Androids

Ok, so I've finally got an android smartphone. A Nuvifone A50 to be precise, which has an inbuilt (satellite not mobile phone tower) GPS. This is great - as it mounts on the windscreen (mount supplied) and not only allows me to 'navigate' but take calls hands-free concurrently (the phone reception has to be better up there on the windscreen too I would suspect!). Much better than having the phone in your pocket or sitting in the console or sliding around the passenger seat ....   other niceties are geotagging for pictures and videos taken with the inbuilt camera and with mobile internet you can get "google street view" from the GPS map screen.
I'm still exploring all the available 'apps' (so many to choose from ...) and will comment later on any particularly handy ones I come across.
Cecil

Tool bars

Dilbert recently commented on people who crowd their browsers with useless toolbars at the expense of browser window space.


I still repair peoples computers from time to time and can't get over how many people do this! I suspect some are piggybacked onto some dodgey software download and the user is clueless as to how it got there or how to remove it. They are only more of a nuisance now we are being pushed into using you-beaut widescreen monitors that effectively give you less vertical space than your trusty old CRT monitor!
I hate 'em, don't use 'em, and if I find them on someones PC I'm fixing, I remove them! (No, I don't ask!) As far as I'm concerned they are a blight on the face of your browser and I treat them as you would any malware or virus......
Love your work Mr Adams

Our one eyed arab

...Garfield (our ginger Persian cat) is recovering well after having his right eye surgically removed by the Vet, a result of an out of control lesion on his eye. The eye was removed Thursday week ago and the stitches will be removed Thursday this week. He is not impressed at having to wear a conical collar to stop him pawing at the stitches.... He really appreciates human intervention such as a scratch behind the ear where he can't reach!  I think he's a bit frustrated at not being able to bath himself properly too...he bends around and starts to lick but realises he's just licking the cone!  doh!
Not sure why he had the lesion, but we suspect the KGB!,..."Claude" our Russian Blue, as he does pick on Garfield a bit! They have been separated since the operation, only allowed near each other under direct supervision until Garfield is fully recovered.
....me thinks Garfield won't like the Vet ever again.... that's three "balls" he's had removed now!

*Update*

Garfield is doing really well. He was glad to get that cone collar off after two weeks of frustration at not being able to clean himself and bumping into stuff with it!
The fur is starting to grow back now and his eye socket now looks a bit like a teddy bear thats lost its button-eye. I suggested to the family we get the Vet to sew on a teddy bear eye but didn't get a good reception... I'm now thinking that I'll raid the Daycare craft cupboard and stick a "googly" eye on him ;-P

cecil

another company flogging my idea!

...yet another "people power" generation copycat... this one will give you a free meal if you generate enough power on a cycling power generator.... see I wasn't mad, you could turn your Gym into a power generation enterprise!

From the ABC news website......

"A Danish hotel is pioneering a pedal-power electricity generation scheme it hopes will catch on in other countries.

The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers, 15 minutes from the centre of the Danish capital and five minutes from Scandinavia's main airport, is installing two exercise bicycles hooked up to generators.
Guests will be invited to jump on and start pedalling - and if they produce enough electricity they will be given a free meal.
From June, they will be able to race against the 366-room hotel's solar panel system in a bid to produce the most electricity.
"Anyone producing 10 watt hours of electricity or more for the hotel will be given a locally produced complimentary meal encouraging guests to not only get fit but also reduce their carbon footprint and save electricity and money," the hotel said in a statement.
Hotel spokeswoman Frederikke Tommergaard said the free meal offer applied only to paying guests, not passers-by.
The value of the meal - any one of the main courses on the hotel restaurant or lobby bar's menu - is about 240 Danish crowns ($44), she said.
The electric bikes will be up and running from April 19 and the plan is to test the idea for a year with a view to expanding it to more Crowne Plaza hotels, part of the InterContinental Hotels Group."

cecil

new ubuntu out soon.....

ubuntu 10.04 LTS 'Lucid Lynx' ...coming soon......

LTS (long term support) versions are supported for 3 years (desktop) and 5 years (server) whereas other releases are only supported for 18 months....

and then there were four . .

