Thinker, Blogger, Hacker, Hiker.
Langdale is lovely
Langdale is lovely
17 February 2012
Last March I went hiking with UMHC to Langdale for the first time. This was the first time I did, Jack's Rake, Harrison Stickle, Pike o'Stickle, Pavey Ark etc. I made a bit of a video that day and it came out rather well. It did help that it was a beautiful day of course: […]
Who can guess your security question?
Who can guess your security question?
16 February 2012
I was recently importing some legacy mail accounts of mine out of their silos on assorted free webmail sites. In fact, I was stunned to find that some of my Hotmail addresses still had email in them and figured that it was probably worth keeping, if only for the amusement value of "this is what […]
My Reddit Secret Santa is awesome
My Reddit Secret Santa is awesome
15 February 2012
Last year, I took part in the record breaking worldwide Secret Santa organised by the Reddit community. I was one of 37,000 people who was given the details of a complete stranger to send a gift to, and at the same time, I received a gift from someone who'd been given my details. Usually, one […]
Happy Valentines Day – xkcd loves you!
Happy Valentines Day – xkcd loves you!
14 February 2012
Woo, it's Valentines day! (also known as "single people be lonely day", "puke at people's facebook status day", "don't try to eat out at a this evening resturant day", "bad colour schemes day" and a plethora of other things!) xkcd can, once again, neatly sum up my take on it: This is what I was […]
"Hi I'm An Engineer"
"Hi I'm An Engineer"
13 February 2012
I've blogged in the past about my difficulties in explaining my job as a Systems Administrator to my parents… Sadly, this also applies to most other people who don't work in an internet related field… and even more frustratingly, I don't have the time to explain it all to those who really want to understand. […]
DnB + Ceilidh = Doubly Awesome :: Monster Ceilidh Band
DnB + Ceilidh = Doubly Awesome :: Monster Ceilidh Band
12 February 2012
One thing that I don't talk about that much is my tendency to fall in love with fusions of traditional and contemporary. Take something awesome and traditional. Mix it with something awesome and contemporary. The result will be doubly awesome! This post is about a band who certainly seem to be taking the "let's just […]
Dan Bull :: Death of ACTA
Dan Bull :: Death of ACTA
11 February 2012
It's ACTA day. ACTA protests are happening across the country. Just yesterday it was announced that European superpower, Germany, would not be signing ACTA following widespread protests across Europe. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=elUwRb4DroU Dan Bull :: Death of ACTA I would tell you that you could download the video "here" but the link Dan has on his Youtube […]
Megawalk :: Chinley to Manchester
Megawalk :: Chinley to Manchester
10 February 2012
Back at the beginning of January, Ronni and I walked from Chinley to Manchester, right along the A6 as training for long distance roadwalks. Chinley is about 20 miles away from the centre of Manchester so we got the train to Chinley at 6.30 AM on a Monday morning and walked in the dark to […]
Please help kill ACTA on Saturday
Please help kill ACTA on Saturday
9 February 2012
You may remember that a few weeks ago there a big outcry because Wikipedia blacked out for the day because of a proposed American law called SOPA which, due to the US's federal influence on the internet, would have had a chilling effect on websites you use everyday – Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube would have […]
How to cheat at cooking lunch!
How to cheat at cooking lunch!
8 February 2012
Some ongoing battles of mine are to eat: more cheaply more healthily more variedly and less of it. I don't mind Point 1 that much, I already shop at ALDI for almost everything. However, trying to cut down on any kind of meal out is something I'm working on. Lunches being a particular problem. Point […]
Building reddit-frontpage-proof websites?
Building reddit-frontpage-proof websites?
7 February 2012
Rick Falkvinge's website Falkvinge.net recently frontpaged reddit. Actually, in the default setup, he had three articles, (#16, #22, #24), which, as he says, is a record for him. Why is this a big deal? Well with reddit being Alexa-ranked 133 and getting about 8.7 million visitors every day, being on the front page 3 times […]
Snowdon is snowy but dry stone walls are an oxymoron
Snowdon is snowy but dry stone walls are an oxymoron
6 February 2012
Yesterday I climbed Snowdon; the highest mountain in Wales for the first time with UMHC. I'm not quite sure what's taken me so long to have a go at it, but I think it's status as a major tourist attraction was probably part of the story (Snowdon has a railway up the side and a […]