One of the precursors to Python was a children's TV show called "Do Not Adjust Your Set" which ran for two seasons between 1968 and 1969. Starring Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, David Jason and Denise Coffey, the show was a mix of anarchic sketches, with music provided by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. A regular feature was David Jason as "Captain Fantastic" a bowler hatted super-hero spoof which could almost be seen as a precursor to Danger Mouse.
Just to add more of a Python feel to it, Terry Gilliam provided animations for the Do Not Adjust Your Stocking Christmas Special.
Even though this was intended as a childrens show, it gathered a very large adult audience and in 1968 it won an international award, the Prix Jeunesse, in Munich.
Most of the episodes of the show were wiped to enable to the tape to be re-used, but most of the surviving episodes (with the exception of the Christmas special, which has been shown on UK Channel 4) have been released on DVD.
Captain Fantastic - Episodes 1 and 2
Do Not Adjust Your Stocking - Part 1 *
Do Not Adjust Your Stocking - Part 2
Do Not Adjust Your Stocking - Part 3
Click here to view on Youtube
* The version of Do Not Adjust Your Stocking presented here was edited before being shown on Channel 4 at David Jason's request to remove all of his appearances, so the running time is reduced from the original 50 minutes down to 25.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Classic Comedy: Mr Don and Mr George
"I don't want to go to War. I'm too tall to die!"
Mr Don (Morray Hunter) and Mr George (Jack Docherty) originally were part of the sketch show "Absolutely" which ran from 1989 to 1993. The comedy could best be described as surreal, with the two characters inhabiting their own strange world which only just touches on ours.
The show, although very funny, was considered just too strange by most critics and only ran for six episodes. It is a shame that more episodes weren't made and that those that were have rarely been shown on UK television.
This gets my vote as one of the most underrated comedy shows of all time.
You can run, but you can't hide
Packing for the holidays
Mr Don (Morray Hunter) and Mr George (Jack Docherty) originally were part of the sketch show "Absolutely" which ran from 1989 to 1993. The comedy could best be described as surreal, with the two characters inhabiting their own strange world which only just touches on ours.
The show, although very funny, was considered just too strange by most critics and only ran for six episodes. It is a shame that more episodes weren't made and that those that were have rarely been shown on UK television.
This gets my vote as one of the most underrated comedy shows of all time.
You can run, but you can't hide
Packing for the holidays
Friday, 29 August 2008
Classic Comedy: The Two Ronnies
"My great grandfather was killed at Custer's last stand - he didn't take part in the fighting, he was camping nearby and went over to complain about the noise."
The Two Ronnies, along with Morecambe and Wise, were a regular part of TV viewing in the 1970s and 80s. The mix of sketches, monologues and guest spots from popular musicians of the day set the gold standard for sketch shows for many years.
The show started and ended the same way - with Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett both reading comedy "news" items.
Unusually for a double act, both Ronnie C and Ronnie B had successful solo careers whilst "The Two Ronnies" was airing, including "Porridge" and "Open All Hours" for Ronnie Barker, and "Sorry" for Ronnie Corbett.
Less well known at the time was the fact that Ronnie Barker also wrote many of the sketches, especially those including word play, such as the "Four Candles" sketch.
Just before Ronnie Barker's death a couple of years ago, they resurrected the format for "The Two Ronnies Sketchbook", which showed just how funny their stuff still was.
And here is the news
Four Candles
Swedish Made Simple
Mastermind
The Two Ronnies, along with Morecambe and Wise, were a regular part of TV viewing in the 1970s and 80s. The mix of sketches, monologues and guest spots from popular musicians of the day set the gold standard for sketch shows for many years.
The show started and ended the same way - with Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett both reading comedy "news" items.
Unusually for a double act, both Ronnie C and Ronnie B had successful solo careers whilst "The Two Ronnies" was airing, including "Porridge" and "Open All Hours" for Ronnie Barker, and "Sorry" for Ronnie Corbett.
Less well known at the time was the fact that Ronnie Barker also wrote many of the sketches, especially those including word play, such as the "Four Candles" sketch.
Just before Ronnie Barker's death a couple of years ago, they resurrected the format for "The Two Ronnies Sketchbook", which showed just how funny their stuff still was.
And here is the news
Four Candles
Swedish Made Simple
Mastermind
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Classic Comedy: Red Dwarf
"OK Suckers! I've got just one thing to say to you. . ."
I'm glad that I was able to follow Red Dwarf from the very first series. It came along at exactly the right time for me (at the time aged 12 years old and heavily into science fiction) and I'm still as much a fan now as I was back then.
So what is it?
Red Dwarf is the misadventures of the surviving crew of the Jupiter Mining Corporation ship Red Dwarf. I say surviving as almost all of the crew are killed by a radiation leak in the first episode, apart from Dave Lister (played by Craig Charles) who is in stasis at the time of the accident, as part of his punishment for sneaking an unquarantined pregnant cat on board the ship.
Revived by Holly (Norman Lovett / Hattie Hayridge), the ships computer three million years later Dave has to contend with being the last human left alive, his only companions being Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie)- a hologram simulation of his dead bunk mate and a creature who evolved from his cat (Danny John Jules).
In later series the crew expanded to take in a Kryten (Robert Llewellyn)- a 4000 series service mechanoid and Christine Kochanski (Clare Grogan / Choloe Arnette), a version of his ex-girlfriend from an alternative reality.
At the time sci-fi comedy was a bit of a rarety (no, laughing at Kirk's wig and corsett doesn't count) and there hasn't really been anything quite like it since.
The show lasted for nine seasons and a movie version was scripted - but is currently stuck in development hell (see the official Red Dwarf Website for more information).
All nine series (including re-mastered versions of the first three) are available on DVD - why not treat yourself?
