I used the del.icio.us Complete extension to assist me in posting to del.icio.us. I could right-click a page, choose “Post this to del.icio.us” and a handy dialog came up, prepopulated with the URL, title, and description (populated from whatever text was selected on the page at the time). This was perfect for my needs.
Since upgrading to Firefox 3.0, it seems that the only compatible extensions are the ones that “integrate” your bookmarks in an intrusive fashion. I don’t want integration. I want the exact opposite. I want total disintegration. So I’ve gone back to using bookmarklets.
I basically use del.icio.us for two things. Firstly, I use it as a todo list. I post links with the “do not share this” flag set, and tagged “todo”, so that I can look at them later. This is the bookmarklet that I now use for this task:
I got it here. It’s not perfect though. It doesn’t seem to work the first time you use it in a session. I guess this is related to the fact that it uses https. It also pops up an alert at the end that says “OK, tagged as todo” whether it actually succeeded or not. I tried removing this alert, and the bookmarklet stopped working. Can’t fathom why.
On to the second bookmarklet:
This one is much more straightforward. It just opens a window containing a small “post” dialog, prepopulated in the same way as the old del.icio.us Complete extension. It doesn’t use https, so it never asks me for my login details. The window closes when you post it.
I just thought that I’d post these bookmarklets here, partly for my own reference, and maybe because someone else might find them useful at some point.
In the churchyard near our house.
*Thanks to Graybo for correcting my earlier misidentification of this plant as an azalea.*
This may sound hideously inappropriate, but Bernard loves to watch me play GTA:San Andreas. People who haven’t actually played the game will probably be considering calling social services on me right now, but anyone who has actually played it will appreciate that it’s possible to show your child the delights of the exquisitely-crafted San Andreas archipelago without exposing them to any malign influences. I’ve long since finished the storyline missions, so we just commandeer vehicles and drive them around the place.
Bernard’s favourite bit is the bridges. He likes it when I jump in a boat ((we usually pick up the Jetmax from just south of Rockshore West in Las Venturas, or west of City Hall in San Fierro)) and drive it under bridges. “More bridges! More bridges!” he cries. He also likes it when I get in a plane and fly it underneath bridges. “More bridges! More bridges!” I turn around and fly under them again.
It got me thinking – what would need to go into a GTA:San Andreas mod to turn it into an exploration-centric game, suitable for all ages?
1. Remove all weapons and combat from the game. Obviously. Gangs and police can stay, but they’d need to be much more amiable.
2. Make the strip clubs unenterable.
3. Don’t allow the player to steal an occupied car. They should only be able to enter a parked car. There would need to be a few more parked cars dotted around the map, to compensate. I’d also propose the standard blue arrow above any enterable vehicles, to distinguish them.
4. When you crash into someone else’s car, they should express their displeasure in a slightly more sophisticated fashion. All NPC dialogue would need to be checked.
5. Get rid of almost all of the storyline missions. Most of the side-missions can stay (notable exception being “Pimping”, of course). There should be a new storyline, containing missions that involve things like “get the cuddly rabbit to the little boy before his train departs”.
6. Prostitutes and drug dealers should no longer proposition you.
7. Pedestrians jump out of the way before you drive into them (a la *Driver*).
Anything that you think I might have missed?
> The home secretary has said cannabis is to be reclassified as a class B drug.
Obviously this won’t improve anything at all. But what most caught my eye is the handy table at the bottom of the article, reproduced here for your perusal (content unchanged but HTML vastly improved):
| Drug class | Type of drug | Possession | Dealing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A | Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms, amphetamines (if prepared for injection). | Up to seven years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. | Up to life in prison or an unlimited fine or both. |
| Class B | Amphetamines, Methylphenidate (Ritalin), Pholcodine. | Up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. | Up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. |
| Class C | Cannabis, tranquilisers, some painkillers, Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Ketamine. | Up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. | Up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine or both. |
(I wonder why they used words (seven, five, two) in the third column and numerals in the fourth)
In the interests of making the punishment proportional to the severity of the crime, here’s my proposal for new drug laws. Does anyone have a problem with this? If anything, I think they might still be a little on the harsh side.
| Drug class | Possession | Dealing |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | Confiscation | Up to 10 years in prison or an unlimited fine. |
| Class B | Confiscation | Up to 7 years in prison or an unlimited fine. |
| Class C | Confiscation | Up to 5 years in prison or an unlimited fine. |
Disclaimer: I don’t do any of the above drugs.
In the years since University, my exposure to alcohol has steadily dropped… and dropped… and dropped. A part of me wishes that I’d logged my units, because it would be interesting to see exactly how much I am drinking compared to back then. Is it half as much? A fifth? A tenth?
Either way, it shows. On Wednesday night I drank about four pints of Abbot Ale (5%). My wife tells me that I was noticeably drunk from the moment that I staggered through the front door. I had quite a hangover in the morning, and couldn’t stand up for more than a few minute without feeling queasy. Fortunately, once I had done the whole coffee, toast, shower, brush teeth routine, things started picking up quickly.
If only the younger me could see me now. “What happened to you, old man?” he’d say. “Four pints? You shouldn’t be having a hangover after four pints!”
The way I see it, I have the following options:
1. Drink more beer. Get my tolerance back up.
2. Drink less beer. Limit myself to two or three pints a night, either by alternating with non-alcoholic drinks, or drinking slower.
3. Keep getting hangovers on those rare occasions (once a month, ish) when I go out.