tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34990702012-01-20T19:21:39.531ZYeah, er.... stuff.Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.comBlogger2631100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-84745425037391112692012-01-20T19:21:00.001Z2012-01-20T19:21:39.537Z

One of the interesting things about having children is the way that you see cultural artefacts coming out in their speech. One example is the word "pwned" or "pwnage" from the verb "to pwn". I've been aware of this for a while from the geeky world and then one of my children started using it. Just this evening I heard it on the News Quiz on Radio 4. Many years ago I first heard the word "

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-23393640501350512902012-01-02T10:24:00.000Z2012-01-02T10:24:10.116Z

I went to our local John Lewis a couple of days with a couple of the boys on our bikes. The bike rack is outside the staffroom and I could see the following written on the whiteboard: Hope more Chew more Breathe more Say more Love more The internets tell me this is half of a Swedish proverb: Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-22973391217922778232011-11-25T16:34:00.000Z2011-11-25T16:34:45.229Z

Various thoughts that rattle around in my head and in my draft posts list have coalesced as I've come across a new online magazine. (Did I manage to sidestep Rule 1? You judge.) I clearly remember the first time that the word content made me mentally shudder. I was listening to Scot Mills who was doing a prank call to some of his colleagues in BBC Radio 1. The woman who answered the phone said

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-87776937150607239772011-09-28T19:34:00.000Z2011-11-25T13:43:28.362Z

We borrowed Kirby's Epic Yarn for Wii over half-term. It's a delightfully inventive game and I'd recommend it for children of all ages. It's quite forgiving, but that doesn't make it easy. One of the things that struck me was the variety of music on the soundtrack. Before I cover that though, some thoughts on computer games music generally. Because gaming doesn't occupy a high place in

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-8702028350590397612011-09-13T12:43:00.000Z2011-11-25T13:43:17.840Z

When I started riding a scooter 11 years ago I looked at a few scooter forums to see what people were talking about. Some of the people there looked down on those with "plastics" as they called the modern scooters that have become so popular. Then a bit later I got a motorbike and hung around on the Usenet group uk.rec.motorcycles. There everyone looks down on scooters, but the proper bikers

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-34098530173113958642011-09-13T10:10:00.001Z2011-11-25T13:43:06.720Z

My money tree photo got included in an article on thisiscolossal.com.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-61350765591807564182011-09-08T19:47:00.003Z2011-11-25T13:42:54.156Z

You can see some of my photos as part of the Utata Colour Story 2011. I chose a blue theme.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-89307114582922792572011-08-25T19:46:00.000Z2011-11-25T13:42:41.332Z

I was very impressed with these. Nearly every window box had flowers in it. Lots of people making an effort to keep things looking good, even to the tail end of August when gardens tend to look a bit tired and worn out. Click the picture to see a couple more shots.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-47106048398846000062011-08-10T20:06:00.001Z2011-11-25T13:42:32.928Z

Creepers on a wall, a photo by paulmorriss on Flickr. Third picture on my way to work.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-39208616224431973052011-08-09T12:56:00.001Z2011-11-25T13:42:22.990Z

Worn stone wall 1, a photo by paulmorriss on Flickr. Another picture taken on the way to work. For some reason I find the fact that these rows of bricks are worn away quite interesting. I've no idea what has worn them away.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-12442096367684395022011-08-03T13:01:00.001Z2011-11-25T13:42:06.675Z

No ghost vehicles, a photo by paulmorriss on Flickr. I've often passed this sign and though I ought to take a photo. Then I think "I'll do it another day". Over the next few weeks I'm trying to stop and take photos that day, rather than just leaving it.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-68097295662055004452011-07-22T12:56:00.000Z2011-07-22T12:56:04.828Z

(The lowercase e is mandatory.) Inspired by their nomination for the Mercury awards I thought I'd write the review of "Build a rocket boys" that's been rolling around in my head for a while now. Their previous album, Seldom Seen Kid, is currently my favourite album of all time, so this one had to do quite well to overtake that. It doesn't. However I'm glad I've got it. This one is to SSK as

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-64082983504121014532011-06-28T13:34:00.000Z2011-06-28T13:34:37.473Z

