The Future - 2nd February 2015

Well hello hello! How we are all? Yes, I know I haven't done a blog for months but here I am, sitting on the Met line and trying to keep warm.

What made me all of a sudden do a blog I here you ask? Well my dear blog reader, I have seen the future and wanted to share with you what it looks like.

So, a couple of weeks ago, a colleague at work came to see me and said he urgently needed 10 minutes of my time to discuss something very important.

What could it be I wondered? Had he come up with a new analytics algorithmic that was more powerful than Benford's Law, had he won the lottery (as unlikely to be the Spot the Ball competition, as no one has won that for about 10 years), or had he decided that it was time for pastures new.

Well it was none of those things, and it was in fact to share that he had test driven a car that was from the future.

As an avid car enthusiast (whenever I'm in WH Smiths), and also mindful that my current pet Jaguar is going back to the vets in April, I was all ears to hear more... 

The car was the Tesla Model S (nope I hadn't heard of it either), and he preceded to tell me why it was like no car he had even driven before!

Intrigued, he took me to the website and showed me why....

1. It's purely an electric car, but faster than most sports cars

2. It's got a range of 300 miles between fill ups

3. It's got loads of gadgets!! The centre piece of the  car is a 17" touch screen that controls everything from the map, media, camera, web surfing to car controls. 

4. It's got an iPhone app that lets you control lots of the settings including telling you when it's charged!

5. It's got no road tax, congestion charge, 5% company car tax and costs about £6 to fill up the 'tank'

The car is basically like the world's most advanced smartphone that you drive. Having said that, it has a feature called autopilot, which will do most of that for you if you don't fancy tapping the pedals!

Like a phone, you get updates to the functionality, so it never gets out of date. Brilliant!

It's a really big car too and you can fit 7 people (or 10 Indian people) if you opt for the optional 2 seats in the boot. You can use the front trunk or "frunk" to store your luggage instead. Happily, the seats go up quite high so us 5ft 2" folks can see where we are going rather than driving from memory and touch...

So I've spent the last few weeks reading and watching youtube videos all about this futuristic car, and last week finally had a test drive of it to see if it was as amazing as all the reviews of it say...

All I can say is...Roll on April when mines gets delivered. :-)

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Thursday 30th October 2014

Well hello hello! Long time...long time!

Happy Diwali and a happy New Year to you all! According to our Indian calendar, we have just entered the year 2071! Just to reassure you my dear blog reader, the met line ain't running any faster than it was in 2014...

Being half term week I have managed to get a seat. Hurrah!

It's been a while since my last blog I know and I was getting people holding up banners outside my house asking what's going on, so here it is!

So what have I been up to you ask? Well, been catching up with the TV programmes. My regular ones are Apprentice (glueless...bloody clueless) as well as Gogglebox, '24hrs in custody' and of course x-factor and strictly. The latter on x30 normal speed (and that's just when they are singing and dancing!)

Advert of the week: We bet we can make you think of Chicken...told you. Err thanks for that Nando...unless it's veggie chicken, that's not really going to work for me...

App of the week: Presence. Ever wondered what to do with with your old igadgets now you have your shiny iPhone 6 and iPad 2 Air? Stop...don't throw the old ones in the bin, I have the perfect solution for you! What's that? Your concerned what you nanny or butler are doing when your not at home? Or just wondering whose broken into your house? Well this is the app that can help. It replaces expensive in door camera security systems by using your old igadgets instead. As long as they are connected to wifi and have a power source plugged in, the app will monitor for movement. What's super cool is that it will alert you via a notification or email if your old skool if something's moved. It will send you a little video so you

can check it out. It's brilliant, it's free and even tells you if someone has unplugged it. Min marks out of 10...9.7583

Joke of the week: I've just been given two weeks to live....Mrs Min's gone away to stay with her mum...

Ahem...right, time to swap over to the Uxbridge line so let's call it a day there!

Have a lovely evening and a great sleep

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Saturday 20th September 2014

Well hello hello! How exciting is this! A blog on a Saturday. Decided to go to see the British Library today to see if I can see my book on the shelf, so thought I'd better do a blog as only the Pic line is working today, and it's only a mere 22 stops from Rayners so have a bit of time to kill.

