MJL | Matthew Lawrence | Blog

Install Dionaea on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

2013-05-15T10:46:00.002+01:00

Dionaea is a low interaction honeypot which offers the following services SMB, HTTP, FTP and TFTP. It's pretty easy to install (once you know how) but it helps to know a few quick tricks.

For alternative install instructions, see: dionaea.carnivore.it/#compiling

Add the Dionaea repositories:

:~$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:honeynet/nightly
:~$ sudo apt-get update

Install Dionaea:

:~$ sudo apt-get install dionaea

After you've installed Dionaea, set up the directories:

:~$ sudo mkdir -p /var/dionaea/wwwroot
:~$ sudo mkdir -p /var/dionaea/binaries
:~$ sudo mkdir -p /var/dionaea/bitstreams
:~$ sudo mkdir -p /var/dionaea/log
:~$ sudo chown -R nobody:nogroup /var/dionaea/

Update the Config file with the new Directories:

:~$ sudo mv /etc/dionaea/dionaea.conf.dist /etc/dionaea/dionaea.conf
:~$ sudo sed -i 's/var\/dionaea\///g' /etc/dionaea/dionaea.conf
:~$ sudo sed -i 's/log\//\/var\/dionaea\/log\//g' /etc/dionaea/dionaea.conf

Before starting Dionaea, edit the Configuration which is located at /etc/dionaea/dionaea.conf. First I suggest that you reduce the amount of logging. Set the levels from all to warning,error:

logging = {
    default = {
      file = "/var/dionaea/log/dionaea.log"
      levels = "warning,error"
      domains = "*"
    }
 
    errors = {
       file = "/var/dionaea/log/dionaea-errors.log"
       levels = "warning,error"
       domains = "*"
   }
}

Next, edit the listen dection. Change the mode from getifaddrs (automatic) to manual, to ensure your install is reachable from the Internet:

listen =
{
   mode = "manual"
   addrs = { eth0 = ["::"] }
}

Finally, start Dionaea as Deamon:

:~$ sudo dionaea -c /etc/dionaea/dionaea.conf -w /var/dionaea -u nobody -g nogroup -D

Everything Everything - Photoshop Handsome

2011-08-29T14:39:00.000+01:00

Photoshop Handsome was originally released in 2009 but it didn't come to my attention until Everything Everything performed on an episode of Channel 4's Abbey Road Debuts last week (it may have been a repeat?).

Anyway, cool track :-)

Windows Phone 7: Can't download from the Marketplace

2011-07-01T13:13:00.001+01:00

For the last two days when I've tried to download anything from the WP Marketplace, I've been receiving the below error:

Can't get this information at the moment. Check again in a little while

Also, when I attempted to perform available app updates, I received the below error:

The Windows Live ID service is unavailable at the moment. Try again later

I also noticed that I could only listen to the first 30 seconds of tracks on the Zune Marketplace on my phone (I have a Zune Pass).

The solution was to visit https://account.live.com/ and change my Windows Live ID password. I then rebooted my phone and navigated to Settings >> Email & Accounts and changed my Windows Live password. Changing my password re-synced my Windows Live ID and allowed me to use my phone as normal.

WARNING! If you change your Windows Live ID password, you'll also need to change it on any other Live services you use (such as Xbox Live or Zune etc).

Weezer - Dreamin'

2011-06-28T10:02:00.001+01:00

This has to be one of my favourite Weezer tracks :-)

1and1: Your host needs to use PHP 5.2.4 or higher to run Joomla 1.6

2011-04-25T23:49:00.001+01:00

If you're attempting to install Joomla 1.6 on your 1and1 web hosing package, after uploading the Joomla 1.6 package, you may see the below error when you naviagte to your Joomla url in a web browser:

Your host needs to use PHP 5.2.4 or higher to run Joomla 1.6

To rectify this problem you'll need to add the below to the top of the htaccess.txt file at the root of the Joomla 1.6 package to map .php to the php5 engine.

# 1&1 addition to map .php to the php5 engine
AddType x-mapp-php5 .php

Alternatively you can download my htaccess.txt by clicking here.

Next, rename htaccess.txt to .htaccess and upload it to the root of the Joomla 1.6 package on your 1and1 web hosting package.

You should now be able to continue with the Joomla 1.6 installation by naviagting to your Joomla url in a web browser.

