I ordered my Apple Watch on the 11th of April - one day after pre-orders went live on the Apple Store.
Since then my order has sat saying dispatch in June.
Today the status changed to order dispatched in 5 to 6 weeks. So this means the middle to end of June as a delivery date. This is kind of what I expected but still disappointing.
Made even more disappointing by the fact that the store is now showing delivery on all 42mm sport versions as delivery in five to seven weeks. Broadly this means that anyone who wants to order now is probably going to receive their order at the same time as me - that is simply unfair - either there is a point to pre-ordering and you get priority on stock or just don't bother with pre-orders Apple.
What makes it worse is that I know of several people who ordered the same version of the watch as me well into April (one on the 24th) who've had their watches through already - so in essence Apple are sending out orders to everyone except the enthusiasts/early adopters who always drive their new products - will think long and hard before buying another Apple product so early in it's life cycle and am seriously considering cancelling my order.
Monday, 18 May 2015
Discourteous driving
Driving through the outskirts of North Leeds this morning - Yeadon to Horsforth to West Park.
Drove past West End Primary School at 8.15am and was met by the usual parents dropping off their kids. In the space of less than 100 yards though one parent pulled away from the kerb causing me to have to break, another on-coming vehicle (who had dropped off their child lower down the road) swerved towards the centre of the road trying to bully me into stopping for her as she approached a vehicle parked on her left, my right (where of course I had right of way) and lastly whilst going past the same parked car on my right another on-coming car (who had been parked behind the previous vehicle) essentially forced me to drive into the off side kerb to avoid her wing mirror smashing mine - even so it was flipping close.
I know that mornings can be stressful and people have to get off to work after they've dropped off their kids - but nearly forcing me off road three times in 20 seconds seems a bit extreme.
Of course I'm guessing that these three ladies would be the kind of person who would, on foot, stand and take down my registration number if I had done any of the same things.
Drove past West End Primary School at 8.15am and was met by the usual parents dropping off their kids. In the space of less than 100 yards though one parent pulled away from the kerb causing me to have to break, another on-coming vehicle (who had dropped off their child lower down the road) swerved towards the centre of the road trying to bully me into stopping for her as she approached a vehicle parked on her left, my right (where of course I had right of way) and lastly whilst going past the same parked car on my right another on-coming car (who had been parked behind the previous vehicle) essentially forced me to drive into the off side kerb to avoid her wing mirror smashing mine - even so it was flipping close.
I know that mornings can be stressful and people have to get off to work after they've dropped off their kids - but nearly forcing me off road three times in 20 seconds seems a bit extreme.
Of course I'm guessing that these three ladies would be the kind of person who would, on foot, stand and take down my registration number if I had done any of the same things.
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Review of MPOW Bluetooth 4.0 wireless headphones
Have just uploaded a You Tube review of the above headphones.
You can watch the review on my You Tube Channel here. Basically they're a solid pair of wireless sports headphone. Pretty easy to set up. Solid in the ear but with some slightly odd sound reduction properties if you try and use them to take phone calls.
All in all a strong 3.5 out of five especially when you consider they were only £ 15.19 from www.amazon.co.uk.
All in all a strong 3.5 out of five especially when you consider they were only £ 15.19 from www.amazon.co.uk.
Awful response from my GP practice
On the 8th of May I published a post discussing how my GP surgery made a mistake and I ended up being charged for 4 prescriptions instead of 2.
Not a major issue of course but I wanted to try and recoup the overpayment and as outlined I attempted to contact the GP Practice Manager not once but twice in person and then (now) a total of eight times via e-mail.
So far I have had no response whatsoever.
I've also now posted on my blog, left a negative review on FourSquare, Facebook and their own NHS rating website - response thus far - nothing apart from one of the GP's at the practice (not the doctor in question) asking to become a contact on Linkedin.
