Bitful

7 things I did not know last week

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:33:20 +0000

M&S and Argos have audio versions of their catalogues. (Via James Cridland’s blog)
Newborn babies cry with mother’s accent.
Avatar is the first movie James Cameron’s has directed since 1997’s Titanic.
Greenland used to be part of the European Union but it is now one of its overseas territories.
Nigella Lawson’s mother wanted to call her Gondola.
Tajik (spoken in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia) is a modern variety of Persian. It is written with the Cyrillic alphabet but authorities are considering switching to Persian script.
A cat and a Volkswagen Golf have the same eco-footprint.

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How to view Gmail contacts' birthdays in Google Calendar

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:00:09 +0000

I knew you could sync your Gmail contacts’ birthdays and events with Google Calendar, but I could not find the ‘Browse public calendars’ link mentioned in the post Contacts’ birthday and events calendar supported in Google Calendar. I found it instead under Settings > Calendars > Browse interesting calendars > More > Contacts’ birthdays and events > Subscribe

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Old building in Aurisina, Italy

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:29:57 +0000

Found while getting lost. Sometimes I cherish my lack of sense of
directions.

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Happy November!

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:21:33 +0000

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Happy November!

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:21:32 +0000

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Vote Ray for Mister Eagle 2009

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:43:03 +0000

Went for a drink at the Eagle across the road to support my friend Ray
who is competing in Mr Eagle 2009!

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Vote Ray for Mister Eagle 2009

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:42:59 +0000

Went for a drink at the Eagle across the road to support my friend Ray
who is competing in Mr Eagle 2009!

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7 things I did not know before watching Life

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:44:12 +0000

Last night I watched the first two episodes of the BBC series Life and learnt that:

Cheetas are mush smaller than ostriches.
Some fish can fly - well, glide actually but it’s impressive nonetheless.
The sensors on a Venus fly trap must be touched twice within twenty seconds for the blades to shut.
The Brazilian pygmy gecko is unsyncable.
Komodo dragons can kill a much larger water buffalo with a single poisonous bite - and then wait for up to several weeks next to the buffalo waiting for it to die so that they can feast on it.
Brown basilisk lizards can walk on water and are therefore nicknamed ‘Jesus’ or ‘Jesus Christ’ lizards.
Dolphins are even more intelligent than I thought they were. A small group of dolphins in Florida make a circle of murky water by swimming rapidly, and then wait outside the circle to catch panicked fish jumping out straight into their open mouths.

Life is a beautiful series and totally worth the licence fee. You can still catch it on iPlayer (UK only I think, and until the 21st of December). Watch it in HD on a big screen if you can, it’s stunning!

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Help me raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:33:01 +0100

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My top for Sunday's race

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:17:34 +0100

I’ve just received the vest from the charity I’m running the Great
South Run for. Blimey it’s pink. I love it.

More info, and the possibility to donate and sponsor me if you wish,
at http://www.justgiving.com/lucabelletti

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Loving the ad choice, Google!

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:14:49 +0100

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Marble Arch station platform art

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:59:18 +0100

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Dumped deflated blow-up sex doll

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:19:20 +0100

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John and Edward welcome you

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:17:40 +0100

Watching the x factor live show with friends. They have pinned this on
the front door:

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7 things I did not know last week

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:42:59 +0100

In 1994 the Estonian Royalist Party offered Prince Edward the (non-existent) position of King of Estonia.
Actor Stephen Moyer (vampire Bill Compton in True Blood) is British. Essex boy, actually (not that you’d guess it from his Southern US drawl in the series). Oh, and he turns forty tomorrow.
Caffeine is a bug killer.
David Bowie’s Loving the Alien is a ‘vivid depiction of Bowie’s famous dislike for organized religion’. Pretty obvious from the lyrics I guess, but I think the last time I listened to it I did not speak English.
You cannot create a Gmail label named ‘todo’ - possibly because it’s a reserved internal name.
Jonas Altberg (Basshunter) has been diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome. Hear him talk about it at BBC Chartblog.
More than half of all Argentines are descended from Italian immigrants.

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Should I get braces?

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:19:03 +0100

Image via Wikipedia

I woke up in the middle of the night because I was laying on something hard - my mouth guard, which I had manage to remove while sleeping (no small feat). But let’s go back a bit.

A couple of years ago my dentist referred me to a periodontologist i.e. a gum (and other tooth-supporting structures) specialist. When I found out his address (just off very expensive Harley Street) I shivered, then after enquiring how much my treatment would cost, I nearly fainted.

I failed to find cheaper alternatives, so I submitted myself to (look away now if sensitive to yuckiness) regular scraping of the deep pockets inside my gums (a result of two decades of heavy smoking and fizzy drinks), and learned how to maintain them clean at home.

I was also given a custom-made protective guard to wear around my upper teeth at night, to keep them in place and prevent damage caused by grinding.

When I went for a checkup a few months after finishing my treatment, I was told that there had been visible progress. Well, you’d think he’d say that after what I paid him, but I must say I am indeed pleased. Nobody noticed, but this improvement means that I will hopefully be able to bite into an apple with my own teeth for another few years.

So now all I need is to pay alternate visits to my regular hygienist and the periodontologist’s hygienist every three months to keep everything in order.

Although… There is something he mentioned, and I have been thinking about it for several months now: because of gum disease, my front teeth have grown apart, and it could be possible to rectify this with orthodontic care. Which basically means I might be wearing braces at the tender age of 42.

So you lot, stop smoking now, kick the diet coke habit, see a dentist regularly and brush your teeth. I was not so careful and I am (literally) paying now.

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Looking at this picture I took last week...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:57:23 +0100

To avoid staring out of the window at the grey and wet October day.

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Heal's, Tottenham Court Road, London

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:35:34 +0100

Sent from my iPhone

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First good hearty laugh of the weekend!

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:26:41 +0100

http://juliasegal.tumblr.com/post/202090219Via juliasegal.tumblr.com (via zee.posterous.com)

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7 things I did not know last week

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:10:04 +0100

There are two Madonna songs entitled ‘Forbidden Love’ - one in Confessions on a Dancefloor (2005), another in Bedtime Stories (1994). Found in my own iTunes library.
Popping corn is not dried sweetcorn, but a particular variety (Zea mays var. everta) that pops when heated (not all do).
Actor Ralph Fiennes’ first name is pronounced ‘rafe’. Heard on a Film24 promo voiced by my mate Mike.
The word Vigorish (‘The Vig’ - the amount charged by a bookmaker) is Yiddish slang originating from the Russian word for winnings, vyigrysh.
More than half the babies born now in wealthy countries will live past 100.
The Muppets’ Mah Na Mah Na was originally composed by Piero Umiliani for the Italian movie ‘Svezia, inferno e paradiso’. Posted on an old schoolmate’s Facebook wall.
Firefox can be easily tweaked to earch Google from the Address Bar à la Chrome.

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