tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54797972012-01-22T06:42:45.222ZAimless noise and insights into my little worldSimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.comBlogger1001100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-90863662103605571302009-07-13T01:39:00.002+01:002009-07-13T01:41:00.609+01:00

Since playing with CouchApp I noticed a missing feature and provided a patch. It allows you to upload a set of documents associated with your aplication, e.g. demo docs, configuration files etc. You can try it out here (I'm not sure how all the cool kids share code on github...)

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-79462681441986526212009-07-11T10:37:00.016+01:002009-07-11T12:46:36.652+01:00

First up I installed the couchapp program. I'd installed it a few months back but had since upgraded my default python to 2.6. Install is nice and easy:sudo easy_install couchapp(I already had CouchDB 090 installed and running as CouchDBX)I then generated and initialised the kanbancouch application:metson$ couchapp generate kanbancouch[INFO] Generating a new CouchApp in /Users/metson/workspace/

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-6894784299207316672009-02-26T02:24:00.004Z2009-02-26T03:06:39.442Z

It's been a good week at FNAL, I think we've got a lot done despite some bad news re effort available for our group. Got some cool t shirts too..flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } FNAL at sunset, originally uploaded by simonroadkill. But now I'm tired and

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-2221526681823770272009-02-13T10:05:00.001Z2009-02-13T10:05:34.777Z

Posted with LifeCast

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-63603712437390075972009-02-12T23:44:00.001Z2009-02-12T23:44:45.496Z

Posted with LifeCast

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-64732322123906443842008-12-22T01:27:00.002Z2008-12-22T11:21:56.965Z

Just testing really. Wow the geolocate thing is a bit scary - a stalkers wet dream. Think I'll turn that off for now....Posted with LifeCast

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-30720817908219972902008-12-08T23:45:00.002Z2008-12-08T23:47:01.827Z

Seems to be totally down for the past 10-15 mins?

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-89233858964233139972008-11-16T23:39:00.001Z2008-11-16T23:43:24.360Z

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-87004829327647238122008-11-13T19:58:00.002Z2008-11-13T20:01:18.501Z

Another quick photoshopping done for my friend Paul:

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-23910394633387803462008-11-13T02:10:00.004Z2008-11-13T02:16:31.230Z

New picture I've just 'done' - basically playing around with some new photoshop brushes.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-73078523488760458262008-10-08T18:19:00.003+01:002008-10-08T18:21:46.800+01:00

When making a website make sure you get the right flag....That was from the Continental Airlines site, looks like it's fixed now...

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-83485085336215095572008-10-07T12:45:00.002+01:002008-10-07T12:45:56.272+01:00

Where soon is an ill defined concept...

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-12937953042142564362008-09-10T09:54:00.003+01:002008-09-10T09:56:24.809+01:00

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-82050539811746598522008-07-29T00:23:00.002+01:002008-07-29T00:25:26.147+01:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Screenshot, originally uploaded by simonroadkill. Setting up my new computer today and I'm really quite pleased with it. Have Ubuntu installed and now tweaked to doing just what I want, which was surprisingly easy! More

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-53696682846474844122008-07-13T14:52:00.003+01:002008-07-13T15:06:27.107+01:00

I looked around the net for some simple pesto recipes (mainly because we had an overgrown basil plant and wanted to not waste the trimmings) and they all basically boiled down to the following.Ingredientsroughly equal amounts of Basil and Parmesan cheeseOlive OilClove or two of GarlicSalt and PepperLemon JuiceChuck all the solid ingredients into a blender, add oil till you have the consistency

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-60366792423737194332008-07-13T14:14:00.004+01:002008-07-13T15:06:49.605+01:00

Dead simple and very very tasty. Takes about an hour to cook, and almost zero preparation.Ingredients (serves 2)Butternut squashGoats CheeseHomemade PestoPecan nutsTomatoesBalsamic VinegarOlive OilItalian herbs, black pepperCut the Butternut Squash in half length-ways, and scoop out the seeds and pulp from the bulb. Drizzle both halves with the olive oil and season with the herbs and black pepper

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-55803153147670867572008-07-04T10:35:00.003+01:002008-10-07T12:47:17.365+01:00

0% finance on boob jobs - who said there's a credit crunch!