I heart The Guardian but it may be in trouble according to this piece on The Guardian burning platform. It's a very well written article, dragged down I feel by my comment with a smiley in it.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-60414575097413023902011-06-17T13:07:00.000Z2011-06-17T13:07:54.290Z

Regular readers of this blog will know that I post from time to time when my photos get used on other websites. I do this mostly as a way of noting it down somewhere, as well as because I find it slightly exciting. Google are rolling out a new reverse image search which is available for some people using the Chrome browser. If you go to images.google.com and there's a camera icon in the search

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-7929920989837905192011-06-10T12:45:00.000Z2011-06-10T12:45:07.445Z

We recently had a new boiler installed. I got a quote from British Gas, because they put a leaflet through our door every so often with an offer on it. I then did some "research" and www.boilerguide.co.uk came up near the top of the search listings for "boiler replacement". Their advice was to go for a local firm. "But how do I choose one?", I thought. A while later I came across an advert on

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-67401315731808644292011-05-16T13:00:00.000Z2011-05-16T13:00:07.138Z

When I set up this website last year I had a bit of a steampunk vibe because of the new Doctor Who series, which lives on in my lab. I thought about updating the blogs to have the same look, but I didn't. Then Tron came out and although I didn't go to see it I changed my Windows 7 desktop wallpaper to the one in the architecture set that was the Melbourne link gateway bridge at sunset as that

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-41490916811083080642011-04-05T13:10:00.000Z2011-04-05T13:10:38.247Z

We watched Back to the Future as a family at the weekend. It's one of my top ten films, so I was curious to see what the boys thought. They enjoyed it, and I enjoyed too another time, even though I know the plot well. Three things struck me: The mention of Libyan terrorists was strangely topical. George McFly - Marty's Dad - is a bit like the current Doctor Who. I don't know if Matt Smith has 

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-15183712449771508782011-04-04T12:58:00.000Z2011-04-04T12:58:20.710Z

Two vaguely related thoughts: In real life everything is dark until you add light. Photographers, whether still or motion picture, worry about light a lot because it makes such a difference to the picture(s) they are taking. With CGI making a pixel light or dark is just a number. Making light look like the real world is hard. It's easy to create a 3D image. It's hard to make the software light

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-17554329946219170562011-03-21T13:40:00.000Z2011-03-21T13:40:09.086Z

Actually "rant" is probably a bit strong. I'm mildly annoyed by TV programmes that use a wide variety of small snippets of music throughout. I much prefer the music to be used over and over again as Grand Designs and The Apprentice do. Sometimes they use pieces they haven't before, but they very much fit into the pattern of the regular music. In particular, the music they play when the

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-24926846786570466772011-03-17T13:58:00.000Z2011-03-17T13:58:02.248Z

I have eleven blog posts in draft waiting to be written. Here are the titles, what should I finish off and publish? Steampunk, Tron, Spring Timeshifted life rant on incidental music on tv How can people stop being at the mercy of discussion board hosters? Tell me the major stuff about science Songwriters - the unsung hero Perfection in the digital world What if children applied

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-79563087851673054052011-02-25T09:03:00.001Z2011-02-25T10:33:29.746Z

You know you're old when they make a programme about your childhood. I watched Micro Men on BBC4 last night, about the rivalry between Clive Sinclair and Chris Curry as they developed their home computers. Our school got a ZX80 and then a ZX81 and we got a Spectrum at home (Sinclair's machines). We also got a BBC computer (made by Curry's Acorn company) at our school. So these machines were part

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-91725316763430123392011-02-14T15:34:00.000Z2011-02-14T15:34:26.879Z

Because Russel Davies doesn't have comments on his blog I'm encouraged (I'm not saying forced) to write a blog entry rather than post a comment. Here's an idea that's relevant to his post on a second screen, that I would have put on backstage.bbc.co.uk (RIP): When watching recorded TV you can't watch the twitter stream unless someone came up with a website that would "record" tweets related to

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-33976463175468047022011-01-31T13:35:00.000Z2011-01-31T13:35:16.969Z

My dad got me into the habit of reading The Guardian newspaper as he subscribed when I was a child (though he's since moved to the Times). I've stopped reading it at lunchtimes these days so I've started listening to their podcasts. The Guardian is a bit like Sun used to be, before they were taken over by Oracle, in that they look at the way the internet is going and then start giving stuff away

