I was checking out http://www.crosswordtools.com/cm/ but there doesn’t seem to be a way of using it without forking out cash - and worse handing over subscription details. Paranoid as I am the less sites I give my details to the better I like it.

So I got to thinking, how to limit access and / or make money without subscriptions.

a) Limit free use to eg X clues a day - tricky to code in a fool proof way as far as I can see (I’m not a web programmer)

b) Require users to enter a validation image - time consuming enough to make subscribing worthwhile and not machine crackable but doesn’t actually create revenue

c) Obviously advertising sponsorship would pay for free access but everybody is chasing sponsors. Why not require users to enter a quiz on what has been advertised?

Much like http://www.computershopper.co.uk/competitions/0705161223/113033/computer-shopper-compo-issue-233.html Surely advertisers will pay up if they know their copy is being read and how often.

Unfortunately I don’t have a product to market that way

It’s the sort of health scare that terrifies me & that I hadn’t seen

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,1521285,00.html

The last check up I had at the dentist she asked if I ground me teeth at night. I replied “No” thinking she was mad but I have had some problems with my teeth not seeming to line up properly and pain in the night when I just wake up because my teeth suddenly hurt. I don’t think I “grind”, my jaw seems to wander off and then when I close my mouth to swallow or whatever, the teeth clash together.

Anyway I put down the pain to worn fillings and ignored it as my dentist also said “some of these are over filled, I should crown them for you” Arrrggg, no - hours in the chair whilst she pokes about. I was thinking about it, but they weren’t good thoughts so I didn’t do anything.

Anyway, I found a suspicious lump in my bran flakes yesterday and half a tooth was floating around suddenly unattached. I got an appointment to get it sorted but not for a couple of days so it was with fear and trepidation I got ready for bed, having lost some more just watching the telly how much tooth would be left after the night? Then my wife, who does grind her teeth and has a special thing from the dentist she is supposed to wear but doesn’t suggested my gum shield. As a black belt (only just!) I own the full sparring gear including a gum shield which I never wear as running round trying not to be hit is bad enough without wanting to throw up all the time. At this point I am fearful enough to try anything, including wandering up and down the street in my night attire trying to find the car (where I had left my sparring gear) and then climbing into bed looking like Austin Powers, sounding like a darlek with a head cold and periodically gagging.

It only took a while to get used to and I did get to sleep and, most importantly, woke with no more tooth lost. Apart from waking a few times (as usual) and a scary dream in which I thought I had a mouthful of sticky toffee (scary because I remembered I was missing half a tooth and when I tried to get rid of the toffee most of the rest of the tooth came out with it - yuggh!) it was a pretty good night.

This morning I googled for “teeth night” and came up with lots of hits including the Guardian one above and long threads from the US on how expensive “night-guard”s are. Well my gum shield was a few quid from ebay (new, I hope!) but most sports shops sell them. You heat them and then mould them to your mouth so they do fit. Because it’s soft

it’s ideal for me but if you are a real grinder the softness just means you wear it out apparently.

I might wear it every night - I can then get a new scary one (day glow green, or white with a few teeth blacked out) to wear for sparring. Hopefully I’ll be over the gag reaction now.

I sync’ed to the latest version of our sources today and guess what - it didn’t build. The compiler complained that one class method wasn’t implemented. I quick conflab and it turns out someone is using a newer version of Qt. So I download and install a newer version (no simple matter as it requires passwords I forgot I had and a not very bewildering choice of downloads but I still managed to get the wrong one first time round).

I actually installed a beta - well a release candidate (good software shouldn’t be released, it should escape by itself and anything with candidate in the title is dubious) but it was recommended by the project leader… 

Doesn’t work - rebuild all projects.Doesn’t work - reboot.  

Doesn’t work - somehow it hasn’t changed the system environment variables and path so it is still using the old version.

Manually edit them.

Doesn’t work - reboot.Doesn’t work - rebuild all projects.Doesn’t work - reboot (again for luck).

Doesn’t work - reboot.Doesn’t work - rebuild all projects.

In my other career as a writer (a bit of an in joke in black humour, I have not even written anything for ages and never had any of humour (which is my real target) published) I have had some good news. The crossword I write for a guitar mag has been re-commissioned for another run. The only bad news is it is with the proviso I make it a bit easier as it is too “intellectual”. Not a problem, the clues were a bit Telegraph for a hobby magazine (though I maintain not as bad as the Radio Times which I find a right git to finish some weeks). However, a bit of a pain as my wife (who proof reads them) has always said they were too hard and is in “I told you so” mode. Looking back I find:

Pre Christian Kabbalah saint joins Brummie rockers (5,7)

A bit tricky - anag of BC, Kabbalah and St - Black Sabbath obviously

But you could get most of the letters in with easy ones like:

In the wrong Wood (3) 

Ron - as in wRONg and Ron Wood from the Stones etc.

Apparently the publisher also publishes “Nuts” so maybe I’d better make it a lot easier.

1 across: Stit (anag) 4

Should do!

Snot, snot, snot! I had my eye on a fine guitar on ebay, I was reckoning on paying up to £150 for.

It’s a cheap Chinese 335 copy which normally sells for £170 buy it now or £110-120 auction but this was second hand, a beautiful blue and had upgraded pickups and nut + plus a full setup and a access panel for tweaking the wiring. Better than new. There would be no warranty but on cheap mail order guitars warranty has limited value - p&p amounts to more than getting most things fixed yourself.

I logged on on Monday to check how the bidding was and it had sold on Sunday for £97

That’s bank holidays for you, I just lose track of which day’s which. I knew it finished sometime over the weekend,  I just forgot when - that and I was so knackered I was asleep most of Sunday PM! If only I’d been at work on Sunday I’d have at least been on line (what am I saying!?!! - I’d have still fallen asleep!).

Oh well at least I’ve not been divorced for buying another guitar.

PS If any one has any experience of Wesley Guitars I’d be pleased to hear, they check out reasonabley on

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Wesley

Maybe I’ve been saved from a right dodgey bit of kit.