Everybody's Dead
Teaching Kryten to Lie
Quarantine
I'm glad that I was able to follow Red Dwarf from the very first series. It came along at exactly the right time for me (at the time aged 12 years old and heavily into science fiction) and I'm still as much a fan now as I was back then.
So what is it?
Red Dwarf is the misadventures of the surviving crew of the Jupiter Mining Corporation ship Red Dwarf. I say surviving as almost all of the crew are killed by a radiation leak in the first episode, apart from Dave Lister (played by Craig Charles) who is in stasis at the time of the accident, as part of his punishment for sneaking an unquarantined pregnant cat on board the ship.
Revived by Holly (Norman Lovett / Hattie Hayridge), the ships computer three million years later Dave has to contend with being the last human left alive, his only companions being Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie)- a hologram simulation of his dead bunk mate and a creature who evolved from his cat (Danny John Jules).
In later series the crew expanded to take in a Kryten (Robert Llewellyn)- a 4000 series service mechanoid and Christine Kochanski (Clare Grogan / Choloe Arnette), a version of his ex-girlfriend from an alternative reality.
At the time sci-fi comedy was a bit of a rarety (no, laughing at Kirk's wig and corsett doesn't count) and there hasn't really been anything quite like it since.
The show lasted for nine seasons and a movie version was scripted - but is currently stuck in development hell (see the official Red Dwarf Website for more information).
All nine series (including re-mastered versions of the first three) are available on DVD - why not treat yourself?
Everybody's Dead
Teaching Kryten to Lie
Quarantine
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
The Experiment - Day 2
Yesterday I set up the new blog and added a couple of articles. I've also added stats reporting to it so I can see if anyone does visit.
So far: zero hits - apart from the three page views from me before I'd installed the blocking cookie for the site.
The next step is to submit the site to Google. This was done this morning, so we should be able to see quite quickly if things change once Google starts indexing the site. Like I said, this is it as far as promotion goes for this blog - it will be interesting to see how this affects things like Google page rank.
So far: zero hits - apart from the three page views from me before I'd installed the blocking cookie for the site.
The next step is to submit the site to Google. This was done this morning, so we should be able to see quite quickly if things change once Google starts indexing the site. Like I said, this is it as far as promotion goes for this blog - it will be interesting to see how this affects things like Google page rank.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
The Experiment
By way of an experiment I've started a second blog (which you can get to here).
This is where I'm going to experiment a bit with things, both with my writing and also with how I run and promote a blog.
There will be NO traffic increasing tactics used on it. That's right, none.
It will be interesting to see if word of mouth (and searches from Google) is enough to get a blog noticed.
This is where I'm going to experiment a bit with things, both with my writing and also with how I run and promote a blog.
There will be NO traffic increasing tactics used on it. That's right, none.
It will be interesting to see if word of mouth (and searches from Google) is enough to get a blog noticed.
Monday, 25 August 2008
Classic Comedy: Kenny Everett
"'Ello my leetle chickadees"
One of the funniest radio DJs the UK has ever produced made the transition to television and became even funnier.
With a set of regular characters such as Cupid Stunt, Sid Snot and Gizzard Puke "Cuddly Ken" kept us laughing all through the '80s.
Kenny's death in the 1995 is something that British Comedy never recovered from.
Here is a small selection of some of his funniest moments.
Reg Prescott - DIY
Kenny and the Bee Gees
Spider Man
Rod Stewart
One of the funniest radio DJs the UK has ever produced made the transition to television and became even funnier.
With a set of regular characters such as Cupid Stunt, Sid Snot and Gizzard Puke "Cuddly Ken" kept us laughing all through the '80s.
Kenny's death in the 1995 is something that British Comedy never recovered from.
Here is a small selection of some of his funniest moments.
Reg Prescott - DIY
Kenny and the Bee Gees
Spider Man
Rod Stewart
Entrecard Update
I was going to wait a week before posting about Entrecard, but I think I've got a good enough view of it to make an early update.
Does it work?
Yes, there is a definite traffic increase which can be tracked to Entrecard.
What is involved
For those of you who may not have read the first part of this, a recap:
You get the extra traffic in two ways. The first is from adverts that you place on other peoples sites. You buy the adverts using credits which you earn by dropping your card on other people's sites, or by allowing other people to advertise on yours.
The second way is via the cards that you have dropped. In your "Drops Inbox" you can see all the cards that people have dropped on you, and click on them to see their site.
Show me the stats
Well, in my case I've had adverts running every day (between one and three so far). This has brought in 21 extra hits. Clicks from Entrecard back to me (mainly from drops) accounts for a further 123 hits. So for me that works out at around 50 additional hits a day.
So as far as extra traffic goes, that is fine. I could probably boost my traffic more by visiting and dropping cards on more sites (something I'm not doing an awful lot of).
When I last posted about Entrecard, Ria (from Ria's Crazy Movie Reviews) made the points that around 80% of the traffic you are getting is "Junk", as well as some people relying on drops to boost their traffic rather than posting quality articles.
These are certainly points worth bearing in mind, and is true for almost all of these social networking schemes. Almost all of them can be "gamed" in some way or another. Great for ad stats, not so great if you actually want people to read your stuff.
I'm taking the view that the additional visibility that this gives your site should - hopefully - give you more exposure to real readers too, and so is probably worth it.
Something that I have learned about Entrecard is that there are an awful lot of "Hello World" blogs out there. I'm not sure why people are doing this, but there seems to be a large number of new Entrecard members whose site just consists of "Hello World" and the Entrecard tool.
Advertising with these is just wasting your time and credits. Personally I think it may be time for Entrecard to start vetting some of the new sites to make sure that these fake ones don't get started.
Does it work?
Yes, there is a definite traffic increase which can be tracked to Entrecard.
