Life is grand

If you think that a kiss is all in the lips, then you got it all wrong

The Denial Twist - The White Stripes

You have love an app that is an optimist. CruiseControl.net could just say “Build worked. Carry on slave.” Instead it happily pops up this joyous bubble of love and as it pats you on the back sings “Yet another successful build!”

Anyone else notice that GMail and Blogger have been glitchy the past few weeks? Plenty of down-time and sluggish performance. Just tried to send an email via GMail and I am getting server errors back.

I took a 2004 Ford Fiesta LX out for a spin on Saturday and was impressed. The 1.25l engine pulls well enough, the ride is good, the design smart and the interior nicely put together. At €13,000 with 38k on the clock it is reasonably priced and I am sure I can knock several hundred off of that. Across the road though I spotted an even nicer 2005 Ford Fiesta with just 6k on the clock. It is the Steel spec which means nicer alloy wheels and a sun-roof. It is €14,300 though, €1,300 more than the other. I am debating whether it is worth the extra money. The difference will be even greater as that €14,300 price is already €700 down from the original price while I have yet to haggle on the €13,000 price. I’d expect at least €500 off that.

Anyone got an opinion? I have bought the red on.

Mobile networks in Ireland can’t be making any money. I use my mobile mainly for texting, about 20 messages a day, and the odd voice-call and haven’t had to put any money into my pre-pay package for the past three months. Every month 02 give me €25 free as part of the original sign-up package nearly 5 months ago. It covers me just fine.

Now 02 have gone and cut costs during weekends to insane levels; 1c per minute and 1c per text to other 02 customers.

Will I ever have to pay for mobile calls again?

Shift+Alt+F10 to automatically insert Using statements is one of the single best things about Visual Studio 2005.

I am not a The Strokes fan but I do like their Ask Me Anything track.

I have noticed that I usually pick one of the lesser liked tracks on an album as my favourite. The headliners on albums are great but then there are these little ditties that I fall in love with. 2 minute tracks with crazy tunes and funny vocals that grab me and make me smile like the other highly-polished tracks cannot. On Coldplay’s album Parachutes my favourite is the 46 second long self-named Parachutes. On Outrospective by Faithless it is 2 minutes and 43 seconds of Crazy English Summer that leaves me feeling happier than any other song except Song 2 by Blur. Kasabian’s U Boat is eerie, quite wonderful. From Arctic Monkeys it is Riot Van that makes me laugh the hardest; “from men with truncheons dressed in hats”. The Birmingham accent on “hats” is brilliant.

01 Eight Days a Week - The Beatles
02 Let Me Live - Queen
03 Medication - Garbage
04 Love Punch - The Chalets
05 We Will Rock You - Queen
06 Kerplunk - Green Day
07 Tame - The Pixies
08 Screwdriver - The White Stripes
09 Cut Off - Kasabian
10 Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles

Sadly I haven’t yet got last.fm to sync with my nano and so it hasn’t been updated in awhile. I’d pay for an app that can send play data from my nano to last.fm.

The operator of the yellow, monster JCB* just outside of my window took a call on his mobile as he was digging. Any law against that?

* The Irish call those big CAT diggers JCBs here as that is the main brand.