kevinspencer.org

The Wednesday Night Random

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:00:00 -0700

Siteadministrivia If you're one of the few who actually visit this site instead of reading in a feed reader, you'll no doubt have seen a "Photos" link in the header bar above that for the longest time, just sent you to Flickr. I've always thought that was arsey and just didn't fit at all. So I've changed that. Clicking Photos now takes you to a local page on this server instead. It's all auto generated using the Flickr API, phpFlickr, and some dodgy PHP code I wrote last night to glue it all together. I write Perl code for a living so hacking away at something different appealed to my inner geek. Apps I Use The Most My current iPhone home screen has the apps I find I use almost daily. Around Me - finds things, er, around you. Most handy. Todo - best "todo" list manager I've found. Bar none. Tweetie - I've tried just about every Twitter client for the iPhone and this is the one that appeals to me the most. Flickr - Nice "official" Flickr app, little crashy but still useful. blog - web app, uses the iMT plugin to control Movable Type blogs from iPhones. Reader - web app, mobile version of Google Reader. Solid, fast. Flickit Pro - best iPhone Flickr app I've ever used. Love it. SplashId - keeps all manner of information nicely locked up for you. Simplenote - the official iPhone note app blows chunks. This one doesn't. CameraBag - apply filters to your photos. Lovely Helga filter. Nike + iPod - tracks running progress via chip in your shoe. If you have a smartphone, what apps do you find you use the most and have you organized them onto your home screen? No? Just me then? A Little Vacation For the next 10 days I'll be thoroughly in vacation mode as my family are crossing the pond tomorrow. I've gotta say I don't envy them the flight. Still, these days you can catch a direct flight from London to Phoenix so it's not as long a trek as it used to be. Hope they have decent movies to watch and their iPods are fully charged.

Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:00:00 -0700

When the Zombies come, and believe me they're coming, I know where I'm heading first. Then we'll be barricading ourselves in the local Costco. So if you're in Phoenix and a survivor, remember the secret knock on the Costco door and I'll let you in. You're welcome. Dear Zombies, I was totally kidding about the whole Costco thing. Really. We're probably in that field up in a tree in the total opposite direction. Honest.

Why Aren't You At Your Post?

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:12:05 -0700

TK-6714, Rodney Rangerfield, reporting in. It's not as if I don't want to be at my post. Sometimes though there's that whole getting captured by some gap toothed monster thingy that you have to deal with first. You know? He's, er, still behind me isn't he? Er, wassat? Stormin' Norman pool, Stormin' Norman's adventures, Rodney Rangerfield.

New York & Las Vegas At Night

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:58:46 -0700

I like photos. I like aerial night shots. I like New York. I like Las Vegas. Those fine Big Picture photographers have gone and put all the things I like together in one place. Really, go have a peek, they're amazing. It's hard to pick a favorite but if I had to, on pain of death, I think these three will do nicely.

They're Leaving On A Jet Plane

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:00:00 -0700

Blimey, in just over a week's time my family will be making their way across the pond. Mum, Dad, and Sister all coming this time. I haven't seen my parents since, good lord, 2008 so this visit is long overdue. Wow, just seeing that in writing has really forced it home. This whole living on another continent thing is not always very convenient. Now, what makes this visit a teeny bit special is that my better half will get to meet my parents at long last. Ask me if she's nervous. Go on ask. Bricking herself I think would be as good a description as any. There's still much to do before they get here of course. Weeds to pull, fridge to stock, plans to confirm, ~~guns to hide~~, beer to buy. It's all go. But a very exciting "all go" nonetheless. I can't wait.

Stormin' Norman's Clone Army

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:44:02 -0700

Every once in a while you run across a really cool photography idea and think to yourself "hey, that's a really cool photography idea". Kevin Apgar's, Stormin' Norman photography project is just such a beast. Really, go have a peek. Over the weekend he expanded the idea somewhat. We now have a first hand account of what really happened to TK421 and get to see him tooling around the galaxy. Which is pretty cool actually. But the thing I'm excited about, and why I love Flickr so much, he's turned his project into a pool and invited others to join. So join I did and became part of Norman's clone army. This is going to be fun.

Just Like You And Me

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:18:38 -0700

Sometimes a quote is all you really need.

Chimpanzees are just like you and me except that they are much stronger, much meaner, more violent, and much more terrifying. Also they have fangs and absolutely no limits.

So there you go. You're welcome.