Links:
Joomla: www.joomla.org
.htaccess info: httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/howto/htaccess.html

John Hunter on the World Peace Game

2011-04-25T14:32:00.001+01:00

I wish more school teachers were like John Hunter.

John Hunter on the World Peace Game TED Talk:

World Peace and other 4th grade achievements Trailer:

Links:
World Peace and other 4th grade achievements: www.rosaliafilms.com/teacher.htm

Guide to Fixing KoToR for Windows 7

2011-03-15T23:37:00.001+00:00

I recently decided to download KoToR via Steam to ready myself for the upcoming release of SWTOR.

Unfortunately, KoToR is 8 years old now so naturally I had a bit of trouble getting the setup right. This isn't KoToR's fault, afterall it was and still is a fantastic game, it's simply down to software moving forward and older stuff getting left behind.

That being said, I still managed to get everything working with a bit of tweaking.

My Setup:
Windows 7 64-bit
8GB Ram
ATI RADEON 5770 1024M graphics card

1) First, if you're playing KoToR via Steam, disable 'Steam Community In-Game' for KoToR. Head to your Steam Library, right click KoToR, select Properties and UNTICK 'Enable Steam Community In-Game'

2) In Windows Explorer, navigate to the root directory of the KoToR program files and run swconfig.exe. After the applet loads, UNTICK 'Use Hardware Mouse' and TICK 'Disable Movies' (this just disables the intro movies, to my knowledge).

3) Run the game - hopefully it'll start ok but if not I've heard that enabling windowed mode, in conjunction with the two steps above, has fixed KoToR for some people. To enable windowed mode, navigate to the root directory of the KoToR program files and edit swkotor.ini (i.e. right click swkotor.ini and select edit). Scroll down to 'Graphics Options' and set 'FullScreen=0' and save (i.e. click File and Save).

Happy gaming!

New Star Wars: The Old Republic Trailer (PAX East)

2011-03-14T11:33:00.000+00:00

This new SWTOR trailer was first revealed at PAX East. I'm not a massive MMO fan but I'm really looking forward to this game! In fact, I've recently built myself a new PC and downloaded SWKOTOR in preperation.

Enjoy!

Xbox Gamercard

2011-03-08T14:34:00.003+00:00

With the demise of MyGamercard.net (read more about that here) you might be looking for another way to display your gamercard on your website.

Luckily M$ have provided a way of displaying your gamercard via an iframe. It isn’t as nice as MyGamercard.net but hey it works.

<div class='widget-content'>
<iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" width="204" src="http://gamercard.xbox.com/YOURGAMERTAG.card" height="140">YOURGAMERTAG</iframe>
</div>
<div class='clear'>
</div>
<div class='widget html' id='html3'>
</div>

Here it is in action:

ASP.NET Handling Empty Data in DataList control

2011-01-25T13:46:00.001+00:00

<asp:DataList ID="list" runat="server">
<ItemTemplate>
<!-- Add your Item Template Here -->
</ItemTemplate>
<FooterTemplate>
<asp:Label ID="lblEmpty" Text="No Result" runat="server"
     Visible='<%#bool.Parse((list.Items.Count==0).ToString())%>'>
</asp:Label>
</FooterTemplate>
</asp:DataList>

BLOCKQUOTE and CSS

2011-01-24T15:33:00.004+00:00

The standard format for blockquoted text is for it to be indented by 40px, which looks quite boring. But with CSS you can create blockquoted text that makes your quotes standout.


blockquote {border : 2px solid #EFEFF7; width: 400px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 10px; background-color: #EFEFF7; quotes: "\201C" "\201D";}

blockquote:before {content: open-quote; font-weight: bold; font-size:20px;}

blockquote:after {content: close-quote; font-weight: bold; font-size:20px;}

Add a border:
A simple way to improve blockquoted text is to add a border around it. For example, this CSS will put a 2 pixel wide border around all blockquotes in a page.


blockquote{border : 2px solid #EFEFF7;}

Blockquote Width:
To set the width of your blockquoted text add a width attribute.


blockquote{width: 400px;}

Align your blockquote
I prefer to allign my blockquotes to the centre of the page. To do that add a margin attribute. Margin is the space up/down/left/right around an element. Setting it to 0px auto means 0 padding on top and bottom, and auto left and right, to self-adjust. For this to work, you need to set a width or else the element will take up all the available space (as is the default behavior for block level elements).


