Thursday 30 September 2004

Darth Gerard

A co-worker has just received a delivery in the mail: a replica of Darth Vader's lightsabre, complete with motion-sensitive sound effects and a blade that lights up and shuts down via 64 timed LEDs. It really shouldn't bring him this much joy, but he's been waving that thing around like he's the Star Wars Kid all grown up. It's a good thing it makes its own sounds, or I'd probably have to kill him. Various other office passers-by have been drawn in to take a look, and I've gotten to thinking that maybe I need something that gets this much attention, but less geekish.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - It's sitting on his desk right now in its display stand.
PPS - This display piece/toy cost $200 (Australian).

"Having a great time. Wish I was dead"

Sometimes, just a second after posting a letter, sending an email or sending a text message, you kind of wish you hadn't done that. There's that momentary panic when you realise that you've said something or done something that you had plenty of time to take back, and didn't. I tend to link them to a memory I have of sending a text message that said "Having a great time. Wish you were here.", with inverted commas included. It's amazing just how embarrassed and horrified you can become just by yourself after one of these incidents.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - It is sometimes known as a D.U.I.
PPS - That's "Dialling Under the Influence".

Wednesday 29 September 2004

Depressurised

I had felt a bit overwhelmed recently, so last night I took about half an hour to vent it all at my computer. I just sat down and wrote out everything that was bothering me, mostly about me. Like some kind of technological hermit, the only thing I trust to keep these thoughts private is a PC that's off the network. I guess I must be done for a while, because now I've started worrying about a friend instead of myself. I think I'll need to vent that, too.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Maybe I'll post the stream of consciousness later.
PPS - With appropriate editing to protect the innocent.

Tuesday 28 September 2004

Bye, Emelia

Last night on Australian Idol, Emelia was voted off. It's sad to see her go, because she was really the wildcard of wildcards - an everyday person in a place many of us wish we could be. She was one of my favourites for this reason, though I never picked her to win.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - It's getting harder to see these performers leave the competition.
PPS - Maybe I shouldn't get so involved...

Monday 27 September 2004

Dodge This

I saw Dodgeball on Friday night, so it's easy fodder for a blog entry today. I think I'll provide an actor's perspective on the whole thing: I like Vince Vaughn and his straight-man performance. I'd even be tempted to put him up next to Bill Murray for comic excellence. I also liked Lance Armstrong's cameo appearance, and Ben Stiller does a fantastic job of inspiring hate for his villain character, though at times it felt like he might have tried too hard. Overall, I thought the movie could have used a bit more time devoted to the preliminary matches, and the character development was rather thin. It does feel absurd to criticise the script of a movie like this, though.

3/5: I laughed

Mokalus of Borg

PS - There is some more content after the credits.
PPS - You won't miss much if you leave before that.

Sunday 26 September 2004

The Sunday Mok - In Depth

This has been one of my busier weeks in recent history, or at least it felt that way.

