All posts by Steph

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Check the electoral register – deadline this Thursday

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The dogs on the street know we’re going to be facing a general election in 2011.

I’m hoping that the silver lining to the horrible state Ireland finds itself in is that people will actually get out and exercise their right to vote when that time comes.

You have until this Thursday, November 25th to correct the register by filling out a Form RFA1 and returning it to your local city or county council.

You can check the register online at http://www.checktheregister.ie/ and find the form you’ll need to change it there too in PDF format.

Rant

Shop around & shop online

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Almost precisely a week ago I was tweeting away like a mad thing about how I had rambled into Monsoon on Grafton St to try on a coat I had spotted online on their website.

I went in, tried it on, all good & even better again with a giant €60 off tag hanging off it – epic win thinks Steph. Until she looks at the original pricetag which reads €250. €250?! I must have been looking at a different coat as that’s out of my budget.

To the iPhone (eventually) and to Monsoon.co.uk where I find the exact same coat priced at £120. Now I’m no financial whizz but I worked out that £120 couldn’t be close to €250. The kind Twitter followers who are not on a dodgy EDGE connection tell me that Monsoon do deliver to Ireland for a sum of £7.95.

So I purchase said coat at it’s reduced price, popped home and did my sums and to my surprise and delight I discovered that purchasing the same coat online from the same retailer I could have it delivered for €150. That’s €100 less than the original price tag. So I ordered it and it arrived today – a week later – in perfect nick to my door saving me a nice few quid indeed.

Now I’m not one to normally shop in Monsoon as it’s on the top end of my budget but maybe there’s something there – maybe I just can’t afford their exchange rate, not their garments! Seriously, €100 difference in price? Is this an extreme example of high street retailers taking the mickey?

I’m going to do some more investigating while hitting the shops at the weekend for a few winter bits. I’ve never bought any other clothes online aside from Threadless tees but I think I’ll be a lot more thrifty and inclined to check online from now on.

Random

O2 pricing doesn’t favour existing customers

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*** Edit to post at 19:42 ***

@O2Forum said “Hi, the Silver upgrade price is the same as a New Customer joining with Advance 150, Gold is the same for Advance 350 etc”

So it would appear there’s a gap in pricing for anyone who wants to go from a Silver upgrade to an iPhone 4 on their Advance 350 plan. You’ll save €60 by buying the phone as a new customer rather than upgrading.

*** End edit ***

I’m in the process of deciding what phone to upgrade to and it’s looking increasingly likely I’ll go from an iPhone 3G to an iPhone 4 once I get the cash together.

While checking the pricing with my existing operator – O2 – I noticed that it’s somehow cheaper for me to purchase a 16GB iPhone 4 as a new customer rather than upgrade as an existing customer. €60 cheaper in my case.

Am I missing something here? Please point it out if I am but if I am correct in what I see being a bit strange I find that a bit crappy I’m afraid. I’ve been a customer with O2 for at least 7 years, the last 2 of which I’ve been a bill pay customer. Surely they should be dangling the carrot for me to at least equal the measure to which they’re dangling it for new customers?

I’ve never had any issues with O2 and up until now I’ve been reluctant to change operator.

O2 upgrade offer
O2 upgrade offer
O2 new customer offer
O2 new customer offer

Click for bigger. Prize if you can spot where I’m making a mistake.

Random

FoodCamp and Facebook

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I must look hungry :) #foodcamp on TwitpicSo I’m off work for a week and a bit and have decided to throw myself into FoodCamp, an event that’s part of the Savour Kilkenny festival.

I’m no food blogger or chef but I love food. Food is quite possibly my greatest weakness.

I’m still not entirely sure what to expect but I’ll be tweeting away on @cloudsteph for the day in case you’re curious. If you’re down in Kilkenny at the same thing today do say hi!

Over on the nerdy part of my existence I’ve posted up how to disable Facebook Places and tagging now that Places is rolling out in Ireland. If you don’t want your over-sharing buddies tagging you when you go for that sneaky pint on a schoolnight I suggest you update your privacy settings :)

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FTW

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I never win anything. Aside from the fiver in the Christmas Day scratchcard tradition after dinner I never strike lucky.

So I was dumbstruck a month ago when I won a big fat voucher for Ikea. Dumbstruck and delighted with the timing having just moved house and needing to finish furnishing it.

On Monday I won a beautiful pair of leather boots from Clery’s by liking a photo on their Facebook page. Brilliant timing as I was window shopping for a pair for the winter.

Yesterday my mother insisted that I buy a Lotto ticket. She is convinced strange things like this come in threes so she even texted me after work to remind me to do it. So I did for the laugh. And I just found out I won €3.

So there you go – it ain’t just the bad stuff that comes in threes after all. Nice one, universe.