blockquote{margin: 0 auto;}

Set the Background:
One of the easiest ways to get your quotations to stand out is to change the color of the background. I prefer a very light blue called "#EFEFF7". I like it because it doesn't compete or clash with my blue lettering or heading.


blockquote{background-color: #EFEFF7;}

Add quotes to your blockquote:
If you're using blockquote as it's supposed to be used, then you may need quotations to precede and follow the quotation. And with CSS it is very easy to do.


blockquote:before {content: open-quote; font-weight: bold; font-size:20px;}

blockquote:after {content: close-quote; font-weight: bold; font-size:20px;}

Finally, put it all together:
And here's what your completed style sheet looks like.


blockquote {border : 2px solid #EFEFF7; width: 400px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 10px; background-color: #EFEFF7; quotes: "\201C" "\201D";}

blockquote:before {content: open-quote; font-weight: bold; font-size:20px;}

blockquote:after {content: close-quote; font-weight: bold; font-size:20px;}

And here's the result!

JoCo Cruise Crazy - Stephen "Stepto" Toulouse

2011-01-16T15:32:00.007+00:00

Xbox "BANHAMMER" and legend Stephen "Stepto" Toulouse recounts life at Microsoft.

Part One:

Part Two:

Click here to buy Stepto's new book 'A Microsoft Life' for Kindle
For more information about 'A Microsoft Life' see the below post on Stepto's blog:

I Bookified My Blogerations! - by Stepto (30/11/10):
Tuesdays are when new movies and new games get released, and besides this post is a long time coming, but I’m very proud to announce the release of my first book, A Microsoft Life.

The story of how the book came to be is an odd one. This year being my 15th as a Microsoft employee, I took some time to collect a ton of the Microsoft lore and stories that I have written about here on my blog, expand and rewrite them, then compile them into a rough narrative. Once the manuscript was complete I handed it over to a professional editor (the wonderful Joanne Starer) and my friend Mark Pedersen designed the cover..... READ MORE.

Dr. Randy Pausch

2010-12-05T14:55:00.005+00:00

Dr. Randy Pausch, a Computer Science Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, delivered an incredibly inspirational "Last Lecture" on achieving your childhood dreams that has become a worldwide phenomenon due to its positive themes and Randy's moral authority to deliver it: his almost unbelievable bravery, dignity, and humility in the face of his terminal pancreatic cancer.

Watch The Last Lecture:

Randy lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on 25th July 2008, at the age of 47. He was at home, surrounded by his wife, Jai, and his three children.

Pancreatic cancer has the worst survival rate and is the most underfunded of all major cancers. It is also the only cancer on which virtually no progress has been made in the past 30 years. 75% of pancreatic cancer patients die within 12 months of the initial diagnosis and less than 5% survive for five years. The only way to change these dismal statistics is to raise as much money as possible for research.

In March of 2008, Randy used his newly found and unintentional celebrity to deliver compelling and heart-rending testimony before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services (L-HHS) on behalf of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The message that Randy so eloquently expressed was the urgent need for implementation of The National Plan to Advance Pancreatic Cancer Research, part of the RAISE THE CURE initiative for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, that represents the federal government’s part in making scientific progress in this disease.

Watch Randy's testimony to Congress:

Randy's emotional testimony included acknowledgement that this horrible disease tends to have a genetic link and that he believes significant progress is possible in his children's lifetimes with adequate funding today.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has made a commitment to raise $25 million to fund research over the next three years from private donors. Randy said, “We can beat it if we give a lot of smart people the money to do their jobs”.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW TO PanCAN
Jai Pausch Public Service Annoucement:

Links:
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture (CMU): www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/
The Last Lecture (Book): www.thelastlecture.com
Randy's site: www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN): www.pancan.org

Fable III Kingmaker (inc Symbian guide)

2010-10-09T16:42:00.003+01:00

Microsoft has launched a new campaign to launch its Fable III video game.

The campaign centres around a mobile phone game in which users join one of two factions competing to capture as much territory as possible.

Using a mobile app and the Kingmaker website www.fable3kingmaker.com, players use the GPS in their mobiles to tag their location with a virtual flag.

Players are rewarded for participating with gold‚ which can be transferred on to the actual video game which launches on October 29th. This gold‚ can be spent on in-game customisation and in-game products.

