Blag

Bleurgh. As you may or may not know, I hate social networking with a passion.

(I think I posted on this a while ago. Did I? Yes I did. I did so here!)

It eats into people’s lives, cutting them off from reality, breaking up relationships, running up huge phone and Internet bills and so on, not to mention the fact that once it’s posted, it’s out there for the world to see. Now throw in online predators, e-mail harvesting by SPAM bots, the 101 trojans and phishing scams that seem to plague Facebook and MySpace and you might begin to understand why people might be better off without it.

Actually, as a side note, I read in a user survey that there is actually a demographic rift between MySpace and Facebook users. (Damnit, lost that URL ) Apparently, all the educated White people are moving to Facebook, whereas MySpace has now become a trashy ghetto. Where that leaves the Asian, European and Middle Eastern people, I’m not quite sure. Well, I do have SOME idea – Asians have their own non-English forums and Web 2.0 SN websites, Europeans have their own ripoffs of Facebook written in gobbledygook, and the Internet is the tool of the devil used to disseminate vile pornography (according to the crackpot clerics anyway) so that leaves out most of the Middle East. And yes, I hate political correctness. And no, I will not make any attempt to censor myself, not for the sake of sheltered children nor radical far left Christians nutters either.

Side Note #2 – I hate you Fred Nile. You too, Stephen Conroy. May you rot in hell for eternity Fred Phelps.

Back on topic though. The idea of social networking DOES make sense, if you ignore the ego-flapping wars of “who has more friends on Facebook” and “I have more followers than you on Twitter”.

Speaking of Twitter – ce qui donne?

What’s the point of Twitter? According to it’s home page:

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Of everyone I’ve asked (about 9), no one seems to comprehend the purpose of its existence. Of all the Twitter accounts I’ve ever looked at, all but 2 were utterly boring.

“OMG woke up and it was raining”

“my dog shit the carpet againz”

“lol, gonan go eat brekky now”

“Awesome, saw a new ad for Hershey’s ice cream”

lolwut? Stream of consciousness brain feeds delivered straight to the web? Most of the tweets I’ve seen aren’t even properly formed sentences. My mind is boggled – how can people be hooked onto such mindless jibber-jabber? Twitter IS mainly used by our Yankee counterparts, so that does explain it’s popularity…

The concept of micro-blogging does seem intriguing though – handy for when you can’t be bothered writing out a full article, or when you’ve got a funny video/pic to share.

*grumble grumble* #rant# <anger> RAWR! </anger>

Sigh… I need to get a Facebook for uni…

May as well start now. (Or however long I can procrastinate it.) *accepts invitation to join the dark side*

Mate of mine sent me this photo he took back at World Youth Day 2008. Photo was taken at a school, which had been turned into temporary accommodation for the pilgrims.

I’m guessing no firefighters came across this…

OH&S inspectors anyone?

It’s massive! It’s as attractive as the fecal matter ejected from the rear end of an elephant! What a monstrous…

Oh wait, he’s just wearing a NV Smart Phone wristwatch.

The nicest looking two in the range?

NV touts it as the latest in mobile phone technology. Sleek, sexy, functional (insert marketting waffle here). And in 10-20 years, it shall replace the traditional large screen mobile phone. The NV Smart phones aren’t cheap – they range from $399 to $999 AUD and come with a  1 year warranty. Good thing they come with a butload of extras – USB cable, headphones, bluetooth headset, 2 batteries as the iPhone looks much more attractive. The extras still don’t compensate for the tiny screen, pathetic battery life and the fact you look like a complete tool walking around with talking to your wrist. I can see lawsuits coming up here…

So not only do we have snobs walking around talking seemingly to nobody (read bluetooth headsets), we can now talk to our wrists!

Oh yes, all these phones are sourced direct from the sweatshops of China and rebranded. But wait! There’s more!

Models include -

• Motch
• Sports Pro
• Smart Watch

which all come in various colors. NV also produce “tranditional” mobile phones with the -

• Executive – 1:1 rip off of the iPhone in gold bling coloring
• Lifestyle – Samsung anyone?
• Multimedia Phone – PDA wannabe

The only thing going for their traditional phones is the ability to use 2 SIM cards. They do include standard features though – camera, mp3, mms, expandable storage, bluetooth etc).

As for NV’s website…

The website is entirely flash, hence the semi-retarded screenshot.

Whoever designed the website is useless f***wit. It’s entirely in flash and the streaking comets in the background are annoying. What’s interesting, is that the store locator tells you that the phone actually isn’t available for sale anywhere in Australia yet – probably because most retailers are smart enough to realise only rich bitches and only the most hardcore impulse buyers would even come within a 2KM radius of their products. As far as I can tell, the phone sells purely on the bling/novelty factor.

The company profile is complete waffle, the FAQs are an amusing read, and the “investment opportunities”… well, I’m not sure about that really, as they’re not ASX listed as far as I can tell? Site map doesnt work, and their environmental policy is a pathetic attempt at jumping on the green bandwagon.

Check it out: http://nvphones.com.au/ and CNET Australia’s dubious review http://www.cnet.com.au/mobilephones/phones/0,239025953,339294659,00.htm

*cheezy grin*

Have some piccies (click to enlarge):

I didn't want to pay $30 for a new phone charger after my chair ate the cable

The Great Wall of Nortons! (Hey, a lot of them were dirt cheap or free)

The cheap way to board up a fireplace, but more importantly, I have found a use for the box of 32 CFL's! (white boxes)

I love pumpkins... especially when you receive them as Christmas presents

Hmmm…

My beloved padded chair/step ladder thingy has claimed another victim – my mobile charger.

Cables seem to be sexually attracted to the chairs legs, as I often find them underneath the chair’s feet, in the process of being mangled. Victims as of 29/12/08:

• 2x Telephone cables
• 3x 10A 240V extension cables
• 1x Nokia phone charger lead
• 1x Headphones (well the left earbud anyway)
• 1x Hairdryer power cord
• 1x Paper shredder power cord

Time to fit foam padding to the feet?