Scoville Units Unite » Random http://agraham.org/blog reviews, rants and random chilli ratings Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:37:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Travel Dundee Silliness http://agraham.org/blog/2010/06/21/travel-dundee-silliness/ http://agraham.org/blog/2010/06/21/travel-dundee-silliness/#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:40:27 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=724 2 minor annoyances with Travel Dundee lately.

Firstly they have binned the flexi-cards and replaced them with paper tickets to be stamped by the drivers. Notices say this is to speed up the journey etc. Except the driver taking ticket, inpecting it, then leabning forward lining up stamper, stamping, checking stamp is in correct place then handing back. See that nit, it takes about twice as long as putting a flexi card in the machine did.

Secondly I got on a new bus yesterday and the notice for Conditions of carriage had changed. First it looked like the minimum charge (i.e. fine for fare dodging) had doubled. It was only seeing the figure which dre my attention to the poster. The poster says for full journey rules I should pop into their store in the West Midlands. Bit of a jaunt to find out if I cans tick my feet up on the seat eh?

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2010/06/21/travel-dundee-silliness/feed/ 0 Buyer Beware http://agraham.org/blog/2010/05/15/buyer-beware/ http://agraham.org/blog/2010/05/15/buyer-beware/#comments Sat, 15 May 2010 20:09:49 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=682 Due to a combination of factors regarding scammy scummy business practices I remembered about this incident.

A few weeks ago I get a knock at the door and it is someone from an energy company touting for business by trying to convince us to switch suppliers.

I forget the exact figures but he asked me what my energy bill was. I said £90/quarter for electricity and £10/week for gas during last quarter (winter). He pulls up his tablet PC and tells me I currently spend £360/year on electricity and £520/year on gas. This adds up to £880/year on energy costs. If I switched to his company then with their £50 duel customer saving it would only cost £850 per year.

I looked at him.

He looked back.

Me: Those were the figures for the last quarter – winter, where we clearly spend more on heating

Energy man – glazed look.

Me: You multiplied my Winter quarter fuel costs by 4 to get my yearly bill.

Energy man – Yeah there are 4 quarters in the year

How many people fall for this. Not only would this not be a saving without switching both energy supplies, it is only a saving if the figures used were correctly used for a comparison, which they clearly were not.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2010/05/15/buyer-beware/feed/ 0 First Search Consultancy http://agraham.org/blog/2010/04/23/first-search-consultancy/ http://agraham.org/blog/2010/04/23/first-search-consultancy/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:31:38 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=658 I was recently contacted by someone else who had received legal threats from First Search Consultancy. They have since edited and re-published their post about First Search Consultancy.

I recommend reading it. Ryan also says he has a recording proving the claim made by a number of people online and my partner that they say they can guarantee first place in a search on Google. This is of course not possible to do and any company claiming so would be obtaining money from customers by deception.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2010/04/23/first-search-consultancy/feed/ 0 Dundee – A Crime Free Utopia http://agraham.org/blog/2010/01/29/dundee-a-crime-free-utopia/ http://agraham.org/blog/2010/01/29/dundee-a-crime-free-utopia/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:40:32 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=589 Well, I can only assume as much given the 13 cops and command unit sitting in a layby on the Kingsway…

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2010/01/29/dundee-a-crime-free-utopia/feed/ 0 Chaos as frozen water plummets from the sky!! http://agraham.org/blog/2010/01/07/chaos-as-frozen-water-plummets-from-the-sky/ http://agraham.org/blog/2010/01/07/chaos-as-frozen-water-plummets-from-the-sky/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:10:57 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=575 Sitting in the pub last night one of the 24 hour News programs was on giving us breaking news such as roads frozen and temperature below freezing. How this was breaking news baffled me. Then after the news finished there was the weather.

The newspaper headline section was hilarious with their shocking headlines and attacks on Brown. Given the Daily Mails usual line I was shocked that Frozen Britain wasn’t Browns Frozen Britain.

I’m no fan of the pillock but the tabloid attacks can be pretty pathetic sometimes.

