The Refinement Process

Music to look into

2005-11-09T14:40:00.000Z

Khonnor's Crapstone from their album Handwriting. Their style in the song reminds me of Explosions in the Sky.

Categories: Music, Recently Discovered

Keywords: post-rock, vocals

Can't. Stop. Laughing. Twistedly. Funny.

2005-11-09T13:13:00.000Z

Found this Family Guy clip on Google Video.

Categories: Funny ha-ha

Keywords: Family Guy, Google Video

How to be a graphic designer, without losing your soul

2005-11-04T12:48:00.000Z

Yesterday evening I popped into Borders on Charing Cross Road to read this month's Creative Review. Inside it contained the second in a series of extracts from the book How to be a designer, without losing your soul by Adrian Shaughnessy.

From this excerpt alone I was convinced to buy the book. I like the writing style, I like what he talks about, and I like his addition of "without losing your soul" to the title. I take this last point as an implication that he cares about maintaining your own values during your career. I've only just started reading it and my initial impressions are good.

Foyles have the book in stock, I counted four on the shelf minus the copy I bought. Borders on Charing Cross Road have none, but 15 are on order. Amazon.co.uk have it with 30 percent off.

Categories: Graphic Design, Start-up

Keywords: book, graphic design, Adrian Shaughnessy, start-up, advice

Favourite tracks on Breezeblock 25 October 2005

2005-10-30T20:42:00.000Z

Electrelane's Gone Darker (Too Pure)
Slint's Washer (Touch and Go)

Categories: Music

Keywords: Breezeblock, new artists

The cinema goers

2005-10-25T15:07:00.000+01:00

The confectionary guy

At the confectionary counter he chooses sweets as his snack of choice whilst watching the film. He doesn't go for the pick'n'mix, instead, he goes for the ones in plastic packets containing individually wrapped sweets. As the film's introductory credits start rolling he opens the packet of individually wrapped sweet accompanied by the noisy sound of the crumpling plastic. One-by-one he rummages around the packet, not caring about how loud the crumpling noise he makes, picks a sweet from the packet and scoffs it, chomping away with his mouth open. He discards the wrapper, not by putting it in back in the packet, but by discarding it on the floor leave the cinema staff to pick up his discarded wrappers one-by-one.

The inappropriate laugh guy

So there's a mildy humourous scene in the film and the majority of audience respond with a chuckle. This guy doesn't find the scene mildy humourous, he finds it hilarious. You can distinguish his laugh from everyone else's. It's that somewhat ridiculous laugh which causes you to stop in mid-chuckle, turn your head at the direction of the guy and frown.

Categories: Commentary

Keywords: cinema, people, characters

Apple Care

2005-10-18T20:40:00.000+01:00

Make same-day appointment at the Apple Store Genius Bar.
Go to the Genius Bar at appointment time.
Have broken iPod checked out.
Get replacement iPod for free because it's under warranty.
Leave Apple Store with new iPod.

Categories: Journal

Keywords: Apple, iPod, broken, replacement, excellent service.

Fighting the urge to sleep

2005-10-17T16:27:00.000+01:00

What is wrong with me? I'm in the library. I've got relevant papers, books, notes, and Microsoft Word open in front of me, but I'm dozing off. I can't seem to keep my eyes open. This is so annoying. In the past two hours I have probably done fifteen minutes worth of effective work.

Am I hungry? Well, even if I am, I'm not allowed to eat here in the library. You can only drink water. Is the library the most conducive place for me to study? Hmmm.

Categories: Studying

Keywords: library, place, sleepy, hungry

Progress report

2005-10-14T11:58:00.000+01:00

So, what's happened to me lately?

My PowerBook has come back to life, but I have no idea what internal damage was caused by my careless accident. It's insured. I spoke to my insurance company to find out about the process of claiming: it involves mailing a claim form to them, waiting for it to be processed, mailing my computer to them, the company assessing and repairing/replacing my computer then mailing it to me. The whole process could take two weeks, or it could take two months.

After more than three months of job hunting I've finally got a job. I knew it would take a while, but I never knew it would take this long. I don't start until the end of the month. I'd like to write something about my job hunting process for future reference.

Lectures for my Masters have already started. I'm in week three (I'm thinking in academic 'weeks' again. It feels strange, but nice). My reading list is as long as I want it to be, and I'd like it to be very long. I need to schedule my reading. I'm fascinated by every topic I come across.

I scored a five-day work placement at a usability consultancy a few weeks ago. My line manager gave me a refreshing insight into the real world application of usability. I learnt a lot in those five days and it has totally changed the way I take in my human-computer interaction (HCI) lectures. There are a bunch of other usability consultancies I want to contact about work placements.

At the moment I'm trying to find a balance between study/play/and-soon-to-be-work time.

Oh, and there's the possibility I'll be moving home again for various reasons I won't go into here. (Here we go again!)

Categories: journal

Keywords: PowerBook, masters, lectures, job

A big glass of water spilling onto my PowerBook...

2005-10-10T00:09:00.000+01:00

(ARGH!) It's insured. I'm furiously backing up important files whilst it's still barely alive. I can't believe how CARELESS I was!

Categories:

Keywords:

Snopake sticky notes

2005-09-26T14:02:00.000+01:00

I wanted to write notes in my books but I didn't want to write on the pages directly. I'm aware of sticky notes that have a transparent sticky section with a opaque non-sticky writeable section. However, I wanted the entire note to be writable.

I first tried Paperchase's flagship store on Tottenham Court Road, but they only sold 3M Post-it® notes which aren't what I want at all. There's a Rymans across the road and so I popped in there to find out if they had what I wanted. Amongst the vast array of 3M Post-it® notes on display, two hangers contained a different brand of sticky notes called Snopake.

These are exactly what I wanted: translucent, writeable and repositionable. They only had two of their products: the large and small index tabs. The large index tabs were 60p more than the small ones and had the same number of tabs (125), so I took the large ones (the large ones also include a sample pack of their Transparent Notes).

When it came to paying I was ready to pay £3.79 as stated, but the woman asked for £1.99. Rymans currently have a student discount offer with 10% off all items, so I actually paid £1.79. I might go back and get several more for reserves.

Categories: Study Skills

Keywords: sticky notes, Post-it, notes, books, studying

Free internet in London.

2005-09-12T15:35:00.000+01:00

I have had great pleasure in discovering that I can now access the internet for free in five locations around London. Four locations offer free WiFi (wireless) internet access, and one offers free Ethernet internet access.

Whilst I appreciate these places offering free Internet, I think that if an establishment offers free wireless then they should also provide electrical outlets to plug in your laptop. Apple and Bagel Street do, and Suburb has one.

Free wireless internet hotspots:

Apple Store, 235 Regent Street, W1B 2ET — Upstairs in the theatre there are electricity outlets set in the floor every three seats along each row for you to plug in your laptop. Just switch on your wireless card and you'll be able to connect to Apple's wireless network for free internet access. The downside to this location is that you can't really get a drink or a bite to eat whilst there.
Foyles, 113-119 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0EB — Whilst the wireless internet here is free, you will need to manually update your network settings to include DNS servers otherwise your browser will not be able to resolve domain names. (There are free DNS servers out there, just Google for them.) The wireless network name is FoylesNet. The network is available throughout the first floor and is accessible from the adjoining Ray's Jazz café. Although if you sit in the café staff will ask you to sit at the table by the window. The only plug is situated here is in the far corner where the big square table is, but you're not allowed to sit here with your laptop.
Suburb, 19 Shorts Garden, WC2H 9AW — Just turn on your wireless card and your computer should pick up the café's wireless network. I can't remember the name of the wireless network. Unfortunately, there are no outlets on the ground floor to plug in your laptop here either, but there's one plug in the basement area. There is a downstairs section with tables. I haven't had a look to see if they have electricity outlets there.
Progreso, Thomas Neal Centre, 35 Earlham Street, WC2H 9LD — Again, just turn on your wireless card and it should pick up the wireless signal. You'll have to login by entering your e-mail address to register your computer with the network, but other than that you can use the internet as normal. There aren't any electricity outlets here either.
Bagel Street, More London Place, Tooley Street, SE1 2DA — No free WiFi here, but free Ethernet access is provided with 12 Ethernet ports and twelve electrical outlets. If you don't have an Ethernet cable then you can borrow one for free (although it says you should pay a £5 deposit for one, I was loaned one for free). They don't seem to mind that you can spend the entire day there having just bought item.

If anyone reading this knows of any other places to access the internet for free, please let me know.

Stop the pigeon.

2005-08-02T09:42:00.000+01:00

Whilst sitting in the dining room having breakfast with my mum this morning I turned to look outside into the garden and saw one a pigeon trying to get at the smaller bird's food from the hanging bird feeder. The pigeon would push try to stand on the small ledge and push the bird feeder so that seeds would fall to the ground. The pigeon did this for a bit until it got tired of flapping its wings too much.

I pointed this out to my mum, and she said that this specific pigeon would come and regularly try to steal food from the bird feeder. I then said to her, "How can we stop the pigeon?" And at that moment I was whisked away into my childhood memories and transported into an episode of the Wacky Races and all I could hear in my mind was, "Stop the pigeon! Stop the pigeon!" being sung by Dick Dastardly along with the backing music.

When I was a kid watching this cartoon and that moment would happen in Wacky Races I could never understand why they would want to stop a pigeon. Only now, fifteen years on, can I truly understand why.

"Stop the pigeon! Stop the pigeon!"

Why bother?

2005-07-15T09:45:00.000+01:00

27°C here in Oxford, and you can feel it, inside more than outside. But still, I'd rather seek the shade of the outdoors than the stuffiness of the indoors. The sky has been like a fresh lick of Bermuda Cocktail 2. I hadn't been able to enjoy it until late this afternoon. After a day of chores Rida and I headed to a secluded patch of grass next to the Isis.

