www.gisvold.co.uk - ramblings

Reahilitation using a computer

tor — Mon, 17 May 2010 00:25:14 +0000

My reaction to this story was initially dismissing the whole story as "stupidity" - but then on reading more and thinking about it I changed my views on it. Maybe it is not such a ridiculous idea after all? It may also be more effective and cheaper than other options in the long run?
Read more

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

Gas usage measurements

tor — Sat, 08 May 2010 18:07:59 +0000

The software measure our gas usage in the house is coming along slowly - I have attached a LDR to one of the Jeenodes and found out the light level when just the pilot light is on, and the light level when the burner is on.

so I can now detect the transitions when the boiler turns on and when it turns off, and from there calculate how long it was turned on for.

This all looks a bit strange at the moment :

Skype is moving on on the PBX

tor — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:57:22 +0000

Skype is opening up its interconnect options for PBX's:

Skype for SIP Open Beta

Skype for SIP is now in open beta allowing businesses to complement their existing SIP-enabled PBX with Skype functionality.
Read more

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings Web

Secure signature pen

tor — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 11:45:24 +0000

What a interesting idea:
Read more

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

iPad web traffic already significant

tor — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:25:37 +0000

As I have a iPad I have contributed to this (-;
Read more

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

gotomeeting ad - annoying

tor — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:50:29 +0000

Don;t you hate the GoToMeeting ad on TV where the guy says :

"I have calculated that the return on investment is 11 days"

- Hm, it's a service , so you loose it if you do not pay after your initial "investment" - so does he mean 11 days every month??

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

Coming back form Copenhagen

tor — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 17:55:57 +0000

So in the end the only way to get back from Copenhagen yesterday was to take a taxi home.

We started from Copenhagen at approx. 16:15 - and boarded a ferry in Calais at 03:15, which brought me home around 06:00 this morning (Sunday).

And why did we bring the cab with us across the channel - well this is a bit bewildering:

- There were no spaces available anywhere for foot passengers.

- But if you had a car you could bring all 4 of us across on the ferry, including the cab, for £100.

When we checked Eurostar the earliest availability was Tuesday - but on Eurotunnel you could get through immediately. So apparently cars went for £600/day in Calais just to go across to the UK and back agai...

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

Some online ad networks are particularily useless

tor — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 17:50:38 +0000

I have been looking for a replacement for out potterton SP2000 boiler programmer - and I assume someone has been storing my searches as these ads were on a page is vistited

(Click for larger)

The only problem with selective ads are when they are based on useless algorithms that give results as the ones above, which frankly has nothing to do with what I was looking for - so a selective waste of advertisement spend.

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings Web

Trying to book Eurostar

tor — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 12:22:19 +0000

It gets a bit tedious the 20'th time you get this message after filling in all the forms.....especially when the site also says that these are the 10 last tickets.

(Click for larger)

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

Getting from Copenhagen to the UK

tor — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:12:21 +0000

I have just booked a cab to take us to Holland - at a astronomical price btw. - as there are no seats on any train until Tuesday, unless we want to stand for 11 hours through 7 changes!

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

And the lack of air travel does not just affect us

tor — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:55:45 +0000

Outside Copenhagen main train station someone more important than us have arrived - with a full police escort

so I assume whoever it is will not queue with the rest of us
Read more

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

And meanwhile at the hotel

tor — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:52:57 +0000

A busload of young ladies turned up. (Apparently the Miss Denmark competition is held here)

(Click for larger)

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

How to get home from Denmark

tor — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:50:40 +0000

We were considering hiring these guys for the journey to the UK

(Click for larger)

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

Central heating programmer - Potterton EP2000

tor — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:50:31 +0000

Our central heating/hot water has not been working correctly for the last week or so.

It's a Potterton EP2000 - and the LCD display has been flickering, and every time it tried to turn the heating or hot water on the clock reset itself to 12:00.

To cut a long story short - it turns out to have a battery like this :

Read more

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

The Effectiveness of Air Marshals - priceless

tor — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:00:30 +0000

From the blog of Bruce Schneier - another extremely interesting statistic:

Air marshals are being arrested faster than air marshals are making arrests.

Actually, there have been many more arrests of Federal air marshals than that story reported, quite a few for felony offenses. In fact, more air marshals have been arrested than the number of people arrested by air marshals.

We now have approximately 4,000 in the Federal Air Marshals Service, yet they have made an average of just 4.2 arrests a year since 2001. This comes out to an average of about one arrest a year per 1,000 employees.
Read more

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

Excellent news for anyone planning to migrate from Exchange

tor — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:42:59 +0000

Google is really trying to take over the (microsoft) world:
Read more

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

Lateral thinking - sewing needles

tor — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:19:35 +0000

I just love it when I see a non-conventional way of solving a problem such as this :

You know, as long as human beings have been squinting and poking at the tiny eyes of sewing needles, it's pretty amazing that it's taken so long for some clever inventor to address the problem. These spiral eye sewing needles are available direct from their inventor, Pam Turner of Minnesota. I've never used one, but the user feedback I hear echoing through the tubes is uniformly positive. [via Boing and a Boing] [From Easy-thread sewing needle]

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

Youth activating concentrate

tor — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:39:37 +0000

Just heard in a TV ad - " Youth activating concentrate" for some cosmetic cream!

The mind boggles at the lies..and that someone actually are buying this stuff.

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings

The future of social network intercommunication

tor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:46:35 +0000

From a blog posting at status.net on distributed networks of the "social web" - very interesting as it looks like someone has taken a pragmatic view and actually reused some of the existing simple protocols :

Luckily for us, there have been a number of advances in the distributed social Web in the last two years. In Fall of 2009, we started re-designing OMB. We abandoned any attempt at backwards compatibility, so we were really able to come up with a system built of shiny new components that make more sense.
These components are:
Read more

Technorati Tags: Array ramblings Web

Shapelock

tor — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:21:30 +0000

From my favourite magazine - Make :
Read more

Technorati Tags: Array development ramblings