Its been over a month since i last blogged, but I have a good reason, I have been given an amazing opportunity (given the current financial climate), and my working skill set has taken a amazing leap, I am now working on FLEX 3, Proper Java (with Spring, Hibernate and very serious web services) in addition to Domino, and all with those tight times that make a project fun, its been disturbing my sleep but i wake keen to be at work (always the best way to be), but time to get some useful blog entries out.

You hear from everybody these days that the art of customer service is dead, this is apparently not so with www.zazzle.com and Disney, in an effort to get a T-shirt done in time for lotus Sphere, i ordered it and had it emergency ups’ed to the hotel in Florida, alas it did not arrive in time (to be fair i only gave them a couple of days), i gave a mental shrug and counted it as a lost gamble, a couple of weeks later i get a email from zazzle customer service saying that they had had the T-shirt returned, and that i had been given a full refund including postage, a complete surprise (if one that makes me feel slightly guilty)

This was done for LS09 but never quite finished (and i was never THAT drunk), any amendments welcome (even abusive ones)
EDIT: I should also point out that Ben Poole is jointly responsible for the wording.

If I had a million dollars – if I had a million dollars
Well, I’d buy you a server – I would buy you a server
And if I had a million dollars – if I had a million dollars
I’d buy you software for your server – maybe a nice os or anti virus
And if I had a million dollars – if I had a million dollars
Well, i’d install redhat – a nice reliable OS
But if I only had a few thou. I’d buy you IdeaJam

/ A E D – / / / / / / A E D – E – – – /

If I had a million dollars
I’d build a cool place to work
If I had a million dollars
You could help, it wouldn’t be that hard
If I had a million dollars
Maybe we could have a cage for all the managers in there

You know, we could just go up there and get stuff done — amazing
products, code a tonne.

There would be oodles of coffee, plenty of Jolt,
maybe beer at the desk so no coders revolt.

They’d have pre-poured vodka but no pre-poured beer.
Well, what do you reckon? Can you blame ’em? Uh, yeah!

/ D E A / F#m / D E A / F#m / D E A / F#m D… E… /

If I had a million dollars – if I had a million dollars
Well, I’d buy you Exchange (no, not really that’s kinda cruel)
But if I had a million dollars – if I had a million dollars
Well, I’d buy you an expensive flop – (yep, like OS2 or Workplace)
And if I had a million dollars – if I had a million dollars
Well, I’d buy you Steve Miller’s soul – (yeah, can’t cost that much)
But if I only had a few thou., then I’d buy you IdeaJam

If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to write all that Java
If I had a million dollars
We’d write stuff in .NET ’cause it costs so much more
If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to eat none o’that humble pie

But we would eat humble pie. Of course we would, more and more
’cause IBM Consulting would send in the bill and we’d be so poor

If I had a million dollars – If I had a million dollars
Well, I’d buy you Sharepoint (no, not really, that’s kinda cruel)
And if I had a million dollars – if I had a million dollars
Well, I’d buy you some top drawer content – maybe Ed or vowe-dot-net
If I had a million dollars – if I had a million dollars
Well, I’d buy you a nice client – haven’t you always wanted a nice client
But If I only had a few thou., I’d buy you IdeaJam

If I had a million dollars, if I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars, if I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars, I’d sell SAP

As a person with a low caffeine tolerance and a love of all sugary things (careful), i have always adored energy drinks, normally i drink Relentless (for the taste, particularly relentless green, and the fact they have nice forms on their website) or redbull for the fact they run notes, how ever one of the developers from my biggest client, brought me back the following from a trip to L.A., a couple of cans from a company called Rockstar.

just look at it, its HUGE!! it contains or the normal nasty chemicals (caffeine, taurine, guarana), plus a few ones i have not heard of, and a few i sure they’ve just made up (milk thistle anyone?), it might be normal stuff to my US readers but it looks like an amazing heart attack in a can to me, just being the same room as it makes my heart rate speed up to the point i cant make out individual beats, I’m going to save it for a project that i have no hope of delivering and need to code at light speed, but mainly I’m touched that a college would think of it on their only holiday in years to bring it back several thousand miles. (thanks Mr Fullwood)

Thankfully in the up and down that is my strange excuse for a life, there are some ups to counteract the downs caused by D.V. (don’t ask), one up is being persuaded (and by persuaded i mean “do you want to go?”, “hell yess!”) to go to the grand international cos play ball,

now for those who have not had the happy introduction into cosplay its just fancy dress that has 2 basic themes, Japanese animation, and odd fashion such as Gothic Lolita,as complete anime freaks, the love of my live and i went as characters from said cartoons, much as i would like to show you pictures of my lady who went as Yuko from XXXHolic i like my heart in my chest and not ripped out and pulsing in someone else’s palm as a warning to those who post pictures of their girlfriends without permission., so you’ll just have to make do with me.

Heres the character i went as he’s called Gaara

and heres my version of him (but with a double chin apparently)

The hardest part was the gourd he wears on his back, it took over 2 weeks of nightly work, and i have to say I’m as smug with it as a good bit of ajax

An amazing time was had by all, one of the advantage of these kind of themed nights, is that ice breaking is dead easy, as you can always ask about/admire someone’s costume and start any conversation there which is normally much harder to do in a ordinary night club. and the fact the dress code is so strict means the number of assholes/trouble starter in the club are very very small.