Advert of the week:

Woah! Initially I thought this was another dating style website, which I guess it kind of is..without the dating! Its a bank with a difference I guess, as not only can you specify if you want your child to have blue eyes and likely to be a giant (6ft), but also what occupation they will do when they grow up!!! Wowza! Not sure many people will be ticking that accountant box...

So what else has been going on in the world? Oh yes. Scotland...I have been doing quite a bit of analytics on this topic over the last week and I had predicted that it was always going to be No. How did I do this you asked Min? Are you a magician? Can you see into the future? Please tell us... Well, it's quite simple. If you looked at the odds at the bookies, you could see that the bookies had started paying out on the 'no vote' from earlier this week! Money always concentrates the mind huh. 

I know that Cobra, the emergency govt committee had lots of contingencies in place just in case the Scots had actually got their wish. The plan was to take this on the chin, and let them call their new country something that would be a blend of both countries so they don't forget their history. The plan was for them to go for the first 3 letters of the country where Westminster was and the last 4 letters of their current country...

It was a bit sad to see Alex Salmond retiring from politics though. Just remember Alex, there's always a welcoming place for you south of the border....France.

It did make me chuckle that Scotland can leave the UK simply by checking a box that says "Yes." and I have to agree to 18 pages of terms and conditions to download iOS 8.

I was up late into the night checking those and downloaded it last night. It's not that different but I do like the new predictive keyboard and the fact you can add your voice to text messages. Woah, what next? The ability to actually call them?

Tip of the week:  Fed up with waiting ages for your iPhone to charge? Well, did you know that if you put it in Airplane mode whilst you do, it will charge loads quicker! Also means that Mrs Min can't contact me for a bit...

App of the week: Like your music tunes but also want to discover new songs for that genre? Do you spend lots of time on the tube with no signal or don't want to use your precious data allowance. Well Blinkbox is for you! It's really neat! Just select an artist or genre of music and it creates a personal radio station for you but the best thing is that you can ask it to download the songs to your phone for free! Hurrah! It's helped me with my street cred with the kids at work when I start humming 'Somebody to you' by the Vamps

It's a super app and I give the app 9.2353 out of 10. This blog was brought to you by my sponsors Tesco...

Latest news: Idi Amin still remains the last king of Scotland..

Right managed to get all the way to Green Park! Enjoy the weekend and have a lovely sleep!

A small man called Min.

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Wednesday 10th September 2014

Well hello hello! How are we folks?

It's been a while but I thought it was time for a blog special after yesterday's lovely Apple event, so I could share my views on what we saw.

Let's take them in order...

iPhone 6

Yes. Most of the leaks turned out to be true, so happy to see the slighter bigger screen, better res, the bigger battery so I won't need to recharge again in the morning till at least 9:14. But I guess the Apple Pay was the biggest talking point. Hurrah, I no longer need a real wallet as long as all my worldly demands include paying for stuff in McDonald's and Subway. Seriously I think this is going to be revolutionary for the way we pay for everything as all the major card companies are on board. As Apple has 500 million iTunes users already (so already has your card payment details), I reckon adoption will spread quickly. Also will make a bob or two for them with their commission to all the retailers and merchants! What else...nope that it.

iPhone 6 plus.  No people this isn't just for 'big boned' people but Apple's response to the phablet market and making sure folks don't defect to Samsung notes.  For a small man like me, it's massive and I'm thinking of selling my plasma and just watching TV on that! Little bit funny how Apple said a couple of years back how no one would want something you couldn't operate with one hand! It is super big, but I reckon could be quite good for emails and watching 'catch up TV on the player in the morning on the met line'.

It will be interesting to see if this takes sales from their iPad mini though.

Will be interesting to see the prices for buying the phone off contract. The bloke next to me said it could be £900. £900!!

For that sort of cash, I hope when you put it on airplay mode, it takes you on a holiday!!