It never happened under Blair was a jokey comment followed by Just call me Dave will sort it out. You could just picture a Dave sermon on waste

Under the former Labour Government, Labour councils were riddled with waste. For example: grit. They whinged and whinged they didn’t have enough of it, then when he splurged more on them it dissapeared immediately. None could be found it the depot, they were just chucking it away. As soon as it was gone they demanded more. Outrageous. Millions couldn’t make it to work, schools were closed, it was more damaging than a day of strike!! Our Conservative government stopped this by not shipping grit to councils who would waste it and moving everyone into workhouses so they wouldn’t have an excuse for being late. As for kids, education is a ridiculous expense they can sweep chimneys in my manor from the age of eight.

You get the idea.

With Tory or Labour cuts coming you could see a repeat of this only getting worse. If you are a council in the South East and get a wee sprinkling of snow every other year and an inch or so every 30 years it’s a short term gain to cut spending on grit supplies. In the next 4 years that’s a low chance of needing them. Look at all that waste you have saved, inefficiency solved. Never mind that to get it when you need it as your streets are locked up means the price is gouged and days of work have been lost for thousands of people including council employees. It’s the same short term policy planning that leads to quarterly bonuses for bankers etc.

I was reminded of this watching a video on Daily Mash of David Mitchell ranting about waste. He points out it’s like taking over a bar and saying you will eliminate waste by banning spillages and being really really careful. And just as likely to work. Unfortunately I can’t find the clip.

Maybe the councillors should find out more about the delays in getting salt and grit to their doors when it’s needed. They all seem in favour of a junket at our expense, in Dundee these have included trips to the middle east and trips to strip bars. Maybe a fact finding mission to the salt mines of Siberia is in order. Of course we should only look at the short term cost so buying a return ticket is out. Once there they can make a plan for the short term by trying to then get a single to return.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2010/01/07/chaos-as-frozen-water-plummets-from-the-sky/feed/ 0 Two interesting articles in a row! http://agraham.org/blog/2009/12/17/two-interesting-articles-in-a-row/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/12/17/two-interesting-articles-in-a-row/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:47:54 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=572 Slashdot beats it’s usual high of 1 decent article a day with two belters.

Insurgents hack US drones

Iraqi insurgents are intercepting communications from pilot-less drones as they are not encrypting it before sending it to base.

The second will be of interest to anyone who has visited the Secret Bunker in Fife. A report of a tour round a nuclear missile silo in the US. Really fascinating.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/12/17/two-interesting-articles-in-a-row/feed/ 0 Christmas Jewellery Exhibition http://agraham.org/blog/2009/11/16/christmas-jewellery-exhibition/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/11/16/christmas-jewellery-exhibition/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:35:48 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=563 Genna is helping to organise an exhibition of jewellery and other arts at WASPS next month.

Details of the artists can be found at their blog. The artists are having profiles of them and their work added – Gennas is here.

WASPS Dundee

Saturday 28th November 11am – 5pm
Sunday 29th November 12pm – 5pm

There are also raffle tickets, £1 each or 5 for £4 with the prizes being several pieces of jewellery. The proceeds are being split between the Association for Contemporary Jewellery and Maggies Centre in Dundee.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/11/16/christmas-jewellery-exhibition/feed/ 0 London Food http://agraham.org/blog/2009/10/13/london-food/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/10/13/london-food/#comments Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:02:52 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=537 I couldn’t really figure up a good way to post about random stuff from the trip to London so will start off with the food.

Friday

On the Friday we arrived in the afternoon so we only really ate out for tea. With the hotel we were given a voucher for various Hotel owned outlets. We opted for Poppadom Express having had a great meal there the last time. The receptionist said there was no need to book a table although the voucher said you did. We popped in and were asked if we had booked, no and we explained. After a short while we got a table.

