Thought for the Day

Top Ten Reasons I Like Being An Actor - Presented by Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino

2008-09-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Paris Hilton responds to John McCain ... oh yeah!

2008-08-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Rush on the "Colbert Report", 1st time on US TV in 33 years

2008-07-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

Is Hilary Clinton A Moslem?

2008-03-08T17:35:00.001-08:00

Sarkozy tells dude to "bug off"

2008-02-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

Whatever the situation, whoever you are, it's important to take adverse people, and adverse situations, in your stride.

The Weiner Circle

2008-01-30T03:27:00.000-08:00

Tazed and Confused

2007-12-31T04:51:00.000-08:00

Olbermann Tears Bush a New One

2007-12-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

As far as the Bush presidency goes ... who'd have thunk, how low things have sunk?

Don't Tase Me! (I'm a celebrity ...)

2007-11-19T01:11:00.000-08:00

Now, is that a good title for a new reality TV show, or is it?

"Elect The Dead" - Serj Tankian Interviews Himself!

2007-09-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

Continuing on with this "interesting thoughts from rock musicians" theme, we have Serj Tankian telling us that, among other things - "civilisation is not sustainable". Visionary words, or pessimistic rantings? You decide.

Celebrity Winter Advice, with Geddy Lee

2007-09-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

Life's too short to play by the rules.

2007-06-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you need to cut a few corners. The trouble is - what if everybody did the same? Luckily that doesn't seem to happen, and what a relief too.

Give Them Enough Rope!

2007-05-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

... and chances are they will probably hang themselves.

Benny Benassi - Who's Your Daddy?

2006-12-08T00:49:00.000-08:00

2006-12-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

Tony Blair Covers The Clash - "Should I Stay Or Should I Go"

2006-11-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

A Birthday Telegram From Zinedine Zidane! (from Family Guy)

LIBERTATEA vs. THE SUN: When The Sword Of Jingoism Cuts Both Ways

2006-11-21T04:02:00.000-08:00

HAHA!

and perhaps even more eloquently ...

HAHA!

It's about time someone gave "The Sun" a righteous kick in the pants. To quote the Sun's own immortally tasteful headline the day after the sinking of the "General Belgrano" during the Falklands war:

GOTCHA!

Nobody Said Life Was Fair

2006-11-16T08:44:00.000-08:00

... or did they?

Henry Rollins: "Freedom is Under Attack"

2006-10-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

Professional Courtesy

2006-09-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Is it too much to ask?

It Must Be Nice To Be Rich!

2006-09-08T04:39:00.000-07:00

How's that for motivation to succeed in the art of making money? If you're looking for any kind of inspiration, or even life coaching, stay tuned to this blog.

Or better still ... become a CEO ... of SEO!

Shakira Shakes It - Live At The 2006 MTV VMA Awards

2006-09-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

Free Lunches

2006-07-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

George W. Bush - Sunday Bloody Sunday

2006-06-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments

2006-06-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

Dumb People

2006-06-09T03:32:00.000-07:00

The dumbest people I know are those who know it all.

[Malcolm Forbes]

Great Quotes from Dan Quayle

2006-05-13T04:56:00.000-07:00

The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history, but we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century.
For NASA, space is still a high priority.
I believe we're on an irreversible trend towards more freedom and democracy--but that could change.
Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.
We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward.
The future will be a better tomorrow.
A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.
We are ready for any unforseen event that may or may not occur.
The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that Dan Quayle may or may not make.
Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.
It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.
I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix.
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.
Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush and my fellow astronauts.
Mars is essentially in the same orbit. Mars is somewhat the same distance from the sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is water. If oxygen, that means we can breathe.
It's time for the human race to enter the solar system.
Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.
We're all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten you on the mistakes we may or may not have made.
I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican.
People who are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.
I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.
One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice-president, and that one word is "to be prepared."
We're going to have the best-educated American people in the world.
We have a firm commitment to NATO. We're part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We're part of Europe.
Public speaking is very easy.

Boastful, opinionated, or both?

2006-05-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

It struck me the other day how many people we meet in life who are either boastful, opinionated, or both. These are both basic human failings of course, but it can make a fairly adverse impression when you meet someone who has both these qualities at the same time. Being humble has never really seemed to cut it in the professional world, or for that matter, anywhere else, maybe since around the time of Jesus ...... or even then! - because after all, look what happened to Jesus. The lesson may be this: if you're a naturally humble, or at least non-boastful person who isn't arrogant enough to have an opinion about everything, in the real world you'd best pretend not to be, because it can only work against you.

