by Jonny | Jul 11, 2013 | Updates
Social Media has been a highly contested issue as to whether it’s a waste of time or something that opens the mind up to new ideas. In my opinion, coming from a workplace that was only connected to a local intranet, I feel that Social Media is a waste of time – but the internet as a whole is not. Working in a restricted environment does do damage to your work force as they are humans and from time to time people do need small two minute breaks to look at what their friends are doing or to have a look at their email for anything important they’ve been waiting on — just to stay sane.
Social Media also includes websites like Reddit, which offers a vast array of help and information on nearly every subject you can think of, while websites such as Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest do not really add to learning new things, but seeing your friends who are having the time of their lives in Spain or some other exotic country. I feel that “Social Media” can be bad, but can also be a good thing. I think there needs to be a balance somewhere and employers need to strike that balance for their particular business to function well.
Here’s a cool nifty social media & the workplace info-graphic I found on the inter-webs:
Info-graphic provided by Income Protection company, Unum.
by Jonny | Jul 6, 2013 | Updates
I very recently cancelled my AdSense account; this was to do with not being able to be paid and I slowly built up a significant tab, which I was not able to withdraw or cash-in on. A couple days ago I decided to, essentially, bite the bullet and close the account. I mean, why continue building up cash, when you can’t withdraw it. The only way I could see myself withdrawing it is if I went back to Taiwan. Now, unless they owed me $2,000 then it’s simply not worth going back.
I had built up around $100 — which is somewhat significant and is of course something that I worked hard in getting. If you’re reading this, you are probably asking, why did you close your AdSense account that still had around $100 dollars in it?
AdSense does not allow you to change countries…
… from Taiwan to the United Kingdom. They don’t allow you to change countries due to legal purposes, according to the message that popped up when trying to change from Taiwan to the United Kingdom in the AdSense account settings tab. While I did reach the payment threshold, – and they did say they’d send payment within 90 days to an address in Taiwan where my friends are living, how will I cash that? I’m guessing I won’t be able to and now and that money will be in limbo. I even posted on the official Google product forums to no avail, so I guess this situation doesn’t happen very often.
It doesn’t matter anymore. I now have a UK AdSense account and while I’m posting about AdSense, I’d like to point out the very significant differences in the Taiwan (Asian?) AdSense control panel and the UK AdSense control panel.
UK AdSense vs Asian AdSense control panel
I’ll be honest by saying that I never really knew there was a difference in control panels until I recently switched over to the UK AdSense control panel; it’s significantly different to it’s Asian counterpart.
UK control panel lets you add your bank account details
The Taiwan or Asian control panel version doesn’t have the option to pay direct into your bank account. Instead, you have to either accept a cheque or payment via Western Union. – I, of course, accepted Western Union due to their service not charging any fees. While it seems the UK control panel gives you the option to add your bank account details, so they can pay you when you reach the £60 threshold.
UK version has new features and updated CSS
The UK version of AdSense looks newer. It looks sharper and it looks like someone spent some time cleaning the old version. Additionally, the UK control panel looks like it’s been updated to a newer version with more features, as it includes features like a revenue “Scorecard“, updated CSS markup (In a few areas), the ability to add new billing contacts (Which undoubtedly would have helped me with my issue), asynchronous advertisement code and probably more features that I haven’t found out about yet.
While I’ve likely lost the $100 that I earned, I think it’s time to move on and get to my next goal: £60 😀
by Jonny | Jul 3, 2013 | Travel, Updates
There are perks with living in every country, but then there are general things that you discover that make working somewhere a pain in the butt. When it comes to working/interning in London, the transport aspect of life goes downhill once you start traveling at peak times. Just imagine a train packed with people, with the train stuttering at many points, and constantly stopping at different stations for a 30-40 minute duration; and because of the fact there are so many people, there are no seats, expect cramped conditions and definitely don’t expect the air conditioning to actually do its job. On that last point, I actually questioned myself as to whether I should bring my coat to work. It’s abysmal, and there is probably nothing that can be done to fix this situation because packed trains mean profit and profit is obviously the number one priority for Transport for London. I just don’t see people taking alternatives seriously and I guess a lot of people have adapted to that type of life of being packed into trains like cattle!