After a good soak in the sun I asked Rida if he wanted to have a dip in the river. He stood on the river bank looking into the water. For about a metre out you could see the river bed, it looked silty. Rida put a foot down and sank for a good 30cm, it was mud-squelching-inbetween-your-toes muddy. He got out and stood poised on the river bank again. He said he was going to get his swimming shorts. Nobody had passed by at all whlist we were here and I said, "Why bother?"

He dived in, and then I followed him. The water wasn't as cold as last time. It was a refreshing soak after the sun soak we just had. I asked Rida to teach me how to tread water better. It helped, but I still struggled. I waste so much energy treading water. After a while we swam back to shore and climbed out of the river.

If only London still had rivers like this.

UCLIC Seminars

2005-07-10T22:45:00.000+01:00

The University College London Interaction Centre (UCLIC) hosts seminars and events relating to HCI (Human-Computer Interation) throughout the year.

Note to self, UCLIC, UCL, HCI, seminars, events

Oh my god...

2005-07-07T12:55:00.000+01:00

I had just stepped out of the shower and heard the phone ringing. I ignored it. It rang again, and my dad picked it up. My sister called to say that there were explosions at 7 tube stations in central London. At this point I ran downstairs and turned on the TV. Half an hour later, it was reported that a bomb exploded on a bus at Woburn Place (near my alma mater, University College London). The top deck of the bus had been ripped apart.

I don't know why, but my dad was insistent about going into work in Knightsbridge. He asked me to accompany him in the car so that I could drive it back home. All the way there I was trembling whenever we drove past a bus or a tube station.

Thankfully nothing happened. My dad's now at work. I dropped into my mum's work to tell her I'd be picking her up from work later at 17:00. She was on her break so I didn't see her, but left a message with her colleague. My sister's at work, but in Greater London, so she's fine.

I've texted friends who work in the City, but they haven't responded. I've e-mailed them instead.

What scares me is that this time yesterday I was passing through Edgware Road tube station to get to Paddington station to get to Oxford to pick up my suit for an interview I had yesterday afternoon. I easily could have scheduled that interview for today meaning I could very well have been there. I'm so glad I wasn't.

HTML Mark-up and Style Guides I

2005-07-05T23:24:00.000+01:00

Whilst reading blog posts [see endnote 1] about the structure of HTML mark-up and style guides I couldn't agree with what people were saying, but neither could I disagree.

The problems of (HTML) webpage structural mark-up (which has implications on the website as a whole) can be directly related to the problems of word processor (WP) document structural mark-up. There is a relatively direct mapping between webpage mark-up and WP document mark-up. When I discuss WP documents in this blog post, I mean essay-style WP documents which have structural elements such as title page, contents page, headers, paragraphs, footnotes, endnotes, indexes, and the like. When I use the word content, I refer to content as an individual entity containing structural mark-up within itself. For example, Content 1 may contain the same structural mark-up as Content 2, but the two differ in terms of actual text.

In WP documents you have headings to denote structural elements of the document. Similarly, in webpages you have headings to denote structural elements of the document. In WP documents you have a contents page, in webpages you have menus. Where the two deviate in its use of structural mark-up is when webpages deal with multiple content, e.g. a webpage may contain a blog post and a sidebar containing a blog roll. The two will use the same structural mark-up, but they are inherently different things. And this is what I think is the cause of confusion amongst bloggers out there discussing this topic.

There is a conflict of interest here. Let's go back to the WP document model. Let's say we have an a WP document which is an essay on user interfaces, and then at the end of the essay we insert another essay containing an short essay on graphic design which is linked to the user interface. To the author of the essay, having the two essays in the same document makes sense to them because whilst they both discuss different topics, a symbolic link between them has been created by the author. Nobody in their right mind would put two essays in the same WP document. Why would you do that? You'd create separate WP documents for each essay and then reference the other, wouldn't you? You can then read both of them simultaneously side-by-side on the screen in their respective documents.

Could we translate this approach to the design of webpages? Yes, some of us already do. Above-average webpage coders out there are aware of server-side includes (I shall refer to them as Includes from now on, note the capitalisation of the first letter). In the example of a webpage containing a blog post and a blog roll. These coders will utilise Includes to save them from having to manually enter the blog roll in every single webpage they create containing a blog post. The blog roll is to the blog post what the short essay on graphic design is to the essay on user interfaces. The two are different content, but they share the same mark-up. Instead of copying content 2 into content 1, we Include it. However, due to the way that browsers process the final HTTP request from the server, content 1 and content 2 are merged into one webpage document to form content 3.

Due to the way structural mark-up is used at the moment the browser cannot distinguish between content 1 and content 2 in content 3, and this is where the problem lies. This reference must be saved in some way. I guess it could be done in proper XHTML with namespaces, but I'm not clued up enough about this area to give a decent argument for it.

There's a lot more I want to talk about in this post, but it's 00:28 and I'd like to get some sleep because I've got an interview with a recruitment agency tomorrow afternoon, and I've got to dash to Oxford to pick up my suit at Rida's house then come back to London.

I have yet to address why I think the problems of webpage structural mark-up are directly related to the problems of WP document structural mark-up. I would also like to bring in another related issue of the relationship of webpages to the website overall, and the relationship of WP documents to other WP documents. But that's for another time. Maybe if I've got time on the train I'll churn something out.

Oh, don't even bother looking at the structural mark-up of this blog because I'm telling you now that it is a badly customised Blogger template. My personal website is currently under development and will hopefully be an example of the things that I discuss here. For now, you've got tag soup.

[1]

opinion, HTML Mark-up, structural mark-up, XHTML, XML, namespaces, style guides

Example ad from the BBC: Junior Information Architect

2005-07-05T18:13:00.000+01:00

Job Title: Junior Information Architect

Department: BBC New Media & Technology

Contract / Attachment: 6 months

Grade: 5D

Context

BBC New Media is responsible for the UK's largest media based web site, constantly evolving to remain at the forefront of the media. It is currently developing exciting new sites and services, becoming more organised and accessible than ever.

The New Media Central team develops products and services like bbc.co.uk homepage, message boards, Search and content management solutions. The team develops products and services that can be used by bbc.co.uk to increase interactivity, navigation and user engagement.

Role Purpose

To contribute to the information architecture elements of multi-platform projects. The post holder will have accountability for:
completing the information architecture of projects according to an agreed brief (ie. schedules, resources etc.) as directed by the design team
ensuring own information architecture work supports the intended business purpose
assisting non-design team members on general information architecture queries.

Key Outputs

To work on elements of an information architecture project either independently or within a team according to an agreed brief and as allocated by the line manager.
To work under the guidance of the design team and the editorial lead, and/or development production lead throughout the project phase to ensure that information architecture work answers the brief in terms of the user interaction with the product.
To liaise with technical experts throughout the project phase to ensure the interactive elements of designs work.
To assist in the preparation of controlled vocabularies; metadata schema; content object models for content management systems; automatic classification rules; labelling; flow diagrams; site mapping; wireframes, and related documentation.
To research and prepare material in support of own ideas and create working drawings and diagrams to evaluate and present these where necessary.
To answer general queries from editorial, development production and technical teams on information architecture principles and technologies (ie. What can and cannot be done).
To keep up to date with industry information architecture standards and technology and be responsible for furthering own technical training.
To keep up to date with the BBC’s internal editorial and design standards and guidelines, working within these standards and guidelines at all times.
To be aware of personal financial authority limits and to ensure that this authority is exercised in accordance with BBC financial arrangements.
To work to the BBC’s policy on Health and Safety.

Required Knowledge and Experience

1+ year's experience as working in the web industry or related organisation
Bachelor's degree in library and information science or related field or equivalent experience which includes demonstrable experience and knowledge of working with controlled vocabularies, metadata, faceted classification, information retrieval and / or content management systems.
Experience in classification and organisation of content in an online environment
Knowledge of content management principles and content object modelling.
Interest in usability and interaction design of web sites
Excellent attention to detail and strong language skills, especially with regard to spelling and vocabulary

Desirable Knowledge and Experience

Knowledge of automatic classification, particularly rules-based

Communication

First class interpersonal skills including the ability to communicate clearly and confidently at all levels. and to respect the differing levels of technical knowledge therein. The ability to get one’s message clearly understood by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information. Experience in writing reports.

Analytical thinking

Able to simplify complex problems, projects or processes into component parts, explore and evaluate them systematically. Translates analysis into practical action plans.

Planning and Organising

Excellent organisational skills and the ability to plan work effectively to meet critical deadlines. The ability to meet challenging deadlines, and to prioritise and plan a varied and changing workload. Is able to think ahead in order to establish an efficient and appropriate course of action. Prioritises and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors.

Decision-making

Is ready and able to take initiative, originate action and be responsible for the consequences of decisions.

Imagination & Creative Thinking

Is able to transform original or unusual ideas into practical reality. Can look at existing situations and problems in novel ways and come up with innovative solutions. Can visualise things not previously experienced.

Influencing and Persuading

Ability to present sound and well-reasoned arguments to convince others. Can draw from a range of strategies to persuade people in a way that results in agreement or behaviour change

Managing relationships and Team Working

The ability to be an effective team player, with a flexible approach and strong multi-tasking skills. Able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people with colleagues and contacts. Has an ability to establish rapport quickly and effectively with new clients/people. Is aware of, and shows understanding and respect for, other peoples needs and actions.

Resilience

Can maintain personal effectiveness by managing own emotions in the face of pressure, set backs or when dealing with provocative situations. Can demonstrate an approach to work that is characterised by commitment, motivation and energy. Proactive and keen to develop new ideas in line with technical developments.

Job adverisement, BBC, Information Architect, Skills, Experience, Junior

Productive time-slot

2005-07-05T04:07:00.000+01:00

It seems that I work best between the hours of 21:00 and 04:00. It's 04:08, the birds have been tweeting outside for the past half hour, and the sky is brightening. I could probably go on for several more hours since I don't feel that tired. But I will go to sleep now and hopefully wake up at 09:00 so I don't waste the morning.

