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April, 2006

  1. Sunday Roast: I knew archaeology conferences were useful for something

    April 23, 2006 by Cas

    Do you ever have those books that you read as a kid and vaguely remember the plot of, but can’t for the life of you remember what it was called? Well, the Brainy Snail and myself had a joint one back in Liverpool. The description went something as follows:

    There’s this boy, he goes to live with this old woman (I think) in a this massive, tumbledown house somewhere in the country. He has adventures with ghosts…

    Not exactly something you can type into Google, right?
    Well, two years later, we finally have the answer thanks to a random conversation at an archaeology conference (I’d like to bet that the actual conversation took place down the pub. That’s how these conferences really work in my experience).
    Courtesy of Random Cambridge Archaeologist and the Brainy Snail, I bring you “The Children of Green Knowe” by L. M. Boston.
    Now all that remains is for me to smile sweetly at Curly Durly and get her to rummage through the boxes of books in the Homestead attic to find my old copy. It would be easier just to order it from Amazon, but much less fun ;)

    Any one else got any books they vaguely remember? Let’s see if we can leverage the wonderful power of the Internet to find them for us. I also have this film that’s been bugging me for years now: 12(ish) year old boy finds out there really are monsters living under the bed – well, the entrance to their world is under the bed. Can’t remember if the monsters were evil or good (though I am leaning toward good in a naughty kind of way). That’s it. Oh, and this movie has so scarred me so badly that to this day I can’t fall asleep if my hand is dangling over the side of the bed.

    Because it hurts like crap but is so easy to prevent, some pointers on how to avoid RSI. Listen to what this woman has to say. You will be saving yourself a LOT of pain and anguish in the long run.

    I’m starting to get itchy feet regarding Bright Meadow’s design – I haven’t tweaked it in a while, and I know it isn’t as good as it could be. It’s rather timely, therefore, that Paul is still doing his Customizing K2 series. Even if you don’t have WordPress, this particular post has some good pointers regarding extraneous javascripts and loading things from external servers.

    I missed the actual announcement, but it doesn’t surprise me to hear that the FDA denies that medical marijuana helps patients. Whilst I am against recreational drug use, I have seen first hand the relief marijuana gave people dying from cancer when prescription drugs were failing them. I’m with danah on this one – it’s time it was made legal for medicinal purposes.

    Until Friday, I wasn’t even aware that the UK didn’t have its own astronauts. Now I know, I think it is silly. We should have astronauts, if only so I can live out my dream of becoming a Xenoarchaeologist! (Yes, I read too much sci-fi).

    Genetics and stress are found linked to CFS – see, even more evidence supporting the “we’re not making it up, we really are sick” camp.

    Sumeet has this great meme: 50 Greatest Book to Film Adaptations. Get the list, see how many of the books and/or films you’ve read/watched.
    Here’s mine:
    [b] – Read the book
    [m] – Seen the movie
    [bm] – Both

    1. [b] 1984
    2. [b] Alice in Wonderland
    3. American Psycho
    4. [m] Breakfast at Tiffany’s
    5. Brighton Rock
    6. [b] Catch 22
    7. [bm] Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
    8. A Clockwork Orange
    9. Close Range (inc Brokeback Mountain)
    10. [b] The Day of the Triffids
    11. Devil in a Blue Dress
    12. [bm] Different Seasons (inc The Shawshank Redemption)
    13. [bm] Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Bladerunner)
    14. Doctor Zhivago
    15. Empire of the Sun
    16. [bm] The English Patient
    17. [m] Fight Club
    18. The French Lieutenant’s Woman
    19. [m] Get Shorty
    20. [m] The Godfather
    21. [m] Goldfinger
    22. [m] Goodfellas
    23. [b] Heart of Darkness (aka Apocalypse Now)
    24. [bm] The Hound of the Baskervilles
    25. [m] Jaws
    26. [bm] The Jungle Book
    27. [bm] A Kestrel for a Knave (aka Kes)
    28. LA Confidential
    29. Les Liaisons Dangereuses
    30. Lolita
    31. [b] Lord of the Flies
    32. [bm] The Maltese Falcon
    33. [bm] Oliver Twist
    34. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
    35. Orlando
    36. The Outsiders
    37. [bm] Pride and Prejudice
    38. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
    39. [bm] The Railway Children
    40. [bm] Rebecca
    41. [bm] The Remains of the Day
    42. [bm] Schindler’s Ark (aka Schindler’s List)
    43. [m] Sin City
    44. [b] The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
    45. [m] The Talented Mr Ripley
    46. [b] Tess of the D’Urbervilles
    47. [b] Through a Glass Darkly
    48. [bm] To Kill a Mockingbird
    49. [m] Trainspotting
    50. The Vanishing
    51. [b] Watership Down

    And for the CC, a wireless Guitar Hero controller.

