tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-152731372024-03-08T05:11:05.873+08:00Sorry, Wong AnswerStories, thoughts, observations, rants and dribble. Just another of my attempts to keep the interested people informed ...Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.comBlogger280125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-43779045834404513812012-10-11T18:21:00.001+08:002012-10-11T18:21:27.427+08:00Don't expect me to keep up this keenness<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>I just wanted to address the regularity of posts. After my initial burst of excitement, I'll probably taper off to once or twice a week, on a weekday. The thingy that my Fitbit syncs to is in my office, so I can only get up-to-date stats there. And tomorrow I'll be watching Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga play tennis at the <a href="http://www.shanghairolexmasters.com/" title="Shanghai Rolex Masters" target="_blank">Shanghai Masters</a>, so there won't be a Day 4 post, at least. [I will most likely also be seeing Andy Murray and Roger Federer, but I don't want to jinx the games the still need to be played!]</p> <p>This post was unnecessary, but maybe I just wanted to brag about the tennis.</p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/dont-expect-me-to-keep-up-this-keenness">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-35135163277500568122012-10-11T18:14:00.001+08:002012-10-11T18:14:28.572+08:00Day 3: Cao'an Highway (曹安公路辅路), Shanghai<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>I'm approaching the end of subway line 11 (which I've never been to in real life), the northwesternest bit of the Shanghai subway system. The second to last station is called 'Shanghai Automobile City'. Sounds pretty exciting! </p> <p> </p> <p><iframe scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=205909933560352092870.0004cb9bfa48819f9af5b&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=31.375917,121.234131&spn=0.410365,0.583649&z=10&iwloc=0004cbc3f0cf29a600b02&output=embed" frameborder="0" height="350" width="425"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=205909933560352092870.0004cb9bfa48819f9af5b&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=31.375917,121.234131&spn=0.410365,0.583649&z=10&iwloc=0004cbc3f0cf29a600b02&source=embed" style="color: #0000ff; text-align: left;">Walking from Shanghai to Xi'an</a> in a larger map</small></p> <p> </p> <p style="text-align: center;">Distance since last post: 7.37km</p> <p style="text-align: center;">Distance to next milestone: 10.08km</p> <p style="text-align: center;">Cumulative distance walked: 24.22km</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/day-3-caoan-highway-shanghai">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-4602325964910566642012-10-10T11:54:00.001+08:002012-10-10T11:54:14.426+08:00New fitness/life project: Pǎobù, Panda! // 跑步,熊 猫! // Run, Panda!<div class='posterous_autopost'><p>My main project for the year so far has been me. I've finally gotten around to trying to improve my general health and fitness, and one of the things I did recently was get a pedometer gadget to measure how much walking I do every day. It's been really motivational and I've done over 500km already. The other day I was inspired to record this journey as a virtual walk across China (to start), with maps and graphs and the like. Now I feel like I've 'wasted' those first 500km, but oh well. It would be cheating if I said I was already so far down the road.</p> <p>Anyway, my new blog is <a href="http://paobupanda.posterous.com/">Pǎobù, Panda!</a>, which means Run, Panda! Also, it has alliteration. Things will be cross posted to Twitter (<a href="http://twitter.com/PaobuPanda">@PaobuPanda</a>) if you want an easy way to follow me. I'm still working out the format and what sort of information it will include (distances, times, things of interest that I 'pass', general weight loss/health stuff), but hopefully it will be both motivational and interesting.</p> <p>In case you didn't realise, China is pretty freaking big! It should take me about 6 months to do the first leg I mapped out, which is nearly 1500km. But I'm sure I'll be in Xi'an in no time. </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/new-fitnesslife-project-pobu-panda-run-panda">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-59326160221371876442012-04-01T10:42:00.001+08:002012-04-01T10:42:59.355+08:003 month update: pangolin!<div class='posterous_autopost'>I still can't decide if these three months have gone quickly or not. I also feel like I could've done a better job, but equally, I am quite proud of myself! I'm sticking to the original eating plan, having a cheat day once a week, and dropping weight pretty steadily. I don't want to bore people with blah blah about weight loss, so I'll move on to the animals!<p /><div><img src="http://www.wildlifesafari.info/images/pangolin.jpg" alt="Inline images 1" /><br /> <p /><div>So far, I have lost the weight of a super awesome <a href="http://www.wildlifesafari.info/pangolin.html">pangolin</a>, and I've lost 10cm (leg span of a <a href="http://www.npt.gov.uk/images/biodiversity_fen%20raft%20spider%20steve%20bolchover.jpg">fen raft spider</a>) from my waist measurement. Next step, <a href="http://gallery.photo.net/photo/8512598-md.jpg">cape vulture</a>!</div> </div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/3-month-update-pangolin">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-13217308145210014632012-03-02T17:58:00.001+08:002012-03-02T17:58:10.389+08:00Women's Day in China<div class='posterous_autopost'>So March 8th is Women's Day in China. Women get half a day off, hooray! (Especially since I'm too old to get half a day for Youth Day now.) <p /><div>I just had this discussion with my male manager:</div><p /><blockquote style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><div><i>him</i>: I'm gonna hit reply all to this email from HR [about women getting a half day off for Women's Day].</div> </div><p /><div><div><i>me</i>: Why? It's not [the HR girl's] fault. It's a government mandated holiday.</div></div><p /><div><div><i>him</i>: I'm gonna ask when Men's Day is.</div> </div><p /><div><div><i>me</i>: (paraphrase) That's kind of a dick move.</div></div><p /><div><div><i>him</i>: But what do we get?</div></div><p /><div><div> <i>me</i>: An elevated position in society? Every day!</div></div><p /><div><div><i>him</i>: ...Good point.</div></div></blockquote><p /><div>I think I'm going to take the morning off and have lunch with some ladies. </div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/womens-day-in-china">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-69751152303522158482012-02-08T10:28:00.001+08:002012-02-08T10:49:40.723+08:00Review of Mindy Kaling's 'Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 8px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 8px;">
She's not just the face of Kelly Kapoor! From my <a _mce_href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/233686919" href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/233686919">Goodreads review</a>:<br />
<br />
