tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37075512024-03-23T19:26:06.120+01:00Inside The Blue Talent TriangleTech, Life, Links n' Stuff.Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.comBlogger349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1146043326534434232006-04-26T10:20:00.000+01:002006-04-26T10:22:06.546+01:00I've moved!If you are reading this, then you must have subscribed to my Blogspot site via RSS or email or divine audience or something..
I have now left Blogger for Wordpress and you can find my new blog at http://taoskiblog.wordpress.com.
You can also get the new RSS feed at http://taoskiblog.wordpress.com/feed
See you there!Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1145875171523628592006-04-24T11:30:00.000+01:002006-04-24T15:22:21.933+01:00Anti Lurker Week<a href="http://static.flickr.com/54/134084480_cb77cb3e97_o.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://static.flickr.com/54/134084480_cb77cb3e97_o.jpg" border="0" /></a>I know there are lots of "lurkers" who read my blog but never leave comments or feedback. Of course you are more than welcome to come, read and go - but the idea behind blogging is about sharing, discussion and feedback.
So...
<ul><li>Say hello or ask me a question.</li><li>Tell me you hate it or that you love it.</li><li>What would you like more of?</li><li>Should I buy <a href="http://www.taoskiblog.com">www.taoskiblog.com</a> and move there and dump Blogger all together?</li></ul>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1145632012797797902006-04-21T16:02:00.000+01:002006-04-21T16:06:52.800+01:00Open For business<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/taoski/131868637/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/1/131868637_9b9e0727f3.jpg" alt="controller" height="350" width="500" /></a>
</div>
Some of you may have seen that picture on here recently.
Sorry for the confusion. This blog is NOT closed and will continue to operate normally under my usual mis-management.
And no, Robert... it's not a Butterfly! It's a hacked image I did on Illustrator, of an XBox360 controller. Tsk.Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1145298216293013462006-04-17T19:23:00.000+01:002006-04-18T14:26:18.473+01:00Easter Weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/dons.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/320/dons.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Had a great Easter weekend over the last four days.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday:</span>
Went to the <a href="http://www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk/">Cotswold Wildlife Park</a> with the wife and kids. We went with Mr and Mrs <a href="http://swimpig.blogspot.com">Swimpig</a> and their daughter too. A very nice day out all in all and ended off with some late night card playing and Jack Daniels drinking fun. As usual, Mr Swimpig won.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday:</span>
It was the mother-in-laws birthday, so we were over at her house for dinner. The kids got to play easter egg hunting in the garden, so we have again got a cupboard full of chocolate eggs, chocolate bars and assorted chocolate bunny shaped sweets. And all that after we just threw away the eggs that never got eaten from over two years ago!
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunday:</span>
Had a lazy day around the house and then went for a dog walk with friends through the local fields. Very nice.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday:</span>
Went to my first ever football match to watch the <a href="http://www.mkdons.premiumtv.co.uk/">MK Dons</a> beat Hartlepool 2-1 at the <a href="http://www.mkdons.premiumtv.co.uk/page/SeatingPlan/0,,10420,00.html">Milton Keynes National Hockey Stadium</a>. My eldest son took part in a <a href="http://www.askmk.com/mkdons/">Football In The Community</a> scheme where the MK Dons came to his school to teach them football skills. As part of a fund raising Penalty Shoot-out competition, we got a free pass for one adult and one child. I then bought two more tickets so that the wife and my other son could come too.
It was quite exciting being in the crowd and we only just won after trickling a shot off the post about 4 minutes before the final whistle. As you may know, I am a seasoned FIFA player on my XBox, so it was nice to see the real thing for a change. There was only a few times when I got confused and thought I would watch the replay of the goal again... only to find I was pressing the head of the bloke sitting in front of me instead of the start button...
Hartlepool were certainly the best side and at times The Dons were quite comical, falling over the ball and passing straight to the other team. Some decisions did not go their way though after Hartlepool scored by barging the goalie down after he had grabbed the ball and vollying the shot in.
I did enjoy it though and might go to the next, and last, home game later this month.
Anyone else up for that?
Report: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/4907068.stm">BBC SPORT | Football | League One | MK Dons 2-1 Hartlepool</a>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Tuesday:</span>
Back to work on the push bike. <a href="http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2006/04/15/425311.aspx">Microsoft Patch issues</a> ahoy! Great...
<span class="technoratitag">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/mk+dons" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for mk dons">mk dons</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/easter" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for easter">easter</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/football" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for football">football</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/hartlepool" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for hartlepool">hartlepool</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/walk" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for walk">walk</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/eggs" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for eggs">eggs</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/chocolate" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for chocolate">chocolate</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/jack+daniels" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for jack daniels">jack daniels</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/cards" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for cards">cards</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/dog" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for dog">dog</a></span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144920857382931382006-04-13T10:34:00.000+01:002006-04-13T10:34:17.383+01:00Google CalendarAs per a wish in my recent gripes about <a href="http://taoski.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_taoski_archive.html">Whats Missing From Gmail</a>, the <a href="http://www.google.com/calendar/render">Google Calendar</a> has now been released!
Shame it still does not appear to be bolted into Gmail though...Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144856536973777202006-04-12T16:16:00.000+01:002006-04-12T17:25:50.846+01:00April 06 A-ListIts about time of the year that I did another A-List. A detail of my favorite software that I am installing/using these days. It's probably not going to be much different from the <a href="http://taoski.blogspot.com/2005/04/torrents-and-tribulations.html">previous list</a>, but here goes...
