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<channel>
	<title>A piece 'a Me</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.markbenson.org/blog/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog</link>
	<description>the blog of Mark Benson, a web developer in the vastness and infinity of cyberspace...</description>
	<pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:49:17 +0000</pubDate>
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	<language>en</language>
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			<item>
		<title>How important is my Profile Picture?</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-04-07-how-important-is-my-profile-picture.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-04-07-how-important-is-my-profile-picture.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:46:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-04-07-how-important-is-my-profile-picture.html</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Seth Godin explains how important your profile picture is, because it *is* important:
via Seth&#8217;s Blog
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Seth Godin explains how important your profile picture is, because it *is* important:</p>
<p><a title="Seth's Blog" href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/04/the-power-of-a-tiny-picture-how-to-improve-your-social-network-brand.html" target="_blank">via Seth&#8217;s Blog</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-04-07-how-important-is-my-profile-picture.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Parkalgar Honda get first win in Qatar</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-14-parkalgar-honda-get-first-win-in-qatar.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-14-parkalgar-honda-get-first-win-in-qatar.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:01:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Racing]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[fallen heros]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[craig jones]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[eugene laverty]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[parkalgar honda]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[world supersport]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/?p=104</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Eugene Laverty and the Parkalgar Honda World Supersport team, who joined forces for the 2009 season determined to achieve success following the tragic loss of Craig Jones at Brands Hatch last year, were finally able to celebrate the teams first victory today following a thrilling dice at the Losail circuit near Doha, Qatar.
Laverty, who made [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 170px"><a href="http://www.parkalgar-honda.com/pages/news/latest_news_detail.aspx?nid=1425"><img title="Eugene Laverty takes Parkalgar Hondas, and his, first World Supersport win." src="http://www.parkalgar-honda.com/images/news/db_img.image?id=18907&amp;width=400&amp;height=400&amp;crop=False&amp;percent=0&amp;vm=0&amp;quality=85" alt="Image from http://www.parkalgar-honda.com/" width="160" height="240" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Image from http://www.parkalgar-honda.com/</p></div>
<p>Eugene Laverty and the Parkalgar Honda World Supersport team, who joined forces for the 2009 season determined to achieve success following the tragic loss of Craig Jones at Brands Hatch last year, were finally able to celebrate the teams first victory today following a thrilling dice at the Losail circuit near Doha, Qatar.</p>
<p>Laverty, who made a great start and got away at the start with the front runners, looked at one stage to have been bested by the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda duo of Kenan Sofuoğlu<br />
and Andrew Pitt. A mistake by Sofuoğlu however let Pitt and Laverty by, and Laverty was the faster man on the home straight, outdragging a determined Andrew Pitt to take the win.</p>
<p>Both Laverty and his team were elated to take their inaugural victory. Laverty dedicated the win to Craig Jones, citing his work wit hthe team during the 2008 season ans having got Parkalgar Honda much of the way towards the success they now enjoy.</p>
<p>Laverty now lies 3rd in the World Supersport Chamoionship standings, and will look forward to continuing this excellent form to the next round at Valencia.</p>
<p>Fellow British rider and great friend of the late Craig Jones, Cal Crutchlow, also chalked up his first podium finish of the season, capitalising on a late mistake by Sofuoğlu, and having to make a save of his own during the pass, to finish an excellent 3rd, having dropped back and having to make up a lot of ground late in the race.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why Twitter trumps IMs</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-05-why-twitter-trumps-ims.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-05-why-twitter-trumps-ims.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:09:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[im]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[twhirl]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/?p=102</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just a few thoughts I had as to why using Twitter is better than Instant Messaging:

It encourages brevity, so wastes little time, and makes you think before you write.
It makes it easy to see at a glance if something is relevant.
It can produce some priceless quotes.
It&#8217;s social - everyone can read your public feed.
It&#8217;s private - direct messaging allows [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Just a few thoughts I had as to why using Twitter is better than Instant Messaging:</p>
<ul>
<li>It encourages brevity, so wastes little time, and makes you think before you write.</li>
<li>It makes it easy to see at a glance if something is relevant.</li>
<li>It can produce some priceless quotes.</li>
<li>It&#8217;s social - everyone can read your public feed.</li>
<li>It&#8217;s private - direct messaging allows private exchanges.</li>
<li>You never miss anything - if you log in after 2 hours offline you can scroll back and read what you weren&#8217;t around for.</li>
<li>It&#8217;s simple - effective, efficient and no-nonsense.</li>
<li>You can use it on the web, on the desktop, on your phone, and it never loses any value as a result.</li>
</ul>
<p>Just a few things&#8230;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-05-why-twitter-trumps-ims.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Twitter House Rules</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-03-the-twitter-house-rules.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-03-the-twitter-house-rules.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/?p=99</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I decided to outline what makes me follow or not follow people on Twitter. I control and moderate my follow list pretty closely in order to keep my twitter feed both rich and relevant to me.