What is involved
For those of you who may not have read the first part of this, a recap:
You get the extra traffic in two ways. The first is from adverts that you place on other peoples sites. You buy the adverts using credits which you earn by dropping your card on other people's sites, or by allowing other people to advertise on yours.
The second way is via the cards that you have dropped. In your "Drops Inbox" you can see all the cards that people have dropped on you, and click on them to see their site.
Show me the stats
Well, in my case I've had adverts running every day (between one and three so far). This has brought in 21 extra hits. Clicks from Entrecard back to me (mainly from drops) accounts for a further 123 hits. So for me that works out at around 50 additional hits a day.
So as far as extra traffic goes, that is fine. I could probably boost my traffic more by visiting and dropping cards on more sites (something I'm not doing an awful lot of).
When I last posted about Entrecard, Ria (from Ria's Crazy Movie Reviews) made the points that around 80% of the traffic you are getting is "Junk", as well as some people relying on drops to boost their traffic rather than posting quality articles.
These are certainly points worth bearing in mind, and is true for almost all of these social networking schemes. Almost all of them can be "gamed" in some way or another. Great for ad stats, not so great if you actually want people to read your stuff.
I'm taking the view that the additional visibility that this gives your site should - hopefully - give you more exposure to real readers too, and so is probably worth it.
Something that I have learned about Entrecard is that there are an awful lot of "Hello World" blogs out there. I'm not sure why people are doing this, but there seems to be a large number of new Entrecard members whose site just consists of "Hello World" and the Entrecard tool.
Advertising with these is just wasting your time and credits. Personally I think it may be time for Entrecard to start vetting some of the new sites to make sure that these fake ones don't get started.
Sunday, 24 August 2008
Classic Comedy: Curry and Chips
This is a bit of a difficult one really. On the one hand you have a comedy created by Johnny Speight (the creator of Alf Garnett) and Spike Milligan, and starring Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes. By all rights this should be classic TV comedy.
The show was pulled off the air by London Weekend Television after complaints that the program was racist by the Independent Broadcasting Authority. Only six episodes aired.
So what was the problem? Well, the subject matter, even in those bygone days of the late 1960s, was seen as too sensitive. Spike Milligan made up to play the Pakistani lodger didn't help matters either.
Speight himself later remarked: "It was the English who were made to look bigoted in the show but the people at the IBA couldn't understand that. It was London Weekend Television's first year, but only six shows went out. The IBA made LWT take it off, saying it was racist."
Spike Milligan managed to improve on the infamy of this with his 1975 series "The Melting Pot" which was pulled after only one episode.
So was it racist or a brave attempt to lampoon UK racial attitudes? See what you think.
Curry And Chips - Part 1
Curry And Chips - Part 2
Curry and Chips - Part 3
The show was pulled off the air by London Weekend Television after complaints that the program was racist by the Independent Broadcasting Authority. Only six episodes aired.
So what was the problem? Well, the subject matter, even in those bygone days of the late 1960s, was seen as too sensitive. Spike Milligan made up to play the Pakistani lodger didn't help matters either.
Speight himself later remarked: "It was the English who were made to look bigoted in the show but the people at the IBA couldn't understand that. It was London Weekend Television's first year, but only six shows went out. The IBA made LWT take it off, saying it was racist."
Spike Milligan managed to improve on the infamy of this with his 1975 series "The Melting Pot" which was pulled after only one episode.
So was it racist or a brave attempt to lampoon UK racial attitudes? See what you think.
Curry And Chips - Part 1
Curry And Chips - Part 2
Curry and Chips - Part 3
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Family Guy - Full Episodes Online
It is getting more common these days to be able to view full episodes of TV shows online - legally.
The only problem tends to be that most of the good stuff is locked to a particular geographic region. The BBC IPlayer for example only plays in the UK. Conversely trying to watch Star Trek in the UK doesn't work. So it is nice to find something that works in multiple regions, and Fox has done that with Family Guy.
If you head over to www.familyguy.com you can view five full episodes of Family Guy, as well as clips of their musical numbers.
The only pity is that if you follow the links through to the "Fox on Demand" side you get that old message that "This service is currently available to viewers living in the United States."
Arse!
Still, at least we can get to watch the episodes on the main Family Guy site. Which is nice.
The only problem tends to be that most of the good stuff is locked to a particular geographic region. The BBC IPlayer for example only plays in the UK. Conversely trying to watch Star Trek in the UK doesn't work. So it is nice to find something that works in multiple regions, and Fox has done that with Family Guy.
If you head over to www.familyguy.com you can view five full episodes of Family Guy, as well as clips of their musical numbers.
The only pity is that if you follow the links through to the "Fox on Demand" side you get that old message that "This service is currently available to viewers living in the United States."
Arse!
Still, at least we can get to watch the episodes on the main Family Guy site. Which is nice.
Classic Comedy: Tony Hancock
Back in the 1960s Tony Hancock was one of Britain's best loved entertainers - both on the radio and on television. His deadpan style of comedy still works well today.
Many of you may be familiar with "The Blood Donor", "The Bowmans" or "The Radio Ham" - but less well known are the series of commercials he did for the Egg Marketing Board.
Just remember, "Happiness is Egg Shaped!"
Tony Hancock - Egg Commercials - 1965
Many of you may be familiar with "The Blood Donor", "The Bowmans" or "The Radio Ham" - but less well known are the series of commercials he did for the Egg Marketing Board.
Just remember, "Happiness is Egg Shaped!"
Tony Hancock - Egg Commercials - 1965
I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again
Before "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "The Goodies" came the radio series "I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again" (ISIRTA).
The show, starring John Cleese, Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden, Tim Booke-Taylor, David Hatch and Jo Kendall was a mix of sketches and comedy songs, some of which were resurrected on "At Last The 1948 Show", "The Goodies," and the "Monty Python" albums.
