Representative ExpresionRepresentative ExpresionA personal weblog that discusses my views on life, engineering careers, humour and anything technical that I find Articles
Madeleine McCann - Distinctive Right Eye Identifying Feature
2007-05-15 00:00:00 I've resisted posting about the abduction of Made leine McCann because the whole subject chills me to the bone. I'm a 6'4", 17st ex-Royal Navy, ex-Rugby playing 'built like the preverbal outhouse' kinda guy, but every news report I hear or see about Madeleine cuts right through to my core and has me looking to see where my own 3 children are. No one can comprehend what the whole family are going through. If Madeleine has one ounce of the strength and character of her parents, she'll get through this. Anyway, I happened across this information today and it could be an important identifying feature. Send these images to everywhere you can think of. Ping every social book marking service you can think of. Link to the images below, or the images at the Sky News link below. We want a copy of these images in every persons inbox and on every persons web site. Madeleine has a distinctive right eye where the pupil runs into the blue-green iris. Pi... More About: Feature , Right , Adele
Masterseek: Why Google for anything less?
2007-05-13 00:00:00 When you search any popular search engine, the results are varied, cluttered and full of results that you generally have no interest in. Master seek is a business to business search engine. Basically it's a yellow pages of nearly all the business links and information that you would ever need or want. It's global too, so you are not restricted to a specific country. To that effect, it has a nifty little search for quick searches, and a simple to use Advanced search when you really know what you are looking for, but just don't know where to find it. To quote from their website Masters eek® Business Search Engine Masterseek?s global search engine provides quick and free access to company profiles, contact information, and descriptions of products and services from more than 45 million companies in 75 countries.You can also search in your own country or worldwide and find business partners, sales opportunities and new avenues to expand your bus... More About: Google , Less , Thing
Get Paid to Blog?
2007-05-12 00:00:00 function submitIframeBlog Id933OppId4(linkId){docum ent.getElementById("IframeBloggerwaveBlog Id933OppId4").src="http://www.bloggerwave .com/ClickTrack.aspx?OpportunityId=4&Blog Id=933&LinkId=" + linkId}; Is it real this time? Can you really get paid for blogging? No, I don't mean, you sign up and post on someone else's blog and they pretend to pay you in shares or something. Or, no, I don't mean you join 1000's of other mugs who sign up and basically provide the parent sites content (which they then sell on at 100x what they paid you, or they rake in bucket loads of PPC revenue). I mean you get paid to blog about what you choose to blog about on your own blog. If you are going to write something on your blog anyway, what is the harm in checking on Bloggerwave, seeing if your topic is on there and getting paid a few pennies anyway. Even if its a miserable $10, that's double what you probably (should) be paying for your monthly web hosting costs.&nbs... More About: Paid , Get Paid To
Knockoff Goods, Replica Purses? Legal or Immoral?
2007-05-06 00:00:00 I was just about to send out a task to the guy that writes articles for me today when at the last moment I thought I would check out the web site requested.Basically the job description said something along the lines of : Ashleysboutique.com sells inspired by handbags of Louis Vuitton, Coach, Prada, Gucci, etc. Our target market is USA fashion conscious women. Fair do's said I. Should be simple for them to complete.But then visiting the web site I notice that they sell Replica Purses , Knockoff Handbags, Knockoff Wrist Bands and much much more. I didn't realize that inspired in the job description actually mean 'knockoff' or 'replica'. Now 'knocked off' in the UK means stolen, but these goods don't appear to be stolen. Now admittedly, they do not hide this fact. And since the site is based is hosted in Canada, perhaps these are legal copies of the originals and what the site is doing is legal too. When you compare the prices of the goods at Ashleysbo... More About: Goods , Legal , Good
Kent UK 4.7mag Earthquake: Did the earth move for you?
