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30 
Pagerank update April 2008
Google have just done a pagerank update. If you have the Google toolbar installed you should see that Nimisis.com is back to PR4. Same for PriceCutReview.com and Sport.omani.ac. About time too!
29
Another Mashup of the Day!
Got awarded a second Mashup of the Day by ProgrammableWeb.com, this time for Twitter Watch. We would like to thank...
[11:26][remarks 1]
23
Twitter watch
Finally got the chance to try out Twitter recently and I can see why some people find it addictive! Useful too... a story made the news last week about someone managing to alert his friends and family after getting wrongfully arrested.
Anyway, I like sites that have an api for users to make their own mashups so I've made Twitter Watch. It came up with some interesting stuff - like there being a fairly big earthquake in Taiwan today... Oh, and feel free to add me to your Twitter list.
11
Wii Mario Kart
...had its UK release today! And for once the US release date is after the UK's. The game is getting rave reviews, partly because it's always been great, and partly because of its innovative wireless steering wheel, not to mention the added feature of being able to race online with anyone in the world!
3
Now a Dofollow blog
Nimisis.com is now a "dofollow" blog. That means that any outlink to a website left in the comments won't have the "nofollow" tag. To explain, a link with the "nofollow" option tells search engines not to follow the link and therefore won't assign the external website any extra ranking. So now, unlike most blogs out there, this option will be omitted. As long as the comments are worthwhile, it doesn't seem right to give the contributer no credit for their trouble, hence the change.
This is only on a trial basis, as there is a risk of abuse, but hopefully it'll be permanent!
18 
Real time website statistics
Want to see your website's visitors the moment they arrive? Interested in where they came from and how they navigate around your pages? Well, you can with Live Web Stats, which is now out of beta and available for webmasters with PHP and MySQL on their servers to purchase and install.
A demo page is here.
16
Online world country quiz
Below is a famous CNN gaff showing Switzerland after it had apparently invaded the Czech Republic. Would you have spotted it? Here's an interactive world country quiz that tests your knowledge of world geography.
29 
Engadin ski marathon 2008
Been training for the last couple of months now and the day is fast approaching when I'll be hauling myself around some snowy part of Switzerland with a few thousand other blokes with skis for 26.2 miles. No, it is NOT downhill. Search on YouTube if you'd like to see what it's all about. Will report back when I return in a week and a bit!
11 
Google Pagerank Update January 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!
[05:00][have your say 2]
9
Learning Mandarin Chinese
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 familiar with, you can try this site, which cleverly converts it to a phonetic form for you.
As a side note. Every Chinese person knows how to play Mahjong. They seem to know this from birth. So if you're serious about mixing with the locals next time you're in China/Taiwan, it might be worth checking it out... I wouldn't play for money, but it is quite fun!
17 
More Christmas gift ideas
After the Wii, remote control helicopters look to be the top Christmas present this year. The Silverlit Radio Control Helicopter looks pretty cool :)
There's also something for the impatient grown-ups among us. Another gadget is the Tefal Quick Cup. You don't have to wait for the water to boil before you make your drink, it comes out boiling hot... and it's apparently more energy efficient than the old fashioned kettle!
13
Christmas gift ideas
Stuck for an idea and running out of time? Saw the Fisher-Price Smart Cycle on the Gadget Show the other day and thought it would make a great present for a child. A way to have fun and give them some exercise at the same time! Available in US and UK. More gift ideas coming soon!
[17:09][have your say 1]
28 
Super Mario Galaxy
Splashed out and got Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii today, and it's every bit as good as the reviews say it is! Huge attention to detail and loads of levels packed in yet still intuitive to play and altogether awesome!
27
Pole to Pole
Remember Michael Palin's TV programme Pole to Pole? Interesting as that was, he didn't go from one pole to the other using only human power, he left that to these two nutters. Rob and James (who went to my old school) are already half way there. Why? To highlight climate change and also top what they did last year, becoming the youngest ever Britons to climb Mount Everest.
[16:15][remarks 1]
17
Live sports chat
This is a plug for Sportomaniac - a new user-driven live sports chat site. Sports fans can gather while a fixture is going on and voice their views, vent frustrations and even vote on how well the referee is doing! A demo page is available to check out here.
Registration is required to participate in the banter, but that's quick and easy. A page for a particular event can be created by registered users if one hasn't been set up already. You could chat about the huge games for England and Scotland happening tonight that could decide whether they'll qualify for Euro 2008!
