Visit to Thorpe Park

Went to Thorpe Park today and it was great. I tweeted and twitpic'ed throughout the day, posted here for prosperity.

We planned our trip ahead of time:

-- "Off to Thorpe Park for the day. Have advanced booking, hope to be one of the first in the park, going straight to Saw!"

When we got there, we had to queue for our tickets (booked and paid for in advance), then had to join the regular queue to get in. No separate line, no VIP treatment:

-- "Might not be first in... #thorpepark http://twitpic.com/397ub"

-- "Having queued for advanced tickets, am now back out in the car park queueing for the entrance... http://twitpic.com/39834"

Once in we headed straight for Saw, and watched the engineers test Colossus:

-- "First test ride of Colossus #thorpepark http://twitpic.com/398gg"

Saw didn't open until 10am:

-- "Saw now open. Have been in the queue about 20 mins, and just been told it'll be 1h45m till we're on! #thorpepark. http://twitpic.com/398o8"

1h15m later and:

-- "Just off Saw. The beginning was better than the big drop, nice surprise. #thorpepark"

Things went downhill from there though, as we found out:

-- "Argh! Stealth isn't running, that was the ride I was looking forward to the most. Queueing for No Way Out now with fast track. #thorpepark"

A short while later:

-- "X:\ No Way Out a bit disappointing, Tidal Wave next. Looks broken down though. #thorpepark http://twitpic.com/39aln

We dumped our bags and pockets into a locker (£1 non-refundable) ready for the Tidal Wave, and didn't make it back until we'd done most of the other big rides:

-- "Still loving Thorpe Park. Tidal Wave: done. Rush: done. Colossus: done. Nemesis: done. Fast Track ticket worth every penny. #thorpepark"

Yes, the £9 Fast Track ticket probably saved us 7 hours of queueing. By the time we'd done those rides it was time for some lunch, and when we were done the Accelerator Fast Track was sold out for the day. Not that it mattered so much:

-- "Slammer out of order #thorpepark http://twitpic.com/39gjv"

Without the Fast Track to 'queue jump', things were a lot slower:

-- "Vortex at Thorpe Park. #thorpepark Queues gone mad now, 4 hours for Saw, 2h30m for Nemesis, 2h for Colossus. http://twitpic.com/39hy1"

While we were queueing for Vortex we saw Stealth was back up and running. Maybe things were looking up again after all? We went over there at 5:15pm only to find:

-- "Thorpe Park update: Stealth is running again after a motor issue. Queue time: 3 hours! (Park closes at 7pm) #thorpepark"

Some you win, some you lose.

-- "Bailed on queueing for Stealth, gutted we missed it. #thorpepark Home now, time for dinner and some relaxing in front of the TV. #reddwarf?"

A few additional photos:

-- "http://twitpic.com/3aasn - Saw at Thorpe Park"

-- "http://twitpic.com/3aawi - Saw at Thorpe Park"

-- "http://twitpic.com/3aawr - Stealth at Thorpe Park"

-- "http://twitpic.com/3aay3 - Stealth at Thorpe Park"

Overall, a good time had by all, definitely recommended.

Ministers 'using fear of terror'

Ministers 'using fear of terror': "A former head of MI5 has accused the government of exploiting the fear of terrorism and trying to bring in laws that restrict civil liberties."

How Do I Get People To Follow Me On Twitter?

It started off with Jonathan Ross talking to Stephen Fry about it on his show, and suddenly every man, woman and child in the UK is using Twitter.*

Since then, celebs like Phillip Schofield, Andi Peters and Chris Moyles have joined the party, broadcasting their Twitter names on TV and radio so people can 'follow' them.

The whole country is on Twitter now, following these celebs and asking "Now what? Is there more to Twitter than stalking Schofe?" Well yes there is, but unless people are following you it's unlikely you'll see the benefit. How do you remedy this situation? How do you get people to follow you on Twitter? Here's my three-step guide to getting followers on Twitter:

1. Be interesting.
Twitter was designed to let you answer the question, "What are you doing now?", but does anybody care? Nobody wants to know what you had for breakfast. Instead, read it as "What are you thinking about now?", and share your insightful thoughts, links to interesting stories or even ask questions of others. What would you like to read? Give the same back. Once you've written or shared something worth reading you can move on to the next step.