Please, London, Transport for London, make the trains bigger, wider, longer, and even add more trains if feasible. I need a rest after a long day’s work! 😮 If anything, put a decent air conditioning system on-board the trains. It really gets hot when the train is packed.
Anyways, I haven’t really updated this blog in a while and my most recent post was reviewing my first month with giffgaff and the fact that you should probably choose them over any other provider if you decide to visit London or if you are a resident. To move on from this little advertisement and to tell you more about why I’m using the underground system more frequently than before, I’m actually interning with a company in central London. I’m traveling from zone 3 to zone 1 every weekday, and working from 9:00am-5:30pm. I’ve decided I need the experience, if anything, if I ever want to get into web development. (My long term goal) Additionally, it looks good on my CV and I’m hoping I can learn a trick or two working at this mysterious place, which I probably shouldn’t and won’t name.
Here are a few quick pictures I took of Tottenham Court Road, outside one of the 3 underground exits:
Pictures inside the station:
A crazy, but true story while I was traveling on the underground
It was a Saturday night and I believe there was a gay parade occasion going on in SOHO. I’m basically going to Tottenham Court Road to check out where I’ll be interning for 4 weeks. To cut to the chase, I was basically on the train and when it stopped at Liverpool Street a group of drunk people got onto the train and sat around the free seats around me. They then started singing, as drunk people do, and then, out of nowhere, one of them takes his friend’s shoes off and to my amazement, he throws his shoes out the window, one by one. 😮 At this point I was shocked and I’m thinking I need to get the hell out of here, in-case they do the same to my shoes. 😀 Anyways, while all this is occurring, there is this guy just randomly laughing for no reason. Needless to say, because of this constant laughing everyone in that train car is either laughing or smirking. I was directly in the middle of all these drunkards and it’s seriously the funniest thing I have witnessed. I wish I had recorded the whole thing, and I think it would have gone viral had I uploaded to YouTube. Never again will I miss an opportunity like that, although I will probably never have that same opportune moment. 🙁
by Jonny | Jul 1, 2013 | Updates
A month has almost gone by while using giffgaff’s service and I thought I’d share my thoughts and views on their service thus far.
The one month giffgaff review
To start off with, I thought it might be pertinent to first state which package I chose. I chose the £12.00 “Goodybag”, which provides the following:
- 250 minutes
- Unlimited texts
- Unlimited internet usage (Fair use applies)
I mainly chose this package for the “Unlimited internet” and for the “Unlimited texts”. Both have fared quite well, and I’ll first share my experiences with the 3G/internet usage below.
3.7 MBs download and 0.5 MBs upload speeds.
3G speeds and usage
giffgaff offer these packages using the backbone of 02’s signal network, so the 3G connection in London is quite well connected and strong. I’ve made use of the “unlimited internet” by having hours and hours of VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) calls using applications such as Skype, LINE and KaKaoTalk to communicate to my girlfriend in South Korea and to friends and family in Taiwan. While it’s quite flaky in certain areas, that’s expected; and I’ve found that you need to be still and not moving in most instances if you want a stable VOIP connection.
The funny thing is, even though I’ve been using the 3G a lot, on applications and websites such as Reddit, Google Maps, and YouTube, I’ve actually only used around 500MBs of bandwidth. The internet is fast by 3G standards and rarely do I find spots where I cannot connect to the 3G. The London Underground is the only exception. As you can see the picture on the left hand side, I manage to get around 4 MB per second of download and around 0.5 MB per second of upload.
Is the network reliable?
