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Lorelle is getting a little vexed about the the precise semantics and usage of tags and categories.

I must confess this isn't a subject that keeps me awake at night although I do agree that the WordPress category list tends to get a little verbose with all those pesky tags.

However, due to circumstances outside my control, I have just had to endure some pain and wasted time converting Outlook Tasks and Contacts to use a flat structure with 'Categories' (rather than my previous folder structure Contacts-Personal, Contacts-Work etc etc). Forgive me, Father. I do not know what I was thinking of.

This is OK but it does mean that when I actually finish something I now have to reassign the category to 'Done' instead of the incredibly satisfying feeling of dragging the Task and dropping it down onto the 'Done' folder.

Maybe Lorelle should tell Scoble that Microsoft Outlook is using the term 'Categories' when they really mean 'Tags'. Shock, horror.

I understand that an individual Contact may fall into several categories - 'Friend', 'Personal' and 'Work' but part of me still thinks in hierarchies.

When I create a directory, I normally have to think about the parent directory so my brain is forced to think 'hierarchy'. I simply don't have 4,563,231 files in the root directory with tags.

When I see an organization chart, I see a hierarchy.

So it is relatively easy to continue to operate in folders and hierarchy mode when organising emails (in fact I still do) and continue in that mindset when dealing with Tasks and Contacts in Outlook. Maybe Foldera will help to change this way of thinking.

Whenever I find myself being lured by the dark side and thinking in terms of hierarchies, directory structures, folders and parents, I remind myself of this excellent technical whitepaper. This document is all about Oracle performance I/O tuning on HP-UX.

Previously I might have saved this PDF to a folder named 'My Documents-Technical-Whitepapers-Oracle-Performance'.

This would pose a problem when I tried to find it again. Where did I put it ? Was it in 'Technical-Whitepapers-Oracle', 'Technical-Whitepapers-Performance', 'Technical-Whitepapers-Unix' or 'Technical-Whitepapers-HP' ? Or did I forget to file it ? Yes. I know all about Google Desktop.

Now I just add it to my BlinkList with the following tags 'Technical, Whitepaper, Oracle, Performance, Tuning, HP-UX, I/O'.

Consequently, I also have now seen the light and removed the two level hierarchy of WordPress categories on this site into a single flat structure.

Now, what categories/tags/labels shall I use for this wide ranging article: 'tagging', 'tags', 'GTD', 'Outlook', 'Oracle', 'WordPress', 'categories' 'meta-data' ? Decisions, decisions.

Oh forget it. This one is 'Uncategorized'

The purchase of the black beret has certainly had the desired effect.

Thanks to an appearance on James Healeys Oracle POC blogroll and Rahul Agarwal's newly created blog (also on WordPress.com), I am the proud owner of two fresh inbound links.

However, the Technorati ranking remains unchanged. Maybe the links were already accounted for. Sigh.

Day 195. Technorati Rank: 235,668 (23 links from 12 sites)

I now work for Oracle based in Thames Valley Park, Reading in the UK.

I am usually the last to hear any news about corporate takeovers.

Does this mean I will have an Oracle sanctioned blog named 'Siebel Evangelist' ? Probably not.

My name is Norman Brightside. I work for Siebel Systems based in Egham in the UK. I am a Senior Architecture Specialist in Expert Services. Expert Services provide a range of consulting services from architecture workshops to performance troubleshooting.

My work is technical (usually includes Oracle), varied, includes travel to Siebel customers located within the UK and Europe and perhaps, most importantly, involves meeting interesting people and learning.

Remember the tiresome, well-intentioned emails at work that spread fear, uncertainty and doubt, waste a lot of time and hence, cost a lot of money but actually transpire to be a well documented hoax.

Well the blogosphere has its own endless loop equivalents for the unwary.

• The recursive best blonde joke
• The Tammy NYP treasure hunt
• The Origami paper chase

I will stop wasting time evaluating every RSS reader in the universe and simply revert to NewsGator Online.

This will help me to read and enjoy content when I actually have the time and inclination. This will also stop me being distracted by that insidious 'There is 1 new article' irritant which just leads to skim reading lots of irrelevant material in a mindless urge to get 'up to date'.

I will endeavour to constrain my list of feeds to those that I actually read and are of interest. The recent introduction of Technorati favo(u)rites proved to me that this number was indeed less than 50.

And finally, Cyril. And finally, Esther. I will unsubscribe immediately from Scobleizer's blog. I am starting to feel like a mindless sheep. I know millions read it and discuss it. I subscribe to it and my eyes see the words but I don't actually read it. He won't mind. He has a big enough audience. Baa.

Thats it. Enough procrastination. Finished.

I will use Microsoft Outlook to manage my email, contacts, tasks and calendar at work.

I will store work related and personal data in the same repository.

I will not store any data on a Web based service.

I will use Beyond Contacts (from DataViz) to synchronise my contacts, tasks and calendar to my aging but perfectly adequate monochrome Palm Vx.

I will either use old fashioned paper and cheap biros from leading hotel chains (I would only lose an expensive moleskin and fountain pen) or the Palm to capture stuff when I am at home, in transit, in a hostelry or away from my work computer.

I may also send emails to myself from my home computer to work.

I will manually manage my address book on my Nokia phone. This is more work for me but absolutely necessary because I dislike the Nokia PC Suite program so intensely.

I will capture my personal finances in Microsoft Money.

I will continue to use TiddlyWiki (in preference to OneNote and EverNote) to capture personal notes, jottings and information mainly because I like the sound of 'reusable non-linear personal web notebook' and it fits on a memory stick.

I will continue to keep Joomla in my thoughts.

I will no longer mock my wife for keeping lots of lists; 'The only thing you need now is a list telling you where all your lists are'.

I am following, with interest, the progress of Stowe Boyds /Message blog as it gradually, inexorably climbs up the Technorati rankings.

Excellent subject for a blog. Plenty of interesting, free material on a daily basis without any need for thought.

So I have decided to follow suit albeit a little late in the day.

Day 194. Technorati Rank: 235,668 (23 links from 12 sites)

Tune in this time tomorrow to see the impact of my new black beret.

PS. How did I know it was day 194 ?

SQL> select trunc(sysdate) - to_date('17-aug-2005', 'dd-mon-yyyy') as interval from dual;

INTERVAL
----------
194

I have a Linksys Wireless Broadband router (WRT54G).

I have a Linksys Wireless USB network adapter (WUSB54G).

The adapter is located 15 feet from the router in clear line of sight.

The strength of the signal is 70%.

There is also a (unsecured) wireless network detected with a strength of 73%.

Where is this wireless network ? In the ceiling directly above my head ?

No - not another poem from an angst ridden, lovesick teenager listening to Joy Division and Morrissey.

Two months after Christmas, I finally got around to playing X&Y by Coldplay. As I suspected, this is pure dinner party music but the singles are pleasant enough on the radio when driving.

Chris Martin seems well intentioned but there is something unsettling about his intentionally unkempt hair, his children's names and the plethora of multi-coloured wrist and finger bands he wore at Live 8.

My 'Early Doors' DVD's also sits unopened, pristine in shrink wrap but will get used on the next business trip abroad (now that United's season is over).

At least my main present from Father Christmas, a spiral bound UK road atlas, has made it to the back seat of my car but also lies unopened as yet. The main reason for this was that Pages 38/40 mysteriously disappeared from its predecessor. Not a major problem until you are asked to travel, at short notice, to a client in Aldershot. Page 38 encompasses the Camberley-Fleet-Aldershot Bermuda triangle.

Next year, I really must follow Peter Scott's example and ask for a goat for someone who really needs it.