2. Find people with common interests.
Somewhere out there in Twitterland there is somebody who shares an interest with you. Whether it's online stalking of one of the aforementioned celebrities, or more benign hobbies like trading knitting patterns or sky diving. Maybe you both live in the same town, or support the same football team. Whatever your reason for wanting to connect, use the power of Twitter Search to find them. Simply visit https://search.twitter.com/ and type in something you're interested in. You'll get a list of recent Tweets mentioning that phrase and can see who is talking about that. Try following some of those people and, if your Tweets are interesting (which they are because you completed step 1 above), maybe they will follow you back.

3. Join in the conversation.
Hey, it's just like real life - you talk to people and they talk back. To reply to someone on Twitter just start your message with an @ sign and their username at the start of your Tweet (e.g. "@Schofe That's my hedge!") and they will be able to see it in their Replies tab. If you're funny and/or interesting they may reply back to you and may even follow you. Just remember that most people also have a life outside Twitter and might not be at their computer 24 hours a day waiting for your next Tweet. Their reply might take a while to arrive, so keep an eye on your Replies tab. Also, try using the search feature to look out for your username in case they don't reply with the @ sign or don't put it at the start of the message.


With these three simple steps you should be well on your way to making friends on Twitter. If you like this site, follow me (@surferbill).


*Footnote: In case you've been living under a non-social networking enabled rock for the past year (or two), Twitter is a microblogging platform where people share what they are doing (or their latest insightful thoughts) by 'Tweeting' each other with messages of 140 characters or less ('Tweets').

One For The UNIX Geeks

At 23:31:30 GMT on Friday, February 13th 2009, UNIX Epoch time will be 1234567890. :)

Jonathan Ross is back on TV and is the talk of the town (well, Twitter)

Watched Jonathan Ross tonight with Stephen Fry, and they talked briefly about Twitter. The Twitterverse was watching intensely and of course, Twittered about it the whole evening...

My First 24 Hours As An iPhone Owner

I've had my Nokia 6230 phone since the beginning of time (or at least that's how it feels) and vowed to replace it this year. I spent several months last year coming up with my needs and wants, investigating alternatives, waiting for the G1 to come out and generally being in a state of analysis paralysis. After much to-ing and fro-ing, I bought the iPhone this week.

I went with the 8GB black version. I already have an iPod (60GB) and even 16GB doesn't come close to meeting my needs. Oh, and I don't want a flat battery after 8 hours of listening/day.

Let's start with the good bits first:

• It looks damn cool.
• It's so easy to use.
• I get that feeling of nostalgia when I look at it and think of my Apple Newton. ;)
• I like the look of the text message system and how it's like chat.
• I am amazed at how cool some of the apps are (iTunes Remote, Midomi) and how many good free ones there are.
• Proper mobile web browsing.
• Wifi and 3G. Surf wherever whenever.
• GPS geotags your photos, finds you on Google Maps, etc.
• Everything syncs up perfectly (so far). Just wish the calendar would link up with Google Calendar. But who needs an app when you have a fully featured (well, almost) web browser.

Unfortunately:

• O2 haven't finished porting my number across yet, so I still can't text.
• I haven't got round to digging out my email passwords and setting that up, so no comment on email yet.
• What I've typed so far (mainly in apps) has been a bit error prone due to the lack of tactile feedback.
• The camera isn't very impressive, I swear the 2MP looks as crappy as the 1.3MP on my Nokia phone. Don't think I'll get much use out of that.
• I wish there was an easy way of adding bookmarklets to Safari too (you can't drag a link to the Favourites button to add).

