Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-27

By pcurd

• Feeling poop today (not literally, that would be messy). Going to part work from home, part bitch about feeling poop. #
• Powercut at work in RG40 … Fortunate I'm off I guess! #
• RT @amykate The Lot of the Geeks at Christmas http://bit.ly/7ysPpm #
• On my way to town pre #rdgtweetup @deepwire, @amykate, @carocat etc – drinks before sounds good in reply to deepwire #
• Heading to Slug and Lettace for pre #rdgtweetup drunks. #
• Pre #rdgtweetup – in the doorway (@ Slug and Lettuce) http://4sq.com/6ZOIIk #
• Now at @giraffetweet for #rdgtweetup. There's somewhere between 20 and 500 of us! #
• Excellent night at the #rdgtweetup. Journey home involved a cab and 20 minutes walking where the cab couldn't get. Bed! #
• RT @chris_alexander Security Question Epic Fail http://bit.ly/6RJvy4 #
• Now at Sedgemoor. I think some £290 baked beans are on the agenda. #
• Now I've left 'London' I can no longer see my FourSquare friends don't go anywhere exciting! #
• Really am going to sleep now, two more sleeps to Christmas! Woo! #
• Last minute shopping won't get done while I'm sat in bed will it? I need to buy some things that didn't arrive by post and other such things #
• Lots of non-trampy, cute girls about today. Where were they when I lived here?? #grumbles #
• Ford Mondeo #fail http://twitpic.com/uygor #
• My faith in society must be at an all time low. First thought seeing an older man and a young girl is 'Isn't that illegal?'. It's her Dad! #
• Wow just heard the big f word on Taggert whilst in the room with Mother and Grandmother. I didn't flinch. First time ever! Only 25 years! #
• Merry Christmas Twitterverse! #
• RT @littlespy: http://twitpic.com/v12kt – …and that rudolf fella…also me… ( and http://twitpic.com/v12ht) <- frickin brilliant! #
• I hope I'm not going to bed too late for Father Christmas to visit.. Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night. X #
• Bloody hell! My mum went overboard on presents! http://twitpic.com/v4wn7 #
• I'm overwhelmed. No main present this year so loads of small presents have appeared! Lots of cooking things and smelly stuff. #
• Turkey! http://twitpic.com/v56gh #
• I love where Top of the Pops cut Killing in the Name of. Just before the final chorus… #ratmxmas #
• Now fed, champagned and ready for slouching. It's been a bloody long year – some peace is in order. #
• Doctor Who is really taking liberties now! Awesome though! But a weeks wait!?? #

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-20

By pcurd

• I just completed Auditorium on the iPhone @carocat @RobAshton @itsajo #
• RT @bakerleuk: in giraffe with @amykate <- you went to @giraffetweet without /me/! How very dare you! #
• McDonalds just reopened the toilets so we would stay customers. #CustomerService #Win #
• Just walked straight on to the bus – #win #
• Great day with @carocat @amykate @bakerleuk @timmorgan @talldavek and a weird film. Now sleepytime. Hello Monday, here I come. #
• RT @lukesmith: google ascii art – http://is.gd/5mXwM <- heh, coolk #
• RT @scottisafool: Ok, this is freakin' cool! For WinMo users http://bit.ly/72hlxD <- works like a charm on my TyTn 2! Awesome! #
• Sorry to those people who follow me by avatar – I have changed it. Thanks to @RobAshton for the picture! Any comments before I roll it out? #
• Right – going to spend an hour on a new website.. not sure what to put on it.. mm… #
• Just received my second Christmas card #
• Oooo 787 flies… soooon #
• The Boeing 787 is moving! #
• Boeing 787 Dreamliner is flying! Awesome take off! #787ff #
• RG2 3/10 #uksnow Was pretty! #
• RT @amykate Love how even though it's the 21st century, there's all this tech to communicate with, British still just talk about the weather #
• #uksnow 5/10 RG40 #
• RT @Gamedigital: Hahaaa you all got that one! Yes, it has no L (no-el). Shall I spare you or would you like another?! <- my boss liked this! #
• Woo! Thank you @Chris_Quartly and @Carrie_Quartly for my first Christmas present! Very much appreciated #
• Oh dear, I have to go in REALLY early tomorrow – like 2 and a half hours early – for a big meeting. That's like… 9am! who's awake by then? #
• #uksnow RG40 5/10 Come out of nowhere! Wow! #
• I've just eaten an entire box of Cadbury's fingers and I;m not even sorry #
• Christmas party tomorrow. Minor panic about what to wear until I remembered I'm a man so all I have to do is choose from my one suit. #
• Airinmar Ltd Christmas Party! Citing! http://twitpic.com/u27t7 #
• Just won £50 in the company raffle/money giving! Christmas lunch is sorted! #
• Party is over! I am drunk. There were four fallings in the ice (none were me). I am going to bed after having been kissed by a man. #
• Heading into #rdg. Exciting. #
• I'm at Starbucks Riverside w/ @amykate. http://4sq.com/4pfntF #

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NaNoWriMo – my failure and my thoughts

By pcurd

Last month I attempted to take part in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I didn’t do very well (as can be seen here), barely managing 4,000 words.

