Month: January 2003

Galactic Toss Monkeys
Ya know I was toying with trying to explain what I was going on about, but having typed and re-typed explanations, and then reading them, I don’t think I’ll bother. And anyway, that’s the point of an in-joke, you don’t have to explain it, it just exists…

Many films, games and TV shows have in-jokes, they help tie the audience closer to the programme, and you will find that many groups have a similar history. It’s kinda fun trying to guess how some of them came about…

Are you pondering what I’m pondering?
You don’t mind, do you? I mean it’s my site and all that, so I’m gonna indulge myself, ok?

What am I doing here? No I don’t mean here as in the world, the universe and all that. I know the answer to that one (it’s 42 in case you are wondering). No I mean here, this website. It started as somewhere for me to store my thoughts and try and empty head whilst I was going through a ‘difficult’ time. Most of the personal stuff was written in that period, with most of the thoughts being scribbled in the aftermath. I started a blog (on DATE) because it was a good way to jot down bits and bobs without getting involved in a longer thought process. It has evolved to what it is today, and that is my current ponder.

What is it? Looking back over the last couple of months the subject matter varies from the serious to the childish (hell look at the rest of todays postings to see that). I veer between extremes.

Ahhh that’s better. See I knew if I wrote this down I would make sense of it… veering between extremes. Think that’ll be the new tagline. That’s me you see, this is who I am. Yes I post to try and gain a reaction, but it IS also true that I post for me, it’s an outlet… and I’ll leave it there for the moment. More to come on this methinks.

OK, I’m done for now. Thanks for bearing with me. Normal service will be resumed shortly. Whatever the hell that is…

Everyone’s Countryside
Scotblog covers a news article that I spotted too, the Scottish Land Reform debate. I didn’t get the same stats though and I must admit it is pretty amazing. For all you none Scots you have to remember that the large majority of Scotland is rural and uninhabited, I guess (and I’m no expert) that only around 20% of our country is inhabited in meaningful numbers, and I wouldn’t be suprised if that figure was less.

This year I am hoping to get out more on my mountain bike (I’ll cover that misnomer another time), so I will be following this bill with an interested eye.

Paying for stuff
I’ve been on a bit of a spending spree recently. I’ve long been a subscriber to various ‘ezines’ and of course there are a few tools that make publishing this very website possible. I also use, and have used, some pieces of shareware for quite a while now, and all in all the guilt has become too much.

So Tag & Rename, BlogRoll, LangaList, and soon Blogger Pro. I would pay for the Lockergnome newsletter, but it’s free, as is Winamp. I own PaintShop Pro and Homesite (used to create this site) and WindowBlinds. And of course the behemoth that is Microsoft Office. All the other ‘essential’ programs I use are free. Yes I have used pirate software, yes I have installed and used cracked software, but most times I found myself disappointed and went back to the tools I know and love. The best example is the Winamp and Tag&Rename combination. I’ve used them to manage my MP3s for a long time, and Windows Media Player just doesn’t ‘fit’ for me. Ohh yes MP3s…

So, what software/service do you pay for that you feel is worth the money? Am I missing the ‘best’ piece of software?

Recommendation
I’m a big fan of ‘word of mouth’ about a film. This will prove crucial this year as we have monthly passes to UGC, and, whilst I won’t mind going to see some of the Hollywood dross (like the Bond film), I am hoping that I WILL save money based on the films I would’ve paid to go and see… if you know what I mean (I hope you do, cos my head is frazzled).
So, after Chicago (or maybe the same day?) I’ll drag my significant other to see Spider (once I’ve convinced her that it’s not about our eight-legged friends). This is purely based on what Alex had to say, so he’d better be right!

(Have heard good things from other people as well, so it’s not all on him… honest)

Clash of Globalizations
Bear with me, I don’t comment on political situations often but I’ve been meaning to note down something about this for a while now…

Under a backdrop of a war no-one outside the government seems to want, I’ve been trying to look at the bigger picture. One article that has helped me get to grips with the entire notion of ‘globalism’ and it’s effects, and one I’ve returned to a couple of times was written by Stanley Hoffman: Clash of Globalizations.

Ultimately the discussions will continue, but seems to flex around the following questions:

1. Does a nation protecting an ?open society? (US, Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, etc.) have ethical obligations to undemocratic, closed societies and people outside its borders that should constrain foreign policy?

2. Should the modern nation state be thought as an egoistic atom in global relations, ultimately unbound by international law (the ?realist? position), or as a world citizen, cooperating with other nations in a transnational system and abiding by common codes (the ?idealist? position)?

The inclusion and exclusion of ‘states’ from those questions, and their answers remains the issues. We cannot engage Al-Qaeda in discussion, so what options do we have?

And, at present, how does this really relate to the situation in Iraq? Mr.Blair issued a statement today stating that Britain could fall under attack from Al-Qaeda at any time, and we could spend billions and not stop or even accurately anticipate when and where those attacks would be, so if we must, then we will go to war with Iraq.

I have yet to see accurate links between Iraq and Al-Qaeda. If you know someone who has them, please ask them to pass them on.