http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk A brief look at my life Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:47:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Has anyone else noticed that spammers seem to have adopted a new tactic recently? Rather than obsfusticating the subject line to get it past filters, using random characters, or pulling text from books, it seems that spammers are instead resorting to fake headlines. I have recently recieved spam warning of ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2008/07/17/a-new-kind-of-spam/ Oh dear, and to be frank this post isn't going to make things any better. I was playing arround on the website Wordle, which generates a tag cloud from any text. I ran my blog through the program, and company names seem to dominate somewhat. I'm not quite sure how ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2008/07/12/i-am-a-corporate-whre/ I pre-ordered Mass Effect PC from Amazon, and it was dispatched late Thursday, first class, by Royal Mail. I was a bit leery, as an item had gone missing earlier in the month but my experience has been generally problem free. Our letterbox is too small for even packaged DVDs, ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2008/06/11/thieveses-takes-our-precious-post/ My last blog entry briefly mentioned the game Dwarf Fortress, and as promissed I thought I'd go in to a bit more detail. Dwarf Fortress is a freeware indie game, that comes in at just 5.3 MB, that's just 37 centipeggles for those familiar with Rock, Paper, Shotgun. However inside this ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2008/05/19/delving-greedily-and-deeply/ I recently upgrade my computer, and yet since then I have been almost entirely addicted to the ASCII game Dwarf Fortress. My 8800GT weeps with boredom, yet my processor still seems to get a fair work out due to the sheer ammount of detail involved. I'll speak more on the ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2008/05/04/a-little-slice-of-fortress-life/ Inspired by a messageboard meme: Wallet: * University ID Card (in Date) * University ID Card (Expired) * Work Access Card (Disintergrated) * Work Access Card (Intact) * Misc Student Discount card (Never Used, probably expired) * Virgin Student Card (Always forget to use. Probably expired as Virgin are now Zavvi) * Buisness Card for StarHotels Florence (18 ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2008/04/25/what-do-i-have-in-my/ Arthur C. Clarke provided one of my first forays into science fiction, although I forget which book I read first. However, I do not forget the books themselves. My favourite Clarke novel was, "The City and The Stars," a story about Alvin, the first human 'born' in the last city on ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2008/03/18/arthur-c-clarke-16-december-1917-19-march-2008/ For ages I was hovering midway down Google for searches for James Glover both in quotes and out. But today I'm at the top of the first page, and am also in second position. I don't know how long this will last, as I've been here once or twice before, ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2008/01/24/james-glover-no1/ Last night I was due to meet some friends in the Smoking Dog in Malmesbury. Unfortunately my usual lifts were unavailable, but I managed to blag a lift from my Dad. (I can't drive, so couldn't have driven myself) However about 1/4 pint in to the evening I received a ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2007/12/25/christmas-crashes/ The resignation of Sir Menzies Campbell has been inevitable for some time now, given the Lib Dem's recent poll performance. While as the Britain's third party the Lib Dems have always attracted a smaller share of the media coverage, under Ming Campbell this presence has all but disappeared. This hasn't ... http://blog.jaspsplace.co.uk/2007/10/15/ming-campbell-resigns/