Month: April 2004

Caron Keating R.I.P., create World Blogs page, finish compiling book list, which car to buy?, compile DVD list, find PNG icons for Y’z Dock, Kevin McDermott Orchestra CD needs replacing (it’s almost transparent), Pick up futon tonight, clear out colleagues desk for her, when is ellipitical trainer arriving?, gas bill needs paying, Stuart’s birthday, Mother-in-laws birthday, Jennie’s birthday, Claire’s birthday, what else in May?, kids at weekend, working at weekend, SCOTTISH BLOGS STILL NOT FINISHED!!!!

Phew. I can’t keep up, several other news items have zipped into, and through, my head today and I can’t remember a single one. I think I need a new blogging tool, one that isn’t browser based so I can store snippets/drafts easily… maybe ecto is the answer, or w.bloggar, or hell Notepad would do.

Or maybe I need to train my brain to store things for longer than a nanosecond or two.

I’m very busy at work, so things will be quiet here until the end of next week. Well, quieter than normal, maybe… christ knows I’ve said that before and ended up posting twice as much (there must be some sort of psychological reasoning going on somewhere in my head but I can’t be arsed thinking about it right now). Ohhh and if anyone feels sorry for me and wants to cheer me up, you can buy me this.

Firstly a small clarification. Yesterday’s “Confused” post was not suggesting that people who HAVE had children are doing something wrong or bad or evil. It was merely my (knee-jerk) reaction to the news filtering through my head at the time. I’m fully aware that the world can be, and frequently is, a good place. Remember, I’m the type of guy who enjoys wondering at clouds as they drift by on a summer’s day.

Moving on…

Finished reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time last night. What an astonishing book. It is about a boy called Christopher who has Aspergers Syndrome, and his discovery of the death of his neighbour’s dog. The book is written entirely from his viewpoint. Throughout the book you are given a world view, different from your own (unless of course you have this Syndrome too of course…), and wholly engrossing. The poor of the emotional attachment you form with the character only really begins to surface later in the book.

I heartily recommend it.

So I’m not debating whether to go back to the book I had put aside – On Green Dolphin Street – or tackle an Xmas pressie – Don Quixote. Decisions, decisions…

Warning: this post will NOT induce a cheery happy persona.

So, Bush has made his address and assured people that “as Germany and Japan can attest, we are liberators”. Nice touch there.

Then you read that the U.S. is Planting WMDs in Iraq, and that gets you wondering.

Then you are sent a link, from an increduluous friend, to the Project for the New American Century which contains some cherry-picked articles offering the viewpoint that (and I may be paraphrasing here) President Bush is a demi-god and we are all very lucky he is here.

THEN you wonder why people keep asking you if you are planning to have children. Into THIS world? I think not.

(I was going to add a lot more to this, but it’s very much a list that, once started, would never really end… although that is maybe the point…)

Get your sensationalistic TV viewing here!!

First we heard that an abortion will be seen on TV for the first time, now we hear that Christopher Alder’s death will be shown tonight.

Christopher Alder, 37, died at Queens Gardens Police Station, Hull, in April 1998.
An inquest concluded Mr Alder, who had been arrested for breach of the peace, was unlawfully killed.
In the criminal trial that followed, all five officers were cleared of manslaughter and misconduct in a public office.

I don’t watch much TV to be honest, and no doubt I’ll miss this programme tonight but I fear that these kinds of programmes are leading us further down a path of… well I’m not sure ‘of’ what.

Sex sells, and we have it continually pushed down our throats. Graphic imagery is more widely available than before – just buy any ‘lads’ magazine like FHM or Loaded and not only do you get several pages of pneumatic blondes but frequently the latest ‘gross out’ pictures that are doing the email rounds. We seem to be developing into a society where even the most horrific images are no longer shocking.

Dulled by television and the internet, everything is fake and we can no longer tell the difference.

Yes, I’ll admit that I’ve fallen prey of this creeping phenomenon, and no doubt there are studies of it being conducted as I type, and no doubt that study will come up with a “No shit, Sherlock” conclusion. We’ll all laugh and point and forget instantly about it. However the mere fact that these types of studies are being conducted and are suggesting ‘cures’ that we all seem to know and agree on suggests to me that, whilst we KNOW what is best for us, we sure as hell ain’t DOING it.

I’m going to stop there as I’ve disappeared into the blackhole that is my own logical reasoning. If I emerge I’ll update this…

(Does anyone else say the above phrase with the same emphasise as the Motorola ads: Hello Moto? Anyone? Just me then. Right you are).

Just found out I’m eighth for the Google Search: buy champagne rhubarb crowns.

That is all.

I love it when it happens, especially as my muse seemed to have escaped me recently. Admittedly it did mean I was up until 1.30am but such is life. I know that when I get into that mode the worst thing to do is stop.

What am I talking about? That ‘lightbulb’ moment, the fulcrum of a project where suddenly everything falls into place (kerchunk) and you start to see how it all works. I had one last night, the muse returned and 9pm turned into midnight in the blink of an eye.

What it does mean is that the Scottish Blogs website has moved on a fair bit, and I’m almost ready to properly open the BETA to the existing members – you guys got a sneak peek. It also means that I can move onto other websites that I’ve been neglecting, HRL and Instant Ideas (site down at present) for example. Although to be honest, I think once I get Scottish Blogs completed I’ll take a break from all this web design malarky. For a week or so anyway…