We ordered drinks and went up to the buffet for our starters. I noticed the selection was well down on last time. Our drinks arrrived, well most of them, the bottle of wine did not. When we eventually spotted a waitress we pointed it out and she got the original waiter. We said we had also ordered a bottle of wine but it hadn’t come. He started arguing that we hadn’t ordered it. Bit bizarre, whether we had already ordered it or were making a new order we were still getting a bottle which was more than a place at the buffet. I had a curry Karachi Chicken which was ok, and the hottest they had. Then I tried their Korma which was pretty crap. Was disappointed as it had been great the last time.

Saturday

Breakfast was also a bit poor, the hotel appeared to have cut the offerings and it was always cold.

Saturday lunch time was at Covent Garden Piazza and I had a Lancaster Cheese Burger which was gorgeous. Teatime we tried to order pizza. Pizza orders go to same place as the Indian. We were told they just had a few people in so were too busy and hung up. I have phoned Dominos, Pizza Hut etc when busy and they have said It will be at least an hour is that ok? but never said too busy and hung up. Pretty shit service from the same place two nights in a row. We opted to go to the hotel and I had a half decent chicken curry (their other option didn’t look that good). It was actually quite tasty.

Sunday

Sunday we were down at Spitalfields so at lunch had food in a pup called White Hart where I tried a beef burger. It was fantastic, well above the usual pub standard. Place was pleasant, staff friendly. A pair sat at the table beside us and we got chatting for a bit. Anatolia from Russia, then Belgium, now London. They were looking for info on a Kevin Spacey play. Grabbed the Nokia 770 and they were really grateful.

For tea at night we went looking at some of the Italians etc near the hotel. Eventually setting for Cagneys in a side street. I had a really nice Barbecue chicken.

Monday

At Kings Cross we had lunch at a really nice French cafe along the Strand. Gorgeous Escalope chicken. Will definitely go there again.

Gabys Hot Stuff

At Spitalfields market there was a stall with Chili sauce. I tasted it and then grabbed a jar, gorgeous stuff. Family recipe from Central America, chilli sauce made from Habaneros. It was quite amusing watching the mortals wince after tasting a bit. Would have got a bottle but I still have some from Mexico but wanted to support them anyway.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/10/13/london-food/feed/ 0 Random website sham again? http://agraham.org/blog/2009/10/07/random-website-sham-again/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/10/07/random-website-sham-again/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:18:41 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=534 Genna got another call from a web design company today. This time they are claiming that that a government scheme is there to help companies with websites.

For £149 per year she can have a site with a shop. A quick scan of their site shows that that package is £199 per year. The £149 one is aimed at people with no website at all. On the phone the Web Consultant (sales rep) also asked her what her website address was. Nice research there bub. A quick search for teh number they were calling very quickly shows that.

A quick browse round their site was quite telling. News from 2007 (we are a popular company, see this non-existant report that you would have to pay for anyway), a blog (link dead) and vacancies. The vacancies at these places is always interesting, multiple telesales positions, 1 web developer position. The web developer ad language is amateurish at best, not what you would expect from a really big web design company which has been going for years.

A search on the company finds almost no mention of them anywhere, not helped by their name being made of two common words.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/10/07/random-website-sham-again/feed/ 2 Three quarters through the year! http://agraham.org/blog/2009/09/30/three-quarters-through-the-year/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/09/30/three-quarters-through-the-year/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:33:29 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=514 I just realised that we are now three quarters of the way through the year.

What shocked me was that I couldn’t really think of anything significant I had done yet. For me. I thought about it a bit more and counted up about 20 days I had helped Genna on stalls including about 3 weeks of holidays from work. So from someone else’s perspective, they (hopefully :) ) view me as having done something significant this year.

It was kind of humbling to think that over the course of the year the things I have done and spent my time doing have had a positive effect for other people more than myself. I’m quite happy with that.

What have you achieved for yourself or anyone else this year?

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/09/30/three-quarters-through-the-year/feed/ 2 Polo and Posh Portaloos http://agraham.org/blog/2009/09/14/polo-and-posh-portaloos/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/09/14/polo-and-posh-portaloos/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:34:20 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=501 On Saturday, Genna and I attended an event with a group who funded her business. They had some space at a corporate event day.

