More than half of January has already gone by, but Writer’s Log still lags in last year. It hasn’t been for want of trying, but that is a lame excuse. Anyway, here’s a to-do list for 2010 (in no special order):
- Don’t make lame excuses about not updaing my blog
- Redesign my site (eeeep!)
- Put the entire site on a single CMS (double eeeep!)
- Redo the Halvard Castle site (yes, it’s so hopeless that I’m not even linking it!)
- Do a site for the Vakker book
- Upgrade Web development skills (yes, Niklas, that means return to my JS books)
- Learn something new this year (a language, a skill, whatever; JS doesn’t count)
- Write more.
- Finish the Shadow in Eternity IV novella (there, it’s in writing now!)
- Go out more
- Don’t pretend to be happy about things I’m not
- Buy a vehicle, even if it’s a bicycle
- Start on (and preferably finish) a new book
- Be happier and complain less
- Do my tax returns
- Visit Europe
- Stop being scared of pregnant women
- Stop being scared of babies
- Play more games
- Start following football again
That’s all folks.
~PD
The anti-blog brigade’s major grouse is about how “self-indulgent” the whole concept of blogging is. But heck, if one has a cheap and easily accessible medium, a somewhat captive — if erratic — audience, the possibility of showing off one’s writing/coding/designing skills (or lack thereof), and being able to air one’s opinion without much opposition, it’s good enough for the rest of us.
In any case, those who think self-indulgence is a bad thing obviously never had Cake-a-Mocha at the Corner House in Bangalore. So what do they know anyway? The following is my token resistance to the “enemy” and a dip into the pond of aforesaid self-indulgence till I can get within hitting distance of Corner House again:
- Disgustingly detailed daily routine: If you really want to know about my run-in with the toothpaste tube this morning, I think your curiosity borders on perversion and… er… ooh, mail me and we’ll take it from there.
- Talk about people using barely disguised pseudonyms: N made a bitter post in MW after M and K laughed at him, though B got to know of it only later. And by the way S only arrived at dinner after we were almost finished, which is when Sw discovered she’d forgotten to retrieve her bag. (Anybody who correctly identifies all of the people mentioned gets a medal.)
- Put up boring holiday photos consisting of my companions and I smiling in front of famous monuments at odd angles: You’re lucky I don’t usually travel with people or take photos of/with them. Besides, my holiday photos are already here. And besides that they are not boring… *huff*
- Mention excruciatingly embarrassing incident: Yeah, right.
- Discuss sleazy details of love life: Hey, my mother comes here, for goodness sake! Not to mention various prospective employers, publishers and other people I’m out to impress.
- How clever my pet is: The only “pet” I have is my plant Billy; I don’t think he has any brains, so this subject is redundant.
- How cute and wonderful my children are: Don’t have any, as the titles on my DVD rack will testify…
- Angsty rant about the unfairness of life, this world and the society we live in: Um… er… sorry, I feel quite “all together” right now, but stay tuned.
For the record, there were no puns in the title. Disappointed? Ha ha… made you read, didn’t I?
~PD
Has Microsoft finally got it right with e-mail software? Well, it’s hard to say for sure, but Windows Live Mail is certainly worth checking out.
Apart from a spanking new and decidedly good-looking interface, it comes with a host of other features, including an IM client (yes, for Window Live users), RSS and newsgroup support, an innovative photo e-mail service, and even a blog writer.
In fact, guess what? This blog post is being made using Windows Live Mail’s Writer interface. It supports, apart from Windows Live Spaces, any WordPress-, TypePad- or Blogger-based blog.
And wow… this has to be a first. I’m saying something good about Microsoft. Go figure!
~PD
Postscript: Yes, it was too good to last. While Windows Live Mail is fine as long as you’re using it, it’s a right royal pain when you want to uninstall it! Having installed as a bunch of separate components, it’s only when your firewall pops up to ask for access that you realize the rubbish you’re left with after you’ve tried to get rid of it! Tsk tsk…
