bitful

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

Archive for October 2007

smart

Wednesday 31 October 2007

To cause a sharp, usually superficial, stinging pain.

thrash out

Tuesday 30 October 2007

Discuss fully, especially to resolve a problem.

My week on the web

Monday 29 October 2007

Here are the websites I bookmarked into my del.icio.us account last week:

Leopard vs. Vista: feature chart showdown
Vista is not doing too bad after all.
ICO (Windows Icon) file format plugin for Photoshop
Free plugin that gives Photoshop the ability to directly Open and Save Windows icon (.ICO) files.
Best When Used By
'a simple website that helps you [...]

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knurling

Monday 29 October 2007

A series of small ridges, usually milled on a surface, in order to provide a better surface for gripping or turning; also called milling.

pummel

Sunday 28 October 2007

To beat, as with the fists; pommel.

7 things I did not know last week

Saturday 27 October 2007

You can 'mute' conversations in Gmail so that they do not show in your inbox. Handy for stuff you want to keep for reference but do not need to read straight away.
Volcanoes on low-temperature astronomical objects can have criomagma in the form of slushy ice.
Apple seeds contain a cyanide compound which is released if the [...]

Continue reading 7 things I did not know last week

crank

Saturday 27 October 2007

A clever turn of speech; a verbal conceit: 'quips and cranks'.

tosh

Friday 26 October 2007

Foolish nonsense (Chiefly British).

chuck

Thursday 25 October 2007

A cut of beef extending from the neck to the ribs and including the shoulder blade.

wattle

Wednesday 24 October 2007

A construction of poles intertwined with twigs, reeds, or branches, used for walls, fences, and roofs. A fleshy, wrinkled, often brightly colored fold of skin hanging from the neck or throat, characteristic of certain birds, such as chickens or turkeys, and some lizards.

crapulous

Tuesday 23 October 2007

Stupefied, excited, or muddled with alcoholic liquor.

My week on the web

Monday 22 October 2007

Here are the websites I bookmarked into my del.icio.us account last week:

At home with Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver recipes, I tried the carbonara and it's not bad at all.
William Hundley's 'Entoptic Phenomena'
A photographer. A camera. A sheet. A friend (jumping). Genius.
Windows Home Server in depth review
Windows Home Server, Microsoft simplifies how your files and backups [...]

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grapeshot

Monday 22 October 2007

A cluster of small iron balls formerly used as a cannon charge.

seppuku

Sunday 21 October 2007

Ritual suicide by disembowelment formerly practiced by Japanese samurai. Also called hara-kiri.

7 things I did not know last week

Saturday 20 October 2007

The iPhone (and many other high-end phones) have a water damage sensor: a small white disc inside the headphone jack that gets coloured when in contact with water. [via garoo]
The Sound of Music is based on a true story (with alterations and omissions).
TV Genius (the TV listings and reminders website I use regularly) has launched [...]

Continue reading 7 things I did not know last week

huff

Saturday 20 October 2007

A fit of anger or annoyance; a pique: 'stormed off in a huff'.

bluster

Friday 19 October 2007

To blow in loud, violent gusts, as the wind during a storm. To speak in a loudly arrogant or bullying manner. To brag or make loud, empty threats.

coppice

Thursday 18 October 2007

A thicket or grove of small trees or shrubs, especially one maintained by periodic cutting or pruning to encourage suckering, as in the cultivation of cinnamon trees for their bark.

kibosh

Wednesday 17 October 2007

A checking or restraining element.

top-heavy

Tuesday 16 October 2007

Having a disproportionately large number of administrators.

My week on the web

Monday 15 October 2007

Here are the websites I bookmarked into my del.icio.us account last week:

6 Things Star Wars Teaches Us About Our Money
'as crazy as it sounds, the entire Star Wars series itself offers some fantastic suggestions to get us on the right path towards success.'
Outlook + Twitter = OutTwit
'If you are an Outlook user, you probably [...]

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beyond the pale

Monday 15 October 2007

Outside the bounds of morality, good behavior or judgment; unacceptable.

All carded up and nowhere to pay

Sunday 14 October 2007

When I heard Barclays was releasing a three-in-one Credit, Oyster (London transport) and OneTouch (cashless purchases under ten pounds by waving the card on a reader) OnePulse Barclaycard, I was the first in line to get it.
The accompanying leaflet showed the logos of some of the retailers that will be accepting OneTouch payments soon: Books [...]

Continue reading All carded up and nowhere to pay

My unconscious mind is most driven by peace

Sunday 14 October 2007

I took Tickle's Original Inkblot Test online, to check if the lovely warm results you get are there to make you want to buy the full report.
Guess what? I'm a lovely, lovely person, and I can find out more lovely lovely things about myself if I cough up 8 pound 95 pence. This is what [...]

Continue reading My unconscious mind is most driven by peace

culvert

Sunday 14 October 2007

A sewer or drain crossing under a road or embankment.

7 things I did not know last week

Saturday 13 October 2007

There is no goalkeeper in rugby union. I noticed it thirty minutes into last week's France vs. New Zealand, did not dare ask any of the friends I was watching the match with, but silently Wikipedia'd it on my mobile.
In East Germany after the war there were so few men that they had to introduce [...]

Continue reading 7 things I did not know last week

ham-fisted

Saturday 13 October 2007

not skillful in physical movement especially with the hands

How to do everything on Google

Friday 12 October 2007

This time I was looking for a tutorial to find out how to allow in-cell editing in Outlook.
So I found out that the seventh most popular search starting with "how to" is about the lyrics to "How to Save a Life", and number nine is "how to save a life" which I guess is more [...]

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leeway

Friday 12 October 2007

The drift of a ship or an aircraft to leeward of the course being steered. A margin of freedom or variation, as of activity, time, or expenditure; latitude.

Sorry, Google ate my Outlook

Thursday 11 October 2007

I've had Yahoo! Mail account for as long as I can remember, and I've always been very happy with it.
I've also had a Gmail account since the time they were still only in invitation-only beta. I forward all my other mail to it so it acts as a searchable permanent reference. I also set [...]

Continue reading Sorry, Google ate my Outlook