Island Life by David Slack

I once heard a senior Google engineer describe Google's secret weapon as: (wait for it) velcro. I don't know if this is still the case, but they used to attach the back of their machines with velco so technicians could just rip out a failed motherboard and replace it with another as quickly as possible, and en masse.

Their IT strategy is indeed to use lots of mass-manufactured machines, and (the clever part) make allowances for them to fail. Aparently when you enter a search query, Google asks several machines at once for the answer, and the fastest reply wins.

It’s full of stuff that’s frankly not all that good anyway.

What are you talking about, that wine review was excellent.

You're spot on about Kiwiblog being the very best executive summary of the headlines you can browse for free. I totally trust DPF to say what the papers wished they could say, faster, and the commentators to say what DPF wished he could say, longer. Then there's the links to them saying what they wished they could have said on Kiwiblog if the owner wasn't so worried about libel. And finally, their pics of what they wished they could see more of. Kiwiblog is my friend.

As for the cost of Googling, it's pretty green already. Cache means that instead of an atom getting smashed somewhere in the US, my searches merely facilitate a little trickle of water getting to where it wants to go anyway, the sea. But yes, if each search cost me $5, then instead of looking up where I was going, I'd just go there and drive around randomly until I found it. Which would definitely get me out of the house longer every day.

Use Blackle instead of Google!

Use Blackle instead of Google!

Yes, it saves power.

brilliant. You subversive satyrical genius. Made me laugh.

Is an honour to be listed amongst the "full of stuff that’s frankly not all that good anyway." ... and you definitely had to be there ;-)

'ere, where did that picture of me come from and how do I change it (I know, off topic but ...!)

That's your gravatar Mike, everyone else struggled mightily to get one, and somehow yours just appeared.

People will be envious.

That's assuming people recognise you with your clothes on, of course.

Made such a change from merely imagining the speaker was naked.

My eyes! I am blind!!

The Truth In Ad Sales is funny cos it's 100% spot on. Which means that for anyone who recognises themselves in the vid they're going (about half way thru) "yeah, so?"

A pity more clients aren't more clued up. But everyone else in on the 'game' knows they're a player. A pity also that it's a tad too similar to this one:

Made such a change from merely imagining the speaker was naked.

yeah, but isn't it meant to be the other way 'round? when you're 'public speaking' you're meant to imagine the audience naked, so you're not afraid of them?

There are very few Public Speakers I'd want to imagine naked </shiver>

yeah, but isn't it meant to be the other way 'round?... There are very few Public Speakers I'd want to imagine naked

Sometimes circumstances dictate that conventions be stood on their heads.

Anyone got the Youtube footage of Mike's presentation?

Anyone got the Youtube footage of Mike's presentation?

Isn't it already embedded in David's post?

Mike, what can I say? - nice suit.

Isn't it already embedded in David's post?

Well I'll be, see what happens when you read it through a rudimentary feed?

Three out of four videos are no longer available. What to make of that? Eh? Eh? Eh?

Oh, and you flubbed the link to my blog on Stffu.

For that I will crash my mountain bike into your miserable abode that is overpriced by at least thirty per cent.

For that I will crash my mountain bike into your miserable abode that is overpriced by at least thirty per cent.

It would hurt more if you used your skillz to pwn his wi-fi.

Flubber? The very idea.

<a href=”http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/techsploder” target="_blank">Juha</a>

Oh.

Here we go:

<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/techsploder" target="_blank">Juha</a>

Small characters. The slight tilt is easily missed.

As for the Tubing, they all work from my machine. Could you be being stymied by the mighty Fairfax Firewall of pron?

It would hurt more if you used your skillz to pwn his wi-fi.

He made a hostile neighbour in that respect, although to be fair he did let me know when he was in my hard disk, riding my lolcatz.

I really should follow conversations that involve me ... sorry