Disqus - Latest Comments for billglover

Re: Early Experiences with AWS Auto-Scaling

Bill — Sun, 21 Jun 2015 11:19:29 -0000

In this article, Siddharth Anand from the Agari Engineering team looks at using Auto-Scaling Groups (ASGs) with message queues. There is a good analysis of using CPU Utilisation vs. Queue Depth as a scaling trigger.

Re: 马不停蹄

Bill — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 11:46:01 -0000

Many thanks for the tip. Things should look a bit better now. I'm not entirely happy with the theme but haven't found anything to replace it with just yet.

Re: Understanding Discounts in China

Bill — Sun, 12 May 2013 16:53:15 -0000

Many thanks for adding to the explanation. It is strange how such a simple concept can really throw your understanding if you don't understand the meaning behind the characters. But it is through these real-life lessons that we learn the most.

Re: Understanding Discounts in China

Bill — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 05:16:28 -0000

对啊，但是我不知道为什么他们都不一样。

Re: Chinese Character Challenge: January Update

Bill — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 18:15:30 -0000

Thanks. I'll do some investigation and, if I find anything, will be sure to provide an update.

Re: Chinese Character Challenge: January Update

Bill — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 18:06:04 -0000

It is probably the list that doesn't have words. It would be great if I could intelligently combine lists do that I was only shown words using characters that I know.

Re: It Was All New

Bill — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:54:09 -0000

Are you able to post the Sanskrit verse? I'd love to see if I can remember it.

Re: How is your Chinese?

Bill — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:52:34 -0000

Many thanks Jack, I'm going to keep trying.

Re: Chinese Character Challenge: January Update

Bill — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 05:09:50 -0000

Many thanks for getting in touch. I've ignored the tones for now because I'm focussing on the ability to write and recognise the characters. Surprisingly connecting the sounds with characters I can recognise doesn't seem to be nearly as hard as recognising them in the first place.

I am curious about words, how do they work? I don't think I've made a conscious decision not to study them.

Re: How is your Chinese?

Bill — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 04:56:17 -0000

As often as people tell you to get out and practise, I think it takes a degree of self confidence that only comes after a certain level of study. I could probably have put myself out there earlier but never really realised how far you can get with minimal language ability. Onwards and upwards.

Re: Chinese Character Challenge: Accepted

Bill — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 06:07:27 -0000

Many thanks @twitter-873564860.

Re: My Mandarin Drought

Bill — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:50:31 -0000

I'm currently using a combination of Skritter and infrequent lessons with a teacher. I've had the in-laws over for three weeks and will be spending a couple of weeks in China at the end of the month. This has given (and will give) me a fair bit of practice without needing to find a language partner.

When I get back from China, I suspect I'll need to re-visit my approach as opportunities for Mandarin immersion will be few and far between.

Re: Watch CCTV on your Mac

Bill — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 17:41:30 -0000

I believe CCTV9 is now known as CCTV News. It appears to work fine using most browsers on OS X as long as you have Adobe Flash installed.

http://english.cntv.cn/live...

Re: My Mandarin Drought

Bill — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:37:21 -0000

Thanks Greg. I don't think I'll ever fully give up listening to podcasts, or watching videos online, but something tells me it is time to shift things around a bit. This week I've been writing Characters on my short tube journey to work, attempting to structure sentences by replying to weibo posts and am in the process of talking to a couple of teachers and prospective language exchange partners. We'll see how things pan out, but I'm excited again.

Hope things are treating you well over there in the East.

Re: My Mandarin Drought

Bill — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 14:39:09 -0000

Many thanks for the link to memrise.com, it looks like a site worth investigating further. I love how the pictures morph into characters. I do wonder how many characters they have managed to capture in this way though. I'll try it out for a bit.

Re: The Pace of Development

Bill — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:39:24 -0000

One of the biggest concerns I had was that I backed something that I thought could change things and open up possibilities. What I found was a rush to recreate what we already had. I've seen just about enough decent conversation and even a couple of prototypes that show that there are those who are thinking differently. I do think it will take time for some of these more creative ideas to bear fruit. Many will fail to take off, but as long as the platform supports different thinking and people continue to try new things, I'll remain convinced it was something I should have backed.

I'd be interested in hearing where you see the potential for stupidity.

Re: app.net – just another social network?

Bill — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:15:11 -0000

I believe someone suggested a method of identifying closed accounts (searching for missing account numbers) but I suspect it is far more likely that over time, people who are unhappy with the service won't renew their subscription. So I suspect, paying members is a very good, if not simplistic, indicator of the success of the network. Renewals time will be interesting.

Re: London by Surname

Bill — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 16:09:05 -0000

I wonder what the map would look like for Hong Kong? :)

Re: Watch CCTV on your Mac

Bill — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 01:42:19 -0000

No joy.

Re: Watch CCTV on your Mac

Bill — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 13:41:14 -0000

Nothing like a good monologue.

Re: Watch CCTV on your Mac

Bill — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 13:40:54 -0000

From what I can gather CCTV has changed the way they stream their channels online. I can't figure out how to watch any of the channels on a Mac with their current set up. If anything, you'd expect this to get easier, not harder, with time. If I do figure it out, I'll be sure to post an up to date guide.

Re: In the Open

Bill — Wed, 30 May 2012 01:44:34 -0000

Many thanks. The photo was taken in the grounds of Kenwood House in North West London.

You may be surprised to know, that this is actually the default Wordpress theme. I haven't made any modifications, so I guess the credit goes to all who contributed to the TwentyEleven theme.

Re: This Site, Now On Steroids

Bill — Sun, 20 May 2012 15:49:07 -0000

Was it the option of Singapore based hosting that tipped the balance in favour of your current hosting provider?

Re: Improve Your Blog – Request a Peer Review

Bill — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:21:19 -0000

It's great to hear that I'm not the only fan of the peer review. They do have one downside though and this is probably the number one reason they don't happen so much. They take time and effort to do well.

Next site on my list is smartadvise.info: A peer review I promised a while back but has not yet materialised.

Re: Wedding Vows

Bill — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:25:02 -0000

Many thanks Dan. Getting married is probably the most nerve wracking thing I have ever done. Looking back through the photos I’m starting to realise that a lot went on around me that I was completely unaware of at the time.

It sounds like you have really found your feet over there in France if you have got yourself some wedding gigs. Good on you.