Sat Mar 31 23:15:40 2007 Sat Mar 31 20:58:46 2007 Sat Mar 31 20:19:31 2007
Sat Mar 31 19:38:53 2007 Sat Mar 31 19:38:31 2007 Sat Mar 31 19:04:02 2007 Sat Mar 31 19:02:16 2007 Sat Mar 31 18:24:41 2007 Sat Mar 31 18:04:11 2007 Sat Mar 31 17:59:59 2007 Sat Mar 31 17:57:01 2007 Sat Mar 31 17:52:14 2007 Sat Mar 31 12:36:25 2007 Sat Mar 31 12:32:56 2007 Sat Mar 31 08:35:19 2007 Sat Mar 31 06:04:26 2007 Sat Mar 31 03:39:17 2007 Sat Mar 31 00:19:50 2007 Sat Mar 31 00:18:14 2007 Fri Mar 30 19:35:25 2007 Fri Mar 30 19:34:46 2007 Fri Mar 30 17:14:46 2007 Fri Mar 30 15:43:55 2007 Fri Mar 30 15:33:13 2007 Fri Mar 30 15:27:32 2007 Fri Mar 30 15:23:15 2007 Fri Mar 30 15:21:54 2007 Fri Mar 30 15:12:19 2007 Fri Mar 30 15:11:39 2007 Fri Mar 30 13:20:13 2007 Fri Mar 30 12:23:06 2007 Fri Mar 30 12:13:20 2007 Fri Mar 30 11:26:42 2007 Fri Mar 30 08:50:50 2007 Fri Mar 30 06:35:04 2007 Fri Mar 30 05:06:56 2007 Fri Mar 30 05:06:25 2007 Fri Mar 30 00:06:21 2007 Thu Mar 29 22:27:55 2007 Thu Mar 29 16:46:13 2007 Thu Mar 29 16:21:38 2007 Thu Mar 29 15:35:50 2007 Thu Mar 29 10:41:12 2007 Thu Mar 29 10:05:03 2007 Thu Mar 29 08:46:32 2007 Thu Mar 29 08:23:33 2007 Thu Mar 29 05:59:19 2007 Wed Mar 28 13:27:31 2007 Wed Mar 28 09:26:14 2007 Wed Mar 28 09:04:34 2007 Wed Mar 28 08:55:46 2007 Wed Mar 28 08:44:53 2007 Wed Mar 28 08:32:03 2007 Tue Mar 27 22:03:59 2007 Tue Mar 27 22:03:36 2007 Tue Mar 27 22:01:32 2007 Tue Mar 27 19:42:27 2007 Tue Mar 27 18:28:00 2007 Tue Mar 27 17:54:33 2007 Tue Mar 27 17:38:09 2007 Tue Mar 27 16:04:21 2007 Tue Mar 27 15:50:06 2007 Tue Mar 27 15:47:11 2007 Tue Mar 27 15:25:38 2007 Tue Mar 27 15:23:36 2007 Tue Mar 27 15:22:45 2007 Tue Mar 27 15:20:05 2007 Tue Mar 27 14:53:26 2007 Tue Mar 27 14:46:41 2007 Tue Mar 27 14:42:38 2007 Tue Mar 27 14:42:11 2007 Tue Mar 27 14:36:12 2007 Tue Mar 27 14:30:03 2007 Tue Mar 27 14:27:23 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:39:44 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:34:46 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:34:21 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:33:57 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:25:48 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:25:03 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:24:36 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:24:12 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:23:43 2007 Tue Mar 27 13:22:53 2007 Tue Mar 27 12:17:12 2007 Tue Mar 27 11:31:08 2007 Tue Mar 27 11:24:55 2007 Tue Mar 27 10:22:30 2007 Tue Mar 27 10:11:33 2007 Tue Mar 27 09:03:35 2007 Tue Mar 27 08:50:17 2007 Tue Mar 27 08:11:50 2007 Tue Mar 27 07:03:56 2007 Tue Mar 27 03:48:47 2007 Tue Mar 27 02:31:03 2007 Mon Mar 26 23:47:30 2007 Mon Mar 26 23:45:28 2007 Mon Mar 26 21:08:42 2007 Mon Mar 26 12:56:06 2007 Mon Mar 26 10:49:04 2007 Mon Mar 26 10:39:31 2007 Mon Mar 26 10:35:48 2007 Mon Mar 26 10:34:08 2007 Mon Mar 26 10:14:08 2007 Mon Mar 26 09:43:03 2007 Mon Mar 26 09:15:24 2007 Mon Mar 26 09:12:44 2007 Mon Mar 26 09:08:58 2007 Mon Mar 26 08:44:07 2007 Mon Mar 26 08:41:25 2007 Mon Mar 26 07:53:50 2007 Mon Mar 26 07:07:48 2007 Sun Mar 25 23:43:36 2007 Sun Mar 25 21:32:07 2007 Sun Mar 25 21:06:36 2007 Sun Mar 25 21:01:44 2007 Sun Mar 25 21:01:19 2007 Sun Mar 25 20:53:17 2007 Sun Mar 25 20:51:51 2007 Sun Mar 25 20:51:21 2007 Found this site carbon emissions for plane travel apparently on a plane journey from London to California you will be making the same contribution to Global Warming as leaving 17 60W lightbulbs on for 1 YEAR and the carbon you produce will weight nearly 10 times the wait of an average person. Scary Stuff.
Kev
Sun Mar 25 20:50:47 2007
Lox: my flight's at 11AM tomorrow. Yes I was hoping I wouldn't have to go again until at least six months after that first trip. It's bloody ridiculous in my opinion - in this age of communication there is just no need to subject people to all the turmoil of air travel and having to be dragged away from home for weeks on end etc. There was talk of us having to go out again at the end of April, but I may have to put my fut down there. Besides anything else all this travel is really unhealthy!
