What to say about this past week? Well, not a lot really. Work has been even crazier than usual. OK, so I do hate to be bored, but it’s reached a whole new level this past week and the stress levels have kinda plateaued somewhere in the foothills of the Himalayas. Beautiful scenery, but a long way down if I let go of the rope by accident. (There’s a potentially decent analogy in there somewhere if you care to look for it).

This means that when I get home I have little, if any, inclination to write on the blog. Added to that, my wrists are starting to make themselves noticed again. They are always niggling, but right now they are jumping up and down, screaming at me like a two year old having a temper tantrum, and the only way I can shut them up is by eating unhealthy amounts of Mars ice cream bars and watching Season Four of Angel. Not doing what I love to do, i.e., write out the stress and frustration.

It’s a hard life being me.

But on the plus side I have fucking fantastic new hair, the prospect of a crazy-fun day in London on Thursday, and possibly even some blog-stalker-fun in Southampton next weekend. Well, when someone says “I fucking fancy you” in public, the least you can do is agree to a coffee. Right?

So that’s what’s been happening with me in a fairly large and wordy nutshell. Let’s get on with the whole reason you’re still reading this blog shall we?

News from around the world
It turns out that half of Britons are e-mail addicts. I know that, at work, when email goes down pretty much everything grinds to a halt. Personally, I can go a few days without checking email, but after that I get antsy. I have vivid memories of being in New York and making a daily pilgrimage to an internet cafe because I just couldn’t be out of touch. I’m a bit better now but still, more than a week and I’m getting twitchy!

ID cards are to be the next UK ‘institution’, like the railways before them. So, vastly over priced, never working, and generally one mass headache for users then?

Is Facebook destined to be the great meta-app? The site that kills all other sites and becomes where you live your life?

Ever wondered what it would be like to be on a long-term space mission? Volunteer and you might have to wonder no more. Now I’ve just got to learn me some Russian, grow a few inches, and loose a few pounds. Easy!

Need to send large files? Use Pando. It has the Pogue Seal of Approval.

Bits and Bytes
I have issues about linking to Gizmodo and the majority of the time can’t see the point of even subscribing to them, but then they pull out a gem like this adorable Steampunk R2-D2 and I forgive them everything.

I realised the other night when Moose came into the living room and caught me guiltily watching the end of Time Team that I’m more than a little out of touch with Archaeology in general. Her words “But you HATE this programme!” were like a cold splash of water to my face. I do, I loathe Time Team and all it stands for, yet here I was sitting down, watching it, and nodding along to what Tony Robinson was saying. Dear gods, shoot me now. I might as well hang up my trowel in shame. So it’s time for drastic measures. Step one? Listen to some of the Wessex Archaeology Archaeocasts. Step two? Er, suggestions?

Shooting has started on the fourth Indiana Jones movie. Now, I’m not convinced as to how the aged Harrison Ford will pull this off, but to be sure… Just the sight of him lounging in that fedora and all was well with my world once more. (Yes, I’m a fan. Find me an Archaeologist who isn’t 😛 )

Here’s a couple of handy hints for next time you do a stirfry.

A guide on how to make ‘Usable web content’ came across my radar recently (I wish I could remember where I got the link so I could credit it!) I’ve had a quick look through and there are some salient points and others that set my hackles up – possibly because it’s in the ‘how to suck eggs’ school of information exchange. I think that might also be because I’m reading it on a Sunday morning when I’m feeling grumpy and my wrists (and now little fingers) are killing me, so I’m going to reserve judgement for when I’m feeling more open minded. If nothing else though, the constant referencing of Jakob Nielsen is getting on my nerves – he can’t be the ONLY person writing about this usability stuff, can he?

