A big page of links to my old GitHub Pages blog, created when I felt the need to code to achieve in kilobytes what I’m doing here with WordPress’s megabytes.

I’m not fixing the formatting.

Archive

I write for myself; what started out as a journal became an archive of my blog posts. Doesn’t that sound grand‽

RSS
I’ve changed the blog post feed address my Python script uses to post to a couple of networks – crucially without testing or modifying the history files.
24 March 2019
AgeID
First question of the year: have any of you managed to register with AgeID?
17 March 2019
2019
Thanks, whatever you did that brightened any of my 2018.
31 December 2018
Browns
Something odd happened today; I got depressed about the result of an American football game. It’s been years since last that happened, and well before my break for marriage and parenting.
16 September 2018
School admin
Daughter 2 started high school this week, and got a lesson timetable which, well, why not read the email I just sent to the school:
07 September 2018
57 jersey
Yesterday evening I risked life and limb, my life and limb, clambering over the remains of DIY projects, half-abandoned bicycles and old computers, and lifting and opening box after box, in the pursuit of a football jersey. Not just any football jersey, but one bought at beginning of my life as a dad and the end of my life as a regular American Football fan.
10 April 2018
redditor
I’m using Reddit again and, in some respects, again regretting it. Not the small number of negative comments my leading question in r/Browns (the Cleveland Browns NFL subreddit) inspired, no; it’s the capriciousness of users’ up- and down-voting, where incomplete answers and sarcastic comments gain more ‘positivity’ than…
08 April 2018
Celebrity Death Pool
Chatting at work, at brew and lunchtime as you do, we got into the subject of celebrity death pools; pick a celeb you believe most likely to die. You know, harmless fun.
06 April 2018
Time-limited
#QuoteSunday (a tradition on pnut.io):
01 April 2018
Coty
A conversation about dog breeds (one of the family mentioned the noble ‘Leerdammer’) and this morning’s terrorism news (they don’t want their citizenship to be revoked) prompted a search for a once well-known cosmetics brand. Here’s the statement from the Google summary of their web site (my emphasis):
31 March 2018
Farkisms
I responded to this Fark.com forum post:
19 March 2018
Hawking
“Remember to look up at the stars.” – Stephen Hawking.
14 March 2018
Shush
There is apparently a social convention that, when the adult in charge of a group of children in church repeatedly tries but fails to stop them talking, one must not turn round and tell them, other people’s children that is, to shut up.
11 March 2018
Usual
Today I achieved a lifetime’s ambition, the middle finger of a man extended in my specificdirection. It happens only after the phrase “Usual message”, uttered (or blurted) in his presence; oddly the context is, unusually, utterly irrelevant.
09 March 2018
Random
Regarding Donald Trump’s uncanny ability to toss a word salad:
09 March 2018
Fark
How I explain Fark.com:
08 March 2018
Wiggins
Bradley Wiggins is the latest target in the establishment’s moral crusade, a bunch of MPs being of the opinion Cycling’s sporting ethics have been breached.
05 March 2018
TwigPen oops 3
After it simply failed to tweet, I rolled the TwigPen code into rssupdatepnut; what follows is a repeat of my previous posts.
04 March 2018
TwigPen oops 2
An updated version of my previous post follows. Executive summary: “Doh!”
04 March 2018
TwigPen oops
Oops! I forgot to git pull origin master the updated script from the rssupdatepnut GitHub repo.
04 March 2018
TwigPen
I’m just about to turn off the IFTTT trigger that tweets notification of my blog posts to Twitter. I’ve written a wrapper for Python’s ‘Twython’ module; one that provides auth and, right now, the ability to post a tweet. Fingers crossed, hoping it seamlessly replaces IFTTT.
04 March 2018
JD Honey
I remember the trials and tribulations attempting to drink Maker’s Mark bourbon before I gave it away; I remember well the aroma from the empty glass the following morning. Amazing.
04 March 2018
Wand
The girls are really into Harry Potter right now, were really pleased to hear their school will reschedule World Book Day participation. That’s entirelyincidental to…
03 March 2018
PSA Heat
It snowed again, the gritter failed to make an impact (but I’m not sure one came this way.) The school was shut so World Book Day didn’t happen here, my wife was late from her night shift (waiting for staff to arrive), and the boiler stopped working.
01 March 2018
Beyond
I just heard Loki.
24 February 2018
Loki cat 2001-2018 RIP
April 1st to February 23rd; we’ll even miss your shouting.
23 February 2018
Loki
No attempt made to be articulate here, a followup to my last post.
21 February 2018
Ah
It’s time.
21 February 2018
WednesdayChallenge
My first #WednesdayChallenge of 2018:
20 February 2018
Machine
The new washing machine is… it’s got more programmes than the previous one, and more flexibility too! I’m…
20 February 2018
Deluge
That expression ‘it never rains but it pours’ is very much in effect right here right now.
19 February 2018
Unforeseen
A mish-mash of themes follows; it’s been a while since my last confes, er… blog post.
16 February 2018
Oh
Two rather expensive days, emotionally and financially:
29 December 2017
Pecking order
I looked over earlier, spied my wife eating milk chocolate, decided to emulate the dog so knelt down in front of the settee. Getting no satisfaction I shifted position, into a wet patch Ruby dog had created not long previously.
05 December 2017
RAVPower case review
RAVPower Battery Case for iPhone 6 / 6S with Apple MFi Certified Extended Battery Charger with 3000mAh 125 Percent Extra Battery
29 November 2017
White Helmets (Syria)
I’ve just partially recovered after watching probably the most harrowing documentary in…
28 November 2017
Dick
In about a month’s time, Dick…
26 November 2017
PigPen
I’ve spent my spare time during the last few weeks writing another app, this one for the pnut.io social network. It enhances the failures of my first app, for 10centuries.org. Yes, more social networking, surprising for such an antisocial [expletive deleted.]
19 November 2017
Remembrance
We attended the church Remembrance Day service earlier then walked along to the War Memorial where the village congregated for the open-air service.
12 November 2017
Feedback (LibDems)
Online feedback I provided to the UK Liberal Democrat party after being asked why I’ve not renewed my membership:
10 November 2017
Sweaters
I’m old enough to remember the day sweaters (jumpers if you like) were designed to keep one warm, and not a paper-thin, size-too-large fashion statement.
08 November 2017
Soup
Tonight we visited the local cricket club’s annual bonfire and firework display for the funfair rides, hook-a-duck attractions and food stalls. Always a grand occasion.
04 November 2017
Woodford Reserve
Sod it, I’ll add a drink to the food order; the tablets say I can have a drink!
27 October 2017
Home Alone
Most people faced with a day off, and family away during a school holiday week would, I’d guess, go insane and do all kinds of exciting things.
26 October 2017
Dishwasher: a sequel (Sweary, NSFW words)
We needed a new dishwasher. We have a new dishwasher, bought from a well-known Scandinavian flat-pack furniture and accessories retailer. But this morning I got a call from the well-known UK white goods retailer mentioned in my previous related post.
25 October 2017
Dishwasher (sweary)
We need a new dishwasher. The old one is at the side of the house awaiting collection by one of the rag-tag bunch of folks who collect scrap metal with no fees, no questions asked.
22 October 2017
Food
When ordering food for other people or for myself and others I’m unlucky.
20 October 2017
Weekend
It’s late, the weekend is almost completed, and I ache from the successes during it.
16 October 2017
Blogging
Blogging.
11 October 2017
Uncertain
It’s been an odd few weeks and months.
07 October 2017
Bizarre performance art?
Returning to the recent Sprout Burrito theme, this from Fark; “Hey, at least it’s got beans on it now B-b-burrito? DIT”
31 August 2017
Sprout burrito inventor
In an attempt to reinvent myself on social networks I’ve been silent for a long while, to let the old stuff out and the void in. That’s not to say I haven’t missed the interactions, I have. But life, as-ever, got in the way.
28 August 2017
Logotherapy
I started to write this post with a point to make and a structure to work around it but part-way through I gave up, the events of last week took away my focus (both in the news and personally.) So yes, I gave up and just typed stuff. Here it is:
12 June 2017
Manchester
‪We’re watching the #OneLoveManchester concert and, perhaps unconventionally, I contributed a few pounds towards the UNHCR ‬Mosul (Iraq) appeal unhcr.org then signed their #WithRefugees petition unhcr.org/refugeeday.
