tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91894793491972752692009-11-15T15:34:14.969ZRodney Riley Blog HomepageThe blog of Rodney Riley, I will keep trying to add new and interesting things here :-)Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-25190424769879381552009-11-15T14:01:00.004Z2009-11-15T15:34:14.977ZMando leaving present - Aston Martin Driving ExperienceWhen I left back in May (it really doesn't feel that long ago) Tony bought me a voucher for a driving experience with the money from the whip round. These vouchers are only valid for a year and they don't run the experience during the Winter months so I thought it was time for me to pull my finger out and get it booked! November 14/15th was the last weekend of the year and it was wet!<br /><br />When you arrive at the car park for the circuit (Pro Drive is in Warwickshire) you get a on a mini bus that takes you to the pit lane. There you sign in and they give you a slip detailing what you are going to be doing when. <br /><br />The first part of the experience is an orientation drive around the circuit, you are driven by an instructor in a Mitsubishi Evolution at a slow (ish) speed to show you all the corners etc.<br /><br />Then you get onto the interesting part, after you have been around the track you move onto driving your car of the day. I have to say this part of the experience was fantastic, they really want you to enjoy it. If you want to drive slow, that's fine, fast, that's good also. I had four laps.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/PB140256-791733.JPG"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/PB140256-791314.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/PB140244-721112.JPG"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/PB140244-720732.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />The circuit consisted of two straights and a series of chicanes at each end. The first lap I was really just getting used to where I was going, but on the second I was able to start stretching the car's legs. It's hard to describe how quick the Aston Martin V8 actually is (and this is the baby one!) 380 horse power in a two seater results in epic performance. Down the straight I was able reach around 120mph! On the second lap I got onto the power a little early in the corner before the long straight and the car's back end stepped out, very controllable - you really appreciate how well balanced these things are when they slide. <br /><br />The third lap was just amazing I'd got used to the car and the track and was really able to get going. So much so that I caught up a Lamborghini - I kept my distance through the corners but the instructor told me to close right up on the back of it. On the exit of the final corner before the long straight I was told to go for it and over take the Lambo. Fantastic, both cars going hard, down the straight. The Aston should have been slower but the guy in the Lambo wasn't pushing as hard as I was so I reached the corner first. Not ever day you overtake a Lambo whilst driving an Aston Martin! (It was the orange one in the pic below)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/PB140237-735212.JPG"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/PB140237-734805.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />After the experience was over the instructor marks you on your car control. They didn't tell you that at the start either. Interestingly the scale was 31-38, not idea why! Anyway, flattering he gave me a 37+ saying it was a pleasure to take someone around who could drive and really wanted to enjoy it.<br /><br />Finally they take you around in another Mitsubishi Evo on a fast lap. Interestingly down the straights the Aston was just as quick as this fast demo lap, through the corners they rain you in but not as a passenger on the fast lap. This lap was fun, quite violent and over very quickly!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/PB140260-793374.JPG"><img style="margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/PB140260-792963.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />On the way out of the circuit you are also taken on a four wheel drive circuit as a passenger. This was fun but I've actually drive off road myself and it is never as good as a passenger.<br /><br />So I just wanted to say thank you to everyone at Mando who put into the pot for me when I left. I had a great time at the track and really appreciate it.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-2519042476987938155?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-91986741282847845112009-09-03T12:12:00.004+01:002009-09-03T12:16:01.857+01:00windows 7 wpaI came across a problem with Windows 7 RC when I tried to put it onto my works wifi network (which runs WPA encryption). My Laptop would not see the network at all!<br /><br />Reading around I'm not alone and a number of people have had this problem. <br /><br />The solution for anyone who is still looking relates to the Channel on which the wifi is broadcast. I found that simply changing the Channel on which the router broadcast solved the issue.<br /><br />I suspect it is region related (RC1 is an American distribution) however I've not tested this theory. Change the channel on your router and you should be fine.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-9198674128284784511?