The new o2 site is a beast. Using the network analyser of the indispensable Firebug, the page to send the web text alone takes over 30 seconds to finish rendering and makes an incredible 288 HTTP requests to completely load the page (I develop with the cache disabled). This is well above the 5 seconds generally recommended by usability experts.

Not only that, there's no way to "stay logged in", meaning to send another message later on that day involves logging in again and making the 4 or 5 clicks to get to the send message page, with each page taking an eternity to load.

Any web monkey can whip up a page with a few simple inputs that loads in 100ms. Surely o2's bells and whistles shouldn't add too long onto that.

Can we be blamed for using o2sms and other similar tools to avail of the free text messages we're entitled to with our o2 contracts?

Apart from wanting one anyway, I have a couple of good ideas for apps. Dartmaps for iPhone anyone?

If only I knew someone who worked in a phone shop; that's how things get done here. Instead, I'll just have to cycle around the city put my name on as many waiting lists as possible.

Better than a zoo, the animals have plenty of room to roam and the surroundings are more like their natural environment. Think more Boabab trees and lagoons than concrete cages. You can also get right in with them; the lemur enclosure being particularly interactive.

Here are some photos. I didn't get any pictures of the aardvarks because the battery ran out.

Today, it's down to a cool but humid 27C. Thankfully I have more roadworks on the street outside to keep me sane.

As seems to be the norm, it broke down last week, complete with various flashing lights. It being an out-of-warranty flashed Mexican NTSC Xbox, I decided taking it for repair might raise some eyebrows. So, not being willing to splash out for a new one, I gave a go at a home-made fix.

Torx screwdriver set in hand, I cracked her open to discover that the disc loading mechanism was fubared. No bother, I sat a disc in the drive tray and manually pushed together the mechanism holding the spinning motor and lens and popped the drive cover back on. The end result: Success! The drive now spins and reads the disc sin problemas. The only catch being that you have to disassemble the drive every time you want to play something else...

• Ireland Photos
• Madrid Photos
• Bonus Video