TerraKat's Random Thoughts

What Is Past Is Prologue...

2008-10-13T00:16:00.002+01:00

"Whereof what is past is prologue, what’s to come is at your and my discharge."

This is a quote from William Shakespeare's "The Tempest". From my understanding, it means that whatever's happened up to now only sets the stage for where we are - the main story starts now and it's up to us what happens in the future. It can apply to any time, but I feel it is especially appropriate to me at the moment. We (Dee and I!) are finally getting married on Saturday. This is obviously a major event in life and will considerably effects.

I have had a very fortunate life and been very well looked after by fantastic parents. They have been, and done, more than I could have asked for. I haven't always agreed with them, but they have been a great source of inspiration, comfort and guidance. I don't want to play down events that have happened so far and the influences that people have had on me. However, there is a part of me that can't help but feel as though the past has all been preparation for what's to come - the rest of my life lies ahead of me. Shakepseare was right:

"Whereof what is past is prologue, what’s to come is at your and my discharge."

House Hunting Frustrations

2008-07-23T22:57:00.004+01:00

We're looking for a first house to buy and have a rather limited budget. Everything we've seen is either too small or in a "dodgy" part of town. Except two. They are close enough to ideal in almost all respects - just one snag: I might not be able to get a signal on my work mobile (kinda important). Need to go back again to check...

So frustrating!

Britney's Family Fighting Back?

2008-02-09T16:49:00.000Z

I'm not normally too interested in the lives of celebrities, and the up's and (more significantly) down's of Britney Spears' life has quite happily passed me by. Recently however, it has started to catch my eye. Over the last couple of years, she has gone from one minor disaster to the next, with the media/paparazzi lapping it up - always there with cameras followed by the inevitable negative press reports. I have always felt little bit sorry for Britney. The life of a celebrity can't be an easy one - especially for people like Britney who get thrust to fame so rapidly at such a young age. How can these people be expected to know how to deal with it all - the sudden press attention, following and scrutinizing their every move; not to mention the vast sums of money (and all the temptations that go with it)?

In my mind, the responsibility is with the managers of these celebrities. It is up to them to manage the media and help the person live a sustainable life. In the case of Britney, it seems that her manger, Sam Lutfi, has not been doing this. The BBC quotes her mother as saying "He yells at her. He claims to control everything - Britney's business manager, her attorneys and the security guards at the gate". From the rest of this report, and others, it sounds very much like this man in particular is ruining her life. But her parents are trying to take action - they have succeeded in getting a restraining order against Mr Lutfi, and now her "father has been given the power to fire her business manager [Howard Grossman]" (BBC). We can only hope that her parents, over time, are able to remove the people from Britney's life that are causing harm, separate her from the negative publicity and media scrums that surround her, and get her the treatment she needs.

Good luck to the Spears' family!

Google Goes Mobile

2007-11-05T23:52:00.001Z

It's official - after months of speculation about a possible "Google Phone" (gPhone?), it has been announced that they are launching an Operating System for mobile phones. This will be in direct competition with the already established names like "Microsoft, Research in Motion, Palm and Symbian". However, one major factor that will affect phone manufacturers choice will be cost. In the best traditions of Google, they are providing their software "to handset makers free of charge". I don't know how much manufacturers pay for the likes of Windows Mobile, but you can bet the cost gets passed on (one way or another) to the end user - you and me. Will the free OS reduce costs for end-users, thus sparking a price war? Or will someone (or everyone) in the chain just increase their profit margins?

I wonder how well it will work with Windows. I have been using a Windows Mobile device for little over 6 months (and for a year about 3 years ago). I love the way you can synchronise it with Microsoft Outlook. However, I am also a fan of Google products. I have been using Gmail for a few years and have used Google Calendar, though since I've been unable to find a truly successful way of synchronising that with my Windows Mobile phone, I've abandoned it in favour of just using Outlook (I haven't had much success with RemoteCalendars, OggSync, gSyncIt or ScheduleWorld - but that story's for another day!). Perhaps this explains why Google haven't rushed to get their calendar to synchronise with Outlook? I would be very surprised if Google's new OS couldn't synchronise Google Calendar to an off-line version on the phone!

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Be Grateful For What You Have

2007-08-12T10:13:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, I watched an episode of Frasier. In it, somebody else's mail got delivered to Frasier by mistake and one of the items was an invitation to some kind of new exclusive place in town that he hadn't heard of. He couldn't bear the thought that there was something too exclusive for him, so he found out what it was - a health spa. Next, of course, he had to go to it.

When he got there, he handed over the invitation, but they wouldn't let him in because his name wasn't on the list. After Frasier had been arguing with the receptionist for a few minutes, Niles walked in, pretending to be someone else. This was obviously a pre-arranged plan between them, and they were allowed in.

They thought it was wonderful and thoroughly enjoyed themselves - they thought it was perfect (if a little pricey!). Anyway, just as they were leaving, they saw a gold door. When they tried to go through it, they were told that they weren't allowed - it was for Gold Members only.

Now they knew that there was something better than what they had, they were unhappy. What they had now wasn't good enough, despite the fact they had thought it was wonderful before they knew about this higher level. They wanted more.

They managed to get into the gold level (by utilizing a friend's contact). They thought this was idyllic - much better than the Silver Level they'd had before, much more befitting to people of their social standing. But then, while they were in a relaxation room, they saw a platinum door.

Of course, they weren't satisfied with the Gold Level now they knew there was something better still - they had to see what was in the Platinum Level. On their first attempt to get through the platinum door, they were told they weren't allowed. Not to be put off, they tried again, this time getting through. As soon as they were through, they thought they were in paradise. There was a lovely warm bright light surrounding them - much better (they thought) than what they had just been experiencing in the Gold Level. Only, as one of them realised they could smell rubbish, it dawned on them it wasn't paradise - they were actually stood outside next to the bins, and the door couldn't be opened from the outside.

Moral of the story - it's OK to want to better yourself, but don't be ungrateful with what you've got.

Falcon 4: Mission Report 5

2007-07-07T14:07:00.000+01:00

Takeoff: Day 1, 09:48

This mission is an escort. A flight of F-15E's are attacking an airfield just behind the front-line. Again, same as the last mission, I don't expect too much opposition, so I sacrifice 2 AMRAAM's for the sake of 2 AGM-88 HARM missiles (I leave the rest of my flight with 4 AMRAAM's and 2 Sidewinders).

The flight is very straight forward. After making the turn at waypoint 2, the closest enemy aircraft is 50 miles away to the North-East, and AWAC's can't see any threats. As we approach waypoint 3, I call up my HARM's, hoping to see a radar belonging to a missile system, but there is nothing apart from search radars. I send one missile at the radar on the airfield the F-15E's will be attacking, and another at a search radar nearby. No sooner have I done this than AWAC's declares a pair of SU-17's 30 miles away. I send the second element after them. We get a bit of AAA over the target airfield, so I turn on my jammer, jink and turn away South, towards the next waypoint.

