Hello readers :)

I'm all moved into halls now. I have a nice room :) Yay. And it's dead quiet. Double yay, with this being 3rd year. Mum & Dad offered to pay for my grocery shopping on Sunday. Get in!! And took me for dinner. Good times. Had a fab time Sunday night, followed by Freshers' Fair on Monday followed by lunch and lots of shopping in town :D Discovered the largest Gosh range in Superdrug - but refrained from buying any more haha. Promptly semi destroyed my university ID card but can still get into my block so all is not lost. Yet. I refuse to pay a tenner to get a new one! Checked my Amazon gift certificate balance to find I have enough to pay for at least one of my textbooks :D Yayyyy. I think the only downer to this week so far is the impending doom that will no doubt be my ridiculous timetable.

Until next time,
Dottie xx

Pretty much packed and ready to go!

Where? I hear you ask. Why, uni of course!

I've had such a productive day. I've cleaned out a drawer (that I thought was full of useful bits and bobs), sorted my books and folders out (Amazon marketplace here I come), packed all the things in my room that I wanted to take, organized my baskets so they are no longer overflowing, and packed crates full of useful equipment for life back in halls. Just got to pack my iDock and clothes on Saturday and I shall be ready :D

Then of course it is Freshers Week and I shall undoubtedly collect lots more interesting, erm junkstuff! Bring it on!! Hurry up Sunday!!!

Until next time,
Dottie xx

Finally, the DPP has spoken

As a student that studied an ethics module during the second year of my law degree, I welcome the clarification on assisted suicide from the DPP, Keir Starmer QC. While I can see both sides of the assisted suicide debate, and realise it is a sensitive topic, I think it is a relief to those who seek clarification. Relatives and/or close friends need no longer live in fear of a possible prosecution, providing that they satisfy a minimum of 7 criteria laid out in the new guidelines, which come into effect immediately.

The DPP has laid out a number of factors to be taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to prosecute those assisting the ending of life. Seven out of thirteen would weigh against a prosecution. “If people comply with these seven, they will not and cannot be prosecuted.” What is also interesting, is that the medical profession will be bound by the new guidelines, some of which are as follows:

Factors against prosecution (taken from here)

*Victim had “clear, settled and informed wish” to commit suicide

*Victim indicated unequivocally to the suspect that he or she wished to commit suicide

*Victim asked personally on his or her own initiative for the assistance of the suspect

*Victim had terminal illness, severe and incurable physical disability or severe degenerative physical condition for which there was no cure

*Suspect was wholly motivated by compassion

*Suspect was spouse, partner, close relative or close personal friend of the victim, within the context of a long-term and supportive relationship

*Actions of the suspect were only of minor assistance or influence or the help provided was as a consequence of their usual lawful employment.

*Victim was physically unable to undertake the act that amounted to “help” in committing suicide

*Suspect had sought to dissuade victim

*Victim had tried before to commit suicide

While this is a good and positive start, I think that Parliament definitely need to legislate on this area of law. Sarah Wootton, head of Dignity in Dying says it more succintly than I:

“The overwhelming majority of us do not want to see people prosecuted when they have reacted compassionately to a loved one’s request for help to die. Ultimately we need a law to allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults the choice of an assisted death within strict legal safeguards.”

So, what do you think? Has the DPP gone far enough? Too far?

Until next time,
Dottie xx

Nail colour of the week

Hey everyone :)

I finally got around to changing my nail polish, and as I've been wearing quite neutral make up this week I decided to go for a neutral nail polish. I actually bought this particular polish last weekend and its the first time I've tried it. The polish in question is No 7's Speed Dry Iced Mocha. Great consistency, great brush, great colour.

I applied one coat straight onto the nail. Because I was photographing it I didn't use a topcoat. Here it is:


In shade


In natural light


Sunlight

It's £6.25 for 10ml, which usually I'd avoid price wise, but that £5 No 7 voucher was begging to be used so I got it for £1.25. If you're looking for a polish with true staying power, I'd definitely recommend it, however it's a shame they don't do a larger range of colours. I went to a large Boots store and all they had was reds, pinks, and browns. I don't know if they do any more but I shall keep an eye out.

