Munich bound

Hey guys (in Manchester)! How about a weekend in Munich? Let’s have your comments. In case you need reminding, there’s a certain someone who lives there now, and (against his express desires) I managed to invite ourselves to a weekend there. There might be some festivals going on that we can time our visit to coincide with, suggests Jonny.
P.S. Munich is in Germany 😛

Priorities

“Never let the big things in life distract you from focussing on the inconsequential”. Which means I should be working on my dissertation at the moment, not wasting my time here.

Information is important

But is that just the info-centric view of us Information Specialists? (I’m using the term loosely here to include my humble self). Surely an accountant will differ. And I came across an article titled “What do IT specialists know about managing change” (Parc & Jutras) which is also related to the question of whether IS experts are in a position to advise managers.

We’ve got all the time in the world!

If there’s anything we as post-grads should know, it’s that procrastination isn’t just a big word, it’s a way of life. But it’s suddenly coming home to me that I’ve NO TIME WHATSOEVER to conduct my interviews, then observe my rats at work, then send out questionnaires based on my observations. A little ambitious, you might say. The only way I can get it all done is if I write up my dissertation now, and then fabricate the results to fit in with my observations. But of course, that option is surely not available to me. Is it? No, I shouldn’t even be thinking about it. Well that’s the end of that then. No more thoughts along those lines. Absolutely no more.

Goodbye Jill

Just said goodbye to Jill via MSN. Here’s hoping she has a safe journey there and back. (Tracy and I especially would like to see her back, a sentiment which has nothing whatsoever to do with the contents of her luggage).

Was I missed much?

Apologies to all my fans for not entertaining them in a while, it took me a hell of a long time to recover from the gaities of this week. First off, thanks to all the ISOMers and staff remaining in Manchester for a wonderful dinner ‘n’ dance at La Tasca. And to Jonny for the ‘free’ beers 😉 Secondly, an apology is due to the Liverpool fans, for the mention on these very pages of their inability to contest Milan. What a great comeback!! And what luck in the final minutes, I must add. Thirdly, a call goes out to anyone having anywhere near as much difficulty as me waking up in the morning; how feasible is the idea of morning wakeup calls? God knows I need something like that. Even the lure of sharing my thoughts with the Wild World Web is not enough.

Recognise yourself? (I won’t name anybody, but…)

Popular demand (well, just Pan) forces me to post another joke. Here it is…

You know you are an Internet Junkie when…

  • When asked to give your address, your answer begins with http://
  • Instead of calling you to dinner, your spouse sends an e-mail.
  • You chat with your fingers, not your mouth.
  • You use Netscape 4.72, and you check every week whether version 4.73 was released.
  • You know the difference between Java and Javascript.
  • Most of your friends have an @ in their names.
  • In order to watch BBC you move to http://www.bbc.co.uk
  • On your business card the e-mail appears before the phone number.
  • You find yourself typing “com” after every period when using a word processor.com
  • You check your mail. It says “no new messages”. So you check it again.
  • You can perfectly imitate the sound pattern of your modem connecting to your ISP.
  • You can think of nineteen keystroke symbols that are far more clever than :-).
  • You are told about a new program, and you are disappointed to find that it is a TV program.
  • Not only do you check your email more often than your paper mail, but you remember your network address faster than your postal one.
  • You wake up at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom and stop to check your e-mail on the way back to bed.
  • Red is the winning colour!

    According to a study conducted at Durham Uni, UK of athletes in four Olympic sports (boxing, taekwondo, Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling) who are randomly assigned red or blue to wear, reds triumphed more in all four sports. The same holds true for football, as recorded in the Euro 2004 competition. But in case Jonny thinks Liverpool has a chance against AC Milan this Wednesday, one researcher also says “If you’re rubbish, a red shirt won’t stop you from losing”. Ah, so that explains it then. 😉

    Naivete

    Last night I was lying in bed reflecting on my first journey as an independent adult, flying to Moscow with my ears full of admonitions, and advice to be wary of strangers in the big bad world. I remember sitting in the airport when my plane was delayed, and approached by a friendly Scotsman carrying a mandolin, which he proceeded to play and sing along to beautifully, while in my head were contradictory thoughts; one of appreciation for his moving Celtic music, and another of keeping my money safe from him, because surely this stranger was out to rob it from me! I remembered this after reading my friend’s weblog today. I hope he/she doesn’t think I just copied the idea and added some cultural references to make it more interesting 😛

    A State of Mind

    This is the last stanza of the poem ‘Desert Places’ by Robert Frost-

    “They cannot scare me with their empty spaces
    Between stars – on stars where no human race is.
    I have it in me so much nearer home
    To scare myself with my own desert places.”

    I find in it a sentiment much akin but antipodean to Edward Dyer’s

    My mind to me a kingdom is;
    Such present joys therein I find,
    That it excels all other bliss
    That earth affords or grows by kind:
    Though much I want that most would have,
    Yet still my mind forbids to crave.”

    But negative or positive, I think Led Zeppelin sum it up in ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ with

    “I know that it’s all a state of mind” 🙂