Want to do something different in the kitchen? Try painting your cupboards with blackboard paint. This just looks like SO MUCH FUN! Screw fridge magnets…

It’s time for a shameful confession. When I read books now (especially text books/journal articles) I find myself wishing for things you can only get with computers – searchable text (oh, to have had this during my thesis!), hyperlinking words, bibliographies that link to publication lists or the work in question, “rich texts” with cross-media connections (e.g., pictures or audio) – but I want all of this in my beloved book format. Reading/interacting with computers has a tendency to cause me real physical pain, plus I just love the feel of the printed word on the physical (paper) page. Yes, I agree I’m in a whole cake/eat it situation. So it’s good to know that the geeks of the world have got my back. (source the Penguin Blog).

Jay’s been on a bit of a roll lately, especially with these latest photographs.

And lastly, the Movie of the Week
Interview. I’m not sure why this is appealing to me, other than it’s about time Steve Buscemi got a proper role, but it is appealing to me.

And with that I am off to revise for my last exam. In three months time when I’m starting to ponder about doing another evening class, please remind me how much time this one took? Then bash me over the head with a blunt instrument till I see sense. Thank you.

Before we go any further, can I just say – bless random Facebook comments.

Now I’ve got that out the way, what else is there to say? The opening of the Roast has turned into a brief update on my life lately but, well, I’ve got nothing I want to share right now. Yes, even us bloggers have things we like to keep private.

Related to this is that I’ve also been thinking a lot about how “online Cas” differs from “offline Claire Louise”. There is a difference, I know there’s a difference, but the problem is, unless you know me in both environments, it is hard to explain that is exactly. Neko got closest to it when we were talking about this a while back: she said that online I was “Espresso Cas” – all the best bits of Claire filtered and compressed into an intense, caffeine rich Italian drink… Yeah, I think that analogy got away from us a little bit, but I hope you get what she meant. Cas is Claire without all the crippling neuroses and the self esteem that’s low enough for an amoeba to walk over.

Why am I taking up valuable Roasting time with this ill-concieved rambling? Quite simply, it’s been on my mind a bit lately. Several things have happened lately that indicate I’m very soon (as in within the next two weeks) going to have to face the fact that “Cas” and “Claire Louise” are one and the same and that I might actually not be bad at this whole blogging thing.

Which frankly scares the shit out of me. Come on! I’m a blogger, an observer. I commentate, I don’t participate! There’s a reason I write about all these fun things going on elsewhere and don’t actually go to them – I’m a big cowardy, cowardy custard and, what’s more, I’m proud of it. But unfortunately I’m surrounded by people who are determined for me to “succeed” so I have no choice but to crawl out of my lovely cave and actually face the fear.

Damn them.

Privacy International has just announced that Google is hostile to privacy. Ouch. Which brings me to something I wanted to save for a piece I’m writing at the moment on whether you need sign-ins or not on wikis – I bring your attention, if I may, to paragraph four of this article:

Don’t get me wrong. I am a bit concerned about the amount of data Google has on me, but my choice is clear…I can avoid them. Yahoo!, too. They own the social part of me and for that, I get a history of my social interaction.

Couldn’t have put it better my self.

I want to live in Denmark.

Apparently, white people wear sagging pants, too. Can I also point out that, yes, “If you expose your private parts, you’ll get a fine” is a suitable law. But isn’t the whole point of underwear to stop people from seeing your private parts? Silly Americans.

If Dave Winer says it, it must be true, right? In which case I’m not a blogger because I can’t remember the last time I wrote 200 words about anything. So what am I?

Come on people, we’re British, rain is what we’re GOOD at!

I always knew the Cornish were tricky bastards. Well, the Scots and Welsh are already heading that way, so why not the Cornish? And why do I suddenly feel I’m in a Gwyneth Jones novel?

And… That’s it this week. A Roast made up (almost) entirely of news items. Well, these things happen. I’m now off to hover Meadow Towers and to possibly do some revision for my exam on Tuesday. I know I should be doing more work, but frankly the Eight Metaphysical Poets are boring the pants off me and I never was any good at working on things that bore me.

Toodles 🙂