Anyhoo, the two amusing things prompting the title.

Firstly posh portaloos. They had hired the poshest portaloos I had ever seen. The sinks were bowls on raised daises. They had motion sensor activated taps. To dry your hands there were no paper towels – only small disposable towels to be dumped in a bin and presumably washed afterwards. You don’t see these at T in the Park.

Anyhoo we then retired to an afternoon of polo. A game I had never seen played before. I can’t imagine why I played football as a kid. All you needed was a ball between 20-odd of you. For polo the entry-level requirements are a bit less – 2 horses and one of the eight of you to have access to a flat marked out area the size of three football pitches.

It was quite fun to watch for the first half, got a bit boring towards the end, but that was due to the play rather than the game of polo itself.

The commentator was highly amusing, some of the phrases that I remember were:

Joe’s riding Sue hard from behind to stop him playing with Bob.

And he’s just stepping down to examine the horses girth…and seems happy with it

The game was Scotland vs South Africa so hearing And you can now that only the white man is allowed to do that sent a shiver down my spine a bit even though they were referring to the jersey colour.

There was a meal afterwards. Starter was excellent on the second attempt (fish was first), the sweet was an amazing cheesecake. The main was cold steak with a large blob of fat in the centre. All in all a fun day and it was all free for me so I’m not complaining at all.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/09/14/polo-and-posh-portaloos/feed/ 0 Edinburgh Craft Fair http://agraham.org/blog/2009/08/17/edinburgh-craft-fair/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/08/17/edinburgh-craft-fair/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:40:30 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=484 Absolutely knackered after spending 9 days at the West End Craft Fair with Genna.

It was quite fun, the weather was pretty poor at times (which you pay attention to when working outside!) but at its worst was not as bad as last years torrential downpours.

One of the reasons I like the fairs is that I enjoy blethering with people. To quote Kaylee from Firefly They’ve all got stories. Not just the public but the other exhibitors too. Every year there are new people and you are next to a different set of people so you get to know a bit about everyone. This year we also bought/swapped a bunch of stuff.

Gillian Kyle was opposite us and has pretty cool printed t-shirts etc with Scottish cultural logos.

Next to us was Will with his hand made Journals. These were really cool, Genna bought me a Serenity one. I will be contacting him at some point in the future to make another one too.

Gayle Robinson was just to the left. Her collagraphs were amazing. We got one and I was drooling over another really nice abtract landscape one in various shades of blue.

Sue from Look out scout! has totally awesome kiddies t-shirts with fun animal facts. Her website is really cool with lots of activities for kids. She had hers with her some days and they amused themselves giving everyone a quiz. My 5 out of 10 was not enough to win the packet of Oreos though :( . Her stand was really nice too with fake grass and animals etc all over the place. Sometimes you get a bit bored seeing a row of stands all day every day with the only variation being the colour of tablecloth and whether necklaces are on the right or left of the display. Really brightened up your day noticing new stuff all over.

Frans McAnaraks stall was even cooler this year. Steve from Highland Games made her buttons for clothing and they had so many requests from people they eventually caved in and started selling them too. Last year was a trial run with a small selection, this year there was a massive amount on day 1 and not so many on day 9 when we left. Her site has her selection of buttons on it but not her really funky one off coats etc. Genna now has 4 of her clothing items.

Stephen O’Neill had some really nice prints and we ended up getting 4. With the Rikki O’Neill print we got last month we can now make a wall of images of Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Genna did really well too. I’ll dig out the spreadsheets etc later (we forgot to take the details of last year) but it was definitely worth going ;) .

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/08/17/edinburgh-craft-fair/feed/ 0 Wi-fi woo http://agraham.org/blog/2009/07/28/wi-fi-woo/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/07/28/wi-fi-woo/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:01:42 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=465 Amused today to read about some cretin who claims to be allergic to wi-fi.

Of course it will be no surprise to know the rag source of this garbage is the Hitler supporting Daily Mail.

