Well, I’ve actually been back for a couple of days, but I had better things to do with my time than write blog entries. The Lake District was wonderful. It was the first time I had been there. This was a great time of year to go – the weather was good (well, certainly better… Continue reading Back Home
Month: December 2005
Gone Away
In a couple of hours we’re off to the Lake District to stay in a small cottage in the middle of nowhere for a week. I won’t have a internet connection so I won’t be blogging or answering email until the 28th at the earliest. Whatever form your solstice celebrations take, I hope you have… Continue reading Gone Away
Cold Calls
I’ve started to get cold calls from phone dealerships offering me free upgrades for my mobile phone. Currently I’m getting two or three of them a week. The pattern is always the same. They claim to be calling from an “Orange dealership”[1] and ask if I’m happy with my current phone. When I ask where… Continue reading Cold Calls
Java? It’s So Nineties
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve had a “Java is dying” post. But it seems that the idea is really starting to take hold. There’s a story in Business Week this week which covers much of the same ground as we’ve seen before. Previously I’ve only seen this kind of analysis in media aimed… Continue reading Java? It’s So Nineties
Basic Bulk Email
People seemed interested in my recent post about basic password handling so I thought I’d write another similar post. This time we’ll look at another example of basic customer interaction that so many people get wrong – sending bulk email. Note that I’m not a lawyer, so this doesn’t cover any of the legal stuff… Continue reading Basic Bulk Email
In Dire Straits
I spent most of the 1980s living in various shared houses. One of the effects of this is that there are large holes in my record collection as I wouldn’t bother buying music that someone else in the house owned. Sometimes I can’t remember which albums I own. Sometimes I’m surprised by albums that I… Continue reading In Dire Straits
Musical Parody
I like a good musical parody. Note the word “good” in there. I’m not talking about the Barron Knights here[1], but I enjoy listening to The King covering Nirvana in the style of Elvis Presley or Frank Bennett covering Radiohead’s “Creep”. So there’s one level on which I should have enjoyed the busker in Tottenham… Continue reading Musical Parody
Book Review: XML Hacks
Another book review. This time it’s XML Hacks. O’Reilly’s Hacks books are great and this one is no exception.
More Ranting
And whilst we’re on the subject of political rants, much applause to Harold Pinter for his acceptance speech at the Nobel prizegiving ceremony. I particularly enjoyed the speech that he suggested George Bush should use. God is good. God is great. God is good. My God is good. Bin Laden’s God is bad. His is… Continue reading More Ranting
Maggie and Me
I was sorry to read that Maggie Thatcher had spent the night in hospital. To clarify, what I mean is that I was sorry to read that scarce medical resources had been wasted on that nasty old witch. Oh, I know it’s fashionable these days to grudgingly admit that “she was actually pretty good” or… Continue reading Maggie and Me