Monthly archive: June 2008

If you follow my short updates on Twitter or Facebook, you will now that I have given up caffeine on Saturday, and that I've been crippled by headaches ever since.

I knew my caffeine intake was way above sanity (about 10 cups a coffee and a couple of 500ml bottles of coke zero during the day, and two or three mugs of tea in the evening) and wanted to do something about it.

Knowing myself pretty well by now, I had a very good feeling that cutting down was going to involve a lot more energy than stopping altogether. After all, I failed every single attempt to cut down smoking, but when I went cold turkey five years ago, it worked and I have not smoked since.

So I started my Saturday with a mug of peppermint tea. Incidentally, I like peppermint tea, so it's not a big effort. I had a couple more cups during the morning, then at around lunchtime the headache started.

I must add at this point that I was also trying to cleanse and detox by trying out the Master Cleanse during the weekend, so I thought the headache was due to insufficient calories, or a reaction to maple syrup (Dr B. said it gives him headache).

However, by evening the Master Cleanse was out of the window, I ate and I drank and a darn good idea it was. But the headache was still there, I went to bed with it and I woke up with it too. It followed me all day on Sunday, laughed at the painkillers I threw at it, and again on Sunday night I fell asleep with the back of my head throbbing and sending discomfort down my spine.

Yesterday and today I have been feeling better, the headache is coming and going, I cannot put my finger on what makes it worse – but I have noticed that working out makes it disappear.

I am very surprised by my body's reaction to caffeine withdrawal, it feels oddly familiar and I recoil in horror because it is very similar to the first few days of each and every one of my (near-monthly) attempts to stop smoking. Is caffeine really that addictive? Or – shudder – am I allergic to peppermint tea instead?

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

• Crazy Japanese create iMac-like iPod dock | Register Hardware
  One Japanese manufacturer has designed a dock that gives the iPod Touch the appearance of a miniature iMac. There's a version for the iPhone too.
• Powerset
  Scaled-down, simplified interface to browse Wikipedia information on iPhone and iPod Touch.
• Create Your Own Smart Bookmarks in Firefox 3
  '… things in other applications that are similar to Smart Bookmarks. For example, iTunes (and many other media players) have what are referred to as Smart Playlists.'
• Superdrug Health Services
  A series of tests you can have at Superdrug: Food Intolerance, Healthy Heart, Mole Clinic, Allergy, ECG.

1. Google has a gay Easter egg hidden in the English interface: if you search for gay (or lesbian) the thin blue vertical line that separates results from sponsored links turns into a rainbow. Via Brugo].
2. 'Tapas' means 'lids, covers' in Spanish, probably because the snacks were originally used to protect your drink from flies or sand by placing them on the glass.
3. The word 'wop' (derogatory term for an Italian) is derived from the Neapolitan 'guappo' meaning 'cocky, swaggering person'.
4. The actor playing captain Lee 'Apollo' Adama in Battlestar Galactica (Jamie Bamber) is British.
5. The 'wheelies' in 'Chorton and the Wheelies' came about because movement on wheels is easier to animate in stop-motion.
6. The 's' key toggle stars on and off when you select an item in Gmail or Google Reader
7. The 'Dublin' in Dublin Core (metadata element set) is in Ohio, not in Ireland.

In the end last night I (and probably another few hundred thousand people with me) could not get my hands on Firefox 3, so I went out.

I have just downloaded it now (it would be cool to set a record for number of downloads in 24 hours), but I will probably wait a bit before installing it because

• it is always recommended not to install just-released software straight away;
• some people I know are experiencing problems with Firefox 3;
• last time I checked, not all add-ons work with Firefox 3 yet.

If you have installed Firefox 3 and want to revert, you can download previous versions of Firefox.

I will probably download and install the Firefox 3 Portable Edition that can run alongside old versions, until I am sure I want to upgrade for good.

So yes, I went out last night. I never ever go out on a school night these days, so I limited myself to three pints, and yet I am not feeling too good this morning, but fortunately I am going to be staying later at work tonight because I have a Spanish class at 6.30PM, so I can go in later than usual. Ooh I'm rambling aren't I?

Yes, I was saying I went out. And had a very good time with Jonathan, David and Ian at Retro Bar. We saw Dave and Simon and took part in the weekly Pop Quiz.