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-12775689544184434352008-06-22T17:14:00.001+01:002008-06-22T17:16:47.932+01:00

I'd not even drank any...

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-51739860754045392112008-06-11T00:15:00.003+01:002008-06-11T01:29:01.128+01:00

I realise that for a long time I have been very uninspired by a number of things that I used to be very passionate about. Music has become muted, the Internet is dial-up, visuals sepia. A few things have have made this uninspired state seem more dramatic, such that it is now identifiable. This coming into focus has sort of inspired me to write this post, and then do something about it!First up:

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-9347121950537801152008-06-05T15:40:00.001+01:002008-06-05T15:42:01.743+01:00

I am so so so lucky!

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-51371361713556291822008-06-03T01:09:00.001+01:002008-06-03T01:10:45.940+01:00

You can choose an application, put it on the shelf (,) then choose another (and another, and another...) and open them all at once. Handy if you need to fire up a bunch of things first thing in the morning!

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-5797691644850937932008-06-02T12:26:00.005+01:002008-06-03T01:08:46.527+01:00

I've made a couple of little scripts that hook into hiveminder. Hiveminder is a really nice web based GTD tool. I've pretty much replaced Omni Focus with it, mainly because I need something that works across multiple machines easily - web based is the way to go! It also has a well documented API - which is always nice to see. So, the scripts...First off there's a simple todo script, which'll add

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-73120362236790691982008-05-23T12:01:00.000+01:002008-05-23T12:02:01.627+01:00

So, I've got a bunch of mp3 files that I downloaded with my little myspace fetching script (*). I want to put them into itunes, but they're hidden away in some random directory structure. What's this? Quicksilver command line? qs *.mp3 enter enter? They're in iTunes you say? Wowzer.(*) to be blogged at a later date...

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-51588809863003853552008-04-22T15:53:00.002+01:002008-04-22T15:57:49.390+01:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Graffiti Montage, originally uploaded by simonroadkill. Chloe and I got to Reykjavik yesterday and have been pootling around taking photos. Here's a few. Every young person here looks like they should be in a very cool

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-59475687515827003802008-03-14T16:47:00.003Z2008-03-15T19:22:00.233Z

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-20639306827811754832008-03-11T17:36:00.003Z2008-03-11T17:57:10.374Z

I've reached the end of the internet! Well, not quite. I've reached the end of my posts in Google Reader, which is a really nice app.Basically, you can pile in a load of rss feeds from all over the web and it then sorts them into one long feed (not so unusual). Then you can add it to your google ig page - neat - and add a bookmarklet to firefox so you can click through the posts in the feed -

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-60878824729002533822008-03-04T20:01:00.002Z2008-03-04T20:07:50.058Z

So tomorrow is the big day: I'm running my first course. This one is for the ACRC and is called "Data Analysis With Python" (you can download the slides and material from my CERN home page) and I hope it'll be good.It was quite hard cramming everything into it (and maybe next time it'll be shorter) and the description is pretty broad. I decided to keep things fairly brief, and just point the

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-69640385961639633312007-11-27T01:07:00.000Z2007-11-27T01:12:44.588Z

One day... one day...

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-12006446660118900872007-11-24T21:47:00.000Z2007-11-24T21:49:56.094Z

The X11 that comes with Leopard seems to not work across multiple monitors. The following is a fix given to me by James Jackson, a PhD student here...cp /usr/X11/bin/Xquartz ~/Documents/Xquartz-backupcurl -LO http://people.freedesktop.org/~bbyer/x11app/xorg-server-1.2a10/Xquartz-1.2a10.bz2bunzip2 Xquartz-1.2a10.bz2sudo install -b Xquartz-1.2a10 /usr/X11/bin/Xquartzcurl -LO http://

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-19978998761158911282007-11-24T21:23:00.000Z2007-11-24T21:30:48.286Z