John
Sun Mar 25 19:32:49 2007
John: What time you leave from London? It is quite close to the first trip though, something new brewing at the big G?
Lox
Sun Mar 25 18:48:27 2007
GRANDE TOM!!!! Good effort mate!! :D
Lox
Sun Mar 25 18:47:44 2007
Yes well done Tom, btw when you got to the end did it even cross your mind to thing 'maybe I should turn around and do a full marathon'?
Kev
Sun Mar 25 18:21:12 2007
Well done Tom!! Glad you finished in a decent time and in one piece!! Splendid!!
Nigel
Sun Mar 25 17:19:21 2007
Just returned from the Reading Half Marathon. My time was 1hr 46min:28sec according to my watch - official timings to follow when they are available. Feeling good, if a little stiff (pfft).
tom
Sun Mar 25 16:16:07 2007
Oh! So soon? Well... (I'm madly trying to think of something positive here...) At least you'll be able to, er, post some intriguing photos from Silicon Valley... Hmmm...
Nigel
Sun Mar 25 14:58:23 2007
Speaking of which I'll be flying to the West coast tomorrow... groan.
John
Sun Mar 25 11:38:45 2007
So until today, for the past couple of weeks New York has only been 4 hours behind, and the West coast only 7.
John
Sun Mar 25 11:38:26 2007
Don't they all change their clocks at the same time? I know there's been a bit of a mess this year because the US decided to change the date when the clocks went forward... but apparently not all states could quite agree on when that was going to be (or something).
John
Sun Mar 25 11:37:33 2007
Morning all!! :)
British Summer Time - so we are now an hour ahead. Does this mean we are level with our friends in France and Italy?
Nigel
Sun Mar 25 10:46:09 2007
Insomma, un branco di terroni...! Non si sa perche fanno parte dell'Europa...
Sheri
Sun Mar 25 07:36:19 2007
L'Italiano è un brutto, oscuro dialetto provinciale vagamente simile al Francese....
Sheri
Sun Mar 25 07:31:53 2007
By the way.... I am back :P (you'll understand by looking at the mainpage)
Lox
Sat Mar 24 19:04:05 2007
John: I'll try to download it.. Textedit is quite crap... :(
Lox
Sat Mar 24 19:03:21 2007
I use TextWrangler, but it's not quite as good as the things I used to use on the PC (my mate Simon's Programmer's Notepad, for example).
John
Sat Mar 24 18:34:42 2007
Mac guys: What Html/rss/asp editor do you use on the Mac?
Lox
Sat Mar 24 18:16:58 2007
I'm having a worryingly fun time playing with my new phone. Bluetooth integration on the Mac is so nicely done, absolutely effortless to copy pictures off and so on. Marvellous.
John
Sat Mar 24 16:27:52 2007
Very pleased for you Lox!
John
Sat Mar 24 16:26:35 2007
Nigel: Thanks! :D Actually she is 2 years older than me. As for French being a shitty copy of Italian I couldn't agree more with John. :P And yes, the name is CHIARA.
Lox
Sat Mar 24 16:09:07 2007
This is the obligatory first post from my new mobile. It's not quite as good as the old japanese one but it just about does the job...
John
Sat Mar 24 16:05:17 2007
Morning all!! :)
Well I'm totally confused!! But I take it Lox has been courting a young lady. For which I doff my cap and say "Jolly good show!"
;)
Nigel
Sat Mar 24 12:35:45 2007
Fairly similar...
Sheri
Sat Mar 24 12:18:37 2007
How true! e.g. 'Coglione' for 'couillon'...!
Sheri
Sat Mar 24 12:16:06 2007
(oh and Sheri, don't be fooled into thinking Lox can't understand French, he only has to add a few vowels on the end of each word and he can convert it into Italian)
John
Sat Mar 24 12:07:47 2007
Or did I mean trottolino amoroso...? I have a vague feeling I heard that sung on an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond.
John
Sat Mar 24 12:04:37 2007
...oh and thanks Sheri for that touching an heartfelt evaluation of their relationship thus far.
John
Sat Mar 24 12:02:45 2007
Ahhhh Chiara, trotollino amoroso etc. What a nice name!
John
Sat Mar 24 12:02:02 2007
Anyway, he told me they had plenty of sex...!
Sheri
Sat Mar 24 11:53:25 2007
Actually, Lox told me her name. Only I don't seem to remember! .................. Wait a minute! Yeeeeees, I believe I recall: it's Chiara! Or something like that. Claire, in French.
Sheri
Sat Mar 24 11:52:19 2007
Over a short spell of time, but it was significant...
Lox
Sat Mar 24 11:42:24 2007
Watch it..... :D No let's say that it's a name that was around the house quite a lot...
Lox
Sat Mar 24 11:42:00 2007
Raj?
John
Sat Mar 24 11:14:57 2007
ROTFL!!!
Lox
Sat Mar 24 11:09:44 2007
Tim?
John
Sat Mar 24 10:47:03 2007
John/Sheri: The name was quite popular during Radstock days...
Lox
Sat Mar 24 10:21:01 2007
Sheri: I see... do any of us know her name?
John
Sat Mar 24 10:16:26 2007
John: the new acquaintance parle français!!!! I could have a private chat with her... behind Lox's back!
Sheri
Sat Mar 24 07:02:19 2007
Lox: I would very much like to see a picture of your new acquaintance!
John
Fri Mar 23 19:00:34 2007
Rob, well have a great night then! I am sure that it will be a nice occasion!
Jimmy: No worries!
Lox
Fri Mar 23 11:13:48 2007
Lox, cosy at home - we're trying to save money a bit this year.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 23 10:30:55 2007
Lox- too late! I gave them to Max. Heigh ho.