Is this really my productive time-slot? I'm a bit concerned if it is. I might have to reconsider my daily activities.

life, daily activities, productive, time-slot

BBC Listen live Dashboard widget

2005-07-05T01:25:00.000+01:00

When I upgrade my Mac OS, and thus have Dashboard, one of the first things I'm going to do is download the BBC Listen Live Dashboard widget created by Tom Coates et al.

Update — It turns out that you don't need Tiger to be able to run widgets in Mac OS X. Mesa Dynamics have developed a program called Amnesty which enables you to run most widgets in Panther. It's shareware and costs $19.95 after a month's trial.

Dashboard, Mac OS X, BBC Radio, widget, plasticbag.org, Tom Coates, Amnesty, Tiger, Panther

No! No! No!

2005-07-04T22:54:00.000+01:00

I think I like this year's Big Brother.

Big Brother, denial, So bad it's good

Better functionality for job search engines

2005-07-04T21:27:00.000+01:00

How about a standardisation of functionality across all job search engines provided by recruitment agencies and online job search engines?

So far I'd like the following functionality provided for candidates:

Faceted searching
RSS feeds

Guess what another one of my project ideas is?

recruitment agency, job search engine, search engine, job hunting, functionality, better functionality, facets, faceted searching, RSS feeds, RSS

Missy 'Missedsomething' Elliott

2005-07-04T13:52:00.000+01:00

Now that Missy no longer has Timbaland to help produce her albums it seems that her usual style of coming out with forward-looking fresh catchy tunes has come to an abrupt halt.

Her new single Lose Control is a fitting description of what she's doing with her latest album. Come on, what were you thinking when you got Fat Man Scoop to cameo on this song? Why would anyone want Fat Man Scoop to cameo on their song?

Can't Stop was produced by Rich Harrison who did Amerie's 1 Thing. In this track you can hear the drums, which worked excellently in 1 Thing, but do nothing for Can't Stop.

When I was in Singapore talking to Michelle about the status of modern R&B music, I told her how it all seemed like recycled blandness, and lacked innovation. She pointed out artists such as Ciara, and I found out about Amerie. Both of whom I think are vying for the pedestal Aaliyah left as the women's face of R&B. Personally, I'd like Amerie to take that spot because I think she's hot. However, I think Ciara will dominate because her album's better produced and she seems to be a better dancer. Also, Touch is Amerie's second album, her first is full of soppy ballads which aren't that good. Ciara's debut is a lot stronger with less ballads and I think that gives her the edge.

Music, Missy Elliott, Lose Control, Ciara, Amerie, 1 Thing

Scatter pulse

2005-07-02T00:32:00.000+01:00

I'm currently overwhelmed by everything that's out there: people, information, pressures, my mind. I need to contain my mind, tame my mind. I know I can do this. That's why I decided not to go to Edinburgh with Rida for the Make Poverty History campaign and Rida's week-long work-related festival.

I'm at my parents' house now. I'm hoping that I'll be able to sort myself out over the next week whilst Rida's away.

scattered, thoughts, mum, Rida, Edinburgh, Make Povery History

Notes for the City University Informatics Postgraduate Open Evening

2005-06-28T16:26:00.000+01:00

On the Information Systems web page it is mentioned that staff research interests are in areas such as open source, spatial programming (what is this?), and web applications development (what applications?).

Further research that I have to do

Seek out companies that I would like to work for and send a speculative application to them.
Register with information recruitment agencies

Questions to ask at the open evening

Is it possible to have a look at the university's online learning environment, CitySpace?
What elective modules will be available to students this year? Will they all run? Or is it dependent on the level of interest?
What awards have staff won for their teaching?

postgraduate study, City University, open evening

I ain't movin' for nobody

2005-06-28T12:00:00.000+01:00

Do you ever get those moments when your laptop tells you it's "twelve hours" and you haven't had any food yet to start the day and you know you're hungry but you can't quite tear yourself away from your laptop no matter how hungry you are and so you decide to stick it out until your fingers start dropping off one-by-one from your hands and the world around you has been obliterated because it's now one hundred years into the future and WWIII had obliterated everything but you remain there hunched in front of your laptop because you're still sticking it out and want to "do stuff" on your laptop even though now that all of your fingers have completed dropped off and that your laptop is now a physical description of the device now that it has fused itself to your lap after the nuclear bomb went off and is now a symbiotic device only receiving a trickle of power from your weedy body which has withered away into virtually skin and bones and you can't really do anything on your laptop anyway because you have no eyes left, just eyesockets.

No? Just me. Okay then.

Will technologies like RSS force both browser and website developers to produce valid code?

2005-06-28T10:22:00.000+01:00

Just a quick thought I had this morning whilst catching up with the latest news.

I've noticed this year that the rise of the RSS feed has been prominent. Prior to this year, I only really noticed blogs advertising their RSS feeds. Now it seems that it has hit the mainstream and everyone and their dog is advertising the fact that they have an RSS feed. This is good a thing as long as the RSS feed is coded to standards and the content is good.

I used to keep track of updates to various websites using Watch That Page but I have now transferred any that have RSS feeds, which is most of them, to Bloglines. The power of control that Bloglines has over Watch The Page is significant enough for me to warrant the change. I'm happy with Bloglines, but I haven't trialled any of the other RSS feed readers yet.

The more I use an RSS feed reader to keep updated with a web page, the less inclined I am to visit the web page directly. Whilst I do appreciate websites which have original designs, at the end of the day I'm more concerned with decent content. My attitude is that if the web page has an RSS feed I'm going to add it to Bloglines and keep updated with its content. If it's lagging behind the times and doesn't have an RSS feed then I'll add it to Watch That Page and checked it less frequently.

As technologies like RSS feeds are used by more and more people there will be a pressure for browser developers to maintain adherence to the implementation of web standards. Similarly, website developers will be coerced too. I hope it pans out this way.

RSS, web standards, browsers, websites, coding, valid code, RSS feed reader, Bloglines, Watch That Page

Surf's down, surf's up

2005-06-27T20:09:00.000+01:00

I woke up this morning and woke my PowerBook, HAL, from its sleep only to find that HAL wasn't recognising the neighbour's unprotected wireless connection. I turned Airport off and then back on again several times. Tried manually connecting to their router's default SSID, tried restarting the computer and seeing if HAL detected the wireless network. No luck. Sob.

I spent the late morning/early afternoon doing chores I've been postponing. Such as calculating how much my former flatmates owe me for the telephone bill. Adding final changes to my CV which Wada's been helping me edit – and what an utterly fantastic job he's done of it!

After making myself a bacon and poppyseed bagel with a tomato and mayonnaise sauce I faffed about on HAL longing for it to recognise the neighbour's wireless connection. I went back upstairs to Rida's bedroom which is the only place I can get a signal. Airport off. Airport on. Restart. No luck. Sob. I went to sleep instead.

Waking up at 18:00 and waking HAL again I was delighted to find that it recognised the neighbour's wireless connection again. YES! I have my life back!

I managed to waste about five hours today faffing about just because I didn't have a wireless internet connection. I toyed with the idea of heading into town and logging on to a paid-for wireless internet connection, but balked when I found out (via modem – I couldn't resist) that all the providers are still charging ludicrous rates. Instead of all of this faffing about I could've headed out anyway without HAL and cycled around town admiring what it has to offer and maybe take some photographs. No. Instead I slept. But what a nice sleep it was.

faffing about, idle, WiFi, free WiFi, wireless internet connection, unproductive, stalling, sleeping

Studio space

2005-06-27T19:07:00.000+01:00

My friend is currently running his second business in a studio space occupied by other creative people situated in north London. He's sharing the studio space resource and advertising everyone's talents to promote the studio as a whole. This sounds like a good idea in theory. I don't know how it would pan out logistically in reality. I hope it works out for him.

I came a cross the MediaCentre Network, a business that provides "offices, studios, live-work spaces, IT, digital telephony and events for the Creative Industries sector" in the north-west. This sounds like a great idea. For small-to-medium enterprises (SME) who don't have the capital to set up an independent office, a shared service office such as this providing professional service sounds like a good way to get up and running relatively quickly. Obviously, these professional services are provided at a cost.

I wonder if there are any similar offerings in London? There must be, surely.

office space, work space, professional services, IT, north-west, London

tag e-mail

2005-06-27T18:43:00.000+01:00

I want the functionality of tags, as seen in del.icio.us and Flickr to be incorporated into an e-mail application. I don't think anybody else has created one yet, so I guess I'll have to do it myself.

tags, e-mail, application

ABBR and ACRONYM HTML tags

2005-06-26T18:58:00.000+01:00

In Jesper Tversov's post ABBR and ACRONYM are for user agents not for end users, he makes a good point about ABBR and ACRONYM HTML tags with respect to the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and their treatment in browsers.

I think the solution to his problem would be to include a feature in browsers which would enable the user to define the action on how to treat ABBR/ACRONYM tags. For example, one setting could be to expand the first occurrence of the ABBR/ACRONYM tag to include its explanation in brackets and then leave subsequent tags abbreviated – as treated in Best Practice. A second setting could be to expand all occurrences of the ABBR/ACRONYM tag. A third setting could be to leave all ABBR/ACRONYM tags in their abbreviated form until the user explicitly points to it using the keyboard or mouse.

ABBR, ACRONYM, HTML tags, HTML, WCAG, user agent, user

del.icio.us bookmarks from others

2005-06-26T11:16:00.000+01:00

I'm really getting into the swing of using del.icio.us as a replacement for my bookmarking system. Apart from bookmarks I want access to instantaneously, by way of my browser's personal toolbar, I am now saving all of my bookmarks in del.icio.us. So far, I have not had the need to bookmark any pages that contain encoded passwords. I'm also enjoying discovering the bookmarks of other people who have bookmarked the same page as me.

When I first discovered peer-to-peer (P2P) file transfer, I would search for items and then for each person who had that item I would browse their other shared files for other items I'd be interested in. I often found that this was often hit and miss when it came to discovering new music via other people's similar shared files. Each person's taste in music is subjective and individual to that person. Also, without knowing about every single music artist out there, it is hard to know whether or not you'll like a song by an artist you've never heard of in another person's shared files. You're more likely come across tracks that you've heard of before which you might want rather than discover new music that you will like.

del.icio.us and P2P file transfer applications share the functionality of being able to browse another person's collection having discovered their collection from a common item, e.g. bookmark or music track. However, for me, browsing a person's del.icio.us bookmarks bears more fruit than browsing a person's P2P shared files.

