Technical Issues
March 30, 2008 (2 Responses)
SORRY FOR THE MESS folks, but we’re experiencing some technical issues at the mo. To kick things off I had to go through a process of elimination to resolve some LCP synchronisation issues with my broadband (which eventually turned out to be dodgy cabling producing lousy Signal to Noise (SNR) ratios) and this took a few days to correct and stabilise.
At least now I’ve got a decent connection going which should enable me to take advantage of the ADSL2+ upgrades due in my areas later this year.
Then to make things worse - in a fit of what I can only assume was temporary insanity - I upgraded to the latest version of Wordpress on my site instead of waiting a few weeks after the initial release for everyone else (read: guinea pigs) to test it on my behalf.
I can only blame it on the drugs; I’ve been sick as a pig all weekend and doped up to the tits on various kinds of good stuff trying to get over it.
Anyhoo - bottom line is that I’ve still got some technical issues I’m trying to resolve with this latest upgrade, most notably the fact that none of my ‘pages’ of content are displaying correctly. Posts are ok, but pages do not load, even though they are all there in the database as normal.
So folks, if you notice anything else out of whack please do let me know and I’ll try to get everything back in working order ASAP.
Cosmo @ 6 Months Old - Lock Up Your Daughters!
March 26, 2008 (One Response)
THE LITTLE BUGGER is growing up fast, and filling out into his dog shape at a fierce rate. It wasn’t that long ago that we had a small pup on our hands, cowering in the corner of the room wondering where the hell he was and how he was going to handle a 10 year old female cocker spaniel who ruled the roost, but that was then and things have changed rather dramatically since he arrived.
It’s now six months on and Cosmo is already the same size as Amber and looks like he is going to tower above her when full grown. Amber no longer rules the roost as well as she used to; he’s big enough now to challenge her and usually drives her nuts on a daily basis.
The last time you saw him he was still a pup and trying to dismantle my bookshelf, but now he’s full of beans, and progressed to much more ambitious projects (constantly eating the house, and I mean literally eating furniture, CDs, telephone cables, remote controls, internet connections, money, papers… the list is endless). Now he’s showing the classic cocker spaniel show-dog profile as he grows into his frame.
Hell - you should see how tall this chap is when he stands up (check out this photo of him in the kitchen last weekend with SusiQ) and given the size of his legs I reckon he is going to be even taller still.
He has of course aquired some new names along the way, most of which don’t leave much up to the imagination (little big man, crapweasel, monster, scumking, mad bastard, big shitter, the destroyer) but I reckon we’ll stick with Cosmo for a name going forward.
The good news is he is a healthy, happy and mad-as-a-bag-of-frogs cocker spaniel with a lovely disposition (gentle, great with kids, not afraid of anything, great with other dogs etc.) and has made this home of ours his new playground, which is exactly what we needed after losing Bonnie.
It’s hard to believe it’s already been six months, but I figured I’d post this here for posterity and to let those of you following his progress see how he’s getting on.
If you want to see the progression from pup to dog you can check out the Cosmo gallery and see the various shots of him; we decided after losing Bonnie that we didn’t want to make the same mistake this time (i.e. never took enough photos of her until it was too late) so we’re doing a few shots every few months and sticking them online for storage.
Anyhoo, he’s a handome devil isn’t he?
97% Of US Death Toll In Iraq Happened Since “Victory” Declared
March 24, 2008 (3 Responses)
THE PAPERS and online news sites are full of stories today relating to the mounting death toll in Iraq, specifically the US troops death toll, because the official figure has reached 4000 dead apparently; the latest to die were four soldiers whose patrol vehicle was blown up by a bomb in southern Baghdad on Sunday last weekend.
Most of the commentators and journalists are drawing comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam at this point, and reaching conclusions such as the US cannot successfully fight more than 2 “small wars” at once with any chance of emerging victorious.
I’ve written previously about the mounting civillian casualties and deaths in Iraq which just continues to spiral out of control and out of sight for most people. Back in October 2006 I posted an article citing the estimated civilian casualties at over 650,000, and things have only gone from bad to worse since then. Multiple sources seem to agree that this estimate is reasonably accurate and yet it still continues to be largely ignored.
What struck me as odd today however - because I suffer from the same infomation overload and statistic fatigue that everyone else does when talking about Iraq - is that of those 4000 US dead 97% of them happened after Bush declared victory in the “battle for Iraq” back on May 1st 2003 when he said that “major combat” was over.
Anyone else think this is just a teensy weensy bit of a PR problem for the outgoing el presidente and the republican party in general?
To quote from his speech directly:-
The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11, 2001 — and still goes on. That terrible morning, 19 evil men — the shock troops of a hateful ideology — gave America and the civilized world a glimpse of their ambitions. They imagined, in the words of one terrorist, that September the 11th would be the “beginning of the end of America.” By seeking to turn our cities into killing fields, terrorists and their allies believed that they could destroy this nation’s resolve, and force our retreat from the world. They have failed.
That was then and this is now. Fast forward to 2008 and el presidente is still making victory speeches about the “successes in Iraq” on the five year anniversary of the illegal invasion war conflict in Iraq.
I’m sure the families of the dead 4000 US soldiers, the families of the 650,000 dead Iraqi civiliians and probably the relatives of US troops still on the ground over there in Iraq are really looking forward to his next victory speech…. oh wait, that’s right, he’s out of office at the end of the year isn’t he?
I guess it will be someone else from the Whitehouse making the regular victory speech in a year or so and all we will have to do is update the death toll figures again in response.
