bignoseduglyguy

It is an oft quoted factoid that humankind has yet to devise a more efficient machine for turning human effort into motion than the bicycle. Saying this to non-cycling folk is all well and good but does little to place the information in context. This simple but enlightening set of images from World Bicycle Relief makes a similar point in a more accessible manner and neatly makes the case for how the simple technology of the bicycle can dramatically transform lives and livelihoods across the globe.

I only mention this because I’m off to ride my Brompton to the local bike shop and I want to appear virtuous and enlightened this bright and sunny Saturday morning [removes tongue from cheek]. I’m going to measure up the knackered forks on my Dawes Discovery (which was mangled by the movers when we emigrated) for replacement. Once I have sourced the forks from the UK, via Gary, friend and Tower Hamlets Wheeler and Bicycle Magic, former local bike shop, I should have the Dawes looking more like it did on a Docklands ride last year.

With the price of Broadband here in NZ, I don’t watch a lot of animation online but I have just spent a minute watching the superb Shoo Fly, animated by the obviously talented John Su. Apparently, he created so many Flash frames for the main character, Nelly, the colour of his mouse button has changed through overuse!

Discovered via Dave Seah.

If you have never heard of David Allen, never argued over Hipster PDAs with folks at 43Folders, have no firm opinions on stationery and don’t give a stuff about personal productivity and organisation, The GTD Prayer will mean absolutely nothing. Those who identify with the clauses above will get it.

via Alexia at the GTD Yahoo group.

Amongst the other smart productivity stuff bursting from David Seah’s Better Living Through New Media I found a great year at a glance Excel calendar that’ll suit the ever-evolving paper system inside my conference file/folder. Following the example of others, I have worked up a localised New Zealand version for myself and others in Aotearoa.

A car advert the likes of which you’ll never see on TV . The Chevy Tahoe: The Apprentice ®: effort is superb. Spotted at bikescape.

At 1 in 1.266, Baldwin Street in Dunedin is the steepest street in the world.

I have long anticipated this day but often thought it may not come. SWMBO is launching her own blog.

Whilst she is certainly not a Luddite, SWMBO is not an early adopter of most technology and has a pathological aversion to reading instruction manuals of any kind. This combination means that it has took the insertion of 12,000 miles between SWMBO and her friends to prompt her to embrace email as quick and effective way of closing that gap. A few weeks back,to support her first business venture, she put up a branded web presence and added a separate email address. This week, she has decided to put up a blog. Like me, she tried to keep friends and relatives up to date with family news and adventures with emails but has, I think, found it difficult to ensure that she gets the same news to everyone who wants to know and remember who has read what. I have just managed to sneak a quick preview and I can see that I am going to have to raise my game.

So, if you have always wondered what SWMBO has to say for herself or why on Earth she puts up with me, head on over to A Word From Wendy to find out – and no prizes for guessing what SWMBO’s real name is!

I must have clicked on a link to Internet Archive Wayback Machine at some point in recent times – probably while reading the excellent Ian’s Messy Desk because I have just found this page of links to old versions of my blog open in a Firefox tab. Clicking through the links, I have found three earlier versions of my fledgling blog, not to mention links to my ‘blog about a dog‘, my old HappyPalm column and a whole lot more besides. I even found a remnant from my first ever website, a web resource page about Williams Syndrome which even includes some text that utilises the dreaded blink html tag.

Hand-drawn graphic from my old blog c.2001

I am not normally one for made-for-TV movies. However, on a rainy Sunday, when I see look through the TV guide and see a movie that I have never heard but has a pedigree cast that includes William H Macy, Helen Mirren and Kathy Baker, I’m willing to take a chance. Door To Door turned out to be a great film with a tour de force performance from co-writer Bill Macy as Bill Porter, a Watkins door to door salesman who has cerebral palsy.

The film tracks the change in American culture and values in the second half of the 20th century through the true story of Porter’s life – one of patience and persistance and the value of the human spirit in an increasingly insular society. What could have easily been a mawkish and manipulative movie was, in fact, a great film with assured performances from all concerned. I encourage you to seek it out or failing that, you can read more at billporter.com or (as I am going to do) buying the book ‘Ten Things I Learned From Bill Porter‘. Interestingly Bill Macy’s wife, Felicity Huffman, plays a small supporting role in the movie – she is now better known for her starring role as Lynette in ‘Desperate Housewives’.

After much exasperation and effort, I have finally stopped trying to get Norton AntiVirus to update it’s own virus definition files and canned it along with the firewall that was bundled with it in Norton Internet Security. The family PC is now watched over by AVG Plus Firewall Edition and probably will be until the very reasonable two-year license runs out and we buy a Mac desktop instead.