It's probably worth mentioning the criteria used when using the view bookmarks from others facility: 1) When I choose to browse a peron's bookmarks it usually when the bookmark is about a specific subject I am interested in; 2) If the bookmark was bookmarked by a few other people – in this instance, I assume that only a few people have discovered this, and may be a hidden gem that they find valuable and so they may have other hidden gems in their bookmarks.

When browsing another person's shared files I will normally either come up with music tracks that I already have, or other tracks I've never heard of, but have no way of guaranteeing that I will like those tracks. When browsing another person's shared bookmarks their bookmarks are on the whole different to my own and will contain a lot of useful links for further exploration.

What is the difference between the P2P system and del.icio.us? Why am I coming up with better results? Is it because in del.icio.us I am mostly coming across pages I have never come across before and trust that those person's bookmarks are more likely to be of value to me?

del.icio.us, Peer-to-Peer, P2P, bookmarks from others, trust, value

Jobless in two days. Homeless in one day.

2005-06-13T23:54:00.000+01:00

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but only a bit. My job finishes on Wednesday, so, yes, I will be jobless. I'm moving out of my flat on Thursday but I'll be moving from my flat into Rida's house as a stop-gap before we move to London, so I won't be homeless per se.

I've started packing my belongings. Cleverly, I saved the boxes I used to pack my things when I moved up here. However, I've definitely accumulated things since after I moved in. But not too much, I hope. I'm optimistically thinking that I'll only need two car trips to transport all of my belongings. I think it's possible given that when I moved my stuff in I did it in one car journey.

I'm wondering whether or not to get a temporary job whilst I'm in Oxford for the next month-and-a-half. Although, I think I should just concentrate most of my efforts on job hunting, and maybe volunteer somewhere for a day a week.

moving home, jobless, limbo, life, life-changing

Long live Flash! You've saved your ass. Have a nice day.

2005-06-13T18:28:00.000+01:00

Not content with wondering what the Ajax rocket in Flash Gordon is all about, it didn't take long for me to find a web page with a load of sound bytes from the film.

The dialogue is so bad.

I have to see this film.

P.S. The title is apparently a quote from the ending of the film when Orb says, "Long live Flash! You've saved your earth. Have a nice day." But I hear him says ass not earth.

Flash Gordon, sound bytes, film, so bad it's good

When Ajax is no longer a floor cleaner.

2005-06-13T00:19:00.000+01:00

Over the past several weeks I've seen the word Ajax (Asynchronous Javascript and XML) pop up now and then in various posts and articles. I've been vaguely aware of it, but never felt the need to explore it any further. Tom Coates @ plasticbag.org links to an article by LukeW on the topic of AJAX. After skimming the article I realised just how fucking important Ajax is to me in terms of my skills and knowledge.

I've got to get my shit sorted out because I should've seen this coming on the radar.

Update: Having done some more research on Ajax, I realised that it wasn't several weeks ago when I came across it, but a couple of days after it was created, which was about three months ago according to Derek Powazek. I remember having it sit on the toolbar of my Safari browser for ages, and then transferring it to the toolbar of my FireFox browser, until finally taking it off both and putting into my del.icio.us bookmarks adding a tag _ExploreMe.

So, I'm not that out of it. (Phew(!)).

AJAX, interface design, laggard, lagging behind

del.icio.us links

2005-06-12T23:37:00.000+01:00

When I add new bookmarks to my del.icio.us account I often check if any other users have bookmarked the same page, and, if so, how many. Usually, if more than a couple of people have bookmarked that link, I don't bother browsing through their own bookmarked links. I'm more interested in the links that I have bookmarked which are bookmarked by only one or two people. I think that because only a few number of people have bookmarked it it might not appeal to the masses. It's this niche appeal that makes me think that they might have similar interests to my own.

Take an example today. I bookmarked http://www.deathto.tv/, a website that a person I used to work with contributes to. It's bookmarked by one other person, PeteJ. I had a look at his links and found out that, in addition to having similar interests to my own, he's got a lot more bookmarked links that I'm interested in exploring.

Going through a person's music collection and finding gems within that instead of having discovered it yourself feels a bit like plagiarism and seems lazy. I feel that going through this person's bookmarks that they have (possibly) discovered themselves is like that. They've done all the grunt work, and I just walk right over and use it effortlessly for my own devices.

Although, the whole point of del.icio.us is that it is a social bookmarks manager. Therefore, I shouldn't feel any guilt when I browse through other people's bookmarks and use them to discover other things. The fact that this person has added them to their del.icio.us account implies that they want to share it with others. Otherwise, they would've bookmarked it in their browser, where only people with access to their browser can see what they've bookmarked.

So, I guess I shouldn't feel bad about going through this guy's bookmarks. I guess, in the world of the web, links will always lead you to other links regardless of how the initial links were found. At least, that's how I'm justifying it.

opinion, del.icio.us, bookmarking, bookmarks, links, linking, Social Bookmarks

And I did it my way

2005-06-11T22:09:00.000+01:00

I want a piece of software that puts all my emails, appointments, to-do lists, RSS feeds from different sources all in one place with a usable interface. Is that too much to ask? Probably not. I've put it on my to-do list.

Mac OS X, software, project idea, interface, to-do, emails, appointments, RSS feeds, RSS.

Windows of opportunity

2005-06-11T12:36:00.000+01:00

There is no doubt that when Apple release their computers with Intel processors inside software developers out there will be creating software that can pretty much run Microsoft Windows software on them natively.

Maybe Apple is leaving the development of such software to third party developers because there was no mention of it at the Worldwide Developers' Conference 2005. Regardless of who comes out with the software there is no doubt that this will mean there is no longer any serious barrier to Wintel users switching to the Macintel [my abbreviation] platform. You'll be run all of your favourite Microsoft Windows applications, but on the superior Mac OS X.

Apple, Microsoft, software emulation, Wintel, Macintel

Come back baby because we belong together

2005-06-11T10:02:00.000+01:00

Dang, who's that hot guy with the cropped hair in Mariah Carey's music video to We Belong Together? Shit, I already have the hots for Mariah Carey, but both Mariah and that guy together? I don't know which way to look.

Looking at the state of Mariah's hair in this video I get the distinct feeling that she's heading the way of Diana Ross in terms of hair.

Mariah Carey, hot, cute, guy, cropped hair, confused, bisexual, hair, Diana Ross

Lucky Voice

2005-06-10T00:02:00.000+01:00

I found out about Lucky Voice whilst searching for places in Sheffield to do karaoke in private rooms. I don't like the karaoke culture here in England where karaoke is done in pubs in front of strangers. I totally enjoyed doing karaoke with Michelle, Moal and Sike when I was in Singapore.

Lucky Voice's website has finally gone live, but the action place hasn't yet opened officially. However, I'm sure it will be open by the time Michelle comes to London this summer. I checked their song list which is available from their website and the first song I checked to see they have is the Mariah Carey & Brian McKnight duet Whenever You Call.

I'm so excited, I can't wait until it opens.

karaoke, London

How do you tag?

2005-06-09T18:48:00.000+01:00

I ended up on Tom Coates's blog @ plasticbag.org whilst following a tangential trail from a search for Java web hosting companies. (I found one called Micfo who I will go with.)

Tom recently wrote an entry about tags and how he and his friend, Matt Webb, uses them. As someone who's into usability I was enlightened to read about the difference between Tom's approach to using tags and Matt's approach. Tom uses an annotative approach, Matt uses a filing approach. However, Tom says that his understanding of what a tag is was heavily influenced by Flickr. This was interesting comment given that I have a del.icio.us account but I don't have a Flickr account. However, I am in the same school as thought on tag usage as Tom.

My understanding of tags – and I think this is how they should be used – is that they should be used in a descriptive manner rather than a filing manner (that's what folders are for).

You know, for the past year I've been very bad at utilising the web to my advantage. I haven't even done any serious web programming in over a year. However, reading Tom's post has somehow managed to motivate me into getting my arse into gear and wending my way back online.

I'm loving del.icio.us and am using it extensively, and as you can see at the bottom of the last several posts I've been adding my tags. It'll help me later on when O'm searching for posts to add to my new content management system. Tags: simple and effective.

I write this whilst my flatmate, Chbr is running up and down the stairs. I don't know if she knows, but her thumping feet are causing the entire flat to vibrate and it's FUCKING PISSING ME OFF!

folksonomy, tag, tags, Flickr, del.icio.us, Plasticbag.org

Happy Birthday Penguin

2005-06-08T22:16:00.000+01:00

Poke designed a cool website for Penguin to celebrate their 70th birthday: http://www.happybirthdaypenguin.com/

Penguin, publisher, books, birthday

Free Range Graphic Design

2005-06-08T19:41:00.000+01:00

UK art and design graduates will be showing their work at this year's free range series of exhibitions. The shows will be held across eight weeks in ten galleries at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. This year, they will be organised according to subject. From 2 June will be design, followed by photography from 16 June, then interiors, art and then a mixed show for everything else.

Shows are open Fridays to Mondays, 10:00 to 19:00. Admission is free. For full details go to http://www.free-range.org.uk/

art, photography, exhibition, London, Old Truman Brewery Brick Lane

Music to walk down the corridor to

2005-05-25T21:57:00.000+01:00

Turning right after stepping out of my flat the music on my iPod shuffle starts to play. I walk down the street almost in time to the music, as if the music is playing for me as some sort of accompaniment.

Walking down a corridor at work on my way out my iPod starts to play. I feel like I'm in a Quentin Tarantino movie. There's a bounce in my step and I can't help but smile. I walk past reception trying to stop my sides of my mouth curling. They probably thought I was mad.

I like how your perception of your environment drastically changes when you change the aural environment.