Miles Davis & John Coltrane - SO WHAT

2006-04-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

nobody likes a smartass

2006-04-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Nobody likes a smartass, so if you are one, keep it to yourself, or better still, pretend to be a dumb person. Of course there are limits to this, but the point is, pretending to be dumber than you are will make you appear less of a threat to people. This will more likely get you further in your chosen profession, if not indeed, life, generally speaking.

Extending your desktop to your TV with s-video

2006-04-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Recently I'm getting into watching video torrents for the first time, X-vid DVD rips and the like, so it was necessary to get an s-video cable to watch them on TV i.e. to export the signal from the PC to the TV. Well, after a fair amount of trial and error, research, etc. I discovered that if I simply stick one end of the s-video cable into the front of the TV, where the yellow (video), red and white (sound) and s-video interface panel is, the PC desktop will refuse to extend to the TV. As far as I understand, this is the way things should work, but they don't, so here's how I got around the problem: instead of plugging the s-video jack into the front panel on the TV, I stuck it into one of these specially designed SCARTS (which goes in the back of the TV), and which has an 2-way functionality i.e. input/output switch AND an s-video interface. You can buy one from any specialist store. But is it that simple? Oh no! Here's the real beef: when you have done this, you CAN then extend your desktop to the TV, but you will only see the extended desktop in black and white. Not very nice for watching the latest movies (post-1950-something or whatever), right? Right. So here's what you do: after you've successfully extended your desktop to the TV in black and white, you then simply REMOVE the s-video jack from the special SCART, and stick it in the aforementioned front panel (where it refused to work in the first place), wherein you have the yellow, red, white and s-video interface, and presto, your PC desktop is extended, in color, onto your TV. The moral of the story is: things don't always work as they are designed to, so you need to adapt, and maybe even fool them into doing what you want.

Paranoia.

2006-04-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, the question isn't "are you being paranoid?", but rather, "are you being paranoid enough?".

what you know, and who you know.

2006-03-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

It's not what you know that counts, but who you know.

Welcome to my new blog. Let's talk about the French, and putting the cart before the horse.

2006-03-30T05:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a first thought that's been on my mind the last few days, and from personal experience no less. Despite what just about everyone in the worlds press is saying about the (anti-) new (proposed) employment legislation protesters in France, I have to agree with the protesters for one reason and one reason only. This is a point no-one else seems to be bringing up as far as I've heard. This reason is as follows: in France, if you do NOT have a "CDI" (contrat durée indeterminée) work contract, you will have one hell of a time getting a roof over your head, whether this be rental accomodation, or buying a property. It doesn't matter how much money you have (unless of course you're some kind of millionaire), or other sources of income, "the system" will not take them into account. This means you're out on the street, and you will be given no sympathy or leeway, except in the most unusual circumstances (like if you're dealing with sympathetic foreigners who sympathise with the absurd situation you may find yourself in), or with massive extra hassle, such as legal guarantees from 3rd parties, losing money on deposits equivalent to a years rent on the property, etc. Why is this situation so absurd as it is? Well, at least in terms of rental accomodation, the law in France says: if someone doesn't pay their rent, they cannot be kicked out of the property by the landlord except after (potentially) many years of court battles. The net result of this (very socialistic law) is a total distrust of prospective tenants by propery owners from the get-go. Prospective tenants are often treated with a suspicion amounting to (in my personal view at least) disrespect, often asked for personal details in a (in my personal view at least) intrusive manner, and more often than not, the property owner or 3rd party interlocutor or property agency will simply refuse to discuss any possibility of renting the proerty if you fail to produce the much lauded/appreciated/disputed "CDI" contract. But it doesn't end there! The property owner also may or may not have "rent insurance", in which situation the insurance company decides whether it's necessary for the prospective tenant to have a CDI contract or nor. Then again, even when the tenant does produce the work contract, the property owner may decide arbitrarily that said contract hasn't been in force "long enough" so as to ward off his suspicions that you may not be able to pay your rent, after which he may not be able to kick you out. Then again, you may even be in possession of "the CDI contract", but still be in the "trial period", which could last anywhere from 3 to 6 months. Now if, under the proposed new legislation, the "employment trial period" could last up to 2 years, should we not be sympathetic with anyone who has to go through this kind of ridiculous crap, only for 2 years instead of 6 months (and that just in principle, not taking into account the "arbitrary suspicion" factor highlighted above)?

In conclusion, the French should change their property laws before they change their employment laws. Apart from that, I agree with what the rest of the world is saying: nowhere in the world do they have employment laws like in France. Then again, this also explains the 2 or 3 hour lunchbreaks. But who am I to complain about that?