Jimmy
Fri Mar 23 10:18:24 2007
Rob: Yup she does... :D Happy Anniversary by the way!!! :D Nice dinner planned out somewhere hideously expensive in London, or a cozy dinner at home?
Lox
Fri Mar 23 09:53:05 2007
Oh, and so is Goldenboy, I think.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 23 09:26:18 2007
First Wedding Anniversary tomorrow. We got champagne and everything. Then on Sunday my mate Pete is running the Reading Half Marathon.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 23 09:26:01 2007
Does she understand English, Lox? If so, be careful what you say, mate! :)
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 23 09:19:20 2007
Tonight we are going to have that stag do party that marked the end of my blog writings....
Lox
Fri Mar 23 07:37:50 2007
Morning....
Lox
Fri Mar 23 07:37:07 2007
Posting hugging one of the most beautiful girls I have ever been with! :D Cannot complain about it huh! :P
Lox
Thu Mar 22 23:21:31 2007
Jimmy: Could use them myself... What songs can you download?
Lox
Thu Mar 22 15:54:26 2007
Gotta use them by the end of the month ...
Jimmy
Thu Mar 22 13:27:43 2007
Does anybody use iTunes? I have two download-codes for free songs, but I have no use for them. Interested?
Jimmy
Thu Mar 22 13:00:21 2007
NIGEL!!!! Where the f... are you ?!! Tried to get in touch with you via Skype, last night!
Sheri
Thu Mar 22 11:16:31 2007
Rob: Mmmmm yep, quite far from my actual location, especially because bringing the computer on the plane might not be totally great! :D We'll see if I get the game I'll let you know and then if you play online we can meet!
Lox
Thu Mar 22 10:55:02 2007
Sure Loxie but we're only on rarely. We do LAN gaming parties but then they're quite a long way from where you are - Reading.
Rob Lang
Thu Mar 22 10:49:55 2007
Rob: Sounds great! I wished that my friends liked playing games on the interenet, but unfortunately they don't.... If I get the game can I join you sometimes?
Lox
Thu Mar 22 10:33:44 2007
Lox, we go onto a public server and then form a squad of us peeps. The squad gets point for working together, so that keeps us as a single unit. The voice system allows us to talk/banter and laugh at each other's mistakes. Really good fun.
Rob Lang
Thu Mar 22 09:43:01 2007
Rob: Nice day in Italy, chilly but nice... Do you play against some unknown people or just among you guys? Any chance to maybe join sometimes? (though I need to bind BField first)...
Lox
Thu Mar 22 09:15:08 2007
Morning!!! And how are the Maisoneers today? I had a cracking Battlefield 2142 game last night, got to use the voice communication to talk to Byrn and Aggro, it was splendid.
Rob Lang
Thu Mar 22 09:12:16 2007
Morning!!! And how are the Maisoneers today? I had a cracking Battlefield 2142 game last night, got to use the voice communication to talk to Byrn and Aggro, it was splendid.
Rob Lang
Thu Mar 22 09:12:08 2007
Morning.....
Lox
Thu Mar 22 08:40:14 2007
just got in from work, yawn. morning all.
kev
Thu Mar 22 04:10:49 2007
Thanks for the suggestions. I've been watching the same series, unfortunately. I do wonder if Footballers Wives is the precursor to Desperate Housewives in the US (I watch neither of them, incidentally).
Travis
Wed Mar 21 22:48:21 2007
Jimmy: That argument just doesn't fly. Several non-sequitors. I don't pretend to know the answers...I do find infinite "time" far easier to imagine than infinite space.
Travis
Wed Mar 21 22:47:39 2007
No, a fuse. ;-)
Rob Lang
Wed Mar 21 14:52:41 2007
Does your sister have a key on her back then?
tom
Wed Mar 21 13:05:11 2007
By mum, try not to wind up me sister. Have fun!
Rob Lang
Wed Mar 21 08:03:19 2007
MM. Off to Lancelot? Where is it?
Sheri
Wed Mar 21 06:16:20 2007
Have fun MM!!! :D
Lox
Tue Mar 20 16:58:07 2007
Tom - a physics professor? No. Not even a weary one. However, I am weary ...
Jimmy
Tue Mar 20 16:51:21 2007
Bye bye everyone. Off to Lanzarote on Thursday morning, very early, spending tomorrow in Wootton Bassett, before an early start to Bristol Airport. All that sun, sand and sangria!
Mad Mumsie
Tue Mar 20 16:35:12 2007
Jimmy: The way you put that sounded like a weary physics professor. :-)
tom
Tue Mar 20 16:14:30 2007
The problem with comedies like Darkplace in particular, is that because they are so off the wall, 2nd series' are rarely commissioned. The Mighty Boosh were extremely lucky to get one.
Squirly
Tue Mar 20 16:07:24 2007
...and they use some of the same actors. At least, Bainbridge the zoo owner in the Mighty Boosh is played by the same guy who plays on of the doctors in Darkplace.
John
Tue Mar 20 16:01:52 2007
Brilliantly rubbish 70's 'special effects' and each episode is about a different strange encounter, much like the Mighty Boosh.
Squirly
Tue Mar 20 15:58:34 2007
Rob: yea I think we briefly discussed it on Saturday - although it is very hard to pigeon hole something like the Mighty Boosh, I think Darkplace is possibly the closest thing to it I've seen.
John
Tue Mar 20 15:55:31 2007
Squirly, someone else has mentioned that to me recently and I really need to look it up. It sounds like it's completely up my street.
