Michele Neylon :: Pensieri

iPhone test post

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:08:06 PDT

The movable type iPhone plugin seems pretty good - this is just a quick test post using it.

United Airlines Break Musicians Guitar

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:27:17 PDT

My Facebook Account Has Been Hacked

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:11:25 PDT

This is both annoying and embarassing.

My Facebook account was hacked earlier this afternoon and the "charming" hacker has been telling my contacts that I need money - it's basically a 419 scam.

I've already reported the issue to Facebook

To clarify:

- I'm not in London or anywhere else overseas. I'm currently in Carlow
- I haven't been mugged or had my wallet stolen
- I don't use Western Union or any such services. If I wanted your money I'd either ask or encourage you to spend more money with us!

Hopefully I'll be able to get this resolved in a timely fashion.

I suspect my Facebook account password was a bit too weak and was bruteforced..

UPDATE: I've finally regained control of the account and will be using much stronger passwords in the future (there's a blog post or two in that tale!)

Sydney Just A Sweet Memory

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:29:36 PDT

IMG_0570.JPG, originally uploaded by blacknight.

Sydney was great.

The weather the first few days wasn't exactly wonderful, as I already mentioned, but it improved while I was there.

Australia is not Sydney, but if Sydney is any reflection of Australia then the country is great!

Now I'm back in Ireland trying to get over the jetlag (again!). Why anyone would fly all the way to Australia for only a couple of days is beyond me!

Wandering Around Sydney Avoiding The Rain

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:33:22 PDT

IMG_0528.JPG, originally uploaded by blacknight.

Although I've been in Sydney since Monday morning a combination of jetlag and bad weather has meant that I haven't explored the place as much as I would have liked.

Today changed all that and I spent most of the day wandering around the city with a few other people who are also over here for the ICANN meeting.

Google Map Oddities

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:04:04 PDT

I've been using Google maps quite a bit in the last few months to get me from point A to point B in cities that I don't know too well.

Most of the time the maps are accurate and the directions are good.

So what about this one?

Granted, there could be some very good reasons why Google wants to route me by this rather circuitous route (and yes I did specify "walking", so it's not a "one way system" issue) but it still strikes me as odd ..

So much for the shortest distance between two points being a straight line ...

Sydney Landmarks

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:33:41 PDT

Sydney Opera House, originally uploaded by blacknight.

Sydney's Opera House is probably one of the most recognisable images of Sydney and even Australia.
The ferry from one side of the harbour to the other takes you in really close to it, which is when I took this snap

Arrived In Sydney!

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 22:44:27 PDT

It's nearly 3pm here in Sydney and I've been on the go now since Saturday - catnapping along the way.

Sydney and Australia is a whole new experience and I'm loving it.

Photos and more to come, but I really need a hot shower and a change of clothes first...

How Not To Pack (again)

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:00:14 PDT

My packing for trips is always chaotic...

This time round I've run into two silly problems

Adapters - I have plenty of them, but they all seem to be for the wrong country
Space - For some stupid reason I managed to actually fill the suitcase. It might take up less space by the time I repack it, but I normally don't have that problem ...

In any case, I'm now waiting in departures to board my flight to Abu Dhabi and then on to Sydney.

Maybe one of these trips I'll actually get organised enough to feel like I haven't forgotten something silly, but I wouldn't hold my breath .. It's usually nothing essential, but the nagging feeling at the back of my mind is a hard one to suppress
Now to find a decent book to read ...

Transformers 2 In Sydney?

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:00:37 PDT

Since I'll be in Sydney when Transformers 2 is released going to see it "down under" seems to make sense...

The IMAX looks like a good option, so if anyone else is going to be "down under" for ICANN and wants to see it, why not hook up?

There's a screening just after midnight and according to Michael Bay some of the scenes were shot for IMAX ...

Back from Rome - Still Can't Use My Phone! Three Still Suck!

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:55:13 PDT

I got back from Rome earlier this afternoon. If I could find the cable for my camera I'd upload photos, but failing that I'll use a card reader to pull them off it ...

Rome was fantastic, so now I have to get geared up for Sydney ..

On the phone side ...

I'm currently using a backup phone, but can't use my E71!!

Why?

Because Three still haven't given us the unlock codes!!!

So not only did they manage to disconnect me from the world last week (and seemingly they didn't "allow" several or our numbers to be ported, so some of my staff were left in "limbo") but now I can't even use my phone!

Three win the prize for most inept and useless company I've dealt with ever. Seriously.

If you want to get a mobile phone DO NOT use these jokers!

Incommunicado Courtesy Of Three

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:18:34 PDT

I am currently incommunicado courtesy of Three's "wonderful" customer service.

I'm not going to get in to all the "goings on" surrounding our experience with Three, but suffice to say we decided to switch back to Vodafone.

That switch is not complete and won't be for another few hours ...

In the meantime the "lovely" people at Three decided to cut us off...

They're also demanding we pay them to unlock phones etc., so I'm basically cut off

If anyone needs to contact me urgently - you're out of luck!

If it's not too urgent email me and hopefully I'll be able to get back to you ...

Talk about annoying!

Dear Three - you really really suck!

Social Media Tshirt

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:58:55 PDT

You gotta love the guys in Despair.com (I know my CC doesn't.. )

Whoever comes up with their designs is a genius, though possibly a bit unhinged (in a good way)

Their latest batch of cool designs includes this beauty:

I think I'll wait until I get back from Rome before splashing out on it ... or maybe I won't ...

Do You Care About Your Privacy?

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:19:33 PDT

ICANN is currently going through a complicated process in order to introduce more domain extensions (the bit after the ".")

While the launch of new TLDs is something that a lot of people will welcome it is not without its issues.

One of the areas that has been receiving quite a bit of attention is in relation to intellectual property rights.

So what has this got to do with privacy?

In many respects very little, but unfortunately the latest document that the IP community have released does impact on privacy.

In simple terms the IP people see their rights as being more important than those of private individuals.

I've posted in more detail both here and here.

And if you have feelings about the subject I would urge you to make your feelings known to ICANN - any internet user can do so!

Clients Can Be Weird About Payments

Fri, 29 May 2009 12:24:09 PDT

Whether there's an "economic downturn" or not you'll always find people who simply don't "get" the concept of paying for stuff.

I mentioned this issue on Twitter earlier today and a couple of people sent me links to these absolutely hilarious videos. Apologies if the display is a bit odd - width may be a problem:

Of course if someone owes you money they really need to pay you .. Stewie's take on this is .. well .. em .. violent?

And the followup ...