To install Kingmaker on a Symbian OS phone:
1) Update your device:
a. Key *#0000# into your phone's home screen.
b. Select Options > Check for updates.
c. Follow the on-screen prompts until your update is complete!

2) With your mobiles browser (use the integrated browser that came with your mobile), go to http://m.grppl.com/g/4071/kingmakerGB and follow the on-screen prompts until the install is complete!

3) Register for a Kingmaker account:
a. Go to www.fable3kingmaker.com.
b. Click 'Click Here To Register' and follow the on-screen instructions to register for a Kingmaker account. During the process you'll need to validate your email address by clicking a validation link that is sent to your registered email address.

After registration is complete, login to www.fable3kingmaker.com to find out which faction you've been assigned to (Royals or Rebels).

Next click the 'My Profile' link to view your profile. Here you'll find some little bonuses that'll help boost your score:
a. Link your Kingmaker account to your Twitter, Facebook and XBL accounts.
b. If you've pre-ordered a copy of Fable III from GAME (click here to pre-order yours), make sure you link your Kingmaker account to your GAME pre-order. You'll be rewarded with a nice 15,000 gold coin bonus to use in-game when Fable III is released on 29th October.

After you've done all of that the fun really begins! The aim of Kingmaker is to plant flags for gold. Using the magic of Kingmaker and your phones GPS, players place flags for their side throughout the nation! Each player may plant a maximum of 10 flags per day and each flag planted is worth 50 gold coins. In addition, 100 gold coins will be rewarded for any flag planted in a different territory to that player's previous flag.

Next, make sure you check out the treasure map at www.fable3kingmaker.com! Treasure is available at designated sites throughout the nation and there are two different types of trasure available. One is worth 2,000 gold coins and the other is worth 5,000 gold coins. Each hoard of treasure lasts only for 100 hits and is limited to one hit per player/device.

Links:
Kingmaker website: www.fable3kingmaker.com
Kingmaker Twitter: http://twitter.com/fable3kingmaker
Kingmaker Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/kingmaker/
Rebels Twitter: http://twitter.com/Fable3Rebels
Royals Twitter: http://twitter.com/Fable3Royals

All that is left to be said is!:

Adobe Application Manager (Windows 7) - The update server is not responding...

2010-10-05T10:47:00.003+01:00

Problem
When you try to update Adobe software in Windows 7 using the Adobe Application Manager you receive the following error:

"The update server is not responding, which means it might be offline at the moment, or the Internet or firewall settings may be incorrect. Please try again later.".

Solution
1) Open Network and Sharing Center
2) Click Change adapter settings
3) Right-click the Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter, and click Disable.
4) Run the Adobe Application Manager again - hopefully this time it will be successful.

After trying the above if you still receive the same error, you can download the latest updates for Adobe software from the Adobe Product Updates Page http://www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/.

UrlRewriting.Net Module + IIS7 Equals Page.User == null

2010-03-22T16:56:00.001+00:00

I've used the UrlRewriting.Net module for a couple years now without any problems in Windows XP. I just recently upgraded my home PC to Windows 7 and started developing a new website.

The plan was to rewrite the URLs to something more meaningful using the UrlRewriting.Net module. Everything worked flawlessly in VS 2008, but when I tried running it through IIS7 it was a different story.

When I was accessing a page via its rewritten URL I could no longer access Page.User; it kept returning null. If I hit the page using it's .aspx extension, Page.User was correctly populated. I should also mention that I have a LoginView controller in my Master Page and it suffered from the same symptoms: When accessing via the rewritten url the AnonyousTemplate was always shown; When using .aspx extension it properly shows the LoggedInTemplate.

The solution was to add the below to web.config:

<modules runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests="true">

I found this solution thanks to Scott G who talks about using runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests for this purpose.

http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/02/26/tip-trick-url-rewriting-with-asp-net.aspx

How To: Enable Windows 7 integration in Firefox 3.6

2010-03-13T23:01:00.008+00:00

This is a tutorial on how to enable Windows 7 integration in Mozilla Firefox 3.6. You can enable features such as tab previews in the preview pane and Aero Peek tab navigation. This is a great way to enhance the experience using Firefox under Windows 7.

1) Open Firefox 3.6.

2) In the address bar type: "about:config" (without quotes) and hit 'enter'.

3) If a warning message is displayed, click "I'll be careful, I promise!".

Warning:
Changing the advanced settings can be harmful to the stability, security and performance of Firefox. You should only continue if you are sure of what you are doing.

