Andy Ramblings

A short and very simple story .

I haven't blogged, commented on the going ones in London, or the tech stuff. I didn't even comment of FF 3 being released last month sometime. If you haven't got it, I can only recommend it. I have been testing it from it's early days, when it wasn't even safe to use it, but that's me, living on the bleeding edge of technology. I have heard that for some people it crashes all the time, I haven't been able to see these systems, so I cannot comment. But if they say it crashes for them, then I have no real option but to believe them. But I would like to know why. That will be for another occasion.

The great auspicious day 08/08/08, one good thing about that, is it works on what ever calender system you use, be it European or US. We now have end to end coverage of the Olympics from China, the opening was, as you would expect, pretty good, I can't say it's the best in the world, it's the best one yet, London will have to pull something bloody amazing out of the hat, one would be that it won't cost more than the £9billion ! I bet it will end up costing more. Not really for me to worry about.

Summer has gone on holiday for this week-end. But one thing when there is rain, there is pretty much likely be a rainbow to follow, and it didn't disappoint. check the image below,

 

Yep, so what can I do about it, nothing really, just plod through the day and hope I get home safely this evening. Anyway, in the mean time, here are some fun images I found, I would put them under the banner, how things work.

 

Well, A loooong time ago when I was a kid, I used to really like the old Muppets, you know, Jim Henson, this tune below, is a darn earworm of a catchy tune.

On the way to work this morning, I had a terrible feeling of being watched. Not watched by the usual CCTV cameras, to which I know at least 50 or more will have watched me go from my home, to the underground, back up, through the train station and onto a train to work. This was bigger, something celestial was keeping and eye on me. I could think what it was, till I saw it, yep, there it was, a lone cloud in the sky watching me as a I was almost at the office.. I managed to capture this on camera... See for yourself... Most remarcable.

 

Tis lookin' back at ya....

Yes, it's something some of us love, but most of us dread. I didn't really like them that much, but then I didn't have the wisdom of Wally from Dilbert. Wally, you see, always manages to find a way out of getting work done. He lives on nothing but coffee, so is always a wake, but a bit idle, or working hard to appear to be idle. On would could say, if he  were to put the same amount of work in to real work, that he puts into  trying to be idle, he would , I guess be one of the most productive people in the Dilbert office.

So, I present you with Wally's work appraisal.

So, when you have your next work appraisal, think of that oneliner.
I can only say that Scot Adams is a genius!

Yep, there are so many reasons not to diet, as it can and in some cases get too involved with your life. As in this Dilbert cartoon.

Not being a fan of Tagging and have normally ignored many, but as it's Christmas The New Year and as it was Davide Simonetti's  Birthday, I thought well  Ok, this once, I'll do it. They will be brief as I'm not at home, am in Brussels and may have a few beers as I type....

"What are the seven best things you did this past year?"

Well, 7 of the best things? Not too hard then.. Here goes.

1: Finally getting of the steroids that I've been on for the past 29 years,  They were beginning to cause, well, not beginning, they had been for a few years, causing a lot of havoc with everything else but what they were been taken for. Good riddance to them!

2: Very recently, seeing England loose the Ashes so spectacularly that it but a full stop on all this cricket stuff  and that the English team of 2005 didn't actually win because they played well, but that they had had a pact with the weather.

3: Seeing Bush loose power in such a democratic way! Now too see him go back to his old job of Village idiot, hopefully he will bring along his pet dog with him.

4: Building up new commercial websites, and well, this is still ongoing, but hopefully to make something more with it.

[After a pause of a few days Internet techie problem, parties and evenings out]

5:Seeing Bush get a serious bashing in the US Mid-terms, Not that I think that much is going to change, at least it' gotten rid of that smog look of his face, oh and a certain Rummy has gone. Hoping to see him ride into the sunset with his poodle and a huge boot out the backside.

6: Seeing Blair the Magnificent start his slow, ( wish it was faster) decline, and seeing him dig his political grave live on TV. I don't think many people believe a word he says any more. Just wish the guy would not keep trying to save himself, but his party.

7: Well, it has been a long year, many events have happened, many people have gone, so good riddance, some, well you would have liked them to have stayed a little longer, but you know in yourself, that time moves on, and we are all left with the good memories of those. For me, as this is about me, I'm glad to have to have made it to the end of this year in one piece. Ok, I have plenty of spare parts, but that's different.

So now to tag a few other people to see what they have to say about their 2006 seven best moments, So, in no particular order.
Keith, Zoe at MBIAT,Karelian Blonde, Guyana Gyal, Anna at That's the way life is, and anyone who would like to share

So reader(s) as 2006 comes to a close, how was it for you? I hope that you like the new theme, it's still being worked on, but I'm sure you will agree with me, that it is a lot faster.
Happy New year, Bonne année, ? ????? ?????, Feliz Año Nuevo, Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar, Nuovo anno felice Lyckligt nytt år and for everyone have a great Hogmanay!! Drink lots and be safe.( I can't vouch for the correctness of the translations)

Well, I've been rebuilding my PC yet again. It's a chore that I don't enjoy as I have hundreds of programs to re-install, some need configuring and well, some just don't get put back on. So it's a chance to do some early spring cleaning of a PC.
During this task, and over the years, I have found methods of making this chore a tad easier, being a computer 'geek' to some people, to me, I just like the things, and am constantly amazed at the speed of change. I used to be able to keep up, but I can't now, the turnaround cycle of upgrades and new technologies has gone from 18 months down to almost 3 months. I can't see any sane mortal keeping apace of that, unless they are Ubergeeks. Not me then

So, those tips?
Well, having a good backup is always a good idea, when I say backup, I don't just mean your e-mails, programs files and the likes, I mean total backup nothing less. My tool of choice for this is Acronis True Image. What True Image does, is take a snapshot of your harddrive, so that you have a full copy of all the contents of what you had safely stored away.
So, with that, I rebuild windows XP, the true image comes in use only to recover all the documents & settings files, these hold all the setting of all the files I have to re-install... (I'm going geeky aren't I?)
Anyway, as I said, it helps, but you still need to re-install all the apps, so that windows knows that they are there.
If you are using Open Source apps, Firefox and the likes, these don't need to be re-installed !!