04 June 2017
Manifesto
I read the Liberal Democrat Manifesto for the 2017 General Election: http://www.libdems.org.uk/manifesto.More precisely I first read the ‘Easy Read’ variant then skipped through each of the party’s next-Parliament pledges.
03 June 2017
Documentary
Like everything else I write what follows is only my opinion, however anyone reading this should know it’s a fact in my mind.
01 June 2017
Assumptions
I often fall into the trap of assuming people know more than they do about the things I’m interested in. I should be paid for it, along with my ignorance I’d make an absolute fortune!
01 June 2017
FFS (sweary)
I’m not sorry if the language in this post offends. I cannot get past a (probably primitive) need to use it. I know it’s wrong and anti-social, and yet releasing the pressure cooker valve of crude and vulgar language will help me come to terms with it. So, here goes.
26 May 2017
Towel Day tomorrow!
There’s a day set aside every year to commemorate the life and works of the late literary great Douglas Adams. It’s May 25th to be precise. It’s tomorrow!
24 May 2017
Fiction
For the last couple of weeks (it seems longer) I’ve not looked at any of my favourite social networks, and pretty-much ignored the news. I unintentionally missed May 2017’s #ThemeMonday, and multiple #WednesdayChallenge writing opportunities… sorry.
17 May 2017
Article 50
Article 50
07 May 2017
Literary
There’s no easy way to say this. I’ve been neglecting my blog, I’ve hardly looked at the four social networks I’ve got accounts with. Heck, I even missed posting in the weekly WednesdayChallenge.
05 May 2017
Different
NSFW. Perhaps.
02 May 2017
Daily Mail
As with the Sun I’m not clicking links to Daily Mail articles. Yet the headlines look so ‘juicy!’
29 April 2017
Bands seen live
There’s a list, varying with each person, going round social media at the moment. It challenges friends, readers, to pick a lie from a list of 10 bands supposedly seen live by the poster.
27 April 2017
300 posts?
As someone who uses a blog to write to work through issues I must appear to the world to be a seething mess of discontentment, finding Schadenfreude in the news, no solace from the issues confronting our world.
26 April 2017
80s bands again
A headline: “Seven bands from the 80s we wish would reunite” (BBC Entertainment & Arts)
24 April 2017
NOW is the time for a protest vote
I know several people who voted for the first time last June, in the Brexit referendum, their intention being to send a message they’d had enough. Enough of what I found it difficult to pin down both then and now; not one of them will admit to racist tendencies, well aside from the pensioner my wife encountered outside the polling station: ‘Finally, a chance to get rid of the darkies,’ she said. My wife said nothing. What a wasted opportunity, on any level.
23 April 2017
Four Roses review part 6
Drunk neat after Nice’n’Spicy NikNaks, it’s indescribable.
19 April 2017
Birthday customs
I had a birthday recently. Nothing special, aside from to those colleagues who remembers my ‘special day’ and who didn’t receive the cakes and biscuits it’s customary to provide.
18 April 2017
Easter Egg 2
I was wrong. The 139th White House Easter Egg Roll event went ahead with the Trumps in attendance. I guess I’m simply not in tune with a lifestyle which allows separate taxpayer-funded flights for the President and the First Lady, from Washington DC and New York City, to Florida for a couple of days. And then back again.
17 April 2017
Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny visited, distributed cunningly-hidden chocolate eggs throughout the Turner residence and left, but not before disposing of the Cadbury Easter Egg Hunt pack cardboard in our card and paper recycling box.
17 April 2017
51-49
With 99% of the votes counted and the totals being 51.4% for, 48.6% against, the Turks elected to become a dictatorship.
17 April 2017
Four Roses review part 5
Drunk neat is best.
16 April 2017
Easter egg
The Trumps flew to Florida on Friday, in separate jets. It’s looking as though they’ll miss the annual Easter Egg Roll, a 138-year-old tradition, will be somewhat curtailed in scope. A shame.
16 April 2017
Washington Post
I subscribed to the online editions of The Washington Post. Yes it’s a US news company! At USD$19 for an entire year it was an easy decision. I live in the UK but haven’t yet done the same for any other UK news organisation, apart from giving a few pounds to The Guardian (paywall-free.) Incidentally, both ‘newspapers’ are running very similar headlines today, very encouraging.
15 April 2017
Four Roses review part 4
This time the experiment continues with sufficient ice cubes prepared to sink an ocea, er…
15 April 2017
Four Roses review part 3
Aw, FFS, we don’t have any ice cubes!!!2!¡
14 April 2017
Four Roses review part 2
Drunk neat with it and me at room temperature: oh yes. Looking forward to dropping an ice cube in the next, because I know what I like.
14 April 2017
Four Roses whiskey
Attempting to find a better Bourbon whiskey than ‘Buffalo Trace’ I’ve been asking around, and received what really do sound like good recommendations. For now though I’m bypassing Irish whiskeys (Bushmills Black Bush) in favour of the authentic Kentucky stuff.
13 April 2017
Ordinary Men
I know someone who’s better screwed together than I and she’s read, er… (thinks) yeah, I’d best get this back on track before the list of people who are better-screwed-together than I grows beyond my ego’s comfort zone!
10 April 2017
Sign
I’m thinking of having a sign, a notice, a warning of sorts made up; a notification to those who would disturb my evenings or weekends with unsolicited offers to do work for or sell goods to us. The doorbell rings and… Ok, ok, I wrote about this phenomenon previously and about the telephone equivalent too.
08 April 2017
“Grammer”
Today brought two lifetime achievements, three if you include a small amount of good-natured Schadenfreude.
08 April 2017
Privacy
Another sign personal responsibility is a thing of the past, this one related to the ubiquity of the mobile phone. It’s an all-purpose privacy invader, child entertainer, burglar inviter, memory enhancer, space invader. In short, it’s contributing to the decline of civilised society.
04 April 2017
Maker’s Mark review part 6
Drunk neat at room temperature or with ice: oh, no.
04 April 2017
Maker’s Mark review part 5
Drunk again with 1-1/2 ice cubes with me at room temperature, thistime after recently eating strawberries & shaken (not whipped) cream: oh no, that unpleasant taste remains.
03 April 2017
Maker’s Mark review part 4
Drunk again with a single ice cube with me at room temperature: oh no. There’s a really unpleasant taste, unlike any of the preceding. Not sure what I’d eaten beforehand, but it’s had quite the negative effect.
02 April 2017
Maker’s Mark review part 119
oh my glob ive fallen and cant getup again waillll!!!2!¡
02 April 2017
Beauty and the Beast
My youngest daughter and I went to the movies again today, to watch Beauty and the Beast, a film my oldest had seen mid-week. In my own inimitable fashion I enjoyed the tale yet again, and ignored the chance that I’d be offended by the peripheral fuss surrounding the movie.
02 April 2017
Maker’s Mark review part 3
I bowed to popular demand* and wrote what follows about the third Bourbon Whiskey I’ve ever tried. Well, the fourth bottle of the stuff. My first experience was 2 consecutive bottles of Buffalo Trace, then one of Wild Turkey 101 and, as the subject line indicates, I’m now trialling Maker’s Mark.
01 April 2017
Maker’s Mark review part 2
Drunk with a single ice cube with me at room temperature: oh.
01 April 2017
Maker’s Mark review part 1
Drunk neat at room temperature: oh, no.
31 March 2017
Empty words
There’ll be a better way of summing up what follows than the title I chose, but it’ll do. I’m referring to the monologue Andrew Neil delivered a couple of nights ago, a bunch of words strung together to invoke national pride on our past, and which was subsequently described as, well, read the article here:
25 March 2017
Cold caller
The doorbell was rung a few minutes ago: 2 guys, one introduced both as security consultants. I said ‘no thanks, I’m not interested’, and moved to shut the door, and here’s where the depressingly-predictable thing occurred…
21 March 2017
Resolutionary
New Year’s Resolutions kept: none, though the subtleties of the choices made leave me a modicum of wriggle room.
19 March 2017
Talking ADN
Talking Heads have had a major influence in my life. Subtle but major nonetheless. I’m now accustomed to the fact I’ll never see them play live; it’s taken me decades…
18 March 2017
Obsolete
I just finished making dinner for me and the girls and realised something quite profound. My web site has existed in various forms and at various hosts over the 20 years since I arrived online. That’s not the important thing, no. 2017 is the first year that events outside my control rendered the vast majority of its content obsolete.