After landing, I see that I killed 1 radar and a runway (my missile to the airfield's radar must have missed the radar but hit the runway instead - oh well, it still counts as a kill!). One of the SU-17's must have either got away, or killed by someone else, as our flight just gets credited with 1 air-to-air kill.

I suppose the most important thing about the mission was that the F-15E's survived and hit the airfield - hard. The results from the debrief say "East Incheon has been completely shut down and will be unable to launch any sorties in the near future."

Falcon 4: Mission Report 4

2007-07-07T12:43:00.001+01:00

Takeoff: Day 1, 09:48

We have been assigned yet another sweep mission, but this time further North. There are again 4 of us and we have 4 AMRAAMS and 2 Sidewinders each. Bearing in mind the last couple of missions - how we seem to have achieved air superiority round the front-line, I decide to leave my 2 Sidewinders behind and take along 4 cluster bombs. There are some T-62 tanks between waypoints 3 and 4, so I'll see if I can take a few of them out.

After take-off, AWAC's declares all clear. By the time we get to waypoint 3, there are some enemy aircraft, but nothing that AWAC's thinks is a threat. I call up my air-to-ground radar and find some targets. AWAC's confirms they are enemy. I line up on them and drop all 4 CBU's. Meanwhile, we are closing in on some enemy aircraft (I think they are transport-types). We all pick and engage targets. We have already over-shot waypoint 4 and are supposed to be starting to head back South. The closest enemy aircraft are about 40 miles away now, so we head back.

At the debriefing, I am credited with1 air-to-air kill, as are numbers two and three. Number four gets 2 air to air-to-air kills, so that's 5 between us. The big news is, is that I got 19 air-to-ground kills! For that, I was awarded the Air Force Cross!

Rain and Responsibility

2007-06-29T23:56:00.000+01:00

I think this must be about the wettest June on record for the UK. Two weeks ago, the building I work in got flooded, so we all got to go home at lunchtime. There has been a lot more rain at the start of this week (sounds like Sheffield and Doncaster got it worst). Now they're forecasting even more rain for the weekend!

Lots of people are complaining that the Environment Agency aren't doing enough to protect people's homes from flooding. People are blaming the government/councils for letting developers build on flood-plains. What are the home owners themselves doing though? Are they taking responsibility and action for looking after their own property? Or are they just waiting for and expecting someone else to do it?

There are companies that provide flood defences for properties. I accept it's not cheap, but what does it cost if you get flooded? From what they were saying on the radio the other day, there are a variety of options depending on the exact circumstances, such as water-proof air-bricks, water-tight door seals, perimeter skirts etc.

Don't get me wrong, I have complete sympathy with anyone who has suffered as a result of the floods, but I am very much of the opinion that we have to take action to look after ourselves, not just expect someone else (i.e. the government) to look after us all the time. To borrow a famous quote:

"You think safety is expensive, try having an accident!"

Champions League: AC Milan 2 - 1 Liverpool

2007-05-23T23:32:00.000+01:00

Alas, it was not be. Liverpool dominated the first half, and although they didn't have all that many chances, certainly looked the more likely team to score. Then, right on the stroke of half-time, Alonso conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area. Pirlo takes it, Reina diving to his left would have saved it, but it got deflected off the head of Inzaghi (entirely by chance) who was running in. This sent it to the other side of Reina and into the goal. It was one of those "flukey" goals that no-one could have done anything about. So, entirely against the run of play, AC Milan are 1-0 up at half-time.

The second half was generally more balanced. Liverpool weren't playing just as well and AC Milan were playing better. There were a couple of chances at either end, and short spell where Liverpool were really on the back-foot, but they survived. That is, until Kaka threads a pass through Liverpool's defence to guess who? Inzaghi. He is one-on-one with Reina, who comes out to him, but Inzaghi goes round him and scores to make it 2-0. Surely it's all over now, or is there still time for a come-back?

Liverpool are getting desperate now, throwing everything into the attack as the last few minutes count down. Liverpool win a corner. It is taken by Pennant, flicked on by Agger and headed in by Kuyt at the back post. Just one more needed to force extra-time!

It is announced that there are to be a minimum of 3 minutes added on. To be fair to AC Milan, they don't look to be particularly trying to waste time. They do make a substitution which does take a little while, but surely the ref will allow for it and add on another few seconds? There may still be a chance.

But no. The referee decides he's had enough and blows for full-time after allowing only 2 minutes 40 seconds for added time instead of the minimum 3 minutes! Liverpool manager, Benitez, is complaining to the referee, pointing vigorously to his watch, but of course its to no avail.

On the whole, Liverpool dominated the first half, and perhaps should have made more of that. They were unlucky with the first goal, but all credit to AC Milan - they took their chances when they had them. Never mind - there's always next year (and Benitez should have lots of money to spend over the summer, let's see if he can put it to good use!)

Falcon 4: Mission Report 3

2007-04-04T20:58:00.000+01:00

Takeoff: Day 1, 09:06

This was another CAP in exactly the same area as Mission 2. It was a flight of 4 and we had 6 AMRAAM's each, so we were looking to do some serious damage to the enemies strike capability.

We took off and checked with AWACS - no bad guys anywhere near. We followed our planned route, but the whole way round, AWACS was reporting clear. After we finished our patrol, I wondered about just going North towards the border looking for a fight and did indeed go a few miles. However, it quickly became apparent that all the aircraft near the border were friendly and there were no obvious enemies nearby.

We went back to base feeling slightly disappointed that we didn't get any action, but at least we seem to have achieved air superiority around the front line. Lets just hope for some more action on the next mission - might have to adjust the mission priority sliders to generate more air-to-ground missions.

Cruel To Myself

2007-03-19T12:23:00.000Z

I've got into a really bad habit of going to bed far too late recently. Look at me now - 12:15 on a Sunday night and I'm still up. I should have been in bed early because I was tired all last week (went to bed too late most nights) and really didn't want to be like it this week. I hate being tired - I feel so disorganised and I end up getting ratty with people I love (sorry Dee :( and others). It's not that I'm busy doing much, just for some reason I don't go to bed. I end up messing about doing silly little things that are of no importance, but waste time. Then, because I'm tired, I don't feel motivated to do things that DO need doing! I am tired and know I should be going to bed - I just don't!

Aargh! Why do I do this to myself?!?!

Why?

2007-03-15T23:41:00.000Z

Murdering anybody is a dreadful and awful crime, but of all the people, why on earth would anybody murder a vicar? I can certainly see the arguments for the death penalty in such cases (providing of course guilt can be proven sufficiently).

For more on this story, see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6456035.stm

Falcon 4: Mission Report 2

2007-03-14T22:12:00.000Z

Takeoff: Day 1, 08:15

There have been numerous air-raids in our area, coming from the North West across the bay. We have been tasked for a sweep mission in this area to try to reduce these raids. It is a flight of 4, each of us armed with 6 AMRAAMS.

