This google page is a quick way to get any site on a mobile device.

Nextbrick

A great resource for those who remember those wonderful little swedish blocks of joy. I would not spend my entire life collecting or building with them but it is interesting to gaze upon those who do.

Combine a Crazy Screaming Lady, a parking lot and a kid with a video camera and hilarity ensues.

BTW, I am looking for a new UK Broadband supplier. Zen are good but expensive for limited speed. Any suggestions are welcome.

The long awaited announcement of the intel based powerbook were announced this week(I have been hearing rumours of an intel apple for over a decade now).

I heard one disgruntled apple owner complain of a lack of PCMCIA slot. Apple has chosen the new ExpressCard standard. It will deter some people with expensive PCMCIA cards in moving up, but I doubt it will make much of an impact. Apple is famous to being on the front of the curve and more aggressive in adopting new standard physical formats from the 3.5 floppy in the Apple Plus to USB in the iMac. They have occasionally been proven wrong in their choices eg NuBus over ISA. But for the most part they have been on the right trail when everyone else comes over.

So ExpressCard looks like a winner format for physical hardware card expansion.

I cycled in a wet cold sleet storm yesterday. It definitely showed the improvements I need to make in the bike and my clothing. I don't think that the bad weather will have cleared up by the time I start commuting at the end of March. So, some mudguards and decent layered clothing may be needed to a make my trip into work a reasonable trip as opposed to the frostbite conditions I had yesterday.

Slate have posted the best hack for those milky coffees that are just lactose wastelands.

The short cappucino (8 oz) actually tastes like a decent coffee. If you prefer to order the venti or tall version, then save your money and buy a quart of milk and chuck it in the microwave (for those into wilderness hacks, try just leaving it in the sun).

So, I have started the New Year eating roots and and drinking weeds.

Liz has decided that we need to detox, despite the fact that we normally eat vegetarian meals. Yesterday I bought a load of fruit and veg (with most of the fruit out of season) and today I started on the juice and herb teas.

I have experienced the physical effects of caffeine withdrawal and it was not pleasant the last time. I will probably need leads of calcium and selenium to deal with the muscle cramps. No pain killers though on this detox, so it may get interesting.

More web based games than is humanly possible to play (all of them rated).

The GeekPod 100 from BatteryGeek.net provides 100 hours of iPod goodness.

Only problem is the foreign charger - so I am hoping for a UK version at some point.

Edit - Further to Michael Harrison's comments about Batterygeek. I have started to think that a homemade solution maybe a better way to battery power the iPod.

The solutions offered by Drew Perry and Chris Diclerico (Verson2 and Version3 seems a reasonable way to approach this.

The 8 hours seems a reasonable amount of time to get the iPod back to a power source and extra batteries could always be carried.

Sustrans Brochures for the West Coast of Scotland Cyclepaths (all pdfs, so download these links).

Clyde and Loch Lomond Cycleway (NCN 7)
Glasgow to Loch Lomond mainly traffic-free path for cyclists and walkers 20 mls

Lochwinnoch Loop Line (NCN 7)
Paisley to Kilbirnie mainly traffic-free path for cyclists and walkers 14 mls

Hillend Loch Railway Path (NCN 75)
Airdrie to Bathgate mainly traffic-free path for cyclists and walkers 14 mls

Paisley and Clyde Railway Path (NCN 75)
Paisley to Gourock mainly traffic-free path for cyclists and walkers 20 mls

Garnock Valley Cycleway (NCN 7)
Irvine to Kilbirnie 18 mls

Ayrshire Coast Cycleway (NCN 7)
Irvine to Ayr traffic-free route for cyclists and walkers 19 mls

Cunninghame Cycleway (NCN 73)
Kilmarnock to Ardrossan traffic free path for walkers and cyclists 17 mls

Clyde Corridor Cycle Route (NCN 75)
Heart of Glasgow to Uddingston traffic-free walking and cycling route 12 mls

edit one more from the East Coast -
The Esk Valley Cycle Route
Musselburgh to Dalkeith largely traffic-free route 5 mls

Perfect for giving this Christmas.

What says love more than handcrafted Duct Tape Wallet.

You can use Gaffer Tape which I find comes in prettier colours than duct tape, has better adhesive qaulities, sticks when it gets cold and stays stuck, and comes off with no adhesive residue (also it does does not remove paint when you remove it). Gaffer Tape comes in more sizes at well from 1" to 4" rolls (the latter is great for sticking cables to carpets).

The alternative Duct Tape cover for a HipsterPDA could also be considered the perfect gift.

edit - more great ideas for the that great tape called Gaffer.

So Tim Berners Lee has a blog

I bank with British Bank and I needed to deposit a Canadian Dollar cheque into the account. So, I phoned them and asked how will it cost for me to deposit this cheque into my account. The guys says "hang on and I will find out".

He comes back and informs me that I will be able deposit this cheque into my account. I ask "how much will it cost" (the original question) and he tells me that I need to ask my branch. I then ask how long will it take for it to clear, and he tells me to ask my branch again.

So, I phoned their helpline and was answered a question I did not ask and was told an answer I already knew. How can they call this a helpline?

British Banks range from incompetent to evil. This event is more incompetent.

Hamachi is fast, secure and simple VPN, the holy Grail of SOHO networkers and Road Warriors.

Well, I cam to Toronto for some meetings and have changed my mind about this town - slightly.

It may not be the most boring town in North America - top ten but not the most boring.

Met up with some friends from Mac and their new spouses.

One of the things that have thrown me is that everyone looks a lot older. Wayne Gretzky is really showing his age.

And you think your users use passwords that are insecure?

At least they can't fire nuclear warheads.

I discussed Sony's attempt at surreptitious DRM shipping with CDs.

This is not the only case of unwanted software being installed by music corporations on individual's PCs.

So, unfortunately now Van Zant, who I assume had no knowledge that their CD would be carrying this software are now having their CD slammed on Amazon.

The only reason I can see that the large music corporations are doing this, is to kill the CD format. As they continue to limit the uses of CDs through the use of more restrictive DRM, the attraction of online sources with their well published DRM becomes apparent. In addition, P2P sources allow people to gain access to uncracked versions of music that they have already purchased.

This fight has only just begun and already the music corporations are losing.

How does the Death Star work?

I am wondering when this will be featured in Make Magazine. "A galactic space station made from PVC and duct tape: We show you how."

Free access to Nature's Insight edition on Sleep

This is important on a lot of the fronts that I am concerned about - the opening up of scientific literature to those who would benefit from it, and the ability to read articles on sleep, since I live with someone who has sleep difficulties.