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Recent Comments

• Cybez on One's too many an' a hundred's not enough
• Nelly on One's too many an' a hundred's not enough
• adele on And the sky was made black with unescaped entities
• adele on And the sky was made black with unescaped entities
• sharon on Fifteens
• Nelly on Mother is it just a waste of time?
• Stephen on Mother is it just a waste of time?

links to other people's sites

Recommended Viewing

• 300†
  Does exactly what it says on the (comic book) tin. Loved it.
• Little Miss Sunshine†
  Very funny, disturbing (the beauty pageant) and completely messed up -- but in a good way.
• Laputa: Castle in the Sky†
  Story great, characterization a little on the weak side -- though the big robots are cool.
• Porco Rosso†
  Stylish, funny, exciting.
• Grave of the Fireflies†
  Very sad, which was a little unexpected since I didn't know much about it before watching it. Can be a little too slow in places though, otherwise it's very good.
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind†
  The story can get a little dense at times what with the various factions, but still really enjoyable, inventive and engaging.
• X-Men: The Last Stand†
  Opportunity, talent, money - all blown. Over 3 films X-Men has hinted of something great that could have been, this last one says "No, sorry - not going to happen". Bah.

flickr.com

Just a quick note

When I put up my MPH banner I was totally convinced that that would indeed Make Poverty History. Like right then. Ed has shown me the error of my ways though. Yay for Ed.

1 CommentsJune 30, 2005

GVim

One of the many (many) benefits of having worked for BlackStar back in the day is that I learned a great deal of good stuff (keeping in touch with those people has meant I still do). One part of that good stuff is Vim.

Vim is great, once you get used to it editing files is so much easier than on editors which depend on a mouse for simple things like searching. JB pointed out that Vim is also available on Windows Hurrah! So, some pointers for my own benefit:

To set the font type of your choosing first select the font from the ‘Edit > Select font…’ menu dialog, then, in your gvim window type :echo &guifont - what you get here add into you _vimrc file like so:

set guifont=Courier_New:h8:cANSI

The part after the = is the result that was echoed back in the last step.

To set the colour scheme:

source $VIMRUNTIME/colors/darkblue.vim

Where darkblue.vim is the file that correlates to the ‘darkblue’ option in the ‘Edit > Colour Scheme’ dropdown.

1 CommentsJune 30, 2005

Selected notes from the amateur horticulturist's diary

1. The ground under the highest hedge is always uneven.
2. Putting the strimmer over the bee’s nest is not a good idea.
3. It’s a powerful year for nettles.
4. While the person using the strimmer might be adequately protected, your shorts are no match for the flying debris.
5. What in the name of goodness is that!?
6. No-one should ever be impatient while sharpening a scyth.
7. The sting off that nettle probably couldn’t bring down a bull elephant, but all the same…

1 CommentsJune 25, 2005

Nelly's Meme vrs Vanilla Ice Cream

So my random book (and I do hope I’m not the person ramming opinions down people’s throats, if I am, I’m sorry), which isn’t very random because sitting here at my desk you have 3 choices, religion, technical or poetry - I try not to offend people with the first one here at all, the second would have bored you so that leaves the third. So, at random, ‘Poems on the Underground’ and opening at any page we have…

A 14-Year-Old Convalescent Cat in Winter

I want him to have another living summer,
to lie in the sun and enjoy the douceur de vivre —
because the sun, like golden rum in a rummer,
is what makes an idle cat un tout petit peu ivre —

I want him to lie stretched out, contented,
revelling in the heat, his fur all dry and warm,
an Old Age Pensioner, retired, resented
by no one, and happinesses in a beelike swarm

to settle on him - postponed for another season
that last fated hateful journey to the vet
from which there is no return (and age the reason),
which must come soon - as I cannot forget.

Gavin Ewart (1916-95)

(I included the whole poem for completeness, this goes against Nelly’s instruction slighty but I rarely do as I’m told.)

The words then: cat, summer, contented, journey, age.

Cat: Some cats I like, some cats I don’t. Generally as a group I find them duplicitous and wonder what plans they have for me. I have formed the opinion these plans are not good.

