Ironic, isn't it?

That the last post was the one to get the most number of comments so far (that I can remember, at any rate). Perhaps I ought write such posts more often, since they appear to have such mass appeal. ;) I actually spent all of ten seconds pondering why that might be, then decided that it was probably due to "Big Brother" syndrome; we love to watch and partake in conflict of any kind, no matter how mundane, especially if it's people wailing at one another. At least, that was my conclusion to "Why do people watch Big Brother?" But, as they say, that's another story for another time.

So, another fortnight later (or thereabouts) and I'm back with another post. Will this become my new posting schedule? I don't know, but I wouldn't bet my lunch on it. Anyhoo, I'm still busy as ever, between my thesis and other distractions (like a certain box with an "X" on it, plus my leisure reading). In fact, between those two, I've barely had any time to spend online at all. Which means I haven't been checking anyone's blogs out lately, and for that I apologise. I'll try to catch up when this pesky business of graduating with a degree is over and done with.

Anyhoo, I was bored with looking at spreadsheets and all that typing stuff that seem to largely be what writing a thesis is about, so here I am with a response to the responses of the previous post. Now that I look back, it doesn't even seem to be as harsh as I remember. Must be getting old. :-/

Anonymous (1st Comment):
Thanks for your kind words, and good luck to you as well.

Ryan:
I did know you were joking, and still do, but truth be told, the joke kind of wore thin after the first dozen times you used it. Like I said, I'd like to think I'm not normally like that. I guess the comment was just ill-timed, and you can hardly be blamed for that. I'm sorry for the outburst, but I still mean what I said. Needless to say, I think no less of you as a friend, and hope you feel the same way.

T:
Thanks for your repeated encouragement over the years; I've always cherished your kind words and advice, and still have fond memories of when we used to hang on the boards. Perhaps someday I'll find my way back. :)

Dave:
You'll always be an asshole, but you know you'll always be our asshole. And that's all I'm saying. ;)

Anonymous (5th comment)/rahm emanuel:
Of course I care what others think; few are the ones who can honestly claim otherwise, and I'm afraid I'm not as wise as that. As far as I can see, I never even claimed not to care; I said I don't give a shit, which is different. What I was reminded is I don't have to care. I don't want to bore my friends with another spiel about the philosophy of choice, but to summarise it, I do care about what others think, but I have been reminded that I can choose not to be bothered by it.

In any case, you appear to have missed the point of the last post, which was not a statement of my disregard of how others viewed me, but a rant about being angry that crappy comments started coming when I was merely absent for a while. No less immature, I'll grant you, but a different point all the same.

Xinhui:
This, in many ways, was the comment that troubled me the most. Firstly, to ask what has happened to me is to suggest that you know me personally. Now, I'm extremely sorry, but I can't seem to place your name anywhere (assuming you're not using a pseudonym). I'm apologise if this happens to give offence, but I can't, for the life of me, recall your name. If you truly know me, there are only a few ways you could know my blog address and doubtless you are able to contact me. Please do.

Also, to ask what has happened to me is to suggest I have changed in some form from what you remember. This is no surprise, since we change all the time, but the tone suggests this change has been for the worse (good and bad being, of course, arguable concepts at best). Unfortunately, being unable to place your name means I am unable to understand which me you are referring I have changed from. I am very interested in what you may observe to have changed for the worse (from your point of view). Once again, please feel free to contact me.

Additionally you state that "its probably the only entry he has posted with material that hasnt been rehashed from some other website or newsfeed". Seeing as how this was meant to be a log of tech news and happenings that interest me, I don't quite see a better way I should have gone about doing this. I certainly was never personally on hand at any of the press conferences, and have no way of reporting directly from them. Most of the reports say largely the same thing anyway. What I do try to accomplish, though, is to highlight happenings that I feel are of interest, and to gather the various reports and opinions about each issue (sometimes adding my own) and form them in a way I hope is cohesive and easy to comprehend. Of course, I also try to keep with factual reporting and present as balanced a view as I can manage. Once again, if you feel there is a better way to be doing this, please do let me know and I promise to consider any constructive suggestions carefully.

I don't have a day job, by the way. Not one I'm paid for, anyway. ;)

To cap off this already long post, I apologise to the few of you who may possibly be checking in on a regular basis. I understand the frustrations of going to a site and realising it hasn't been updated recently (not really, but I try to). To these few friends, I would like to suggest trying out a feed reader. Wikipedia has a good explanation of what it is, as well as a comprehensive list of the ones available. If the list is too long (or confusing), I use and recommend Thunderbird (if you use an email client as well) and Google Desktop (for simplicity of use. No advanced features though). Alternatively, you may prefer to try the various web-based ones available.

To add a blogspot blog, simply enter the url of the blog with "atom.xml" at the end. For example, mine is http://scottsnow.blogspot.com/atom.xml.