We take off at 8:15, and upon checking in with AWACS, are informed of enemy aircraft within 40 miles. Wanting to go on the offensive straight away, I use afterburner and race for altitude. Picking the targets up on radar at about 25 miles, I pick one and set my second element after him. I send my wingman after another, and I shoot at yet another one. Once my missile is 'pitbull', I turn away to put a bit of distance between me and the enemy, and also so I can assess what's left after the rest of my flight have finished - the answer: nothing.

Turning back to our flight plan, it's not long before some more enemy aircraft are at about 40 miles. Again we engage. After we have shot most of them down, there is one left at about 30 miles and he is running back North (we are to his South). I am aware that we are all gettin glow on fuel, so I decide not to chase after him (it would probably have needed a good run on afterburner to catch him, and I didn't think we had the fuel).

One of my wingmen calls 'Joker', so I decide to cut the corner off our flight-path and head straight back to base (there isn't a tanker for 80 miles!). Thinking this would be about it for the action, I checked with AWACS one final time before starting my approach, and there were more enemy aircraft at about 30 miles! We turned and engaged yet again, downing them all in the first volley of missiles. It's a good job because my wingmen were all calling 'Bingo' fuel. We contacted the tower and asked for an approach. They were directing us around for ages (the tower doesn't seem to work very well in FF3, don't know if it's better in any other version) but eventually I was directed to finals with the runway in front of me.

I couldn't believe the debrief - I won Air Medal and got promoted to Captain! When I looked at the statistics, it's maybe understandable. My flight killed 11 all together (I got 3, my wingman got 5, the other element got 2 and 1 between them). All in all, a good mission. Lets just hope we can keep this up and start taking the fight to them!

Falcon 4: Mission Report 1

2007-03-07T23:41:00.000Z

Day 1, 06:39

I am told that the planners are wanting to concentrate mainly on gaining air superiority, and reducing the SAM/AAA threat, so we can expect a lot of air-to-air and wild-weasel missions.

The first batch of missions that are tasked to our squadron are all DCA, covering the West coastal area (South-South-West of our airfield). I take the lead slot on the first mission, take-off 06:39.

As our take-off time approaches, there is an unforeseen development - enemy special forces capture Seosan Airbase (our Alternative Field for this mission, which just happens to be right underneath our patrol area) and a radar station nearby on the coast (you might be able to make it out on the map). Needless to say I changed our Alternate. Recon suggests that both sites are fully intact. I have a word with my Commander, and he agrees to me taking 6 x Mk-82 bombs (dumb, 500lb, general purpose bombs) along to try to make sure they can't use the airfield. My main priority is to knock out the radar at the airfield, then damage the runway. I let my wingman go with just 4 AMRAAM's and 2 sidewinders - I have the same, but also the 6 Mk-82's.

We take off on time and climb to altitude. Querying AWACS, it sounds like an enemy strike is inbound to our area. Turning towards them, I quickly pick up targets on my radar, and AWACS confirms them as hostile. Aware that I am more heavily laden than my wingman (and not wanting to just ditch my bombs), I lock up the closest enemy (about 25 miles) and give my wingman the Chainsaw command. I switch targets, confirm with AWACS, and shoot at another. I slow right down and turn so that the enemy are right on the very edge of my radar until the missile acquires the target itself, then I turn away and try to put some more distance between me and the enemy. Listening to the radio calls, it sounds like there are some other friendly fighters going after our bad guys, which I was completely unaware of - a good job I was verifying targets with AWACS before shooting! Turning back towards the action, I now identify a couple of friendlies, but manage to find another enemy. Locking him up, I shoot another AMRAAM. I miss, but AWACS tell me there are no more bad guys anywhere near our area, so maybe someone else got him.

We finish our patrol period with no further sign of enemy aircraft. My wingman calls low on fuel, so I send him home - I still need to attack the airfield. I make sure I have selected CCIP and have it set for just 1 bomb to come off the rack. Going down to low level and high speed, I line up on the radar and pickle the bomb. Pulling off target I go around and come in a second time. I am lined up fairly well with the runway, but also not too far from the radar, so I can decide at the last minute whether to re-attack the radar, or attack the runway if the radar's already destroyed. Closing in, I can see the explosion just next to the radar, but it still looks to be intact, so I drop another bomb on it. This time I kill it, so on my third pass (there are no SAM's and practically no AAA, so I'm relatively safe) I drop my last four bombs down the length of the main runway. I know these weapons aren't designed for anti-runway (as I said, my main target was the radar), but looking over my shoulder as I head back to base, I see four explosion marks down the middle of the runway - it's bound to have done some damage!

Looking at the debrief after the mission, my wingman and I got one enemy plane each. I also destroyed the radar, and damaged four sections of the runway. Not sure it will make much difference to the war effort (I doubt they would station planes there anyway), but it was a bit of good practice if nothing else (my only fear is that we recapture it, then have to repair it before we can use it, thus hindering us more than them!).

Falcon 4 - Configuration

2007-02-24T12:10:00.000Z

I have been playing Falcon4 for a few years on and off. I have started a few campaigns, but never actually completed one (win or loose) and I'm not very good! However, I'm just about to start a new one and thought I would try to write up my mission reports.

The campaign is Korea 2005 and the situation is:

"The DPRK has launched an all-out attack on South Korea. The Combined Forces of the ROK, the Us 8th Army and 7th Air Force must stop and repulse the invaders."

I am flying an F-16CJ with the 248th FS out of Osan. This is the situation map at the start of the campaign (Day 1, 05:00):

The version I am using is FreeFalcon 3.1 + Cobra 1.1.1 and have been using Frugal's Falcon 4 forum and FreeFalcon as my main sources of information.

Wish me luck!

Mood changes

2007-02-18T16:16:00.000Z

Isn't it interesting how something like a little walk in the country can really change your mood. This morning I was feeling thoroughly depressed, felt like going back to bed and starting again, tired and irritable.

Me and my boyfriend had said we'd do something today, but by 1:30 this afternoon we hadn't managed to leave the house, or even decide what to do with the afternoon, which was slowly ticking away. We settled on taking a walk up the road into the nearby countryside.

It was a lovely afternoon, warm for February, didn't even need my coat which i took but had ties round my waist.

After only quarter of an hour of gentle exercise was starting to feel happier. We did a route that took us round in a circle, with not too much in the way of hills. It was fairly muddy, which would usually annoy me but didn't today. Walked for 2 hours straight and although i was getting tired by the end, i'd had a complete transformation mood from miserable to happy.

Junk Mail

2007-02-17T16:57:00.000Z

I've just spent the best part of an hour sorting out post that has built up over the last week or so. Three quarters of it has gone straight into the bin/recycling. Most of the rest is stuff that I feel I ought to keep for a bit, so I'll file it away for now before disposing of it later. It isn't very environmentally friendly sending all this junk mail - besides the actual paper, there's the fuel involved in moving it all around the country! I wish companies would stop sending so much rubbish - it costs them (and therefore us) money, it wastes my time reading it, it wastes huge amounts of paper and the fuel used to transport it all! I really don't think anybody wants it!

Labels

2007-02-10T11:20:00.000Z

Finally, I have finished labelling my posts. I might change things a bit over time, but I think I've got the basics set up! Now we just need to write more posts!!

