|
:: wednesday 23 january 2002
Today's post isn't about anything in particular, just bits
of this 'n' that.
Been hunting about all day for a cgi script to make those
wacky online tests that everyone's doing at the moment. Found
just what i was looking for, so expect lots of them in the
future (groan!)
Just finished my comp
entry for Divas of Design. The brief was to make a 300x200
greetings card with the theme "Happy New Year"
Cleared the rest of this page to the
archive too so it looks a bit bare. Better get blogging!
I've been asked by a couple of people for link logos to this
page so:
The link url is: http://www.groovylizard.com/extras/blog/blogmain.htm
I'll leave you with something I read today which made me smile:
"Women want mediocre men, and men are working hard to be
as mediocre as possible"
Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978)
Sorry guys!
. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .
:: thursday 24 january 2002
Found a fun script at Dynamic
Drive today for this little reflex-testing gizzmo. Try
it out below (tho' i'm warning you it's addictive!)
|
|
|
Tortoise or Hare ?
Click "START" and wait until the background colour changes.
As soon as it does, hit "STOP!
(Just for the record, my best time is 0.22 secs, but
i'm getting old!)
|
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
:: friday 25 january 2002
I am soooo cross today.
I need some more memory for my (Pentium IV) pc, and have just
been quoted £220 (@ $330 US) for 256mb ram!!!!!!!!!!!!
The equivalent for my Pentium III would be about £30
($45 US)
When ibought it last year, extra memory was unavailable but
i was assured that it would be in the region of £30.
Wrong. Now I have little choice but to pay, or keep putting
up with programmes freezing when i have too many open at once.
I also want to downgrade from Windows ME to '98 which i prefer,
but that seems easier said than done and entails even more
expense. Don't pcs suck sometimes.
update: found the memory i want for HALF the price i was
quoted, so i'll keep on hunting about and maybe get an even
better deal!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
:: saturday 26 january 2002
Whoops! Made a boob with yesterday's date so i've put
that right & added an update about the memory. (as
if anyone cares!) |
 |
Arthur had a big exam today to get into
the senior part of his school.
He set off at 8 this morning, clutching his pencil case and
looking very pale. When i picked him up later, he had colour
back in his cheeks and said it hadn't been too bad at all. We
all descended on Burger King, and had a 'picnic' in the car,
telling stupid jokes and teasing each other. Nothing special,
but it's times like that which i'll remember when they've all
grown up and left home :(
I spent this evening animating some 'groovy little critters'
which i'll upload here when they're all done. Have a nice Sunday!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
::
sunday 27 january 2002
The flag is in honour of THE most delicious Indian meal
i think i have ever eaten. (Or is it just that i'm so
hungry after a week of slimming that any 'real' food tastes
good?) |
|
|
We've
'discovered' a wonderful little Indian Restaurant which
is only a 15 minute drive away, and went there 'en famille'
tonight.
Everyone one of us ate everything put before us (yes me
included, so VERY strict slim-plan for the next week.)
When we had finished, the table looked like it had been
visited by a plague of locusts. The Maharaja. Heaven. |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
:: monday 28 january 2002
Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was pretty good all
round and it was tough to send the kids off to school this
morning. Hard too to make up for the weekend's calorie intake
by being extra careful today!
 |
We've been to see the puppies and had
to choose the one we wanted. It was so hard as they're
all beautiful: 6 little black labradors the size of very
small cats. The one we picked has a cute crinkled nose
as though she's run into a closed door, and while i was
holding her she fell asleep in my arms which sealed the
deal!
The lady we're getting her from put a tiny dab of red
nail polish on her claws so that no-one else takes her
home by mistake. |
She's arriving in a couple of weeks which is when the kids'
half-term starts so they're pretty excited, and the name choice
has narrowed down considerably now that we've weeded out characters
from sci-fi film, stars of teenage soaps, and family members!!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
:: tuesday 29 january 2002
Retail therapy with my mother today.
The Spring collections are gradually seeping into the stores,
but still hard to see amongst all the remaining sales items.
How long can a sale go on - don't they realise that we're
all sick of seeing the same old stuff and very few people
seem to be buying it.
We want fresh, spring-like clothes now so that we can shake
off the winter cobwebs and look forward to warmer, brighter
days.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
:: wednesday 30 january 2002
The
life that I have
is all that I have,
And the life that I have
is yours.
The love that I have
of the life that I have
is yours and yours and yours. |
A
sleep I shall have,
A rest I shall have,
Yet death will be but a pause.
For the peace of my years
In the long green grass,
Will be yours and yours
And yours. |
|
I 'rediscovered' this favourite poem last night when looking
through a book of war poets. The words themselves are beautiful,
but made all the more poignant by the true story surrounding
it.
The poem was written by Leo Marks in 1943 for a girl he was
in love with, and who was sadly killed in a plane crash later
the same year. Marks was chief cryptographer for the SOE (special
operations executive) in Baker St London during WW2, and wrote
many poems which were used as code cyphers for their special
agents in France.
These particular lines were given to Violette Szabo (née Violette
Reine Elizabeth Bushell) the widow of a Free French officer,
and working for the SOE. After completing one successful mission
in Cherbourg, Violette was sent back to France to co-ordinate
the local Maquis (French resistance movement) in Limoges,
ready for the D-day invasion.
She was captured & tortured by the Germans but bravely revealed
nothing, and was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp where
she was executed, aged just 23.
Violette was posthumously awarded the George Cross which was
presented by George VI to her small daughter Tania.
Leo Marks died on 15th January 2001, aged 80.
Incidentally, Leo Marks' father Benjamin owned the bookshop
'Marks & Co' which featured in Helene Hanff's 'Charing Cross
Road."
The
Violette Szabo Museum : the museum of Miss Rosemary E.
Rigby, MBE, in the house previously occupied by Violette's
cousins.
64
Baker Street : comprehensive site about the women of the
SOE
Carve
her name with Pride : film telling the story of Violette's
SOE involvement.
Between
Silk and Cyanide : Leo Mark's biographical account
of the work done by the SOS.
The
Life That I Have : The poem in a little book.
The
Life of Violette Szabo : Book of Violette's life (publ.
Feb 2002)
84
Charing Cross Road : Helene Hanff's biographical
account of her correspondence with the 'Marks & Co' antiquarian
bookstore in London.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
:: thursday 31 january 2002
Been messing about with some new software today:
Dreamsuite
from auto
fx, a filter programme which adds some pretty cool effects
to images and text etc.
The only 'gripe' i have with it, is that you need a pretty
large monitor/screen res. to be able to view all the controls.
This is something i dislike with certain web sites too (notably
some Flash sites) - i think it's really arrogant to 'force'
viewers to have their whole window taken up with content and
be unable to re-size. Humph.
I've also just downloaded a demo of Book
Organizer from Primasoft
which, well, organizes your book collection! Sounds a bit
anal? Maybe, but as an avid reader & bookaholic, i'd like
to add a 'recommended reading' section here asap, and i'm
hoping it'll help.
The site has a large collection of 'organizer' progs: golf
organizer : household organizer : software organizer
to name just a few.
A great site which could help you organize your life
(amongst other things) is Get
Organized Now. You can subscribe, and receive monthly
newsletters containing all the latest tips on saving time,
money etc.
These all appeal enormously, as i'm an avid organizer and
list maker but not so hot on the follow-up stuff, or the actual
doing bit of the list.
You never know, all this 'organizer' stuff could change my
life!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
groovy blog latest
|