Rob Lang
Tue Mar 20 15:47:12 2007
Anyone who is a fan of 'alternative' comedy should give 'Garth Merengue's Darkplace' a watch. Very funny
Squirly
Tue Mar 20 15:35:47 2007
Travis- Ah, the old "Finite universe" question. It goes like this: In an infinite universe that has existed for an infinite amount of time, every line of sight would end at a star. Hence the sky would be fully bright all day & all night. Any objects that got between the observer & stars would (given an infinite amount of time) heat-up to shine with the same brightness as the stars that they obscure. However, the sky doesn't shine brilliantly all the time, so either the universe is finite in size, or has existed for only a finite time. I suppose it's possible that space itself is infinite but only contains a finite number of stars ... but that's pretty-much tantamount to a finite space for the purposes of such arguments that suggest there is an infinite quantity of anything (such as middle-easts).
Jimmy
Tue Mar 20 15:13:45 2007
...which is an achievement as I don't actually have a television (I think I watched it on the plane on the way to/from the US... or maybe Japan).
John
Tue Mar 20 15:05:26 2007
Travis: I recently liked That Mitchell and Webb look.
John
Tue Mar 20 15:04:44 2007
The Mighty Boosh. It's very very odd. Little Britain (Series 1 is best). The Office is good too, if a little uncomfortable.
Rob Lang
Tue Mar 20 14:40:59 2007
I have had some television cable issues recently, and have lost some of my channels. I've decided to trade some of my pay-per-view movie channels for BBC America. So happy. I watched the British Whose Line is It Anyway? last evening and I also watched Benny Hill for the first time in probably 15 years. Great stuff. What are some shows I should keep my eyes peeled for?
Travis
Tue Mar 20 14:30:38 2007
Jimmy: In what dimension is the universe clearly finite?
Tom: NOOOOOO!
John: I can't prove that there aren't green pixies under my bed who sprinkle "wake up" dust on my eyes in the morning and then disappear, but I'm not justified in believing them. But I want to.
Travis
Tue Mar 20 14:28:37 2007
What if there are an infinite number of universes?
tom
Tue Mar 20 10:12:12 2007
Rob: Mad? Naaaaaaaa.... I think that it's all quite normal :D
Lox
Tue Mar 20 09:21:37 2007
I don't know, I do work for one day and the board goes mad.
Rob Lang
Tue Mar 20 09:06:23 2007
Morning...
Lox
Tue Mar 20 08:29:33 2007
John- I'm glad you're happy to admit that your argument about infinity is shaky ground. The universe is clearly finite (in at least one dimension) so maybe the problems of the middle east haven't been solved at all. Then there's the other side of the argument: there would be an infinite number of middle-easts that suffered from such problems, and Nigel would have solved only one, and any number divided by infinity is as close to zero as makes no odds, so he wouldn't really have solved anything at all!
Jimmy
Tue Mar 20 08:16:48 2007
rather amusing how alot of the spam appears to be of italian origin. I wonder how that could have happened??? ;)
kev
Mon Mar 19 23:01:33 2007
I admit the logic is on pretty shaky grounds Travis! I believe this stems from somewhere in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Probably the argument goes along the lines of: whilst something being infinite doesn't necessarily mean it contains all possible things, it does also mean that you can't prove it doesn't.
John
Mon Mar 19 22:20:08 2007
John: It does not follow from the "fact" that the universe is infinitely large that there are infinitely many...well, anythings. Well, maybe empty space.
Travis
Mon Mar 19 22:14:25 2007
Although having said that the old maison-wide blog is still spammed up to high heaven.
John
Mon Mar 19 22:12:50 2007
I've written a scary and heavy handed extension to SBM for deleting comments from our blogs en masse, and have just been using it - I think my blog is now entirely spam free (at least any comments that had links in I didn't like have all now been deleted). I feel much better that those scrounging freeloaders are no longer benefiting from our hard earned PageRank!
John
Mon Mar 19 22:11:18 2007
Lox: You are too kind! It was nothing really.... ;))
Nigel
Mon Mar 19 20:50:13 2007
Nigel: I have just mail Koffi Hannan to tell him to fuck off and get you instead of him. Clearly you have more skill in a finger than the whole UN. If I might say so, I especially liked that passage where you refer to "bibble", I think it's quite ground breaking.
Lox
Mon Mar 19 20:40:17 2007
LOL!! :D
I am so flattered by your belief in my abilities, I will now go and pontificate the answer to world poverty, quantum theory and the truth behind religion, in a similar vein!! This should be slightly more difficult, but not beyond me!! ;)
Nigel
Mon Mar 19 20:23:08 2007
Nigel: given the theory that the universe is infinitely large, then presumably there are an infinite variety of planets, with an infinite variety of sentient beings, and therefore an infinite variety of languages. Therefore you have, by definition, just proposed a workable solution to bringing an end to all the troubles in the Middle East (as well as a very offensive term applied to dentists, and a charming recipe for quiche). Unfortunately none of us understand it.
John
Mon Mar 19 20:01:25 2007
Evening!!:)
Sadly my brain is like sawdust after the day I've had. So my ability to enter anything meaningful is severely compromised!
To confirm this I'd just like to offer my opinion of the Middle-East Position: "Bibble... Bibble-bibble-bibble-bibbly-bibble."
Yep! Case proven, I think! :)
Nigel
Mon Mar 19 19:55:47 2007
Have just spent a fun five minutes reading websites where people are busily slagging off Java. I feel much better now. It probably isn't really fair of me to blame Java, I'm sure it isn't all that bad, I guess the problem for me is just that it tends to be used for the sorts of projects which don't really interest me.
John
Mon Mar 19 19:46:11 2007
Oh and I'd like to blame spaggy Java too. How many Java developers does it take to change a light bulb? 14712 - 1 (who is actually a C++ developer in disguise) to write the tiny little nugget of actual real functionality, and then a chain of 14711 to obsess over ever minute detail of the design for a few months and then write so many layers of abstraction that the end user has no idea what they're actually doing any more.
