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Wow! I totally missed the anniversary date (March 21, 2000), but this website is now 10 years old! Ten years and 225 posts later, this blog has been neglected of late in favour of my web development business's blog, but I still like to come back from time to time to post something off-topic or to read over my past posts and remember. (I'm a sucker for nostalgia, remember?)
Anyway, I don't really have anything else constructive to add at the moment. I really just wanted to mark the occasion, but lets see what else has been happening lately with me...
Hmmm...
See you next year, I guess... :-) |
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I've always been a bit wary about "The Secret", the same way I'm wary about psychics and mediums. Many people are sold on the idea based on some kind of silver-bullet or magic-wand notion that it's going to make them feel good or change their lives forever.
While I personally believe that psychics and the supernatural like are a load of old bunk, I can understand the reasons and the value placed on them by those that who do believe, such as grieving relatives looking for closure after the passing of a loved one. What makes me angry are those that prey on the weak minded, giving false hope instead of comfort and closure with the aim of extracting more money, but that is a rant for anther day.
Unlike psychics, I have no doubt that The Secret can work, but not in the way that the author and her publisher would have you believe. While it may work, that doesn't mean it will work. It's not like some kind of magic switch, in fact, there's nothing spiritual, mystical or phantasmagorical about it. There's no Jedi force, glowing auras, harmonic resonance or any phoney "Law of Attraction" at work here. It basically boils down to one basic truth.
Your chance at being successful at something increases exponentially the more passionate you are about it.
I'm not talking about a casual hobby or a passing interest. I mean an all-consuming passion for the subject where you can work so hard on achieving your goals but you're so focussed that it doesn't feel like work. Look at the successful people throughout history. They weren't bestowed with phenomenal cosmic powers or share some ancient powerful secret. Their success came from their passion, their will to see it through, and the hard work that went along with it.
I'm a web guy. It's not just what I do; it's who I am. I'm always being approached by people with the idea for the "next big thing", even having to sign the odd NDA or No-compete Clause. You know how it always ends?
- I build out the project on spec, on time and on budget.
- The client sits back rubbing their hands together, waiting for the money to come in.
- The website is left to stagnate, usually closing within 2 years, rarely turning a profit.
I swear, it's like South Park's Underpants Gnomes every time.
You can have the best idea in the world, the best plan, the best execution, but I guarantee you will be beaten by someone who wants it more and will work harder. I can also guarantee you will fail without the correctly channelled enthusiasm required to see your plan through to success.
That's not magic. It's what's called "applying yourself".
I'm not up on a soap-box here. I'm not entertaining any ideas of becoming a motivational speaker and I'm certainly not telling people anything they don't already know.
I just think it's worth reminding ourselves that you don't need to spend your hard-earned money to have Oprah or anyone else tell you what you already know about life and living. |
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| Posted by a very whimsical MadDog
on Thursday March 25, 2010 at 9:51:51 PM - 0 comments |
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It seems I only update this blog on an annual basis now, so without further ado, my favourite points from this year's 100 things we didn't know last year.
11. Naked rambling is legal in Switzerland.
29. Parts of cremated bodies are recycled.
61. Trousers used to be called unmentionables.
71. You're as likely to be hit by lightning as killed by a mentally ill person.
98. French babies cry with an accent.
See you next year! |
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| Posted by a very fluffy MadDog
on Tuesday January 26, 2010 at 9:16:27 AM - 0 comments |
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Now, I've been on the internet a long time, and I thought I'd already sought out or otherwise stumbled across every single skerrick of nostalgia from my childhood, but just now I hit upon a trifecta of forgotten memories. Primary school television in the 80s was awesome! |
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| Posted by a very nostalgic MadDog
on Thursday January 8, 2009 at 9:47:14 PM - 0 comments |
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Nothing major at this point. Changes are in the works (as this 5-year-old, table-ridden layout makes me want to spew), but at this point, I've just done a quick tidy up of the links to the left and merged the Baby Blog with the regular one. I've also dusted off the old webcam (well actually, the old webcam has been retired due to a lack of Vista drivers — I'm now using a Sony EyeToy with hacked drivers. Does that give me extra geek cred?) in an attempt to reclaim page one of the PA Cams with my good buddy Jerz. |
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| Posted by a very hot MadDog
on Monday February 19, 2007 at 9:17:49 PM - 0 comments |
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I sit alone in my study, staring gloomily at my internet banking screen having just completed a $1,500 transaction to pay my annual council rates. Gracie walks in chirping "I've got a surprise for you!".
