Mathew Browne » admin

Gastric Balloon

admin — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:30:04 +0000

I recently redesigned a website for Nucleus Healthcare, who specialise in all kinds of private gastroenterology treatments. You have probably heard of them recently due to their gastric balloon TV and radio campaign. I’m quite pleased with how their new website turned out. So if you want to know how much does a gastric balloon cost, go ask them.

Rugby World Cup 2011 Drinking Game

admin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:52:36 +0000

This is tailored to us Brits who have to weather ITV’s shite coverage. Specifically, us Celts who have to endure ITV’s coverage of England in the World Cup with scant regard for anyone else watching.

Here is what I propose drinking and when, broken down by category.

Team Scoring / Result

Try is scored – 2 fingers
Penalty awarded – 1 finger
Successful penalty / drop goal / conversion (unless scored by Jonny Wilkinson or Dan Carter) – 1 finger
The attempt at goal hits the posts – another 1 finger
…and still goes over – another 1 finger
Penalty try – finish your drink
Match ends in a draw – Down an entire drink
A team gets nilled – Down an entire drink
A team makes a century – Down an entire drink

General

Yellow card – down half your drink
Red card – down an entire drink
TMO is consulted – 1 finger
A good punch – 2 fingers
Mass brawl / “99″ – down an entire drink
A kick-off doesn’t go 10 – 3 fingers
There’s a streaker – entire drink
Substitution – 1 finger
Blood substitution – 2 fingers

National Anthems

1 finger for every player not singing
1 finger for every player crying

New Zealand

Richie McCaw cheats – 1 finger
Richie McCaw cheats and gets penalised – 2 fingers
Richie McCaw cheats, gets caught AND binned – down an entire drink
Dan Carter misses a shot at goal – 3 fingers
New Zealand choke – down an entire drink
New Zealand’s 24 year drought is mentioned – 1 finger

England

Jonny Wilkinson misses a shot at goal – 3 fingers

France

“But which France are going to turn up?” or similar – 1 finger

Wales

Gavin Henson is mentioned – 1 finger
Shane is described as a “wizard” – 1 finger
The less-than-glowing Welsh track record against Pacific Island teams is referenced – 1 finger.

Scotland

Fail to score a single try – Entire drink

South Africa

Steyn goes for a 50m+ drop goal – 1 finger
Nelson Mandela is talked about or shown - 2 fingers

Player and coach interviews

“Physicality” is mentioned – 1 finger
“Fronting up” is mentioned – 1 finger

ITV commentary

Jonny Wilkinson is mentioned – 1 finger
2003 is mentioned – 1 finger
Clive Woodward is mentioned – 1 finger
That sodding drop goal is mentioned – 1 finger
That sodding drop goal is actually shown – 2 fingers
Someone queries how the current game will affect England’s chances (if it’s a game actually in England’s pool) – 1 finger
Someone queries how the current game will affect England’s chances (if it’s NOT a game in England’s pool) – 2 fingers
Someone dares bring up the fact that New Zealand played South Africa in 1995 suffering from food poisoning – finish an entire drink
…in front of Francois Pienaar – Finish 2 drinks.
Anyone side-stepping is compared to Jason Robinson – 1 finger
The camera focuses for an inordinate amount of time of an attractive girl in the crowd – 1 finger

New website for Bridgend Landscape Gardener

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:13:55 +0000

Did a new pair of websites for Ceejay Landscapes, a landscape gardener specialising in Cardiff landscaping and Bridgend landscaping.

Laparoscopic Cholcystectomy

admin — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:37:52 +0000

So, that’s doctor speak for a gall bladder remove by keyhole surgery by the way.

I found myself in hospital three weeks ago for emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder. I’d been suffering intermittently – but with increasing frequency – with crippling stomach pain over the previous 8 months and it came to a head one weekend when the pain simply didn’t go away. I’d describe it as being kicked solidly in the liver.

So, laparoscopic cholcystecomy it was. Except my IV was blocked and I woke up to no pain relief at all. I screamed the house down! Anyway, fast forward to now. I’m feeling great, the scars have healed, and I’m eating “properly”. By which I mean I can scoff without the risk of pain.

The only snag now is, during the ultrasound they found more kidney stones which are now sat inside me, waiting to cause untold disruption. FML.

Daily Mail Ultimate List Of Things That Give You Cancer

admin — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:50:18 +0000

Let’s get one thing straight. I absolutely HATE the Daily Mail. Many reasons come to mind, the primary one being their constant shitting all over doctors and the NHS, but another one high up the list is their constant scaremongering that something benign gives you cancer. The array of such carcinogenic articles is truly remarkable.

