On This Day, 5 October
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
RT @CathHanley: *extremely* niche medievalist tweet: I've just read again that Margaret of Beverley 'wore a breastplate like a man' at the…
2021
2020
Hands up anyone else old enough to say, “ooh, is that a Lear Siegler?” https://t.co/gmuyq1jYIQ
Re-discovering three-cornered notes https://t.co/DbJUKob1Qp
As someone who’s spent a lifetime working for major financial institutions, it surprises me not one iota that something got screwed up by some form of CSV/Excel mangling.
I mean, mostly I've just been grateful on those happy occasions when the process I have to deal with has already been through the apparently inevitable stages of being fixed after it broke down as soon as someone put in the name "O'Connor", or...
...a user typed "2| Acacia Avenue" instead of "21 Acacia Avenue", or someone pasted some perfectly valid Unicode characters into a name field but the CSV file three processes along could only deal with 7-bit ASCII so it fell on its arse as soon as Mr Müller showed up.
I imagine whatever the details of this cock-up are, though, it'll mostly be because people are stitching things together hurriedly and reactively and the time and circumstances to do a medical-grade job simply aren't available, so I feel for the engineers.
(Or, you know, whoever. There's plenty of really good non-engineer Excel experts out there who may well have never bumped into its more extreme limits, but unprecedented times often have unprecedented numbers of rows and columns...)
@AthanSpod Sounds about normal. Must be quite an elderly version of Excel, though; it's been a while since I ran into that one.
@AthanSpod I've found quite a lot of Excel people are a bit myth-and-superstition. Someone probably got told that it was best for the widest compatibility back in 2008 and has been doing it that way ever since...
2019
RT @QaunChi: Losing my MIND at this response from my dentist I thought was a robot https://t.co/3S25bWKxUb
@cfinnecy @JimMFelton Is anyone sure they hadn't? If I'd been sent to Work Experience there I'd deffo have replaced the entire editorial department with ten lines of Python and fucked off to the pub for the rest of the fortnight.
@MLE_Online Is the video an animated explanation of their cookie policy and an invitation to sign up for the newsletter?
RT @sharonodea: I’ve just spotted this gem in the government’s Brexit guidance. Are they saying you’ll need to get an ATA Carnet to take yo…
@Bristolvor You are my inspiration. https://t.co/nqaoqnF3L0
@rhodri 🎼Oooh, Jeremy Clarkson...
RT @therealfitz: This... this isn't what reverse engineering means at all. https://t.co/IkwZoaEBdu
2018
There’s that @_pigeons_, communing with nature. https://t.co/XHeRuHrFIO
2017
When you walk home a slightly different way and suddenly remember why you like it here. #bristol https://t.co/Gg0a5M4wYn
Observatory Hill - https://t.co/Qk9lXVMGSs https://t.co/f38VRRtUBx
RT @banterability: I feel terrible for journalists who invest time and effort into doing a hard job well only to have it presented like thi…
The Story Behind an Unbelievable Photograph by @fearoflanding https://t.co/TAkee4BlUJ
@stillawake I've worked with 36-year-olds like that.
2016
If I’d been doing the acronyms, they’d be the City of Bristol Rowing Armada, not the club. https://t.co/rThz7vuOqi
Sunderfall. https://t.co/ukLsJnhyP1
@antimitch Ta.
Review corner: a folding Bluetooth keyboard https://t.co/erGTZ7R44w
2015
Hrm. Wessex 505 service was great for first three months I was catching it. Has started regularly not turning up now :(
Yes, lift. I know just how you feel. http://t.co/hq3Kfe3DjH
Purty. http://t.co/TDzCIkW8YP
Yeah, I’m guessing it will. http://t.co/hP9R5KL4Ek
This IKEA sideboard sounds more Yorkshire than Scandinavia to me. http://t.co/plfdApb6hb
(I’m pretty sure Neddie Arkelstorp once rolled down a hill in a bathtub in Last of the Summer Wine…)
@antimitch Thanks! Was a surprising landscape for a car boot sale...
Well, that didn’t take long, @Microsoft. I’ve not even logged in on this brand new laptop. http://t.co/fG98A1kSXN
@corylus Shoegazer band from the eighties. Split while writing that difficult second album.
@Bristolvor This is a training box for getting MS certifications in SQL Server. Going native makes most sense.
@Bristolvor All my Windows experience is in big corporate life, so Windows 10 is a few versions more up-to-date than I'm used to :)
Computers. Sigh. https://t.co/rnYoXzjSUK
2014
@hayeshargrove Because you’re really angry and armed with a wrench right now?