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-10624490365148237122009-08-27T09:49:00.002+01:002009-08-27T10:01:07.543+01:00Windows 7 RC vs Vista2 years ago I bought a new laptop, my first machine for the better part of 6 years. This system came with Windows Vista, 2gb of RAM and a dual core CPU and worked pretty well. Recently it became pretty slow so I decided to format it up and try out the new baby from Redmond.<br /><br />Initial results and comments:<br /><br />- Prettier <br />- Easy to install<br />- Excellent driver support<br />- Fast<br />- Reliable<br /><br />I’ll post more as I give it more use but initial results seem great to me. Much improved on Vista!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-1062449036514823712?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-40299474804874083212009-08-04T16:11:00.003+01:002009-08-04T16:21:43.316+01:00Some of the things I've been working on recentlyI left Mando Group back in May so that I could work on improving my skill set. One of the key skills I'm looking to improve is my css/xhtml knowledge so I needed to get to a position were I could build websites. My skills as a designer are somewhat lacking (I'm not an artist) so we drafted in Amy Clover (ex Martin Dawes) to ensure we had strong visuals. Once the site had been designed I got to work on my first commercial build in a long time <a href="http://www.onlinerocksalt.co.uk">Rock Salt Online</a>. <br /><br />Please have a look and let me know your comments from both a technical and a users perspective. a lot of work went into the site and we are looking to improve it further. Also feel free to throw it a link :-) if you like it!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-4029947480487408321?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-73761366467670494852009-07-29T21:43:00.002+01:002009-07-29T22:09:34.569+01:00What a day (SEO related)Well it has been an interesting day for those of us who spend our days looking at the results pumped out by search engines. Firstly the deal between Yahoo! and Bing, I've been thinking for a long time that a company with the money and power of Microsoft won't simply sit back and take it. <br /><br />Microsoft want in on search, this is the company that once underestimated how the internet would penetrate into daily life but boy did it come back! With Internet Explorer dominant in the market these days having smashed the hold Netscape once had. As SEOs we need to watch this with interest!<br /><br />As with all things media hype is ahead of the curve - it will be a couple of years at least before this deal hits the streets. A huge amount of change needs to happen first (regulators need to pass the deal, technology integration between Yahoo! and Bing etc.<br /><br />And for those who say it'll never happen... <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8172310.stm">Check out this in F1 </a> I'm looking forward to seeing Hamilton Vs Schumacher!<br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8172310.stm<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-7376136646767049485?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-47567147773998620602009-03-04T22:41:00.001Z2009-03-04T22:44:50.412ZWant to know SEO? Here you go!Most SEO is simple and straightforward. If you follow this article by SEOmoz you won't go far wrong.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/my-personal-opinion-90-of-the-rankings-equation-lies-in-these-4-factors">In my opinion 90% of the rankings equation lies in these 4 factora</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-4756714777399862060?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-21252664198686536082009-02-13T10:15:00.000Z2009-02-13T10:16:35.654ZInteresting articleWell worth a read.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/02/10/10-harsh-truths-about-corporate-websites/">http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/02/10/10-harsh-truths-about-corporate-websites/</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-2125266419868653608?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-28207438317543640222008-12-21T21:19:00.002Z2008-12-21T21:22:52.980ZMy first websiteFor those who might be interest I've dug out the very first website I built. It was for a Uni project - part of a information systems design module. It was actually this build which put me into my online marketing career path. Here it is from way back in early 2001.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/grottvideo/home.html">Grott Video Website</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-2820743831754364022?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-61593431175128778692008-08-03T16:20:00.001+01:002008-08-03T16:21:55.000+01:00My experience with LinuxI guess adding the work Linux to the title of any blog is going to give away early on that I have quite a passion for all things technological. Before I get to the point I really want to cover let me tell you a little bit of background. Back in 2001 my step dad introduced my to Linux – I was using windows 2000 at the time and to be honest I found that Linux could be a pain in the neck. Simple things like playing a DVD or connecting to the internet were really complicated in comparison to the offerings from Redmond. My dissertation was written using OpenOffice and Visio (I know it is a Microsoft product but the was nothing under Linux at the time that compared). After this I started working and really had little time for my old Linux box.