We have to be Sssssssneaky!
Thursday February 25th 2010
Here's something interesting that's come my way. Senator for Censorship Stephen Conroy has a blog, located at http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/. As is fashionable in these upstart, youngster blogs it has a tag cloud - over on the right - which displays the most common words and phrases used in said blog. All well and good.
Except you have a look at the source code. Here can be found a chunk of Javascript that generates the tag cloud, and which has a very interesting addition.
First up is a long string of phrases that can appear in the cloud. I won't copy this in because it's huge, but in the middle is the phrase "ISP Filtering" - the Government's euphemism for their ridiculous net filter proposal. Further down is the code that adds up the totals for each keyword and prints out the 15 highest ranked...
for(var i=0; i<=15/*<-Important! increase this value by 1 everytime a keyword is excluded below*/; i++)
{
var z=0;
for(var j=0; j<split.length; j++)="" {="">
if (unique[i]==split[j]) {
z=z+1;
}
counts[i] = z;
}
var size = getTagClass(z);
//Customise the tag-cloud to display what shows up
if (unique[i] == "ISP Filtering")
{
continue;
}
document.write('<a class="'+size+'" href="%5C%22http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/search?q=%27+unique[i]+%27%22">'+unique[i]+'</a> ');
}
document.write('</split.length;></p>');
document.write('</div>');
}
There, do you see that bit in red? That's a neat little patch that prevents the phrase "ISP Filtering" from ever coming up in the cloud.
Fascinating no? The Government is filtering their own sites to prevent mention of their own web filter. Great work everybody!
693
File under: Law, politics and other boring things
Trials of Web Design
Thursday February 25th 2010
Me: Hi [client]. Before I complete the booking form I need to know if more than one type of accommodation can be reserved per booking. In the meantime you can view the incomplete version of the form here [link], but please note that several sections have not yet been programmed.
Client: Hi [me]. Only one kind of accommodation can be reserved per booking. Thanks for the link to the form but we're concerned that several important sections are missing.
1: Cancellation details: None of these are included. Please see original text and include all the paragraphs.
2: The booking dates are incorrect and should be June and July not January and February
3: Accommodation options for apartments/cottages and Backpackers are not yet included.
4: The total payment does not seem to include accommodation fees.
Please amend these urgently.
Me: What did I #@%&@*% say!!!?!!?
OK, I didn't really email that back, but I sure would have liked to. A general inability to read what's written in emails seems to be a common trait among web design clients and there are times you would really like to give them a serve. But, for the good of the company you swallow your rage and carry on.
Of course if you're really good you can come up with a subtle, passive-aggressive reply that's nice and polite on the surface but between the lines points out what illiterate morons they are.
692
File under: Workin` for the Man
Calling all Crabs
Wednesday February 24th 2010
Well, we're battening down the hatches for a major heatwave - just in time for my birthday. Oh joy! Temperatures are expected to range between 37° and 42° C until Sunday, after which they'll drop down to a merely hellish 36° for a few days. I love this city but I hate this weather.
My work email account keeps getting spammed by the "Ruby Royale" online casino. Some strange part of my brain continually misinterprets this as "Ruby Rose", so every morning when I come in and start sorting through the spam I get a sudden jolt of irrational excitement before sanity kicks back in. Damn spammers.
Finally I know it's neither new or clever to make fun of Emos, but sometimes they make it so damn easy!
691
File under: My Oh So Amazing Life
Pearls Before Swine
Monday February 22nd 2010
Went out and got the Swine Flu shot today. The Government's subsidising it to build up herd immunity, so I figured I'd better pitch in and do my bit. I feel a bit ill now, but that could just be because I went out and walked around the city for a few hours afterwards taking photos in the blazing sun (the results are up on my Flickr account).
On another subject entirely I (for some reason) was trying to remember the lyrics of TISM's Strictly Loungeroom. There was one bit I couldn't remember so I looked online. As usual the only lyrics available seem to have been transcribed by drunken lemurs, so I figured I'd better correct the situation....
Strictly Loungeroom
If your Luke Perry sideburns just won't grow; that's dancin!
If you can't seem to dress like they do in Cosmo; that's dancin!
You admit that you don't like the taste of alcohol,
If you think that mull was a Paul McCartney song,
If you bough Stussy a month too late; that's dancin!
If your parents are together and you don't hate 'em; that's dancin!
If you always bought a ticket for the train,
If you think that graffiti all looks the same,
Don't give us none of your aggravation,
We've had it with your discipline,
Saturday night's alright for fighting,
'Cept when you have to stay in,
Strictly loungeroom!
Strictly loungeroom!
Then you know it's time to get the razor blades out; that's dancin!
Step into that noose and swing; that's dancin!
When it's Saturday night and you're all by yourself,
Watching reruns of That's Dancing,
Don't give us none of your aggravation,
We've had it with your discipline,
Saturday night's alright for fighting,
'Cept when you have to stay in,
Strictly loungeroom!
Strictly loungeroom!
Strictly loungeroom!
Strictly loungeroom! Yeah!
That's dancin', yeah!
That's dancin', yeah!
There's a party going on at the local church hall,
You know people going, all you gotta do is call,
Leave your empty room get out, seize the day,
But you put on ABC and foxtrot your chance away...
Enough said.
690
File under: Musical Snobbery