I can't help but compare this book to the other books I've read by female comic writers/comediennes, <a _mce_href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9418327.Bossypants" href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9418327.Bossypants" title="Bossypants by Tina Fey">Bossypants</a> (Tina Fey) and <a _mce_href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7897478.The_Bedwetter_Stories_of_Courage_Redemption_and_Pee_" href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7897478.The_Bedwetter_Stories_of_Courage_Redemption_and_Pee_" title="The Bedwetter Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee by Sarah Silverman">The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee</a> (Sarah Silverman), not to mention <a _mce_href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9972053.If_You_Ask_Me_And_of_Course_You_Won_t" href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9972053.If_You_Ask_Me_And_of_Course_You_Won_t" title="If You Ask Me And of Course You Won't by Betty White">If You Ask Me: And of Course You Won't</a> (Betty White). I have to say that it easily outstrips them all. It has the format in common (anecdotes/essays strung together in a vaguely organised way), but something about Mindy Kaling's writing really appealed to me. She covered a lot of bases (childhood, being the child of immigrant parents, university, unemployment, road to success, The Office, relationships, men, her appearance, her (future) death), but I think she did them in a way that was honest and charming, while seeming like she could just be your (very) chatty friend telling you about her life. I liked that. There were a couple of chapters that didn't really strike a chord with me, and I was ambivalent about the last parts especially, which was a pity because it was the end. However, the parts I liked far outweighed the parts I didn't. The random lists had some genius lines in them, and her anecdotes were both awkward and hilarious. I think she will need to progress a bit further in her career to find more material for another book, or focus on a particular aspect of her life, but I would definitely read another of her books.<br />
<br />
Things/parts I especially liked (spoilers, I guess? I don't know):<br />
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl (aka The Ethereal Weirdo)<br />
- Roasts are Terrible (yes!)<br />
- her giving us context from the early 2000s (remember when Bennifer was massive, before the other Bennifer?)<br />
- Amy Poehler calling her husband by his last name (aww!)<br />
- the lists of TV shows and movies that would possibly be successful (including 'Fat Astronaut', 'Bad Dog Walker', 'Interspecies Friendships' (based on the original British series 'Interspecies Chums')<br />
- the use of the 'word' <em>monogamishly</em>,in relation to engagement announcements in LA (she is pro-marriage, and I like that, even though I'm not really fussed about it)<br />
- how she is anti one night stands and doesn't know what 'hooking up' really means (who knows what the kids mean these days?)<br />
- Irish Exits<br />
- her realisation that she likes men, not boys<br />
- her advice for married people (including a description of her parents' marriage)<br />
- her advice for guys in general (not even particularly funny; it just seems like good advice)<br />
- the picture of her wearing an amazing Cosby-style sweater as a kid.<br />
<br />
OK, I'm stopping because that's a good chunk of the book. Go read it.</div>
</div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-76208889154649498992012-02-03T19:32:00.001+08:002012-02-03T19:32:54.813+08:00A numbers game<div class='posterous_autopost'>I am trying to be more motivated this year. Although I promise myself I'll try to do this fairly often, it's not that often that it actually pans out. So far, in the 5 or so weeks since new year, I have actually clocked up some numbers in a few areas that I decided to focus on. I know a lot of this has to do with two very inspirational friends passing away over the holidays, but if remembering how they lived pushes me to improve myself, I think they would both be pleased. <p /><div>I have re-realised that I love keeping track of things. Seeing numbers and graphs and tangible progress pleases me. Last year I started recording all the books I was reading, and achieved my goal of 100 (113, actually) books for the year. This year I'm continuing that (on track for two books a week), as well as keeping track of my weight and measurements (to see if a new eating plan is working) and trying to quantify my Chinese language progress. </div> <p /><div>The diet and health tracking falls really well into an experimentation model for me. If I miss a measurement or I give in an eat something I'm not supposed to, I'll ruin the experiment or lose some valuable data. I have graphs and projections and all kinds of things that make my brain happy while I do something that's actually good for me.</div> <p /><div>So far this year I have:</div><div>- read 2000+ pages of 11 books (9 finished)</div><div>- studied 1500+ Chinese characters (most of which I know now)</div><div>- lost 4000+ grams (it sounds so much better that way, even though I am impressed enough with it).</div> <p /><div>2012 is going to be a year of numbers and of challenging myself to keep that motivation going. Wish me luck!</div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/a-numbers-game">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-956987069613971722012-01-30T11:52:00.001+08:002012-01-30T11:52:52.987+08:00Happy new year!<div class='posterous_autopost'>I'm really glad to see that the neighborhood piggy made it through Chinese new year. She was just a piglet this time last year and I thought she was just being fattened up. <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/happy-new-year">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-43282481751689843252012-01-08T14:09:00.001+08:002012-01-08T14:20:44.788+08:00Remembering Clare<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="posterous_autopost">
I was in the middle of rewatching the season one finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I heard the news about Clare. I had been told via Facebook that her condition had deteriorated and there wasn't long to go, but somehow it was still a shock to hear that she'd passed away. Her battle with cancer had been long, brave, and inspiring, and if cancer could be beaten by will alone, Clare would have been well years ago. Despite doctors telling her early on that there wasn't that much that could be done, Clare did it all anyway. <br />
<div>
I met Clare through Cassie when I was living in Edinburgh. And through Clare I met Olivia, and I grew to believe that the two of them led a charmed little life, in their tiny upstairs flat off the Royal Mile. We got to share some of the best that Edinburgh had to offer, and I will cherish those memories (even going to the parody of the Eurovision Song Contest). Clare always struck me as knowing exactly who she was, what she wanted to do, and who she wanted to spend her time with. She was fiercely individual but would do anything for her friends. </div>
<div>
One thing that Facebook is both good and bad at is showing you your 'friendships'. My contact with Clare had been sporadic over the last few years, and I realised I didn't have a photo of the two of us together. I go through phases where I don't take many photos or write many blog/journal posts, and times like this make me really regret it. I know that there was no lack of love, though.</div>
<div>
After talking things through with David for a while after he told me the news, I cried. It's such an odd feeling of loss, to know that someone who was already most of the way around the world from me is not even there any more. I say goodbye to so many of my friends, not knowing when I will see them again, but always thinking that there will be a next time. Sometimes there isn't. </div>
<div>
I haven't been able to watch the rest of that Buffy episode. In the finale, she accepts her own death, and embraces it for the sake of her loved ones and the world in general. Clare was that brave. She won't come back to save the world like Buffy did, but she did change a lot of lives in her short time here. </div>
<div>
I'll miss you so much, Clare, but you will continue to inspire me for a long time to come. I hope that you are sitting in the sun in the big Spiegel Garden in the sky. x<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2OjIqVY_dT76n3JrfiIH5HzpK0ftlGEDwFuJ3uDhpSVTcZqiOVtm_oofkFtQpYmD8Wdbvr7i55ct064fWZX8MkD54xvKDACTGwPPVpORq1b5JEALPp5PkvaPWE4h1M9Mt2v_mA/s1600/DSCF5116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2OjIqVY_dT76n3JrfiIH5HzpK0ftlGEDwFuJ3uDhpSVTcZqiOVtm_oofkFtQpYmD8Wdbvr7i55ct064fWZX8MkD54xvKDACTGwPPVpORq1b5JEALPp5PkvaPWE4h1M9Mt2v_mA/s320/DSCF5116.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 10px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 10px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 10px;">