On Sunday morning, the day after the bucks party, we had to get the bus back to the rental place by 09:00. The Pacific International carpark had been a bit unfriendly to us on the way in, so I was not exactly looking forward to moving the enormous vehicle out again. We grabbed a few guys that weren't comatose and made our way to the bus. It quickly became clear that we would not be driving out forwards, as there was not enough room to maneuver around that way. So, with three guys watching my corners and sides, I gradually backed down the entry ramp, sometimes with only centimetres to spare. It took about fifteen minutes, which meant (to me) that I was right to suggest the taxi for the previous night. Anyway, we returned the bus without a scratch and I was relieved to see it go ... until I remembered that we'd left Daniel's golf clubs in the back.
I've noticed Michelle being a bit more friendly to me recently. Not over-friendly, just acquaintance-level, up from "familiar stranger". She used to treat me like you might treat a co-worker that you have to be around, but can't actually get along with.
On Monday at lunchtime I went out hunting for the Star Wars DVDs, potentially being sold before their official release date of Wednesday. It looked like many other people had the same idea, but there were no discs to be seen. There was a suspiciously-empty generic display stand out the front of JB-HiFi, though. In the evening, straight after work, we had another rehearsal for the Esther skit to be performed on Sunday night. I've been learning my lines during my bus trips.
On Tuesday lunch I did manage to score some Star Wars DVDs, plus a belt and shoes to complete my wedding outfit for Saturday. I went with a "rock star formal" look (no tie, shirt untucked, sneakers rather than dress shoes), which was much more comfortable to me. I also took ninety minutes to do about one third of my first aid theory work.
Wednesday evening I had a Youth Leadership Development meeting, and it now looks like these are set to occupy every second Wednesday night until the end of time. That leaves me with three open weekday nights every two weeks - Mondays and every second Wednesday. Add in the fact that I've just accepted the challenge of tutoring Tim through his Java programming on Wednesdays, I guess that leaves Mondays.
Thursday I re-committed to regular exercise. I used to run for half an hour twice a week during university.
On Friday, I think I may actually have done no work somehow. I spent most of the morning trying (unsuccessfully) to set up OpenWFE for evaluation, and most of the afternoon studying for my first MCAD exam. I saw Dodgeball after work, too. Review Monday.
Saturday: The Wedding. I arrived at the church early, as instructed, and was the first there. Kym arrived moments later. I was an usher at the door, so I got to see Julia when she arrived and before she walked in. She looked terrified, but stunning. The way these two looked at each other during the ceremony was enough in itself to reduce most people to tears. The reception was fun, too. Our tables were named after soccer teams - I was seated at Aston Villa. As Lydia walked behind my chair, filming well-wishing messages from guests, I accidentally crunched it down on her toes. I felt particularly bad about this because (a) I couldn't do anything to make it feel better and (b) this is the first time I've seen her in over a year. Is it two years? Could be. So it was like "Welcome back to Australia! Here's a chair on your foot!". Sorry, Lyd.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I was probably supposed to catch the garter.
PPS - For a certain value of "supposed".

Friday 24 September 2004

At least it's not .COM

The more I think about it, the more I think it might have been a silly idea for Microsoft to call a product ".NET". It's bad enough when two products double up on their names, but Microsoft, in their infinite wisdom, have chosen to usurp an entire top-level web domain. Of course, for .NET developers it's really *easy* (read: hard) to find information on the internet that relates to .NET.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Like trying to find a specific person called "Sum Gai".
PPS - Besides the few bewildered looks, you'll get everything but what you're looking for.

Thursday 23 September 2004

Assimilating Brains

I've had a thought that's obviously been touched on before: Borg are the zombies of Star Trek. They're slow, mindless, they can change you into one of them, and their power is usually in numbers. The analogy probably doesn't stretch too far, but it does go to show that creativity is a slippery beast, difficult to catch.

"You will be assimilated!"
"Brains..."
"Shut up, Trevor."
"BRAINS!"
"...You're not helping."


Mokalus of Borg

PS - I wonder if zombies ever wish for a more fulfilling life?
PPS - Probably not.

Wednesday 22 September 2004

May the Force be with you. Later.

Just got the Star Wars DVD box set yesterday (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi). However, I am so busy at the moment that I will probably only get my first chance to watch them ... (checks calendar) ... about a week from now.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Unless I forego some sleep.
PPS - This is probably very likely.

Tuesday 21 September 2004

"My left shoe"

Whether or not it's actually true, when I hear someone whispering something that might be a compliment, I like to imagine that it's about me. For instance, a day or two ago I heard two girls walk past me whispering to each other while smiling, and I thought I heard the phrase "I think he's really hot".

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Naturally, I took it personally. :P
PPS - Wouldn't you?

Monday 20 September 2004

Maybe you could write him a nasty note?

I don't mean to slip into a blog cliche, but I'm writing about a dream I had last night. I believe it was inspired by recent discussions of Doom 3, a game I have yet to witness or play. Anyway, I arrived in a dark jungle-like corridor that looked like a tasteful country club pergoda might look if you let it go for a few years and turned out all the lights. For a minute or two I watched one guy dispatch several tigers by shooting them in the head with an energy pistol of some kind. It burned huge holes in their heads about the diameter of a compact disc, and distressed me just a bit, being a cat owner.