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Animal Crossing Weather

2007-02-06T20:29:00.000Z

After several weeks of snow in Animal Crossing, it has completely lost its appeal! Moaning snowmen, blue leaved trees, grey sky every time it snows and white ground have grown old! Bring on the green trees.

That darn cat

2007-02-06T19:04:00.000Z

Guess who this is about? The other day Fancy, Jeremy and Sally were due at the vets. Sally and Jeremy were due boosters, flea jabs a routine medical check and Fancy was going to have his weigh in plus his flea jab.

So the day of the vet visit came, and Fancy disappeared completely, its like he knew! We asked the vet if they'd see him later if he turned up and they said that would be fine.

He didn't come home until 10 that evening, with a massive gash to his leg and large hole in the back of his ear. I cleaned him up the best I could, will now have to try getting him in for his flea jab, wish me luck!!!

Recovering From A Bad Flash

2007-02-03T13:26:00.000Z

Dee has had a problem with her computer refusing to boot recently. It was just hanging at "Verifying DMI Pool Data..." I ruled out the hard-drive as the cause because when I plugged it into my computer, it worked fine. I cleared the CMOS and tried again - but that didn't work, so I decided to flash the BIOS to the latest version. It got most of the way through when disaster struck! It rebooted for no apparent reason. The worst thing was that when it booted, it didn't do anything! I shut it down and cleared the CMOS again, but when I powered it up - nothing happened. Everything powered up OK, but there was no 'beep' from the POST tests, no attempt to read the floppy drive - nothing!

Fortunately, all was not lost. I found a company called Biosflash UK who for less than £10 reflashed the chip with the BIOS file I e-mailed , and also sent me a chip extraction tool. When I got it back a couple of days later and put it in, everything worked! It booted straight back into Windows no problem!

Fancys Diet

2007-01-02T09:38:00.000Z

Lucky old Fancy has managed to escape the vets for over a month now. He was meant to have a visit this morning but the nurse is ill. He missed out on his last appointment 'cos i got the day wrong. He isn't going to be seen now till the 23rd of Jan, lets hope he loses some weight in that time!!!

Seriously Bad Timing

2006-12-18T23:08:00.000Z

I have just taken on a new role at work and don't really know what I'm doing yet. To make things worse, the only other person who does this job is now on holiday for a week! I just hope nothing goes wrong that needs sorting out because I won't have a clue how to do it. I really don't need a bad week at work this week because I tend to worry about things - if something does go wrong this week and drags over into next week, I'll be worrying about it all through Christmas!

Please - everything work!

Christmas in Animal Crossing

2006-12-11T10:36:00.000Z

This Saturday a message appeared on the town notice board, telling the world that there was going to be heavy snow the next day. It snowed all Sunday, and settled overnight. So now I can make snow men, yay! Apparently they talk, if you have done a good job making them they say nice things and if you don't then they moan.

Found a big festive tree in Tom Nooks store yesterday, it is also on sale today too. So I got one and put it in the main room of my mansion, it fits in very nicely with the furniture in there.

Fancy's Diet

2006-12-11T10:27:00.000Z

Oooops, forgot to write up last week about Fancy's weigh in visit. Sadly he gained weight again last week :(, even if it is ever so slightly. So, we have decided to carry on with the diet until Christmas and if there's no improvement have a rethink of the situation.

Snow

2006-11-27T17:18:00.000Z

Yay, for the first time this year I've got snow in Animal Crossing Wild World!

Fancy's Diet (part 2)

2006-11-20T22:41:00.000Z

This week Fancy's weigh in did not go according to plan.

For a start he ran away and hid around the time of his appointment, causing me to ring the vet at T minus 10 minutes to report him missing in action, so unable to attend his meeting with the nurse.

Explaining to the surgery was no biggie though, they just laughed and said to ring them when said cat made an appearance to see if they could squeeze him in later in the day.

So, our visit was rescheduled to 5pm, and we got there this time with no further hiccups. Sadly, Fancy did not lose any weight this fortnight, opting to gain slightly. We put this down to the time of day (he usually gets weighed in the morning), but this does mean that the fortnightly visits will continue instead of becoming monthly visits as I'd hoped for. Ho hum :( Here's to the next 2 weeks!

Animal Crossing

2006-11-19T11:35:00.000Z

I have been playing the game animal crossing for the Nintendo DS since June, ( when I got my DS Lite), and to be honest didn't think i'd still be playing it so regularly a few months down the line from buying it. Most of the games I buy, I play lots for the first few weeks then my interest wanes somewhat.

What makes it more strange that I have kept playing for so long is that there isn't any kind of objective to it, you pretty much do what you want. You can fish, catch bugs, go shopping, chat with the locals, visit the museum and have a cup of coffee in the cafe.

There are some challenges set, like enlarging your home, starting with a small hut with the possibility of graduating to a mansion, by way of paying of the ever increasing morgages from Tom Nook, (local shop owner/builder) at the town hall. You are also challenged to make your house nice in order to get a good rating from the Happy Room Academy, by colleting series of furniture and applying feng shui principles of decorating.

You earn money by selling things, like fruit, bugs, shells etc. or running errands for your neighbours, like delivering mail and presents. I'm currently saving up (you get a saving account at the town hall) to pay off my final mortgage of 948000 bells (ACWW currency), I'm saving rather than paying of bits 'cos you get interest on savings, but you don't pay it on the mortgage. Have saved 323000 bells so far, have a long way to go :(

Introducing Jeremy

2006-11-18T15:30:00.000Z

Jeremy is the oldest boy cat, he is 13 years old. We got him from a blue cross rescue centre as a replacement for a cat we'd had that had died. He is a very loyal, loving mog, who is very easy going. He loves hunting for mice, being the centre of attention and sitting on peoples' shoulders like a parrot would.

Introducing Sally

2006-11-18T15:25:00.000Z

This is Sally. She is old for a cat being nearly 18. We've had her since she was a kitten. She growls, bites and smells bad, but we love her lots anyway :)

Fancy Fights The Fat

2006-11-16T08:44:00.000Z

Hi there.

For my first ever blog i thought i'd talk about my cats battle with obesity. Fancy is my youngest cat, he turned up on the doorstep about 8 years ago and decided he'd like to be part of our cat family, which at the moment consists of 3 cats.

He has always been big!! But until recently I have always argued with the vet that his bulk is just big bones, however, about 8 weeks ago i was told he really should go on a diet, since he weighed 6.13kg, (most cats are considered large when they weigh over 5kg). So, he's now on diet food from Royal Canin, and making fortnightly visits to the 'Fat Cat Club' at the vets'.

It has not been an easy few weeks. Anyone with a cat will tell you that they eat what they want to eat, and this diet food must have seemed like a poor substitute for the stuff he's used to eating. The first month was bad, although he lost a bit of weight the first visit, going down to 6kg, he then decided he didn't like the diet food on its own and started eating elsewhere. This meant that by the second visit he had gone up to 6.2kg and the third visit he was a massive 6.4kg. I decided that it's better to not follow the diet to the letter and have him eat at home than have him go elsewhere so we came to a compromise, half diet food and half normal food mixed together.

