Livin' the life...

This was taken from the BBC Weather web site at ~9:42pm Thursday 31 January 2008. The forecast is for tomorrow, Friday 1 February 2008.

Eek! Then again.. it's only a "forecast".. right..?

I'm sure a friend of mine would tell me straight, "If you know Google, you know innovation!" and honestly, I must agree with him, it's just their thing!

Today I'd like to point you to Google's new Experimental Search features.. I won't say much on it here to spoil your fun, so here's the link, march over there and see what Google has planned for you us!

Lastly, my favourite ones are the Keyboard shortcuts and the Alternate Views. (The Keyword suggestions is "old stuff", I'm not sure who cracked that first but Yahoo! has a pretty commendable implementation!)

Hmm, in retrospect, I actually am a bit bored of the same old Google Search! Then again, no, I retract that statement, the search is great. My reservations are with respect to its "old" interface! So I must say, these new "features" are just about due!

As it seems that every other person has a Gmail account, but few know its real 'power', I find this article quite appropriate and useful!

Check out the 11 Power Tips for Gmail!

I hope you got the message.. Enjoy your week!! :-)

Sometimes, I think the readers of my blog really need to get a blog of their own! Not, meaning anything bad of course, just that they do have "things to say" and I would really welcome the company in the Blogosphere! Why I say this you ask? Well, after seeing the following story, one of my readers suggested that I carry this article as a follow-up to one of my previous posts - namely, the one on the song from Plain White T’s - Hey There Delilah.

Anyway, on with the story! Definitely check it out if you know the song.

Bet you didn't think she was real!! I didn't.. It's a pity she has a boyfriend.. Wonder how long that will last,

(Thanks for the suggestion J! :-))

"Currys stops selling analogue TVs

Currys, Dixons and PC World [the main electronics companies in UK] are to stop stocking analogue televisions and will instead promote "integrated" sets with built-in digital Freeview tuners. The chains said more than 90% of the TVs they sold were already digital.

The move was welcomed by Digital UK, the body managing the analogue switch-off, which will finish in 2012. "Retailers of all sizes have a vital role to play in ensuring their products and their customers are ready," Digital UK chief executive Ford Ennals said.

A major push to inform viewers about the move to digital began last year, when Whitehaven in Cumbria became the first area to have its analogue signal switched off. The Scottish Borders will be the first full geographical region to lose its analogue signal, starting on 6 November 2008. The rest of the UK will follow suit over the next four years."

Story taken from this BBC article.

I think these four lines are quite suitable for all those who need a bit of encouragement and direction right now.

"Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who built it,
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain." Psalm 127:1.

Have a great day and remember, try not to worry or to get overly anxious about whatever situation you are faced with even as daunting as it may look. Because, "When we trust the power of God, we experience PEACE not panic".!

"Once again, Mac delivers!". If you're a Mac fan, I'm sure after Mr. Job's annual keynote speech a couple days ago - or more specifically, after feasting your eyes on that sweet-looking MacBook Air - that was your unanimous conclusion. If you're a shareholder however, I'm not sure you'd be so happy. Why? Well, let's read together:

"Apple's stocks took a beating on the stock exchange on Tuesday 15 January following Steve Jobs' annual keynote speech at Macworld2008 in San Francisco. Although shares in the company peaked as the CEO took to the stage they soon started to drop until Jobs announced the MacBook Air where they recovered slightly.
However as the news sunk in of what had been said the shares went south even further hitting $165 before a final rally before 4pm brought them back to a closing $169, down $14.88 (around 6%) at the end of the trading day from $180." [Source]

Oh well, I'm sure they'll be back up soon, after all, "HAVE YOU SEEN THE MACBOOK AIR?!" ...

Doing this should be really simple but MS, for some reason has chosen to integrate it with Windows Internet Explorer thus making additions of new feeds counter-intuitive at best. Anyway, to get it loading your feeds of choice, browse to the Windows Sidebar and gadgets (overview) page and scroll down to "How does Feed Headlines work?". After a few steps you'll be up-and-running! Enjoy!

