Sunday, August 31, 2008

Lomo pics


Just got back my first lot of pictures from my Lomo Supersampler. I'm well impressed.

Becasue you get a stream of pictuures they seem to capture life, because it captures movment on one frame the Lomo captures the moment in an amazing way.

Friday, August 29, 2008

How did you get here?

I don't mean to work, your PC, out of bed or even to this blog. I mean how did you get to do whatever it is you do? Why do you live where you do? Why do you like certain food? Love a specific tune? Have your world view?

Lots of things have changed for me recently and maybe because of that this question has been playing on my mind.

In my mind I'm so far removed from my upbringing that when I drop back into it, it seems almost alien. I know that my upbringing has built my psyche this far, it's helped me develop to where I am and made me who I am. But when I analyse it I struggle to see these connections.

For the record I had a great upbringing with no major traumas and I have a very loving family. Just sometimes I can't see the connection.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Hey make a list

Not a new idea granted but something that most people overlook.

When you have loads of stuff to do, I know you're just like me, break it down into small parts and make yourself a list. I used to use pen and paper only problem is that way you write down what's at the front of your mind which isn't necessarily what is your most important job.

I now use word and use the auto number function. I brain dump it all and then rearrange it on screen. If you get it right you should get quite a long list of pretty small jobs.

The reason small jobs on the list are important is that having one big job summed up in a line means it's too daunting. Break large jobs into smaller chunks.

I said it's not a new idea. But I bet most of you don't do it.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Ikea Presentation Style

I just read this great post on Presentation Zen about the simplicity and effectiveness of Ikea's signage and how it can be used as a direction for presentations.

I love doing presentation design and follow the Presentation Zen ethos. I've never thought of slides as billboards before but after reading this I think it gives the idea more clarity and it's a easier way to get across the message to any slide designer.

Design it like it's a billboard.

Comment spamming

I thought that the practice of content spamming had died. It's unethical, stupid and is done without much thought. On here I have verification for comments, the who ever spammed me had to do it manually. I love people adding comments and links to their own or other sites which help or add to the discussion. That's what blogs are all about as far as I'm concerned.

But just adding a list of keywords with links to your sites and no comments is just dumb. Needless to say I removed the comment spam. My site I'm sure doesn't have much clout but if you want to use whatever it has please do it constructively.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Michael Stipe on the One Show

I'm just watching the One Show on BBC 1. It's a throw-away magazine programme, just now it's doing a report on Cabbage White butterflies. For some bizarre reason they've got Micheal Stipe on. God knows how they got this booking.

Michael looks totally bewildered especially as he was sitting next to Gyles Brandreth! This is one of the oddest things I've seen in ages. I'm assuming that Stipe's Agent is about to be fired after this.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Adventures with my Lomo Camera

Today I bought my first lomo camera. I was undecided between the Holga which I'm sure is more versatile and the Supersamper which takes really cool four shot pictures.

I wanted to see how I got on so I went for the Supersampler. What a great camera. I've take a few pics already and can't wait to develop them and see what I get. I'm taking it to Leeds carnival on Monday should get some great pics there with it.

I think what sold me was the way its all packaged and sold. I saw a tv programme years ago on Lomography and I've wanted a camera ever since. Today I saw one and thought I should just go for it. The box is amazing all on its own I've never seen anything packaged as well. I comes in space age plastic and has a wittily written user manual that easy to use and understand. There's a great coffee table book of pics that comes with it (that could sell for £20 on it's own).

The camera is a delight to hold, its made of rubber and is simplicity itself. There's no conventional viewfinder just a bit of rubber on the corner.

The whole experience is very analogue. This isn't a camera this is a whole new way of life! I'm very excited!

As soon as I've had the pictures developed they'll be uploaded here.

In the meantime get yourself a lomo camera

Friday, August 22, 2008

Funny Mood

I'm in a funny mood today. I put a lot of work into my online profile - this blog, linkedin, facebook, comments on other blogs and sites.

Question is, is it doing me any good? It's a lot of work and time to keep it all up to date. Am I wasting time? Or building stuff in reserve, can't decide today.

George Carlin's Views on Aging


I was emailed this George Carlin routine the other day. Rather than forwarding it and clogging inboxes I thought a better idea was to post it here. Read to the end it's worth it.

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and make it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into ! your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3.Keep learning. ! Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them , at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Is anybody listening? Does it matter?


When I first started this blog I had Google Analytics on it so I could measure the traffic. For whatever reason I took it off. When I had the stats I'd get excited that I had say 5 readers in a day. Since I took it off and forgot I'd done it I now don't really care how many readers I have.


I'm thinking does it really matter? And my answer is probably not.


If what I write is read by only me then at least I'm relieving my mind of it. If you are reading this too then maybe it makes you think. If you're not reading this then at least it made me think.


Hey I'm only an armchair thinker so please excuse the fact that this may not make any sense at all. Frankly I don't really care, these are my thoughts.


In an ideal world everyone should be able to do this and say what they feel. But, respect and human decency mean that you can't do that with everyone.


Maybe I should be bolder on here. Maybe I should stop doing it. Best idea? To do it when it feels right. Not many things you can do that way are there.


Have a great day and do what makes you happy.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Broke my blog and updated the design

I just tried to remove Google Adsense from my blog and managed to break the site. So to fix it I've gone for a new design, what do you think?

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Working for the rat race - any ideas?

Sometimes the rat race is fun. The excitement of finishing a great project, the promotion and the paycheck, obviously.

But lots of the time its stress for no gain mentally of monetary.

I must find a way to get the buzz of the achievement without the stress. Must exist somewhere, but where?

Your help is appreciated

Here's Wikipedia definition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_race

Thursday, August 07, 2008

New Facebook? - New Coke?

Just upgraded? to New Facebook.

Not sure if I like it or not. Was old Facebook bad?

There doesn't seem to be any improvement in performance just everything is moved around and I can't find it any more.

The chat function was great when added. But why change the GUI?

What do you think?

A I Hate new Facebook group has already launched.

Friday, August 01, 2008

Recession? Or just a trick of the mind?

I'm no financial expert, if you could see my bank balance you'd know that.

But I'm sure this recession is fueled by the media. Sure there have been issues with Sub-prime mortgages, but they have been coming for a while. Why suddenly in the last month or so has the recession word come to the fore?

In my opinion it's been fueled by the reports in the media, if the public are told enough times that there's a recession then they believe it and stop spending. They then spread the message that there's a recession and the whole thing spirals.

In about a years time the media will report that the recession is easing and that the signs are looking better. Coming out will take longer than getting in. People believe bad news quicker and start to spread the word. Good news is harder to sell in as people don't want to feel fooled.

But the message will start to eek it's way out and before you know it it'll all be over. Not much will actually change only the message.

I think this is what's called a self fulfilling prophesy!