If you head to this page on my website, you’ll see the image gallery I have set up on my website. I’ll no doubt replace this when I can use Flip Gallery, however, for now it’s pretty damn good.

A colleague at work, owner of flipflops.org, has just released his very own WordPress plugin, Flip-Gallery. It is an easy-to-use image gallery which is configurable through the WordPress dashboard. Version 0.2 is available to the public, and I’m sure he would like as many people as possible to download and test it, to get some feedback and perhaps begin a knowledge base type thing.

Unfortunately I am currently unable to demonstrate the gallery on my blog, as the blog needs to be installed in the root directory of the webspace for it to run. However, in later versions this issue may be delt with, and I am soon changing webhost which means things will be setup differently.

Regardless, check it out and leave some feedback, as open-source development always deserves recognition, and image galleries kick ass.

I was running a little late today (but thankfully made it into town today in time to catch the bus to work), and when I was sitting on the bus at the bottom of the hill, the driver was waiting until he was happy to leave and begin the route (you’d expect him to leave at a timetable-defined time, but we all know they leave when they feel like it). Whilst I was sitting on the bus, looking around at the scenery I’ve seen practically every day I’ve left the house, I saw a woman coming out of her house.

Her front door opens out onto a very small (under 3′) front garden type thing, which leads to the pavement, and then obviously the road is right next to that. She walked down the path towards her car, which was directly opposite her door. Just as she got onto the pavement, she stopped, turned around, walked back and shook the handle violently, to check that she had locked the door. Fair enough, I thought. Better to be safe. So I watched her turn around again and walk back to her car. However, she didn’t make it, and again she walked back to her door, shook the handle violently, understood that the door was locked, and turned around.

Yeah, you guessed it, again she didn’t make it. By this time I just thought she was being weird. Either that or I was suffering really, really bad déjà vu. She walked back to her door again and shook the fucking door handle. I was actually realtively tempted to get off the bus and shout “the door is fucking locked, you daft bitch!”, but alas didn’t due to being so bloody tired. So, once she’d decided that the door was definitely locked, she turned around to her car. I watched her and thought “you can’t do it!”, but she did! She walked back again. I had to look away, feeling really annoyed, actually. However, I found that I couldn’t not watch this perfect display of idiosyncratic imbecility.

She turned around again, and actually made it to the car this time, but I kid you not, she did this another three times (that’s a total of seven times), before she actually managed to get into her car and pull away. I think the driver of the bus must have been watching with a feeling of both complete awe and desperation, because as soon as she pulled away, he started the engine and did so too.

I was so bewildered by that event that I had to close my eyes for a minute. I knew exactly where I was anyway. I literally do know the bus route by road name, with my eyes closed.

I opened my eyes about 5 minutes later and noticed a woman I recognised get on the bus. I don’t know her – I just often see her on my way home. She sat on the seat infront of me and began flicking her hair somewhat profusely. She then proceeded to lean forwards and sit back again, which I do if I’m sitting against my hair and it’s pulling. However, the way she was doing it was quite rhythmical, almost like an anatomical drum beat. Annoyingly I could feel it everytime she sat back again, because buses were designed by some vertically challenged bastard who was bitter about everyone else being taller than him, so he thought he’d punish us by giving us no fucking leg room, and to top it off, her constant posture changing was out of time with the music I was listening to – and there’s really nothing worse than things that have a beat being out of time with eachother.

I was glad to arrive in town and be away with all of the bizarre obsession that was occuring.

On a completely different note, someone at work pointed out a rather amusing definition on the jargon buster page of one of our partner’s websites:

I’ve always enjoyed reading forums and posting on them. I feel that they’re a good way of getting to know lots of information, and meeting lots of new people. They’re an escape from instant messaging without escaping from communication. I’m a member of a fair few forums, and have left many behind me, however, one of the ones I visit regularly is the unofficial forum for the World of Warcraft server I play on.

This forum is used by a lot of the players on this server to generally discuss and share a range of things. People often use the boards to say their goodbyes if they are leaving the game, as a lot of friends are made in online games, and you find that you become part of a big community. However, one of the things that is popular with World of Warcraft is the buying and selling of accounts on Ebay.

Recently a post was made on these forums explaining that one of the server’s popular players was killed in a car accident. The player’s brother made the post, this is what it said:

Hello

For those of you who knew Magebloom or one of his alts I’m afraid to say that he wont be playing his character again as he was killed in a car accident at 12:15 this afternoon. I (his brother) will be on his account from time to time as he asked me to in the ambulance before he passed away.