Overall I'm pretty impressed. There are a few things that need improvement but on the whole, I'm not ready to send it back. :)

So far I've installed the following apps:

• Facebook
• Twitterific
• FriendFeed
• Google Mobile
• Google Earth
• Midomi
• Shazam
• Sudoku
• MMS
• WiFinder
• Remote
• Torch

Let me know what (preferably free) apps I'm missing that you can't live without.

How to remove your DNA records from police databases

A European Court has decided that the retention of the DNA of innocent people is illegal, so what do you have to do to have your information deleted?

The Register has all the information you need on how to remove your DNA records from police databases.

Time Management: The Best of GTD and DIT

Whakate.com has a great article comparing David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) and Mark Forster’s Do It Tomorrow (DIT), probably the two most popular time management systems around today.

Buy Mark Forster’s Do It Tomorrow book.

Buy David Allen’s Getting Things Done book.

The author describes the core features of each methodology, compares the two and makes recommendations on which might be best suited to you.

I use a combination of both, taking advantage of the collection and organisation pieces of GTD with the action methodology of DIT. I've been using this since October and it's working out for me well so far!

Googling Security, by Greg Conti

This sounds like a good book: Googling Security, by Greg Conti.

"When you use Google’s “free” services, you pay, big time–with personal information about yourself. Google is making a fortune on what it knows about you... and you may be shocked by just how much Google does know. Googling Security is the first book to reveal how Google’s vast information stockpiles could be used against you or your business–and what you can do to protect yourself."

Read more on Boing Boing or the review on Slashdot.

Goodbye Pownce, Hello Six Apart

"In these troubled times", Pownce is trounced by Vox. That's one I'll have to take off my daily read list. :-(

The Matrix Runs on Windows

The Matrix Runs on Windows - CollegeHumor video.

Pretty good for a bunch of people who can't spell humour. ;)

Jim Dale reads Harry Potter

Jim Dale reads Harry Potter at Barnes & Noble.

Rickrolling turns Rick Astley into an improbable 'best act ever'

"It was not quite the expected result given that U2, Britney Spears and even the Beatles were in contention. But in what will serve as a cautionary tale for the music world of the dangers in soliciting the public vote, Rick Astley, the 1980s crooner, last night was awarded the title of best act ever at the MTV Europe Music Awards."

Have you ever forgotten to include a subject in an important email message?

Have you ever forgotten to include a subject in an important email message?

You can setup Outlook to prompt you to enter a subject before sending an email message. The steps are simple and can be completed in only a few minutes. Follow these simple steps to create the reminder:

1. Open Microsoft Outlook.
2. Press Alt+F11. This will open a Microsoft Visual Basic Window. In the left hand panel, you will see a folder called ‘Project1’. Expand the folder by clicking on the plus sign.
3. After expanding the Project1 folder, you will see a folder called "Microsoft Outlook Objects", expand this folder by clicking on the plus sign.
4. Now you will see "ThisOutLookSession". Double click on "ThisOutLookSession" and the code editor window will open.
5. Copy and paste the following code in the code editor window.

Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)
Dim strSubject As String
strSubject = Item.Subject
If Len(Trim(strSubject)) = 0 Then
Prompt$ = "Subject is Empty. Are you sure you want to send the Mail?"
If MsgBox(Prompt$, vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbMsgBoxSetForeground, "Check for Subject") = vbNo Then
Cancel = True
End If
End If
End Sub

6. Select ‘File’ and then ‘Save’, and close the Microsoft Visual Basic Window to return to Microsoft Outlook. Now, if you try to send an email without a subject, you will get a prompt reminding you to enter a subject.

To remove the reminder, from Microsoft Outlook, press Alt+F11. In the code editor, select and delete the code you entered for “ThisOutlookSession”. Select ‘File’ and ‘Save’, and close the Microsoft Visual Basic Window.

Advertising FUBAR of the year

HP pays Gary Glitter £100,000 to use his track Do You Wanna Touch Me.

Someone at the ad agency should be given a sound kicking for this, and HP needs to add another step to the ad review process.