After enduring many months of my spare computer playing up regularly – crashing, losing time, losing its CMOS settings – I finally decided to take a look under the hood yesterday. And found an obsolete video capture card in there, one I haven’t used in years. I don’t think I even have any drivers for ... [More]
The telemarketers and their predictive dialler seem to have given up on me. Wimps! Maybe it’s an early Christmas present. Speaking of Christmas presents, I can proudly proclaim to have completed all my Christmas shopping. It was a Sunday afternoon trip into the city that did it. Perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t too painful.
A predictive dialler is stalking me. It’s been ringing for a couple of weeks now. If the phone rings and the caller ID says "Private Number" and there’s silence on the other end, then hold music, I just hang up. Honestly, what a nerve – them ringing you up to put you on hold until ... [More]
On Friday at work we all shuffled up to our new offices, on the slightly dizzying 28th floor. The view is fabulous, of course. Anything would be fabulous after working on the 2nd floor, where the view consists of a wall on another building. No, from the 28th, you can see the other office towers ... [More]
On Saturday I met a man who was about to die. Well, a political death, that is. Here, for posterity, is a transcript of my hard-hitting in-depth dialogue with Liberal opposition leader Robert Doyle, merely hours beforehe spectacularly lost the election. I think you’ll find this free and frank exchange of views somewhat revealing, both ... [More]
2:25pm. I am not having a good day in the office. My code is not working. Without getting into too much detail, various COM objects are conspiring against me. Now I’ve rebooted my PC and, courtesy of the evil hand of fate and the corporate standard setup of Windows, my personal settings have vanished, taking ... [More]
Last year I bought the DVD ofStar Wars: Phantom Menace. It was okay… good special effects and stuff. But the acting and the plot left something to be desired. When I bought it, I got a limited edition "slip case" – an extra bit of cardboard that wraps around it. Apparently only 10 zillion of ... [More]
Monday lunchtime. I just went to the post office. Oh, the trauma. Yes, the lunchtime queue. Why on earth, in this day and age, do people still go to the post office pay bills? Do they think they’re living in the 20th century or something? They have no telephone, no internet access? They feel they ... [More]
I have an idea for any budding sociologists. Take a train late at night. You’re guaranteed to meet a cross section of people from all walks of life, the most obvious being the 10% or so who are the drifting type – the human flotsam, apparently barely surviving urban life, because they’re drunk, high, stupid, ... [More]
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Zzzzzz. Ring, ring. Zzzz. Ring, ring. What’s that? The phone. I’m asleep. If the phone rings and I’m asleep, it must be important, right? Last time someone rang me up in the night when I was asleep, it was to tell me my dad had had an accident and gone to hospital. I’d better get ... [More]
On Wednesday night, I suddenly found my car spot had been vacated. Where the mystery car came from, or where it vanished to, was destined to remain… err… a mystery. On Thursday night I went and gave blood. I was all prepared for a long wait like last time, and took a book. But to ... [More]