<a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/remembering-clare">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/">Wendebulous</a> </div>
</div>
</div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-30572495816906533542011-06-09T11:52:00.001+08:002011-06-09T11:52:30.952+08:00Review of Fire by Kristin Cashore<div class='posterous_autopost'> <p>Because I haven't really blogged much lately (like, at all), here is my overly-long review of Kristin Cashore's Fire. Clearly, I wasn't impressed. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6001758-fire" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299237884m/6001758.jpg" border="0" alt="Fire" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6001758-fire">Fire</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1373880.Kristin_Cashore">Kristin Cashore</a><br /> My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/173598673">2 of 5 stars</a><p /> I started reading this book on the heels of Graceling, which I quite enjoyed (although it definitely had its drawbacks). I was utterly disappointed, and at several points in the book I wondered if I would actually be able to make it through the whole thing. Last night I managed to power through about half of the novel, mostly so I could put it behind me and start on something enjoyable (I know, I know, I just should have let it go). <p /> I didn't mind the general story arc, even though it does drag on a bit. I liked finding out where Leck had come from and that this other land existed across the mountains from the Seven Kingdoms. I didn't mind the characters - even the unlikeable ones are fairly well-written and believable. Some people have said that Fire's relationship with Brigan happened too quickly, but it happened over months, during pre-wartime, so that's fine with me too. What really got to me was the less-than-obvious feminist 'undertones' (or obvious themes) that weren't really discussed but just taken for granted. This is a medieval setting so I'm not shocked and appalled that girls are having sex at 15 (though since this is YA, I don't know that this is appropriate), but the way that no-strings relationships, abortion, and illegitimate children are just assumed, and not addressed, bugs me. Spoilers about abortion and self-sterilisation follow. Mila, when she is already too-far-pregnant, says that she would definitely have taken the abortion drugs if she knew they existed (and she doesn't take this back or address it once her child is born). Fire, with only a short lead up and barely addressing it, decides to make herself sterile, thus ending her race completely. The introduction and the reveal were so sudden and indirect that I had a "Wait, what?!" moment and had to go back and read it again. It was covered in a few short sentences: <br /><em>"In the middle of December planning, Fire made a choice. She hoped she chose right." <br />"‘No,’ she said. ‘Don’t fret, it was a small thing. I’m recovered.’ Which was a lie, for her body was sore still and her heart raw as Hanna’s knees. But it was what she hoped would be the truth, eventually." <br />"And then, because he was holding her hands, she told him all of it, quite simply: how desperately she wanted children, and why she’d decided she mustn’t have them, and how out of fear of changing her mind, she’d arranged quietly, with Clara and Musa’s help, to take the medicines that would make it forever impossible. And she hadn’t recovered, not nearly, for her heart was small and shivering, and it seemed that she couldn’t stop crying."</em> <br />And then they just go on to say that she must be around babies in the future because she loves them so much! Nothing about how there will never be another monster human, and she decided, alone and as a teenager, that all future monster humans' natures would be too awful to be permitted to live, even though she seems to be turning out different from her father. Nothing's really mentioned about this again. There's also that I really didn't need to hear about Fire's 'monthly bleedings', especially because the blood attracts other monsters so she has to hide inside! I don't think this was really that necessary to the story, and I can't imagine how much more work it would have been for Cashore to work the travel, action, and sex around times when Fire wasn't bleeding. <p /> The other major thing that bothered me was some of the writing and naming of things. I know this is supposed to be for YA readers (although that's questionable), and the protagonist is a teenager, but when Fire starts thinking about a bookshelf's <em>bookshelfness</em>, I nearly put the book down forever. I also really didn't like the term <em>monster</em> for the mind-addling versions of regular animals. I didn't mind the concept, but the word bugged me from the very beginning. She had such a great word in <em>Graceling</em>, why couldn't she have come up with something better than <em>monster lady</em>. I also didn't like Fire's name, which didn't seem to fit with the world. Nobody else was given a noun as a name, except for Archer, and his was a nickname. Then there's Lord Mydogg. I couldn't read this without thinking, "What's up, my dog?" every single time. It was quite distracting. Another small aside was that I found it weird that she named the months of the year the same names we do. Why would they have July and August, etc? <p /> All in all, this book did not make me want to read the next one in the series, which is a pity. I think that the world she created was generally well fleshed out (although I can't imagine how there were raptor monsters, rats, lions, etc in Fire's world and not in Katsa's). I won't be rushing to read the next Cashore book. <p /> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5229616-wendy">View all my reviews</a></p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/review-of-fire-by-kristin-cashore">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-89417062037748995492011-04-25T11:05:00.001+08:002011-04-25T11:05:53.877+08:00Lest we forget<div class='posterous_autopost'>For the first time since I've been here, there was an early morning Anzac Day service in Shanghai. The last couple of years have been on weekends, so lucky lazy expats have been able to sleep in a little. This beautiful Monday morning had Kiwis and Aussies gathering at the Australian Consul General's house from around 5:30 (I know, I was there). The service was lovely, with the stand out speech being from Turkish Consul General Deniz Eke. There was a dramatic moment right at the end of the Last Post, when a boy just in front of me fainted on the lawn. His parents took care of him while the rest of us stood mutely for the minute of silence. He seemed to recover pretty well, though. The only incongruous part for me was a jazzed-up recording of the NZ national anthem with the overly-dramatic singer from last year. Admittedly, we Kiwis need a bit of help from a lead singer, but hopefully next year they'll get a vocalist to go along with the instrumentals for both anthems. The follow-up breakfast care of Wagas, Baker and Spice, and Nick's Meats was exactly what was needed. After a chat with friends and a promise to be at the barbecue at Kakadu tonight, I took an extra coffee and a mini lamington for the road.<p /><div>I'll finish with the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which make me have to blink back tears every time I hear them. They remind me of Çanakkale, being in Turkey for their celebration of victory (and our defeat), and of how proud I am to be a New Zealander, wherever I am in the world.</div> <p /><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><span style="color: rgb(24, 24, 24); line-height: 18px;"><i>"Heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."