Saturday, 6 November 2010
Close up with the 9 o'clock Tar Barrel in the square at Ottery St Mary 2010
I visited my cousin in Devon and we watched the Tar Barrels in Ottery St Mary. Here is a video of the 9 o'clock Tar Barrel 2010.
Monday, 6 September 2010
better connected
Being as prolific on the Web as I am, it makes sense for me to type something once and for it to be syndicated everywhere. For example, I use Twitter as a single port of call to quickly update my status across a number of networks; Facebook, MySpace, YahooPulse, ICQ, and Tumblr
I am not going to try to convince you to use Twitter, dear Reader. I am going to tell you how you can make your online time more efficient by being better connected. You may be reading this note on Facebook but that is not where I wrote it. It is actually imported automatically from my blog. Simples.
I never really understood the use of this until Vodafone told me that I could tweet by text for free (to begin with). It was great because I didn't have unlimited fast Internet access on my mobile. That's how it started. I wanted to update my Facebook status because most of my friends are spread far and wide and I don't get to see them often. I was already sending mass texts to try to organise new year's parties etc, and as Facebook became more popular so it made sense for me to use it instead of texting. I connected my Twitter account to Facebook and this enabled me to send out quick news to a wider audience quickly and easily from anywhere. I asked a friend how he did it and I in turn have passed this on to another mate. So if you want to link Twitter to Facebook then check out the easy tutorial.
http://www.ajvaynerchuk.com/how-to-link-twitter-to-facebook-a-twitter-tutorial-3/
You can link a lot more things to each other. A friend of mine recently posted a youtube video to his Facebook wall. Go to YouTube, watch a funny video, then press the share button, choose Facebook, wait for the share window to open, choose a thumbnail, press share again...
so many clicks! and why must a share it to just Facebook? I have old friends on Bebo, American friends on MySpace, and industry friends on Twitter. I want to share it with all of them. I also want to share the music that I listen to and the photos that I take with all my mates, not necessarily only with the ones in a single network. I can only do all of this quickly and easily because I have authorised their official website applications to my Facebook wall and, dear Reader, you can too.
Check out the apps you have already authorised on Facebook. Here are some official ones...
Bebo
FriendFeed
Last.fm
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Twitter
Other than their Facebook app, there are a number of websites that allow you to connect your account with them to Facebook. Some of these include
I Move You account settings
ICQ Edit Profile - Settings - Feeds Settings
YahooPulse Settings - Manage my linked accounts
YouTube Account Settings - Activity Sharing
Disqus settings - connections
Digg settings - connections
Tumblr Account - preferences
MySpace Account - sync
So what are you thoughts? Is it a good idea to authorise website apps to access your account and post things for you automatically? Does it save time and effort having things connected automatically? Do you feel it is a risk opening your info to third party software agents that you do not know what they are doing? Or is it just dangerous... you accidentally share a video from YouTube that your boss sees from your Twitter feed but you really really should only have shared the video with your best friends? (but this cannot really happen if you have your settings right, especially with Flickr photo security - top notch)
I am not going to try to convince you to use Twitter, dear Reader. I am going to tell you how you can make your online time more efficient by being better connected. You may be reading this note on Facebook but that is not where I wrote it. It is actually imported automatically from my blog. Simples.
I never really understood the use of this until Vodafone told me that I could tweet by text for free (to begin with). It was great because I didn't have unlimited fast Internet access on my mobile. That's how it started. I wanted to update my Facebook status because most of my friends are spread far and wide and I don't get to see them often. I was already sending mass texts to try to organise new year's parties etc, and as Facebook became more popular so it made sense for me to use it instead of texting. I connected my Twitter account to Facebook and this enabled me to send out quick news to a wider audience quickly and easily from anywhere. I asked a friend how he did it and I in turn have passed this on to another mate. So if you want to link Twitter to Facebook then check out the easy tutorial.
http://www.ajvaynerchuk.com/how-to-link-twitter-to-facebook-a-twitter-tutorial-3/
You can link a lot more things to each other. A friend of mine recently posted a youtube video to his Facebook wall. Go to YouTube, watch a funny video, then press the share button, choose Facebook, wait for the share window to open, choose a thumbnail, press share again...
so many clicks! and why must a share it to just Facebook? I have old friends on Bebo, American friends on MySpace, and industry friends on Twitter. I want to share it with all of them. I also want to share the music that I listen to and the photos that I take with all my mates, not necessarily only with the ones in a single network. I can only do all of this quickly and easily because I have authorised their official website applications to my Facebook wall and, dear Reader, you can too.
