links for 2005-10-31
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240 acres, 60 miles of roads, its own railway station and a pub in Wiltshire, 120ft underground. 5m pounds but you also need to invest in the military base above.
Monthly archive: October 2005
links for 2005-10-30
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'Rusty is the personification of the little boy inside every grown gay man'
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Tagging is all the rage. TagTagger lets you tag your tags, and even tag your tagged tags. Beta registration opening in November 2005.
links for 2005-10-21
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'Apple's (imaginary and far-fetched) plan to use the new iPod to capture the portable video market'
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How to mod an iPod Nano by installing a 200GB hard drive. Attention: it might invalidate the guarantee ;-)
What does one do in Dublin for fun?
Dr B. and I are leaving tomorrow morning for three and a half days of craic in Dublin.
My Irish ex-flatmate has quickly recommended to us the following (with apologies to Dublin lovers for this incomplete and possibly incorrect list):
- visiting the library at Trinity College, including the Book of Kells;
- getting something called 'the blue book' from any tourist information office. At least that's what they used to have, and that's what he seems to remember it is called;
- Brown Thomas – a miniature Harvey Nicks;
- the George on a Sunday night – drag, and bingo;
- starting the evening at the Front Lounge (8.30 to 9pm);
- clubbing at the POD (keeping in mind that people go out later than in London);
- hitting the bars and clubs wearing proper shoes, not trainers, to be admitted (Dr B. will have to buy some, unless he wants to go out in his one pair of work shoes);
- contacting one of my ex-flatmate brothers who's always fit for going out whenever he's in town (yep, three gay sons in his family of 8 – or was that 11?)
Anything else we should not miss? The Lonely Planet's Best of Dublin guidebook that we are travelling with has just the right level of detail for a long weekend trip, but suggestions are very welcome.
links for 2005-10-19
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New users are from now assigned a username@googlemail.com address. And I opened a myfirstnameandlastname@gmail.com mailbox three days ago – odd coincidence!
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'Simply go to the store, buy a packet of Chiclets and use that to keep your new Nano safe and sound.'
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Kate Bush's new single is one of '231 songs about Elvis'
… and baby makes TV
Dr B. has treated himself to a brand new toy: a shiny top-of-the-range Sony RDR-HXD910 DVD Recorder With 250GB HDD. It pauses live TV, has a massive 250GB storage and lets you watch a programme from the start while it's being recorded. It has a DVD recorder, built-in Freeview and a host of other features I'm sure I can't even spell.
I still have not dared using it, I fear I'm going to bugger it up and I'm terrified of having to repay it: a quick calculation tells me that I would have to work for a little under six months just to afford the remote control. Plus, Dr B. has started calling it 'baby' – never a good sign.
He installed it on Sunday and it replaces the VCR, the Freeview box and the DVD/CD player. Less cables! Easier to clean! He played with it for a while, then went to lie in bed reading the instructions manual. This, together with a grey sky and the night drawing in, gave a distinctive Christmas feeling to the weekend that was coming to an end. I almost had another piparkökur moment.
links for 2005-10-18
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'The IE development team are calling on people to clean up their CSS hacks that might fail when IE7 is released, so I thought I'd tell you about how I did this for an emergency design I did for a punter a couple of months ago'
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Alarm clock that makes a glass of water vibrate with sound: a beautiful idea if only I was not sure to a) knock the glass off the bedside table during the night, and b) fail to hear the alarm itself.
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'The abusive term 'Berk' also derives from [the c-word], being cockney rhyming slang, short for 'Berkshire Hunt'.'
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'Torchwood' will feature in its starring role John Barrowman, who played Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and who will play the same character in the new series.
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit – a short review
The movie was preceded by the animated short 'Penguin: Christmas Caper'. Fast and funny CGI, very American in taste and rhythm, after which the main feature felt right from the start like classy, atmospheric subtle fun.
'Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit' is good fun, featuring impressive animation (was it really fingerprints I could make out on the clay during very close close-ups?), amazingly detailed sets and props (many of which were destroyed in a fire a few days ago) and an OK story. Unfortunately I could sense something wrong that I could not identify.
