Will Knott

Almost this time last year I made public a few resolutions for 2008, so I suppose its only right that I take a look back at them and see how I did.

1) Be master of my own domain…
I don’t mean tidy the house (but now that you mention it, the bathroom mirror does need to be put in the bathroom). I mean it’s time that WillKnott.net and WillKnott.ie actually got used as something more than a redirect. Part of this is to do with changes that seem to be afoot. The “cork” in “cork-host” may need to change.
All advice gratefully accepted.

Done. WillKnott.net is actually a re-direct to WillKnott.ie

My reasons back then were partially vanity, partly to get better search results (my old blog was not very flattering for those thinking of hiring me. A blog title with “idiot” in it only makes sense when in full time employment). This is one that’s done and dusted and won’t be going back to for a while. Also this year it looks like I’m not going to be Cork based for a while. Oh, and the bathroom mirror is now in the right place; the bedroom, a different mirror ended up in the bathroom

2) On your bike…
Personally, I need to get out more. I’ve used every excuse not to cycle this year. 2008 will see a saddle put under strain. Regularly. That and go back to Capoeira again. Things sort of stopped over December.

Ah, no. As much as I would like to say that the world and fate conspired against me, it simply didn’t happen more due to my finding other things to do. It will be on my list for this year, but I’ve a new job to look forward to (well a month contract so far). This may mean cycling to work, but not for the first week until I see if its possible. That and the fact that my bike is still in Cork.

3) Learn (or relearn) a language…
I’ve always been more a OnLamppp man than an AJAX man. So I’m going to refresh and perfect my Perl, python and PHP. I do intend to get Ruby (and maybe rails) in my head. Sort of useful with a domain eh? Somehow I just know that Java will need something more formal than a commitment by me. Any pointer to classes or tutorials would be appreciated.

Done. Some of the .Net framework and Java entered my skull, and my certificate collection. This year, well I know I’ll be working on a Javascript project this year, but more on that in later posts.

4) Take time to smell the roses…
Or actually plant them. Simply put, my garden is a mess. Actually that not true. I was careful. My garden is black. Black weed-proof plastic. I need to do some things. Lay a patio. Do “something” with a terrace. I genuinely don’t know what should happen out there. I do know I need the hardscaping finished. Help?

Dismal failure. A few plants, er, planted but the patio is simply slabs placed on the ground rather than put down properly. I may completely admit failure and hire someone to do it when my finances improve. On the other hand, I’m not exactly using the garden enough to miss it.

5) Give voice…
This is neither a resolution nor a commitment. But my attendance at PodCamp Ireland and the forthcoming Creative Camp gave me an idea… which I’ll post later.

I’ll admit that this was simply an idea that didn’t form completely. However I will point out that there is a hole in the Irish blogisphere for a political podcast (if anyone is interested).

And so there we have it. 50%, maybe 60% given that this spring had quite a bit of cycling, but commuting to school sort of messed up my cycling plans. Not that good, could do so much better. Only regret the lack of planting, will just might continue.

And as for 2009… we’ll see.

take care,

Will Knott

It’s that time of the year. DJ Earworm has released the  “United State of Pop” for 2008.

OK, he’s only done it twice, here is a link for the first time, but it does take some effort to mix together 25 different songs and make them sound good together. Then throw in a video.

Its a lot more mellow that last year. Are things calming down, or slowing down economically?

Una makes her predictions for 2009 based on 2008. Personally I know quite a few friends going down under for work.

Hey, I’m moving too.

Will Knott

p.s. The track list used to make the video/track is…

Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain – Low
Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love
Alicia Keys – No One
Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major – Lollipop
Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic – Apologize
Jordin Sparks Duet With Chris Brown – No Air
Sara Bareilles – Love Song
Usher Featuring Young Jeezy – Love in This Club
Chris Brown – With You
Chris Brown – Forever
Ray J & Yung Berg – Sexy Can I
Rihanna – Take a Bow
Coldplay – Viva La Vida (The base song in all this)
Katy Perry – I Kissed a Girl
T.I. – Whatever You Like
Rihanna – Disturbia
Rihanna – Don’t Stop the Music
Natasha Bedingfield – Pocketful of Sunshine
Chris Brown Featuring T-Pain – Kiss Kiss
Ne-Yo – Closer
Colbie Caillat – Bubbly
Mariah Carey – Touch My Body
Madonna Featuring Justin Timberlake – 4 Minutes
Pink – So What
Finger Eleven – Paralyzer

Given the sheer amount of absolute guff being talked about Dustin entering as Ireland’s entry in to the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, Serbia. I wonder if I should open ears to non-English songs.