18 March 2017
IT support request
This user-requested software upgrade exchange didn’t happen. I’ve made it up. Yes.*
17 March 2017
App.net legends
Just short of a millennium ago, and handily beating Project Gutenberg, the Chinese invented movable type. Thus began the slow march of the dissemination of things important and unimportant (though perhaps entertaining) through the intervening ten centuries towards this, our almost ephemeral, digital age.
16 March 2017
256
Quite a few people have written (and spoken) quite a few words on the subject of App.net’s imminent oblivion. I’ve written (and spoken) my fair share too! Right now I’m going to restrict myself to a very narrow definition of what helped make App.net (ADN: short for App Dot Net) special for me. Characters.
15 March 2017
Relief
After a weekend of comparative misery, earlier this morning I sent a text message to my wife. It read thus:
13 March 2017
Stranger
I wonder how it feels, when out with your family, if your partner attracts the attention of someone you don’t know but they do, and that person shouts out your name to ask you a trivial question.
10 March 2017
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey brand of straight Bourbon whiskey is well-enough established in the film world that I thought I ought to give it a whirl.
09 March 2017
Blinkers 2
Yesterday evening, fresh out of the gym and leaving the leisure centre, my attention was diverted, pleasantly I might add, from the single-minded pursuit of getting out and home for dinner. Diverted by someone I’ve known for a few years now, and whose husband used to work for the same company as I.
08 March 2017
Blinkers
We went to the pictures yesterday, to watch the Lego Batman Movie. I suspended my sense of disbelief as usual and yes, cried near the end. Who knew that hanging a picture could be so moving‽
06 March 2017
I lost the plot (ADN)
A slice of history: me reading out loud a blog post I wrote in May 2014, about App.net as I saw things at the time.
05 March 2017
micro.blog
There’s a social network in the works called micro.blog. It aims to bridge the gap between microblogging and longform blogging. Though I as a blogger-of-sorts see promise in the concept I didn’t back it on Kickstarter. Nevertheless it raised over US$80,000 – something like 10x the stated goal? It’ll likely be moderately popular.
04 March 2017
Mug revisited
My wife bleached my mug. Having acquired over 3 years of patina it was perfect!
03 March 2017
7 bits
Last week, during the school holiday, my wife took our daughters to a National Trust property. My oldest has to prepare a piece on Victorian England, so where better to go than a historic home and mill?
27 February 2017
Nine
Today marks the ninth anniversary of the sale of our first home together, my wife, my first daughter, and me. A precarious few months preceded the joy of signing that piece of paper and terminating the first of our two mortgages together.
25 February 2017
Sinclair C5
Can modern incarnation of C5 succeed? (BBC)
23 February 2017
Poo bag
No, not an insult. Why, when it’s absolutely necessary to have a bag for collecting poo, there isn’t one? Why, when it doesn’t matter, is one’s pocket full of the things, often bags sliding languidly to the floor when rummaging for keys, cards, cash…?
23 February 2017
Pinboard fail
Well, 3 weeks after paying for a Pinboard.in bookmark tagging and page archiving account, I’m no closer to having the site owner fix the issues I’ve mentioned.
22 February 2017
Telnet
Today, a day of nerdy firsts: I had my first-ever Telnet session, and very tentatively started to play in my first-ever MUD. Bear in mind I’ve been on the Internet since March 1997; that’s twenty years! It’s interesting to note that both Telnet and the MUD precede myarrival in the slow lane of the Information Superhighway.
19 February 2017
Unsolicited
Some of our work numbers are regularly targeted, plagued by unsolicited callers wanting to talk about a recent motor vehicle accident. I’ve been spared, luckily. Until today.
17 February 2017
Improbable
I have a theory: that Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was close when wondering that, if the secret of the universe was ever found, it would be replaced by something even more improbable.
16 February 2017
Hungry
In the hurry to leave the house for this morning’s school run and journey to work I forgot my lunch, I forgot cash (the cash my wife got for me yesterday evening) and…
15 February 2017
Bourbon
Ah… I remember the days when getting home and having one meant chomping on a nice, brown biscuit sandwiching a buttercream filling: the Bourbon Cream.
13 February 2017
Pinboard
I’ve been messing about with computers since 1981, on the internet since 1997 (yes, even thatis 20 years!) and so it was a surprise to find, by chance, a bookmarking service that made sense to me. Tags: I know what they are, but the things never clicked until a week-and-a-half-ago. I’ve used GTD (Getting Things Done) in various forms in a personal and to a lesser degree work capacity, but this is different.
11 February 2017
Frailty
There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m no longer the invincible fourteen year old my sense of self has identified with for the past few decades. I had the first inkling over 11 years ago, simply waking then walking downstairs. This latest indication that I must re-evaluate ‘me’ though, it simply shouldn’t have happened.
11 February 2017
Stop Making Sense
Aw crap, the cat’s looking at me in that way again. Not sure where my uncontrollable giggling came from there, but he’s right to look askance.
09 February 2017
Slapstick
My oldest daughter has just been watching a YouTube video of children falling over or off things, and some are obviously hurting themselves. The thing I find most disturbing is the parents continuing to film and laughing. It mirrors the response of a mother to her son falling up the steps at the cinema earlier today: uproarious laughter.
05 February 2017
Cinema
Ordinary visits to the cinema of course provoke my tears, but not today’s. The frankly inconsiderate, moronic behaviour of the phone users around me provoked me into doing something I’m not proud of, something terrible.
05 February 2017
iOS
So here I am again, iOS!
04 February 2017
Constipated
Conversations often bring up what seem to be the weirdest things. And then I think for a bit.
04 February 2017
Bananas
I know I shouldn’t but I did; I watched the BBC politics Q&A programme ‘Question Time’. Brexit was discussed of course, and one particular commenter stood out.
02 February 2017
Unfollowed
And then, in one smooth operation, I unfollowed all my Twitter political accounts… Which was nice.
01 February 2017
Slag
My wife just called me a slag. I honestly cannot believe she meant it in connection with my unconventional delivery of ginger nut biscuits to Ruby dog; mouth-to-mouth. Surely not.
01 February 2017
Cancelled
After a rubbish day, a tale of woe: posts detailing a short journey from pleasure to disappointment, spanning around 3 hours:
31 January 2017
Screen (song)
My wife and daughters (when they’re older!) might appreciate this song:
29 January 2017
Literally
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/01/28/thiel-trump
29 January 2017
Christians
It’s time to refer to people who are obviously not Christians as something else. Something from the Old Testament maybe; not Puritanical…?
29 January 2017
Retweet
Inspired by a tweet:
28 January 2017
Alexa
I used the app to change our Echo Dot’s name from Alexa to Computer.
28 January 2017
TrumpTon
The TrumpTon:
27 January 2017
Ascetic
As the year unfolds I am for the most part now leaning towards shunning social media. At least my involvement isn’t quite as conspicuous as it once was. Part conscious decision, part response to external stimuli (e.g. Brexit, Trump), the result is somewhat confusing.
27 January 2017
Server
It screwed up, big-time. The Softaculous installer is so-ooooonot my friend.
25 January 2017
Cognitive dissonance
Right now, in an attempt to work through some interesting conundrums, I am mainly reading about cognitive dissonance.
23 January 2017
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is a form of manipulation through persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying in an attempt to destabilize and delegitimize a target. Its intent is to sow seeds of doubt in the targets, hoping to make them question their own memory, perception, and sanity.
22 January 2017
The Day After Tomorrow
We just watched The Day After Tomorrow again, a fine film and one of my favourites.
22 January 2017
10C App list
I created a list of apps and integrations currently available for the 10Centuries social network.
22 January 2017
Twitter diminishes
I’m scaling back my involvement on Twitter (in addition to a recent step away from Facebook.) It’ll mean a more casual attitude to my timeline: no more devotion to reading all the tweets, no more politically-charged retweets, no desire to keep up with and research the background behind the very latest news. In short I need a break, a chance to examine what I want.
21 January 2017
App.net #ThemeMonday
The App.net community was small-enough and its people got on with each other well-enough that little sociable initiatives blossomed. It was very much a fun, slightly-nerdy, place to be.
21 January 2017
Drunkard
Today, for lots of reasons, I felt the need for a little alcoholic refreshment, and so it happened that I had half a glass of coffee liqueur; from a small, thistle-shaped whisky glass bought for me in March 26 2005 by the lovely vibrant lady who was destined to be my poor, downtrodden wife and the mother of my 2 girls, 2 cats and a dog.