John
Mon Mar 19 19:36:44 2007
Yea I had a similar thing today Jimmy - it turned out to be XML's fault. Yes, you might be tempted to say it was the data that the XML was representing which was wrong, rather than blaming a simple text encoding format. However, I've decided I hate XML and want to hold it personally responsible for just about all the woes of software engineers the world over.
John
Mon Mar 19 19:26:56 2007
AARRGGGHH! Just wasted an hour and a half looking for a very elusive code-bug. It turned out that it was only elusive because it didn't exist. Bloody typical!
Jimmy
Mon Mar 19 17:19:26 2007
More of my life charted through the medium of John http://www.maison-de-stuff.net/john/pictures/My30thBirthday/
Rob Lang
Mon Mar 19 13:26:02 2007
Off to work now. 'See' you all later.
Sheri
Mon Mar 19 11:04:22 2007
MM: I'd like to have your opinion on my last entry. it's entitled Official Announcement. D'you mind reading it ?
Sheri
Mon Mar 19 11:04:01 2007
If I get round to it, yes.
Rob Lang
Mon Mar 19 09:54:00 2007
So, John, Rob, when do we get to see you guys again then?
tom
Mon Mar 19 09:40:17 2007
That would be good. :-)
tom
Mon Mar 19 09:39:48 2007
Rob: Are you going to show the photos you took.
Mad Mumsie
Mon Mar 19 09:23:52 2007
John got bladdered. it was funny.
Rob Lang
Mon Mar 19 09:22:53 2007
Morning!
Lox
Mon Mar 19 08:11:07 2007
Moring all. (Tom: no).
John
Mon Mar 19 07:57:16 2007
Did you run over any cars this year?
tom
Sun Mar 18 20:50:17 2007
Hmmm. Heard of Primrose Hill - never been there though. Look forward to the blog! :)
Nigel
Sun Mar 18 13:47:43 2007
We started off with a sort of picnic on Primrose Hill, then went to this karaoke place, then a Chinese meal. Will upload pictures at some point...
John
Sun Mar 18 12:32:45 2007
Usual London haunts, usual suspects? :p
Nigel
Sun Mar 18 11:37:36 2007
Yes, the bits I remember where a lot of fun, and pleasingly (at least as far as I recall) I didn't end up having a teary outburst as I often do on my birthday.
John
Sun Mar 18 11:37:06 2007
Ah, of course! Hope it was worth the pain! ;)
Nigel
Sun Mar 18 11:34:37 2007
Yes well, you know, had a bit of a birthday do last night...
John
Sun Mar 18 11:31:10 2007
Yeah, not too much Guinness for me last night :(
Nigel
Sun Mar 18 11:28:52 2007
Hangover?
Nigel
Sun Mar 18 11:25:00 2007
PSP browsing is fiddly! :)
Nigel
Sun Mar 18 11:23:46 2007
Good morning Nigel. I hope you're feeling better than I am!
John
Sun Mar 18 11:22:01 2007
Hi !
Nigel
Sun Mar 18 11:21:32 2007
My head hurts.
John
Sun Mar 18 10:26:50 2007
WHAT!?
Lox
Sat Mar 17 23:54:36 2007
How it is possible to struggle with the SPAM???
Write who as struggles.
ruslist
Sat Mar 17 19:23:03 2007
So do I!!! I almost forgot!!
Lox
Sat Mar 17 17:42:11 2007
Well then, as it's St Patrick's Day I'd better have a Guinness!!! Cheers!! :)
Nigel
Sat Mar 17 17:22:04 2007
Good skills lox!
tom
Sat Mar 17 14:04:10 2007
Could do... maybe tomorrow night? I think that tonight I might have a cinema with some friends set up...
Lox
Sat Mar 17 10:56:30 2007
Would love to have a chat about your evening over a beer sometime Lox (may have to be via skype...).
John
Sat Mar 17 10:49:58 2007
On a more negative side my boss is sending me mails on Saturday telling me that I have to give them a reply on the new contract proposal that they sent me last week... I said that I didn't want to rush into a decision again, but it seems that he doesn't understand that... CAN'T I BLOODY ENJOY A MOMENT OF CALM!?? Oh well, now off to my grandmother birthday, I actually have to pick her up and drive her to the restaurant!
Lox
Sat Mar 17 10:44:48 2007
Quite nice actually, if we were at uni I'd say that I "scored"... :P Went to an Indian restaurant (she's never been there apparently, but I suspect it is all a lie), then back to my place...
Lox
Sat Mar 17 10:40:44 2007
How was the night out, Lox?
Nigel
Sat Mar 17 10:30:26 2007
Morning! Oh, I already said that.
John
Sat Mar 17 09:35:26 2007
Morning!
Lox
Sat Mar 17 09:15:00 2007
Morning!!
Nigel
Sat Mar 17 09:08:17 2007
Morning all!
John
Sat Mar 17 07:49:28 2007
lol John, well I am honing my CS skills, but I might be tempted for 'virtual pint' ?
Kev
Fri Mar 16 21:44:11 2007
Well I'm sitting here, browsing the old Internet, listening to iTunes (Popcorn by Eskimo at the mo') while trying to rip commercial DVDs to PSP format... Yeah, I ought to get out too!!!
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 21:20:28 2007
I am so bloody bored.... groan.
John
Fri Mar 16 21:06:57 2007
I doubt you need "luck" Lox!!! Have fun!! ;)
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 19:33:16 2007
Oooh... Have a great time Lox!
John
Fri Mar 16 19:28:20 2007
Going out with a girl tonight!!! :D Wish me luck!
Lox
Fri Mar 16 19:24:11 2007
It's the weekend. Yay.
John
Fri Mar 16 19:21:51 2007
Nigel: Well after 4 years in Blighty I think that I have been assimilated allright...
MM: Yep I love it! :) Your brother is a star, did he ever invite some celebrity to the Lang Towers?