2007-04-28 00:00:00 Switched on BBC News24 this morning to find there had been a 4.7mag earthquake near Ashford in Kent . It appears from the USGS that it was just off the coast of Hythe, near Folkstone.4.7 is a tadge stronger than most UK tremors, but still nothing to get overly worked up about.It is pretty close to the Channel Tunnel though, so I wonder if they will be making checks to make sure all is Ok. It's only 40-50mils from my parents house and they don't remember feeling anything (I spoke to them 20mins after the event), and it appears the tremors moved in a few directions only. (The South Downs probably insulated them from any tremors since that lies in between them). Details can be found here USGS Earth quake Details Magnitude 4.7 Date-Time Saturday, April 28, 2007 at 07:18:11 (UTC)= Coordinated Universal Time Saturday, April 28, 2007 at 8:18:11 AM = local time at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 51.024°N, 1.030°E Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location pro... More About: Move
Freedom Of Information (Amendment) Bill
2007-04-27 00:00:00 Should Ministers be exempt from the FoI bill?I don't think so. In fact, they should introduce a "Lack Of Freedom " bill just for ministers in which every single second of their 'work' life is open to public scrutiny.If you take Public Office then you were put their by the public and therefore you should be accountable to the public. Yet another petition at the UK Petitions website, but this time it makes sense. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/foiparliament Visit the site above and add your weight to a very important petition. We'll have Ministers doing a "pleading the 5th" before too long. In fact, if this Bill ever gets passed into law, they should just go the whole hog and introduce the US Constitution. Freedom of information The FOI gives you the right to ask any public body for all the information they have on any subject you choose. Also, unless there?s a good reason, the organisation must provide the information within a month. You can also ... More About: Information , Amendment , Informa , Freedom of Information
Mini Moke for Sale
2007-04-26 00:00:00 If you are looking for a Mini Moke for sale right now, then go visit http://www.grenyer.talktalk.net/. They have one there that looks in great shape, good history and some great photo's, and all of that for £6,500. Can't be bad. Email peter.g ;renyer 0;gmail. 3;om for more details or visit the Mini Moke for sale web site.(Even if you don't want to buy a Moke, go have a look just to check out some great pictures of fine looking Mini Moke. More About: For Sale , Sale
Wi-Fi Theft
2007-04-26 00:00:00 Two people have been cautioned for using people's wi-fi broadband internet connections without permission. Neighbours in Redditch, Worcestershire, contacted police on Saturday after seeing a man inside a car using a laptop while parked outside a house. He was arrested and cautioned. A woman was arrested in similar circumstances in the town earlier this month. From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/herefo rd/worcs/... There are those who would argue that leaving your broadband connection open for others to share is harmless. Providing you have locked down access to machines on your internal network, what is wrong with giving away bandwidth that you are not using? Some argue that drive-by users who enter illegal porn sites, or send massive amounts of spam would be hard to trace and that the owner of the network would held liable for any actions by these free loaders. Wi-Fi Planet - Securing your Wi-Fi Connection intelligentedu - 5 Simple Steps to Securing your Wi-Fi Net... More About: Theft
Can you really get something for free?
2007-04-26 00:00:00 I've never been a fan of dating sites. Mainly because I've been married for 17 years and I don't even think the web had evolved back then to support such a concept. (There might have been the odd relationship formed over the old BB net). But one of my old work colleagues from the US has just emailed me to say she is dating a guy she met via the JustSayHi web site. I have seen a few sites in the past, mainly mentioned in some spammy mail that I've been larting.But after she had emailed me to tell me about her experience I thought I'd take a peek at this relatively new dating site. Unlike the others I had seen in the past, this one doesn't appear to be a cover for some sleazy sex site. For a start, membership is free. Absolutely free. To quote them: The features are as a good as any paid dating site yet it is really 100% free. No credit card is ever required. We think a REAL good free dating site needs to exist and we built it. Being an old fuddy duddy,... More About: Free , Real , Something , Thing , Really
Lewis Hamilton leading the F1 World Standings
2007-04-26 00:00:00 Well ok, he is actually in a three-way tie with Alonso and Raikkonen, but still it's news that has surprised the public, but not those in the F1 community. Many knew he had the skill, but didn't expect McLaren to have the car to go with it. But he also made history today in Bahrain when he became the most successful new (rookie) driver in F1 history. No doubt the bubble has to burst soon, but still, he shows a lot of promise for the future and deserves all the praise that will be afforded to him when he and the rest of his team arrive back after 7 weeks 'on the road'. A British driver leasing the World standings? Surely not... Formula One FIA More About: Lewis , Milton , Hamilton , Leading
