Japanese Windows uses the Yen symbol as a path seperator

I had this lurking in somewhere deep in my racial memory for ages. Then we started an Internationalization effort at work, and I was roundly dismissed for suggesting it.

Today I got my first actual glimpse of Japanese windows and what do I see?

C:¥Windows, that's what.

Steven Fry will voice The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Which I think is a fine piece of casting

Why Photoshop barfs

I figured out the answer to this problem. It's too tedious to relate!

Not all timezones are are round hours different from GMT

Tehran for example is GMT + 3:30, Darwin is GMT + 9:30.

Filling a standard MP3 player is a pain in the arse.

If your starting point is a practically unused PC, a bunch of CDs a new MP3 player and a non-nerd the process is painful.

I had to explain it to my girlfriend's sister today and at the end I was embarrassed.

It's all , "change these settings in WMP", "rename these tracks", "press that button", "open this folder", "open that folder", "copy these files", blah blah blah blah.

The notes ran to 3 pages.

If I had to start again, my advice would be "throw that piece of shit away and buy and iPod".

My 2 year old knows the days of the week.

Monday - Friday she will wake up and shout "Mummy". Saturday and Sunday she will wake up and shout "Daddy".

Referendum

Referendum has two plurals.

Following the BBC's Europe coverage I had always thought it was just "referenda" as demonstrated in this article from 2000.

However, the whole EU consitution thing has brought out a new batch of coverage all using "referendums".

A tale of two Kevs

Dean Lennox Kelly who plays Kev in "Shameless" is Tonker in "Mike Basset England Manager".

Tonker's name is also Kevin.

Gosh.

Something new under the sun

The phrase "Nothing new under the sun" comes from the bible.

Thanks to Phil for sharing his own "Learn something new" moment.

Volume discount

A single long stem rose costs £2.50. A dozen inexplicably costs £40.

Green Day are on Frank Sinatra's record label

He founded Reprise apparently.

Poems on Buildings

The Student Residences on Division Street, Sheffield have grilles over the windows with words stamped into them.

Apparently they form the text of 3 poems by Benjamin Zephaniah.

The credit card prank is perfecty possible

I've loved John Hargrave's Credit Card Prank for ages now.

When I noticed the lax credit card behaviour in the US, I decided to try it.

Having signed "Fish" for a pair of trainers, I can confirm that you can sign pretty much what you want.

Holiday catch up.

Petrol is too cheap in the US, it's obscene.

While I knew that most American cars use their brake lights as indicators, I did not realise that many also keep their front orange indicators illuminated at all times for no readily apparent reason.

Snow White is the least attractive of the Disney Princesses

Manta Rays smell disgusting, Dolphins do not

A road system that allows you to run red lights when making right turns makes little or no sense.

US roads would require substantially less tarmac if they adopted the roundabout in favour of absurdly long link roads between major highways.

Tipping for everything is embarassing.

Donuts are not an acceptable breakfast in a civilised society.

Gentoos are a type of penguin which I suppose makes sense (via Seaworld).