Firefox - the new IE?

Firefox has been my Browser of choice since the Zulu wars.  The latest incarnation of this steadily more bloated beastie got me in a tizzie - TABS on TOP, no status bar - and a speedy PC with gigazillions of RAM reporting to me daily that my Browser was hogging memory.

Shame.  In the early days you flew Firefox with goggles, a coat-hanger stuffed into your scarf (to make it look like the wind was blowing it backward) and enormous leather gauntlets - you were on the edge, buddy - the cutting edge . . . . wind in your hair, spinach in your teeth . . . . . . fantastic.

Fast forward to 2012 and our browser-blade is less sharp, a little 'corporate, perhaps.

Enter Pale Moon.

I've been testing this (Mozilla based) browsing babe for couple of weeks and it is lean, fast, VERY stable and well worth the time to test it out for yourself.

Sporting ALL of Firefox's goodies, and NONE of its recently silliness (you can import EVERYTHING into this browser, including your settings, personnas, themes, add-ons) this one looks set to really go.  Read some of the supporting documents and you're back in the land of 'reasonable' rather than 'so damned modern I'm actually not enjoying this anymore ......'  Or, worse still, 'change - just for the sake of it'.

Let's hope not TOO many people find out, I was enjoying those leather gauntlets.

PALE MOON (link)

Exercise, five-a-day, and all that . . .

 

The BBC's Horizon (28 Feb 2012) seemed to confirm for me what I'd always suspected - at least for me  (minimal times, hi-value exercise seems to do as much 'good' as any amount of puffing and preening at the 48 million Gyms this country appears to have).

We're lucky here in Dorset, it seems unthinkable to use a walking-machine, indoors, in a Gym - having driven there, and paid monthly to walk.  With over 7 miles of beach it all seems a bit silly.

S'Funny, we have more Gyms than ever in the UK, and more Obesity than ever.  I suppose it is more likely that we do have more toned, muscled inhabitants than we ever used to, but to be fair - how much of this is a product of a Body Concious mentality - rather then fitness for Health?

In the same way, I know in my heart we're probably not too far away from the results of some 'Study' - and we'll be informed (or more possibly, we won't) that - well, actually, five-a-day is a bit wierd . . . hardly necessary, and . . . well, the proof was never really there.

Now, where did I leave those Barbells?

Razzle Dazzle

Ahh . . . the days are lengthening, and in a month we'll be looking forward to changing the clocks (I fancy a nice blue one). It means, also, that to-and-from work won't include countless blindings from the new(ish) dazzling HID headlamps or distracted by those lovely patterns of LEDs adorning a few older cars ("Hey! Look at me - just like an Audi eh?") 

 Lessened also, with luck, the occasions you've needed to put your hand up to shield the glare from being sat behind a vehicle at traffic-lights with all tail lights, stop lights, indicator - blazing away to no-one in particular.

I've often mused about this, you really need to drive around in the evening with a dipped mirror half the time, but more interestingly - why does anyone use headlights at all in a well-lit town?  To 'see and be seen' is self-defeating isn't it?  If you cannot see a car, with sidelights, or a cyclist (without hi-vis) in a well-lit town, then just stop driving, please.  And 'to see' is just plain ridiculous, the mixture of numerous over-bright light sources, weird traffic and road markings and clutter of signage, 'street furniture' etc all make for far less safety, never more.

Ooops . . .

 

OK, I got a few comments that my MP3 didn't always work (Hardy on Redknapp)

So.  Do this if it doesn't work.

FIREFOX -  right-click words, chose 'Save Link As' navigate to desktop, SAVE or OK - from there you can double-click and Bob's yer thingumy.

INTERNET EXPLORER - right-click words, chose 'Save Target As' navigate to desktop, SAVE or OK - from there you can double-click and Bob is still yer thingumy.

Jeremy Hardy on Harry Redknapp

Picture:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/sportheadlines/9076607/Harry-Redknapp-the-wisest-fool-in-Tottenham.html

I know very, very little about football - and I suppose in a way I'm proud of this fact.

Saturday lunchtime (11th Feb), however, cruising through the sub-zero stuff back home from shopping in Winton (you really need to know all this don't you?) I caught Radio 4's 'News Quiz' in the car.

Now if you read me, then you know I cannot stomach Sandy Toksvig.  Her voice is the ONLY time I'll switch-off radio4, which has to tell you something - if only that I've discovered where the on/off button is.

But Jeremy Hardy had me laughing out loud in the car, alone.  Always a good sign, you feel better don't you?

I downloaded the podcast, twiddled with it in Audacity (extremely brilliant FREE audio editor  <<HERE>> (just to get rid of . . . . oh, all right, I edited-out Sandy's infuriating interruption) ) squeezed here, trimmed there, and saved the new shortened version as an MP3 - JUST FOR YOU!    Have a Listen - just click these words!

Who's Kidding Who?

This week's TV Ad's seem to point toward a new idea amongst some businesses.

The idea is 'kick 'em while they're down' (by 'down' I mean - in a recession).  What you do is: you keep telling everyone something is a bargain, regardless of the truth, and magically - it becomes a bargain!  Latest gems on the small screen - DOMINO'S - any Pizza for £9.99, and SUBWAY - a big filled roll and drink for £3.00.

Astonishing isn't it?  How can ANY Pizza actually be WORTH ten pounds?   Or a filled roll worth three pounds?  (forget the drink bit, it's in a cup from a giant barrel - about 3 pence worth).

Watch out for this sort of marketing - it's on the increase.

Flirt!

German Lemonade brand