http://beingmrkenny.co.uk The site that Mark built Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:26:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Hey! So I was reading something somewhere, and it made me think of haikus. Thinking of haikus made me realise how much I like them, but in a funny way, not in a serious way. Haikus, basically, are a form of Japanese poetry. They are written in three lines, the first ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/11/haiku/ From the comments on a discussion about stage lighting: Thanks for bringing the subject of exploding PAR lamps up. Imagine someone at conference taking a question from the floor. "Yes, the gentleman in the front row." [Asks question] "Mm. Thanks. Thanks for bringing the subject of exploding PAR lamps up." http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/11/another-genius-out-of-context-quote/ And I'm afraid this doesn't rate too highly on the excitment factor, either. But it's a start, so here goes. The words "fictitious" and "factitious" unfortunately mean (almost) the same thing. Which I think is a pity because they would make such a pretty antithetical pair otherwise. But there it is. ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/10/hey-i-havent-posted-in-a-loooong-time/ Just heard my friend on the phone. "No, no, Danish pastries, like croissants, pain-au-chocolat..." http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/10/no-no-danish-pastries/ This is a great idea. Here is a Firefox extension that filters out the comments on Youtube based on the following factors (which you can set): More than # spelling mistakes: The number of mistakes is customizable, and the extension uses Firefox's built-in spell checker. All capital letters No capital letters Doesn't start with ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/08/youtube-comment-snob/ ... pithy sayings from the blog of Mark Kenny. It's true though. Old people look back with such fondness on the war years. In Russia, old people yearn for the days of Stalin (somewhat incredibly). We look back on hard times and remember them differently than how we experienced them at the ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/08/todays-misery-is-tomorrows-nostalgia/ This, from a serious circular email this morning about site safety. I am in the process of purchasing some hats. Taken out of context, it's funny. Read it in a serious voice, like it's a life and death situation. By the way, never keep sentences like this in context. A sentence like this ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/08/excellent-quote/ John 11 Lazarus has died, and Martha meets Jesus first. "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died." It's an accusation, an observation, a desperate cry of disbelief all at the same time. Her sister, Mary, is inside. She is newly bereaved, still coming to terms with what's happened. She ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/08/lazarus/ Hey, we're getting new coin designs! This is only of interest because I tried to pay with a new 1p in a petrol station recently and the woman took one look at it and said, "I don't know what this is" and gave it back to me. This struck me as ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/07/new-coins/ I don't know why, maybe I am sick, but I find this edited trailer for Mary Poppins, recut to look like a horror movie, really funny. It might be because I don't like Disney (some of the films are OK, especially the older ones -- I just hate the sickly ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/07/subverting-happy-things-to-make-them-scary/ I read a few blogs now and again, by different people of different nationality and gender. But when I read, the voice in my head that's reading the words sounds the same, no matter what sex the person is. I find this quite weird, because obviously when I'm speaking to someone ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/07/blog-voices/ One of the most important lessons you can learn while making progress is learning to recognise the progress you've already made. Without realising that you've made progress, you'll get discouraged and stop before you reach your goal. You won't make progress in the way that you think you will. Progress comes ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/07/making-progress/ On 29th June 2008 I got baptised. I was baptised when I was about 13, but why not do it again properly? So anyway, here's a photo :) http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/07/i-got-baptised-again/ O2 just agreed to change my mobile phone tariff -- I've cut my bills in half! I was on about £30 a month, but was after something different. My mobile is knackered, and I wanted 300 minutes and 300 texts -- they've given me 400 minutes (anytime, any network) and 1000 ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/07/i-just-reduced-my-mobile-phone-bill/ The object isn’t to be perfect. The goal isn’t to hold back until you’ve created something beyond reproach. I believe the opposite is true. Our birthright is to fail and to fail often, but to fail in search of something bigger than we can imagine. To do anything else is ... http://beingmrkenny.co.uk/blog/2008/06/is-it-worthy/