When the next visit came around the news was good he'd lost a bit of weight and had gone down to 6.29kg, and the visit after that he was 6.19kg, its coming off slowly! His next visit is on Monday, i'll post how he's done this past 2 weeks then >^..^<

Environmentally (Un)Friendly Business

2006-11-14T22:40:00.000Z

I work for a rather large company whose PC's must number well over a thousand at a guess. Bearing in mind that we're all supposed to be doing our bit towards saving energy, why can't we turn them off at night? We are all told to leave them on (just turn off the monitor), so they can send updates out overnight (apparently if they send them out during the day, it will slow everything down too much), but I really don't know what updates they are talking about, maybe the odd Microsoft security update, but I can't think of much else. Even at weekends or when we are on holiday, they tell us to leave them on! It must waste the company thousands or even millions of pounds every year!

Labels: Update

2006-11-14T22:33:00.000Z

I have removed all labels from my posts as I realized they weren't being applied consistently. I will, at some point, try to go through and apply a new, more consistent, set.

Bizarre Pricing?

2006-11-01T23:38:00.000Z

Today I have been looking into subscribing to Caller Display with BT. It was going to cost £1.75 per month, but I decided to do it anyway. Just before I did, I noticed that it came free with "BT Privacy at Home". I expected that to cost even more that Caller Display, so I almost didn't look at, but I'm glad I did - it is actually free! Not that you really get anything else with it, apart from getting registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) which is free anyway (and a good thing!).

Why would anyone pay £1.75 per month when they are giving it away for free? Sounds silly to me, but I'm not complaining!

New Blogger

2006-10-23T00:34:00.001+01:00

I have recently transferred to the new Blogger system, and my first impressions are positive! I seem to have lost my nice pop-up comments, but I think I might be able to get them back. I like the drag and drop layout adjustment - it is a lot easier than hand-writing the code! I have started to add labels to a few of my posts, but I'll finish the rest off another time as it is now after midnight and I've got a busy day at work tomorrow (I don't know why, but just lately I've got into a really bad habit of going to bed late, getting up late for work and being tired all day. Fortunately, I've still managed to get to work on time, though I'm not sure how sometimes!!)

Forgetful

2006-10-16T22:53:00.000+01:00

I've been very busy at work the last couple of weeks - they keep giving me new jobs to do. I don't mind it (I rather like the extra responsibility), but it has meant rather a lot of overtime, and not all of it paid.

Today I kinda messed up though. Someone from another department was wanting a load of work doing ASAP. I explained that it would take two days at the very best, so would be ready sometime Wednesday at the earliest. Unfortunately it completely slipped my mind that I'm off work tomorrow! I only remembered just before going home when I heard someone else talking about tomorrow off. By this time, it was too late to do anything about it. I'm just hoping that someone else from my department will be able to do some of it tomorrow so I can then finish it off on Wednesday.

Forgetting about a day off - how bad is that?!

Too Nice To Say No

2006-09-14T22:44:00.000+01:00

I've been covering the early shift at work this week - not because I wanted to do it particularly, but the person who normally does it is away. He sent an e-mail to the whole department asking if anyone would cover it - no one volunteered. I ended up saying that if he couldn't get anyone else then I'd do it. I didn't want to, but I didn't like saying no.

I have covered the late shift a few times and I quite like that, but I don't like the early one. I don't mind starting early, it's just the getting up early I'm not very good at! I just hope management are noticing all these different shifts that I end up covering when it comes time for my review!

Oh well, only one more day then I'm on holiday!

Synchronise and To-Do List for Google - Please!

2006-08-30T23:03:00.000+01:00

I've become a fan of Google's Calendar over the last couple of months, but there's an extra couple of things that would make it complete - synchronising with Outlook and a to-do list.

I (along with a lot of people I suspect) want to synchronise their calendar/address book etc with their phones and PDA's. Most devices seem capable of synchronising with Outlook, so it would be ideal if Google could do this. I have heard of RemoteCalendars, but it only works with Outlook 2003 or later and I only have Outlook 2000! There must be a way of doing it - Plaxo have a plugin for Outlook that does it with their service, so it can't be too difficult (I expect licencing could be an issue though).

I know there is a to-do list module for the Google Desktop, but that's not quite the same as a proper web-service. Again, if this could be synchronised with Outlook, that would be great!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining (how can you when it's all free?), I just think that these would be useful additions to an already impressive suite of applications.

The Wonders Of Modern Technology

2006-07-18T23:41:00.000+01:00

Despite temperatures approaching 30°C, thanks to the wonders of modern technology (air conditioning) I'm still nice and cool at work. I can't help but smile when people are ringing me all day and complaining that it's too hot! Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather be outside (in a shady spot!) too, but if I must work, then I'm glad of the air con!

Google Video

2006-07-18T00:39:00.000+01:00

I must admit to being a big fan of Google and have been using the Personalized Homepage for quite a while. The other day, I went onto it from a friends computer, so of course I wasn't signed in. Just as I was about to sign in, I noticed the Google Video. Whilst I don't have it on my personalized screen, I have no objection to them putting it on as sample content. What I did object to was the actual video that loaded - it was called something like "2 girls fight" (I forget the exact name now). Refreshing the page several times revealed a number of similar videos which I would view as 'inappropriate' and certainly not the kind of thing I would be using to advertise my services if I was Google! I don't know whether or not they have any kind of filtering system in place, but I certainly think they should be a bit more careful about the kinds of things they have on their front pages.

My Computer Has Hiccups

2006-06-22T22:31:00.000+01:00

I mean this quite literally. Every so often my computer makes a 'hiccup' sound (just did it then). I'm fairly certain its my main hard-drive, which is really annoying because I've only had it since October 2004. My secondary hard-drive has been going for over 6 years with no problems! To be fair, I suppose it gets a lot less use (the reason its me secondary hard-drive is because its smaller).

What's more annoying is that I wasn't even getting ready to replace it - its still plenty big enough! And I've only just managed to get everything back the way I like it after upgrading (and reformatting) my computer at Christmas. Just hope I can transfer everything across to a new drive without too much difficulty! If I can, I really just want to transfer everything across and not have reinstall Windows and everything else. Has anybody done this successfully? What's the best way to go about it?

Scandal and Local Elections

2006-04-30T22:14:00.000+01:00

There has certainly been no shortage of political scandal here in the UK over the last week or so, but how much of a difference will it make in the local elections in just a few days time? Whilst John Prescott's affair is embarrassing and the Home Office's (Charles Clarke) hash up with releasing foreign prisoners without considering them for deportation is appalling, will it, or should it, affect the local elections?

My personal opinion is that in local elections, you should vote for local issues and leave the national issues for the general election. I don't know, maybe I'm over simplifying things. Maybe you should treat Labour as Labour and Conservative as Conservative, whether local or national - after all, they should still be pursuing the same goals and have the same attitudes.

What does anyone else think? What is the arrangement in other countries with local/national government and how do issues affecting one affect elections in the other?