So I'm going to turn up the heat al little and start tweeting and using social media more proactively to try and get a response from them. It's not really the £ 16 (although I would like that back) it's more the fact that GP's must make mistakes like this daily and most people have no way to fight back and ensure they're treated fairly.
Additional Notes - 19/5/15
So finally had a response from the surgery on this matter on the 18th of May from one of the senior doctors at the practice. In essence they've agreed to refund the 2 prescription charges that were made 'in error' and to raise the issues around the mistakes at their clinical review meetings. The reason for the slow response was put down to my using the wrong e-mail address to contact the practice manager (which incidentally was given to me by the practice !).
What hasn't been explained was the slow response time and the fact that I complained twice at the practice in person and was given no support - except the wrong e-mail address !
Will be donating the £16 refund to charity incidentally.
Not a major issue of course but I wanted to try and recoup the overpayment and as outlined I attempted to contact the GP Practice Manager not once but twice in person and then (now) a total of eight times via e-mail.
So far I have had no response whatsoever.
I've also now posted on my blog, left a negative review on FourSquare, Facebook and their own NHS rating website - response thus far - nothing apart from one of the GP's at the practice (not the doctor in question) asking to become a contact on Linkedin.
So I'm going to turn up the heat al little and start tweeting and using social media more proactively to try and get a response from them. It's not really the £ 16 (although I would like that back) it's more the fact that GP's must make mistakes like this daily and most people have no way to fight back and ensure they're treated fairly.
Additional Notes - 19/5/15
So finally had a response from the surgery on this matter on the 18th of May from one of the senior doctors at the practice. In essence they've agreed to refund the 2 prescription charges that were made 'in error' and to raise the issues around the mistakes at their clinical review meetings. The reason for the slow response was put down to my using the wrong e-mail address to contact the practice manager (which incidentally was given to me by the practice !).
What hasn't been explained was the slow response time and the fact that I complained twice at the practice in person and was given no support - except the wrong e-mail address !
Will be donating the £16 refund to charity incidentally.
Friday, 8 May 2015
Issues with my GP and 'double' charging for a prescription
Had some issues with our GP in the last couple of weeks - in essence following a simple mistake on the part of one of the GP's we ended up having to pay for 4 lots of prescription charges rather than two - over £ 16.
The issue here isn't really the money (although it is !) the practice made a mistake, not us but we ended up footing the bill. What if this happened to a person who couldn't afford to pay for the prescription twice ? The analogy I use is a simple one. I walk into a shop, any shop anywhere. I discuss my requirements with a sales person or cashier and am given an item we agreed on. However on leaving the shop I discover they have accidentally given me the wrong item. In every case in every situation the shop would (quite rightly) correct their error.
For some reason not only would the reception staff at the surgery (despite being asked twice) nor the Practice Manager even discuss the issue with me. In fact I have now e-mailed the practice manager on no less than seven occasions since the 28th of April. Each e-mail is polite and concise - I have not even had an acknowledgement.
As I have had no response I have decided to take the subject to social media to see if that garners any response from them.
Here's a transcript of my initial e-mail on the 28th which outlines the exact situation (names and so on removed for confidentiality. The practice in question is : Yeadon Tarn Medical Practice on Silver Lane in Yeadon, Leeds West Yorkshire
"My {FAMILY MEMBER} saw Dr X'XXXXXXXX this morning for severe ear ache. She had spoken to '111' overnight as the pain had been so intense and was advised to visit the GP urgently in the morning. The appointment was at 8.50 a.m.
During the consultation (which I also attended) we made it clear that my {FAMILY MEMBER} cannot swallow tablets - so the doctor even commented we would need soluble drugs when she prepared the prescription for pain killers and antibiotics. On collecting the prescription we realised that we had been given standard tablets not soluble versions and returned to the pharmacy to correct. Lloyds Pharmacy wouldn't change the prescription without a note from the doctor and I returned to the surgery. Eventually at 11.00am I was given another 'script and had this made up.