April 4th: A Big Day For Sci-Fi Fans…
March 22, 2008 (3 Responses)
IT’S BEEN A LONG WAIT, but season 4 of that absolutely incredible sci-fi show Battlestar Galactica is nearly upon us again. April 4th is the launch date in the US for the last season of this epic space opera, so set your recorders on stun and get ready to enter into the biggest season yet. It’s generally well known at this point that the fleet will eventually find Earth during this season, but no one is letting the full plot out of the bag just yet.
The real question is ‘when’ apparently.
As in, when do they do finally find Earth, what year will it be? The past or the future? Maybe the middle ages or sometime in the not to distant 22nd century. It’s all up for grabs and that’s just one single plot point. There are may more to be resolved; the final / fifth Cylon has yet to be revealed, the real story behind Starbuck is still a mystery, the fate of Six and Baltar and so much more. I’m not going to be able to wait until this show makes it across the big pond here, probably to be screened by Sky One, so I guess I’ll be depending on my American cousins *cough* to tape it for me!
And, as if that wasn’t enough to look forward to, another favourite (and seminal) sci-fi show of mine is returning for it’s own fourth season on the same day over here in Europe. Doctor Who returns at 7pm on BBC that night to kick off another great season of thrills and spills, and this time includes cameos from all previous ‘companions’ from the first three seasons.
There is a strong rumour flying around that this will be the last season for the current ‘Doctor’, so I guess we are in for some regeneration at the end of this one… although I haven’t heard anything about a replacement as yet.
Judging from the teasers and pre-release info I’ve seen so far it looks like being a hell of season. I love the way this show mixes humour and pathos with the most outrageous villans and situations. It’s a glorious mix between outright camp and good solid science fact which hits the mark on almost every episode.
If you haven’t already done so check out Doctor Who website for more info.
Hey Stupid, It’s Saint Patrick’s Day… Go Kill Yourself Quietly Somewhere!
March 16, 2008 (5 Responses)
SAINT PATRICK may have driven the snakes from Ireland all those years ago, but we’ve still got our fair share of slippery characters here these days, and worse we still have a fair amount of stupid ones too. Although, to be fair, almost the entire government has abandoned Ireland to celebrate Paddy’s Day abroad somewhere, leaving only Willie O’Dea to hold the fort - so that takes care of the slippery lot, leaving us with just the stupid buggers instead.
Oh yes, it’s that time of the year when the death count on the roads rises beyond comprehension, every single time, and we count the cost in the newspapers and draw comparisons like some morbid league table, lamenting the decline of social and family values and then, as usual, everyone goes back to work and gets busy enough to not give a crap until next year.
The headlines, the blood and the bones, the grieving families and the mashed cares all fade back into the black and white print of the newspapers and gradually morph into last weeks tragedy, last months statistic and next years league table reference for comparison. And life goes on, for some of us anyway, but not those unfortunate enough to be caught up in the carnage .
I’m no angel it has to be said, if anything I’m a fairly flawed person with lots of history and baggage. In the eighties I was certainly drinking and driving, and so was everyone else… but times changed and so did I. What was acceptable then is not now, and that’s a good thing. I’m also no fan of the ‘nanny state’, this endless erosion of civil liberties that seems to be taking place here in Ireland these days, and I’m certainly not an advocate of this privatisation of speed cameras and the inevitable revenue cash cow it will generate as a result. But…
Ah yes, there is a “but”.
But, having said all that I have to recognise that it really is pure stupidity to drink and then get into a car and drive. And given the statistics for an average Paddy’s Day weekend and the resulting road deaths that will potentially happen… well, let’s just say by all means enjoy your Paddy’s Day, get drunk, get drugged, hell I don’t care what you do… but please do not get in a car while pissed or drugged.
Or at the very least if you do intend drinking and driving this Paddy’s Day, how about you kill yourself quietly somewhere on some back road without endangering anyone else?
It’s the least you can do.
Welsh Jedis On The Moon & Israeli Laser Defence Class Action…
March 15, 2008 (5 Responses)
THESE WELSH JEDI lot are a forward looking bunch; I’ll give them that at least. Whether you think they’re whackjobs or take them seriously the UK Church of Jedi actually exists, presumably as a subset of the Jedi Church itself, and most recently they have made the headlines because they selected a rather interesting place to build their latest church, not to mention forming a new Galactic nation state. I refer of course to the story that some Welsh Jedis decided to create a space colony on the moon.
Yep. You read that right, on the moon!
Of course the first step in such an enterprise is to purchase some real estate, which they have in fact managed to do. Actually, they’re not just interested in buying the land (a one acre site apparently), they are also in the process of setting up a new Jedi nation up there as well. You see the moon is classed as being in ‘international waters’ (although I challange anyone to find water up there!) so legally speaking there is nothing to stop them forming their own galactic state up there.
The two brothers at the head of the UK Jedi Church organisation have gone ahead and set up a government, constitution and royal family of the sovereign state as well. The nation is called The Galactic States of Jediism and they have also nominated their own capital city on the moon called Testa City.
What beats me is how they can fit all this into one little acre of real estate… still it could set an interesting precedent if we ever manage to, you know, actually colonise the moon… although why anyone would want to at this point is a bit of a mystery to me.
Still, it’s not as weird as the next item, because quasi-religious sci-fi enthusiasts doing their thing on the moon is at least ‘out there’ somewhere, a possibility that might be a problem in the future sometime if we ever go back to the moon, where as this next item is closer to home but just as weird. Read more
How To Save Your Soul, MMORPG Style…
March 11, 2008 (4 Responses)
Original content: http://www.xkcd.com/393/