19 
Pixar presents Lifted
Lifted - a very entertaining animated short :) A sort of driving test with a difference!
[12:35][comments 2]
4
Trouble at Mill
Wallace and Gromit are back! Nick Park has announced that a new animation short is going to be on our screens at the end of next year. See his interview as well as a whole bunch of all-time favourite W & B clips for free here.
18 
Mashup of the Day!
PriceCutReview.com got awarded Mashup of the Day today at ProgrammableWeb.com. Thanks a lot!
[16:21][have your say 1]
6 
Two degrees
You know Facebook is getting popular when your dad joins up...
I've made a web app that uses the Facebook API to find friends that aren't on your list but should be. It's called "Two Degrees" because of the Six Degrees of Separation idea.
Two degrees uses Ajax and has been tested on Firefox2 and IE7. If your browser has an anti-phishing filter then it will take slightly longer before you see the page update.
Give it a go! If you have any comments or come across a bug, get in touch.
[05:39][comments 3]
18 
Google PageRank update for July 2007 has started!
If you own a website and have lately been trying to improve your Google PageRank, you might be interested to know that the website rankings are now just starting to change. Keep watching that PageRank button on your Google Toolbar for, hopefully, a higher number!
[07:10][remarks 2]
24 
Maths lessons to improve maths skills
ConquerMaths is a virtual tutor that helps you get better at maths. Covering subjects ranging from algebra to trigonometry, the lessons are mainly geared towards pupils aged 11-16 (i.e. up to GCSE exams) though really they're open to anyone who wants to become more numerate.
BBC online did a feature on Conquer Maths saying that a Teeside school doubled its GCSE pass rate because of it and pupils even logged in on Christmas Day! Sounds like a solution for parents who think their child needs to be getting better grades in maths.
31 
Live Web Stats
With a bit of javascript voodoo, MySQL magic and php trickery, you can find out, in real time, who's visiting your website, where they came from and where they're going. Here's a demo page of what I'm talking about.
This is still in beta, but if you're interested in installing Live Web Stats on your website, find out more here.
17
Those crazy snails
If we could talk to snails, we'd probably find out that they're actually adrenalin junkies. They're always playing chicken on the pavement with the passers by, and judging by this YouTube vid (made with Flix), they're forever messing around with each other like hyper-active monkeys, only at a slower pace.
Flix users have already shown me their lazy cats and now these daredevil snails. Someone must have a pet turtle, pet taranchula or domesticated python. Let's have a look at what they get up to!
[07:04][remarks 1]
1
Make money from taking photos
Rate yourself as a bit of a photographer and want some extra pocket money? You don't have to be a pro and work for a newspaper anymore. A couple of sites accept photos from Joe Public and will sell them for you for a fee. Check out iStockPhoto and CitizenImage.
iStockPhoto is the bigger of the two. My application is still being processed. This involves a little test to check that you've learnt their guidelines and a sample of three original 1600x1200 pixel resolution photos proving a modicum of ability.
CitizenImage is a much smaller outfit and it's pretty easy to get accepted. I have my doubts about whether there's much chance of getting any cash from them though. Their website gets less traffic than Nimisis.com (Alexa IS useful!)- but I hope I'm wrong. One thing that's confusing is that they say they'll PayPal me any earnings, but there's no PayPal email address to enter in the account settings. I use one address for PayPal and different ones to sign up to websites... not sure they've thought about that.
If this sounds like a good idea to you but you're stuck for good photo ideas, you might like to spend a few minutes at FlickrWatch. Or, if you like manipulating photos there's Warp.
[08:29][have your say 6]
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How accurate is Alexa?
Alexa.com, the "web information company" is designed to provide statistics on the popularity of websites on the internet - I just wonder how accurate it is at doing so.
Alexa gathers its statistics using the Alexa Toolbar which is an add-on to Internet Explorer. There's the first problem - there's no official Firefox version. (I say official because there is this Firefox extension, but I'm not convinced that it sends home browsing statistics). I think most would agree that the more savvy web user will tend to use Firefox in preference to IE... and they'll sift through more of the web than the average surfer. But, being affiliated to Amazon.com, you'd think it would have enough users to provide statistical reliability anyway. I guess the more popular you website is, the more reliable the figures are. (Other problems include extra browsing lag and occasional crashes.)
