I understand that English is a changing language. I appreciate and approve of the fact that we no longer speak the same language as Chaucer, Shakespeare or even Dickens. But some of the “English” used in comments on this site depress me a lot. It seems there is a large and growing subsection of British… Continue reading English As She Is Spoke
Month: August 2005
Dave’s First Law of Information
I’m proposing a new law which I’m calling “Dave’s First Law of Information”. It goes like this: Information expands to more than fill the amount of time allocated to deal with it A few years ago I had a small number of web sites that I’d visit regularly in order to keep up to date… Continue reading Dave’s First Law of Information
Dell Customer Service
Not only do Dell have a terrible web site but it seems they’re also in the running for the worst customer service that I’ve seen for some time. When I ordered my new computer on Tuesday there were four special offers listed for the model I bought. They were double the amount of memory you… Continue reading Dell Customer Service
Dell Web Site
To an extent, the problems with the Trainline and Ticketmaster web sites that I’ve mentioned before could be excused because… well because they’re non-technical companies and they don’t know any better. Of course, it’s easy to argue that they should be employing technical people who do know better, but still… But over the last couple… Continue reading Dell Web Site
Bill Hicks
I don’t mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel… but I am, so it comes out that way I’ve just finished reading Bill Hicks: Love All The People and that’s the quote that has really stuck with me. I’m seriously considering using it as the tagline for this blog. But then Nik would steal my… Continue reading Bill Hicks
Best of Flickr
This is the kind of thing that makes me think I should stop pretending that I know anything about taking decent photographs.
New Social Networking Site
O’Reilly have launched their new social networking site Connection. I seem to spend a lot of my time recreating my social network on whatever is the current trendy social networking site. In the last couple of years I’ve been on Ecademy, Orkut, Friendster, LinkedIn and probably a few more that I’ve forgotten. Anyway, I’ve signed… Continue reading New Social Networking Site
Confusing Web Pages
Another little rant about the usability of web pages. We’re planning a weekend away visiting friends in the West Country (I know, I should make sure my passport is up to date) and we’re going to travel by train – leaving on Friday evening and returning on Sunday afternoon. So I decided to book tickets… Continue reading Confusing Web Pages
How Not To Phish
If you’re planning to embark on a phishing attack, here’s a little tip – get your text checked by a native English speaker. Here’s the text of an email I just got. IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION Since 1968 National Westminister Bank is serving its clients with the most reliable service. In Banking the most important part is… Continue reading How Not To Phish
Cambridge Folk Festival
Strange how your priorities change. Ten years ago I’d never have missed the Cambridge Folk Festival. This year I didn’t even register that it was happening. The BBC review makes it sound like it was a lot of fun. And maybe I did subconsciously realise that it was taking place as I’ve been listening to… Continue reading Cambridge Folk Festival