Grow your own

2005-05-25T21:42:00.000+01:00

In my new place I intend to grow my own herbs. When I moved into my current place I bought three small pots of herbs: rosemary, thyme, coriander. The thyme lasted the longest at four months. The others I had picked to death. You're supposed to pick them, right? Maybe it was the fact that I didn't show them enough attention, i.e. water them enough. They all died horrible deaths. If they were children, they'd probably resemble that of a child-like zombie.

Whilst reading the Observer Food Monthly I came across this cool woman called Jekka McVicar who has her own herb farm in Cornwall.

Apparently at the height of the season it takes just eighteen days from seed to leaves. Now, if I can just remember to water the damn things I'll hopefully have a chance in growing something.

Note to self

2005-05-24T22:50:00.000+01:00

Fuck.

Get PowerBook back from the Apple store
Get website up and running
Renew domain name registration and hosting
Develop disposable underwater camera film
Sort out CV
Sign up to recruitment agencies
Get a new job!
Sort out MSc stuff
Change telephone/gas/electricity bills into the name of Moal
Cancel ADSL subscription
Cancel gym membership
Pack things
Move out of flat
Figure out where the hell I move to

L8R

2005-05-19T17:20:00.000+01:00

I can't fucking believe it. I missed M83 perform at The Scala on Tuesday — I was in London on Tuesday!

One more day until we meet again.

2005-04-21T00:25:00.000+01:00

Having gone through Fautline, DJ Shadow, Björk, Air, and Sigur Rós for Music to Pack Bags to, I finally decided on Joni Mitchell. It's 00:27 and I'm doing what I always do before I go on holiday: pack my bag the early morning before I leave. In just under twelve hours I will be on a plane bound for Singapore to see Michelle, one of my best friends.

We won't be wasting any time catching up. The night I arrive we'll be putting on our dancing shoes and heading to Zouk to see the Scratch Perverts.

It'll be 28 days when I return to London. 28 days after that my graduate traineeship finishes. Soon after that Michelle will be coming to London. Apart from the depressing fact that I will be jobless in 56 days, I'm feeling rather happy with how things are going.

Run for the hills.

2005-04-04T21:10:00.000+01:00

On the Traveller's Point Asia forum someone replied to a question about travelling solo in Thailand and responsed, "Khao San Road, Bangkok is the 'centre of backpacker universe'. Many cheap guesthouses and tours can be arranged from there. You don't need to know too much else. Just head to Khao San."

Now, I don't know about you, but reading that comment made me want to avoid Bangkok, and especially Khao San Road, altogether. Whilst I do want to meet people on my travels, I don't want to head straight for backpacker central and revolve my life around that.

My Amazon purchases arrived today. I haven't had a chance to go through them yet:

I still don't have an itinerary. A little freaked, but not as much as I was a couple of weeks ago. I've spoken to Rida's housemate, Besa who has travelled around south-east Asia. I've also spoken to Gohe who has travelled around south-east Asia a number of times. I've talked to them about their experiences and about my concerns. They've allayed some of my fears, but I'm still a little nervous nonetheless.

It doesn't help that there was another bomb in southern Thailand yesterday...

Count Kilobytes, not seconds

2005-04-04T00:34:00.000+01:00

The price of WiFi internet connectivity in cafés in the UK is exorbitant — about £6 an hour. Why can't WiFi ISPs charge per Kilobyte rather than by second. When I'm working whilst connected to the internet I don't value the connection by the time I've spent on it, I value it by the information I've downloaded. I could easily spend half an hour reading a document online and have only downloaded half a Megabyte, which would mean just under half an hour's time wasted not making use of the internet connection. I could have downloaded everything I need in my allocated hour and then work from there, but that's not feasible because I don't work like that. My browsing habits are incremental and not absolute.

I'm vaguely aware that pay-per-Megabyte pricing systems are already used in conjuction with 3G connectivity, but are rather expensive. If so, what gives? The cost to provide the service is marginal, but end-users are being charged an arm and a leg. When will prices come down to a reasonable level come to the UK? If not, free? I'd start up a business with a free WiFi service if I had the capital.

Someone, please.

Ta, ta, daddy.

2005-04-03T22:17:00.000+01:00

One night, a father passed by his son's room and heard his son praying: "God bless Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma. Ta ta, Grandpa." The father didn't quite know what this meant, but was glad his son was praying. The next morning, they found Grandpa dead on the floor of a heart attack. The father reassured himself that it was just a coincidence, but was still a bit spooked.

The next night, he heard his son praying again: "God bless Mommy and Daddy. Ta ta, Grandma."

The father was worried, but decided to wait until morning. Sure enough, the next morning Grandma was on the floor, dead of a heart attack.

Really scared now, the father decided to wait outside his son's door the next night. And sure enough, the boy started to pray: "God bless Mommy. Ta ta, Daddy."

Now the father was so scared he practically soiled himself. He stayed up all night, and went to the doctor's early the next day to make sure his health was fine. When he finally came home, his wife was waiting on the porch. She said, "Thank God you're here -- we could really use your help! We found milkman dead on our porch this morning!"

Source: Drew Hamlin

Gotta catch up

2005-04-03T21:46:00.000+01:00

There are times when I think to myself, "If I had access to a computer when I was 12 I could have got a lot further than where I am with my life now." A computer is an amazing thing which enable you to create an unlimited number of things. You are only limited by your imagination.

The other day I discovered the cause of my problem of demotivation. It stems from the fact that when I perceive something as a chore I don't want to do it. This can even apply to things I enjoy such as designing websites. I love to design websites, but when I have to design it because I haven't been pulling my weight by making sure other things have been put in place then I begin the vicious circular decent into demotivation. The only way I can turn it on its head is to micro-manage my workload and slowly climb my way out of the hole I've created.

This is achievable. I just need a revelation to turn myself around, and I need to continue stoking the flame to keep myself going.

I have ideas. I want experiences. What is the bond that connects the two?

Aside – I have respect for people like Mike Matas. I'm amazed and humbled.

Tales of the City

2005-04-03T11:05:00.000+01:00

More Tales of the City follows on from Amistead Maupin's Tales of the City. This second volume contains more drama than the first involving more revelations and inter-relational goings on. Maupin's writing reminds me of the detective style of The Hardy Boys books I used to read as a kid which is one of the reasons why I like these two books. I'm not sure about the almost incetuous nature of the relationships of all the characters in the book, but I guess I'm used to storylines where only one of character from one sub-story knows another character in another sub-story. At the end of More Tales of the City I was truly gripped by suspense as I slowly discovered the mystery behind Burke's amnesia.

Glide your way around Bangkok

2005-04-02T01:04:00.000+01:00

Oh my gosh, whilst looking for information about trekking in Thailand I came across Thailand Segway Tours.

Bloc Party

2005-03-20T18:17:00.000Z

And so, I discovered Bloc Party on the iTunes Music Store. I was listening to their Little Thoughts EP. I'm vaguely aware of them. I noticed their CD prominently displayed in Fopp the last time I popped in. But I don't really listen to commercial radio, or have a TV to be exposed to any marketing.

The first track I listened to was Tulips. I first heard those two psuedo-organic sounds, like the output of two woodwind instruments recorded digitally, played backwards and then throttled and mutilated. I like it. 15-seconds later the tight drums kick in matching the rhythm of the throttled sounds which slowly inflate. 29-seconds later the even tighter bass kicks in and I'm left waiting for the singer's voice to tell me his story.

iTunes Music Store

2005-03-20T14:43:00.000Z

I'm part of the Late Majority when it comes to iTunes Music Store. I've had a PowerBook since June last year. You'd think that I would've jumped on board the iTunes Music Store bandwagon from the word go. Since I started using iTunes I've pretty much ignored the Music Store part of it. I didn't see how it fit into my music-listening habits, until today.

I accidentally clicked on one of those arrows in iTunes that takes you to the iTunes Music Store and takes you to the relevant artist you just clicked. Instead of my usual browse panel, I had the iTunes Music Store displaying all of the albums of the band I was listening to. I saw one that I didn't know existed before and clicked on it. I then double clicked on one of the tracks and iTunes started to play a 30-second sample.

This was when I was hooked. Back in the old days when HMV enabled you to listen to any CD that you wanted, I used to pop in regularly to listening to albums I never heard before. But, as time went on HMV and other music stores stopped this facility. Now, you'll be hard-pressed to find any music store to let you listen to any CD as you choose. I think this is a real dis-service to customers. I liked to go to music stores and pick up random CDs and listen to them at my convenience. Now I can't do that, but I can do that on the iTunes Music Store. Admittedly, you only get the 30-second samples, but that's more than enough for me to get a feel for the track.

Another feature of the iTunes Music Store that I like is that is suggests, like Amazon, other tracks you might be interested in and tracks that other listeners also bought in addition to the one displayed.

I'll be using iTunes a lot more now to browse and look for music I've never heard of before.

Holiday plans

2005-03-19T20:52:00.000Z

Yes, I haven't updated much lately. If it's any consolation, I've set up a temporary blog for my south-east Asia holiday. I'll be posting entries in the run-up to my holiday, hopefully during my holiday, and any residual thoughts after my holiday. I leave on Thursday 21 April 2005.

That unsettling feeling at the bottom of my stomach

2005-03-02T17:53:00.000Z

My job finishes on 15 June this year. That's three-and-a-half months away. Though, I will be on holiday for one month. So, that effectively means that I have two-and-a-half months to find a job if I want to start as soon as my current job finishes. I'm shitting my pants.

How can I combat this shitting my pants feeling? Well, I could maximise the use of my time that I have remaining until my finish my job. Should I dedicate most of my free time to improving my employability prospects? Should I increase the amount of time I spend on these activities by sleeping less? Or should I try a mix of options that could include the previous suggestions and see where that leads me?

Ideally, I'd like my next job to be IT-focussed since I'll be doing a MSc in Information Systems. Therefore, I need to get my personal website back up and running again. Hopefully, I'll blog my progress here.