So what percentage of internet users are estimated to have the Alexa Toolbar installed? Alexa doesn't say. On the basis of Nimisis.com's numbers in the last few months, I would guess that it's about one in 600. Not a lot. Still, this will no doubt vary according to the country, among other variables. Below are some graphs for Nimisis.com and you can see there is some correlation.
Alexa stats showing "Daily Reach" in percent.
Google Analytics stats (accurate) showing unique visitors per day
In the end I think Alexa stats can be useful and do have their place. Nowadays it can be difficult to gauge whether a professional looking website actually is one that draws a significant crowd and has any authority. Sure, there are groups that artifically ramp up their rankings by more or less randomly traversing through each other's sites - so don't trust the stats completely. For a second and third opinion, try Quantcast.com and Compete.com, but these are smaller than Alexa. I just think Google, with their huge Google Toolbar user base would gather much more accurate stats. Come on Google!16
Flora London Marathon
I was pretty tired after last year's London Marathon. I didn't run in it, but I did do some exercise that day :) Anyway... this Sunday is when it comes around again. It's always great to have a lie-in, wake up, flick on the TV and see lots of people sweating it out. Good on them! There are lots of people running for some great causes.
8
Online world geography quiz
My ignorance when it comes to geography is truly shocking and I've been meaning to do something about it. So, here's a little world geography quiz Google Maps mashup I've whipped up using the Google Maps API. Hopefully you'll learn a few things with it! I'd certainly never heard of the tiny island nation of Pitcairn (population 53) before today...
[15:43][have your say 6]
29
Four wickets in four balls
Lasith Malinga almost got Sri Lanka out of jail yesterday in their World Cup match vs South Africa. If you missed it, watch it here.
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Everything half price!
Update: This idea has now become a website in its own right at PriceCutReview.com.
Amazon had a sale recently which has now ended sadly, but it got me thinking. Everyone likes a sale, so why not try to find the products on Amazon that are going for a heavy discount? That's exactly what "Half Price Bargains" does. I'm unveiling it today so grab yourself a deal! (The UK version is here.)17
Wittertainment at its most wittertaining
This is a phrase coined by film critic Mark Kermode with reference to the nature of the banter that goes on between him and Simon Mayo every Friday on BBC Five Live. Reviews are often quite witty, they witter and the result is quite entertaining, hence the term. They also have a podcast version in case you miss the radio show or prefer that format.
Existing fans of the show might like to be informed that Pan's Labyrinth, the film Kermode can't stop praising (and to be fair also won an Oscar) is out and available to buy. Apparently it's part of a trilogy by Guillermo Del Toro and you're supposed to see Cronos then Devil's Backbone first to fully appreciate all three.12
Freelance animation
This is a quick plug for my colleague Martin who's got a portfolio of cool animation projects and is also involved in the production of a comic called Fruit Punch. He's also hoping to start freelancing soon so contact him if his work interests you.
8
Google PageRank Calculator
The latest addition to my list of homebrew applications is a Google PageRank calculator. If you have a website and want to do some search engine optimisation this will hopefully be a useful tool.
I thought I'd also use this entry as a place where comments can be posted for PR score comparison purposes, so feel free to add what your site scored, how many pages were crawled and the number of calculation iterations performed.[14:01][remarks 1]
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Climate change and global warming
A stitch in time saves
ninenineteen according to Nicholas Stern. Read the Stern Report here.
What can you do to help stop global warming? Find out here.10
24: Day 5 Marathon
A seemingly ridiculous way to spend a sun drenched saturday is to get up at 6:30am and go to watch an entire season of the TV series "24". Without adverts this takes up about 18 hours but no, it's worth it, well worth it. Eye strain, dead butt-cheeks and DVT are a small price to pay to witness Jack Bauer, the anti-terrorist, come up with lines like, "the only reason you're conscious right now is because I don't want to carry you."
For the uninitiated but intrigued (admit it), the official site has an archive of every hour's action for the last five seasons. Wikipedia also has a good section explaining past plots and character profiles, reminding fans who's dead and who's still alive. It's hard to keep track as Jack Bauer is probably the leading cause of death in middle-eastern men. He's supported by a government agency called CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit aka Criminal Torture Unit), the members of which solve problems and decode stuff by looking up one or two random technical terms in a dictionary and then say them together in a confident way. One time for example, saying "I used a machine-coded matrix" magically yielded some much needed result.
