I have experimented with many different RSS readers in the past. However, in recent months, nothing has managed to dislodge NetVibes as my preferred feed reader.
However, I still occasionally use Google Reader and like the recent addition of detailed statistics about your RSS subscriptions and reading habits.
Matt Cutts posts an example of his own data and Robert Scoble also likes the new features.
Occasionally, I have been tempted to experiment with Google Adsense on this blog. Not because I think I will get rich and be able to retire but I am curious to see how the technology works. Thankfully, to date, laziness, inertia and minimalist tendencies have prevailed.
So I was very interested to read Guy Kawasaki's 12 month review of his popular blog. 'How To Change The World' received 2.5 million page views (slightly more than my humble blog), 7,000 comments (again, slightly more than my statistics) and 2,000 trackbacks (1,999 more than me) in 2006.
For all this effort, I was staggered to learn that this blog, with 4,217 inbound links, 21,000 subscribers and which consistently features in the Technorati Top 100, earned Guy Kawasaki the princely sum of $3,350.
My. How times change. In my day, the philosophy was simple:
But no. I have now finally discovered the true Oracle Contractors Philosophy.
Americans see nothing but gloom and doom on the horizon in 2007.
No hang on - wait a minute. From the same poll, Americans are optimistic and hopeful for the coming year.
I just hope and pray that I don't have to set foot inside a furniture store (or worse, Ikea) in 2007.
Hung from the gallows and simultaneously shot from a camera phone.
Cousin John called with best wishes for the New Year and just wanted to mention the Billy Connolly double CD. He was absolutely delighted with this thoughtful gift and was looking forward immensely to listening to it in the car.
I graciously accepted his thanks and reciprocated by thanking him for my M&S Men's Grooming Set complete with black leather carry case. I assured him that when we next meet, my nasal hair will be trimmed, my bushy eyebrows will no longer meet in the middle and my ears will be fluff-free.
Then he went and spoiled it by claiming 'Just one small problem, Norman. There were no actual CD's inside the case.' He kindly offered to send the empty case back so once again, I am condemned to make the trek into town, fighting with all the bargain hunters, to stand in a refund queue that spans 0.8 miles and requires external (armed) security guards to police.
As an interim measure, I asked him whether he could just enjoy the liner notes and look at the photographs until I manage to resolve the problem.
Norma was horrified. She immediately asked me to call Uncle Robert (lucky recipient of Tony Hancock's Half Hour audio CD). Unfortunately, Uncle Robert also ripped off the wrapping and expectantly opened the CD only to find an empty jewel case with a mysterious note attached: 'More in cupboard.'. He duly went to the cupboard but didn't find any CD's.
I told him this CD captured Hancock's greatest and most surreal work; the ultimate in silent comedy rather than a sick joke by us.
Regularly refreshing Oracle statistics on all tables, indexes and column histograms flushes the shared pool and can occasionally lead to some unexpected and unpleasant surprises.
Thankfully, Oracle 10g automatically maintains 31 days of statistics history which means it is trivial to revert to a previous set in order to restore service to the production environment while you investigate further.
A perfectly valid strategy for statistics gathering is to gather, test, validate, save and leave well alone.
select dbms_stats.get_stats_history_retention from dual;
GET_STATS_HISTORY_RETENTION
---------------------------
31
select dbms_stats.get_stats_history_availability from dual;
GET_STATS_HISTORY_AVAILABILITY
------------------------------
14-NOV-06 10.26.57.421000000 AM +00:00
begin
dbms_stats.restore_schema_stats
(ownname => 'SIEBEL',
as_of_timestamp => trunc(sysdate)-7)
end;
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
Sorry Sir but I havent done my homework because I have really bad stomach ache.
How the big clubs approach the problem...
Manchester United - Alex Ferguson chooses to invite Jose Mourinho to the boardroom to share a bottle of expensive Portuguese wine. Pointedly applaud United fans who chant 'Your coat's from Matalan' on the way to the tunnel. Then shut up and assemble a team that actually looks capable of challenging Chelsea.
Liverpool - Appeal to the House of Lords, the Citizen's Advice Bureau and the European Court of Human Rights after Mourinho has the audacity and bare faced cheek to put his finger to his mouth after a Chelsea goal in the Carling Cup Final. Hold a annual 5 minute silence at Anfield for all those fans suffering post traumatic stress disorder as a consequence.
Arsenal - Arsene Wenger is so busy abusing match officials and getting embroiled in fisticuffs with small-time managers of small-time clubs, he forgets all about the mind games. Go to the back of the class.
Everton - Take legal advice after Mourinho accuses your centre forward of falling over a little too easily. Go running to your mummy in tears when this fails and everyone laughs at you.