I've got a couple more nail polishes I want to try out but I've got a busy week this week getting ready for going back to uni next weekend, a hair appointment, might squeeze some shopping in if I don't spend all my money on eBay, and then I'm off to Nottingham on Friday to see Michael McIntyre. Phew. So if you don't hear from me, assume I'm very busy, and then it's Freshers Week next week so I think radio silence can be expected until I get into the swing of getting up early and attending lectures. Oh yay!

Hope you're all well!

Until next time,
Dottie xx

Just Say Yes

When I heard Snow Patrol were releasing a new single and a new album, I was incredibly excited. 'Just Say Yes' got its first UK play tonight on Zane Lowe's show. I cannot tell you how much I love this track:




Words cannot express how hugely excited I am for the forthcoming album 'Up To Now'

If only I could afford tickets to their upcoming tour... *sigh*

Until next time,
Dottie xx

China Glaze Swirl Nail Art

So, I was on Twitter today, and China Glaze tweeted about this video:



China Glaze Swirl Nail Art from amy chance on Vimeo.


I didn't know this could be done! I was amazed. Has anyone tried it? I'm quite tempted!

Until next time,
Dottie xx

A sad day for Hollywood

R.I.P. Patrick Swayze

Dirty Dancing: The final scene

Dirty dancing final Patrick Swayze
Uploaded by laetitoumi. - Explore more music videos.

Until next time,
Dottie xx

The dawning of a new chapter

I feel that I've blogged about all of the criteria which my blog professes to be about, bar this one so far: life.

I've spent a great deal of time reflecting this summer. I know I'm not perfect, I certainly do not claim to be, and I accept this. I make mistakes, don't we all? I have my character flaws. I wouldn't be me without them. But something rang utterly true lately; that is that those who matter do not mind, and those who mind, do not matter.

It really is true. There are those that stick by me no matter what, and for that I love them, and then there are those who drift away. I'm cool with that.

I have also realised that lately, I feel better about my self. I rise above and stand tall, for this I feel more mature. Life is actually good, come what may.

Yes, that is all.

:]

Until next time,
Dottie xx

Couldn't organize the proverbial in a brewery...

Of course, I'm talking about my university. Specifically, the law office. I know there are two weeks left until the start of term, however, I and many others, are desperate for our timetables as we need to organize work and volunteering commitments around our lectures/seminars/hours spent procrastinating in the library.

Conveniently, they are choosing to ignore our emails. I just hope we get our timetables before our lectures commence this year...

Please someone comment and tell me I am not the only one?

Until next time,
Dottie xx

Dottie has been spending again...

Yes, naughty me.

I blame Primark. It attracts me with shiny, sparkly things...



And then I came across this GORGEOUS bag. SOLD!



It was even better when I got to the till and found everything was cheaper than their marked prices :D Win!

And I went into Superdrug to get one item, but ended up taking advantage of the 3 for 2 offer and got two great highlight colours from Gosh' Glamourous Eye Shadow range:



#11 Silver

It's not as scary as it sounds, it looks virtually white in the compact and it's not a highly pigmented silver.



#13 Beige

Love, love, love this colour. I wanted to find something that was pretty close to the cream coloured highlight I'd been using from my 120 Pro Palette and came up trumps with this shade.

Here it is used as a highlight with shade #14 being used as the main lid colour:



I also nipped into Boots as I was hankering after this Rimmel nail polish for a while. And while I was at it, used my Boots voucher to get a No.7 polish:



Ok, that's it for now. Fingers crossed my landlady from 08/09 hurries up and gives me my deposit back so I can go spend some more cash :D Erm, obviously I mean on textbooks and things. Yes...