20 January 2017
Brexit insanity (sweary)
I voted to Remain at the ‘Europe Referendum’ last year, hoping that the political system would take heed of the will of the British people, essentially reinforcing our desire to retain the benefits of being within Europe and substantially outvoting the hopes of a return to the dark times of jingoistic nationalism and a belief that the inhabitants of England are better than anyone in the rest of the world.
18 January 2017
Chatty
This might sound a little odd. Quite a lot of my prose is indeed odd to the uninitiated, but this is a post about communication, specifically integrations. I know I’m not the first to write about this but I’m on a bit of a journey right now.
16 January 2017
App.net to close
During the springtime of 2013 I decided to join a new online community at App.net (Wikipedia entry). Heck, as it’d recently changed to a’ Freemium’ funding model I even paid for social networking! Today (Friday the thirteenth in year 1 PostCelebPocalypse) I found that the service will close in the middle of March 2017.
13 January 2017
Cabbage (band)
I recently came across a retweet mentioning a news article about a Mossley (NW England) discordant neo post-punk band named Cabbage. The ironies within the article, well, I’ve already determined 2017 will be one led and thus eventually characterised by Schadenfreude. Now the band’s genre isn’t my usual cup of tea, but the introduction alone was definitely something helping to drag me out from the depths of my post-New-Year funk.
11 January 2017
ADN free
With weeks to go before a billing cycle I’ve downgraded my App.net (ADN) account to the ‘free’ tier. Having not been there for a while the decision was, heartless as it sounds, easy.
10 January 2017
Lardy
@Schwarzenegger:
08 January 2017
History
I’m going to start reposting some entries from previous incarnations of my blog. (I already posted about this.)
05 January 2017
Cake culture
After reading this, I’ve a question for anyone arriving here accidentally…
03 January 2017
Bye Medium
I’ve been copying my blog posts, first manually then more recently automatically, to Medium.com (a site for writers or anyone with a message.) The return on my investment has not been great, indeed the most views and feedback I’ve had has been from a one-line comment I posted in response to someone else’s political post.
03 January 2017
Imperial
For years I looked at Cussons Imperial Leather soap as being nothing special. Through my childhood I had little exposure to it (not soap!) and always wonderedwhy it appealed to so many. I thought ‘how could so many be taken in by the ads or its long history or…
02 January 2017
End
Here we are at the end of another year. I’ve seen a lot. More than some, fewer than others. It qualifies me to say this: to the mountains it’s utterly meaningless, to the trees and the squirrels it’s irrelevant, and to humans though arbitrary it can be a time for regrouping.
31 December 2016
Alexa
We have an Amazon Echo Dot. It’s touted as a voice-controlled electronic assistant. It’s more than that: can stream music, create todo and shopping lists, play rudimentary games, control heating, lights – and all at the sound of one’s voice. It’s, and I hesitated to use the word but shall anyway, a neat gadget, and one that works really really well.
30 December 2016
Profit
If I were to die tomorrow I’m reasonably sure I’d be mourned, and remembered for being a reasonable facsimile of the best human being I can be.
29 December 2016
Blocked
I made and uploaded a second video to YouTube! 20 seconds long, I guarantee it will not change your life.
27 December 2016
Is it over yet?
No.
26 December 2016
Merry Christmas
To everyone I know, and to everyone who sees this:
25 December 2016
#rant 2
Testing Medium integration after my first IFTTT recipe simply failed.
24 December 2016
#rant
Intended primarily as a test, this day unifies ‘broadcasting’ my blog posts created and hosted at my GitHub.com account via IFTTT.com to Twitter, to Facebook and new today, to Medium.
24 December 2016
Normalised
2016 has been a year of downs, and the potential for more of the same for the foreseeable future. 2017 isn’t likely to bring much in the way of relief, and I’ve already pretty-much written off the entire remaining noughtie-tens.
24 December 2016
Whimper
It’s fair to say that 2016 started badly, reached a crescendo of awfulness during the early-middle part of the year, and peaked in misery again towards the back end.
21 December 2016
Insignificant fail
At the beginning of February 2016 I decided to use a goal tracker app to create and to keep in touch with blogging and other streaks. I was pretty conservative with my targets, not wishing to place undue pressure on myself.
21 December 2016
Pornstar
I posted an image yesterday, to Twitter and to Facebook: ironic, sarcastic, call it what you will – a take on the trend to post words designed to both highlight injustice and put it right at the same time. Or expressing one’s individuality by choosing something funny from a preprepared list of names. And all without needing to exercise one’s scrolling digit. Instant gratification.
18 December 2016
Frustration
The Sex Pistols accompanied me to work this morning; MOST unusual, as I usually rely on the calming sounds of the car’s ventilation fan to insulate me from the dullards queuing around me or indulging their moronic desires to occupy the bit of road my sensible car wishes to continue to exist unscathed in.
06 December 2016
14 again
If you’re a certain age, grew up and entered your teens in a pre-Internet era, you’ll have had a limited choice of music. Ok, I don’t mean a limited choice, I mean it wasn’t instantaneously there, at your fingertips.
30 November 2016
2016
Heading into the festive season most people would assume the worst of 2016 would be over by now.
26 November 2016
Balance
It’s fair to say that 2016 has been a bit of a shocker for most, both in celebrity deaths and in the confounding of many’s preconceived ideas of normality.
20 November 2016
XVIII
I’ve already established that I cry when we go to the movies. I cry when we watch movies at home. My personal record is the afternoon we watched ‘Up’ and ‘Toy Story 3’ back-to-back.
15 November 2016
Patch: a sequel
Earlier this year I wrote about my favourite film, ‘Armageddon’. If you scroll back through the archive of my posts ‘Patch’ is easy to find. Now might be a good time to scroll; I think it is about time I explained why that ragged, singed, bit of cloth – the patch – means so much to me. And why I cried at the end of the film.
14 November 2016
Toblerone
A Toblerone bar has the enviable position of being a luxury product for a lot of people; velvety-smooth with chewy sweetness on the tongue, idiosyncratic in design, and with a long, long history.
08 November 2016
Halloween
On Monday evening I participated in my first Trick-Or-Treat outing. Important: that’s Trick-Or-Treat, not Hallowe’en.
02 November 2016
Trolls
After breakfast today the girls and I again went to the cinema; we watched ‘Trolls’ and, for a refreshing change, I didn’t cry at the end.
23 October 2016
Check please
Last weekend I acquiesced to the medical profession’s demand that I acknowledge my age and attend a non-mandatory health check.
19 October 2016
Audi
A recent study concluded you’re more likely to meet your premature end run over by a driver of an expensive car than despatched by someone driving a shed.*
13 October 2016
Storks
After breakfast today the girls and I went to the cinema; we watched ‘Storks’ and I cried at the end.
09 October 2016
Skipping
My oldest daughter skipped into Brownies this evening. Most encouraging, if you know her.
05 October 2016
Mass debate
The Internet is aghast at the news that during the US Presidential debates the moderator will not be allowed to fact-check the candidates in real time.
25 September 2016
Boobies
We’ve all done it; had that momentary lapse of judgment with the inherent possibility of instant doom.
21 September 2016
Redshift
I’ve not had anything to say for weeks now, nothing at least that isn’t either political or ultimately objectionable, so I’ve kept quiet awaiting the reawakening of my muse. And here we are…
19 September 2016
Bhagavad Gita
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
18 August 2016
Cock
Behold! You know when a dog listens to you, listens so intently and with total focus that there is no doubt it understands you? And it cocks its head on one side as-if to underscore the extent of its devotion? Marvellous! Ruby dog often evokes that feeling of omnipotence, yes.
17 August 2016
Meaning
Words used to have meaning, used not to be mere scribbles on paper or sounds made to satisfy popular demand.
07 August 2016
Self-destruct
For a man wanting to become one of the few this world has ever seen to attain the status of a nuclear’ button’ pusher, Donald Trump has a lot of personal buttons he just does not want pressed.
02 August 2016
Huffington
Because there’s nothing else in this world worth commenting on, not yesterday’s family trip to Blackpool, not Brexit, not terrorism or the perceived threats from people we don’t know to our way of life, not climate change, not all the other things, I shall post a link to an article about Donald Trump.
31 July 2016
Patch
Inspired by a Tweet:
24 July 2016
BFG
Pizza is on its way.
24 July 2016
Damned
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. State, categorically, that something bad is unacceptable, clamp down on it when evidence of rule breaking is found – and STILL get castigated for being perceived as ineffective? Politics is a funny old game, especially the current Labour Party’s version – of finger pointing and flinging poo.
