tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:33:58 +0000There is no particular subject or theme. I flail wildly in all directions.http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/noreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)Blogger166125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-1814223950537867844Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:30:00 +00002010-09-09T06:33:58.448+12:00diasporaprivacyYou may recall my writing about the decentralised social networking platform, Diaspora a few months ago after I contributed to it financially. The project is now close to a release.  They plan to open source their current code on September 15 (or 16 for those of us on this side the of dateline).  They will then be releasing an alpha version of Diaspora in October. T _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/GNiYpWA34ZU/diaspora-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/GNiYpWA34ZU" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/09/diaspora-update.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-7496280420963325966Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:56:00 +00002010-09-08T12:56:55.148+12:00The yellow flowers I mentioned were almost out in the Random Phone Photos post are now mostly out: < _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/UGCmhyl-ydY/those-yellow-flowers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/UGCmhyl-ydY" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/09/those-yellow-flowers.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-5731432693226372318Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:21:00 +00002010-09-04T11:09:22.537+12:00christchurchearthquakeCamille is in Timaru at the moment.  She woke me up with a phone call about an hour ago to tell me she had just felt the biggest earthquake she has ever been in.  She has been feeling lots of aftershocks.  It turns out there has been a massive 7.4 earthquake 30k west of Christchurch.  Bound to be damage after that.  Let's hope there aren't any injuries or deaths. C _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/tnMSF1GLwrk/big-earthquake-just-out-of-christchurch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/tnMSF1GLwrk" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/09/big-earthquake-just-out-of-christchurch.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-4573312148793971699Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:38:00 +00002010-09-03T14:38:49.806+12:00 _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/lod8Cq2SnPs/bayonets-monsters-in-my-head.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/lod8Cq2SnPs" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/09/bayonets-monsters-in-my-head.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-2752855178469175823Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:14:00 +00002010-09-03T06:14:04.521+12:00hotelI forgot to say the place has two bathrooms which is nice.  However, one of them smelt like someone had recently taken a dump in it.   Not so nice. I _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/AAvXWHw8jPE/boulcot-suite-ii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/AAvXWHw8jPE" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/09/boulcot-suite-ii.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-2887017283763942896Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:08:00 +00002010-09-03T06:08:35.225+12:00hotelwellingtonThese three things are basic to mans' survival.  If any one is missing for any extended period of time, then that's it.  You're dead.  Pretty serious stuff really - and now I'm going to completely trivialise it.  Last night Camille and I were reduced to turning all the lights on in the place we are staying in order to bring it up to a reasonable temperature as the 9 bar oil heater in the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/P3lRFU4tGKU/food-warmth-and-shelter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/P3lRFU4tGKU" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/09/food-warmth-and-shelter.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-6176569883422754265Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:04:00 +00002010-08-24T18:47:10.964+12:00sniftersofficeI realised the other day that perhaps my office was suffering from monitor overkill Note the nifty packet of snifters hanging on the wall.  This is quite possibly the last pack of snifters in the world.  Never could stand them. I _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); I _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); I _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); I _uacct = "UA-84939-4"http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/SwwaYTrGyFw/office-screens.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/SwwaYTrGyFw" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/08/office-screens.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-4004232914426770797Sun, 22 Aug 2010 04:20:00 +00002010-08-22T22:54:19.934+12:00amaroklinuxmusicI usually use Amarok as my media player.  I don't like it but it has a couple of features that work for me - until now that is.  I have just upgraded my linux distribution of choice from OpenSuse 11.2 to OpenSuse 11.3.   This of course upgraded amarok.  I just now started it for the first time. I _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); Amarok has corrupted its music database.  Currently I http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/JBiWF7Wt3jc/bloody-amarok.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/JBiWF7Wt3jc" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/08/bloody-amarok.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-4382631333639961493Sat, 21 Aug 2010 17:02:00 +00002010-08-22T05:02:23.942+12:00websitesilverstripethrashcardiom.comI have just finished updating my website.   The major change is that I have used the Silverstripe CMS (SS) as the backend.  This means that I am far more likely to complete the content of the site and also update it from time to time as SS makes the management of it so much easier.  I have been working on massaging it into SS for about a month.  