After the tiger-slaughter was done, I talked to some official guy who was standing there and kindly inquired about becoming armed against the rabid tigers myself. He politely replied that I was welcome to whatever weapons I could find lying around, and even went so far as to call HQ for the helpful tip that somewhere around here might be another energy pistol. The best I could find was a ball-point pen. So naturally I stuck close to the guy with the gun and another guy who was only armed with a pen. We cautiously crept through the disused enclosure being wary of tigers dropping on us from the canopy overhead. As we crept along I was trying to determine the best way one might attack a tiger with a pen. Is there some vulnerable spot of a tiger's skull or brain that I'd learned about watching the Discovery Channel some time? I couldn't think of any.

That's about where the dream ends, really. More creeping, the occasional suggestive rustling on the other side of bushes, but mostly just trying not to die in a jungle while armed with a pen.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - The pen may be mightier, but only when you're far from the action.
PPS - And I'm sure that saying is not literal anyway.

Sunday 19 September 2004

The Sunday Mok - Dream a little dream

I had a fairly big Sunday after a medium-sized Saturday night. I was going to go back to sleep at 09:30 and was up until about 14:00 rehearsing a dramatisation of the book of Esther, written by a drama teacher at church. It's pretty funny stuff, but the effect is starting to wear off on me. I had a couple of pretty sudden mood swings, too, which can apparently be a sign of stress.
On Monday I got my new quiet case fans - one for the back and one for the CPU, though I may have some serious hassles trying to install the CPU fan. I played about four hours worth of City of Heroes to get some good experience up for my main character. That placed me close to level 16.
I used Tuesday at work to discuss design issues with a co-worker. I've been assigned the task of creating a system (as part of our main project) that will allow some users to automatically delegate certain types of data entry to underlings and approve it later. It presents plenty of interesting challenges (read: it's really hard). I skipped karate in the interest of stress management, since I had some tasks to complete and needed the time.
On Wednesday I took a bit of a break from the design task at work to hack together a program to test web services remotely. It should come in handy, since we can currently only test web services by logging in to their host server remotely, which is slow and chews up bandwidth, and we can't always do it anyway. For those outside the techspeak loop, focus on the words "program", "test" and "handy".
Thursday I looked for an afro wig for Friday night's "70s Dance Party" youth group program, and settled for some spray-on gel to help me 'fro my own hair. When I got home I remembered a costume shop within walking distance of the office that would certainly have afro wigs for sale.
I found an afro wig on Friday at the costume shop, so that was good. The dance party went well, including the karaoke setup. Michelle's performance of "Dream A Little Dream of Me" left me humming that song for the rest of the night and all through Saturday, too.
Saturday was a huge day - a bucks party. We started with skydiving. I was going to go up, but in the end we only had time to send the groom-to-be, which was still cool. Next we went golfing, though the main focus of that activity was the cart hire. As someone pointed out, it's cheaper than going to a go-kart track. We arrived at the hotel and the others proceeded to drink heavily, assisted by various games. I was driving the bus and don't drink alcohol anyway, so I saw all the festivities with a clear head. At about midnight, some of us headed to Fat Louie's for a few games of pool, then turned in back at the hotel at about 01:30.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - We had to get the bus back to the rental place by 09:00 the next morning.
PPS - More on that next week.

Friday 17 September 2004

The three greatest words

On my brief jaunt into the city centre today, I heard a salesbeast outside a jewellery shop proclaim that "The three most important words in the English language are 'Value For Money'". I immediately came up with a few slightly more important phrases:

"Look out below!"
"Don't touch that!"
"Extremely high voltage"

Mokalus of Borg

PS - And, of course, the old favourite.
PPS - That is, 'I love you'. Awwww. ^_^

Thursday 16 September 2004

The sound of silence

For the third time ever I tried sleeping with my PC on, to encode an episode of Australian Idol for a friend. It didn't work (again) but that's not the point. The point is that my new quiet fans have reduced the noise from the previous "jet engine on steroids" level down to "purring tiger", and I plan to further quiet the thing to "sleeping kitten" level. Everything still runs at the same temperature, and I woke up only when my alarm went off, to find out that TechnoFish had failed yet again at his task of encoding that TV ep. I guess you can't have everything.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I call my PC "TechnoFish" 'coz it looks like an aquarium filled with PCBs.
PPS - The blue light helps the imagery, too.

Wednesday 15 September 2004

EMERGENCY!