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-29913652070280932302011-01-21T20:43:00.001Z2011-01-21T20:46:32.266Z

1280 by 1024 (end of geek joke) A bit late I know, but more useful if I tell you of progress too. I've really only had two. 1. Spend more time on Facebook. After slaving all day at a PC anything else PC related is a bit too much like work. However Facebook is handy for keeping in touch. I've cut down on some people I wasn't really that close to. So now I've got 139 of my closest buddies left.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-87555600115366236522011-01-14T14:06:00.000Z2011-01-14T14:06:39.437Z

My blog piece of neural implants was fiction of course. However last night I saw a Horizon programme which had a couple of things that came close. The first was a series of things (with a name I've forgotten) that are built into a helicopter pilot's harness that vibrate when he goes too high, or gets close to the ground. There's one near the belly button that shows you which direction you are

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-4471060962832631232011-01-03T10:13:00.000Z2011-01-05T10:34:03.329Z

A gadget magazine from the future fell through a wormhole in time and it made very interesting reading. Here's an article from it about neural implants: Neural implants are the latest essential gadget, but how do they work? Although they aren't the sort of thing you can get a demo of, we talked to a few of the early adopters to find out how they got on with them. The basic setup comes in two

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-5067842478498611882010-11-13T17:14:00.000Z2010-11-13T17:14:37.350Z

A while ago I was washing up and I got a bit of washing up liquid in my mouth. (I was eating the scraps off on of the plates I'm ashamed to say.) They put a substance called Bitrex in some washing up liquid, because the fragrances they add make some smell like food. It has no smell, but is incredibly bitter and the taste remained in my mouth for the rest of the evening. I happened to finish a

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-71362214140394140832010-10-24T14:22:00.002Z2010-10-24T14:26:16.010Z

I'm reading The Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexander McCall Smith (a great title), the fifth in the 44 Scotland Street series of novels. It was originally published in The Scotsman, each short chapter a day. I'm enjoying it immensely, more than the previous one, the first one in this series which I've read. I think it's partly because I'm more familiar with the characters, and also

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-50586483676368662532010-10-04T12:48:00.001Z2010-10-04T12:48:30.613Z

When I was at the University of York I had a show on University Radio York (aka URY). (This fact has earned me some cool points with my children.) I had two hours on a Saturday morning to fill. I found it quite hard to fill the show. If you wonder why, then try and think what it must be like to find 30 tracks you like, when you're only 20, and in the days before the Internet. One of the tricks

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-77191616260455753972010-09-21T12:46:00.000Z2010-09-21T12:46:01.697Z

Smell is the most powerful sense when it comes to evoking memories. (Feel free to dig out the research references for this statement.) On the way home this evening I smelt smoke and it brought back memories - all good ones. One of the oldest memories is of stubble fires. Kate Bush put it in the song Never Be Mine: The smell of burning fieldsWill now mean you and hereFor me it brings back

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-22662496497582636082010-09-06T12:49:00.000Z2010-09-07T14:32:38.316Z

You can spot them because they often carry two sheets of sticky labels. One is blank, to cover up spurious apostrophes that they find, such as at the greengrocer's stall at the market. The other contains apostrophes which are inserted where they are missing, often at banks: Barclay's, Lloyd's TSB, and supermarkets: Tesco's, Morrison's. However the world of guerilla pedants is a divided one.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-38797495001633162582010-08-18T12:54:00.001Z2010-08-19T07:58:08.801Z

I've been thinking about buying the domain paulmorriss.com and setting up a website for a while. I had a bit of money for my birthday that would cover it. I was hesitant though, because it was a bit like work, as well as being a bit fun too. What tipped me over the edge was when our old family page hosted by freeserve.co.uk, now Orange, got deleted because I hadn't dialled up in a while. Normally

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-73779997455370531952010-08-06T12:29:00.004Z2010-08-06T16:08:54.483Z

My todo list says "do nothing"I'm scheduling some spontaneityI'm diarising some dallyingI'm planning some pleasureMy time will be downMy outcomes are enjoymentMy KPIs are ice-creams and sandcastlesThe silicon will be on the beachThe chips will have salt and vinegar on them

