A Halloween with Bite

pink31 Creepy Milk Teeth
Originally uploaded by cork_host

And so its over. This is the last pink photo for the Pink for October gig. You can see all the pink photos on flickr if you like.

The bad news is I think I got the photoblogging bug. Just as well I have a crap camera...

Will

p.s. Happy Hallowe'en

Talking Shite

Would you be willing to donate time you already spent, to help give people more time to live?

This is international breast cancer month. It's why I actually started putting up the pink images here. At the time I joked about what would be done with Bowel Cancer Awareness month. Bowel cancer does not have any glamour to it. We are talking about a part of the body which we tend not to think about until something goes wrong.

Two things occured this week and it sparked an idea. One where I'll need your help.

I listened to the Podcast Sisters creating a book by re-using your blog (I'm paraphrasing). And I came across Chris Anderson talking about Blogging Heroes: Interviews with 30 of the World's Top Bloggers by Mike Banks.
Bank's book is a series of interviews with bloggers. Sales are presumably going to be based on the fact that everyone likes to see their name in print...

Which is where "Talking Shite" comes from.

A book of Irish bloggers (which means Bloggers in Ireland, from Ireland or about Ireland) by Irish bloggers doing what we do best. Talk and blog (same thing really).
This is about being a patron, not being patronising to a cause.

Would you be willing to donate a blog post for inclusion in a book which would be sold in aid of bowel cancer?

Would you be willing to donate time you already spent, to help give people more time to live? And would you buy the book? And get your friends to buy the book?

Let me know in comments and such?
Will Knott

tags : donate, cancer, charity, Bowel Cancer, Podcast Sisters, Chris Anderson, Mike Banks, book, writing, blogs, bloggers, irish blogs, irish blogers, Talking Shite

Candyfest bonbon

pink28 bonbon
Originally uploaded by cork_host

Halloween wasn't always the candy-fest it is today. Once we had to put up with apples and peanuts.

Kids these days. They'll expect to drive on their second provisional yet... oh hang on...

I haz computr lanage

LOL cats have been doing the rounds... now a .NET compiler for the LOLcats language

Oh dear....

What would Rabbit do? Do Rabbits and cats get along?

Still, I have my spleen

Will

A little early

I'm ashamed to say that I've already bought a christmas decoration...

One of these.

And yes I'm putting up a Hallowe'en tree again this year.

And then I'll have to see if any whingebags with an L plate wants to hire a qualified driver.

take care,
Will

Roosters

pink26 Roosters
Originally uploaded by cork_host

the answer, for those not reading the comments, was indeed Roosters.

He sure knows his spuds

pink25 Not Irish Pinks
Originally uploaded by cork_host

But do you.
As part of my photo-blogging for Pink For October I have to be me. And well Irish. For some reason potatoes are always associated with being Irish (which if you think about it is odd for a South American plant).

Anyway, these pink potatoes are perfect for combining these to things (and sunburn isn't that common this time of year). So name the breed of spuds. The winner will get a marvellous Knott "no prize".

take care,
Will

p.s. For the record, they aren't "Pinks". The breed called "Pinks" are actually white skinned, with a pink tinge to the inside.

Mrs. Geek in the Pink

pink21 mrs.geek
Originally uploaded by cork_host

I suppose it's my own fault. I told Ellybabes about the Mrs. Geek t-shirt (which is a recent thing).

So she sent me a photo of the shirt when it arrived.
Well it's pink and this is Pink for October. Still it might be this one. I like blue...

take care,
Will


tags : Pink, pink for October, pinkforoctober, Ellybabes, La Fraise, shirts

knackered

pink17 hydrangea
Originally uploaded by cork_host

I'm knackered. While others have been BIMA Great Facebook Debate I've been on a film (OK The Tudors TV Series) set.

I'm knackered. I'll blog properly later, but in the meantime, enjoy the on set pictures. Sorry, no beheadings were captured in the making of these pictures

take care,
Will


tags : pinkforoctober, p4o, filming, filmset, The Tudors

Run Rabbit

This is an oddity, but I'm looking at the Rabbit the Programmer site (which is just the one cartoon at the moment). It's rather charming, but is it C#?

Pink (and) triangle

pink15 Brunch
Originally uploaded by cork_host

No the title has nothing to do with coming out but a combination of my Pink for October photo-blogging and Blog action day's blogging about the environment.

To begin with, look at the picture. Yes its Brunch ice cream lollies in their pink packaging. However take a closer look and can you see what's missing.



You can just about make out the circular "this can be recycled" logo. Which really means "in theory this can be recycled but probably can't".

Now with a bit of invention, everything can be reused. Spectacle frames can be reused. Spent party poppers can be reused. Even cold porridge can be reused (Cut into wedges, fry and top with golden syrup). But recycling is something else.

Recycling is reprocessing an item back to its constituent parts so as to convert it (sometimes unrecognisably) in to a new item. Paper that has been pulped and reprocessed in to a new sheet of paper is still a sheet of paper. But it could have been a newspaper or junk mail in a previous life. A child's toy is still plastic, but it could have been a milk carton or a bottle in a previous life.

In order to do this processing, a processor needs to know what the item is. Sometimes, as in the case of glass, its easy. Frequently in the case of plastic, its almost impossible. Not all plastics are created equal, but identical plastic bags may not be made from the same type of plastic. In order to tell them apart, the plastic should be marked (printed, stamped or embossed) with an international universal recycling code usually a number inside the international three arrow recycling symbol. Sometimes it's the descriptive text written beside an empty arrow triangle. Without that identifying number or text, you have something for landfill.

