Cow Texas

Doppelganger Warfare

2012-02-29T05:30:00.000+08:00

Doppelganger. It's an interesting word.

One one hand, it sounds like a super villain who is worthy of a throne.
On the other hand, it also sounds like the thing you create when you 'sit on the throne'.

Like poop. There. I said it. Haters gonna hate.

But despite my quite reasonable assumptions, as I'm sure you are aware, it means something quite different. The term for a similiar looking person is called your 'Poop.'

So sorry. 'Doppelganger.' I totally meant to type Doppelganger.
It's so hard to shake away the thought of poop when it's on your mind.

That sure isn't going to help. Boy, am I getting wildly off-track.

I've had some pretty interesting Doppelgangers put forward to me over the years.
Let me tell you about them.

1. German Shepherd x Lab - Whangarei SPCA

Over at www.doggelganger.co.nz they think this dog and I have a 62% match.
If I lived in New Zealand, I could adopt the little fella. Unfortunately the little 'fella' is a female puppy called Kim.

We're not off to a strong start.

2. Dan Humphrey - Gossip Girl

My friend Sasha rated me a 70% match to Dan.

At first I didn't agree at all. I thought it looked nothing like me. The hair was all wrong, and I would never wear those clothes out in public. My first ever real person Doppelganger, and I couldn't disagree more!

And then I realised she was talking about the guy on the right.

3. Jimmy Giggle - Giggle and Hoot (ABC Children TV Show)

My good (albeit, Canadian) friend Bec showed me this guy the other week. She is quite adamant about it. Her Canadian enthusiasm is so strong that I'm almost convinced I am actually him, hosting a children's TV show with a stuffed owl.

I have a pet inflatable penguin called Horris, so I figure I've pretty much got the gig.

4. Hugh Jackman - Australian God

This one wasn't surprising at all. I get it all the time.

Who's your Doppelganger?

A Brief Note About the Ads

2012-02-29T05:00:00.000+08:00

Since I started Cow Texas, advertisements were something I chose to avoid.
Often on websites they're intrusive, irrelevant, and just plain annoying.

However as Google and Facebook continue to prove, relevant ads can sometimes be of benefit for both the website owner and the viewer.

At the moment I am trialing a few different advertisement avenues.
One provides the possibility of a (small) revenue on a 'per click' basis. One provides free marketing for new visitors in exchange for clicks, and the third is a combination of the two. I've been careful not to choose 'spammy' ad suppliers, but ones that may possibly show interesting ads for your viewing pleasure. For instance, there are some links to high quality webcomics at the bottom of each page. So if you see something you like, give the little guy a click - everybody wins! I'm hoping that by being transparent about the whole process, you awesome readers will be more understanding about the whole thing.

I've tried to blend them into the site in the most unobtrusive ways possible. And after a few months i'll analyse the results and see what works and what doesn't. If you read this sometime in the future, this might have all changed. Moral of the story - I love spending my free time working on these Hump Day posts, and if displaying unobtrusive ads helps me do this more i'm all for it, and I hope you are too.

In the meantime, I've just realised this is the most serious post I've ever written.
This is obviously unacceptable. Hopefully the following picture helps.
(I made it for a CT fan earlier this week.)

The Cat Whisperer - Official Theatrical Trailer

2012-02-22T05:30:00.000+08:00

Warning: You will never get this minute of your life back.

CT #229

2012-02-15T05:30:00.000+08:00

I Will Never Regret

2012-02-08T05:30:00.000+08:00

Shut It

2012-02-08T05:00:00.000+08:00

Virgin Mary Sighting

2012-02-01T05:30:00.000+08:00

Something extraordinary happened at work the other day.

I thought people who saw images of Virgin Mary around the place were a bit nutters.
A bit loop-di-loop. A bit Jatz Crackers. (Which is kind of sad, since I fancy myself some Jatz Crackers and dip now and then.)

But my view on these people has changed. I mean, it has to. I'm one of them now.
And i'll be damned if you'll refer to me as a delicious, edible food snack.

It was 2 pm on your average, run-of-the-mill, normal looking day. Not a time that I particularly associate with miracles. If miracles were more of a common occurance in my life, i'd like to think I was more of a 5:30 in the afternoon kind of guy.

I can't say I ever met Virgin Mary while she was alive, so I can't be 100% sure it's her, (i.e. it might be one of her sisters), but i've just got that feeling....

She seemed happy.

That Guy

2012-01-26T05:30:00.000+08:00

CT #228

2012-01-25T04:30:00.001+08:00

You Caught Me

2012-01-18T05:30:00.000+08:00

When The World Ends

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000+08:00

Home - Michael Bublé Cover (By Rice and Copes)

2012-01-11T05:30:00.000+08:00

Rice's girlfriend (Steph) recently came home from a student exchange to Milan, Italy.
Just before she was due to fly back, we decided to whip up a little something for her.

World, Meet Nanna

2012-01-04T05:00:00.000+08:00

Now, I like to think I'm pretty good with technology.

