Out of town
No blogging for a few days. I've been out of town. Down in Hastings for my friend Robyn's wedding. Photos to follow.
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Quote of the day - Lost in thought
The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
-- Paul Fix
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Cartoons
A collection of cartoons about gay marriage.
Leviticans
John Scalzi explains about Leviticans. It's a useful term as it explains why some people are so strong in their faith yet to others their faith is misplaced
Happy bunny
You are the cute but psycho happy bunny. You're adorable, but a little out there. It's alright, you might not have it all, but there are worse.
Which happy bunny are you?
Brought to you by Quizilla.
Via This Chick.
Quote of the day - Angry words
Never forget what a man says to you when he is angry.
-- Henry Ward Beecher
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Second class citizens
Can anyone tell me what New Zealand's immigration policy is for people treated as second class citizens in their own country?
Which nations have responded to condemn Bush's call to amend the US constitution?
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Quote of the day - Yes-men
I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their jobs.
-- Samuel Goldwyn
It's a lifestyle choice
That's what I was told today, by someone in a position of authority about me being gay. Someone who has treated me fairly in the past. Someone who has lost my respect. It wasn't nice being told that.
It was said in anger, but not in a way that was an attack on me. If it had been a personal attack it would be easier to shrug off. No, this could only be because the person believes what he said.
It's not nice when you lose respect for someone, and with what has been said it makes me uncomfortable in dealing with that person.
My regular readers, both of them, will know what sort of authority I mean, as it's the only one I don't make explicit. Email me if you want more details.
Monday, February 23, 2004
We Didn't Start The Fire
A great Flash movie for Billy Joel fans: We Didn't Start The Fire. I love this song!
Quote of the day - Everyone is fighting a battle
Be kind -- remember; everyone you meet is fighting a battle -- everybody's lonesome.
-- Marion Parker
Sunday, February 22, 2004
Quote of the day - Desiring what you do not have
Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things only hoped for.
-- Epicurus
Big Fish - An adventure as big as life itself.
I went and saw Big Fish last night with my flatmate and his girlfriend. I had half-heartedly seen the shorts and heard a couple of people saying they wanted to see it so I decided to go. (Plus I haven't been to a movie for a while.)
Somehow I was expecting something more fantastic and less of a tall tale. Good cast in it. I also caught myself wondering how they did some of the special effects, even though they were low-key. I blame Richard, a former flatmate for me being so analytical with movies. He was studying Film and Performing Arts while he lived here.
Saturday, February 21, 2004
Quote of the day - Monetary Value
Anyone who is tied to physical objects as the only things with monetary value is flat-out unprepared for the Internet and should stay offline.
-- Nick Bradbury
One Hundred Albums
I don't have any of the One Hundred Albums You Should Remove from Your Collection Immediately. What does that say about my music taste? I may have had some which I lost when I was burgled in '99.
Viagra: Is it good for you?
One man's experience with ordering Viagra online, and the results thereof…
…my reasoning went like this: maybe if I bought some of their sweet precious Viagra, they would shut the hell up. As a bonus, I would actually own some Viagra, which I could use to surprise my wife on Valentine's Day. "Oh, darling!" my wife would exclaim. "Twelve hours of painful, nonstop intercourse? You shouldn't have!"
So I did it. I took the bait. I spent a day surfing the Viagra sites, and I was shocked by what I found.
[…]
With shipping, it ran me $100 for the three tablets pictured here, but that was a small price to pay for what I was about to do with it. You see, I was most intrigued by this claim on the Viagra web site:You will not get an erection just by taking this medicine. VIAGRA helps a man with erectile dysfunction get an erection only when he is sexually excited.
There was only one way to test this outlandish claim: I would take Viagra at the one place I knew I wouldn't get sexually excited, and then I'd see what happened.
I would take Viagra in church.
[…]
…it's the recovery, my friends, that really works. There is no down time. Rebooting (or should I say, "rebootying) is instantaneous. You're the Insatiable Loggerman. It's like the Energizer Bunny, if, instead of banging that drum, he was banging the crap out of his gay lover. That's what the drum represents, you know. That rabbit is as gay as a French horn.
Anyway, partway into the seventeenth or eighteenth time, I suddenly realized that my wife hadn't taken a drug. She was this way naturally. Do you see what I'm, ah, driving at here? Suddenly I was made aware of how little I had been doing all these years to satisfy my wife! Viagra SUCKS!
