bitful

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

Archive for April 2008

My week on the web

Monday 28 April 2008

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

Rate Your Music
'international metadata database where musical albums, EPs, singles, videos and bootlegs (collectively referred to as "releases") are added, rated, and reviewed by users.'
Collins Lexibase online dictionary
'free online dictionay service which provides you access to a variety of electronic [...]

Continue reading My week on the web

Capture live data with Google Docs

Sunday 27 April 2008

Google Docs lets you link a spreadsheet to a web form. Entries via the web form (by yourself or anyone else that you have sent the link to) update the spreadsheet automatically.
I use it as a food diary: I enter the food and quantity eaten in the form (via any desktop browser, my mobile or [...]

Continue reading Capture live data with Google Docs

7 things I did not know last week

Saturday 26 April 2008

If you let iTunes manage your music library, adding 'Disc Number' information will add the disc number at the beginning of the file names, so that they can be ordered sequentially by disc in the directory.
The Hawaiian alphabet only has twelve letters and a glottal stop.
Georgian has got its own alphabet called Mkhedruli
Each Cremosa ChupaChups [...]

Continue reading 7 things I did not know last week

Un paio di tappi per le orecchie, per favore

Friday 25 April 2008

Un paio di tappi per le orecchie, per favore
A pair of ear plugs, please
Literally: 'A pair of corks/stoppers/plugs for the ears, for favour'.
There used to be a time when I was counting how many sleeps until the Eurovision Song Contest.
My interest has been fading ever since when I went to to see the live show [...]

Continue reading Un paio di tappi per le orecchie, per favore

Oggi vado al lavoro a piedi

Thursday 24 April 2008

Oggi vado al lavoro a piedi
Today I am walking to work
Literally: 'Today (I) go to work at feet'.
Today is Walk To Work Day.
Yesterday I pledged to walk at least thirty minutes to work, but then I figured out that I could go the whole way in about two hours.
So I am setting off now, equipped [...]

Continue reading Oggi vado al lavoro a piedi

My week on the web

Tuesday 22 April 2008

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

Restore shell folder icons - Neowin Forums
How to restore shell folder icons in Vista. Including content of the various desktop.ini files needed for each folder.
A List Apart: Articles: Quick CSS Mockups with Photoshop
Tips on slicing and exporting to present website [...]

Continue reading My week on the web

Ho dormito sul divano

Tuesday 22 April 2008

Ho dormito sul divano
I have slept on the sofa
Literally: '(I) have slept on-the sofa'.
On average two nights a week I sleep on a sofa that is two feet shorter than I am, lulled by the sound of the TV via wireless headphones.
I'll accept it is odd, but most times when that happens, like this morning, [...]

Continue reading Ho dormito sul divano

Free access to britannica.com for bloggers

Monday 21 April 2008

Last Friday, when I read on Techmeme that the Encyclopaedia Britannica is giving out free one-year subscriptions to publishers, including bloggers, I contacted them straight away motivating my application, and did not think much of it.
Imagine my surprise when later that very day I received an email containing instructions on how to activate my free [...]

Continue reading Free access to britannica.com for bloggers

Testing WP Calais Auto Tagger

Saturday 19 April 2008

I have recently had a chance to look into Open Calais for work purposes. Open Calais is a Reuters-backed web service that returns semantic metadata in RDF format from text it is given.
So when I heard someone had developed a Calais WordPress plugin that suggests tags for your posts based on Open Calais, I thought [...]

Continue reading Testing WP Calais Auto Tagger

Dr B. aspetta un bambino

Friday 18 April 2008

Dr B. aspetta un bambino
Dr B. is expecting a baby
Literally: 'Dr B waits-for a child'.
Dr B ordered a new computer and is this morning impatiently waiting for the stork to deliver his new baby. I expect him to spend most of the weekend playing with it.
In the meantime, I shall be installing an additional 500GB [...]

Continue reading Dr B. aspetta un bambino

The feed is back, but only just

Thursday 17 April 2008

I still have not got a clue why my RSS feed stopped updating when I upgraded to WordPress 2.5.
However, while investigating I found that the URL for the feed somehow had changed, so I added a couple of lines to the .htaccess file to redirect it.
I also noticed that there was a new version of [...]

