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November 14, 2003
Blog Roundup
Of course I can't really surprise you this week because if you had been paying attention, I actually published the list of sites on Friday afternoon (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) just after the Friday 5. If anyone else wants to play with the (very rough) code, just let me know. I am think of making it into an MT plugin that selects a random link from the current page.
Although sharing similar names there is no connection between Ms. Kinsley of On The Third Hand and the next blog down the list (a point that has already been made in the comments somewhere on this blog). On The Third Hand (explanation) is actually a joint blog but the posts fit well together which is interesting. My only attempt at joint blogging (The Dead Parrot) did not work so well, and I suspect that was because not all the authors were working on the same wavelength. A lot of the posts are based around a strategic quote followed by local commentary. A quite like this one build round a quote by Dorothy Parker. Other posts rely on a very short comment but a smart title to make one stop and think - a good example is Asking the wrong question, another is this post which has the comment "More like this, please". Pop over and enjoy the site. It is definitely worth the effort of clicking on one of the links :-)
Kingsley is a regular visitor who always leaves thoughtful comments - sometimes the comments open a different perspective which is always a good thing. His blog has undergone yet another revision but all his designs are pretty good. He and Jivha both seem prepared to tackle the hard questions like the Indian electoral system and prententious fashion. At the same time there are more light-hearted reads like wiggly pictures and a lovely quote (no link, it appears just below the previous link): "The fundamental particle of morality is called the moron."
This is another newbie (for me at least): Fragments Weblog. I found this site via Google when I was trying to setup a GeoURL link on the Archive Site. It made me very glad that Google still indexes blogs. Anyway, while I was there I noticed that this blog also has a reference to the Gender Genie. There is also an interesting article on coercing XP to do what you want.
Over at Satisfied and Totally Relaxed, the author has attempted to do the 100 free flowing thoughts thing and it is quite readable - I had a couple of goes but kept having to edit which spoils the whole point of the exercise (as far as I understand it). The current eratic posting schedule is probably explained bY ,a href="http://satr.typepad.com/satr/2003/10/giddy_is_now_my.html">this post but I have to admit my favourite in the current batch would be this explanation for the Sun flares.
I have heard of some lucky stories in my time but this one takes the cake. Here am I testing the spider software (which now reads all the main blog pages) and while I am in the process he (she?) posts a comment asking how the system works. Not only that but the random selection tool picks the blog: GRRR be afraid. The odds were not good but in this case pretty successful. Well I don't know anything about this blog (because it is new), lets try the longest article (about remembrance day) on the main page and see what the Gender Genie thinks:
Female Score: 424
Male Score: 471
The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!
Now I may be going out on a limb here but I don't think so. I know there is a picture of a guy on the main page but the hearts and lips replacing the cursor is not something you often see on a male blog..... Anyway the blog is cool to read but I suspect that an old fuddy like me is having some trouble with the acronyms. What is a TCU? Why does a Friday 5 have three questions and get called a 3TR. Browsing through the archives (the first two are dead links, the others seem to be OK), I get the impressing that TL is studying mathematics at bible college? Here bible colleges only teach divinity and theology but we do have teacher training at either state or catholic universities. There is also a reference to tagging but my language skills escape me. A kid playing tag I understand (one kid is in and has to "tag" or "tip" someone else and then they are in). I also understand tag as in the phrase to do someone in (reference to toe-tag). This is apparently a new use of the phrase. If I work it out, I will let you all know (or you can enlighten me instead).
This next blog is a regular read: When I Paint My Masterpiece. Lately, Melodrama has been a bit under the weather with ill health and bad luck. With the smoke in the kitchen, it might be worth trying some of those 'anti-smoker' air fresheners (last time I used an Amway one). We have some "friends" who cook obnoxious herbal remedies which occasionally have a very similar effect on the kitchen. I like the suggestions for what you can safely men and it reminds me of something an elderly (female) relative once said: "The good thing about men is that you can lay the flattery on with a trowel and they never suspect a thing."
What can I say about Did you bring the pre-wacked snakes? I know Tex doesn't like the ABC (I suspect that is where the link came from) but apparently he doesn't like labour (and Carmen Lawrence( either. On the other hand he did like Dick - the movie and based on his review, it could be worth a visit.
Bob's A Jaunty Little Blog was on my blogroll for ages. It is a neat site with a series of question posts (would you rather a or b) interspersed with stories about his family, his job; and his friends. It is a nice little blog and Bob finishes his posts with "your best pal in the whole wide world". BTW, he is looking for work!
This one is a bit hard for me to be fair about. Dodgeblogium appears to be primarily a political blog and it deals with issues that a probably relevant in the US but not so interesting for me and I probably don't understand the ramifications. For example, there is a quote post about the Alabama Chief Justice who was suspended for having the 10 commandments in the courthouse. There isn't a direct quote from the blog owner but he did entitle the piece "Loon Alabama Judge" so I take it that "he is agin it". Personally I think recognition that modern law has roots as far back as the 10 commandments is no big deal - besides the 10 commandments are Jewish, not Christian - Christians only have two commandments. Anyway, if you are interested in American politics, peruse the blog and let me know how accurate and relevant you find it.
The phrase "agin it" is (AFAIR) from an old joke about a country fellow who attends church every week with his wife. Well she has a bad fall and is bed bound so he has to go to church on his own. He tries hard to listen to the preacher but ends up dozing off. When he gets home, the missus asks him what the preacher spoke about. Thinking quickly, he responds "Sin". "Ah", says the wife, "and what did he say about sin?". The fellow makes a bee-line for the door and calls out over his shoulder - "He was agin [against] it."
Last cab off the rank for this week is The Gray Monk. I am sort of proud of having convinced the Monk to start a blog - I had read and listened to some of his material in the past and in fact have posted some of his material on the main blog (under another name of course). The Gray Monk lives in the UK (checkout his GeoURL pointer) and has started in rip-roaring fashion with posts on the definition of an expert (Experience is what helps us to make a different mistake the second time around); Rememberence Day vs terrorists; and Pratchett entry. Hmmmm. Maybe we need a quiz on "What Pratchett Character are you?". I don't know how to make one but I am sure some readers out there could tell me. Maybe Quizman?
Posted by Ozguru at November 14, 2003 10:11 PM
Comments
Posted by: TL at November 14, 2003 10:11 PM
Posted by: GDay Mate - Reviews at November 14, 2003 10:11 PM
