Articles by markk

A Facebook friend started a feature called “Whose butt is it anyway?” I looked, and lo and behold:

It was mine!

I have a nice butt, don’t you think?

[11:28:11 AM] Laura says: i hate tuesdays
[11:28:19 AM] Mark says: why??
[11:28:28 AM] Laura says: as well as mondays, wednesday, thursday and fridays
[11:28:38 AM] Mark says: you’re just full of hate =P
[11:28:47 AM] Laura says: maybe
[11:28:56 AM] Laura says: but i love saturdays and sundays
[11:29:13 AM] Mark says: how about mon/tue/wed/thu/fri nights?
[11:29:24 AM] Laura says: hmm
[11:29:30 AM] Laura says: soso
[11:29:32 AM] Laura says: can’t stay up late
[11:29:34 AM] Laura says: oh
[11:29:41 AM] Laura says: friday nights aren’t that bad
[11:31:03 AM] Mark says: you hate workdays
[11:31:08 AM] Mark says: and don’t hate other times
[11:31:49 AM] Mark says: work week is 42.5 hours total, week total is 168 hours, therefore you are 25.3% full of hate =)
[11:32:17 AM] Laura says: …
[11:32:20 AM] Laura says: ic..
[11:32:32 AM] Laura says: but you should exclude the hours in bed
[11:32:45 AM] Laura says: i don’t have any feelings when i’m asleep
[11:33:00 AM] Mark says: therefore you do not hate while you’re asleep
[11:33:03 AM] Mark says: my calculation stands
[11:33:13 AM] Mark says: do you hate lunch breaks?
[11:33:27 AM] Laura says: lunch breaks are alright
[11:33:32 AM] Laura says: if i don’t have to rush back
[11:33:33 AM] Laura says: to work
[11:34:16 AM] Mark says: revised calculation = 37.5 hate hours / 168 normal hours
[11:34:21 AM] Mark says: 22.32% hate
[11:34:34 AM] Laura says: ok…
[11:34:47 AM] Laura says: well thats not bad at all
[11:34:54 AM] Mark says: do you hate the journey to and from work, and if so, how long does that take
[11:35:05 AM] Mark says: do you hate getting ready for work in the mornings
[11:35:12 AM] Laura says: oh i hate the journey to work but
[11:35:31 AM] Laura says: i like the journey after work
[11:35:38 AM] Laura says: 10mins?
[11:35:57 AM] Laura says: getting ready, yes i hate it too
[11:36:01 AM] Laura says: i’d rather be in bed
[11:36:11 AM] Mark says: what time you wake up
[11:36:22 AM] Mark says: and what time you wake up on thurs?
[11:36:26 AM] Laura says: i hate it when my alarm starts
[11:36:28 AM] Laura says: hmm
[11:36:38 AM] Laura says: normally 8:15
[11:36:44 AM] Laura says: thurs 7:15
[11:37:47 AM] Mark says: revised: you are 25.15% hate
[11:38:50 AM] Laura says: i doubt the correctness of the figure
[11:39:03 AM] Laura says: you were too confused
[11:39:49 AM] Mark says: 37.5 working hours + 1 hr meeting thurs + 3.75 hrs getting up and going to work
[11:40:10 AM] Mark says: 42.25 hate hours
[11:40:42 AM] Mark says: div by 168 = 25.148809523%
[11:40:51 AM] Mark says: rounded to 25.15%
[11:41:22 AM] Mark says: or, 74.85% non-hate
[11:41:44 AM] Laura says: i hate you
[11:41:51 AM] Laura says: 100%

There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity - and that line is called rodeo. It never ceases to amaze me what some people will do in the name of sport. Rodeo seems to attract the thrillseeker who seemingly cheats death in the arena; it is the closest thing we have to the ancient Roman Colosseum.

But is it not entertaining? The sight of men backing themselves against wild beasts in this way charges the adrenaline and assaults the senses.

One of the most well-known rodeo events is National Finals Rodeo, organised by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. This is often called the superbowl of rodeo; and like the superbowl, National Rodeo Finals tickets ain’t cheap. Held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, the NFR features bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, bull riding and barrel racing. Eight world champions are crowned during the NFR.

This multi-event spectacle is normally a sell-out at all events. Many Las Vegas hotels and casinos cater for those who could not get tickets with rodeo parties.