Make stacks look a bit nicer by forcing a nice icon to be overlayed.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-15102429904978223512007-11-21T11:30:00.000Z2007-11-21T11:45:02.915Z

[The following was a post to the 43folders forum, but I realised it ended up more like a blog post than a question, so copied it here, with a few more links...] I stumbled upon this tip to "attach" files to an iCal event - very useful. But not that useful, I can't drag an drop the file I want to use, so my big clumsy fingers have to go through a number of contortions to do it. Immediately I

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-33698910516226243192007-11-19T14:56:00.000Z2007-11-19T15:16:01.286Z

So I screwed up an update (due to having a full system disk - oops!) and all of a sudden my mac will only boot to a flashing bue screen of doom. Not good. So I did some searching around and found out that:1. Mac updates aren't rollback-able2. You can run software update as a CLI tool3. You can mount and install things from DMG's via CLI toolsSkipping over point 1, here's how I restored my system:

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-60371458458940514432007-11-18T01:28:00.000Z2007-11-18T01:29:36.766Z

Had some weirdness with my google account today, wouldn't let me sign in and was really unresponsive. Any one else see similar?

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-23240784655838971812007-10-23T23:08:00.001+01:002007-10-23T23:20:10.700+01:00

I got a DVD in the post today from Play (Last Star Fighter - sweeet!) which had come all the way from Canada. I know this because it had a sticker on the side saying "Only for sale in Canada - Security device enclosed!". Needless to say I opened the case with some caution. I had visions of a maple syrup bomb going off in my face, but no, nothing.I took out the DVD all was fine. Then I noticed an

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-23927692946990311872007-10-12T12:15:00.002+01:002007-11-19T15:17:35.775Z

So after much gnashing of teeth and swearing about Applescript I got my little app to work. I have an Act-on key binding which triggers a script. The script takes the email and dumps it into iCal, for further correction (e.g. setting date/time of the event). If I was feeling brave/stupid I'd get the script to parse out the date, but I really don't want to do that! The script was based on a mail

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-18628113333432445872007-10-11T18:38:00.000+01:002007-10-12T12:27:05.474+01:00

Some links for making iCal entries from Mail using Act-Onhttp://kleinware.net/software - Didn't work, or I didn't set it up right.http://www.cyberhq.nl/2005/12/10/mail-yourself-ical-todos.html - Became the base of my script.http://www.hawkwings.net/2005/10/04/fuhgeddaboutit-make-a-to-do-from-an-email/ - Didn't work, or I didn't set it up right.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-21588522197615544872007-10-11T16:04:00.000+01:002007-10-12T12:25:59.081+01:00

So I was watching a video of a talk given by Merlin Mann about "Inbox Zero" and it's got me thinking. I have a lot of email. A LOT. In fact much of my day is spent dealing with mail. It comes at me from all directions, and can get to be too much. I can't "just check" my mail - it will always trigger some sort of action (writing another mail, usually). I know this annoys Chloe, too, something must

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-73401321979322392882007-09-16T12:21:00.000+01:002007-09-16T12:33:56.725+01:00

Well its all go here; last week it was the chutney extravaganza, this week it's tablets galore. No not tablets you eat, tablets you draw on. The bamboo tablet is pretty neat, looks trendily black and is surprisingly responsive. I really like it. Below are the first few pictures I have done with it. Still working out how best to use it, but I can see all the possibilities there.Let me know what

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-40594462654041089362007-09-09T16:32:00.000+01:002007-09-10T13:20:46.549+01:00

I had some fruit left over from my fruit and veg box so Chloe and I decided to make some chutney. I had pears and apples remaining so Chloe found a recipe and off we go!We decided that the two apples and a pear weren't going to be enough, so went to Sainsbury's to get a few extra bits and bobs (as well as provisions for the week). They had some plums on offer so we decided to make plum and pear

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-66389131782789930742007-03-21T19:20:00.000Z2007-03-21T19:25:30.534Z

Made my votes today:

