bitful

To celebrate three years since I quit smoking, last night I treated Dr B. and myself to top-price second row tickets for Glorious! (half price from lastminute.com).
Starring Maureen Lipman, it is a very light comedy on Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944), an American soprano who became famous for her complete lack of singing ability and whose [...]

The Incredible Ice Cream Diet
'The key, of course,is staying within your calorie budget [of] 1,500 calories a day for women and 2,000 calories for men'
(tags: icecream diet nutrition calories health fitness weight)

How Would You Rule China? (or, the 'Which Emperor of China are you?' test)
I turn out to be Emperor Tang Xuanzong, Sixth emperor of the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 712 to A.D. 756): 'Hardworking and diligent, reformist, employed capable ministers, internationalist, patron of the arts, obsessed with pleasure-seeking, delegated too much power to underlings'
(tags: china test [...]

I thought I was never going to be able to say this: three years today I smoked my last cigarette.
If you are a smoker and you are willing to stop, please do everything you can
- now - to quit. The benefits start the minute you stop.
While there is no universal way of stopping, [...]

The IT Crowd >– The complete first season! | Encomium > Blog Archive
Also available to watch on the official IT Crowd website, but only from the UK. Highly recommended.
(tags: theitcrowd channel4 tv television sitcom streaming)

SafariTest | Mac Screenshot Compatibility Test | Snugtech.com
'How does your website look on Apple Safari ? Enter your URL in the [...]

BBC - Be On A Show - Foreign Exchange
The BBC is looking for couples to join presenter Alistair Appleton on a weekend away to an American or European city to go shopping for a fraction of the price back home. Oh, Alistair. And shopping… :-)
(tags: bbc tv alistairappleton shopping television)

The Way Out-> tube map
The Way [...]

The Sex ID test on the BBC website is 'a series of visual challenges and questions used by psychologists'.
The test warns that the overall performance can be affected by other factors, like age and intelligence. And most likely, in my case at least, being a non-native English speaker.
The results indicate that I fall exactly half-way [...]

I went to see Song Dong's biscuit-built Edible city at Selfridges yesterday - sadly one day too early: it is going to be dismantled and eaten today.

From certain angles, it just looked from random piles of biscuits. Every now and then though, you felt like you had died and gone to cookie heaven.
People of all [...]

Artist Song Dong's biscuit-built "Edible City" on display at Selfridges, London
On display at Selfridges on Oxford Street February 15th to the 22nd. At the end, the public will be invited to eat the edible city. Song Dong has built 5 previous biscuit cities as part of his art instillations.
(tags: art selfridges biscuits edible songdong)

Web Developer [...]

Blind patrons sue Target for site inaccessibility | CNET News.com
'…the retail giant's Web site is inaccessible to the blind and thus violates a California law that incorporates the Americans with Disabilities Act'
(tags: accessibility blind disability website target)

Til Hamingju Island (Icelandic lyrics) | Lí­f Mitt í Hnotskurn
Ond of the finalists in the Icelandic national Eurovision Song Contest selection. Damn this is growing on me - Töff töff töff!
(tags: silvianott eurovision iceland icelandic)

Silvia Nott - Til hamingju Island - Google Video
Watch Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir's perfomance at the Eurovision Song Contest Icelandic national selection [...]

Icelandic - Mentalcode.com
'This site contains an ever-growing set of study guides and tutorials for both serious students and casual enthusiasts of the language of the sagas.' Tests on words (1600 nouns) and numerals.
(tags: icelandic language tests tutorial)

Mímir - Icelandic Grammar Notebook
'Mí­mir is a Hypertext-based tool which allows the user quickly to search through and to [...]

I finally went to see Brokeback Mountain last night. After going along to see so many (erm, a couple in the past year, I think) sci-fi movies to please Dr B., I was thrilled to take him to see a movie with feelings! And drama! And breathtaking Wyoming scenery! (Which turned out to be filmed [...]

BBC NEWS | Technology | Warning over Valentine's e-cards
'Fake Valentine's e-cards and dodgy dating websites are among the tactics being used by fraudsters to relieve internet users of their money.'
(tags: web scam virus internet valentine fraud)

anti-valentine e-cards from meish dot org
'celebrate or commiserate by sending an anti-valentine. [...] This year, don't say it with flowers: [...]