22 July 2016
Flush
Thursday, today, is the first day since Tuesday during which I’ve been able to sit down on the gents toilet at work* without first carefully examining the contents of the bowl.
21 July 2016
Kebab
I went online and ordered a kebab and a few other things earlier. ‘Twas delicious, but bloody hell that sauce was a bit spicy!
18 July 2016
Meaning
We’re all searching for some kind of meaning in life, right?
17 July 2016
Godot
As-intended I just watched the second act of the 2001 film adaptation of the Samuel Beckett classic absurdist play ‘Waiting For Godot’.
16 July 2016
Nice
What follows is simply a repost of my 2015 ‘Paris’ post, but with the city and date changed:
15 July 2016
Pokemon Go!
Install.
14 July 2016
A brief history of…
I once tried to read Stephen Hawking’s book ‘A Brief History Of Time’. I made the conscious decision to fail to complete it right about the time I attempted to balance an apple and orange on a ruler – a ruler suspended on nothing.
13 July 2016
13
Today the thirteenth:
13 July 2016
Not yours
Oh dear. I wrote to my MP 2 weeks ago, hopeful of a quick response (even a brush-off) to my Brexit-related question.
10 July 2016
Lendl
All I can think of right now is Ivan Lendl’s sex face.
10 July 2016
Certainty
Why is everyone who’s anyone (and a lot of those who aren’t) dealing in certainties, in absolutes, these days?
09 July 2016
HTTP 451
Censorship is something we’re likely to see more of as time passes, as the illusion of democracy intensifies. Paradoxically we’ll know about it due to the limited ‘sense’ inherent in our laws.
08 July 2016
Scams
Formulating government policy or a political manifesto is very much like making up a typical Facebook scam. Create a convincing document, pass it about a bit, and word-of-mouth accelerates its uptake.
06 July 2016
Chilcot
tl;dr
06 July 2016
Words
Have you read the preamble to the Liberal Democrat Constitution?
05 July 2016
Indie
Politics; it’s all a load of old bollocks really, isn’t it.
04 July 2016
Blinkers
I’ve spent far too long this last week attempting to make sense of the post-Brexit vote. I’ve looked at both sides of the argument and concluded that, though my vote is on the ‘losing’ side, I did the right thing.
03 July 2016
East
Stepping backwards in time around 35 years, to another period of desperate uncertainty, the time of strikes and industrial discord, I’m reminded of a computer game I played a lot. ‘The Hobbit’.
02 July 2016
Boris
‘Everyone knew Boris’: a quotation (paraphrased here) from someone who knew Boris at university. Not everyone knew David Cameron, 2 years behind Boris. Boris, he’s unique that one.
01 July 2016
Accepted challenge
Coming from a non-political society as I do I’m often confused by people’s response to politicians.
30 June 2016
Challenge accepted
Surreal situation, isn’t it. Led into something that’s obviously not good for us by people still refusing to admit they should perhaps have taken more time to look at facts rather than wishlists.
29 June 2016
Chainsaws
Naah, that won’t work, juggling chainsaws isn’t an an appropriate analogy to use here. Perhaps sword-swallowing is a more British thing?
26 June 2016
Regrexit
Yesterday evening I watched a video, a young woman interviewed on national television, already regretting that she and her sisters and parents had voted to leave Europe, and wishing for another try at voting to put it right.
25 June 2016
Voter
To all those registered to vote in the UK’s Europe Referendum: Go and vote; your country needs you.
23 June 2016
Space
Space. Mankind still hasn’t conquered it. That’s fine. There’s still an element of danger inherent in the process, but it’s a risk acceptable to everyone who participates in each and every mission.
18 June 2016
Ian
I work for a company with a larger-than-average number of gentlemen named Ian* concentrated into a small area. It’s small-enough that three of the four could reach out and touch the others if they so desired…
17 June 2016
Clinton
Do you, like I, recall a time a decade or two ago; a time when Mr Clinton was accused of being a bit of a thicky, driven to succeed by the efforts of his much cleverer wife – Mrs Clinton – who most commentators of the day positioned as the brains of the outfit?
13 June 2016
50p
One of my colleagues bought a drink from the drinks machine earlier today. Unremarkable. Another guy’s chance remark got me thinking about money. Literally.
09 June 2016
Registration
Yesterday, and prior to midnight, was the deadline to register to vote in the upcoming UK Referendum. Unprecedented numbers of people (according to the government) attempted to register to vote on the day – over half a million.
08 June 2016
Ramadan Mubarak
Ramadan Mubarak to anyone observing it or supporting those who are! If you’re fasting, take it easy, be sensible,
07 June 2016
Boxes
A roundup of things I’ve done, observed, experienced, liked, loathed and tolerated during the last week. Some may be reproducible. Feel free to tick/check the vacant boxes I’ve helpfully left next to those events that fit into YOUR life, dear reader.
06 June 2016
Hotdogs
Dinner today will be easy: hotdogs, buns to encase them, tomato ketchup. That’s me and the girls accounted for.
03 June 2016
Trump
Not a post about ‘politics’, no. It’s bodily functions; one in particular. And physics. Acoustics.
31 May 2016
Brexitcize
I was going to post a thing I had in my head, a lyrical outline for an exercise routine of our times. At least the times upto June 23 2016 – the date of the UK’s Remain-or-Exit European Referendum.
29 May 2016
Chargers
I’m closer to making an American Football team decision. Yes, I’m ignoring advice, previous deliberations, random chance, all of it.
27 May 2016
Europe
I’ve read a lot of pro- and anti-Europe opinion pieces. I’ve read all the literature that’s come through our letterbox. There’s an inescapable conclusion to be made after a period of reflection. And here it is.
24 May 2016
nfl team chooser
This week, at work, I started the process of choosing an NFL team to follow. I’ve been here before. Not too many times in recent years, thankfully, but I have more motivation this time around.
20 May 2016
Tomita
Isao Tomita bought an early Moog synthesiser in the early-nineteen-seventies; created the delightful album ‘Snowflakes Are Dancing’ – of Debussy’s music – and released it in 1974. It was done the hard way – recording one-note-at-a-time.
16 May 2016
3 Wolves Shirt
Last week I ordered a shirt. Not just any shirt, but a shirt of power, a shirt of mystical significance, a shirt to spark and fulfil dreams. It arrived last Thursday, the shirt I blogged about last week did. Yes.
05 May 2016
3 Wolves and Moon
My boss wore a work-commemorative T-shirt all day today; as these things do it got me thinking about life-changing events.
04 May 2016
Loony
I’ve not decided which way, or if, I’ll vote in the UK’s local elections this week. A long standing Liberal Democrat I can’t really see past the local candidate’s pledge (if it is that) to provide the town with a theatre.
02 May 2016
Toilets
Last weekend we went to Edinburgh, stopped 2 nights, had a really good time. I counted over 29,000 steps for the trip, feel better for it; a successful weekend all round.
28 April 2016
Liberal
Cake. Pies. Pizza. Good wishes… Every time we have a birthday at work we colleagues get the benefit of the celebrant’s largesse; it’s great.
21 April 2016
Conservative
I hold a healthy amount of respect for our local Conservative councillors: approachable, local people; all with local interests at heart. All turn out to community-organised events. If not pillars of our community then friends of it, with a deep understanding of what makes it tick.
19 April 2016
Labour
Yesterday afternoon the Labour Party’s local local election candidate called round. Not specifically to my home of course…
17 April 2016
Facebook links
My youngest daughter simply doesn’t understand the concept of a surprise. When asked to keep a secret something seems to build inside her, a something which simply cannot be contained, a something which must be voiced – albeit in a manner a 6 year old thinks is obtuse, elliptical, not-at-all likely to let the recipient know there’s a thing awaiting…
16 April 2016
I left Medium
I probably quit Medium in 2011; I’ve not been back there since. Being totally frank about the entire process it became hard work keeping engaged, maintaining the daily routine, sustaining the decision-making, the triaging process…
15 April 2016
Chatbot
User: “Hi chatbot ,whats the weather like today ?lol”
14 April 2016
Las Vegas
A colleague and his partner are there right now, starting their first full day. I was there 24 years ago, didn’t enjoy the daytimes much; it’s a city that’s best viewed in the dark, both literally and of the mindset.
11 April 2016
Autism
As a parent of a lovely girl diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum, and being pretty sure I’m somewhere on it myself I’ve yet another moan coming up.