2005-02-26T13:41:00.000Z

My return ticket to Singapore is sitting on one of my bookshelves next to a £10 which is supposed to be my stash to go towards my buy-me-a-mini-iPod-shuffle fund. I worked out that if I save about £10 a week, I'll have enough money to buy an iPod in time for my birthday. I haven't yet committed myself to buying an iPod, just merely putting things in place so that I have the choice of buying an iPod. We'll see. I wonder, though, if I merely want an iPod just because everyone else has one. Or if I will actually get good use out of it.

Rida came out to his twin brother Rima via SMS last Monday. In a way, I could understand his decision to use this medium. I'll be seeing Rima for the first time tonight at their older brother, Risi's flat-warming. It shall be interesting to say the least.

Whilst in London on Thursday for a work-related thing I took a stroll through west Soho and happened across a bead shop that I never knew existed. I had walked past that spot many times before, and I only just now noticed it. I popped in to have a look at their collection and found some nice beads. I got quite carried away and bought about eight sets of beads. This morning, I made a new necklace using a set of beads I bought. I think I'm going to set up a website displaying these necklaces I'm making with the option to purchase them.

Umm...

2005-02-02T21:28:00.000Z

Just a few moments ago outside my window down below, a woman shouted words in a south-east Asian language. Then there was silence. Then there was crying. And crying. Still crying. Then a boy shouting words in a south-east Asian language. Then a door slam. Continued crying turning into sobbing. Muffled sounds of a boy shouting indiscernable words in a south-east Asian language.

Can you review Sideways without using the term oenophile?

2005-02-01T23:17:00.000Z

I watched Sideways at the Showroom on Sunday. Whilst I'm not really a fan of Paul Giamatti, I did like Sideways because Paul wasn't pigeonholed too much into his typical character type. When Paul's character did his first wine tasting he reminded me a lot of Jilly Goolden. The way she uses adjectives and everyday tastes and smells to describe wine is amazing.

I did my bi-weekly grocery shopping this evening since I was busy on Sunday doing stuff with Rida. I decided to make lasagna for tea this evening decided to buy a bottle of red wine to add to the sauce and to drink as an accompaniment. The really like how the wine section is at the far end of the Waitrose in Sheffield. It's the last thing I come to, and it feels nice browsing the shelves at the end. I started off by looking at what they had on special offer for the month, but wasn't particularly taken by any of them. Then I wondered to the main section, thinking that the prices would go a lot higher than the £5 mark of the specials, but pleasantly surprised to find many still at the price mark.

I'm as clueless as the next person when it comes to choosing a fine wine, but rather than choosing something by, say, the look of its label, I picked up a bottle here and there, looking at what grape is used and the blurb they give on the back label. I looked at a Merlot, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Syrah, and some blends. I eventually came across one called Canaletto from Casa Girelli, which, as you can probably guess from its name, is from Italy. It uses the Primitivo grape, which is apparently the "forefather" of America's Zinfandel grape and one of the oldest and most tradition of Puglia in southern Italy.

It described the wine as intensely fragrant of ripe fruit, with some spice on the palate, complex and smooth. I don't like red wine that jumps about on the palate, but I do like a good variety of flavour. This appealed to me the most when compared with the previous bottles I looked at, so I put it in my basket and headed to the tills.

As I cooked the sauce for the lasagne I added a glass of the Canaletto I just bought and poured a glass for myself. I did the whole swill the wine around the glass to release the bouquet, stick my nose in the glass to get the aroma, slurp the wine through pursed lips to create an aroma in the top of my mouth whilst inhaling to get the scent. It was really nice, just as the label on the back had described. At this point, my flatmates walked through the door and offered them a glass. They both thought the wine was amazing and Paal was so taken by it that he made a note of it and said he'd buy a bottle for their collection.

Whilst my selection of this particular great wine could be considered a fluke, I like to think that I had chosen it with some consideration, as opposed to blindly selecting one — as the two women next to me did saying, "Yeah, Sharon, this one's got a pretty picture on it, and it's on spehshull offa." "Speshull offa?! Yeah, let's get it." Nice.

Damn, that's cold

2005-01-27T20:53:00.000Z

Okay, I'm never going to complain how cold it is here oop north ever again.

Another post about food

2005-01-23T18:48:00.000Z

I did my bi-weekly grocery shopping at Waitrose this afternoon. I'm wondering if this will become a tradition, since two weeks ago I did the same thing at around about the same time.

My grocery bill came to £38. Ouch! Very ouch, when compared to my last bill of £23. Well, I did splash out on certain things I wouldn't normally buy, such as (orgasmic, melt-in-your-mouth, tastebud titillating) dried cranberries. They're £1.89 for 100g. They've replaced dried mangoes as my favourite dried fruit. Go. No, run to your nearest Waitrose now and buy a packet. You won't regret it.

Who would've thought, eh?

2005-01-23T09:57:00.000Z

My response to Jeremy Hedley's post, Some people do need convincing:

I'm on what I'm calling a sabbatical from website development, but I still like to keep myself informed with anything related to coding well-structured HTML.

It's interesting that you highlight this point. Ever since CSS came along, I've always implemented the Hn tags into the structure of my pages and styled them accordingly.

The strange thing is, is that I've always done the same when structuring my Word documents. I use its Hn styles too to 'mark-up' my document and styled them accordingly. I did this because I found when constructing things like indexes, table of contents, table of figures, and cross-references it was easier to mark-up and then let Word do all the indexes automatically for me. I'd go insane if I tried to do any of those manually! I actually think that my approach to marking-up my Word documents was translated to my approach to marking-up my HTML documents.

I wonder if the people who mark-up their HTML documents with appropriate Hn tags also mark-up their word processing documents the same way?

Finally, a video installation that I like

2005-01-22T15:22:00.000Z

The Site Gallery exhibited Matthias Muller and Christopher Girardet's video installation Mirror. For the sake of easy reference, I shall call this a film, even though I wouldn't consider it to be a film in the common sense of the word.

I love the restricted nature of this film, the viewer can only see what has been isolated by specific lighting. A woman standing. A man sitting. A corridor. The scenes slowly transition and merge into one another. The people in the film are never seen together. It's beautifully understated, but invokes an immense curiosity and desire to know more about what has transpired. The Guardian wrote an article, How to make fissures of men, about the exhibition when it was in London.

I have issues with video installations as art. I can't seem to appreciate what the artist is trying to reveal from their film. Often, they are too long and don't provide enough early on to retain my attention. And when I do stay and sit out the entire film, I'm always disappointed and annoyed at having waited patiently only to receive no gratification. Mirror grabs me straight away, and holds my attention throughout its entire duration. In fact, I liked it so much I stayed to watch it again.

Cutting up cards

2005-01-22T11:09:00.000Z

I took me eight minutes on the phone, but I managed to close down one of my credit card accounts. I called the customer service line and was transferred to the credit card department. The lady I spoke to there said she'll transfer me to their, and she hesitated here, retention department. I said okay, thinking should she have told me she was transferring me to their retention department. I guess they were doing this because I've had the card for six years and they didn't want to lose me as a customer, read cash cow.

The guy in the retention department did a lousy job at trying to change my mind about closing the account. He sounded like he was about 19 years old and I was totally unconvinced. After letting him reel off his spiel about the benefits of keeping the account I said to him that I just wanted to close the account. I thought I could detect a hint of bitterness in his voice when he said, "Okay, you're account's closed now. You can't apply for a NatWest credit card for eight months." I replied with, "That's great! Thanks a lot for your help. Bye!"

Next month I can pay off my other credit card account and close that one down. Then I'll be left with just the one credit card account to deal with. The reason why I have so many credit card accounts is that I've been transferring my balances to new accounts with which offer nought per cent introductory rates.

My mum has offered to pay off my credit card debt, bless her, to help me progress with my life without worrying about my debt. I'm going to try to pay off as much as I can until my current job finishes and then see where I stand.

Sex is on my mind

2005-01-17T16:49:00.000Z

Whilst reading an article on search engines in the Information World Review at work today I mistakenly read a passage as,

"’As companies need to deploy monitoring and reporting tools for foreskins, tighter regulations both in the European Union and the US…’"

Foreskins was supposed to be read as forensics.

Of course, I had sex on my mind — It’s the only thing that keeps me going at four o’clock in the afternoon. But it didn’t help that the article made references to companies like Ovum, surnames like Woods, and talked about growth spurts.

It's a crazy idea, but it just might work

2005-01-14T17:06:00.000Z

My mind raced. It kept on going at lightning speed. All the possible combinations and permutations were revealing themselves to me. I felt flushed. The sides of my mouth were twitching into a grin. It was all because of an idea, an idea which came at the end of a series of loosely related thoughts.

It was a Friday afternoon at about three o'clock. This is about the time when my attention span starts to wane and my mind drifts into non-work-related thoughts. I was thinking about an e-mail a former course mate sent to me earlier this week. His birthday's coming up and he sent me an invite. Unfortunately, I'm not able to go to it because I'm up in Sheffield and he's down in London. I replied telling him about my situation and asked him how he was doing. I started to think about other people on the course I did. I remembered two guys had set up an IT consultancy out of their bedroom. My mind then switched to my friend Owch who recently left a company he set up and started a new one.

*Flash*. The idea struck me. What if Owch was willing to take me on board his new company?...