Join the Facebook group and fume

Christchurch DJ, New Zealand

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 07:06:46 +0000

I’ve just done my first ever website for a company in New Zealand. DJ Marrs is a DJ in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Picking The Best Frequent Flyer Scheme

admin — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 01:37:21 +0000

I’ve just given up on Airmiles due to the draconian rules in redeeming the miles I’ve accrued. It’s taken me 3 years but I’ve finally blown the lot on a business class weekend in Budapest (including hotel). Now though I want to find a scheme better suited to me. I have a Lloyds TSB credit card for collecting Airmiles which I’ll no longer use, so I’ll be looking at the following:

What does signing up for their credit card get me
What will I have to show for an annual spend of £5000
How many return economy flights will I need to make to earn a pair of economy returns to the same destination? (I’ll use Dubai for this comparison)

The frequent flyer schemes I’m looking at are:

British Airways Executive Club
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
BMI Diamond Club
Lufthansa Miles And More

What does signing up for their credit card get me

For the purposes of comparison, where more than one card is offered I will select the one with the best benefits.

BA: 1000 miles with their standard American Express card, or 6000 miles with their American Express premium card, which has a £150 annual fee. Spend £10k/year and redeem your miles to get a free flight for your companion. This is not enough to even get you one return flight in economy, anywhere.
Virgin Atlantic: 3000 miles with standard American Express card or 6000 for their Amex premium card, which has a £115 annual fee. Spend £5k/year and receive a free premium economy upgrade on an economy booking. Sadly, this does not come close to being a substantial contribution towards a flight. The cheapest economy return is 40000 miles. Next!
BMI: 20000 miles on the standard Amex, or 24000 miles on their premium Amex, which has an £85 annual fee. This is equivalent to a pair of return economy flights anywhere in Europe.
Lufthansa: 5000 miles and no annual fee on their American Express. This is not enough to earn any flights.

Winner: BMI is easily the most generous, with the second-lowest annual credit card fee, and a pair of return economy flights just for opening an account.

What will I have to show for an annual spend of £5000

BA: 7500 miles. Not enough for even a single return flight in economy.
Virgin Atlantic: 10000 miles. Not enough for anything.
BMI: 10000 miles. Enough for one return flight to Europe zone 1.
Lufthansa: 7500 miles. Since airport taxes aren’t included in their scheme, and you can settle them for 15000 miles, this would only cover half of only your airport taxes.

Winner: BMI, again. Two years of average spending and you have a pair of flights.

How many return economy flights will I need to make to earn a pair of economy returns to the same destination? (I’ll use Dubai for this comparison where possible)

BA: A pair of economy returns would be 80000 miles. A pair of full price flights earns you 6800 miles. Therefore you’d need to make the journey 12 times, or spend £53333 on your credit card.
Virgin Atlantic: A pair of economy returns requires 80000 miles. A pair of full price flights earns 6800 miles. Therefore you’d need to make the journey 12 times or spend £40000 on your credit card.
BMI: A pair of economy returns would be 80000 miles. A pair of full price flights earns you 6800 miles. Therefore you’d need to make the journey 12 times, or spend £40000 on your credit card.
Lufthansa: A pair of economy returns would be 80000 miles. A pair of full price flights earns you 6800 miles. Therefore you’d need to make the journey 12 times, or spend £53333 on your credit card.

Winner: None. They’re all the same.

Overall winner: BMI

This.

admin — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:22:50 +0000

Back from Wrestlemania 26

admin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:16:40 +0000

I spend 9 great days in the US to see Wrestlemania in Phoenix, plus a side trip to Las Vegas. A very eventuful week which included

Meeting and getting autographs of several of the wrestlers
Pure luck of being sat next to a kind gentleman who works for WWE who got our nosebleed seats upgraded for free
Meeting Jack Swagger at Skyharbor airport, en route to his first championship later that night at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas
Lots and lots of eating

That last point is a killer – I’ve put on 7 pounds in 9 days, when I was a bit of a porker to begin with. I think fate is having a laugh with me since one of my most recent clients offers gastric balloon treatment. For now, I’ll stick with the eating healthy and maybe even leaving my desk once in a while

More updates – March 2010

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:35:55 +0000

Well, I’m off to Wrestlemania this month, which will see a lifelong ambition realised.

Workwise, things are plodding along. My most recent work is:

London Apartment Lets, which is a company specialising in Serviced Apartments in London.

Morvah Ltd, who are a Cardiff advertising agency.

Some SEO work for Nucleus Healthcare, a heathcare operator specialising in the gastric balloon – who specialise in gastric balloon treatment at their Gastric balloon centre in Newport.

I’m also launching a new cheap website design service via My Designer Website