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After over five varied and enjoyable years working for Siebel (and then Oracle) in Expert Services, I am changing jobs. However, I will continue to work for Oracle as part of the group responsible for Social CRM.

Although this was a internal transfer, my interview process was quite unusual. Instead of being forced to massage my CV into Microsoft Word format and send an email attachment to a faceless recruitment agency, I was able to publish my CV using Google Docs and the whole interview process was conducted by telephone.

A colleague had already thoughtfully pointed my prospective manager to a blog entry that was loosely relevant and he also was keen to review more technical oriented content on my Siebel related blog.

As an aside, you can only imagine the feelings and thoughts that flooded into my brain when my colleague uttered the immortal words: 'Hey Andy, I've given your <prospective new manager> a pointer to a couple of articles on your blog.'

The role will mean a few changes for me:

• I will now revert to having difficulty explaining to friends and relatives what I actually do.
• I will probably spend less time in airport lounges and more time with my family. Norma has already expressed grave reservations about this element of my career change.
• My manager will be in a different continent and timezone.
• I will be contributing to a corporate blog for the first time which will necessitate a slight shift in subject matter, terminology and slightly less of my dry, cynical, off the wall, British sense of humour although I do intend to maintain this personal blog.

I am currently tidying up a few loose ends in Expert Services and embarking on a emotional, sell-out, European farewell tour to all my favourite Siebel customers so I won't actually be starting my new role until mid-October but it will be an exciting change for me and I'm really looking forward to it.

I recently got an iTouch and, as I have been commuting into London recently, I have been listening to a few podcasts in an effort to usefully pass the time.

• Digital Planet - BBC's short (30 minute) roundup of technology news. Tends to cover new and interesting topics not on my conventional radar.
• Ricky Gervais - Yes, sometimes he's repetitive and childish but Ricky Gervais still produces occasional moments of pure genius that bring you to tears. Also features co-writer Stephen Merchant and Karl (perennial scapegoat) Pilkington.
• FIR - Neville Hobson is one of my favourite UK bloggers and this twice weekly 'For Immediate Release' podcast (co-hosted with Shel Holtz) covers a wide range of developments in social media and use of new technology in the Enterprise both in the US and Europe.
• Fighting Talk - Like Gervais, Colin Murray seems to provoke strong opinions but I like his sense of humour and quick wit as he comperes a sporting 'Have I Got News For You' style quiz.
• This Week in Tech - Leo Laporte's popular podcast. If you've been away from Google Reader for a while, this podcast is a great way to catch up with events from the tech world.
• Linux Outlaws - Last but by no means last, my favourite podcast. Co-hosted by Dan Lynch (Liverpool) and Fabian Scherschel (Germany), Linux Outlaws is a comprehensive summary of OpenSource news, Linux distros, 'Micro(soft) watch' including interviews and feedback from the community. Informative, honest and occasionally very funny. Love the theme music (created by Dan) too.

Last night, I took a number 521, red, bendy bus from St. Pauls to Waterloo station.

As the journey progressed, someone insistently and repeatedly pressed the bell to indicate they wished to disembark at the next stop. Nothing too unusual in that.

At the next stop, again the bell was sounded early and rang repeatedly. I assumed the 'Bus stopping' sign didn't light up as the individual concerned continued to sporadically, but repeatedly and insistently, press the bell.

All of this got too much for the South African lady sitting directly opposite me, who was simply trying to ask her partner: 'Why don't you tell me all about your day, darling ?'

I was forced to avert my gaze because the couple were now holding hands and I am British. So I carefully and intensely scrutinised an advert for London South Bank University.

The lady said, to no-one in particular, in quite a loud and very un-British voice:

'For God's sake, who the f**k keeps pressing that damned bell ?'

The bus stopped. The bell stopped. We all looked inwardly into our free copies of 'The London Paper'. The bus set off again and so did the bell. This time, the South African lady unlinked hands from her loving partner and erupted:

Oh, for f**k's sake, the bus is stopping ! Will you stop pressing that bloody bell, already !'

As I was sitting directly opposite the disgruntled lady, I was forced to avert my gaze in a very British way and, to my horror, immediately identified the root cause of the problem. I don't have the word 'consultant' on my business card for nothing.

