Wales Grand Slam 2008

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I am so very happy right now.

Up yours everyone who wants to rain on our (well-deserved, hard-earned) parade.

“It’s only Wales”
- Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde

“Looks like it’ll come down to an England, Ireland Championship decider”
- Austin Healey

“So, Andy, can Scotland really beat England?”
- John Inverdale

“The sportsdesk team could expect to beat Wales at Twickenham (laughs)”
- Ian Roberston

“It is not a matter of whether England beat Wales – that is a given – but by how much”
- Paul Ackford

“Wales are just the Ospreys, and if England can’t beat a club side at Twickenham it’s a pretty poor show”
- Ian Roberston on Radio 5Live

An Earthquake… In London?

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About half an hour ago I’m tapping away at my computer, minding my own business when it dawns on me that I’m rocking in my chair, yet my feet aren’t touching anything to propel me. And the tea in my mug is rippling, Jurassic Park-style. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me until I saw Louise seconds later (who’d gone to bed an hour earlier) who’d been woken from her sleep. Early reports from BBC say the earthquake (or earth tremor… when does a ‘tremor’ become a ‘quake’?) was in the Midlands, but it was strong here too.

Web design and SEO: I’m hiring

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I have just spent the last 4 hours responding to 107 emails. Yes, over a hundred emails have piled up over the last 8 days, mainly web design and SEO enquiries. In the last 4 months, average daily page views of MB Web Design have trebled, presumably as I’m ranking on page 1 of Google for web design and for website design. I’m struggling to cope with demand, which leads to the next logical step – hiring. Well, hiring on a freelance basis, at least. I know that there are a few of you web design types out there who read this blog and/or know me personally, so here is your public invitation – send me an email with your portfolio and let’s see if we can do business together.

I seem to still be attracting a disproportionate amount of “I have the next eBay” messages, where someone wants me to design free or on the cheap in exchange for equity in an awful business model.  I have a polite “thanks but no thanks” message that I copy and paste in response to such enquiries, which usually see them off, but I was a little taken aback by one person’s response. It was, in a nutshell, a request to go through their business plan, suggest how to make it foolproof for investment, and then they might consider hiring me once they have the money. Talk about singing for your supper!

The fact is: if the business model was any good, and if the ‘entrepreneur’ was serious about their concept, then they’d be able to find funding for it. And if they can find funding for it, then they can afford to pay me for my services. My mind is not completely closed to the idea of working for shares, but really, some of the ‘offers’ I get verge on the insulting. I remember an intensely patronising one I got from a student a few months ago, which asked me to design the next Betfair purely because “it would look really good for your portfolio”.

Anyway, onto better matters.

I’m about to start designing for a salon marketing consultancy run by Liz Ridley, who has an impressive track record of turning around health and beauty businesses into successful enterprises. She’s now turning her hand to helping other businesses achieve the same success via her marketing consultancy. Where I come in, rather obviously, is in successful Internet marketing and search engine optimisation for their websites and redesigning the sites themselves if they are, shall we say politely, below par. Liz is my kind of person – we discussed the venture over a Tyskie, a welcome step up from my usual client meeting beverage – an overpriced American-chain coffee.

Good Morning Vienna

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Being the spontaneous, romantic sort, I booked a long weekend in Vienna for me and Louise next month. It should be a welcome break from wall-to-wall work (me) and wall-to-wall revision (her). Although I suspect she’ll smuggle a textbook onto the plane. We’re staying in the Hilton – yay me! I have never stayed at a 5* hotel before, I’m sure I’ll feel like I’m not rich enough or posh enough to be there. Louise is particularly excited that Vienna zoo has a young panda, having exhausted herself fawning over them via Cuteoverload.com

In other news, my Dad came to stay for a couple of days last week. We saw the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2, which was well worth seeing, although Tutankhamun’s exhibits made up only a fraction of the things there. That doesn’t make them any less interesting, it’s just that if you are an absolute die-hard Tutankhamun freak, then you might be disappointed. In which case Lastminute.com might have some nice deals on flights to Egypt…  The gift shop was hideously expensive but you must remember (a) it’s a gift shop, they always are, (b) the exhibition costs a fortune to host and (c) it’s in London.