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-63545016477376761332007-01-21T13:05:00.000Z2007-01-21T13:19:10.360Z

My dog Max died today. He was 9 or 10 I think. We got him as a rescue dog. He was a Northern Border Collie. When we went to the rescue place he and I just clicked. It sounds a bit silly but I suppose we were kindred spirits. We played together in a field for a bit and a really strong bond was formed. We had to take him home. Mum wasn't quite as convinced as me but she soon grew to love him,

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-18883157580499391592007-01-08T12:16:00.000Z2007-01-08T12:22:59.570Z

Ahh lovely!Left to right:- Honer Jaguar/Jazzmaster copy, Fender Jaguar, Gordon Smith Gypsy, Gordon Smith GS1 1/2 Hybrid, Gordon Smith GS2

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1167743654893452482007-01-02T12:16:00.000Z2007-01-02T13:14:14.963Z

That is all.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1164663604736146842006-11-27T21:38:00.000Z2006-11-27T21:40:04.746Z

Yes the award nominated Numb3rs is back. I love this show; the way they mix the montages of CSI, the Psychology of Cracker and also inform the public of the wonder of math. Ooooh it's great!

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1163109049067552692006-11-09T21:29:00.000Z2006-11-09T21:50:49.076Z

I was watching the Channel 4 news earlier. There was this republican hawk guy on it who was saying that it was the UK's fault that Iraq has gone wrong. This was because we didn't tell the US administration that it was going wrong. I couldn't help but get annoyed at that. Why do people (especially those in the US, it seems) never take responsibility for their own actions? All this blame or claims

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1161555608534725162006-10-22T23:10:00.000+01:002006-10-22T23:28:00.396+01:00

Uploaded a few pictures of some nice skies to my flickr account. I've not quite got into the whole flickr thing, but the snazzy flickr uploadr might get me to use it more than I do (got to love batch processing...).

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1160619695889678062006-10-12T03:20:00.000+01:002006-10-12T03:21:35.896+01:00

for i in `seq 1 100`; do echo "I feel guilty and angry"; done

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1160001424078493762006-10-04T23:30:00.000+01:002006-10-04T23:37:04.090+01:00

My friend has just got back from Peru. She bought me a hat. It is extremely rad, as you can see in the following pictures.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1159389331052261092006-09-27T20:45:00.000+01:002006-10-03T02:18:26.106+01:00

n. pl. met·a·mor·pho·ses A transformation, as by magic or sorcery. A marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function. Biology. A change in the form and often habits of an animal during normal development after the embryonic stage. Metamorphosis includes, in insects, the transformation of a maggotinto an adult fly and a caterpillar into a butterfly and, in amphibians, the changing

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1159291419049568842006-09-26T17:58:00.000+01:002006-09-27T16:37:36.810+01:00

All done and submitted. Bit of an anticlimax, but I do feel generally chirpier! It's a bit like leaving school, except it's weirder because you're older. I certainly feel like a load has been taken off my shoulders.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1158670973609041642006-09-19T14:00:00.000+01:002006-09-19T14:09:46.780+01:00

Ok so the band finally has a name (You Are Not Us), a myspace page (myspace.com/youarenotus) and a blog (youarenotus.blogspot.com/). Maybe we'll have a gig sometime soon too!

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1157457653833795512006-09-05T12:48:00.000+01:002006-09-05T13:00:53.846+01:00

Ok so I'm in the last few weeks of thesis writing. I'm aiming to get it done by the 28th of September, so I can go home for Mum's birthday. Don't worry dear reader I'm not wasting keystrokes writing my blog, I'm waiting for a program to complete so I get the final plots for my physics chapter done. All very exciting.It's been a weird summer. I've not really enjoyed any of the sunshine, just been

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1156711974125484392006-08-27T21:45:00.000+01:002006-08-27T21:52:54.136+01:00

Tonight I'm really restless. I can't concentrate on work, can't go out because I've got too much work and I'll feel guilty. Tried playing a bit of guitar but can't focus enough to practice or write something. Tried watching some telly but it's all crap. Think I'll go out for a walk or something...

