Tag Archives: Internet

“countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century”.

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“countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century”.

Of course, this is a quote made before Wikileaks posted cables from US embassies around the world. However, the USA government, it would seem, are putting pressure on all the organisations that ‘permit’, by use of their services, Wikileaks ‘to be seen’ by Internet users and, so I have read, US government agencies are restricting their employees from accessing the Wikileaks documents.

So, is it wrong to act as they are or not? Should the government be permitted to act as effective censors?

Well, according to quote, it would seem it is not a good idea.

And, of course, the quote came from Hilary Clinton, a slightly well-known American government official. Hmmmm. A touch of ‘do as I say and not as I do’ methinks.

I guess I have no choice now….

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So this is day four or five of not being able to access either my web pages nor this administration tool for my blog. At least, not properly.

So, I guess it’s the time to move. I did everything the guy said and gave him my IP address (for work) and then …… nothing. It’s still the same. What worries me as well is, if I can’t get to it then, possibly, nor can anyone else (or, rather, less people than should be able to access it) and I can see by the number of visitors I’ve been getting in the last few days which has reduced considerably.

And so, ho hum, here we go again :-(

It will probably take most of today and the switch will happen tonight or tomorrow. I might be offline for a bit but, one hopes, it should be better than ever before!

Wish me luck.

UPDATE: This is not going very well :-(

Some things

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Well, I can’t put Tags onto posts.

And if I empty the spam I have to log in again.

It’s just annoying. But at least it seems I can post things. Don’t know about accepting comments or replying to them yet as none of you have made any. But I guess I’ll find out.

I have looked into alternative hosters and, unless it’s fixed by tomorrow, I shall be going down that route, I expect.

Which is a shame – but it only really works if you can publish your website and then actually retrieve the website and write new posts!

I seem to be getting busier with the old English teaching lark. And, to be honest, I WANT MY LIFE BACK! I had forgotten how much work it actually takes. A says that I do too much for it. V used to say the same. I can’t do it differently though. I’ve also looked at doing the three kids and decided that I could do it – but I have put forward a price that is a little high. If they don’t want me to do it then that’s fine – after all, teaching kids will be much more work.

Anyway, enough of all this. No time, no time.

To get you a bit more up to date:-

I’ve got the Christmas Stamps! Yay! Now all I have to do is write the cards :-)

Rufus seems a lot better – since Monday, which is good.

F is working from tomorrow through to next Monday and, therefore will be away.

This means that I will have to go to my first-ever Thanksgiving Dinner alone (Friday night) :-(

It means that we might not go to the concert that he booked for Saturday night.

It means that I have invited A (and F) for Sunday Lunch (Roast Beef, Yorkshire Puddings, Stilton Cheese and a very nice bottle of port direct from Portugal) – there being far too much stuff that F doesn’t like in all that.

It means I will miss him :-(

It means I will get some sleep :-)

It means I can write the Christmas Cards :-|

In other news, South Korea and North Korea might be on the brink of war. Some miners died in a mine in New Zealand. The students are revolting (they should wash more hehehehe). Britain is to recognise my birthday by making the day a Bank Holiday.

Apparently there are also some other things happening on that day too, which I’m sure is pure coincidence. Checking, actually nothing much (apart from my birthday and the death of St Catherine of Siena) is going on. Oh, except there may be a wedding. Well, in fact, there may be quite a few. In the UK, I mean. Some woman called Kate and a bloke called Bill. Don’t know if I’m invited yet ‘cos they’ve only just announced it. Can’t go anyway, it will be me and F going to Giacomo, I very much hope. So, just in case you should read this, Bill (You don’t mind if I call you Bill, do you? Only William seems so, well, formal.), I’m really sorry we can’t be there. Anyway, the weather in the UK then is always a bit touch and go, especially on that day. You know, it could be raining, likely as not. Here it should be considerably warmer and sunny (I hope).

More stuff to follow (but maybe tomorrow if it’s all working properly)

Another joke!

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Well, I’m back …… sort of. I’ll explain more in a moment.

This morning, for the second time since I’ve been here, I understood a joke on the radio. And by understand, I mean completely understood :-)

It’s not really much of a joke but that’s not the point really. It goes like this:

A dog is ‘home alone’ in the house and the telephone rings. The dog answers the telephone.

“Bau”, he says (bau being the Italian equivalent of woof).

“What?”, the caller replies.

“Bau”

“What? Pronto?”

“Bau”

“What?”

“B as in Bari, A as in Ancona, U as in Udine”, the dog says (To determine letters as you spell them, Italians use cities).