I didn’t realise what a great selection of restaurants the O2 has. None are cheap – in fact some are disproportionately expensive – but if you’re ever in London and want to go eat, try the O2 (not on an event day, obviously). We had lunch and sweet-talked the waitress into letting us steal our Peroni pint glasses, which were quite a sight to behold.

Thoroughly enjoying Welsh rugby success. I don’t think I need to elaborate on that.

Next month I’m doing a presentation at the House of Commons! I have submitted a proposal for a new website design for an animal welfare council, who happen to be meeting at the HoC on March 13. Little ol’ me, talking to a selection of VIPs. I don’t feel as nervous as I think I ought to be…

Moving back to Llanelli

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Louise found out today that one of her applications for doctor’s job in Llanelli and/or Carmarthen has been successful, so in just over 5 months I’ll be back in my old manor. I’ll miss London, but I won’t miss the cramped public transport, the extortionate property prices necessitating an equally extortionate rental, the threat of randoms blowing me up on my way to work, the beggars, the general misery etched onto people’s face as they go about their daily lives.

A calmer existance and the appetising prospect of freelancing fulltime from my home office beckons.

I can’t wait.

9-11 The Falling Man

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Every generation witnesses one – at most a handful – of world events so profound that everyone remembers where they were, the circumstances around them in which they found out what had happened. The Kennedy Assassination, the moon landings, and most recently, the terror attacks of September 11 are arguably the most shocking of them all.

I found a documentary on Youtube about the notorious “falling man” photo that was taken on that day.

Watch it for yourself

General Update: Work, Wales Foundation School, More Work

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Just a brief update for infrequent visitors to digest what is happening in my life right now. Business has boomed this month, fuelled primarily by a surge of businesses wanting new websites for a new year. Later this week, Louise finds out whether any of her applications for junior doctor vacancies in South Wales (via Wales Foundation School) have been successful. Fingers crossed that’s the case. If unsuccessful, there is a second round of choices from the hospital/course combinations left on the list.

A number of very exciting work prospects have presented themselves in the last week. My lips are sealed per NDAs but what I can tell you is that if either/both are successful then they could prove quite lucrative and a regular stream of work, which is very appealing given that I’ll be working freelance full-time as of April/May this year. A perfect start to my full-time freelance career. Much like Louise’s job applications, I mustn’t count my chickens.

Bizarre Canning Town Tube Station Tannoy Anouncement: Sex Toys

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Louise rang me this afternoon in a fit of giggles. She had been standing on the eastbound DLR platform at Canning Town station, when an announcement over the tannoy started playing what apparently sounded like an American-style infomercial selling a sex toy! Given it was the middle of the day I don’t imagine there were many people around to have heard it, but it still sounds a cracking prank. Wonder if it’ll be in any of the papers tomorrow?

Scrabble Owners Sue Makers Of Scrabulous

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Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Mattel and Hasbro, the owners of Scrabble, have decided to sue the developers of the enormously popular (and addictive) Facebook application, Scrabulous. This has caused quite a furore. I, for one, would be sad to see Scrabulous go. On the other hand, let’s look at the facts: the developers have taken the concept of Scrabble – an intellectual property protected by copyright – and ripped it off shamelessly. They’ve distributed it for free via Facebook, which gets them the sympathy vote from Joe Public – “I’d never played Scrabble until I found Scrabulous” is one of the most common responses.

What many people don’t consider is that the developers are creaming off huge advertising revenues from the app. If Mattel and Hasbro have any business acumen they won’t kill Scrabulous; instead they should claim the share of the advertising revenues that they rightly deserve, and enjoy the benefits of the offline Scrabble renaissance fuelled by the runaway success of Scrabulous. Or will Mattel and Hasbro follow the steps of the recording industry – fail completely to embrace a new technology that could rejuvenate their business, and try to sue innovation out of existance.