Check out the apps you have already authorised on Facebook. Here are some official ones...
Bebo
FriendFeed
Last.fm
Tumblr
Other than their Facebook app, there are a number of websites that allow you to connect your account with them to Facebook. Some of these include
I Move You account settings
ICQ Edit Profile - Settings - Feeds Settings
YahooPulse Settings - Manage my linked accounts
YouTube Account Settings - Activity Sharing
Disqus settings - connections
Digg settings - connections
Tumblr Account - preferences
MySpace Account - sync
So what are you thoughts? Is it a good idea to authorise website apps to access your account and post things for you automatically? Does it save time and effort having things connected automatically? Do you feel it is a risk opening your info to third party software agents that you do not know what they are doing? Or is it just dangerous... you accidentally share a video from YouTube that your boss sees from your Twitter feed but you really really should only have shared the video with your best friends? (but this cannot really happen if you have your settings right, especially with Flickr photo security - top notch)
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Future savings
Looking into the future I'm already thinking about Christmas and it is still August (just)!!
In the Spring I went to one wedding at a luxury resort and this summer I have been to 3 weddings in Scotland. I was talking to the bride and groom each time about the sacrifices they have made in order for them to organise and most importantly afford their big day. This rang true in my mind because their weddings have collectively become my summer holiday. I couldn't afford to travel to all their weddings, stag parties, buy presents, etc. and also afford for me to have a summer holiday.
So now I am looking to the future. I have been really busy each weekend over the summer with birthday parties, stag parties, and weddings. Apologies to anybody who has wanted to see me but I have inconvenienced you by already being booked solid for 3 months! Looking at my diary I have some big things coming up and I am starting to not just book out my time for them all but to also see the costs mounting up like a tsunami wave gathering pace mid-ocean of the future but heading for the beach that I am standing on in the present. Am I the only one feeling like this?
In the immediate future there is my birthday and leaving party. This will be an expensive outing starting immediately after work, including dinner, entry to a club and drinks while I'm there. Then in the near future I'll be moving to a new job. I'm considering the effect this will have on my life, how much it could cost for me to adjust to a totally new lifestyle commuting to London for two hours each morning and back again for two hours in the evening. Not to mention the cost of the commute itself too.
So this brings me to the next big things coming up into the Short term future. Family birthdays and Christmas. Individually they do not look like a lot but I am trying to budget for it to fit into my new salary along side the commuting and paying off my birthday shebang!
Adding up all of these small things also makes me consider that for the bigger things I will have to save for. Like in the Medium term, say three to five years, I will likely want to move house (deposit and solicitors fees), holiday to Australia (to see friends and relatives), wedding (Yeah I'm single right now but who knows in 5 years!!) and the honeymoon to go with it.
After all of these things I am also looking at where my career will go in the Long term, about seven years to ten years. I'm hoping it'll be good despite the likelihood of a double-dip recession. So I am hoping to be able to buy a brand new car. Mainly because I would like the registration plate SM17 HAM (Smitham - geddit!).
Bearing my new job in mind, where my career may go, my aspirations, hopes of a family life and paying tuition fees, etc. I am trying to see how this can fit into my salary. Where does the money come from for all of this?
Here is the point of this ramble, if you have followed me so far, dear Reader, then here is your reward...
Scale this problem up. Suppose I am not alone. Suppose that I am one example of say, ooo... about the entire UK population. Their money has got to come from somewhere... THE GOVERNMENT'S MONEY HAS TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE!?!
So when I read today that Ed Balls (Labour leadership candidate) is proposing spending £12bn of money that technically doesn't exist!!!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/aug/31/ed-balls-affordable-homes
It is a difference in borrowing. The UK borrowed less than it thought it would. That's like me not maxing out my overdraft and then spending my overdraft to the max.