ISIRTA initially was a radio version of the "Cambridge Circus" revue, and was first broadcast as "Get Off My Foot."
ISIRTA ran between 1964 and 1973 (with a couple of specials in the years since). It also spawned a long-running comedy panel show "I'm Sorry, I Haven't Got A Clue."
Thanks to the magic of YouTube here are some prime examples from 1968 of "I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again."
Bee Keeping Interview Sketch
The Ferret Song
The Ballad of Oliver Cromwell
The show, starring John Cleese, Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden, Tim Booke-Taylor, David Hatch and Jo Kendall was a mix of sketches and comedy songs, some of which were resurrected on "At Last The 1948 Show", "The Goodies," and the "Monty Python" albums.
ISIRTA initially was a radio version of the "Cambridge Circus" revue, and was first broadcast as "Get Off My Foot."
ISIRTA ran between 1964 and 1973 (with a couple of specials in the years since). It also spawned a long-running comedy panel show "I'm Sorry, I Haven't Got A Clue."
Thanks to the magic of YouTube here are some prime examples from 1968 of "I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again."
Bee Keeping Interview Sketch
The Ferret Song
The Ballad of Oliver Cromwell
Friday, 22 August 2008
The Michael Phelps Diet
Michael Phelps is one hell of a swimmer - but the question I want answered is this:
HOW COME THE BASTARD DOESN'T SINK?
Seriously! Let's look at his daily menu:
Breakfast
Three fried egg sandwiches with extra cheese, onions, lettuce and tomatoes
One bowl of grits
One five egg omlette
Three pancakes with chocolate chip sprinkes
Three slices of French toast
Two cups of coffee
Lunch
1lb Pasta
Two ham and cheese sandwiches with all the trimmings
Four bottles of energy drinks
Dinner
1lb Pasta
1 Cheese and Tomato pizza
Four bottles of energy drinks
That works out at around 12,000 calories. That would be enough eggs to last me all month, never mind one day!
I'll certainly feel less guilty next time I have a kebab. "Honestly - I'm in training for the next Olympics. . ."
HOW COME THE BASTARD DOESN'T SINK?
Seriously! Let's look at his daily menu:
Breakfast
Three fried egg sandwiches with extra cheese, onions, lettuce and tomatoes
One bowl of grits
One five egg omlette
Three pancakes with chocolate chip sprinkes
Three slices of French toast
Two cups of coffee
Lunch
1lb Pasta
Two ham and cheese sandwiches with all the trimmings
Four bottles of energy drinks
Dinner
1lb Pasta
1 Cheese and Tomato pizza
Four bottles of energy drinks
That works out at around 12,000 calories. That would be enough eggs to last me all month, never mind one day!
I'll certainly feel less guilty next time I have a kebab. "Honestly - I'm in training for the next Olympics. . ."
The Goodies - Who?
It has been pointed out to you that some of you may not have heard of The Goodies.
Bloody philistines.
So for those of you outside the UK, or who are too young to have seen them originally, let me introduce you to The Goodies!
The Goodies are:
Tim Brooke-Taylor "The Posh One"
Bill Oddie "The Scruffy One"
Graeme Garden "The Loony Scientist"
The Goodies was a very popular comedy show on the BBC throughout the 1970s, and for one season on ITV in the 1980s. As well as the TV show they released a series of books, appeared in comic form, and had chart success with "The Funky Gibbon."
I suppose you could say that they were a bit like The Monkees. Only funny. And they wrote their own music too. So there!
Unfortunately, in the UK at any rate, the Goodies has very rarely been repeated since they defected to ITV, and it has only been in recent years that the episodes have started to appear on DVD.
Really the best way to try and describe them is to watch an episode, and thanks to the magic of YouTube we are able to do that for you!
Hype Pressure (1976)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Bloody philistines.
So for those of you outside the UK, or who are too young to have seen them originally, let me introduce you to The Goodies!
The Goodies are:
Tim Brooke-Taylor "The Posh One"
Bill Oddie "The Scruffy One"
Graeme Garden "The Loony Scientist"
The Goodies was a very popular comedy show on the BBC throughout the 1970s, and for one season on ITV in the 1980s. As well as the TV show they released a series of books, appeared in comic form, and had chart success with "The Funky Gibbon."
I suppose you could say that they were a bit like The Monkees. Only funny. And they wrote their own music too. So there!
Unfortunately, in the UK at any rate, the Goodies has very rarely been repeated since they defected to ITV, and it has only been in recent years that the episodes have started to appear on DVD.
Really the best way to try and describe them is to watch an episode, and thanks to the magic of YouTube we are able to do that for you!
Hype Pressure (1976)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Thursday, 21 August 2008
BlogUpp - More traffic boosting hijinks
BlogUpp! is yet another service aimed at bringing in some extra readers. This one is slightly different to the others - and I'm quite keen to see what it brings.
Firstly, it isn't promising thousands of targeted readers (and I'm looking at YOU here BlogRush).
Secondly you don't need to sign up for anything, you just generate the code and add it onto your site.
Thirdly - and this is the bit that I like - it uses the RSS feed on your blog to pull in your latest story, generates a thumbnail image of your site and posts that in the feed of other people using the widget. When you roll-over the thumbnail a preview of the article is shown and if you click it you are taken directly to the site (in a new window).
Nice one!
This looks like another one that will get the "one week to see what the results are" treatment.
Firstly, it isn't promising thousands of targeted readers (and I'm looking at YOU here BlogRush).
Secondly you don't need to sign up for anything, you just generate the code and add it onto your site.
Thirdly - and this is the bit that I like - it uses the RSS feed on your blog to pull in your latest story, generates a thumbnail image of your site and posts that in the feed of other people using the widget. When you roll-over the thumbnail a preview of the article is shown and if you click it you are taken directly to the site (in a new window).
