tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70153712009-07-09T17:27:28.425+01:00It's a play on words, see? "Coded" as in written like a computer program, or "coded" as in only understandable to certain parties.Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-34226127164554969902009-07-09T17:19:00.003+01:002009-07-09T17:27:18.852+01:00

It was tremendously fab.We had a horror journey there (12 hours on the coach) and so had to put the tent up in the dark when there wasn't much room left, but that was soon forgotten.We ate Fish'n'Chips, Green Chicken Curry, Pommes de Terres d'Or, proper Sausages, bacon roll with rocket, fruit salad, Yeo Ice Cream and Yoghurt, tempura and noodles, organic jacket potatoes, never the same thing

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-23023326305595542692009-06-06T12:12:00.006+01:002009-06-06T12:38:00.490+01:00

This time, the people of Willingham, Over and Longstanton didn't vote for a representative on Cambridgeshire County Council.Despite the political cloud hanging over Shona after her brief tenure as leader of the council, she managed to convince 63% of the electorate to stay at home.Actual details:CandidatePartyVotesCharlie WilsonLabour185Rob FallaLibdem888Shona JohnstoneTory1485Lazy Bastards4448

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-3255705507719051142009-05-06T21:35:00.005+01:002009-05-06T22:06:17.235+01:00

We went to Mike's BBQ on Star Wars Bank Holiday Monday and had a very pleasant time. We particularly enjoyed watching all the other guests run around after their small-to-medium sized children, whilst we just reminisced about how that used to be for us.I was chastised for not updating this blog, but that's only by and compared to Mike - and he's obsessive. Or rather, he used to be; it's gone a

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-66494619828940485832009-03-17T22:18:00.001Z2009-03-17T22:19:33.554Z

A cute player card showing what I've been up to on the Playstation 3.

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-21419646387213605212009-01-23T21:34:00.002Z2009-01-23T21:43:52.953Z

The observant may have noticed the new book widget - I was too lazy to update the hand-crafted Javascript version (and nobody used my Amazon Affiliates links to buy a single book), so I have out-sourced my book reading list maintenance to Good Reads.Also, I did get a reply to my complaint at the BBC - but as it was privately sent to me I don't feel I can publish it. It was very bland, and as

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-56685508907039458232008-11-04T14:48:00.002Z2008-11-04T14:51:06.788Z

Finally found out how to complain to the BBC - there's a section on their website.I would like to complain about the cancellation of one of the few BBC programmes which I (used to) watch every week, particularly this episode which was to have featured The Killers. I don't listen to Russell Brand's Radio 2 show, and I don't read the Mail on Sunday, so I am completely unconcerned about the

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-39780630181571497512008-09-19T10:07:00.003+01:002008-09-19T10:13:22.295+01:00

This should prove interesting.The Pope himself, when asked to put in a word with his boss for the failing Italian airline Alitalia, replied, "I have been praying for you for some time." [news]Now, if god listens to anybody, surely his infallible representative on earth must have the best chance. So when Alitalia goes bust, as it inevitably will, there will be indisputable proof that prayer

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-6272244372744711912008-05-07T21:53:00.004+01:002008-05-07T22:09:32.721+01:00

"Cannabis is a class B drug".The only message it gives me is that politicians are weak, the leaders are completely in hock to the tabloid press, and that the Labour party is getting close to being as bad as the Tories*. The very fact that stupid posh git Cameron agrees with it should be proof enough that it's the wrong thing to do. Gordon Brown is ignoring the considered opinion of an

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-85937800060361433972008-05-02T12:39:00.005+01:002008-05-02T13:23:19.916+01:00

Once more, the people who stayed at home won by a landslide, followed by a tsunami, followed by an earthquake.Actual details:CandidatePartyVotesNorman CrowtherLabour107Leslie GellingLibdem445Ray ManningTory1109Lazy Bastards3385

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-47824152516682716132008-03-29T09:45:00.004Z2008-03-31T15:37:01.354+01:00

In bed this morning I listened to last week's Archers. Not particularly technological, until you consider how I got to hear it.We couldn't manage the omnibus last weekend (we had visitors), so I downloaded the podcasts via iTunes to the PC. The PC is running TVersity, which is a DLNA/uPNP Media Server. This means that clients on our home network can see music, photos and videos on the PC.One such

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-22502417851117853382008-03-01T21:53:00.002Z2008-03-01T22:11:05.973Z

Saturday morning: I was sat at home alone when I spotted the usual smartly dressed family groups wandering up and down the street carrying briefcases. Hooray! Religious nutters coming to call. I really enjoy talking to these poor people and trying to shine the light of reason into their deluded minds.A young lad was standing by the door, waiting for his partner to arrive. I girded my loins whilst

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-52643359895090135762008-02-25T19:05:00.002Z2008-02-25T19:15:58.374Z

She's set off on her round the world trip. Here's a link to a Google Maps page which shows where she'll be. If you have Google Earth, you can look directly at the KMZ file.And if she gets time to update it, you can read her travel blog. There's an entry she made this morning to at least start you off.

