"It's a webcam porn site - it always is"
I just love the rise of the social network environment and as this hilarious animation shows - real life can sometimes suck!
Which site will become the next pathetic digital castaway desperately clinging to their former popularity?! Lets start the bets rolling in..... MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, Meebo, Beebo, SitonMyFace, Digg, del.icio.us, orkut, Fark, Twitter, Ping, StumbleUpon, Live Spaces, Mixx - you get the picture.... BTW - which one of these doesn't exist - YET?!?
Monday, 22 September 2008
Friday, 12 September 2008
I love a condiment with booze in it...
As people who know me, may well I have noticed, I'm not the biggest fan of Microsoft and perhaps they were eyeing people like me when they decided to blow £166 million to improve the image of Vista and counter the effect of Apple's Mac vs PC commercials.
It's supposed to help redefine the meaning and value of Windows...hmmm.......
Jerry Seinfeld (didn't he have Mac sitting in his lounge on his show?) is being paid £5.5 million for this and how amusing (spot the irony) that Bill Gates is performing as his sidekick. He's the straight guy to Seinfeld's witty performance (?!)
Is 54 yr old Seinfeld, who's heyday was in a 1990's sitcom, the sort of cutting edge personality to try and make Windows Vista look cool compared to the Mac? Yeah that really 'connects' with people.
All I can say is, the guys at Apple who create their ads must be really quaking in their boots..
It's supposed to help redefine the meaning and value of Windows...hmmm.......
Jerry Seinfeld (didn't he have Mac sitting in his lounge on his show?) is being paid £5.5 million for this and how amusing (spot the irony) that Bill Gates is performing as his sidekick. He's the straight guy to Seinfeld's witty performance (?!)
Is 54 yr old Seinfeld, who's heyday was in a 1990's sitcom, the sort of cutting edge personality to try and make Windows Vista look cool compared to the Mac? Yeah that really 'connects' with people.
All I can say is, the guys at Apple who create their ads must be really quaking in their boots..
Thursday, 11 September 2008
Thank goodness for friends
It's frightening to realise how quickly time passes as each day goes by. Every year on we're a little bit older, a little bit wiser and hopefully a little more humble.
As Tilly approaches her fourth birthday her innocence amazes me. I wish I could bottle the feeling I get when she smiles or sleeps - and exclude the irrational irritation of being irked when woken so early sometimes. So much has happened for her in her short time on this planet and whilst she doesn't realise it, she has brought so much pleasure and happiness to those who know her.
When she was rushed to hospital last year and in intensive care, I was in Amsterdam preparing to take snaps of Servoyians old and new being introduced to the snazzy 4.0 features but nothing on earth would have stopped me from rushing to get the next flight out to be with her. How ironic that airplanes can be so invaluable. All the old friends who knew of our worry supported us and were there for me and not least my wife, who had to deal with it all with me over in Europe.
This is not though, supposed to be a sickly sweet rambling about my daughter and my family. Luckily a 3 yr old is quite elastic and bounced back quickly. We have been through some tough times in the past but we're still there surviving.
It's been seven years however, for some families for whom time has no doubt stood still. I can vividly recall that day.
Back in the days when Servoy was in its infancy and still throwing up down the shoulders of the lead protagonists, I took a well earned and rare lunch break. The details of the sandwich are long forgotten but not the reaction I had to the news I heard on Radio 4.
Months earlier I had been lucky enough to spend time with with old friends in the heat of southern USA at a conference for (dare I say it) FileMaker. We had with the usual restraint, managed to enjoy a cool beverage on more than one occasion and laughed about the plans that were afoot. Bob had been banging on again about lack of sleep due to his new beautiful twins and as a group we had laughed at his stories (shocker I know!)
By now I had known Bob for quite some time and those that do know him, know that he is not often lost for words but when I heard the news (garbled as it was and factually incorrect at the time) my thoughts immediately went to him and his family. There was talks of planes heading towards LAX and all over the air across North America. Panic was being spread by the media and those desperate for information.
I broke the news via instant messaging - even in those days it was the quickest way to be in touch and all phone lines were engaged when I tried ringing so it was with great relief to me when I saw him online and asked if he was OK? He turned the television on and CBS was alight and he was speechless. The rest is history and time is a great healer I hope for all those affected. Being thousands of miles away, I still hoped in some way I could help.
I realised recently through adversity, what it all comes down to is friendship. I am grateful for many things when I look out of the window (excluding the British weather, which this year has been even more default grey (or gray for the American readers) and shitty) but none more so than friendship.
This years' ServoyWorld (our fourth already!) was in sunny Las Vegas - whoosh now there's a place like no other...a place where it seems people go to die after spending their children's inheritence hoping against all hope that they can get a flush or crabs(sic) or both ;-)
As you can tell, I'm not a gambler. Maybe I have gambled too much with things of more value than monetary gains in the past and it has taught me a lesson. The $14 bucks I went with, returned with me! It was an amazing conference organised brilliantly by Brenda and Carla - faultlessly IMHO and our largest yet. People enjoyed the trip to the strip - the poker tournament - the conference sessions - the amazing keynote and demos. On several ocassions I was lucky enough to stand back and watch as people smiled and clapped and laughed.
What I did experience also, was the all too infrequent quality time with my friends. People I have met over a great period of time were also there sharing wild and crazy code and enjoying being as one as a community..a community that shared the good feeling of a great product with that great set of people behind it.