bassabids - a new concept in online auctions
2007-04-26 00:00:00 I happened across bassabids the other day in an industry news letter and nearly dismissed it.But I read something that caught my eye.The lowest unique bid wins the auction. To quote from their web site: The "lowest unique bidder" is the person who has bid the lowest amount that no other person has bid. When two people place the same bid, that number is no longer unique. When a person has a unique bid but there are others that are lower, then it's not the lowest. To win any of bassabids online auctions, you must be the one with the lowest AND unique bid at the auction end - the "lowest unique bid" There is also a much better explanation of the ' lowest unique bid' process on their site. There are a number of free auctions and even the paid ones are only £1.50.They are also developing an SMS bidding system which should be released in the near future. Katie Batterman from USA recently won an IPOD Shuffle for £0.10 (see their List of current winners). At the moment the site is... More About: Online , Bass , Line , Once , Concept
How to test your New Hires
2007-04-26 00:00:00 1. Put 400 bricks in a closed room.2. Put your new hires in the room and close the door.3. Leave them alone and come back after 6 hours.4. Then analyze the situation: a. If they are counting the bricks, put them in the accounting department.b. If they are recounting them, put them in auditing.c. If they have messed up the whole place with the bricks, put them in engineering.d. If they are arranging the bricks in some strange order, put them in planning.e. If they are throwing the bricks at each other, put them in operations.f. If they are sleeping, put them in security.g. If they have broken the bricks into pieces, put them in information technology.h. If they are sitting idle, put them in human resources.i. If they say they have tried different combinations, they are looking for more, yet not a brick has been moved, put them in sales.j. If they have already left for the day, put them in marketing.k. If they are staring out of the window, put them in strategic planning.l. If they ar... More About: Test
Blogging Code of Conduct
2007-04-26 00:00:00 There has been a lot of talk recently about the possible need for a "Blogg ing Code of Conduct" and there have been a number of events in the media recently highlighting bad behaviour by some people towards others. (The recent incidents with Kathy Sierra come to mind). I was quoted in a BBC article a few days ago and a San Francisco Chronicle article on Thursday calling for a "Blogger's Code of Conduct" in response to the firestorm that has arisen as a result of Kathy Sierra's revelation that she's been targeted by a series of increasingly violent and disturbing anonymous comments on her blog and on a series of weblogs that appeared to have been created for the purpose of celebrating cyber-bullying. Tim O'Reilly - First Discussion on Blogging Code of Conduct We've drafted a code of conduct that will eventually be posted on bloggingcode.org, and created a badge that sites can display if they want to link to that code of conduct. Draft Blogging Code of Conduct And th...
Genocide Prevention Mapping Initiative
2007-04-26 00:00:00 The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has joined with Google in an unprecedented online mapping initiative. Crisis in Darfur enables more than 200 million Google Earth users worldwide to visualize and better understand the genocide currently unfolding in Darfur, Sudan. The Museum has assembled content?photographs, data, and eyewitness testimony?from a number of sources that are brought together for the first time in Google Earth.Crisis in Darfur is the first project of the Museum?s Genocide Prevention Mapping Initiative that will over time include information on potential genocides allowing citizens, governments, and institutions to access information on atrocities in their nascent stages and respond."Educating today?s generation about the atrocities of the past and present can be enhanced by technologies such as Google Earth. When it comes to responding to genocide, the world?s record is terrible. We hope this important initiative with Google will make it that much harder for... More About: Ping , Vent
Super Discounts? Coupons? Vouchers?
2007-04-26 00:00:00 Now mention coupons in the UK and you get looked at like some pauper wanting a freeby or a handout. But not many people realize how much you can save with them and without having to pay a month fee to do so.(For example, all nurses get given coupon books with their union membership, but most just throw it away without a second glance, and some of the deals are amazing...So go marry a nurse.. I did ;) ) Add to that many people in the UK don't bother with a store club card (like your Tesco's card), or if they do, they hardly every get round to spending any points that they accrue on them. But in the US, I was given a link to the Coupon Chief site and at first dismissed it as per usual (being a Brit Expat). That was until he told me how much he has just saved on a brand new PC he'd bought from Dell with a discount coupon he had obtained from Coupon Chief. Well my mate has just rung me to say that he was just about to spend a fortune at Bed Bath and Beyond, and remember the C... More About: Super , Coupons , Discounts , Cher , Hers
It's getting warmer. Get those fans going...
