Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Windows 7 Theme, Nova Scotia, Canada


Hey fans!

I decided to try my hand at creating a half decent Windows 7 .Themepack file, based on some of my best Nova Scotia photographs so take a look and download!

This is a Canadian Windows 7 theme using photos of one of my favourite places, Nova Scotia. Enjoy!

A Fairer Union Jack? Alternative Design

Controversial? Yes I am sure it is. I have always loved the Union Jack Flag design, but I do acknowledge that it is not representative of all the people of the UK.

Wales is of course left out completely as they fall under the English St George's cross due to complex historical reasons.


Scotland is well represented in the Union Flag, but has been a little bit diminished since Ireland was joined to the UK in 1800 and thereafter the St Patrick's Cross was added which covered up some of the Scottish St Andrews Cross.


I decided to go ahead and Photoshop the above alternative to include the Red hand of Ulster which from what I have read is not an official flag, however it is often used by British Unionists and therefore I reckon it is suitable for this topic.

Wales of course has to be included as well and although they have an awesome flag, it is very difficult to fit it into the overall design without completely changing it. I thought if the Welsh Dragon was included in the middle, it would be quite cool.

Please let me know what you think in the comments!

muzzerino.com

  • Dear American, this is NOT the Flag of England >>
  • Evolution of the Union Jack >>

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Unacceptable Swear Words in New Zealand

Warning: Adult Language ahead!

We are being desensitised toward profanity!

The New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Agency has published a document called 'What Not to Swear: The Acceptability of Words in Broadcasting'. Original document @ BSA.govt.nz

It has revealed that many NZ'ers are not too offended anymore by words they hear on the radio and tellybox, such as, bugger, bloody, crap, bullshit, balls, shit, bastard, prick, arsehole, wanker, whore, retard and faggot just to name a few.

51% of NZ'ers do not appreciate having their South Pacific ears soiled by the word 'Fuck' but in 2009 a massive 74% (down from 79% in 1999) of people still consider the undisputed heavyweight champion of swear words to be the one which is absolutely guaranteed to offend. I am of course talking about the one, the only. 'C-u-n-t'.

See You Next Tuesday.

Check out Kiwiblog's take on the issue >

Friday, March 26, 2010

Video: Auckland in High Definition


This is my 2nd effort at making an HD 720p video for YouTube on the Flip Mino HD.

I put the camera on a tripod and jammed it between the dashboard and the passenger seat, making it very solid. I did however get some of the bonnet in shot and a few reflections but nothing major.

Overall, I think this is the type of filming the Flip Mino HD is ideal for. The camera does have quite bad shimmering effects (like many small lens cameras and mobile phones) but a static tripod shot like this seems to defeat that. This journey was From the North Shore to Auckland City. Featuring Browns Bay, Waiake beach area, SH1, Northern Motorway, Auckland Harbour Bridge, CBD, Ponsonby and Karangahape Road.


hope you like it.



Music by Alexander Boyes and Manolo Camp, thanks to Opsound.org

Monday, March 22, 2010

Wordpress Comment Discarded. Why am I not surprised?

Why am I not surprised?

I have never been quite able to put my finger on it, but I think one of the reasons why I have never really taken to Wordpress is that it seems to have the vibe of that smug, superior mac user thing going on behind the scenes. You know what I mean, they are the guys who never to to the pub, they only go to the trendy cafe.

This is quite a lot to discern from one simple thing, but I feel now is the time to write it down.

I just visited a blog which uses Wordpress and attempted to leave a comment. After writing for a few minutes I hit the submit button and what did I see?

A white page with the word 'discarded' at the top left hand side. No explanation, no apology, just 'discarded'.

This is extremely annoying.

I read up on it and apparently there are Wordpress setting which will cause comments to be 'discarded' if the post is more than 30 days old.

How the hell is a visitor supposed to know this? Or do all Wordpress users have some kind of internal process which informs them of such things in advance?

I know I am bathering (blethering) but has anyone else had this type of vibe from Wordpress?

I certainly hope so!

Muzzerino.com

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

YouSayToo Adsense Sharing, does it work?

That's what I want to know. I have been signed up with these guys for a while and forgot that the point of it was to gain a bit more readers and a little bit of Adsense sharing.

I paid them a visit today and they certainly have Adsense blocks pasted over their pages, but why have I not seen a since cent from it?

I double checked my code and publisher ID, but still. Not a single cent.

Perhaps this is due to lack of traffic? of course, this could be the reason, but many of my most read articles rank much lower in organic results of Google than the YouSayToo copy of the same post. Yet still, no Adsense. I get approx 400 unique visitors a day with around $1 - $4 in Adsense each day. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

Some other sites that I use Adsense with seem to rotate my pub-id with their own and I can verify that my ID is being shown by checking the source code on the page. YouSaytoo.com seem to use a different method, I cannot find my pub-id in the source code anywhere...


*Update,
The guys are YouSayToo got in touch with me and drew my attention to the URL channels set up on Adsense. I have added www.YouSayToo.com to it and I am waiting to see if there is any impressions or clicks recorded under it. I will let you know what I find.

Muzzerino.com

Monday, March 15, 2010

Easily the best Divorce Letter ever!

My good Mate Kory sent me this chain letter the other day and I have learned to trust his insticts. he only sends the funny ones and I mean funny! This is no exeption. I do not know where this originated, all I do know is that it's very creative and very crude. I take no responsibility. :-)

Mum, please look away now.

{
Dear Connie, I know the counsellor said we shouldn’t contact each other during our “cooling off” period, but I couldn’t wait anymore.