At work, we use a bug-tracking system to get feedback from users in the preliminary tests of our software. There are three levels of "impact" when a bug is reported: Low, Medium and High. Our users enter bugs and select an impact level - there is no default. Every single bug, from system crashes to tiny formatting changes like misplaced line breaks, is classified by them as a High impact bug. Every. Single. One.

We have, therefore, proposed a new impact classification that will, hopefully, improve the situation. There are no levels under our new system: the impact is now classified as one of the following:

Significant
Notable
Different
Strange
Unfortunate
Regrettable

We believe this will lessen the instances of over-classified bugs.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Another scheme, "Low", "Very low" and "Insignificant" was not ratified.
PPS - That one was inspired by movie popcorn sizes.

Tuesday 14 September 2004

Making the spammers behave

There's one program that changed the way spammers harvested email addresses, and I think there's an important lesson to be learned from it. When it started being a good idea to trawl the entire World Wide Web for email addresses so you could sell your over-the-counter viagra, hundreds of programs arose to do that job. There is a protocol on the web called the "robots exclusion protocol" which is designed to keep automatic programs like these from going into places they shouldn't. Naturally, the spambots ignored all "Keep Out" signs in order to get all the potential email addresses they could. This infuriated many people.

Someone, however, came up with a brilliant solution: create a kind of page that automatically produces worthless email addresses, always looks different, and links to itself hundreds of times. Then post a "Robots Keep Out" sign and let 'er rip. Legitimate web trawlers (like search engines) don't get bogged down, because they obey the sign. Rude spambots, however, get stuck forever in an endless loop which not only prevents them from moving on to harvest other addresses, but clogs up their entire result database with rubbish.

The end result? Most spambots now obey the robots exclusion protocol, and you can keep your email address from being harvested simply by posting a "Robots Keep Out" sign. The important lesson here is that when spammers break the rules for their own benefit, all you have to do is make it worth their while to obey them again.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - If only this principle was always so easy to apply.
PPS - I sometimes think we need to re-think our defensive siege strategy if we're going to win.

Monday 13 September 2004

The Terminal

Just in case you want my opinion (and even if you don't) The Terminal is quite an enjoyable way to spend two and a half hours, and it doesn't feel too long. I'm usually in favour of shortening movies to a maximum of two hours, but I'll let this one slide. The obligatory plot summary: Tom Hanks plays Viktor, a traveller from the fictional Eastern European country of Krakozhia whose government is overthrown while he's on a plane to New York. As a result, he has no nationality and an invalid passport and visa and is not permitted to leave the airport. He nests at gate 67 and settles in for a long stay, even though the airport beaurocrats don't expect him to actually obey the rules of the bizarre oversight. Genuinely enjoyable, blatantly emotional at times, and with just a bit of poor dialogue, I found The Terminal well worth my time.

4.5/5 - Some parts felt just a touch too awkward.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I've added a link to Apropos of Something in the sidebar.
PPS - Geek joke about computer terminals removed from this post.

Sunday 12 September 2004

The Sunday Mok - Non-Stop Action! Action! Action!

It's been a busy week, though possibly not that much has actually happened. It's just that I have a small-ish short-term memory, so once it starts to overflow I get overwhelmed and have to make a list. In that vein, then, here is my week, in point form.
  • (Sunday)
  • Brother's birthday and Father's Day.
  • Church
  • Heroes
  • Sleep
  • Church
  • Australian Idol
  • (Monday)
  • Work
  • Shopping for a belated Father's Day gift + shoes + CDs
  • Birthday/Father's Day dinner
  • Heroes
  • Australian Idol
  • (Tuesday)
  • Back pain
  • Work
  • Karate
  • (Wednesday)
  • Work
  • Stress from unknown source
  • Heroes
  • (Thursday)
  • Work (deployment issues in Sydney)
  • Heroes
  • Bible study
  • Australian Idol
  • (Friday)
  • Work
  • Rushed dinner
  • Ice skating
  • Ordered new, quieter fans for my PC
  • (Saturday)
  • Shopping
  • Movie (The Terminal)
  • Reading
  • Clubbing (ended up being just me, Glenys and Kym)
  • Late night
So, yah, full week.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Then there was an early start today.
PPS - Plus a two-hour rehearsal I'd forgotten.