I haven’t really experienced any faults with this network and I think the network is pretty reliable. I live in Zone 3 and travel regularly to Zones 1 and 2, so take this review of their network with a grain of salt if you live up north or anywhere outside of London. For me, in London, the network is just as reliable as any other and there really have been no issues thus far. To illustrate this, I can say that I’ve used exactly half of the 250 minutes (Literally 125 minutes left) that came with the £12 Goodybag, and I’ve sent out over 200 text messages to only god knows who! What I also found pretty nice was the fact that you get a summary of how much you’ve used 2 days before your renewal date. Due to the following image/information, I’ve decided I’m going to downgrade to the £10 Goodybag as I really don’t need the unlimited internet and because that Goodybag would also give me 500 minutes, instead of 250 minutes.
Account summary
Also note, I have indeed actually used 125 minutes; however, the above image does not reflect that since this information was sent to me via e-mail 12 hours ago. Apparently I had only used 80 minutes of call-time, 12 hours before and I suddenly made enough calls today to last 45 minutes, which is another reason why I’m switching to the £10 Goodybag, as the minutes seem precious at this point in time, especially considering I’m only using half a gig of bandwidth.
Where’s the support?
This network is quite unique in the fact that it uses an old-school technique of providing support. The network has a forum setup, as part of their website where you have contributors, and generally people who use the service who can help you if you run into problems. Additionally they have a system setup called “PayBack” where if you answer questions and offer the best solutions, you’ll get money off the next time you pay for your subscription.
They also provide ticket support if you cannot resolve your issues through the forum and if you need escalate your issue and get in contact with an official support representative, you can do so by logging in and using the support channels to contact the official support representatives. (Link)
How would I rate them?
All in all, I’d give giffgaff a rating 9 out of 10, as there’s always room for improvement, which is why it doesn’t get a 10 out of 10. I’ve recommended the network to friends, family and even co-workers. If anything, give their smaller packages a try and if it works out, it works out, but if doesn’t then it’s only a small loss. I hope this was helpful!
Tip:
Switching to giffgaff from another provider – The process
Ordering a SIM card
As you may or may not know, giffgaff do not operate any stores on the high street, so you cannot walk into a store to ask for a SIM card. You have to go to their website and register for a SIM card and it will typically take up to 7 days for the SIM to get to you. For me, it took around 3 days to get to me; although, I do live a mile away from Stratford’s mail distribution centre, so I get things relatively quickly. It may be different in other areas, but it should get to you within a week.
Activation process
The activation process was pretty generic and is typically universal when it comes to most network providers. However, safely to say I switched from Lebara (An overpriced network, which pretends to be cheap) to giffgaff with relative ease. You do need to put money onto the SIM card in order to activate the SIM’s phone number and everything else. Whether that be a pay as go cash amount or if you pick one of their Goodybags, the SIM should activate almost immediately. – In my case, it activated instantly and I was able to call people and text.
Transferring from another network
You can activate the SIM card first, as explained in the above paragraph. It will give you a number that you can use temporarily while you try to obtain the PAC code for your mobile number. Once you obtain the PAC code, you should visit this page and follow the instructions.
The only issue I had with this, was the fact that getting through to a Lebara representative to retrieve the PAC code for my mobile number (i.e. to transfer the number from Lebara to giffgaff) was quite troublesome; however, I managed to get through after 40 minutes. Other than that, there were no other issues. Once I got the PAC code, I followed the instructions as linked above. Once I submitted the PAC code to giffgaff, it took around a day for the number to transfer over to my giffgaff SIM card.
by Jonny | Jun 16, 2013 | Updates
Right now, it’s half 11 at midnight and I’m making myself a mid-night snack. I’ve always loved bacon sandwiches and remember when my father used to make me these. He made them perfect; I’m not sure what exactly he done to make them so nice. I feel the issues with my bacon sandwiches are to do with the utilities that I have available in-front of me. For one, I’m using a electric heated stove, as opposed to a gas heated stove. I feel there is a difference as you can’t get the egg to come out like you could with a gas heated stove. You can make it crispy and it generally tastes nicer. Number two, I’m using larder, as opposed to oil. – I can’t blame the utilities here; however, this just goes to show that I’m a cheapskate.