Will we do this again for Day 6? Of course we will. Maybe if everyone on "24" followed Jack Bauer's instructions, it would be called "12" and it'll be less of an endurance test. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen...14
Just retracing some of my steps using Google Earth and Google Maps and noticed that the reservoir in Central Park looks as if it's either got a very narrow bridge across it or a tunnel. How great would a glass underwater tunnel be (assuming that the water was really clear)! See for yourself.
[05:11][have your say]
12
Flight sims
Goggles isn't a proper flight simulator like the ones used to train pilots but an online game that makes clever use of Google Maps. (Tip: If you try flying around London, you're starting in Hyde Park.)
8
Mango book club
A few weeks ago, Mango book club sent me a parcel with a book that was apparently the Editor's choice for me. It certainly wasn't my choice. As far as I was aware, I never signed up to this book club (for girls) and did not owe them £1.99 for their trouble. The bill then went up to £14.99 and I was on the verge of being referred to a debt collection agency. I found this out when I got back from my recent travels and did a quick google search showing that there are lots of stories regarding Mango that don't throw it in the most favourable light. You can phone them up on a premium rate phone line but that's all automated and I wasn't about to do that. Finally I found an email address and actually they've been good in this case - they deleted me from their database.
If you've had similar probs, here's their email address: welcome@new-member.co.uk. If you've had a shocker, contact BBC Watchdog.23
Hat dobbing... and Latin
Having managed
luckilyto avoid jail in the seven years since I started at uni, I was allowed to go back up there last Saturday and collect a free MA. This is some Cambridge scam but I'm not complaining. As my friend Alex quite rightly pointed out, because we'd already got Master of Engineering degrees when graduating the first time, surely a Master of Arts degree would make us Masters of the Universe! Most people tended to disagree.
Anyway, the whole day is about a pretty strange freemason/Priory of Sion-esque ceremony and I thought I'd demystify it with the aid of some Lego men. Maybe you're about to go through this collecting-an-MA malarky in which case let me tell you some of the tips I picked up...
You've eaten your lunch at college, you've caught up with old mates, you're all wearing ridiculous outfits hired from Ede & Ravenscroft and worked out what all the different gowns and hood colours mean. After an age the yeargroup is lined up in fours about to parade down Trumpington street. They check your socks now...
Tip 1) Earn yourself a pair of plain black socks free of charge. Because you're not allowed to wear socks that have any type of logo on display in the Senate House, wear your favourite Simpson's ones and College will give you a pair for free. They certainly won't want them back after you've worn them! Actually don't do this because it's just cheap. Tip 1) is actually bring a packed lunch of your own or eat out!
You've paraded down Trumpington Street. Now for the main event.
Below is roughly what it looks like in the Senate House. The yellow thing is the kneeler. The Praelector (Lego cabbie), Vice Chancellor (astronaut) and Proctors (policemen) are all in those positions more or less.
Tip 2) Don't drink too much at the college lunch. You may have to wait for a while, especially if your name is something like Zack Zeppelin. David Butler is not so bad.
Tip 3) EBay your guest ticket. Parents usually go to your main graduation. MA graduation sees far fewer parents and we all only got one ticket each anyway. Tourist demand for a seat at a Cambridge MA ceremony may be high... who knows!
When it's your row of four about to face themusicLatin, the Praelector reaches out his hand and each person in the row takes a finger with their right hand and some Latin is said.
Tip 4) Do use your right hand! Using your left hand is definitely an offense that will incur a fine. You won't have to pay anything personally but the college (so I've been told) coughs up a bottle of red wine for each fine that goes towards the Proctors' party.
Your name's been called out and you're kneeling down. You have now to put your hands up in a prayer-like position, then he puts his hands around yours and says more Latin.
Tip 5) Look at the old geezer's eyes. If you look too humble, any photos of this moment may depict you staring at his crotch. Also raise your hands high, you don't want him to have to stretch too much, and feel around your groin for those prayerful hands.
Tip 6) Get up carefully as you're about to bow. MA gowns are a bit longer than the ones worn at graduation the first time around so try not to trip.
Tip 7) There are two little steps between you and the door so as you leave after taking the bow, again, make sure you don't trip up!
