Spam email is a very annoying nuisance.
Even more annoying was the recent incident where a spammer decided to use my hotmail address as the senders address. This resulted in 50+ bounced emails all arriving in my Hotmail inbox.
…not to mention all the numerous receivers that were swearing at my email address because they don’t know any better and thought that I was responsible.
Most annoying however, that a certain “lovingguy” from India thought the email was for real and “is ready to have fun with me”.
Time for that long vacation in Mexico I reccon.
Category: Journal
Facelift
An overdue facelift was necessary for this website of a non-profit organisation that I am helping out with. The site was done by me 2 years ago and back then it just had to be done quickly. Since then I have been adding various features and the site has been growing organically. It outgrew the initial scope in the first six months.
I was considering a fully featured content management system (Drupal was recommended by Taran) but chickened out in the end. Instead, the web site will be a mix between Movable Type and home brewed PHP features. Movable Type will take care of the news and articles and I will develop custom user registration, newsletter, classifieds section and photo gallery (to start with).
It took me most of the weekend and it’s not even finished. I decided to use CSS positioning and XHTML and that is why it took so darn long just to get the layout right. Getting rid of nested tables felt good however. A List Apart was a great resource; both for the layout design and elegant, non-graphical tabs.
Weather forecast for London
The daily weather forecast interests me more and more and I make sure to watch it each morning. I must be getting old.
This morning was no fun. “Think ‘W’: wet and windy”, I was told.
And even better for the weekend:
“Strong winds and wintery showers”. Not sure what wintery showers exactly means but it sounds cold… and scary.
London weather, GOTTA LOVE IT!
To Ryanair or not to Ryanair (and other cheap airlines and flights)
Once again Carla’s “I told you so” is ringing in my ears. I was planning a trip to Sweden and was sucked in by the £2.99 advertised price on Ryanair.com web site. I was travelling alone and figured I would be able to handle the early departure and other inconveniences.
In the end the trip turned out to be a lot more expensive than the lucrative £2.99 and I would like you to consider the following before being lured by the prices of such airlines as easyJet, RyanAir and Buzz.
Update 30/01/04
“A disabled man who was forced to pay to use a wheelchair at Stansted Airport has won his case against Ryanair.” (BBC News)
Good, now if only something could be done about the belittling staff.
Continue reading “To Ryanair or not to Ryanair (and other cheap airlines and flights)”
Giving credit
For some of the features on this web I have been inspired by others. Sometimes I have used code developed by others and sometimes images supplied by others.
This is where I would like to thank those individuals.
SixApart: For developing an excellent (and free) self publishing application; Movable Type
Moopet: For the blogging bug and the Lightsaber image
Scriptygoddess: For scripting bits and bops and most recently help on how to dirify with PHP
Google: For their API and translation tools
KnowProSe: For an elegant translation solution
Eliot: MTRefSearch
Just Like a Dream: Giving credit
shari: slidingonrainbows bkr pattern
Thank you all and keep on trucking!
Bang
Copacobana, Rio De Janeiro, Brasil, 1st of January 2003, 00:02
Well, the year 2003 is making sure to end with a bang.
It has been a scorching hot day with temperatures over 35 degrees C and flip-flops melting on the hot beach sand. The waves were over 10 feet high and now there is a tropical thunder storm.
This last day of 2003 was also the day I asked Carla’s dad for Carla’s hand and his answer was a delightful yes. Now there is only one more person that has to agree.
On the road
So this is it. Our bags are packed, the doors are locked and we have just arrived to the airport. It is time for our annual trip to see Carla’s family in Brasil.
Tacky xmas card
… you have been warned 🙂
card
The money food chain
Observation:
Our car was serviced the other week and most of the costs were for parts. I paid by credit card and thus postponed the actual debiting of my account until the end of the month. I was also rewarded with a few reward points that I eventually will be able to trade in for trips, hotel stays or car hire.
The owner of the car shop was a very friendly gentleman and we ended up chatting for a good half hour about life and things. He mentioned that he is paying by credit card for most parts that he orders for his clients. He is using the same credit card company as me and recently he was on a trip to Paris for two, paid by reward points.
Now, what if the dealer that he is ordering parts from is using a credit card as well for their rather large amount of purchases. This would mean that possibly the same credit card company is able to charge a fee 3-4 times for the same product; while it is traveling from a producer, via various middle hands to the final consumer (me).
It also means that possibly 3 individuals/companies have earned reward points on behalf of my purchase. No doubt something that I as the final consumer will be burdened with in the form of higher annual fees.
So, does this make me a player at the top of the food chain? Am I positioned at the top as I pick and choose what to consume by spending money on it?
I think not. Instead I suspect I am at the bottom of the money food chain. I, like billions others, are like small plankton feeding some slightly larger predators above us. At the top are a few global predators and I bet that American Express is one of them.
Early Christmas greetings
christmas, denmark, sweden, presents
…from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Its’s that time of year again when we move our bodies towards North to enjoy yule spirit with my parents.
The sun setting at 3.30 pm and the freezing temperature brings out the best of Christmas spirit. So does the Scandinavian Christmas food, plentyfull and rich.
Having relatives in various parts of the world has the benefit of multiple Christmas eves and even better, multiple presents openings.
Tonight, Christmas celebration with my parents in Sweden; next week the same with Carla’s family in Brasil. Just a temperature difference of 40 degrees.
Whereever you are, take care and be well,
David