Battery Converter

2006-04-19T20:36:00.000+01:00

I read an article a while ago about someone who uses a GPS receiver and got fed up of it going through his 'AAA' size batteries so rapidly. What he did was to make some kind of adapter so he actually powered it by a couple of 'D' size batteries which were connected to a couple of dummy 'AAA' size batteries in his GPS receiver. This way, because 'D' size batteries are more powerful, he didn't have to change them as often.

I am interested in making a similar adapter, but my electrical engineering skills aren't quite up to the job. I was hoping to find something on the Internet about how to make one, but I can't find anything. Does anyone have any ideas?

Backlinks

2006-04-12T01:11:00.000+01:00

I think I have now got the Backlink code about right, but the trouble is I have no way of testing it! None of my articles have backlinks at the moment, but I'm assuming that's because no one's linked to them!

I wonder if somebody would mind putting a link to one one of my posts on their blog, just so I can find out whether or not this is working!!

I know I haven't posted for a while, but I do intend to get into the way of posting a bit more regularly.

This is a test link to a previous post.

Blog Updates

2006-01-14T23:57:00.000Z

Well, after getting a few more spam comments, I've decided to turn on 'Word Verification'. I'd rather not do, but I'd much rather not have spam comments.

The next thing that I intend to do is to use the Backlink feature. However, I'm going to have to work out how it works because I would like it to work exactly the same way as my peek-a-boo comments do. Will it be easy? I doubt it, but it will maintain a certain amount of consistency across the site. Fingers crossed!!

Problem with Nokia PC Suite

2006-01-03T17:16:00.000Z

I have recently started using the Nokia PC Suite to synchronize my phone with Outlook. I have all my contacts stored in Outlook already and I make use of both the 'Name' fields and the 'File As' fields. This allows me to record someones full name as Johnathon Smith but still lets me use their nickname of John.

However, Nokia don't understand that I would rather him be called John on my phone. They use the 'Full Name' field as the name when I synchronize with my phone. This means that in my phone he is called Johnathon Smith. The only other way is for me to tell Outlook that his fullname is John, which is just silly! At least give me the option of whether I want to use the 'Full Name' or the 'File As' name!

Back to the Future E-Mail

2005-12-19T00:59:00.000Z

I have just read this article about a website that allows you to send an e-mail to yourself in the future. Looking through some of the public examples, there are a range of ideas that people are sending themselves. Some are quite deep & meaningful, but most are just light-hearted.

I'm definitely going to send myself something, probably in 5 years time. I just need to work out what!!

Cheap At Half The Price

2005-11-22T23:00:00.000Z

... or is it?

I have heard this expression a lot recently, but to me it doesn't make sense. People seem to say it to indicate that the item being referred to is cheap. When I look at the phrase, it isn't actually stating that though. To me what it says is "if this item was half the current asking price, then it would be cheap". This doesn't imply that the current asking price is cheap, conversley, it implies more closely that it is expensive!

I have always thought that the saying is meant to be "cheap at twice the price", thus implying that if the item was double the asking price it would still be cheap, therefore the actual asking price is very cheap!

What does anyone else think on this subject? Please vote and leave a comment.

Who Killed Cock Robin?

2005-11-18T23:29:00.000Z

I saw an article on the Reuters website about a poor little sparrow that caused a certain amount of mayhem in Amsterdam.

It would seem that the sparrow got into an exhibition hall where they had spent weeks setting up four million dominoes for a world record attempt. You can imagine the result - it knocked thousands over! Unfortunately for the sparrow, an exterminator shot it.

Unfortunately for the exterminator (and everyone else involved), sparrows are a protected species in the Netherlands!

Here 's a nicely illustrated version of the nursery rhyme (tedious link or what?!?!). [Edit - looks like that page doesn't exist anymore (11th June 2006)]

Stomp

2005-11-18T01:13:00.000Z

I have just got back from seeing Stomp. It is an absolutely amazing show! You wouldn't believe how entertaining it can be to watch 8 people hit everyday objects (brushes, bin lids, even kitchen sinks!) in a rhythmic fashion. The energy and rhythm is fantastic and there is also a good deal of audience participation, though I don't think there was even one word spoken! If you get the chance, please do go and see it, you won't be disappointed!

Are we on the Titanic?

2005-11-05T22:46:00.000Z

Someone was talking on the radio today and I think they had a good point. They suggested that we were all going along blindly through life, not really being aware of the problems around us, and the damage we are causing to the Earth. The analogy they used referred to the Titanic - we are all like the passengers sitting around listening to the orchestra and sipping champagne while the ship is slowly sinking under them. Surely it must be time to wake up and actually do something instead of just talking about it!

Squeaky Shoes!

2005-10-15T00:32:00.000+01:00

I've got this pair of shoes that I've worn to work for a few years and whilst they aren't the most comfortable shoes I've ever had, they're not bad. Recently though, they've started to squeak! I thought at first that maybe the soles were damp after walking outside (it had been raining) - but several weeks later they're still doing it!

Apart from buying a new pair, which I can't afford :'( does anybody have any suggestions on how to stop this?

Wake-up Call

2005-10-11T00:19:00.000+01:00

This is a true story.

A coach party arrived at a hotel. When they checked in, the party leader asked if they could get a wake-up call, which the receptionist agreed to. Unfortunately (at around the time they wanted the wake-up call) the hotel's boiler overheated, enough to trigger the fire alarm. Anyway, later in the morning, the party leader went up to the receptionist and said "Thank you for the wake-up call, we all heard it OK. Just one thing though - wouldn't it disturb the other guests?"

Spam

2005-10-06T23:24:00.000+01:00

I just deleted my first spam comment. I suppose it's a small milestone in a way - my site has just become noticeable enough to attract the attention of spamming tools. Woohoo.

Film Review - "The Rising"

2005-08-20T14:08:00.000+01:00

I was sceptical about "The Rising". I hadn’t seen any trailers or read any reviews, but from what my friend said about it, I thought it didn’t sound very interesting.

I was wrong. It was interesting. It tells the story of two people - Captain William Gordon (Toby Stephens) and Mangal Padney (Aamir Khan) during the time towards the end of the occupation of India by the East India Company. They both begin in the army of the East India Company, but throughout the course of the film, events occur that put a strain on the relationship between the Indian troops and the British commanders as well as between the two main characters. There were frequent songs in the film which I found to be highly entertaining!

My rating: 8/10

Oops!

2005-08-11T01:13:00.000+01:00

OK, now I feel really silly.

I was just looking at my Blogger template and noticed a mistake in my comment code - there was a space in the middle of a link! That explains why no one has left any comments for a long time (either that or they don't think I write anything worthy of comments!!)

Discrimination

2005-08-11T00:44:00.000+01:00

Imagine the scene: You go to the toilets in a shopping centre. There's the "Gents" and "Ladies" for free, but there's a charge of 20p to use the disabled toilet. Quite rightly everyone would complain about discrimination.