Your photocopied degree (no expense spared) is given to you at the door. That's it! See the photos here.5
What's wrong with this photo taken a few hours ago of welsh rugby captain Gareth Thomas? Is it that his jersey says "Brains" on it? Not what I was thinking originally but good guess... no, I'm sure he's very bright... (Brains should sponsor a certain London premiership football team for a laugh though.) Wales won against England at rugby?! It can't be true![18:28][comments]
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The Nightmare before Christmas Eve
What I really didn't want to happen for Christmas happened on Christmas Eve. I did something I always do without fail - I turned the handle to flush the toilet (...don't worry kids, this isn't rude) which, as expected, started the flush. What wasn't anticipated was my superhuman strength which caused the fairly solid metal handle to shear right off, causing it to plop into the swirling mini rapids of the bowl and flush itself down the U-bend. Thankfully, Santa sent round a helpful plumber which was kind especially as around Christmas it must get pretty busy. Don't know what I would've done otherwise... The tank was sealed shut and I didn't have a bucket (what with shops being closed) to chuck water down the toilet to initiate any kind of flush... Hmmm, I'm struggling to find any semi-relevant links to this little tale, except of course that a search for "toilet accident" turns up some
amusinghorrific stories. Anyway, that's probably enough about toilets, I seem to talk about them every month. They really are a blessing though![14:15][remarks 1]
5
Well, it's 4 o'clock in the a.m and I've just got back from the office! Lucky me. This demo I've been slaving over for the past few weeks (and 3 weekends) is being shown at an expo called I/ITSEC this week and it's going to kick some butt. If you're in Orlando do check it out at the Primary Image stand.
[22:11][have your say]
2
It's another costume theme this year for the work Christmas party. What a hassle! If it wasn't so garish I'd almost be tempted to go as Bruce Lee with that yellow jumpsuit he wore in Game of Death. Hmmm... this may not quite fit in with the Renaissance theme though... Surely it's bordering on harrassment to force employees to dress up as idiots in front their colleagues?
[18:24][comments]
13
Bond, James Bond
By no means am I a big James Bond fan (I think MacGyver is a far better role model) but this list of potential future Bonds is ridiculous!
28
Three LionsOne TigerEuro 2004 isn't the Three Lions' this time around because of Urs Meier's gross refereeing ineptitude... But could Wimbledon 2004 be one Tiger Tim's? Whatever happens, let's just get Boris Becker out of the commentary box! I can put up with Alan Hansen's stock phrases like <scottish accent>"chance after chance after chance"<scottish accent> but Boris is just too much!
[15:02][comments 1]
11
A panda eats in a cafe. He finishes his sandwich, fires a gun in the air and walks towards the door. When the waiter asks in confusion what he thinks hes doing, the panda throws him a badly punctuated book on wildlife: "Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves".
I mention this old joke because I got asked by a colleague whether the word "supplied" has one 'p' or two today. It's shocking what gets misspelled and worse, gets mispronounced in a technology company![13:18][remarks]
4
This guy called Steve Price was performing magic tricks after church today. It was very good! To think it's already been a year since we couldn't get away from David Blaine (even though he was in a box). This was much better!
[16:24][have your say]
13
Mahjongg
Mahjongg's a new game I learnt whilst in Taiwan. When I say Mahjongg I mean the 4-player version which is also a kind of Chinese rite of passage, not the solitaire kind. I'd hinted to my mum in the past that I wanted to learn how to play but had assumed that this had fallen on deaf ears. I was wrong. A trip last month to my aunt's place was, unbeknownst to me, all about an opportunity to teach David this essential life skill.
It was a pretty surreal experience. As soon as I'd got in my aunt's door, out came the mahjongg table and the chairs, the tiles were whipped out and I found myself sat down with granny on my left, my mum opposite and my aunt to my right, all three of them fully absorbed in counting their moneyand no doubt psyching themselves up.
After a while I overcame the intensely combative atmosphere and with a healthy dollop of beginner's luck actually won a few rounds. I kept winning money off granny which was the best if not most wicked part. Money talks especially when you don't share a common language. It should be noted thatunfortunately the money was fake. Anyway, it's a good game and was a lot of fun to play. Here's a site where you can play online, along with classic games like Stratego.9
"Cosmopolitan and chic"...
...apparently is what Courchevel 1850 is described as, so why we
blue collar workersare going there tomorrow I have no idea! May well be doing lots of this (video high/low) in the week and scare some french folk.6
Happy New Year!