It was mainly done as a way of getting to know SS http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/7opWDMJ6b3g/website-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/7opWDMJ6b3g" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/08/website-update.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-7606917519688614390Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:53:00 +00002010-08-20T12:53:16.500+12:00The other night I had the pleasure in watching Camille eat.  I got to sit opposite her as she lovingly rubbed a rosemary sprig over her french lamb rack and then sliced into it exposing the perfectly cooked interior.  I sat there as the beautiful aroma from her plate wafted over to my side of the table, as she slowly worked her way through her meal.  I sat there getting more and more hungry. T http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/APHQBIBDTHk/auckland-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/APHQBIBDTHk" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/08/auckland-again.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-5232225749376630402Wed, 18 Aug 2010 03:46:00 +00002010-08-18T15:46:33.661+12:00pinginternettelecomCamille and I have had Telecom T Sticks for a few years.  They are on the CDMA network and have been very useful.  However, in our travels recently we have noticed that they suffer slowdown from time to time and on occasions this can be extreme.  For instance, I complained loud and long in this post about ping times close to 20,000 milliseconds. C _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/bgcSHpE1pxM/xt-network-and-data.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/bgcSHpE1pxM" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/08/xt-network-and-data.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-6824109770255686421Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:23:00 +00002010-08-14T08:23:31.225+12:00mobilecellphonephotosflowersfood Flowers in our garden. These are about to bloom again. About to get up close and personal with a giraffe. Lamb shanks, moroccan style in the tagine. Church at Te Aute This always makes me think of Camille. Risotto (chicken and saffron) with roast tomatoes and onion. Water drop 1 Water drop 2 Roast tomatoes and shallots on ciabatta d _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/Ws8BTGvH2p4/random-phone-photos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/Ws8BTGvH2p4" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/08/random-phone-photos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-4252771702378327634Fri, 13 Aug 2010 20:00:00 +00002010-08-14T08:26:39.618+12:00eggsmuseum hotelbreakfastRecently Camille and I stayed in the Museum Hotel in Wellington.  We generally book a suite when we stay here as we like the space to spread out and relax.  We don't travel light and are often encumbered with quite a bit of electronic equipment and we need space to set it up and work etc. The suite was comfortable and reasonably spacious.  It had all the usual bits plus a coffee machine, oven, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/UNiUJvdZWGI/museum-hotel.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/UNiUJvdZWGI" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/08/museum-hotel.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-6563521372097794069Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:50:00 +00002010-07-20T06:52:50.431+12:00teethdentistCurrently I have a mouthful of stitches - well, 3 stitches.   I have had a root removed.  Back in the mid nineties I had to have a tooth removed but unfortunately they couldn't get it all out.  They left behind one root as it was so curved they simply could not extract it.  I can recall lying back in the dentist chair gripping onto the arms with desperation as the dentist, a burly chap, wrenched http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/p5rLuOsMC4w/dental-job.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/p5rLuOsMC4w" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/07/dental-job.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-8305708776712872116Sun, 04 Jul 2010 19:10:00 +00002010-07-05T07:10:44.778+12:00cost of booksbooksebooks   This NZ Herald article talks about the pricing of E-books and basically says that we are going to pay through the nose for them. I have great difficulty in believing that costs of a book are not substantially reduced once the physical copy of the book is discarded with and there is no way I will accept paying a price that is only 20% less than the lowest print price. I can import actual http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/EXBsEmWCfd4/low-prices-dont-count-on-it-say.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/EXBsEmWCfd4" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/07/low-prices-dont-count-on-it-say.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-6553918115234486553Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:35:00 +00002010-07-04T07:35:15.829+12:00child freeCamille and I are officially child free.  The 18  year old moved out yesterday, heading to Wellington to take up a course in software engineering.  "Thanks for raising me", were his last words as he left. C _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); Now what? C _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/O6nd3646mRI/child-free.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/O6nd3646mRI" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/07/child-free.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-4765376124965415469Sat, 12 Jun 2010 09:34:00 +00002010-07-21T13:10:44.859+12:00ripoffbooksthe book depositoryI have run out of things to read so I have been back at the UK online book store, The Book Depository and have ordered a few books: I _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); River Cottage Meat Cookbook - I first heard of this book through meateaters.co.nz and have been meaning to buy it.  However, I have been put off by the NZ price - $90.00+.  Price from BD: around $60.00. The Collapse ofhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/9ftHaUvig4s/book-depository.