Holiday, passport photos, films and music…

Holiday:
I’ve just got back from a weeks holiday. When I left home it was cold and raining. On holiday it was very hot and dry. I managed to get sun burn using SPF50! When I got home it was cold and raining again. My holiday was 40 miles away from home. That’s British weather for you 🙂

Passport Photos:
My passport was due to expire, so I sent off the renewal form just before I went on holiday. When I got back there was a letter saying my passport photos had been rejected. There was not enough contrast between my skin and the white background of the photo booth. Yes, I really am that pale. I like to think of my skin tone as alabaster, but in truth I look kind of deathly. Perhaps I need a spray-on tan before the next shots are taken 🙂

Films:

  • Silent Hill (Cinema) – Dull! I’m not prepared to say any more about it 🙂
  • Revolver (DVD) – I missed this at the cinema. I really liked it. Not your typical gangster film.
  • Doom (DVD) – This got slated when it was at the cinema. I thought it was an OK film. Guys running round a lab complex on Mars shooting mutant monster things. It does what it says on the tin!
  • Casshern (DVD)- Japanese futuristic superhero type film. I haven’t got a clue what was going on and I gave up about 15 minutes before the end.

I’ll probably go and see The Da Vinci Code this weekend. I don’t read books, so it will give me an idea of what everyone has been waffling on about over the last few years. I can’t say I’m looking forward to it…

In contrast, I can’t wait for X-Men III!

Music:
Tool – Not sure what I think of this CD. I guess I will need to play it a bit more.
Fall Out Boy – I love this CD. I’ve played it to death over the last couple of weeks. Time to rest it I think 🙂

There are so many cool bands out, it’s hard to find the time to listen to everything!

Cheers

Tim…

Just like buses…

Earlier in the week I wrote about receiving an ADSL modem three months after I switched ISPs (how long?). Well, today I received another one, hence the title of this post. You wait for ages, then two come along 🙂

So now I have a wireless ADSL router and three speedtouch ADSL modems. I was considering selling the modems on ebay, but looking at the price they go for, it hardly seems worth the effort…

Cheers

Tim…

Pet Medications…

My website has recently come under fire from link spammers in the comments associated with my articles. It seems my site is a good place to advertise pet medications…

I suppose I should be flattered 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

PS. I tried to post this yesterday, but blogger seemed incapable of publishing a post. Weird 🙂

PC support tips…

1) When your dad rings up asking for help with his computer, ask the following questions:

  • Do you know what [a browser | Internet Explorer] is?
  • Do you know what the “Start” button is?

If the answer to either of these questions is “NO!”, make plans to visit him on Sunday, rather than starting World War III trying to talk him through his ADSL setup!

2) Every time you visit anyone, regardless of who they are, sneak into their study and make sure their AntiVirus software is up to date. A stitch in time saves nine!

2.5) Don’t believe people when they say, “I’ve got a Norton AntiVirus subscription!” They invariably mean they run the version of Norton that was bundled on their machine and they’ve never renewed the subscription. Simply uninstall it and install AVG, then sit back and watch them marvel at how many infected files they have, and how quickly their machine runs without Norton sapping all it’s strength…
Cheers

Tim…

PS. The free edition of AVG is available for Linux. It seems pretty reasonable…

Technical Publishing…

Mark Rittman has an interesting article called “The State of the Technical Publishing Market“.

While I agree you are unlikely to make money from writing technical books, I still feel it has some value.

I was interested in the whole publishing thing for some time before I was offered the opportunity to write a book. It was nice to see the whole process in action.

A quick look at my website will show you the range of skills I’ve had to pick up over the years. Unless you constantly try to re-educate yourself, it’s easy to get locked into a state of mind where you only ever do what you know. I feel that writing articles for my website has helped prevent me from stagnating, but it’s not always enough. Writing a book on a specific topic forces you to focus your attention on that area, extending your knowledge beyond what you may normally achieve. There’s nothing like a deadline to focus your attention.

It’s a giant ego trip seeing your name in black and white. Of course I could publish a PDF with the same content, but regardless of what anybody says, it isn’t the same as holding a book in your hands.

I guess the funniest thing about publishing is people’s reactions. I’ve been writing web articles for years, serving tens of millions of pages each year to people all over the world. Mention that to somebody and you’re just another geek who thinks he has something to say. On the other hand, mention you’ve written a book and you’re a guru… What’s that all about?

What’s my opinion? Everyone should write at least one book in their life! 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Lego Rules…

I recently found out one of my colleagues is a “Lego Master Builder”. He was given the title after he produced a full size guitar, or something like that…

Anyway, that little fact made the following list jump out at me when I saw it:

Top 10 Strangest Lego Creations

I use visits to my 4 year old nephew as an excuse play with Lego and relive my childhood. Although, I seldom build anything better than the USB stick 🙂

Cheers

Tim…