Here&#8217;s what makes me follow someone/thing on Twitter:

I actually know you, in the &#8216;real&#8217; world
You live locally and share common [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I decided to outline what makes me follow or not follow people on Twitter. I control and moderate my follow list pretty closely in order to keep my twitter feed both rich and relevant to me.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s what makes me follow someone/thing on Twitter:</p>
<ul>
<li>I actually know you, in the &#8216;real&#8217; world</li>
<li>You live locally and share common interest with me</li>
<li>You discuss something I&#8217;m actively intereted in</li>
<li>You reply and/or make conversation on Twitter when I direct a comment at you</li>
<li>You direct a comment at me about something I said, then discuss it with me</li>
<li>You regularely post ammusing or relevant Tweets</li>
<li>You are famous and I am a fan (although some of the above still apply)</li>
</ul>
<p>Here&#8217;s some things that get you taken off my follow list:</p>
<ul>
<li>You haven&#8217;t said anything relevant to me in a while or that&#8217;s caught my interest or funnybone</li>
<li>You haven&#8217;t tweeted in a while</li>
<li>You tweet too much and the majority of it is of no interest to me</li>
</ul>
<p>This will get you blocked ad infiinitum:</p>
<ul>
<li>You insult or defame me, racially, sexually or just plain verbally abuse me or friends, collegues or people or things I&#8217;m a fan and/or supporter of.</li>
<li>You constantly try and waste my time with political or religious arguments or rhetoric</li>
<li>You tweet offensive or lewd material or horrible jokes (horrible as in graphic or disgusting)</li>
<li>You spam me with commerical crap all the time</li>
</ul>
<p>Here&#8217;s a few things to consider if you follow me and I don&#8217;t follow you back, or I stop following you:</p>
<ol>
<li>Don&#8217;t be offended. It&#8217;s probably no slight against you, I just don&#8217;t find yout tweets relvant.</li>
<li>What you are &#8216;all about&#8217; isn&#8217;t relevant to me. I get followed by a lot of people promoting events and websites that I am not interested in.</li>
<li>I&#8217;m not a serial follower. I pick and choose carefully.</li>
<li>Your profile looks spammy, or I can&#8217;t tell from it what your MO is.</li>
</ol>
<p>So there you go, I can&#8217;t really make it much clearer <img src='http://www.markbenson.org/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s a big Universe, you might need a guide&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-03-its-a-big-universe-you-might-need-a-guide.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-03-its-a-big-universe-you-might-need-a-guide.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:33:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[astroengine]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Science & Space]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[universe]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-03-its-a-big-universe-you-might-need-a-guide.html</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Your source for up-to-the-minute news, views and stories about Space, the Final Frontier.