I had hoped this would be my chance to actually write a decent amount of prose and possibly actually articulate a few ideas and characters I’ve had knocking around.

As it turns out, it wasn’t. I have fleshed out part of one character, but nothing more. The back story was unbelievable and even I did care what happened to him. I clearly have some work to do on my style.

I had hoped having “Writing Buddies” would spur me on but even carocat and amykate didn’t finish. In fact, I wrote more than either of them (at least, that they logged on the website).

So what went wrong?

Well, Dragon Age: Origins came out – I have invested 16 hours or so in that so far, that’s valuable writing time lost. I could have been using my Starbucks time to work on it but.. I didn’t. I think the primary reason I stopped writing was I got fixated on the word count. Against better advise I began to measure my progress based on 1,666 words a day, and this wasn’t feasible. By day 3 I was far behind and even a brief splurge on day 4 couldn’t bring it back up.

Why did the word count matter? It didn’t, not at all. But it was symbolic of my failure to give NaNoWriMo the care and attention it needed. Perhaps if I had pushed myself harder I would have gotten into the story, that alone might have kept me going. Perhaps if I had been challenged to keep up with some other target rather than words, although what that might have been is beyond me.

All told though, it was an enjoyable few evenings – even if I was a little too presumptuous, declaring the book a triumph by the second day…

Maybe next year, maybe some other time but I feel there is a book in me somewhere.

Amykate herself explains her own failure in a eloquence most becoming an author on her blog here.

Carocat .. well perhaps trails off is the best way to explain, I’ll let her cover the basics in her last NaNoWriMo post too.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-13

By pcurd

• Yes yes I'm up. #
• Doh just invited people to coffee they had already arranged … -1 internets to me. #
• With @carocat, @saqibs, @bakerleuk and eventually @amykate (@ Starbucks Riverside in Reading) http://bit.ly/6eXhDO #
• Just properly bandaged my toe for the first time. Hopefully the damn thing will heal now. http://twitpic.com/sfyey #
• Seems like Twitter is seriously down #
• RT @tweetmeme Free. SimplyTweet is Free Just for One day. Today, SimplyTweet is 1 year old. – SimplyTweet http://bit.ly/7Q2AUB #
• I'm at Airinmar Ltd (7 Ivanhoe Road, Reading). http://bit.ly/76BJum #
• When did McDonalds start putting expiry dates on their coffee stickers? I have to claim mine by October 2010! #
• Awesme – The Faint in the @eTweetmeme playlist. http://open.spotify.com/user/dtsn/playlist/6mOiKtP6z9YXmigQBmODKP #
• I'm going to be late to #rdggeek. Appears my bus comes at 2 minutes to and 20 minutes past fuck you. #
• Is anyone interested in seeing #HedPE Tuesday 9th March in Manchester? #
• I'm at Copa Bar w/ @timmorgan @amykate. http://4sq.com/8MtzYh #
• So I didn't have enough change for the bus so I decided to get a cab. After 15 minutes I gave up and walked. £10 saved. 1 hr lost. #
• I just volunteered for an awesome new project at work – I'm quite excited but can't work on it for a while. #
• Oh my various gods! Hed (pe) are playing in _Reading_. It's like the world is trying to please me! I've bought two tickets. @timmorgan ? #
• My new car battery. With sealed magic. http://twitpic.com/sq3u7 #
• My Christmas holiday this year has been arranged as lunch time 23rd to the 4th of Jan! Does mean I CAN go to the Christmas Tweetup #
• 4.29% code coverage in test.. now that's depressing (but actually the highest I think I've ever seen here) #
• RT @audioBoo AudioBoo / Chris Tingley sings What a Difference a Day Makes http://boo.fm/b82011 #
• RT @lukesmith: that last tweet was about ukfast.Been hearing they're doing alot of cold-calling following peoples tweets about hosting #rude #
• I'm filling in raffle stubs.. #win (I hope) #
• RT @amykate: Currently @dtsn is booking the #rdgtweetup Christmas dinner at @giraffetweet – woo! 18 ish of us! <- Wow! #
• RT @giraffetweet: Stupid RT!will sort prezzies @giraffetweet It's on the 22nd of December <- woo! #
• bah! Spaz is dropping tweets! #
• mm my boss is out today. So is HIS boss… so is HER boss… mmm seems I am the IT department today.. #
• RT @Plip: *cough* http://developerdeveloperdeveloper.com/ddd8/ <- I'm going! #
• Anyone have any idea how long a 5% grow on a 242Gb Sql2000 DB data file should take?? #sqlserver #sql2000 #help #
• RT @timmorgan: What websites do you visit on a daily basis? Looking for some recommendations, RT if you will. #
• RT @bennuk: This is BRILLIANT! Extreme gaming concept – http://is.gd/5kU6K (from @rachelclarke) – I want one #
• With @carocat, @robashton, @itsajo drinking eggnog! (@ Starbucks Riverside in Reading) http://4sq.com/6eXhDO #
• RT @carocat: http://twitpic.com/t7ciu – Watching @pcurd playing a game. He's losing! With @robashton. <- I rock! #
• I have received my (hed) pe tickets! Woo! #