Continue reading The feed is back, but only just

10 reasons why Ocado rocks

Wednesday 16 April 2008

I recently saw an ad somewhere that said:
"Tesco prices. Waitrose quality. Ocado delivery."
After staying last weekend in Manchester with friends who spend a little more than I do on food - and tasting the difference it makes, I thought I'd give it a go.
Tonight Ocado delivered - groceries and promises.

Ocado matches Tesco prices on 3,500 [...]

Continue reading 10 reasons why Ocado rocks

Decluttering: backup discs

Wednesday 16 April 2008

I have lately adopted a very responsible attitude towards backing up the files on my main computer at home.
Every Saturday an automatic backup kicks in. I configured it to be an incremental backup of all my image files (I would be devastated if I lost any of the pictures I have been taking during the [...]

Continue reading Decluttering: backup discs

Ognuno ha quello che si merita

Tuesday 15 April 2008

Ognuno ha quello che si merita
You get what you deserve
Literally: 'Everyone has what that for-oneself deserves'.
Normally I react to Berlusconi winning general elections with sadness and indignation.
Last night, as I learnt that millions of Italians had decided to give him another go at steering the country, all I could hope for is that electors knew [...]

Continue reading Ognuno ha quello che si merita

Ho messo su quattro libbre in una settimana

Monday 14 April 2008

Ho messo su quattro libbre in una settimana
I have put on four pounds in one week
Literally: '(I) have put on four pounds in one week'.
Three and a half weeks ago I decided to stop counting calories and to stop weighing myself every day.
I have put on five pounds during the first two and a half [...]

Continue reading Ho messo su quattro libbre in una settimana

My week on the web

Monday 14 April 2008

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

MySong: Automatic Accompaniment for Vocal Melodies
Microsoft project application that automatically chooses chords to accompany a vocal melody, allowing a user with no musical training to rapidly create accompanied music. Results on this page, pretty impressive.
JungleDisk - Reliable online storage powered [...]

Continue reading My week on the web

Fai la cosa giusta

Sunday 13 April 2008

Fai la cosa giusta
Do the right thing
Literally: 'Do the thing right'.
Today Italians are voting to elect a new government for the 62nd time in 63 years. Make up your mind, dudes!
I sent my vote to the Italian consulate in London this week. I may have left the country in disgust, but I still hope that [...]

Continue reading Fai la cosa giusta

Saluti da Manchester

Saturday 12 April 2008

Saluti da Manchester
Greetings from Manchester
Literally: 'Greetings from Manchester'.
Well, I say Manchester but really it's lovely suburban Altrincham, which I think I've just realised is in Cheshire.
Walked around, looked at mansions, went to a pub, played a Robots-themed board game with our friends' child.
Having a rest now, dinner will be ready soon. It feels wonderfully pleasant [...]

Continue reading Saluti da Manchester

Money, passport, iPod Touch…

Saturday 12 April 2008

Whenever I travel I always make sure I have enough stuff to do late at night or very early in the morning when everybody sleeps. I usually take my laptop and get some work done. Sometimes I even read a book - crazy, I know.
I am now at Dr B.'s parents only with an iPod [...]

Continue reading Money, passport, iPod Touch…

Non riesco a dormire

Friday 11 April 2008

Non riesco a dormire
I can't sleep
Literally: 'Not (I) succeed at to-sleep'.
Don't know why, really.
I'm pretty sure that watching the season finale of Torchwood S02 is not going to help, but I can't wait another day to find out how it all ends.
I hear it's very sad.

Continue reading Non riesco a dormire

Ho rotto il sito

Thursday 10 April 2008

Ho rotto il sito
I have broken the website
Literally: (I) have broken the site
Since I upgraded to WordPress 2.5, new posts do not appear in the RSS feed. True, there have been only three posts, of which two were automatic lists of bookmars, and one was just a dummy post to test the feed. But still.
If [...]

Continue reading Ho rotto il sito

This is a test post…

Thursday 10 April 2008

…because a kind soul has alerted me that this here RSS feed thingy has given up its soul.

Continue reading This is a test post…

My week on the web

Monday 7 April 2008

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

HOWTO: iPhone Webclip Icons
Webclip Icons are the new favicons
Gmail Shortcuts (printable cheatsheet)
From c to /, all Gmail shortcuts on a handy printable cheatsheet.

Continue reading My week on the web