Mouthwash doesn’t freshen breah apparently
I was reading an article in the times2 today and apparently mouthwash doesn’t freshen breath but can actually make it worse. Mouthwashes have a high level of alcohol in them which reduces the amount of moisture (saliva) in the mouth. By doing this it allows bacteria to grow within the mouth as there is not enough saliva to fight it off and therefore increasing bad breath. The only way to reduce this is to brush and floss twice daily.
Well I found it interesting…
2 Websites, 2 Updates
So this week Facebook and Last.fm launched new layouts for their websites. Both of these websites I use frequently, but only one of the layouts I particularly like. I feel that Last.fm have done a good job and have made good improvements. I find the new layout well spaced out, clear and easy to navigate. Being able to quickly switch between different chart types is easy and the way that comments are now at the bottom with an easy to use menu for navigating profiles makes a real difference. I never used the dashboard interface on Last.fm before but this merger with the profile works really well.
Unfortunately the new Facebook layout is not as good. Admittedly they did have a lot more to improve and they have managed to achieve this in part. The new menu bar at the top of the screen and the hiding of applications is a a real improvement. The problem for me comes with the combination of the the “Wall” and the “Feed” on each profile. I feel that these should of been kept seperate and not combined as is it has led to profiles looking more cluttered and harder to navigate. Another improvement I think should be done is to allow the “modules” in the right hand navigation bar of the main Facebook page when logged in should have drag & drop capabilities as different users will use different modules more frequently (e.g. I would of had the Bookmarks module at the top, followed by status’).
Be interested to hear what everyone elses opinions are on these new designs.
Illegal download
As has previously been noted, Virgin Media and the BPI have struck an agreement to start “educating” Virgin Media customers who download music illegal by the BPI passing on the IP addressed of anyone who downloads (even though it has been proven that the IP addresses can be wrong, read paper by University of Washington).
Today reports are coming out that letters have been sent out to 600 Virgin Media customers who have apparently been downloading and I want to point you guys to this BBC blog entry, specifically to the comments section. I have not read all of the comments but I feel that Paul Freeman-Powell makes some very valid points, as does mikearthur.
If you are interested in this subject then this is well worth a read(even though Darren Walters seems to of taken in the propaganda by the lobby companies and decided it is stealing, rather than copyright infringement. Every track downloaded does not equate to a sale!!
EDIT:
I just read a comment by vastariner who makes a very good suggestion of recording live shows and then selling these on a bands website. As a fan who has been to see the show or just wants a live copy of the band I would be very much inclined to do this. I also love this comment by Mark_WE disassembling Darren Walters point regarding why it is stealing.
Finally, I leave you with a quote by Bobsy_26 here.
Lest we forget, the anti-piracy ads shown on DVDs and in the cinema:
* You wouldn’t steal a mobile phone/car/handbag… mp3? Yes, that’s clearly the same issue.
* Piracy feeds terrorism. Oh boy, the image of a cackling Osama Bin Laden sitting on a heap of counterfeit DVDs, working his diabolical masterplan of media piracy against the west, is just too chilling.
* Piracy hurts artists. Yes, I’m sure it does under the current system, but it hurts record labels first, and harder. And that’s something I have limited sympathy for…
I promise to stop linking and referencing comments now :).
Longtime no speak
It has been quite a while since I have posted here so I feel an update is in order. I have finished my 2nd year at University so have technically finished for the summer. However I have been given a research grant from EPRS so I am now working as a research associate in the Culture Lab of Newcastle University. In this past week I have learnt a lot of C++ and started to look at OpenGL. I needed to this as I am going to be working with the OpenCV library written in C++ (so I need to learn C++) and OpenGL is going to be used to produce some GUI for applications I am going to be making.
On another note, I am currently posting this blog using Firefox 3 Beta 5, which comes with the latest addition of Ubuntu, something that I have just installed moments ago so be expecting a review on this OS in the coming weeks. I just have to say that it is already better than Gutsy in my eyes as it has support for my wireless adaptor out the box and I have connected to the Internet with no problems compared to after installing Gutsy and having issues with IPv6.