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-06

By pcurd

• I'm at Giraffe Reading. #
• I'm at Giraffe Reading (Unit 17, Riverside Level, The Oracle, Reading). http://bit.ly/8K2PPT #
• Brunch! @giraffetweet does it again! @CAMURPHY approve? http://twitpic.com/rg64d #
• I'm at Starbucks – Butter Market w/ @robashton. http://bit.ly/76QCrv #
• RT @bakerleuk: its always very reliable- chirrpy place – feel good factor when leave. even at 6am at airport last Mon morning! @giraffetweet #
• Wow Sylar/Spock is on CSI. #
• RT @guardiantech: Nine Inch Nails to sell 'hundreds of instruments' in eBay auction http://bit.ly/4sr193 – The shipping is £84 by itself! #
• RT @Plip: *grin* lolcatz lolsql : http://www.aaronbassett.com/2009/i-can-haz-lolsql/ – Made of #WIN #
• How can it be 2 already?? #
• I must make a final decision on which webhost to goto very soon – also want to migrate email as well. I might get a VPS I suppose. #
• I'm at Yo! Sushi w/ @robashton. http://bit.ly/566l3s #
• RT @RobAshton: That was lot of fish – feeling pleased with myself it is now time for coffee – he's still reading the menu #
• Post Blue Monday at Yo Sushi! http://twitpic.com/rmamv #
• Holy moly – just heard an advert for @whatsername1983's company on @spotify! Sort of scary really. #
• Flip sake – that's the THIRD time tonight I've clicked on COM in Add Reference in Visual Studio.. that's another hour wasted… #
• RT @nicktelford: Talk on SOLID by @lukesmith at #rdggeek night, 7th Dec. Sounds interesting. http://bit.ly/7Skjcm <- Indeed, go Luke! #
• I'm listening to Christmas Music! Kill me! http://open.spotify.com/album/6PAK5T3JFMyd0GjusZjrwI #
• mmm I need to optimise some sql code before I even write it.. 128,000 selects is not going to work #
• I do hope I'm not the only person who uses Excel as a code generator… #
• I just tried to use Visual Studio to make a phone call (we use software based phones). It's one of THOSE days. #
• As my twitter name is short, twitpic has gone past me so the picture named for me is http://www.twitpic.com/pcurd What is yours? Is it good? #
• RT @XaosWolf: @pcurd I've made an #tackfilm: http://bit.ly/92ihRr <- this is brilliant! Pls RT! #
• I'm at ha ha Bar and Grill (The Riverside, The Oracle, Reading). http://bit.ly/6dvimk #
• RT @blowdart: Security means $ touch ~/privates works, but $ touch /home/some-other-user/privates doesn't. <- I lol'd #
• I have a big headache that is threatening to become a massive headache. I wonder what caused it. Not caffeine for a change. Mmm. #
• RT @bennuk: @blowdart @garyshort "Guns don't kill people – bullet points do"? – brilliant! #
• Killing Viri… Again! (@ Airinmar Ltd in Reading) http://bit.ly/76BJum #
• Just entered @giraffetweet's competition and wrote my first poem in 5 years! #
• My evening plans are in flux… #
• I am going to see @fringley play tonight at Global Cafe 10pm – what can I do until then? (my houseparty was cancelled) #
• home time shuffle **dance** #
• Oh you cheeky number 72, pretending to be a number 9 like that. It's ok, I forgive you. #firstsignofmadness #
• I can't get the image of Bob Hoskins in Goldmember out of my head now … Thanks @littlespy ! #
• Waiting for @fringley to set up at Global Cafe http://twitpic.com/s5dpm #
• Great evening with @nicktelford, @amykate, @NaturalCon, @fringley and others. The band knocked the socks off the Global Cafe! #
• I seem to have lost my left glove since last night. Must be in taxi or possibly hiding in cupboard. Upside: I can buy new gloves! #
• Really pretty girl just got off the bus as I got on… I'd say she was an 8 on the Von Stedingk-Curd scale. I was considering stalking. #
• I'm at Starbucks Riverside w/ @amykate. http://bit.ly/6eXhDO #
• I'm at Giraffe Reading (Unit 17, Riverside Level, The Oracle, Reading). http://bit.ly/8K2PPT #

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