tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158315672009-01-28T21:21:04.851ZRandom musings from David Nicholson.David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-27790917488005577742008-07-14T06:29:00.001+01:002008-07-14T06:38:05.986+01:00

I cycled up Cypress Mountain. View Larger Map

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2008/07/my-weekend-bike-ride.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-40309693036143869282007-11-05T01:09:00.000Z2007-11-05T01:14:11.634Z

Here is the apartment that I will soon be moving in to:View Larger Map

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/11/my-new-apartment.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-29384070572397308382007-10-14T06:50:00.000+01:002007-10-14T06:54:09.798+01:00

I was reading an article on Facebook's strategy in Wired, it talked about the recent changes that allow any 3rd party to make a Facebook application.I felt like giving it a go and have put together a Facebook version of my website; QuizSender.com. To use it go to http://apps.facebook.com/quizsender/.Let me know what you think.

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/10/facebook-version-of-quizsendercom.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-32506306362374954002007-10-11T06:04:00.000+01:002007-10-13T05:24:42.759+01:00

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com4http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/10/photos-from-vancouver.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-11844666600327748702007-10-02T20:48:00.000+01:002007-10-02T21:07:11.942+01:00

Recently I have been getting slightly addicted to TAS (Tool-Assisted-Superplay) game videos. Basically people with a lot of spare time on their hands play console games within emulators, they use the emulators ability to take snap shots in order to produce a perfect run and complete games in record times. It can be quite fun to watch a game that you spent ages completing many years ago

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/10/tas-game-videos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-25388517193808187142007-09-17T20:54:00.000+01:002007-09-17T22:36:53.909+01:00

A long time ago, I applied to work for Microsoft. They made me an offer. Visa applications weren't made, visa applications were rejected, the offer was changed. Now, I will go and work for Microsoft. For anyone who may be interested, here is my story:Chapter 1: Application and offer2 Jan 2006: Send CV to resumes@... address23 Jan 2006: Received e-mail interview from Tami Responded to questions

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/09/diary-of-application-to-microsoft-from.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-26771873905040991992007-08-25T22:34:00.000+01:002007-08-25T22:44:00.622+01:00

One of my more recent tech purchases has been a digital camera. I went for the Canon IXUS 75 as it seemed to have a good review to price ratio, it is small and it looks sexier than your standard all-silver digital camera. I have had plenty of chance to test it out on my two recent holidays and so far I am impressed. It has lots of different settings to let you (try and) get the shot that you

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/08/canon-ixus-75.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-21775909228768314862007-08-25T22:10:00.000+01:002007-08-25T22:13:05.278+01:00

Went to see Bad Girls The Musical in London's West End today. It was fun. Took a bit of getting used to the new actors but there were some familiar faces; one of which was Sylvia Hollamby.

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/08/bad-girls-musical.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-48303096031156570172007-08-17T22:13:00.000+01:002007-08-25T22:19:53.571+01:00

Just visited Egypt. It was a new country for me (and I actually acquired some stamps in my passport!) The weather was brilliant. The resort was really good, full board meant free everything! We had plenty of snorkeling fun, one time we went out to a coral. It was a great opportunity to play some more with my new camera along with its underwater case. Also, we went quad-biking through the nearby

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/08/egypt.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-34925483911688691462007-08-05T21:50:00.000+01:002007-08-05T22:08:59.678+01:00

I have been evaluating Freebase a fairly new site that is aiming to create an open database of everything. Think Wikipedia, but with user definable relational structure.Here are my thoughts:Weaknesses: Permissions too lapse. Not extendible for uses such as a social network, could not easily be used to store private data for a website.No notion of functions. Wouldn't it be really cool if users

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/08/thoughts-on-freebase.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-85901252800844925582007-07-31T22:20:00.000+01:002007-08-25T22:43:44.201+01:00

A recent vacation took me to France with some friends from university and some new faces. We rented a villa on the outskirts of Bar sur Loup, near Grasse, near Nice. The villa was fantastic: Our own private pool, a big garden, sun loungers, pool table, table football, kitchen, everything... Highlights included a trip to Cannes for a look round and swim in the sea, Monaco to admire boats and big

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com1http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/07/france.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-92063749818644823972007-07-06T19:25:00.000+01:002007-09-18T20:32:01.463+01:00

From http://www.cbc.ca/cp/technology/070705/z070502A.htmlTORONTO (CP) - Microsoft Corp. plans to set up house in the Vancouver area this fall with a new software development centre that would attract talent without encountering U.S. immigration issues. The location will be one of only a few development centres outside the company's headquarters in Redmond, Wash., Microsoft said Thursday in a

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/07/microsoft-to-start-up-vancouver.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-5510364028293084382007-06-30T12:00:00.000+01:002007-06-30T12:07:45.882+01:00

I recently got quite into Peep Show, but only as the previous series was coming to an end on TV.In order to watch a few older episodes I thought I would try out 4oD. The first hurdle was that they won't let you download it if your browser advertises that you're using Vista. The second hurdle is that the installer won't run if it detects that you are using Vista. Not to worry though, a modified

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/06/4od-channel-4-on-demand-on-vista.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-48781012669552288192007-06-21T20:16:00.000+01:002007-06-21T20:26:35.025+01:00

I read The Code Book by Simon Singh and really enjoyed it; it was a very easy going life history of cryptography. Fermat's Last Theorem does the same thing with Maths. Although the title sounds very specific, it is actually a brief history of Mathematics. The style of writing is very much the same as The Code Book; it is very easy going, yet a very interesting read.