<span style="font-weight: bold;">OS:</span>
Windows XP Media Center editon with Office 2003.
Installed this version of Windows so I could stream video to my Xbox 360.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Virus/Spyware:</span>
I have ditched the Symantec AntiVirus 10 and the Giant Anti Spyware (now known as Microsoft Defender) and am using <a href="http://www.zonelabs.com/store/application?namespace=zls_catalog&origin=catalog_main.jsp&event=link.skuList&dc=12bms&amp;ctry=GB&lang=en&lid=ho_zass">ZoneAlarm Security Suite</a>. Since having this installed I have had nothing unusual turn up on the PC, only cookies. Even with Symantec and Giant installed before, if I ran a scan it always found something, but ZoneAlarm seems excellent! Plus with the ZoneAlarm firewall built in you can't go wrong.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Browser:</span>
Firefox, firefox, firefox!!! <a href="http://www.getfirefox.com">Get it!</a> This is a no-brainer really. Since using this my spyware infections have literally dropped off the planet. I have also installed the <a href="http://fasterfox.mozdev.org/">FasterFox extension</a> which makes it even faster! I also have the <a href="http://chrispederick.com/work/webdeveloper/">Web Developer Toolbar</a> installed into Firefox which makes checking and testing CSS changes in my blog all the easier. It also makes me into a god when helping people over at the <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/blogger-help?lnk=li">Blogger Help Group</a>.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Torrent Sites:</span>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.demonoid.com">Demonoid</a></li><li><a href="http://www.mininova.org">Mininova</a></li><li><a href="http://www.isohunt.com">ISOHunt</a></li></ul>I still use torrents frequently and they are the three sites that I use most often.
I have started using <a href="http://www.utorrent.com">uTorrent</a> to download torrent files as I found that the webs most popular torrent client, <a href="http://azureus.sourceforge.net/">Azureus</a> was big, bloated, built from Java and made my router hang all the time (<a href="http://sourceforge.net/awards/cca/">despite its numerous awards</a>) . uTorrent is small, runs from a folder with no installation needed and is fast! I have also found that on my 2mb ADSL line, if I limit my upload to 18kbps on each torrent, the download speed goes up like a rocket (seeds pending out course). I am thinking of doing a basic "uTorrent users guide" soon - so watch this space.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">P2P Apps:</span>
None.
Yep - thats right - none!
I have given up on using these. The last time I was bothering, <a href="http://www.warez.com">Warez</a> was still my favorite but now that the torrents have really picked up and downloading stuff does not seem so important any more, I have stopped using it.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bookmarks:</span>
Some new bookmarks that I go to each day are the <a href="http://del.icio.us/popular">Del.icio.us popular</a> links, my <a href="http://www.bloglines.com">Bloglines</a> subscriptions and the <a href="http://www.digg.com">Digg.com</a> homepage. There is always something new and amazing on there to look at over lunch. I have started using Del.icio.us more to store <a href="http://del.icio.us/taoski">my bookmarks</a> now. With Firefox's Live Bookmarks feature, they are available immediately regardless of if I am at home or work.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Recap:</span>
Away Goal:
<span style="font-style: italic;">ZoneAlarm, uTorrent, Del.icio.us, Digg, Torrents</span>
Own Goal:
<span style="font-style: italic;">Symantec, Giant Antispyware, P2P apps, Azureus</span>
<span class="technoratitag">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/a-list" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for a-list">a-list</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/symantec" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for symantec">symantec</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/zonelabs" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for zonelabs">zonelabs</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/zonealarm" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for zonealarm">zonealarm</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/spyware" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for spyware">spyware</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/virus" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for virus">virus</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/microsoft" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for microsoft">microsoft</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/defender" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for defender">defender</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/bittorrent" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for bittorrent">bittorrent</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/utorrent" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for utorrent">utorrent</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/azureus" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for azureus">azureus</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/firefox" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for firefox">firefox</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/media+center" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for media center">media center</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/fasterfox" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for fasterfox">fasterfox</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/delicious" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for delicious">delicious</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/bloglines" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for bloglines">bloglines</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/digg" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for digg">digg</a></span><br /><span class="sociallinks">Add to: | <a href="http://technorati.com/faves?add=http%3A%2F%2Ftaoski%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2006%2F04%2Fapril%2D06%2Dlist%2Ehtml" target="_blank">Technorati</a> | <a href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftaoski%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2006%2F04%2Fapril%2D06%2Dlist%2Ehtml" target="_blank">Digg</a> | <a href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftaoski%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2006%2F04%2Fapril%2D06%2Dlist%2Ehtml;title=April%20A%20List" target="_blank">del.icio.us</a> | </span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144854673631305382006-04-12T16:11:00.000+01:002006-04-12T17:26:57.633+01:00iSwitchI was just reading my RSS feeds at Bloglines and noticed this one via Gizmodo. <a href="http://makemeswitch.blogspot.com/">Help me become a switcher!</a>
Basically, a bloke in the US wants people to donate money to him to get an iMac worth over $2000!
Now thats a cool idea.
Shame <a href="http://want2switch.blogspot.com">my version</a> of the same thing, that I started back in Janurary 2005 did'nt get any attention from anyone!
The US may be the most powerful country in the world, but it's also graced with the loudest and laziest people. A message to my fellow "would be switcher"...
<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><blockquote>GET A FUCKING JOB YOU LAZY GIT!
