January 2004 Archives

Please help me find my missing snowman! He was kidnapped in front of the house in Southampton on January 29. Please e-mail me at TheMissingSnowman@yahoo.co.uk if you have any information leading up to the person or persons involved in his disappearance. More information 

I've made a few updates in the photos and programming sections. View my recent additions: photos from my Italian trip last September and the Java Address Book that I developed for my postgraduate class.

Cadbury's Wispa Mint. I'm far from a chocoholic, but the smooth minty flavour of the Wispa Mint paved the way to my appreciation of chocolate -- that is, until it was discontinued. I sent a letter off to Cadbury asking why they had dicontinued this brand, and I received a letter back from Audrey Payne from the Consumer Relations Department.

The letter read: "Consumer preferences do change from time to time and as a major manufacturer it is important that Cadbury maintain a wide range of products that are in line with changing customer demands. For this reason new products are regularly introduced and any line not matching up to expecttation is withdrawn."

It is fair enough to discontinue unpopular products, but I question how they compile their data. I had a difficult time finding Wispa bars because the shelves were always empty or this brand was not sold (so I did not purchase any chocolate). I addressed these issues in my letter, but I didn't receive an answer. Cadbury are currently replacing all of their brands with the Dairy Milk identity, but the Wispa Mint is now history in Cadbury's product line (see BBC article).

I have been busy finishing university work - a Java address book with 42-page report on design, analysis, and implementation. (I will upload this when I have more time.) I've also located and uploaded an analysis of The Time Machine that I wrote a few years ago. You can view that here: timemachine.htm

This is a good time as any to look back on the best and worst of 2003. Movies, television, and commercials are a good place to start. Here's a list of the best and worst movies, compiled by Star-Telegram.com: Best and Worst : 2003 - Star-Telegram.com. Although, I do not agree on some of their choices, such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Master and Commander, two films which I place in my favourites category, and I certainly thought Finding Nemo was overrated, they do provide some decent insights for the worst of the list. When I first saw the trailer for Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, I thought that Hollywood had come to a complete low, not to mention the choice of Christmas-themed films this year. And what about Freddy vs Jason? This year's choice of entertainment had a few gems, but most of it was rubbish. Television hasn't gotten much better, and I've been disappointed with the 2003 episodes of The Simpsons, and South Park has sunk lower. I don't even bother with South Park anymore. What's even worse are reality shows, the fact that Ruben won American Pop Idol (I had no opinion on British Pop Idol), and the annoying Ozzy commercials. I also got tired of hearing about Michael Jackson. MNBC has compiled an extensive list of The best and worst of 2003 TV - MNBC News For the best and worst UK commercials, visit Ad Breakdown : Review of the Year - BBC News.

I went to Wales over the Christmas holidays. I took this photograph of a sheep.