Nice one!
This looks like another one that will get the "one week to see what the results are" treatment.
Increasing visitors with Entrecard
As it has been a while since I've blogged about Blogrush (which doesn't really seem to work), Blogcatalog (which does) and some of the "scam" sites which are best to avoid, so it is time to take a look at another site which promises an increase in visitors: Entrecard
This is another "social networking" type site, in which you accept adverts for other peoples site, giving you credit to buy your own adverts on their sites. You can also gain credit by visiting other peoples sites and "dropping" your card. This is certainly a fun way to discover other people's blogs.
Does it work? Well, it is hard to tell at this point. I've definitely had an extra fourteen or fifteen visitors via Entrecard over the couple of hours since I've signed up, which is probably more than I've received from Blogrush in total.
It will take a couple of days before my adverts start appearing on other peoples sites, so I'll be interested to see if there is a sustained traffic increase from using this service.
As usual, I'll wait a week (unless spectacular results happen before then) and let you know what sort of a difference it makes.
Are you using Entrecard yourself? Is there a sustained traffic increase from using it? Let us know in the comments!
Update: Well, here we are 24 hours later and the results have been surprising - in that there actually are results! The adverts themselves which are currently running on two other blogs have brought in an extra 15 readers. Clicks from other users on the site has brought a further 32. So that's an extra 47 unique visitors that have come as a result of Entrecard in the last 24 hours.
This is another "social networking" type site, in which you accept adverts for other peoples site, giving you credit to buy your own adverts on their sites. You can also gain credit by visiting other peoples sites and "dropping" your card. This is certainly a fun way to discover other people's blogs.
Does it work? Well, it is hard to tell at this point. I've definitely had an extra fourteen or fifteen visitors via Entrecard over the couple of hours since I've signed up, which is probably more than I've received from Blogrush in total.
It will take a couple of days before my adverts start appearing on other peoples sites, so I'll be interested to see if there is a sustained traffic increase from using this service.
As usual, I'll wait a week (unless spectacular results happen before then) and let you know what sort of a difference it makes.
Are you using Entrecard yourself? Is there a sustained traffic increase from using it? Let us know in the comments!
Update: Well, here we are 24 hours later and the results have been surprising - in that there actually are results! The adverts themselves which are currently running on two other blogs have brought in an extra 15 readers. Clicks from other users on the site has brought a further 32. So that's an extra 47 unique visitors that have come as a result of Entrecard in the last 24 hours.
I LIVE AGAIN!
Well, I've managed to crawl out of bed this morning, and so far I don't feel too bad.
I'm going to celebrate with a pot of coffee and some toast and see how I feel after that, but so far so good!
I'm going to celebrate with a pot of coffee and some toast and see how I feel after that, but so far so good!
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Summer Cold
Sniff. . .
Right now I feel lousy. The Summer Cold from Hell has come to pay a visit. One minute - I was fine. A couple of minutes later and I was in full snotty flow. *Cough*
Sniffle. . .
If there was an Olympic event called the "Snot Put" I'd be a Gold Medal contender for sure!
Sniff. . .
If one more person comes past and says "You look terrible!" then I'm going to breath all over them, and see how they like it once they catch it.
Bringing my bike to work may not go down in History as one of my smarter moves, I'll have to see if I'm up to riding it back as I'm having enough trouble staying upright on my feet, never mind on two wheels.
SNORT!
I'm currently dosing myself up with a heady mix of Vitamin C, decongestant, paracetamol and other goodies to at least allow me to pass as human, rather than a grey and shaking snot factory.
More later, assuming I survive.
Right now I feel lousy. The Summer Cold from Hell has come to pay a visit. One minute - I was fine. A couple of minutes later and I was in full snotty flow. *Cough*
Sniffle. . .
If there was an Olympic event called the "Snot Put" I'd be a Gold Medal contender for sure!
Sniff. . .
If one more person comes past and says "You look terrible!" then I'm going to breath all over them, and see how they like it once they catch it.
Bringing my bike to work may not go down in History as one of my smarter moves, I'll have to see if I'm up to riding it back as I'm having enough trouble staying upright on my feet, never mind on two wheels.
SNORT!
I'm currently dosing myself up with a heady mix of Vitamin C, decongestant, paracetamol and other goodies to at least allow me to pass as human, rather than a grey and shaking snot factory.
More later, assuming I survive.
Selling Out
As some of you may know, I also run the "Dan's Remakes" freeware games site (freeware games for Windows, OSX and Linux).
I've been toying with the idea of having some goodies to sell, and so have put together a little test site with Cafe Express to see if there is any interest in this.
So if you want to help support Dan's Remakes then head on over to our online shop and buy Buy BUY!
Ahem, sorry, came over all commercial there!
So far there are a couple of mugs and a t-shirt available - more designs and products coming soon.
I've been toying with the idea of having some goodies to sell, and so have put together a little test site with Cafe Express to see if there is any interest in this.
So if you want to help support Dan's Remakes then head on over to our online shop and buy Buy BUY!
Ahem, sorry, came over all commercial there!
So far there are a couple of mugs and a t-shirt available - more designs and products coming soon.
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Pre-birth nerves
The big day is getting closer! Only a month or two to go and I'll be the proud father of another child.
You'd think after being through this twice before the nerves would go - well - they're back with a vengence.
I'm going to have to make the most of being able to sleep through the night - as once the new child arrives I get the feeling that is going to stop for another year or so (aargh!) - as well as getting back to changing nappies (no!), vomit (please!) and teething (mummy!).
On the other hand I've got another chance to see all those amazing firsts, such as the first steps, the first word, first time he (or she) says "Daddy" and so on.