I was born in a generation where computer development conveniently largely overlapped with my childhood. I can draw picture thingies (debatably humorous), write blog stuff (with perfect Egnlish) and set up internet houses (aka 'websites') fairly comfortably.

But I will admit, sometimes I'm a little late to catch on.

I only just recently got my first smart phone, a Samsung Galaxy. Up until this time, I thought the future was still going to be an elaborate network of paper cups and string. I'm talking underground tunnels of taught string, and interchange stations where operators would tie different strings together to connect your call. Texting would be done by Morse Code (everyone knows Morse Code), and telemarketers would need some super-mega-ass-string to cross oceans - rendering their job useless.
As you can see, the vision was both brilliant and faultless.

Something else I struggle to grasp are TV remotes. They drive me crazy. Why are there so many damn buttons?? I think in the wrong hands, someone with a TV remote could unknowingly launch a space shuttle. I don't want to be that person. But quite often the case, after 30 seconds of intent button staring I panic and press random buttons.

On holiday in South Africa last year one of the hotel TV remotes had this button.

Seriously.

Just when I'm getting the hang of these bloody things, some kind of Devil Lord tempts us simple beings with curiously intriguing buttons.

I think my delay of technology acceptance is partly born from the fact that while starting my Computer Science studies in University only seven years ago, we were still handing in assignments on floppy discs. Floppy discs. And I was studying to be in the future world of computers. The only time floppy discs are used now are in marketing campaigns for Nasal Delivery Technology.

But a few days ago, I got a text message from my Nanna.
In two short sentences, she would shake the very foundation of life itself.

I don't even have a Twitter account yet. In the world of Social Media, my Nanna has just outranked me. She has the app on her phone (yes, a smart phone no less!) and is not afraid to use it!

I was instantly fascinated. I wonder how many people my Nanna can get to follow her tweets? Do you have Twitter? Want to know what a Nanna does (apart from cook amazing food)? You should follow her. Who knows what pearls of wisdom she'll offer us!

You'll find her at www.twitter.com/MavisEEvans
If it's anything to go by, she makes a killer shortbread biscuit.

Don't mind me, I'll just be staring at my remote control.

Boxing Day 2011

2011-12-28T05:30:00.000+08:00

Boxing Day is an amazing day.

Firstly, it's the day after Christmas.
And there's nothing like waking up from a self induced Christmas food coma, only to indulge in leftovers for breakfast.

Secondly, if your lucky enough to live in Australia, the cricket is on.
And there's nothing like cracking open a beer at 7am, while eating said leftovers, and sitting on your ass for hours watching TV.

Thirdly, a whole bunch of new movies are released.
And there's nothing like smuggling in leftover Christmas food, under the guidance of cricket beer, into the movie theaters, and sitting on your ass some more.

This year we watched "We Bought a Zoo".
You should watch it. It's a good movie. They buy a Zoo.

Did you watch a movie this Boxing Day? There was a swag of sweet looking movies this year. Couldn't help but notice these few titles on the way out.

They look intriguing...

What a Wonderful World

2011-12-21T05:30:00.000+08:00

C'mon now. Don't tell me we all haven't done this before.

Everyday Turtles

2011-12-14T05:30:00.000+08:00

The Good Life

2011-12-14T05:00:00.000+08:00

CT #227

2011-12-07T05:30:00.000+08:00

Professional Hairdressers

2011-12-07T05:00:00.000+08:00

A Big Day

2011-11-30T23:48:00.001+08:00

Today was a big day.
It was actually a huge day. Screw small talk, let's get to the facts.

1) It's Hump Day. This doesn't need much more elaborating than that.

2) It's my birthday. This morning I got up, had some cereal, and went to work.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Wrong.

It seems when people get to a certain age they stop 'celebrating' their birthday.

I call bullshit.
Your birthday is your one day a year where you can do whatever the hell you want.
What did I do this year?
I didn't go to work. I've never worked on my birthday.
The beach seemed like a better idea.

I had Nachos for breakfast followed by Hungry Jack's for lunch. What? Nachos isn't a real breakfast? Cake and popcorn isn't a real dinner either. Think that stopped me?

3) It's the last day of Movember. All the men in the world have been growing their 'staches for the last month and today's the day everyone reaches their peak. Not just a bold fashion statement - did you know that the Collective World Moustaches raised over $116 million for Men's Health Initiatives this past month alone?

My Mo got completely out of control this year (aka it sucked. Again.) Turns out my facial hair genes haven't fully developed yet. I'm actually starting to wonder if I've actually gone through puberty. The fact that I can count my chest hairs isn't helping the case.

Heck, I think my Mo was bigger when I was 8.

Here's to next Movember!

CT #226

2011-11-30T23:46:00.001+08:00

CT #225

2011-11-23T05:30:00.000+08:00

CT #224

2011-11-16T05:30:00.000+08:00

What

2011-11-09T05:30:00.000+08:00

Village Call

2011-11-02T05:30:00.000+08:00