Of course if such a claim were true the DJ would be in luck, with a profile and a paranormal ability he can go for the Randi $1million Challenge.

Given that previous claimants with similar abilities have not been able to tell when wi-fi signals are on or not his chance of winning is low, but surely it would make his illness bearable to live off a million dollars?

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/07/28/wi-fi-woo/feed/ 0 Last British World War One trench veteran dies http://agraham.org/blog/2009/07/26/last-british-world-war-one-veteran-dies/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/07/26/last-british-world-war-one-veteran-dies/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:04:44 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=454 I have only briefly glanced at the reports on the death of Harry Patch, the last surviving British trench soldier from World War One. (One sailor survives: Claude Choules)

The reports have mainly went on about the war he fought in and ignored his insights into the situation.

Which is a shame, as he had wise words to say on the war

On a graveyard in France

Any one of them could have been me. Millions of men came to fight in this war and I find it incredible that I am the only one left.

He described war as the

calculated and condoned slaughter of human beings…war isn’t worth one life.

Of course this is in stark contrast to Butcher Haig who callously sent thousands to their death due to his stupidity, lack of respect for human live and inability to understand that sending people over an open field covered in mines towards a machine gun isn’t going to work.

The fact that he has a fund in his name for surviving soldiers is a travesty of irony.

It is of course one of the reasons I avoid wearing a red poppy and every year buy a pack of Peace Pledge Union white poppies to sell on behalf of the Dundee Coalition for Justice Not War.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/07/26/last-british-world-war-one-veteran-dies/feed/ 0 Swines http://agraham.org/blog/2009/07/17/swines/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/07/17/swines/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:20:26 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=443 Having checked whether it was man or swine it appears the parents both have swine flu. Both have been feeling totally run down all week, dad complained of his throat being agony.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/07/17/swines/feed/ 0 A Winner is Me! 3 http://agraham.org/blog/2009/06/10/a-winner-is-me-3/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/06/10/a-winner-is-me-3/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:16:52 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=400 Well I have just won my third competition in 6 months.

On the Scottish Socialist Party site there is a monthly competition run with philosophy football.

I just won their International Brigade t-shirt.

Two wins in two months from this competition, enter it yourself!

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/06/10/a-winner-is-me-3/feed/ 1 Keeping down the inbox count http://agraham.org/blog/2009/06/03/keeping-down-the-inbox-count/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/06/03/keeping-down-the-inbox-count/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:11:41 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=397 Catching up on my blog list has been fun. I was reading about the policy of E-mail zero where you aim to keep your inbox at 0 e-mails at all times by constantly properly filing your mail. Having fallen behind around 2 years ago mines is ever growing. I figured going for RSS zero was a first step.

My RSS reader now has 64 unread posts in it down from a constant of around 800 a month ago. Basically I had been stuttering through every blog trying to catch up and failing. I decided to work my way down, getting one to zero then trying to keep it there, rinse and repeat.

I managed this on all but one blogs, which has around 40 left and another with 8. These are all pretty heavy reading articles so I am moving through these less slowly.

After that I will attempt to tackle the yahoo account inbox (currently 6000+ items, 200+ unread). To be fair I have had the account for over 10 years. Hopefully when I get it to zero I can consolidate the mail I have and what I get to decide if I keep it or move to a better mail system. Given the time it will take I might migrate to Google Wave, which looks fantastic

Anyhoo, this was a long diversion to post praising one of the blogs I keep an eye on. Max Dunbar regularly posts on a wide range of topics including book reviews. His review of Terry Pratchetts Small Gods is absolutely superb and bang on the money. First review in ages to remind me why I love a book, film etc.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/06/03/keeping-down-the-inbox-count/feed/ 0 Check mate http://agraham.org/blog/2009/05/19/check-mate/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/05/19/check-mate/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 19:58:28 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=383 Just found out that my Uncles brother-in-law Ben died today. He had been ill for a few years and was one of the friendliest guys you could ever meet.

He taught me to play Chess when I was 5 holidaying in Aviemore. It was something which really set the seeds for my interest in games, logic, maths and of course programming.