Given that the Polldaddy Poll on All Kinds Of Everything clearly shows that Dustin is the favourite (but has anyone heard any of the other songs?) maybe I shouldn’t mock. It’s not that bad, the digs are very good.

So I’ll show you Jenni Vartiainen from Finland (home of Lordi) with a little ditty entitled Ihmisten edessä. It’s a song about a girl who has fallen in love with someone, and the lyrics tell of their first evening when they walk in the city hand in hand.

Oh sorry I missed something there. The someone is another girl.
You can’t tell from the video.

take care,
Will

Dustin the Turkey, Eurovision, 2008, Jenni Vartiainen, Ireland, Finland

Well 2007 is on the way out. And as usual in Ireland, all things come to a halt for a while. Christmas is a scary time of the year because, usually, everything gets changed this week. This is probably the reason why resolutions are saved for this time of the year in this part of the world. You’ve just survived one week of changes intact. Why not make more…

For some people, this is a time of the year when they are handed responsibilities that they normally don’t look after. (Some even learned new skills this way). These people (of which I’m one) have their lives thrown a little off kilter for a while. And they have to consider what’s important and what needs to change.

For others everything comes to a stop. Work stops. The life of the office stops (and some people try to hide the evidence of what happened at the office party… ah flickr and facebook) and the news cycle slows. For them this comes as a chance to think. And they have to consider what’s important and what needs to change.

So the adverts change from “buy this” to “stop smoking” or “start a new hobby with this magazine” and of course “sale now on…” since the Christmas stock costs too much to store.

And so the resolutions begin. The “I’ll never rush in to a sale again” is heartfelt but unheeded within a week. So I’ll ignore that one.

Yup… resolutions.

What do I want to do or change? Trust me I’ve had a while to think about these things so…

1) Be master of my own domain…
I don’t mean tidy the house (but now that you mention it, the bathroom mirror does need to b put in the bathroom. I mean it’s time that WillKnott.net and WillKnott.ie actually got used as something more than a redirect. Part of this is to do with changes that seem to be afoot. The “cork” in “cork-host” may need to change.
All advice gratefully accepted.

2) On your bike…
Personally, I need to get out more. I’ve used every excuse not to cycle this year. 2008 will see a saddle put under strain. Regularly. That and go back to Capoeira again. Things sort of stopped over December.

3) Learn (or relearn) a language…
I’ve always been more a OnLamppp man than an AJAX man. So I’m going to refresh and perfect my Perl, python and PHP. I do intend to get Ruby (and maybe rails) in my head. Sort of useful with a domain eh? Somehow I just know that Java will need something more formal than a commitment by me. Any pointer to classes or tutorials would be appreciated.

What, you assumed French? (Actually Portuguese would be useful for Capoeira but that’s another story.)

4) Take time to smell the roses…
Or actually plant them. Simply put, my garden is a mess. Actually that not true. I was careful. My garden is black. Black weed-proof plastic. I need to do some things. Lay a patio. Do “something” with a terrace. I genuinely don’t know what should happen out there. I do know I need the hardscaping finished. Help?

5) Give voice…
This is neither a resolution nor a commitment. But my attendance at PodCamp Ireland and the forthcoming Creative Camp gave me an idea… which I’ll post later.

I think that is enough. You can’t make yourself too many resolutions simply because putting too much pressure on yourself almost guarantees that you won’t do any.

Any resolutions or advice?

take care,
Will Knott

tags : 2007, 2008, change, resolution, domain, WillKnott.net, WillKnott.ie, cycle, capoeira, onlamp, garden, PodCamp, PodCamp Ireland, Creative Camp, podcasting