Anyway, I thought it was quite amusing but I was more interested that I could understand a phone-in listener telling a joke. I’m not sure if I translated it or not!

Anyway, the reason for no posts is that the hosters I use had a hacker attack. As a result, they have blocked the IP address (from work). This means I can’t really do much. I’m now using a proxy but it’s not very good. They have said that they will add the IP as an exception – but, unfortunately, I can’t tell them what it is until tonight – I don’t have any access to them or their servers.

I’ve found a way round it ……. but it’s not ideal as it keeps logging me out!

Be back properly very soon (I hope). I have a lot to write about including the fact that, finally, it seems, the UK is recognising my birthday and they are going to make it a Bank Holiday :-)

Speak later!

Just updating old posts is all

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Sorry for no new posts.

I discovered that all my photographs had disappeared from the old posts when I brought the database over from the old hoster – and some of the symbols (-, “, ©, etc.) had morphed into a strange selection of symbols.

So, I am updating and putting the pictures back.

A side effect of this is that, as I re-post an old post, if there is a link to another of my pages, it is showing up as a new ping-back!

I’m hoping that it won’t take too long to do but we shall see. Please bear with me :-)

More on Facebook Friending

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Today, someone to whom I had made a ‘Friend Request’ on Facebook, accepted. For those of you who know Facebook, this may not seem surprising. However, the ‘Friend Request’ has been sitting in her inbox for about 6 months.

My first thought was: Why now? I know it’s not the first time in the last six months that she has been on Facebook (her ‘feed’ showing up on my home page). Why did it take her six months to decide to accept it since it is only the click of one button to accept or ignore?

I mean to say, I’ve done the same – but only for people who’ve tried to ‘make friends’ when I don’t know who they are!  Usually it’s friends of ‘friends-who-play-games’ and I think it’s only polite if you do some sort of introduction with the request – like: ‘I play Farmville and would be really pleased if you could be my friend and neighbour’ – or, something like that!

It seems strange but I don’t want to ask why.  It seems impertinent, somehow.

Swimming in Glue

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I don’t know if you’ve ever made Treacle Tart – mixing the Golden Syrup with the breadcrumbs and lemon zest – the ‘treacle’ being so thick it’s difficult to mix and you have to force the spoon through?  Or maybe you’ve been wading through water with a strong current against you?

The phone saga continues.  It seems as if there are about 6 different people dealing with it – and none of them talk to each other.  Then there’s the bank.  Well a branch of the bank that are unable to be part of the same group as another branch of the same group.

And then there’s this computer.  Running so slow as to almost grind to a halt.

And it’s snowing.

And it’s very cold.

On the plus side I’ve watched three episodes of The Tudors (series 3).  It is good but one would think that everything they did at that time revolved around sex – there being naked bodies in every other screenshot.

Last night I went out with A for a couple of beers at the Birrificio – Lambrate where, apparently, they brew their own beer.  I had a couple of nice beers (Porpora) – what they call red beer (a darker bitter rather than the light lager-type that the continent is famous for).  Quite strong but very drinkable.  It’s one of those places where it is better to book a table in advance.  We were lucky and found a table but it was the only table left that had not been booked.  But it is a strange thing – to have to book a table at a pub, don’t you think?

F also texted me to say he had bought me a present.  I’m not sure why or what it is.  He said that he hoped I didn’t already have it.

And today is our mesaversary – well the mesaversary of the day we met (which, to be honest is almost the same as the day we became a couple :-D).

And, someone who is reading this blog thinks that my writing reflects the fact that I am, ahem, gay!  Really, AnaP?  Well, I suppose, to some extent it would but I’m not sure that it makes that much difference.  Although I do note that the people who spend a lot of their time on FB (and, in particular FV) are women or gay.  I wonder if anyone has ever done a survey on that? Not that that particular point has much to do with my style of writing here but I thought it was interesting to note is all.

Anyway, it feels like I’m swimming in glue right now.

I just CAN’T do this…..

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Please put this on your status if you or someone you know is gay. My wish for 2010 is that people will understand that being gay is not a disease or a choice – people who are gay are not looking for a cure but for ACCEPTANCE and EQUAL RIGHTS. Will you make this your status for at least one hour?

I absolutely HATE chain letters, chain emails, etc.  And, for me, this is the same thing.  It was a post appearing as one of my Facebook ‘Friends’ status.

Now, what to do?  The thing is that nearly everyone at least knows someone who is gay.  Therefore, they should put it on as their status.  If they don’t, then what does that say about the person?