A young man was standing in the aisle chatting to his friend. He was leaning on a pole. Every time he leaned back, the bell rang. When he stood upright, the bell stopped. When he rested on the pole, the bell rang. Continuously.

I averted my gaze. Again. By now, I was nervously staring at my feet.

Thankfully, an Australian woman ended my discomfort by politely interjecting

'Excuse me, mate. You keep leaning on the buzzer and it's actually quite irritating.'

The South African lady looked around with a look of disbelief and complete disdain - if looks could kill, the young man would have spontaneously combusted there and then.

My immediate neighbour started smiling inanely and the gentleman concerned reddened and immediately apologised to the front half of the bus:

'Oh I am awfully sorry and thank you. I was just starting to wonder what that irritating noise was.'

And with that, normal service (and near silence) on the 521 was resumed.

I have a penchant for some of Oasis tunes and, although hes a City fan, I also like Noel Gallagher.

I like his sense of humour, I like his professional Mancunian accent and his occasional digs at United. I also agree with him that Morrissey's lyrics are hilarious rather than morose. I also love some of his quotes. Just one recent, brilliant example:

'Amy Winehouse is like a destitute horse.'

Having said all that and although I abhor physical violence and drunken behaviour, this recent clip of Noel doing some impromptu stage diving at a Toronto concert raised a smile.

If you want to skip the 'Morning Glory' intro, the incident happens at 1:30. It was just a good job for the culprit that Liam didn't manage to get hold of him !

I have written before about the consolidation of my various pension pots into a self-invested pension plan (SIPP).

One slight irritation was that the Protected Rights elements could not be transferred so I was forced to hold these funds in a stakeholder pension.

However, today I received an email from Sippdeal stating that the Government is lifting these restrictions and that, from October 1, protected rights contributions can be transferred into my SIPP.

• Orange Crush
• Wake Up Bomb
• Drive
• Whats the frequency Kenneth ?
• I've been high
• Horse to water
• Supernatrual Superserious
• Living well is the best revenge
• Man on the moon
• Electrolite
• Walk unafraid
• Ignoreland
• Exhuming Mccarthy
• Let me in
• Fall on me
• Man sized wreath
• I'm gonna DJ
• Country Feedback
• Losing my religion
• Imitation of life
• So fast, so numb
• Bad day
• The one I love
• Disturbance At The Heron House
• Perfect circle
• The great beyond
• End of the the world

These songs were played although not necessarily in this order.

I was there. Way back by the corner flag. Sound wasn't brilliant but hearing 'Country Feedback' fulfilled a lifelong ambition. My life is now complete.

Dubious photos. Token #remlondon link for R.E.M tour site.

The time has finally come to shave my head and don blue facepaint.

So now the whole world knows what living in London is really like.

Clamouring with a crowd of 15 cosmopolitan, wackily dressed people, pushing and shoving trying to get on a red, double decker bus having waited 45 minutes. With some idiot playing Led Zep too loud on his iPod.

Then David Beckham comes along, takes your brand new football and smashes it into the adjacent park and some bastard nicks it.

I have tried many times, in many different places, to articluate the idea that micro-blogging reduces ones blogging output but Russell Beattie completely expresses my thoughts on the subject in this brilliant article.

'Tweeting totally takes away that blogging urge from me... Once I tweet about something, it's like it disappears from my mind completely.'

I can completely identify with this statement and another sentence also struck a resounding chord with me:

'Tweets have no archival value of any sort'

I think this is so true. Occasionally, I may dig up an old blog post to refer to. Why sometimes, in a lonely hotel room, I may even just scan my blog archives - just for my own enjoyment.

However, I never, ever revisit any of my inane drivel posted on Twitter, Jaiku or even identi.ca. As I once (apparently) remarked to Michael...

I used to enjoy blogging a lot more and I actually have a couple of humourous blog articles that I am genuinely quite fond - no more than that - proud of.

Twitter is just the ultimate in 'disposable' blogging. All that crap posted from Heathrow T5 just fills my time in. It's hardly earth shattering, is it ? God - I can't remember any of those stupid tweets (apart from the lads in Yellow Lurex suits that was pretty funny) let alone be proud of all those throwaway one-liners.

That's not to say micro-blogging doesn't have a place or isn't valuable, merely that proper, grown up blogging has more value and longevity which makes perfect sense. The more you put in, the more you get out.