    Category Sunday Roast | Tags: | 9 Comments

  2. Quote of the day…

    April 21, 2006 by Cas

    Apparently a Canadian invented basketball. Who knew?

    Category Daily Waffle, Mini Meadow | Tags: | No Comments

  3. 9rules Round Four

    April 20, 2006 by Cas

    The 9rules network has just announced the date of the next round of submissions.

    Am I really masochistic enough to do it to myself again?

    For shizzle, this time around I’m not hampered by a .blogspot domain, and I’m quietly proud of my loyal readership and minions. My content (even if I do say so myself) isn’t too shabby most of the time, and I think Mr Flibble the Penguin might earn me some brownie points with Scrivs. But do I even want to join a network? Would it hamper my free and independent spirit? (Yes I was laughing as I wrote that bit, worry not).

    Seriously, consider the wildly improbable hypothetical for a moment: I get into 9rules. What would I get for becoming a member? The benefits are ever so slightly unclear to outsiders. Everyone says you want to be a member, but they are all very quiet about why. What part of my soul do I have to sign over once I become one of the elite? Will the secret handshake break any of my fingers?

    Most importantly, I have to ask myself: why the frell do I even want to get in? There is the ever-so-faint odour of cliques and soroities hanging around 9rules (and places like it). Even geeks have their “cool group” and… the little bullied kid who still lurks inside me wonders why I’m setting myself up for the fall.

    That’s my knee-jerk reaction to the announcement. I’m gonna be giving it a lot more thought over the coming month and I really would appreciate all your input, especially seeing as how if (and you’ve got to remember this is about as likely as me ending up dating Johnny Depp) I got in, there would undoubtedly be an influx of visitors on what is (I hope) a place you’ve all grown somewhat attached to.

    Think on it though – such an endorsement would be one hell of a fancy rubber stamp saying I’ve got a good blog in Bright Meadow. (Not that I need one, yada yada. I just want one).

    Category 9rules, Daily Waffle | Tags: | 5 Comments

  4. Spam galore

    April 20, 2006 by Cas

    Sorry anyone who’s tried to comment but been classed as spam accidentally in the last couple of days – there’s been a phenomenal amount of spam lately (we’re talking over 1000 pieces in the past three days). Akismet is doing sterling work behind the scenes, but I just can’t check every single bit to make sure something nice didn’t get caught up by mistake. Apologies and all I can suggest is that you try to comment again! (If you experience repeated trouble, email me direct and I’ll see what I can do).

    Category Mini Meadow | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Bright Cast: take three

    April 19, 2006 by Cas

    And I bring you the second installment of “Salt and Pepper Chess: the Story of Colin”.

    This is as far as I’d got on my own, so please – comment and let me know where to go next!

    Again, three ways to listen:
    1) Go to the Odeo page and listen to the podcast via streaming there,
    2) Go to the Odeo page, download the mp3 file and listen to the podcast whenever/whereever you want,
    3) Press the pink button below and listen to the podcast via streaming all snuggled up happily in Bright Meadow.

    podcast, brightcast, colin, odeo

    Category BrightCast | Tags: | 4 Comments

  6. Bright Cast: take two

    April 18, 2006 by Cas

    I am pleased to bring you the first installment of “Salt and Pepper Chess: the Story of Colin”.

    You can listen in three ways:
    1) Go to the Odeo page and listen to the podcast via streaming there,
    2) Go to the Odeo page, download the mp3 file and listen to the podcast whenever/whereever you want,
    3) Press the pink button below and listen to the podcast via streaming all snuggled up happily in Bright Meadow.

    I’m still working the kinks out of this whole “recording my voice” shenanigans. And I’m trying to keep the installments below the 2 minute mark to keep them nice and small for download purposes (not everyone has shiny broadband you know).

