BBQ at McQuillan Manor in 32 seconds …… and a great chance to chat about Gawker
Gawker is an amazing piece of software for Mac OS that I have just discovered. With very little effort it allows you to put together a short movie of still imagines to track a day of work or an event.
Time lapsed BBQ at McQuillan Manor – 11th July using Gawker from Russell McQuillan on Vimeo.
It’s time to talk about rental cars
I have been holding off writing this for quite some time, partly because I was so fuming with rage, partly because I was waiting to see how it played out and partly because it take’s more time than one might realise to write these things.
That said, the dust has settled and my boiling blood has reduced to a low simmer so here goes………
In February. I along with my fellow Network Scouters embarked on another Top Gear Adventure. This time the plan was to race from Edinburgh Castle to Buckingham Palace. Car vs Public Transport. The date and time was set, as was the accommodation now it was just time to figure out how to get our vehicle from Northern Ireland to the UK Mainland for the race and back again after-wards. Scouts being Scouts, we always try to go for the most cost effective solution after all we do favor sleeping in tents rather than the ritz ! So it was clear from the outset than renting a car was going to work out much cheaper than booking a ferry. * (more…)
24 hours as a Porsche driver
I had the great pleasure over Friday and Saturday of driving and owning (for 24 hours) the new 2010 Porsche Boxster, kindly lend to me by the good people of Porsche Centre Belfast. I have been a fan of Porsche since a boy and whilst all my pals had dreams of winning the lottery and buying up Ferrari’s, Lambos and Astons, my eye was always on a Porsche, and not as a lottery winners car either, I wanted one for an every day car.
I have driven a few other the years and been taken out in others, every week I look at 924s and 944′s in the paper and think, wouldn’t that be a great weekender………… alas I never end up buying one. (more…)
Bitbuzz Provides Complimentary Wi-Fi Access to Costa Coffee Customers
Michelle Mclaughlin, General Manager, Costa Coffee Belfast George Best Airport, and Russell McQuillan, Business Development Manager, Bitbuzz, launching the Wi-Fi hotspot at Costa Coffee in Belfast George Best Airport.Initially Bitbuzz will roll-out the Wi-Fi service for Costa Coffee customers at Belfast George Best Airport. The deal is with parent company MBCC Foods, who hold the Irish Costa Coffee, KFC and Pizza hut franchises. (more…)
Nobody beats Laser ! except the banks off course
The stark news hit just at the Start of this month that Laser Electrical had gone into Administration. Usually when this happens the administrators try to trade the stores until a buyer or a way forward can be found. Sadly with Laser things were grimmer than most, just hours after the receivers took control of the business the stores were closed and days later the firm was placed into full liquidation. The final nail in the coffin for the ailing retailer.
But why did things go so wrong ?
Quite simply the business model had not worked for a number of years, 2008 /2009 accounts showed a profit of only £34,177, not what you would call great for a retailer with 10 prime locations, good cachment areas and 140 staff. There was however a few ways this business could have been saved.
As I said, the business model had not been working for a number of years. Currys and Harvey Norman have better buying power and better terms with the bank for getting consumers finance. What Laser needed to do was to create more ways of doing business rather than sticking to the tradional ‘waiting for people to come in the door approach’ (more…)
The People’s Manifesto – an attack on 4×4 drivers !
Alan in Belfast talks about Mark Thomas new book, the People’s Manifesto. Its a good post, read it. The book looks good to, like a common sense approach to politics.
I just want to pull a few points from the book though,
“4×4 drivers should be forced to drive everywhere off-road, even to Sainsburys.”
That would sadly be illegal, most of the land (over 80% in Northern Ireland) is owned farmland and as such driving across it is trespassing.
“Anyone with a 4×4 in a city must also volunteer for the nearest mountain rescue service.”
On the UK Mainland their is such a thing as ‘The 4×4 response team’ which is a voluntary organisation and they do great work. Sadly in Northern Ireland this does not exist and no one I spoke to in local council seemed overly bother about setting one up.
I am off course, picking holes. I am for the 4×4 driver ! The correct 4×4 driver that is, I don’t have a 4×4 at present however when I did own one, I drove it off road. I stopped to pull fallen tree’s from the road and I pulled car’s from ditches. 4x4s are not a bad thing however the large % of 4x4s on our roads are nothing more than cars ferrying kids to school and mums to shops and these people do not know how to drive a 4×4 correctly !
I will buy a 4×4 again and I will take it off road ! (legally)
Rant over
Russell
Is twitter a valid newsroom for Northern Ireland ?
Since the dawn of Newspapers people have rushed to the local store to grab the morning headlines, then came along radio and people could tune in hourly to get their fix of local and national news. During war time people stayed glued to their radio’s to find out where the Natzi’s had bombed next and how the troops were getting on in Europe.
One thing has remained constant forever, people crave news and people want to be the first to know.
We had it really good there for a while, were we could hop on to numerous news sites and grab our fix but times are changing and newspapers are at the advent of charging for online content. So were do we look to get our news fix ? (more…)
50p Broadband Tax, gone …….. but not forgotten !
I won’t get bogged down with talking about the digital economy bill or whatever other title’s that have been thrown about for what is effectively the EU Data Retention Directive re-packaged to suit the British Government. I can’t, as an ISP, I’m too close to it and the outcome of whatever does eventually pass through law effects not only my company but my clients and end users as well. When the time is right however, you will hear my thoughts !
What I can talk about though is this 50p line rental tax. What Labour proposes is that a tax of 50p per month per line is strapped onto every phone line in the UK, the money it says will fuel a new super fast broadband product available to all, well not quite superfast….. What we are actually talking about here is 2meg minimum in rural areas (that is anyone not in a ‘big’ city) (more…)
A few great businesses coming from Northern Ireland right now.
I have been working with Prince’s Trust as a volunteer and business mentor for nearly a year now. I am continually over whelmed by the businesses that come out of the program and sometimes more so the young people we work with.
This year the trust helped 200 young people in Northern Ireland to get a foothold in business and life, some made it and some did not but the ones that did not were able to use the experience gained to get fantastic paid employment. There is always a great span of businesses coming through the program and you always see the regulars like web dev companies, dog walkers, photographers and the like. I’m not knocking those businesses as the people behind them are great people but sometimes some fantastic businesses come through the loop that really make you think. (more…)
Henderson Group to take over local coffee fanchise chain ‘the streat’
I have been working with ‘the streat’ for nearly two year’s now, providing a complimentary Wi-Fi service to customers in their key stores. They are a local success story started by Michael and wife Nikki McQuillan (of no relation).
The business started from just one store in Belfast in 1999 to a massive franchised coffee and sandwich store chain with over 30 locations in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Their stores are fresh, clean and provide good food at reasonable prices.
Their support network and business start plans and assistance are what keeps them alive and makes choosing them as a franchise a no brainer, over the past 10 years they have won several training awards and pride themselves on brand and quality.
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