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Because I forget stuff. Part of norcimo.com
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October 2006
Posts made in October 2006
Ghosts In The Machine?
Posted into:
on October 31 2006 at 14:10
After last weeks double episode opener Torchwood continued Sunday with episode three (logically enough). Once again spoilers are ahead, so if you haven’t seen it (or the previous episodes) stop reading…now!
Train (On)Line
Posted into:
on October 30 2006 at 13:10
A post by Jeremy Keith recently reminded me of Matthew Somerville’s accessible UK train timetable, which in the back of my mind I sort of knew existed but hadn’t really had need of a lot, even though the interface is a lot cleaner than the official version (this lack of use is partly due to the fact that, as Matthew points out, it’s insanely long winded to actually buy tickets like that so I tend to stick to the woeful The Trainline). What really caught my attention though were two things: The maps and the hackable URL.
Akismet Equals No More Spam
Posted into:
on October 29 2006 at 17:10
This whole blog thing is run on MoveableType which makes it something of a target for all those lovely comment spammers out there. There are, and always have been, various countermeasures in place, including keyword filtering and ip lookup filtering. Still, about two or three spam comments a day would get through without being flagged (lately mostly along the lines of “Thanks. Cool Site” and variants with the url field pointing to the spammers site). This is obviously nothing compared to what some people have had to deal with but it’s still annoying to clean up. That’s where Akismet comes in.
I’ve been hearing of Akismet since more or less it’s first appearance, and all of it said things like “it just works”. Still, we’ve all heard that before and I don’t think I can be blamed for being a little sceptic le. Anyway, there’s a MT plugin for Akismet (it’s originally a Wordpress thing—one day I might move this blog across to Wordpress but there are so many customised bits and plugins..ahh). I installed it a couple of days ago. Zero (yes zero) spam comments have got past so far. They’re right: Akismet just works.
Changes, and Statistics
Posted into:
on October 29 2006 at 15:10
Another game we should have won where we walk away with points undoubtedly dropped. Charlton are a poor side, and proved to be so far just about the entire match, consistently returning the ball without much fight and offering little…
A Six Word Story You Say?
Posted into:
on October 25 2006 at 20:10
Funny; was just thinking of Hemmingway’s
Can’t quite recall why now though
Anyway, that is beside the point
Via metafilter post (comments worth reading!)
A collection of very short stories
Each author with their six words
Serious, amusing, touching, insightful and more
Still, none close to matching Hemmingway
Well worth a read through though
Complete with online only bonus stories!
Oh, and my attempt at playing?
Hmmm. It’s harder than it looks
Still, I’ll give it a go:
“Why weep? It’s only a rose.”
TorchGood
Posted into:
on October 24 2006 at 17:10
Torchwood (the “adult” Doctor Who spin-off—though you wouldn’t need to know that to watch it) launched Sunday on BBC 3. I’m aware some people are holding out for tomorrows BBC 2 repeat so warning spoilers are ahead. I’ll hide them after the read more link and put in some spoiler space for now.. If your reading this via a full post feed (yeh, right) you may want to stop reading now. Some of this won’t make any sense unless you’ve seen the episodes anyway!
Fair Play Sibierski
Posted into:
on October 20 2006 at 17:10
Although many (myself included) questioned the arrival of Sibierski one cannot argue with his attitude since he has been here. While I stand by previous comments that we should have been looking to other positions that is not the player’s…
A Collection of Unrelated Things I Thought To Post Today
Posted into:
on October 20 2006 at 14:10
I had a few things I came across today yesterday (damn my tardiness) which almost made me post. Individually they probably didn’t tip the balance in favour of actually putting in the effort but together they just about do. So here goes a collection of interesting and not so interesting things, which I may or may not comment on, as have occurred to me throughout today.
Well, it’s become so long I thought I’d add a nice Table of Contents, just because I can
Never Mind The Man Behind The Curtain
Posted into:
on October 11 2006 at 20:10
Hi there. Just ignore this. Nothing to see here. Move along now. No, it’s all real magic, honest. No tricks. No, don’t look up my sleeve. Ahhh, now look what you’ve done.
Hic-UP
Posted into:
on October 9 2006 at 21:10
It’s been well reported but I just wanted to mention one of this year’s Ig Nobel Prizes, namely that awarded in the field of Medicine. One of the most popular posts in my blog (it probably has the most comments of any of this poorly read part of the internet) is Hic-Up Cure in which I detail a remedy for the said infliction. The Medicine Ig deals with a similar subject, although on the much more severe scale of intractable hiccups (so many potential spellings!). The solution turns out to be digital rectal massage (yes, that is what you think it is). There are not one, but two citations of such an act (J. Intern. Med.227 (2) 145 (1990) and Ann. Emerg. Med. 17 (8) 872 (1988)).
The author of the latter citation, and recipient of the Ig Nobel, is reported (and why is that in New Scientist Space) to no longer recommend the procedure however. It turns out an orgasm is his preferred method I will be recommending sex—culminating with orgasm—as the cure-all for intractable hiccups.
Now I want to know if that is available on the NHS and, if so, how do you contract intractable hiccups?
Why The Trains Are Always Late
Posted into:
on October 9 2006 at 20:10
I’ve been to Nottingham to see Ed, We played games, had a pub lunch (where their “hand made” steak and ale pie was replaced with steak and kidney), and watched Robin Hood (appropriately—the representation of Nottingham Castle was poor). And Donny Darko is quite strange (so’s his brother Johnny). That’s all irrelevant though
Almost Peeing Myself :-)
Posted into:
on October 4 2006 at 14:10
Male Restroom Etiquette (YouTube warning). It’s quite amusing, thanks in large part to the voice over (and yes, this unwritten social contract does exist, just the same way it seems women’s bladders become psychically linked when there are two or more in a group, so they have to go together). I think it says something about my psyche though that I’m being really bothered by the fact that rule number 2 is being constantly broken in the demonstrations of other rules…..ahhhhhh!! Perhaps if Ralph and Charles had followed the rule none of the rest would have happened
A Winning Attitude?
Posted into:
on October 2 2006 at 15:10
Another trip to Old Trafford, and another loss. Same old story. The problem is, were we ever even thinking of doing anything but lose? It’s hard to believe we were. Roeder has defended his decision to go along with a…
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This Crazy Fool
- Who:
- Dr Ian Scott
- Where:
- Croydon (and Gateshead), United Kingdom
- Contact:
- ian@norcimo.com
- What:
- Bullding Services Engineer (EngDesign), PhD in Physics (University of York), football fanatic (Newcastle United), open source enthusiast (mainly Mozilla)
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