But, really, what difference will it make?  And, really, this is not a perfect world and there are more things to worry about than whether I have exactly the same rights as everyone else.  Yes, I know I should have and yes, it would be nice to be in a perfect world where I am recognised as equal to everyone else – but this is not a perfect world and I really don’t want to put it on my status for all my FB ‘Friends’ to feel at all guilty about not having put it on their status – lest they should offend me.

And, maybe, that’s what I find annoying?  It wouldn’t offend me if they didn’t but perhaps I would look and be somewhat ‘upset’ that they didn’t?  But, why should they?  And why should I put them in that position in the first place?

And, although I want equal rights (because, well, why not?), I’m certainly not looking to force people to accepting me.  It’s a free world.  As long as they don’t do me any harm, if they don’t want to accept me then that’s their right.  And, anyway, forced acceptance is really no acceptance at all!  Education is the key (or bad education is the opposite – one or the other – or both).  I don’t accept bigoted people or racist people and the thought that I should be made to accept them fills me with horror.  And, even if they ‘made me’ accept them – I wouldn’t really….at least, not in my head.  And, if that’s the case, then where is the acceptance?

And so I won’t put it up.  Unfortunately it may turn into one of those viral things like the ‘looking up your name in the urban dictionary online’ – which, amusing though it may be, became a little annoying after seeing it for the fifth time within a few hours.

I worry though that my FB ‘Friend’ won’t understand why I haven’t put it up?  But there’s not a lot I can do about that unless I try to explain – but no explanation really explains it.

Proof. I’m sure of it.

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Google’s announcement made a big splash across China. On the day, many net users voiced their support for the company and some even demonstrated in front of the company’s headquarters. Local people were showing their respect for a company that will finally apply its global motto “Don’t Be Evil” to China, treating it the same as other markets. I am sure traffic on Google.cn doubled, if not tripled, on that day as Google removed the content filtering. This proves how eager Chinese users are for an unfiltered internet environment.

I’m not sure that Google are all that wonderful.  After all, they did agree to a form of censorship in the beginning and there was a lot of criticism at the time, I seem to remember.  So now that they’ve decided they don’t want to do it any more, how does that make them something great?  Something great would have been to not have agreed to it in the first place.  Although, being as cynical as I am, it would not have grabbed headlines for so long.

However, that’s not why I have posted this quote from here.  No, the reason is that I was shocked to read that it is now ‘proved’ that the Chinese are eager for unfiltered access.

What proves it? You may well ask.  Well, apparently, it’s the doubling (or, even, tripling) of traffic on Google on the day they removed the filtering.

I say ‘apparently’ because, in fact, it is not a fact.  However, the author is ‘sure’ this is the case.

I am sure that I am the most handsome man, ever.  Therefore this proves that I am.  Aren’t I just lucky?  (It’s OK, there’s no need to comment, folks!)

Incurably romantic

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Incurably_romantic

Best Mate and I are friends for unknown reasons.  This is what we decided when we were chatting.  We have nothing in common, really, except, perhaps, some slightly strange sense of humour.

We also decided I was an incurable romantic whereas she is, most certainly, not.  And I am incurable because, quite simply, I do not want to be cured!

We would do opposite things when it comes to men and what to do with them; how to react to their actions (or non-actions); what to expect from them.

Of course, these differences are based on our experiences which are not even remotely similar.  She was led down a long, windy, garden path a few years ago by some asshole; I have only been down that path by making it up in my head and not through the antics of some bloke.

So, still, I expect a bloke to be, more or less, honourable, true and reliable which is, for most of the time, what I get.  I expect a bloke to fall in love with me easily and quickly and forsake all others.

Of course, with the exception of V, I have had close relationships with these men before we actually got to the ‘being together’ bit and V has, somewhat, spoilt my expectations, which I fully appreciate.

However, when it comes down to it, Best Mate doesn’t want to go through all the shit of having a bloke and I do (I mean, I’d rather not, but needs must, as they say).

And so, I have decided to do something about it.  After all (and certainly in this country, as I can never spot them in spite of what Ico might say – unless they’re the type I don’t like), they ain’t gonna be picking me out as I walk down the street and instantly falling in love with me, so I guess I have to do something to show I am available.  Given that I really can’t be one of those blokes over 25, standing on the edge of the dance floor, looking only at those who are under 25 and wishing (and, anyway, I don’t want someone who is so young, even if they were interested in me) or in some pub on my own, it will have to be some other way.

I’ll let you know how it works out (if anything does work out) but I have, at least, started one thing so we’ll see.  I can’t just sit around in the flat, however nice it is, as they certainly won’t be finding me here!