Lox
Fri Mar 16 16:29:16 2007
Lox: You will soon be a part of the "whole"! Once that Theanine and Tannin is coursing through your system you will be in our power!!!!! (With little pinky extended and a custard-cream of course!)
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 16:21:23 2007
Lox, difficult word that "assimilate", obviously comes from drinking too much Earl Grey. Did I tell you to check out the PGTips website?
Mad Mumsie
Fri Mar 16 16:19:15 2007
Nigel: The fact that TM and MM sent me tea (on its way) does it means that I am getting "assimilated"?
Lox
Fri Mar 16 16:16:02 2007
Anywhere that can't make proper tea should be subsumed!!! We are the Tea-Borg collective!!! (Sorry!)
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 16:14:02 2007
Nigel: Was Lanzarote ever part of the Empire? Don't worry we shall be taking a packet of Yorkshire tea with us, and probably some coffee as well! Rob: If you want to see Dad in a white track suit etc.... you speak to him, I'm not going to suggest it! Tom: I've been calling it Lanzagrottie for weeks, I shall have to be extremely careful when I'm there.
Mad Mumsie
Fri Mar 16 16:01:36 2007
I say "Bring Back The Empire" then we could teach all our subjects to make proper Tea!!
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 15:47:31 2007
Tea out there is lanza-grotty! (sorry)
tom
Fri Mar 16 15:43:28 2007
Lanzarotte! I want to see pictures of Dad in a white tracksuit and baseball cap on backwards. Lots of bling jewelery too.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 15:43:03 2007
Do they do "Tea" of any quality in Lanzarotte though?!?! :)
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 15:37:25 2007
Nigel: Yes, then a lovely weekend, then two days and we're off to Lanzarote. Whooppee.
Mad Mumsie
Fri Mar 16 15:36:25 2007
MM: :D Yes, but sooo refreshing! Only an hour or so to go, thankfully!
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 15:31:36 2007
Nigel: After all the highpowered computer chat, how mundane "a cup of tea" seems.
Mad Mumsie
Fri Mar 16 15:21:46 2007
Being MacBook Pro, probably 256MB dedicated memory too! Mines got 128MB but that's still good enough :) Right time for a cup of tea!
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 15:11:28 2007
I have the ATI option. :)
tom
Fri Mar 16 14:56:33 2007
Yeah, I agree. Mind you some Macs have built-in Intel chip-set graphics while others have nice ATI or Nvidia dedicated CPUs. That makes a difference too...
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 14:34:32 2007
Cool. It's always down to drivers.
tom
Fri Mar 16 14:31:04 2007
Rob: Well during my brief sortie into Bootcamp I ran Rome: Total War and - because I had the correct widescreen graphics drivers! - it looked fabulous!! :))
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 13:56:55 2007
Yes yes yes, Mum, don't harp on. I was covering up for my blatant mistake.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 13:36:40 2007
Rob: Your room always looked "lived in"
Mad Mumsie
Fri Mar 16 13:34:12 2007
Saw Battlefield 2142 and Medieval Total War 2 run on Bootcamp and it ran luck and ugly, 3 legged dog.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 13:30:04 2007
Yeah, I planned on that Tom. Noticed that the current BootCamp was a BETA and claimed by some to time-out... As I don't know the pricing/sys-req for Leopard I though I'd hold off for a while...
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 13:21:19 2007
You can always dual boot a Mac (with Bootcamp - and later on using the new Leopard OS) and use it to run Windows to play games. And then switch back into OS X to do work and other stuff. I see that won't be workable as a 'front room connected to the TV' thing, but while we still have computers that a re distinct...?
tom
Fri Mar 16 12:49:08 2007
Moment of Tragedy... I refreshed the page and it came out with a nasty "SERVICE UNAVAILABLE" error.... Now it's ok though...
Lox
Fri Mar 16 12:37:00 2007
Rob: I'll put the tent up in the garden for you then - snow forecast for the weekend (with any luck) I'd hate you to think you were being kept against your will. Incidentally the door was always unlocked - you just kept coming back, even when we changed the locks!
Mad Mumsie
Fri Mar 16 12:03:53 2007
I said lived in, not 'Detained In'.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 11:58:32 2007
Rob: Not quite all :)
Mad Mumsie
Fri Mar 16 11:47:20 2007
Nigel, that would be cool but you'd still need a hard point in the living room to transfer digital media and to recieve signals from controls. All the houses I've lived in have had a server system in it.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 11:22:23 2007
It's all intriguing! How about the server-in-the-basement/attic notion, with just an access-point in the TV or rack? (This is increasingly more common in the market-place.) That way you can have a mega PC powering the home-entertainment requirements, from afar. Apart from the boot-time I quite like this idea. But who says this has to be Windows anyway? If a big company could come up with a proprietory O/S to power this, with say a plug-in module for your chosen games console (again at the server), then all needs could be met silently from the armchair...
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 10:51:41 2007
The Mac Mini is the closet thing to meeting that entertainment box in my opinion... however it does suck as far as games are concerned of course. It seems the newest generation of consoles (Xbox 360, wii, PS3) will all let you connect to the internet so I guess they're all pretty close too.
John
Fri Mar 16 10:32:45 2007
btw, what are you talking about?
Sheri
Fri Mar 16 10:25:18 2007
I quite agree too...!
Sheri
Fri Mar 16 10:24:36 2007
Yep yep. All agreed there, Jimmy. When I sit down to view the telly, I don't want the thing to boot either.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 10:16:16 2007
Rob- I think you're agreeing with me there. I've objected to PCs because they are computers. I've not objected to consoles because they are "Honorary appliances". If a PC is to be accepted in the lounge, then its "Computer-ness" must vanish entirely. I once stayed in a hotel where the TV took about 30 seconds to boot, and showed a Windows start-up screnn during that time. It crashed occasionally, and I had to pull the power-cable out of the wall to get it to switch-off. It was objectionable. This is exactly the sort of thing I don't want to see in my lounge, and it's exactly the sort of thing that a console avoids. I will only accept a PC in my lounge on the day it behaves like a console. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck ...