Iwatch

My bad...apple watch. Apparently this was because they wanted to the watch to appeal to fashion folks like me, rather than just the traditional user base who had all the other i products. First impressions. Thank god they have finally announced it as I've been wearing a real apple on my wrist the last couple of months and it's starting to smell a bit!

I kinda hope it was round like the moto360, but I'm sure it will grow on me. The different straps and magnet click into place thing is neat and I don't think I've talked about crowns on a watch so much in my life! The haptic feedback system is neat so I won't have to take out my phone or even my watch when I enter a dodgy area. Hurrah!

 The big question is how long will the battery last? I'm already getting ready for the 'Sorry I'm late for work Sir, I forgot to charge my watch' excuse... I would rather it wasn't accurate to 50ms, but rather the battery worked longer than a day.

Everyone I've spoken to as said 'no way, why would you want that'...but that's what they said about the iPad...

Having brought all the iPhones so far since the first one in 2007, obviously I will be getting one in 'early 2015', but to be on the safe side to ensure I get to work on time, I will be transferring my regular watch to my right hand...

Let me know what your views were folks.

Standing outside Covent Garden apple store...only 9 days before I can collect my latest igadget...have a lovely sleep!

A small man called Min.

P.S. I was gonna take Mrs Min a special gift of a world wide holiday tour but have just spent the money on the igadgets instead. We can see everything on the watch right, just twiddle the crown...

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Wednesday 6th August 2014

Well hello hello! It's still rather hot huh, and ready for some regular summer weather now!

The tube looks nice and busy and we have a healthy selection of folks reading the paper, books, or just sleeping! Maybe their phones have no charge left...

Just looked at the adverts on this tube and they are all rather dull so gonna skip this bit today.

Adventure of the week: So last night, I went to this restaurant called Circus near Holborn station. It's a bit different to your regular place as between each course, some folks come onto the dinner table and do some entertainment. Everything from doing acrobatics to fire eating. The Asian food was lovely, especially the pudding which come in this deal or no deal style black box. I decided to deal...

Well done Circus, definitely worth a visit if your looking for something different (and someone else is paying. Indian innit)...

App of the week: ok gang, imagine this. You secretly want to find fame and fortune and you do rather fancy yourself as the next Adele / Robbie but just need to get a true understanding of if your good enough. Also, you can't be bothered to queue for the x-factor. What to do?? Well, consider downloading "Singer takes it all", an app which goes with the Ch5 new series hosted by Alan Carr. 

You basically can either record in karaoke  fashion a song,  or just have loads of fun pretending you are Simon Cowell with their fate in your hands. You get a 30sec clip, and you press a "Hit" or Miss" button after the first 5 seconds.  It's really addictive and gives you an insight into the great british public. A lot of the singers were rather big boned which I though was true dedication of not going out and just practising with just some KFC/Pizza for company. Min marks out of 10...9.452

Thought of the week: Was Luke always warm?

Right, time to check out some more singers, so let's leave it there! Have a lovely sleep!

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Wednesday 23rd July 2014

Well hello hello! How are we all and sorry for not doing a blog last week...I was washing my virtual hair...

Thought about cancelling the blog just now as not in the best of moods to be honest with you my dear blog reader.

I was walking past Sainsbury's when I saw a sign saying, "All items: a third off." So I decided to buy a dozen eggs. Just opened the box on the Met line and seen that 4 of them were bad.

Boom! And we are off! (For the less statistically minded of you 1/3 off, brought 12 eggs...word play of 'off'...get it now?...)

So rather late getting away today from work but the good news is that the tube is well deserted! There are only 6 people in our whole carriage! Happy days! I've stretched my legs out as far as they can. Nope still can't touch the floor...

Advert of the week: The Gold One - I've always loved it. from my first dance competition to going out tonight. Always backstage. always in my bag. - Cheryl Cole.   Woah! I have no idea what that advert is about. There is a sign in the corner that says 'Elnett Satin'. Nope, still no idea, perhaps it's a chocolate or a wig...let me know.

Well this time of night certainly draws in a different crowd. I'm looking at the now 4 people in the carriage and they are doing strange things like reading the paper or a book. No candy crush in sight!..gonna make sure I leave earlier tomorrow.