</i></span></div> </blockquote><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><div><span style="line-height: 18px;">Lest we forget.</span></div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/lest-we-forget">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-14056964198007744492011-02-22T09:28:00.001+08:002011-02-22T09:28:17.891+08:00Earthquake in Christchurch today #eqnz<div class='posterous_autopost'>Again, Facebook and Twitter are providing me with current news. Here's the situation so far. Earthquake just over an hour ago, 6.3 centred about 10km south of Christchurch. Multiple fatalities so far, including two buses crushed by falling buildings. Cathedral is damaged. If you're trying to contact people in Christchurch, text message is the best way (Aussies can call 1300 555 135 for info). Phone lines are pretty congested right now, 80% of the city has no power. <p /><div>Crossing my fingers and thinking about you, Christchurch.</div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/earthquake-in-christchurch-today-eqnz">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-72254781263091778392011-01-06T15:31:00.001+08:002011-01-06T15:31:25.774+08:00Another new year, another set of things I won’t manage?<div class='posterous_autopost'><p style="">So, it’s that time of year again. Reflection, celebration, promises to self. The blog/s have fallen by the wayside again, and I don’t know exactly what to do with them at this point (combine, change focus, keep going the way I am?). I’m barely keeping up with my paid blogs, and with work, study, and the rest of my life, I’m struggling a bit.</p> <p style=""><br /></p> <p style=""></p> <p style="">This is not to say that I don’t have ‘free’ time. I have been spending a lot of time reading other blogs, reading books, watching TV, and crocheting. This is time that I should be redirecting towards writing and studying. The hard thing is that most of the former activities I can do while sitting on the sofa with my lovely boyfriend. It’s not that our relationship needs work; I just like to spend most of my non-work, non-sleep hours with him. It’s a bit hard to do that at the same time as something that takes a bit more concentration. </p> <p style=""><br /></p> <p style=""></p> <p style="">Anyway, here is a list of things that have kept me busy in 2010, and hopefully I will be able to elaborate a bit more on them in 2011.</p> <p style=""><br /></p> <p style=""></p> <p style=""></p><ul><li>Work - the office moved out towards the airport, so now my commute time is about 2 hours every day, rather than half an hour. Other than that, it’s going ok.</li> <li>Home - said lovely boyfriend moved here from the UK, and we moved into the apartment of a departing friend (who we miss, but we also love the apartment). Now living in the French Concession in Shanghai, which is a bit quieter than my previous neighbourhood.</li> <li>Travel - I went to Hong Kong twice (once for Chinese New Year and once on a visa run), as well as visiting Europe for the first time in a while (Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Italy). I miss Hungarian food!</li><li> Friends - as usual, people come and go, but I have a lovely group of friends that make it very easy to live here.</li><li>Study - I had a few months’ break from Chinese study because of the office move, but I have restarted twice weekly one-on-one lessons, which I need to put more follow-up/preparation work into. I can have basic conversations and get things done, and my reading is improving in leaps and bounds, but still. I need to do better.</li> </ul><p></p> <p style=""></p> <p style="">Things that are taking up my time and therefore I recommend:</p><p style=""> <br /></p> <p style=""></p><ul><li>Books - because of recommendations from a friend, I have been reading a lot (a lot) of young adult fiction lately, interspersed with a few more adult books. Currently reading Love in the Time of Cholera, a YA dystopian trilogy by Lois Lowry, and re-reading Catching Fire (from the Hunger Games trilogy).</li> <li>Online - blogs currently sucking up a lot of my time are: <a href="http://nedroid.com/">Nedroid</a>, <a href="http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/">Hyperbole and a Half</a>, <a href="http://markreads.net/">Mark Reads</a> (currently reading the Hunger Games trilogy, hence my going back to Catching Fire), <a href="http://stuff.icanhascheezburger.com/">Must Have Cute</a>, <a href="http://reasoningwithvampires.tumblr.com/">Reasoning with Vampires</a> (yes, I hated Twilight, and I don’t know why I am torturing myself with seeing exactly how bad the writing is, sentence by sentence), <a href="http://mymilktoof.blogspot.com/">My Milk Toof</a>, <a href="http://notalwaysright.com/">Not Always Right</a>, and some Shanghai blogs (<a href="http://www.ephemeraanddetritus.com/">A Totally Impractical Guide to Living in Shanghai</a>, <a href="http://blog.friday-nite.com/">I Love China</a>, <a href="http://blog.57575777.com/">From Dumplings to Donuts</a>). I’ve recently started reading <a href="http://http://mwfseekingbff.com/">MWF Seeking BFF</a>, too, and I think it deserves its own post later. I have also actually been using Twitter, and I do quite enjoy following <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/lukeayresryan/">Luke Ryan</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/ActuallyNPH/">Neil Patrick Harris</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/NathanFillion/">Nathan Fillion</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Oatmeal/">Oatmeal</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/Lynneguist/">Lynne Murphy</a> (linguistic goodness), <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/NewScientist/">New Scientist</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/doctorkarl/">Dr Karl</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/simonpegg/">Simon Pegg</a>. Other stuff is OK, too.</li> <li>TV - last year I watched Outrageous Fortune, Battlestar Galactica, West Wing, Castle, Chuck, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Hell’s Kitchen, The Amazing Race, Futurama, No Ordinary Family, Lie to Me, and probably a bunch of other stuff. I also embarrassingly got a bit addicted to Vampire Diaries. This year I plan to go a bit Joss and watch season 2 of Dollhouse (not sure how good it will be), and also watch season 2 of Buffy (and possibly the other seasons after that. I just need an Oz fix).</li> <li>Craftiness - I started crocheting again when the cold began to set in, and I am enjoying it a lot as usual. I bought a few books, and one of my friends started up a weekly Stitch ‘n’ Bitch sort of group. It’s in a tiny little wool shop, and I’m really enjoying getting together with a few ladies (and gentleman) over some wool, wine, and snacks. Happily, boyfriend is enthusiastic about this skill, and even wears the stuff I have made him. I’ve made a blanket, a cowl, socks, gloves, and a bunch of unfinished little things. I also learned how to make <a href="http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=ovvl6ofvf510hem5q2ok6hikj1&topic=283646.0">tiny hats</a> using wool and cardboard tubes. Sweet.</li> </ul> <p style=""></p> <p style="">Wow, this was linky. I’m looking forward to doing posts about specific things, rather than splashing links and random comments everywhere when people probably won’t click them.