List: property rental websites

2005-01-12T23:14:00.000Z

Rentamatic

List: Online DVD rental companies

2005-01-12T22:35:00.000Z

Shopping list: moving in

2005-01-12T22:16:00.000Z

Household items

Energy-efficient light bulbs
Marigold gloves
Cloths
Scouring pad
Scrubber for kitchen and bathroom
Anti-bacterial cleaner
Toilet bleach
Washing-up liquid
Anti-bacterial hand wash
Washing powder - colours
Washing powder - whites
Fabric softener
Compost bin
Vileda mop heads
Toilet roll
Large vase
Small vase

Kitchen

Mixing bowl
Baking tray
Oven gloves
Toaster
Kettle
Frying pan
Deep pot
Small pot
Cafetiere
Tea pot
Colander
Sieve
Weighing scales
Cheese grater
Potato peeler
Can opener
Knife
Handheld food processor
Butcher's knife
Chopping board
Hob lighter
Bin for plastic
Bin for glass
Bin for paper
Bin for composting
Bin for metal
Tea towels
Mug rack
Tea towel rack
Cutlery tray
Table placemats
Table cloth
Clock

Bedroom

Notice board
Desk
Chair
Bowl
Venetian blinds
Rug

Bathroom

Shower curtain
Wooden slatted floor mat

House

Notice board/letter/bill holder
Electrical extension cords
Smoke alarm

Reading list: websites

2005-01-12T22:14:00.000Z

Guardian Short Stories

Reading list: books

2005-01-12T22:10:00.000Z

Daphne du Maurier, Frenchman's Creek
Daphne du Maurier, Jamaica Inn
Daphne du Maurier, The Loving Spirit
Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the time of cholera
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One hundred years of solitude
Isabella Lickbarrow, Poetical Effusions

Mac mini + iPod shuffle

2005-01-12T13:53:00.000Z

I want an iPod shuffle!

I want a Mac mini!

Thankfully, due to my sister being on holiday during the Christmas period, we weren't able to exchange presents. Guess, what I'm going to request? Hee hee!

Update: I just watched the two-hour keynote speech Steve Jobs gave yesterday. I've seen the photographs of the Mac mini on the Apple website, but to see him physically holding it and rotating it in his hands takes my breath away. (I wish I didn't have any debt, because I'd probably rush out and buy one as soon as it hits the shops next weekend. Seeing these new Apple products, but knowing they're just out of my reach because of my debt, makes me want to get rid of my debt quicker.)

Beef Sirloin Kabobs with Roasted Red Pepper Dipping Sauce recipe

2005-01-10T20:11:00.000Z

Serves 6

Kabob ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut 1 inch thick
2 teaspoons coarse grind black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced

Dipping sauce ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 jars (7 ounces each) roasted red peppers, rinsed, drained, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed or 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 cup ready-to-serve beef broth
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot.
Add onion and 3 cloves garlic; cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes or until onion is tender.
Add red peppers, wine, tomato paste and thyme, stirring until tomato paste is blended.
Combine broth and cornstarch in small bowl, mixing until smooth. Stir into pepper mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Keep warm.
Meanwhile cut beef steak into 1-1/4 x 1-1/4 x 1-inch pieces. Combine pepper, salt, paprika and 1 clove garlic in large bowl. Add beef; toss to coat. Thread beef pieces evenly onto six 12-inch metal skewers, leaving small space between pieces.
Place kabobs on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, covered, about 7 to 9 minutes for medium rare to medium doneness, turning once. Serve with dipping sauce.

One portion of fruit

2005-01-09T13:45:00.000Z

About 80g, after you've peeled/pipped/chopped the fruit/vegetables up.

Four rings of dried apple
One medium apple
One orange
Three whole dried apricots
Half an avocado
One handful of blackberries
Three heaped tablespoons of cooked broad beans
Four heaped tablespoons of french beans
Two spears of broccoli
Three heaped tablespoons of shredded cabbage
A third of a ceral bowl of shredded carrots
Three sticks of celery
Two clementiines
14 fresh cherries
Two fresh figs
Five spears of fresh asparagus (but seven of tinned)
Half a grapefruit
Four heaped tablespoons of cooked curly kale
Two kiwi fruits
Two slices of mango
One slice of melon
One heaped tablespoon of mixed dried fruit
One third of an aubergine
One large parsnip
Two rings of tinned pineapple
Six canned prunes
One medium onion
One handful of sugarsnap peas
One tablespoon of raisins
Three heaped tablespoons of tinned sweetcorn
One medium pear
Five to six passion fruit
Two small satsumas
Half a large courgette
Eight Brussel sprouts
Three heaped tablespoons of chick peas
One nectarine
Six lychees
Eight spring onions
14 button mushrooms
Two handfuls of fresh raspberries
Two heaped tablespons of cooked spinach
One medium tomato
Seven cherry tomoatoes
Three tablespoons of bake beans

Belly pork recipe

2005-01-09T13:31:00.000Z

1Kg belly pork in one piece
3 cloves garlic
50ml mirin or rice wine vinegar
50ml red-wine vinegar
25ml balsamic vinegar
water
salt and pepper

Turn the oven to its lowest setting. You want it no higher than 100°C. You need a roasting pan that is not much, if at all, bigger than the piece of meat.

Scatter the sliced garlic over the base of the pan, then pour in the other ingredients except the water.
Place the pork on top of these, then add water utnil the liquid in the pan comes about halfway up the meat.
Put into the middle of the oven and leave overnight, or even all day, but definitely for 6 hours minimum. The idea is that the fat is slowly leached out of the meat, keeping it moist whilst it cooks.
When you deem the meat to be done, take it out of the pan and set aside to cool.
Carefully cut the skin — aka the crackling-to-be — off the top, and place this in another roasting pan.
Season, turn up the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5, and pop the crackling back in for 15-20 minutes. Check from time to time to make sure it's not burning.

Eco Tourism

2005-01-09T13:16:00.000Z

Tourism Concern publishes The Good Alternative Travel Guide
Association of Independent Tour Operators
Responsible Travel
Eco Travel
BCTV
National Trust Working Holidays
Earth Watch
Seat 61

2046

2005-01-08T13:25:00.000Z

I only watched Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love once. I remember falling in love with the cinematography. When I heard that 2046 would be premiered at the Cannes Film Festival 2004, I knew that it would be shown at the London Film Festival later that year too. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get down to London to see it.

2046 releases in the UK this Friday. I want to wait and see it with Rida, but I don't know if I can hold out; I won't be seeing him for a while due to financial restrictions.

If you're unfamiliar with 2046, it's a sequel to In the Mood For Love. It's not like Before Sunset is to Before Sunrise, but I'm hoping I will love it as a sequel as much as I loved Before Sunset as a sequel.

Star rating

2005-01-06T21:05:00.000Z

I'm sure it's been done before, but I've started to copy Apple's usage of a star rating system, as seen in iPhoto and iTunes. I've been using it to rate recipes I've tried from Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food. I've also been annotating the recipes with things like, Serves 1 1/2, so that I know in the future how many Russ-people it will serve. A Russ-person, is a person who has an appetite similar to mine.

RIda and I were in Borders, Oxford, to research our New Year's trip to Cornwall. Rida wanted to pick up Nigel Slater's The 30-minute Cook. Whilst, waiting whilst Rida flicked through the book, I randomly picked up The New Penguin Cookery Book. I didn't put it down until much later. This book is straightforward and broad. I thought Real Fast Food achieved what I want in a recipe book, however, The New Penguin... goes even further. Definitely one to add to my kitchen bookshelf.

À Bientôt

2004-12-31T07:34:00.000Z

I'm back from Paris. Now, I'm off to Cornwall. See you in 2005!

Le fauteuil pour deux

2004-12-20T01:51:00.000Z

I've discovered the MK2 Bibliotèque cinema in Paris. It features seats for two: every pair of adjacent seats have retractable armrests in the middle.

Fantastic! I've been wanting cinemas to do this ever since last year when I went to the cinema with Rida and ended up with a dead leg when the credits started to roll because my leg kept on pressing against the arm rest.

It makes you wonder why on earth no other cinema does this. I'm tempted to go to this cinema just to experience the seats. I wonder if Rida will indulge me.

Import e-mail from Mozilla to Thunderbird using Outlook Express

2004-12-20T01:05:00.000Z

There are lots of convoluted methods on the web on how to import your email from one application to the other. I've just found out a really easy way to transfer e-mail from Mozilla to Thunderbird in a few steps. I have no idea if it will work with other applications, but you can modify my approach accordingly and give it a go.

Open up Mozilla
Select all the e-mails you want to export.
Forward the e-mails to yourself as attachments. (Not inline. This is important.)
Download the forwarded e-mail in Thunderbird. Select the e-mail message and then select the attachments.
Save them to a temporary folder.
For each e-mail message in the folder append the suffix .eml
Open Outlook Express.
In Thunderbird select Tools > Import... and follow the instructions to download from Outlook Express.

And there you have it. Your e-mails transferred. I guess this would work for any program that can import from Outlook Express. I guess it should also work with Outlook as well. If only all the e-mail software creators made it easy to export e-mail. I don't know why they don't.

Need for speed

2004-12-17T23:53:00.000Z

Last week, I got the go-ahead to sign my parents up to an ADSL connection. Having looked at the various ISP offerings, I decided to go with Freedom2Surf's 2Mbps service capped with a 1Gb download limit for £14.99 a month. I figured that since it's for my parents, I'm fairly sure they won't go over the limit.

It's amazing, though, because I've only got a 512Kbps service in my flat. The speed difference is definitely noticeable. I'm green with envy.

Blue crown!

2004-12-17T01:00:00.001Z

I always leave to the last minute the packing of my bags for a holiday. I'm off to Paris next Thursday, but I've got to pack my bags now because I leave for London after work tomorrow, then I'm off to Oxford on Monday, then to Paris via London on the Eurostar. I'm very excited.

I never thought that I'd be packing condoms and lube amongst the items I'll be taking with me on holiday, but there you go. The hotel we're staying in seems very swish. I'm very excited.

Spectacles, testicles, wallet, and watch. Check. Check. Check. Check. Er, passport? Shit!

Ice skating 57 meters in the air

2004-12-17T01:00:00.000Z

The Eiffel Tower has an ice skating rink on its first floor. Guess what one of the things Rida and I will be doing next week?

I've checked the sunset times for Paris next week. The is setting around about 16:55. Ideally, then, I'd like to be on top of the Eiffel Tower at around 16:00 to be within the golden hour, and to catch the (hopefully) beautiful winter sun setting. Fingers crossed for a clear day.

FCEK

2004-12-16T22:09:00.000Z

Whislt on a day-trip to Leeds I spotted a guy wearing a T-shirt with, "FCEK" written across his chest in a FCUK-style typeface. The sub-title read, "The Irish Connection". I think this is quite funny.