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1153171028859730502006-07-17T22:16:00.000+01:002006-10-22T23:41:12.610+01:00

Old band from Reading. The mighty JFK!!

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1152829113448134672006-07-13T23:16:00.000+01:002006-07-13T23:30:27.756+01:00

Interesting article -> http://www.guardian.co.uk/idcards/story/0,,1817559,00.htmlQuote:You will be required to attend an enrolment centre with some form of identifying material - bank statements, credit cards, driving licence or birth certificate, who knows what. Then you will be fingerprinted, photographed and the iris in your eye will be measured. You will give the authorities 49 pieces of

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1152489040402761932006-07-10T00:46:00.000+01:002006-07-10T01:01:10.576+01:00

Thank fork. A totally stupid idea from a totally stupid little man with a big big grin.From: Foord, David (OGC)Sent: 08 June 2006 15:17Subject: RE: Procurement Strategy"even if everything went perfectly (which it will not) it is very debatable (given performance of Govt ICT projects) whether whatever TNIR turns out to be (and that is a worry in itself) can be procured, delivered, tested and

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1152382400217732432006-07-08T19:06:00.000+01:002006-07-08T19:14:36.203+01:00

After a busy three weeks of travelling (must fill in claim forms, must fill in claim forms, must fill in claim forms) blew off steam at the Kingpin Beach Party, which was really fun. Was also celebrating Caroline and Rob's birthday and Mark getting a job. All very exciting.Pictures of the fun and games here and here.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1145796352508938652006-04-23T13:28:00.000+01:002006-04-23T13:45:52.553+01:00

Last night I saw Iron and Wine and Calexico at the Bristol Academy, not usually my favourite venue but last night it didn't matter. Iron and Wine were so good, brought a tear to the eye. Calexico were really good too, but Iron and Wine were on a higher level.The gig also reminded me of something I've been thinking for a while, especially when I listen to GYBE! or when I saw Broken Social Scene.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1145282517900249432006-04-17T15:00:00.000+01:002006-04-18T00:27:16.510+01:00

So last night I was djing at the Hijack Poll Winners Party. It was ace! I want to play out more!!We played a mixture of latin funk and heavy metal. It was very fun. Getting in at 5 and waking up at 10:30 wasn't so great...Making me think of buying a couple of CDJ's, those Denon's were fun...Photo's of the night here, here and here.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1142979976076412582006-03-21T22:07:00.000Z2006-03-21T22:29:46.096Z

Ok so I've had my new macbook pro two days. I still think its great, really great. In fact I'm thinking about getting a mini mac for home....but thats another post. This one is about something different, well sort of, something more abstract.This is the first time I've ever had totally new hardware. Bleeding edge even. Now this, for me, is very exciting. I like the idea of being one of a small (

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1142890211225630392006-03-20T21:29:00.000Z2006-03-20T21:31:24.153Z

So this is the song thats nearest to being complete. Band still has no name, so give me a shout if you think of one :)

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1142873199080198452006-03-20T16:44:00.000Z2006-03-20T16:56:02.283Z

So I got my macbook pro today. It really is freaking sweet. I am very happy. One thing that has annoyed me is X11 has to be installed from the DVD, and weirdly its not that obvious. Everything else is, so far, utterly ace :)

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1141849873114761572006-03-08T20:29:00.000Z2006-03-08T20:33:54.553Z

So I shaved off my beard this morning. Decided to have a bit of fun with it on the way and went for the James Hetfield/Ra's Al Ghul look. Whaddayareckon???