4) In the 'Filter' bar type: "browser.allTabs.previews" (without quotes).

5) Below the Filter bar the "browser.allTabs.previews" entry should be displayed. Right click the "browser.allTabs.previews" entry and click "Toggle". The "browser.allTabs.previews" value should now be set to "true".

6) In the 'Filter' bar now type: "browser.taskbar.previews.enable" (without quotes).

7) Below the Filter bar the "browser.taskbar.previews.enable" entry should be displayed. Right click the "browser.taskbar.previews.enable" entry and click "Toggle". The "browser.taskbar.previews.enable" value should now be set to "true".

8) In the 'Filter' bar now type: "browser.ctrlTab.previews" (without quotes).

9) Below the Filter bar the "browser.ctrlTab.previews" entry should be displayed. Right click the "browser.ctrlTab.previews" entry and click "Toggle". The "browser.ctrlTab.previews" value should now be set to "true".

10) Restart Firefox for the changes to take effect.

Mozilla Firefox 3.6 should now integrate nicely with Windows 7. It is a certainty that Mozilla will enable these features by default in future versions of Firefox, so if you don't feel comfortable making the changes, just wait for Mozilla to make them for you! :)

IIS AspNetHostingPermission exception in Windows 7

2010-02-21T01:17:00.007+00:00

Problem
When loading any ASP.net site, you receive the following error:

Request for the permission of type 'System.Web.AspNetHostingPermission, System, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089' failed.

Solution
In IIS set the Application Pool setting, Load User Profile to "True".

In IIS, click Application Pools:

Under the Actions side menu, click Set Application Pool Defaults...:

In Application Pool Defaults, set Local User Profile to "True" and click OK

Assassin's Creed II - Collectables

2010-01-24T00:35:00.004+00:00

If you’ve been playing Assassins Creed II for a while, you couldn’t have failed to have noticed the sheer amount of stuff there is on offer for us obsessive collector/completionist types to collect. More importantly 65G in Gamerscore is available as a direct result of collecting Feathers, Glyphs and Statuettes (no G for collecting Treasure I’m afraid), which my calculator tells me is roughly 0.5G per item (thanks technology!).

Now, this thankless task, which involves hunting down 488 individual items would probably take a lifetime, has been made a hell of a lot easier thanks to the guys over at Games Radar, who have most definitely earned their hidden blades, with the walkthrough guides they have created.

So, for posterity and as a thank you to Games Radar I’ve linked all the guides I used in my quest for Assassins Creed II greatness. I should also thank my wing woman, Jenna who has shared her thoughts on the matter here.

Statuettes:
Statuettes are unique to Monteriggioni, finding them will net you 2,000 florins for every pair you can reunite on their pedestals, which are positioned around the grounds of the villa. Grab all eight, and the Myth Maker Achievement (5G) is yours.
Statuette Locations

Glyphs:
Glyphs, 20 semi-hidden signs left plastered on certain landmarks, which were hacked into the Animus by the mysterious Subject 16. Once you’ve found them – which can be tough considering the size of some of the marked buildings – you’ll then be tasked with solving a brief series of puzzles before you can crack the increasingly horrifying conspiracy story within. You’ll also bag yourself the Vitruvian Man Achievement (20G).
Glyphs Locations

Feathers:
Collecting the 100 floating Eagle Feathers, which replace the flags from the first game, allows you to unlock two Achievements. The first, In Memory of Petruccio (30G), is given for collecting all the Feathers and the second, Show your Colors (10G) is given for wearing the Auditore cape in each city (including the Appenine Mountains) which you unlock after placing all the Feathers in Maria’s chest in the Villa Auditore in Monteriggioni.
FLORENCE (San Giovanni, San Marco, Santa Maria Novella)
MONTERIGGIONI
TUSCANY/SAN GIMIGNANO
ROMAGNA/FORLI
VENICE (San Polo, San Marco, Dorsoduro, Castello, Cannaregio)

Treasure:
Collecting the 360 pieces of Treasure won’t provide any Gamerscore (boo!) but is essential if you are looking to achieve 100% completion.
FLORENCE
MONTERIGGIONI
TUSCANY/SAN GIMIGNANO
APPENINE MOUNTAINS
ROMAGNA/FORLI
VENICE

CES 2010 Opening Keynote (Microsoft)

2010-01-08T20:23:00.004+00:00

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, and Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division, unveil developments and partnerships involving Windows, Xbox, and other offerings. Las Vegas, Jan. 6, 2010.