</p> <p style=""><br /></p> <p style=""></p> <p style="">I also respond well to external motivation, so somebody please tell me it’s worth writing. Thanks. </p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/another-new-year-another-set-of-things-i-wont">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-41435049453062823232010-08-23T12:44:00.001+08:002010-08-23T12:44:32.008+08:00Weekend in Qingdao<div class='posterous_autopost'><span style="font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">My weekend: 3 hour delay on flight to Qingdao, 20RMB all you can drink beer at rooftop bar at hostel, breakfast (with bbq eggs/omelette/sausages) included, beer museum/factory, no available cabs anywhere, forgot to charge my camera batteries, afternoon drinking at the beer festival, meat on a stick, Dairy Queen, running into the Shanghai rugby team at a German bar, missing the ABs game because it was too late (Australia network screened it an hour late, and cut off the anthems and haka, jerks), more bbq breakfast, pretty awesome old Governor's residence, not being able to find my friends (two cabs required), thunderstorm, 9 hours at airport, 1st class lounge, 5 hour delay, home by 04:30. Some of these things were super fun, some were really not. </span> <p /><div><span style="font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">This was going to be a status update (but turns out it's way too long), so sorry for the rushed narrative.</span></div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/weekend-in-qingdao">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-23630356488340326432010-08-11T19:12:00.001+08:002010-08-11T19:12:57.415+08:00Finally, vindication!<div class='posterous_autopost'>Anybody who has ever had to live with me or make an appointment with me early in the morning knows that I am <i>not</i> a morning person. No matter how much it would improve my standard of life, I just can't go to bed early, even if I have to get up a few hours later. I have real trouble going to sleep before midnight, and even when I have to get up at 8am (or before), I'm usually falling asleep between 1am and 2am. When left to my own devices, I stay up until the sun rises, and then feel guilty and go to sleep (usually until sometime in the early, or late, afternoon).<p /><div>I came across a link to a study today that shows that <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/lab-notes/2009/04/23/the-brains-of-early-birds-and-night-owls.html">being an early bird is not necessarily better at all</a>. The study showed that while attention levels were about the same for early birds and night owls 1.5 hours after waking up, night owls performed quite a lot better than their early rising counterparts 10.5 hours after waking. This only confirms what I suspected, though. My boss is an early riser, and he's quite often quite useless when it comes to about 5pm. I'm still wide awake until not long before I go to bed. (Though it does say that early birds feel more rested more easily, which also correlates with my experience.)</div> <p /><blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote" style="margin: 0 0 0 40px; border: none; padding: 0px;"><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px;">There was no real difference between the early birds and the night owls in their performance on the morning test. But the evening test was a different story: night owls were less sleepy and had faster reaction times than early birds. (Just to emphasize, 'evening' was a relative term: it was a different actual time for each group, but the exact same 10.5-hours-after-waking for both early birds and night owls.) So even though both groups were sleeping and waking according to their preferred schedule, night owls generally outlasted early birds in how long they could stay awake and mentally alert before becoming mentally fatigued. </span></div> </blockquote><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; line-height: normal; font-size: small;">So, early birds on high horses, you can climb on down now. </span></span></div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/finally-vindication">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-48599317861423782732010-08-10T10:04:00.001+08:002010-08-10T10:04:43.948+08:00Anniversaries of sorts<div class='posterous_autopost'>For whatever reason, I realised that today is the 5th anniversary of one of the incarnations of <a href="http://wendebular.blogspot.com/">one of my blogs</a>. When I started using Blogger, I was working for a hospital back home in Auckland, and there really wasn't a hell of a lot to do (besides start a new blog and sign up for Facebook - hey, that means I've been on Facebook for five years too). I was also waitressing part time (I actually really enjoyed that job, and the people), and in the middle of the first winter I'd had at home since I left New Zealand in 2000. Going back even further, I started blogging in July 2002, using Diaryland, a service which I am surprised to find still has my <a href="http://wendebular.diaryland.com/">old blog</a> online. Oddly, when I started that one, I was also doing a full time admin job (in Edinburgh) and working part time hospitality (in a sketchy sketchy nightclub in Leith). Looking back on the first couple of posts makes me smile because I was only 21 and all excited about life in Scotland (which I continue to be every time I visit).<p /><div>I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this, except that maybe I'm feeling a little nostalgic these days. I'm coming up to two years in Shanghai, 10 years on the road (with breaks), my 30th birthday, and some significant upcoming changes in my life, so I guess it's not surprising. Seems a bit crazy to think that I've been a citizen of the world for so long, but I like to think I've fit a reasonable amount of good times into the last 10 years of my life (even a little bit of stability!). It's been really nice reflecting on the people and the places I've been around at different stages of my life, and kinda wonderful to realise that a lot of them are still very close friends of mine, even though all of our lives have changed pretty significantly since.</div> <p /><div>Thanks, friends. I love you!</div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/anniversaries-of-sorts">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-21748744983885053542010-08-09T14:30:00.001+08:002010-08-09T14:30:13.153+08:00Picasa facial recognition is freaking me out<div class='posterous_autopost'><div>I decided to play around with the 'People' feature on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasa" target="_blank">Picasa</a> (Google's photo management software), and it's been eerily accurate (besides a couple of mistaken suggestions where it thought that my (male) friend was me, but since I've tagged him, there have been no further confusions). All you have to do is name a person once and it will happily go through and find a major proportion of the pictures they are in. The more often you confirm something the program is unsure about, the more accurate it gets. I even tried tagging a picture of a friend where she is making this crazy expression, and just based on that the program has pulled out over 50 pictures of her, in all sorts of poses, good and bad lighting, weird expressions or not. The only one it got wrong was actually her sister.</div> <p /><div>I'm both impressed and a little scared by the technology. Not that I have a problem with it going through and finding all my friends, but I'd prefer to keep it local (that is, on my computer). The default setting for the People feature is to synch with your address book, adding email addresses etc. And you can't even delete an email address once it has been added (I chose to just change them to fake ones after I discovered this). I love Google, but I don't want to give them detailed information about what all my friends look like. Scary thing is, there's no way to prevent anyone else from doing this. I can just imagine that sometime in the future (or even now) they'll be able to scan security footage or Google Earth images and be like 'Yes, we're 99.99998% sure that that's <a href="mailto:joeblogs@gmail.com" target="_blank">joeblogs@gmail.com</a>. We know exactly how many times a week he goes to the supermarket/hairdresser/bookie/adult shop.' </div> <p /><div><i>Note: I am taking some inspiration from the National Blog Posting Month (<a href="http://www.nablopomo.com/">NaBloPoMo</a> - and I hope never ever to say that out loud) people who are posting one post a day for a month, except that I now have four blogs, so will try to post one post a day over those four. This one is gonna end up being the one with the random leftover stuff (not about life in China or about language), so apologies in advance.</i></div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/picasa-facial-recognition-is-freaking-me-out">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div>Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-78794396690939428612010-03-03T17:07:00.001+08:002010-03-03T17:07:11.313+08:00New year short shorts