Flipping burgers for minimum wage makes more sense!</blockquote>
</span>
Maybe I should revive my idea and start a rival blog to see who wins first? Nah.. too lazy.
<span class="technoratitag">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/apple" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for apple">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/mac" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for mac">mac</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/imac" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for imac">imac</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/switcher" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for switcher">switcher</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/paypal" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for paypal">paypal</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/donate" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for donate">donate</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/blog" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for blog">blog</a></span><br /><span class="sociallinks">Add to: | <a href="http://technorati.com/faves?add=http%3A%2F%2Ftaoski%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2006%2F04%2Fiswitch%2Ehtml" target="_blank">Technorati</a> | <a href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftaoski%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2006%2F04%2Fiswitch%2Ehtml" target="_blank">Digg</a> | <a href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftaoski%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2006%2F04%2Fiswitch%2Ehtml;title=iSwitch" target="_blank">del.icio.us</a> | </span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144672490856850602006-04-10T13:26:00.000+01:002006-04-10T15:56:25.126+01:00NildramDoes anyone have any experioence with <a href="http://www.nildram.net">Nildram</a> as an ISP?
I am still with <a href="http://www.aol.co.uk">AOL</a> who I went with after moving house and having to cancel my <a href="http://www.btinternet.com">BT Internet</a> account. Instead of just moving the service from one house to another, they insist that you cancel your account and then re-apply at the new house! Even though the previous owner of my new property was also with BT Internet!
Also, at the time, AOL were (pretty much) the only provider with no download limits, which BT were just bringing into force. My "downloading" action is no way near as bad as it used to be though. Nildram offer <a href="http://broadband.nildram.net/view_products.php?group=broadband2">up-to 8mb broadband</a> with a 50gb per month download limit. I think it should be enough for what I need I suppose.
Although, my mate has a ratio on torrent site where his upload is over 1 Terrabyte! His download amount is something pretty scary too! Might see what ISP he is with. Can't remember off hand although I set it up for him.
So. Any experience with Nildram , let me know. Or can you recommend a good ISP that won't release the dogs on me if I decide to download more that 1mb a month?
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<span class="sociallinks">Add to: <a href="http://technorati.com/faves?add=http%3A%2F%2Ftaoski%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2006%2F04%2Fnildram%2Ehtml" target="_blank">Technorati</a> <a href="http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftaoski%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2006%2F04%2Fnildram%2Ehtml" target="_blank">Digg</a> <a href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftaoski%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F2006%2F04%2Fnildram%2Ehtml;title=Nildram" target="_blank">del.icio.us</a> </span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144586967074333632006-04-09T13:49:00.000+01:002006-04-10T17:45:22.480+01:00In the bank!It was another of the <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article356660.ece">annual horse killing events</a> yesterday, otherwise known as the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/4891344.stm">Grand National</a>. We did a family sweepstake and all put a pound in and got 4 horse each, drawn at random from a hat.
We also all put in real bets at the local betting office. Just a few pounds here and there.
Luckily, after my horse <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/4892214.stm">Numbersixvalverde won</a>, I netted the £20 family sweepstake and my wife won £24 from her £2 bet at 11/1 odds.
Sweet.
Now, what shall I spend my £20 on? Any ideas?
<span class="technoratitag">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/grand+national" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for grand national">grand national</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/horse+racing" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for horse racing">horse racing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/horses" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for horses">horses</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/numbersixvalverde" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for numbersixvalverde">numbersixvalverde</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/betting" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for betting">betting</a>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">EDIT:</span> Just went and got FIFA06 for my 360 from the Birmingham branch of <a href="http://www.cex.co.uk">CEX</a>. Only £28 second hand!
</span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144421875635827672006-04-07T15:29:00.000+01:002006-04-07T15:57:55.696+01:00Xtrememac Airplay<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/Xtrememac-Airplay-big.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/320/Xtrememac-Airplay-big.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>When I was in New York, I purchased a <a href="http://www.xtrememac.com/audio/wireless/airplay.php">XtremeMac Airplay</a> FM transmitter for my iPod and have been using it in my car to and from work each day.
The thing is tiny and the quality is pretty good - although I have doubts as to wether the signal is in stereoscopic sound or not. When I shuffle to some Beatles tracks, that should tell me. There is also some background hum and hiss from interferance which gets worse when its raining. The signal is better when plugged into my nipple. Well... what I mean is - when it's in my shirt pocket and my metal endo-skeleton is acting as a signal conductor. It also makes me look quite "star trek" when changing tracks - but makes me look all "cheap porn nipple caressing" when increasing the volume!
Generally the product is very good and I am impressed with it. I was even more suprised to find that ipod ubersite, <a href="http://www.ilounge.com">iLounge</a> gave it an <a href="http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/xtrememac-airplay-fm-transmitter-ipod/">A marking</a> and said that it was even better that the iTrip, which was the device I had been planning to get. I decided to get the Airplay as I was also purchasing an XBox360 Play-n-charge kit from the same shop and it seemed to be the best option at the time.
The Airplay's frequency can be manually changed in .2 increments between 88 and 109FM so you can quite easily override everyone who is listening to Radio1 on the way to work with some techno from the likes of the Plump DJs. I was even able to broadcast "Dare" by Gorillaz from downstairs in my home, over the top of my sons radio whilst he was listening to Classic FM (100.3FM) at bedtime. Having <a href="http://eur.news1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/wenn/shaunryder2306.jpg">Shaun Ryder</a> in your dreams is not good for a six year old's mind.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">My advice:</span> get it!