I then read that this is Wallace and Gromit's first feature film ('The Wrong Trousers' and 'A Close Shave' were 30 minutes each), and the movie's length is probably detrimental to its British understated humour.
A special mention must be given to the voices that bring the characters to life. In particular, Helena Bonham-Carter, an actor that I am absolutely not fond of, proves herself as a very convincing Lady Campanula Tottington. Then again, this is a role that although contemporary, can be considered 'in costume', which is what Bonham-Carter seems to do best.
Best pun in the movie (that I can say without spoiling any surprises): the name of the character voiced by Peter Kay (PC Mackintosh).
Three and a half out of five.
links for 2005-10-14
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13 'coincidences' in the last three years: 'a political downturn for the administration, followed by a 'terror event' – a change in alert status, an arrest, a warning.'
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On 1 November, the UK's citizenship test comes into force for new immigrants seeking naturalisation. 40 years ago, a BBC programme explained in Hindustani what British life is all about (including why people leave empty bottles outside their door every night)
links for 2005-10-13
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'… third year product design students at the Academy of Arts in Iceland were charged with transforming Ikea products into something that Ikea would not represent. And some were successful in adding humor and irony into their designs.'
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Iceland's unique take on minimalist Scandinavian design is on display everywhere. Inspired use of wood, volcanic rock… and customised IKEA furniture.
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Flash-only website: click on the milk bottle on the window sill to read about 'The Solskin [...] a solar lamp designed for milking the light from the sun."
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'2 1/2 years, 28 designers, 42 pieces: The challenge Ikea set forth– to produce socially and environmentally responsible products using simple (often reused, recycled, and repurposed) materials.'
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A few hours after the announcement of an iPod that plays videos, and this is already available! I guess that's the advantage of owning a player that is the leader on the market.
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Amazing pictures from an in-progress trip to Iceland.
Open letter to my ex
Dear S.
I got your email the other day, the short update you sent to all your contacts.
I am thrilled to hear you are well.
So you are 30 now, and earning your living. You must be chuffed you finally have spending power, and a debit card! I remember how nerve-wrecking it was every time you had to ask your parents for cash while you were a student.
I'd been told you'd moved to France, and am so glad you are enjoying it and happy working there. I am proud of your achievements and can very well picture your enthusiastic road- and bridge-designing. An engineer! I wonder what made you go abroad, you being so close to your country and so attached to your family. Perhaps that's where you found work. In any case, I am sure it will do you good, you might settle back in Italy eventually, but you'll have seen something different and perhaps will end up appreciating your home country even more than you already did. I also wonder if you now understand why I wanted us to leave Italy so much, so much that I eventually decided to just go and leave you behind. Believe me, it was not an easy nor light-hearted choice.
I hope you have enjoyed your weekend clubbing in Lyon. I regret never having been there when I was living in France. How was it?
As for the pictures you sent, well done on letting your hair grow back – you've got a full head of hair, why shave it off?
I write here because you have asked me not to contact you and I respect that. I know there is a chance you end up on this website, either through a lead from one of our mutual friends, or through some quick web investigation, so you might be reading this (by the way, how is your English these days? Are you making your TOEFL mother proud? I bet your French is better than it's ever been).
So thank you for writing to me. Yes, I know I am meant to believe that your 'recipient list not shown' included all your contacts and my email address somehow slipped through the net, but all the things you mention lead me to suspect that it was mainly (only?) for me. You see, I have not changed: still self-absorbed, I'm afraid!
I still think of you with a lot of affection, and wish you all the best.
xxL
links for 2005-10-12
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The new iPod seems to be doing everything my iRiver has been delighting me with since last Christmas. Very clever of Apple to strike a deal with ABC to sell episodes of TV series the day after they are broadcast.
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'Pop musicians are far more demanding in the studio than classical ones are. Michael Berkeley explains why'
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Ensuring the new Xbox 360 is out months ahead of Sony's PlayStation 3 is so important that 2,500 people are working hard to ensure the global launch goes according to plan. It is the first time a games console is released simultaneously in Japan, the US a
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I found yet another example of improper use today – in a memo from our content manager at work!