"Meh..." I reply, still staring at my screen. "I feel like I've just been kicked in the nuts..."
"Here. This will make you feel better."
I turn around to find Gracie holding out a big bowl of ice cream for me.
"You're right. That's just what I need.", I say as I take the bowl and rest it on the affected area. |
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| Posted by a very woozy MadDog
on Monday February 5, 2007 at 9:08:35 PM - 0 comments |
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Yes, I know it's a damn shame that here we are in 2007, and I still have 2005 posts on my front page. Technology analysts say there are 200 million blogs which are no longer being updated. I'd hate to be yet another statistic, so consider this an update.
The fact above came from BBC's 2006 list of 100 things we didn't know last year, as per last year's list which *cough* you can see further on down this page. So without further ado, here are my faves from this year's list:
7. The lion costume in the film Wizard of Oz was made from real lions.
30. The brain is soft and gelatinous - its consistency is something between jelly and cooked pasta. (Yummy!)
33. Eating a packet of crisps a day is equivalent to drinking five litres of cooking oil a year.
49. When filming summer scenes in winter, actors suck on ice cubes just before the camera rolls - it cools their mouths so their breath doesn't condense in the cold air.
59. Dogs with harelips can end up with two noses.
68. The egg came first.
92. In a fight between a polar bear and a lion, the polar bear would win.
100. In the 1960s, the CIA used to watch Mission Impossible to get ideas about spying. |
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| Posted by a very jolly MadDog
on Monday January 1, 2007 at 2:40:58 PM - 0 comments |
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I'd often heard the sad stories of other blog authors battling with comment spam. I thought to myself "That doesn't seem to happen to me. I guess it just happens to the popular blogs. You know, with actual visitors?".
Imaging my surprise when I discovered that Planet MadDog had received over 14,000 comments in the past 4 months, mostly advertising online casinos and viagra.
Well, after a marathon database editing session, all of the junk seems to be gone now. Before filtering out all of the junk, the database for this website was 165MB. After filtering: 3.6MB. Unfortunately, until I can implement some kind of CAPTCHA system for comments, I'll have to disable comments for now. Sorry. |
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I've been interested in innovation lately. I really need to get a link-roll...
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 Tonight, I found myself at a defining moment.
Let me tell you one thing. I love nostalgia. I absolutely love discussing, or even better, watching something that I haven't seen since my childhood. Case in point: tonight, I sat in my comfy armchair recliner, with Amy in my lap, watching a DVD of Astroboy. Not fancy-pants neo Astro, no, but OMG its 80's Astro, with the Atlas storyline and the whole Goliath plot. I'd recieved the Astroboy DVD's for Christmas a year or two ago, but hadn't watched them until tonight. The end credits with the flip-book animation and the wacky amateur singing brought back a flood of memories from my very early days, and almost (I said almost ) a tear to my eye.
I remember the exact time in my life when I realised that my generation had ended and the next had begun. That was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (closely followed by Pokémon). I just didn't get it. I thought to myself "If this is what they think is going to replace Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as the 'next big thing', then forget it. I dont wan't any part of it". The era of Saturday morning cartoons was over.
Fast-forward to the Internet era (which for me was around 1995-1996, not counting BBS-based dialup-services) and the realisation that people all round the world, just like me, were reminiscing of their glory days. Remembering playing the latest Megaman/Alex Kidd/Creatures game on the NES/SMS/C64. Rembering that kick-ass episode of Danger Mouse/Monkey Magic/Degrassi Junior High. Remembering what I was doing when I first heard that Guns'n'Roses/Starship/Crowded House song. The Internet was full of memories. When a good friend ordered a copy of the Mysterious Cities of Gold on VHS from a collector, I knew that the Internet was truly the greatest invention known to man. Up until this point, I'd always wanted to grow up to be on TV (the greatest invention known to man, until then).
Which brings to to my current predicament. I'm sure that, no doubt, the Internet can help me relive nearly all of my mainstream childhood memories. What worries me is that I have more years ahead of me than I do behind me. Should I go full-on and soak up as much nostalgia as I can? Should I portion it out in digenstable chunks so as to increase the happiness effect? What if I run out of cool nostalgia in the next couple of years? Then what will I do? WHAT WILL I DOOOOOOO!!!?!?!??
For all of you children of the 80's, knock yourself out! |
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| Posted by a very nostalgic MadDog
on Friday May 5, 2006 at 8:18:14 PM - 0 comments |
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