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/9ftHaUvig4s" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/06/book-depository.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-8108407380936934934Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:03:00 +00002010-06-08T07:03:08.639+12:00The sound is provided by Tom Waits. If it's missing, then Youtube have stripped it. For some reason my videos tend to have this done whereas others seem to get away with it. _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/OcNxmSANdjM/dolphins-at-pahia-new-zealand.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/OcNxmSANdjM" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/06/dolphins-at-pahia-new-zealand.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-6403663432444472708Sat, 05 Jun 2010 22:38:00 +00002010-06-06T10:39:31.837+12:00outrageousbooksI ordered a Bill Bryson book from http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/  on Friday 28th of May.  The book arrived at my office on Thurday 3rd of June.  This is an excellent service. The cost of the book was 13.88 British pounds which worked out to be $29.67 NZ, substantially less than I can buy it in New Zealand.  This included the cost of shipping to New Zealand. To do get a book delivered this fasthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/lJGJCRzojDc/price-of-books-ii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/lJGJCRzojDc" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/06/price-of-books-ii.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-8074065020403263842Fri, 28 May 2010 06:04:00 +00002010-05-28T21:05:56.789+12:00whitcoullsoutrageousbooksSome one needs to explain why I can buy a paperback book by Bill Bryson from an a shop in England and have it shipped to New Zealand for $10.00 LESS than I can buy the same book at Whitcoulls in New Zealand. S _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); What's really crazy is that I can buy hardback books by the same author from the English shop for only $2.00 more than I can buy the paperbackhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/wFnsiu8IcNA/price-of-books.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/wFnsiu8IcNA" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/05/price-of-books.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-3670733834162693861Tue, 25 May 2010 21:23:00 +00002010-05-26T13:25:36.473+12:00Facebook, Myspace, whatever Social Networking site - you just can't trust the fuckers. Both FB and MyS have been caught giving data to advertising companies. A quote: "The report says that the companies have delivered user data to major online advertising companies such as Google's DoubleClick and Yahoo!'s Right Media, despite explicit pledges to protect such information. The released material http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/SGlRVJ4N9p8/social-neworks-you-just-cant-trust.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/SGlRVJ4N9p8" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/05/social-neworks-you-just-cant-trust.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-8837805764125916902Fri, 21 May 2010 04:11:00 +00002010-05-21T16:11:35.160+12:00bay plaza hoteldon't stay herebad hotelshitShit hotel. B _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); We are up on the 9th floor and the traffic noise is incredible.  The lift is loud and the toilets must be interconnected as we can hear other toilets flushing through our bathroom.  This isn't the worst bit though.  The worst bit is getting a cup to get some water and noticing that it hasn't even been fucking washed.   Maybe it was http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/89KpoU1EKh8/bay-plaza-hotel-wellington.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/89KpoU1EKh8" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/05/bay-plaza-hotel-wellington.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-1854634709101273659Sat, 15 May 2010 04:39:00 +00002010-05-15T16:39:59.741+12:00bad hotelhotel livingWaipuna Hotel staff have a bad practice of knocking on your door in the morning and shouting out, "Mini Bar!" as they have come around to check to see if you have used the mini bar at all.  This morning, a Saturday, a staff member was at our door around 8:00am.  What if we had wanted a sleep in?  W _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); This pales in to insignifance compared to the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/_BJx1JhZ2S0/waipuna-hotel-auckland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/_BJx1JhZ2S0" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/05/waipuna-hotel-auckland.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-8590538746783163947Thu, 13 May 2010 22:22:00 +00002010-05-14T10:22:44.822+12:00open sourcesocial networkdiasporaAmazing!  The Diaspora project originally set out to raise $10,000 by the 1st of June.  As of today they have raised over $115,000 and they still have another 19 days to go!  This is excellent! A _uacct = "UA-84939-4"; urchinTracker(); http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/nKRmed4jLhY/diaspora-iii.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/nKRmed4jLhY" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/05/diaspora-iii.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4069144745000460013.post-9087225497643767273Thu, 13 May 2010 03:30:00 +00002010-05-13T15:30:14.623+12:00hotelaucklandCamille and I are in Auckland again to meet with a few potential clients.  We are staying in a hotel in Mt Wellington.  It's a bit strange.   When we arrived nobody greeted us.  No staff offered to help with our bags and so I was left to load them onto a trolley myself while Camille registered.  Then she shot off to park the car while I waited in the lobby for her along with the fully laden http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~3/pBwCLIJEhZg/in-auckland-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Thrash Cardiom)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/JMPq/~4/pBwCLIJEhZg" height="1" width="1"/>http://blog.thrashcardiom.com/2010/05/in-auckland-again.html