OMG WTF? I need to brush up on text speak (txt spk?). Many of my customers communicate with me by using texting language and sometimes i really find it hard to decipher what they’re saying. It’s pretty important for me to be able to understand them because what they are telling me is going to end up printed on invites that they are shelling out money for. You would be surprised at how many people have me changing ‘You Are Invited To….‘ into this:

I did a search on the web and i found a texting dictionary, great i thought. Only the people writing to me haven’t read it because they are sending me their own versions of text speak! (ARGHHHHH!) Anyway, if you find yourself in the same boat as me then here is a text speak converter that you might find handy.

http://www.lingo2word.com/translate.php

And if you are a textaholic then here is this post rtanslated into text speak:

OMG WTF? I nd 2 brush ^ on txt spk (txt spk?). mnE of my custs comnC8 W me by UzN txtN lingo n sumtyms i realy fnd it hrd 2 decode w@ they’re sAyn. It’s prety impt 4me2 B abL 2 undRst& em coz w@ thyre telin me S gunA Nd ^ prntD on nivtes dat thyre shelling ot $ 4. ud B surprisd @ hw mnE ppl av me changiN ‘You r invItD To….‘ N2 dis:

I did a srch on d web +I fownd a txtN dxNre, gr8 i thort. 1ly d ppl ritN 2 me haven’t read it coz thyre sendg me their own versions of txt spk! (ARGHHHHH!) Nyway, f u fnd yrslf n d same boat as me thN hre isa txt spk convertr dat u myt fnd h&d.

RIP Madonna was trending on Twitter yesterday:

Guy Oseary @guyoseary
the queen is alive and well…
Little Monster @Here4GaG
@guyoseary Shut up ugly. That bitch is dead and you know it.
Guy Oseary @guyoseary
@Here4GaG what a lovely message.. I promise you @ladygaga would not approve of your words… #growup #onelove
Little Monster @Here4GaG
@guyoseary Shut up dummy. You can’t prove that. Queen @ladygaga is the reason why the world goes round. Now, put ya *Paws UP*
Kelly Osbourne @MissKellyO
@ladygaga really has created monsters. w/ every nasty unjustified tweet u send me u shame your queen. hate it not what @ladygaga is about!
Sharon Osbourne @MrsSOsbourne
I texted @ladygaga’s manager to look at her twitter because there are some very disturbing things being said on there.
Sharon Osbourne @MrsSOsbourne
I’m sure @ladygaga doesn’t want to be associated with that kind of negativity and nastiness.

Lady GaGa really does have the most vile fans^[1]. I don’t know about ‘Monsters’, i think she has created demons. I find it ironic that she is supposedly so anti-bullying and yet her fans are some of the biggest bullies on the internet. Take a look in your own camp love before you start lecturing the fucking world.

I actually liked GaGa when she first came out, she was original and quirky and likeable. Now she’s a second rate Madonna clone ripping off various icons left right and centre whilst doing all she can to feed her monsters what they crave (an identity) in order to keep her fame obsession going. It’s interesting that GaGa has gone off the radar since Madonna called her out over the whole Born This Way sounding like Express Yourself thing. GaGa was so busy telling the world that Madonna’s camp gave their approval and now Madonna has made it quite clear they did no such thing.

GaGa a you’re pathetic attention whore and that’s fine, it’s easy to switch you off but do please get your Monsters on a leash. They’re attacking people left right and centre.

“OMG Adelle won more awards, MONSTERS GET ON TWITTER NOW AND SLAYYYYYY THE FAT BITCH”

Hopefully one day they will be original enough to get their own identity as most children do when they grow up but what really freaks me out is middle aged women and gay gays screaming “WE LOVE YOU MUMMY!!!!”. What. The. Fuck?

1. Generally speaking, i know they’re not all the same [↩]

Ok i can’t decide between minus.com and Imigur. Imigur definately looks better and has a much cleaner interface but it has no iPhone app so i can’t upload easily directly from iPhone. Bugger.

I was looking for a new file host and i came accross minus.com. You can upload any file you like but for me the way it handles images is brilliant. It lets you embed a gallery into your blog page, share link etc. It’s free too. If you open a free account then by clicking this link: http://min.us/rURaXyO we will both get an extra GB of space (you get 10GB free).

Here’s my instagram folder as an embedded gallery.

I took this photo ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/madeintheuk/6575380279/ ) on boxing day of a little cluster of ladybirds in our garden.  It was a very mild xmas and unusual to see them at that time of year.  I strapped on my cheapo £6 macro lens to my iPhone, took the pic and submitted it to a magazine.  Well imagine my surprise today when i was flicking through the mag and there was my picture! :-)