bitful

UK-based weblog on technology, queerness, language and fitness

Archive for May 2005

links for 2005-05-31

Tuesday 31 May 2005

iriverter
Quick and simple application to easily convert any video format to AVI files with the required settings to be played on iRiver H300 series players.
(tags: video encode iriver player)

@MisticRiver :: For iRiver Enthusiasts - [How To] Sync with iTunes
MacOsX / Windows 2000/XP application for iRiver H100 or H300 series
(tags: iriver itunes apple music player)

Continue reading links for 2005-05-31

links for 2005-05-28

Saturday 28 May 2005

BBC NEWS | Business | Banks 'must move money quicker'
'The Office of Fair Trading has given the banks six months to come up with a way to transfer the money within one day.' (Bank transfers now can take up to four days. Banks make an estimated £25m during this time.'
(tags: banking interest oft transfer uk [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-28

You know your life is lacking the lustre it once had…

Friday 27 May 2005

…when you get all excited if Tesco replaces the contents of the bag of fun-size (translation from marketeese: 'small') apples you go through every week (from striped yellow-reddish South African Galas to shiny deep red USA Empire).
Thank goodness for the upcoming bank holiday. Very tempted to ditch my half-hearted DIY plans, get a fifty quid [...]

Continue reading You know your life is lacking the lustre it once had…

links for 2005-05-27

Friday 27 May 2005

Belgians in cunning misspelt ID card plan | The Register
Instead of 'Belgium' in English, the card reads 'Belguim'. Cunning indeed. Might work if the misspellings are not widely advertised though?
(tags: id electronic belgium fraud identity)

New Scientist 11 steps to a better brain - Features
Apparently, the ultimate mastermind diet consists of a breakfast of beans on [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-27

links for 2005-05-26

Thursday 26 May 2005

ACM Queue - Beyond Relational Databases - There is more to data access than SQL.
A detailed history of relational databases, and an overview of lighter-weight alternatives for tomorrow's mobile technologies
(tags: architecture computer database mysql relational data)

Wired News: Database Hackers Reveal Tactics
How the LexisNexis hack (310,000+ people database) started with an AOL security breach
(tags: computing database [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-26

links for 2005-05-21

Saturday 21 May 2005

BBC NEWS | England | London | New code for London phone numbers
'Telephone numbers beginning with the prefix 020 3 are to be issued from next month, it has been announced.'
(tags: telephone london prefix UK)

Continue reading links for 2005-05-21

My EuroFiction Song Contest

Friday 20 May 2005

Leaving witty comments to he who does it better, these is my bare personal votes on last night's Eurovision Song Contest qualifier contestants.
Vocal performance, stage presence and costumes, just like I used to do as a young Eurovision fan twenty years ago. With the added help of a spreadsheet.
Ah, technology.

Country
Voice
Moves
Style
Total

Country
Voice
Moves
Style
Total

Austria
9
7
6
22

Lithuania
6
5
5
16

Portugal
4
6
5
15

Moldova
8
8
6
22

Latvia
5
6
5
16

Monaco
7
5
6
18

Israel
6
5
6
17

Belarus
5
8
8
21

Netherlands
8
6
6
20

Iceland
7
7
7
21

Belgium
7
5
4
16

Estonia
6
8
6
20

Norway
8
7
8
23

Romania
8
8
6
22

Hungary
6
9
8
23

Finland
8
6
5
19

FYR Macedonia
7
5
5
17

Andorra
7
6
7
20

Switzerland
7
7
7
21

Croatia
6
6
5
17

Bulgaria
6
5
5
16

Ireland
6
5
4
15

Slovenia
8
7
8
23

Denmark
8
6
5
19

Poland
7
8
7
22

So, the ten countries going [...]

Continue reading My EuroFiction Song Contest

links for 2005-05-20

Friday 20 May 2005

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | TV and Radio | 'Horrible' Doctor Who toned down
Sound of cracking skull edited out from final cut. And the Doctor is the object of Captain Harkness attention in episode 8.
(tags: doctorwho tv)

Wired News: Eggheads Invent Tele-Petting
Cybernetic system to allow physical interaction over the internet, via haptic suits. Tried out on [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-20

Everything is ready for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005

Thursday 19 May 2005

Everything is ready for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Originally uploaded by bitful.
Everything is ready for the Eurovision Song Contest qualifier.
TV tuned and connected to loudspeakers, and VCR ready to go.
Traditional Eurovision food at hand: a selection of home-made sandwiches, this year sans the distinctive flags-on-cocktail sticks.
Gallons of diet lemonade and frozen yogurt in the fridge.
The [...]

Continue reading Everything is ready for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005

links for 2005-05-18

Wednesday 18 May 2005

BrainAcademy 2005 - Quiz
Twelve questions to complete stage 1 towards the final prize: a place, with all your fees paid, to study for a degree in the Department of Computer Science at Queen Mary, University of London
(tags: computing university course quiz)

Want to burn more fat? Here's how to schedule your cardio for research-driven results.
Pros and [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-18

links for 2005-05-15

Sunday 15 May 2005

Rejected 'Love is…' comics
When strips go bad.
(tags: cartoon humour web love)

Continue reading links for 2005-05-15

links for 2005-05-14

Saturday 14 May 2005

BBC NEWS | Politics | Jibes prompt DTI rebrand u-turn
'The Department of Trade and Industry is to revert to its name after briefly being re-branded as the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry.'
(tags: brand logo website government uk)

Abbey ditches logo after 18 months - Industry sectors - Times Online
'Abbey National has revealed its second rebranding [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-14

links for 2005-05-13

Friday 13 May 2005

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | US robot builds copies of itself
Halfway between fascinating and plain scary: 'In a little more than a minute, a simple three-cube robot can make a copy of itself [...] That offspring version can then make further copies.'
(tags: computer robot science)

