Thank goodness: this year’s Christmas Number One is a product neither of Pop Idol nor Fame Academy: Little known US singer Gary Jules has clinched the Christmas number one with his cover version of Tears For Fears’ 1982 hit Mad World. — http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3302887.stm What’s even more refreshing is that it’s a "real" song (albeit a cover), rather than a cheesy "comedy" outing (think Mr. Blobby or Kim Wilde with Smith & Jones). Read more...

I’m in the process of installing Panther (OS X 10.3) on the iMac DV+ sat next to my desk, which is used for cross-platform testing. It used to run OS 9.1, and wasn’t actually used that much. Due to its Unix underpinnings, OS X should make it a more useful machine, as my place of work is a pretty-much exclusively Linux shop. I have chosen to install X11, so I’ll be able to open gvim (my editor of choice) from a server, and have it display on the iMac. Read more...

So I’m ill. Well, I’m on the mend, anyway. The doctor has signed me off until Monday and I do actually feel better today, for the first time in a few days (I thought I was getting over it last Sunday, but then The Cough hit). So, Kathy helpfully suggested things I might like to do this afternoon. They were (IIRC): Wrap Christmas presents Write Christmas cards Buy Christmas presents for Kathy The third option sounded like the most entertaining, so that’s what I did. Read more...

My apologies to the regular readers of this weblog: I have been ill for the past week with a viral infection, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Fujian-strain ‘Flu. I had a variety of symptoms of headache, sore throat, ears hurting when swallowing, until I settled on an annoying tickly cough, which I’ve had since Sunday. It, too, is now in decline, for which I am very grateful. Read more...

Oh no. Just when things have got onto a fairly even keel at Southampton, rather than the annual relegation dogfight, along come—let’s face it, struggling—Leeds, wanting to poach our manager! I know Strachan used to play for Leeds, but he’s managed Saints so well since his arrival that it would be madness for him to leave for the Premiership’s bottom club. Wouldn’t it? Maybe he feels he’s done all he can, and that he needs a new challenge. Read more...

I was recently faced with the prospect of LIFT Text Transcoder being considered for use where I work. Having seen what this new accessibility software from UsableNet can do does, and the cost, I had my reservations. Not being sure, I got in touch with Jeffrey Zeldman, who wrote about it on Tuesday, 18th November. Jeffrey copied Joe Clark in on his reply, which is a good move, as Joe is an access expert and author of Building Accessible Websites. Read more...

Scot Hacker posed the question: “What was your first album?” As Scot’s comment system seems to be fubar, I thought I’d post here instead. Due to older-sibling-influence, the first album I bought (on cassette) was Graceland by Paul Simon. Quite a mature choice for a ten-year-old, followed, due to other-older-sibling-influence, by So by Peter Gabriel a few months later. Quite a mature choice for an eleven-year-old… It all went downhill later, when I joined Britannia Music Club, and I purchased Electric Youth by Debbie Gibson. Read more...

Yesterday was a Big Day for Ella and Nina—they got to go outside without a leash for the first time, aided and abetted by the cat-flap (useless fact: it’s Katzenklappe in German) fitted by Kathy’s Dad, Clive (muchas gracias, Clive!). What I want to do next is butter their paws, to test the theory that this will encourage them to always come home. This is alleged to be an Old Wives’ Tale, but a colleague of mine, who used to be a chemist, tells me that there is sound scientific basis for this practice. Read more...

Kathy and I chopped up the tomato and runner-bean plants yesterday evening, just as it was getting dark. As it was a very clear day, it also got very cold. As it was cold, and I wasn’t wearing gloves, my hands got cold. As my hands got cold, they shrank slightly. As my wedding ring isn’t a particularly tight fit, it fell into the compost heap when I was pushing the plants down into it. Read more...

Having come across ThankYouTony.com, which is full of fawning by Americans, I thought I’d post, pretending to be "Dwight Yorke" from Mobile, Alabama: “Dear Tony, I would like to thank you for revealing the true face of New Labour during the recent conflict. Thank you for proving that politicians are lying, two-faced deceivers who do not care about the will of the people, and who would rather listen to the opinion of the president of a completely different country, who should not even be in office. Read more...