Scary. http://t.co/Qr1cTamPKv
Kevin's friends had told him he needed a better suit for the triathlon, but he insisted his old gear was still fine. http://t.co/eGD03eQpMX
@Bufty_Grifter Butlers have this one in the Triangle branch; I've been sorely tempted... http://t.co/WsqOFY9Skv
It's all a bit ropey. http://t.co/QqOBB7d9Pu
RT @ErikMiller3: I felt my iPhone 6 bend in my pocket!! Then I realized it was just a Poptart and I don't have an iPhone 6. http://t.co/jJr…
Now I want a pop tart.
@johnfbraun *Fetches tea* *Returns to normal* Gosh. That was a jolly close call. Thanks, old fruit. Toodle-pip!
It's a fine line between "polymath" and "haven't a clue what you want to do with your life".
RT @thebabydino: Remove child before washing. Because, you know, these things happen... http://t.co/uwCXnYLfIZ
@guriben All of my hobbies appear to be an attempt to procrastinate on my other hobbies.
Hrm. What's a good photo printing medium for hanging in a bathroom? Know you can get stuff done on plastic and aluminium these days...
Final edit of that diver photo from earlier on. I think he's going on my bathroom wall :D http://t.co/zznpvFZc9d
RT @OhLookBirdies: "Clark, where is the table?" "Here, Lois. We just put our drinks on it." "Oh yes. I didn't recognise it with glasses on."
2013
"Christine's has been around for a while..." http://t.co/bl9Ypc5iNK
RT @EliLanger: This is the Twitter client the world has been waiting for: http://t.co/xwYLeNfL8J (via @protocollie)
Clouds over Dundry #nofilter http://t.co/55wFAycfnU
Going up. http://t.co/wR3LegmTcw
Rushes. http://t.co/hmoDGsxqZl
Brompton Snapper http://t.co/MtNlc9Ra4m
Tweet!? http://t.co/uRDhvARt1J
@shezza_t It's a nice clear day, but I can't see *that* far :D
Was going to enter the 24 Hours in Bristol thang, but when I hit the payment screen, it doesn't seem to use a secure connection. Hrm.
2012
@guriben Hush, youngster.
Right. Off-to-work time.
@charlesarthur Rubbernet. Works a treat. Free trial. http://t.co/sAiUqNzD
RT @jonmbutterworth: personally I'm glad we have intrusive media. Otherwise Jimmy Savile would just have gotten away with it all his life.
@chris_j_hughes I just mourn the lack of playlists. Plus it won’t work with my car’s stereo (looks for playlists named MINI1, MINI2, etc.)
@chris_j_hughes But it’s mostly the fact I can’t prepare long playlist of arbitrary stuff for long car journeys that’s annoying.
RT @TwopTwips: GIVE your photos that James Bond feel, by taking them through a toilet roll tube. http://t.co/sZt3AEH8 (via @JayParsons ...
Hurrah! @missemmeline has a curry on the go in my shiny new kitchen ;) http://t.co/x6I245Hx
2011
@lizpscully Ah, the joy of phonetrees. Grr.
@BlackDogDays Ah, an advanced meditation practice. You are truly wise.
@Adam_Cyber Bah. Should've searched Twitter first, but I'm brand new to Android so I just figured *I* was doing something wrong! #avd #bug
In Boston Tea Party, unwinding after a couple of hours of video-lecture.
RT @bobbyllew: If you haven't seen Big Dog before, have a look at his little brother, even more spooky http://t.co/8UmhwamD
@bertpalmer Only if you want the majority of your photos to be the backs of wedding guests running away very quickly.
@ahnlak Chrome, baby. That's where it's at now.
@ahnlak Heh. Sorry, I know nothing about Blogger. Are the images also in Picasa Web? ...
@ahnlak ...because I think you can download entire web albums to local Picasa app. Then there's probably a Flickr upload path from that?
@ahnlak (But I may just be sending you down the garden path, because I've not really played with that stuff much.)
@ahnlak Yeah. The blogger & Picasa stuff is all transitioning to Google+ albums, and I think it's all the same store behind the scenes.
@ahnlak Could do. Though I think to satisfy the Flickr T&Cs you'd have to include links to the Flickr photos, technically.
@ahnlak My stuff's all over the place, though :) Most of my blog stuff is stored locally in WordPress, but I also...
@ahnlak ...have an S3 plugin that throws them on S3, too, and dynamically alters the images to point to S3 when it's turned on.
@ahnlak I've got more social stuff going on on Flickr than G+, so I'll probably stick there unless Yahoo completely destroy it.
Roight. After a morning of Android learning, it's time to do a bit of WordPressing.
@r0bb1eh It'd be nice work if I could get paid for it...
@lizpscully Ah, yes. "Hello. My name is Kevin." "That seems quite unlikely"...
@RamonYouseph Mostly, it's just as pointless but a lot more fiddly.
@benjohnbarnes Congratulations, chap :)
@vikingtweats Yeah, I failed it pretty badly too, the other day. I've only lived here 38 years so far...
