Scorpion Trail (Geoffrey Archer)
Fiction, 3/10 – October 2008 I read this because I had got though all the other books on my holiday. It seemed to be war based so I was hoping for something action packed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t packed with action and wasn’t gripping. The characters didn’t come alive for me and I didn’t find the […]
Gridlinked (Neal Asher)
Sci-Fi, 7/10 – September 2008 What if you could have Google hardwired into your brain? Then you would be “gridlinked” like Special Agent Ian Cormac has been for thirty years – ten over the max. The book explores what it may be like to be unplugged after being fused with machines for so long. I […]
Car Scratch (20/Sep/08)
I had a small scrape against a stealthed rock which I assumed the car hire company wouldn’t be too impressed with: They actually were very understanding and just told me “don’t worry about it” – I therefore rate Alamo very highly and will hire from them again if I get the chance. The funny thing […]
Brideshead Revisited (Evelyn Waugh)
Fiction, 6/10 – September 2008 The characters are bold and striking and interesting, especially Sebastian Flyte. I didn’t find the book to have a proper story in terms of a beginning, middle and end but perhaps it’s more accurate to say it has too much story. It covers faith, alcoholism, painting, the decline of English […]
In the Beginning… was the command line (Neal Stephenson)
Programming History, 7/10 – September 2008 This is basically a short diary of the thoughts of Neal Stephenson about Microsoft, Apple, Linux and user interfaces. Tech is a hard subject to write about in an interesting way but Neal can do it well and obviously has a rich history and deep understanding of technology – […]
Salmon fishing in the Yemen (Paul Torday)
Fiction, 2/10 – September 2008 This was a very British book, full of quirks and making fun of all of British society including government, politicians, British love life, TV interview programs and “belief in belief”. I found it boring and unfunny. I didn’t like the diary format or the unbelievable love story but I did […]
Upstairs is finished (Aug/08)
At last the upstairs is finished, two bedrooms, a bathroom and now, the stairs. Before: After: Now, all that’s left is the dining room.
Perfectly sized “Powered by Ubuntu” Sticker (18/Aug/08)
If you have a Laptop with a small circular power button (e.g. a Sony VGN-AR51E) the stickers in issue 110 of Linux format magazine seem to be perfectly sized to frame it if you cut a hole in the middle of the Ubuntu logo. Of course, the other thing you have to do is peel […]
Swimming through Durdle Door
James, David, and I did an exhilarating swim from Man O’ War beach to Durdle Door beach through the archway. The “door” at Durdle Door, Swanage. Knackered after the 20 min swim
Finished the Bathroom (Aug/08)
The bathroom turned out to be quite difficult to get right because of drainage issues and in the end we had to raise the floor up to hide pipes and to get a better slope for waste water. It’ll be nice having a on-suite bathroom, no more going downstairs to clean our teeth. Before: After:
Best light ever had to go
I loved this light but it was a disaster. It tripped our consumer unit half the time it was turned on, when it was on it was as bright as the sun and completely blinded anyone in the room and bulbs seemed to only last a few days before needing to be replace. It was […]
Hamburger in Hamburg (July 2008)
I have completed one of my life’s ambitions. I have had a hamburger in Hamburg! It was a Murder King Whopper in Hamburg HBF train station. I swear it tasted nicer than any other burger I’ve had.
State of Fear (Michael Crichton)
Fiction, 7/10 – July 2008 Global-warming is a conspiracy! If you don’t believe me, read this book – it even has the references to relevant scientific research papers in the biography. It is full of interesting environmental information all bound within a semi-interesting action story – a bit the same way as Dan Brown’s Da […]
Accidental Goddess (Linnea Sinclair)
Romantic Si-Fi, 5/10 – July 2008 Quite a ridiculous book, my first (and hopefully last) romantic si-fi. Even if the story wasn’t great I still find futuristic things interesting because they make me dream. For example, her ship, SIMON (Sentient Integrated MObile Nanoessence) is like a futuristic brain embedded Google. This kind of book is […]
Ubuntu Cola (July 2008)
In Stockholm we found a Cola drink with the same name as our favorite Operating System. It’s fair trade and tastes just as nice as the original Cocacola. Ubuntu roughly means “I am because we are”. From The Guardian: In fact, the word ubuntu is just part of the Zulu phrase “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”, which […]