I will leave it here for the moment but will be returning soon!
UPDATE: Things have changed slightly since my last post. I installed Vista after Ubuntu, which naturally overwrote the bootloader so I could not get back onto Ubuntu without reinstalling GRUB. Once this was done I had to change the menu.lst file so have I could select Vista.
Another point I would like to make is that unlike Hardy, Vista could not connect to the Internet using my wireless adaptor so I had to search the Internet for the correct drivers - oh the irony.
P&G presentation
As has been previously mentioned on the blog, I am involved in a team project as part of my degree. Anyway, the team I am in was on of the top 3 for the project and we now have to give a presentation to Procter&Gamble regarding the system we have created along with how we coped with the team issues.
If we do well in this then we the team I am in will be selected to go through to the IBM ThinkPad challenge where we can win money, a laptop and some other stuff (I think).
Pretty exciting stuff. Particularly since I didn’t think I could do presentations (along with leadership) until starting this project, at which point I discovered I was actually rather good.
UPDATE: our system was chosen.
Module options
So I had to make my 3rd year pre-registration module options the other week and feel like I will share them with you. These aren’t final and may not be able to do them all due to timetable constraints.
- Human-Computer Interaction - kind of related to my dissertation, supposed to be quite easy
- Understanding Programming Languages - uses VDM so should be quite useful and was recommended to me
- Real-Time Programming in Java - control robotic arms - no more needs to be said
- System and Network Security - interested in security in general
- Internet Technology and Electronic Commerce - have to build a web server so that should be fun
- Middleware and Web Services - the guy who teaches is this is a legend, plus the topic is quite interesting
- Software Architectures - useful for when entering IT industry
- Software Project Management - same as above
I may change software architectures because I am not sure about the content or the lecture. It is the same sort of story for human-computer interaction - the only reason I am taking is because my dissertation is on a similar topic so figured it might be a good idea.
I am looking into potentially doing distributed systems, graphics and artificial intelligence (the latter 2 being unlikely as I think it would be a bit random just doing them). Complex systems is also a possibility but I am not sure if this will be very hard, it is also apparently structure poorly.
2021 prediction…
Brilliant.
Seasick Steve
Everyone should listen to this man, he is an amazing blues player and I have to say I love his music. My dad introduced me to him and I haven’t been able to stop listen to him. I mean, do you not think he is worth listening to just for having such a mighty beard?
For a little taster of his music check out the following YouTube links.
Dog House Boogie (live on Hootenanny)
Cut My Wings (live on Hootenanny)
My Donny (live on Hootenanny)
I have to say I love both of these songs but Cut My Wings in my favourite out of the 3. I currently have his album Cheap and looking to purchase Dog House Music.
The World According To Americans
I found this image a while ago using Stumble Upon and it’s basically someones depiction of how Americans view the map of the World.
Source: kansieo.com
What to do?
I am at a half-way house at th moment. The domain for thehardcorelife needs to be renewed in 2 weeks time (I think) otherwise I lose. The thing is though, do I really want to keep that website online? I mean I don’t get up to a lot of that stuff anymore and the website is outdated with a few security flaws in it. It most definitely hasn’t moved with the times (more admin login doesn’t even work anymore!).
This could be the time that thehardcorelife.com goes down for good. I am probably going to keep the web space and possible register another domain. By doing this it might encourage me to update my PHP, XML and HTML knowledge so that I could build some sort of portfolio and maybe publish any articles I write on it (along with this web blog of course).
And talking of this blog, I think this needs an upheaval as well. Maybe better focus on it’s topics and try and get a few more readers. I don’t think I have even mentioned on here yet that I am probably going to be specializing in distributed systems and looking into doing research into security for my dissertation.
All things to think about anyway.