Anyway, I'm still at it, installing, rebooting, installing rebooting.... Hopefully I should be finished soon......

Yes, how big is the universe? It's bloody big, I mean HUGE!, no that's too small a word, it gi-normous! I think that's still a too small a word, It's freaking bleeding huge and will take thousands of light years to get from one end to the other; but how would you have known you've reached the end? Maybe when you've seen the restaurant at the end of the universe? it may have moved, or you might not have gone straight across the universe? You might even have taken some diversions unbeknown to yourself, you know black holes and other gravitational issues that need to be taken into account. etc etc...

Have you ever thought or wondered, you know with the internet being so vast that someone somewhere might have thought the same thought as yourself, but done something about it? Yes, have you ever thought, the internet is so vast and full of interesting stuff, I wonder if some one somewhere has made a site that is as big as the universe? Well, dear readers, yes, someone has, and for your viewing pleasure and from your armchair, you, yes You and you, can visit the universe from the comfort of your computer screen see the whole universe on the internet from this site here, below.

yes, here's the link to the Universe for your viewing pleasure!

Just one note though, to be able to see the centre of the Universe, you will need Firefox!

I gets up at the normal time on a Monday, around 08:30 there abouts. I goes of and get a nice steaming hot black coffee with one sugar, you know, coffee that's stronger than pure coffee. Sitting down and relaxing, getting myself upto date on the world events. On the climate change we're all doomed! Unless we spend some £1trillian or something like that and all will be OK.
Then my mobile rings, at 8:45 (yes, coffee was quick),
Good morning says I,
Is this <my full name>
Yes, speaking,
This is <My bank> can I do a security check,
Sure ok says I,
What age are you going to be at your next birthday..
Oh, 41 says I,
Thanks, says nice person from my Bank, Can you confirm or not that you tried to spend £200 on a casino site?
Err Nope, says I, wondering what's going on..
Ok, are you the only person to use this card?
Yes, Only myself.
OK, it appears that your card has been compromised,
Oh! says I under my breath, thinking to myself, now where could it have happened?!
So, to cut a long story short, Some bastard has skimmed my card or has managed to get hold of the card number and security number at the back!
I'm a pretty cardwise, and make sure that I don't leave my card lying around, haven't used it recently to pay for something, except one place, When I had to phone to get my Eurostar ticket, I'm not saying anything, other than that's the last place where I gave the card details over the phone. The phone being the least secure place to give your details as your are relying on a human to:

• Not write the info down
• Not remember it
• Dispose of it correctly

Where as, over the internet, if your pretty sure, as long as the site is secure and is a regular one that  you use and not a fly-by-night site, that the security is very good and you don't have to worry about the info being destroyed correctly etc.

Nice way to start a week, sir, you've been robbed!  I think I'll go back to bed and wake up on Friday!

If you happen to be using Outlook or Microsoft or your office happens to be using Microsoft exchange as an e-mail server, And your based in the UK, Ok that can be quite a few of you. You may notice that your Calender is or has been set to GMT! But It's not GMT time just yet, that comes at the last week-end of October, that's next week.
The problem is caused by a small bug, just a very small on, and normally your wouldn't every see it, well yes, this very same problem will happen in 2010, 2011 and 2016, so what's the problem and what's the bug, I hear you ask?
Well, check October this year, yes, there are 5 Sundays, and you will see the same happening in 2010, 2011 and 2016. And the bug is? Yes, coming to that, It's how Microsoft has coded the change over from BST to GMT.
What they have done is hard coded a rule, that BST finishes on the 4th week-end of October without exception. So check and make sure you have the right times or you could say, your lost in a timewarp somewhere 1hr ago;

Yep and it's almost over. So, what is it with Friday 13^th? Nothing special about it, it's a day like no over, But. according to Wikipedia.

Strangely, there is evidence to suggest that Friday the 13th is actually unlucky. Psychologists have found that some people are especially likely to have accidents or fall ill on Friday the 13th[citation needed]. This has been attributed to such people feeling a heightened state of anxiety on that day (see nocebo effect). The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina estimates that in the United States alone, $800 or $900 million is lost in business each Friday the 13th because people will not fly or do business they would normally do. [1]

The date is also well-known in the motorcycle (biker) community: since 1981, motorcycle enthusiasts and vendors gather every Friday the 13th in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada. This tradition started on November 13, 1981 by Chris Simons as a gathering of approximately 25 friends. The event has grown substantially, with an estimated 100,000 people attending in August 2004, as well as music bands, vendors, a bike show, etc.

In the Spanish-speaking world, it is Tuesday the 13th (as well as Tuesdays in general) that brings bad luck[citation needed]; a proverb runs En martes, ni te cases ni te embarques (on Tuesday, neither get married nor start a journey).

So there is something in it.... I feel a little bit sorry for the Spaniards, Tuesday, is always Bad...

But it's also bad for this poor chick... Lost his friend...