notes: December 2006

MASL: Make A Spammer's Life (easier)

Make A Shorter Link, the link-shortening service dreamt up by me, and created and maintained by my friends Matthew Hunt, Phil McCarthy and Edd Dumbill, is now closed to new links.

Why? Because it’s being abused by spammers, and we can’t devote the time required to secure it from their unwanted attentions. And because since we founded it, our lives have changed. We all changed jobs, changed careers, moved house (or even moved to the other side of the world). All of us have new priorities, or more important things to occupy our time. MASL needs attention that we can’t provide for it.

The spam reached boiling point during the Christmas holidays, so Edd switched off the new links feature. Shorter links you’ve created in the past will continue to work. We’re exploring options for long-term hosting and management of our database of shorter links, just like we said we would if and when this time ever came.

If you’re annoyed by MASL’s sudden closure, blame the spammers. And if you still need to create shorter links, there are plenty of other options for you.

Labels: tech

Sunday, December 31, 2006
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Crypt

Labels: photos

Saturday, December 30, 2006
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A boy and his bear

This is Barney and his new teddy friend, Sossy.

Labels: family, photos

Saturday, December 30, 2006
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Happy Feet was rubbish

Nice animation, but blimey, they really struggled to decide which film they were making, didn't they?

"Let's do a musical, with dancing penguins!"

"Yeah! And! Ummm - let's copy that scene from the wildlife documentary, where the whale played with the seal pup by flicking it into the air over and over again!"

"Yeah! And let's put in some environmentalism!"

"Yeah, cos that's hip, right?"

"Right. And right at the end, we'll do something about overfishing!"

"And zoos! Zoos are bad!"

"Yeah! But not too much badness."

"No, not too much. Can't lay it on too thick. Family movie."

"Family movie, yeah."

Labels: life, rant

Friday, December 22, 2006
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This video may have saved me £80

YouTube was made to make DIY easy. Soon it will overflow with video tips on the proper way to put up shelving, solving the mysteries of the sand/cement mix, and how to make sure that things stay straight after you remove the spirit level.

Labels: life, video

Friday, December 22, 2006
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Current reading

Labels: books

Friday, December 22, 2006
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Parsnip chips

Get your hands on some nice fresh parsnips (or neeps, as a bloke I used to know used to call them), and slice them up nice and thin. Chuck them in a bowl with a drop of olive oil, then stir them around with your fingers until they're all well coated. Slip the slippery oily neep chips (neep cheeps?) under the grill until they start to go brown and crispy; extract and eat immediately, with lentil loaf or sausages or some other yummy dish. Ketchup and cold lager optional. Mmmmmm.

Labels: food

Thursday, December 21, 2006
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Stagnant

I’m feeling creatively deflated, have been for a couple of weeks now. Work has calmed down a great deal since the insane busy spell I had from September to November, and I was rather looking forward to having some time in which I might indulge in some creative writing for my own pleasure.

But it’s been impossible to even start. Despite hours in front of the computer, expecting the words to come, I’ve been unable to come up with anything approaching even a half-hearted idea. And that’s after trying out some of my own tips for inspiring creative thinking.

It’s probably time to have a more thorough break, to immerse myself in some books and some much-needed DIY; and hopefully returning to a more creative state of mind in the New Year.

Labels: life, rant

Wednesday, December 20, 2006
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Growing old fitfully

There was a time, years ago, when I’d study festive “Best albums of the year” lists and congratulate myself on owning most of them.

I’d snort at the chosen albums that I considered below par, and shamefully update my “Albums to buy” list with some of the more highly-recommended ones that I’d somehow overlooked.

Things have changed. Looking at Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums of 2006, I recognise only three of them, and have a copy of just one.

What’s more, I don’t care. My Amazon wishlist remains chock-full of 80s and 90s stuff that I used to listen to on cassette, and that I now wish to own on CD. I’m middle-aged, and I’m proud.

Labels: life, music

Tuesday, December 19, 2006
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