Category Archives: Uncategorized

Now I’ve finally installed a release copy of an operating system, I have to go through the process of installing applications all over again. Here’s a few thoughts on how my software needs have changed. In the olden days one of the first things on a new computer would have been Winzip. This application allows […]

According to the Beeb: Scientists believe they have worked out a formula to calculate how “beer goggles” affect a drinker’s vision. The drink-fuelled phenomenon is said to transform supposedly “ugly” people into beauties – until the morning after. There’s even an equation given on the site to calculate your “beer goggles effect.” A formula rating […]

Some links again, I’m afraid. Instructions to fold the standard sort of paper rose are available here and here. It’s fairly pretty and doesn’t look impossible to make (admittedly I’ve not tried it yet due to lack of paper). Scroll right to the bottom of this page and you’ll see that there are several different […]

Somewhat infuriatingly my Beta version of MS Office 2007 has died today. It expires on 1st February and refuses to do anything anymore. I’m allowed to look at my documents but not edit them. Oh well, £100 spent at Amazon then…

From Matt Cutts: John Walker’s Strike Out idea: I usually stop reading a document after the first misspelling. Read the whole Strike Out article.

Here’s some posts on NHS Blog Doctor about the decline of the BBC. There’s a really good summary here, with some background information here and here.

Robert Scoble makes an intriguing point here, linking to this page. Has Sony gone mad? Prominent adult movie producer Digital Playground says it is forced to use HD DVD instead of Blu-ray, because Sony does not allow XXX-rated movies to be released on Blu-ray. It does not matter how you stand to porn. It is here […]

…to say “Merry Christmas” “Happy New Year” “You’re all muppets, get out of my face”

Apparently Sony has been trying their hand at viral marketing, although without a great amount of success… Some “teenagers” set up this site (not working at the mo) to discuss how all they wanted for Christmas was a PSP. Unfortunately, they all turned out to be corporate whores. This Youtube video shows some of the […]

For some peculiar reason I have become a compulsive shoe shopper, buying two pairs in as many weeks. As someone who is still wearing shoes he wore at school (they’re nice and comfy now the leather is soft), this is a significant change. I’ve even gone so far as to buy a pair of brown […]

Why engineering’s the best subject ever. via. Bill Sticker

Exciting article here: RICHARD DAWKINS IS RIGHT. His deicidal bestseller The God Delusion attacks the absurdities and cruelties, the contradictions and superstitions, the rip offs and fantasies of religion across the world and throughout history. I couldn’t agree more. It’s enough to make you wish Abraham hadn’t been in when God called round. The problem […]

A friend once said to me (we may have been drunk at the time), that he didn’t think he’d have figured out how to have sex if he hadn’t seen it somewhere else first. He didn’t elaborate on where this “somewhere else” was, which may have been for the best. Interestingly, though, it appears that […]

Some time ago on a ringing email list there was a discussion about recordings. People generally found that when they listened to a recording of themselves, it sounded far better than they anticipated. The converse was also true – that when actually ringing people tended to be far more critical of themselves than when listening. […]

This article’s quite good. It even has some numbers to back up my bland assertions. What do the terms ‘left wing’ and ‘right wing’ mean? Well, if you are the BBC, ‘left wing’ is a term used mainly in sport. Insofar as it is used in politics, it is used to describe the mainstream. ‘Right […]

Today’s discussion point is rape. I have to be careful here, because one wrong word or bungled phrase could land me in serious trouble with all sorts of angry women. God forbid I should end a sentence with a preposition. This article from the Beeb got me thinking, or (more specifically) this quote did: The […]

I’ve just thought of something, and unfortunately you’re all going to have to hear it as well. The average 17-year-old is actually 17-and-a-half. There you are, don’t say I never give you anything interesting.

Ed Bott has been discussing the trends on his site for browser usage. The last time I published these stats was on April 30, 2006. The share of visitors using Firefox or Mozilla has dipped roughly 1% since then, from 35.2% down to 34.18%. It’s still a bit higher than the August 2005 share of 33.2%, […]

For a while now I’ve been collecting links on Bloglines which I keep meaning to talk about. Unfortunately they’re all out of date now, but you can still hear about them anyway. Here’s an exciting one about the world of driving: (From the Pedant-General about this document) It is not speed that kills, it is inappropriate […]

The Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union are an irritating thorn in the side of moderate Christians throughout Cambridge. And I don’t think I’m being harsh, either. This week’s TCS contains an enormous feature on what CICCU think about sex. Sex outside marriage, contraception, and homosexuality feature strongly. It’s a hoot. Ideally I’d give you a link […]