Oh.. hold on.. it's illegal in the UK. Sorry Officer...
And yes, <a href="http://DriverChris.blogspot.com">DriverChris</a>, you can have that "POS" Belkin back next time I see you.
<span class="technoratitag">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/ipod" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for ipod">ipod</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/airplay" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for airplay">airplay</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/fm" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for fm">fm</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/apple" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for apple">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/nipple" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for nipple">nipple</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/star+trek" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for star trek">star trek</a></span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144416372299196582006-04-07T14:26:00.000+01:002006-04-07T14:30:54.930+01:00Keyword SearchingJust stumbled upon <a href="http://www.timeatlas.com/mos/5_Minute_Tips">this site</a> after I was assisting a customer with their word document that had inherited "selective" spellchecking on some parts of the file - but not others.
The site contains a series of "5 minute productivity tips". I expected it to be full of "teamworking, networking and corporate bitch making" skills but I found the <a href="http://www.timeatlas.com/mos/5_Minute_Tips/General/Searching_with_Firefox_Keywords/">Searching with Firefox Keywords</a> tip and was plesantly suprised!
I thought I used most of the nice Firefox stuff like <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/livebookmarks.html">Live Bookmarks</a> and the "<a href="http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/tabs.html">Open In Tabs</a>" stuff - but this <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> cool.
When searching at a site (such as Google) you can right-click the box you put the search text into and then click "Add a keyword for this search". You will then be prompted to put in a bookmark for the page and a keyword too. Put in the keyword "g" for Google for example.
Once it has been saved, you can then type "g taoski" into the Firefox address bar and it will immediately search <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=taoski&start=0&amp;amp;ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8">Google for Taoski</a>.
You can also add keywords to <span style="font-style: italic;">any </span>bookmark you have stored so you could just type g and press Enter to take you direct to Google too!
So now, I can quickly search through that <a href="http://www.HomeMadePornTorrents.com">HomeMadePornTorrents</a> site I have access to.
<span class="technoratitag">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/firefox" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for firefox">firefox</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/bookmark" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for bookmark">bookmark</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/google" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for google">google</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/taoski" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for taoski">taoski</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/word" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for word">word</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/spellcheck" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for spellcheck">spellcheck</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/tabs" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for tabs">tabs</a></span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144249445637368502006-04-05T16:04:00.000+01:002006-04-05T16:18:10.350+01:00Boot Camp<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/systemmanager20060405.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/400/systemmanager20060405.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Now <a href="http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/">this</a> is pretty serious stuff.
Everyone knows (well - you should by now) that Apple recently made the switch to Intel chips in their hardware. There have been plenty of people out there that have searched for and managed to get Windows XP running on the "MacTel" boxes - although quite a bit of messing was needed to get it working.
Today, Apple have released the beta of Boot Camp which allows you to install XP for it to co-exist with your OS-X installation!
<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP without moving your Mac data, though you will need to bring your own copy to the table, as Apple Computer does not sell or support Microsoft Windows.</span><sup style="font-style: italic;">(1)</sup><span style="font-style: italic;"> Boot Camp will burn a CD of all the required drivers for Windows so you don't have to scrounge around the Internet looking for them.
</span><span style="font-style: italic;">Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC. That means it'll be subject to the same attacks that plague the Windows world. So be sure to keep it updated with the latest Microsoft Windows security fixes.</span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>
W00t! This is going to cause quite a few ripples in the computing world!
I don't expect it would take too long for someone to get a mac just to run XP (or Vista) but then switch to OS-X because "it works!". Smart move Mr Jobs. I salute you!
There's probably not much that I could do on XP that I could'nt do on OS-X too.
Awww.. I wanna new PC.Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144246125015751682006-04-05T14:03:00.000+01:002006-04-05T15:08:45.103+01:00WTF?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/dispair.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/400/dispair.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Why is it, that I work on an iT Helpline - but get jobs passed to me to fix that are raised by other members of the iT Helpline regarding silly issues with their PCs?
I'm sure that if I qualified as a car mechanic I would take my car to the local repair shop each time it needed a bulb changing or petrol putting in.
I dispair.....Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144165460854387742006-04-04T16:44:00.000+01:002006-04-04T16:48:23.553+01:00Purves Welcome<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/prod_20478.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/320/prod_20478.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><blockquote>The Grass armchair is self assembled, each pack contains 14 corrugated cardboard frames and 100g pack of grass seeds. You will need about 240 litres of soil, to fill in the frame. First find the right spot, because once the armchair has grown you won't be able to move it!! You can put up to 20cm of gravel with in the frame then the soil. Spread the seeds evenly using only 4/5 of the bag of seeds. Press them in and water slightly so that the soil is humid. Water the armchair everyday. If it rains cover the armchair until grass has grown, to avoid the chair becoming waterlogged. After 10 days the grass starts to grow. If the grass has not grown evenly use the rest of the seeds to even it out. Once the grass has reached 10cm, cut it to 3cm, and keep it to this height. Now you can sit back and relax!</blockquote><a href="http://www.purves.co.uk/index.html?6/ASMbT8PDkAxPJ50LYkI7hDieMyU/XoJWIVZE6d+5k9bOdsE9h0vFfxlmui4BSjuhvbg2W4Kg0kkH1ypfHVNQ==">Purves and Purves</a>
Just saw this mentioned over at <a href="http://www.Gizmodo.com">Gizmodo</a> and thought it was cool!