Need a brothel? Ask Google | The Register
'…if you're desperate for [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-13

links for 2005-05-12

Thursday 12 May 2005

Wurzel's healthy but lovely muscle building breakfast | Diet | Fitness | Talk | Men's Health
A full cooked breakfast can be healthy. Although at 620 Kcal you must perform a pretty intense workout regime to make the most of it.
(tags: health fitness gym diet food calories fat weight)

iTunes Music Store Sells Videos
Fascinating thread originating from [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-12

links for 2005-05-11

Wednesday 11 May 2005

Firefox exploit targets zero day vulns | The Register
Security researchers have discovered two unpatched vulnerabilities in Firefox, the popular alternative web browser. The security bugs affect even the latest version of Firefox (version 1.0.3) and create a means for attackers to seize control of vulnerable systems using cross-site scripting attacks.
(tags: browser firefox vulnerability web internet)

Continue reading links for 2005-05-11

Out. And out!

Tuesday 10 May 2005

Gay Haiku is finally out.
And so is Faustus, its author.
Well done!
(Should you want to buy the book, doing so via the Amazon.com link in this post gives the author a kickback.)

Continue reading Out. And out!

links for 2005-05-10

Tuesday 10 May 2005

Quick Online Tips: Absolutely Del.icio.us - Complete Tool Collection
A constantly update page with links to several (77 at last count) possible ways of using or improving del.icio.us
(tags: del.icio.us development internet plugin web)

Google Web Accelerator: Hey, not so fast - an alert for web app designers - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals)
Important issues for web developers [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-10

Rebel without a cause

Monday 9 May 2005

Damn. I have been cornered into driving my mother to the local cemetery today.
I am so glad I remembered to pack my tight Barbie hot pink polo shirt. And I so hope my nipple ring shows through.
The man has been dead for twenty years now – time to sort out my issues with my father [...]

Continue reading Rebel without a cause

Yesterday I went to Brasil and did a Paula

Monday 9 May 2005

Went for a run in the Italian countryside yesterday and found out that:

people do not run here. Either that, or my fly was undone, which would explain why people kept staring at me.
Running on a treadmill in an air-conditioned gym is far, far easier. And it wasn't even hot.
Some people have set up fully equipped [...]

Continue reading Yesterday I went to Brasil and did a Paula

Picture it: Italy, 1979. A young fresh-faced Eurovision fan…

Sunday 8 May 2005

My intention was to spend two whole days with my mother, and for the occasion we returned to the family house (she moved in with my brother after a knee injury two years ago).
Three hours into the stay, I panicked. Was there enough food in the house? Did I have enough to read? Was the [...]

Continue reading Picture it: Italy, 1979. A young fresh-faced Eurovision fan…

When exactly did I turn into a lewd old man?

Sunday 8 May 2005

I mean, up until yesterday I had never even remotely considered anyone under thirty-five as a recipient of lust.
Yesterday though, as I was settling into my seat on the plane (last row, so that I could beat all the other passengers and be the first one out as I had no luggage to collect), this [...]

Continue reading When exactly did I turn into a lewd old man?

links for 2005-05-08

Sunday 8 May 2005

Friendster | Friendster Blogs
Powered by TypePad. Featuring Pamela Anderson.
(tags: friendster blog weblog)

Continue reading links for 2005-05-08

It's a bit like catching a bus

Saturday 7 May 2005

So I'm off to Italy for just two days. So often have I travelled there during the last three months that it feels like a non-eventful short trip somewhere outside London – and so it should be, considering the ridiculous cheap fares.
OK, so this time I splashed out in order to be able to travel [...]

Continue reading It's a bit like catching a bus

If you're British and you know it cast your vote

Thursday 5 May 2005

Please please please go to the nearest polling station and help decide who is going to run the United Kingdom for the next few years.
My future depends on your choice. Unfortunately I will only be able to apply for British naturalisation in a little over two years (the fifth anniversary of becoming a British resident) [...]

Continue reading If you're British and you know it cast your vote

links for 2005-05-05

Thursday 5 May 2005

Body fat Percentage
Skinfold test with four measurements
(tags: body fat fitness health weight)

Body Tracker - Online Body Fat Percentage Calculator
Fat caliper and tape measurement methods for men and women
(tags: fitness fat health)

Yuhasz Skinfold Test
The Yuhasz Technique for measuring body fat uses six sites as opposed to the three of four sites used in many other tests.
(tags: [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-05

Gone phishing

Wednesday 4 May 2005

I would have thought that it is common sense never to trust any email that asks you to go to your bank's website and enter your details. If in doubt, report the email to your bank asking to confirm its legitimacy.
And as the average email inbox, unless protected with anti-spam filters, can receive dozen of [...]

Continue reading Gone phishing

links for 2005-05-03

Tuesday 3 May 2005

Nokia | Nokia Lifeblog | Overview
Nokia Lifeblog automatically builds your diary as you take photos and videos, and send and receive messages. You can easily share your Lifeblog items with friends and family online. All a Lifeblogger needs is a weblog account from a Nokia Lifeblog compatible provider
(tags: photo blog mobile nokia moblogging)

Nokia | Nseries [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-03

links for 2005-05-01

Sunday 1 May 2005

Apple - Mac OS X Downloads - iPod + iTunes - iWorkout
The iPod based workout routines include illustrations viewable on iPod Photo. All workouts can also be spoken to you on your iPod.
(tags: apple ipod fitness gym health workout)

Boing Boing: Sony's Librie e-book reader: great display, awful DRM
The display uses little balls that are painted [...]

Continue reading links for 2005-05-01