I expect Jonathan to write about it on his blog today [update: he did]. I hope he does, because all I can remember is that our team came second with 18 out of 21 points. I cannot even remember the name of the team, apart that it was picked by flicking through a copy of Boyz and pointing randomly at some text.

Right then. Coffee, porridge, Nurofen Plus, shower, then off to work.

Today at 10AM Pacific (=6PM London) time, Firefox 3 (with several new features and improvements) is released. If you were planning to try it out, why not download Firefox 3 today, and help set a world record for number of software downloads in a 24 hour period?

A friend asked me last week why he should start using Firefox. I was caught a little off guard and blabbered something along the lines of add-ons, without being able to provide a single example. I might have muttered the word 'skins'. He probably was not impressed, unsurprisingly as it is not the most compelling argument.

Well, I now have had time to reflect, and I can give you the reasons why I use Firefox (your reasons may vary):

• I can select text, right click and search for that text in Google (or any other search engine I select)
• I can dress it up with the classic, elegant and unobtrusive iSafari theme (unfortunately discontinued, and will not work with Firefox 3)
• if I wanted to, I could put it on a USB flash drive and take the portable Firefox version (and bookmarks, and preferences) with me anywhere

Initially, I had switched to Firefox for other features (RSS reader integration, tabbed browsing, multiple engines in search box) that IE has caught up on since.

However, the main reason why I am a very happy Firefox user is the fact that you can expand and improve it as much (or as little) as you need, with the use of add-ons (also called plugins, or extensions). Here are the essential ones I install on every machine I use to help me in my professional and personal daily tasks:

• Delicious Bookmarks (quick look-up and save-to del.icio.us bookmarks)
• Email this! Bookmarklet Extension (right-click to send page via Gmail)
• FireFTP (FTP client)
• FireShot (take a screenshot of the whole page and edit, annotate, email)
• Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer (bookmark syncing on two or more machines)
• Gmail Manager (new email alert in status bar)
• IE Tab (one-click switch to render the page in Explorer when necessary)
• Operator (extra toolbar for microformats)
• Remember The Milk for Gmail (integrates task management into Gmail)
• The Tabulator Extension (human-readable interface for linked data)
• Thinger (toolbar management)
• VeriSign's OpenID Seatbelt (quick OpenID login and status)
• Web Developer (very useful tools for developers)

If you are a Microsoft fan, here is how the upcoming IE8 compares to Firefox 3.

And if you want a bit of humour, here is a 'slightly demented' IE vs FF comparison table.

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

• Card sorting: a definitive guide – Boxes and Arrows: The design behind the design
  'Card sorting is a great, reliable, inexpensive method for finding patterns in how users would expect to find content or functionality.'
• cTwIG – Cocoon Two Idiots Guide
  'It is intended to provide a quick guide for other new users of C2 so that they can get up and running without needing to trouble the more experienced users out there.'
• Jar File Overview
  'Although Jar can be used as a general archiving tool, the primary motivation for its development was so that Java applets and their requisite components (.class files, images and sounds) can be downloaded to a browser in a single HTTP transaction'
• Madrid : Suggested Itineraries : In One Day | Frommers.com
  Madrid in one (or two, or three) days, with maps.

1. The reason why the Scala cinema went bankrupt and closed in 1993 was because it screened A Clockwork Orange without permission, was sued and lost. It is now a nightclub. [via overyourhead]
2. Sleeping too long (over eight hours a night) is bad for your health, and might even be riskier than sleeping too little (under 6.5 hours a night).
3. Because they were used so rarely, automated public lavatories in Richmond cost the council eight pounds per pee.
4. Pashto (sometimes called Afghani) is the official language in Afghanistan. Sadly learnt when the Pashto service reporter for the BBC was shot dead last weekend).
5. The Xbox 360 might finally turn a profit for the first time at the end of this fiscal year.
6. Oxfam has an online charity shop.
7. Dannii Minogue (singer, X-Factor judge, sister of pop princess) and Julian McMahon (Nip-Tuck actor, son of former Australian Prime Minister) were married for two years.

I love fish, but cooking fish is smelly.

As we often have our laundry to dry in the open space kitchen/dining room/living room (i.e. the only room in the flat big enough to open the clothes drier), I have been trying to come up with ways to cook fish that do not stink.