And how much for some bits of oddly shaped cardboard and a packet of grass seeds? £65 - thats how much. I'm off to the skip at the back of the local supermarket to get mine started.Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144164717793220392006-04-04T16:19:00.000+01:002006-04-04T16:31:57.806+01:00Busy busy busy!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/RTEmagicC_home_sandwich.gif.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/400/RTEmagicC_home_sandwich.gif.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Phew! Had a real busy day here at work today.
I cycled to work again through the icy cold wind this morning and even managed to make it out at lunchtime for a quick ride too.
Well... a ride up to Subway for a foot-long Veggie Max sub! W00t!
I have noticed after just two days of cycling, that when I get to work, although I feel all sweaty and my lungs are insanely burning in a sea of my own mucus, I feel so much more awake and ready to do stuff!
It's cool.
The wife's out at her Salsa class tonight, so I get to spend a little more quality time with my Xbox, PC and 360 - before I sell them all!! HA ha ha ha.... (evil laugh).
<a href="http://swimpig.blogspot.com">Swimpig</a> promises to make an appearance too at some point. Maybe he wants his arab strap back?Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1144097705043285462006-04-03T21:36:00.000+01:002006-04-03T22:02:25.026+01:00Three Six oh?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/sony-psp-white.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/400/sony-psp-white.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I am quite close to making somewhat of a decision.
Now that I have been paid and the overdraft is slightly smaller after maxing it in New York, it's time to think about subscribing for a years worth of XBOX Live and getting a new game for my 360.
However - what game to get is one question... But - "do I want to" is the most important one!
Now don't get me wrong. I love my 360 (like a bruvver! burp) but hardly ever play on it. At present my "gaming time" is spent either fitting in a quick game of Fifa 2006 on my old Xbox after the wife has gone to bed or snatching a few games of the same title on my Gameboy Advance SP (while I crap). The 360 sits redundant beneath my TV.
The most I have used it for recently is to stream our New York photos to from my Media Centre PC.
<ul><li>Maybe it was a rash decision to buy it?</li><li>Maybe I should have got a PSP like I was thinking?</li><li>Maybe I'm just having a "downer" on it at the moment?</li></ul>
Who knows. I certainly don't. But a PSP from eBay with a few games and a memory stick would not set me back too much. And I'm sure someone would have my 360 off me to counter act the spend.
<span class="technoratitag">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/xbox" rel="tag">xbox</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/xbox+360" rel="tag">xbox 360</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sony" rel="tag">sony</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/sony+psp" rel="tag">sony psp</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/psp" rel="tag">psp</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/fifa" rel="tag">fifa</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/fifa+2006" rel="tag">fifa 2006</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gba" rel="tag">gba</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/gameboy" rel="tag">gameboy</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/new+york" rel="tag">new york</a></span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1143989316825018732006-04-02T15:35:00.000+01:002006-04-03T22:01:12.583+01:00TRON? TR-OFF!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/240px-Tron_Lightcycles.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/400/240px-Tron_Lightcycles.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I managed to get a copy of TRON from... er... somewhere and it's a great copy in widescreen too!
I attempted to convert it to DVD using <a href="http://www.dvdsanta.com/">DVD Santa</a> and got an "Unsupported video stream" error. <a href="http://www.roxio.com">Roxio 8</a> also decides to give me a cryptic "unspecified error" plus a load of hex to go with it! Fecking computers!
So, it appears that the format of the file is one of those odd DivX ones that refuses to convert without a lot of hassle. I also downloaded <a href="http://www.vso-software.fr/">DivXtoDVD</a> too (after reading a few good things about it) and after converting and burning which took about 2 hours, the quality of the DVD is jumpy and the audio is about 3 seconds ahead of the video!
Good job i've still got my old, modded XBox to watch it on over the network.
On a side note, I have decided to post at least once per day this month in an attempt to kick start my blogging again. I failed yesterday though already! I was discussing a possible "april fools day" post with <a href="http://swimpig.blogspot.com">Swimpig</a> over breakfast yesterday but nothing came of it.
<span class="technoratitag">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/divx" rel="tag">divx, </a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/dvdsanta" rel="tag">dvdsanta, </a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/divxtodvd" rel="tag">divxtodvd, </a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/tron" rel="tag">tron, </a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/dvd" rel="tag">dvd, </a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/convert" rel="tag">convert, </a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/blog" rel="tag">blog, </a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/roxio" rel="tag">roxio, </a> <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/xbox" rel="tag">xbox, </a></span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1143797447932748772006-03-31T10:30:00.000+01:002006-03-31T10:41:56.010+01:00TRON<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/tron.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/320/tron.jpg" border="0" /></a><em>This is the story of two worlds and the beings who inhabit them. One of these is our world, the one we can see and feel. The world of the 'Users'.</em>
<em></em>
<em>It lies on our side of the video screen.
The other, an electronic micro-civilization, lives and breathes just beyond our grasp. This is the world of the 'Programs'.</em>
<em></em>
<em>Because we, the Users, have created this new world, part of us lives there, too...
<strong>ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCREEN</strong></em>
<strong></strong>
I'm off to find this film this weekend!Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1143067540745012222006-03-22T23:09:00.000+01:002006-03-22T23:50:04.693+01:00Questions, Questions...I see I have 2 questions in the comments of my <a href="http://taoski.blogspot.com/2006/03/airwalk-rip.html">previous post</a> from fellow Blogger users regarding template design.
So, rather than respond in the comments, here are the answers:
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Question from </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/19090714">GVM</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">:</span>
<blockquote style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> You seem to be a blogger expert, even a very friendly one, would it be a problem to ask you the following ?