His son lives in Australia so the funeral will be delayed until he can return.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/05/19/check-mate/feed/ 0 First Search Consultancy – SEO cowboys with a different technique http://agraham.org/blog/2009/05/18/first-search-consultancy-seo-cowboys-with-a-different-technique/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/05/18/first-search-consultancy-seo-cowboys-with-a-different-technique/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 19:33:11 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=374 I am used to seeing all the scam letters Genna gets from SEO companies guaranteeing first place on Google etc. Lately she has been getting pestered by phone calls.

Today she had one from Google.

Or at least a company impersonating Google.

The company was First Search Consulting. A bunch of snake-oil selling cowboys.

I won’t link to their shit website as it:

  • Plays music when you load it
  • Doesn’t have valid HTML
  • Will help them in search engines

Amusingly, like all SEO companies, their own search results are pitiful. The only search page keywords which get them on the first page of Google are the company name.

SEO isn’t the only thing they do though, oh no.

They also do Broadband and Web Design.

On broadband, they don’t actually have that yet, but they are taking orders for a too good to be true deal. Their expertise in the area shines through when they mention they need your MAC code, which changes on a monthly basis.

Fuck knows what they mean by that.

A MAC code in relation to broadband would be a code put on your network card when manufactured which stays the same forever unless you go into the guts of the software and intentionally change it. It certainly doesn’t change frequently never mind monthly.

But their web design side.

Holy crap what an abortion.

Their portfolio has 9 examples of their work.

None of which validate.

Nine of which have table based layout.

These fucking cowboys shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near computers.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/05/18/first-search-consultancy-seo-cowboys-with-a-different-technique/feed/ 20 A Winner is Me! 2 http://agraham.org/blog/2009/05/16/a-winner-is-me-2/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/05/16/a-winner-is-me-2/#comments Sat, 16 May 2009 20:57:50 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=371 Well I have just won my second competition in 6 months.

On the Scottish Socialist Party site there is a monthly competition run with philosophy football.

I just won their Miners Strike t-shirt.

The new competition is to win an International Brigader t-shirt.
Edit – which I won too!

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/05/16/a-winner-is-me-2/feed/ 0 Wrong numbers http://agraham.org/blog/2009/04/17/wrong-numbers/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/04/17/wrong-numbers/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:50:20 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=342 My landline keeps acting in bizarre fashion. I keep getting wrong numbers and recently someone claimed to have tried to contact me several times and we never got their voicemail.

Just checked the voicemail there and had 2 for Joanne, 1 for Kevin and 1 from a plumber installing a shower in Riverview Terrace and trying to arrange an appointment.

Is my number so similar to other peoples? Do a number of other people have numbers 1 digit away from mine? Previous experience with phone lines is that you get the odd wrong number every few months. I appear to get both persistent wrong numbers and frequent ones for different people from different people.

The problem solver in me is curious. Perhaps previous numbers have had very few neighbours? If my number was 123456 perhaps the only immediate neighbours were 123457 and 223456. If now I had clashes each side that would be 12 immediate neighbours. Given the rise in mobile numbers and presumably fall in land line numbers it does seem bizarre to have more nowadays. Maybe being on Virgin means there is a smaller allocation of numbers which are re-used more frequently than BT do?

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/04/17/wrong-numbers/feed/ 0 Tech Talk http://agraham.org/blog/2009/03/19/tech-talk/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/03/19/tech-talk/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:25:38 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=302 On Wednesday I attended a meeting of Scottish Developers with a talk given by Michael Briggs on SEO.

It was quite interesting. Some of the information I knew already. Some I did not. The stuff I already knew I have put into place on blogs/sites etc. The stuff I learned I plan to prioritise and work into sites in the near future. He pointed out some of the things squirrelled away in Googles Webmaster Tools. I had previously used it for adding site to directory and adding a sitemap. Some of the stuff I hadn’t noticed is very cool though.