"You know, honey," I said several hours later, after we had finished hosing down the walls and laundering the bedsheets, "we've still got two pills left."
She looked crestfallen. "Only two?!" she cried.
via eclecticism
Sometimes it's a good thing when both of you want to roll over and go to sleep.
Friday, February 20, 2004
Storms over the country
While the lower North Island is experiencing some of the worst storms in the last 100 years, please also spare a thought for the damage caused in Auckland overnight.
The following picture is shocking and gives you some idea of the force of the storm we endured last night.
Stolen from Steve.
Quote of the day - Two types of people
There are two types of people--those who come into a room and say, 'Well, here I am!' and those who come in and say, 'Ah, there you are.'
-- Frederick L Collins
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Quote of the day - People who are late
I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.
-- E. V. Lucas
Cyclists win rush-hour challenge
In the Auckland Commuter Challenge four sets of cyclists, racing car drivers and buses raced across Auckland during rush hour.
The cyclists' wins, with an average time of 26m51s, is the latest demonstration of Auckland's traffic crisis, says Cycle Action Auckland, which organised the event.
Although one car did beat the competing cyclist, cars averaged a slower rate.
The cars came in second at an average of 31m32s while the buses averaged 53m10s.
The North Shore cyclist was given permission to cycle over the Harbour Bridge. (How did the motorists deal with that? If she was sharing the lane with the drivers then a land could be opened up to cyclists on a regular basis.)
The safety issue is one of the things people fear about cycling in Auckland.
Event co-ordinator Leonard Bloksberg, of Cycle AA, said the event proved that if more commuters rode bicycles, traffic congestion would be less of a headache.
However, he believed many chose not to because they feared being hurt.
"If riding a bike you are probably more likely to get a skinned knee but if you're in a car you are more likely to be killed," Dr Bloksberg said.
According to Transfund 366 motorists died last year, seven cyclists and no bus passengers.
About 6 per cent of commuters travel by bike or foot, 7 per cent by public transport and the rest in their cars.
Jon Bridges, a TV3 presenter-producer, writes of his winning ride.
I wanna skate like I can walk
From T.Hsu on rec.sport.skating.inline
I wanna skate like I can walk
So you want to get really good at skating and you don't want to get into a specialized discipline? That's like doing things the hard way. It's way easier to just join a single minded skating group.
Aggressive
After a year or two of aggro, you'll be able to cross uneven railroad tracks, backwards, at 16+ mph, while holding a conversation, and think nothing of it. Rough terrain is simple when you can land a 360 gap jump onto a 2 storey stair flight.
Speed
After a year of outdoor speed skating, 500' vertical climbs and 40 mph down hills become everyday, trivial events.
Indoor
Pick up indoor speed skating for a year, and you'll do more crossovers than most skaters do their entire lives.
Hockey
A year of hockey and you'll turn, sprint, and stop faster than practically all of your non-hockey friends. Plus, you'll pick up this sixth sense awareness of everyone and everything around you. Avoiding checks and slap shots every 15 seconds does wonders for keeping your head up and your eyes constantly scanning your surroundings.
Figure/Cones
Both figure skating and cones will force you to improve your balance (especially on one foot) and backwards skating more than any other discipline. Plus you'll learn either crowd pleasing jumps or jaw dropping footwork in the process.
Reality
The reality is, without an environment that rewards tedious practice, you're just not going to do it. And all skating skills require tedious practice. But put the practice in the context of something else, say race training or a hockey game, and suddenly, it's not tedious anymore.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Sob story, or why I don't trust the media
In an article titled Vincent is losing his backyard playground INL uses emotional terms. Basically the woman's landlord is subdividing the property. My reaction would be different if she owned the property and the government was taking half without suitable recompense, but in this situation the owner is doing what they want, and are permitted to, to their property. So what if this time the landlord is a government department? So what if she is angry with her government landlord? If she doesn't like the property then she should look for another rental property to live in. The corporation is looking at making better use of the land in order to meet the high demand for housing those in need. What does the woman expect to do with 7200 people on a waiting list for a HNZC property? Perhaps her attitude is one of "I've got a place, I don't care about you." How much rent is she paying anyway? If they won't reduce the rent then is she paying less rent than the property is worth? (Did Labour reintroduce cheap rents in HNZC properties or is it still set to market rates?) Or is the amount the rent would decrease matched with the general rent review increase? She complains she has had no say in the matter? What say does she have, apart from being a NIMBY. (Not In My Back Yard.) As for the unhelpful communication she has had from HNZC, is the problem that she didn't get told by HNZC and found out in another manner? If so, then she has a right to be annoyed, but "incredibly angry"?