PS. Don't forget to add my blog to your Feed list!!

Dear readers,

I apologise for the downtime my website experienced over the last two days. I believe that things should be back to normal now and I sincerely hope that I have not lost my spot in your bookmarks!

As a measure of good faith, check out some of the 'hot off the press' photos below that I took only two days ago in Leamington Spa. The green areas depict a park of sorts (Jephson Gardens & Mill Gardens to be exact) and others are of the high street (formally, The Parade) in the town. Enjoy!

:-)!

Here are a few news clips I found noteworthy as I browsed the newspaper on the bus this morning.

"About 151,000 Iraqis have died in the three years since the US invasion, a study has concluded. The latest estimate, based on surveys of nearly 10,000 households by the World Health Organisation and the Iraqi government, is the most accurate study of the death toll since the war began, experts believe."
Me: *sigh, so sad. I wonder how many were civilian casualties.

"Waste from the new nuclear power plans is likely to be buried 1km (3,000ft) underground in secure vaults, the Government said."
Me: Sounds good! We need to get rid of waste (which is probably toxic), so dig a _deep_ hole, pack it the earth, and cork it shut! Excellent! ..

"First-Class degrees were handed to students in record numbers last year. One in eight students graduated with a first, while half scored 2:1s [Upper second class in B'dos]. It comes as academics said they had to alter courses due to the rising amount of school leavers being poorly prepared for studying independently."
Me: Am I to assume that 'alter courses' means that degrees were made easier so students could score higher? Or just that they were structured in a more useful manner which lead to students getting on better with their work? (I think there is a difference and that one of these approaches is a better approach to things!).

And finally..

"Being a Newcastle fan must be the worst job in football."
Me: lol. The english really take the topic of football so, so seriously!

All of the above articles were sourced from Today's Metro newspaper (check them online at www.metro.co.uk).

Boy to Girl: "oh gurl, I love you so much. You are the sunshine of my life, the apple of my eye.."
Girl replies: "... thanks"

Lol!! Tell me that is not one of the funniest things EVER!! lol, well, unless you are the guy! Hope you enjoyed!

"A source from Sandringham is quoted as saying: "When she saw William playing a game after lunch she thought the Nintendo looked tremendous fun and begged to join in. She played a simple ten-pin bowling game and by all accounts was a natural.

"It was hilarious. William was in fits of laughter.

"He was enormously impressed at having such a cool gran. His only difficulty now is prising it away from the Queen's clutches. She showed all the signs of becoming a Nintendo addict."

The Queen is already said to be something of a technical whizz, with reports that she owns a BlackBerry, an iPod and a number of mobile phones." [Ref]

I'm yet to try it!

I received this as part of an email and even though I found it slighly harsh, I think it's definitely worth sharing.

"God whispers in your soul and speaks to your mind. Sometimes when you don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at you.

It's your choice: Listen to the whisper, or wait for the brick."

Enjoy your week!!

Search the Scriptures' precious store-
As a miner digs for ore,
Search, and you will surely find
Treasures to enrich the mind. - Anon

God speaks to us through His Word; take time to listen.

Taken from RBC Ministries 'Our Daily Bread' Dec07-Feb08: Jan 5 2008

Just a little while ago I was reading a post from a friend over at tech-barbados on the topic of online TV and how in his opinion, great it was. In that post he informed me, that by using a third party web site persons such as myself - who are not in Barbados - could now view our "home town" channel online and, for free. (Not that the channel is that, or any good, it's more that it's a small taste of home. )

After reading his post, I started to do some browsing and I found an entire host of sites offering TV, especially in the UK! So, as a prelude to what I hope will be a more thorough post at a later date, here is some of the stuff I have found. I hope it's useful!

http://www.jumptv.com/ - Watch TV worldwide (football games too!) including Barbados' very own CBC Channel 8. (This is the one that was mentioned to me.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/ - BBC isn't missing out on this online tv action! Check out their version in the BBC iPlayer. Overview: essentially the iPlayer lets you watch shows or news that was televised previously on any of the BBC channels. The caveat however is that I _think_ they choose which shows and they are only available for a certain time (number of days) after they are initially broadcasted on local TV. To be honest I'm a bit fuzzy on the particulars myself but when things are clearer, I'll be sure to update you! (I think there is an option to download as well!)

