Good Fortune

Those that know me well will know that I have a puritanical streak that makes me resist sweepstakes, lotteries, and putting the odd 50p on Manchester City getting a Swedish manager. Those who know me less well know that think I have deep pockets and short arms, which is why I never get a round of drinks in.

So what kind of good fortune does a non-gambler get? Firstly my utility company (the one that Jeff Moss is building a data warehouse for) gave me an unexpected (large) refund (OK, it was already my money, but getting it back was good) and a reduction on my monthly payments. Then the satellite TV provider (strangely, the one where Doug Burns used to work) invited me to try all of their channels (including sports and movies) completely free of charge for three months and also gave me £50 in high street store vouchers to do so. And finally we had the call from the city council telling us that we had the best ‘newcomer’ garden in Milton Keynes and will receive our prize from the mayor; followed by another call asking how we wanted the trophy inscribed.

To be honest I do like those promotions that give away something of value for trying a product whether you purchase or not. A few years ago Mercedes Benz gave me £25 pounds of gardening vouchers just for test driving a car, and Volvo gave me a Sony Walkman for a similar exercise, all I need do now is to find the promotion that gives me the gift without even having the hassle of trying the product.

I have been taking a few days off work – it is the first week of the English school holidays and we arranged a grand parent visit to cheer up the children. So for the past few days only the occasional thought about BI architecture has passed my mind. Back to work tomorrow and on with next few projects, a database upgrade and a the high level design of a couple of new systems… it will keep me off the streets for a few days, but might prompt some random musing or other.