Over the past few days I had already been working on Gennas Jewellery site so was in the right frame of mind for taking it all in. I hadn’t noticed where all her links were coming from though. Her main site is her name GennaDelaney.com. We also registered GennaDesign.com as that is the name she trades under. I just had that pointing at the same directory but that is where a huge amount of the inbound links are coming from. Being on the same server and having the same content it probably makes her look like a linkfarm. One of the top priorities is to sort that into a proper redirect. I tried last night and it failed to work properly.

I also realised something about ping servers so added a load to the blog and am away to publish the first post to loads of them. Lets see what happens.

Disclaimer: one of the things he talked about were valid mark up and his site does not have this (probably his blog theme to be fair, something I have wrestled with).

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/03/19/tech-talk/feed/ 2 Amusing Tale of Protest http://agraham.org/blog/2009/02/28/amusing-tale-of-protest/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/02/28/amusing-tale-of-protest/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:52:10 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=245 Mark Steel has written an amusing entry on his blog about taking his kid to an anti-war march and the point where you notice a change in your life.

For some people Mark Steel went from being Double Plus Funny to Double Plus Unfunny overnight. Thankfully I don’t have anyone telling me what to think so can still have my own opinion about such matters.

Poignant and funny at the same time.

Oh for God’s sake, they’re not going to break down the embassy with balsa wood. Then he added Come on dad, let’s get to the gates.

No I think it’s safer to stay here, I advised.

COME ON, he insisted, and we shuffled through the squashed crowd to get nearer the front. Why don’t we all invade the Israeli embassy? he asked, and whoever was stood next to us answered Because the Israeli embassy is better protected than Buckingham Palace.

Well then let’s invade Buckingham Palace, he said.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/02/28/amusing-tale-of-protest/feed/ 0 Upcoming http://agraham.org/blog/2009/02/16/upcoming/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/02/16/upcoming/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:29:17 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=203 Some other things have been taking up part of my time over the past two months, cowboy builders, craft fairs, work on other sites so I have a wee bit of a backlog of things to post. These include:

  • At least 3, possibly 4 vodka reviews
  • Spicy burger reviews, with pics, woo blog living up to name at last
  • Milk review to be written
]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/02/16/upcoming/feed/ 0 Links Links Links http://agraham.org/blog/2009/01/27/links-links-links/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/01/27/links-links-links/#comments Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:07:06 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=185 Recently on UGS I started a thread to keep any UGSers blogs in one place as we kept posting all over the place when someone created one. I figure I can make an exception to the post a paragraph on every link rule to help support the bloggers in that community. Loads of random reads, the one unifying theme is a desire for self improvement. From tackling mental health issues, improving writing skills, improving physical health or learning new skills.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/01/27/links-links-links/feed/ 0 Get on yer Bike http://agraham.org/blog/2009/01/18/get-on-yer-bike/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/01/18/get-on-yer-bike/#comments Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:10:10 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=149 I have been trying to get my work to enter the Cycle2Work scheme. Looks quite positive although it is on hold until the new office is complete around September. Unfortunately that’s the time of year I’d be least likely to start cycling seeing as it will be starting to have heavy showers. I figure if I get even an entry level mountain bike for kicking around on just now I will get in the habit of cycling and get fitness up so I would then be having to make excuses to not cycle.

So off I trotted around town after the Palestine demo in city square. After my 7 mile adventure what I found was:

Nicholson Cycles: Ridgeback MX2 for £239.
Bike Worx: Orbea Tuareg reduced from £230 to £172.
Spokes: Giant Rock for £200.

Now price wasn’t really an issue between them, whichever was the best bike I would go for. I had heard of Ridgeback and Giant before but hadn’t heard of Orbea. When home I did a search and found out that:

  • They are based in the Basque country and switched to make bikes after the Spanish Civil War
  • They are a co-operative
  • They operate a 1:3 wage ratio – no one can earn more than three times anyone else in the factory.