Many recycling facilities and collection facilities won't accept plastics without that logo and code (and sometimes they only takes a subset of the plastics). So keep an eye on the packaging. The circle means nothing, but the triangle might save the world. And complain if the packaging does not display the logo.

After all, without it, it's junk.

Junk which will sit in a landfill for about 100,000 years and help deplete resources (unless landfill mining is an industry on 100 years time).

Of course there is always that suspicion that stuff sent for recycling goes to landfill anyway, but doing your part in this helps.

take care,
Will

tags : pinkforoctober, blogactionday, blog action day, reuse, processor, plastic, triangle, resource, recycling, landfill, flickr

pink for October 11 Supervalu bags

pink11 bags
Originally uploaded by cork_host

Well it's pink for October, and its for Breast Cancer. Supervalu are selling these "pocket" sized bags for the Irish Cancer Society.

Cabbage on a stick

pink 08 - plant
Originally uploaded by cork_host

Snapped this bunch of flowers as part of my Pink photo-blogging (it's all single focus camera phone folks). However this has me stumped. The plant look like a cabbage on a stick. Any idea about what it is?

Will



tags : pinkforoctober, Pink, pink for October, Breast Cancer, photo, flickr

Einstein Transfarming

Following a discussion about La Fraise and Threadless, I took a look at the sites.

I love the Einstein T-Shirt which is a portrait of the man made ot of his equations.

As a Transformers nut (let me know when the deluxe size Bumblebee Camaro 2009 model is back in Cork) I HAVE to by the Transfarmers T-Shirt. (Cowotbots wage battle to defeat the evil forces of the Desceptictanks). For the record, Energon Landmine if fairly close the the tractor bot.

What can I say, I'm in a playful mood today.

take care,
Will

tags :
La Fraise, Threadless, shirts, play

Rose pink

pink06
Originally uploaded by cork_host

More of the pink for October shots, finally up to date. There will 31 in the set by Hallowe'en



tags : pinkforoctober, Pink, pink for October, Breast Cancer, photo, flickr

Pinking about cancer

pink01
Originally uploaded by cork_host

Well this is Breast Cancer Awareness month (and yet there is no Bowel Cancer Awareness day). And I was thinking what could I do.
There is a move on to turn your website Pink for October. I wouldn't be the first Irish blogger to do so, however its a pain to change the template of a blogger blog without causing damage to the layout.

So I thought, what else could I do?

I'm starting late, but every 2nd day I'll post a pink photo here and on Flickr. And yes, thats my idea of a pink photo?


take care,
Will

tags : pinkforoctober, Pink, pink for October, Breast Cancer, photo, flickr

One time at Mashup camp

To be honest, the word mashup makes me think of music before technology, but technology internet technology mash ups are the best thing to happen to the web.

A mash up is a mixing of two disparate elements to make a unified whole. Those elements could be Lilly Allen singing "LDN" mixed with Chad Jackon's "(Hear the drummer) Get wicked" or a Google map mixed with Dublin bus routing information and timetable to generate all the usable bus routes near any location.

Well Mashup Camp and Mashup University are coming to Dublin (after an abortive attempt earlier in the year) in November, and personally I want to go to the Uni sessions as I want to learn this. What can I say, I'm used to half of this, taking data from a single source and manipulating it to reveal the underlying structure. Mashups mean that you take the data from one (or more) source(s) and manipulate it to fit the structure of another data set (e.g. crime data and a geographic map).

Of course the sign-up for the uni isn't working but...

In the meantime, here is a mashup of a different sort... Dunproofin's "LDN WDK"


take care,
Will

tags : mashup, music, technology, mashupcamp, Mashup Camp, Mashup University, Dublin, Dunproofin

Breaking up

Dear Will,

Forgive me, but I'm taking it slow. You see, when I first met T, it was wonderful. All the attention I got, all the stories we shared. Even friends of friends became my friends as the conversation flowed like cheap wine at a party.

But things changes. For no reason all contact would be lost. It would last all day, calls going unheeded, connections being refused. It was almost as if all the focus was on a different time zone.

Then, old messages started to go. Friends didn't want anything to do with T any more and moved elsewhere. I realised that I simply couldn't rely on T.
And that's when I met Jaik. Not as easy as T. Things were more complicated (on occasion sleep keeps being interrupted, but I'll forgive that). I still see T sometimes. But my friends don't call around as often. They seem to prefer Jaik.

I'm not sure I should rush headlong in to this! Am I being unfaithful by seeing two systems at the same time? Should I take things slow?

Yours,
Burnt.


Dear Burnt,

Social media is all about relationships. If a system abuses you, should you keep using it? What do you get out of it. Sometimes it's OK to be selfish.

As for using multiple systems at the same time. No problem. Do what feels right for you. If taking things slow make sense to you, then take things slow. Build or prune your "friend" list as yo see fit. No one will take it badly (but if you're following over 150 people, you may want to make sure you actually care about all 400 of them).

Despite what some people say social media isn't a fad or a phase. More importantly its not about business value either. It's about links to other real people.

True, some are for geeks, and some really appeal to the cool kids or the business set. However each group will welcome you in it's own way. Or not. You should at least take a look at each group before you decide it's not for you. And if the site treats you badly, you don't have to continue.

If you feel you need to leave; leave. You have nothing to loose but your chains of friends... and if they are leaving too, you really have nothing to loose.

break free,
Will


tags : twitter, friends, jaiku, facebook, linkedin, bebo, myspace, social media