For some reason Microsoft chose to "blackout" the Halo Reach and Xbox Games Room trailers, so for convenience I've included them below.

Halo Reach:

Xbox Game Room:

How To: Set off a Sky Lantern

2010-01-05T09:00:00.001+00:00

This is a quick how to guide for setting off a Sky Lantern. I've set off quite a few Sky Lanterns now and each time the instructions included aren't very good, so I thought I'd create my own. The cheapest price I've seen Sky Lanterns for is £1, which was in The Works chain of discount bookstores. The video was created using Pinnacle Video Spin. Thanks to my brother Kev for helping me out with this.

Snow Day

2010-01-04T13:07:00.003+00:00

As this is my first post of 2010 (The Year We Make Contact), I think I’d better start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year! During Christmas we had some snow that eventually melted but over the past few days it has returned with avengence. So yesterday we decided to take full advantage of it and take the Dogs sledging. We all really enjoyed it, so much so that I’d thought I’d share these two random videos I took. The first video ‘Rufus the Worker Dog’ shows Rufus, one of our Dogs being put to work to retrieve our sledge (he is a retriever after all!). Rufus is a unique Dog, some would say a “character” but he always takes his job of retrieving our sledge very seriously. The second video shows the two dogs ruining my girlfriend Jenna’s snow angel – very funny! Enjoy!

1. Rufus the Worker Dog:

2. Snow Angel - Dogs FTW!:

Boxing Day Dip

2009-12-27T12:24:00.011+00:00

I hope everyone is still enjoying their Christmas. On Boxing Day (26th December) my family and I took our annual trip to Marske beach for the Boxing Day Dip, so I thought I'd take a break from all the Christmas stuff to briefly share my experience of it. The Boxing Day Dip, or “The Dip” as my family call it, is a charity event where people, sometimes in fancy dress, swim in the sea on Boxing Day. There are many of such events held all around the country, with thousands and possibly millions raised for charity each year. The biggest dip in the country is organised by the Lions Club of Sunderland, with thousands in attendance.

This year The Dip at Marske was attended by hundreds of participants and spectators, which is quite impressive, especially for a small town with a much larger competing event just a few miles down the road in Redcar. Just before the claxon sounded, signalling for the participants to take the dip, the bonfire was lit to warm everyone involved, which was welcomed by all especially because of the freezing conditions with snow still on the ground, as you may be able to see from the photos.

The participants took the dip, probably slightly quicker than usual, although I did overhear one guy claiming that the sea was “warmer than usual” which I find quite hard to believe! Whilst taking my photos I noticed this dead fish on the beach. I’m not sure what type of fish it is, so hopefully someone will be able to enlighten me. If you have a Boxing Day Dip nearby I’d encourage you to incorporate it into your Christmas traditions, because it does really help you to recover from the exertions of the previous day.

Google's Christmas gift

2009-12-24T12:02:00.004+00:00

This Christmas Google has given a gift to someone very special..... Everyone! Google have achieved this amazing feat, which previously only Santa was capable of, by committing £12.4 Million ($20 Million) to charity.

On the web page created to promote the gift, Google state that "Our gift to you is a gift to them". The page also provides a current list of intended recipients which includes 25 charities ranging from CARE, Mothers Matter to HEAL Africa.

Hopefully, the donations will provide some relief for the charities involved, who along with all charitable organisations are currently experiencing a tough time at the hands of the global economic recession.

A study earlier this year by the Charity Commission, the regulator for charities in England and Wales, found that 52% of the charities questioned said they had been affected by the economic downturn - up from 38% in similar research last year.

Finally, I'd like to pass on my thanks to Google for giving so generously to charity and hope that they will show similar commitment to charity in the future.

For more information visit: google.co.uk/intl/en/advertising/holiday2009/

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T02:34:00.003+00:00

First and foremost, I would like to wish a very Merry Christmas to everyone. Please enjoy the next few days but most of all stay safe. The video is probably the coolest Christmas light related video I've ever seen! Christmas Light Hero is a real game you play with a wii wireless guitar controller. Optional TV screen is available if you get in trouble, but if you use the screen, you don't get your name in the high score list. Song is "Cliffs of Dover" by the incredible Eric Johnson.