Gavin
(Adam’s brother)

if this is in the wrong section please move it, thank you

Now, note the key parts of that forum post: “killed in a car accident” and “before he passed away”.

Obviously people replied to this post with kind messages, “RIP”, “Condolences”, etc. However, the same person posted this 2 days later:

Just to update you, we are going to the hosptal shortly to turn off the life support system Adam is plugged into and his funeral is set for Friday at midday. Thank you once again for your continued support and words of comfort during this time.

Gavin

If you remember the key points in the last post, this post suggests that Adam is still alive. Then, a little over 2 hours later, this:

We turned off the machine but it seems as though his body has taken back control of his vital systems, the doctors say he is in a deep but stabel coma and are going to run tests this afternoon to check for brain activity or brain death. *fingers crossed*

Gavin

Now, unfortunately any replies to this topic where the poster is pointing out the obvious suspicion are being deleted by moderators. I’m not a horrible person, really, but this does smell quite strongly of bullshit, and generally quite a dramatic way to say goodbye to people you’ve played with on the same server, just to sell your account on Ebay, or something.

Currently, as the forum thread is, no link to an official BBC or similar news post has been posted.

You will conform and comply, for we, Microsoft, are your God, and you are the ants of the hill of technology. We hold the magnifying glass, the sceptre of all that is right in the computing industry, and you, the crawling minions, will obey by our rules, or suffer.

First the smoking ban. Then the new tax legislation scare. Then the photography license. Now Microsoft are trying to destroy all that’s good.

This has actually annoyed me. Really annoyed me, in fact. I have Vista installed on my laptop, and it’s pretty much a pile of crap, which means if I ever want to build a new computer, or build one for someone else, I have to buy Vista, or hope I can get my hands on a copy of XP. I wouldn’t recommend Vista to anyone. It’s slow, cluttered and broken. It’ll need at least one service pack to fix it.

It’s not even a money thing; Vista Home Premium, the version most people would go for, is atleast £20 cheaper than XP Professional. We’re just being forced to use something which is awful. There are fucking hundreds of reasons not to use Vista, and XP is actually a pretty decent operating system.

I’m going to be buying 4 or 5 copies of XP Professional just in case I need them, before the beginning of next year. This is bull shit.

Note, post title in reference to “all your base are belong to us”.

I had to go to the dentist today for a fun checkup, which resulted in me finding out I need some dental work done. Oh the fun. Injections in the mouth aren’t nice, but anyway, it’s too sunny to think about that.

After the dentist I had to wander up to the post office. Now, because of all the crazy building sites in various places in town, which are going to result in us being drowned in mainstream shops and cafés, and what-not, the post office isn’t where it used to be in Exeter. However, it moved a long time ago. A 5 minute walk up to the post office, next to the NHS walk-in centre, and I was presented with a gorgeous sign saying that they’d moved to one of the new shopping areas – the one that opened quite recently.

So, back through sweaty town I marched, swishing and swooshing my coat, diving between oncoming idiots, until I got to the new shopping area. It was quite surreal walking through this area actually, because it’s a revamp of the street I used to walk through two times per week to get to and from my Dad’s old house. Seeing it with lots of cafés and restaurants was odd.

Speaking of cafés, when will the flood of Caffé Nero, Costa Coffee and Starbucks stop? Having said that, I’ve been going to Starbucks recently to enjoy their delicious hot chocolates – especially the hazelnut one, so perhaps Caffé Nero and Costa Coffee aren’t that bad. Thankfully I didn’t see anymore Subways or anything. There was, however, an Italian restaurant, which looked very good. I can’t remember if it’s the same one that was there before everything was knocked done, either way, it looked good. There was also this odd shiny glass building, which is apparently coming soon, which makes no sense, because as far as I can see, it’s already there. If I remember correctly, I also saw a Caffé Rouge, which I suppose is like a Caffé Nero, but serves alcohol and food. I’ll have to check it out.

Another thing which was intriguing, which hasn’t yet opened, is the new Debenhams. The one that’s here currently is a really, really, tall building, which can be seen from miles away. However, it’s a depressing shade of baby-blue, and is going to be knocked down, which will be odd. The new building doesn’t compare on a vertical scale, but it’s certainly a lot wider. I’d quite like an aerial view of the whole place.

Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera with me, so I couldn’t get any pictures to go with this. However, next time I’m there I’ll take some and either update this post, or make a new one.

Not really had a lot to write about recently. Life has been really good in some parts, and really shit in others. Anxious to do a lot of things this year, but I don’t know whether I should wait for them to happen, or just do them; which puts me in quite a perplex dilemma. Do I wait it out and let the things I want to do come to me, or do I walk into the unknown and try to do them in an unplanned manner?

