How nice it is to be home. Though I haven't really spent any time at home yet. Been back two nights, and have yet to sleep on my weird 'cushions-on-the-floor' bed (I can't be bothered to pull out the futon, so it's just a load of random cushions I found).
First night I got back, I zoomed off to see Alex and his new house. Next night I went to see some (awful) gig at the Concorde2. Some Asian rock band. Dear lord, they sucked ass. But then I'm heavily baised cos I just hate gigs anyway.. too much noise and too expensive (though I managed to get in for free saving me £9. Score!).
Anyway, last night I ended up sleeping on my friends boat at Brighton Marina. Couldn't get this girl from the concert out of my head though. A hot chick just come out of a mental hospital and was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Why do I always get attracted to the nutters, and why BPD? Been there before, and the fun is much less than the crap and baggage.
Anyhow, things are pretty damned good. Having fun, still writing and life is good. Except, tennis is on TV. I hate tennis, but there's nothing else on. Back in 2001 I was stuck in a hospital bed for a month with a TV with 30 channels. 26 were Dutch. The three that weren't were constantly showing tennis. And I had super bad insomnia. I couldn't stand tennis before that. Meh!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Home is where the heart is
Finally back in Brighton. Finally back home.
I had such a good holiday. It was the first time in two years I got away, and
the first time in near on a decade I had a holiday I enjoyed.
Not only does Scotland rock, England rocks! When I had my flit to Holland, I
thought I did it because I hated England. I didn't. I just hated Windsor and
my life. How come it took 8 years to realize that?
I love Brighton. It's one of the few places that feel like home. My flat
doesn't feel like home, but the city feels like home. As soon as I passed
those big stone pillars miles out of town that say "Brighton", I felt like I
was home. Weird, innit?
I had the time of my life on my holiday. Went up West England, then up to West
Scottland and Skye, then back down the East coast. Except for a few excersions
to Yorkshire, Devon and Wales, I hadn't seen any of my home country other than
Sussex, Surrey and Berkshire. Just saying those counties makes me feel middle
class - wish I had the money to live up to that.
On the way back, I brought a sword. A short sword with a scabbard. It pleases
me.. I've always wanted a sword. No idea how to enjoy it without getting
arrested for it (my long coat is long enough to cover the scabbard!), but I'll
work it out.
While away anyway, I wrote 40 pages of my book (finally!) and.. did little
else. I just chilled. Hardly any drinking, a smoke or two to ease the long
journeys. I escaped life, and it was damned fun!
At the same time, I'm so glad to be home. I'm even more glad to realize that I
think of somewhere as home.
I had such a good holiday. It was the first time in two years I got away, and
the first time in near on a decade I had a holiday I enjoyed.
Not only does Scotland rock, England rocks! When I had my flit to Holland, I
thought I did it because I hated England. I didn't. I just hated Windsor and
my life. How come it took 8 years to realize that?
I love Brighton. It's one of the few places that feel like home. My flat
doesn't feel like home, but the city feels like home. As soon as I passed
those big stone pillars miles out of town that say "Brighton", I felt like I
was home. Weird, innit?
I had the time of my life on my holiday. Went up West England, then up to West
Scottland and Skye, then back down the East coast. Except for a few excersions
to Yorkshire, Devon and Wales, I hadn't seen any of my home country other than
Sussex, Surrey and Berkshire. Just saying those counties makes me feel middle
class - wish I had the money to live up to that.
On the way back, I brought a sword. A short sword with a scabbard. It pleases
me.. I've always wanted a sword. No idea how to enjoy it without getting
arrested for it (my long coat is long enough to cover the scabbard!), but I'll
work it out.
While away anyway, I wrote 40 pages of my book (finally!) and.. did little
else. I just chilled. Hardly any drinking, a smoke or two to ease the long
journeys. I escaped life, and it was damned fun!
At the same time, I'm so glad to be home. I'm even more glad to realize that I
think of somewhere as home.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Google Favicon Rant
I've not written here for ages. Over 1 1/2 years in fact.. my my, doesn't time fly. I realized I'd had a gmail account for over three years the other day (my first email is from 19/02/2005).
I first found the internet fairly late. Was around 1999 or 2000. I'd read about it in magazines, but even with the rich populas in Windsor, I only new one person who had it at home (and damnit, his parents were minted!). Getting internet at school led to my downfall (in schooling anyway - I've learnt a lot more online than I would have had I stayed at school and onwards), but it wasn't until 2001 when we got our first internet cafe's in Windsor (a music store with 4 iMacs charging £1 for 20 minutes).