The following recipe is the Easy Bacalao (Puerto Rican Fish Stew Recipe) from Recipezaar, and it does not stink very much, probably because the fish is submerged in tomato sauce while cooking. I am taking the liberty of copying this recipe here (with a couple of slight amendments) so that I can find it easily when needed.

This Puerto Rican recipe somehow reminds me of North-East Italy, where a very similar dish is traditionally served with polenta. You can otherwise have it with a couple of slices of home-baked bread, or rice, or baby new potatoes.

Ingredients (serves 3)

• 600g frozen cod or haddock
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can diced tomato
• 1 chili pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons sliced pimento stuffed olives
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water, as needed

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large high-sided pan
2. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes
3. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute
4. Defrost fish in microwave
5. Chop fish in 1 1/2-inch pieces
6. Add fish, tinned tomatoes, chili pepper, olives, capers, oregano and salt; stir to combine
7. Add up to 1/2 cup water if the mixture seems dry
8. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes

I was reading how big companies have started to realise that 'your home page is Google', and the given example was how if you search for Diet Coke the third result is 'Don't Drink the Diet Coke', which links aspartame to depression and bipolar disorder.

Of course, I had to check. I could not find the result in question on google.co.uk (it is #4 if you search on google.com though). However, I started reading the following articles found among the first ten search results:

• One month without Diet Coke (a guy ditches it and feels so great he never goes back)
• Diet Coke to drop additive in DNA damage fear (phased out by the end of the year, i.e. we're all still drinking it)
• Behind the Label: Diet Coke (benzoates combined with acids in Diet Coke create carcinogen benzene)

This is nothing I didn't already know, but seeing it once again is going to make me think twice before grabbing a coke next time I feel like one.

I was underwhelmed by yesterday's second generation iPhone reveal, possibly because most of the rumours (3G, GPS, lower price) were correct and there were no big surprises.

However, I still think I am going to get one as soon as my current contract is over (November, I think). It feels logical today to do that, as I do a lot of stuff on my iPod Touch, (games, web browsing, some email, videos, books) but I also need to carry my HTC Tytn II for 3G and GPS.

Who knows what will be on the market in five months' time though? I like the look of the iPhone, and the interface fits my use like a glove, but I find myself agreeing with the comment below:

'Now, don't tell me guys that the iPhone was a revolutionnary phone : it wasn't, except maybe for its stylish look. And this release is anything but exceptionnal. It basically is a "survival release". Adjust the competition or die. And also adjust the competition's pricing or die.' (comment by Ralph T. on ReadWriteWeb)

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

• GSnap
  Free AutoTune-like audio pitch correction tool
• Firefox 3 Beta: Make Your Extensions Work with the Firefox 3 Beta
  'here's a cheat that may get them to work. Big Honking Warning: Only do this if you're willing to deal with possible bleeding edge extension bugs and security risks'
• Symbol Signs: Society & Environment: AIGA
  'The complete set of 50 passenger/pedestrian symbols developed by AIGA is now available on the web, free of charge. Signs are available in EPS and GIF formats.'
• How to publish Linked Data on the Web
  'This document provides a tutorial on how to publish Linked Data on the Web. After a general overview of the concept of Linked Data, we describe several practical recipes for publishing information as Linked Data on the Web.'
• emotiv EPOC gaming headset
  Headset that allows you to control games by using your mind (sensors convert electric signals from the brain), facial expressions and head movements (the headset includes a gyroscope).
• Work Less, Give Your Customers Less… and Succeed Like 37Signals – Bill Taylor
  37signals founder Jason Fried: 'If you include every decent idea that comes along, you'll just wind up with a half-assed version of your product. What you really want to do is build half a product that kicks ass.'

Often, especially if I haven't got time, I enjoy making 'mock-porridge' by pouring hot water on oats, giving it a stir and eating it straight away. Unorthodox but speedy.

Lately however I have tasted Dr B.'s porridge and it's so good I don't mind the extra calories. As it is not always easy to get the proportion and cooking times right, I have noted his settings down and I'm posting them here so I can find them easiliy:

• 45g oats
• 300g semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar

1. Mix ingredients together in a microwaveable bowl
2. Cook in microwave oven, 2 minutes at full power, then simmer for 3 minutes
3. Stir and let it cool

Premise 1: I do not really need to access all my internet bookmarks anywhere. Yes it is handy, but I am more interested in investigating and working towards a future where our browsing profile will follow us everywhere (if we allow it to, and when we want it to), and synchronisation of our data and preferences plays a big part in it.

