Saturday, June 28, 2003

Mistaken Identity

I managed to clear up one nagging notion....I thought this chap was indeed this chap, as I kept seeing him on Robot Wars over here in the US.

Strangely enough, people go on about all the American programming, people in England have to watch, where all I tend to see over here is mostly the BBC being shown..... mind you perhaps one is naturally drawn to such things...who knows...?

And with all today's research into the BBC and various fronting people, I found this page on a program I thought was long forgotten called Now Get Out of That... hmmm

Star Wars Episode II

It took me an age to finally get to see it, and two different DVD players to be able to see it (Netflix grimy disc) but it just wasn't up to the immense amount of trouble it must have taken them to make it. Every scene was stunning, and the computer graphics were getting further away from that look of where people seem to jump and move a little too quickly to be real. However the acting was awful. Yoda, R2-D2, C3P-O, and just about every other thing in the movie which one would have no way of knowing if it looked real or not, did indeed seem believable. However, the people in the movie, (except for Christopher Lee) just seemed plain not-bothered by the whole thing. Ewen Macgregor's terrible accent was back for this installment, but top prize for completely unable to act/react to anything at all, while all the time sound like they were learning to read, instead of acting...goes to....Anakin Skywalker

The other chracters, even Mace Windu were just too cool, and so at no time did you ever get the impression that ANYTHING going on was of any real importance anyway.

Lovely looking, and probably we're to be subjected to a million of those film making documentaries, where they tell us things like "the left leg of Padme is actually a computer graphic which took 18 months in post production to get completely right, it isn't of course, just a piece of her body which we can film along with the rest of her, as that would be too simple." So why is it they can build entire universes of wonderful monsters, robots, and space ships, and yet every time a man has to jump of anything higher than ten feet tall, he looks strangely FALSE!!

I know about the fact it is easier to make unreal things LOOK believable, because you have nothing to base your judgement on, other than what you are seeing for the first time. So perhaps they might want to think about NOT using computer graphics for real people, until they get it looking right. Doing such a good job as they did on this movie, means that the wonderful fantasy items look so good. But that just makes the gap between those things and the supposed 'real' items all the more obvious....having said all that, I will try and catch Episode III at the movies..

I do get the feeling I should like Ewan McGregor but somebody PLEASE tell him to leave that Noel Edmonds beard in the sink for the next movie (although I fear my influential request may be overlooked)

Friday, June 27, 2003

Monday, June 23, 2003

Second Life ended today, they went suscription. When I say ended, I of course mean that you now have to pay for access. I gained entry early this morning, and then later the client was finally updated and stopped all us thrifty avs getting in.... sorrow and mourning...

Here I was at the end... and without a blindfold too I might add.

Sunday, June 22, 2003

Quick one..... How do I get it across to someone who you tell repeatedly in very bad Spanish, that you do not speak their language, do not know who they are, and cannot make any sense of why they are continually contacting you? They then appear to say that "Well, what language was it you just TOLD me you couldn't speak?"

Are you all with me so far?

Perhaps this is one of those occasions of either a child, or an SUV driver. They don't need to explain anything, as you should KNOW what they are thinking, as hey, the whole world is ALWAYS thinking of them, and it's OBVIOUS what they want, isn't it dummy!

So here goes....(ahem)

Excúseme, pero no hablo español. No sé quiénes usted es, y usted nunca realmente me pregunta cualquier cosa. ¿Qué razón posible tengo para tomar la época de contestar a sus mensajes algo agresivos?

If that works I will be VERY surprised...

Saturday, June 21, 2003

Just had to mention a lovely little gem of a program called Pocket Clive which lets you do the ZX Spectrum thing on your Pocket PC. Now being in a new country with virtually nothing to look back on, this is a monster dose of nostalga for anyone who owned one of these little personal computers. You can go to the World Of Spectrum and get files to load into Pocket Clive, and some of them require actual loading time! You hear the tape loading in, and yes it did take the required amount of time. Although there was a lot less of the incantational behaviour that accompanied the loading of games years ago. Come on admit it folks, you did certain incomprehensible things, so your Spectrum would accept the programs you were so desperate to load into them. Those of you guilty of this know EXACTLY what I am referring to, while those innocents will have no clue, so I need not say anymore.

Tsk...

Friday, June 20, 2003

Just recently passed through a phase of seeing people that I cannot tell if they're male, or female. What's THAT all about?

Seems to me that I catch myself pronouncing words without that English correctness, as I once used to.

BBC accused of being too white-middle-class-southeast-England, well I could have told them that.

