jemjabella

That's Baroness to you, Sir!

I recently bought some boots from Barratts to give myself more ankle support when I'm carrying Isabel (I walk for miles, and my trainers/sneakers weren't doing the job). When checking out, I was asked to register, and the title field had a list a mile long with every possible title you can think of (pro-tip: just provide an empty input field).

So anyway, I turned to Karl and said "what do you reckon I should sign up as?" and he jokingly replied "Baroness". And so I did.

Friday last week, a guy turns up at the door with a parcel, eyes his PDA delivery thing (those stupid computery things you have to 'sign' these days), looks at me funny, hesitates, looks back at his PDA and then says "errr... Turner?". "Yes". And then he hands over the parcel, followed by the stupid computery thing for me to sign. I look at the screen and only then realise why he's looking a bit weird at me. Across the top of the screen:

BARONESS JEM TURNER

I've never found it so hard not to laugh in my entire life.

Sneaky Tactics: Making Adverts Look Like the Browser Part 2

In 2008 I blogged about a site displaying adverts disguised as browser-style yellow bars and the risks associated with this shady tactic (especially if something a little more sinister than an advert were linked!)

Clearly nothing has changed in the past 2 years, because it's still happening.

I clicked through to an article in The Independent whilst using Google Chrome and saw:

Note the almost convincing Chrome-alike yellow notice bar across the top? It beggars belief that a respectable UK newspaper would use this sort of sneakery to push their new browser extension, especially as they've hijacked the Chrome icons to make it all the more convincing.

When did it become OK to prey on the ignorance of users?

A Furry Intruder

Oh, hello... :D

Welcome our newest addition; you may recognise her. Fudge is currently hiding from her, and Hex is doing his best "I'm a big scary boss cat" routine complete with growls and hisses. Isabel is absolutely fascinated by her, and the kitten likewise.

She's not named yet, so feel free to make suggestions.

The Cutest Booties

Isabel has some cute little pink fabric booties that I bought from Marks and Spencers, they're perfect for keeping her socks on and feet warm while we're out and about and she's in the wrap. However, as she's growing at a rapid pace, I splurged a little recently and decided to buy Izz some new custom booties from "Jojasca".

Emma, the owner of the shop, posts at a forum that I frequent. So, I sent her a PM and enquired about a custom set of booties in girly colours that Izz could grow into slowly but would also keep her toes toasty warm now. Communication was rapid, and she started the order as soon as I'd sent payment and a foot measurement. Just a few days later — better turn around than some shops with pre-made items! — the booties were in the post...

Aren't they just adorable? :D I love love love the yellow buttons. Isabel loves the colour yellow, so it was the perfect touch. I'll be investing more in Emma's shop, especially for Autumn/Winter wear as it's such good quality, and the price was really good too.

You can see more of Emma's stuff in the Jojasca facebook group or her Folksy shop, or contact her via jojasca@yahoo.co.uk.

No, I don't want your shitty add-ons

What the hell is it with software companies thinking it's OK to bombard you with additional junk packaged up with their programs already?

I finally got 'round to buying Windows 7 for my laptop (after finding it plain awesome on my AA1) so did the whole back-up files, etc and reinstall malarky yesterday afternoon. This meant that I had to re-download Firefox, Thunderbird, etc. Nearly every piece of software I've wanted to install has tried to give me extra crap on top.

Downloaded Foxit and it tries to install a browser toolbar, do something with the Ask search engine, and spam me with bloody eBay shortcuts on my desktop (even after I've told it I don't want them, it asks again!) Avast anti-virus now comes with Google Chrome (which I was planning on installing anyway, but that's not the point) and then Adobe installs a Firefox plugin, download manager extension and tried to get me to add some McAfee shit on the download web page too.

I always customise every step of the installation process with EVERY application I install, so no fear of ending up with unnecessary bulk, but your average user isn't going to bother with that. It's no wonder people complain about their Windows boxes getting bogged down with bloat.

DO NOT WANT!