Premise 2: my configuration works for the following set of devices/data:

• home desktop computer Firefox 2 bookmarks
• home desktop computer Internet Explorer 7 favourites
• home laptop Firefox 2 bookmarks
• iPod Touch Safari bookmarks
• Windows Mobile 6 smartphone mobile favourites
• work desktop computer Firefox 2 bookmarks

The objectives are

• to access my full set of Firefox bookmarks on all computers at home and at work
• to access my full set of Firefox bookmarks on my iPod Touch
• to customise Firefox with a different bookmarks toolbar on my home and work computers

Synchronising bookmarks across Firefox installations is very simply done by using the Foxmarks Firefox plugin.

The Firefox add-on Thinger that lets you create multiple bookmark toolbars. I have a 'Work' and a 'Home' toolbar, and configured Firefox to use the former on the office computer and the latter on my personal machines.

The iPod Touch cannot synchronise bookmarks with Firefox but syncs with Safari bookmarks or Internet Explorer favourites . I chose Explorer, this means I need to sync my Firefox bookmarks and Explorer favourites so that the iPod can pick them up. I use the Firefox add-on Syncmarks.

Windows Mobile only syncs the content of the Mobile Favourites bookmarks subfolder. I don't mind it as I don't use my smartphone to browse the web that much, so I only keep a useful subset of bookmarks in the Mobile Favourites folder. If you need to you can sync all your Internet Explorer favourites to Windows Mobile (it involves an additional application and further synchronising).

Complex? Yes.

Reliable? Yes, until one of the elements changes and does not communicate nicely with the others (for instance, I reluctantly uninstalled Firefox 3 RC2 because many plugins had not been updated by their developers yet).

Worth it? Well, yes, if you regularly use several devices and want enjoy a somewhat seamless web experience and keeping stuff organised in one location only. I know I do.

UPDATE (14 August 2008): Syncmarks does not work with Firefox 3, and I have not found an alternative yet. If you do, please let me know with a comment here.

1. According to McAfee, Hong Kong (.hk) is the most dangerous domain to surf and search on the web. Finland (.fi) is the safest.
2. Andy Warhol died of water intoxication.
3. In Japan you wash and rinse yourself outside the bathtub, which is only for soaking so that you leave the water clean for the next person using it.
4. In Spanish, the word 'sándwich' is only used for a sandwich made with bread baked in a square mould, otherwise it is called 'bocadillo'.
5. Life magazine shut down three times, the last in 2007 (but survives as an online brand).
6. The name of the French band Air is a backronym for ' Amour, Imagination, Rêve' (French for 'Love, Imagination, Dream')
7. Nucleated glassware have the inside base sandblasted to increase and retains bubbles in carbonated drinks.

Last night I went out to hear a recital by a recent aquaintance from my Gay Rounders team. But after circling my destination for about one hour and failing to reach it, I went home.

Those who know me at this point will not be surprised, as they often joke that when sense of direction was being handed out, I was unable to find the queue. And that's exactly why I looked up the venue on at a map before leaving, which clearly showed I could take Middle Temple Lane from Victoria Embankment or from Fleet Street.

I tried both ends and could not find the street. I checked the map again, and even my mobile's GPS failed to take me there. So I googled for instructions, but there seemed to be nothing in the first page of results. None of my friends was going to be there, and I could not call the singer because the concert had started.

I now read that I needed to

'Watch out for a wooden gateway with a sign to Middle Temple Lane. You might think you are going into someone's private yard but it's the north entry to this cobbled street of solicitors' offices in London's "legal village".' (City A.M. June 2007 review of La Grande Marque)

Of course. How could I not have known?

Yesterday after work I attended to the first class of a twelve-week Spanish language course.

My teacher is very lovely because she brought cupcakes. She also has an open smiley face. She comes from Argentina and her accent is as sweet as dulce de leche. Not as lovely as the Castilian Spanish I love so much, but I like it too.

My classmates are nice. Many of them have taken classes in the previous levels with the same teacher and they know each other already, but they are very friendly with all of us newcomers.