@thomasvenables I shall redress the balance with some iOS work next week.
@hayles Fantastic justification, too. If I'd known that stealing stuff was cheaper than buying it, I'd never have paid for all this stuff.
Mmmm. Stir fry thang with chicken, coriander, lime & soy sauce. Nommity.
Bloggity: The Road Ahead (or, Why I've Not Got A Proper Job At The Moment) http://t.co/B7Ts7SuF
@hayles I am trying to lose weight. I'm fairly sure that baking cakes is not conducive to that. Though I'll have to check Wikipedia.
@hayles If I had that kind of will-power, I wouldn't be *mumblemumble* stone.
@hayles It's mumbling annoying, isn't it?
"Cake is a form of bread", Wikipedia? I think you'll find that bread is a form of cake. Specifically, it's cake with less good stuff in it.
@shezza_t Well, I've not got much to lose... :D
@mjh53 I think you mean "some breads are made using cake-like techniques."
RT @b_wildered: Do NOT laugh at this photo of a guinea pig. http://t.co/Z7mqD3x4
@andybeebristol Hoping to make a gradual move to doing profitable things over about 6-12 months; we'll see how I am at creating structure!
@dailybooth Hey, is this blog post meant to have a "Buy Gold!" link at the bottom, or did you get hacked? http://t.co/uFbCEM4t
RT @simplebits: An HTML5/CSS3 clock's inner-workings: http://t.co/Ux246rZX (via @rogie)
2010
Goodness. Fastmail _and_ Dropbox down within a week? I'm going to need to change my dictionary entry for "reliable".
@hayles Now I'm just imagining all of those on a pizza. Not sure it works. Might have to try it to see.
@archidave Surely that's warm-calling, at the very least...
@andybeebristol @rabidbee Yes, Amazon for me, too.
@kinkykenny That sucks. Do you have anything that reliably cheers you? (Luckily for me, long walks seem to do the trick...)
RT @richardjfoster: In L&D. M just got epidural. Anesthesiologist's ringtone amusing - Mr Sandman
.@rabidbee @r2uk Hah! Yes, a combination-lick briefcase is the kind of thing you'd expect Willy Wonka to be carrying around :)
Just picked a combination-lick briefcase for someone at work. Slightly worrying that I've developed a reputation as the person to ask.
Fiddling with my Kindle 3 review. It is Far Too Long. *sharpens scissors*
RT @turnstilemusic: RT@simon_price01:Woman who stood in front of Ystrad Mynach train cos Cardiff fans were being sexist dicks is my hero ...
Hmm. Wonder if I can push my blog further down the Google search results. Those SEO spammers are still finding me too easily.
2009
(...which may have something to do with fond memories of my old point & shoot camera: http://flic.kr/p/4D9V2M)
Decided against waterproof & shockproof. Nice idea, but don't really need it. Have gone for http://bit.ly/q74TV
I dunno. I started researching waterproof cameras. Then I tripped over Flickr's "Underwater Nudes" pool and got distracted...
Right. That's my mail down to a list that fits all in one screen, my LJ updated and my bathroom cleaned. Beard-trimming time.
@shezza_t @Lillput It was a fantastic series. Still is; hardly looks dated. And yes, @TheLloydClan, Davenport is a very... fine actor.
One of the weirder reCAPTCHAs I've been presented with: http://twitpic.com/kegr0
Watching an episode of the fabulous Ultraviolet (the Jack Davenport one, that is.)
@KaveyF I've _never_ been anywhere so exotic that me dancing in a hula skirt would have been legal.
Note to self: don't de-scale the kettle at the same time as boiling rice. Humidity in kitchen now approx. 130%.
http://bestc.am/iYhW A little FAKE on the walk home. Hotwell Road.
http://bestc.am/X0Y Peeking into the new aquarium - opens this month, apparently.
@hayles You need to say, "no, I asked for a *fling* that would make me feel dizzy"...
@bertpalmer Which one?
@hannahnicklin You've not seen the new Laborotoires Garnier Nanotube Conditioner, then? Or am I bluffing?
@hayles What! Were! You! Expecting!?
@Runningmate1 Thanks, but I already got to 5K using @benjohnbarnes' Get Running iPhone app! #c25k #getrunning
2008
Damn! Sold out. Looks like I'm walking home again.
Gah. In big queue. Probably should have got advance ticket.
Off to the Cube Microplex for an album launch
@talkie_tim Je suis vert avec le jealousy, tu as beaucoup de chance, ou dans autres mots, tu es un git lucké.
http://twitpic.com/epke - Now that's some well constructed latte art :-)
I've just remembered I don't have to go to work tomorrow morning! Result!
2007
Off to buy new Babyshambles album.
trying to get the new version of iPhoto to stay up for more than three minutes