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-42317062288937684702010-07-30T11:57:00.002Z2010-09-07T14:32:53.671Z

Roadside apple treesheds its fruit in front of carsvegetarian roadkillIt would be a proper haiku if I used the word "vegetable" in the last line, but I think "vegetarian" is better.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-4857306589637172032010-07-27T12:38:00.002Z2010-07-27T12:46:26.682Z

When I told someone I liked Terry Pratchett they said that they didn't like funny stories. That made me think. Although his books are sprinkled with humour, they aren't silly. He writes about a very well thought through and consistent universe, which happens to be a bit like ours and also a bit different. He writes about deep things, and has great plots. Yes, they are funny, but to call them

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-78633979140670431832010-07-21T12:36:00.002Z2010-07-21T12:45:36.710Z

So the nominations are out. I am pleased to see I Am Kloot in there. I first heard them on the Radio 2 evening show a few weeks ago. Northern Lights sounded like an old song from the 60s, but also quite fresh. I didn't remember the name of the band, but a mention of the fact that they were something to do with Elbow, maybe produced by Guy Garvey helped me track them down later. I never bother

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-85801794865667794072010-05-21T12:50:00.002Z2010-05-28T19:06:44.134Z

I'm not sure if anyone's particularly interested in sites that use my photos without permission, however this is a good a place to store them as any.http://www.mint.com/blog/investing/5-things-to-consider-when-investing-in-green/ uses http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmorriss/4528191886/.Update: They say "We actually view the blog as a “non-commercial” initiative – it’s a personal-finance advice/

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-4712216767756567632010-05-14T08:21:00.002Z2010-05-14T08:21:55.902Z

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-46853560608212379792010-04-28T12:57:00.003Z2010-04-28T13:01:36.744Z

A while back I was looking for a website to park the list of ISBNs I'd got from the Bucks County Council website; the list being the books I'd borrowed over the previous couple of years. (It wasn't easy to get that list, however with a bit of screen scraping I managed.)The websites I found seemed to be orientated towards keeping lists of books you owned, whereas I wanted to concentrate on books

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-52347576859394973562010-04-15T12:51:00.004Z2010-06-07T10:50:41.270Z

For the programme Virtual Revolution. I couldn't have done it without a team of people. Seriously, I couldn't have, as I actually didn't do very much. However they could have done it without me. As the programme was put together in public on the Digital Revolution (working title) blog I made some comments, so I consider myself as having been involved in it.Other posts on the programme:How I'd do

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-9256249934974881842010-01-21T13:42:00.003Z2010-01-21T13:48:44.904Z

We have Wii Music and Lego Rock Band for Wii in our house now. They are both good ways of lowering the entry barrier to music. What do I mean by that?I've seen an attitude with music that what you're doing is not music until you reach a certain standard, you do it in a certain way, on a certain set of instruments. It's a bit like that apparatus you see in some playgrounds where the first step on

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-25920046492870629832010-01-06T20:50:00.004Z2010-01-07T16:43:13.458Z

There is quite a variety in the notices that appear on the Bucks County Council website saying which schools are closed. As they are very transitory I thought I'd capture some for you."Enjoy the snow!" appeared seven times.Some were very boring and studious:All students should have access to MyMaths and SamLearning accounts and we recommend that they, Y11 in particular, make use of these

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-81454675684889263782009-12-10T09:36:00.003Z2010-04-15T12:56:30.555Z

The BBC are making a programme called Digital Revolutiondigital revolution is a four part series for BBC Two about how the web is changing the worldThey are making it in public view, showing rushes as they put the film together, asking questions about content on their blog and getting ideas on the final title (as Digital Revolution is a working title) on the blog and twitter.The questions asked

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-27282013527439069302009-11-06T14:44:00.002Z2009-11-06T14:46:31.849Z

A nice person at The Morning News asked if my photo could be used on an article on their Golem blog, so I said yes.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-72573230562038705352009-10-21T14:59:00.002Z2009-10-21T15:06:08.445Z

Looking at the visitors to my work blog I discovered someone had come there fromhttp://www.123people.co.uk/s/paul+morriss. Looking elsewhere on that page I discovered that the St Francis of Assisi parish magazine from June 2005 had included a photo of mine on page 6. I'd given a whole set of photos to someone to use for the Fresh Noise website, now defunct, but available thanks to archive.org:

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-50022541956778889072009-10-15T14:42:00.001Z2009-10-15T14:44:51.010Z

My bidet picture was submitted to the The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks a while back and I found it on Bug Girl's blog.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-55972061396647742512009-09-29T13:02:00.001Z2010-04-15T12:56:52.530Z

BarnsOriginally uploaded by paulmorrissAnother photo of mine popping up elsewhere. http://www.viaouest.com/galerie1265.html

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-15933800517339293382009-09-24T11:45:00.000Z2010-04-15T12:56:30.556Z

The BBC Digital Revolution people (putting together a 4 programme series on the web and stuff) asked on Twitter if anyone had questions for Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty.Her answer:Original blog entry: Tim Berners-Lee and Shami Chakrabarti interview clips (Video): web privacy and obsession(cross posted to my work blog)

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-38385033957524384802009-09-08T16:14:00.004Z2009-09-08T16:17:09.076Z

A photo I took is being used by this website about food news in Chile. They are allowed to use it so long as they are not a commercial organisation, but even with Google Translate, I can't work out whether they are.Can you tell?

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-71534308115030621042009-07-31T12:49:00.001Z2009-07-31T12:49:25.663Z

My photo story "I felt a little strange when I woke up that morning" has been published on utata.org.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-72255411645182466762009-07-03T12:53:00.001Z2010-04-15T12:56:52.531Z

Long straws and sweetsOriginally uploaded by paulmorriss

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-15860003083337827252009-06-08T12:51:00.006Z2009-06-08T15:43:48.101Z

When I started riding a motorbike I took the Compulsory Basic Training - a day of training which you have to do before you are allowed out on the road.As we travelled to the car park where we do the training the trainer remarked "Have you heard that Joey Dunlop has died?". I hadn't heard of Joey Dunlop. If you haven't heard of him either, that's like not knowing who Ayrton Senna is.I am a proper

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-83844939035221293822009-05-18T12:39:00.002Z2010-04-15T12:56:52.531Z

"...and a little more!"Originally uploaded by paulmorrissThis is the "mayor making" ceremony. The outgoing mayor and all his officials are weighed and their weights compared to how much they weighed a year ago. The town crier shouts out their name and "and no more" or "and a little more" if they've put on weight. If they have it's because they've taken advantage of their office and they are

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-59513664492054291842009-05-06T10:45:00.003Z2009-05-20T10:03:18.213Z

A couple of quotes from an episode of the Museum of Curiosities on Radio 4 from Brian Eno.In response to the question, "Did you invent ambient music, is that your term?", he said:"Yes. Now it's a category in record shops, full of records I don't like."He also composed the Windows 95 startup sound, on a Mac. "I've never used a PC in my life, I don't like them."

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-73001391856950316682009-05-03T16:37:00.001Z2010-04-15T12:56:52.532Z

Analogue cheese flavour?Originally uploaded by paulmorrissIs it any different to digital cheese flavour?

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-38875825501922732292009-03-10T13:41:00.002Z2009-03-10T13:44:31.779Z

One of our pastors is on a sabbatical. One of the things he aimed to do during this sabbatical is update his blog English Pulpit. However he hasn't turned on any comments, so it's a bit of a one way conversation. Maybe he'll use some sort of tool like Technorati to spot inbound links from here and a conversation can start!

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-78327662952946721982009-03-09T13:40:00.002Z2009-03-09T13:45:33.403Z

Following Martin Kelner's article on Children's Radio in Media Guardian last week I decided to put some questions to my own little focus group. I asked my children what they might want from radio for children. One suggested "theme tunes". Unlike Martin's daughter our children don't tire of commercial radio. They love the local radio station and so probably for them, radio = music.I introduced

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-34712167384230171412009-03-02T13:43:00.003Z2009-03-02T13:57:51.962Z

It's a measure of significance when something on the internet makes the BBC News at Ten, and that happened last week with Spotify. I downloaded it and saw what all the fuss was about. I've used last.fm on and off for years. However you can't necessarily hear every track. I signed up for some other music service the other week, but I haven't been back and I can't even remember what it was