<br /><br />So five years went by and my computing life revolved around XP – but during this time I never actually owned a computer (except the Linux box that was in storage). Strange for someone working in online marketing to not actually own a machine but it was not necessary because I always had access to a computer. I really think this shows how they are in many ways becoming terminals to the Internet, a way of getting online rather than an end in themselves. But in late 2007 I decided enough was enough and bought a Dell laptop, I was amazed by how cheap it was. Only £520 for 2 cores, 2gb of ram, high contrast screen, big disc and a case. When I last bought a machine a similar “level” not spec would have been over a grand. <br /><br />The machine came loaded with Windows Vista which I have to say is pretty good. Everything works with ease and looks pretty. However, that said it does have a major downside – it loves power. Even with the spec of my new machine it felt slow at times. Linux has always been in the back of my mind so I decided that maybe it was time to give the OS another go. After a little research <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/">Ubuntu</a> looked like a good candidate. A quick 700mb download later and I was ready to give the new system a whirl.<br /><br />You can install it from Windows in a sectioned off part of the NTFS partition – very clever feature that I have not seen before. It seemed much simpler than resizing partitions, creating new partitions etc. It does have a slight performance penalty but for a taster I went with it. One install later and I had a flickering, distorted screen. Good job. Install number two using safe mode drivers went better. Followed by installing the propriety ATI drivers and control panel. So at last I had a machine I could see but not use. It took me a further two hours to get the Wifi working and I am still not quite sure what got it going. <br /><br />Running the system is fantastic, it is really really fast. Has all of the software I need and works perfectly. However, it must be said that before Linux can go mass market it needs to become simpler to install. I have worked on or around computers for nine years and this was still a tricky task. Put simply it should not be that hard, Windows can be installed by a 10 year old with a Coca Cola the same can't be said of Linux which is a real shame. <br /><br />I love Linux but until it loses some of its “quirks” it will remain a closed book to most people. Although I am sure it will get there and it has come a long long way since I last experimented with it more work needs to be done.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-6159343117512877869?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-12184253077982269432008-07-17T22:02:00.003+01:002008-07-17T22:07:21.040+01:00A great source of SEO informationI thought I would add a quick note for anyone who is looking to learn more about SEO. I have found that on Youtube is if you search for "Whiteboard Friday" you come across lots of videos by Rand Fishkin of seomoz.org. These are fantastic covering a lot of stuff in little 5-10 minute clips. Of course the site is also well worth a read with lots of useful tools that allow you to check lots of details about how a site ranks and why it ranks.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-1218425307798226943?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-72204036875022476882008-06-12T22:47:00.002+01:002008-06-12T22:49:34.333+01:00A spot of decoratingWell summer is here at last and has got me thinking about <a href="http://www.trade1st.co.uk">decorating supplies</a> well more specifically working on the website rather than DIY. But if you are after a spot of home improvement and need some paint, filler or other stuff the site is well worth checking out.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-7220403687502247688?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-57491838968593224152008-05-14T17:05:00.002+01:002008-05-14T17:14:00.693+01:00Scaffolding SalesIf you ever need to buy or hire scaffolding of any accessories such as towers, fencing etc. Why not have a look at <a href="http://www.scaffoldingsales.co.uk" title="scaffolding hire">http://www.scaffoldingsales.co.uk</a> they are a good company and having met them in person I can highly recommend them.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-5749183896859322415?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-49228222189494200642008-04-30T23:30:00.003+01:002008-04-30T23:52:09.623+01:00Time for SEOWell it is about time I wrote a post on this blog about Search Engine Optimisation. I though I would start with some of the changes that are happening in the search engine world.<br /><br />People often make one search after another and until now search engines have treated these as unique individual searches however this is starting to change. A great example is if you search for Spain you get the following:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/spain-783174.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/spain-783043.