Photography Is Not A Crime

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:00:00 -0700

I've developed quite a relationship with photography over the past couple of years. I've gone from taking the same-old photos of vacations to shoot anything and everything in quite a short time. I now count photography as one of my favorite hobbies. Like other amateur photographers, I carry my camera around with me almost everywhere I go. You can never tell when that something interesting will come along - being able to shoot anything on the spur of the moment is probably some of the most fun you can have with a camera. But what if you couldn't shoot whatever you wanted? What if that was forbidden? What if you were considered a subversive, a criminal, an evil-doer bent on doing harm with the terrifying angle of your lens? Sounds silly right? All a bit far-fetched and something out of movie perhaps? Well, for photographers in the UK, it's becoming a scary reality. If you have a few minutes, go have a peek at an article in The Guardian describing police harassment of a photographer. The bloke in question was smart enough to film his own arrest and it's well worth your time to go give the video a watch. It's truly mind boggling that the world has come to this. It's beyond moronic to think that everyone taking photos in a town center is plotting harm. In fact I'll call it what it is: bullshit. Some people, like me, just like taking photos. That's it. No agenda. We just like it. I wonder how this is going to play out in 2012 when London hosts the Olympics. Are tourists & spectators going to be treated as criminals as they take pics in the streets? Are you going to have to declare your camera when you enter the country? Register for some kind of photography license? Hold a concealed ~~weapon~~ camera permit?

Up North

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:27:52 -0700

Last weekend we spent a couple of days in Sedona. I fell in love with the area the very first time I went many years ago. We try and go at least once a year as the scenery is nothing short of breathtaking. We drove from Sedona up to Oak Creek Canyon taking some windy mountain roads. And the view was well worth the drive. Snow!! Which for desert dwellers, is HUGE as we never get to see it. In fact, my girlfriend had never seen the snow in her entire life. So after the mandatory snow ball fight, it was time to make Mr 2ft Snowman Guy sporting quite the ~~glove~~ hat. Edit: well, that opening sentence made no sense. Fixed.

Buy Vince Clarke's House

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:00:00 -0700

You remember Vince Clarke right? Of course you do. Founding member of Depeche Mode, went on to form Yazoo and then Erasure? Yeah, that bloke. He's selling his house. And those dome like structures over to the left? His studio. Which for a music geek like me would be absolutely amazing. I mean, not that I know what any of these bells, whistles, sliders, and turny-things actually do. But how much fun would it be to play in here for a few days? Now, if only I had a spare 1,995,000 GBP. via wiretotheear.

All Rather Random

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:00:00 -0700

It's been a while since I done one of those "here's a bunch of random photos I've taken recently" posts. So, er, here's a bunch of random photos I've taken recently. Touching Stringy Kicking It Cyclops One Of These Is Not Like The Others

Movable Type Tip: Make Comments Show Immediately

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:22:49 -0700

This is more of a web server HTTP header issue than a MT one, but anyhoo. Something that has bothered me about running MT on this web host since, well, forever is the problem of comments not immediately showing after a user submits them. Refreshing the page in your browser always makes the comment show up so it's browser caching. I ran into this again on another MT powered blog today and for the life of me I couldn't remember how I ended up fixing it on this site. After poking around for a bit I finally remembered that it was a quick ugly hack to one of my templates to force your browser to not cache MT pages. Add the following to the of your pages will fix things right up:

Positive Spam

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:00:00 -0700

Just recently I've been getting some really nice comment spam.

"Hi, I was researching the net for ideas for valentines day and I discovered your site. Keep up the good work."

"Very interesting read. Thanks."

"Nice post. Do you accept guest writers?"

"Awesome blog post. Thanks for keeping me busy."

"Really digging the layout of this site. Good work."

"This is an inordinate blog and I like reading it every morning."

"Your posting really landed right on the top. Good work, I look forward to your next information."

It really makes my day to be thought of so highly by spammers. Bless their cotton socks.

On Being A World Champion

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:00:00 -0700

As I understand it, the Saints won the Superbowl yesterday. I'm quite happy for New Orleans actually. Can you Imagine Bush still being in office when the team visits the White House? A-w-k-w-a-r-d. Anyway, I didn't watch the game and only caught the result on a news show last night. They announced that the Saints were 'world champions'. Which I thought was awfully nice of them as I don't quite remember any other country having a team in the NFL. The Saints didn't beat the London Lionpants or the Berlin Burritoheals on their way to clinching the title so until they do, perhaps they are really just Superbowl champions and nothing more. If something is only done in one small part of the globe, proclaiming the winner as champion of the world is stretching the truth somewhat.

Our Guarantee

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:47:03 -0700

My local gas station reminds me that I'm pumping guaranteed gasoline. Which is nice, because running the risk of accidentally pumping peach tea does get annoying after a while.