Rambling - 1

So I've finally completed the five things you didn't know about me meme, and I've gone and twisted the rules of the game laid down by Jeff Pulver when he started the whole thing. The reason is simple: people I know are either blogless, or would ignore the request.

If I read your blog, and you're feeling left out, then apparently I misjudged your character, at which point you may go ahead and consider yourself tagged.

I was curious about the history of my tag, since there's a large element of social networking involved behind blog tagging. Continue reading "Five things: Epilogue"

I love events such as lunar eclipses. They tend to remind me how small I am compared to the size of the universe. It's amazing how something so simple can be so impressive.

This is the second lunar eclipse I've managed to witness, and the beautiful colour of the moon is something that will also still continue to impress me. Unfortunately the photo shown here isn't very good, but it's the best I could do with my little digital camera (along with some cropping and noise cleaning in GIMP, but otherwise no other alterations). This photo was taken around half-past midnight this morning.

No, not that IMDB, this IMDb! I've been hooked on this site since late 1994, however I used to skim over stuff on their old newsgroup haunt around 1991/1992. Today, IMDb is more than just alive and well, with yet another revision to their site's design being unveiled today - not bad guys!

Now popularised by intense American commercialisation of the last century, Valentine's Day is possibly the most obtuse and superficial holiday on the occidental calendar. With its deep roots in history, this day has now become an significant cash cow in the Hallmark holiday line-up.

In the West, there is societal obligation that lovers must present each other with gifts, and somehow love each other more-so on this day than any other day. Chocolates, flowers (preferably red roses), and lingerie are the norm for intimate presents to one's other half, accompanied by the "traditional" pre-printed greeting card. In more Americanized [sīc] cultures, it is perceived that the expense and lavishness of a gift reflects proportionally on the degree of love being declared.

Does anyone else find this just a little repugnant?

Spring is upon us here in Belgium, despite it being 45 days early. Trees are starting to grow new leaves, birds are building nests, and the weather this weekend has all the attributes of perfect spring days. It's at this point that I feel inclined to point out that I could have been wrong about it being winter in a previous post -- maybe winter was cancelled this year?

Winter has finally arrived in Western Europe. Not bad really, considering it's just over a month late. To be honest, I was starting to have my doubts about seeing winter at all until the end of the year, but it took a large violent storm to force some semblance of balance back into place.

This time last week, we were only just starting to see the start of strong gusts of wind that really took hold on Thursday, causing vast property damage, even to the point of rotating traffic lights 90° on the boulevard in front of the office. Here in Belgium, we only topped wind speeds of around 100km/h, however this was a mere breeze compared to other countries such as Germany and Austria where gusts peaked to around 170km/h.

If you haven't yet noticed because you're too busy living under your rock, the weather is completely stuffed, worldwide.

Ego-searching (as I've always called it, before I found that Wikipedia uses the term Ego-surfing, probably because of egoSurf itself) has always been a interesting psychological phenomenon to me. So many people do it, and yet it's difficult to find people who will readily admit it.

The psychology behind it is essentially the same behind looking for your name in the White Pages, within the credits of a production you were involved in, or on a document you wrote. Ego-searching specifically involves plugging your name into Google, usually your full name in quotes, and hunting down matches that are relevant to yourself personally.

Welcome to two-thousand and seven. Are we all excited to be here? No? Well that's pretty normal. It seems like everyone has some form of New Years Blues today due to circumstances that would otherwise just be silently factored into a normal day. Western society is pressured into having a great time to celebrate the end of another ineffectual year and the birth of another repeat effort.

During Christmas, I escaped the cold of Brussels and headed off to the posh side of Bristol for an unusual but slightly traditional Christmas with good food, good company, and lots of grog. Apparently the thick freezing fog wasn't too bad compared with the fog in the south that grounded flights.

So, it's Christmas again, which means we're closing in on the end of another year. Time is flying past so quickly lately, that Christmas is a welcomed change of pace. As with every year, even the Mannequin Piss is in on the action!

I have been accused of posting entries that are too long.

I apologise.

It seems like everyone lately is talking about how Kramer from the popular 1990's television sitcom Seinfeld is a racist. The guy in question, Michael Richards, was heckled at a comedy club in Los Angeles, and went way over the line. Unlucky for him, the rise in camera-phones meant that most of his tirade, including storming off stage, was caught on video.

The accusations are flying, but is Michael Richards really a racist?

Welcome to the so-called seventh-generation of gaming consoles. Wow, woo, et cetera. So why don't I care? I mean, I'm very impressed with the technology of these new expensive toys that are coming out, but at the same time, I remain unimpressed over-all.

This week, the subject of video games has come up repeatedly, especially with the European release of the Nintendo Wii on the horizon.

Recently, I was talking with colleagues about how the Internet has changed over the years, and how it's become a natural part of every day life for so many of us. How has the Internet influenced us, and has it taken control of us? I couldn't help but take an incoherent look back...

Before arriving in Belgium, I was somewhat news obsessed. I'd listen to ABC NewsRadio on a regular basis (with the exception of when they were broadcasting from Parliament). I'd even go to bed and listen to the news from the BBC (naturally being retransmitted via NewsRadio).

Sitting on my own in my new and baron apartment in Brussels a feeling somewhat lonely (amplified somewhat by the time of year), I tuned into NewsRadio over the Internet for a news-fix and to see what was going on around the world. To my surprise, NewsRadio would cheer me up and make the world feel small again for me in no time.