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Nothing too exciting there it looks just like the results we have been getting for the past five years or so. Now comes the fun part. I follow this up with a search for flights and get the following results:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/flights-756603.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://www.rodneyriley.co.uk/uploaded_images/flights-756538.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />You can see in the results that have been returned by Google that the a significant number of flights are to Spain or Spanish cities. Not only in the sponsored adwords were this was first appeared but in the main results as well. Interesting times for SEOs. <br /><br />What does this mean? Well it is effectively an encouragement for us all to start optimising for longer tail searches especially as the second search really became "Spain Flights"<br /><br />The second area is a little more conjecture. Semantic search has been talked about for many years now but with Yahoo's announcement a couple of months back that it is running trials it is time to start considering what impact this may have on the world of SEO. Semantic search looks at the meaning of the words that the user is searching for and aims to return appropriate results e.g. TV, Television, Used car, second hand car. The similarities are close enough that they should really lead to the same sorts of pages but at the moment they don't. Why? Because seos have optimised different sets of pages for these terms. This area of search is one to watch because it is sure to mean big changes in the world of seo when the algorithms start to factor in the meaning of searches not just keyword matching.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-4922822218949420064?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-13750314764833649032008-03-28T19:32:00.002Z2008-03-28T19:39:26.180ZTime for a changeWell it is that time again - 60,000 miles ago I got a nice shiny new (to me) Passat. It has been a fantastic car so far, only problems I have had are a temp sensor and a split CV boot not bad for a car that is just shy of 120,000 miles. So what am I changing?<br /><br />The Passat has been so good I see no reason to get rid of her. So a new cam belt is going on tomorrow but it is rather a big job. Passat's have their engine mounted longitudinally which means to change the belt you have to take the whole front of the car off! No worries I know a man who can. <br /><br />I will let you know how the Passat gets on - if only it was rear wheel drive and diesel it would be perfect for me :-)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-1375031476483364903?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-54021271077050844722008-03-16T12:32:00.002Z2008-03-16T12:39:41.512ZA little updateHi all,<br /><br />It seems like ages since I last wrote a post on here, lots of things have happened. I moved jobs in February to a web development company based in Liverpool called Mando Group. Moving jobs is always a little uncertain but it has been a fantastic choice. Everyone there has been very welcoming and we have some great clients who I am enjoying working with very much.<br /><br />Last week I took a trip to Scotland with Judith - I had never really explored this wonderful place before. On Facebook I have updated an album with some pictures. Although the weather was a bit schizophrenic with sun, snow, hail, rain and wind all within a few hours it took nothing away from the experience. I would love to go back to Scotland sometime, maybe to see the northern lights.<br /><br />I will try and post again soon, bye for now :-)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-5402127107705084472?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-1006376576449313232008-02-09T15:22:00.003Z2008-03-21T15:13:19.903ZWebsites i have worked with recentlyHi Everyone.<br /><br />I have been really busy recently looking at the SEO of a couple of websites. Firstly that of tachodisc.co.uk, these guys specialise in <a title="Digital Tachograph" href="http://www.tachodisc.co.uk/">digital tachographs</a> and secondly trade1st.co.uk who are focused on <a href="http://www.trade1st.co.uk/" title="Decorating Supplies">decorating suppliers</a> to professionals and the general public. Why not have a look at these two sites and suggest possible improvments you see to me?<br /><br />I have also been busy working on my own site, it is focused on gardening products and will be coming soon. I have been doing this to sharpen up my CSS skills (I have been using tables for far longer than I should have been!)<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Rodney<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-100637657644931323?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189479349197275269.post-86200131286381913872008-02-09T15:05:00.000Z2008-02-09T15:09:01.238ZMy first blog postHi everyone,<br /><br />I have decided at long last to change my homepage and put something a bit more interesting in its place. Welcome to my Blog :-) I will post new things here, some will be for general interest and some will be Internet related. If you have anything you would like to see here please let me know.<br /><br />All the best<br /><br />Rodney<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/9189479349197275269-8620013128638191387?l=www.rodneyriley.co.uk'/></div>Rodney Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17970455899415991836noreply@blogger.com1