Three chaps (and I mean that in the male sense of the word, not the generic British version) were at the next table from me this afternoon, outside a restaurant. They were just ordering beers. However, one of them went off to get a sandwich. Much to the pre-waitress-scene worry
of the other two. Sure enough, the chap came back with a sandwich and shortly after, the waitress arrived to take their order. She made a comment about how if the boss had seen that sandwich at thier table, they would have been very annoyed. The sandwich smuggler asked what the problem was, and the young lady explained that if someone sat in his business with a competing product, he would probably ask them to leave. All of these exchanges were civil, but as soon she left, it all began.....
Not the complete and utter twelve year old girly whine and bitch, but a more cerebral form. Such as questions about the nature of truth, which really made a change. One chap stated that he'd picked up a fifty year old book, which apparently layed out quite plainly what the truth is. He said he read through it, until he disagreed with it. Then a couple of scenarios regarding truth in relation to perception and how it's only popular opinion that changes things. Therefore truth is merely what you've decided it will be, and not what it is. Which brings me to wondering why none of them mentioned that truth is only YOURS and nobody can change that. They seemed to be struggling with trying to find a way of cosmically 'validating' their particular fact/comment/belief.
So after wisely going through different recent newsworthy events, and saying that if people had listened to the truth (although they as yet hadn't nailed down exactly what that was) these catastrophes would have been averted (obviously). The sandwich rebel said that she would definately think twice about how she had spoken to him about this food, and to cut a fairly predictable story short, their exchange was in effect, a life changing event for her, which (after the trio's CNN like analysis of the modern world) was their way of making the world a better place. So to round it off, truth is merely the best argument and how eloquent your argument may be. Also the ability to wait until the object of your objections is out of the way, go and find some feeble minded friends/aquaintences, to which you explain your truth and how without actually confirming it, or explaining any of this twenty-twenty hindsight to the original protagonist, the way you have rocked their philosophical world. Straightening out this oddly WRONG way of thinking about something.

I have actually been in my first genuine prank call situation. During the afternoon in the coffee shop, a call came in. The young girl behind the bar called out "Is there a Dick Fitzwell here?" Then as she offered the phone out to the world in general, the eight or ten people in the place remained silent, and the dawning of a beginning, of a realisation, of a thought, slowly traversed her mind.... We all had a good laugh... Hmmm what was I saying earlier about being twelve?

Finally finished a six month run of mega-commuting. Two hundred and fifty miles a day for six months! Wow, that sounds amazingly impressive until I say that it was only two days a week for two weeks in a month. The other two weeks it was less, but the same days. Writing this on my (hopefully) final Greyhound run. Using my Dell Axim for entertainment on these long journeys. I gave up with the radio a long while ago. Once the big city limits are lost on the horizon, so, it seems, is the radio signal. I think I mentioned a while back about the state of countryfied radio. It's obsession with all things cowboyish, and/or Godly smitingly. Other than that, it was a trip back to the 80's. Conjuring up images of smokey, beer drenched working clubs in the south east corner of the English countryside in my well travelled mind. The 'urban' version of radio is to play sickeningly endless amounts of rap music, but even the self proclaimed 'Number one hit music radio station' must be having a very slim year. They appear to have only about eight pieces of music, which they play beween the commercials.

So faced with a choice between banjo fever, or questionably moraled, total made up testosterone fantasy gushing (er.. that sounds a lot worse than it was meant, I might change it) I grabbed a 256MB SDCard and plonked some (well a lot actually, of) MP3's on it. The Axim manages to keep cranking out the music with no signs of struggle, or even a hint of energy loss. Thanks Dell, you kept me sane through the final miles.

Sunday, June 15, 2003

ok a ton of stuff to catch up on... probably lost a few meandering thoughts along the way, but enough with the excuses... on with it...

Ok this week I have been seeing the following lookalikes
Lenny Kravitz
Bill Cosby
James Brown

Second Life ends soon with a complete 24/7 subscription version of the same thing. I have been wondering if it's worth it or not. The 3D building aspect is exciting, but you can build much better outside this virtual construction kit. (Hang on...is this me trying to justify paying for There.com, after saying how shallow it is, and not remaining in Second Life....hmmm lets see shall we... Oh shush, he's starting again....)
There looks great and they keep pulling new features out of their technical bag. Second Life looks strange (and I mean 'performance art' strange) but has an infinate number of possibilities.
Well, maybe the issue is what's on offer. Second Life has a big range of teachnical feats that allow you to do something that you can do outside of it's walls. There on the otherhand is merely a chat room. But an old timer in the form of Cybertown, has just released their custom homes feature. Which means now anyone can build custom homes, and use them within Cybertown.

So it looks like Second Lifes discount lifetime membership fee of $150 is probably going to be spent on There.com..... oh it seems we have a winner. Not too sure when Second Life locks all the non-paying customers out, but it's bound to be soon, and like I said, people can build more complex things OUTSIDE of Second Life for free, and even use them in Cybertown. Which while not free, I am currently paying for, so it is a value added feature, shall we say. (er.... yes?)

Ever met a person which claims to be extremely famous but when you check them out, mysteriously find no mention of them at all? Well one of my (many) problems is that I tend to believe people all the time. I was chatting with someone the other day (in person, face to face) who claimed to be a really famous person, who was even connected with royalty of their particular country! I am being deliberately vague as I am not entirely sure they were lying but as soon as I can make my mind up about it, I will let you know the rather splendid details.

On an entirely different note, for my gardening blog followers out there, I did indulge myself in a little green thumbery today. Could stand the ever present jungle in the back garden no longer, and set to work with many gardening implements, to make that uncarted territory...er... chartable once more..

