Odd Thomas Odd Blog

So, here I am, back at Uni for my final year. It feels oddly comforting to be back, like seeing an old friend who wraps their arms around you and gives you a massive hug...then says, sorry, gotta go, things are a bit chaotic right now! I've been here properly for a week now and can confirm that things are at least as chaotic as before, with building works going on, unstable timetables and equipment needed for practical sessions not working properly.  This is one of those places where you come to expect things not being up to scratch, so rather than just get angry, you roll your eyes and try to find another way. That said, there is one thing that immediately fixed my Victor Meldrew head firmly into place.

Either my blog has suddenly become interesting or there is something wrong with Blogger stats... My posting has been sketchy at best but according to the stats that doesn't really matter as I've had nearly a 2500% increase in pageviews yesterday alone, presumably by people panicking about the title of my August 2010 post title Facebook RIP ! However, according to Google Analytics, nobody has set foot here since 15 November - about the time of my last post - and even then, it was fewer people than were interested in the Snap Your Chap exhibition, though I'm not sure that's entirely surprising. However, never fear, people, FarceBook is still alive and kicking ... though I have a challenge for each of you: For a period of 30 days, deactivate your Facebook account and do something interesting I dare you...

At what point do you draw the line when you advertise your every thought and feeling on the social web?  Before or after you realise that it impacts on others? Like it or not, the social web has obviously caught on in a major way: Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Bebo, Twitter and many, many more like them waiting in the wings, hoping to be the next big thing.  People are sharing everything from the most mundane aspects of their lives to their most personal thoughts and feelings; as a means of self-expression and narcissism, there is nothing else like it . Combine this with an 'always-on' culture and the ease and speed of information spread is quite phenomenal. However, this freedom of expression and near-instant feedback comes at a price: we are now so eager to tell everyone our current thoughts and feelings that we forget, or do not consider, that what we say may have an impact on others. Perhaps I am being old-fashioned, but there are some things that should not be expres...

...well, of 2007, at least! Yes, another year is under our belts like unwanted weight from too much Christmas indulgence ... and now its party time all over again! For those of you that can't get out to party, here's a few things to keep you amused for the night, assuming you only started reading this about ten minutes to midnight!!! In the meantime, whatever you are doing to see the new year in, have a fun and safe night and have a... Happy New Year!!!

Crikey, yet another week has passed before posting here again ... things must be pretty dull right now!! Actually, they're not dull at all, I'm just whisked off my feet trying to keep up with everything. In the past week, I have been endlessly banging my head on my desk in the vague hope that someone will inject me with sedatives and stick me in a padded room before I hurt myself. However, our customers are a sadistic lot, so I can't see this happening any time soon. The latest little nugget? They've been working on a project for 12 months that is being piloted tomorrow and we need to get it integrated with their security model this week! Yes, they told us about it last week, which seems to count for sufficient advance notice in their world, but its taken them all week to come back with absolutely no information that we asked for. Who do they think they've hired here, friggin' Hogwarts?!?! A twitch of the magic mouse and its all sorted?!?! GET REAL, PEOPLE!!!...

Despite the fact that there is not a lot going on in Facebook that is of much value, I seem to have found myself addicted to the site. One application I seem to have added recently was the Compare People app which basically asks 60 questions where you rate between two randomly selected contacts. At the end of the process, you get to see how you were compared by your contacts that did the same thing. There is the potential to be the sexiest, the best kisser, the most athletic, the most popular, the best shopping companion, and so on. What do I get voted? The prettiest! WTF?!?!?!?!?! Hell, I'd even prefer to be the nerdiest as opposed to this!!!

Blimey, I've only gone and done it! "Done what?" I hear you ask. I've only gone and joined the Facebook revolution ... well, more of a band-wagon than a revolution, really! I had joined a couple of months ago, but decided that I didn't need yet another site to maintain, so dropped the account within a few minutes. Then I overheard a number of friends discussing it at the BBQ at the weekend and figured I might as well try it again ... it had to be better than the abysmal MySpace experience I had a couple of months ago: in their defense, I happened to pick a day when they were having overload problems. Darn it if I'm not now addicted and distracted!! But how long before the initial addiction wears off and it becomes just another site with not a lot happening?? Only time will tell... One thing I didn't realise is that there is something of a class war going on between Facebook and MySpace . Apparently, MySpace attracts the more hip'n'happening c...