A few days ago, we were in Edinburgh and the toilets at one place we went to cost 20p for the "Gents" and "Ladies" but the disabled were free! I don't like having to pay to use the toilet anyway, but I thought it most unfair that only certain groups of the community had to pay while others didn't!

Annoying!

2005-08-03T08:10:00.000+01:00

I've got a really annoying song stuck in my head - the theme tune to Kath & Kim. It's the same two lines over and over again! I wouldn't care but I don't even like the program or the song!

Plaxo

2005-07-25T23:09:00.000+01:00

A few months ago I started using a service called Plaxo. It's a great way to synchronize my address book and calendar between Outlook and a secure website which I can then access anywhere. It's not one of these 'friends network' things that lets friends of your friends access your details, though, I really don't like the idea of that!

Anyway, I also use gmail which means I have to export my list of e-mail addresses from Outlook and into gmail every-so-often to make sure I have everyone's addresses there. This is rather annoying. However, Plaxo have just announced that they've set up a deal with AOL which will enable Outlook to synchronize with the AOL address book and the AIM instant messenger. Although this doesn't affect me (I don't use AOL), I'm pleased about it because it means Plaxo are going out and getting deals with other companies. This would be really good for me if they ever get round to working with gmail. Pretty please?

Terrorists Won't Win!

2005-07-08T11:45:00.000+01:00

The cowardly attacks on London yesterday were terrible, but they cannot be allowed to change the way we live. Security will of course be stepped up for the next few days/weeks/months and this will occasionally inconvenience people, but this has to be accepted. What can't be accepted, and I'm sure it won't happen, is people and Government doing things different because of it. Our troops must not be removed from Iraq any sooner than they would have been, we must not back down in 'The War On Terror'. People must try and go about their lives the same as they always have done.

After all, this country, and London in particular, is not new to terrorism. We have faced the threat of bombs and shootings from Irish militants through some very bad times, but people carried on doing what they do. We're a very resilient lot us British, and now's the time to show them just how determined we can be!

Blowing away the cobwebs

2005-06-30T00:43:00.000+01:00

Since finishing uni a few weeks ago, I've gradually gone downhill into a state of feeling sorry for myself. I can't decide what kind of job I want to do (being a computer programmer, what I'm now qualified for, sounds boring I decided!) and my part-time job can't give me any extra hours above one day a week. I've been spending a lot of time just around the house, watching television, playing on the computer, vaguely reading about different types of job, etc etc, just generally wasting time.

Today I had an argument with my Mum. It was over a silly thing (like it often is), but it got blown out of proportion (by both of us). I ended up feeling really mad and upset so, despite the weather (it was drizzling), I decided to go out for a walk. It was the best thing I've done for ages.

Not far from where I live is a disused railway line that's been converted into a public footpath. Leading off this are lots of little paths and tracks that mostly lead down to a river. Its lovely and peaceful. There are very few people and if you didn't know, you could hardly tell that you were so close to a town. Anyway, I'd walked part of the way when it started to rain heavier. I decided to run - I knew once I got down by the river there would be plenty of trees to shelter under. It actually felt good to have a decent leg stretch. The last time I did any 'proper' running outside was about two months ago when I did a 10 km fun(?) run (because I was so busy with uni work then, I did very little training, and it hurt!!), but since then I've been going to the gym two or three times a week and I definitely felt the difference!

I spent over an hour down there. I enjoyed it - it gave me the chance to do some thinking where it was quiet and peaceful with no distractions. By the time I got back home, I was feeling re-invigorated and enthusiastic about life again - something I haven't felt for a number of months. It's a good feeling and I plan to keep it!

Catch up

2005-06-24T22:44:00.000+01:00

I can't believe that it's been over a month since I last posted anything!

So what have I been doing in the last month? Well, I finally finished uni and I've got my results back. I got a 2:2 which isn't bad to say that I wasn't really expecting to even pass! I thought I would have to do some resits at the very least! Now all I have to do is find a job. This could be tricky. I don't even know what I want to do! My degree is in Software Engineering, but I don't think I really want to be a programmer any more. Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy it, but I can't help but think that doing it 9 - 5 everyday would soon get boring. I really need to find something soon though, even if its only temporary, as I can't get any extra hours at my part-time job.

Film Review - "Monster-In-Law"

2005-05-18T15:23:00.000+01:00

Monster-In-Law was a film in three parts - bad, better, bad. In the first third, everything was very predictable. The only good character was Ruby (Wanda Sykes), she got all the good lines and was the only one who wasn't boringly predictable. The next third starts when Charlie (Jennifer Lopez) discovers what her soon to be mother-in-law, Viola (Jane Fonda), is up to. This bit was rather entertaining for a brief period, but it was all too quickly over and the film degenerated back into the old predictable jokes. There was another brief interlude of entertainment when Viola's mother-in-law, Gertrude (Elaine Stritch), turned up, but again this was all too brief and the film disintegrated completely after this.

My rating: 3/10

Banning Baseball Caps

2005-05-17T16:38:00.000+01:00

I saw in the news that the Bluewater shopping centre (in Kent) have decided to crack down on anti-social behaviour. Good. There new rules include:

No smoking

No leafleting

No canvassing

No swearing

No clothing which deliberately obscures the face such as hooded tops and baseball caps

No baseball caps? That's crazy! I can understand the other points. They can be annoying and unpleasant. But what is wrong with baseball caps and hooded tops? The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, says they are "part of an intimidating uniform". Surely there is nothing intimidating about a baseball cap. People wearing them can be intimidating, but so can people who wear trainers, jeans, even suits! Where does this stop?

Film Review - "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

2005-05-09T16:52:00.000+01:00

All day at work, people had been telling me how good it was and I'd read the book a few years ago and loved it, so I had very high hopes for this film. Unfortunately, I have to say I was slightly disappointed. Maybe I was just expecting too much. From the very beginning it was clear that they were cutting some of the best bits out of the book. I suppose they've got to cut a lot out just to fit it in for time.

As for the characters, I was pleased with Marvin and Arthur in particular. Zaphod's character was good, but in the book I recall his two heads as being side-by-side, but in the film, one is kinda burried in his neck! I suppose it saved a lot of money in special effects, but it did spoil it a bit for me.

I wonder if they'll make the other parts of the book into films? My book has four parts in it, but one of my friends book's has five! This film was only the first part. They've certainly left it open so they can do a sequel, but I suppose it'll depend on how successful this film turns out.

My rating: 6/10

Test

2005-05-09T16:49:00.000+01:00

This is just a test message

Test By E-mail

2005-05-07T02:32:00.000+01:00

This is just a quick test post sent by e-mail.

Election 2005 - Labour win!

2005-05-07T02:05:00.000+01:00

It's a 'historic third term' for Labour (that's how the media keep referring to it). I don't think anyone can be too surprised. They've lost around 47 seats (there's still a couple left to declare last time I checked) but still have a majority of 66. Everyone's talking about it as if that's too small to work very well, but someone said that Margaret Thatcher had a majority of about 44 once and she managed ok! I suppose it just means that the 'rebels' will be a bit more influential.

