Bin there, done that.

There's a good deal of tension on our street this morning. No one wants to make a fool of himself.

But some of us will.

Our black wheelie bins go out today. But also it's the annual "Is this the week they restart collecting the brown compost bins?" week. These bins are for garden and food waste (in wee degradable plastic bags - what will they think of next?), and they aren't collected for three months over the winter. The collections restart in March, but CAN sometimes begin at the end of February.

By late February most of us are in despair and have been out in our yards with a stepladder. Instructions: Open brown bin lid, climb up ladder, step into bin. Jump up and down. Climb out and descend ladder, worrying about what is now on the soles of your shoes. Add some garden or food waste to bin, since rats and heaven knows what else have been at it. Wish earnestly it was March. Repeat every two days from Boxing Day onwards.

I must congratulate Belfast City Council on a website which aims to answer every question we could possibly have about bin etiquette. I have read it three times and it still leaves me in doubt. I think there's no collection, but there MIGHT be. Writing that kind of in conclusive FAQ section must take some skill. One slip up, and people can be sure what you mean. And just imagine the legal ramifications of that!

On balance I think the brown bin has little chance of being emptied today, but this hasn't stopped 80% of householders on this street putting theirs out in hope. I held out until about 0800 when I finally followed the flock and added mine to the row of "I can't understand the website" shame. Well I mean, if you aren't in, you can't win.

But think of the shame this evening when the black bins are emptied. The brown bins on the other hand are sitting there, neglected and untouched. After dark, one by one, humiliated householders will creep out, and drag their still-heavy brown bins back to the dank waiting area that is the back yard, reflecting on the prospect of two more weeks of stepladder roulette. Within five minutes they'll be re-reading the Belfast City Council website and muttering. "Ah THAT'S what they mean..."

My Dad once told me that the older I got, the more I'd care about everything that my 18 year old mind currently thought was dull and inconsequential.

You see he understood. I didn't.

I do now.

Knotty Talk

A singularly new experience this morning - a newstalk radio programme made me laugh out loud and encouraged me out of bed.

BBC Radio Five Live's Nicky Campbell was interviewing Bill Henderson, a representative of the Isle of Man Parliament, the Tynwald. Angry at Gordon Brown's and his Westminster Government's intention to re-examine the fiscal relationship between the two jurisdictions, he put it thus.

"He's saying, 'Look, the umbilical cord's being cut, end of story, get knotted'..."

Was this use of "get knotted" a clever extension of the analogy of the umbilical cord? After all, knots do matter in such circumstances, midwives could tell you about that.

I think not. I think Bill Henderson was simply cross about the way Gordon Brown was treating his community and felt the expression summed up London's attitude to that strong-willed island.

Get knotted! What a great expression! What a delight to hear it in this context. Note to self. Use "get knotted" much more often.

And it's gonna happen

Thanks to my old boss Bill Rogers, Trading as WDR for blogging about, and thus reminding me about the comments by Peter Horrocks (see the Guardian). The BBC's new Director of Global News, has spoken of the need for journalists to embrace the possibilities of social networking sites for finding stories worth reporting on more traditional media. Here's what he said to his BBC staff (that's them down on the shop floor behind him) about the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

"If you don't like it, if you think that level of change or that different way of working isn't right for me, then go and do something else, because it's going to happen. You're not going to be able to stop it."

Now this has interested me for all sorts of reasons - for a start, he has a point. I became aware of the story through Twitter, learned more reading an online blog, and discussed it with a colleague who asked me what the email he'd just received was actually about. Secondly, I use such online media a fair old bit already - and have got several stories worth doing in the past six months simply by watching interesting exchanges on both the sites he mentions. Who was among the first to do a piece on the massive Belfast4Haiti gig and spin offs? Well, it was me, actually. And all because I was looking at Twitter as they began to organise it - all whilst my producer that day eyed me with a look which said "Is he skiving or working I wonder?"

So it can work. I've even spent half an hour tonight fiddling about with Buzz. Why? Well not because of Peter's exhortations, no harm to him. It's because I'm curious, intrigued, and want to know. I hope that need to know motivates most of us a bit more than emails from Big Bosses.

Even so, I'll still read the emails from said Big Bosses and be seen to obey. (Is this the same as actually obeying? Discuss)

Why will I toe the line? Well, you see, I'm also motivated by the need to pay the mortgage.

Caught Out

What do you think of this camera? Nice eh? I bought it on eBay this week, which is amazing, because I didn't really mean to.

Are you an eBay bidder? I'm not seasoned by any means but I've certainly bought a few things on there. One or two were ill-advised, or simply too cheap to be any more than you'd get anywhere for the money. But by and large I've done well there, even selling a few items for a good price.

So I felt I knew the ropes a week ago when I noticed this camera - the discontinued but excellent Sony Alpha 700, offered for sale, with no reserve, from a well-regarded and experienced eBay seller. This camera is sought-after, especially as Sony has yet to come up with a direct replacement for it, the nearest on either side being the Sony Alpha 550, or the full frame Sony Alpha 850.

This looked like a potential bargain. The price was so low, I bid a few times to see what the serious enthusiasts were prepared to pay. And when I bid my absolute limit, I stopped, noticing that with about 72 hours to go, I was now winning. I smiled to myself as I set off for a few days away, because I knew the price would go past me, probably by as much as another £150. I promptly forgot all about it.

But it didn't. So whilst interviewing someone on Monday night I got a text from a friend congratulating me on my new purchase. And then I had to think if I really had the money. Mind you, I've now got a new (to me) camera, and it's brilliant.

I'm glad I bid with such bare-faced cheek. Even if I wasn't really serious. But it did make me think.

Be careful what you strive for. You might win.