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-68643860991502496512009-02-18T20:43:00.001Z2009-02-18T20:43:54.201Z

Millenium bridgeOriginally uploaded by paulmorrissWe were walking across the bridge and suddenly I notice a photographer with an SLR on her knees photographing back the way I'd come. A teenager, her daughter, was dangling a small tripod near her, saying, "Mum...".I didn't drop to my knees but I did photograph back the way I'd come.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-37290128568279723592009-02-04T13:49:00.002Z2009-02-04T13:51:06.692Z

Pushy parents magazineOriginally uploaded by paulmorrissI did this a while ago, but I've only just uploaded it. It was probably inspired by hearing that some parents think their children need more homework. Seriously.Next I'm going to do one for boys called "Sticks" or maybe "What Stick" if that's not breaching someone's trademark.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-35199438278944525972009-01-12T14:30:00.000Z2009-01-12T14:31:44.761Z

I have updated my blog post about the Night Shelter, as it is running again and has its own website.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-56888275072804358942009-01-12T13:52:00.002Z2009-01-12T14:43:20.616Z

My photo of a coke can and ants was used on the Safety Issues website. My photos are licensed for non-commercial use, so whilst this is flattering, it's also naughty, so I'll be contacting them.Update: apparently they are a non-profit organisation, so that's OK.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-8229049047628172362008-11-12T20:43:00.002Z2008-11-12T20:51:06.203Z

On a Sunday morning I teach the 5 to 8 year olds at "Hope Street" at our church, Union Baptist Church. Pascal said, "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time" (in French). I don't think teaching children is an easy option compared to adults. I find I need to take the time to make the lessons simple. It's a challenge I enjoy.I've been planning for this Sunday and we're

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-15247018652952893712008-09-01T18:38:00.003Z2008-09-01T18:40:55.336Z

Those clever people at Utata have done some clever computer stuff to take photos from flickr and present them nicely in an annual photo essay project, Utata speaks.Here's my essay "A family holiday in France".

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-81321178852990226512008-08-30T09:39:00.002Z2008-08-30T09:41:07.244Z

Barn wallOriginally uploaded by paulmorrissClick this picture and then feel free to browse some more.My France set.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-91263212560127767752008-07-18T12:54:00.003Z2010-03-18T12:35:53.176Z

The Top Gear have recently asked for examples of silly road signs. One that amuses me are the "Think Bike" road signs:What are you supposed to do if you're riding a bike and you come across one? Spend a few seconds considering how fortunate you are to be riding a bike when all around you almost everyone else is in their metal cages? Check that you've turned the choke off? That you've switched the

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-85351562633276634982008-05-22T12:50:00.001Z2008-05-22T12:50:53.350Z

Doctor Who/Shopping ListOriginally uploaded by paulmorrissWhat happens when you mix some Doctor Who fridge magnets with shopping list fridge magnets

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-71029990561634074002008-05-20T16:16:00.001Z2008-05-20T16:17:42.417Z

My Ebay feedback is now greater than my age. I don't know if that's significant. In case you're wondering what my age is, my feedback is the answer to life the universe and everything.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-87636512184027809812008-04-26T20:26:00.001Z2008-04-26T20:26:34.273Z

Walking through the leaves Originally uploaded by paulmorrissI get a chance to do some short abstract pieces.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-56080698225602316712008-03-28T21:04:00.000Z2008-03-28T21:05:50.278Z

I've just read a booklet called "Online Church? First Steps Towards Virtual Incarnation", by Mark Howe. It is published by Grove Books, who's tagline is "Not the last word... but often the first". Mark has been involved in St Pixels, an online church, which you can find at stpixels.com. He writes, "St Pixels is one of the older and larger online churches, so it is likely that all online churches

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-63749262640980885772008-03-13T20:04:00.003Z2008-03-13T20:07:10.461Z

For the first time in my life I've bought a domain name: unionbaptistkids.org. I set it up so that the Children's activities at our church have a presence on the internet. I got the idea when I went on a CPAS training day. Someone there said you could set up a website for your church in 5 minutes. He was talking about a blog really. Even though the blog format is fairly constrained, it's good

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-90146340398823254692008-03-11T19:41:00.005Z2011-11-18T13:51:27.978Z