Someone tell me if I am alone in this. Am I going crazy? How does the government do it and can the same mechanisms work for me too so I can buy Christmas presents, move home, pay for my honeymoon, pay tuition fees, and buy a brand new car.
In the Spring I went to one wedding at a luxury resort and this summer I have been to 3 weddings in Scotland. I was talking to the bride and groom each time about the sacrifices they have made in order for them to organise and most importantly afford their big day. This rang true in my mind because their weddings have collectively become my summer holiday. I couldn't afford to travel to all their weddings, stag parties, buy presents, etc. and also afford for me to have a summer holiday.
So now I am looking to the future. I have been really busy each weekend over the summer with birthday parties, stag parties, and weddings. Apologies to anybody who has wanted to see me but I have inconvenienced you by already being booked solid for 3 months! Looking at my diary I have some big things coming up and I am starting to not just book out my time for them all but to also see the costs mounting up like a tsunami wave gathering pace mid-ocean of the future but heading for the beach that I am standing on in the present. Am I the only one feeling like this?
In the immediate future there is my birthday and leaving party. This will be an expensive outing starting immediately after work, including dinner, entry to a club and drinks while I'm there. Then in the near future I'll be moving to a new job. I'm considering the effect this will have on my life, how much it could cost for me to adjust to a totally new lifestyle commuting to London for two hours each morning and back again for two hours in the evening. Not to mention the cost of the commute itself too.
So this brings me to the next big things coming up into the Short term future. Family birthdays and Christmas. Individually they do not look like a lot but I am trying to budget for it to fit into my new salary along side the commuting and paying off my birthday shebang!
Adding up all of these small things also makes me consider that for the bigger things I will have to save for. Like in the Medium term, say three to five years, I will likely want to move house (deposit and solicitors fees), holiday to Australia (to see friends and relatives), wedding (Yeah I'm single right now but who knows in 5 years!!) and the honeymoon to go with it.
After all of these things I am also looking at where my career will go in the Long term, about seven years to ten years. I'm hoping it'll be good despite the likelihood of a double-dip recession. So I am hoping to be able to buy a brand new car. Mainly because I would like the registration plate SM17 HAM (Smitham - geddit!).
Bearing my new job in mind, where my career may go, my aspirations, hopes of a family life and paying tuition fees, etc. I am trying to see how this can fit into my salary. Where does the money come from for all of this?
Here is the point of this ramble, if you have followed me so far, dear Reader, then here is your reward...
Scale this problem up. Suppose I am not alone. Suppose that I am one example of say, ooo... about the entire UK population. Their money has got to come from somewhere... THE GOVERNMENT'S MONEY HAS TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE!?!
So when I read today that Ed Balls (Labour leadership candidate) is proposing spending £12bn of money that technically doesn't exist!!!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/aug/31/ed-balls-affordable-homes
It is a difference in borrowing. The UK borrowed less than it thought it would. That's like me not maxing out my overdraft and then spending my overdraft to the max.
Someone tell me if I am alone in this. Am I going crazy? How does the government do it and can the same mechanisms work for me too so I can buy Christmas presents, move home, pay for my honeymoon, pay tuition fees, and buy a brand new car.
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Just a quick courtesy call
On Wednesday I went to an All You Can Eat Curry night at a local restaurant in Albert Road Southsea. I wasn't massively hungry so only had a starter, salad, and Chicken Tikka Massala (CTM) Britain's most popular food. There was a lot of tasty looking food that I had paid to try but just didn't want. My mobile provider called me the following day to see how I was enjoying my contract. Later that day in the office we were discussing the texts that we pay for but just don't use. It occurs to me that the mobile companies have managed to get us used to an All You Can Eat business model where we are not actually that hungry. So here I am on a train bound for London thinking of all the different business models I pay into but don't actually make the most of. My electricity supplier, for example, gets me to pay a large sum every month irrespective of my usage but an assumption that I will use more in the Winter without any clear understanding or estimate of how much I will actually use. Your thoughts?