Seeing as Princess Diana is making a come back I guess I should too. Here are some photos from our James Bond themed company Christmas party! In case you were wondering, those things at the end of my arms are my metal hands, because OBVIOUSLY I'm Dr No... well, I alternated between him and Michael Jackson (Bo' Selecta variety) from time to time...
12
David Blaine
It took us 3 hrs to drive back to Surbiton from central London on Sun night and I blame it all on magic man. Why starve yourself for 44 days? And why do it in London? And why why WHY do it beside a bottle-neck like Tower Bridge? On a day when they were going to have a mock chemical attack and there was cricket at the Oval. Anyway, I reckon he's eating insects... or maybe his cage is edible, like a see-through gingerbread house. What an idiot - although I'd have to admit if I was going to be paid £5m for sitting and doing nothing for 6 weeks I might consider it...
23
Gangs of New Malden
I'm in! All unpacked and ready to go in my new place. It's nice too, except the other day I turned the shower on and it decided not to let me turn it off even a little bit afterwards... Otherwise it's great, that's been my only problem... oh, and no internet yet. Hopefully soon though!
25
Who would you vote out of the stable?
Well, the Queen's speech was good I thought. Thanks to both of you for voting! But yes, I've got another poll.
Hope you had a great Christmas by the way!24
Everyone seems to be out on the streets desperately buying Christmas presents today. Talk about leaving it to the last minute! It isn't hard to get something really cool though. How about a Buzz Lightyear? Or a Go-ped? Or some Lego (it never disappoints!).
[08:34][remarks 1]
23
New vote today: Will you be tuning in to the Queen's Speech on Christmas Day?
[13:36][have your say 2]
10
Share predictor
After a fair few months of development, I'm now finally ready to show the world my online share predictor! Right now you're probably thinking, "Yeah right Dave, sure you can predict tomorrow's stock market prices!" But
barebear with me. I'm going to start a little experiment to quiet all you cynics. Yesterday I invested a virtual 100k to buy and sell shares with over the next few weeks. If my program's predictions are any good then I'll make some virtual money! Do however remember how difficult this is. Each deal is costing 15 and there's also a 0.5% stamp duty, not to mention the markets are pretty bad at the moment... but time will tell!
More information on the meanings of all the figures is coming, but all the deals I make can be seen here. Everything's transparent and all questions are welcome. Do not hesitate to email me.[12:50][remarks 1]
9
Rejection
My marathon aspirations have taken a slight hit today in that my application has been rejected. Oh well, nevermind. I was really quite gutted, then I had a sudden revelation, and it went a little something like this -
"Actually, sod marathon running! What sort of personality-less loser runs for their dose of exercise anyway? Forrest Gump springs to mind. Okay, so he came good, but is it a sport? Where's the ball? Is it what used to be the balls of my feet just come off in two massive blisters?"
Yup, that's what I thought. They did send me a free Flora London Marathon official fleece though. How very nice of them. It's just a conspiracy to give me jogger's nipple twice in a fortnight. There's no way I'm risking getting that again. And there's no way I'm going to walk into a shop and get a sports bra. Guess I'll just have to stop running then. What a shame. They also gave me an issue of "Marathon News - the losers edition" which had one of the weirdos from last year in a joker's outfit on the front cover and headlines like, "Tears of a Clown?" "Cheer up!" "UNSUCCESSFUL" and "Sorry!". The fleece is the thinnest fleece on the planet. Is it a good bet that you'll see me wearing it a fair bit this winter? NO. I'm not an uncoordinated loser. (No offense intended Paula. Well done you.)[15:28][have your say 1]
1
Observations of a Marathon Runner
(...in training)
1) Geese attack you (at least the ones in Regent's Park do when you get close to them)
2) Whereas most people "hit the wall" after about 15-20 miles, I hit it at about the 2 mile mark...
3) Athlete's Foot, Tennis Elbow and Housemaid's Knee are nothing compared to "Jogger's Nipple." That'll teach me for running in a shirt with a logo on it!26
Having together enjoyed so much watching Bond and his arsenal of Q's gadgets do battle on the ice in Die Another Day last night, the guys from work and I decided to go to the Marble Arch ice rink. It's great. Far better than the Somerset House one. I can recommend it!
[17:24][remarks]
16
Marathon Training
Help, I've just come back from a 50 minute run and I'm gonna die. It feels good though. I took my walkman with me because I think it helps me not to walk all of it. I went right through Regent's Park, up Primrose Hill, then round the west side of the park and back home.