INL has presented the news is a way that plays on emotions and not logic. Why? To sell more papers I guess. Dammit! I want the news reported, so I can decide how I feel about it, not to have the news reported for to manipulate emotions or for entertainment.
It isn't about gay marriage
Andrew Sullivan says it well.
When people talk about 'gay marriage,' they miss the point. This isn't about gay marriage. It's about marriage. It's about family. It's about love. It isn't about religion. It's about civil marriage licenses - available to atheists as well as believers. These family values are not options for a happy and stable life. They are necessities. Putting gay relationships in some other category - civil unions, domestic partnerships, civl partnerships, whatever - may alleviate real human needs, but, by their very euphemism, by their very separateness, they actually build a wall between gay people and their own families. They put back the barrier many of us have spent a lifetime trying to erase.
It's too late for me to undo my own past. But I want above everything else to remember a young kid out there who may even be reading this now. I want to let him know that he doesn't have to choose between himself and his family any more. I want him to know that his love has dignity, that he does indeed have a future as a full and equal part of the human race. Only marriage will do that. Only marriage can bring him home.
Hands-Free Bike Phones
Hmmm, are Hands-Free Bike Phones the way to go?
Quote of the day - Silent gratitude
Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone.
-- Gladys Bronwyn Stern
Robots get friendly
Robots are getting friendly now. I can see a big advantage in the teaching robots, especially if they are programmed with different ways of teaching the same thing. Look at how kids learn in a Rudolf Steiner school, compared to ones in a primary school in a large city, and compared to ones in a small rural school. With robots, in a social school environment, kids can learn at a good pace. No need for separate remedial reading classes. One thing to be wary of is the way working in groups could be taught. There are advantages to working on a project with your social peers, and there are advantages to working on a project with your academic peers.
Correspondence schools would benefit from this style of teaching, and home schooling becomes simpler, but kids learning this way need the opportunity for learning appropriate social schools, and the microcosm of a school environment gives this.
Reception areas will see a growth of robot usage, with some companies going for the prestige look of a robot. When robots settle down and become everyday things, the same companies will have human receptionists as a prestige look. (Yes, I read a lot of SF.)
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
You want fries with that?
Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good talks about flavours and how they work for us.
Mmmm, Strawberry flavoured
A typical artificial strawberry flavor, like the kind found in a Burger King strawberry milk shake, contains the following ingredients: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, g-undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent.
Sometime I don't mind being allergic to strawberries.
For the past twenty years food processors have tried hard to use only "natural flavors" in their products. According to the FDA, these must be derived entirely from natural sources -- from herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, beef, chicken, yeast, bark, roots, and so forth. Consumers prefer to see natural flavors on a label, out of a belief that they are more healthful. Distinctions between artificial and natural flavors can be arbitrary and somewhat absurd, based more on how the flavor has been made than on what it actually contains.
"A natural flavor," says Terry Acree, a professor of food science at Cornell University, "is a flavor that's been derived with an out-of-date technology." Natural flavors and artificial flavors sometimes contain exactly the same chemicals, produced through different methods. Amyl acetate, for example, provides the dominant note of banana flavor. When it is distilled from bananas with a solvent, amyl acetate is a natural flavor. When it is produced by mixing vinegar with amyl alcohol and adding sulfuric acid as a catalyst, amyl acetate is an artificial flavor. Either way it smells and tastes the same.
If it's natural it's go to be okay, right?
A natural flavor is not necessarily more healthful or purer than an artificial one. When almond flavor -- benzaldehyde -- is derived from natural sources, such as peach and apricot pits, it contains traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison. Benzaldehyde derived by mixing oil of clove and amyl acetate does not contain any cyanide. Nevertheless, it is legally considered an artificial flavor and sells at a much lower price. Natural and artificial flavors are now manufactured at the same chemical plants, places that few people would associate with Mother Nature.
Okay, so McD's are cooking their french fries in oil now and not beef fat, so it's okay for vegetarians now, right?