- how do you adjust the size of the letters in the side bar, esp. the text in the About Me profile ?
- where can one find the "search this site" button ?</blockquote>
To change this, you need to find the following line in your CSS code at the top of your template:
<span style="font-family:courier new;">#profile-container { }</span>
And change it to the following to make the font the same size as the main post body text:
<span style="font-family:courier new;">#profile-container {font-size:90%;}</span>
Make sure you do a full blog republish and if you don't see the changes immediately, press CTRL+F5 to force a full refresh of your page.
The "search this site" button is actually built into the Blogger NavBar you see at the top of the blog. It just called "Search this blog" instead. The only problem with this is that it does not always pick up searches for new posts immediately. I had some posts that were over 3 weeks old that did'nt appear when I searched, but eventually they were indexed and it worked ok.
You can always try <a href="http://www.google.com/services/free.html">Google Sitesearch</a> too.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Question from </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/10470903">Tarun</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">:</span>
<blockquote style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Different background for different posts intersting.tell me how to do it.</blockquote>
Well. That sounded more of a curt instruction really Tarun! But here's the answer.
To do this, you will need to use some Javascript code which sequentially adds 1 to a variable or takes it away for each post and then assigns a CSS property to the post depending on the value.
<style> and </style>First, you need to add the following lines to the CSS style area of your template. This is usually at the top of the template code, and will be enclosed between the </style> and </style> tags.
<span style="font-family:courier new;">div.post-even { background-color : #F5F5F5; padding: 5px 15px; }</span>
<span style="font-family:courier new;">div.post-odd { padding: 5px 15px; }</span>
Then, on the line just before the <span style="font-family:courier new;"><Blogger></span> tag, I inserted some Javascript to zero the variable we would use.
<span style="font-family:courier new;"><script type="text/javascript">var evenodd = 0</script></span>
And on the line just after the <span style="font-family:courier new;"><Blogger></span> tag, I inserted some more Javascript that determines if the variable "<span style="font-family:courier new;">evenodd</span>" is 0 or 1 and applies the relevant CSS DIV to the post.
<span style="font-family:courier new;"><script type="text/javascript">if(evenodd == 0) {document.write('<div class="post-even">');var evenodd = 1;} else if(evenodd == 1) {document.write('<div class="post-odd">');var evenodd = 0;}</script></span>
And that's it!
I actually made mine a little more complex by adding a gradient image to the bottom of the post in the CSS bit:
<span style="font-family:courier new;">div.post-even {background-color : #F5F5F5;</span>
<span style="font-family:courier new;"> padding: 5px 15px;</span>
<span style="font-family:courier new;"> background: #F5F5F5 url(http://static.flickr.com/39/81719143_e19cdc7865_o.jpg) bottom left no-repeat;}</span>
Hope this has been some help to you both. I am in the first stages of a new "project" that will encompass many similar requests - so watch this space.Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1142947343110412542006-03-21T14:06:00.000+01:002006-03-21T14:40:11.106+01:00Airwalk: RIP<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/taoski/115745973/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/46/115745973_32edd9c8d8_m.jpg" alt="Picture 264" align="right" height="180" width="240" /></a>Yesterday, I finally laid to rest my pair of Airwalk trainers.
We have been together for over 10 years!
During that time, my Airwalk and I have been through many changes, challenges and events:
<ul><li>Worn on many skateboarding days.</li><li>Learned to drive in them.</li><li>Cycled to work in them.</li><li>Ran three miles in them, three times a week.</li><li>Worn on my Honeymoon.</li><li>Worn at the birth of both of my children.</li><li>Worn when I taught my Newphews to Skateboard.</li><li>Worn on holiday in St Lucia, Dublin, France, USA.</li><li>Worn to the top of the Empire State Building.</li><li>Worn into the deepest, darkest caves in Cheddar Gorge.</li></ul>
I will miss them as all I have to wear now are my bright white NIKE running shoes.
Farewell my friends... we were good together.Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1142891955307095752006-03-20T22:29:00.000+01:002006-03-20T23:58:03.273+01:00Neiw Yoirk Repoirt - Part 2<img src="http://static.flickr.com/35/115509251_2f833aea06_m.jpg" align="left" /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Hey! I'm walkin' here!"</span>
As promised in my <a href="http://taoski.blogspot.com/2006/03/neiw-yoirk-repoit-part-1.html">earlier New York report</a>, here is the details of where we went, what we saw and what we thought.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Empire State Building</span>
This was totally excellent! If you walked left out of our Hotel to the corner of the block, you could see the Empire off to your right. It was really close! Right next to a Starbucks too! We went first thing in the morning on Tuesday after a bacon/egg/cheese/bagel/coffee combo deli breakfast. As it was so early, we pretty much went straight in and straight to the top for a clear view as far as the eye can see! I have some great pictures and will post them to my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/taoski">Flickr</a> when I get a chance to re-install Photoshop to my PC and "tart them up". It's an amazing building too - art deco to the max!
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Grand Central Terminal</span>
This was also a cool place to "hang out" and "people watch". It was only about 15 minutes walk from out Hotel too. The <a href="http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/">main terminal</a> was totally breathtaking and almost like a cathedral. We took photos of "<a href="http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mta/news/newsroom/images/gct_clock.jpg">the clock</a>" for our kids after they saw Melman the Giraffe smash his head into it on the cartoon, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351283/">Madagascar</a>. We had lunch in the food court downstairs on the same day and went back for breakfast there too the next day for another sesame seed bagel/cheese/bacon coffee combo thing. Totally delicious! Nice to see people going about their normal day to day business too. Saw some snooty business men getting their shoes shined as they totally ignored the person doing the work!
