And one of the problems is that I do a lot of things. Probably too much but that is how I’ve always been. Always having ideas and starting on them – whether I ended up finishing them is a completely different matter and worthy of a much longer discussion.

But it’s probably worth taking a look at what I am doing now, partly to shock myself and partly so that you can check out other stuff I am doing,

Redevelopment of a website for 1 client
Creation of a new site for 1 client
I’ve just finished redeveloping another site for a client
A large project for development of numerous web-based tools for a client

CreditCrunchDad.co.uk
LifeRiot.co.uk – this is my series of websites that includes;
GamesRiot.co.uk
LaughRiot.co.uk
MovieRiot.co.uk
MusicRiot.co.uk
StageRiot.co.uk
and two new ones coming soon.
Also Liferiot.co.uk/twitterviews where do the occasional twitter interview.

I am also working on two new projects, one with one of my brothers which is due to launch in early 2010, and the other is with a friend and has a launch date of March next year.

I wonder sometimes why I feel knackered and my to-do list only ever seems to grow….

Oh yeah, and I am a new father…

– eBay Mobile
We had quite a few baby things given to us when Max was born, but as fast as he grows so do his needs and requirements, so we are always on the look out for the next thing for him to sit in, play with, etc. eBay Mobile puts all those searches and the chance to bid in my pocket.

– EverNote
So Things handles my stuff to do, but what about the other stuff, the bits of information that is normally scattered across my bookmarks folder, documents folder, email folders? That’s where Evernote comes in. I chuck stuff at it and then I can access it via iPhone app, Mac desktop app or via the web if those two aren’t available.

– pzizz Relax
Some people call them Power Naps – I hate that phrase as it is so 80s and so reminiscent of Thatcher. But I do those 20 minute sleeps during the day that help me rest a bit, get some energy back and face the day again. Pzizz Relax I first discovered on the Mac but now love the iPhone version that helps you wind down, relax, fall asleep and then wakes you after your chosen duration. Very neat and important when looking after a baby that drains energy out of you!

– Total Baby
It’s bad enough trying to take care of a new baby and yourself while suffering from levels of sleep deficiency that should be made illegal, but to also try to alter your babies schedule to something similar is difficult when you can’t remember the last time he/she fed, napped or crapped. Total Baby is a lifesaver for that – you can quickly and easily mark when feeding or sleeping begins and ends, as well as dirty nappies, baths and taking of various medicines.

– RunKeeper Pro
This uses GPS to help track your runs. How does that help with baby? Well for me it is a geek way to encourage me to go out and about pushing the pram and then compare the distance, speed etc on the RunKeeper website. I need to keep fit and make sure we are all getting enough fresh air – this helps.

– ReelDirector
I’ve taken many videos of my son on the iPhone but it’s not easy to alter them, and tart them up for public viewing, or even to combine different videos. ReelDirector helps you to do this quickly and easily.

– VideoUploader
After tarting up my videos with ReelDirector I use VideoUploader to send them to my chosen video-hosting site.

Overview
As we had only purchased tickets at the last minute we would have to collect them at the front office. Unfortunately this wasn’t apparently something that the staff guiding the cars in were aware of as even though we explained we needed to pick-up tickets we were told to go straight to the car-park. Don’t! The parking tickets are with the rest of the tickets which you need to get from the main box office in the entrance hall.

The Baby Show was very well attended both with exhibitors and visitors but only rarely got too crowded to move with a buggy in places which was good. The dedicated changing area was good and well-stocked, and there is a feeding area though we didn’t use that as the other half fed him while wandering around instead.

Good Points
There were some absolute gems of stalls at the Show, not because they were necessarily all-singing and all-dancing but because of the products they were displaying and information they were giving. I’ve been trying for a while to get a grip on the numerous types of Real Nappies without much success, today however I was able to check a huge number of them out, get info and have demonstrations.

I also found out about a lot of products that while we may not have purchased at the show will definitely be going into our lists of things to buy. Unfortunately with our little one at 3 months of age we are kind of in the middle of things – we aren’t weaning so that negates one swathe of products, we aren’t ready for a lighter buggy for him to sit-up in, etc. etc.

Also at the show is a Life-Saving course which I would highly recommend anyone should get along to. It’s free, courtesy of Tesco’s Baby & Toddler Club, and covers some essential skills you need in case of the most common baby emergencies.

Bad Points
Now I know this isn’t an issue with The Baby Show itself but as a visitor you should know that the food places aren’t that great. At least not the one we tried – Taste Italia, because the queues outside Pizza Express were huge. If they have a system for delivery of food then it’s one based on chaos theory. I am not sure how long it took for me to get a panini and a pasta dish, probably 30 minutes, but it seemed like that anyway.

Luckily they were so embarrassed that I ended up with two panini’s and a free large coffee, but it didn’t really make up for the tedious waiting.

As for the Baby Show itself I was disappointed at the hard-sell of the majority of the exhibitors. Take the example of the Real Nappies. We haven’t decided what system to go for, we do have a lot more information which is good but we want to check out other reviews and info. But if we do that then we miss out on the Show Deals. I wish more of the exhibitors had the same approach as Easidream (http://www.easidream.com/) who gave us whatever information we wanted but also had the special show price available on their website for the weekend of the show. That means we can go away, have a think and decide.

For people affected by the credit crunch like we have been, we need time to consider larger purchases and not have hard-sell after hard-sell just so that retailers hit their weekend targets. Sort it out people, and make more money in the long-term!

OVERALL
We got only a handful of purchases, we got some good advice from exhibitors and the life-saving course, and we got a whole load of bags with stuff in! Was it worth the money – I think so, could it have been better – yes.

Credit Crunch Dad – BT Baby Monitor 150 review from CreditCrunch Dad on Vimeo.

Credit Crunch Dad – BT Baby Monitor 150 review. This is my first attempt at a video review – done for Amazon and CreditCrunchDad.co.uk