However, the pharmacy would not dispense the drugs without a second payment for two items, I returned to the surgery again and asked to speak to you (the Practice Manager - Averil Jardine) to clear this 'double charging' up but was told you were unavailable. So I wanted to make you aware that I have now paid an extra £ 16.40 for two unnecessary individual items following a basic error at your end.
I really do resent paying a second set of unnecessary prescription charges. I would be grateful if you would be able organise a quick refund for £ 16.40 from Lloyds.
Happy not to raise a 'formal complaint' so we can sort this out informally.
Very happy to arrange to bob in to the surgery to speak and for Lloyds to credit my card."
As you can see the e-mail was to the point but extremely pleasant and that has been the tone of all my communication.
I wonder if publishing this on social media will have any impact on the response I receive from the surgery ?
Monday, 27 April 2015
Podcast update ...
Just posted a short podcast over at www.pmicast.podbean.com which will shortly appear on iTunes and all goo pod catchers (search for 'PMICast') giving some info on why there has been no PMICast for several weeks and why there isn't going to be one for the foreseeable.
I will definitely carry on podcasting but frankly the format I had just began to bore me and I couldn't be bothered keeping it up to date. Currently working on a new idea/format and hopefully will launch something new over the summer.
Where's Wilson, my semi-regular SF podcast is definitely still alive and kicking and so probably is Afternoon Train - but no plans at the moment to record episodes of either in the next few weeks.
Watch this space for more info !
I will definitely carry on podcasting but frankly the format I had just began to bore me and I couldn't be bothered keeping it up to date. Currently working on a new idea/format and hopefully will launch something new over the summer.
Where's Wilson, my semi-regular SF podcast is definitely still alive and kicking and so probably is Afternoon Train - but no plans at the moment to record episodes of either in the next few weeks.
Watch this space for more info !
You Tube Karate Videos
As well as using this blog to publicise my main medical insurance business (shameless plug for my Premier Choice web-page) I'm not above going for some additional pushing of the karate club in Leeds that I am now running.
We train twice a week at Yeadon Westfield Infants School - Monday and Wednesday - Beginners at 6.00pm and Main Class starting 6.30pm.
There is a You Tube video of me here - which introduces me and the club.
However the Yeadon club that I run is part of a larger club which is based at Halton on the authorised of Leeds. They train at the Leeds Premier Fitness centre, owned and run by my college : Sensei Michael (Tat) Tattersall - 6th Dan instructor.
I came across this video, also on You Tube which shows the Halton location and the first half of the video is concentrated on the karate club and you can see Tat demonstrating a take down and then some sparring from around 30 seconds into the video. Have a look and see the kind of training we undertake over at the Yeadon club as well.
We train twice a week at Yeadon Westfield Infants School - Monday and Wednesday - Beginners at 6.00pm and Main Class starting 6.30pm.
There is a You Tube video of me here - which introduces me and the club.
However the Yeadon club that I run is part of a larger club which is based at Halton on the authorised of Leeds. They train at the Leeds Premier Fitness centre, owned and run by my college : Sensei Michael (Tat) Tattersall - 6th Dan instructor.
I came across this video, also on You Tube which shows the Halton location and the first half of the video is concentrated on the karate club and you can see Tat demonstrating a take down and then some sparring from around 30 seconds into the video. Have a look and see the kind of training we undertake over at the Yeadon club as well.
Sunday, 26 April 2015
Blimey O'Malley - 232 view on my blog yesterday !!!
I have absolutely no idea what happened yesterday but for some reason I had the most hits ever for a single day on this blog - a total of 232.
Wish I'd been advertising my business more (for assistance on all aspects of new or existing medical insurance call me on 07792 075748 or e-mail : philknight@pch.uk.com) or had talked about my new karate beginners class - tomorrow or Wednesday at 6.00pm for 30 minutes at Yeadon Westfield Infants School in Yeadon Leeds.