I wonder what will happen before the next General Election. We will have a new Conservative leader (Michael Howard has announced he is stepping down). Tony Blair has said he would like to do another full term, though I suspect that Gordon Brown may take over after two or three years. As for Charles Kennedy, who can say? I think they might have a change in two or three years as well - give the new person time to get settled in before the next General Election. So, if I'm right, it'll be 'all change!' for next time and the political scene could be somewhat different!

Structured Blogging

2005-04-30T00:13:00.000+01:00

I have been reading about Structured Blogging recently and I think it sounds like a really good idea. I don't know whether or not this will ever be supported on Blogger, but I hope so. I've already sent them an e-mail suggesting it. If anyone else likes the sound of it, please let Blogger know - if enough people request it, it just might happen! I hope.

I saw Kylie!

2005-04-29T16:50:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday evening I went with my fiancée and her sister to Manchester to see Kylie Minogue! It was amazing! It was my fiancée that wanted to go (I like Kylie, but I'm not such a huge fan), but it was one of the best concerts I've been to! I was pleased that she did some older songs, not just her recent ones. I think my favourite bit was a laid-back jazz/swing version of 'The Locomotion'. As you'd expect, there were plenty of way-out costumes.

The supporting act weren't bad either. It was a band called Melody Club who originate from Sweden. They did a kind of pop/rock music that in places had a sound not too dissimilar to Abba. All in all, it was a very enjoyable night!

Sooner than expected

2005-04-24T02:49:00.000+01:00

OK, so 'the next week' turned into a few hours. In my last post I said that I was modifying a new template I'd found, but it wouldn't be up for a while. I guess I got carried away and finished it sooner than I expected (I should've gone to bed at least a couple of hours ago, but when have I ever done anything sensible like that‽)

Too much to do, too little time to do it in!

2005-04-24T00:16:00.000+01:00

I'm just approaching the end of my final year at university so as you can imagine, I've been rather busy! The phrase "too much to do, too little time to do it in" has been uttered often in response to questions like "how are you getting on?". I don't seem to have had the time to think of things to write about! However, I have found a nice new template for this blog that I've started to modify, so sometime in the next week I expect that to be unveiled.

Time To Reveal My 'Geeky' Side!

2005-04-13T01:21:00.000+01:00

Lately I've been writing a program in Java to send notes to a keyboard that is attached to the MIDI port on the soundcard and also to detect notes that have been played on the keyboard. I eventually got it figured out (or so I thought) and had code that could send a note to the keyboard and list notes as they were being played.

And then it stopped working. I've no idea why it stopped. My code didn't change. Nothing was changed on the computer. The keyboard didn't change. I could still play notes through the computer speakers, but I wanted to play it through the keyboard. Anyway, I resigned myself to the fact that it just wasn't to be. At least I could still play notes and detect notes, that's the important thing.

Then last night things got stranger. For no apparent reason, it just started working!

But today it's stopped again.

Just occasionally, I really hate computers!

Film Review - "Sahara"

2005-04-12T02:54:00.000+01:00

I hadn't heard anything about this film before I went to see it. I'd seen a couple of trailers about it a while ago and thought it looked quite good, but nothing special.

The first scene kicked off with a bang (literally!), but apart from that it took a while to really get going. Once it did, things moved along quite nicely for the most part, though there were a few occasions when it dragged.

On the whole, it was an easy film to watch, the plot wasn't particularly deep or difficult to understand and there was a good smattering of humour and good ol' fashioned action.

My rating: 7/10

Site Updates - Part 1

2005-04-10T11:26:00.000+01:00

I have made a few subtle changes to the main part of the page. The main changes have been when and how permalinks are displayed and a Home link has been added to the Item pages. Next time I get chance, I think the sidebar will be seeing some adjustments.

Election 2005 - It's Official!

2005-04-08T13:50:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday, Tony Blair finally announced the General Election will be held on 5th May. It already feels like the parties have been campaigning for months, but now they start 'officially'. I heard on the radio on Wednesday night that in some marginal areas, Labour would be sending out DVD's to try to convince people and the Conservatives would be ringing people up with recorded messages from Michael Howard! As if we don't waste enough time on the phone with peope wanting us to answer surveys and the like! If I start getting phone calls from politicians, and even worse, recorded messages, then it's going to make me less inclined to vote for them, not more!

Update To "Should Road Tax Be Scrapped?"

2005-04-04T17:24:00.000+01:00

I just found out how to add a poll. My earlier post about Road Tax seems like a good topic to test it on. Please vote!

Quick Hiccup Update

2005-04-04T15:07:00.000+01:00

I'm cured! No hiccups at all yesterday, but I did have a funny lump in my throat all day which I think must have been caused by the excessive hiccups over the last couple of days. Fortunately that has gone today.

I suppose I shouldn't complain. Two posts have caught my eye recently that made me realise how lucky I am, this one in a very serious way and this one in a funny way.

Hiccups

2005-04-02T23:40:00.000+01:00

I haven't had hiccups for a long time, until last night that is. I'd been to the pub for a meal with my fiancée and had a couple of drinks (I never drink much). Later on in the evening, after I'd got home, I started with hiccups. They kept coming and going for the rest of the night. Shortly before I went to bed I had a really painful one - I've no idea why it was painful, but it was! Anyway, I assumed that after a night's sleep, I would be OK today.

How wrong could I be! I've had them all day, on and off. No painful ones, but still very annoying. I work in a shop on Saturdays, so it was particularly embarrassing serving customers while trying not to hiccup! Everybody seemed to have a "guaranteed method" to stop hiccups, usually involving combinations of drinking water and holding my breath. I did try a few, but nothing seemed to help!

There are some interesting 'remedies' on this page which I might have a go at tomorrow if I'm still suffering. The Wikipedia section mentions the longest attack of hiccups:

Charles Osborne (1894 - 1991) of Anthon, Iowa, USA, started hiccupping in 1922 while attempting to weigh a hog before slaughtering it. He was unable to find a cure, and continued hiccupping until February 1990, a total of 68 years.

I don't know how he managed to stay sane!

Should Road Tax Be Scrapped?

2005-04-01T13:03:00.000+01:00

It's that time of the year again. Yesterday I paid £110 for my car tax. I know some people who drive a lot more then I do, yet (depending on their car) they pay the same amount. If the money raised from road tax is to help pay for maintenance of roads, then surely those who travel further should pay more as they provide more wear to the roads. Therefore I propose scrapping road tax and adding it onto the price of petrol. This would have several advantages:

There would be no avoiding paying it.
We wouldn't need to pay the administration costs.
It would further encourage people to leave the car at home, especially for short journeys.
Those who use the car more, pay more

There is a downside to this. Companies who rely on transport for their business, for example lorry companies, already complain that they can't compete with companies based on the continent because of the fuel prices. To compensate for this, they would have to be reimbursed in some way.

My First Blog

2005-04-01T11:02:00.000+01:00

This is my first ever blog. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what I'm going to write about, but I will try to write something every couple of days or so. This first post is only a short one, so I promise I'll try to think of something more interesting to put later on.