Listening to Doves right now, thanks to John. I was finally in the office with him when “the happy song” came on – on his iTunes – so I asked him what it was, because he didn’t know what I was talking about when I asked him before. There’s a song called “Words” on their album “The Last Broadcast”, which is fucking excellent.

I’m also trying to think of catchy words for a website I’m hoping to start with a friend. No joy with that, though.

Anyway, talking of anthropomorphism, or personification if I want to sound less special, this is something I drew (using a mouse) for my girlfriend when she said the phrase “mood swings”. It amused me.

I really need to get my room sorted so I can actually have my laptop setup on my desk, with my graphics tablet. Anywho, click the image below for the bigger version.

Snoofling, to snoofle.

Yes, I have finally invented a word for that thing cats do when they push their head against and under your out-stretched arm, and that is snoofling. Quite why I came up with this word, I don’t know, but it is now the definition of that action.

Recently my Zen stopped working on my Desktop PC. It wouldn’t accept it as a device in any of the USB drives I plugged it into, although it was listed as unrecognised in device manager, which was very odd. I was able to charge it on my laptop, thankfully, but didn’t want to have to install the software on my laptop to transfer music and such.

Anyway, I set about trying to get it to work this evening, and in the process managed to break Windows detailed view. I’ve come across this problem before, and have never found a way of fixing it. I’m hoping our tech support guy at work will be able to give me some advice on what I can do, aside from reinstalling Windows.

Currently I haven’t made a lot of progress. The Zen is detected on my laptop now, and I can transfer files, but it displays an unnecessary amount if icons in My Computer, and doesn’t detect it properly.

Windows details view problem

Edit – Turns out this isn’t actually a bug – you just have to click “Show in Groups” on the Arrange Icons By menu.

I’ve recently just ventured into the lands of subscribing to RSS feeds using a very nice piece of open source software called Feedreader. It’s an awesomely aesthetically minimal program which looks very nice, and works very nicely.

But, what is the point in using it, you ask?

Well, if you, like me, enjoy reading other blogs, and recieving updates about what’s going on in various parts of the world (my particular interests being in the gaming and computer technology industries), then checking websites weekly/daily/hourly does become a bit tedious and somewhat frustrating when you’ve hit F5 for the hundredth time to find that there is still no new content. This is when RSS feeds come in.

An RSS feed is basically like a digital newspaper that you recieve through your digital letterbox – only, instead of it being delivered daily, it’s delivered when it needs to be delivered – exactly when there’s content to deliver.

In much the same way programs such as Outlook and Thunderbird are applications which you configure to recieve your emails, so that you can leave the application running and don’t have to be logged in to your inbox to be notified of new mail; a feed reader is the same sort of concept. You have an application running which automatically notifies you when updates have been made to websites.

“But surely you’d be recieving updates for every website in the world with an RSS feed?” – you ask. Alas not. In a similar sort of way you register for an email account, you’ll often see a little RSS feed button when an RSS feed exists on a website. Clicking this button will open your feed reading software and ask you to accept the RSS feed. This process is called subscribing. You subscribe to an RSS feed by clicking the link to it and then confirming it in your feed reading software, and then from then on, when you have the software running (like you’d have Outlook or Thunderbird running) you will recieve notifications of new updates to the websites you have subscribed to.

This is good because if you have a lot of blogs you like reading, you don’t have to check them every day. You simply subscribe to their RSS feed, and when you turn your computer on in the morning, or whenever, you load your feed reading software, and if there are updates to any of the websites you subscribe to, you are notified of them.

Generally you will find that a lot of websites with news archives have RSS feeds, so that you can subscribe to them to recieve the latest news – this doesn’t just apply to blogs. Soon enough you find that you’ve built a collection of RSS feeds in your software, and it has all of a sudden made your life a lot quicker.

For those of you who are using Blogger, and don’t know if you have RSS feeds enabled, login to the control panel of Blogger, where you administrate your blog. Go to the settings of your blog and click “Site Feed”. If you want the RSS feed enabled, select either “Short” or “Full” from the dropdown box(es). If you have it enabled, people should see something along the lines of “Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)” on your blog. Clicking this enables them to subscribe to your blog, and recieve updates with their software.

WordPress users will find the RSS feed options in their dashboard under “Syndication Feeds” in Options.

I highly recommend all of you bloggers turning on RSS feeds on your blogs so that people like myself can subscribe to them, and I also recommend you check out Feedreader so that you can be notified of updates to the blogs you subscribe to without having to check loads of pages.