So set your calendars for the second week in October (which is much closer than you'd imagine) and hope the world is ready for DanO v3!
You'd think after being through this twice before the nerves would go - well - they're back with a vengence.
I'm going to have to make the most of being able to sleep through the night - as once the new child arrives I get the feeling that is going to stop for another year or so (aargh!) - as well as getting back to changing nappies (no!), vomit (please!) and teething (mummy!).
On the other hand I've got another chance to see all those amazing firsts, such as the first steps, the first word, first time he (or she) says "Daddy" and so on.
So set your calendars for the second week in October (which is much closer than you'd imagine) and hope the world is ready for DanO v3!
Monday, 18 August 2008
Fear of Facebook
I've resisted joining Facebook for a long time, mainly because I thought it was a bit "sad" - you know - "let's pretend that we have lots and lots of friends, hardly any of which I've ever met or spoke to in person. . ."
I ended up giving in and joining up anyway, as it was the quickest way to get access to my sister's wedding photographs.
That was nearly two months ago.
I've got to admit it - I'm now hooked. The good thing about it (apart from being able to use it as a replacement for MSN Messenger) is some of the games. The fact that your high scores are compared with your friends makes it that bit more fun.
I've only added people who I actually know to my friends list so I don't feel quite as dirty about the whole thing*. I'm just going to have to get ready to sign up for Facebook Anonymous should it start getting out of hand!
* OK, apart from one. Yes, me and William "Captain Kirk" Shatner are "Facebook Friends." I hang my head in shame.
I ended up giving in and joining up anyway, as it was the quickest way to get access to my sister's wedding photographs.
That was nearly two months ago.
I've got to admit it - I'm now hooked. The good thing about it (apart from being able to use it as a replacement for MSN Messenger) is some of the games. The fact that your high scores are compared with your friends makes it that bit more fun.
I've only added people who I actually know to my friends list so I don't feel quite as dirty about the whole thing*. I'm just going to have to get ready to sign up for Facebook Anonymous should it start getting out of hand!
* OK, apart from one. Yes, me and William "Captain Kirk" Shatner are "Facebook Friends." I hang my head in shame.
Silly Browser Tricks #1 - Fake Hacking
Practical jokes with web browsers. . .
Step 1: Find a popular site (such as the BBC's homepage) and let the page load
Step 2: Paste the following into your browser:
javascript:document.body.contentEditable='true'; document.designMode='on'; void 0
Step 3: Edit the page as you see fit
Step 4: Re-enter the original URL (but don't submit it)
Now let the victim read the page. . . . . .
Step 1: Find a popular site (such as the BBC's homepage) and let the page load
Step 2: Paste the following into your browser:
javascript:document.body.contentEditable='true'; document.designMode='on'; void 0
Step 3: Edit the page as you see fit
Step 4: Re-enter the original URL (but don't submit it)
Now let the victim read the page. . . . . .
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Mint O Fruit
Polos are one of the standard British sweets. For those of you who haven't seen them (anyone?) they are a shaped like a disc with a hole in the middle - a bit like a tyre - with the word "POLO" embossed on one side.
Polos have been in the news recently when Poundland started selling multi-packs of Polos at eight packets for a pound, rather than the standard UK price of thirty pence a packet.
The reason these Polos were so cheap was that they were imported in bulk from Indonesia. Apparently it is cheaper to import them into the UK than it is to buy them direct from the Nestle factories here.
It isn't just the multi-packs that they have been importing though. They have also started stocking the fruit and mint flavoured Polo Mint O Fruit sweets.
These are generally only available in Indonesia, and are different flavours to the standard fruit Polos we normally get in the UK. They come in these flavours: Raspberry Mint, Blackcurrant Mint, Peppermint, Lime Mint and Cherry Mint.
These sweets are great! The mix of fruit and mint flavour works a lot better than you would imagine (so far the Raspberry Mint flavour are my personal favourites).
I'm hoping that there is a proper UK release for these at some point.
Polos have been in the news recently when Poundland started selling multi-packs of Polos at eight packets for a pound, rather than the standard UK price of thirty pence a packet.
The reason these Polos were so cheap was that they were imported in bulk from Indonesia. Apparently it is cheaper to import them into the UK than it is to buy them direct from the Nestle factories here.
It isn't just the multi-packs that they have been importing though. They have also started stocking the fruit and mint flavoured Polo Mint O Fruit sweets.
These are generally only available in Indonesia, and are different flavours to the standard fruit Polos we normally get in the UK. They come in these flavours: Raspberry Mint, Blackcurrant Mint, Peppermint, Lime Mint and Cherry Mint.
These sweets are great! The mix of fruit and mint flavour works a lot better than you would imagine (so far the Raspberry Mint flavour are my personal favourites).
I'm hoping that there is a proper UK release for these at some point.
Friday, 15 August 2008
On the road again - Part 2
Well, I've survived the first month of being a cyclist and learnt some important lessons along the way.
Travelling to work now only takes between five and ten minutes, mostly downhill. The journey back takes ten to twelve, mostly uphill. On the other hand now that I've got to grips with the gears, as well experimenting with different routes, I no longer feel like having a heart-attack by the time I arrive.
So I'm getting fitter (slowly), and more importantly the time spent travelling has gone from over an hour a day down to around twenty minutes, usually less.
One thing that has been noticed by other people is that I'm also starting to slim down a touch too. Not that I was massively overweight before (although my daughter was starting to draw pictures of me as a circle with legs) but I'm certainly getting back to a more streamlined shape.
There has only been one real problem, and that is that over the last week or so I've had a fair bit of discomfort in my legs. At the start I'd put it down to me not having been as fit as I used to be, but rather than the effect lessening as the weeks have progressed, it has been getting worse and lasting for longer.
