Posts for Jan 2008
Online tax deadline today 31 Jan 2008
More than 150000 people filed their tax returns on deadline day last year. Looks like it's a similar story this time round - the website is "temporarily unavailable". So perhaps it's a good time to review some of the common errors made on self-assessment forms:
Common errors:
- Failure to complete a separate supplementary page for each individual employment.
- Entering employee personal pension premiu...
Watch Live Super Bowl XLII 30 Jan 2008
Update: Chat about Superbowl XLIII - Arizona Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Steelers
New York Giants vs New England Patriots is the billing at Super Bowl XLII this Sunday. What with the flu the NY squad got this week , I don't think they have a hope, so that's who I'm supporting. US folk who are big fans of this annual event will probably be out at some party, but those of us in UK will just have to be...
Tags: Super Bowl
Software to detect plagiarism 25 Jan 2008
I recently saw an article about the growing problem of plagiarism among students and so I've written a little piece of software as a tool to aid teachers in the fight against it. The application is called Collusion and allows users to select a folder on their hard drive that contains the students' essays. These are then checked against each other for evidence of "copy-and-paste".
This is version...
Tags: software, education, Collusion, plagiarism
CS Lewis' Mere Christianity 22 Jan 2008
Fans of CS Lewis' writing, such as the Narnia books or Mere Christianity, might be interested to hear footage of the man himself talking on BBC radio back in the 40's.
A related link is Librivox.org, which provides free audiobooks from the public domain.
Webuser magazine 18 Jan 2008
PriceCutReview.com got a mention in this fortnight's Webuser Magazine, who claim to be the UK's best-selling internet magazine. There's a feature article titled "Save Money Online" and we're tip number 39 of 60. They certainly know what they're talking about. Thanks guys!
Tags: half price, price cut, press
Kindle UK release date 16 Jan 2008
Update Oct09: Kindle is now available not just in UK but internationally! Check it out.
Update Jan09: Still no word... I think if you're desperate you might as well get an iPhone off eBay. There's some software called Stanza that you can download onto it and that's probably just as good!
When Amazon launched the Kindle eBook reader in US it was done with little fanfare. The product itself got a l...
Blu-ray or HD DVD? Who will win? 15 Jan 2008
The format war over the high-definition video market has been going on for a few years, and it now looks like the eventual winner is pulling ahead. So I'm calling it for the blue corner - it's Blu-ray. Hope I'm wrong though, because I would much prefer HD DVD to triumph. Why? Because it would be better for the consumer.
The main pros and cons for Blu-ray and HD DVD are as follows: Blu-ray can ho...
Tags: Blu-ray, HD DVD, high definition, hdtv
Pantomime season 13 Jan 2008
Made using a webcam and Flix, here's a time lapse video showing the huge amount of effort that goes into preparing a panto for the public. Thanks Jon!
Google Pagerank Update January 2008 11 Jan 2008
It's happening... the Google servers are giving different numbers for PR, so I'm guessing we're in the middle of another update!
Symonds not Big Monkey 10 Jan 2008
The row about Harbhajan Singh racially abusing Andrew Symonds by calling him a "Big Monkey" is still raging on, but I've just heard on the radio that Harbhajan was speaking Hindi and said, "Abey bik mangey, teri maa ki" which means "Beggar, go f*** your mother". Still not very polite, but probably more acceptable. I can believe this. The Aussies grasp of Hindi probably isn't that good...
Tags: language, cricket, Australia, Andrew Symonds, Harbhajan Singh
Learning Mandarin Chinese 09 Jan 2008
I've noticed recently that more and more people are learning Mandarin here in UK. As a Mandarin speaker myself, I think it's an ambitious thing to take on, but if you fancy it, here are some useful resources. In addition to the actual language, familiarity with Chinese idioms and proverbs is very useful and comes up in everyday conversation. And if you come across a character you're not familia...
Premium rate numbers 08 Jan 2008
Don't ring them! Instead take a quick look at SayNoTo0870.com and find an alternative number with which to call that company.