iPhone's face recognition works on cats!?

This is very funny. And true according to my friend Al. And even funnier than that, when he pointed it at a tree it recognised a face, which upon further inspection DID have twigs arranged in a face-like shape. Bizarre. I wonder if it can identify the man on the moon?

How young people REALLY think, live + behave

This is a great presentation from Mobile Youth highlighting how so many brands are getting it horribly wrong when trying to communicate with the youth audience.

mobileYouth.org I am...not interested in mobile marketing

View more presentations or upload your own. (tags: cell student)

As I used to say when I was a teen - 'TOLD!'

Polar bear on the Thames?!

I saw this as I cycled over Blackfriars Bridge this morning on my way into the office. I haven't found out why it was there yet, but I'm guessing it's something to do with how climate change is melting polar bears' sea ice habitat.

Having woken up late + then getting a puncture, it provided a little excitement in my otherwise farcical morning. Little did I know that 10 minutes later I would drop my phone down a steep slope to crash into pieces at the bottom. Not a great start to the week, but at least my home isn't melting.

What I learnt today 23//01//09

That the Candid Cafe is a great place for a cosy drink. That Last.fm has launched on Android. The extent of the worldwide buzz surrounding Obama's inauguration on Twitter. That if you spread the word of Barcardi's new content sharing platform you can download Groove Armada's new album for FREE. That my cupcakes are tasty. That E4 has created a bespoke Skins MSN Messenger to engage with the youth audience, share content + information on the series. That Cadbury has launched the next 'cup and a half of joy' ad this time using kids with unnaturally wiggly eyebrows. That you can find out who the biggest brands in social media are here. That Howies has a great sale on. That Time Out is celebrating 40 years of fitness by running a free evening of fitness through the decades Leg Warmers + Lycra at the Central YMCA - I'll be there. That if you find a horseshoe you should hang it on a door with the points pointing up for good luck. That I like The Phantom Band.

Spread the word to download the new Groove Armada album FREE

Can't work this out. It seems that if you join Bacardi BLive's new content sharing platform, you can download the new Groove Armada album for free. But only if you help spread word about the site by writing blog posts, emailing friends, posting on your networks etc. Each time you share, you can download a track. I think.

Hmm and if that is the case it feels a bit weird to me. Will see what happens + write some more.

The new gorilla?

Or just performing monkeys?

The Pro's and Con's of Bananas

..and should those apostrophes be there?

It occured to me that when it comes to bananas, the con's may outweigh the pro's. This is a sad thing because bananas, with their smile-like shape are nice things and I want to like them enough to eat them, but I just can't get over the many issues I have with them:

Pro's

1. They're shaped like a smile which makes me smile (yes, a smile)
2. They're a nice colour
3. They taste nice. Especially with custard
4. They're a healthy, fulfiling and convenient snack

Con's

1. There is only a small window of opportunity for eating them ie. too brown + soft (yuck) or too green + hard (yuckier)
2. They have a weird spike at the bottom, which is freaky + a little dark
3. Apparently if you eat more than one a day you die of a potassium overdose !!?
4. Personally I can't bite into them - I have to slice them, which requires a knife and a certain amount of effort
5. Spiders sometimes pierce into them with their fangs and inject poison into them (I was told this this morning and to be fair to the banana, the source isn't incredibly reliable)
6. They have that horrible stringiness about them..urgh. Oranges are also guilty of this.
7. They 'could have your eye out'

'I Knit' at The Royal Festival Hall tonight

I would be going to this tonight if I didn't have to take down the Christmas tree + leave it out for the nice dustmen to take away tomorrow.

I've been waiting for something exactly like this to pop into my iGoogle page - an evening of knit, pearl + chat. You don't have to be an expert either as it sounds like the place is full of nice ladies who'll offer tips + advice. I shall certainly make one of iKnit's weekly knitting evenings instead which take place on Weds + Thurs nights in Waterloo..or maybe the Knit Roast on a Sunday. How lovely.

Resolutions of an insomniac

It's the beginning of 2009. I'm going back to work tomorrow. Well today actually, since it's 3.45am on Mon 5th (can't sleep due to messed up body clock - the result of 2 or 3 weeks of doing not much + nocturnal behaviour).

So it's the new year + I haven't written on this blog since August. This is because our new agency website + blog launched around that time + I've been writing there instead. Which brings me on to my new years resolutions. I'm not sure I necessarily agree with there being a specific time of year to make positive changes, in the same way I don't believe people should be encouraged to behave in a romantic way on 14th Feb. I'm worried that it means people then don't bother the rest of the year. But I'm happy that I'm not guilty of this so am willing to go along with this one, and anyway, resolving to make changes for the better at the beginning of a new year does seem very logical. So..

1. I resolve to neglect this blog no longer. It's my personal blog, it's important that I write here regularly too. This would probably mean working out an individual role for each blog. Should do that first..

2. To make something myself each week throughout January + February. This is the evolution of last year's 'make a new dish every week', which (obviously) resulted in the extension of my cooking repertoire, which was much needed at the time + can never be a bad thing. But this year I don't want to restrict myself to cooking..so it could be making an item of clothing, a present for someone, an elephant-shaped vase, whatever..

3. To not drink alcohol in January. Sorry, not very imaginative.

4. To spend less + more sensibly. I suspect this is on everyone's list. No. 3 will help out here.

5. TO REMAIN EMPLOYED! This should be no. 1 really. Success here will help in achieving all others. Except for no. 1 of course - 1 blog is easier to write for than 2 after all!?

6. To listen more + ask more questions (in all situations). And to think before I speak at times (ditto).

7. To meet Stephen Fry (outside of the internet). Not necessarily achievable, but certainly a challenge. Everyone seems to have become increasingly obsessed with Fry this year. Social media has definitely had a role to play here. But as we know, the content has to be interesting + unique in order for it to reach such a large number of people..SF certainly provides that. A national treasure indeed.

8. The secret one that you can't write publicly. You know what it is - go on, do it!

..that should be enough then.

Hmm, I've just realised that this post doesn't make much of an interesting read for anyone but me. But that's ok because I've not written here for nearly 6 months, meaning hardly anyone will read it anyway. Well it's here, recorded, making it a formal contract between myself and myself. Let's see how well I do. And best start on Tuesday since it's now 4.35am and even if I get to sleep within the next 5 mins I'll only get 2 hrs 20 mins sleep - I'll need to spend money on alcohol and food prepared by someone else in order to get through the day. And that's without having to write blog posts and thinking before I speak!

Happy new year me.