So the Freaks track gets a brand new shinny vocal redo which is awesome. Its designed for the commercial dance floors and has such a catchy vocal to it, its bound to do well. The orignal has been doing wonders on the dance floor and this redo makes it far more commercially appealing.

Marks out of 10: 9!

Irelands insurance policy’s are a complete joke, there seems to be absolutely no logic behind the numbers they pull out of the air and slap on your premiums. I heard a catchy ad on the radio and decided to give 123.ie a try for my car insurance, based on their ad that they were so sure if they don’t beat your current premium they’ll change their price to beat the competition and give you an extra cash saving. So i logged on, lost five minutes of my life inputting all my personal information and guess what their quote was 1000 Euro more expensive than my current renewal price!!! Clearly they wont get my business even with their fancy promises to beat the current price, i just get an impression they are over promising and under delivering. Recklessly wasting potential customers time. I’d never even consider them for a quote again now. Clearly they must serve some niche (or be some way competitive in their own right?) but by advertising to the mass market they completely alienate they rest of the market and create an awful comsumer image.

Vodafone texting is down tonight, spent the last hour or so trying to send texts to people to no avail. Rang the customer care team, waited for the usual not so prompt service and was told that yes it was down, no they don’t know why and they hope it will be up again soon.

I’m surprised in the stage of development that everything hasn’t back up services so that something like this simply doesnt happen anymore?

VS

Fierce Angels Vs Hed Kandi seem to be going head to head again with their sample series hitting their shops at the same time. This is where the label puts together a sample of their music on a single CD and sellings it for Eur 6/8 respectively.

Both samples are extremely good buys for anyone that hasn’t got the plunge to buy the albums and they contain some of my biggest/favourite tracks of this year so far. Click on the above links if you wanna head the types of music i’m talking about as both sites broadcast and if you like it i’d suggest picking up both sample cd’s!

I have to take my hat off to Defected records. These guys in a sweet inspirational burst of logic gave their customers exactly what they want! Curing two of my pet hates in one album.

1. Defected released a “DJ Format” CD which is the full unmixed 12″ mixes of the tracks on their latest Mix CD compliation. Most Djs like myself simply don’t buy certain compliations because they are pre-mixed and we need the full versions of the tracks we play. Would i have bought the album if it was mixed? Certainly not, infact i’ve passed the mixed version in the shops a few times before and not even lifted it.

2. Defected supplied “cd wallet” inserts with their album! Sounds simple but this little move is a huge favour who has to scan in the back of the album cover and print it out (or try find a fitted tracklisting online) every time they want to add an album to their collection.

These two simple steps moved defected as a label that i sometimes buy into a definate buy. I’m hoping some other companies will copy these two practices.

I was going over some old property “Daft Reports” today and something in David McWilliams Quarter 2 2005 post hit me:

“If you are buying today to generate an income from renting residential property, you have missed the boat. However, as the banks are lending hand over fist to the market, you can still make a few quid by avoiding being Paddy Last. That’s the rule. As Paddies continue to buy property as if it is going out of fashion, everyone’s exit strategy in this inflated market is to make sure there is another Paddy investor behind you to whom you can flog. So make sure you are not that guy – make sure you are not Paddy Last. Always keep the exit doors open”

Could this be the reason why some people are still swearing blindly that Ireland is invunerable to the looming property crash??? Is it as simple as they are still too heavily invested in it and therefore can’t admit that things have changed?

Fundamentals and Confidence are what drives a market. The fundamentals of investing for cashflow went years ago and the confidence is currently falling all around us. In Ken McElroy’s book the “ABC’s of real estate investing” (Kiyosaki’s Rich dad series) he suggested that the monthly rental should be 1% of the total purchase price on a reasonable investment deal. With Ireland running at three times that and a potentially shakey rental market in an economic down turn. So are you a Property Paddy Last???

Got to thinking this morning when people have a success they tend to correlate everything they did leading up to that success with the end result. At first glance that does seem to make sense, but what if that success is inspite of your efforts not because of them. Is the fact that we contiune to do what gave us results before the sole reason that we arent getting better results? Could it be a case that because someone is doing good they are less likely to be do Great??

Being dyslexic i completely suck at reading fast, but have decided to commit to improving. I try to read about one business related book every two weeks and i go through 1/2 audio books per week as part of my goal to become proficient at business. I was close to signing up for speed reading courses but the times never suit me and i’m always so busy that even if i make the first lesson i’m not sure i’d be there for the 3rd. Today i found this guy on YouTube and i thought it was so helpful to me that i’d post it up here so others can benefit from this guys knowledge.

I saw this the following video of Derren Brown demonstrating the power and manipulation that is available in subliminal advertising a few years ago and it’s never really left my mind. Saw it on Daniel’s blog and thought i’d post it here too.

Then i looked some other of his stuff and thought that this is amazing sales training! Really you could make a million from this skill alone!

The Worlds most expensive pint of Guinness on sale on Ebay:

“Something is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it’. Here is your chance to own the Worlds most expensive pint of Guinness.

A must for the Man or Woman who has almost everything or the perfect corporate gift. The winning bidder will be flown by executive jet (Maximum 6 people) to the home of Guinness, Ireland where you will enjoy 3 wonderful days of “Craic agus Ceoil” in true Irish style, experience old and new Irish life in the West, journey through the lush green landscapes of the Emerald Isle and enjoy a very very special Irish meal with more craic agus ceoil than you can shake a leprechauns stick at, after which you will be ceremoniously presented with the Worlds most expensive pint of Guinness to enjoy in the presence of a representative from the Guinness book of Records. On your journey home, you will be presented with your very own “Worlds Most Expensive Pint of Guinness” pint glass, beautifully housed in a crystal presentation box for you to cherish forever. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own what will surely become one of the worlds greatest luxuries. Become part of history! Impress your friends!! Winning bidder must pay 72 hours from auction end. Dates of travel are flexible and we will accommodate the dates of your choosing. Expect an experience of the highest standard. Cead Mile Failte 🙂 ‘

Ronan O’Brien, The Worlds most expensive pint of Guinness, Guinness,