Whilst the video news piece is buffering, I visualise the scenes of devastation I’m preparing to see in Los Angeles, San Francisco or perhaps even Seattle.  But on viewing the footage, it seems the storm hit Alabama, Tennessee, Illinois, Mississippi.  None of which, by my reckoning, are on the US west coast.  In fact, we’ve got to be talking in the region of nearly 2,000 miles adrift?

That’s about the same level of accuracy as confusing fierce storms in London with a similar weather-related incident in Cyprus!  Perhaps the Beeb should be proof-reading and sense-checking these headlines?  Furthermore, that page has been online for an hour now, and still no one has noticed!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16700462

On the same evening my wife told me there was a message on my phone at home to ring the bank manager… Not being sure what it could be about I sent the bank an email at approximately 11pm UK time. Within minutes I had received a personal response and the query was resolved.

What a difference – well done NatWest!

Whilst I’ve found myself sitting next to (and not always by choice!) the likes of Michael Portillo, Terry Wogan, Richard Hammond and even Gerry Adams, other colleagues have a much more colourful collection of experiences. Like the occasion when John McEnroe turned around and asked my colleague to stop kicking his seat (which he quite clearly hadn’t been), or the time one of the team boarded a BA flight to find none other than Richard Branson was on board (it seems he isn’t always loyal to his own brand).

But until last night, I’d never thought it might be possible to board a flight and find you are sitting next to a bird of prey. Until I stumbled upon this page on the Royal Jordanian website:

Falcons in Cabin

Falcons may be carried in the cabin on limited occasions, especially in the Gulf area, provided the following is adhered to:

• Falcons can be carried in Economy (Y/C) class only.
• Falcons must be properly hooded.
• Seats blocked for falcons and handlers must be window seats in the AFT areas of Y/C zone.
• A chain or rope must be securely attached to the aircraft seat and the leg of each bird.
• Valid health certificates and all other entry documents required by country of entry or transit must accompany the bird(s).
• Falcons are accepted at the owner’s risk.
• The reservation must be arranged at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time and an approval is required from RJ’s Systems & Procedures Section.

Important Notice

One falcon is charged three times the normal excess baggage rate. More than one falcon per handler will require the booking of an adjacent seat.

Maximum: two falcons per seat.

Max number of falcons per aircraft type

• Narrow bodied aircraft: 10 FALCONS
• Wide bodied aircraft: 15 FALCONS

I have a feeling next week’s BA shuttle to Glasgow is going to seem very dull if there isn’t a bird of prey on board…

Smart phone or smart camera?

As a self-confessed “gadget geek” I do try to keep abreast of the fast-moving scene – so no real surprise that I’ve been keeping an eye on the internet for news from CES (the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas).

Amongst all the headlining tablets and micro-thin OLED TVs at 55 inches and above (who has that space in their living room for these?) – Polaroid caught my eye with a truly innovative take on the norm: whilst we are all using mobile phones with ever increasing photographic capability, Polaroid has taken a camera and added phone capability!

The Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera is a 16 MP compact camera with 3x optical zoom, and crucially includes a bespoke version of Android, which adds WiFi and 3G connectivity for Geo-location, web browsing, emailing and photo uploading on the move.

So as mobile phone manufacturers sold their handsets on ever increasing sensor sizes, Polaroid has opted to make the camera itself a more multi-functional device.  That makes a lot of sense, and will be interesting to see how this works in the ‘real world’.

The only thing that isn’t clear at the moment is whether or not the camera can actually make phone calls!  Polaroid are remaining tight lipped on that at present.

Would you be tempted to ditch your relatively low image quality mobile phone for such a camera?  Time will tell with an estimated arrival time of April 2012.

And a brief overview from CNET UK:

So imagine my surprise when I got a confirmation email in my inbox today from Dyson, thanking me for registering a new product and advising me that my two year product guarantee has now begun, and who to call if I have a problem. All very useful information, but I’d purchased this particular item more than a year ago, and completed the online warranty registration on the day of purchase.

James Dyson has invented some amazing household items over the years, but perhaps it’s time he had a look at re-inventing the speed of his internet connection?

Star struck? You bet I was.

This guy hit the screens well before my days of ‘lights, camera, action’ – 1976 to be exact – but his face is still beaming back at us across the breakfast table today. And, strangely, he doesn’t seem to have aged at all (he must have a good skincare regime?!).

The occasion: a photo shoot for my client Bibby Distribution – which is celebrating the success and expansion of its contract with Halo Foods (sister company to Honey Monster Foods). Today we would take the photos to accompany the press release on this announcement.

It was a cold and miserable day when I arrived at the manufacturer’s site in Southall – affectionately named Honey Monster HQ – but regardless, we donned our winter attire and braved the elements. After all, as the saying goes, ‘the show must go on’. Thank goodness for photographers who are willing to lie in puddles to get the perfect shot!

As everyone working on stage or screen is warned; don’t work with animals or children. Well, I have worked with both (including a llama with a fetish for nibbling hands and a pony who was remarkably reluctant to take Cinderella to the ball) but there are no guidelines where monsters are concerned.

I have to say, Honey Monster was the perfect “gentleman” and a very good sport (he was also very warm – unlike the photographer and myself who weren’t lucky enough to be covered in fur!). Despite being asked to climb into the cab of a truck with his very large feet, run away from security guards while laden with cereal boxes, and pose for endless photos with passers-by who pointed mobile phone cameras in his face, he remained smiling throughout – a true professional.

Well done to Bibby Distribution on the success of the contract.

So when it came to redecorating the GK conference room, we opted for a striking alternative to the traditional world map.  Enter what cartographers describe as the ‘Sinu-Mollweide projection’…

A great piece of art, a useful resource and a topic of conversation all-in-one.

Box ticked!

No, I’m not talking about my children’s Christmas presents – although now would be a good time to check whether that new toy needs them!

I mean the torch I keep in the glove box of my car.

I had the ‘joy’ of changing a tyre on the hard shoulder of the M25 and I made it twice as hard as I needed to by not having a torch to help me find the wheel nuts.

Whilst we may have seen off the threat of snow for the moment, a puncture can happen at any time, so make sure you are as prepared as possible and at least able to see what you are doing!

We wanted it dark and the roads congestion free. And considering the location was central London, a 3am alarm call and a 4am rendezvous with the photographer was the order of the day.

Was it worth it? You bet! We’ll post the results on the ‘Our Work’ page a little closer to Christmas – to respect a certain magazine’s ‘exclusive’. But suffice to say, all the dodging of traffic restrictions proved well worth it.

Experiencing the spectacle of the Oxford Street lights in the wee hours, when most of London is still sleeping, ensured we captured a true spectacle. Not only that, but for once there weren’t hoards of shoppers and bumper-to-bumper traffic to contend with outside Harrods either. And it’s so much nicer that way!

We were all wrapped up by 9am – pictures taken and on our way back to the agency. Via a greasy spoon for breakfast, of course.

“password” was the most commonly used password of 2011, according to software firm, SplashData, beating “123456” and “12345678” – as derived from the millions of passwords allegedly posted online by hackers.

Hackers can break into many accounts simply by trialling these common passwords, but where the advice is to choose passwords longer than 8 characters, using a combination of upper and lower case letters, and include a number, then add into the mix that users should also provide different credentials (user name and/or email address) for different sites, and you can imagine how remembering them all can be a bit of a nightmare!

The top 10 worst passwords for 2011 identified in the report were:

1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon

Do you recognise yours in this list? If so, it may be time to reconsider your approach to online use and the passwords you created; and I wouldn’t recommend changing it to “drowssap” either…