Going up Primrose Hill was definitely the hardest part. On came "No Woman No Cry" (for your information a 7:07 minute long track) about half way down the Regent's Park Broadwalk and I got to the top of Primrose Hill before the end. But to be honest, it took all of Mr Marley and the Wailers' consoling to stop me from shedding a few tears.
I noticed that there seems to be this thing where all the runners greet other runners when they pass each other. It's like a "Well done you. You run, you're cool." all in a little nod. Two people did this to me right at the start, then I thought I'd go along with this secret code too... I got totally blanked by all and sundry. Maybe the glare off my new shoes is showing me up to be somewhat lacking in athletic credibility. I'll run through some puddlestomorrownext time.15
Got some new running shoes yesterday so training for the marathon can begin! (...tomorrow... if it's not too wet... and if I wake up in time to leave an hour or so before the rugby match versus the Aussies...)
[07:10][comments]
19
Still haven't done any sort of training for the London Marathon... I need to have (to quote a Friends line) "The Fear." Besides, my application will probably get rejected and well, some people take training just far too seriously!
[11:08][remarks]
8
Me, A Marathon Runner
Am I going mad? I'm going to apply to be in the London marathon! Think it'll be a good laugh actually, and a good reason to keep fit. Am definitely starting to look a bit lardy and harpoonable. To confirm that I'm losing my marbles I decided to go along with J's suggestion and went for supper at an Afghan restaurant tonight. There was even what I reckon was a picture of the Tora Bora cave complex in the corner... It has to be said however that they did serve great food. Yum.
28
Where are you from?
Most personal websites seem to have "guestbooks" which visitors are supposed to sign but never do... at least I've never signed one. But what if I had a "guestmap"?
19
St. Matthew's Day
St. Matthew's day is on the 21st and the reason I mention this is because it is a tradition of my old school to march through the City of London every year on St. Matthew's day (or on the Fri around when it is). Lead by the school band we all group according to our boarding houses, and march past bewildered pedestrians (because of our strange uniforms), avoid the evidence of the presence of mounted police and go to see the Lord Mayor. It's all good fun. Can't go to see them this year since I'm working but this website has some good photos.
2
If I wrote an email like this to you, thinking that you may have been an old classmate in school 14 years ago, would you write back?
Sorry if you're not the person I think you are, as reimbursement for the waste of time reading it I hope that this email may be of some mild amusement value at least...
Anyway... I was just looking on friendsreunited and thought your name was familiar. If you're the ****** I'm thinking of then you were at Durrington with me in a class taught by one 'Miss Webb' in 1988. You had very blond hair and had a best friend called ****** I think. My memory is terrible but if I remember correctly you once sank your teeth into this poor bloke in our class. You were a bad influence on me!
Don't know if you recognise my name though. I was the half-english-half-taiwanese one who used to try to play kiss chase with the girls in the class at breaktimes but would fail miserably...
Write back if that was you, it would be good to catch up.[05:35][have your say 1]
24
(This is my last sunburn related post I promise.) I think it's due to the discomfort this experience is causing me that I'm strangely really craving some skiing. Sure you can get very sunburnt on the slopes too but at least one is fairly well covered all over. And yes, severe sunburn is preferable to a broken leg, but I've really missed storming down a piste and frequently crashing in a similar manner to that almost gymnastic moment in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano when Herman Maier lost his footing slightly. (Links to RealPlayer clips of those truly classic few seconds - high/low bandwidth.) I'll admit there is something morbid about my joy at watching high speed crashes and collisions. I do sort of look forward to a little catastrophe in anything from skiing to F1 racing. Isn't it sad that these sports are only exciting when one happens? There are a good few minutes of this sort of footage in Ultimate X, the IMAX film on the 2002 X Games. Highly recommended.
[18:26][comments]
1
Paint By Numbers
The fruit of my labour for the past couple of days has been a solver for these paint by numbers games that can get ever so frustrating. Yes, I DO need to get out more. To be fair though, these games can get quite challenging. Maybe a quick way to know what the right answer is will be of use to someone else too?
15
It was great to watch Denmark play like they had a plane to catch. Got quite abusive during the match... I called them citizens of a stub of a country, full of Vikings and only worthy of acid rain... Sorry, very embarassed and ashamed now. World Cup fever is taking over!
Bring on Brazilor Belgium.[11:05][have your say 1]
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