Friday 10 September 2004

Robot Eats Flies to Generate Power

The robot mentioned in this article is either the greatest robot ever or a mechanical menace waiting to arise and devour us all. At least it's not self-replicating - that, to my mind, would be the really dangerous kind, a la Screamers.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I think someone should build a robot that eats other robots for power.
PPS - I can't decide if that would be entertaining or horrifying to watch.

Thursday 9 September 2004

Stellar Ella

When I first saw Killing Heidi vocalist Ella Hooper in the music video for Weir I thought "Wow. She'd really be stunning if she combed out those dreadlocks." Now you can guess what she's done, or you can go see for yourself in the I Am video clip. Purrr. ;)

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Apparently, if you want a wish granted, I'm your man.
PPS - But I can probably only do two more.

Wednesday 8 September 2004

Yes, I AM in Australia

I've recently switched over to MS Office 2003 (from the 2002 version) and now Word finally knows that I am in Australia and am, therefore, likely to be writing in Australian English, not US English. Previously it would revert to US English no matter how often I set my default language to Australian English, or how hard I clicked the mouse button when I did so. It's such an unbelievable relief to have that tiny bug fixed that I can't even describe it. So I won't try.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - "It's the little things that make up life." - Hank Scorpio
PPS - There's always an appropriate Simpsons quote.

Tuesday 7 September 2004

Newsfeeds and The Semantic Web

I find that I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of a full "semantic web", where we place not web pages but connected facts online. We start to treat the web like a wiki encyclopedia and I can get my news, weather, comics and interesting tidbits in one simple interface. I know I already have "one simple interface" in my web browser, but I do still have to deal with the individualised look and feel of web pages when all I want is the content.

Some of this functionality already exists in the form of RSS feeds for frequently-updated sites, though I've found them to be mostly inconsistent, flaky and poorly-supported. The few RSS readers I've tried have been unable to handle most of the feeds I've thrown at them. Besides that, only some sites provide an RSS feed at all.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I can be very demanding when it comes to my machines.
PPS - "You may say I'm a dreamer..."

Monday 6 September 2004

Self-censorship

I was, shall we say, concerned about yesterday's post. Some of my friends read this blog, and some of those were at the party on Saturday, so it would take minimal effort for them to put two and two together to figure out who I was talking about.

I have always endeavoured to keep such secrets to myself in the past, and the reasons behind that are deep and uninteresting, like Loch Ness without the monster. The point is this: I'm leaving that post as is, because, at least in part, this blog is for me to get over my fears of self-expression and openness.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - One day I'll get the hang of being human.
PPS - Could be a while, though. There's so much to learn.

Sunday 5 September 2004

The Sunday Mok - It's all about The Ladies

Since my week has been significantly affected by a member of the opposite sex (for better and worse), that's what I'll discuss. I shall withhold her actual name, but to make it easier to talk about her, I'll call her Alice.
Last Saturday I was informed by a third party that Alice was interested in me, which was a pleasant surprise. I had to admit that I had only the faintest idea that could be true.
On Sunday I felt she was all wrong for me and decided it would be a bad idea to pursue anything.
Throughout Monday I let the whole situation simmer away in my mind, trying to reach a solid conclusion, because, as I mentioned, I like this girl and also feel that she's entirely wrong for me.
On Tuesday I was starting to think it might be worth a go, because it's a rare opportunity to me.
By Wednesday I felt it was a certainty and had decided to give it my best shot at a party on Saturday night. Keep in mind that this has all happened without any further contact or information from Alice or my informant.
On Thursday I sent her a text message to make sure she would be there on Saturday, and immediately felt like an idiot for sending it. When she replied in the affirmative, my mood improved again.
Friday I found it a little difficult to concentrate on work at times, since I was so geared up for Saturday. I started to realise, though, that things would happen a bit slower than I had imagined.
On Saturday at the actual party, it took me ages to relax enough to go and sit down next to Alice - I never have the benefits of Dutch Courage. I did what I could, kept it light, and discovered that, if Alice does in fact like me, I am one of many prospective partners, and not first on the list. She went home, then I did too, a little while later.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Perhaps it's for the best.
PPS - My mood is positive at the moment.