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Valentines Card, originally uploaded by sburn01.

Yes I'm cheap.
But our love is priceless.
Happy valentine's day Dr B.!
xxxxx xxxxx
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x

towleroad: Brokeback Parody Roundup
Broke Mac Mountain, Brokeback Top Gun, Brokeback to the Future, Brokeback Goldmine, Bareback Mountain (as in bareback horseriding - what were you thinking?)
(tags: brokebackmountain cinema parody)

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Berlusconi says 'I am like Jesus'
'The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has caused a political storm by comparing himself to [...]

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | US to emulate Eurovision contest
'An online competition will be held to find singers from each US state to go forward to the grand final, with the winner landing a recording contract.'
(tags: tv usa eurovision esc music)

Current style in web design
An overview of the current state-of-the-art in graphic design for web pages and of the distinctive features that make a web page look fresh, appealing and easy to use.
(tags: webdesign graphic)

Lightbox JS
'Lightbox JS is a simple, unobtrusive script used to to overlay images on the current page. It's a snap to [...]

Peanut Butter: A Super Sports Food | Bodybuilding.com
I have recently started having a mid-afternoon peanut butter and jelly sandwich at work. Best energy bar ever.
(tags: food nutrition peanutbutter weights gym sports fitness)

Strength Training - Workouts For Size & Strength | Shapefit.com
Exercise guides, workout routines and a body muscle map matching exercises to body parts
(tags: fitness [...]

Playlist:

(Cerrone's 'Supernature' is played while the four musicians take their places on stage carrying flashlights)
Utopia (Felt Mountain)
Tiptoe (Black Cherry)
Train (Black Cherry)
Koko (Supernature)
Slide In (Black Cherry)
U Never Know (Black Cherry)
Lovely Head (Felt Mountain)
(Slow unrecognised song, aborted after less than one minutes on grounds of Alison 'not hearing a f**king thing' - also, it did not help [...]

Low-Fat Diet Does Not Cut Health Risks, Study Finds - New York Times
However, a calorie-controlled balanced diet that is low in saturated and trans fats, and high in grains, fruits and vegetables, does. It's not just what you eat, it's how much you eat!
(tags: food eating diet fat fitness health)

Data Wales : A note on [...]

Just in via email from Dr B.:

Subject: Essential Homework for wannabe Brits
I'm not kidding, these films are indelibly etched into my generations consciousness;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4689364.stm
Watch and enjoy (and learn)
Dr B.

More public information films from the past sixty years (via the 'Stop Look Listen' dropdown menu in the top right hand column).

Microsoft flooded with IE7 bug reports - vnunet.com
I think that for the time being I'll just stick with Firefox rather than playing catch-up, thanks.
(tags: microsoft explorer firefox browser bug ie ie7)

Lavender and Lemon Panna Cotta | Sky One
I was too busy concentrating on cream-whisking Danny Boome's biceps to write down the recipe - thank you [...]

So I finally got round to uploading pictures of Dr B. and myself on MyHeritage, the face recognition software that can recognise people in your pictures or tell you what celebrity you look like.

The image above shows the best matches: that's supposed to be him on the left, and me on the right. Absolutely nothing [...]

I'm on the top of the world
lookin' down on creation
and the only explanation I can find
is the love that I found
ever since you've been around
your love's put me
at the top of the world.
Happy third anniversary, Dr B.

IT Crowd | Channel4.com
First two episodes (premiere on 3 Feb) now online. Have not had time to watch them yet. Short preview on C4 not rolling-on-the-floor funny. Will see
(tags: tv it channel4 sitcom streaming online)

OSCAR.com - 78th Annual Academy Awards - Nominee List
I saw two and a half movies (Wallace and Gromit, Harry Potter and [...]

Copenhagen is truly wonderful. Evidence in my Copenhagen photoset on Flicker.
Excellent food, a much welcome holiday break from calorie-counting, and yet I have managed not to put on one single ounce.
I have also learnt how to say diarrhoea in Danish (easily enough, 'diaré' – it must have been some bug I carried from London, as [...]