The conversation that kicked off after my post earlier today made me even more sure that I've not been trying hard enough with Android. I can't really stress how much I want to stay on the Android platform, but equally I know for a fact I'd get more use out of the iPhone. Either way, I'm not going to be splashing out on either for a month or two yet, …

For the last eighteen months, I've been using the HTC Desire as my mobile method of contacting the outside world, but my contract is due to expire soon and that leaves me with something of a dilemma. These mobile phone contracts are so long that choosing the next device is quite an important decision. At the moment, it leaves me scratching my head. Just a hunch The iPhone has never …

Mmm, I love sandwiches. They're one of my favourite foods, although it probably doesn't count as just one given the number of fillings you can have. That, in fact, is what this post is all about - my five favourite sandwich fillings at the moment. My tastes seem to change all the time at the moment. I used to love prawn sandwiches but have gone off them quite a lot …

With this episode, the Tenth Doctor gets his reign underway proper, after spending most of the last episode in his pyjamas. No more of that - he's got a suit, he's got a TARDIS, and he's got places to be. New New Earth for a New New Doctor. The first few scenes really cement the relationship between Rose and the Doctor. He's brand new, but she's willing to stick with …

This evening, I came home from work and went for a run. It was a bit chilly out there, and getting dark, and it's very clear that there won't be many running hours left after work for much longer. Even with the impending time change. Mmm, GMT. This was my first run for twelve days, which seems like forever. Did I say I wanted to run more times than ever …

Well. Where to begin? Overall, it wasn't the worst film ever. I wasn't expecting great things, but it got better as it went on. The real problem came from the fact that in the first five minutes all of my Bono and Edge illusions were shattered when I learned their real names, and you can't really get over something like that in time to watch and enjoy the rest of the film.

Google have confirmed that they're axing a few more of their side projects, including the terrible Buzz and the less terrible Jaiku. I was a big fan of Jaiku in its days pre-Google, using it as an alternative to Twitter. As Mr C commandeered the @sidepodcast Twitter account, I was looking for another way to represent Sidepodcast in social networks. I headed straight towards Jaiku, and was impressed with what …

My first week at my new job has been and gone, and it was mostly alright. I mean there was this, of course: ...and that did go on for a couple of days, but I am not really complaining. It's all good. On my first day, I was pondering some of the things that could really make a difference to your experience at an (office) job, but things you don't …

I've read some of Meg Cabot's adult works, but would never have really thought of picking this one up. It's a Young Adult work, but that doesn't usually put me off. I guess the word Princess was really the problem. However, as part of my reading list, I was happy to give it a chance. You know, I'm quite glad I did. For a book about unexpectedly finding out you're a princess when you're still at school and dealing with teenage issues, it was actually very realistic and easily readable. The last book I read that attempted a teenage diary style was by Dawn French, and that one really grated after a while.

Before Strictly Come Dancing began proper, I chose my picks for good times ahead. That was before we had seen anyone dance, of course, although I had been to the Beeb's website and seen some of their "web exclusive" training diaries. Well, we're two shows in now. We've seen the contestants dance not once, but twice, and we've finally voted someone off. It may just be me, but it seems …

Amazon have launched a French Kindle store to go alongside their US, UK and German destinations. The new store allows Kindle users in France to purchase books from a dedicated .fr domain, rather than being redirected to their nearest store and purchasing in differing currencies. Along with the store, Amazon also launched a French-language Kindle, so that users can buy and read books in either language. You can find my …

I'm really loving some of the features Wordpress are bringing out. I can't remember if I already mentioned the Copy a Post feature before - but even if I have it bears repeating. I don't quite know how I ever managed to live without it. For anyone who is not in the know, you simply find a post you want to replicate, click a button, and it brings up that …

Way back in February, I left the comfort of a good job with a vague idea of changing careers. It felt like the right time to do it and I knew I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to leave one job with time to look for another one - the right one - to come along. I went for a couple of interviews here and there, but was …

I've always had a bit of a grudge against this book, not really through any fault of its own. When I was younger, I read a version that was cut short. Having finished it now, I can see that it was the first part of the book, the midway point before they all up and get married. Cue the inevitable conversation about Beth, where I am adamant that she got sick but got better, and I am being told otherwise. Confusion, sadness, etc, all reigned supreme.