10 April 2016
Medium
A new place at which I’m posting drivel;
09 April 2016
Undies: A Sequel
The girls and mummy are having a slumber party this evening; pyjamas, sleeping bags, popcorn and, of course an age-appropriate scary movie.
08 April 2016
Undies
In a hurry to leave the house this morning, head befuddled by sleep, I failed in one important detail. Important.
07 April 2016
Dorveille
A metric shed-load, nay airship-hangar-load of people suffer from a life-shortening condition. It’s talked about, occasionally examined in detail, but doesn’t get as big a press as, say, diabetes, cancer, dementia or, the recent fashionable killer, motor neurone disease (ALS.)*
06 April 2016
Biscuits
We have an office custom; on or around one’s birthday one brings along cakes, pastries, biscuits or even better (depending on the significance of the number) and shares with immediate colleagues & all-and-sundry. I’m no different; this year I bought 1kg of shortbread biscuits and placed then at the allotted, er… place.
04 April 2016
Order
There are a lot of things in this life that a good Getting Things Done (GTD) or reminder app will help with when attempting to sustain (or create) a sense or order in one’s life.
03 April 2016
Local politics
The local elections roll around again in a month. I’m hoping that the prospective candidates from the party I’ve voted for all my life will make some form of appearance.
03 April 2016
In Betweeners
Elaborating on (or maybe not, it’s not my place to say) my ‘Between’ post yesterday, @matigo provided some nicely written (as-ever) insights into a modern curse..
02 April 2016
Insurance
Car insurance: I got home today, opened the insurance company letter, and sat. Quickly.
01 April 2016
Between
It would be fair to say that I’m between social networks. I don’t mean I’m not participating, no. I mean that I’m inhabiting the void between those I used to be active in. Ok, ok, I’m bouncing about in either the Venn diagram voids or the overlaps between services. Or both.
31 March 2016
SIM
Last year, amidst a mood of indecision, I decided to move my expired phone contract to the UK’s budget MVNO ‘Giffgaff’. It’s cheap, user-friendly, 4G, and cheap.
29 March 2016
Bugs
“Developing an application is not easy.”
27 March 2016
Stripper
Yes, it’s that time of year again; we’re decorating!
25 March 2016
Invisible
During winter the darker hours bring out the worst in people. I’m not talking about death, mayhem, increased criminality; it’s a simple as a disregard for child and personal safety.
24 March 2016
Steps
A week and a half ago the Sony Lifelog app on my phone announced that I’d passed a milestone: 500,000 recorded steps.
23 March 2016
Stand
Assembling a new, glass-shelved TV stand is very much like making love to, er…
22 March 2016
Rubus cockburnianus
My wife was watching TV earlier; Monty Don, the gardening programme host, mentioned a flower variety and I’m assuming a caption appeared onscreen.
21 March 2016
Sperm
As my youngest daughter started to read one of her homework reading assignment books, ‘Amazing Whales’, I have to admit I struggled mightily attempting descriptions before she got the book’s true facts.
20 March 2016
Jetwash
My girls and wife went out to the craft shop earlier, getting stuff to decorate their Easter bonnets. I jetwashed the patio – this time with the lance rather than the usual brush with rotating jets.
20 March 2016
Stony ground
A variation on a theme; a joke told to my daughters a few minutes ago:
18 March 2016
Slumber
There’s a modern disease I share with a good proportion of the world. There’s not a massive social stigma attached to it these days yet all kinds of crackpot remedies are supposed to help…
18 March 2016
Paralympics
Posting something about the upcoming Rio Olympics yesterday, I asked a question:
16 March 2016
Olympics
It’s nearly 4 years since the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. 4 years. Wow!
15 March 2016
Legacy (apps…)
I made a conscious choice to develop my 10Centuries.org app (10cbazbt3.py) in Python 3.x. Python 3.x was introduced in 2008, 2.x updates ended in 2010; 3.x seemed a logical choice.
13 March 2016
Drink
Right now I feel as if I’ve melted. I’ve been drinking wine; half a bottle of a rather nice Merlot. It’s a ‘Turner Road’ or ‘Turner’s Road’ or something, my vision’s a bit blurry now too. I must also apologise in advance if this post makes more sense than the usual…
13 March 2016
Haircut
The mobile hairdresser paid a visit today. She tidied the girls’ fringes and hair at the back, did something with my wife’s and, rather odd this; dropped a load of greying hair on our kitchen floor after she’d cut mine.
12 March 2016
Documenting
I decided early to add comments to the code I’m putting together for my early-alpha application for the 10Centuries.org social network.
10 March 2016
Plumbers
3 plumbers were asked to quote for work – to replace 2 radiators. Here’s a mercifully shortened tale of woe…
08 March 2016
Mothering Sunday
This Mothering Sunday (aka Mothers Day) we went to church – it was the Brownies’ and Ladybirds’ Flag parades too.
06 March 2016
Snow
It snowed in Rochdale today, and Rochdale ground to a near-halt. My drive to work, a journey that normally takes around 20 minutes, took 2 hours!
04 March 2016
Hello World
print ("Hello World")
03 March 2016
Spacetime
I got married late in the third quarter of 2006, but this isn’t about anniversaries, family, lazing about in a tropical paradise, no; it’s about technology. Again.
29 February 2016
Technology
The mists of time have of course dulled the memory, but it was the early nineteen seventies, was probably a very early, very basic, very Casio pocket calculator (replacing a slide rule) that started me off down the road to…
28 February 2016
Maths
Not maths as such, more precisely pseudomaths:
27 February 2016
Shi(f)t
During November 2015 I decided to start a daily journal – an activity which soon changed into an almost-daily series of blog posts. During the time since I’ve noticed a shift in the way I approach social media. I’m not sure I like it.
26 February 2016
Twentynine
February 29 (Wikipedia) is a date that appears only during years divisible by 4 (with an integer remainder!) – apart from those divisible by 100 (but not 400) no, don’t stop reading…
25 February 2016
Testy2
Finally, we have liftoff! A week-and-a-half in, and I’ve managed to configure a £30 computer andcreate a functional pair of shell scripts to post blithering idiocy to my test site/blog.
24 February 2016
Testy
I’m annoyed that it’s still not working. My blog post build thing.
24 February 2016
Insomnia
I’ve been asleep, honest! Knowing there would be a solution to my Raspberry Pi automation woes I started to search around 2am.
24 February 2016
Engineer
A small number of us wear similar sweaters for work – similar in that they’re self-coloured and pleasantly form-fitting. Ok, in my case it’s because they’ve shrunk in the wash… (but that’s the subject of a previous, uncomfortable-for-me, blog entry here.)
23 February 2016
Anticipation
Apologies for my absence from everywhere social for the last week. I haz bean programin stuf!!!2!¡
23 February 2016
Nerdity
Another short one today; it’s been a ‘nothing’ weekend outside my ongoing Raspberry Pi playtime.
21 February 2016
Git
A short one today. My nearly-week-old Raspberry Pi is now behaving, more-or-less.* Here’s a link to what I wanted to do, what I’ve done, and what I’ve actually accomplished so far.
20 February 2016
Meh
Summary: Meh.
18 February 2016
Uniform
What idiot would design a nurses uniform to make it more stylish, form-fitting, and ignore the fact that 2 separate machine temperature cycles are required to wash it effectively‽
16 February 2016
Ruby
Ruby, I could tear my hair out!!
16 February 2016
Nope
Another summary post, this of a wasted day:
16 February 2016
Raspberry Pi!
Raspberry Pi update. Firstly, and finally, I bought one! The day before Valentine’s Day; the trembling anticipation of using ‘Amazon Prime Now’ proved too strong to resist. The delivery arrived 1-1/2 hours after my finger left the ‘Buy Now’ button!
14 February 2016
Misc
I’ve not blogged for a couple of days, hence this ragtag collection of unconnected thoughts. Incidentally, I’ve set a target of a minimum of 5 a week. Easy. Really, it is.
13 February 2016
NOW!
It’s 8:10pm.*
10 February 2016
Tosser
Daughter 2:
09 February 2016
Super
Another Super Bowl (50, not ‘L’) over, the serious business of me choosing a team begins.
09 February 2016
Sweaters
I have 3 sweaters I wear at work; rotated in an unconscious pattern, washed to an irregular schedule.
08 February 2016
Depleted
Not exactly a perfect storm of events, not by any means; nevertheless, we ran out of:
07 February 2016
Deliveries
I’m sat on the toilet, right now.