Getting off my point anyway. Like many other people, my internet aging grew with Google. It was thanks to Yahoo! mostly - I had my mail with them at the time, and used their search. I spent about a year using a 486 with (what was then) high-speed broadband. Could download Yahoo!'s page just fine, but computing it with whatever browser I was using was a grind. So I switched to Google, and stayed ever since.
As many other people have noticed, Google recently changed their favicon. Finally, Google have explained why:
First of all, the colours are wrong. After a couple of hours browsing, I can easily up 30 or more tabs open. The red/green/blue/white white square of the old Big G were always easy to spot. Now I have to read the title of each tab. Though a different shade, a single blue colour I have come to mentally link with Facebook.
Secondly, it's lower case. Google is one of the biggest (if not the title holder) internet companies in the world. It's a big G! One of the comments I read in another blog referenced a study where capital letters suggested pomposity. Maybe this is true, but there's no point changing now, which brings me to my third point:
The Google favicon we've been used to for the last god-knows-how-many-years means Google. If another site used it, we'd notice it as Google. What with internet security the way it is nowadays, any symbol or logo of a company we trust is an important thing. Casual users might not notice it right away, but I've had a couple of less experienced computer user ring me thinking their computers were hacked. Why? Because that little Google logo wasn't the same. This should have been part of a much larger brand change, or at least a prominent announcement made. In the long run, this may be better for the Google brand, but in the short run, it seems like a not well thought out idea.
I first found the internet fairly late. Was around 1999 or 2000. I'd read about it in magazines, but even with the rich populas in Windsor, I only new one person who had it at home (and damnit, his parents were minted!). Getting internet at school led to my downfall (in schooling anyway - I've learnt a lot more online than I would have had I stayed at school and onwards), but it wasn't until 2001 when we got our first internet cafe's in Windsor (a music store with 4 iMacs charging £1 for 20 minutes).
Getting off my point anyway. Like many other people, my internet aging grew with Google. It was thanks to Yahoo! mostly - I had my mail with them at the time, and used their search. I spent about a year using a 486 with (what was then) high-speed broadband. Could download Yahoo!'s page just fine, but computing it with whatever browser I was using was a grind. So I switched to Google, and stayed ever since.
As many other people have noticed, Google recently changed their favicon. Finally, Google have explained why:
Last Friday, Google changed their favicon and it caused a big stir amongst Google users. We asked Google why they made the change and they replied that it was to reflect the "simple, playful and unique brand."
Here is the official response from a Google spokesperson:We recognized there was a need for a Google icon that would better work across multiple applications including web, mobile and client applications. We felt the small 'g' had many of the characteristics that best represent our brand: it's simple, playful, and unique. We will be looking to improve and enhance this icon as we move forward.
First of all, the colours are wrong. After a couple of hours browsing, I can easily up 30 or more tabs open. The red/green/blue/white white square of the old Big G were always easy to spot. Now I have to read the title of each tab. Though a different shade, a single blue colour I have come to mentally link with Facebook.
Secondly, it's lower case. Google is one of the biggest (if not the title holder) internet companies in the world. It's a big G! One of the comments I read in another blog referenced a study where capital letters suggested pomposity. Maybe this is true, but there's no point changing now, which brings me to my third point:
The Google favicon we've been used to for the last god-knows-how-many-years means Google. If another site used it, we'd notice it as Google. What with internet security the way it is nowadays, any symbol or logo of a company we trust is an important thing. Casual users might not notice it right away, but I've had a couple of less experienced computer user ring me thinking their computers were hacked. Why? Because that little Google logo wasn't the same. This should have been part of a much larger brand change, or at least a prominent announcement made. In the long run, this may be better for the Google brand, but in the short run, it seems like a not well thought out idea.
What to do if inside of girl gets wet
Confused virgins? I wasn't sure when I saw this on Google Trends.
Yep, that's right. The number one query for the US on June 3rd was "what to do if inside of girl gets wet". Sadly, the data for the trend no longer exists, but it was flat-lined until 6am that day, when it suddenly spiked into the 1000s.
A friend suggested it might be the "Did you mean" for "what to do if inside of grill gets wet". You know what? I really really hope that was why.
Yep, that's right. The number one query for the US on June 3rd was "what to do if inside of girl gets wet". Sadly, the data for the trend no longer exists, but it was flat-lined until 6am that day, when it suddenly spiked into the 1000s.
A friend suggested it might be the "Did you mean" for "what to do if inside of grill gets wet". You know what? I really really hope that was why.
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