Friday, 9 April 2010
Making the most of now
Following yesterday's successful test to make the most of the capabilities of my current mobile despite being tempted to get a new one, today I have decided to try to publish to my blog directly from my mobile. So far it is turning out OK. It is handy to blog when I have more than 140 characters to say that won't fit into a twitter post. However, it is annoying trying to write significant musings into a blog when you only have a telephone keypad and predictive text, which cannot spell blog or twitter. All the more reason to get the new x10 you might think but... Sony are bringing out the new Vivaz pro with keyboard. It's also got the Symbian operating system so it should be similar to my current w960. I'll have to check the spec more closely. In the comments to this blog post, please tell me your thoughts on Symbian vs Android.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
upgrading mobile handsets
OK, so I've had my eye on the new Sony Ercisson Xperia X10 for quite sometime. Great phone and it comes with Android operating system, 8megapixel camera that does automatic face recognitions so you don't need to tag people in your photos it does it itself, oh and it's also got a 1Ghz snapdragon processor so it's fast as the proverbial.
but...
a friend of mine
http://www.myspace.com/162940578
when i got my current phone out he asked if it was mine. you see, it's black and he remembers me with my old white mobile.
the x10 comes in white
but...
only on Orange and they don't like me and I don't like them.
so while I am looking to import a white x10 handset from Japan I am trying to make the most of the phone that I have, my black sone ericsson w960i.
and i am actually really satisfied with how it is performing. this photo is A-MA-ZING! i took it with my phone while i was still sleepy on my commute to work. and it came out this good and i posted it straight online from the phone!
true, the x10 would have made it even easier for me to do all of this, would have automatically geo-tagged the photo too...
but look what my w960 managed! i'm chuffed to bits. it is making me think twice about forking out £500 for the new x10 in white. however, i am always reminded to get a new handset each time my w960 needs recharging, which is about 2, nearly 3, times a day now :(
could get a new battery instead but the new x10 is tempting.
in the comments to this blog post, please tell me of any experiences you may have had ever importing a handset from japan to the UK?
but...
a friend of mine
http://www.myspace.com/162940578
when i got my current phone out he asked if it was mine. you see, it's black and he remembers me with my old white mobile.
the x10 comes in white
but...
only on Orange and they don't like me and I don't like them.
so while I am looking to import a white x10 handset from Japan I am trying to make the most of the phone that I have, my black sone ericsson w960i.
and i am actually really satisfied with how it is performing. this photo is A-MA-ZING! i took it with my phone while i was still sleepy on my commute to work. and it came out this good and i posted it straight online from the phone!
true, the x10 would have made it even easier for me to do all of this, would have automatically geo-tagged the photo too...
but look what my w960 managed! i'm chuffed to bits. it is making me think twice about forking out £500 for the new x10 in white. however, i am always reminded to get a new handset each time my w960 needs recharging, which is about 2, nearly 3, times a day now :(
could get a new battery instead but the new x10 is tempting.
in the comments to this blog post, please tell me of any experiences you may have had ever importing a handset from japan to the UK?
Thursday, 1 January 2009
Yahoo! Webhosting limitations for CMS
If you are trying to use Drupal on Yahoo! Webhosting, then I have some bad news for you.
The current versions of PHP and MySQL on Yahoo! Webhosting do not meet the required specification for many CMS.
I have checked the version information for MySQL and PHP on my maakusan.com domain on Yahoo! Webhosting :
PHP version 4.3.11
MySQL version 4.1.14
Drupal recommend :
PHP 5.2 or higher
MySQL 4.1 or higher for Drupal 6
MySQL 5.0 or higher for Drupal 7
Joomla recommend :
PHP
minimum version 4.3.x for Joomla v1.5
recommended version 4.4.7 for Joomla v1.5
optimum version 5.0.x series for Joomla v1.5
MySQL
minimum version 3.23.x or above for Joomla v1.5
recommended version 4.1.22 for Joomla v1.5
optimum version 5.0.x series for Joomla v1.5
CMSMadeSimple recommend :
PHP version 4.3+ (version 4.3.3+ required for pretty URL's)
MySQL versions 3.23 or higher
Yahoo! Small Business Support have informed me that they have no intention of upgrading the installations of PHP and MySQL on the server that hosts my domain. In addition, all of their servers are on the same versions of PHP and MySQL and therefore this problem cannot be overcome by moving my domain onto another server.
