Goodbye Snow – Was it Really That Bad and Do You Own a Tablet Yet?
Well, I’ve been absent again for a few weeks due to a hectic schedule. I had to prepare for my trip to Kenya whilst I waded through snow and slush between London, Luton and Corydon. I rarely travel these routes but on the worst weekend of snow this year I had to. Anyway, was it really that bad in London? It’s probably easier for me to discard the weather since I am now actually in Kenya with temperatures ranging from 26 to 32 degrees centigrade. Don’t feel bad I’ll be back soon. Well, in three weeks.
I’ve been doing surveys based around how we react in bad weather. Whether we avoid going out or brave the elements. I had to brave the elements to go to work and most people in London did. Only those living outside London who were “snowed in” for want of a better phrase got to stay in, although I did get the chance to leave early as the snow thickened and other field engineers were sent home to further destinations than my relatively close Barking. Yes, I live in Barking. I’m now watching Sky News and see that snow is due in some parts of the UK, again!
Do you own a tablet? I have been seeing quite a few surveys on whether or not I own a tablet and how handy or helpful I find them. Personally I had not considered a tablet until recently as I own a smartphone with quite a large screen (no, not a Samsung Galaxy Note which needs a shoulder strap) and did most things on it. I came to realise that owning a good smartphone meant that you needed to fire up your laptop less as you could read and send emails, read documents, complete online forms etc. The only problem with a owning a smartphone is that you get so used to the additional functionality that you start wanting more and then you catch a glimpse of the tablets as you stroll through PC World. Wow, now I can almost replicate the laptop experience without having a cumbersome laptop (which was actually invented to avoid cumber amazingly) weighing down my case. They turn on quicker from sleep mode and can be taken out in public without looking like your trying to make a personal office out of your tube chair on the Jubilee line. In fact, one now looks rather ridiculous opening a 15 inch laptop on the tube. But that’s just what I think.
I have now purchased one for my wife as we have a 22 month old son and every time he sees the laptop opening it appears to be a signal for him to dive towards it. I got a Nexus 7 after considering the Samsung Tab 2 10.1 as the large screen may have been too much to carry around. I got the 3G version because WIFI is less common in our part of Kenya and it works fine with the Safaricom network. I’m going to buy one for myself when I get back because carrying out surveys on tablets is far easier than on a smartphone and his year has seen a lot more surveys on offer.
Well, my time has come so I wish you all the best until next week when I’ll let you know if I’ve reached the coast (Mombasa) yet. Don't be jealous. No, do.
Peace
Jay
