Well, I got one ...

Some friends of mine own webjournals and I was sitting down reading them yesterday, very insightful, may I add. But this morning thinking about it, I decided why not! I don't care if people read it, if they do so much the better but a few things have been on my mind and well why not write them down and share ... It also gives me webspace to put things up and write more. I never settle to do anything, but every so often, ideas take up the better half of my brain and I can't get away from them. They end up not being saved anywhere but on discarded pieces of paper... Bout time they got out. Don't ya think?

Have you ever thought ...

Have you ever thought about the poor person who has to test webpages? I bet that it has never crossed your mind that as you sit there cursing the makers of large sites as you search for some specific item hidden in the deep recesses of the web that someone has had to test that page, even if it is not in their native tongue. They have sat there and tested every single link of that page, and many other pages to see if it is right, if the address is right, the name, the language ...

Its not a nice job to do it day after day with no break. I have been sitting here for 5 days clicking links on sites in 11 different languages, making sure that everything is okay, even though I know it is. But still someone has to do it ... Why always me?

How Come ...

How come when you want to input stuff into a form, cause you want to make sure it is working before you retire for the weekend, that it will never work for you. But whenever someone else enters the exact same information, it will work perfectly for them?

How come when you tell yourself something, like pay attention to the time cause you have to catch a bus, every day at 4.45, you suddenly look down and realise you should have left your desk five minutes ago and then have people staring as you run past their desks calling "hold the elevator please"?

How come every morning you wander around the house hoping to eat up time until you have to leave the house so that you won't have to wait in the freezing cold for a bus, you still arrive ten minutes early and there is frost on the ground?

How come when you are convinced that you are early for a bus but just have to pick your phone up from the bed, you end up missing the bus cause it was the one morning it was early and you can never remember when the next bus is?

How come people are never as you remember them, something must change them from the people you knew and loved into the people they became... But surely it can't be your fault, can it?

Tests, Tests and More Tests ....

I took the test that a friend of mine took and was actually surprised at the results ...

Sociability 42%, Gregariousness 54%, Assertiveness 70%, Activity Level 50%, Excitement-Seeking 58%, Enthusiasm 50%, Extroversion 54%

Trust 78%, Morality 66%, Altruism 70%, Cooperation 46%, Modesty 54%, Sympathy 54%, Friendliness 61%

Confidence 66%, Neatness 42%, Dutifulness 78%, Achievement 62%, Self-Discipline 42%, Cautiousness 58%, Orderliness 58%

Anxiety 70%, Volatility 58%, Depression 66%, Self-Consciousness 62%, Impulsiveness 74%, Vulnerability 50%, Emotional Stability 37%

Imagination 90%, Artistic Interests 66%, Emotionality 38%, Adventurousness 58%, Intellect 82%, Liberalism 66%, Openmindedness 66%

I have to say that I found the emotional stability stat a bit shocking as well as the imagination statistic.

To take the test click here.

Books and Busses ...

Every day of the working week, I spend up to four hours on busses into and out of the city. Its amazing how many books you can go thru in a week. Today I am on my fourth book of the week.

Book One: Bite - Laymon
After reading In the Dark (Laymon) last week, I picked up this book from my shelf. Its the second time I read the book and it is every bit as good as I remember. Its genre is Horror focusing around two people who knew each other in highschool. The woman is plagued by visits from a man who thinks he is a vampire and is finally ready to do something about it. She calls on her old friend to kill the threat. Things go horribly wrong when they pick up a hitchhiker on their way to dispose of the vampire's body. Worse still when they try and get rid of the hitchhiker. I would give the book 8 out of 10 for originality. It's easy to read as are most of his books.

Book Two: Confessions of a Yakuza - Saga
First off, gotta admit that the only reason I picked up this book is because of the title and its relation to the Cyberpunk game that I play in every Tuesday. I was actually surprised by this book. It recants the tale of a boy in 1910 who fails school and goes to work for his uncle. As he grows up, he has to pick a life path. He joins the Yakuza, working up its ranks until he is boss. Many years were spent in prison during his life and many failed love affairs trailed his history. The story is told in the style of the man telling him but is actually written by the mans doctor to whom he tells the story over many years. Its a nice read, very readible surprisingly enough. I'd give it 9 out of 10.

Book Three: Key to Midnight - Koontz
This was a surprise to me. Koontz is predominantly a Horror fiction writer but this was definately not horror. When you realise that this was previously published under the name Leigh Nichols (who suffered a fatal accident of decapitation while limbo dancing), it starts to make sense. A private detective on holiday to Japan finds a woman who was kidnapped many years before and reprogrammed into believing that she was a completely different person. It brings in the Cold War between the Russians and Americans and has a nice sense of mystery and intrigue. I was still guessing until the whole thing was explained. 9 out of 10.

Book Four: All Hallows Eve - Laymon
Another Laymon book, this time shorter than the others. A mysterious string of grisley murders plagues a town which was the site of another set of murders 15 years before. The police chief is murdered first, one of his deputys finds his head in the toilet at an inauspicious moment. A family is killed and the house set ablaze. An old woman is killed in her house. The list goes on and on. Its a vengence kick in the end between a boy and his rapist father. The book ends suddenly, but that again is a feature of Laymons books. Always leaving more questions than answers. 7 out of 10.

I'll probably post up another book review when I finish the book that I am currently reading ... You will have to wait and see!

On a side note ... does anyone else think that the spell checker is just a bit ... underpopulated with words??!

Bus Drivers and Popups ...

I was in a really good mood until I got on my bus home today. The bus was pulled in early and I saw the driver changing the destination sign on the front, but nothing happened on the side, no number came up. So first thing I did was to ask him what number he was. I got looked up and down and ignored! Rude or what? Another woman asked if he was going to Maynooth, he grunted at her! Then we get to the town and usually it turns up my road and I can get off there. It didn't! Without any warning ... It continues on and pulls up outside the college. About a 20 minute walk home instead of the usual 2 minutes. B*astard!

And I have this really annoying pop up that I am going to have to investigate asking me if I want a fake diploma from Virginia State. I think the anti pop-up option on the google toolbar is gonna come in handy!

God some days just go from good to bad with human interferance. Well, I fully intend to ring up and complain tomorrow morning! Anyone wanna take bets on how I get on?!

And on a side note, I get back to find that the sitting room is completely rearranged. And arranged back to the way we said we wouldnt have it cause it blocked the radiator. It bugs me sometimes that they can be so inconsiderate! Oh well! I should be used to it at this point! They don't really stop to think about me, that would be too much to ask!