If you did visit yesterday please come back and buy medical insurance from me or join my karate club !
Wish I'd been advertising my business more (for assistance on all aspects of new or existing medical insurance call me on 07792 075748 or e-mail : philknight@pch.uk.com) or had talked about my new karate beginners class - tomorrow or Wednesday at 6.00pm for 30 minutes at Yeadon Westfield Infants School in Yeadon Leeds.
If you did visit yesterday please come back and buy medical insurance from me or join my karate club !
Friday, 24 April 2015
Karate Update
As I mentioned in previous posts my karate beginners class which began at the start of 2015 is going down very well.
I already have a number of people who have progressed to yellow belt (four in total) and a new bunch of people confirmed as starting next week plus one or two thinking about it. We accept new beginners at any time so there is no waiting for a place to come up - just call or e-mail me and I will run you through how to join up !
I have also performed a series of school assemblies around the local area with (hopefully) more to follow to get in a new younger generation of karate ka. Nothing more terrifying than standing up in a go in front of 300 five to eleven year olds !!!
If you or anyone you know is interested in karate training please direct them to us - we train twice weekly at Yeadon Westfield Infants School LS19 7NQ with the beginners class starting at 6.00pm for 30 minutes and the first two lessons are free to see if you like it !
If you have trained at martial arts before I would probably suggest you actually join the main class (which trains 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm) as pro-tem yellow belts whilst I assess you and see where you need to begin - as always with people with some experience of the marital arts it isn't always right to start you off as white belt beginners again but of course we need to get you up to speed with kata and stylistic differences - our Shukokai style is pretty easy to pick up and if you've done Shotokhan, Wado Ryu etc you will probably recognise a lot of the basics, Pinan Kata's and so forth.
As an aside prior to training in Shukokai I trained in a Wado Ryu style for many years so I went through all of the issues with starting a new style from scratch some years ago so I can definitely help wit this aspect of things if you want to come along and try us out.
For more information just call me on : 07792 075748 or e-mail : pkn4395@gmail.com
Look forward to training with you !
Sensei Phil Knight
Club Instructor
Leeds Premier Karate Club (Yeadon)
I already have a number of people who have progressed to yellow belt (four in total) and a new bunch of people confirmed as starting next week plus one or two thinking about it. We accept new beginners at any time so there is no waiting for a place to come up - just call or e-mail me and I will run you through how to join up !
I have also performed a series of school assemblies around the local area with (hopefully) more to follow to get in a new younger generation of karate ka. Nothing more terrifying than standing up in a go in front of 300 five to eleven year olds !!!
If you or anyone you know is interested in karate training please direct them to us - we train twice weekly at Yeadon Westfield Infants School LS19 7NQ with the beginners class starting at 6.00pm for 30 minutes and the first two lessons are free to see if you like it !
If you have trained at martial arts before I would probably suggest you actually join the main class (which trains 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm) as pro-tem yellow belts whilst I assess you and see where you need to begin - as always with people with some experience of the marital arts it isn't always right to start you off as white belt beginners again but of course we need to get you up to speed with kata and stylistic differences - our Shukokai style is pretty easy to pick up and if you've done Shotokhan, Wado Ryu etc you will probably recognise a lot of the basics, Pinan Kata's and so forth.
As an aside prior to training in Shukokai I trained in a Wado Ryu style for many years so I went through all of the issues with starting a new style from scratch some years ago so I can definitely help wit this aspect of things if you want to come along and try us out.
For more information just call me on : 07792 075748 or e-mail : pkn4395@gmail.com
Look forward to training with you !
Sensei Phil Knight
Club Instructor
Leeds Premier Karate Club (Yeadon)
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Apple Watch update
So been fairly radio silent on the blog recently and wanted to update on a few issues in one go today.