    Second episode tomorrow :)

    podcast, brightcast, colin, odeo

    Category BrightCast | Tags: | 5 Comments

  7. Bright Cast: take one

    April 16, 2006 by Cas

    I know I swore blind I would never podcast, but hey, I’m female and we’re known for changing our minds!

    Anyway there are several ways for you to listen to my dulcit tones:
    1) Click on the big pink button on the embedded player below. (I know, pink, but I had no choice)
    2) Go to the Odeo page for the BrightCast and listen to it there. You can also subscribe to the podcast, so you will never miss an episode.

    Enjoy, (and no laughing at my accent!)

    podcast, brightcast, colin, odeo

    Category BrightCast | Tags: | 12 Comments

  8. Sunday Roast: the Beach Boys have eaten The Eagles

    April 16, 2006 by Cas

    As I discovered on the flight to Toronto. All “Eagles” tracks on the beloved iPod are now classed as “Beach Boys” tracks. Makes for one very odd playlist, let me tell you!

    Anyway, a teeny tiny Roast this week. I blame jet lag and my currently jaded outlook on life. It’s taking a lot to impress and/or amuse me at the moment and, as those are the criteria that must be met to gain entry into the Roast, it’s understandable only a few things make it through. Enjoy anyways :)

    ProBlogger has a great piece on whether RSS is the downfall of building relationships on blogs? Personally, I’d rather have the option of RSS than not have the option – I just don’t have the time to check in manually on each and every blog/site I read. At the same time, I do know that reading in the RSS reader makes me even less likely to comment, so perhaps there’s a point to the argument. How about you lot – do the pros of RSS outweigh the cons? Do you even use RSS? Does using RSS make you less likely to comment? Minimize the relationship you have with a site? What does it take to make you interact? (I know there’s at least 15 of you out there who subscribe to the RSS feed, so now is the time to make yourself heard, and I am genuinely curious).

    Apparently, people using search engines stop looking at the third page of results. Yeah, this feels true, unless I am looking really hard for something. I’m teaching Curly Durly how to use the Internet at the moment, and I doubt she’s even aware of the existence of a second page of results, let alone a third, or fourth, page.

    A little warning for all you Windows freaks fans who are champing at the bit to get Vista – make sure your new pc can actually cope with it. Vista is going to need a high-spec machine. From all accounts, a very high-spec machine.

    And to round off the week, something from the delectable danah all about the trials and tribulations of being notable on Wikipedia. It sure is a screwed up universe when something Bill O’Reilly says is taken as more true than something the person them self says.

    Category Sunday Roast | Tags: | No Comments

  9. Howdy

    April 13, 2006 by Cas

    I’m back.

    I’m writing a post, but it’s gonna take a day or so (jet lag is a bitch).

    In the mean time, here are some pictures to keep you occupied.

    Feel free to comment there, or here. I read both :)

    Category Daily Waffle | Tags: | 10 Comments

  10. Sunday Roast: I want to lie, shipwrecked and comatose

    April 9, 2006 by Cas

    Just a mini Roast to keep you occupied till I get back on the 12th:

    It’s not often I get all excited about Firefox extensions, or not excited enough to Roast them anyways, but Stuart of Design Meme has built the X-Ray extension which sweetly displays the coding on a given page without having to view the source. Very, very sweetly done.

    Whilst the grass-stains would be phenomenal, this grass armchair looks amazing! Like the turf has been draped over a chair left on the lawn. Hell to get the mower on it, but classy to look at!

    A List Apart have a great piece on how identity matters in online communities. Something to think about whilst you drink your morning cup of coffee.

    Apparently, America Online is to rebrand as AOL. Now, I (and most of my associates) have been calling them F***ing AO Hell for many years now, (rude, but gets the sentiment across nicely I feel), so a rebrand is going to help how, exactly?

    Everyone knows you should never by the first gen of anything, and this rule holds doubly true for Apple products. Even if they work fine, they are guaranteed to be made obsolete with the very first upgrade that comes along. So it comes as no real surprise when Apple acknowledges flaws with the new MacBookPro and announces that they will be releasing version two which is miles better. Bought yourself a MacBookPro already? You should have listened to Aunty Cas… (Still, you will always have the dubious honour of having on of the first MacBookPro’s before they become commonplace).

    And for my nuclear historian flatemate, some footage of nuclear tests set to the William Tell Overture.

    Category Daily Waffle | Tags: | 3 Comments

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