Until next time,
Dottie xx

Dear Flock, you saved my internet browsing experience

Oh my dear, dear readers. I have been saved from browsing hell and anguish. I've been an avid fan of Firefox for some time now. Years in fact. But recently crashes have become more frequent. My browsing experience has been somewhat dogged and slow, where opening links and tabs used to take a split second, now they take minutes. And before the tech savvy amongst you pounce, yes I cleared my cache, temporary internet files, cookies, private data etc etc, however to no avail. But alas, CNET has restored my hope and faith in internet browsing. I saw a link for Flock, a browser that boasted excellent social networking features. I thought why not give it a whirl. I was so glad I did!!!! It took all of 2 minutes (if that) to set up. Oh and the wonders it bestowed on me! Feast your eyes:

Pros:
1) It works. Flawlessly!!
2) I can now effectively multitask in 1 tab
3) I can search for media, i.e. on YouTube without going to a new tab first
4) RSS feed, mail & social networking notifications don't negatively impact on my browsing experience. All in all I LOVE it!!!

Cons:
Unlike Firefox, there is no add-on for getting rid of web advertisements. But I suspect it is only a matter of time until this is rectified. This is such a tiny thing though, I really don't mind in the grand scheme of things!!

Ignore the con. It is nothing. What is not to like about this browser? It's built on Firefox, so you know its worth checking out and it is instantly familiar.

So, what are these new features of which I speak?

1) The sidebar is fab because I can switch between Facebook, Twitter, (also Myspace if any of you use it; I don't) RSS feeds, favourites/history, and even write new blog posts (from which I blog as I type) and upload photos. And it doesn't negatively impact on my browsing experience at all. It also means I no longer need to use Tweetdeck. Fab.

2) Also in the sidebar, the RSS button and the webmail (we're talking Gmail, AOL mail, Yahoo mail) button both glow orange when I have new feeds or new mail. A quick click and its right in front of me.

3) I can view my history and favourites in the same bar, as well as access my various accounts that I've logged into to use in Flock, i.e. Facebook, Blogger etc.

4) A handy feature that I've just found in the sidebar is the web clipboard where I can drag text, links and images to save for later use. That will save me opening up OneNote or Snipping Tool.

5) There is a bar at the bottom of the browser that enables me to use Facebook chat and see my notifications when I'm not actually using Facebook, i.e. I am say, browsing eBay. Very useful!

6) One of the best things about Flock is the media bar, which opens at the top of your current tab with a click from the sidebar, and I can instantaneously search for things without opening new tabs and it brings up the relevant results from say, YouTube or Flickr. Excellent.

7) The default homepage in Flock is 'My World'. This is a page arranged in columns where I can see my most visited websites, my favourite media and the latest from my feeds. I can even do Twitter searches. There is also a search bar, much like the mini one in the browser near the address bar.

8) At the end of the address bar there is an email button, to email the current web page to your contacts, if you so desire.

9) Firefox's much loved search box is also exactly where it is in Firefox. You can choose a default search engine, and have others at your fingertips. As you type in the search box, it brings up results from your favourites, your history, Yahoo search and Twitter search automatically.

10) Talking of Firefox, as Flock is based on the aforementioned browser, you'll be pleased to see that its just as easy, if not easier to use, as its options are the same.

11) Finally, Flock is aesthetically appealing, silver and blue - no other themes available as of yet, but in my opinion you don't need them - and none of the fabulous features it boasts slows it down. Fastest browser by far that I've used.

I really cannot stress to you enough how great this browser really is. Try it!! You really will not regret it!

Check it out:



Until next time,
a very satisfied Dottie xx

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Derren Brown's Events Advert & Lottery Prediction

Ok, last post on this, I swear.

But I worked it out. ARGH too late haha. But anyway.

The 10 minute event show on C4:



Ok so the numbers for this draw were: 2 11 23 28 35 39 (Bonus: 15 - which we're not concerned with)

Now look at the original backwards advert reversed so you can make sense of what he's saying:



Look at the numbers (at 0:26). If you didn't catch them, they are: 2 25 10 6 47

The whole theme of 'The Events' is misdirection. Keeping this in mind, these are my conclusions:

There is a sticker with 2 on the lamppost = 2
On the lamppost there is a sticker with 47. Add 4 + 7 = 11
There is also 25, 10 and 6. 6 + 2 = 8. 8 + 5 = 13. 13 + 10 = 23
Also 4*7=28
25 + 6 + 4 = 35 OR 25 + 10 = 35
25 + 10 + 4 = 39

10 + 5 = 15 (Bonus ball!)