Firstly Apple Watch : on the pre-order day last week I hmm'd and haagh'd before finally ordering on the second day and as a result my watch ;
The 42mm black sports watch with the black band is now not available until June earliest - by then I may well have gone off the idea to be honest - I've had the iPhone 6+ (which as you might recall replaced my stalwart Note 3 in December) for five months now and am a bit bored again and considering a change. If Google get's it's finger out and has the IOS app for Android Wear available in the next few weeks I might end up selling the phone, cancelling the Apple Watch order and going for a new Android and Moto 360 watch all for what I would sell the 6+ for - we'll see.
If I do eventually get the Apple Watch I will do a proper un-boxing video this time as well so watch out for that too.
__________
The PMICast podcast is not dead just resting. To be honest got a bit disillusioned with it - the time it took and the format I think got a bit stale and with everything else just kind of lost interest in taking the time and effort to plan content, record and edit (haha) then upload. I still regularly think of ideas and wonder whether they would be good features in a podcast. At the moment I am in the early stages of re-imagining my three podcasts : PMICast (medical insurance, boring work podcast), Where's Wilson (comedy SF and TV podcast) and Afternoon Train (crazy train of thought ramblings) into one coherent longer show with a number of features from each with maybe some tech involved - it's just time and inclination. If someone with some mutual interests wanted to help out by co-hosting that might make me more inclined to crack back on with it but I would need to record during the weekday - let me know if you're interested ? Leave feedback to this post or e-mail me : pmicast@gmail.com.
__________
I've now taken my first tranche of beginners through the assessment process to yellow belt. We ended up with five new beginners of whom one dropped out (although she may be coming back as she left for financial reasons) and four are now yellow belts.
This leaves me without any any beginners at the moment but marketing for new ones is underway and I am doing another school assembly on Friday to see if we can pull any kids in - I've also offered to do assembly for a number of other schools as well.
So well done to the four new yellow belts, now in the main class 6.30pm to 8.00 and if anyone out there wants to try karate just let me know - details as above.
Firstly Apple Watch : on the pre-order day last week I hmm'd and haagh'd before finally ordering on the second day and as a result my watch ;
The 42mm black sports watch with the black band is now not available until June earliest - by then I may well have gone off the idea to be honest - I've had the iPhone 6+ (which as you might recall replaced my stalwart Note 3 in December) for five months now and am a bit bored again and considering a change. If Google get's it's finger out and has the IOS app for Android Wear available in the next few weeks I might end up selling the phone, cancelling the Apple Watch order and going for a new Android and Moto 360 watch all for what I would sell the 6+ for - we'll see.
If I do eventually get the Apple Watch I will do a proper un-boxing video this time as well so watch out for that too.
__________
The PMICast podcast is not dead just resting. To be honest got a bit disillusioned with it - the time it took and the format I think got a bit stale and with everything else just kind of lost interest in taking the time and effort to plan content, record and edit (haha) then upload. I still regularly think of ideas and wonder whether they would be good features in a podcast. At the moment I am in the early stages of re-imagining my three podcasts : PMICast (medical insurance, boring work podcast), Where's Wilson (comedy SF and TV podcast) and Afternoon Train (crazy train of thought ramblings) into one coherent longer show with a number of features from each with maybe some tech involved - it's just time and inclination. If someone with some mutual interests wanted to help out by co-hosting that might make me more inclined to crack back on with it but I would need to record during the weekday - let me know if you're interested ? Leave feedback to this post or e-mail me : pmicast@gmail.com.
__________
I've now taken my first tranche of beginners through the assessment process to yellow belt. We ended up with five new beginners of whom one dropped out (although she may be coming back as she left for financial reasons) and four are now yellow belts.
This leaves me without any any beginners at the moment but marketing for new ones is underway and I am doing another school assembly on Friday to see if we can pull any kids in - I've also offered to do assembly for a number of other schools as well.
So well done to the four new yellow belts, now in the main class 6.30pm to 8.00 and if anyone out there wants to try karate just let me know - details as above.
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