Top of the garden gadgetry food chain was a lawn mower. Not very exciting you would say, but I have fallen in love with this thing. It is the all time WWF champion of the world, as far as lawn mowers go for me at least. (This comes from an extremely short list of known lawn mowers, of about none to be more precise) It sliced and diced, and was very Clint Eastwood about the whole jungle levelling thing. I could not believe they built these things to go so 'extreme' as this one did. No special warning stickers or anything, but you know those motorcross motorcycles that leap around like noisily flatulent gazelles? Well this was my lawn mower. I was disspearing into the undergrowth, and then majestically (in slow motion too) erupting from the greenery, pulling a trick on it. Sometimes holding the handle beneath me, while sticking my legs out in front. Other times letting the mower go first, and me trailing after it, one handedly. Wow, they might be making a game of me soon so watch out. So I hope that all the weeds (hah, weeds? more like a scene from Ain't Half Hot Mum out there) listened to what I said to them and will not return, as there is a new space age barrier out there on the garden which does a weed threatening thing all by itself, so I don't have to hopefully go and hang some serious air with the mower again too soon.

Grass had been sighted nearby, but these are obviously unconfirmed reports....

Wednesday, June 11, 2003

I don't usually 'do' these types of links as they tend to be a little too Beavis and Butthead, but I found THIS to be rather interesting (does that make me 8 years old?)

Anyway, I keep wanting to update, as I have a ton of stuff, but I will just have to do it in the next couple of days....

Sunday, June 08, 2003

I think I finally worked out something that has plagued me for a LONG time now. I caught a bit of Highlander on television tonight, and suddenly realised that this was indeed the truth.. you see?

Also I have been reliably informed that Adrian Paul (also from Highlander) is apparently one of the sexiest hunks of love muscle to walk Gods earth.... so after many hours* of toil, I finally managed to capture his very essence in the form of a tribute to the great man himself, and his phenomenonly HUGE acting talent.

*(depending on your actual 'definition' of hours)

Friday, June 06, 2003

There.com gets me again! There is a feature to talk on a mic in There, which I avoided due to British accents and not being very hip and/or trendy etc, with the ThairHeads. Tonight I logged in and found they had enabled it anyway, and too see the avatars talking with it, is creepy and at the same time, extremely funny! They gesticulate, and mouth the words almost as if they know what they are saying.... I'll get back to you on this one..

P.S. Thanks Calvin_J4 for enlightening me on the weird and wonderful world of the voice chatty thing, which I straight away wasted by using it to play music in my purple Barbie buggy.
Life seems to be full of syncronous moments lately. Just a little while ago I was looking at my virus definitions, something infinately boring and I couldn't tell you why I was doing it.... Well, I then went on to the zanier, than zany, can't-stop-this-party-now, function of checking my email, and I received a virus.. Not amazing in itself, and now I come to think of it, rather low on the blogability interest level, but strange how you can be doing something and then about a zillion of those things pop up again and again in your life. But as in this case it was not a zillion it was er.. well, just the one..

Er...

Oh..yes..er...

The virus scanner caught it, so here is a tired old message to all those people who love all those cliched hackneyed sayings.....



"Always keep your virus definitions up to date, and leave your virus scanner active at all times, thankyou, and goodnight children". Cue more of the cheesy grin, carefully shutting huge book (with no apparent relevance as you never look at it during the night time messages), lights fading to leave an erie silouette, and wobbly credits, with awful trumpetting theme tune accompanying about a thousand too many people to make such a pointless little TV show.

Tuesday, June 03, 2003

Well, life is like a box of chocol.....no hang on.....AHEM!.....Life is like a bus stop, you wait a long time for ANYTHING and then every single bus ever made turns up, and waits (for just a moment) for YOU. And with that rather shakey analogy, I will just say that today I was busy building my There Shrine in Second Life, and who should turn up but the biggest cheese of them all in Second Life, but Philip Rosedale, the CEO of it!! (With all this publicity lately, I think I should be able to retire on the proceeds of my memoirs, and appearing on the odd chat show or two when I need change to buy a nice suit or something...)

I didn't too much of all the usual "I'm not worthy stuff" and just gave him what he asked for (comments and suggestions about the place) and was also told I could post images of the place in the outside world.. Now this should be good, as up to now I thought I was not allowed to post any, but my new bestest buddy, old Phlly babes, says that it was an old agreement, that has sinced changed. He now wants me to bring in more non-believers, to this place of worship....Although it does go pay soon, and that of course brings with it, rather a financial obstacle for anyone wishing to worship at my temple.

But still, it means the pics can go up :)

Monday, June 02, 2003

Seem to be getting into There in the mornings for a little while, when the techs open the doors to let the cat out, but as soon as they let them back in, the portcullis slams down and everyone is catapulted over the battlements to spend a day scrabbling in the mud and general dank depression, of the (up to now unthinkable) Thereless existance...

And got a lovely new messenger, called Trillian (as I recently got into IRC) which takes care of all of it, at the same time, AOL, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, BBC, ABC, DDT, IBM.

Oh and decided to update the website just a tad...