2007-04-26 00:00:00 In my US house when I first moved to Fort Worth, we had the air conditioning set to 70 degrees or there about. Being around 100 degrees outside and upon arrival of our first $500 electric bill for the month, the thermostat was quickly set to 82 degrees. But with the temperature set that high it didn't feel too comfortable at times, mainly because of the humidity. A colleague of mine suggested fitting ceiling fans which at first I didn't think would help at all. I used Farrey's as they have a great online catalog to choose a couple of ceiling fans for the main living room. The benefits were immediately obvious since despite the the thermostat still being set at 82 degrees you get a cooling effect from the fan which effectively drops the temperature to the low 70's. After two months of lower electricity bills I decided to fit fans into all of the other rooms, so choosing the right fans was important. Farrey's have a great system to for selecting, configu... More About: Fans , Those , Hose , Going , Goin
Moving From the Old Blogger to Blogger2 (Beta)
2007-04-26 00:00:00 Getting the 'Move your account to Use the new Blogg er ' message. It is that time! You log into your blogger account and you get the dreaded message. Time to move to the new blogger (the old beta). You can go to your dashboard, but you get one more chance of doing that and then you 'have' to move over. (click on any of the images in this article to see the full size version in a new window). So you get the message, what next? Do you go ahead and agree to the terms of service and hit continue? Well let me first say, I've not heard of anyone losing a blog because of a move over from the 'old blogger' to the 'new blogger'. I've heard of and helped out a few people who have managed to trash their blogs by playing around with the new settings without realizing what they were doing. But all in all, the process works well (now..). A few weeks back a good friend of mine (Sally from The ChicAlert), was also apprehensive about ... More About: Beta , Moving , Logger
Something Good Comes out of Ikea
2007-04-26 00:00:00 Zachary built a very nice looking electric guitar top from a $15 Ikea end table. He says he can build three tops from one end table. This is one of the most interesting guitars I ever built and it is also one of the best. The action is great, the tone is unbelievable, the neck is super fast, tuning stability is as good as it gets. In short, everything just worked out great on this guitar. This amazingly figured top is from Ikea Furnishings. I bought one of their unfinished end tables for $15 and I can get three guitar tops from it. What a shame that they would use such amazing "tone-wood" for their cheap furniture. Its a sacrilege. From: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/02/21/1500 _electric... Not a bad idea, especially when you think for $15 he gets 3 guitar tops from a single table. It's made me think about popping to Ikea next time I need some wood for a project. The wood in B&Q is extortionate. Reminds of when I was living (for 3 years) in Texas. I ... More About: Come , Good , Something , Thing
PM Emails Road Pricing Signatories - (Tony's Response from Number 10)
2007-04-26 00:00:00 Road Pricing Response Well like millions of other brits who had signed the petition (and who had given a valid email address {now to be added to the MI5/6 list of 'people to keep an eye on department'}), I received my reply from Tony Blair. 21 February 2007 Tony Blair has written a reply to more than 1.7 million people who signed a petition on the Downing Street website against road pricing. The petition, created by Peter Roberts from Shropshire, has been by far the most popular on our e-petitions site since it was launched last November. In his reply, the PM sets out the government's views on national road pricing, stressing that no decision has yet been made. Mr Blair says he sees the petition and his email as "the beginning, not the end" of the debate. Read the full response on the 10 Downing Street Webiste. Good or Bad Response? Well to be honest, I think it was quite a good reply. (And don't even think for one minute I am a Blair fan). After all, the thing t... More About: Numb , Tories , Nato , Emails , Sign
Tick Tock Tick Tock?
2007-04-26 00:00:00 The Tick Tock Project - Launch What do people like the following celebrities, friends and foes, sports stars and world leaders all have in common? Then ask yourself what you may have in common with them! The main purpose of the project has not been released yet, but there is a teaser at the site right now, so I won't go and spoil the fun by telling you all about it. I'll let you all go visit it and see if you can work out what it's all about.
The Thrifty Scot
More articles from this author:2007-04-26 00:00:00 I was looking for UK based websites offering details on 0% transfers on credit cards and the site title caught my attention, and since it's run by a Scot, it's bound to have some great advice. It has a wealth of information on all things financial based. as well as the credit card info I was after. Their section on Credit Cards transfers not only has advice but the latest news from the industry as well. Whilst I was there I also noticed they had information on Loans, Debt Management and Bad Credit Remortgages (which I won't need just yet, but will do if people don't start paying me!!). So if you want advice on spending, saving and debt. Are you a spendthrift? or do you horde your money?Then I would check out their website. Has some great information for a change rather than trying to 'just' sell you something. That site just saved me hundreds of pounds in interest and all it cost me was 30mins of my time in reading the available offers and then heading off and completing... 1, 2, 3 |
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