Summer: I do love the summer. Summer is a time for laying on the grass and watching clouds go by. Summer is great. In my opinion there is no season quite like summer. (But winter has it’s charms and vies equally for my attention.)

Contented: There are some parts of my life, namely those that happen during week days in the 9-5 slot, where all I want is this word. It’s my opinion that this shouldn’t be so difficult.

Journey: It has been too long since I last journeyed. Too long. I have South America and China at the top of the list. Everyone should journey at least twice, even if it’s only to the adjoining field.

Age: I am strongly of the opinion that everyone should have a right to a minimum amount of this.

4 CommentsJune 25, 2005

Make Poverty History

I’ll be honest, I was stuck for a response to Joanne and Ed’s sneering at the Make Poverty History campaign. I took my banner down intially because it felt like the best option, I didn’t want to upset their white middle-class sensibilities. Then, after some research it struck me. Get a bigger banner. And now I feel much better.

15 CommentsJune 19, 2005

iTunes and Messenger

If you use MSN Messenger and iTunes and want people to see what you’re playing all you have to do is use Messenger version 7 and enable the Tools > General > ‘Open Messenger main window when Messenger starts’ option. Then exit, restart Messenger and turn on “What I’m Listening To” below your name and online status and your contacts will be able to see what you’re listening to on iTunes.

1 CommentsJune 19, 2005

Donaghadoo

That’s our lifeboat!

Luke the Lifeboat is … set in and around the small seaside community of Donaghadoo, a magical place where things are …different.

You’re dead right they are different.

0 CommentsJune 18, 2005

Dreamhost: The Greatest Hosting Company in the World

DreamHost now supports FastCGI. Not only that but Rails is pre-installed. This has just made my week.

Dreamhost run Debian, Debian rules. Dreamhost are friendly, friendliness rules. Dreamhost are knowledgable, knowledgableness rules. And so on, and so on until you sign up for an account!

0 CommentsJune 18, 2005

A Digital Picture of Britain

The pregnant one says I should enter some of my photos into the Help build a digital picture of Britain thing the BBC are doing. Pregnant ladies wishes, suggestions or telepathic messages should never be refused (sort of how it works with non-pregnant ladies as far as I can see, though this is more of an accepted wisdom among males).

Anyway, we can submit 25 photos, each photo must be of a different subject and they’ll all be in the Northen Ireland section, so, which photos should I submit?

3 CommentsJune 12, 2005

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

— Dylan Thomas

1 CommentsJune 11, 2005

The only living boy in New York

Hey let your honesty shine, shine, shine…

Jack and Jill went up the hill, to fetch a pale of water. Jack looked down at the his little old town and Jill she asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Jill” said Jack, turning to look at the girl he had loved since he was a boy “It doesn’t feel like home to me no more.”
Jill gave a frown and let her hair tumble down, “Jack” said Jill, “Wherever you go I’ll follow, my heart’s with you”.

0 CommentsJune 10, 2005

Half of the time we're gone but we don't know where

I watched Garden State tonight and loved it, even though it made me sad that I don’t have a Natalie Portman to stand in the rain with. And so I’ve ditched the 3 recent songs thing on the sidebar and replaced it with 5 recent movies I’ve watched and liked or thought I should mention for some reason. I even made wee stars. I’ll leave the music appreciation to those who know more and I’ll stick to movies (not that I know any more about movies, but I enjoy movies more).

Feel free to comment on any movie posts, just click on the teeny weeny † beside the title.

Oh, and Garden State rules.

1 CommentsJune 7, 2005

Infernal Affairs

What a great movie. Brilliant story telling, cinematography, acting, sound track - oh I really wish I’d seen this in the cinema.
I read with interest that Martin Scorsese is directing a remake called The Departed starring Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson, I dunno, I don’t hold much hope for that I haven’t really liked much Scorsese has done recently. Well, no, I did like Bringing Out The Dead I have to say, but Gangs of New York was a crime against celluloid.

Anyway, Infernal Affairs, go see.

2 CommentsJune 3, 2005

The Girlfriend Criteria

Must have pulse. ( SWM has an addendum to this: “If no pulse latent heat will do.”)

And there it ends. Short post. ( cf. Boyfriend Criteria )

9 CommentsJune 2, 2005