Since I was a child Radio 4 has kept me company on sick days. I still remember as a child under 10 listening to the news and hearing pretty much every hour about some famous person dying, I forget who. I always loved the Today programme with its fast moving mix of topical stories. One day however a couple of years ago though I got fed up with it when they had a story near the end of the

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-1093439644712837422008-02-09T20:46:00.000Z2008-02-09T20:56:53.393Z

I've just been to a day for those who work with children in churches, run by CPAS (Church Pastoral Aid Society). It was very well run. I went to a seminar on a church that had started a "Messy Church" service for kids and families, and one on using puppets with 11-14 year olds. Plenty of food for thought...

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-82861108205120553992008-02-04T20:39:00.000Z2008-02-04T21:01:24.822Z

The Extended Schools Initiative comes from the UK government:"An extended school works with the local authority and other partners to offer access to a range of services and activities which support and motivate children and young people to achieve their full potential." From Extended Schools.There is a great potential for churches to work together in a town to be one of those partners offering

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-25352199692468673682008-02-02T21:21:00.001Z2008-02-02T21:21:18.662Z

Free bidet Originally uploaded by paulmorriss Found by the side of the road. I didn't take it home.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-55995633592850047232008-01-28T13:31:00.000Z2008-01-28T13:48:04.673Z

I got an enquiry from someone wanting to use one of my flickr photos on their website. It got me thinking about the licensing on my photos. I deliberately chose to reserve all my copyright rights when I put them up there, but that enquiry has prompted me to share them under a Creative Commons license, known as "Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0". That person will still

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-4666589183276528492008-01-16T13:58:00.001Z2009-01-12T14:30:27.920Z

Jan and Feb are my two least favourite months of the year. Dark evenings, cold and wet days. However I'm lucky to have somewhere to live. Which brings me to the Wycombe Winter Night Shelter, a project organised by several churches in High Wycombe (UK). It provides a bed for the night for homeless people for January to March. I'm not taking part in this in any way, so I'm not blowing my own

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-75767774266455808102008-01-12T15:54:00.001Z2008-01-12T15:55:19.932Z

On the Washington National Cathedral you can find Darth Vader.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-1375336133602078652007-12-15T21:05:00.000Z2008-11-13T16:55:54.810Z

I'm very impressed with the online version of the BBC iplayer. It even goes up to 11:

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-21228997203293198142007-12-14T17:14:00.001Z2007-12-14T17:14:58.339Z

A cloud of sheep Originally uploaded by paulmorriss I thought this was great. I went to the trouble of turning round on my bike and coming back to take it. However on Flickr, only one person has looked at it. At the moment.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-16146110482178054342007-11-06T22:45:00.001Z2007-11-06T22:45:34.789Z

Sparklers Originally uploaded by paulmorriss Bonfire night. Great fun.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-42966654167635858072007-09-25T15:02:00.000Z2007-09-25T15:03:37.273Z

This is very exciting. DRM free MP3 downloads from Amazon. You can get The Wall by Pink Floyd for £4.50.256kbs too, so not the best, but not bad either.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-60303882983787787212007-09-15T20:28:00.000Z2007-09-15T20:29:51.438Z

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-74605679549319032892007-08-09T14:52:00.000Z2007-08-09T14:54:15.059Z

Spongebob - cringedThe Lake House - lovedBlack Swan Green - lovedHeroes - love

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-36786219672729702902007-07-31T07:47:00.001Z2007-07-31T07:47:48.106Z

Moo stickers Originally uploaded by paulmorriss I got these for free as it was an introductory offer. However I was thinking of buying some anyway. They look geat. Now I just have to think how to use them.You can order them at http://www.moo.com/

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-68037271208948291702007-07-09T18:28:00.000Z2007-07-09T18:34:26.575Z

I went to the Genesis concert at Twickenham last night and it was fantastic. I like live music and to hear my favourite band playing was just the best. It was a belated 40th birthday present. Phil has to take the biscuit when it comes to energy. All the others had breaks, but he was non-stop. They had a good mixture of old and new and played everything I wanted apart from "Your own special way".

