Take a look at BuyYourCar.co.uk and try one of the searches. It is easy to find the new or used car you are looking for, featuring cars from both private sellers and dealerships. In my case I would be trawling the used car section. Preferably for a large car with lots of storage space. Ah, the freedom to be able to pull out on to the open road and just drive wherever you want... But I digress.

Whether you are looking for a used toyota or a big Chevy station wagon (*sigh*), you can search by preferred make and model and find matching results on the quest for your next set of wheels.

If you are new to buying a car (I bought my first car at night!! True story), you need to get all the advice that is humanly possible so you can avoid making that one regrettable purchase. In this case, check out the Buying Advice section. It contains advice on the best questions you should ask a seller, inspecting the vehicle and a used car buyer's checklist. Most valuable is the section on car buying scams. This advice is worth considering - I have seen many a poor soul on "A Current Affair" bemoaning their gullibility at buying a car online, usually employing Western Union money transfers as their preferred payment method! Had they taken advice on car buying scams perhaps they would be both wealthier and wiser today.

Okay, maybe that's overstating it a bit. I have been waiting over 15 days for my unlock code from Telstra. I paid them up front, as I mentioned in my previous posts on this subject:

Telstra Must Die and Telstra: Overofficious and Not Very Efficient

These posts detail my long waits on hold, the clueless manner in which I was passed around from operator to operator, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.

Well strike me lucky if I wasn't blown off my feet by this one.

"Hello Telstra, how can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm calling to find out my unlock code. I spoke to (employee number, name) and he hasn't called me back with the code. It was supposed to be 3-4 working days but it has been 15."

(friendly, nice voice)"Okay, I'll just put you on hold."

This was promising. She sounded nice. But I'm on hold again.

"Hi, sorry about the wait. Here's your code, do you have a pen?"

(stunned silence)

"Hello?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry go ahead."

"Okay, your code is *#number number etc"

"I'll just try it now."

(punches in code)

*sproing!* goes the phone. It is unlocked.

"That's amazing! Thanks!"

"No problem, you have a nice day."

I sat and stared at the wall in shock. It was done. That was too easy. Where's the catch? Is it really over? Pinch me!!

technorati tags: telstra phone mobile sim unlock

I am always looking for ways to improve my blog. I have tried many different designs, hand-coded everything almost from scratch, thrown it away and started again. It would make sense that everyone is looking for that one design that will make their blog memorable and to stand out from all the others.

I found a design blog that provides information on everything from the basics of web design to how to create the best Adwords advertisements.

Judging by the look and feel of the site, I consider it very important that a web design blog be well designed. This sounds obvious but it is something that many web design blogs and sites occasionally overlook. In the case of Stylish Design, this blog is well designed and innovative, with a format that is fresh and unlike most blogs I have seen in my daily surfing adventures. Well worth a look if you are interested in blog design and web issues in general.



This post brought to you by StylishDesign.

For the last couple of months I have been deciding what to read next. I had a hankering for Stephen King - my favourite book of his would have to be "Rose Madder" but I wanted something else. I was thinking I would like "The Dead Zone". I know the basic outline of the story and I have seen a few episodes of the television programme recently. Then I forgot about it and lo and behold - I was out walking today and passed a newsagent. At the front of the newsagent was a table with secondhand books on sale.

And what should I find almost immediately staring back at me:





















Ooo! Spooky! It was like it was saying "buy me!" "buy me!"

And the price was $5.99 - hehehehe!!

Perhaps this is "the secret" at work....

(spooky music out)

technorati tags: shopping books stephen king

Wikipedia, the web-based encyclopaedia project is a source of information just about everything you can think of. I often find myself "wikipediaing" (did I just make up a word?) famous people and their careers. There is a section of Wikipedia on the Nouveau Riche that is, those people who have made their fortunes in their own generation. This obviously does not include Paris Hilton! One of my favourite rags to riches movie would have to be "Rocky", the story of a relatively unknown boxer who gets the chance to fight the heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed. I always get teary in these films, but not just at the end. In fact I can quite easily go through a whole box of tissues per film! The most beautiful thing about rags-to-riches stories is the thought that there is a possibility that we too, can become the very heroes we admire.


This post brought to you by Wikipedia.