Well, another year is over – and a new one just begun. Who needs to think of something new when ideas from other places already say what you want them to?
So was 2009 a good year? Depends, really. Politically, and internationally, perhaps not. But I’m not here to comment on any of that. There are other places, if that’s your thing (try here, if you like – free plug, Dom). Personally, it wasn’t bad – hey, my daughter was born, for one thing! Financially? Meh. Anyway, let’s take a look at things, and the year to come.
Continue reading '2010 – time for a little more change!'»
I came to a realisation today. It was somewhat shocking, but I knew it for the truth as soon as the thought came into my mind – I am not a ’real’ blogger.
For some time now, I’ve been deluding myself. I’ve kept a blog for two years now, and I’ve written quite a few posts, but while this does make me a blogger by definition, it doesn’t make me one by trade.
Of course, at it’s most literal, the previous sentence is a moot point – blogging is not my prime source of income, so of course it’s not my trade; in fact, I don’t earn anything by blogging. What I mean is (unfortunately, or at least it seemed like an unfortunate realisation at first), I’m a hobby blogger. Not that it’s such a bad thing.
Continue reading 'Where I’m at – Dec ‘09'»
Damn, I’ve been so crazy busy with babies and comics and work and visitors and everything recently, I’ve fallen behind on my posts! So I thought I’d bump it up this weekend and get a few out there. But as an interlude (of sorts), I thought I’d do a little "what am I interested in at the moment" post. And here it is, I hope you enjoy!
Continue reading 'Stuff I like (October ‘09)'»
Soon enough, the balance of things will shift, and a new digital revolution will begin — namely by way of digital distribution. We’ve discussed this before, yes, but it seems that things are gaining traction. Ars Technica reported that iTunes accounts for 25% of ALL music sales in the US (not just digital sales), and it has also been suggested that iTunes will replace physical media as the number one choice for music consumers as early as next year. This comes as a bit of a surprise to me – I knew things were headed this way, but I had no idea it was already upon us!
Of course, it will still be a while before digital sales take over completely. Most people still don’t have the means nor the know-how, so it’s still likely to be about 10 years away. Even so, there’s something that hasn’t really been addressed yet, which is going to have some effect on how well this is received by consumers… and that is – the organisation and management of digital goods.
Continue reading 'Our digital future – possible calamity?'»
Since the release of Guitar Hero many moons ago, the game has been the topic of some tension between fans and… those who are not fans. The argument tends to revolve around the fact that the game makes very simple use of a plastic guitar with buttons in order to simulate guitar playing — those against the games are usually guitar players themselves who quite vocally argue "why don’t you just play a real instrument?"
At face value, there seems to be some merit to the argument — the concept of the plastic guitar alone is embarrassing enough. And I’ve even gone as far as using the argument myself… But the more I think about it, the more I disagree.
Continue reading 'Why the "just play a real guitar" argument pisses me off…'»
Classics. In all forms of art and entertainment, there are several items that are considered "classics". But why? Generally, it comes down to the fact that these particular pieces fit the mould of what is perceived to be "good form" or "artistic" or "professional" (or any number of alternative adjectives) — and most of the time they’re right.
But sometimes, classics are as boring as granny poop.
The problem is – most people don’t want to mention that they found a certain classic to be geriatric excrement (I’d like to say geri-poo). But why? It’s a pretty simple (and well known) concept — although aware of the right to opinion, a lot of people believe they have to conform to fit in. But screw it. There are some classics I don’t like — I’m not cultured, and I’m proud.
Continue reading 'If I don’t like a classic, does that make me less cultured?'»
There are some things in this world I don’t understand – Chinese is a good example of this; quantum physics is another – but the more I think about this one, the more it disappoints me.
Basically, I was reading through my feeds on Google Reader (if you haven’t checked out RSS feeds, get into it! They make life so much easier), and I came across a story about an upcoming movie… and the problem was, the story suggested the movie could become a “critically panned disaster that turns out to be a cult title, like the Chronicles of Riddick”… This was news to me – I thought Riddick and Pitch Black were quite well received…
So I checked Metacritic, and I was shocked. Both movies averaged below 50%… Pitch Black even scored a zero… I also spoke to my nephew, and asked him if he’d seen Riddick, and he referred to Pitch Black as crap. Shock. And the world did spin.
Continue reading 'Riddick is cool and the world should agree'»
Heard an interesting comment on the radio recently that made me think — and this is a fairly uncommon experience for me. So I decided to write about it. And what was so interesting that it would prompt me to pop it on the frog? Well, it was about music, and it made me think about why we like the things we like.
Continue reading 'Music made me think and hurt my brain'»
Australia is finally getting real Internet. I say “real Internet” because we have been living in the land of poo-poo Internet for some time now (well, those of us in Oz, that is) – in fact, there are quite a few people I know that have only JUST RECENTLY made the move to “high-speed” Internet from dial-up! Yes, from dial-up! It’s still available!
*ahem* Living in Japan and having sweet, sweet, awesome Internet spoiled me for Australian ‘net access, but to be honest, I’m not in that much of a bad place at the moment. I guess I average a little over 1 megabit per second with my ISP now, and I can say I’m happy with that – to some degree. And today, the Government released information about their plan to bring fibre to the home – to the friggin’ HOME, people! Think about it! – and 100x better net speeds than I currently have (read about it more in this article from The Age)… and how do I feel about it?
Continue reading 'Speed up that Internet Australia! Is it all good, though?'»
I’m a nerd. Sure — it goes without saying. The majority of us bloggers know what we are, and those that think they aren’t… well… They’re fooling themselves. Let’s face it — anyone who seriously thinks they’re hip hardly knows how to navigate the ‘net. Of course, this is a grand overstatement, and the face of geekdom is changing, but whatever. I’m a nerd, and so are you.
That said — us nerds, we are taking over the world. It’s true. If you haven’t heard of the latest Internet meme, you aren’t plugged into society’s pulse. Yep — ‘nerd’ really is starting to equal ‘cool’. But you know what? There’s a problem with that. Nerds don’t know how to handle it, and it annoys the hell out of me. Continue reading 'I like shoes.'»
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