blog NaBloPoMo statistics stats · 250 words
As we enter another NaBloPoMo - where I try to write a blog post each day in Novemeber - I thought I'd take a look back at how this blog has developed. On Friday, October 30, 2009, I switched on WordPress statistics so I could get a better idea of what was popular on my site. My average traffic back then was 80 visits per day. Not bad for a backwater blog. Since then, my writing has been…
Continue reading →childfree NaBloPoMo · 2 comments · 450 words · Viewed ~210 times
You are traffic Yes, it's a marketing slogan, but I think it illustrates the way we think of ourselves. Each of us is the star of our own show. However empathetic we are, we only see through our eyes. As the world hits 7 billion people, it's time to realise that there is not "an over-population problem". Rather, "we are an over-population problem!" Each of us is contributing to…
Continue reading →BBC NaBloPoMo nokia ringtone stephenfry · 100 words · Viewed ~657 times
Stephen Fry has recently recorded a BBC podcast about the history of the mobile phone. It's a really great series, and I encourage you to listen to it. At one point in episode 4, Stephen sings the Nokia ringtone. So, here it is for your edification, and delight. 🔊 Stephen Fry sings the Nokia Ringtone🎤 edent 💾 Download this audio file. Feel free to set it as your iPhone's ringtone :…
Continue reading →badvertising films movies NaBloPoMo qr take shelter · 1 comment · 400 words · Viewed ~4,064 times
To whoever is responsible for this QR code marketing monstrosity: go home. Seriously, pack up the tools of your trade, go home, pour yourself a stiff drink, and weep at what you have done. The Poster Here's a fun game for all the family! Play "spot the QR code" on this poster... Bzzzzzt! Time's up! Did ya see it? What? No! How could that be? Let's zoom in... There! Right beside the…
Continue reading →badvertising banking mobile NaBloPoMo nat west natwest qr scanbuy · 1 comment · 400 words · Viewed ~407 times
When you create a QR code which contains a URL, it is vital that the code is not only as small as possible, but also as user friendly as possible. I'm not a massive fan of short URL services like bit.ly - but for shrinking the text you want to fit in a QR code, they are invaluable. I want to take a look at a particularly interesting example from Nat West Bank. The Poster Despite having the QR …
Continue reading →NaBloPoMo qr · 3 comments · 250 words · Viewed ~579 times
This is a great video all about the inappropriate use of QR codes. There's one area where I think Scott Stratten is wrong - and that's on the issue of QR codes where there is no signal. It's a common trope to bemoan QR codes on the tube, or on an aeroplane - but I believe it's not a very good argument. Firstly, take a look at the posters on a typical tube train. All of them have phone…
Continue reading →ekas ekasure NaBloPoMo peekabootv sms spam switchfire · 9 comments · 200 words · Viewed ~830 times
I've been investigating some rather nasty SMS spam. I have finally heard back from Switchfire, the SMS gateway who sent the message. According to them, the originator of the message was PeekabooTV.com. Take a look round that site - it hasn't been updated since 2007, and the Contact page leads to a 404. A quick wander into the DNS registration produces this rather stale information: GPRS…
Continue reading →environment government NaBloPoMo pv solar · 1 comment · 750 words · Viewed ~295 times
As I mentioned in my last post, we've just had solar panels installed! Because of Greg Barker MP's idiotic decision to scrap the Feed In Tariff with only six weeks' notice - we've had to get this done in rather a rush. Thanks to Angi and Philip at Sunny Future Solar, we were able to get our system installed before the deadline. Yesterday, we received confirmation that panels were installed and …
Continue reading →finance NaBloPoMo shares vodafone · 3 comments · 700 words · Viewed ~276 times
As many of you know, I worked for Vodafone for nearly 7 years. I left shortly before the "entirely legal and justified tax avoidance" scandal came to light. I didn't know anything about the tax issues while I was working there - other than the fact I had some colleagues working in Luxembourg - otherwise (I like to think) I may have raised the matter internally. Not that the accountants would…
Continue reading →ekas ekasure mobile NaBloPoMo sms spam switchfire · 9 comments · 450 words · Viewed ~1,436 times
As I've mentioned before, I hate SMS Spam. Last night, I received this unsolicited message. Now, I can try to unsubscribe using STOP ALL - and I have forwarded the text to VSPAM. But that's not enough for me. I want to stop them sending any more spam SMS to anyone. Let's do a little stalking investigating and find out what we can. Who Supplies Their SMS Gateway? The people who provide the…
Continue reading →bitcoin design NaBloPoMo usability · 3 comments · 450 words · Viewed ~363 times
Bitcoin me! 1LJmePYmet9VzzzzzzLbd0RVGoYcLqAZhk If that "sentence" makes any sense to you - you're not a muggle. Muggles (for want of a better epithet) don't want to invest a lot of time into things which don't fit with their mental model of how the world works. Without getting into a philosophical discussion on what money is and how value is generated - let's look at how Bitcoin works in…
Continue reading →banking banks buidling society NaBloPoMo · 4 comments · 550 words · Viewed ~334 times
It's Time To Switch Banks are fucking us over. They gamble with our money, lose it, ask us for a bail out, lose more money, then ask us for yet another bail out! They are resisting even the very modest changes the government is imposing on them. No more. We have a very easy way to stop the banks pissing about with our money. Take our money from them. I'm not talking about taking out your…
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