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1140143820137821382006-02-17T02:32:00.000Z2006-02-17T02:41:24.273Z

Ok so I'm downloading Extreme - "More Than Words" for my housemate. I say for him, it's more to annoy him. In one way its the greatest love song ever (I swear I'll have it played at my wediing, should such an unlikely event ever occur) and in another way its a complete bag of toss.I love the idea that you could woo a girl with this track (I've seen it done, so I know it happens/happened). It's so

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1139681036048524752006-02-11T18:02:00.000Z2006-02-11T18:05:06.696Z

Apparantly an "Accident Waiting to Happen". Knowing Mark this will be full of reasoned arguements of a leftish bent. Actually its far more likely it'll be full of a wide range of rants :)

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1138394486066785652006-01-27T20:23:00.000Z2006-01-27T20:41:50.256Z

With a bit of windows hackery (described here) you can skin windows without any third party software , which is pretty cool. Deviantart has some styles to download for starters.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1137893801418236612006-01-22T01:36:00.000Z2006-01-22T01:36:41.480Z

Another nice bit of software from google :)

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1137546854287119522006-01-18T01:08:00.000Z2006-01-18T01:14:14.300Z

Today I took time out from work to take a stroll up to the downs. They are practically on my doorstep and I never go up there (well not as often as I'd like to - need a dog I guess). Took along my new camera phone and took some panoramic shots. I like them, hope you do to.Really helped clear my head and I feel a lot more positive. Before Christmas I kept finding myself trying to do stuff but not

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1134351063254445322005-12-12T01:20:00.000Z2005-12-12T01:31:03.263Z

I speaking with a friend over a drink after my birthday meal. He is telling me that certain vintage video games consoles have doubled in value in less than a year. Ideas I've been having for a while condense around his words. My generation are in the ascension. We are reaching that point where we can decide what happens to us, around us. We are starting to get powerful, starting to shine. We are

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1134009177988225452005-12-08T02:29:00.000Z2005-12-08T19:08:44.206Z

Ok so I've added some nice fades to the background of text areas, which make everything a bit easier to read. Sadly IE does something silly as the transparancy is done using a png, so I have to use the (proprietry) gif format. I plan to do some browser sniffing serverside one day so the IE users get a (dirty) gif and the FF/Opera bods get a nice clean friendly png.To be honest with you I don't

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1134003291344905002005-12-08T00:38:00.000Z2005-12-08T00:54:51.356Z

Well it was my birthday on Sunday so the weekend became one long celebration of me :) Friday night a load of people rocked down to Mr Wolfs for a few beerios, which was nice. We stayed there until our numbers dwindled a little then wandered up to Giant Robot at the Cooler (didn't get in) then to The Woods. Stayed there till about 4am chatting with randoms then went to a friends house and carried

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1133176448525226602005-11-28T11:00:00.000Z2005-11-28T11:14:08.563Z

I realised the other day that I've become a bit boring. All I do is work on my thesis. Most days I don't leave the house. I used to be really interested in current affairs. I'd read the guardian (real news) and the register (g33k news) daily. I'd watch the channel 4 news every weekday evening. I took a great interest in music and art. Now I almost never read "the papers", have noticed myself not

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1131323814288741442005-11-07T00:33:00.000Z2005-11-07T00:36:54.296Z

Finish Thesis Complete Grid Chapter Complete Analysis Start & Finish the rest Finish Academic CV Finish Metsonet.co.uk Update/redesign roadkilart.com Make more brushes Finish Thesis Sort out MPC hard drive (upgrade OS) Finish Thesis Pay electricity bill Finish Thesis

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1127939045183506662005-09-28T21:23:00.000+01:002005-09-28T21:28:01.136+01:00

When I were a lad growing up in deepest darkest Essex I used to make mix tapes for girlfriends, before they were girlfriends, to woo them. I was thinking the other day that soon people won't be able to do that, it'll just be a playlist on a scratched iPod or something, which takes out the heart of it. Having to listen to the whole thing from start to finish, pressing pause between tracks, thats

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1127934734503688922005-09-28T20:04:00.000+01:002005-09-28T20:12:14.510+01:00

Its been awhile again...Writing thesis. Have RSI in my right arm, and possible left too. Submitting jobs to the grid and CERN batch farms (watching the output arrive in your inbox is a bit like how I imagine watching racing pigeons come home feels like). Trying this interweb dating malarky. Writing thesis. Trying to sort out a job.And thats that for now.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1121270227137516882005-07-13T16:21:00.000+01:002005-07-13T16:57:07.160+01:00

