The "Slashdot effect" and "Going Viral" on the small scale.

Anyone who has been on the Interwebz for a while has probably come across the Slashdot Effect at some point. For those who haven't, it's basically when a whole bunch of people suddenly find out about something really cool or interesting online, and all of a sudden nearly everyone in the world seems to visit a particular website on the same day. So much so that it has been known to close down systems that can't handle the overload of people trying to all get onto the same web server. While certainly not on the scale of such global anarchy as I have just described, I've noticed my own little micro-"viral effect" occurring whenever I post a really well received answer to a question on one of my favorite Q/A sites.

My wife appears to be Novak Djokovic's girlfriend!!!

I'm sitting in front of the TV a couple of nights ago, and I'm watching the Australian Open tennis.  OK, so I've never really been into the tennis.  I'm not the sort of person to become a "fan" of a particular team or player, and I don't really watch a lot of sports. It's my wife's fault really that I've been watching so much tennis, and I've found myself getting a little hooked.  There, I've admitted to it. It started with the 2011 Australian Open, and while I haven't watched any tennis in the whole year since, when the 2012 Australian Open started, I found myself drawn to the TV, and then glued as I've watched the likes of Djokovic, Murray, Nadal, and Federer dazzling us with great displays of strength, stamina, agility, and finesse. As I type this in, I'm watching the Semi-final between Djokovic and Murray,  It's been a grueling 3 hours, and the 3rd set is locked at 5-5 with Djokovic serving.

The tennis has been very entertaining.  I'm looking forward to seeing Nadal in the final, because his energy is infectious, and I keep finding myself in awe of his ability to get to the ball no matter where he and the ball are on the court.  Yet with all of the really great tennis that's being played, I find myself waiting for the camera to do it's pans of the crowd, and in particular when the camera switches to the player's guest seating to show the reactions of the coaches, and girlfriends, and other hangers on.  For me though, I've been having the most fun when Djokivic's girlfriend (Jelena Ristic) appears.

Bad Parenting and Selfish People

I went for a walk a couple of evenings ago with my wife. As couples often do we were strolling along slowly, enjoying the hot summer evening air and chatting about the little things.  It was about 7:30pm and while the traffic was reasonably light, there can be times when we get a lot of cars moving through our neighborhood so we usually try and walk through the quieter streets, being nosy and looking into peoples gardens for interesting plants and ideas. Naturally to get to these quieter streets we usually need to follow a path that takes us through some of the heavier traffic areas, and at that time of night, you have a lot of people out and about in their cars, visiting friends, returning with their groceries, or just going about other business.  So it was with some surprise that my wife noticed a very small child in a driveway across the road and (due to the heat) completely naked.

I have a Gripe...

I read in the news recently about an Indonesian man who was convicted on a People Smuggling charge and given a mandatory sentence of 5 years.  The news article went into detail about how not only the Judge imposing the sentence thinks it is unjust, but also how the courts have no discretion in order to be able to take into account an individual's personal circumstances when sentencing people. This is of course not the first time that Australian law has included mandatory sentencing.

Dentists and dancing with the stars

I'm rapidly typing in this entry from the office of a dentist that I've decided to try out. It's been several years since my last dental appointment, due mostly to the other guy being a real prick when it cones to dealing with his patients. This wad a guy who must have taken the 301 course in oral torture techniques, and wouldn't listen to anything I said to him. So, out with the old and here I am waiting for my mouth to be poked and prodded by someone new. Hopefully this new guy turns out to be ok. I hate shopping around for competent people... Hopefully my search ends here.

Speaking of competent people, yesterday I went ice skating with my wife and kids, and met a young lady at the skate center who in only 5 minutes, changed me from a hopelessly unbalanced ice clown, to a confident n00b. Sure my feet still hurt, and I lacked the grace of a Disney On Ice dancer, but I could skate!! Lots of fun for my better half and me, and even the kids showed a huge improvement. I love it when someone has the ability in a handful of succinct comments to effect great change in a person, or in a person's abilities.

Contemplating the great unknown

Last Wednesday, I attended the funeral service of my uncle, who passed away only a few days before after succumbing to cancer. Ok, for those you might be sticklers for technicalities, he is technically my 1st Cousin once removed (see this Wikipedia article for an explanation), but as families go his family was very close to my mother's from her earliest memories, and my brothers and I have always considered him to be an uncle. I was quite sad to hear he had an inoperable condition, and saddened even more to hear how quickly the cancer moved in to rob him of is vitality. I was glad to hear that my uncle had put up a good fight, and with the greatest of care, love and support from those closest to him, he managed to live much longer than doctors would have given him credit for.

While I am saddened at the thought of the pain his wife and children will be feeling as a result of his passing, I cannot help but feel glad for him that there is now an end to his pain, and that after living the life of good and decent human being, that he had a chance to make his goodbyes and to pass on to whatever may come next.

Another day when nature fascinates me

Today I found myself once again fascinated by nature and the incredible creatures which exist in our own back yards.

Ok... quick diversion to a minor point of technicality, it was yesterday, but as I find myself still awake at 12:30 in the morning, I'm sure you can forgive my moment of temporal displacement... where was I?

Right, so I was about to feed my cat when I noticed out the window that there was a wasp, and it was just putting the finishing touches of it's little death moves against this rather largish spider.  I should probably show you a photo at this point...