Yesterday, we watched Finding Nemo, partly as a way to make Mr C feel a bit better after his short but nasty bug, and partly as it seemed fitting after the sad death of Steve Jobs this week. When the news broke that he'd passed away, I wasn't surprised to find my Twitter stream and RSS reader filled with posts about the man, but there were occasional crossover posts that …

This is great, it's one of the films that came from Pixar at their best. The fun and adventurous stuff is as good as it possibly could be | laugh out loud and very engaging. Bruce was one of the best things I've seen for ages, and I loved Ellen as Dorey.

Actually it was better than I was expecting. It was pretty corny and occasionally clichéd, but Kim was deliciously sarcastic and the dialogue was great. Bill Bailey had only a tiny part but made quite an impact too. It was very British, what with all the T4 and Tesco involved, but that was okay. Overall, I can't pick too many holes in it, because it was good for what it was, but equally, I don't have that much to say about it either.

With Leo being something of a podcasting hero of ours, we always like to see what's going on behind the scenes in TWiT land. Given how much of the day is spent live streaming, it's not hard to see behind each of the shows, but Leo and team have taken it one step further. On the Inside TWiT blog, they've posted an hour long chat with Leo and CEO Lisa …

Or, Why I Want My Leopard Back When Apple released the latest edition of their operating software, Mr C declared we needed a beta tester. Seeing as he was working on some quite finicky pieces of software, and I was more into browsers and word processors, the honour fell to me. I wrote a post about my initial thoughts moving from Snow Leopard to Lion, and now I'm updating that …

It's been a bit of a downer month in Ambridge really, starting with Phoebe finally making her way out of Borsetshire and heading towards her extended family in South Africa. I thought the departure was really well done. Lots of nitpicking over clothes and packing, trying to brave, and in the end, it was Roy who started with the tears first. Bless. After two kids fleeing the nest, Jennifer finds …

For those who prefer their eBooks on the iPod/iPhone/iPad, Formula Primo Confidential has now made its debut on the iBookstore. The first in the series, Between the Lines, is now available in six countries, with more than twenty coming shortly. The iBookstore version offers full colour graphics, table of contents, and advanced formatting. Visit Between the Lines on the iBookstore and get your free sample now!

There were bits that were similar to other films | Hugh Grant obviously plays the same character in every film, and the Love Actually similarities were uncanny. There were surprising moments too, though, with Rachel's crazy child, and some of the narration. I can't really fault anything in the film, but I'm not quite prepared to give it a 5 out of 5.

I had forgotten Keira and Orlando's potential wooden acting in this, although I must say it got better as the film went on and they seemed to gain something of a rapport. Of course, it doesn't matter much because the real hero is Captain Jack Sparrow. There are plenty of moments in the film that are preposterous | particularly the sword fight next to the donkey, but it doesn't matter because it's all feel good fun, and that's what matters in a movie like this.

"I hope you don't think I'm rude..." she said, pushing into the queue in front of me, "but I've got three kids in the car." I would have made a fuss - there is nothing like riling up some queue etiquette anger - but I was hot and tired, and I really wasn't in that much of a rush anyway. Even so, the brief sentence made me think a lot, …

As mentioned last week, I was somewhat worried about this series finale. The fifth series ended spectacularly, and I loved practically all of the final two episodes. I have faith in Steven Moffat but after seeing the start of this series, my belief system was shaken a little bit. It really shouldn't have been. The Doctor has been wending his way towards his death, and we were treated to him …