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Financial District/Wall Street</span>
We took the Metro from Grand Central to Wall Street to check out the <a href="http://www.nyse.com/">Stock Exchange</a> which we thought we might be able to get into to see the action from the public viewing gallery. Of course, it was closed after 911 - but our guide book we had borrowed was over 6 years old!! We got to see some "financial types" getting filmed outside the stock exchange and then photographed by the press, guarded by some butch SWAT types with automatic machine guns! One of the them was a kid called "Zack", or so his gold plated name badge told me. He was obviously with his parents and had a look of "made for life" all over his smug little weasel face. We asked a security guard who they were, but he just gave us indifference. "Jus' some more rich people".
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Liberty Island</span>
From Wall Street we walked through Battery Park to the ferry to take us to Liberty Island to see the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/stli/">Statue Of Liberty</a>. The security to get onto the ferry was more invasive that it was for us to get onto the aircraft and into the country in the first place! I had to remove my belt and shoes to get through the scanners and x-ray machines. The statue is pretty cool close up and it was a real nice day too. From then on, the week got hotter. We had got tickets to go inside the statue, but after queuing for ages behind another 30 people, we then found that the people a few feet in front of us were told that they would be waiting an hour to get in. As my legs and lower back were killing me from walking so far, we decided to head for the "Tat shop" and head back to the mainland. We got some nice photos there of the brown smog hanging over the city too.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ground Zero</span>
We walked from <a href="http://www.batteryparkcity.org/">Battery Park</a> up to <a href="http://groundzero.nyc.ny.us/">Ground Zero</a> to see "the hole". It was quite odd really. To think that there were 2 massively tall buildings in such a small area is amazing. And to think that they had been destroyed without causing much (or any) damage to nearby buildings was also amazing (read "<a href="http://www.letsroll911.org/">conspiracy</a>"). The whole area seemed very quiet too. There were lots of billboards up showing designs for what was to replace the buildings. Not sure which one is going up though. At the moment, the hole is just full of what appears to be air conditioning ducts!
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Soho/Greenwich Village</span>
We walked uptown from Ground Zero to Soho and Greenwich Village, bits of which reminded us of Camden Market and Covent Garden. We took a much needed respite in a coffee shop with a giant slab of carrot cake and a seat in the window so we could see what was going on. The wife shopped, I yawned and ached and we made our way back up towards our Hotel. We rested for an hour and watch crap US TV and then headed out to a buzzing steakhouse where the smallest steak was 6 inches diameter and 8 inches deep! I had a massive burger and fries which was my first real big American portion. Great food and a great atmosphere!
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Macys/Saks/Bloomingdales</span>
The first day (night in UK time) we got there, we dumped our suitcases, looked for something to complain to the hotel staff about in the room (found nothing though!) and headed out for a walk and some food. We stumbled upon <a href="http://www.macys.com/">Macys</a> a few blocks away and the wife settled into what would become the main theme of the week. Shopping. Macys was ok, but not quite what I expected. I was lead to believe that it would be like Harrods (to which I have never been) but it only sold clothes!
Bloomingdales was the same, but Saks (of 5th Ave) was a real classy joint! The decor in there was really nice and on one floor, we turned the corner to see <a href="http://www.robertaflack.com/">Roberta Flack</a> doing a PA for the store. So we got to see her tho! And she was very good.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Tiffanys</span>
Breakfast not included! We went to Tiffanys twice. Once to look. Once to buy. I was under the impression that it was going to be very posh and when I saw the security guard on the door, I expected to be turned away as I had holes in my shoes (more on that in my next posting). The shop was cool and the staff were pleasant too. Obviously used to tourists cruising in to take a look at their wares. We went back on Thursday and I bought my wife a bracelet for her birthday we had been looking at for a while (at the cheap fakes on eBay).
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Central Park</span>
We walked from our hotel, all the way down Broadway, looking for a toyshop that was mentioned in the guide book we had, which don't forget, was 6 years out of date. Needless to say, by the time we hit 97th street, we decided it was not there any more. We got to see a hotel we nearly booked into and were glad we did not! We cut through east across into Central Park and rested a while. Well... I rested a while with my sore legs and back. We then proceeded to circumnavigate the Jackie Kennedy Onasis resovoir, against the wishes of the signposts and sour looks from the joggers who were nearly bumping into us. We tried to get into the <a href="http://www.guggenheim.org/">Guggenheim</a> but it was closed on Thursdays. Damn guide book again! We carried on down and ate pasta for lunch in the basement of the <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/">Metropolitan Museum</a>. We tried to blag our way into the main exhibits for free, but got caught. We then stopped at the <a href="http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/skating_rink_detail/wollman_rink_central_park.html">Woolman Ice Rink</a> and <a href="http://www.centralparkzoo.com/">Central Park Zoo</a>, for more Madagascar related photos, on the way back "downtown".
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New York Central Library</span>
This place was cool. Very very nice inside and full of people with their Apple Notebooks studying. I wanted to be one of them! The main reading room was amazing and was very nice. We went back again on Friday for a free piss and a sit down to kill time before our flight (as we had run out of cash too!). We got to watch some breakdancing street performers outside. I'd give anything to be able to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/dance/faq/faq39.shtml">windmill</a>....