Well it's been a while since I last posted to this blog, my work blog has been a bit more active, but I didn't realise I hadn't posted here since the middle of February until I started the redesign of my website. I've been pretty busy with work since getting back from India, including trips to Lake Louise Canada (amazing!!) the day after I got back from India, and Fermi Lab just outside Chicago

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1108203818002564922005-02-12T10:14:00.000Z2005-02-12T10:43:41.556Z

Well the trip to Goa was ace (took lots and lots of photos which I'll post soon). It was great to see CJ and Taz again as well as sit on a beach and sun myself :)The train journey back was pretty horrible, vomiting and diarrhea, but I got back in one piece (leaving the contents of my stomache along the way) and slept it off. Have since been a bit more careful about food and am feeling much much

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1107268637056527522005-02-01T14:20:00.000Z2005-02-01T14:37:17.056Z

Last night I went to bed having completed a little achievement. There really is no feeling greater than doing something to improve your surroundings just before going to bed. I swapped lightbulbs between two lamps so the one over my bed works. Very satisfying. Today has been pretty busy. Woke up at 8 had breakfast and a shower then came onto TIFR to check email to see if I'd got anything from CJ

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1107190683678515642005-01-31T16:47:00.000Z2005-01-31T16:58:03.680Z

Well I'm waiting for a file to upload and its taking ages, which has meant I've been sat in front of this computer for about an hour and a half longer than I intended. Meeting CJ and Tara on Wednesday, I think the plan is to tour Elephanta Island on Thursday and then head off to Goa early on Friday morning. Should be good. Work is going well, though prehaps in a slightly orthogonal direction.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1106925890989078732005-01-28T14:37:00.000Z2005-01-28T15:24:50.990Z

Well since I'm in India I thought I'd make a post :) I've come to Mumbai to work at TIFR for three and a half weeks. I'm working with Kajari Mazumdar on an analysis of Invisible Higgs Boson decays, which will form the backbone of my PhD thesis. I arrived here on Monday (24th) after 19 hours travel, and I'm just about over the jet lag. Monday and Tuesday merged into Muesday and I've had to

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1102091552426686472004-12-03T16:29:00.000Z2004-12-03T16:32:32.426Z

Some wisdom from my friend Will Taylor: "It will be fine these things are sent to test you - view work as a crusade and view your brain as your horse - just remember to stay in the saddle and your way of thinking will soon become a religion"

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1098805475720340302004-10-26T16:37:00.000+01:002004-10-26T16:44:35.726+01:00

Aardvarks are a lot bigger than I thought, duck billed platypus' are a lot smaller. I was going to write a thing about how friends who don't even need to shave regularily are having to get jobs, buy houses. We're still children! But my horror at growing old was broken by the terribly sad news of John Peels death. He was certainly a hero of mine. I always wanted to be in a band and send him our

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1098661220806050142004-10-25T01:28:00.000+01:002004-10-25T00:47:41.656+01:00

Its funny how some memories are so strong you can smell the room they were formed in. Falling in love, the first time you make love to someone, where you were when someone important to you died. It's like all the nerves in your body remember that event. They work like a time machine to take you back to it. The last big memory that I have like this is a sad one. If you know me then you may know

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1098037414185376852004-10-17T19:20:00.000+01:002004-10-17T19:23:34.186+01:00

Went boarding this afternoon at bugs boarding centre it was glorious! I even went over a kicker a few times. A great place, will be going there again!

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1098036648915840952004-10-17T19:09:00.000+01:002004-10-17T19:16:13.046+01:00

Which File Extension are You? Oh dear I'm sucha geek!