Nope
The McDonald's Corporation most likely drew on these advances when it eliminated beef tallow from its french fries. The company will not reveal the exact origin of the natural flavor added to its fries. In response to inquiries from Vegetarian Journal, however, McDonald's did acknowledge that its fries derive some of their characteristic flavor from "an animal source." Beef is the probable source, although other meats cannot be ruled out. In France, for example, fries are sometimes cooked in duck fat or horse tallow.
But chicken products are okay for Hindus, right? (My ex is Hindu and I am very careful what I cook for him.)
Other popular fast foods derive their flavor from unexpected ingredients. McDonald's Chicken McNuggets contain beef extracts, as does Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich.
I also have one friend who is gluten intolerant (relatively easy, bit not packaged stuff), another who is vegetarian but also does not eat onion or garlic (lot's of vegetarian dips have one or the other).
Remember though, just because it's natural doesn't mean it's good for you.
Quote of the day - Be who you are
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
-- Dr. Seuss
Monday, February 16, 2004
Recent read: Confidence Game
I've just finished reading Confidence Game, A classic tortured spy novel set in a fantasy world, by Michelle M. Welch. It was slow getting into it. The blurb talks about Elzith telling Tod her story, but this didn't start until half way through the book. The book also hints at other, more interesting parts of the world, which hopefully will be revealed in the sequel, The Bright and The Dark.
Quote of the day - Taking life by the lapel
Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, "I'm with you kid. Let's go."
-- Maya Angelou
Saturday, February 14, 2004
Quote of the day - Positive Attitude
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
- Herm Albright
Friday, February 13, 2004
Quote of the day - Better to be hated for what you are
It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
-- Andre Gide
Thursday, February 12, 2004
Pub dispute
Peter has asked me to rule on a pub dispute. My answer was too big to reply as a comment, so it earned a post.
...in the southern hemisphere, the sun, moon and stars appear to rotate from right to left...
Right to left? Left to right? I'm confused. On an hourly basis the celestial sphere appears to rotate clockwise when looking at the northern celestial pole (as seen in Edimburgh -- I loved living in that city) and anti-clockwise when looking at the southern celestial pole (what I would see in auckland, if light pollution didn't obscure things). You can demonstrate this in the pub by rotating a ball (the earth) and having some look at it from above while others look at it from below. Take photos of this demonstration, because having some people lying down looking up and others standing on a barstool looking down will look good.
If you look at the starts on a daily basis (the same time every night) then you will see an anticlockwise rotation in the northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. (One degree of arc).
I can say that when I was visiting Perthshire several years back I got to see the stars, and the constellations were upside down, really freaky.
We don't have an equivalent to the North Star (Polaris) that stays static, the southern celestial pole appears empty as there isn't any stars of significant magnitude there, and the stars rotate about an empty space.
Regardless of how this pub dispute is ruled someone owes me a beer!
Quote of the day - Get the best out of a man
To get the best out of a man go to what is best in him.
-- Daniel Considine
Christian music gig a living hell
Christian music gig a living hell say neighbours, referring to Parachute, New Zealand's biggest Christian music festival, at Mystery Creek.
"The noise was diabolical."
A neighbour with a noise meter recorded 80 decibels at his home during the festival, said Mr Whitehead.
The resource consent for the event allows noise levels of 55 decibels.
Ah! The compassion.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Diet to death
Either Atkins diet founder was obese because of his diet, or he did not follow his diet.
His widow Veronica, who is angry that his medical records have been made public, denied his weight or health problems were as a result of him following his own diet.
If what his wife says above is true, then even though the Atkins diet talks about a lifestyle all about living well and eating foods you love the founder didn't follow the lifestyle, or if he did, then the claims are incorrect and the diet is a failure.
Quote of the day - The poor complain
The poor complain
They always do
But that's just idle chatter
Our system brings rewards to all
At least, all those who matter
-- James Tobin
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Anti-Nipple Federalists
Pro-Nipple factions destroyed an American Institution this weekend. Intelligence community reports more strikes to follow.
Though it has been roiling for decades now, the American Nipple War came into mainstream awareness with Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime program wherein Janet Jackson made her political alliances perfectly clear by cohersing the innocent Justin Timberlake into ripping away a portion of her bodice to reveal a large, distended breast decorated with a huge, offensive nipple. The alleged jezebel even had the audacity to highlight her sinful and disgusting anatomy with what is known on the streets as a "nipple shield."
In the few short moments that the Jackson nipple was visible to the world, millions of children across the country were instantly struck blind or turned into perverts.
See Trey Givens for details.
