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  1. I’ve finally made a decision on blog software

    January 3, 2005 by John

    I’ve been playing around with a few blog engines over the past few months, trying to decide which one to use for my own blog. I’ve been spurred on by my sister-in-law Ruth, who has just started her own blog.

    Blogger is one of the best – it is free, and can be deployed as a hosted (on blogspot.com) or ftp’d to my (own site. Nice UI too. I gave it 7/10.

    TypePad is a hosted version of MovableType. It is highly flexible, but can only be used as a paid for hosted service. That means that I can’t integrate it closely with my site, using the same CSS and templates. 5/10

    MovableType would provide a version on my own hosting service, but the free version (it is not truly Open Source, but a commercial offering by Six Apart) has some significant limitations. Only 4/10.

    I therefore chose to use WordPress, a standards-compliant, flexible publishing system, based on PHP and MySQL. The documentation is excellent. A clear 8/10.

    I’m still trying to get the system set up correctly, particularly to integrate the look and feel in with the rest of my site, so bear with me over the next few weeks as I get it sorted out.

    If you’re interested, some further discussion on the relative merits of blogging engines can be found at unbounded.org.
    Chris Davis has some good tutorials on integrating WordPress with existing PHP-based sites.

    Category Technology | Tags: | 1 Comment

  2. Christmas Blow-out

    December 25, 2004 by John

    We’ve has a lovely Christmas day (including an icing-sugar dusting of snow here in Glasgow) with some gorgeous food:

    09:00 Breakfast:

    • Scrambled egg with wild smoked salmon, on Rankins soda bread toast.

    15:00 Lunch:

    • Roast pheasant (from Heritage Meat and Game, Kilbarchan – regulars at the Partick and QP Farmers’ Markets), with a chestnut, raisin and cream stuffing and sauce.
    • Roast potatoes (Maris Piper).
    • Creamed parsnips and brussels sprouts – boil the veg, the whizz with creme fraiche.

    16:00 Afterwards:

    • Breaking into the chocolates and truffles from l’Artisan du Chocolat. My personal favourite are the liquid salted caramels.

    20:00 Snacks:

    • Cheeses (Spenwood, Durrus and Blue Stilton) from Iain Mellis, Gt. Western Road.
    • Brindisi cocktail chorizo sausages.
    • Gorgonzola and red wine kettle crisps.

    21:30 Pudding:

    • Christmas pudding, made by Rene, accompanied by home-made brandy butter and double cream.

    A satisfactory day!

    Category General | Tags: | No Comments

  3. Eat less, exercise more really works!

    December 19, 2004 by John

    I had a check-up at the docs a few weeks ago, and had my cholesterol checked.

    6.0 – not a good rating (it’s meant to be between 3.5 and 5).

    So I went on a low-fat kick – I cut out cheese (the main culprit), limited myself to one semi-skimmed cappuccino a day, no buns or pastries, and only a few treats at weekends. I also bought a pedometer and average about 8000 steps/day.

    A few days ago, my cholesterol reading was down to 4.1. Within 4 weeks.

    It works. I’ve also lost a few pounds (my trousers are a little loser) and feel much fitter.

    Category General | Tags: | No Comments

  4. Battlefield Rest

    November 7, 2004 by John

    Third time in as many months to one of our local Italians, the Battlefield Rest just opposite the Vicky in Glasgow’s Southside.

    Starters: I had a Schiacciata al Prosciutto starter (bit like very thin pizza bread with parma and cheese on top), J had bruschetta. Both yum.

    Mains: I had a traditional lasagne – chunky pieces of mince, tomatoey sauce and good bechamel. J had an asparagus and ricotta ravioli with a duck ragu.

    Dessert: J passed while I had a Battlefield Rest, basically ice cream, chantilly and Blue Curacao. Very eighties, but a nice nostalgia trip.

    Again, we went for the house Merlot. Drinkable and recommended.

    Category General | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Queen’s Park Farmers’ Market

    October 16, 2004 by John

    We are regulars at the Partick Farmers’ Market, but today, ‘cos it’s on the same side of town, we visited the new one in Queen’s Park.

    This is not quite as big as the Partick one (but it’s only been going a few weeks, so give it time), and we can’t just nip up the road to Delizique, but its good to see it on the Southside.

    Just for the record, we bought some partridge, savoy cabbage and parsnips. We couldn’t buy any more sausages as a) Puddledub and the Wild Boar people weren’t there and b) we already have a freezer full.

    Category General | Tags: | No Comments

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