AstroEngine
You can also follow @astroengine on Twitter for up to the minute updates and good banter.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Your source for up-to-the-minute news, views and stories about Space, the Final Frontier.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.astroengine.com/">AstroEngine</a></p>
<p>You can also follow @astroengine on Twitter for up to the minute updates and good banter.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-03-its-a-big-universe-you-might-need-a-guide.html/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Barclays Bank advert&#8230; a true Classic</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-02-barclays-bank-advert-a-true-classic.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-03-02-barclays-bank-advert-a-true-classic.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:51:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/?p=93</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve always loved this advert, partly because it was performed by Samuel L Jackson and partly because it&#8217;s very clever. It says a lot&#8230;
&#8220;Can I help you&#8221; he said
&#8220;Nice shoes&#8221; I said
&#8220;You bet&#8221; he said
&#8220;How much&#8221; I said
&#8220;You can&#8217;t put a price on the stars&#8221; he said
&#8220;Talk straight&#8221; I said
&#8220;Or the moon&#8221; he said
&#8220;These shoes&#8221; [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve always loved this advert, partly because it was performed by Samuel L Jackson and partly because it&#8217;s very clever. It says a lot&#8230;</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Can I help you&#8221; he said<br />
&#8220;Nice shoes&#8221; I said<br />
&#8220;You bet&#8221; he said<br />
&#8220;How much&#8221; I said<br />
&#8220;You can&#8217;t put a price on the stars&#8221; he said<br />
&#8220;Talk straight&#8221; I said<br />
&#8220;Or the moon&#8221; he said<br />
&#8220;These shoes&#8221; he said &#8220;are almost like something being said&#8221;<br />
&#8220;Cat sure aint got your tongue, so say it&#8221; I said &#8220;as you see it&#8221; I said<br />
&#8220;I could talk about these shoes forever&#8221; he said<br />
&#8220;You have&#8221; I said, &#8220;so how much&#8221; I said<br />
&#8220;Hundred bucks&#8221; he said<br />
&#8220;I&#8217;ll take them&#8221; I said<br />
&#8220;Too late&#8221; he said<br />
&#8220;Shop&#8217;s closed&#8221; he said</p>
<p>I can&#8217;t repeat what I said&#8230;</p></blockquote>
<p>So just remember, sometimes you&#8217;ve already sold something and don&#8217;t need to keep talking it up.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Poll of the week: Is Windows 7 a genuine threat to Mac OS X</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-16-poll-of-the-week-is-windows-7-a-genuine-threat-to-mac-os-x.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-16-poll-of-the-week-is-windows-7-a-genuine-threat-to-mac-os-x.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:59:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[os x]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[polloftheweek]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Windows]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-16-poll-of-the-week-is-windows-7-a-genuine-threat-to-mac-os-x.html</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://s3.polldaddy.com/p/1373723.js"></script><noscript> <a href ="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1373723/" >View Poll</a></noscript>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>SW:TOR Bio/Story Intro rewiritten</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-16-swtor-biostory-intro-rewiritten.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-16-swtor-biostory-intro-rewiritten.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:56:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/?p=88</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Because of the Threat of Peace comic establishing a 10-year gap betwee nthe Sacking of Coruscant and the start of the Star Wars: The OId Republic game, I have had to rewrite my Bio/Story for my characters. I left the old version up as I preferred it, but this version fits the canon.
NEW VERSION
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p> Because of the Threat of Peace comic establishing a 10-year gap betwee nthe Sacking of Coruscant and the start of the Star Wars: The OId Republic game, I have had to rewrite my Bio/Story for my characters. I left the old version up as I preferred it, but this version fits the canon.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.markbenson.org/blog/writing/star-wars-the-old-republic-rp-character-biostory-rewrite">NEW VERSION</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Install Windows 7 BETA from USB Memory Stick</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-13-install-windows-7-beta-from-usb-memory-stick.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-13-install-windows-7-beta-from-usb-memory-stick.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:22:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[hp2133]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[usb]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[windows7]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-13-install-windows-7-beta-from-usb-memory-stick.html</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[via kurtsh
This simple tutorial allows you to copy Windows 7 BETA onto a bootable USB stick and install it from USB. Really handy if, like me, you run a notebook with no DVD drive.
My HP 2133 Mini-note is currently in the process of happily installing Windows 7 BETA.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>via <a href="http://kurtsh.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!DA410C7F7E038D!1665.entry">kurtsh</a></p>
<p>This simple tutorial allows you to copy Windows 7 BETA onto a bootable USB stick and install it from USB. Really handy if, like me, you run a notebook with no DVD drive.</p>
<p>My HP 2133 Mini-note is currently in the process of happily installing Windows 7 BETA.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Ubuntu weird keyboard issue</title>
		<link>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-12-ubuntu-weird-keyboard-issue.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-12-ubuntu-weird-keyboard-issue.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>mark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[hp2133]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[keyboard]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[ubuntu]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.markbenson.org/blog/2009-02-12-ubuntu-weird-keyboard-issue.html</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just wanted to mention that I had a weird issue on my HP 2133 Mini-note with Ubuntu 8.10 locking the numeric keypad (which uses the Fn key and part of the main keyboard) in numeric mode. I found out it&#8217;s an easy fix, just press Fn + NumLock.
Apparently it happens on most laptop keyboards.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Just wanted to mention that I had a weird issue on my HP 2133 Mini-note with Ubuntu 8.10 locking the numeric keypad (which uses the Fn key and part of the main keyboard) in numeric mode. I found out it&#8217;s an easy fix, just press Fn + NumLock.</p>
<p>Apparently it happens on most laptop keyboards.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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	</channel>
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