I used to have a Tumblr account which I used for off the cuff messages and photos. Tumblr is great but with each new service you sign up to, you further fracture your “life” stream. You put bits of content here, and other bits there. Sometimes there is overlap and sometimes there is not.

I’ve decided to stop using Tumblr and re-use my blog for this. Blogging doesn’t have to mean 1,000 word essays and it keeps all your content in one place.

One of the things I really like doing is photoblogging and Tumblr was great for that as they had an iPhone app. It was a really quick and simple process to upload an image which was perfect when you’re out and about. WordPress has an iPhone app but it’s slightly more involved to quickly upload an image. It involves using the app to add a new attachment, then inserting the attachment HTML into the editor and manually adding text underneath which does get a bit fiddly.

So I went looking for different options and I came across the excellent WooThemes WordPress plug in and iPhone app. This is a pretty good solution but it means adding a new custom theme to your blog or adding a plug-in which calls for a list of manual theme edits. I didn’t want to go down this route so I found a pretty easy and free alternative: Flickr.

The excellent Flickr allows you to set up your blog under your “Sharing and Extending” account preferences. First, you’ll need to log into your WordPress admin and make sure that under Tools > Settings that “Remote Publishing” has the XML-RPC service ticked.

Go into Flickr and set up your blog in the sharing and extending panel. Next, go to the Upload By Email / Blog preferences panel to chose your size preferences. Once that is complete, you’ll get two email addresses. One will email the picture to Flickr, the other will email the picture to Flickr and publish it on your blog! Add these email addresses into your phone’s contacts.

Then, to blog a new picture just email the picture to the email address you stored in your phone’s contacts. The subject line becomes the blog title and anything you enter in the email body is added under the picture.

I did a test blog here to make sure it works. You might want to set up a “Geo Fence” in Flickr as mobile phone images contain location information. The geo fence feature allows you to set up a hotspot that doesn’t share your location. Great for when you’re at home.

Good deed for the day: Debbie was driving around a roundabout towards traffic lights and saw a motorcyclist on the ground with the bike on it’s side. Realised it was a woman and she was struggling with the bike so I hopped out and picked the bike up. Bloody heavy bit of kit. I know little about bikes bit this was a Yamaha and full of shiny things. Front brakes were seized on so it couldn’t be moved. Rider shaken but ok. I managed to pick up the back end and move it nearer the kerb and waited with her behind the barrier until the police arrived. Lucky she wasn’t going at speed when brake locked. That would have been nasty.

I love watching my three year old play. One minute he’s Spider-man slinging web and jumping from building to building and the next minute he’s superman flying high. He believes he is doing these things and that he has super powers.
So why do we allow time and experience to take these things from us until we believe we are actually less than we are?
If I had one wish for my son, it would be that in 20 years time he still believes he can be anything he wants to be.

But what is really interesting is his choice of words.

My good friend and mentor Dominic Keohane has spoken with me at length about the choice of words people use can be more insightful than the words themselves.

David Cameron: “This is criminality pure and simple and it has to be confronted and defeated.”
“has to be” this isn’t a very positive statement is it? He acknowledges that it must be defeated but doesn’t seem to enforce that it will.

David Cameron: “No doubt we will do everything necessary to restore order to British streets and make them safe for the law abiding”
Why enforce the word “doubt”. Doesn’t this imply that he himself doubts the ability to do this?

David Cameron: “You will feel the full force of the law. And if you are old enough to commit these crimes you are old enough to face the punishments.”
A positive message followed by a caveat which undermines the message completely.

Hardly the strong confidence inspiring message we all want and need!

September 1666 a careless baker set fire to London. 345 years later, mindless gangs are doing their best to burn the city to the ground. Are they disenfranchised? Gripped by desperation through economic and social factors?

Nah. It’s because they can.

I’m sure that a lot of these kids have it tough. Broken families, broken homes, lots of misdirected anger and frustration and I sympathise. But this current movement is motivated by greed and destruction. These kids don’t care who gets hurt or who is left homeless or without a living. They’re there for the rush; the buzz; the bragging rights.

And who’s to stop them? The terrified residents? The timid police too afraid to get physical lest they get sued for excessive force? The echo of Ian Tomlinson rings loudly in their ears. They’re commanded to hold the line and watch while shops are looted and vehicles set alight.

Word has spread. The police are spread thin to the point of transparency. Even those present aren’t doing much. Wear a hoodie and a mask and take what you want. No one is going to stop you. This is a volatile situation that can only get worse when the real organised criminals get involved to take their slice or to use the riots as cover while they extend their networks.

So what is to be done? How can this be resolved? Even the most liberal citizen who would consider hugging a hoodie now scream for the army, tanks and guns. The internet is throbbing with anger. How long before the people take matters into their own hands?

A show of strength is needed now. Show these kids that this behaviour will not be tolerated and there are consequences. This is very real and people are suffering. The cost of the clean up will run into millions and the cost of maintaining the emergency services even more.

I don’t envy the police. They are vilified by the media in times of peace and lauded as heroes when action is needed. Let us give them the respect they deserve and do our best to help them when it is needed.

My heart, sit only with those
who know and understand you.
Sit only under a tree
that is full of blossoms.
In the bazaar of herbs and potions
don’t wander aimlessly
find the shop with a potion that is sweet
If you don’t have a measure
people will rob you in no time.
You will take counterfeit coins
thinking they are real.
Don’t fill your bowl with food from
every boiling pot you see.
Not every joke is humorous, so don’t search
for meaning where there isn’t one.
Not every eye can see,
not every sea is full of pearls.
My hart, sing the song of longing
like nightingale.
The sound of your voice casts a spell
on every stone, on every thorn.
First, lay down your head
then one by one
let go of all distractions.
Embrace the light and let it guide you
beyond the winds of desire.
There you will find a spring and nourished by its see waters
like a tree you will bear fruit forever.

-Jalal-uddin Rumi

class Buddhism implements Reincarnation{ 	public function __construct() 	{ 		return new Buddhism(); 	}} 

kellyoxford:

Beatrix: Washed all the windows in the front rooms.
Me: Thanks.
Beatrix: They are REALLY clean. I’m going to go upstairs to do the rest of them.
Me: Bea, you’re kind of a big girl now.
Beatrix: NO I’M NOT! I’m a baby Mom a LITTLE TINY BABY!!!
Me: Whoa, sorry. Okay, you’re a baby.
Beatrix: I just need to find my stool so I can wash the windows that are really high up, those kids put lots of prints on them.

Love this. Had similar conversations with Luke.

He rests contentedly in the long shadows cast by time. The sun has lowered considerably from the meridian of his youth; the prickly heat from the day stored deep within his bones. The seeds long since sewn have produced a glorious harvest that still sustains him. His eyes in the middle distance, his self in a dusty attic searching for a cherished belonging. A smile begins in his eyes and spreads to his lips. The memory is liberated in a gush of words that slows to a trickle. Silent again; his satisfied smile does not fear the beautiful sunset that will eventually bath him in colour because the day is not done and he has been and he still is.