Maybe it would stop this fucking fad…

So, there was a tedious meme that did the rounds a while back, where you got some kind of pointless graph across several unrelated axes based on who you claimed to have dated. It plainly had *no* value, or means of deriving the info it claimed to from the questions it asked.

But now they’ve made the data they gathered public, to demonstrate how easy it is to get people to give up personal info.

http://d1rtyf1lthy.livejournal.com/257310.html

I note with amusement that surprisetruck claims to have dated me.

Just in case, given the number of people I know who fell for this:

You know those memes that calculate your porn star name, or your celebrity name, or things like that? Based on things like the town you were born in, or the street you lived in? Or your mother’s maiden name? What possible uses can you think of for that data?

No reviews. Too far behind. Just a quick listing to bring me up to the end of this wek, so I can try and get back to things next week.

Books:

Necropolis: London and Its Dead – A history of the what London has done with its dead down the centuries.
Autopsyrotica – Chad Ward is a twisted mind, but his photography is some of my favourite.
Working Stiff – The autobiography of a man who wound up working for Nerve.com as a sexual adventurer,
Powder – fictional rock band story, one from Dave when he moved away.

Albums:

Arcade Fire – Funeral and Arcade Fire – Neon Bible – Late to the party. I did give em a while when everyone was raving about Funeral last year, but wasn’t grabbed. I like them rather more now, and these are definitely growing on me.
Artemis – Undone. Pleasant enough trip hoppy stuff.
Tiger Lillies – Punch and Judy – I like them. Other people find them ear bleeding torture. Obviously, they are wrong.

So, I’m reading Mieville’s latest, a children’s book about two teenage girls who slip into a mirror world occupied by all the lost and broken things of London. So far, it’s excellent. But I just had to share a couple of lines from early in the novel, that made me smile with recognition, the sort of shared opinion that endears me to the work.

“There’s a lot of animals very good at that sort of disinformation. There are no cats in UnLondon, for example, because they’re not magic and mysterious at all, they’re idiots.”

Not, y’know, literal help with the actual cycling, obviously. That’d be peculiar. But I know there are a few people around here that take their cycling pretty seriously, and I need a bit of advice.

I’ve just started cycling to work, and the saddle on my bike is, to put it politely, not terribly comfortable. Can anyone point me at a reputable maker of more comfortable saddles? Are there any things I should look out for? What kind of price could I expect to pay? Comfort really is all I’m looking for…

So, as everyone knows, I’m allergic to exercise, and possessed of the balancing skills of a penguin with CJD.

So I’ve just signed up for a rollerblading course.

We’ve got a new guy starting at work next week. He’s going to inherit my old machine, and I’ve just spent the afternoon setting up my delightful new 20″ iMac. It’s Friday, and we’re all out of here shortly for a pint sitting in the sun my the river.

It’s a rough old life.

Is on again this year. I went last year, it was ace. Details here: http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/T/taste/london.html

ewa and I are planning on going. Anyone else fancy it? Should we try and all pick the same day and time? My preference is for either the Friday evening or Saturday afternoon slot…