Will’s View

On the way home from work today I was almost knocked off my feet by an overzealous cyclist who was cycling on the foot
path. Now I’m not opposed to cyclists on the footpath when it’s clearly a shared zone — I mean when they have those little painted signs on the footpath with the cyclist and the person walking — but cycling on a pedestrian footpath really gets on my nerves.

The whole idea behind the footpath is so that pedestrians can walk thereon without being run over by cars, trucks, bikes and all the other manners of traffic that use our roads these days. I think pedestrians have a right to walk down a footpath without having to worry about a cyclist tearing up behind them and almost knocking them off into oncoming traffic. If the cyclist deems the road too dangerous to cycle on, then they should get off and walk the darn thing, or invest in a car, or a better helmet, or just take blimmin’ public transport!

I can understand cyclists who pop onto the footpath briefly to avoid certain traffic light phases and so-forth, it’s fair enough that they get some perks over the cars, as long as they get back off the footpath I’m fine with it. But it is the people who insist on cycling on the footpath that get on my nerves. I can’t say that I really have a solution for it, short of hiring someone with a shotgun and a good eye, but I thought I’d have a rant about it nonetheless.

--> On the way home from work today I was almost knocked off my feet by an overzealous cyclist who was cycling on the foot path. Now I’m not opposed to cyclists on the footpath when it’s clearly a shared zone — I mean when they have those little painted signs on the footpath with the cyclist and the person walking — but cycling on a pedestrian footpath really gets on my nerves. The whole idea behind the footpath (More...)

Well, now that exams are all over and done with, I thought it time for a review of this exam period:

The End

Well, some of us would just like to jump straight to the end of exams, and to the parties involved. And that’s fair, they were good parties and a fantastic time was had by most. At least I think so.

The Exam Venue

The REB came out a cracker this year, putting on a spectacular show as always. The majority of heaters were working, and the same group of invigilators was there as last semester. And the year before that. And the year before that. The only thing I really noticed this year was the toilet paper. Crazy, I know, but the toilet paper there is luxurious 2-ply, and I’m used to just measly 1-ply in my house.

This year I also noticed the nifty cellphone detector sitting outside the bathrooms. I’m not sure if these actually work, or what their range is, but I’m guessing they put people off.(?) Expensive and somewhat unnecessary if you ask me, what’s wrong with cheating the good ol’ pen and paper way?

The Exams

They weren’t too bad this year. They mainly followed in the vein of previous years, and some even repeated questions! And that feeling of euphoria after finishing that last exam is long lasting, and once again lead to the nearest pub.

--> Well, now that exams are all over and done with, I thought it time for a review of this exam period: The End Well, some of us would just like to jump straight to the end of exams, and to the parties involved. And that’s fair, they were good parties and a fantastic time was had by most. At least I think so. The Exam Venue The REB came out a cracker this year, putting on a spectacular (More...)

Some people just can’t be trusted in a quiet library with a few spare chairs lying around…

--> Some people just can’t be trusted in a quiet library with a few spare chairs lying around…

I was most excited a couple of days ago when I had my phone bill delivered to me. The reason why: It was inside an A4-size envelope! I felt like I had entered into the upper echelon of bill receivers.

In my estimations the more that you spend on a company, the more they should spend on you. So when you start off receiving bills you get them in the cheap envelopes without the plastic window. They’re folded every which way in order to fit them in the undersized envelope, and you usually manage to get some third-party advertising too. Excellent.

After you’ve been with them for longer (or spent more money) they send your bills in a slightly more presentable envelope, but they are still folded and squished into the envelope. This continues until it gets to the point where you can’t actually fold the bill, and then they finally bite the bullet and put it in an A4-sized envelope. Now you’ve reached the top of the pyramid, as far as I’m concerned anyway. There may be higher levels where you get your bills delivered by courier, or attractive supermodels, but the A4 envelope is as far as I’ve gone. I live in hope…

--> I was most excited a couple of days ago when I had my phone bill delivered to me. The reason why: It was inside an A4-size envelope! I felt like I had entered into the upper echelon of bill receivers. In my estimations the more that you spend on a company, the more they should spend on you. So when you start off receiving bills you get them in the cheap envelopes without the plastic window. They’re folded (More...)

Mobile phones are one of the most defining inventions of our era; they have completely revolutionised the way we communicate and interact forever. They have also given people new and interesting ways to make fools out of themselves.

I was leaving the Law Library a couple of days ago in order to stretch my legs and get some exercise from having studied all morning, and in the foyer I saw someone talking on their mobile phone. But instead of using the handset, they were using the hands-free headset. Now I don’t have any large issue with using hands-free per se, but this person was holding the microphone up to their mouths so they could be heard. Now where’s the point in that?

If you’re using hands-free, the general assumption is that you are doing something else with your hands. You could be carrying something, writing, or gesturing wildly, the end result is that you don’t want to use your hands. I do realise that some mobile phone manufacturers leave a little to be desired in their design and manufacture of hands-free headsets, but one expects that they meet the basic functionality requirement of allowing you to place the microphone somewhere near your mouth and talk without holding anything. And if they don’t work, then why the hell use them? It just makes you look like a right fool when you talk using a hands-free headset, and you’re holding the microphone.

Not to mention the people that put their phone on speaker, and then proceed to hold the phone in their palm. This functionality was invented for a reason people, and it sure as hell wasn’t so that you could share your conversation with the world! It was so you could carry out a conference-esque call, or put your phone down if your hands were busy. Good money has it that the person you’re talking to would rather not have their dulcet tones shared with the world at large unless strictly necessary.

--> Mobile phones are one of the most defining inventions of our era; they have completely revolutionised the way we communicate and interact forever. They have also given people new and interesting ways to make fools out of themselves. I was leaving the Law Library a couple of days ago in order to stretch my legs and get some exercise from having studied all morning, and in the foyer I saw someone talking on their mobile phone. But instead (More...)