Having being born in August 1984 I fall squarely in the year of the rat (a wood rat to be precise) according to the Chinese lunar calendar. A single cycle takes 12 years to complete and with the 2008 lunar year just beginning we’ve now moved into the year of the rat which, according to superstition, will be particularly unlucky for yours truly (good thing I’m not superstitious!).
I find Wikipedia’s definition of rat people attributes particularly amusing:
“Being the first sign of the Chinese zodiacs, rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the twelve signs. Intelligent and cunning at the same time, rats are highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agendas, which often include money and power…
Behind the smiles and charm, rats can be terribly obstinate and controlling, insisting on having things their way no matter what the cost. These people tend to have immense control of their emotions, which they may use as a tool to manipulate and exploit others, both emotionally and mentally. Rats are masters of mind games and can be very dangerous, calculative and downright cruel if the need arises. Quick-tempered and aggressive, they will not think twice about exacting revenge on those that hurt them in any way. Rats need to learn to relax sometimes, as they can be quite obsessed with detail, intolerant and strict, demanding order, obedience, and perfection.”
Perhaps there is something in all this nonsense after all?! I found the last point particularly apt!
If you follow the various social news networks (Digg, Reddit etc.) then you will probably have read about the “war” being waged online against a certain creepy cult (evangelised by an equally creepy actor) by a loosely organised group called Anonymous. What really stood out for me is their rather effective “press releases” on YouTube. Complete with monotone computerized voice, ominous rolling clouds and militaristic soundtrack these guys certainly know how to set the tone:
Awesome. Part 2 here. Good luck with exposing the cult for what it is.
Last year when I was living/traveling in China and South Korea I noticed that The North Face outdoor clothing & equipment brand appeared to be particularly popular and that there seemed to be many shiny-looking new stores all over the place (usually in the more expensive shopping malls). The same now seems to be happening in the UK this winter with North Face apparel definitely in fashion (not something I would know anything about mind you!).
A quick google confirms that rapid expansion is afoot and it appears to be crossing the boundary from being a niche brand you might find in outdoor/camping shops to one you find in department stores and individual retail outlets. No doubt you’ll soon be seeing North Face watches, aftershave, and all manor of other miscellanea! I find it interesting to see how many brands try to make this transition but whether there is longevity to this approach I don’t know. After their popularity peaks some continue to do well whilst others fade away. For any business constantly staying on the edge of the supply and demand balance is crucial to their success and in the case of such a global name the logistics of this is no easy task…
The stock of VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC), the company which owns The North Face (amongst many other well recognised brands), seems to be on a downwards turn at the moment but hopefully people will by enough NF gear to survive the bad weather! Personally I think their products are very good, whilst its definitely on the expensive side, it’s usually well made, lasts a long time, and looks the part.
With 2007 coming to an end I thought it would be a good time for a little reflection on the year that saw me spend almost 1/3 of it abroad in foreign lands and when Skype went down RandomWire went up. The year has flown past at incredible speed so goodness knows what 2008 will hold but fingers crossed there will be more adventures abound in my 6th year of blogging (I can’t quite believe its been that long since this all began!).
Here are the top 10 statistically most popular posts of 2007:
I had a stab at redesigning the blog earlier in the year but everything I tried ended up looking worse than what was there before so I’ve abandoned that idea for now. My feeling is that more minimalist is the way to go, all these widgets popping up all over the place are generally annoying fuzz in my opinion. Seeing as an increasing number of people are choosing to consume information through RSS the actual design is, in some respects, becoming less important as most people will never see it anyway. As ever content is king and this is something I hope to focus more on in 2008 (time permitting) with more in-depth posts on various topics interesting to me. Check back Jan 1st for the beginning of this
Last week was pretty busy with work and it looks set to be fairly hectic till the end of the year, which for me ends December 14th due to all the vacation days I have left! In the week directly before Christmas I’ve planned a short trip to Amsterdam for a couple of days - I last went their when I was 14 (9 years ago) so it will be nice to see it again and hopefully take the camera through its paces.
Recently I was helping giving my uncle some advice about buying a new computer - he showed one particular model he was looking at and I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw the operating system options:
Yep, that’s right you can “upgrade” to Windows XP from Vista for £50! I think that says it all with regards to how well received Vista has been. I have Vista on my work laptop but have just about had enough of its sluggishness and unnecessary eye-candy - I’ll be downgrading to XP or upgrading to Ubuntu as soon as I have time.
On an unrelated note, an interesting article in the NY Times:
“South Korea boasts of being the most wired nation on earth. In fact, perhaps no other country has so fully embraced the Internet. Ninety percent of homes connect to cheap, high-speed broadband, online gaming is a professional sport, and social life for the young revolves around the “PC bangâ€, dim Internet parlors that sit on practically every street corner…”
Unsurprisingly many young people in South Korea have developed an acute problem with Internet addiction, with people literally dropping dead from exhaustion, which has led the government to set up an “Internet Rescue Camp” as well as 100’s of counsellors and treatment programs. It’s an interesting reflection on the impact that the technological revolution has had on those on the cutting edge and you can be sure it’ll be the same in the west in less than a decade. Maybe there is something in being an analogue person…
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