Why settle for a simple bunker underground when you can have an entire skyscraper delving into the depths of the earth? The BNKR Arquitectura company (great URL, by the way), have come up with a concept for an upside down pyramid for the middle of Mexico City. Starting with a wide opening at the top, the pyramid piles layer upon layer going down into a single point. There's a great …

I don't watch that much reality TV. At the moment, I'm favouring The Great British Bake-Off, which is hard to class as reality TV because everyone involved is so nice and friendly, and it's just like a giant tea party every week. Strictly Come Dancing returns tonight, and that is a show I do watch. I can't stand Tess or Bruce, I don't like the pointless results show, I think …

The BBC confirmed today that after this series, there will be no more episodes of Doctor Who Confidential filmed. The sister show has been sitting alongside the main BBC1 programme since it came back to our screens with Christopher Ecclestone, but is now on the way out. The Beeb say: The Confidential team captured the rebirth of the show back in 2005 and for over half a decade they have …

A long while ago, I discussed the concept of Endless Pools and how very much I wanted one. Actually, back then, I wanted to set up a business - rows and rows of Endless Pools to save people having to swim in a communal pool. Now I am over that nonsense, and would just adore to have a pool to myself. Recently, I've spotted a couple of adverts for Endless …

It was fun and frivolous, I loved watching Liam Neeson kicking and punching his way through the bad guys | at some points to a shocking degree. I was left a bit nonplussed at the start, it was all very convenient. Oh, he just happens to be an ex-SAS or whatever, he just happens to be over-protective of his daughter, she just happens to go missing... what are the chances? But leave that aside, and it was a great ride. Not challenging, some good mindless fun, and blissfully short. I really quite liked it.

Ah, I do love it. I love that it's a little bit kooky. The dialogue doesn't always make sense, and they quite often talk over each other. I always find myself starting to hate Tom Hanks at the end, the way he is messing her around, but they are so happy at the end that it's good times and doesn't really matter. Mr C and I were talking throughout about all the different ways this could be remade | and most of them involved Amazon!

A while back, Mr C and I went on a sojourn to the south coast to take some pictures. Actually, we went there with the specific intention to take pictures and publish them live on the go, forming a workflow as we went. I wrote more about the process we decided upon over on Sidepodcast, but we've now hit upon a snag. Posterous have gone through something of a revamp, …

I really enjoyed this simple story of hope and faith and following your heart. It manages to be deep without being mind-boggling, and offers up plenty of quotable lines that could stand you in good stead for the rest of your life. The story itself felt like reading one of the Arabian Nights, following an winding tale as the main character went from one adventure to the next. Good descriptions, good dialogue, and lots of pause for thought along the way.

Closing Time presents the last opportunity for us to really enjoy ourselves before what is bound to be a depressing and likely confusing episode to close the series with next week. I am happy to be proved wrong and find that the series six finale is every bit as genius as the series five one was, but I will own up now and say I'm dreading it. That is next …

Last week, I talked about recipes I am tempted to make, and today I've got more kitchen related stuff. I managed to have a quick browse through a Lakeland catalogue this week, and it was full of kitchen related gadgets. A few of them were pretty impressive, so I've picked five that I would buy if I was in the mood to sort my kitchen out. Lakeland Scrudle - £2.99 …

Today is the 100th edition of Baby Panda Thursday, and, I'm afraid to say, the last. It's been an absolute pleasure to scour through photos of pandas every week (give or take) for the last two and a half years, but I'm determined that Thursdays will not be bad days anymore, and they will not need the cuteness to cheer me up. Don't think for a second that this is …

So, who has tried out The Sims Social? I'm just starting to use Facebook more as their battle with Google+ heats up, so that I can see who is winning and who is losing. Then they went and introduced my favourite ever game as a Facebook game. It's not really the same Sims at all, nothing like it, really, and it's very, very... social. That might sound crazy, given that …

Life in the Fast Lane guides us through one single year in the company of Steve Matchett as mechanic for the championship-winning Benetton team. There are plenty of highs and lows to be covered through the year, though, as 1994 was one of the most tragic and troublesome seasons Formula One has ever seen. Matchett covers all the difficulties surrounding Michael Schumacher and a black flag, he talks candidly about the refuelling flash fire that occurred on Jos Verstappen's car, and briefly touches upon Ayrton Senna's death. As Steve quite rightly says, that race in Imola was just too personal to go into too much detail.

