Community Spotlight

[Martin-O2]

Hi everyone, 

I happy to bring you another community spotlight! This time around the spotlight is on @Anonymous. Choegyn joined the O2 community this year has has quickly become a regular face around the boards and has provided us with a fantastic Microsoft Band review as part of Try the Tech. 

We've asked a few questions to help you all get to know Choegyn better so say hi and feel free to ask any follow up questions. 

What's your name and where are you from?

 I'm Steve and I am from Bury, Lancashire

Favourite thing about the forum/what do you like best?

The best thing about the forums is everyone helping each other, also usually there is always someone willing to chat gaming

Why did you join the O2 forums?

I joined the forums because I switched over from Virgin, also I used to work for O2 in their Bury Call Centre on customer service for the old Genie Sims back when I was a wee nipper, all young and dumb with all my own hair, and I thought I would see if some of the knowledge I retained was still up to date and of use to anyone

Which mobile phone did you first own and why?

My first mobile was a present of my parents back in 1998, it was on orange on the Just Talk plan, and it was an big Motorola, best thing about it was the plan as the name implies it was not intended for texting, and this phone kept the last text you sent, had to delete it everytime you went to send a new one. Anyway to stop you from sending the texts they weren't billing you for the essentially sent 160 spaces, delete them and free texts for about 15 monhts. The aerial did tend to stick you in uncomfortable places if you forgot to take it out of your pocket before you sat down though.

Apple, Android or Windows?

Firmly a windows user, I have for me a Lumia 950, and I love it, syncs with my desktop, laptop, xbox, tablet and who needs aoos when you can just access a website. Also to be honest I have a samsung s6 for work, dont use apps on that either.

Favourite movie/TV show/actor?

This is not a question I can answer, my list would run several pages - lets just say sci-fi and leave it at that

What are your tastes in music?

As above, but if we get some Zappa or some ACDV going Im a happy man 

Do you have any pets?

Do kids count? I do I have three cats, they were meant to be the childrens but soon they got sick of feeding, cleaning, emptying the litter tray and since the canal was a bit of a walk I decided to keep hold of them for a while. 

Cats or dogs which is better?

Neither, I never wanted pets, however I would be tempted to adopt a dog in the next question, where he would be my early warning system.

What is your zombie apocalypse plan?

First, you need the right location, I am thinking farmhouse and moors, I intend to ram raid the library, get books on farming and animal welfare, after all I have no useful skills unless the zombie wants its taxes doing. Then we have to setup a lot of big walls and fences, become my own little self sufficient world, might take the Mrs and the kids, but Clara from Dr Who might need somewhere to hide...

Favourite meal?

I love a curry the award winning Jewel in The Crown do a cheese tika, start with that add a mixed kebab starter for two and additional shami, the main is usually a chicken karahi, wash down with dark ale and a couple of rennies to polish off.

Future developments in mobile tech your looking forward to?

At the minute I am awaiting some more AR to become involved in life, I know Google glass never took off, but hololens is looking like a good shot and witht eh advent of games supporting it, popular usage is just around the corner. Hopefully they will also make it compatible with my presciption 

Hobbies besides mobile?

Well noly a few of these as I have two children under two so they take up a lot of time, I am involved in local politics, I am currently working towards getting the conservative nomination for local councillor in the Unsworth Ward of Bury South, I coach an under 9s football team (Bury FC Jrs Hawks) aside form this I decided I wanted to expand my horizons so I am doing a part time history degree. Other than this it is Xbox, bit more Xbox, pontificating on ales, and then some Xboix

Awesome stuff thanks Choegyn! 

[Anonymous]

May I ask about your interest in local politics please ? You say you are working towards becoming a conservative councillor ... I am interested in politics & don't mind saying I voted conservative in the constituency of Ripon & Skipton (although at heart I am a Liberal) ... what do you hope to acheive in local politics ?

[Toby]

Lovely to see a Spotlight on you @Anonymous!

What games are currently playing on Xbox?

[Anonymous]

At the minute with the kids I dont get to game very often and so I have gone back to an old favourite, so got Sleeping Dogs on the go, prefer this to any GTA the Hong Kong setting is different and the fact its more hand to hand and less gunplay makes it feel a bit fresher than GTA, shame they ditched the sequel.

[Anonymous]

There are a few things that are local area specific that I think need preserving, first we have a nature reserve in Hollins which needs a champion, both for publicity of the events run there and general protection, we had someone dumping asbestos and the response from the current coucillors was dire.

We also have developers circling our green belt, the play parks need maintainance, the health centre is in a poor condition and someone really needs to ensure that is followed up on.

Some local services such as the library and Besses Childrens (outreach programme to young mums, they bring toys and have a chat and a brew help out if your struggling) are under threat in local cuts.

Finally my biggest bug bear issue is local waste collection, we are on a three week bin collection cycle, but if you look at it sensibly, that means every three weeks someone comes to collect my half empty cardboard and my empty garden waste binm whilst my overflowing black bin stinks and rots, so the conservative pledge in our area is to adjust teh bin cycles to follow a two weekly collection, hopefully by moving collections such as cardboard and garden waste, to a monthly collection.

[Anonymous]

Hi @Anonymous

Thank you for answering my question comprehensively ... I thought maybe it was too personal perhaps

All laudible aims above  ^  ^  ^

I live in Skipton, North Yorkshire, re: waste collection

green wheelie bin is household waste & collected fortnightly

blue bag is for paper / cardboard & is collected the alternate fortnightly to the green wheelie bins

blue wheelie bin for glass, metal & plastic is collected monthly co-inciding with one of the blue bag collections

All bins & blue bag have to be put outside of property in time for the bin van, I put my stuff outside the night before

I don't have a garden but there is a brown wheelie bin scheme for that waste

& the bin men are great 

My biggest bug bear is canal lighting ... it was on recently for 1 Sunday night, then off again ... no-one will take responsibility for it or those having an interest find it difficult to work together 

[Anonymous]

Can't be too personal, otherwise how would the electorate know what I stand for

We run a different system in Bury, we have four 32l wheelie bins for everything, that said it could be worse, Conwy in Wales are looking at/have started monthly collections.

Would canal lighting (not an issue for me so not my area of expertise) come under canals and waterways, assuming they own the land the tow path is on.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:


Would canal lighting (not an issue for me so not my area of expertise) come under canals and waterways, assuming they own the land the tow path is on.

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I've tried contacting a councillor I knew from a different sphere of life, she emailed me 'Highways have to Kick Ass' ... the dear, most redoubtable lady has since passed away ... the Canal & Riverways Trust are trying but have no money or clout ... someone somewhere went through all the processes of having the lamp post lights in the first place & someone somewhere  switched them off several years ago - & who put the lights on for one night only ? I did write a short letter to the local newspaper saying 'A Big Thank You' then the lights went out again = what a farce !

[Anonymous]

Sadly unles someone argues 24/7 its easy to get sidelined, did used to have a similar problem in Radcliffe years ago on the canal tow paths, it took to someone being attacked and seriously injured until it was resolved.

[Curr946]

another winphan.... yaaasssss!

[Toby]

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@Curr946 wrote:
another winphan.... yaaasssss!

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The numbers are growing