Feed Readers

Google Reader is awesome.

Well, it would be. If it worked on Opera.

It did for a while. And then they updated. So it didn’t. They fixed it. Then updated again. And now it doesn’t. Again. Sounds like a conspiracy.

Apparently, because Opera is not one of Google’s “Recommended Browsers” they don’t have to worry about fixing it. Instead, anyone wanting to use Google stuff should switch to the much better Firefox. For the mac population they accept Safari. And for the stubborn population, they even make the stuff work on IE.

But not Opera.

After switching all my feeds to Google Reader from Opera’s in-built (albeit outdated) reader to Google, I got two days use out of it. It’s not been working since the 14th. So I started looking for an alternative.

And found Bloglines.

Not the old, crappy Bloglines which I used once a couple of years ago and hated. But the new Bloglines Beta which is very similar to, yet even better than, Google Reader. Best feature is the ‘Start Page’ where you can drag your favourite feeds, and it will briefly show the latest updates from everywhere :)

And it works perfectly on Opera.

Not so hard, is it?

September 17, 2007 | Filed Under Geek | 6 Comments 

Insert Expletive Here

So my research proposal was wrong.

Too broad, beyond the scope of the paper, and based on too much speculation.

Basically, I wanted to look at the potential federalisation of the European Union - how far along the road to federalisation is it, how has it gotten there, specifically, what role did the Member State governments play, considering the amount of sovereignty they stand to lose?

Admittedly, it’s a huge topic.

That’s cool, always happens.

Probably going to narrow it down to something like…. In what ways does European Monetary Union represent a federal institution?

I just really wish that I’d received the feedback before the other part of the assignment was due.

Now what happens? Obviously I’ve done that part wrong as well - am I going to lose marks based on something I didn’t yet know?

That sucks.

September 14, 2007 | Filed Under Academia | 4 Comments 

Climbing the Stairway of Reunion

Holy Crap.

According to the rumour mill, Led Zeppelin are going to do a reunion show. The band that swore “never again.” Fans around the world sullenly accepted that they would never again see the band live.

Yet here we go.

Rumours have abounded before. Someone always jumps up to quash them.

This time, no one has. The ledzeppelin.com webpage has been updated with a mysterious date, and no explanation.

Some say it’s just the release date for their new ‘Best-of’ double CD. But why all the mystery then?

The band has scheduled a Press Conference for later today British time (obviously not NZ time… it’s already 10pm!) in which they are expected to announce a charity show.

Note the singular.

It’s probably going to be at the new O2 arena in London, which can hold aroun 18,000 people.

18,000 lucky people.

180,000 wouldn’t be enough. 10 shows wouldn’t be enough. There is no way that the band would be able to satisfy the demand for a final tour without extensive tours of most countries.

If the rumours are true. If the concert is announced. If it all goes ahead.

Tickets to that concert, once scalped, will easily reach the $10,000 mark.

Should they do it, though? I mean, they’ve had a couple of soft reunions before, for Live Aid and MTV Unplugged. But the band’s limitations shone through every time. Robert Plant’s voice has lost range. Jimmy Page is looking old and tired. They refused to consent to thir performance being distributed on the Live Aid DVD as it wasn’t up to scratch.

Should they really risk a final lacklustre performance, despite its obvious definite success?
Or should they rather leave it be, and not taint the memories, remaining forever as the ‘Gods of Rock’ ?

More info:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1283655,00.html
http://ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/led_zeppelin_announcement_expected_next_week.html

September 12, 2007 | Filed Under Guitar | 3 Comments 

Is there a draft in here?

There’s just something wrong with the way my European Politics course is structured.

The course content is great. The lecturer is interesting (if a little bit too far to the left for my liking).

But the assignments are horrendously structured.

Like most courses of this level, a major chunk of the course mark lies in a large Research Essay we must present at the end of the year.

That’s fine. I enjoy research essays, thankfully. When they go well.

And, really, the demand for a research proposal is fair enough, making it worth 5% is good too, as it means people will put thought into them.

But here’s the weird part: He wants a draft introduction and outline. Four weeks before the final is due. And worth 10%.

For a draft introduction.

To request one is fine. Make it obligatory, no problem.

But how can ten percent of my mark for the year rest in a draft?! It doesn’t make sense. The point of a draft is to clear the ideas, get things moving, so that it can be heavily edited and presented in a refined form.

But this one is worth something.

So, does that mean it should really be basically as good as my final introduction?

But how could it be? I haven’t written the entire essay yet. Haven’t even finished the research. What do I do? How do you mark a draft?

To make things worse, it’s due tomorrow. I’ve been doing quite a bit of research. Know roughly how I want to present things and which angle I’m going to take. But I’m not really ready to write a brilliant introduction.

Even worse, he hasn’t returned our proposals yet. He’s had 5 weeks. From the course outline - “I will use your proposals as a control to ensure you are on a productive track of research.” Good. Wish you had. Will absolutely love finding out that I’ve been barking up the wrong tree once I’ve handed in my draft introduction.

September 12, 2007 | Filed Under Academia | 4 Comments 

There’s a time and a place…

I stop at the pedestrian crossing, waiting for the cars to let me across.

Finally, a car slows to a stop.

I look up at the driver, preparing myself to cross, ensuring that he has, indeed, stopped.

Lovely.

He’s picking his nose.

Common occurance I suppose. Nosepicking’s not exactly that rare. I myself can be partial to a good pick, sometimes it needs to be done. But, you know, I try to do it in privacy. In the bathroom for example.

In the car? Come on. I know it feels safe and secure. You’re sealed off from the world.

But let’s not forget that you’re surrounded by windows! A good many of them! You can see a lot around you. Which means a lot of people can see you. Picking your nose.

I cross the road, looking up again as I reach the middle.

Oh my.

No, he didn’t.

Did he?

The finger that was previously deeply wedged within the left nostril had been withdrawn. And put in his mouth.

Horrid, absolutely horrid. I mean, what on earth possesses someone to do that?

“Hey, look at this massive clump of dried snot I managed to dislodge from my upper nostril! Cool! What should I do with it? Hrmmm… I am rather peckish….”

Or,

“I bet that tastes good!”

You know it won’t. Seriously. It’ll taste disgusting. And I doubt it’ll have nutritional benefits, let alone satisfy any hunger pangs.

The only reason I can think of is sheer curiosity. Monkeys do the same thing, investigating their bodies and so forth.

Monkeys also sling their poo at intruders.

Don’t take lessons from monkeys. Don’t pick your nose and eat it in public. Don’t fling your poo.

September 11, 2007 | Filed Under Humour | 3 Comments 

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