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1m 36s from Hung Up, and single cover art.
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From Ajax to selfishness, via proprietary formats(tags: web2.0)
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'The unique font identifier that enables you to identify a font from a sample by answering a series of simple questions'
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Sudoku puzzles for online solving. Instructions are in Italian: click to insert a number; ctrl-click to insert several tiny numbers; select the X to delete numbers.
Serenity – a short review
I am not a science-fiction fan, and yet recently a couple of productions have completely won me over: the latest Dr Who series earlier this year, and then Serenity last night.
I had watched the pilot of the axed TV series from which the movie spins off (Firefly) and was intrigued by it visually, plot-wise, but most importantly by the script. Funny, fast, imaginative language delivered by all-round characters that try not to fall into stereotypes. Not too much, at least.
I had also watched the opening ten minutes of the movie on a streaming video website and was completely captivated. The movie turned out to be all that and more. I still cannot believe I did not get bored during fights, chases and battles – and believe me, I have been known to fall asleep during battle scenes in all the Star Wars movies I ever sat through. On the contrary, this time I was on the edge of my seat, a bit deafened by West India Quay Cineworld's mother of a sound system, cheering my heroes along their way just like I was supposed to. It felt great. I felt happy. And not just because Adam Baldwin (as Jayne) though not exactly my cup of tea, is particularly pleasant to look at.
As far as the plot goes, without giving too much away, I can say that it's the 26th century and starship Serenity's motley crew of rebels have to protect their very special cargo from 'the Alliance'. You can read a more detailed plot summary on the IMDB website.
A breakdown of Serenity's very high rating on the IMDB website shows that women enjoyed the movie more than men. I can definitely see the appeal this movie has on someone who might not be a fan of big guns and space ships, possibly because it is a whole package of wit and blockbusting action.
Four and a half out of five.
Update (12 October 2005): 'Sci-fi film Serenity has ended Pride and Prejudice's four-week reign at the top of the UK film chart.'
links for 2005-10-11
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'Thanks to digital music players, listening to MP3s is commonplace. But what if you want video on the go? Here's how to pull it off.'
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'The best books based on blogs are to be recognised in their own literary prize.'
links for 2005-10-10
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Auction closed with no bids (unsurprisingly, as the starting bid was 2,000 USD for a few pieces of tattered bamboo)
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New album features 'Isaac', a song about 16th century mystic and scholar Yitzhak Luria, but Jewish law forbids the use of the name of the holy rabbi for profit.
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Research suggests that lack of sleep might result in obesity, possibly by disrupting hormones that regulate appetite.
links for 2005-10-09
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Leaked document indicates the Vatican will allow gay men into priesthood if they can show they have been celibate for at least three years. And how exactly do they plan to test that?
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Sat 15 Oct at 22:40: exclusive first play of the brand new video for King of the Mountain, Kate Bush's first single in over a decade.
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Complete transcripts for the entire series 1 of Lost and series 2 up to the latest broadcast episode.
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Adult-only episode of the Smurfs, work of Unicef, in which the blue-skinned cartoon characters' village is annihilated by warplanes.
links for 2005-10-08
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'If this is how Google plans to contend on the RSS market, they might as well not do it at all.' I agree; importing my feeds from Bloglines was painless. Finding and reading them in Google Reader is a nightmare. Will wait for it to get out of Beta.
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Stunning streaming video from Joss Whedon's movie that opens on 8 October in the UK
links for 2005-10-06
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'THE hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church has published a teaching document instructing the faithful that some parts of the Bible are not actually true.' – No, REALLY? Who'd have thought it, eh?
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Why the hottest social network buzzword might not be the best way to organise information.
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'Philadelphia is to become the first big "wireless city" next year with a scheme for web access for all its citizens, putting the wind up cable, telephone and internet companies.'
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'Apple sent invitations Tuesday for a media event in San Jose, Calif., next week, and analysts and bloggers guessed that a video iPod was imminent. Apple had no comment.'
Do your homework first, THEN play all you like
Thirty years go by, things change and you think you are a responsible and mature adult. Then something happens that makes you realise you still behave exactly like when you were eight.