Anyways, with all the negatives aside, I still make a damn fine bacon sandwich that I would be proud to share with the rest of the world on this blog. (Just overstating things, a little) Here are glorious pictures of my bacon sandwiches:
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. That is the finest bacon sandwich I have ever laid eyes upon. Wrapped in the finest of breads, Hovis, the picture exposes the succulent tomato sauce encompassing the fine bread at its very depths. It also exposes the bacon and the egg, which have been cooked to the highest of standards. (With lard, instead of oil, and on an electric powered stove)
Just amazing. Nothing else to say, but amazing. /sarcasm
Though it was bloody delicious.
Yeah, I should probably learn how to cook.
by Jonny | May 24, 2013 | Updates
07/04/2013: Please read the update(s) I posted below. tldr: – Angel Links is a door to door marketing firm.
Today, I went to a job interview for a “Sales” position for a company named as “Angel Links”, although I’d probably refer to the position as more of a “Sales consultant” position. I’ll admit that it’s the first time I’ve heard of this company; however, I will say that it sounds like a decent place to work & the people seem very nice and friendly. The company appears to be a PR & marketing firm and from what I gathered they only deal with global businesses. Of course, I don’t know which companies they market and do PR for; however, if they do only deal with global companies then Angel Links might be dealing with rather large companies.
The interview went well, but I tried to approach this interview as a learning curve; and that it was. I feel I displayed confidence and humility. Those would likely be the two adjectives I would use for this job interview. I feel if I had a second chance, I could possibly do better in responding to all of the questions that I were asked. I’m hopeful, but then again, there were over 50 people that applied. That’s a ratio of 50:5, as there are only 5 positions available for this job. I was, however, a little disturbed as the interviewer never really answered my question about the pay. It was as if he was trying to dodge my question by giving me the crappiest answer. I had red flag signals all over the place, once that occurrence happened. We’ll see how it goes.
During the interview, I, for the most part used my experience working in a full-time job (In Taiwan, as an ‘assistant engineer’) as a method of speaking up for myself. Whether that was enough, I don’t know. I won’t be too mean to myself, as I thought I did enough. But sometimes enough is never good enough, and I wish I had said more and I wish whoever the 5 candidates are that get picked do well and they become employed. It really does suck being unemployed. It was a good day out and about, nevertheless.
Here are some photos (Eye candy) that I took of Canary Wharf/Canada Place:
Update:
I received an email from them saying that I have been accepted for a second interview.
I’m, however, little more dubious about this company than I was before, as I’ve now come across information about this company being a pyramid scam of sorts. Where they employ as many people as possible to spread whatever product they want to advertise and they somehow reap the benefits out of that. It also seems that there is no basic rate of pay, which confirmed my suspicions before and it seems that this is a “door-to-sales” position and is ENTIRELY commission based. I’m still going to go to see what it’s like and I’ll be asking the employees there (If I think I can) about the pay and the company itself.
I feel a little gutted, but then again, I could be wrong and there is only one way to find out.
Another Update:
Is Angel Links a scam?
Who knows whether they are a scam or not, but they certainly have tricked quite a few people, including me, into believing they were a reputable company offering the chance for the unemployed for a decent living. It turns out they are just a door-to-door sales business and this type of business has been replicated all around the world, including the United States. I feel that this needs more exposure, so I’m going to link to posts on Reddit which give detailed explanations behind what these companies actually do.
UK Jobs: “Yet another scam“
For the US “Life tips”: “It’s a scam“
While I didn’t attend the second interview, which I was invited to, I feel a little silly as I bought a new pair of shoes and a nice trousers for the first interview. However, I can of course use those as future investments for job interviews I attend in the future, of course. I’m a little upset, which is why I’d like to expose what they really are, as they don’t have any back-bone at-all. They simply want you to advertise their goods without paying you a dime, and who knows if they’ll pay you the amount that they promised as advertised on their listings. Either way, steer well clear of this group.