Jimmy
Fri Mar 16 09:42:27 2007
Ah, Jimmy, you're thinking too much of a PC. The Entertainment Box will be simply a box you plug into the TV. It will do DVDs, Gaming, everything that all those other boxes do in one. No more wires, no more lack of connectivity. Want to record TV onto hard disc, fine! Then want to stick it onto a DVD to give to a mate? Great! The future is not the PC, with its upgradability and need-to-know, it is exactly as you say a simple plug-and-go box.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 09:32:28 2007
Rob, the thing is that most people don't want to know anything about computers (and rightly so). A box that plugs-into the telly with a controller is ideal. I honestly feel that the concept of an "Entertainment box" is misguided. I know lots of tech-savvy poeple, but I don't know anyone who wants one ... it's just something that tech-companies want us to want. But we don't.
Jimmy
Fri Mar 16 09:29:06 2007
Funny you should say that! I have a Sony DVD recorder - it is suspiciously heavy and has 80mm cooling fans in there...!
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 09:28:27 2007
Nigel, you might actually already have a stealth PC connected to your TV, you just don't know it. Many digitial recorders are actually PCs and the XBOX 360 is unashamedly a PC in a Console skin. Ever tried to write an email with a console?
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 09:13:58 2007
Morning all! :)
I play very few computer games, but ironically my all-time favourites are indeed PC games (I'm too cool to admit what they are!) I have to await the DirectX upgrade to the VM software I use before I can play again on my Mac!
You have a good point Rob, and the PC platform certainly has more variety in the games arena, by a huge amount. I worry that large companies like Sony (do they get any bigger?) have such a vested interest in consoles. However I understand the number of techno-phobes in the UK is huge and will still buy consoles for their kids, perceiving PCs/Mac as "homework" type devices.
I agree with Jimmy though, I don't want a PC connected to my TV, though I accept that's the way the corporationsare pushing us...
Nigel
Fri Mar 16 09:08:47 2007
Fair enough, John, can't argue with that. I still think the Mac vs PC advert claiming that PC is not for the home and Mac is, is ridiculous. I've seen Bootcamp running on a Mac and wasn't impressed with the way the games played that way.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 09:03:43 2007
Yep Rob, the Mac can not possibly compete on games. For me though, not being a gamer, I still think the Mac makes a better home computer. Especially the Mac Mini - nothing else is as small and quiet, and yet does so much out of the box, for that price.
John
Fri Mar 16 08:53:12 2007
Jimmy, I disagree and the numbers speak for themselves. It won't be long before houses have lots of visual devices in many rooms, making it possible to game anywhere in the house. Furthermore, my graphics card has a digital TV out. A mate of mine has a set up where he does have a PC plugged into his HD TV, and he watches movies on it, plays games, checks email, surfs the web and even codes. Being a PC on a network allows him to access the same resources on the downstairs TV, which has a shuttle PC.
Success won't come down to a PC or a Console. Those terms will rapidly become outdated. As Sony rightly says, they'll just be "entertainment boxes" that you have attached to each TV/Flatscreen/Projector that are all connected together and to the net. You can then access any of the resources in any room with the "entertainment box", downloading on demand games, movies, music, news, TV casts, audiocasts, anything! At the moment, the technology is falsely split while big companies can get away with it but soon a more generic device is likely to replace them all.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 08:21:25 2007
Rob: I agree. I prefer PC gaming than any other experience. I don't know why, maybe it's the way it was when I was 6 and I started playing games on the ZX Spectrum, and later on the x486... My gaming experiences have always been linked to a PC rather than to a console. Consoles have got nice games, the Wii it's revolutionary in my opinion, and I can see the market for computer games moving more and more towards consoles rather than PCs. On the other side internet gaming and other stuff like serious RPGs are impossible on the consoles in my opinion...
Lox
Fri Mar 16 08:19:24 2007
Rob- the problem with PCs as games-boxes is the TV in the lounge. To be a successful games-machine, it needs to connect to the TV, and people don't like to have "Computers" in their living rooms. Consoles don't count as computers ... consumers tend to see them as honorary appliances. I'd happily buy a console (probably Wii) but i'd *never* plug a PC into my TV for games, or for watching DVDs. And that goes for XBox too, of course.
Jimmy
Fri Mar 16 08:14:04 2007
Nigel, I'd disgaree. Consoles have their place in the market but PCs are still a very large market. The whole console market last year was about $12.5 billion for all hardware and software sales. Given a single PC Game, World of Warcraft, the monthly subscription alone brought in $1.4 Billion from it's 8 million subscribers last year. PC games sales accounted for $1 billion - which does not include subscriptions or downloaded sales. That's $1 billion on a single platform - not a bad slice of the cake. Now, if you want to take it further, and remove hardware sales from the Console $12.5 billion, and then cut the number again into 3 for each of the manufacturers, you're not left with a great deal. And it's that figure that the big companies are looking at because console hardware sells at a loss, hoping to make back cash in game licensing. The PS3 initially cost $900 but sold for $500, for example. Although the PC Games market isn't as strong as it was 10 years ago, it certainly shouldn't be written off. Home computers are used for games and the fact that Macs are shit at that is a bad thing.
Rob Lang
Fri Mar 16 08:04:45 2007
Goodmorning!!
Lox
Fri Mar 16 07:07:59 2007
Tom: try here - it's just not linked very well any more.
