bitful

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

Archive for June 2007

iTunes 7.3 crashed my Outlook 2002 on Vista

Saturday 30 June 2007

So last night I upgraded iTunes to v. 7.3 (the iPhone update). Why I did that, is totally beyond me (I'm very happy with my Windows Mobile thank you very much).
Anyway, I thought, new version, always good practice to update… Although, working in software product development myself, I should have known that sometimes it is [...]

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squally

Saturday 30 June 2007

Characterized by gusts of wind. Informal. Marked by commotion or disturbance.

The only time Italians will not invade your personal space

Friday 29 June 2007

Yesterday at work I overheard a colleague speaking on the phone about his recent trip to Italy:

Yes, we were in Bologna. How bizarre, you know, people, when they give you change, they don't touch you!

And I knew exactly what he meant. Every business establishment (at least in Northern Italy, not entirely sure about other places) [...]

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maenad

Friday 29 June 2007

A woman member of the orgiastic cult of Dionysus. A frenzied woman.

Amazon's targeted email is actually useful

Thursday 28 June 2007

Amazon.co.uk have just sent me this email:
Dear Amazon.co.uk Customer,
As you've recently bought or browsed dance or electronica CDs, we thought we'd let you know about our new releases and bargains. Visit our music store to find out more.

And this is how I found out that both Cross (Justice) and Attack Decay Sustain Release (Simian [...]

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wimple

Thursday 28 June 2007

A cloth wound around the head, framing the face (nuns). A fold or pleat in cloth. A ripple, as on the surface of water. A curve or bend.

I did not think of going to Glastonbury

Wednesday 27 June 2007

I have mentioned a while back that my taste in music has recently shifted towards a harder sound and darker beats.
After three or four months where I trampled all over my candyfloss pop past and listened day and night to screeching and wailing exclusively, things are a bit more moderate now. Just as well, as [...]

Continue reading I did not think of going to Glastonbury

cherrypicking

Wednesday 27 June 2007

In a call center, the practice of letting agents view the incoming call queue and choose their next call based on personal preferences.

pillock

Tuesday 26 June 2007

A person who is not very bright.

The BBC's 'Also in the news…' section

Monday 25 June 2007

The BBC News website has recently introduced a new section entitled 'Also in the news…' where odd, weird and bizarre items from across the website are displayed together.
I found out the hard way, because Also in the news has replaced Entertainment as the last section in the BBC News website left hand side navigation (which [...]

Continue reading The BBC's 'Also in the news…' section

aloft

Monday 25 June 2007

In or into a high place; high or higher up.

sping

Sunday 24 June 2007

(Spam PING) A ping from a spam blog (splog) to a Web site indicating that there has been an update. However, since the ping is coming from a spam blog, the ping is phony.

7 things I did not know last week

Saturday 23 June 2007

If you want to set WordPress to display all posts for a given archive, you can type -1 in the options field instead of the maximum allowed figure. I found this in the instuctions for the excellent Custom Query String WordPress plugin (that lets you set a different maximum number of posts or days for [...]

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splog

Saturday 23 June 2007

(SPam bLOG) A blog site set up for the sole purpose of increasing page ranking in Google.

Last night I told my mother that I loved her

Friday 22 June 2007

No biggie, I hear you say.
Oh yes biggie, big biggie instead. It was perhaps the first time as far as memory goes, and if you think we've known each other for a little over forty hears now, it's a shame. We just don't do feelings too well in our family.
My mother recently spent three weeks [...]

Continue reading Last night I told my mother that I loved her

Dr B.'s brother has stopped smoking

Friday 22 June 2007

I have been exchanging emails with Dr B.'s brother, who is into his third month since stopping smoking, and only a few weeks since giving up nicotine patches.
He has been having dreams about smoking and I told him I used to have them all the time too when I stopped over four years ago. He [...]

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coatee

Friday 22 June 2007

A short close-fitting coat; a coat with short flaps.

decouple

Thursday 21 June 2007

To separate or detach.

2 pounds (refunded) to prove you are over 18

Wednesday 20 June 2007

On the way home tonight (two tubes, one person under a train, a bus and a short walk) I clicked on a URL in an email on my phone to read a friend's message on Facebook, and the T-Mobile nanny informed me that
Content Lock has barred this service because this site is rated 18. [...]

Continue reading 2 pounds (refunded) to prove you are over 18

cromulent

Wednesday 20 June 2007

A word used by the schoolteacher in an episode of The Simpsons, in which she defended one made-up word by making up another: "It's a perfectly cromulent word."

Monotasking will be all the rage

Tuesday 19 June 2007

I recently read somewhere that in 10 years time multitasking will not be considered a quality any longer.
Over the weekend, I saw all the people (including myself) at Hack Day listening to presentation, developing their own hacks at the same time, IMing people, twittering, checking email, taking photos, uploading photos, tagging photos, searching for similarly [...]

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Touch Me, I'm Karen Taylor

Tuesday 19 June 2007

Touch Me, I'm Karen Taylor is a new comedy show on BBC Three. Very funny - and at last a sketch show that does not rely almost exclusively on catchphrases (remember Little Miss Jocelyn? 'It's going to take a looong time').
Best bit in episode 1: Cash Cow, the late-night quiz show.
Best bit in episode 2 [...]

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borehole

Tuesday 19 June 2007

A hole that is drilled into the earth, as in exploratory well drilling or in building construction.

Hack Day London 2007

Monday 18 June 2007

Head's a bit fried from all I saw. Limbs ever so slighly numb from the walking about helping out. More info as I get a couple of brain cells to interact.
Just a few links for now - got to rush to work:

Official Hack Day blog
Hack Day London unofficial Wiki
hackdaylondon tag on del.icio.us
My Hack Day London [...]

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cognizant

Monday 18 June 2007

Fully informed; conscious. Aware.

Dude, here's your (old) design

Sunday 17 June 2007

Going a bit mad, removing all colours and images and fancy things from bitful.com.
So here are the former bells and whistles recorded for posterity.
Just in case they are missed.

Continue reading Dude, here's your (old) design

Dude, where's my design?

Sunday 17 June 2007

You know those times when you look around you, and there's stuff everywhere (mostly tat), and you go Right, where's the bin?
You know those times when you take one last look at yourself before going out, and you realise you have caked on the sluttiest makeup you could find, and you try and blend it [...]

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shinning

Sunday 17 June 2007

To climb (a rope or pole, for example) by gripping and pulling alternately with the hands and legs. To move quickly on foot.

WordPress search widget inline button fix

Saturday 16 June 2007

The default WordPress search widget used with the default WordPress Kubrick theme displays the Search button on a new line. I don't like that.
I spent a fair amount of time looking for a fix, then looked into it myself and found that:

you need to remove the return 'br' tag in wp-includes\widgets.php (line 411 in WordPress [...]

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7 things I did not know last week

Saturday 16 June 2007

It is getting harder and harder to transfer your credit card balance from bank to bank to take advantage of their interest-free joining periods. First, transfer fees were introduced. Now Lloyds applies a Minimum spend of £100 in the first 3 months.
If you copy some text in the clipboard, then Ctrl-V it when you are [...]

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