Yesterday I left work early because I was knackered from three almost sleepless nights in a row.
I went home and watched my first ever repeat of The O.C. (What, lipstick lesbians on a prime-time teen soap? Oh, just a ratings stunt then), then took care of the following daily chores:
- I replied to some emails
- I updated my accounts
- I read the news online
- I caught up with the blogs I read daily
- I updated Bitful
- I downloaded pictures from my camera
- I uploaded the new Franz Ferdinand album on my MP3 player
- I synchronised the calendar and contacts on my mobile phone with Outlook
Dr B. came home, we had dinner, watched some TV waiting for Tesco to deliver, then went to bed.
I woke up as usual a couple of times to go wee during the night, but went back to sleep both times. Now, this is when I usually go 'Damn, it's 3:30AM, I can't sleep, why don't I switch on my laptop and reply to some emails/update my acoounts/read the news/catch up with the blogs I read daily/update Bitful/download/upload… etc?'
Only I'd already taken care of all of that earlier, so I just went back to sleep until the shamefully late time of ooh, six thirty – which for me corresponds to a proper lie-in.
Have I ever mentioned that I spent the entire time I was in education waking up between 3 and 4AM to do my homework and prepare for tests and exams? It bloody worked (top grades all the way through) so why change it?
Why? Because I'm pushing forty and, to quote Ms Aguilera,
Oh oh oh oh oh
My heart is sayin' let's go (go)
Oh oh oh oh oh
But my body's sayin' no (no)
Alright, it might be the other way round, but you catch the jist of it, right?
So this is exactly why this post is time-stamped something like '9:10PM' and not 'stupid o'clock AM'.
Bulkups and letdowns
Ever since I started having a more serious approach to weight training, I have tried to eat at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight per day. Opinions vary on the subject, but this amount seems to draw some consensus.
Naturally, I try as much as I can to get most of my allowance from food, and fortunately I am not getting bored yet with daily portions of chicken breast, tuna in spring water, egg whites and low-fat cottage cheese.
Sometimes though, especially during the recommended 30 to 40-minute window right after working out, protein shakes are handy and provide the added bonus of a good protein/carb balance. Also, peeling boiled eggs while sitting on the mat in between abs sets is somewhat frowned upon at my gym.
But man, do these shakes taste foul (apart from those suspiciously lovely ready-made Multipower ones I occasionally but at the gym – unfortunately, they are a bit too pricey at £2.90 each).
Holland and Barrett does a good half-price offer every now and then on big tubs of protein powder, and the chocolate flavour one is tolerable. On those grounds, I bought the vanilla version, and it has been sitting on my kitchen counter for a couple of months now. I try mixing a bit of it in with the chocolate-flavoured protein, but it taints everything it gets in contact with. Mixing it with melted Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie would help – but somehow denies the whole point of the operation. Not that I have not considered it, mind you.
Yesterday I fancied a bit of a treat and an upgrade, so I took advantage of another half-price offer currently on the Holland and Barrett website. These boxes of 20 individual sachets are a bit more expensive, which made me hope that some of the extra cash went into proper research into improved flavours that would actually appeal to humans.
By now I have learnt my lesson and have gone straight for the chocolate-flavour version. Big mistake. Not only is the taste so bad I cannot even find words to describe it (the words 'saccharin' and 'manure' come to mind), it also feels like sucking raw egg whites through your teeth. Yum.
Nineteen sachets now need a good home with no sense of taste or smell. One tin of tuna ONO
links for 2005-10-06
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'[...] the bar counter of the pub is the only place in Britain in which anything is sold or served without the formation of a queue.'
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The cover for 'Aerial' features a soundwave image. The message will only be revealed when you buy the album.
There is such thing as a free lunch
I don't care much for interrupting work for lunch. However, since the law requires me to take a minimum of thirty minutes off (or so I've been told), I usually plug my headphones in and set off, walk very briskly for fifteen minutes, turn around and walk back.