John
Thu Mar 15 22:31:43 2007
Jimmy: Yeah, I think I need a Wii !!! Nice find, those spoof adverts... Funny thing is they look as though they might actually be "real". Much more... er... entertaining than the Mac ads!! ;)
Nigel
Thu Mar 15 21:39:22 2007
Rob: I think that the general "air" about this seems to be that PCs and MACs are general purpose computers, whereas games consoles are now the preferred platform for playing games. So they can be conveniently forgotten! ;)
Nigel
Thu Mar 15 19:48:02 2007
Where is the management speak generator? It's gone??!?
tom
Thu Mar 15 16:21:56 2007
Those adverts really piss me off. Shouldn't mac's describe what they're good at, rather than pointing at another system. The worst one is the Mac-being-for-home. The advert should read:
"I'm a Mac"
"and I'm a PC"
"I'm fun and for the home."
"I have more than 3 fucking games."
Rob Lang
Thu Mar 15 16:20:53 2007
This is a spoof of the mac-ads (PS3 vs Wii). Much funnier!
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2964751562925463883
Jimmy
Thu Mar 15 16:05:36 2007
One good side of this job, among the dreariness told before is that if I want a day off I just take it, don't have to report to anyone... :D
Lox
Thu Mar 15 15:24:26 2007
I am coming to a sad realisation: "I've been at work too long today - Cancel or Allow...?" Allow...
Nigel
Thu Mar 15 14:38:01 2007
I keep watching the latest Mac vs. PC spot, the one with the Vista security Center guy... It's simply great, especially the Security Center: "You are coming to a sad realization, cancel or allow?"..... PC: "allow".....
Lox
Thu Mar 15 12:15:39 2007
Hmm. Interesting stuff. My method on the Mac is called "Dump the DOC". No M$ Doc files allowed, or if they arrive I open them in something without VB or macros. If I send something on from an untrusted source, it's either converted to RTF or PDF (no VB scripts or EXEs get through the door). I have heard Intego is the way to go for Macs.
Nigel
Thu Mar 15 11:43:14 2007
I've not tried intego myself, but AVG is fine. I don't know about them stopping the free version. If they do, another one will appear.
tom
Thu Mar 15 11:24:15 2007
Tom: So to recap, Inego for Mac and for PC AVG, right? I have heard that AVG was stopping the free version is that true?
Lox
Thu Mar 15 11:03:21 2007
I've yet to get av software for my Mac, but I've been recommended to try intego.com.
tom
Thu Mar 15 10:54:56 2007
On the Mac, you need AV software for the time when someone sends you something that they have infected on their PC. When you send it on,or use it on the web (or whatever), you risk sending on the virus- even if it didn't affect you personally. You still need anti-spyware software on the Mac. Tracking cookies are a BROWSER problem, not an OS problem.
tom
Thu Mar 15 10:54:05 2007
Unfortunately, you need antivirus software. If correctly written, AV software can sit quite happily with the OS and doesn't hog all the resources. If you install Norton (which a lot of people get for free with a new PC) then you will find that your AV experience is shocking however!
tom
Thu Mar 15 10:52:28 2007
Tom: As a security expert would you advise the use of an AV in any case? Or is it better to configure the firewall properly? Don't all these AV hog the system massively in your opinion?
Lox
Thu Mar 15 10:48:22 2007
I know is bad, but at the moment I am using the Mac mostly for all the internet related needs...
Lox
Thu Mar 15 10:47:05 2007
I don't use any AV software on the PC...
Lox
Thu Mar 15 10:46:32 2007
AVG kicks ass.
tom
Thu Mar 15 10:35:35 2007
Happy Birthday John!
tom
Thu Mar 15 10:35:22 2007
Jimmy, AVG Antivirus is the best. There is a free version too: http://www.grisoft.com/doc/1/0/0/0
Rob Lang
Thu Mar 15 09:47:51 2007
Sheri: i might start again soon... I am terribly missing posting news on the site...
Lox
Thu Mar 15 09:44:04 2007
Jimmy: Or BeOS, they say is good...
Lox
Thu Mar 15 09:43:34 2007
I think that my mental age is around 4/5... Physically speaking better not go into that.... :D
Lox
Thu Mar 15 09:43:04 2007
Jimmy: install linux instead?
John
Thu Mar 15 09:39:42 2007
Can anyone recommend a good, free anti-virus package for XP?
Jimmy
Thu Mar 15 09:38:48 2007
John: it depends. Are you considering my mental age or my physical age...?
Sheri
Thu Mar 15 09:25:04 2007
dsp is the baby.
Rob Lang
Thu Mar 15 09:22:55 2007
What (I think) this means is that we now only have one regular on the board - dsp - in their twenties. Unless that is I have woefully miscalculated Sheri's age.
John
Thu Mar 15 09:18:03 2007
Lox: when the heck are you going to post a new entry!!!!! :(
Sheri
Thu Mar 15 09:11:19 2007
John: Many Happy Returns for whichever day you choose to celebrate!! :)
MM: Quite right! ;)
Lox: No, didn't do that. My personal theory is, he doesn't have any... :D
Nigel
Thu Mar 15 09:08:52 2007
please, give me your new adsress. I'll send you a smelly cheese from frogland...
Sheri
Thu Mar 15 09:06:26 2007
Soooo, John, t'is your birthday, huh ? Well, I suppose I might join the others in wishing you 'un bon anniversaire' (though, frankly, you don't deserve it).
Sheri
Thu Mar 15 09:04:28 2007
Nigel: You.......... sarcastic............... noooooooooooooooooooooo. I shouldn't think you have a sarcastic bone in your body!! :)
Mad Mumsie
Thu Mar 15 08:58:07 2007
Nigel: Did you kick him in the bollocks?
Lox
Thu Mar 15 08:57:14 2007
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!!!!!!
Lox
Thu Mar 15 08:56:53 2007
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN. Have a great day.
Mad Mumsie
Thu Mar 15 08:56:34 2007
Nigel you rebel! ...but it must be very frustrating to be asked if th