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Glastonbury screw-upGlastonbury screw-upGlastonbury screw-up 04/09/2004 04:08 PM I went last year, I went the year before, I'm pretty sure I went the year before that, but this year I'm staying home. The muppets running the online ordering system apparently decided that a couple of Windows 2000 servers could handle 130,000 ticket sales in 24 hours. They got hit by 2,000,000 hits in the first five minutes. Admitedly, that's going to be tough for anything to handle (maybe it's a job for Google's super-platform) but after last year's 23 hour sell out anyone could have told them this year was going to be a whole lot tougher. This BBC article has plenty of stories that match my own. I tried persistently over the space of 12 hours, filled out the form multiple times, was repeatedly told the tickets were all sold out when I knew that they weren't and finally received a screen telling me I'd made it. The confirmation email never turned up. Bloody marvelous. I just hope they sort out a sane way of distributing the tickets for next year. This is a GrokNews Entry: (what is grok?)Glastonbury screw-upGrok Headline matches for Glastonbury screw-upThose trojans know how to screw.......Those trojans know how to screw....... 04/20/2004 02:00 PM up a perfectly running computer and make me waste three hours getting rid of the damn thing! What? You thought... Screw my neighbourScrew my neighbour 07/08/2004 04:09 AM
« Grotesques on the Pohjola buidling on Aleksanderinkatu. I call them Grimace and Chuckles though I'm sure they have proper names. People like to mess with them and you'll often see cigarette butts stuck in their mouths or, as in the photo, adorned with ice cream and gum. » One of the most incredibly frustrating things about trying to learn Finnish, aside from the folks who refuse to understand my Finnish and then gleefully exclaim how they can now practise their English on me, are the "Kysy naapurilta!" excercises in the classes. Ask my neighbour?! Ask my neighbour precisely what, motherfucker?! My neighbour could be anything from a clueless Brit whose pronunciation pains even me or some Karelian dude who is just slumming for easy credit and grammar. "Mikä on Helsingin paras disco?" the handout in class instructs my neighbour to ask me. Well, fuck, how in the hell am I supposed to know that? I haven't been to a disco since 1979! It's like the blind leading the blind when we ask each other the questions and then try to answer them in any reasonably close to correct fashion. The people who are advanced stick together in the front of the class and the slackers tend to hang in the back, hoping not to be noticed. Even among those who struggle there are castes since noone wants to get stuck with someone who knows less than you do and so when the "Kysy naapurilta!" directive comes, and it will each and every day, the classroom turns into a country square dance hall before beer has been served to help make everyone look attractive enough to dance with. I usually just want to hide in the corner at that point and hope that noone notices me. In fact, of the few times I skipped class over the past year, each and every time it was the horrific thought of having to converse with my neighbour that drove me away. I'd almost rather go to the dentist or maybe get my skull trepanned since, clearly, I need another hole in my head. There is a Finnish conversation class that is supposed to be on the schedule for the Fall term, but if it's just going to be a bunch of students and only one teacher/native speaker, fuck that as I can practise bad Finnish for free with my expat friends. I have met Finns whose English sucks, really sucks, and I've managed to patiently let them try since they're so enthusiastic and I somehow always get to be the English target practise, but in spite of the fact that I love my native tongue, why is it so hard to find Finns who are willing to suffer our bumbling attempts to speak the language without fear that we're going to look like idiots and answer our questions of verity without a blank stare? Snow Screw?Snow Screw? 06/05/2005 11:46 PM Check this
thing out: Screw You SwedenScrew You Sweden 05/15/2004 05:15 PM You destroyed our perfect 0 score. Why? Just because we are neighbours? Don’t bother next time, please….... How Apple is going to screw webl0ggers!How Apple is going to screw webl0ggers! 01/06/2005 04:47 AM Most of you should already know that Apple is suing several sites that are devoted Mac fans. They have decided that because someone either at Apple or a contractor is spreading juicy information to these sites, that they are going to sue them into telling who is giving them the information. If Think Secret decides to fight Apple I am going give them a donation to help them with their legal cost. Why would I do that, well how long will it be before someone passes me a juicy tip and I write about it and piss some company off. As has been mentioned around the blogsphere if this had been the New York Times or PC World they would not have touched them with a 10 foot pole. One thing I can do immediately is this, I will no longer purchase any iTunes music or purchase any sort of Apple product as a consumer I can also make a statment with my pocket-book. APPLE CEASE AND DESIST YOUR LAWSUITS AGAINST WEBLOGS! Screw You, Outlook 2003Screw You, Outlook 2003 12/02/2003 01:03 AM I can't stand it anymore; it's time to roll back to Outlook 2000 and pray to GOD IN THE HEAVENS ABOVE that someone keeps future versions of the PIM from going straight into the crapper for anybody not connecting to an Exchange server. If you rely on POP3 or IMAP, you'll be just as disappointed with the lame UI bugs and inconsistencies that plague Microsoft's latest client. Since I’m going to keep the rest of Office 2003 alive, it’s going to be quite a trick to downgrade midstream. I’ll have to figure out a way to export my PST so that I can make the leap backwards without causing too much of a fuss. Where the hell are you when the world needs a better program, Chandler?!... Why Established Businesses Screw UpWhy Established Businesses Screw Up 11/03/2003 08:23 PM I've been a longtime fan of Clayton Christensen's work and recommend it to plenty of people - though, it seems like many people misinterpret his writings. Still, he's now come out with a new book, The Innovator's Solution, which tries to follow the work of his original book describing why successful companies miss out on disruptive technologies. Fast Company is running an article summarizing Christensen's thoughts on why successful companies screw up, and how to prevent that from happening. He comes down especially hard on business school teachings (despite the fact that he teaches at a business school), saying that they're so focused on case studies of successful businesses, it creates managers who believe if they just mimic success stories, everything will turn out fine. While I agree with almost every one of his business points, I'm not sure I completely agree with this one. It seems that most business schools these days claim to be believers in Christensen's ideas - but they just do an awful job teaching them. People end up with the 30 second version of his ideas and miss the real meat. Still, the Fast Company piece does a pretty good job summarizing the overall thesis that basing plans on past data can be dangerous, since it ignores future innovations. Also, he points out that successful companies are drawn to higher end offerings where the margins increase, forgetting that they're opening up the bottom of the market for newer, more innovative and nimble suppliers to attack. In fact, Christensen has decided to put his money where his mouth is, and has started his own consulting firm that is designed to hit back against the McKinsey's and BCG's of the world by offering a much lower pricepoint for services. Screw you guys! I'm going to California!Screw you guys! I'm going to California! 08/05/2004 05:02 AM Right then! I'm off on holiday. If I get any free time, I'm going to try and polish off the rest of the New Musical Functionality series on the plane or in a café in San Francisco, but no promises, because frankly I need a bit of a break from all this web nonsense. Updates are likely to be sporadic in the meantime and when they occur are likely to be more chatty and journally than normal. Otherwise LA, San Francisco - California in general - here I come! Glastonbury is wetGlastonbury is wet 06/24/2005 04:48 PM Glastonbury this year is a bit< /a> wet Cricket: Vaughan to turn screwCricket: Vaughan to turn screw 07/27/2004 02:36 AM Michael Vaughan believes England have a "psychological edge" over West Indies after their win at Lord's. UK public wants ID cards, and thinks
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