I just stuck a 7 out of 10 in The Economist’s Style Quiz.
In your face, a barely working knowledge of spelling and grammar!
Author: Richard Irvine
-
Twitter:
spent most of today catching up on email from last week. felt like what I imagine baby seal hunting is like
-
Dispatch from Dial-up hell
I was trying to upgrade OSX when the shit hit the fan. Some big downloads meant I’d teetered over my 10GB cap for the month, and my internet connection, my precious, precious broadband was grounded – back to 56KBps I went. For two weeks. Bloody hell.
Oh well, we survived for years on Dial-up – surely it’s not THAT bad? I hoped for the best, a kind of digital Walden, a nostalgic return to days of yore.
Turns out, it’s as much fun as a Gameboy with no batteries.
You can’t YouTube on Dial-up. You can’t do 23 Firefox tabs in Dial-up. You can’t do a cheeky Bit Torrent on Dial-up. It’s like swimming through shit, if shit took an age to download. Recently, I brazenly asked an older work colleague what working in the 80’s without the internet was like. Now I know.
330 MB software updates, updates I used to laugh cavalierly at, were now timing out. I started thinking about page sizes. I started thinking about text browsers. I had a better web experience on my PHONE.
Before, when I read hard-luck stories of people who can’t get broadband where they live, I’d raise an amused eyebrow. Maybe snigger, before popping open another 5 or six browser tabs just for the laugh. Now, I realise these people live in Abu Ghraib. Forget sponsoring a child, we need a Telethon for those lost in 56KBps. 56K? NO WAY. That kind of thing.
I’ve got a week to go, I *think* I can make it. I’m starting a list of things to do when I’m full speed again. I’m going to download that update and stand watching the progress bar barrel along, hands on my hips, head back, laughing in an overly hearty manner. I’m going to be me again.
-
Twitter:
Had house to myself for loud guitar practice. 15 minutes in, I’d already hit Guns n Roses AND AC/DC. Boy out of Hamilton, etc.
-
Twitter:
sick and having stuff done for me. I feel like a man from the 50s
-
Twitter:
ok – this man flu is starting to produce serious ‘congestion’. that wasn’t part of the deal.
-
The more douche-y the ring ton…
The more douche-y the ring tone, the more likely you’ve left it on your desk @ FULL VOLUME. Same goes for libraries and conferences
-
Mighty. And Boosh.
I’m really enjoying The Mighty Boosh – Mondays 10PM on C4. Last night’s Crack Fox ep was… well, here’s a clip.
Turns out they were on the radio first – the show really works in that medium. Here’s a legit-lite download site (hey, it was broadcast on the BBC), or they’re all over torrent sites, too.
-
Links
Wired magazine has an oral history of War Games, the film that made me realise Dad’s TRS-80 was capable of more than 10 Print: You are a dick and 20: Goto 10. Possibly. That shit’s *still* really, really funny
Kubrick nitty gritty fans should take an hour to watch this, or the time-poor should read this article. It seems Kubrick would often phone people out of the blue to work with him, totally freaking them out in the process – there’s more of this kind of thing in this book.
I’m really enjoying the AV Club‘s Primer series – here’s The Kinks, Springsteen, Pixar, the Cohens, and Steven Spielberg.
Ooooh, and I’ve decided what kind of car I want now.
-
Plus, like shitty weather, Twi…
Plus, like shitty weather, Twitter seems much more popular in Wellington than Auckland. Am I right?