If only I'd spent more time analysing this before I bought my ticket. Right now I could be a millionaire. Such is life.

Until next time,
Dottie xx

09/09/09 Take Two

Who watched Derren Brown on C4 at 10.35pm? I was ASTOUNDED!!!

I also only got one number. I wished I'd stuck to my tried and tested numbers, because I would have won a tenner. Oh well nevermind. If he truly does reveal all, this is my plan for after uni. I will become lottery predicting guru and you will all bow down to my greatness muahahahaha :D

Until next time,
Dottie xx

P.S. Note to Camelot, the BBC and the BBC's lawyers - I probably won't.

09/09/09

Evening my dears!!

Well well, what a day. I am hugely looking forward to Derren Brown's Lottery prediction tonight.

But for any of the tech savvy amongst you, perhaps you've just been glued to Gizmodo to see the latest news from the Keynote Apple speech in London. Rumours have now been quantified or quashed, and the new iPod nanos are here!! I'm so excited. So ridiculously excited. Tonnes of new features (camera, video, fm radio, pedometer, integration with Nike+) plus a lower price. WIN!

Prepare to feast your eyes on their lovelyness :D



I've had my current purple nano since Christmas '08. I couldn't get yellow anywhere. Gutted. However, I plan on upgrading very very soon :D And the yellow one will be mine. Did you hear that Apple? You will NOT sell out :]

Until next time,
Dottie xx

Calling all believers, and quite possibly skeptics too

Two words. National Lottery.

Those of you in the Derren Brown fan club will know what I'm on about. I'd quite like to know how many of you (that are fans) are going to buy a ticket for the Wednesday draw?

Hmm?

Online Surveys & Market Research

Until next time,
Dottie xx

My weekend

I wouldn't normally blog about my weekends. They're usually pretty darn boring. But this was somewhat of an exception. Yesterday was my 5-and-a-half-month old cousin's christening. I had some lush new shoes to go with my dress.



Aren't they gorgeous?!!

Anyway the good news is a) they went with my dress, and b) I managed to walk in them alll day, which was rather good as I haven't worn in heels in months!

Now to the interesting bit. The vicar, who looked like a man but was actually a woman, kept getting my cousin's name wrong... then she started waffling on about sat nav and likening it to the journey through life... I suppose that's the effect technology has had on the church. And then she started going on about swine flu. When it got around to the actual putting holy water on the baby's head malarky, she got his name wrong again. Methinks someone didn't have their Weetabix for breakfast! Deary me.

Any my hilarious great uncle, (no, I'm not being sarcastic, he is actually side splittingly funny!), has decided I am not a proper student, as I have not drunk out of a fishbowl. Right you are...

So dear followers, tell me, have you ever drank out of a fishbowl? Is this a typically studenty thing to do? Wait, of course it is. But the question is, have you? Why? And how did this come about? Answers in a comment perlease :]

Until next time,
Dottie xx

A word of welcome!

Hello, hello to any of you dear people who may have been tempted to come over after Michael gave me a mention on his blog, Law Actually.

You'll find pretty much anything and everything here at the mo, but do not worry, as Michael says, once the new semester finally begins (hurry up October!) I will do some actual blawging rather than writing about anything that takes my fancy. Although some of that may pop up in between!

Michael, once again, thank you for putting my blawg out there to your many followers. You wrote most kindly.

I will get around to posting my favourite blawgs in due course, of which there are quite a few :]

Until next time,
Dottie

Who'd have thought it?

My wireless internet woes and issues with broadband speed were sorted through Twitter thanks to the lovely, helpful people at BT Care (@BTCare).

And the lovely PR lady at my university attempted to help me with my iPod issues.

Now, I wonder if @Firefox will get back to me about my complaints about the aforesaid browser?

And maybe it would be wishful thinking to hope that the local police force would do something re: the complaint I made about reckless drivers in our town. I doubt it but we'll see. Surely they went all technological with us for a reason?

Dear readers, do you tweet? Follow me (via Twitter icon on the left) and I'll follow you back :]

Until next time,
Dottie (new nick that I rather like, from Law Minx!)