<div class='posterous_autopost'>I had a great trip to Hong Kong, despite the unseasonal cold and rain down there. I wanted to upload some pictures and videos and whatnot, but the internet situation continues to put those things in the 'too difficult' pile.<p /> Luckily, <a href="http://jessicahiccups.blogspot.com/2010/02/kung-hei-fat-choi.html">Jessica has posted some</a>. Enjoy some footage of the special gymnastics team of the Paris fire brigade. They must have been cold and wondering why they were performing for a handful of random Chinese people in the deep dark New Territories. <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/new-year-short-shorts">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div> Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-30689759089832785822010-02-20T20:37:00.001+08:002010-02-20T20:37:46.365+08:00Credit, I guess
<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/wendebular/JklaM6IyoFP4K7nsL4dgPsl1gkZ1ydBEO3y1hlGk1UMHt201LRK6unwCGtP2/Jack.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/wendebular/LvOfPWynd567xkMmy6a87CyHRRiQT822TlF9vJcCeUtiFdqMXnq4bUeSSEGy/Jack.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <p>I was at the airport on the way back from Hong Kong the other day when I stumbled across <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Judge-When-Poor-Grammar-Disconcerting/dp/0312533012/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top">this book</a>, which has one of my pictures on the cover. I flicked through to see if any of my other pictures had been used, and another one of them had. I guess I'm a published photographer now. <p /> I've got a bit of an issue with this book, though. Even though I got a credit at the end of the book, and I knew that it was just going to be a submission to a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2209553478">Facebook group</a> book that I would never see any royalties from, I never actually got any kind of notification or thanks from the author for it. I wrote her a kind of passive-aggressive email about it when I saw my picture on the cover of the pre-release, and she wrote back to say that the cover wasn't finalised (the print version is the same as the pre-release image), and that everyone would get an email after everything was confirmed. No such email. Guess it just fell by the wayside.<p /> I think the FB friend request from her may have been a mistake, like one of those scan your email account for familiar addresses and add them kind of thing, but maybe ignoring it was the wrong thing to do.<p /> Oh well. It's still sort of cool, I suppose.<br /></p> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/credit-i-guess">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div> Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-39627824774573810252010-02-11T19:07:00.001+08:002010-02-11T19:07:36.698+08:00W(eather)TF.
<div class='posterous_autopost'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/wendebular/zHDeUruOQS2qTnQYQ4LeQRY8ItG4nRw1jHX8GcxGglVZbYtP0r6JmHft8ih7/weatherwtf.png" width="121" height="72"/> <p>OK, so I haven't posted since I got back from my holiday last year. It's been cold and busy in Shanghai, and lots of exciting/crazy/delicious things have happened in the last few months. I have been having a bumper blogging day today (although this is the only personal thing I've posted), but this will be short. I'm due in a meeting right now.<br /> </p><div class="gmail_quote"> <br />I just wanted to say, what the hell, Google Weather? I don't even know what this icon means! It's a whole new different kind of yucky weather. Also, I'm going to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year tomorrow, and while it's a balmy, sunny 26 degrees today, tomorrow will plummet down to 12. Joy. Oh well, at least it will be warmer than here.<p /> 恭喜发财! 新年快乐! Happy year of the tiger. Whee.<br /> </div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/weathertf-0">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> </div> Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-20436469809165448412009-10-15T11:30:00.001+08:002009-10-15T11:30:18.429+08:00Some numbers...
<a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/wendebular/WKJgWsAeECEaj72kpHpZgmLHYE6YNMmluRlNOQXMPEp8lJgN4YgrbP9mdFHE/Blue_sky_over_Bondi.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/wendebular/WBwpKR9VNARxqtxxnkjQKJIFN7Ft3TbImkSglHWZijoqgCz2jk0NMGMk6Dme/Blue_sky_over_Bondi.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <p>So I'm back in the office in Shanghai, and the sun is shining in a blue sky, which is a pretty rare event. I'd love to be outside since it's a reasonable temperature these days, but here I am getting settled back into the job, with a new boss and a new direction. I'm actually hopeful, though, which is great. I'm about to move into an actual office (no more open plan working for me!) and apparently the new boss can get me a deal on a goosedown underlay for the winter. It'll be like sleeping in a cloud.<p /> I had a wonderful holiday back in the southern hemisphere, and caught up with a <i>lot</i> of people, all of whom it was fantastic to see. Of course I wish I'd had more time, but hey. Once you see how many people I had to see, you'll see why the schedule was so tight. I promise more catch ups when I retire.<p /> So, here is a summary of my holiday in numbers:<br /></p><ul><li>20 days</li><li>10 flights (1 cancelled)</li><li>3 countries</li><li>6 towns/cities (1 was just a layover)</li><li>4 journeys to Hong Kong International Airport; 3 to Melbourne; 3 to Sydney</li> <li>6 time zones (if you include changing times for daylight savings twice)</li><li>11 - 30 degrees Celsius (approx)<br /></li><li>19 family members</li><li>69 friends and friends-of-friends (and the new people were all lovely!)</li> <li>2 runnings into on the street<br /></li><li>20.2kg in my backpack on the way home (including 2L of 42 Below)</li><li>12.5kg of extra belongings in a box put in the post</li><li>1 upgrade to business class (first time in nearly 9 years of travelling!), but only for 2 hours<br /> </li><li>Countless hugs and kisses, and not enough time, or flat whites.</li></ul>Thanks to everyone who made the effort to see me (including the ones who wanted to, but couldn't), especially those who let me stay at their places, helped me organise things, and gave me directions. Miss you all already.<p /> <br /><i>[Image: Blue sky over Bondi, Bondi Beach, Sydney]</i> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/some-numbers-0">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-10125710229634111852009-09-09T16:45:00.001+08:002009-09-09T16:45:55.815+08:00The truth about spam: "Fw: FUNNY" is not as funny as you think
