And Again



  ¶ 2:05 pm  

  Back Again


  ¶ 11:50 am  

  Frosties (Advert)

While I'm on here after writing the last post, I think I'll refer you to that Frosties advert with the singing boy - I knew this song was insane, and it looks like it's all over the internet! The poor Frosties boy; there's some nasty rumours about him out there, apparently. Not to mention some disturbing-looking parody videos. Frosties boy, my heart goes out to you. After all, he's only doing his job. Plus, he can fly! (See advert)

Warning: advert may induce intense somethingness. Don't say I didn't warn you, okay?!  ¶ 9:10 pm  

  Brins Back to School (Essay: School)

Some readers might know that I've written some posts about Scottish school tips. Even though I've left school now, I still concern myself with school pupils who I feel are bombarded with a colossal amount of pressure throughout school and don't seem to get the respect from teachers - and indeed society - that I'd say they deserve. I know from first-hand experience that teachers lie outright to pupils, sometimes dabbling in 'shock tactics', to get them to scramble to pass their exams, fill in some trivial form, or make them think something quite untrue about their future.

While most school-pupils perhaps aren't affected much by these things, I was to a fair degree, and I do feel that others are too. Since these pressures and schock tactics are likely to continue for who knows how long, I'd like to at least raise some awareness amongst pupils of the things they might be told in future, and how to react to it. Perhaps the teachers generally mean well, but for those children who scare easily, it's nice to know what to take with a pinch of salt.

Nobody reads these, of course, but maybe I'll publish my essays and BECOME FAMOUS!!

...Or not...

But anyway, I've decided to write another one. It's a bit more trivial, but still something interesting. It's 'The Great Exam Results Rush'.

That's right. Traditionally, the formula is this: From S4 upwards, exam results arrive at your house sometime during the summer holidays. When this happens, you might feel disappointed, happy, content, amazed, and/or countless other things about your results. After a day or two, you've hopefully processed what you've got in your mind, and accepted it.

But that's not the end - after term begins, for some weird reason, all your classmates feel obliged to harrass everyone they know about their results, thereby forcing everyone to remember them and get their marks broadcasted across the year. Oh, the shame! How cruel! The madness!

If you're one of the types who can't be bothered with this and just wants to avoid telling people, I have to say it seems the best thing to do probably is to tell someone. I used to just worm my way out of giving it in conversation, but this just made the requests for information even more frequent. I suspect that by telling classmates who 'get around' in the year group, perhaps they'll relay your results in passing to friends, thereby reducing the flurry of demands for grades on your part. Problem solved? I don't know if there is an easier solution than this, but my personal recommendation would be to go with it rather than refuse to talk. It seems to get the exam rush over faster.

Hey, this might sound petty to most people, but I think all school pupils know how annoying this exam result fever is. And right after a holiday, too! THE NERVE!!

As ever, blame the SQA! (It's always their fault - a topic for another day!)  ¶ 8:50 pm  

  Triumphant Return for Brins (Hello)

I apologise for not being here so long, and I apologise to all those people who hate it when webmasters apologise for not updating for a long time. I don't have any excuses for neglecting the 'CICC' (I admit, the name means nothing), or at least none I'd like to share, but fear not! Brins is back for today, and with that said, here's something I found very funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPxY8lpYAUM

It's an amaglam of certain clips from this old 'The Legend of Zelda' cartoon show, and I have to say I enjoyed watching it. (Conventionally, that link would be to a Wikipedia article, but it's not for me to judge.) You don't have to watch, of course, but I'd recommend it. That's right, a recommendation from Brins! Tell your friends! In fact, tell everybody! This film must be seen!

[It doesn't really have to be seen, though...]  ¶ 8:41 pm  

  For Paper (A Discussion)

Paper is a very useful material, but people don't tend to think about it very much.

Paper comes from trees, apparently. It doesn't make sense, does it? However, without paper, it would be difficult to write things down using pens and pencils. Cardboard is not the most amicable alternative.

But supposing a company were to come along and devise a new material to write on! In this age of people discovering new, fantastic ways of doing things that people have taken for granted, who's to say that another chapter won't be written in the book of paper... using an alternative material to paper!

But what will this wonder-material be? Plastic? Metal? Cling-film? Dust? Butter? Or something else...?

While pondering this excitable notion, let's recount an interesting story. In my high school, I had heard rumours - for many years - about one classroom containing a high-tech blackboard. This blackboard was operated by something called a computer (we didn't really get taught about those things when I was a lad), and it worked in a special way. The teacher pointed at it with a computer-pen-type-object, and markings appeared on the board, as if it were a piece of chalk!!

Yes, already, computers were being used to provide writing implements (assuming this rumour was true). Therefore, who knows?! Who knows what the future holds for paper??

Oh... wait, they already have word processors on computers, don't they? Ah, well. Can't win 'em all!

'For Paper' discussion: INVALIDATED.  ¶ 9:57 pm  

  A Poem From Dr. X (Story)

Remember the little Action Man story that I had up here a while ago? That one with the 'sensational' 'cliffhanger' 'ending' at the 'end'?

Well, good news to all who loved that story and wanted to pay money to read it! Not because I'm charging everyone who does read it, but because I have tracked down the secret diary of Dr. X itself! I'm not going to bore you all with the bad doctor's schemes undisclosed schemes for destroying the world, defeating Action Man, and so on; instead, I'll let you in on something profoundly touching. You see, resting deep within this titanical diary of the doctor is a poem that manages to stand silent amongst the blueprints for Electro-Beam Cannon Blasters and Titanium X Armour Thrusters; this diary is huge and very angry, yet here are these words of wisdom from Doctor X that just seem to transcend form and mystify the heart.

No more suspense! Here is the poem itself:

A Reverence for Dr. X

When I was young and a post-doc,
one day I was in pain;
my lab was dark, my thesis yet ungraded,
for tombs to scorn the laughing sun;
what was this darkness? This was different,
my carbon de-Flibstron did not see;
yet a man walked into the lab,
he did not belong here;
he was gone, and I did not know,
where I was going or where to now go;
did I choose wrongly? To become Dr. X?
Of course not, you boneheaded diary! Stop laughing at me!
Yes, my father did say I would make a horrible poet,
but why must you laugh as well?

I am happy as Dr. X! That man was wrong!
Action Man must be destroyed, and he claimed otherwise!
To the last day of the final coin, the man is wrong forever!

And that's the end of the poem. It seems as though the doctor's train of thought switched at some point in the middle, but before that, isn't it interesting? When Dr. X was a researcher, was he already evil? Who was this man that apparently opposed him, even at this early stage of his career? Could it have been.....

Action Man???

TO NOT BE CONTINUED!! (After all, I don't have any evidence to continue a case here...)

  ¶ 5:38 pm  

  The Solution to the Cup Mystery (Challenge)

A while ago, I put up a challenge; that's something I don't really do much anymore, which is a shame. The reason I don't do them, though, is because nobody seems to want to participate in them. There wasn't much concern for the Mega Man challenge (I'd still love to hear your Dr. Wily impressions, though - have a look at the challenge in the Challenges section on the right, and email me your sound clips)! Oh no! Still, nevermind. The same thing seems to have happened for the cup.

At any rate, the answer to the cup mystery is: Buffalo Bill.

Don't worry if the answer makes no sense, because it doesn't.

Ho ho ho!  ¶ 7:05 pm