Mark Roddis

Missy The Cat Is Missing!!!

14/07/2010 · 3 Comments

Originally sent to me via email however I am told the original source is here at 27b/6


From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster

Hi
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.

image001

This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.
Thanks Shan.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
That is shocking news. Luckily I was sitting down when I read your email and not half way up a ladder or tree. How are you holding up? I am surprised you managed to attend work at all what with thinking about Missy out there cold, frightened and alone… possibly lying on the side of the road, her back legs squashed by a vehicle, calling out "Shannon, where are you?"
Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
I never said I don’t like cats. Once, having been invited to a party, I went clothes shopping beforehand and bought a pair of expensive G-Star boots. They were two sizes too small but I wanted them so badly I figured I could just wear them without socks and cut my toenails very short. As the party was only a few blocks from my place, I decided to walk. After the first block, I lost all feeling in my feet. Arriving at the party, I stumbled into a guy named Steven, spilling Malibu & coke onto his white Wham ‘Choose Life’ t-shirt, and he punched me. An hour or so after the incident, Steven sat down in a chair already occupied by a cat. The surprised cat clawed and snarled causing Steven to leap out of the chair, slip on a rug and strike his forehead onto the corner of a speaker; resulting in a two inch open gash. In its shock, the cat also defecated, leaving Steven with a foul stain down the back of his beige cargo pants. I liked that cat.
Attached poster as requested.
Regards, David.

image002

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
It’s a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don’t come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I am willing to overlook this faux pas due to you no doubt being preoccupied with thoughts of Missy attempting to make her way home across busy intersections or being trapped in a drain as it slowly fills with water. I spent three days down a well once but that was just for fun.
I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.
Regards, David.

image003
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

image004
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,
I don’t have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend’s cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter, I kept the cat in a closed cardboard box in the shed and forgot about it. If I wanted to feed something and clean faeces, I wouldn’t have put my mother in that home after her stroke. A week later, when my friend came to collect his cat, I pretended that I was not home and mailed the box to him. Apparently I failed to put enough stamps on the package and he had to collect it from the post office and pay eighteen dollars. He still goes on about that sometimes, people need to learn to let go.
I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.
Regards, David.

image005
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.
From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says "I haven’t seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?" you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.
I knew someone who had a basset hound that had its hind legs removed after an accident and it had to walk around with one of those little buggies with wheels. If it had been my dog I would have asked for all its legs to be removed and replaced with wheels and had a remote control installed. I could charge neighbourhood kids for rides and enter it in races. If I did the same with a horse I could drive it to work. I would call it Steven.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

image006
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

image007
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

image008
From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

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Has EMC killed the cloud storage market even before it got going?

07/07/2010 · 1 Comment

The concept behind cloud storage (like many cloud type things these days) is simple. Why pay big bucks out on expensive to buy and expensive to run storage tin when you can take your storage as a managed service delivered over the WAN and paid for on a per GB basis?

Everybody has been getting in on the band wagon. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Rackspace and so on.

Now the downside to the industry is that companies who buy cloud storage are going to be spending much less with the traditional storage vendors such as HDS, EMC and NetApps. So the traditional storage vendors are doing one of two things. There are those who are taking the FUD route. Warning you that your data in the cloud may not be secure. What if your data connections go down? What SLA can the cloud supplier really offer? What if the cloud supplier goes out of business? You get the idea.

But the cloud storage vendors are quick to point out that they offer comprehensive SLAs and that they are big and stable companies and the risk of them going bust is small.

EMC is one such supplier who has been selling it’s Atmos cloud based storage solution to all who will buy it on the back of the big company credentials and solid SLAs.

So when EMC suddenly decided to pull the plug on Atmos last week, you have to question their motives!

Existing customers will now have to go through the pain of migrating what could be huge volumes of data, off Atmos and onto a new cloud storage platform. In some cases a company may even be forced to invest in a new SAN (and I am sure the EMC rep will be along very soon to help them do this) as they will have lost all trust in cloud storage from any vendor.