Friday 3 September 2004

Too lazy to type

Since I found this fully-formed in my Unsent Mail folder, I thought I'd just slap it up here today.

1. WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME: If you need to know, you don't need to ask.
2. WHAT COLOUR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? No pants. (kidding)
3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? A ringing telephone. Now it's a conversation.
4. ARE YOUR LEGS CROSSED? Never.
5. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? A bowl of Nutri Grain
6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? Blood red
7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? It's always a comfy 21 or so in here.
8. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Kerryn
9. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? Face and waist.
10. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? I like almost everyone.
11. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? Perky.
12. FAVOURITE DRINK? Any wirewater. Usually Pepsi Max.
13. FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? None.
14. FAVOURITE SPORTS? Karate & middle-distance running to do, cricket & tennis to watch. Also the AFL Grand Final, sometimes some Rugby Union. The only Rugby League I ever watch is the State of Origin.
15. HAIR COLOUR? brown
16. EYE COLOUR? blue
17. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Don't need 'em.
18. SIBLINGS? Younger bro.
20. FAVOURITE FOOD? Chinese.
21. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? I think it was The Transporter.
22. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE YEAR? April 1st.
23. SATURDAY OR SUNDAY? Saturday
24. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? Every. Friggin'. Time.
25. DO YOU LIKE MARMITE? Vegemite's retarded little brother. Nope.
26. SUMMER OR WINTER? Keeps changing. At the moment I'm leaning towards Summer.
27. HUGS OR KISSES? Both, please. With sauce.
28. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Chocolate
29. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE BACK? I'm not fussed.
30. WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Probably nobody. I've only sent it to peeps who sent it to me.
31. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? All y'all.
32. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? With Dad & bro.
33. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Dune. Major geek stuff.
34. DID YOU WAKE UP BEFORE YOUR ALARM WENT OFF? Never.
36. DO YOU MISS BIG BROTHER YET? Nah. Had my fix for the year.
37. FAVOURITE SMELLS? Vanilla.
38. WHAT INSPIRES YOU? Movies, but only if they have a story.
39. BUTTERED, PLAIN, OR SALTED POPCORN? Salt. You can keep the popcorn.
40. FAVOURITE CRISPS? Corn chips or chicken Twisties.
41. FAVOURITE CAR? Anything sexy.
42. FAVOURITE FLOWER? Rhododendron, just because it's fun to say.
43. How MANY KEYS ON YOUR KEY RING? 5 on one, 1 on the other.
44. CAN YOU JUGGLE? Three balls or pins. Can't seem to manage four.
45. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Saturday.
46. RED OR WHITE WINE? I'm only guessing, but I'd say white.
47. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOUR LAST BIRTHDAY? Erm ... thinky thinky ... Oh, we went to the Sit Down Comedy Club.
48. DO YOU OWN A DONOR CARD? Not really, just a "yes" on my licence.
49. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU GET UP IN THE MORNING? Shower.
50. WHAT ARE YOU DOING ONCE THIS IS FINISHED? Dealing with my email.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Remember that Springtime emotional rollercoaster?
PPS - I went from high to low to high again yesterday. Now I'm dizzy and need to lie down.

Thursday 2 September 2004

*I* could have my own van if I wanted...

On my way between the office and the bus yesterday evening, I saw a removalist van emblazoned with the company name "Sean Frater Removals", complete with a picture of Mr Frater himself, larger than life. He looked a bit like Greg Matthews. Then I looked at the driver, who just so happened to be Mr Frater, and the odd feeling was kind of like "Hey! That's him! The guy from the van picture!" as if he was famous for having his own picture on his own van.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Sometimes it takes very little to get starstruck.
PPS - Although this degenerated very quickly into good old laughter.

Wednesday 1 September 2004

The Light and Dark Sides of web design

I like this article on website design, because it picks on dark-side advertisers who want to squeeze you to see how much money comes out. Light-side advertisers, on the other hand, attract you to their product with truthful information and their website developers are there to help you buy, not trick you into it. They build loyalty this way, and will probably get more of your money over time.

This is why evil loses in the end - the power may come quickly, and the short-term gains are noticeable, but good wins because of a longer-term build-up to greater power.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Just about everything in life can be related back to The Force.
PPS - Advertising, however, is one of the easier examples.