I have been lucky enough to see Las Vegas once before, with the same set of friends like Jan, Bob and Yvo and on that occasion I only had the pleasure(!?) to see the inside of Caesars Palace and the strip as I drove to the airport.
That day it took 4 hours to check in at McCarran enroute to Heathrow via Texas. As I took off on the internal flight, all flights were grounded as yet another terror plot was uncovered. The CNN news at Dallas Airport was scarce - all I knew was that I was stuck with no idea of when I would get home...the idea of having to fly was not a pleasant one. That day we were lucky....lets hope that lady luck is always our side in the future and life doesn't throw a 7 when we're all in.
The people at the reels in the airport at Vegas seemed oblivious to time and tide and perhaps this was their way of forgetting the events that are scarred across everyone's memories. 2973 people from 90 countries lost their lives 7 years ago- so many people affceted in so many ways. I'm sure each family has their own way of coping, and I have no doubt that one of those ways is through their friendships.
I value mine more than ever, especially my best friend.
"True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice."
- Samuel Johnston
As Tilly approaches her fourth birthday her innocence amazes me. I wish I could bottle the feeling I get when she smiles or sleeps - and exclude the irrational irritation of being irked when woken so early sometimes. So much has happened for her in her short time on this planet and whilst she doesn't realise it, she has brought so much pleasure and happiness to those who know her.
When she was rushed to hospital last year and in intensive care, I was in Amsterdam preparing to take snaps of Servoyians old and new being introduced to the snazzy 4.0 features but nothing on earth would have stopped me from rushing to get the next flight out to be with her. How ironic that airplanes can be so invaluable. All the old friends who knew of our worry supported us and were there for me and not least my wife, who had to deal with it all with me over in Europe.
This is not though, supposed to be a sickly sweet rambling about my daughter and my family. Luckily a 3 yr old is quite elastic and bounced back quickly. We have been through some tough times in the past but we're still there surviving.
It's been seven years however, for some families for whom time has no doubt stood still. I can vividly recall that day.
Back in the days when Servoy was in its infancy and still throwing up down the shoulders of the lead protagonists, I took a well earned and rare lunch break. The details of the sandwich are long forgotten but not the reaction I had to the news I heard on Radio 4.
Months earlier I had been lucky enough to spend time with with old friends in the heat of southern USA at a conference for (dare I say it) FileMaker. We had with the usual restraint, managed to enjoy a cool beverage on more than one occasion and laughed about the plans that were afoot. Bob had been banging on again about lack of sleep due to his new beautiful twins and as a group we had laughed at his stories (shocker I know!)
By now I had known Bob for quite some time and those that do know him, know that he is not often lost for words but when I heard the news (garbled as it was and factually incorrect at the time) my thoughts immediately went to him and his family. There was talks of planes heading towards LAX and all over the air across North America. Panic was being spread by the media and those desperate for information.
I broke the news via instant messaging - even in those days it was the quickest way to be in touch and all phone lines were engaged when I tried ringing so it was with great relief to me when I saw him online and asked if he was OK? He turned the television on and CBS was alight and he was speechless. The rest is history and time is a great healer I hope for all those affected. Being thousands of miles away, I still hoped in some way I could help.
I realised recently through adversity, what it all comes down to is friendship. I am grateful for many things when I look out of the window (excluding the British weather, which this year has been even more default grey (or gray for the American readers) and shitty) but none more so than friendship.
This years' ServoyWorld (our fourth already!) was in sunny Las Vegas - whoosh now there's a place like no other...a place where it seems people go to die after spending their children's inheritence hoping against all hope that they can get a flush or crabs(sic) or both ;-)
As you can tell, I'm not a gambler. Maybe I have gambled too much with things of more value than monetary gains in the past and it has taught me a lesson. The $14 bucks I went with, returned with me! It was an amazing conference organised brilliantly by Brenda and Carla - faultlessly IMHO and our largest yet. People enjoyed the trip to the strip - the poker tournament - the conference sessions - the amazing keynote and demos. On several ocassions I was lucky enough to stand back and watch as people smiled and clapped and laughed.
What I did experience also, was the all too infrequent quality time with my friends. People I have met over a great period of time were also there sharing wild and crazy code and enjoying being as one as a community..a community that shared the good feeling of a great product with that great set of people behind it.
I have been lucky enough to see Las Vegas once before, with the same set of friends like Jan, Bob and Yvo and on that occasion I only had the pleasure(!?) to see the inside of Caesars Palace and the strip as I drove to the airport.
That day it took 4 hours to check in at McCarran enroute to Heathrow via Texas. As I took off on the internal flight, all flights were grounded as yet another terror plot was uncovered. The CNN news at Dallas Airport was scarce - all I knew was that I was stuck with no idea of when I would get home...the idea of having to fly was not a pleasant one. That day we were lucky....lets hope that lady luck is always our side in the future and life doesn't throw a 7 when we're all in.
The people at the reels in the airport at Vegas seemed oblivious to time and tide and perhaps this was their way of forgetting the events that are scarred across everyone's memories. 2973 people from 90 countries lost their lives 7 years ago- so many people affceted in so many ways. I'm sure each family has their own way of coping, and I have no doubt that one of those ways is through their friendships.
I value mine more than ever, especially my best friend.
"True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice."
- Samuel Johnston
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