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Times Square</span>
Flashy. Very flashy. Avoid if you have photo-sensitive epilepsy! My mate <a href="http://swimpig.blogspot.com">Ghone</a>, said before I went that Piccadilly Circus was much better. What a twit! It was very impressive. We also got to wave at the kids back in the UK via the <a href="http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/timessquare/">Times Square Earthcam Webcam</a>! Toys-R-Us was disappointing as were most of the shops there. We ate in the Hard Rock Cafe there as we couldn't be bothered to walk anywhere. We were seated in the Madonna and Velvet Revolver area, close to James Brown's suit and some of Elton John's too.
Well...
there's my quick recap. I have missed so much, but you probably never read it all anyway!
It makes me want to go back there again! Buy me an Apple Powerbook, a large Mocha, sit me in a New York Deli and I will be a happy man!Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1142866482837293352006-03-20T15:09:00.000+01:002006-03-20T23:49:55.290+01:00Apol-ogies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.flickr.com/42/115509248_91bff4ed70_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://static.flickr.com/42/115509248_91bff4ed70_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Just a quick post to appologise for not posting recently.
There have been some great things to blog about recently but I have not felt up to it - <span style="font-style: italic;">at all</span>!
I guess I am just slogging through a period of "Blogger Apathy" or "Blog-d-pression".
Other stuff has been happening at home too such as ill children keeping me up half the night and the wife's 40th birthday (say happy birthday to her everyone!). I have also found the love of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/puzzle/hexichd/">Hexic on the 360</a>. Puzzling fun!
Mainly I have been hanging out at the <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/blogger-help?lnk=li">Blogger Help Group</a> and have posted over 1000 messages in the last month, assisting people with chaging their Blogger template and other general help. The people who frequent there usually need help doing basic HTML stuff like adding images to their header or sidebar etc - so I have something planned (in my head) to help them. The Blogger staff do not go there as far as we know - so maybe i'll get a "Blogger MVP" soon or something....
Anyway... I will do New York "Part 2" soon.
I promise...Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1142256784848062552006-03-13T14:06:00.000+01:002006-03-13T15:05:37.180+01:00Neiw Yoirk Repoit Part 1Well... i have to say that our time in New York was excellent!
The hotel was in a great location (East 30th Street) for walking to most of the stuff we wanted to see. My legs and lower back were killing me by the end of the week as we had walked so far! I am only usually used to walking from my house to the car and from the car to the office desk. Not really - but not far off the truth!
New York is a really amazing place! Although the residents are a total ethnic/social mix, the roads are filled with cheeky honking yellow taxi's and the density of the buildings, businesses and shops is so intense, it all just "works"!
It's quite funny to see people skateboarding to work or rollerblading down the street backwards during the rush hour. Not funny as in "har har, look at that twat" but funny as in that it's just accepted and seems normal! Even to me, who had only been there a few days. I read before I went that New York has a "can do" attitude and you realise what that means when you see the people just going about their business, but in their own unique way, with no hassle or prejudice from anyone!
New York is definitely the iPod capital of the world. I counted more "white phones" per block than anywhere I have been before. People also seem ok about getting out their "technology" in public, be it iPods, CellPhones, Laptops or PDAs. I always feel quite reserved and nervous about using my laptop on a train for example but I lost count of the number of people using their Apple Powerbooks in coffee shops whist listening to their iPods or sitting outside in public parks using the free Google wifi to MSN video chat. I even saw what I thought was a tramp who was checking the bins for rubbish only then to pull out his Hipster phone/pda and sit down to do some typing! Weird! The whole atmosphere was great and we felt safe and welcomed where ever we went.
I was going to do a big write up here on each day we were there, but it would take too long. In the next part of my report I will highlight the highlights and dish the dirt on the tourist attractions.Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1141594456420129512006-03-05T22:21:00.000+01:002006-03-05T22:34:16.436+01:00How do we reboot this thing?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/MID-esb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/400/MID-esb.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I'm off to New York early in the morning!
Hopefully not to get this bird's eye view!
Then again... anything for some more brownie points at work!
If I get a chance to post whilst wolfing down a giant pretzel, skinny mocha latte and eggs over easy, I will.
See ya in a week!Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3707551.post-1141229879569397292006-03-01T17:17:00.000+01:002006-03-02T11:02:33.586+01:00iPod Hi-fi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/1600/indexfamilyoff20060228.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4738/98/400/indexfamilyoff20060228.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Well..
It was'nt quite as <a href="http://taoski.blogspot.com/2005/12/boom-shake-shake-room.html">I predicted</a> the Apple iPod "Boombox" would be like.
But it's not <span style="font-style: italic;">too</span> bad. Quite minimalistic and low tech, but for £249, I would want it to make my cups of tea for me too!
"iPod Hi-Fi <a href="http://www.breville.com.au/images_dev/story_slideshow_6.jpg">Teasmade</a>" anyone?
EDIT: Someone's already got their hands on one and has posted shots of it being "un-boxed" on their <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/driveblind/sets/72057594072718011/">Flickr page</a>. It looks <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> big!
<span class="technoratitag">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/ipod" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for ipod">ipod</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/apple" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for apple">apple</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/hi-fi" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for hi-fi">hi-fi</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/boombox" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for boombox">boombox</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/steve+jobs" target="_blank" rel="tag" title="Link to Technorati Tag category for steve jobs">steve jobs</a></span>Taohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17232590299555027127noreply@blogger.com8