I was quite disappointed with Leeds. For one, stupid me thought Leeds castle was in Leeds. It's not. It's down south somewhere(!) I wasn't prepared for the mega shopping district that is Leeds city centre. I didn't like it either. It was over the top.

There's only the City Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute in terms of the Arts. I did find a small photography gallery called Gallery 22, which is inside the Corn Exchange.

I discovered a new clothing label called Superdry, which sell polo shirts that I like. But at £35 each, they are exorbitantly priced.

During my online research I found a vegetarian café called Roots and Fruits (0113 293 9403) which is situated in the Grand Arcade just past the northern city centre. I was there on a Sunday, so it was closed, but the items on the menu seemed nice and the prices seemed very reasonable. If I'm ever back in Leeds (I don't know why I would be any time soon) I'd want to check it out.

Parsley butter recipe

2004-12-16T21:19:00.000Z

Serves 4.

Blend together 100g softened butter with the finely chopped leaves from 1/2 pot of flat leaf parsley and if desired 1 clove crushed garlic. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper. Place in clingfilm, roll into a sausage shape and refrigerate. Use slices to top grilled fish or chicken.

[Recipe courtesy of Waitrose]

Mama, take this badge off of me

2004-12-12T13:14:00.000Z

I have come to the conclusion that I find Bob Dylan's voice on Blood on the Tracks jarring and whiney (in all senses of the word). Whenever he plays the harmonica it merely accentuates all of these things I hate about him. Also, his "la, la, las" in The Man In Me make me want to punch him in the face.

With that said, I don't mind his voice in Knocking on Heaven's Door. For now, I think I will refrain from seeking out any more of his music.

Aubergines with minced pork recipe

2004-12-11T21:27:00.000Z

Recipe by Madhur Jaffrey.

Serves 2.

For marinating the pork:

60g minced pork
1/2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine or dry sherry
1 tsp sesame oil

For the sauce:

1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
2 tsp black vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar

For frying the aubergine:

Peanut oil for frying
340g aubergine, cut into 6cm x 2.5cm strips

Also:

3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2.5cm cube of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 dried hot red chilli, crumbled
1 1/2 tsp cornflour dissolved in 1/2 tbsp water
2 spring onions, cut into fine rounds all the way up their green sections

Combine all the ingredients for marinating the pork. Mix well, cover and set aside for 30 minutes or more, refrigerating if necessary.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce with 300ml water. Set aside.

Heat about 2.5cm oil in a wok or frying-pan over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the aubergine. Stir and fry until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Empty out all the oil except about 1-2 tbsp. Heat that oil over high heat. When hot, put in the garlic, ginger and chilli. Stir briskly once or twice. Put in the pork. Stir briskly again until the pork changes colour. Now put in the aubergine and the sauce. Bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Stir the cornflour mixture and mix it in. Stir gently once and cook until the sauce thickens. Add the spring onions and gently stir once or twice, being careful not to break the aubergine.

Comments — I didn't have all of the ingredients, but I substituted them for similar things. Although I don't know what it's supposed to taste like, my version is tasty. I substituted the red hot chilli for 1 1/2 tsp chilli powder. After tasting it seemed that this was too hot, but after while it didn't seem too bad. It took me a little longer to get the sauce to thicken because I didn't have any cornflour. I reduced the sauce quite a lot because I generally prefer a coating of thick sauce than lots of medium-thick sauce. Also, I put 100g of minced beef instead of 60g. I thought 60g didn't seem like a lot, the 100g I used seemed like just the right amount in the end.

Washing-up tips

2004-12-11T18:59:00.000Z

Would you like to spend less time doing the dishes? Or do you hate drying the dishes after you've washed them? Here's a tip on how to (almost) get the dishes to dry themselves.

You'll need a pair of rubber gloves. Whilst washing the dishes use hot water, and then use hot water to rinse them afterwards. The rubber gloves will help you to wash the dishes using hot water because it will protect your hands from the extreme heat. You'll find that after you've stacked up the dishes on the drying tray the heat retained by the dishes will cause the remaining water lingering on the dishes to evaporate. All you need to do now is give them a little wipe to catch the stray droplets, and then you can put the dishes away.

As simple as that.

Crêpe recipe

2004-12-11T10:54:00.000Z

Makes 16 crêpes.

1 cup flour
2 medium eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter

Beat the eggs together. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle of the bowl. Add the eggs into the well. Slowly stir in the milk and the water bringing in the flour from the sides. Add the salt and butter, and whisk the mixture until smooth.

Heat a 15cm non-stick pan to a medium heat. Pour the crepe mixture onto the centre of the pan and then immediately tilt the pan in circular motions so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Turn the crepe over when you see lots of little holes on the surface of the crepe. Then leave for 30 seconds on the other side. Turn out onto a plate and start all over again.

(I like to smear my crêpes with Bonne Maman® conserve and then roll them up to eat.)

Housemate selection criteria

2004-12-09T20:20:00.000Z

One way to find out whether your potential housemate is tidy or lazy/messy:

If there's an empty loo roll with a scrap of toilet tissue paper attached then you know they're a lazy/messy housemate.

What's up with that? Do they think that the scrap of toilet tissue paper is going to conceal the fact that they've used up the rest of the toilet tissue paper? And that by leaving that little scrap, they're admonshing themselves from replacing the empty loo roll with a new one? Fuckers.

Forget Kela, Rahzel, AND Fresh!

2004-12-09T19:33:00.000Z

Sorry to upstage you Michelle, but...

Ever seen anyone beatboxing, playing the harmonica, playing a synth guitar, and reciting poetry at the same time? Well, I can't show you a video clip, but I can tell you who I saw: C R Avery.

Forget Raul Midon [Link via Michelle]. Forget Killa Kela. Forget Rahzel. And even forget Doug E. Fresh! The MP3s on C R Avery's website do not do him justice. If you see C R Avery advertised to perform near you, you must check him out!

2nd surprise

2004-12-08T22:43:00.000Z

Rida and I took the 240 bus to Bakewell via Fox House from Ecclesall Road and got off at Fox House. The last time we came here was on the afternoon of Rida's birthday. That was a beautiful mild spring afternoon. Today was a just as beautiful crisp winter afternoon.

We took a different path this time and followed the stream along the other side. We crossed the stream at that romantic spot, and ascended to Surprise View. The last time we were here we had barely a second to glance at the 180° view because the 272 bus had just come around the corner and we had to leg it to the bus stop 200 hundred metres down the road. Now, we had time to spare and paused to take the view in. What I didn't realise then and previously is that as you look down below to your right there is the town of Hathersage. The same town Rida and I cycled to on a warm summer's day earlier this year.

Thai salsa recipe

2004-12-08T22:39:00.000Z

Serves 4.

Toss together 1/2 diced cucumber, 3 chopped salad onions, 2.5cm peeled and grated root ginger, 1 deseeded and chopped red chilli, 1 crushed clove garlic and 1 pack chopped coriander. Stir in the grated zest of 1 lime, 3 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp soft brown sugar and 1 tsp fish sauce.

Season and serve with crudités, tortilla chips or as an accompaniment to barbecued meat, poultry or fish.

[Recipe courtesty of Waitrose.]

How fucking romantic

2004-12-05T16:14:00.000Z

Rida and I had descended to the rushing stream below and stood on the bridge. I made a comment about how nice it was standing here. To our right, a rottweiler belonging to a couple who had passed us earlier decided that this was the spot where it would throw up its stomach contents. How nice. Rida and I swiftly moved on trying to purge the image of a rottweiler emptying its guts and supplant it with the rushing stream.

Things I'd like to have

2004-12-02T18:21:00.000Z

Ah, it's that time of year again when people exchange gifts.

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list as things come to mind. Materialistic: me? Never!

: )

2004-11-26T23:50:00.000Z

Michelle replied to an e-mail of mine saying, THIS EMAIL MAKES ME HAPPY!

I was a bit confused because I don't think I said anything particularly special to make her reply this way. But, nonetheless, whilst reading that line, I could see and hear her saying it in my head, which made me smile. If I can't see and hear her saying it in real life (she's currently over 6,000 miles away), this is the next best thing, and it made me even happier than I already am this evening.

Sorry if my happiness induces nausea. This is a rare occurrence, and I'm normally a miserable bastard. (Kidding.)

Let me sing you a waltz...

2004-11-26T23:36:00.000Z

Often, I watch a film, hear a song during the film, and make a mental note to self to download the song at some point. It wasn't until reading someone's Blogger profile and they mentioned Before Sunset did it occur to me that I forgot about how much I love the song, A Waltz for a Night, Celine (Julie Delpy) performs towards the end of the film. I promptly downloaded it and have been playing it this past hour on repeat until I get sick of it.

Apparently, Julie Delpy wrote the song whilst in the character of Celine. I just love Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.

I'm in a very happy mellow mood this evening. Rida's coming up next weekend for four days. Surprisingly, I can wait. I think I'm going to spend it eating, reading, and doing stuff on my PowerBook whilst surrounded by my super kingsize duvet and four fluffly John Lewis pillows. My flatmates are out clubbing, so it's just me at home. This is the first weekend I've had in Sheffield in over a month. Previous weekends I've been in London. Did I say that I'm very happy? : )

House Party

2004-11-25T01:35:00.000Z

I took Rida to Busaba Eathai on Shore Street in the end. After dinner we went to a friend's friend's friend's house party in Finsbury Park. Thankfully, the three degrees of separation didn't mean Rida or I didn't know anyone at the party. In fact, a number of friend's friends were there who I had met before at Rida's house-warming.

It was a better than average party with alcohol, munchies, music, and later dancing. I also had some rather good conversations with random strangers, as opposed to the lame small talk you normally make at parties like these. The alcohol, though I didn't drink much of it, hadn't affected me as much as I thought it would have. I wonder if this is more signs indicating that my attempts to drink more to mitigate my alcohol intolerance are working. (If only I had thought of this at university.)