The level of the class is perfect for me. My vocabulary and pronunciation are good, but I am very bad at grammar and verb tenses, and this is exactly what we are going to do during the next two weeks.

Our teacher asked us to introduce ourselves and asked each of us where we learnt Spanish. I said I learnt by reading Harry Potter books in Spanish and that I could therefore talk at length about witches, spells and broomsticks. My classmates giggled. I hope they like me.

Being born in Italy, and having lived in France for six years, I used to have an overly medicalised view of health. People in Italy go to the doctor as soon as the smallest thing appears to be ever so slightly wrong with their body. Doctors in France shower you in medication as the universal solution from any condition, from ingrown toenails to lethargy.

In both these countries, my GPs prescribed free yearly checkups (blood scan, ophtalmologist, dermatologist) because of my family history and genetic disposition for diabetes, skin cancer and thyroid condition (my dad) – and glaucoma and blood pressure problems (my mother).

Once I moved to the UK, I was surprised not to be receving the same sort of attention but soon realised that if you have no symptoms, you don't get to be checked. I used to fret and worry about it, but I have recently started accepting it and playing by the rules, which means no symptoms equals no need to take unnecessary tests.

My approach is now to try and find a balanced way of taking care of myself, looking for symptoms without worrying, and taking the initiative to use the free services I can benefit from.

• I try and eat well at least 80% of the time
• I exercise at least three times a week. As a rule, I try not to let more than two days pass without some form of exercise (usually weights training or running, but at my age a very brisk 45-minute walk at lunchtime counts as exercise too)
• I monitor my weight and take action if it goes up
• I go for an eye test every year (free if you are over forty and a close relative has glaucoma, but also free if you work as I do with VDUs)
• I have not done so yet as I have just found out, but I am planning to book a diabetes test at Lloyds pharmacy (again, free if like me you are considered to be at risk)

Considering my ill luck at the gene lottery draw, I owe it to myself to be a little more careful than the average bloke.

I spent yesterday afternoon playing rounders in Hyde Park. A friend had organised a tournament, the turnout was staggering and our team ended up second of four.

It was a gay tournament, and unsurprisingly I was able to share with many others my memories of always being picked last in sports at school. And reassuringly, I found out I was not the campest runner.

I did not get to play much, as I was out straight away every time. But that's not too bad considering that only a couple of weeks ago I had no idea there even was such a thing as rounders.

What was somewhat scary was that while I was going to first base during the last match my feet froze mid-run. I put my hands forward as I fell and landed on my middle finger, which I can now not bend nor stretch completely.

The feet-freezing thing was weird. It felt as if they were tied together, they just stopped moving all of a sudden. Maybe a member of the opposite team was grabbing my ankles (I guess that's not allowed though).

I am sure my hand is fine (some sort of ligament sprain surely). However, I so would like to show the world my middle finger today (a Monday morning thing) and, well, I am unable to.

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

• LastGraph
  web-based system for making pretty wavegraphs of your Last.fm musical profile. The charts have time along the horizontal axis, and number of plays on the vertical; think of it as sort of a stacked line graph, but centered, smoothed, and generally nicer.
• Tag Galaxy
  Cool visualisation of photos tagged with terms you type, in a 'related to' structure using planets. Easier to see than describe it.
• Tagaroo
  Wordpress Plugin that uses Open Calais to suggest tags matching your posts. You can also suggest tags and use them to automatically get great images from Flickr to include in your post.
• Text to Binary translator
  Type your text in the first field, and you’ll see its binary encoding in the second one. You can also translate from binary to plain text.
• Sony + Tru2way = No More Set-top Boxes? « NewTeeVee
  'tru2way allows developers to create all manner of interactive applications (like games [...] or interactive guides) for the television. The standard allows developers to write the application once, and have it run on any cable system.'
• Search Muxtapes With Muxfind – ReadWriteWeb
  Using Muxfind is as simple as using any search engine – and you don't need a Muxtape login to access it. Above the search box, you have three options to search by: "Find Artists and Songs," "Discover by Muxtape," and "Discover by Artist."
• New York Times API Coming – ReadWriteWeb
  'The web of the near-term future isn't about pages any more, [...] It's about data, flying around, hopefully under the control of users, and offering a world of possibilities that few of us could have imagined just a few years ago.'