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-60919450922823259012007-07-05T13:39:00.001Z2007-07-05T13:42:06.907Z

We went to see this last Saturday. It was digital projection, which really does make a difference. You could tell when the BBFC classification came up. Usually its all dusty and fuzzy and shakes. It was pin sharp. So was the rest of the film. I've read reviews since which said it wasn't as good as the others. It kept me interested though. It was great to hear a Brit (Eric Idle) in it.Sometimes

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-13840033887250003312007-06-02T19:36:00.001Z2007-06-02T19:41:21.769Z

Ants think it's real Originally uploaded by paulmorriss Along with a few thousand other people's

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-18767807887057960492007-05-07T19:29:00.001Z2007-05-07T19:29:49.483Z

Ladies shoes on the shoetree Originally uploaded by paulmorriss. I've got a new camera.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-49327880290866969292007-04-06T18:59:00.001Z2007-04-06T18:59:22.449Z

The respect of the new for the strength of the old Originally uploaded by paulmorriss.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-91089441231674608982007-03-26T18:43:00.000Z2007-03-26T18:46:49.629Z

I went to see Amazing Grace at the weekend. It's a good film. It seems to start in the middle, but then there's a lot to cover. As well as being true, and worth knowing, it was also a good story.I wonder in 200 years time what thing we'll look back on now and wonder why we ever tolerated it.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-48593336063442294592007-03-23T21:14:00.001Z2007-03-23T21:14:31.820Z

Can you guess what it is? Originally uploaded by paulmorriss.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-19390042491877902902007-02-20T20:44:00.000Z2007-02-20T20:46:29.397Z

It's not often I get very interested in a band that isn't played heavily on the radio stations I listen to (XFM, Radio 1, Virgin), but a band on Zane Lowe (Radio 1) tonight really caught my ears - Field Music/. It reminded me of early Genesis - very tuneful and interesting.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-83961625209740556652007-02-10T20:37:00.000Z2007-01-25T21:10:30.509Z

A couple of things amused me about the recent snow fall we had in the south of England. One was a family out for a walk on the Thursday morning. Trailing behind the mum and two teenage daughters was the dad with a mobile to his ear. "I'll get my guy to talk to your guy", he said. Have a break from work I thought, standing by the snowball that I'd just made that was so large I could hardly roll

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-79300861856218434352007-01-25T21:07:00.001Z2007-01-25T21:10:30.547Z

Icy spiderweb on birdboxOriginally uploaded by paulmorriss. After shooting two films of close-up pictures the novelty was wearing off, but after scanning them in I think they look good on the screen. Especially on a black background, if I can figure out how to do that.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-1168465206188403052007-01-10T21:37:00.000Z2007-01-10T21:40:06.200Z

I saw Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy recently. I thought it was really good. I'm sure it didn't quite follow the book, but as it was so long since I read the book I couldn't tell all of the bits that were new. Pure fans probably hate it, but I'd recommend it to half-hearted fans. It's quite quirky, so I wouldn't recommend it to people without a strange sense of humour.I was very restrained and

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-1164317631855601632006-11-23T21:32:00.000Z2006-11-23T21:33:51.873Z

I got tickets for Genesis! Roll on July 2007.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-1163494513596982412006-11-14T08:52:00.000Z2006-11-14T08:55:13.606Z

Here's a game:www.lost.eu/4b1eNo spam, no catch as far as I can see.

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-1162907264589836602006-11-07T13:41:00.000Z2006-11-07T13:51:21.270Z

Genesis are touring again next year and I'm quite excited. They're my favourite group, but considering that, I'm a pretty rubbish fan: I only have 3 CDs. I never replaced my vinyl and tape with CDs for the other albums I have. I haven't joined the fan club. However I'm really really looking forward to seeing them live. tags: Genesis, Genesis tour

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3499070.post-1160044417039133032006-10-05T10:31:00.000Z2006-10-05T10:33:37.050Z

I rang Powergen today. I got a message "Please leave your name, address and telephone number". So I said"My name is blah, my addres is blah blah blah, my phone num"-"Thankyou for your message"I rang back a second time with my phone number. I didn't bother ringing a third time with the message, they can ring me.It's like the sticky note labelled "Complaint Form" with a small box in the middle and

Paul Morrisshttps://profiles.google.com/109037928150714759582noreply@blogger.com0