I also noted some key settings of the current PHP configuration directives on my Yahoo! Webhosting PHP installation :
register_globals: on;
session.save_handler: files
error_reporting set to 2036
This conflicts with the Drupal requirements :
register_globals: off;
session.save_handler: user
error_reporting set to E_ALL
Yahoo! Small Business Support have informed me that they cannot change these PHP configuration directive settings for individual accounts, which conflicts with some reports from other users.
In summary, you can bypass the Drupal 6 install script by resetting the register_globals directive but Yahoo! Webhosting does not meet the minimum requirements for Drupal 6 and above.
You can get Joomla v1.5 to run on Yahoo! Webhosting but it runs slow because Yahoo! Webhosting does not meet the recommended specification.
You can get CMSMadeSimple to run on Yahoo! Webhosting but only without pretty URL's.
I have been checking the requirements between Drupal, Joomla, and CMSMadeSimple because of the recent CMS Awards '08. I have been using CMSMadeSimple but I would like some additional features that means I need some quality hardcopy documentation, which is not available for CMSMadeSimple.
All of this means that I will now have to look into moving my domain from Yahoo! Webhosting onto a Drupal webhosting solution that will support the current and future versions of Drupal. I have already blogged further information about my experience installing CMSMadeSimple and trying to get it to use pretty URL's.
One final thing to mention is that Yahoo! Webhosting does not currently allow you to upload .htaccess files to your account, which unfortunately is one of the requirements of installing Drupal.
The current versions of PHP and MySQL on Yahoo! Webhosting do not meet the required specification for many CMS.
I have checked the version information for MySQL and PHP on my maakusan.com domain on Yahoo! Webhosting :
PHP version 4.3.11
MySQL version 4.1.14
Drupal recommend :
PHP 5.2 or higher
MySQL 4.1 or higher for Drupal 6
MySQL 5.0 or higher for Drupal 7
Joomla recommend :
PHP
minimum version 4.3.x for Joomla v1.5
recommended version 4.4.7 for Joomla v1.5
optimum version 5.0.x series for Joomla v1.5
MySQL
minimum version 3.23.x or above for Joomla v1.5
recommended version 4.1.22 for Joomla v1.5
optimum version 5.0.x series for Joomla v1.5
CMSMadeSimple recommend :
PHP version 4.3+ (version 4.3.3+ required for pretty URL's)
MySQL versions 3.23 or higher
Yahoo! Small Business Support have informed me that they have no intention of upgrading the installations of PHP and MySQL on the server that hosts my domain. In addition, all of their servers are on the same versions of PHP and MySQL and therefore this problem cannot be overcome by moving my domain onto another server.
I also noted some key settings of the current PHP configuration directives on my Yahoo! Webhosting PHP installation :
register_globals: on;
session.save_handler: files
error_reporting set to 2036
This conflicts with the Drupal requirements :
register_globals: off;
session.save_handler: user
error_reporting set to E_ALL
Yahoo! Small Business Support have informed me that they cannot change these PHP configuration directive settings for individual accounts, which conflicts with some reports from other users.
In summary, you can bypass the Drupal 6 install script by resetting the register_globals directive but Yahoo! Webhosting does not meet the minimum requirements for Drupal 6 and above.
You can get Joomla v1.5 to run on Yahoo! Webhosting but it runs slow because Yahoo! Webhosting does not meet the recommended specification.
You can get CMSMadeSimple to run on Yahoo! Webhosting but only without pretty URL's.
I have been checking the requirements between Drupal, Joomla, and CMSMadeSimple because of the recent CMS Awards '08. I have been using CMSMadeSimple but I would like some additional features that means I need some quality hardcopy documentation, which is not available for CMSMadeSimple.
All of this means that I will now have to look into moving my domain from Yahoo! Webhosting onto a Drupal webhosting solution that will support the current and future versions of Drupal. I have already blogged further information about my experience installing CMSMadeSimple and trying to get it to use pretty URL's.
One final thing to mention is that Yahoo! Webhosting does not currently allow you to upload .htaccess files to your account, which unfortunately is one of the requirements of installing Drupal.
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