If you enjoy listening to NRK P3 and also use Spotify then Andreas Solberg over at NRKBeta has got a present for you. He’s written some nifty code which uses Spotify’s new Metadata API to create a page showing NRK P3’s A, B and C play-lists all hooked up with Spotify links. This is a nice way to grab hold of the music you like and listen to it whenever it suits you. Also, it’s very, very cool.
screengrab from freshspotify.com
freshspotify is an alert service which will email you whenever music from your favourite bands are added to Spotify. Account creation/log-in is done via your Google account, and it will even suck in your favourite artists from last.fm and add alerts for them. Super nifty or what?
This pretty cake graced the fantastic wedding of beautiful brides Anli and Laura. Adorable cakes, people in love and pink hair are all things the world needs more of.
eos, originally uploaded by Annelise Johnsen.
I’ve been playing with the Best Camera iPhone app and I’m really impressed. A couple of stabs with my index finger and a photo goes from meh to showoffable. Speaking of showing off pics, the integrated sharing function is quick and easy to use.
If flickr integration and an (optional) grid overlay to help me shoot straight could be included, this would officially be the Best iPhone Photo App Ever!
A collection of links I’ve happened upon, or re-discovered during the past week.
Sarien.net
Sarien.net offers a lovely way to relive the fun of Sierra’s old adventure games directly in your browser. As a bonus, if you happen to be on the same screen as another player you can chat, making an oldskool singleplayer game into something more multiplayery.
Nest box with IR cam
I’ve always wanted to spy on a nest box, and adding a wireless IR cam made me want one of these a lot. Bit pricey though, for spying on well… eggs.
World of Goo Sheet Music
I love piano music, and as I’m particularly enamoured with game music played on pianos, discovering the World of Goo sheet music made me happy. It’s free too!
Sebastian Wolff’s Sheet Music
If the World of Goo sheet music is up your alley too, take the time to check Sebastian Wolff’s music page. Sheet music for a few movies and games, and most importantly for Still Alive (I’ll never get tired of that song).
Erfworld
An absolutely adorable web-comic. So cute!
YourFonts
A nice way to make your own font on-line. I don’t know how pretty the font ends up, but hey it’s fun.
D&D Test Drive
This makes me tingly, very tingly. WotC have made some D&D quick start rules and an adventure or two free to suck people in. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away… *DM muscle starts twitching*
Widgets to Cure Writer’s Block
Lots of cool writery/languagey/roleplayey stuff here, not just a way to cure writer’s block.
3 more days!, originally uploaded by Annelise Johnsen.
Pepper at 8 weeks old.
Mugshot, originally uploaded by Annelise Johnsen.
5 ½ week old Pepper looking somewhat worried
A collection of links I’ve happened upon, or re-discovered during the past week.
Anki
Anki is a nifty spaced repetition system (SRS), which is basically an advanced form of flash cards. The intelligent scheduling of the flashcards allows you to learn faster and better by making you practice what you don’t know well, rather than forcing you to wade through things you already know every time you practice. Great for learning kana and kanji.
The Regex Coach
An interactive way to experiment with regular expressions. Windows only.
HOTUD.org | HomeOfTheUnderdogs.net | Hotu.pratyeka.org
They are back! Well, more or less. Home of the Underdogs was one of the most important abandonware sites on the net, and a great resource for reading reviews of old games, learning about games you missed the first time around and, in some cases, the ability to download them. After the site went off-line in February 2009, I was saddened because I thought it would never be back. Happily I was wrong, and now there are even multiple iterations to browse through in order to get your old-school gaming nostalgia on.
The Problem with Ice-Planets
A wonderful how-to on making the ice-cream ball on a string frozen dessert from Firefly. I will have to try this some day, looks like fun to eat.
How to Make a Reusable Sandwich Wrap
A nice tutorial on how to sew a reusable sandwich wrap. Not only do they look nice, they are a greener option than paper or plastic, and I suspect may also do away with the sweaty cheese problem.
“Hey I’m Dead!”
A great story from NPR about zombie ants, and what the colony does about them.
BlogBooker
Easily turn your Wordpress or LiveJournal blog into a PDF book ready for printing!
Programming Tutorials
Links to more programming tutorials in various languages than you can shake a stick at.
Natalie Dee
An adorable comic every day. Perhaps not always laugh out loud funny, but the drawings are consistently super-cute!
Cooking Conversions Calculator
GourmetSleuth have a nifty conversion calculator that helps you convert recipes. What’s cool about this compared to using Google is the ability to convert for specific food items. It’s super-handy!
Shardik
by Richard Adams
I first read Richard Adams’ novel Maia at twelve, and instantly fell in love with the Beklan Empire. Reread multiple times during my youth, I was crushed when my copy went missing and I searched for a replacement for years. I was overjoyed when I finally found a battered second-hand copy last year, but the cherry on top was finding a copy of Shardik a couple of weeks later. Maia was published ten years after Shardik, but is a prequel of sorts as it is set before the events described in Shardik.
Shardik is fantasy novel about a simple hunter who one day encounters a giant bear. After that first chance meeting, Kelderek’s fate becomes inextricably entwined with that of Shardik the Bear, the physical embodiment of the Power of God as worshipped by an Ortelgan cult. Adams never explicitly reveals whether or not Shardik is the actual embodiment of divinity. The characters themselves have differing opinions on whether Shardik is a divine creature or merely a savage animal. And there is no lack of savagery. Shardik kills many during the course of the story, if not indiscriminately then at least whimsically on more than one occasion, and being his worshipper in no way guarantees safety.
Although the story is basically about a man hunting a big bear, it’s also about worship, slavery, pride, humility, savagery, betrayal, forgiveness and contentment. It’s meandering and at times overflowing with flowery passages, particularly ones describing emotions, but it works. Although I prefer Maia the two novels complement one another, and I really enjoyed seeing the Beklan Empire from another point of view.
