January 2007 Archives

After a short while of ho-hum days and tiny little hardships, struggles to will myself out of bed on a Tuesday and sadness at, yet again, not being around to spoil my mum on her birthday, a little bit of good news was needed. And it has come!

Thanks to their very hard work Ian's team have won their incentives for last year. This means a trip for their team to Eastern Europe, a nice bonus, and best of all (because I can go) an all-expenses paid trip to New York!

In addition to this fantastic result, I'm also getting a little bit of a pay increase, which was agreed upon when I took on my current position and was suject to my performance over the last 6 months.

So career-wise, we're both very much on track, and it's a lovely little bit of news for us both. Ian because he worked his butt off for it and deserves the recognition, and me because I am staring down a mountain of cost in visa fees.

Life is good!

Some Weird Al to help you crack a smile.

It turns out we saw the band of the delinquent (and likely to creep his way into our hearts) little pisshead Donny Tourette, currently on Big Brother, and his band Towers of London, at the Leeds Festival.

Pic here.

I still think his hair is dick-ric-ulous.

So you seem to be very popular thesedays.

Time chose to pinpoint Web 2.0 as their outstanding item for the year, focusing on the content that you and me and everyone else contributes to the web. With the rise and sale of YouTube and the ubiquity of MySpace, it was a wise decision, and I personally feel something of a sense of connection to the choice, as someone who's put up crappy phone footage of concerts on YouTube.

It got me thinking about the Web 2.0 applications I use regularly, and how frustrating it can be that not all the people whose blogs I read use the same applications or, maybe, they choose not to use those programs and opt for others out of preference. So, here I list the top three UGC programs I would like you to join me on:

1. Flickr
Ok, it had to come first. A lot of the people I know who have blogs or who I know online already use flickr, and use it regularly. Once you've caught the flickr bug there's no turning back. I have used other sites for photo hosting and sharing, such as Buzznet, but flickr's just so damn inviting... I am here.

2. Last fm
I've only recently joined, and haven't downloaded it at work, so not a lot of track listings for me. But already I'm enjoying it, seeing what the current favourites are of the people I know. The radio option is something Ian gets a lot of use out of at home too. I am here.

3. Google Calendar
Or Galendar, as one of Charlene's buddies puts it. It's not public user-generated content as such, but I use it semi-religiously (it's no total replacement for a diary) and it's a great way to see if your mates are free for that drink this Wednesday, or what your sister's up to in Germany. Drop me a comment and I'll invite you to my gcal.

So go on, if you like what you see in any of these and you feel the need to join, count me in as your buddy. There's no point to generating content if no one can see it! Especially not if I can't see it! I wanna! I WANNA!

Saw this meme idea on this site, and thought it might be a little more interesting if I added something to it.

1. Take the nearest book and go to page 123.
2. Go to the fifth sentence of the page.
3. Copy down the next three sentences and tag three people.

Okay, and my addition:
4. Either do this at work, or do it on a book about or relating to your work.
5. Did you know about the information in these sentences? Does the information affect your day-to-day work, ie, is it an aspect of your work that you actually use or have interest in?

It doesn't have to be a long-winded thing, just go with the flow.

Ok, mine comes from 'The Print Manager's Handbook 2005: The Complete Reference Book for Buyers and Managers of Print'. I'm not a print buyer or manager per se but it is a guidebook for some aspects of my job.

"The ability to print four colour process with or without the addition of 'special' colours is no different to any other form of conventional printing, however large format printing tends to use a larger variety of substrates such as mirror boards, plastics, self-cling vinyls etc. Before starting any project it is vital to consider the final application, the length of time it will be up and the need for durability (i.e. is it likely to get damaged through wear-and-tear?) as these factors will significantly alter the cost. For instance, supermarket POS buyers will often push a shopping trolley into a floor-based unit at prototype stage, to ensure its durability and the fact that it's not going to fall on someone if hit."

As for the general content of these sentences, they don't really relate too closely to the work I do every day. We do some ancillary work on leaflets and I once interviewed for a job overseeing all in-store promotional boards for a fashion magazine, but nothing like described here.
I do, however, find it very amusing that in some production houses, there is a specially earmarked lone 'dummy trolley' which is pulled out of it's cupboard once in a while for a designer to push towards a cardboard baked bean promotional stand. I'm sure unfunny family sitcom writers would be horrified to learn that displays in supermarkets are actually tested to avoid the kind of smashing champagne bottle gag they throw in every now and then.

I tag Ian, Vaughan and Matt. And Charlene for good measure, as she has many a textbook to take something from!

Yay! At the the risk of blogging about work (or part-time work), one of the questions I answered last night was chosen as one of the top 5 for yesterday:

Q. Whats a peruvian goats favourite pizza?
A. AQA thinks that a Peruvian Goat's favourite pizza is topped with to-maaaa-to and baaa-sil, and, of course, extra goat's cheese.

See it here for today.

Lame, right?

Watching an episode of season 3 of 24. Woman trying to convince man with gun to own head to not shoot himself. They grapple with the gun, he pushes her down, commits suicide.

Ian: Oh great, now her fingerprints are on the gun.
Me: Yeah but she won't have any GSR on her hands.
(pause)
Ian: You watch WAY too much CSI.

Jokes aside, Ian and I have been getting stuck into the DVD boxsets of 24, thanks to Adrian. I think these sets have been passed around his circle of friends many a time, and for good reason - what a great series! We have determined that we wouldn't be able to wait for a week between each episode though, DVD is definitely the better means of watching the show.

Random Jack Bauer fact:
When a convicted terrorist was sentenced to face Jack Bauer, he appealed to have the sentence reduced to death.

Oh, and another, which explains something we chatted about with Nikki and Matt (nice to see you again guys!):
Jack Bauer doesn't need to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom because his organs are afraid of making him angry.