bitful

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

Archive for September 2007

flume

Sunday 30 September 2007

A narrow gorge, usually with a stream flowing through it.

An open artificial channel or chute carrying a stream of water, as for furnishing power or conveying logs.

A very small swimming pool designed with a propeller or pump to generate a current, allowing a swimmer to swim in place.

7 things I did not know last week

Saturday 29 September 2007

Stephen Hawking is 65 (I would have thought he was in his early fifties).
In Canada, informal hockey games are still called shinny (from shinty, a team sport played with sticks and a ball, now played almost exclusively in the Highlands of Scotland).
YouTube videos can now be forwarded without buffering. You used to need to wait, [...]

Continue reading 7 things I did not know last week

mudroom

Saturday 29 September 2007

A small room or entryway in a house where wet or muddy footwear and clothing can be removed.

bint

Friday 28 September 2007

A woman or girl (chiefly British and offensive).

A little less death and illness would be nice, thanks

Thursday 27 September 2007

The father of a friend of mine is dying of lung cancer.
He was always bursting with energy, one of those people who can possibly get on your nerves because they keep you constantly on your toes, but who leave an indelible mark with their humour (and the way they cook fish).
He was the incredibly strong [...]

Continue reading A little less death and illness would be nice, thanks

The mobile web sucks: discuss

Thursday 27 September 2007

Five Reasons Why Web 2.0 People Need to Shut The F**k Up about the Mobile Web,
in reply to
Five Reasons Why The Mobile Web Sucks.
I totally agree with the content (but perhaps not the tone) of the top article. I consume cartloads of mobile content every day (on T-Mobile "unlimited - as long as you do [...]

Continue reading The mobile web sucks: discuss

quagmire

Thursday 27 September 2007

Land with a soft muddy surface. A difficult or precarious situation; a predicament.

Our flat has been clean for over a week

Wednesday 26 September 2007

By Jove I think I've cracked it!
Last week I wrote about planning to clean a bit every day. Ten minutes every day, to be precise.
So:

on Monday night I cleaned the kitchen
on Tuesday night I dusted everywhere
on Wednesday night I cleaned the bathroom
on Thursday I cleaned our desks in the office
on Friday I mopped kitchen and [...]

Continue reading Our flat has been clean for over a week

The last issue of David Hoyle's Magazine

Wednesday 26 September 2007

I overcome (but only slightly) my laziness to paste an email Dr B. sent to his friends yesterday to comment on the last issue of David Hoyle's Magazine that we went to see on Monday night:
Well that was fun. For those that missed it David Hoyle was back on form last night - we had [...]

Continue reading The last issue of David Hoyle's Magazine

plod

Wednesday 26 September 2007

To move or walk heavily or laboriously; trudge. To work or act perseveringly or monotonously; drudge.

bumptious

Tuesday 25 September 2007

Crudely or loudly assertive; pushy. Self-important, conceited.

My week on the web

Monday 24 September 2007

Here are the websites I bookmarked into my del.icio.us account over the past seven days:

SilverStripe - Open Source CMS / Framework
Simple. Flexible. Scalable. Fast. Standards Compliant. Modular. Template Freedom. Open source. Cross platform. Easy to install.
The XP alternative for Vista PCs
'While Microsoft is still pushing Vista hard, the company is quietly allowing PC makers [...]

Continue reading My week on the web

bolster

Monday 24 September 2007

To keep from yielding or failing during stress or difficulty: buoy (up), prop, support.

kvetch

Sunday 23 September 2007

To complain persistently and whiningly. A chronic, whining complainer.A nagging complaint.

condign

Saturday 22 September 2007

Deserved; adequate.

A nutrition experiment that failed miserably

Friday 21 September 2007

I have already written about how two days into my holiday my mobile phone reset itself and all data was wiped out.
I saw this as a sign to let go and try not to make a note of absolutely everything, and also told myself that I might not need to keep a food diary any [...]

Continue reading A nutrition experiment that failed miserably

coxcomb

Friday 21 September 2007

A conceited dandy; a fop.

Overheard on Studio 60

Thursday 20 September 2007

Wilson White to Jordan McDeere on last week's (terrestrial UK) episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip:
Content may be king, but distribution pays the king's mortgage.

Continue reading Overheard on Studio 60

purblind

Thursday 20 September 2007

Having poor vision; nearly or partly blind. Slow in understanding or discernment; dull.

How I wish my life was as simple as this

Wednesday 19 September 2007

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IMG_1264.jpg, originally uploaded by astrx.

If you've been paying attention, you'll have noticed that lately I've been enjoying getting rid of things.
What you see in this picture from Flickr is for me (at the moment [...]

Continue reading How I wish my life was as simple as this

Switching to clean-as-you-go

Wednesday 19 September 2007

Dr B. and I live in a medium-sized two-bedroom flat. And we never clean.
I like keeping it tidy, but do not like cleaning. He likes it being tidy, and does not like cleaning. But that might be stating the obvious, as who on earth likes cleaning?
Every so often I decide it is time to get [...]

Continue reading Switching to clean-as-you-go

wheedle

Wednesday 19 September 2007

To persuade or attempt to persuade by flattery or guile; cajole. To obtain through the use of flattery or guile.

duress

Tuesday 18 September 2007

Constraint by threat; coercion illegally applied.

My week on the web

Monday 17 September 2007

Here are the websites I bookmarked into my del.icio.us account over the past seven days:

50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog
'Blog clutter is the stuff your readers really don’t need, and it serves mainly to get in the way of your content and other vital information. Your content and important pages are the signal, and [...]

Continue reading My week on the web

gimcrack

Monday 17 September 2007

Noun: a cheap and showy object of little or no use; a gewgaw. Adj.: cheap and tasteless; gaudy.

comport

Sunday 16 September 2007

To conduct or behave (oneself) in a particular manner

7 things I did not know last week

Saturday 15 September 2007

The Toblerone logo has a 'hidden' image of a bear (via Gordon).
The word seersucker 'originates from the Hindi words "shir shakkar," meaning "milk and sugar", probably from the resemblance of its smooth and rough stripes to the smooth surface of milk and bumpy texture of sugar'.
Ethiopia not only uses a different calendar (the year 2000 [...]

Continue reading 7 things I did not know last week

grumble

Saturday 15 September 2007

To complain in a surly manner; mutter discontentedly. To rumble or growl.

Even more of my data on the web

Friday 14 September 2007

Two days into my holiday my mobile phone reset itself and was wiped out.
I back up all my contacts daily with my desktop and online once a month, so information was not lost and easily retrievable away from home.
However, my notes on how much I had spent so far, on what, and how to split [...]

Continue reading Even more of my data on the web

doohickey

Friday 14 September 2007

An unnamed gadget or trinket.