Quote of the day - Privileges and Principles
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Monday, February 09, 2004
Quote of the day - Great Spirits
Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.
-- Albert Einstein
Penis misfortune
A guy's story about his package.
Warning: Do not read this while drinking anything, and do read the comments.
Settle for second best?
Discount Blogger is tired of being told to settle for second best. I agree with him.
The Threat of Gay Terrorism
Imagine what would happen if every gay hairdresser in the country secretly selected certain days on which to give all of their straight clients the worst haircuts they’ve ever had in their lives.
That’s right! Millions of women would be coming home to their husbands and boyfriends in tears. They would be in a bad mood for weeks while waiting for the bad haircut to grow out. Millions of men would be forced to wear baseball caps 24/7 or, in the worst cases, shave their heads like Matt Lauer.
And, just when everyone begins to believe the worst is over, another Bad Hair Day will claim a new set of victims. Straight people will be forced to either take their chances with their regular stylists or wait months for an appointment with the few heterosexual hairdressers in town.
Of course, those clients who are openly gay-friendly will continue to receive great haircuts. Anti-gay politicians and church leaders will soon realize that for them every day is a Bad Hair Day. They will never get a decent haircut again.
Bad start to the day
Had trouble getting to sleep last night.
Jack, my cat, woke me at 4:50am, batting at a moth or something in the window by my head.
Wanted to get more sleep but the alarm kept going off again after hitting the snooze button.
While biking to work I had a maniac is a car accelerate past me too closely.
The front derailleur snapped just as I accelerated over Symonds Street bridge. I think I have a spare at home but I'm not sure.
Had someone ask me why I was wearing different shoes. I looked down on my right foot and saw I had my regular sneakers on, instead of my cycling sneakers. Looked again and saw my left foot had one of cycling sneakers on.
Hopefully the day will improve and lift my spirits.
Sunday, February 08, 2004
Quote of the day - Persistence
The power to hold on in spite of everything, the power to endure -- this is the winner's quality. Persistence is the ability to face defeat again and again without giving up -- to push on in face of great difficulty, knowing that victory can be yours. Persistence means taking pains to overcome every obstacle, and to do what's necessary to reach your goals.
-- Wynn Davis
Saturday, February 07, 2004
Quote of the day - How to make coffee (1844)
How to Make Coffee: 'Use a tablespoonful ground to a pint of boiling water. Boil in tin pot twenty to twenty-five minutes. If boiled longer it will not taste fresh and lively. Let stand four or five minutes to settle, pour off grounds into a coffee pot or urn. Put fish skin or isinglass size of a nine-pence in pot when put on to boil or else the white and shell of half an egg to a couple of quarts of coffee.'
-- 1844 'Kitchen Directory and American Housewife'
via Food Reference
Master Street Painter
Kurt Wenner, the amazing street painter, has his own site with some of his pictures on it.
Friday, February 06, 2004
Janet Jackson Breast Cupcakes
The Amateur Gourmet makes Janet Jackson Breast Cupcakes.
Katy," I said. "It's Adam."
"Hi Adam," she replied.
"I am making Janet Jackson breast cupcakes."
"OK."
"How do I do this?" I begged. Katy knows a lot about cooking and Katy has breasts.
"Let me think about it and e-mail you."
Soon after I received the following advice:
I think you should do a whipped cream chocolate icing (rather than buttercream or ganache or something) because it's lighter in color. Janet is a little more latte than bittersweet, I'd say. You could flavor the icing with coffee, actually, and that would be yummy! Mmmmm.
Genius! I went to my Nigella Lawson "How To Be A Domestic Goddess" cookbook and found her recipe for Cappucino cupcakes. The frosting was a white chocolate / sour cream frosting, but I could distribute the cocoa at my discretion and achieve the perfect Janet Jackson skin tone.
It appears that CNN was impressed with the concept and are intending to interview him.
Recent read: Drowning World
I have just finished Drowning World, by Alan Dean Foster.
It is set in the Humanx Commonwealth, on the distant planet Fluva, where torrential rain that leave it barely habitable also make the planet a treasure trove of rare botanical specimens. As one of the reviewers at Amazon says, it is an interesting world but simplistic solutions.
Defence of Civil Unions
From Andrew Sullivan
...the central meaning behind so-called "civil unions" - the only defense of them is that they are a device to maintain exclusion, especially when they are substantively identical to civil marriage. In that sense - same thing, different department - they're a text-book case of "separate but equal." If you're going to give gay couples the same rights as straight couples, why are you calling it something different? If both can drink the same water, why a different water fountain? The only answer can be: to keep the stigma in place.
