If..Else Log

It's posts like this one which gives instructions on how to safely upgrade MT that make me glad that I went with WP¹.

There's a revealing comment by Elise further on in which she writes the following:

You can delete the old [backup] directory. But I wouldn't right away.
Problems and issues have a way of cropping up unexpectedly. I think I waited at least 6 months after my upgrade to MT3.2 before I deleted the earlier directory.

As Angie writes, whilst such posts are extremely useful, they shouldn't need to exist in this day and age. Software shouldn't be this difficult to use.

1. When I started this blog, the choice was basically down to a homegrown solution, WP or MT. In the end, I plumped for WP due to the ease with which I could use, modify and extend the system. [back]

Bad: Finding out that you've forgotten your house keys.
Worse: Finding out that you've forgotten your house keys only when you've made it back to front door after an hour long journey. With no-one else at home to let you in. And at around midnight. Yep, happened to me last night. Not amusing.

Good: Played in a poker tournament and received my first straight flush ever and to top it off, had it beat someone else who though they'd had the nuts. Still had a lot of work to do that but managed to finish in first place and win. It was a fairly low stakes game but a win's a win:)

Penetrating Wagner's Ring? Someone's clearly had fun evading the censors.

Reading on, it's clear that the readers has cottoned on and run with the joke with his review:

Despite it's massive appeal, each person can have their own, intimate experiences within and surrounding The Ring. Although the man himself is no longer with us, his Ring will remain in the memory of all those who have previously admired it. This book is a great tribute to the man and his Ring, delving into areas previously uncovered. The Ring has entertained me in times of sadness and joy - and can even cause me to brim over with inspiration […]

An excellent piece of work on Wagner's Ring, getting right to the bottom of this seminal work. To my mind, his writing is absolutely cock-on, and a great roadmap to anyone exploring the Ring for the first time.
Wagner's Ring, whilst large and expansive, exerts tight control over all who are prepared to delve in there, and this book really does give it that final polish.

*ahem*

Apparently, I write like a girl…

Inspired by an article in The New York Times Magazine, the Gender Genie uses a simplified version of an algorithm developed by Moshe Koppel, Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and Shlomo Argamon, Illinois Institute of Technology, to predict the gender of an author. Read more at nature.com.

Clearly, I need to write about sports more…
[via]

Someone at GM clearly flunked chemistry…

Who wants to be the first to tell them that the 2 in H₂O states that water has two hydrogen atoms¹?

1. And not, as implied by their picture, two oxygen atoms which is something totally different. [back]

Quite what the guys at Toshiba were thinking when they decided that sticking a monitor on your head was a good idea.

I've grabbed a screenshot of the story as Mainichi news didn't provide a decent permalink for the story.

Wallpapr helps you find a desktop wallpaper by retrieving suitable images from Flickr.

The next obvious step would be to write a tool which automatically finds and sets a new desktop paper each day for you.

Racketboy has a nice roundup of Dreamcast games that have stood the test of time¹.

Whilst the DC ended up being a commercial failure for Sega, it's a much loved console for gaming aficionados and lists like these are great for fans to catch up on missed classics². In case you're interested, my top 5 from that list are Ikaruga, Rez, Chu Chu Rocket, Bangai-O and Space Channel 5.

1. As an aside, I'm quite pleased to be able to say that I own all the games mentioned bar two. [back]
2. It's also worth mentioning that even with the games that have had sequels on other consoles, the DC originals are still superior to this day. In particular, the sequels to Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi had only a fraction of the charm of their predecessor. [back]

The difference between HD and DVD.

Seeing side by side (or top over bottom) comparisons such as this one help illustrate just how much of a leap High Definition video is; it's just a shame that, as with any edge technology, the sheer expense take away from the attractiveness of the product for most consumers.

The game that you can't beat… The US release of Bubble Bobble DS cannot be completed as Level 30 contains a boss battle with no boss.

How zen.