Getting nonsensical, unentertaining, "inspirational" or otherwise worthless emails forwarded to me, often by virtual (ha) strangers or long-ago workmates, is one of my pet peeves. The obvious reason is that I don't find them interesting or worthwhile, I have better ways to use my time, and <i>I don't care</i>. The less obvious reason is that I am fairly protective of my own privacy, and I don't want my email address handed over to complete strangers, especially the kind of strangers who will further propagate the sort of emails that I hate, or worse, not be actual people. Why don't you just give them my phone number, address, and bank account details while you're at it? Come to think of it, I received a 'warning' email today which included, not just a whole mess of email addresses, but all sorts of personal contact information contained in footers. Be careful, people!<p /> Before I launch into full rant mode, I'd like to pass the mic over to my completely wonderful, yet easy irritated, friend <a href="http://www.davers.org/">Dave</a>, who wrote what he intended to be a passive-aggressive response to receiving an illogical but apparently compulsive forwarded email, and actually produced a well-written, educational missive about one of the dangers of the internet. Like I said to him, if it were more succinct, I might be tempted to put it on a t-shirt. <p /> I have removed the names and email addresses, because I am <b>a considerate person</b><i>. </i>If people really feel the need, the absolute, unavoidable compulsion to send me random crap (and I'm not talking about things you know I'll actually appreciate), for the love of God, <b>learn how to use the bcc: option</b>. <i>Please</i>. <p /> Anyway, please read the following message, and feel free to pass it on to your favourite quasi-spammers. Perhaps encourage them to read the whole thing by saying that something <i>hilarious</i> will happen when they scroll right to the end.<p /> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><div class="gmail_quote">Hi there <b>[name removed to protect baby seals]</b> et al.,<p /> Just so you're aware, it's physically impossible for anything 'funny' to happen if you forward a message to a certain number of people. All that will happen is that people will forward it hoping that something will happen. Which, as I'm sure you now know from forwarding this message, it never will. It just results in a whole bunch of spam being thrown around the internet.<p /> But what's more, all the email addresses that people are forwarding to will be harvested by spam bots, giving spammers a whole bunch more addresses to send their "make your penis bigger!", "FREE viagra!" and "find hot prostitutes near you" emails. Thus these will start flooding your inbox, along with the emails with malware and worm attachments that can really fuck your stuff up.<p /> It's actually quite a clever spam technique - promising the uninitiated users that something 'hilarious' will happen if they forward it to enough people. If you look below at the forwarded message, you'll see all those blue underlined links, all those email addresses to whom "<b>[name removed even though he was one of the forwarders at fault]</b>" sent it out to... well, as soon as this email is returned to a spammer, they can just copy all those addresses onto their database and know that these addresses have real people on the end of them, and so add them to their list of people to send out all their spam. They can also sell the list of email addresses to other spammers. This is actually how most spam email actually gets their millions of target users.<p /> Emails are just strings of letters and numbers being sent through electronic communication channels... there's no physical way that forwarding, replying, or doing anything to the messages will result in any 'cool' thing happening.<p /> So, as a general rule of thumb - <b>only ever forward emails if you actually want or need to forward them</b>. For example, if it's information that you want somebody else to see - that is to say, the intended use of the forwarding feature.<p /> I am sorry if this sounds passive aggressive or preachy, but... well... it's a bit annoying, see. Because now if any of the other 6 people to whom you also forwarded this message (that is, <b>[names removed because it wasn't their fault]</b>) then forward it on to a bunch of other people, it'll be <i><b>my </b></i>email address added to the spam list. And then, if any of those people then forward it on to another bunch of people, my address will be propagated again and again and again, etc., etc., ad nauseam. In effect, by forwarding these kinds of emails to your friends, you are actively increasing the amount of spam they get.<p /> So. If you ever get an email and are encouraged to forward it to a certain amount of people - whether it promises something cool, or promises that it will save the life of an African child with every person you forward it to, or promises that it will increase the chance of finding your one true love... the best thing to do is delete it, or just move it to your spam folder. Because that's what it is. Spam. Nothing else. You could always forward it to a bunch of people who you don't really like, and laugh at the fact that they're going to get a lot more spam, but again, your email address is still going to be propagated on that list just by engaging in any kind of forwarding activity.<p /> Sadly, because the vast majority of people are completely unaware of the underhand tactics that spammers use to build up these lists of verified, active email addresses, spam now accounts for <i><b>over 90% of all email traffic online</b></i>. Check out this section of the Wikipedia article on spam, if you like (with cited sources): <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_spam#As_a_percentage_of_the_total_volume_of_e-mail" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_spam#As_a_percentage_of_the_total_volume_of_e-mail</a><p /> All the best, and hope you're well.<p /><a href="http://www.davers.org/">Dave</a> <b>[name retained to acknowledge the awesome]</b><p /> <br /><div class="gmail_quote">2009/9/7 <b>[name removed to reduce global warming]</b><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <p /> <div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br />From: <b>[name removed to save the whales]</b><br /> Date: Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 4:49 PM<br />Subject: Fw: FUNNY<br />To: <b>[names removed for the sake of my conscience]</b><p /> <br /> <div> <div> </div> <div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal;">----- Original Message ----- <div style=""><b>From:</b> <b>[name removed to protect the innocent]</b> </div> <div><b>To:</b> <b>[name removed for an ideal future]</b> </div> <div><b>Sent:</b> Monday, September 07, 2009 10:04 AM</div> <div><b>Subject:</b> Fw: FUNNY</div></div> <p /> <div> </div> <div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal;">----- Original Message ----- <div style=""><b>From:</b> <b>[name removed for the sake of the children]</b> </div> <div><b>To:</b> <b>[names removed for world peace]</b> </div> <div><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, September 06, 2009 10:55 AM</div> <div><b>Subject:</b> FW: FUNNY</div></div> <div> <br /> </div><hr /> <div><p><span style="font-family: Arial; color: navy; font-size: 10pt;">I don’t normally forward these but will give this a try.</span></p> <div> <div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><hr size="2" align="center" width="100%" /> </div></div> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span> </p> <div> <div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><hr size="2" align="center" width="100%" /> </div></div> <div> <div> <div> <table border="0"> <tr> <td style="padding: 0cm;"> <blockquote style="margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-left: 3.75pt;"> <p style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"> <br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Forward this to at least 7 people and see what happens on your screen . you will laugh your head off!!!!!!!!!!! <br /> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt;"><img src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=c07de034a9&view=att&th=1239835791be1ed3&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=0.1&zw" border="0" height="307" width="675" /><br /> This is the coolest thing I have ever received. All you have to do is send it to 7 people and watch your screen, it is the funniest clip. I can't tell you what it is but I was laughing so hard I almost fell off my chair!!! So, send it to those 7 people and watch. <p /> If you forward it to 7 people a video comes on your screen.. <br />This works. I don't know how...but it works. </span></p></blockquote></td></tr></table></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote> </div></div></blockquote><div>[It does not work. No matter how much you want something hilarious to happen to these bouncing bikini-ed beach bunnies.] <br /></div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/the-truth-about-spam-fw-funny-is-not-as-funny">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-22994977258517805352009-09-03T14:58:00.001+08:002009-09-03T14:58:59.058+08:00Get your wallet out - it's for a good cause