But if EMC can do this, what is to stop Microsoft or Rackspace or one of any number of small providers doing the same?

So any organisation looking at cloud based storage will now no doubt stop and rethink this decision. Is the risk just too high?

In some cases the answer will be yes and they will invest in traditional onsite SANs just like they always did.

In any case, EMC has now successfully cast a level of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD)  into the cloud storage market place which is going to impact take up of these services and drive the sales of onsite SANs back up again. The cynic in me has to question if Atmos has all been one big campaign to damage the cloud based storage market in the first place. After all, one of the main companies to gain from this would be EMC themselves and that just feels wrong.

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A Day Out :: Pinchbeck Engine Museum

04/07/2010 · Leave a Comment

Pinchbeck Engine Pump House

On the outskirts of Spalding in Lincolnshire, as you drive along the A16 you may just see a small sign post to the Pinchbeck Engine Museum. I must admit that since moving to the area 4 years ago, we have passed that sign many times and every time we have said that we must pop in for a look.

So here is the history part.

Not that long ago, somebody thought it would be a good idea to drain the Fens (they are in the east of England) for farming. A similar thing also took place in Holland and it is by no coincidence that this area is known as South Holland.

So drains were dug and water was drained and something unexpected happened. As the land dried out, it sank. The result was that the fields around the drains ended up being below the water level and of course, water cannot flow up hill.

And so pumps were installed. At first they were wind driven and then steam took over once the steam engine was invented. Today these pumps are electric and are all over the east of England.

The Pinchbeck Engine Museum is one of the few surviving steam pumps and whilst it has now been replaced by modern electric pumps, it has been preserved.

The museum seems to operate little or no advertising and I have yet to meet anybody else who has been there. Indeed a quick look at the visitors book suggests that you will not be queuing to get in at any time which is a shame as this is a genuinely interesting attraction.

Pinchbeck Engine

So upon arrival in the empty car park, the pump house is located in impeccably kept grounds with a nice picnic area. As we got out of the car we were met by Ken who personally showed the three of us around the museum explaining to us what everything was, how it worked and the history behind it.

Essentially the Pinchbeck Engine is a large steam engine that drives a large water wheel that then lifts the water up into the river and it has all been really well preserved

Pinchbeck Engine

So overall, we were on site for about an hour. Entrance was free of charge (although there is a donation box) and it was a genuinely interesting and informative day out.

So if you are in the area (the A16 is a popular route to the East coast) then why not stop by? You will be glad you did.

There are a load more photos in my photo album which you can find here.

Pinchbeck Engine Museum On Bing Maps

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I want to be a London Tube driver

16/06/2010 · Comments Off

Why?

£40,000 per year (£10,000 per year more than a fully qualified nurse)? No

A 35 hour working week? No

43 days per year paid annual leave? No

Free travel for you and your family? No

A union who will do everything in it’s power to protect your job at the expense of your passengers? No

How about the small matter that on the Central Line and Victoria Line, the trains don’t actually need drivers at all!!!

That’s right. The trains are computer controlled and do not need a driver at all however because the unions have such a vested interest in making the London Tube profitable in keeping their members in jobs, TFL are still forced to put drivers in these trains.

So what do they do during their 35 hour week and when they are not on holiday or strike?

They operate the doors!

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REBLOG – Broadband Has Turned Our Homes Into Glass Houses (via GigaOM)

08/06/2010 · Comments Off

I came across this really thought provoking posting by Stacey Higginbotham over on GigaOM.

Whilst I am not convinced I agree with “everything” she says, it certainly gets the old grey matter going.

What do you think?

Broadband Has Turned Our Homes Into Glass Houses We’re adding broadband connections to our televisions, our phones, our reading devices and our game consoles these days, to the point that we expect such connections in almost everything we own. But while connectivity is awesome 90 percent of the time, it’s also scary because it can turn what were once private habits such as reading a book or answering email into something social — in some cases, without us knowing. It also allows advertisers to … Read More

via GigaOM

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