That Was the Week That Was - July 31st: Cuil and Exercise

You may have noticed a few changes around here. Yup, I've been tinkering with the code again, tweaking the front page of the blog and freshening up the comments section. Some of the changes, although minor stylistic issues, were long overdue.

You'll also notice that SezWho has now been installed to add extra functionality to the comments system. You can now vote comments up or down and indicate how popular a particular viewpoint is. SezWho recently set up a deal with Entrecard to increase blog participation, so time will tell.

We're Coming After You, Google!

Yet another challenger to the Google search engine throne started up this week. Cuil seems interesting at first, with a layout that offers more information within the SERPS to provide additional context. What isn't clear is how its algorithm effectively judges relevance.

Many observers are pointing out that the results seem far less than relevant. Obvious results are missing and trivial or scraped content is appearing high. Maybe Cuil should have opted for a Beta launch after all, as the bad press is already spreading.

Then again, as Seth Godin points out, why are businesses still trying to beat Google at their own game? The way to become as big as Google is not to emulate them, but to completely corner and capitalise on a different area. Until someone offers something that Google can't, consumers will stick with what they know. The problem with this truth is that to be successful requires original thought. Now there's a deal-breaker where most new business models are concerned.

Excercise for Writers

I'm not fit. No great news-flash there, I spend my entire working day writing into a computer before going home to a different computer to write some more. But I've still been shaken this week by the discovery that I've run out of belt and I need to buy a bigger one before I resort to holding my pants up with electrical cord.

In recent months, my asthma has returned, allergies I never knew I had have manifested and I've begun to groan like an old man when I pick something up off the floor. Luckily, my employer provides gym membership for staff, so I signed up for my allotted two sessions a week.

After a month, I am reminded of the news story from a few years ago that suggested scientists have discovered a exercise gene. The ramifications are that there is therefore an opposite 'couch potato' gene. That is, people are born with a disposition towards exercise or not. Those people we see leaping around first thing in the morning and who think nothing of a five mile jog in their lunch break - apart from being freaks - apparently enjoy and crave exercise because it is built into their genetic makeup.

To me, a running machine is hell without the scenery and a Stairmaster is hell without a second floor. I'm trying to stick at it, for no other reason than I'd like my stomach back for my wedding at the end of the year. But I can't help thinking that writers are the people most in need of the exercise gene and, ironically, are probably those most likely to not have it.

Can someone design a way I can get fit and lose weight while I sit at my desk? Preferably one that doesn't involve me sweating all over the keyboard?

Kimota on the Web

For extra Kimota goodness, you can read my guest post, 'What Kind of Writer Are You?', over on Sharp Words. Thanks to Catherine for inviting me to prance on her stage for a change. If you run a blog and would like an injection of Kimota, book a guest post.

Over at Netregistry News, I address the issue of customer consent in email marketing campaigns in 'You Asked For It!'.

And Finally...

The oldest joke has been discovered, and it doesn't belong to Jimmy Tarbuck.

Listening to... 'I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'. Following the sad passing of Humphrey Littleton, the show's chairman, earlier this year, I've been enjoying some of the finest episodes of his comedy panel game. If you love the ridiculous and enjoy clever wordplay, you can listen to the show through the BBC website.

Reading... 'A History - An Unauthorised History of the Doctor who Universe'. 'Harry Potter' is still on the go, but in my lunch breaks I've been slowly plodding through Lance Parkin's fully revised and incredibly detailed work. Covering over 800 adventures in a number of disparate media, Lance has managed to construct a fairly consistent picture of how events fit together in the 'Doctor Who' universe. The book is incredibly hard to find in Australia and retails for over $100, last time I found it. So onto Amazon.com I went and picked it up for a third of the price, thanks to the strong dollar.

As you were. Class dismissed.