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-87692781490494260622007-12-21T13:20:00.001Z2007-12-21T13:36:01.587Z

It can't be a lot of fun, working for a recruitment agency. However, it says very little for their chances of success pushing candidates if they can't recruit decent staff themselves. I am on the mailing list of a company called JAM and they send me the most appalling emails. I received two in two days, and I'm now compelled to share them:Here at JAM we specialise heavily within our market sector

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-8445106263760456452007-12-07T09:45:00.000Z2007-12-07T10:03:37.813Z

A first for this blog! I really like the new Chart API announced by Google which lets you do this:simply by coding up a URL with parameters. Insert it as an image, and Google will send back the chart in PNG format. That pie was made with the following ingredients:http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=p&chs=300x120&chf=bg,s,fff2cc&chtt=Willingham+Elections+2007&chd=t:66,16,9,7,2&chl=Lazy+Bastards

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-6230555479350025392007-10-15T20:53:00.000+01:002007-10-15T22:14:27.479+01:00

I've been very lax. Busy, but that's no excuse. My excuse is that I wanted to do pictorial fancy reportage of stuff, but that is too burdensome and so to catch up all in one requires a Christmas Round Robin style holiday bragging session, but at least the slideshow is optional.A promise to take Wen's parents to catch the Eurostar ended up with us spending the weekend in Paris.Then we continued at

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-67845267780205137472007-07-27T12:01:00.001+01:002007-07-27T12:43:45.135+01:00

Andrew Lansley MP was visiting a neighbour of ours, so they put a marquee up on the lawn.Later they decided to have the reception indoors, because of the wind - a good decision, as the marquee got away! The tree stopped it hitting any buildings. And after everyone (un-)pitched in (including the MP), it was made safe. Only the tree was damaged.There was an official photographer watching us take it

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-7935624517035933402007-07-22T19:09:00.001+01:002007-07-22T19:09:55.810+01:00

Phew! Finished it, so now no-one can tell me who dies and who doesn't. What a relief.

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-73579393840298032612007-07-19T09:40:00.001+01:002009-06-06T12:11:34.398+01:00

Finally I get around to mentioning it, and finally I went to it. Prompted by this cute embedded Flickr file viewer.

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-56804887156531407692007-06-11T14:23:00.000+01:002007-06-11T15:01:25.639+01:00

At first it made me angry, both at the Church of England for complaining and the BBC for running the story without checking any of the facts:- the Bishop says "hundreds of people are gunned down in the cathedral"You shoot aliens. Most of them are giant scorpion-like leapers. You don't even shoot hundreds of them.- "gun culture" is being promoted to "kids"The game has a 15 certificate. No kids

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-90339917689964418722007-05-18T08:21:00.000+01:002007-05-18T08:34:37.629+01:00

I order stuff off the interweb all the time. If it fits through the letterbox - DVDs, CDs, games - then I get it sent home. Everything else I have delivered to work and generally that used to work out fine. Almost all my Christmas shopping last year was subcontracted by Santa via the office.Since we moved a little closer to Cambridge from the wild fenlands, however, the delivery times have

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-76923214360303990482007-04-24T09:57:00.000+01:002007-04-24T10:16:06.506+01:00

So, the man on the radio was probably nervous. (Who wouldn't be, interviewed on "Today" on Radio 4, which by necessity means you've been untimely ripped from your bed.) It did sound like something he'd rehearsed, but probably not something he'd listened to. Still, I'd like to think he wishes he hadn't said it now:"It's always wrong to generalize about anything."Thanks to the power of the BBC's

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-23057250492651754072007-03-18T19:28:00.001Z2007-03-18T19:53:27.536Z

Tool and Pipe Originally uploaded by DerekL. ..today I are one.It started when Robyn noticed something growing on her bathroom ceiling. Closer inspection revealed an excessive amount of damp.Up into the loft I went, and the insulation under the cold pipe to the shower was completely wet through, as was the plasterboard ceiling. I couldn't see anything on the pipe though, so I mopped up.Next

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-80682838143517248852007-02-27T19:50:00.001Z2007-02-27T19:59:18.405Z

You probably know about Digg and the Digg Effect, which is slightly similar to being "slashdotted".Thankfully, that hasn't happened to me, but I was brushed by it. Today I read a Digg article about a "hollow screen" image - the trick of putting an image on a screen which makes it appear that the screen is transparent. It's on flickr, and it's quite a good picture, and one of the comments on that

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-36490746814694233942007-02-17T17:21:00.000Z2007-02-17T17:28:48.552Z

Bit of work still needed on the VirginMedia website, judging by this "Advanced" link: http://www.virginmedia.com/toolsservices/webspace/advanced (Click on the image to see what it did look like in case they have now fixed it.)

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7015371.post-32334055853653763082007-01-25T10:27:00.000Z2007-01-25T10:38:34.865Z

I don't normally comment on comment - although isn't that what Blogs are for? Many years ago I used to write a topical "Phrase Of The Day" on the whiteboard at Harlequin and even kept a list of them on one of the first web pages I ever wrote (sadly internal only in those days, and location currently unknown).But..The front page of the Guardian yesterday (which I only read today, rural paper

Derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519406107690917652noreply@blogger.com0