During the event, the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show is held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This features around 400 vendors selling cowboy-themed products. Free shuttle buses run between the Cowboy Christmas and the NFR.

This will be a short post.

My twenties are drawing to a close, and my 30th birthday approacheth. As I watch my youth fade away, I realise that I ought to have a 30th birthday party, but have no ideas on what to do to commemorate this occasion.

So, dear reader, it’s over to you. How should I celebrate my 30th?

I recently received this via an email list I’m subscribed to:

YOU ARE INVITED TO EMAIL OR POST US A SHORT BIRTHDAY GREETING TO ISRAEL (Maximum 50 words) for her 60th birthday. We will collate these and make them into a book with an appropriate cover that will be presented to the representative of Israel’s Ambassador on May 13 as a lasting memorial of our support to the Nation of Israel. But be quick because we need them in soon. Take 2 minutes and do it now!

That’s all very well, I suppose, but I’d rather give Israel a birthday message on this blog. So here goes:

Happy birthday, Israel.

I hope all the Israelis reading this feel suitably chuffed.

In IT project management, having the right technical skills is only the start of getting the job done, and probably the most easily remedied if need be, either through training such as Cisco training, or just by hiring someone who has those skills.

More important is getting the design process done right. I once worked for an IT consultancy company, as part of a team doing a fairly complex project. The test analyst had interviewed the clients at length, and had compiled a detailed record of the current processes that we would be automating and how they worked.

However, once it came time to deliver the project, it turned out that the design spec was not complete after all. Sure, it was mostly correct, but some things had been left out.

Because development work had largely been completed, it was necessary to go back and retrofit the new requirements into the code. But retrofitting in this way is always much more time-consuming and costly than getting it right in the first place.

Donald Rumsfeld once made this quote:

“As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”

Paying special attention to the design process is the only way to avoid getting stung by unknown unknowns when running an IT project.

For those of you who don’t know who Corey Worthington is, he is notorious for throwing a massive, uncontrolled party at his parents house while they were on holiday. He advertised it to all-comers on Myspace and over 500 people showed up. The party quickly degenerated into mayhem; there was over $20,000 in damages and police called in helicopters.

Afterwards, Corey was famously unrepentant, offering to organise parties for anyone who asked on national television.

You can find out more about Corey at The Age, Crikey, YouTube and many other places.

My brother decided Corey was an appropriate person to dress up as at a recent party. For your reference, Corey looks like this:

Here’s my brother in action:

(Photo credit: PopMatters)

If you live in the cold, dark wilderness of Alaska, or somewhere slightly more subtropical that still occasionally gets cold sometimes, you are probably interested in keeping warm when it does get cold.

I used to live in an upstairs bedroom of a largely unheated house, with only a coil heater to keep myself warm. Unfortunately, it was one of those heaters that can only heat effectively if there is no ventilation, and only a small room at that. My room was quite large, and for some reason the window couldn’t close properly. The coil heater simply couldn’t provide enough heat to cope with the incoming cold air. I needed something more hardcore - I dare say comfort glow heaters would have been up to the task.

In the past, I’ve found gas heaters get a room toasty warm, and typically are more cost effective than other types of heaters.

Gas heaters are good for outdoor heating also. They are a common site in outdoor seating areas in restaurants in my area.

In my time in a relationship, I find myself jealously guarding the “alone time” of my girlfriend and I. It makes me wonder why parents don’t resent their children for obliterating their time alone as a couple.

But that is not the only reason not to have kids; Bad Dad Radio has compiled many others. Here’s one of them:

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel…
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can’t get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Just one reason like that would be enough to give one pause for thought; but Bad Dad provides 11. At the end of it all, he advises “it’s all worth it.” Maybe it is, but he certainly doesn’t make it appear so!

The bond that a father or mother has with their children must be very strong indeed.

I’ve just found a very interesting website that sells tactical police gear.

What type of tactical police gear, you ask? For starters, bullet-proof vests, knives, industrial-strength torches and flashlights, backpacks, sunglasses, clothing of various descriptions, gun holsters and much, much more.

All the gear on the site is designed for professional use. Military personnel and cops are among the customers, so if you’ve always wanted to be part of a SWAT team this is the place to start.

The LA Police Gear site includes action photos, sent in by customers. If that page is to be believed, LA Police Gear products are very popular in the Iraqi police force.