So, I take a while to clean out my inbox sometimes. If I don't act on something straight away, it tends to get buried until I manage to shuffle through everything in sporadic bursts of what seems like productivity.<p />I received an email a while ago from my friend Bjorn asking for <a href="http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/BjornSchuffelen/">sponsorship</a> for a 2.8km cross-harbour swim, in support of <a href="http://www.slsnz.org.nz/">Surf Lifesaving NZ</a>. It's for a great cause, especially in a place like NZ (and, similarly, Australia), where the beaches are unpopulated, beautiful, and sometimes dangerous. <p /> From his <a href="http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/BjornSchuffelen/">sponsorship page</a>:<p /><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> Ive signed up as a charity swimmer to raise money to support Surf Life Saving New Zealand. By donating through my web page you are helping to save lives with Surf Life Saving. THE EVENT IS ON THE 21st NOVEMBER 2009<p />I'll do all the hard work (train for and complete the 2.8km Auckland Harbour Swim as part of the Sovereign New Zealand Ocean Swim Series) but I really need your help to make a difference so that everyone can enjoy New Zealands favorite playground safely.<p />So, please sponsor me?<p />Select the "Make a donation" button below. It's simple, fast and totally secure and the money goes directly to Surf Life Saving New Zealands bank account.<p />If you live in New Zealand your donation is tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.<p />So please help me today! And pass it on to everyone you know!<p />I spent a few years in my youth patrolling the beach, but my experience being stuck in the bush fires in Melbourne reminded me what a fantastic job all the volunteers in SLS do.<br /></blockquote><div><br />Good luck with the training, Bjorn! Click <a href="http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/BjornSchuffelen/">here</a> to donate, especially if you were in the bush fires or have ever needed help on the beach. Do it.<p /> Also, I posted this on my Facebook page the other day, but you still have one more day to <a href="http://www.shaveforacure.co.nz/PageRender/preParticipantProfilePage.do?pageKey=082d9861-f6eb-4f5f-a9f1-a18751b7b95f">donate to Becks's head getting shaved</a> in support of the <a href="http://www.shaveforacure.co.nz/">Leukaemia & Blood Foundation</a>. She has to deal with the discomfort of a cold, bald, head, so donating is the least you can do. :) <p /> <i>This isn't intended to be a guilt trip or blatant advertising. If I can encourage one person to donate something to any good cause, then it's worth the few minutes I took to do this. If you have no ties to these organisations, there are countless others out there. Donate some money, time, clothing, expertise, or blood to an (appropriate) aid, research, or charity organisation soon. You won't regret it. </i><br /> </div> <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com/get-your-wallet-out-its-for-a-good-cause">Original post</a> sent via email to <a href="http://wendebular.posterous.com">Wendebulous</a> </p> Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-42718672653748170322009-08-12T11:04:00.000+08:002009-08-22T01:50:26.889+08:00Good Books and good deeds<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyZc8xd4PgCBDR4WutudS8tDLm0-LKnedD5oPt_8XTS4DSXc4M-TRWTv8U0sg-nJt_NpAJazzcRDT1JAZrbzEGskf7_X_eH4MTzdv9GCrzNFBGAqJzV5euqwUVb1LDkU79BTsMQ/s1600-h/goodbooks-709570.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyZc8xd4PgCBDR4WutudS8tDLm0-LKnedD5oPt_8XTS4DSXc4M-TRWTv8U0sg-nJt_NpAJazzcRDT1JAZrbzEGskf7_X_eH4MTzdv9GCrzNFBGAqJzV5euqwUVb1LDkU79BTsMQ/s320/goodbooks-709570.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368908018030597522" /></a></p>I've always been consistent in not giving money to beggars, but I'll usually donate to buskers (homeless or not) who impress me, I often donate to established charity campaigns, and I try to donate blood when and where I can (which reminds me, I should really visit the blood bank again soon).<br> <br>Sometimes I question my choices when it comes to giving back, and I know I don't do enough for the world on a daily basis. Knowing that I have taken more international flights than a great many people gives me carbon guilt. The fact that I've gotten used to the comfort of air-conditioning in hot countries does the same. <br> <br>So when I was reading the <a href="http://www.oxfam.org.nz/">Oxfam</a> newsletter that arrived in my inbox today, I was happy to be reminded of the fantastic service that <a href="https://www.goodbooksnz.co.nz/">Good Books</a> provides. They have over 2 million titles (books, audiobooks, and music) at reasonable prices, ship internationally <i>for free</i>, and <i>all profits go directly to </i><a href="http://www.oxfam.org.nz/">Oxfam</a>. They promise no mark ups, and ship from both the UK and the US. It may sound too good to be true, but through their volunteer work and generous sponsorship, you can donate to a good cause (or many good causes) by doing something you probably do once in a while anyway. <br> <br>If you're reading this post, I propose two things:<br><br>1) Suggest a book or CD (or more than one!) for me. I have been starved of new music and haven't been reading enough lately, and I have decided to buy at least a few titles from <a href="https://www.goodbooksnz.co.nz/">Good Books</a>. If your recommendation is persuasive enough, I'll go with it! If I get them all shipped together, it will slightly make up for the environmental cost of shipping, right?<br> <br>2) Order something yourself, or as a gift for someone else. If you were going to buy books or CDs online anyway, consider checking out this service before you use your usual one. The NZ dollar is still down, so it might work out to be a similar price, and you'll get that warm fuzzy feeling for free (not to mention the delight of no added shipping costs).<br> <br>Looking forward to getting some suggestions!<br> Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15273137.post-91549567138640761472009-08-10T01:18:00.000+08:002009-08-22T01:50:26.889+08:00I feel all special...<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AqkRn4hQLvah8VaNBCAwve_43fd1K5l4DHLRlAu0Cq0eyw6_SvylxrNOarhobRQ8A8U8H2j_ofpq_UOuxVs65rCSjWo91Lk6vV38xRYgIop56dm9q03ydEd44AG6_LosTGotMw/s1600-h/Cassie+and+Carla-740855.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1AqkRn4hQLvah8VaNBCAwve_43fd1K5l4DHLRlAu0Cq0eyw6_SvylxrNOarhobRQ8A8U8H2j_ofpq_UOuxVs65rCSjWo91Lk6vV38xRYgIop56dm9q03ydEd44AG6_LosTGotMw/s320/Cassie+and+Carla-740855.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368014795674673218" /></a></p>Lovely Cassie wrote a <a href="http://anormalday.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/id-like-you-to-meet-wendy/">blog post</a> (at least partially) about me on her super-fantastic blog, <a href="http://anormalday.wordpress.com/">A Normal Day</a>. It makes me feel all special. Plus, she likes my iccint. Gold stars for Cassie!<br> <br>Cassie and I lead the kind of lives where it's possible for us to run into each other (and Carla!) on a glacier. We can't forget that these lives are awesome. <br><br>x<br> Wendebularhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05491675098875540286noreply@blogger.com0