Sadly we have lost another of our long lived pets, Jack the Budgerigar. He passed away around midday today after 12 well lived years. Not a bad knock for a budgie! Jack was Michael's pet that he got for his 1st birthday in 1998. He will be remembered for his cheeky wolf whistles, constant chatter (yes he talked), and in your face attitude when he wanted fresh seed or water...(he would hang upside down on the side of the cage and stare at you walking past so you would notice him!)

When he was a bit younger Jack would distinctly imitate our voices, ....and also the Teletubbies which used to be on every day out the back in the playroom where he lived.("Hello Tinky Winky"..etc.)
We're going to miss the little fella heaps....  'night Jack

Cecil

Rogue app.

Apologies to anyone who tried to access my "Vegemite and the Dark Side of the Moon" blog recently,  seems the "asteroids" gadget (game) I had at the bottom of the page had turned nasty and was redirecting viewers to an advertising site. I checked the Blogger site and it is a "known problem" they are "working on".....

Thanks to Peter for alerting me to the issue!

cecil

stole my xxxx'n idea?

There is an ad on tele currently that appears to have borrowed my musings regarding treadmill power production, see my blog entry 18th April 2009 . Admittedly they use a dog to generate the power for the teev instead of a "pothole" but still, same idea!  ... perhaps I should point this out to them...I wonder if they'd send me a slab as compensation.... then again  they probably wouldn't give a XXXX.. ;-)

cecil

RIP Bingo

It is with a great sadness I have to inform of the passing of our oldest pet, Bingo.
Not totally unexpected considering her age (17 years) and her health was slowly declining.
We will miss her immensely.

Rest in Peace old girl.

Pardon?

You'll have to speak up .... went to the AC/DC concert last night. . . My ears haven't recovered fully yet!!!

Talk about a powerhouse of a show! Angus Young (well he's got about 7 years on me so he'd be old, right?) was simply unbelievable. For a man (schoolboy) of his age to perform his "stage act" solidly for 2 hours ...and every second day on tour is just simply awe inspiring! I'd had a little heads up on his 20 minute guitar solo prior to going to the show which really didn't do it justice . .
..oh yes, and I'd guess by the amount of light, sound, guitars (let there be rock...sorry) that Energy Australia had to bring another turbine on-line, else the entire state's lights would probably have dimmed with each piece....
The staging and effects / props / lighting etc were world class . . . if you haven't seen their Black Ice tour show and you're a bit of an old headbanger like myself, do whatever it takes to get a ticket . . you wont be disappointed !!!!

The main support act, WolfMother, was well worth seeing too, and quite popular with the crowd...
. . . but the same can't be said for the first group Calling All Cars who insisted on sucking up to AC/DC every second song . . "once again we'd like to thank AC/DC for letting us play, we are really honoured for the privailage...etc" fair dinkum guys, we don't want to continually hear that BS...just play and let us hear what you can do!!!

..sorry? . . still can't hear you! ...

cecil

Lights out!

Earth hour again approaches....
...time to spend an hour with the family in the dark (or candle light)



...hmmm has anyone looked at the birth rate to see if it spikes in December since this earth hour thing started?

update:... I've had a brief look at the birth statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and my first impression is that there is NO noticeable spike difference Dec/Jan since 2007 compared to the other months.. Perhaps everyone is playing cards/monopoly!

Queensland Education System Failure?

....just received a pic sent via MMS from Macca who must be on holiday in Rockhampton....

 

.... apparently it's the other left!

Hey Kiso! hope you've got yer eye on what them banana-benders are teaching yer young'uns!!!!!

Cecil

Movember update

...it's been nearly two months now since the Movember mens health fundraiser and today arrived on the doorstep a prize that I won through an associated site...the Schick Boonie MO-montage. (When I just checked the site was no longer up....)
I won a Schick Quatro Titanium Freestyle pack as my photo I uploaded won a weekly prize! ...no excuse for me looking like a scruff now!

The razor end is a 4 blade disposable with an extra blade for edging.....must be for gardeners!

The other end has an electric (battery) trimmer with adjustable comb.

also came with a 4 pack of spare blades and a small bottle of Shave Gel.

Not a bad pick up for just uploading a photo!

cecil