Just seeing the headline in the evening standard about some chap who was killed in London when he got caught up in a turf war. I wonder if he was mowed down?...

App of the week: So, how hot has it been for the last few weeks! That orange ball of light has finally found us and I've been that confident of the weather predictions (thanks BBC Weather app), that I've replaced the umbrella in my manbag with a solar power iphone charger.

I don't know about you, but it's been getting a bit too hot for my liking so this app has been a life saver for me. The app is particular useful for those of you who don't have the luxury of air con like we do on the new (but still a bit rubbish as they have stolen all the chairs) met line.

What am i going on about?  An app called 'Sleepy Fan'. It's a virtual fan for your iphone which plays authentic sounds of a fan and animation and fools your brain that your actually being cooled. What was funny was this morning, the woman next to me asked if I could point it in her direction as she was 'glowing'. I put it on top speed for her and after about 15 seconds, she goes, ahh, that's much better, thank you.

Come to think of it, I think she said her name was Cheryl something...

It's a fun app and currently free so give it a go. Min marks out of 10..8.6735

Which reminds me. Wind Turbines. I'm a big fan...

Mrs Min news: Mrs Min said she's decided to leave me as she been seeing a dolphin behind my back for the last few weeks. I asked her why and she said that they just sort of clicked...

Right, that's your lot. Time to turn the fan on. Have a lovely rest of the week and a great sleep!

A small man called Min

Got anything new to report? - Min's MinIT Update. Wednesday 9th July 2014

Well hello hello! How are we all? 

Left work a bit later today, as been rather busy (more about that in a bit), but the good news is that I've got a seat! Yippee!

So, how crazy was the match last night! I saw there was a chap who had put £5 on Germany to win 5-0 and Muller to score first, at 800/1.  He must have got rather excited at half time.

Lots of funny stuff following the match on social media today, checkout 

http://dancinghenryalmanac.com/world-cup-folding-arms/random-player.html

The man opposite has fallen asleep and also has his hands in a kind of prayer  position. Wonder if he's from Argentina...

Advert of the week: Football is our lobster. It has pictures of Ronaldo, Michael Owen and two other chaps who must be famous. Err that's it. Oh in small writing it says 'the sports social network'

What the hell has that got to do with lobster? Apart from a lobster could probably commentate better than Michael Owen... Think I'll stick to Facebook thanks mate.

So, the reason why I'm late today i hear you ask? We have only received a delivery of Google Glass! No mum you can't call it Google Glasses as that's not what the kool kids call it...

Where do I start, apart from...I have seen the future!  The glasses (damn)....the glass takes a few minutes to get used to but after that it's just like second nature. A bit like you never forget to ride a bike or drive a manual, even if you've driven an automatic for years. Mrs Min still drives a manual like an automatic even today and always responds back 'But I like First gear when I'm on the M1...'

Where was I..oh yeah, so once you have stuck them on your face (I needed to put them on top of my glasses, so feel I look even more super cool) and then adjust the prism screen so it's in the top left corner. There is an app called MyGlass (remember all one word, otherwise you

may get another app call Kiss My Glass, which is really not going to help unless your looking for transparent put downs...'

The app pairs with your phone, using bluetooth, then either wifi or personal hotspot, giving you a quick tutorial regarding the various swipes and taps you can do. It's dead easy. Once set, your ready to go and you can say 'ok glass' then whatever you want to do. It let's you read your emails, (if your super lazy, it will even read them out!), see your pics or take pics just by blinking or 'take picture' command, though thought best not try this right now whilst on the tube as it could be my very last blog ever!!

Oh 'one more thing'..it uses some fancy skull bone technology so you can hear commands, your music etc straight through your head rather than old fashioned head phones. It's all simply amazing even though it's rather expensive at £1000. Min marks out of 10..9.854

Joke of the week: Look on the bright side Brazil...you haven't got far to go home...

Ok google, that's your lot. Come on Netherlands and Brazil, you have a great sleep!

Ta ra

A small man called Min