Earlier this morning, as I was warming up on the treadmill before my workout at the gym, I thought I'd see how many calories are burned by walking at 'lunch break speed' for five minutes. Like that, just for fun. So I put on one of the tracks I powerwalk to these days (Soulshaker Feat. Lorraine Brown, Hypnotic Erotic Games, 130bpm), entered my weight into the treadmill software and walked. I repeat, just for fun ha ha ha.
Five minutes later I glanced at the display. It said '26cal'. Another five minutes later it read '51cal'.
You know where this is going, right? I have just realised that I burn around 150 calories every lunchtime, almost every day. That's a quarter of my lunch already gone right while I'm eating it! No wonder I break a sweat.
So that's it. Tonight for dessert it's full-fat banoffee pie (although the Heinz Weight Watchers low-fat version I have every now and then is very satisfying at only 152 calories each) – and star jumps.
links for 2005-10-05
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Winamp 5.1 makes it at #10. I used to be a staunch Winamp supporter, then went cold when they uncovered security issues regarding digital attacks using skins for camouflage. V. 5.05 upwards correct the flaw.
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I've always been fascinated by the fact that they airbrushed a thirty-year old picture to update the haircut rather than reshooting a campaign with another kid.
Sal(i)vation
Salvation is a gay club that takes place at Café de Paris on the first Sunday of each month, from late afternoon until about midnight.
What most people I spoke to had to say about it was mainly stuff like 'Café de Paris is a fantastic venue', and 'Salvation is full of impossibly handsome men, possibly on steroids'.
I went there for the first time the other day, the occasion being Salvation's 7th birthday (and a friend visiting from Paris wanting to go there), and I can tell you that both the above statements are true. Think 'Moulin Rouge' starring Nicholas Beefman and Ewan McGropable.
Strangely enough, though, my reaction to the wall-to-wall display of pumped-up pneumatic pecs was not at all the frustrated retirement I had expected. Instead I relaxed, enjoyed the sights and music and had a hell of a good time. So what if my older, wrinklier and naturally endomorphic body stood out for all the wrong reasons in that sea of perfection? So what if a single vodka and Red Bull (can shared with a friend's drink) was a very unreasonable £6.50? So what if my ex-flatmate ex-boyfriend, who had not seen me in a while, felt obliged to say 'Oh, but you are so skinny now, no?' Bitch.
Luckily my mantra these days is 'I look great for thirty-eight'. Snappy, rhyming, and can conveniently be sung over most club anthems too to fend off BDD attacks. Will hopefully be replaced next February by 'I look fine for thirty-nine'.
Still, something must have seeped through, and I found myself switching to reduced-calories garlic bread at the ritual grocery shop carb raid on the way home. Yeah, as if.
links for 2005-10-04
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Creatine is produced naturally by the body and helps to improve muscles' performance during exercise. It is particularly beneficial for sports that involve short bursts of intense exercise.
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Now I know why the lyrics of Peyton's latest release sounded rather familiar…
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Yahoo is taking on Google with its own digital archive of books, audio and video, and hopes to avoid the legal action that has dogged Google's plan by adopting an opt-in policy on copyrighted works.
links for 2005-10-03
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Tom writes about making contact with his father after 28 years, and receives a support comment complete with product placement from a marketing firm. To be followed, as Tom chases it down.
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From basic boolean to the lesser-known 'daterange: ' and 'filetype: '.
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'A year after Kinsey, a sex study in Britain was hushed up. Until now.' (BBC Four, Wednesday 5 October, 2200 BST)
Search for new screen James Bond enters final stage
These four actors are taking screen tests this week for the lead role in Casino Royale:
| Henry Cavill | Daniel Craig | Goran Visnjic | Sam Worthington |
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I know who I would choose (hints: I appreciate home-grown talent – and twinks don't do it for me).
links for 2005-10-02
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Sitting through it made me feel like I was in drama school again, with actors cracking up and having to repeat lines. Unprofessional yet funny.
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Totally crap at this (perhaps due to trying it out on laptop with trackball). Makes me feel slightly nauseous too.
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Like, how to claim a refund online if your journey is delayed by more than 15 minutes. Part of diamondgeezer.blogspot.com tube week.