06 February 2016
Refill
My Fisher Space Pen leaked; the brand’s legendary status is in jeopardy! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
04 February 2016
Backups
I have a NAS – a network-attached-storage device. Bought to serve photos and video and music to the family and cut our reliance on cloud storage, it has of course failed to live up to its potential.
02 February 2016
Anthropomorphised
If you’ve ever watched a Disney or Pixar film you’ll know that cute little animals, hulking great animals, otherwise-inanimate objects such as teapots and desk lamps, and vehicles, all can occasionally spring to life possessed (I chose the word carefully) with human characteristics.
01 February 2016
Valentine
In a couple of weeks time it’ll be Valentine’s Day. I’ll be buying a card and some flowers for my wife, and maybe even a small gift?
31 January 2016
Bins
My wife had gone to work, I’d sent the girls upstairs to get ready for bed and clean their teeth, the cats and dog were fed. At a temporary loose end, the desire to create another podcast had simply grown too strong; I had to…
29 January 2016
Meta
My grasp of the English language isn’t as wide, deep, or rounded as I’d like it to be. I know lots and lots and lots of words but occasionally some have meanings that elude me. Some long, some complex, some ridiculously short but tricky as…
28 January 2016
Mortality
“Simple life good.”*
27 January 2016
Hawaiian
** Newsflash!! **
26 January 2016
Rule 34
Yesterday I created and posted (if that’s the correct term) my first podcast. (It at least looks and sounds like one.)
25 January 2016
Audio file
No, not a clever play on words, I’m simply linking an audio file to this post. And hoping it works.
24 January 2016
Developing
I may have mentioned my programming days are >30 years in the past? Well they are. It’s not to say I haven’t dabbled in the last few years. Because I have.
23 January 2016
Ruby dog
If you’re not following me on App.net you’re missing out on the occasional post about Ruby – our dog.
22 January 2016
Sock monster
My youngest daughter is a Ladybird (a member of the local Rainbows – pre-Brownies.) Every week her mummy takes her down to the church hall, she participates, and then I collect her at the end of the session.
20 January 2016
Todo list
Where do I start?
18 January 2016
Status
A recent all-too-brief conversation prompted me to think about what defines the success of a social network.
17 January 2016
Pineapple
** Newsflash!! **
16 January 2016
Beans
The story of Jack and the Beanstalk encompasses a great many moral lessons, chief of which is planting magic beans isn’t always the easiest path to riches.
15 January 2016
Holidays
“I don’t want to holiday in the sun
I want to go to the new Belsen
I want to see some history
‘Cause now I got a reasonable economy”
14 January 2016
Broken
A-aaand, just like that, both my blogging and cold toilet seat streaks (see my other blog) are broken.
13 January 2016
Bowie
David Bowie is no longer with us.
11 January 2016
Workflow
Here’s a screenshot of a mind map of my current blog posting workflow:
10 January 2016
Reverie
I’m simply not going to list the deaths of well-known individuals during 2015/early 2016. Each has a place in my past, however small that place is. I have no doubt that all have enriched my life by some variable, though small, amount…
09 January 2016
Ego
I have a new redirect from my vanity domain. The general structure, as of today, is:
08 January 2016
Twitter10k
Twitter seems likely to announce an increase in its post character count, upwards from 140, sometime in the next few months. For many it’ll be a welcome move, especially given that 140 characters is artificially restrictive – a holdover from the time Twitter ran on the back of SMS messaging.
07 January 2016
Cat
We have a dog. Ruby is lovely. Smelly, eats poo, she’s as mad as a box of…
06 January 2016
ADNHackDay
App.net’s @lukasros asked a couple of days ago:
05 January 2016
ThemeMonday 2016 January 11
In a new departure, I’m experimenting with a blog post to call ADN to choose our #ThemeMonday theme for January 2016.
04 January 2016
Layouts
I have a Github Pages test blog, adapted from a repo I found on Github.com. It’s there simply to allow me to figure out how Git & Github work, to refamiliarise myself with basic HTML (and with Jekyll/yaml code), and to extend my very rudimentary knowledge of CSS.
04 January 2016
Blogging
Blogging is simultaneously simple and complex. The simple bit is writing something interesting. Or simply writing. The complex bit is, er… a bit complicated, obviously.
03 January 2016
Hitler
Yesterday I posted this on App.net:
02 January 2016
New
Well here we are; at the time of writing another year has, for a large percentage of the world’s population, already expired. For the rest, the next is only a few weeks away.
01 January 2016
Semicolon
2015 was a year with a lot of downs, and I’ll be glad to see its end. Really. There were of course positives, but overall zero sense of balance.
31 December 2015
Knife
During 2000 I visited the USA on an escorted coach tour. Part-way through we stopped at a tax-free shopping outlet; not a mall but one of those unpreposessing, drab buildings, the exteriors of which belie their contents.
30 December 2015
Git
I have absolutely no desire to learn command-line Git; the available GUI-based tools are more than sufficient for me, and especially that installed on my Android phone.
30 December 2015
SVG
I attempted to create an SVG file suitable for my test blog at bazbt3.github.io (or here if you’re reading it as a test!)
29 December 2015
Wrapping
To be absolutely fair to her, my wife shouldered the burden of wrapping the presents prior to Christmas. Most at least.
28 December 2015
Sales
The seasonal sales have already started. In fact, some have been going on, on-and-off, since the week before Black Friday.
27 December 2015
Pudding
I just now had my Christmas Pudding. It was delicious, laced with brandy and, I think, rum, and covered with single cream – and ‘twas an individual-sized portion.
27 December 2015
Fat
I’ve eaten too much over the last few days. For most in the western, developed world it’s an obvious thing to do at this time of year. Eat to excess, buy to excess, etc.
27 December 2015
Jekyll-Now
My first blog post using jekyll-now repo. Yes, this is indeed a test.
26 December 2015
Hello World!
My second (test) blog post using jekyll-now repo. This may work! Simply deleting the original file and expecting the blog to catch up did not.
26 December 2015
Floods
Not much to say today apart from to mention the local flooding (thankfully not hyperlocal, i.e. not right here.)
26 December 2015
Adventure
Adventure!
For the past few months, on and off, I’ve been running an adventure game – me as the Game Master* and @mlv (App.net) as the lone player.
It started, innocuously-enough, here.
Here’s a recent map.
It’s been fun making it as we go. Some stuff is planned, some off-the-cuff in response to Michael’s responses, some totally spontaneous, and nothing whatsoever that could be termed capricious behaviour on my part.
You know what, it remains fun!Therapeutic, though from/against what I do not know. And I don’t care.
- Hah! If I knew what one was I… Ok, it’s my first time.
15 December 2015
Charitable
How do you explain to someone, without actually explaining, that you will not buy their raffle tickets (all proceeds to local charities, prizes donated by local businesses) because you already gave more than your allocation for the month?
07 December 2015
Paris
Life is complicated. Living it is easy. Put one foot in front of another, breathe in, breathe out, drink, blink, eat, pee, poo, sleep, work, play, laugh, cry. And then it’s over.
14 November 2015
Baz’s Law
The probability that footnotes could be added to a social media post* whilst retaining meaningful content in at least 2 component parts is proportional to the number of available characters per new post but tends towards zero below 256.
Barrie Turner. (@bazbt3)
Version 1.0, 2015-03-09.
09 March 2015
Flasher
I can only now bring myself to talk about it – such is the impact on my family.
On Sunday evening, wearing my trusty grey dressing gown, I flashed Mollie, our female cat.
Swinging dangly bits, hip sways, whatever real flashers do, I did, my wife looking on aghast. Mollie’s normally inscrutable gaze faltered a little before she rolled onto her back, hands clasped cutely at her chest, legs ‘akimbo.’ Cute.
To me it felt liberating.
Giving an added sense of perspective, Mollie is coming up to her 4th birthday – all-but 7 months spent in our home (assuming the dates we were given are appropriate.)
And then it happened.
“You do know you just flashed your daughter,” my wife said.
Ah.
14 February 2015
Lubricant
We have a new liquid handwash. It’s supposed to be scientifically formulated to minimise odours but doesn’t quite get there. Now is not the time to mention the smells I’m…
14 October 2014
Challenging
No. I’m not participating in a public fundraiser. I’m not challenging anyone else to do it, nor am I demanding they forfeit large sums of money if they fail.
A lot of people won’t bother to ask what the Ice Bucket Challenge is for, concentrating merely on the social dimension. A lot will do it and donate to their favourite charity. Most, I hope, will donate to the MND/ALS charity in their region – and have fun doing so.