The day you left, I swore I’d never talk to you again. But that was just the wounded little boy in me talking. Still, I never wanted to be the first one to make contact. In my fantasies, it was always you who would come crawling back to me. I guess my pride needed that. But now I see that my pride has cost me a lot of things. I’m tired of pretending I don’t miss you. I don’t care about looking bad. I don’t care who makes the first move as long as one of us does. Maybe it’s time we let our hearts speak as loudly as our hurt. And this is what my heart says “There’s no one like you, Connie.” I look for you in the eyes and breasts of every woman I see, but they’re not you, not even close.

Two weeks ago, I met this girl at Flamingos and brought her home with me. I don’t say this to hurt you, but just to illustrate the depth of my desperation. She was young, maybe 19, with one of those perfect bodies that only youth and maybe a childhood spent ice skating can give you. I mean, just a perfect body. Tits like you wouldn’t believe and an ass that just wouldn’t quit. Every man’s dream, right? But as I sat on the couch being blown by this stunner, I thought, look at the stuff we’ve made important in our lives. It’s all so superficial. What does a perfect body mean? Does it make her better in bed? Well, in this case, yes, but you see what I’m getting at. Does it make her a better person? Does she have a better heart than my moderately attractive Connie? I doubt it. I never really thought of that before. I don’t know, maybe I’m just growing up a little.

Later, after I’d tossed her about a half a pint of throat yogurt, I found myself thinking, “Why do I feel so drained and empty?” It wasn’t just her flawless technique or her slutty, shameless hunger, but something else. Some nagging feeling of loss. Why did it feel so incomplete? And then it hit me. It didn’t feel the same because you weren’t there to watch. Do you know what I mean? Nothing feels the same without you. Jesus, Connie, I’m just going crazy without you. And everything I do just reminds me of you.

Do you remember Carol, that single mom we met at the Holiday Inn last year? Well, she dropped by last week with a pan of lasagna. She said she figured I wasn’t eating right without a woman around. I didn’t know what she meant till later, but that’s not the real story. Anyway, we had a few glasses of wine and the next thing you know, we’re banging away in our old bedroom. And this tart’s a total monster in the sack. She’s giving me everything, you know, like a real woman does when she’s not hung up about her weight or her career and whether the kids can hear us. And all of a sudden, she spots that tilting mirror on your grandmother’s old vanity. So she puts it on the floor and we straddle it, right, so we can watch ourselves. And it’s totally hot, but it makes me sad, too. Cause I can’t help thinking, “Why didn’t Connie ever put the mirror on the floor? We’ve had this old vanity for what, 14 years, and we never used it as a sex toy.”

Saturday, your sister drops by with my copy of the restraining order. I mean, Vicky’s just a kid and all, but she’s got a pretty good head on her shoulders and she’s been a real friend to me during this painful time. She’s given me lots of good advice about you and about women in general. She’s pulling for us to get back together, Connie, she really is.

So we’re doing Jell-O shots in a hot bubble bath and talking about happier times. Here’s this teenage girl with the same DNA as you and all I can do is think of how much she looks like you when you were 18. And that just about makes me cry. And then it turns out Vicky’s really into the whole anal thing, that gets me to thinking about how many times I pressured you about trying it and how that probably fueled some of the bitterness between us. But do you see how even then, when I’m thrusting inside your baby sister’s cinnamon ring, all I can do is think of you.

It’s true, Connie. In your heart you must know it. Don’t you think we could start over? Just wipe out all the grievances and start fresh? I think we can. If you feel the same please, please, please let me know.

Otherwise, can you let me know where the fucking remote is.

Love,
Dan

}


Saturday, March 13, 2010

Should New Zealand become a state of Australia?


The answer is generally a distinct 'no!', but you might be surprised just how many people out there in Aotearoa who do not completely disregard the idea.

In many ways, NZ and Australia are closer neighbours than many other nations, given their shared colonial past, ANZAC traditions and free interchangeable residency policies. Indeed, once upon a time, when the Australian commonwealth was formed, New Zealand had the option of joining it.

This makes New Zealand and Australia a great deal more compatible than say Canada and the USA. Both Australia and NZ have the same kind of Parliamentary democracy (although Australia has Federal elements) and both countries base their laws upon English common law.

As a relative newcomer to NZ (since 2003) I find that economically it actually would make sense for NZ and Australia to join in a federation. Much of NZ's business is already owned by Australia and this has apparently made NZ a little bit more insulated from the world economic crisis. Perhaps this is an example of the benefits a cross-Tasman union could bring.

What do you think?

Muzzerino.com

Introducing CamperCo. Backpacker Campervan Rentals!

Don't you just hate all those vans that you see driving around New Zealand covered in nasty graffiti and graphics which just scream 'hey! look at us, we're some cheap-ass backpackers coming to foul your beautiful South Pacific paradise!'... I mean, yes, that may well be the case, but there is no need to advertise it! (jokes)

Well, I just found out that my good mate Nicko down in Sunny Nelson has gone and partnered up with his mate Andy to create what is surely the best thing to happen to the backpacker van rental industry in NZ. A no nosnense, well designed affordable and reliable camper van company (CamperCo)

From my own experience one of the worst things than can happen when hiring a camper van in NZ (or anywhere I suppose) is that it simply is not functional. You end up with a double bed and the rest of your crap gets stuffed into whatever cavities are left. The result is an absolute mess!

The guys at CamperCo however have spent many an hour trying out the best designs to maximise space and storage for the travelling tourist. If you are new to the Camper van scenario then trust me, this is worth its weight in gold.

Go and check them out >> CamperCo.co.nz