http://www.channel4.com/4od/index.html - The best of Channel 4, on demand! To quote their web site, "4oD is simply another way to get your TV hit, 24/7. Download thought-provoking documentaries, award winning drama or great comedy." There are "Loads of the latest TV to watch instantly or as a download." and you can even "Rent films from our specially selected range for £1.99". Sounds, freshing. Note that for this it seems like you have to download additional software.

http://www.itv.com/Watchnow/default.html - I have not tried this out but it seems practical. Worth noting is that iTV is definitely one of the better channels on basic English TV.

http://download.five.tv/ - To round up the lot, here's Five.tv's adaptation. It appears like they have gone for the strict pay-per-view model i.e. you buy what you want, no free viewing here. On the bright side they do have CSI episodes (Las Vegas, Miami and NY) going for a cool £1.49-£2.49/each or entire seasons for around £30-£40. Grey's Anatomy also features as a downloadable programme.

Ah, with TV directly on my PC, how, oh how, will I get any work done now? .. On the bright side, there's less reason to move from my desk!

Here are some articles worth reading for any of you who, well, go online! And, especially those millions of you who can't seem to pull yourself away from social networking sites.

Cyber thieves target social sites: "It is not just the average net user who is a fan of social network sites, so are hi-tech criminals. So say security professionals predicting what net criminals will turn to in 2008 to catch people out.
The quasi-intimate nature of the sites makes people share information readily leaving them open to all kinds of other attacks, warn security firms.
Detailed information gathered via the sites will also help tune spam runs or make phishing e-mail more convincing.

Friendly faces
There was no doubt that 2007 was the year that sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Orkut rose to prominence as millions of people signed up to use them and started posting information about themselves and what they were up to.
But in 2008 these sites will become an attack vector for the hi-tech gangs who are now behind the vast majority of cyber crime." [Full story]

Boom times for hi-tech criminals: "Starting a career as a cyber criminal got much easier in 2007. So say security experts looking back on 12 months in which hi-tech gangs took control of the net's underground.
The economy supporting these groups has matured so much that now everything from virus-writing kits to spam-spewing zombies are available for rent or hire." [Full story]

Finally, here's a noteworthy Glossary which you may find helpful in understanding some of the terms mentioned above.

Well, I'm back in my flat and it's back to Uni from today so can you guess what's the first surprise I get? Peek at the image below.

Snow? Sweet! *rolls eyes* lol! Enjoy your day and God bless!

Check out the celebrations for NYE around the world (video)! Hmm.. I didn't know New Zealand was the first country to enter '08; you learn something new every day! Enjoy the video!

Firstly, Happy New Year! I wish you the best for 2008.

To start this year, I would like to share with you a Daily Bread reading taking from RBC Ministries 'Our Daily Bread' Dec07-Feb08: December 31 2007. It reads..

"Which of the following quotes are in the Bible?
1. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
2. God helps those who help themselves.
3. Confession is good for the soul.
4. Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
5. Money is the root of all evil.
6. Honesty is the best policy.

Believe it not, only one of those quotes is found in the Bible. The fourth one is from Job 5:7.

George Muller, a pastor and orphanage director in the 1800s, wouldn't have had trouble knowing which of those quotes ere from the Bible. Why? Because he read through it more than 100 times! He said: "I look upon it as a lost when I have not had a good time over the Word of God. . . . I have always made it a rule never to begin work until I have had a good season with God and His Word. The blessing I have received has been wonderful."

We don't need to feel guilty if we don't read the Bible as much as Muller did. But consider with me reading it through at least once this coming year-not so that we can answer some tricky questions about it, but because it was given to us by God and is profitable for our spiritual growth (2 Tim. 3:16-17). - Anne Cetas

Read the Bible to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy."

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you. Ta!