I've tracked down what the problem is, and it is something that is well worth looking into if you are starting to ride again.
Incorrect seat height.
The seat on my bike was set way too low, so my knees where having to do an awful lot more work than they should have, hence the stiffness and discomfort.
So how should you set your seat height? Well, after looking into this a bit (otherwise known as spending a happy half hour on YouTube and Google) the general consensus seems to be that when the pedal is at its lowest position your leg should be slightly bent (around 20 degrees). Just watch out that you don't set the seat too high, as that apparently can be just as bad.
Travelling to work now only takes between five and ten minutes, mostly downhill. The journey back takes ten to twelve, mostly uphill. On the other hand now that I've got to grips with the gears, as well experimenting with different routes, I no longer feel like having a heart-attack by the time I arrive.
So I'm getting fitter (slowly), and more importantly the time spent travelling has gone from over an hour a day down to around twenty minutes, usually less.
One thing that has been noticed by other people is that I'm also starting to slim down a touch too. Not that I was massively overweight before (although my daughter was starting to draw pictures of me as a circle with legs) but I'm certainly getting back to a more streamlined shape.
There has only been one real problem, and that is that over the last week or so I've had a fair bit of discomfort in my legs. At the start I'd put it down to me not having been as fit as I used to be, but rather than the effect lessening as the weeks have progressed, it has been getting worse and lasting for longer.
I've tracked down what the problem is, and it is something that is well worth looking into if you are starting to ride again.
Incorrect seat height.
The seat on my bike was set way too low, so my knees where having to do an awful lot more work than they should have, hence the stiffness and discomfort.
So how should you set your seat height? Well, after looking into this a bit (otherwise known as spending a happy half hour on YouTube and Google) the general consensus seems to be that when the pedal is at its lowest position your leg should be slightly bent (around 20 degrees). Just watch out that you don't set the seat too high, as that apparently can be just as bad.
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
The Cleveland Show
Family Guy is set to have its own spin-off series when Cleveland Brown leaves Quahog, Rhode Island to set up house with his childhood sweetheart Donna and her family in Stoolbend, VA.
The new show is set to air in Spring 2009.
Monday, 11 August 2008
BlitzMax 1.30 out!
BlitzMax has recently been updated to version 1.30.
So what's new in this version?
***** 1.30 Release *****
Major sanity check release!
MaxGUI has been moved to its own module, maxgui.mod.
This means you will now have to manually import maxgui, eg:
Import MaxGUI.MaxGUI 'import maxgui core
Import MaxGUI.Win32MaxGUI 'import win32 version
Import MaxGUI.CocoaMaxGUI 'import macos version
Import MaxGUI.FltkMaxGUI 'import linux version
The default audio driver for Windows has been changed to DirectSound. This means if you don't call SetAudioDriver(), the DirectSound driver will be used. For Mac/Linux, FreeAudio is still the default driver.
Syncmods has been disabled and is no longer supported by BRL. MaxGUI modules are now available in zip form from the 'product updates' page of the 'account' section at blitzbasic.com
Internal changes:
Lots of MaxGUI fixes from Seb.
Added advadpi32 to bmk win32 link
Debugger fix for out of scope objects.
bbGCValidate() added to blitz_gc.c
MaxIDE updated
Brucey's patch: LoadSound method added to TAudioDriver
Fixes and updates from Seb
Fixed GC and final methods reflection bugs
Removed nan/inf docs
Added missing EVENT_HOTKEY ToString case (skid)
Dragbar canvas fix for win32maxguiex compatability
GNet now uses 32 bit floats
Added -bind_at_load to bmk mac linkopts
Fixed blitzmaxpath looping forever
Default win32 audio driver now directsound
Fixed getmodulehandlea/w param
Added exception to loadbytearray/loadstring etc
Sped up replaceall
Fixed macos-version issue with PPC 10.4
Changed to maxgui.mod
There is also (available via the forums) a further update available for the BlitzMax IDE which sorts out some crashing issues with Linux.
The help function under Linux seems to work better (finally!). I'll be playing more with this later on this week to see if it behaves better than the 1.28 release.
So what's new in this version?
***** 1.30 Release *****Major sanity check release!
MaxGUI has been moved to its own module, maxgui.mod.
This means you will now have to manually import maxgui, eg:
Import MaxGUI.MaxGUI 'import maxgui core
Import MaxGUI.Win32MaxGUI 'import win32 version
Import MaxGUI.CocoaMaxGUI 'import macos version
Import MaxGUI.FltkMaxGUI 'import linux version
The default audio driver for Windows has been changed to DirectSound. This means if you don't call SetAudioDriver(), the DirectSound driver will be used. For Mac/Linux, FreeAudio is still the default driver.
Syncmods has been disabled and is no longer supported by BRL. MaxGUI modules are now available in zip form from the 'product updates' page of the 'account' section at blitzbasic.com
Internal changes:
Lots of MaxGUI fixes from Seb.
Added advadpi32 to bmk win32 link
Debugger fix for out of scope objects.
bbGCValidate() added to blitz_gc.c
MaxIDE updated
Brucey's patch: LoadSound method added to TAudioDriver
Fixes and updates from Seb
Fixed GC and final methods reflection bugs
Removed nan/inf docs
Added missing EVENT_HOTKEY ToString case (skid)
Dragbar canvas fix for win32maxguiex compatability
GNet now uses 32 bit floats
Added -bind_at_load to bmk mac linkopts
Fixed blitzmaxpath looping forever
Default win32 audio driver now directsound
Fixed getmodulehandlea/w param
Added exception to loadbytearray/loadstring etc
Sped up replaceall
Fixed macos-version issue with PPC 10.4
Changed to maxgui.mod
There is also (available via the forums) a further update available for the BlitzMax IDE which sorts out some crashing issues with Linux.