I've always had a soft spot for Jacqueline Wilson, even though I am far too old to be reading things like this now. I picked this up as part of my reading list challenge, and having vaguely recalled a kids TV show that was made out of this source material, I was intrigued at how the story would go.

It was good, occasionally interesting and sometimes funny. The story was okay, but it was a little bit crude for my liking | some rather disturbing sequences and an awful lot of swearing. The characters were good but some of the dialogue was a bit clunky. Having said all that, it was a surprise to read that it took four years to come out after many studio delays. I wonder what I would have thought of it had it come out in 2007.

It's taken me a little longer than I had hoped but finally, I have seen the last ten episodes of The Killing. I wrote some brief and quite vague notes about the first ten previously, but now I know how the story ends I can talk in more detail. There are spoilers ahead, so look away now if you have yet to enjoy the drama of The Killing. The mystery …

Covering the period of George I and George II at Kensington Palace, the book tells the tale of those surrounding the royal family, those that make up the hustle and bustle of court life. As well as looking at the twists and turns of the royal family themselves, we get to hear the unusual tales of courtiers, mistresses, feral children, architects, poets, and old wives.

In the wee hours of the morning, I launched my latest book - Between the Lines. The book is the first in the new Formula Primo series - which you may know better as Life in the Fast Lane. It began as a simple ten part story, in which the readers could vote in which direction the next chapter would go. Now it has been expanded and improved to become …

Between the Lines is the first book in the Formula Primo Confidential series - a fictional motorsport category populated by intriguing and passionate drivers. Following the highs and lows of a rookie racer as he joins the series, this first book will transport you into a motorsport universe of exciting drama. If you ever followed my Life in the Fast Lane series, you will recognise the characters and the fundamental …

It was very similar to Despicable Me | not in terms of story, clearly, but in terms of plenty of laughs but very much aimed at children. I loved it, it kept me entertained, but it wasn't particularly fulfilling as an adult | the way that a good Pixar movie would be.

When I formed my Life List reading goal, I decided the best thing to do was pick a list of books that would introduce me to new titles and authors. There are lots of lists scattered around the internet, but I selected one and got on with it. I set up a dedicated page to house the list, and link to the reviews of the books I read as I …

Last time Toby Whithouse wrote an episode, it involved a strange vampire/fish hybrid that stalked the canals of Venice. This time out, he was seemingly charged with writing the end of Amy and Rory's adventures with the Doctor. Quite a bigger challenge, I'd say. As is often the case in some of the more recent episodes of Doctor Who, this was a standalone adventure that was really just the coat-hanger …

This doesn't really count as a week, it's just one run. The final one. The 5k. According to the class, this is the race that we have been training for. I didn't have a race, but I did 5k anyway. Walking intervals were not included, but the notes for this final run said we could do them anyway, if we wanted. I decided not to, and ran the whole way. …

Occasionally, my dad will send me a recipe that he has found and it's usually for something sweet and delicious. So far, I haven't made any of them because it's hard enough to avoid the sweet things that exist already in our house, without adding any more to the mix. Having said that, there is nothing like window shopping in the cake recipe section of websites, and here are five …

Oh, how I love this book. It's one of the few things that I recall fondly from my school days. It's short and easy to read, but it really hits home. The characters are well written, and despite a limited time to get to know them, it's easy to form opinions of each and every one. In turns sad and liberating, the plight of George and Lennie is one that I could read over and over. There's something about their dream that hits home.