Pete's Eats

I’ve been using Skype for a while now, with no problems at all. In fact it’s totally exceeded my expectations.

My father in law is back off to Iraq next week and I set it up on his (windows xp) laptop today so he can call home fairly easily and cheaply. I fired up my Skype to test his new account and found that I couldn’t use Skypeout at all (where you can call any fixed landline or mobile from your computer) to call any number…

Every time, every number gave the same ‘misc-error’ – it’s worked for ages perfectly and now nothing. I checked on the forums and found this, followed the steps that some people said worked like deleting all files to do with Skype including the plist files, but still nothing. Apart from losing all my contacts

So, if I’ve ever talked to you on Skype, or even just ‘hooked’ up ‘incase’ then maybe you could be so kind as to give me a shout and let me know your Skype name?

In the meantime I’ll wait and call Skype to see what’s what tomorrow or Monday to get this issue sorted but it does seem that the forum topic linked above is the only one that doesn’t have any ‘official’ responses on it. Maybe this issue will be a little tougher to sort… Hope not though. I shall report here if and how it gets resolved…

dancin’

Originally uploaded by Pete Barr-Watson.

At the Nica awards party 2001… Heady times :!

Two guys hacked into Oxford University’s computer (the article doesn’t say what college they’re from), reported their findings publicly and as a result they’ve both been handed down some fairly severe suspensions.

Why didn’t they report the issue internally first? I don’t know, but I can guess it’s because no-one would have done anything anyway – if they were understood, that is… The UK doesn’t have a great record of IT knowledge within education. And, they’re Oxford students! Do you really expect them to not do something like this!?

Maybe the computer security should have been sorted in the first place. Then this wouldn’t have happened. Too many times I talk to IT managers in large corporations and hear stories of low budgets, lack of understanding in the higher management and having no real effect on IT spend until, that is, it’s too late and something comes along and bites the company in the arse. Wake up people, this is the 21st century and IT invariably is at the heart of your business…

Anyway, I think every university student should now make it their business to try and hack their uni’s systems – power to the people and all that…

Link: BBC NEWS | Education | Oxford pair suspended for hacking

The Littlest Prisoner at Abu Ghraib & “Shoe Bomber” Richard Reid:

2004′s Scariest Halloween Costumes

Seen on Boing Boing

I’ve been messing with the Last.FM site for the past few days. I really like the friends network idea presented like this – it’s different from the usual ‘are you my friend’ offering and shows you ‘neighbours’ based on musical preferences. The personal radio thing is also really cool. It’s crying out for an alternate Flash front end though…

Legendary radio DJ John Peel dies

John Peel had one of the driest wits I’ve ever come across. His radio programming was of the highest quality and second to none. One of the most memorable things I remember seeing was a tv documentary he made after the fall of the Berlin Wall when he went to East Berlin and met with people he’d known only from writing before. He showed just how oppressed the people had been and uncovered a tragic story of humanity surviving despite the cost.

A great broadcaster.

Inspired by a piece in this months Outside magazine about the coolest things to do in various US cities, here’s a list of 5 cool and exciting things you could try in Brighton this winter:

1. Rent a surfboard from Small Planet Surf Shop and check out the waves near Hotpipes. It might not be the world’s greatest break, but if there’s been a heavy low in the Atlantic then we do get some nice sets a day or so afterwards. I spent the summer of 2003 there almost everyday and it’s great fun for beginners and experienced surfers. There is a cafe nearby (about 200m away) called Carrots and they serve all you’d expect in the way of food and drink. Watch out for the car clampers though, make sure you park in the cafe car park and not on the road.
2. Get a mountain bike and ride the South Downs. Second only to the hills of Marin County (ok, maybe not), the South Downs offer an amazing array of tracks and paths that you can ride. From fast paced technical singletrack through woodlands to fast, wide bridleway descents to long, slow uphill sections, we have it all on the edge of town. It’s easily possible to ride for an entire day offroad stopping for breaks at tearooms and pubs. Grab hold of the OS map of the region and just go for it.
3. Hire some in-line skates and take a slow trawl along the seafront from Brighton Marina to Hove Lagoon (a fair number of miles) and catch the two piers, the nudist beach, numerous bars/cafes, arcades, hippy stalls, artists arches, merry-go-round, restaurants, skate bowl, Hove Lawns, tennis courts, pitch ‘n’ putt and Hove Lagoon to mention just a little bit of what you’ll see. There is a smooth path that runs the whole length and you don’t have to cross traffic or anything like that – although watching out for pedestrians is a skill you’ll soon learn… You can hire skates from Oddball’s in Kensington Gardens (during the ‘season’ they have a place right at the end of the West Pier too).
4. Get brave, get free. Head for the eastern end of Brighton beach, just near the Marina, to the officially sanctioned nudist beach, strip your clothes off and head into the sea for a ‘refreshing’ skinny dip. Feel the freedom that comes from running (ok, hobbling over the pebbles) naked in plain view of the world and jumping around in the English Channel for a few minutes (read: seconds). Alternatively, there is a second nudist beach on the seaward side of Shoreham Harbour if you’re more into the ‘lifestyle’, it tends to be frequented by hardcore naturists rather than the usual gay or curious people at the Marina beach, so take your pick and feel a kind of rare freedom for a few minutes… Or until you come back to your senses!
5. If mountain biking the South Downs isn’t for you, then maybe you should head for the sky to take it all in… Paragliding across the downs on a tandem rig is probably one of the most exhilarating experiences out there. The take-off point is just outside of Brighton and is easily reached by car or train and remember to take your camera ‘cos the views will be amazing. Alternatively you could sign up for lessons and learn to fly your own rig instead – a lot of my serious mountaineering friends swear by it and there are so many places you can fly in the world if you have the relevant licenses. Just think, learn here – fly in in the Chamonix Alps

If you try any of these be sure to send pictures/reviews, and maybe I’ll see you out in on the paths/trails/sea

wtf!?

seen on cafeflaneur

Ben’s Panda

Originally uploaded by Pete Barr-Watson.

This was a present I brought back from my last trip to Japan for Ben – who’s house we were at for a fondue on Saturday night (how 70′s is that!).

So, I took some pictures of his Panda with his EOS 300d, and he sent me a couple of them this morning. The picture was taken in low light, whilst the camera was balanced on something (can’t remember what though…) and although the composition could have been improved at least it isn’t all shaky…

Pandaz rule.

Pip ‘n’ Nete

Originally uploaded by Pete Barr-Watson.

In the garden during summer…