The help function under Linux seems to work better (finally!). I'll be playing more with this later on this week to see if it behaves better than the 1.28 release.
Blogging, traffic and advertising
It has been a while since I posted about blogging, site traffic and ad revenue - so we are overdue an update.
Over the past year we have looked at various ways of increasing traffic, earning you a fortune in advertising revenue and so forth. The all have one thing in common - they don't work (at least, not for long).
So what can bring in the readers? Strangely enough - the content. Yes folks, that oft forgotten part of a blog - the articles themselves. An article that shows up near the top of a web search on a subject can bring in a large number of readers.
What else? Images. Yes, images can increase your readers. Google Image Search is the reason for this - and can help bring in a steady trickle of additional readers.
How about adverts? I'm going to go out on a limb here and state the bleeding obvious - don't bother. Really. They aren't worth the hassle unless you have a very large audience. Even with a couple of hundred hits a day the amount of revenue you get is minimal - we are talking anything from a couple of cents to a couple of dollars a month here.
Guys, there is no golden method here. Keep writing, hopefully some of your articles will show up on the radar, and the more you write, the more chance there is of this happening.
Over the past year we have looked at various ways of increasing traffic, earning you a fortune in advertising revenue and so forth. The all have one thing in common - they don't work (at least, not for long).
So what can bring in the readers? Strangely enough - the content. Yes folks, that oft forgotten part of a blog - the articles themselves. An article that shows up near the top of a web search on a subject can bring in a large number of readers.
What else? Images. Yes, images can increase your readers. Google Image Search is the reason for this - and can help bring in a steady trickle of additional readers.
How about adverts? I'm going to go out on a limb here and state the bleeding obvious - don't bother. Really. They aren't worth the hassle unless you have a very large audience. Even with a couple of hundred hits a day the amount of revenue you get is minimal - we are talking anything from a couple of cents to a couple of dollars a month here.
Guys, there is no golden method here. Keep writing, hopefully some of your articles will show up on the radar, and the more you write, the more chance there is of this happening.
Saturday, 9 August 2008
KDE hidden files and missing disk space
Ever wonder where all your disk space is going? You're not the only one.
Lately I've been looking at why my home directory is so large.
I would expect my home folder to take up a fair bit of space, as between my email archives, family photos, source code and documents I've got a fair collection of stuff, but somehow the amount of space used didn't add up.
Having a hunt through the system brought up the .thumbnails directory which is used by KDE to cache thumbnail images - and contains a lot more than I expected. . . . .
du --si .thumbnails
4.1k .thumbnails/fail/gnome-thumbnail-factory
4.1k .thumbnails/fail/gimp-2.2
8.2k .thumbnails/fail
552M .thumbnails/large
2.6G .thumbnails/normal
3.2G .thumbnails
Yes, that's right, over the years I've built up 3.2G of thumbnail images! It would be nice to think that the thumbnails would expire automatically after a month or two rather than building up indefinitely.
I suppose I'll have to remember to run the following every so often:
rm -rf .thumbnails
Lately I've been looking at why my home directory is so large.
I would expect my home folder to take up a fair bit of space, as between my email archives, family photos, source code and documents I've got a fair collection of stuff, but somehow the amount of space used didn't add up.
Having a hunt through the system brought up the .thumbnails directory which is used by KDE to cache thumbnail images - and contains a lot more than I expected. . . . .
du --si .thumbnails
4.1k .thumbnails/fail/gnome-thumbnail-factory
4.1k .thumbnails/fail/gimp-2.2
8.2k .thumbnails/fail
552M .thumbnails/large
2.6G .thumbnails/normal
3.2G .thumbnails
Yes, that's right, over the years I've built up 3.2G of thumbnail images! It would be nice to think that the thumbnails would expire automatically after a month or two rather than building up indefinitely.
I suppose I'll have to remember to run the following every so often:
rm -rf .thumbnails
Friday, 8 August 2008
A restful week off (not!)
Here I am at the end of my week off, the first full week off work this year. So how have I chosen to relax? Easy, by replacing my kitchen.
This has taken pretty much the entire week up, but is nearly finished now. This has entailed stripping out the old units, repairing the plaster on the walls, stripping old wallpaper, building new units, cutting worktops and all sorts of fun things.
The majority of this has been done by my brother-in-law (who is friends with a gas fitter / plumber, which has turned out to be handy), but I've been able to help, or get in the way, with some parts.
We've got off fairly lightly with the cost of this, but even so, the budget has been steadily creeping up but we are nearly there now!
There have been relatively few disasters apart from one unit collapsing when an off-cut from one of the units fell into it, and only a few unexpected costs, such as relocating the gas pipes for the cooker.
The only other major replacement that we are likely to require is our washing machine, which has chosen now to start leaking. This is less than good when you've installed all your new kitchen units, so we'll be looking to replace it.
Still, after a week of microwave meals and take-aways, it is nice to have a working kitchen again.
This has taken pretty much the entire week up, but is nearly finished now. This has entailed stripping out the old units, repairing the plaster on the walls, stripping old wallpaper, building new units, cutting worktops and all sorts of fun things.
The majority of this has been done by my brother-in-law (who is friends with a gas fitter / plumber, which has turned out to be handy), but I've been able to help, or get in the way, with some parts.
We've got off fairly lightly with the cost of this, but even so, the budget has been steadily creeping up but we are nearly there now!
There have been relatively few disasters apart from one unit collapsing when an off-cut from one of the units fell into it, and only a few unexpected costs, such as relocating the gas pipes for the cooker.
The only other major replacement that we are likely to require is our washing machine, which has chosen now to start leaking. This is less than good when you've installed all your new kitchen units, so we'll be looking to replace it.
Still, after a week of microwave meals and take-aways, it is nice to have a working kitchen again.
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