My first day as a non-meat eater was almost derailed before the 24 hour mark. Almost. But I resisted.
I got home last night and my dad had cooked some chicken drum sticks. They smelled awesome!
This is what’s going to be difficult. Not bacon, that old fried cliche, but chicken, rare steak, ribs…proper chunky meat.
It’s been over 6 months since I posted here; the last one marked my dear departed father-in-law’s send off.
In that time we’ve sold our house, moved in with my parents (temporarily) and come to arse-end of a rather difficult pregnancy. The bairn is due on the 24th May. I’m still plugging away at Yes Scotland, with some personal projects on the go in the sidelines, and I’ve decided the blog needs reviving if for no other reason than my own sanity.
My last few non-death related posts concerned my self-imposed challenge of going a full 12 months without having a beer and, with the exception of my father-in-law’s wake, I managed that quite happily. So it’s time for the next challenge.
Just the other week I wrote on these pages about how I’m using the Galaxy SIII’s NFC chip to automate some functions and make life with my mobile just a little easier.
I happened to mention that I was using a rather, um, “attractive” green wristband to toggle the brightness of the phone’s screen when I go outside in the sun. I commented that I was planning on swapping it for a black one, and my intention was to order a black version of the one I’ve been using the next time I order new tags.
As the Galaxy SIII hits America, Samsung have released 3 new ads for it showing how it can make things like photosharing and presentations easier.
Rather than embed them here, I’ll just link to the post I saw them on at Inneractive.com, by Hillel Fuld.
I’ve had a Galaxy SIII for about 5 weeks now, and it has to be said I do love the crap out of it. I’ve been having especially good fun with the NFC (near field communications) capabilites of the device, and I wanted to share with you a few of the ways that NFC has made some niggly little tasks that bit easier.
Martyn Wallace, official Digital Chap at O2 posted a link to this story earlier today, and asked his followers if he thought the death of the laptop was nigh.
I don’t think it is, because I think the reasons cited by both “road warriors” in the article won’t be readily overcome. Below is the conversation Martyn and I had about it. Have a read of the article and let me know what you think.
Well well well. Cryptic Studios, creators of the Star Trek Online MMO were hacked in December 2010.
They released a statement saying that they’ve only just discovered it due to “increased security analysis”. You can read it here, if you wish: http://www.crypticstudios.com/securitynotice
Let me save you the jump, and give you the very first paragraph:
If you’re not a regular reader of my irregular posts you might not know that, for reasons I’m not entirely sure of anymore, I’m abstaining from beer for the entirety of 2012.
It is just beer I’m avoiding, not other drinks. Basically it’s an effort to discover new things and broaden my horizons, and shift a bit of belly in the process.
That last bit isn’t really working, but I’m blaming that on the pizzas.
If you follow the business side of the internet, particularly where the media is involved, and have any interest in how media websites make any money, there’s a phrase you’ll hear again and again; that phrase is “paid content”. If you don’t know what that is, here’s the Wikipedia definition for you:
Paid content is the non-free electronic commerce of digital content and information goods in digital media.
In other words, it’s when a website charges you to read its articles or watch its videos.
Last time we spoke, dear reader, I said was staying off beer for a year.
One. Whole. Year.
Now, as I’ve gradually informed my friends about this over the last few weeks the reaction has gone from “ooft! A whole year?” to a more derisory howl of laughter coupled with “no chance!” That last lot clearly don’t know me as well as they think they do.
Anyway, I’m now a month in and no beer has passed my lips. It wasn’t as hard as I thought, but it hasn’t been a cake walk either.
One year, no beer…an exception.
As you might recall I’ve been on a personal challenge this year to drink no beer.
It’s going well. I’ve discovered a love for brandy, particularly Three Barrels or the delightful Stock XO. I’ve developed a tolerance for most ciders, and actually quite enjoy Stella Cidre, and I’ve come to really enjoy Kopparberg’s strawberry & lime cider or, as my regular drinking buddy calls it, “that fairy juice”.
I’m in the home straight.
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