Links page is updated. Finally. Boy, am I learning lots of PHP and CSS at the moment.

Woohoo! The blog archive is now fixed so that it works similarly to the standard blogger layout, courtesy of some PHP craziness. So now you can use the link under the timestamp at the bottom of each post as a permalink - you’ll always be able to get to a post using that URL.

Days til Trang gets back: 5 (!)

I didn’t realise it at the time, but August 28 this year marked two years of blogging for me. Wow. I have a website that has actually stood the test of time, in Internet terms. It’s funny to read the first few posts I made, and to go through the archives - I tend to forget that I actually can be quite strong in my wording at times…

Here’s to a belated blog anniversary!

Well, I’ve tidied up the nested table on the left - it now isn’t actually a table at all. It’s a trickily formatted list, courtesy of a tutorial at A List Apart, an HTML tutorial and code ideas site. It now has CSS mouseovers and everything. Sweeeeeet.

There’s a story in the SMH today about how GWB is being (justifiably) criticised for using the war talk to bolster the Republican party’s chances in the coming election. The interesting part for me was this:

According to the Democrats, a computer disk found in a park across from the White House also provided evidence that Mr Bush’s Republican Party was using the war with Iraq for political advantage. On the disk was advice from Mr Bush’s top political strategist, Karl Rove, with the quote “Focus on war”. Senator Daschle said it was dropped somewhere between a Republican strategy meeting and the White House.

Is it just me, or does it really sound like there was more going on than the story we’re getting?

Found out yesterday that the Wu Shu school I go to will be meeting with some Chinese government representatives in three weeks. We’ll be being taught by them and giving a demonstration. I’m really nervous at the moment, though hopefully that will get a bit better after the demonstration tonight. On the whole, though, it’s very exciting.

It’s official - the US wants a Pax Americana. I guess it’s time to begin reading up on the classics of guerrilla warfare - just in case.

You know, it’s funny. I was playing Civilsation III yesterday. I decided I wanted to take over the Japanese territory. So I pushed them and pushed them, and then just attacked them. Once I was at war with Japan, every other country in the world ended up signing military alliances against them. All because I’m one of the most powerful democracies in the world. And my citizens didn’t get war-weary, even over the course of 50-60 years of war, because I managed to keep them amply supplied with luxuries through trade with my new friends.

Civ can be an eerily accurate simulation at times.

I’m going to be part of a Wu Shu demonstration next Monday at UNSW. Apparently, it’s on sometime between 6pm and 10pm, which is not very helpful, I know. I’ll know more on Sunday.

18 days until Trang gets back. Halfway!

For those of you who don’t know, the Dendy is having another Anime festival after the success of the one during the Olympics. Features include: Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s door, which I saw at Manifest and which is excellent, Akira, the new digitally remastered version, which is better than it ever was, and Spirited Away, which I haven’t yet seen - but by all accounts it is better than Mononoke Hime.

I’ll be going to some sessions, I assume - I’ll post more as I learn more. Anyone who wants to come is welcome.

In my morning news troll today, I’ve seen a lot of what I call ‘Christmas Syndrome’ - applied of course to a new day. This is the tendency for people to believe that somehow, by being good, nice, and caring, thinking about others, giving to the poor, et cetera, et cetera, on one day of the year somehow makes up for the fact that they are arseholes the rest of the year.

I see this in America today in ad networks not showing ads for today (OSDN on /.) and on online authors getting in trouble from people for having the temerity to have advertising on their page on such a special day. (Piro from MegaTokyo.) What a load of crap. If you want to show respect for people, take some time out of your day to think about them. Don’t go around being all self-righteous at people because these people have the hide and the audacity to pay tribute in their own way. I mean, Piro made a fucking tribute comic it’s not like he doesn’t give a shit - and it wouldn’t be your business if he didn’t.

I think Tycho (Penny Arcade) had it right:

This is not the site to go to if you want to be sad all day.