I think that’s me sold then, dunno which bike Genna will go for. Next Saturday we should be popping round the shops so she can see them too and I will have a test-drive to see if it’s what I need. For the Cycle2Work scheme I would be looking for a Hybrid, I really like the Ridgeback Hybrid but if the Orbea are any good I would have to go for that again.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/01/18/get-on-yer-bike/feed/ 0 A Winner is Me! http://agraham.org/blog/2009/01/08/a-winner-is-me/ http://agraham.org/blog/2009/01/08/a-winner-is-me/#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:21:35 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=130 At the start of December I entered a competition on the SciFiNow blog

It lists loads of prizes:

  • VIP tickets to an exclusive Hellboy party
  • Hellboy scarf
  • Hellboy beanie
  • the movie on DVD
  • Cygnett MP3 player accessories pack

I got an e-mail saying I had won a prize and thought woo, hope it’s the DVD, and have been holding off buying it ever since.

Well, I got a package through the mail today, in it was:

Holy shit!, that’s over £200 worth of iPod accessories.

The hat/scarf and DVD are mine. Genna was drooling over the rest of the kit seeing as she has an iPod and I don’t

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2009/01/08/a-winner-is-me/feed/ 0 Disaster http://agraham.org/blog/2008/12/18/disaster/ http://agraham.org/blog/2008/12/18/disaster/#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:59:06 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=107 In Glasgow and the shop that I used to buy SKYY no longer stocks it. In Edinburgh the next week and not only did the swanky hotel only have Vladivar (at four bloody pounds!), Oddbins have been having trouble buying in Reyka.

If Brown’s ridiculous use of anti-terrorism laws against Iceland have stopped this beautiful drink getting into the country it will be the straw that broke the camels back. I’ll oppose you privatising public services, march against the wars and bailouts you have bottomless pits of money for, but deny me good vodka and you’re beyond the pale sunshine.

In other news this week, a tanned celebrity going into Big Brother house has caused much mirth in lefty circles and an Iraqi with a pretty good aim has caused many cheers.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2008/12/18/disaster/feed/ 0 Link: Strange Maps http://agraham.org/blog/2008/12/11/link-strange-maps/ http://agraham.org/blog/2008/12/11/link-strange-maps/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:41:05 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=99 Given they have just pushed out a mega update it seems a good time to link to Strange Maps.

A really interesting site, especially if like me, you are a huge nerd.

There are all sorts of maps, from fantastical ones to real ones of countries that don’t exist and micro-nations which existed for a brief glimmer.

Some strange examples include:

Stalin’s proposed homeland for Russian Jews

Europe, If the Nazis Had Won

The World in (George Orwell’s) 1984

Elleore – occupies a special place among [Danish islands]: unpeopled for most of the year, and not part of Denmark when it is – that is, if you’re partial to the semi-jocular sovereignty claims of micronations.

Cannibal Map of the World

Prepare to lose a day or two learning obscure geography.

]]> http://agraham.org/blog/2008/12/11/link-strange-maps/feed/ 0 It starts http://agraham.org/blog/2008/09/23/it-starts/ http://agraham.org/blog/2008/09/23/it-starts/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:49:58 +0000 Alan G http://agraham.org/blog/?p=3 After playing around for a while I finally started a blog. Part of the delay was finding a decent domain name. Most variations of my name are gone and I didn’t want one with my middle name too. Was pleasantly surprised to see agraham.org free, especially as most “alan graham” variants were gone. I thought this would be long gone.

What will be here?

Random stuff, links, reviews, politics, rants, silly double meanings and food. No idea yet, a mish mash of everything.

Why the name?

Scoville units are the standard way to measure the hotness of spicy food.

Most hot food sold in the UK has Jalapeños in it. These measure around 2,500-5,000 on this scale. The sauces I use for cooking contain hotter chillies than that. In Mexico I managed to get some Serrano and Habanero peppers. These are 10-23K and 100K-580K respectively. I used to regularly eat paninis with Scotch Bonnets in them (about 100K).

I like spicy food.

Units Unite is a nice play on words and also hints at the random politics I will be posting too.

I will look at themes, plug-ins etc over the next few days so this will change a lot.

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