Little boys
So now a little boy is ripping the clothes off of a Jackson?
Stolen from Brent
Managers
"The bossman" sounds like the perfect person to work for.
Quote of the day - Being ourselves, even stereotypically
"We're not actors, we're just guys on a TV show being
ourselves. We don't claim to represent the entire gay
community. There's no way five people could do that.
We do happen to work in fashion and beauty industries
-- that's just who we are as five guys. It's important
though for us to be able to be ourselves. If that
means that in some way we sometimes embody these
stereotypes then so be it, because if it's not OK to
sometimes be stereotypical -- whatever that means --
then it's allowing a fearful straight community to
dictate to me how I should behave.
-- Kyan Douglas
Via Rex Wockner.
Thursday, February 05, 2004
Quote of the day - Electromagnetics
God runs electromagnetics by wave theory on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the Devil runs them by quantum theory on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
-- Sir William Bragg
Logos of letters
Before & After magazine has How to design a logo of letters.
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Quote of the day - The future is an opaque mirror
The future is an opaque mirror. Anyone who tries to look into it sees nothing but the dim outlines of an old and worried face.
-- Jim Bishop
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Stressed!
Tomorrow the boom falls, and I am stressed. Our relative rankings at work came out late yesterday and I don't think I am going to be one of the six (out of thirteen). From what I do know, if I make it and certain others don't, then it is not a fair judgment, but the bank wants me to keep paying my mortgage and I need to be employed to do that. There may be a change in the circumstances and a few more make the cut, but at best it will be only a few. If anyone in management reads this, which I doubt as I don't think they will be reading it tonight or before tomorrow's meeting, so I can say anything I like. Please note that it is inspecific enough that if you, as a future employer, read this, you can be assured of discretion, even after a couple of glasses of wine, even if you can't be assured of correct grammer.
One good thing I have, is the belief that I am employable in Auckland's current economic environment and should be able to get another job by the end of the month. Nevertheless the last few days have not been easy.
They say you can have a nice house, a nice job, and a nice partner, but only two out of three. I have a nice house so maybe I'll get a nice boyfriend.
They also say that when one door closes another door opens. This saying is one I have more confidence in right now.
Updates to come. Please add supportive comments. (And while I'm on the subject of comments, I never get enough. Is it because I am too terse?)
Update: I made the cut. Details of reduced hours to be confirmed next week.
Will you be my anti-valentine?
Anti-valentine cards available, to send to that special someone.
People complain about some funny things
Brainsluice shows some of the things people compain about to the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority Inc., 327 in 2003.
Quote of the day - Red meat
Red meat is not bad for you. Now blue-green meat, that's bad for you!
-- Tommy Smothers
Monday, February 02, 2004
Fitting into conceptual boxes
They say you know you're a boomer if you're always in the elevator when you hear your favourite song. I suppose it's as good a test as any. Problem is, I can never decide if my favourite song is the Beach Boys? Wouldn?t It Be Nice? or the love theme from Gladiator.
So starts Susan Maushart in The Australian. I too was born on the border of the Boomers and the Gen-Xers. As someone into tech and gadgets I've felt more Gen-X than Boomer, but I was born six months early according to some, though this varies and is often disputed.
As the youngest of three I had the influence of my brothers, both late boomers, but when I was studying at varsity it was with the knowledge that initial jobs would be hard to find, a Gen-X situation and quite the contrast with the options earlier boomers had.
Embracing technology isn't what makes me Gen-X, there are enough boomer geeks that I can compare with. Musically I favour Gen-X, though I don't know if that isdue to my brother playing Rod Stewart's Sailing too much.
The best of Hubble
An amazing slideshow (using flash) of some of the photos taken by the Hubble telescope. The telescope was to be decomissioned but this decision is being reconsidered.
Other pictures are available.
Courtesy of news.com.au.
Quote of the day - Actions of Good and Evil people
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
-- Steven Weinberg
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Quote of the day - Rat race
The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
-- Lily Tomlin
Knight of Shadows
Ephermeral marks left after traversing the web.
Gay Bombs
The Paper Napkin service
Free-to-air TV listings
Panic defense
An Enjoyable Night Home Alone
Quote - Love and marriage
Amazing Race catchup episode
Quote - History
Warning ahead