There’s no sugar-coating this, so here goes.
Me? I’ve painful memories of my dad’s last days to battle with. It’s enough. Ok, so I donated £25 this time round. No fanfare, no fuss, just went online and pressed buttons.
There’s no escaping the simple fact that Motor Neurone Disease is a fatal disease. The odd exception stays around for longer than most but it’s not much of a life.
Nearly twenty eight years after his death in hospital some memories remain undimmed. Not the kind that return on seeing a nearly-forgotten photo. Not those based solely on the photo with no memory of the actual event, no. Powerful stuff.
After the diagnosis my dad knew. And knowing, he gave up, or at least that’s how I remember it. There’s no shame in that, no recriminations from the people he left behind. None.
When your wife and son have to wipe, wash, dry and dress you, when eating becomes difficult, when breathing becomes a strain, the very very worst thing remains – the mind is…
My dad did crossword puzzles when other pastimes became impossible. He did them in his head. Let’s face it, no longer being able to hold a pen can’t be much fun. He’d struggle to make himself understood when we filled the words in but upon completing the grid together the sense of achievement, the triumph, the bright eyes – if only for a moment – gave me an inkling of how important this achievement was.
I also remember the good times – that’s the important thing to remember here.
£25 seems a pitifully small sum of money to give, especially if the current massive outpouring of goodwill advances the understanding of MND/ALS and eases the suffering of those whose lives it destroys.
Please don’t make the mistake of thinking you can have a bucket emptied over your head and then give your money to just any charity – the biggest do not need your money right now. Cancer affects much greater numbers. Fighting cancer is important. Everyone I know has someone in their lives who’s survived, or succumbed to The Big C. Yet…
The effects of natural or man-made disasters are, nowadays, there for all to see – often within a scant few hours of the events happening. Such things are often forgotten a scant few hours or days later – there’s no personal connection thus the average human simply can’t grasp the impact.
More fleeting events such as, oh I don’t know, the continuation of famine and poverty worldwide caused by the diversion of funds away from those who need them most, cause me to stop and think.
Just after the shock of 9/11 I donated money, like many, to the American Red Cross’s appeal. My donation was misplaced. Blood donations had to be destroyed as the existing infrastructure was unable to cope. A vanishingly small percentage of the blood got through to 9/11 victims. Sure it swelled their coffers but…
I failed to donate after Hurricane Katrina wiped out much of e.g. New Orleans. If the richest country in the world cannot look after its own why should I, a man of moderate means living in the UK, even think of doing so?
There’s nothing wrong with donating time or money. There’s nothing wrong with feeling better that you’ve helped by giving money. I’m not going to get into ‘Liking’ or retweeting though – suffice it to say I know people who think pressing a button HELPS!
Right now it’s great that MMD/ALS is, even tenuously, high in the public’s consciousness. Don’t be an arse and say they’re ‘stealing’ from more established causes. Don’t try to justify your charity’s position by saying ‘no-one OWNS #icebucketchallenge.’ Some little person somewhere managed to do something innovative without the benefit of advertising departments and focus groups – and it worked. Just accept it.
There’s nothing wrong with a spur-of-the-moment donation either. On this 9/11 (ok, 11 September 2014) a Manchester, UK dogs home was the victim of a nasty, cowardly arson attack which killed around 60 and caused a massive surge in donations. By lunchtime the day after £622,000 (a cool million US$) had been raised. It easily doubled in the few days following – something that no-one could have predicted.
“Think first, donate later.” It’s how I operate now. I happen to believe it’s the responsible way to approach the thorny issue of wanting to do something good whilst staying within the confines of an ever-shrinking pot after all the bills have been paid.
20 September 2014
School report
I like ‘The Internet.’ I like it a lot. I interact with an at-glacial-pace-decreasing-number of the myriad of services available ‘on’ it as I understand more about what I need from it. It wasn’t always thus but since Q1 1997 I’ve found it to be indispensable.
09 July 2014
Glasses
My eyesight is deteriorating as I age. In the early nineties (last century!) I was short-sighted and experienced headaches whilst driving. Now it’s the long-sightedness of my advancing years.
We get regular eye tests at work but my urge to remedy the sight issue has fallen between the cycles. No problem, I bought my own – these. They have spring-loaded sides which, it has to be said, gave me some initial discomfort. Running boiling water over the sides and gently re-shaping to fit my unique head profile proved a permanent solution.
Now, I think they add an air of sophistication to my otherwise-morose appearance, and the design fits my needs very well. I can read comfortably and, if needs be, look up at my family or the telly without too much re-focus disorientation.
31 May 2014
Voted yesterday
Yesterday, before work, I voted. In the greatest of British traditions I was able to make small talk with one of the sitting councillors (not up for re-election) and wished his candidate every success in the polls. Not that I was voting for the party. That was the easy bit – the area demographic made the result a foregone conclusion.
23 May 2014
Voting tomorrow
We’ve got the local councillor and the European Parliament elections here tomorrow. I’ll be honest and say I’m thinking of voting UKIP. Taking their stated aims at face value and remembering all politicians lie is the key to my decision-making process. I’m all for saving the money currently used to prop up the economies of new entrants to Europe and helping Britain first.
21 May 2014
Hand of shame
I have, like the vast majority of humans and humanoid creatures on this planet, a right hand. I’m naturally left-handed but the right is used frequently. Doors, steering wheel, scissors, shaking others’ hands… though the list is not endless, ‘versatile’ is a fair description
17 May 2014
I Haz Laphroaig
This morning I badly needed a decongestant, so the timing of the gift could not have been more appropriate. Purists (and those who abhor the practise, however infrequent, of drinking alcohol before 10am) look away now…
I had it with hot water, maple syrup (the squeezy bottle of honey had solidified due to lack of recent usage,) sugar and a few drops of lemon juice (yup, Jif, from a bright yellow squeezy plastic bottle.)
23 March 2014
Catharty-ism
My children’s discipline is a constant source of frustration to me. I’ve spent the last few years being consistent in my approach to it, even with the obvious discord it engenders. I’ve honestly thought I’ve being doing the right thing. Apparently not.
14 March 2014
Computer book required
I don’t read enough. I bought 3 novels a few months ago with the intention of making time. Of courseit didn’t work! To help speed things along I’m thinking of narrowing my focus somewhat – to something I’m certain can start this process off. At the dawn of the UK’s home computer revolution I bought a book about computers.
10 March 2014
Not a blogger
I’m not a blogger, not really. Why? I have a blog, I post stuff to it, I have extended periods of time without activity (in the blog and real life.) So, why do I consider myself not a blogger?
05 February 2014
A sense of humour
My oldest daughter is often challenged by her homework – there’s way too much for a 6-year-old, but the school gets good results and we don’t want to rock the boat, at least not just yet. The latest batch has what I presume is an exercise related to imagination.
02 February 2014
Ketchup
A potentially contentious post follows.
02 February 2014
Dads Army mug
Here’s one of my favourite Christmas presents from 2013. On the face of it just an enamelled mug, but to me it’s much, much more than that. There’s a massive amount of symbolism going on here. Drinking from it in the comfort of my comfy armchair and surrounded by the comfort of our modern age I can nevertheless imagine myself transported back it time to…
02 February 2014
Computer assistance required
Why do people ask for assistance with computer problems they haven’t solutions for? That’s an easy one to answer: so they can show off their superior ability.
02 February 2014
Cake as a currency
This post was inspired by a comment from @neilco on the App.net social network:
02 February 2014
Follow
I don’t follow everyone who follows me on App.net (or previously Twitter) for a number of reasons, all selfish. Here are a few:
On the date I’m writing this I follow 73 people on App.net. Sure it’s not a massive number, but it’s enough for now. Some are more prolific than others.
Important to note: I read my timeline daily. All of it. Sometimes it takes more than one day to get through it all.
I skip over some posts of course, but the key thing to remember is I have directed posts (the one side of conversations of people I follow) turned on. It’s a lot of posts.
I used to cite my now-practically-inactive Twitter account as evidence that I’m over-committed on social networks. That’s no longer the case but my reading strategy is unfortunately still based on that network.
So, if a user’s average post count is low I’ll follow.
One day I’ll figure this out but I’m such a nosy sod I reckon it’ll take a while. I hope this helps you understand why I may or may not follow you.
Thankyou for feigning patience!
01 February 2014
Killed
All, ok, most old content is gone. I wasn’t really interested in keeping it. A late spring clean?
Alternatively: Oops!
18 January 2014

Archive

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