve similar areas will now all terminate at the same interchange, making it easier to find a bus if you’re travelling from one area of the city to another. And each interchange is a short walk apart, ultimately made more pleasant with clear signage and more pedestrian-friendly walkways.

So from July 22nd, expect things to start to appear a little different! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the changes won’t all happen overnight, but I believe in a couple of years, once everything is complete, Birmingham city centre will be an exciting place to visit again and travel around!

For more information on new bus stopping points from July 22nd, there is a useful map found here: Connected City Maps

For more information on the Connected City project, please have a look at the Connected City website

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New MSI Users support forum

After seven years, as a member, then a moderator, and then an admin, yesterday I finally quit my involvement with the MSI HQ Global user-to-user support forum.

However, I’m pleased to report that I have been invited to join a new initiative to help users of MSI computer products: a new unofficial support forum to help people, started by my good friend Bas, who previously was the long-serving admin of the global MSI forum.

So if you own any MSI product, and are looking for help, or support, or just to help others with their issues and problems, then please feel free to sign-up at http://www.msi-users.com!

 

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First post

Hi everyone,

This is the first post on my new website… with more to come!

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