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1097233463728483142004-10-08T12:04:00.000+01:002004-10-08T12:04:23.726+01:00

US Intelligence agent in at Che Guevara's death Really nice report. The Guardian's "From the Archive" is a great idea.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1096198824515698992004-09-26T13:31:00.000+01:002004-09-26T12:40:24.516+01:00

I'm currently at CHEP04 in Interlaken. It's a funny place (as is much of Switzerland), sort of a cross between Las Vegas (Casino's, Strip Bars, Hooters) and Roysten Vasey (Slightly sinister landscapes, "Mystery Park", Scary Manequins that look like Debbie McGee, or a zombie from night of the living dead). In fairness I'm being harsh. The scenery is amazing, we're right in the mountains and

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1094821597937710042004-09-10T14:02:00.000+01:002004-09-10T14:06:37.936+01:00

Recently we've been having trouble with the shower in my flat, microswitches or something. Last nightI had one of those dreams that everyone gets that there was another bathroom in our house. It was very vivid and a bit weird. I was like "Hey why don't we just use the other shower" and my housemates said "oh yeah, we've been using that for ages". Weird. I spent hours talking to my friend in

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1094593867240493962004-09-07T22:49:00.000+01:002004-09-07T22:59:33.223+01:00

Joe has finally started a blog! Check out the world of marvin!!

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1094349017442218882004-09-05T02:43:00.000+01:002004-09-08T23:46:41.650+01:00

I had a good walk and talk with Mike this evening. Many things went unsaid, as these things usually do but it was good to say what I did. We discussed how basically our genetics are in conflict with how society currently expects people to behave. We're at that age when we become conflicted, which is never fun. I also confessed that I'm wasting my time, treading water, doing nothing. I'm not

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1094348622556317762004-09-05T02:37:00.000+01:002004-09-05T02:43:42.556+01:00

If you have ever bought a McFly or Busted album kill yourself.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1094144374399486662004-09-02T17:54:00.000+01:002004-09-08T23:44:17.010+01:00

As I was walking into work this afternoon there was a woman on the other side of the road, talking. At first I thought she was crazy and talking to herself, then I figured she must have been on the phone "hands-free"; it sounded like a conversation. She overtook me , she was walking fast and I rarely walk to work quickly, and crossed onto my side of the road whereupon I noticed she was dressed in

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1093907851645763552004-08-30T23:54:00.000+01:002004-09-08T23:41:21.476+01:00

Two days before my friend Joe was getting married, Douglas Coupland was signing copies of his (then) new book (Hey Nostradamus) at Borders in Bristol. I'd been at home in Essex helping organise things, giving Joe a bit of moral support and getting drunk with my friends. It was a lovely summer. My present to Joe was a trip to Bristol (where I now live) a ticket to the signing and a copy of the

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1093019705529862092004-08-20T17:35:00.000+01:002004-08-20T17:35:05.530+01:00

Have started my ORCA Blog. Which will contain my efforts as I try to get ORCA to work....

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1087651264886274722004-06-19T14:21:00.000+01:002004-06-19T14:21:04.886+01:00

Bush told he is playing into Bin Laden's hands

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1087404163794863662004-06-16T17:42:00.000+01:002004-09-07T23:01:06.093+01:00

Quel surprise

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1086952378564228982004-06-11T13:12:00.000+01:002004-09-07T23:04:08.720+01:00

Something that you're not taught in school: Saving Private Ivan

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1086478294837558942004-06-06T00:31:00.000+01:002004-06-06T00:31:34.836+01:00

Time expiring bookmarks would be a really neat thing for firebird/fox. The comments on this thing seem to be going a little crazy. I'm going to delete all the old (pre-comments era) posts to see if that helps.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1080826670703029482004-04-01T14:37:00.000+01:002004-04-01T14:40:28.466+01:00

sed -n "s|.* \([0-9][0-9][0-9].[0-9][0-9][0-9].[0-9][0-9][0-9].[0-9][0-9][0-9]\) .*$|\1|p" badsrb.txt|sort -g|uniq Gets a list of unique IP adresses from a load of junk

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5479797.post-1055630544784491212003-06-14T23:42:00.000+01:002003-06-14T23:42:24.423+01:00

Well an new day, a new blog. Hoping that this will make me update my site a bit more. See you soon.

Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18406459620162960205noreply@blogger.com0