Well, the huge decision to be made by Wikipedia whether or not they would re-introduce the rel=”nofollow” attribute to external links has been made: sure enough, “nofollow” is back!

What this means is that in terms of most of the leading search engines (Google and MSN mainly) no longer give weight to the external links on any of the Wikipedia site in terms of ranking. (It has been pointed out to me by Andy Beard that Yahoo does in fact use ‘nofollow’ tags - thanks Andy!)

In my opinion, this is good news, as it will quickly stop black-hat SEO players from abusing the wiki in order to gain a higher rank in Google or PageRank. On the other hand, it seems a shame that deserving sites are not gaining some of the status they arguably deserve.

What is the overall opinion? Good Wikipedia, or bad Wikipedia?

Yesterday, teaching at the University of the West of England (UWE) finally started again. I say ‘finally’, as we (Leah and I) have been back in Bristol for some time, having misguidedly thought that uni started again on the 9th of January. While coming back to Bristol two weeks early after the Christmas break was a bit of a pain initially, I have got quite a lot done with the websites and have been at work quite a bit, too.

My first lecture this morning on Policy Making was fine. It had seemed rather simpler than some of the previous lectures, which I was not absolutely sure about. The following seminar was similarly ‘workable’.

After the seminar, I enjoyed a coffee with chums Vicki and Carla before speeding off back home to learn that Leah had booked herself in for a drastic haircut, and as such needed moral support.

Thus, we left for the hairdressers in Fishponds (oh dear, one might think) and got her a brand new fringe! It’s very exciting — no more curtains for Leah Stockton! It looks much better. The hairdresser agreed, adding that she thought the cut was “1000 times better” than before. Modest, too.

After the chop, we had an early dinner / late lunch at the Porto Lounge in Fishponds. It was quite a nice meal for me, though Leah’s pâté was revolting. We shall know not to order that in the future.

When we had finished our food, we went very briefly to the Sandringham to leave a message for Zoe and for a “swift ‘alf”. We then went home and tried to find Jenkins a new job, as she is rather unhappy in her current one.

Anyway, enough about my boring day — shall write more shortly.

Alright. I used to like her a bit. She was alright in the Big Brother 3 series where she actually belonged; she seemed like a harmless enough girl with no brains and no agenda. I have even defended the troll against the beautiful Boofter before. Yet I had my head in shame.

I must admit to have avoided Celebrity Big Brother. I tend to watch the initial episode where they enter the house and just say ‘meh’. This year, the publicity has been such that one has grasped the concept without seeing it. Jade Goody has ripped any sympathy she drew before by becoming, or being, an egomaniacal t*at whose only concern was self-promotion (on whatever level).

That someone who was bullied becomes a bully does not make a justifiable end. Goody has left me down, the nation down, and most of all, the nation down (purely for Jenkins benefit).

The stuff she has said to the f*cking fabulously gorgeous Asian hottie that is Shilpa Shetty is beyond provincial. Shilpa, from what I have seen, has handled herself with grace and dignity.

The nastiest thing I can say to Jade is that you’re done now. You’ll no longer have even the sympathy you had before — career over.

Ciao!

Congratulations to Jennifer Hudson for winning the ‘Best Supporting Actress’ award at the Golden Globes. She won the award in her debut film performance playing Effie White in the movie version of the hit musical ‘Dream Girls‘ which also stars Beyoncé Knowles.

I am really pleased for her, as she was my favourite on the American Idol season 3. I loved Fantasia too, but Jennifer Hudson was my favourite.

I remember when she sung ‘Heatwave’ it really showed her vocal capabilities. She was kind of an underdog on the show as well, having only been given a chance to get through to the finals of the show because of Randy Jackson selecting her as a wild card. Simon Cowell never seemed to particularly like her; though his view of her seemed to become more approving shortly before she was thrown off the programme when the ‘three divas’ made up the bottom three.

Anyway, I am yet to see Dream Girls, but I am sure I shall love it. Congratulations once again, Jennifer!

So, what should I do when (if) I graduate this year? Do I go back to Barnstaple and hope for the best, or do I stay in Bristol and try and get a job here.

One thing I was thinking, as I discussed with Zoe (my fabulous manager), and some other folks, was the possibility that I work full-time at the Sandringham for a bit, while casually looking for a full-time job in something related to my degree. I could then support myself (ie. I would not need M & D financially, as I do now), I could stay in a city which I am yet to properly explore (thanks for pointing that out, Rusty!), and all the silly reasons, too.

I love working at the Sandy and I love the friends I have made there. I really only have three good friends at uni thus far. The Wife included.

I just don’t know what I will do after that? More uni? Computers? Politics? Journalism? Law? I am so confused!

Jess, what do you think I should do? (Other readers welcome to input advice!)