Posts from 2006

I am a fan of WordPress. I like their software. I like their humour.

I pay absolutely nothing for the service so I really cant complain when it breaks.

However, today is the second day I can't access my blog on WordPress.

Nothing on Technorati. Nothing on Digg. Nothing on tech.memeorandum. Nothing on TailRank. Nothing from those Wordpress 'A' listers, Scoble and Winer.

In fact, as I could see other people sporadically blogging on WordPress, my paranoia took hold and I started to wonder whether I was the only person in the entire blogosphere affected by this problem.

Then, finally, I read the following posting from Matt Mullenweg in the WordPress Support forum

We're shifting some things to address the problem, and there is new hardware and such coming online as soon as we can get it.

So, that's fine. An update from someone in the know although the phrase 'new hardware...when we can get it' makes me slightly uncomfortable and reaching for my Blogger details and the non-existent WordPress 'export' button.

Anyway, I am sure that when a spate of other high profile Web 2.0 companies (del.icio.us, Blogger, TypePad) had problems in December last year, the news was plastered all over Technorati and elsewhere.

So, are WordPress so fantastic and so powerful, that they are actually beyond reproach ?

Normally, when something isnt working, I get a little annoyed.

However, with WordPress, you just have to smile.

My old company used Exchange Server. I used to use Outlook for mail.

My new company uses IMAP. So now I can use Thunderbird for mail (news and RSS).

No more wasted time puzzling over why filter rules suddenly stop working.

No more wasted time messing around with proprietary PST files.

Fast, flexible, powerful search capability.

All my Outlook data imported seamlessly.

Small change, massive improvement.

Up by around 13,000 due to an arbitrary inbound link from the WordPress tags page

Day 202. Technorati Rank: 173,971 (29 links from 16 sites)

However, this may be the last in the very popular 'From Zero' series for two reasons:

1. I have exhausted all decent subject lines and puns starting 'From Zero'
2. Apart from creating a load of splogs or bribing people, I have exhausted all known avenues for inbound links

I may well now turn my attention to PubSub where my ranking is a much more satisfying 66,425 (InLinks 0, OutLinks 0, Entries 0) and I simply do not believe that hurtful person who told me PubSub only track a total of 66,426 blogs.

Some football fans change allegiance and cheer on other British clubs in Europe. I dont. Good bye, for another season, to the translator.

The Armstrongs is a BBC2 fly on the wall documentary about a small, family owned double glazing company in Coventry.

While this subject doesn't sound too inspiring, the program is absolutely hilarious. Last week, the husband and wife owners travelled to France in an attempt to diversify and increase dwindling sales.

Amazingly, they chose to translate their business proposition using Babelfish which may be adequate for children's homework but resulted in an unfortunate translation of 'conservatory' to 'music academy'. Consequently, the subtitles revealed that couple asked their French prospects:

'Are there a lot of music academies in France ?'

A van driver crashed into the bosses' expensive, prized Jaguar and then wisely chose to resign on the spot.

And we await with baited breath, the update on the young man who joined the company and immediately asked for time off to participate in the World Championships of Othello.

The following celebrities have graced my blog with the odd (in some cases, very odd) comment:

• Matt Mullenweg (WordPress)
• Dave Sifry (Technorati). Original post deleted as it was an unfounded criticism of Technorati (filed in the Bugs database under 'idiotic user')
• Stowe Boyd (Web 2.0 'A' lister)
• Thomas Kyte (Oracle)
• Paul Stamatiou (student extraordinaire)
• Doug Burns (roaming, humorous, loyal, Scottish Oracle DBA type)
• Norman Whiteside (MUFC)

One of these is a joke.

Thanks to Jeff Hunter kindly updating the link on his blogroll, this blog has awoken from a period of slumber.

Day 201. Technorati Rank: 187,013 (28 links from 15 sites)

Don't ask me why 3 links and 3 sites have been added (instead of 1) since the last update. Who am I to question the inner workings of Technorati ?

However, /Message is currently positioned at an impressive 4,586 (514 links from 269 sites) and Stowe Boyd's beaming face and black beret continue to taunt me so the struggle must go on.

I spurned my first few invitations to linkedin.com as I already get plenty of spam email.

However, I finally succumbed but now I am very fearful that someone, someday will receive the following endorsement from me so please, please don't ever connect to my network.

"Simply the best technical consultant, called Norman, who lives in Inverness, I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Mr. N. Brightside has an awesome and exceptional knowledge of PowerPoint internals. Definitely a member of my A-Team. PS. Always stands his round too which is also important."

One of the candidates on BBC2s The Apprentice is a management consultant. He was very keen and virtually begged to be allowed to do the sales pitch on this week's show.

'Please, let me do the pitch. This is what I do. I am world class. There is no-one better.'

And then, in his sharp suit and with his short haircut, he opened his stilted, stuttering, unrehearsed, nerve-ridden pitch to various hard nosed businessmen (about a charity calendar for Great Ormond Street Hospital) with the immortal words.

'Now, please, forgive me if I get a little emotional...'

And all over Britain, the viewing audience cringed with the exception of management consultants everywhere, who exclaimed:

'Oh my God. This guy is simply appalling. I could do so much better. He's not even using Powerpoint. And another thing, just look at that tie.'