Good-Bye Social Networking

I took one of my notions again to get out the small violin and say woe-me.  I can't really explain why but just got fed up with things.  With that in mind I have stopped using Twitter and Facebook for they both started to annoy me.  

Any time I logged into Facebook for instance, all I saw were the usual suspects who had updated their status for the umpteenth time that day!  The update usually went along the lines of "I've just eaten an orange", followed by the delude of comments (replies) e.g. "wow that's cool", "omg I just had an orange to!" and "what type of orange was it?" etc.  Whats the point and how do people have 600+ 'friends'?  That's impossible!  Surely Facebook should change 'Add Friend' to 'Add Acquaintance'? Or perhaps I'm just jealous at their popularity!?

Twitter on the other hand was fun and is useful in that it kept you up to date with the latest news, weather, sport and gossip etc. so it did have a meaningful purpose.  It just got awkward when people started using Twitter to have long conversations with each other rather than Direct Message or by sending a text message.  Doing that defeats the purpose of the site really and takes up a lot of Tweet space i.e. I have mine set for 50 Tweets, and having 40 of those taken up by two people having a conversation is rather annoying.

I will still be using Twitter for news and sport updates so if I need to be contacted just @hnisc me and I'll see it :)  I won't be deleting Facebook this time either (I had deleted it last year) as it is useful for being contacted through but I won't be logging in to join the group 'I bet I can find more people who like this sausage roll than like Cheryl Cole'... (o please...) or to see who has broken a nail!

Does a blog count as a member of Social Networking genre?  I'm not sure... I don't think many read my blog anyway to continue with it, perhaps it does and it will also be thrown onto the proverbial scrapheap!  Time will tell!

For those who follow me thanks and for those who I chatted with through Twitter you've all been awesome!  Although I've never met you all it was great chatting to you and if there is ever a Tweet-Up I shall be there!

Adios Amigos (",) 

(knowing me I'll be back at some point lol)

Its Getting Closer

Tonight I have finished my wedding speech, timed at a respectable 6 minutes give or take.  I've thanked those needing thanked etc. and thrown in a few jokes along the way.  Not bad, but the proof will be in the delivery on the day!  

It has really hit home now that in under 3 weeks I will be a married man!  Before this I just got on with it as we have been engaged for over 2 years now and have been a couple for over 8 so it didn't really feel like anything significant was about to change.  I know a few people of have only been in a relationship for a couple of years and got married within a year of engagement.  We both decided to plan the wedding to the finest detail so that it is meets every expectation of our own ideal wedding, so we took our time in the preparations.  

Weddings are a popular thing these days.  When we booked the reception a good 2 years before we planned to have the wedding, every Saturday at the venue was booked up until the end of 2010!  Luckily we wanted a Thursday wedding anyway!

Deciding the music for the evening reception was fun.  What the heck is the Ska genre?!  We don't have our own song like a lot of couples, mainly because of our differing tastes in music, so we settled on a beautiful less known track by a sensational vocalist!  Its beautiful :)  Choosing music reminded me of my DJing days and I really want to get back into it but that will be pricey!  For those interested I had a Funky House mix played on Cool FM in 2004 so I wasn't bad ;-)

Download The Mix Here or Click Play Below To Stream

Funky House Mix [April 2004] – DJ Brian Livingston

MP3 search on MP3hunting

I'm really excited by it all now, a few minor details to sort but generally everything is looking good.  As soon as my speech is done and dusted I will be relaxed and enjoy the day more I think.  I hate presentations and speeches as I get so nervous and embarrassed!  I also really hope the ash cloud goes away as I don't want our dream holiday to be ruined, we would both be devastated at even loosing a day due to connected flights etc.

Sure My Vote Won't Make A Difference

Politics is the Marmite of our society, you either love it or hate it.  Personally I try to keep abreast of both local and national politics, after all I am a tax payer with a mortgage who has his own personal views on aspects of life.

However, generally I tend not to vote come election day as I dislike the tribal politics that Our Wee Country brings.  Its a choice of either Green or Orange, with bread and butter issues like the Economy, Health Services etc. put to the back of a Manifesto which concentrates on either staying within the Union or joining with the Republic of Ireland.  I'll be honest I do have an opinion on this but my main concerns are being able to pay my bills and having a job.  This is a major reason why I want to move to mainland Britain to live where the bubble that is Northern Ireland is free from sectarian lines, and the issues affecting our daily lives are at the forefront of politics.

In this Election however, I did vote as a friend was standing in my constituency.  If he wasn't I doubt I would have bothered, sure my vote won't make a difference anyway.  Isn't that how a lot of us felt?  I know a few people who didn't vote for that reason.

My attitude to voting has now significantly changed after last nights General Election results... seeing Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew win the Fermanagh/South Tyrone seat by 4 votes (21,304 votes)! Apparently 16 spoiled ballot papers had T.U.V. scrawled on them in protest as no T.U.V. candidate was standing for that seat, only an Independent Unionist Rodney Connor.  If 5 of those voters had of voted for Rodney Connor (21,300 votes) instead of spoiling their votes Fermanagh/South Tyrone would have a different Member of Parliament tonight!  The moral of the story is that EVERY VOTE counts in an Election and in future I will always be casting my vote! It is even more poignant as in other countries people are denied their civil right to vote, so we should be thankful we live in a democracy!

On the other side of the country Naomi Long of the Alliance Party ousted Peter Robinson of the D.U.P. in East Belfast, surely the shock of the Election?  Seeing an Alliance M.P. is a breath of fresh air in Northern Ireland politics, however, to burst Naomi's bubble slightly, she only won the seat due to the Robinson scandal and the subsequent protest votes rather than her own campaigning as she believes.

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So I Have Started a Blog...

So I Have Started a Blog... but why do you ask?  Aren't I about 5 years too late?!

I have been using Twitter since the start of the year when I splashed the cash on an iPhone, which has been a wise purchase.  I always had daily annoyances which I usually just told my work colleagues of, such as road range, politics, football etc. etc.  However, Twitter working in conjunction with my free Internet allowance on the iPhone allowed me to inform random strangers who are following me of the topics which grind my gears!

Unfortunately Twitter is limited to only 140 characters so while trying to 'Tweet' my thoughts I needed to squeeze everything into a tight space.  This led to Nokia Speak becoming part of my daily typing skills once again just like in the good old days of not having unlimited mobile phone texts!  Not a good way to type when your approaching 30!

Twitter it appears is full of Celebrities, Politicians, News Feeds, Sports Stars, Photographers and Bloggers. I only really fit into the Photographer bracket in which I have done quite well in competitions.  I came 3rd out of 23,000 entries in a BBC 'Britain in Pictures' Competition a few years ago!).

Having sold my camera however, to purchase a big sparkly engagement ring for my future wife I haven't taken a photograph in over a year.  Therefore, to fit into a niche on Twitter and seeing a lot of my followers having Blogs I have started this one which allows me to post my crap with UNLIMITED characters!  Wooo :)

I'll keep this one short and sweet (most of my posts probably will be anyway) but tomorrow I hope to blog a wee bit on the election results with my thoughts etc.  One thing which is currently annoying me is that voters where turned away at polling stations earlier as the queues where too big... Legal implications they say... Why did they not vote earlier?!

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