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/06/fermats-last-theorem.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-44658267525702954262007-05-24T20:52:00.000+01:002007-08-25T22:44:23.682+01:00

I got an Ipod nano for my birthday. I had been debating getting one for a while because of the small size and slick user interface, I was just a little put off by the jump from Microsoft to Apple. As it happens, iTunes is only a bit worse than Media Player. Also, I don't intend to buy any DRM protected music so I should still be able to use Media Center to access my music collection elsewhere in

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com1http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/05/new-interface-for-audio.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-8631980219749414522007-05-14T18:32:00.000+01:002007-05-14T18:41:51.326+01:00

As a birthday present to myself I have brough a Nintendo Wii. It was a choice between a Playstation 3 and a Wii. The Wii had benefits like being much cheaper, having more innovative controls and being able to play classic Nintendo games. The PS3, I thought, was made for more hardcore gamers (not me). Also if you asked me to bet on which format was going to win the current format ware, I would

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/05/wii.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-50948660312448009562007-04-18T18:24:00.000+01:002007-04-18T18:32:08.278+01:00

Caz and I visited Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight over Easter weekend. We went up the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth. The view was good, unfortunately they don't have a panoramic lift (it hasn't worked since day one) and the top is totally sealed with glass so there is no "wind in your face effect". It slots into a number two position on my top 3 tall structures list (the Eiffel

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/04/easter-weekend.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-748282745986053362007-04-18T18:19:00.000+01:002007-04-18T18:22:19.037+01:00

Beef Stew with dumplings and spiced parsnip mash.

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com1http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/04/stew.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-18631682538872791212007-04-10T20:00:00.000+01:002007-04-10T20:09:27.650+01:00

The Spanish Game is the sequel to a book that I quite enjoyed: A Spy By Nature. I actually slightly preferred this one to the prequel, but they are worth reading in sequence. The main character has now been living in Spain for many years and the book details a series of events that bring him back to his spying days. There are lots of twists, some obvious, some not so much: The ending could have

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/04/spanish-game.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-15243431812776705722007-03-27T21:40:00.000+01:002007-03-27T22:24:35.965+01:00

I got myself a Joost invite the other day. First things first, I had to make it work with Vista (it moans about C:\Windows\AppPatch\AcGenral.dll). I found running: cd /cygdrive/c/Windows/AppPatch mv AcGenral.dll AcGenral.dll.temp mv AcGenral.dll.temp AcGenral.dll at a Cygwin prompt did the trick (the AcGenral.dll file is then owned by the user I am running Joost as and it stops complaining). If

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com1http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/03/joost-on-vista.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-6580289618166002412007-03-27T21:33:00.000+01:002007-03-27T21:37:20.680+01:00

Since I moved into my flat I have got quite into cooking -- I don't even own a microwave! Last weekend I made a very good (even if I do say so myself) Chilli Con Carne for myself and my guests.

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/03/chilli-con-carne.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-10572953800630335472007-03-09T18:54:00.000Z2007-03-09T19:00:11.464Z

LoIP (n) Acronym for Life over Internet Protocol. Refers to the increasing prevalence of social lives that are led entirely online. Common usage: An IM message may proceed thus: 'Hey John, how's LoIP?' 'Oh, not bad. I'm just updating my blog. Any further questions you may have about my well-being will be answered there.'(Stolen from Stuff magazine.)

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/03/life-over-ip-loip.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-27533042958303914072007-03-04T18:59:00.000Z2007-03-04T19:16:46.775Z

It was time to buy a new phone, my wish list was: Compatible with 3G networks. Wifi built in. Runs Windows Mobile. Has a keyboard. Built in GPS. Available now. Only one phone met my criteria, the Fujitsu Siemens Pocket LOOK T830. It does have the disadvantage of being a bit bigger than my previous phone (the i-mate JAM) and being quite expensive but other than that it's great. Around the house I

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com1http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/03/new-phone.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-81384038904460088202007-03-01T07:51:00.000Z2007-03-01T08:03:14.124Z

I have added Snap Preview Anywhere to my blog. What a great idea! Whenever you hover over a link you get a thumbnail of the URL it leads to. Amazon must be upset too because these are thumbnails of the exact page, not just a domain home page and they are captured very soon after being queued -- much better than Alexa. I have some quibbles from a business point of view though: They appear to be

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/03/snap.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15831567.post-50909495589097616462007-02-21T20:21:00.000Z2007-02-21T20:31:05.020Z

Agile Web Development with Rails made for very inspiring reading. Ruby on Rails goes in the opposite direction of where most people are taking web development these days: simplifying development as much as possible. Although it is certainly designed around commercial reliability and scalability, whether or not Rails will really take off in the commercial world is open to speculation: Rails

David Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03401818307974403340noreply@blogger.com0http://da.vidnicholson.com/2007/02/agile-web-development-with-rails.html