February
28th 2007: Waitrose, and renovations
Ok, so this is something I was keeping quiet about. I had to,
because it was big, and important, and grown up. Frank was at ours the other
night, and opened a bottle of cider from Waitrose. Anyway...this thing exploded!
Big time. We have cider on our walls (both ends of the conservatory), on the
roof, on the floor, on the washing, on the tv, everywhere. And...we have a
hole in our conservatory roof. You see, the force of the explosion sent the
cap upwards, into our perspex roof, punching a hole through the first skin,
but thankfully not damaging the second skin. Meaning our conservatory is still
functional and waterproof. However, this was Waitrose own brand cider. So
dad panicked, saying Waitrose wouldn't do anything, except maybe laugh, and
that the insurance wouldn't cover it because it was plastic (dad is acting
VERY oddly lately). Anyway...mum galloped off to Waitrose today...and...they
have customer service which puts ANYONE to shame. Their reply? Ok, fill out
this form, get a quote, bring us the bottle, and we'll see what we can do.
Now that is quality customer service.
And I am
renovating this blog. Nothing major, but I've added a new Alife thing to the
lab. A better Alife spider that wanders around on it's own, or comes back
when you drag the mouse in it's box.
There will
be some new widgets making appearances on the site too. Stuff to play with.
Stuff to look at. And stuff to copy from me if you really really
want to. If you do copy, a link back to my site would be nice.
February 28th 2007: I'm so happy to be stuck with you... Streaming Video Of The Day: Stuck With You - Huey Lewis And
The News
Streaming Song Of The Day: Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day
Ok, so I began playing for real, cold hard cash on
Party Poker today. Got commented on (positively) about the size of my bankroll
by people in the room, and won my first hand. Then freaked and legged it with
my winnings! I freaked because I got one of THE best hands possible. Ace King.
On my first game of cash poker. Didn't win a lot, admittedly, 75 cents, but
it felt very nice to know that I had won.
And for those wondering...yes, the video for today is for Ale. I had the idea
to post it because of something she said yesterday in a marathon phone call.
Seriously...you know things are going good when you spend £30 to talk
to your fiancee for 3 hours. Happily.
Not a lot else has happened recently. Work isn't worth mentioning. Except
that the new girl continues to amaze me as she grows in leaps and bounds in
her skills at working in retail. And that there are four of us working tonight.
Yippie!
So...yeah...my
life is dull as ever. To the point where I gave drunk almost a half litre
of Whisky tonight, and it's barely affecting me. Not bad on a pretty empty
stomach either! I may have to wander and find toast in a minute though!
Lastly, and
most certainly not leastly, some news for those on my blog roll. You may have
noticed it's been trimmed a little. I got rid of a few blogs which are no
longer online, and that I don't visit anymore. But the rest of them, I am
going to visit and comment on daily. Also, you will be seeing my Blog Roll
expand rapidly soon. There are reasons for this which I am not divulging.
Ok, love
you all, toodles!
February 25th 2007: Mad, Bad, And Dangerous To Know... Streaming Song Of The Day: Incubus - Megalomaniac
Streaming Video Of The Day: Going Down - Mel C
People misunderstand me. A lot. Some think working nights for
3 years has driven me mad. Not true. Some think I'm just out and out nuts.
Also not true. What I am is hyperactive and determined. Produces a somewhat
unstable mix. And I am hyperactive and determined because, as regular readers
will know, I take a combination of herbal drugs which produce many different
effects. One of which is my percieved madness. It something I am in total
control of, and can revert to sensibility in a split second.
Tonight,
I am mad, bad, and dangerous to know. And I know people who read this blog
have seen me in this mood, and know that I am not exaggerating.
I'm mad,
because I have heard last night from a highly reliable source that Andy, someone
who pretends to be a friend of mine at work, was saying that when I was off
sick, I was actually off in Bournemouth watching car racing. Big mistake bucko.
I wanted you out before. Now, I'm dogged determined to get you out. Something
that was initiated last night. You see, where I work is not a democracy. It's
a popularity contest. If people like you, you survive. If they don't, you
get beaten down until you quit, or they find a reason to fire you. I know
all about this, I was on the recieving end once.
And I am
bad, because...unfortunately, the side effect of my drugs are that I have
no limit to what I'd do to someone. Well...I say this...more like psychologically
there are no limits. Because I'm a profound believer that psychological damage
is far worse than physical harm. But because of this, I limit it to people
I really hate.
I'm also
a bit pissed off that Honduras has changed their phone number system. Alecita
is busy, and can't come online, or at least not when I am. And because they
changed their phone numbering system, I can't call her. Nightmare!
Apart from
that, not a lot is going on. I've put some money into a Party Poker account,
so I can play at their low limit tables. The bets are about 7p and 15p per
round of betting. But with up to 10 people playing at every table, the money
builds and builds. Plus I am very, very good at poker. I don't win every hand
I play, but I don't lose many of those that I do play. Mainly because I know
how to play at an extremely high level, without resorting to cheating.
Right, now
I have to upload this, and go to work! Wish me luck :p
February 24th 2007: I hate being ill Streaming Song Of The Day: N.E.R.D - Rockstar (Jason Nevins
remix)
I hate being ill. My stomach bug came back with avengence yesterday.
I couldn't sleep because I felt ill. And when I wasn't trying to sleep, I
was on the toilet. So I had to call in sick, which resulted in Somerfield
calling me this morning to ask if I was going to be in or if they needed someone
to fill in for me. I'd like to think that it was because they cared, or to
know if I was ok. I just somehow doubt that was the case. Impersonal is the
watchword at our place.
And things
are going quite well at The Word Of The People. I paid for some PR, and it
is paying off in dividends. Repeat users agogo. No-one has signed up, and
no-one has posted content yet, but I am confident that they will. Whilst no-one
else is posting, I think I will post daily. Or when something grabs my attention.
Hopefully that will spur other users on to post their own stories and comment
on stories written. The thing is, my site is somewhat like Digg, with the
social aspect of news being the driving force. The difference is that Digg
links to stories. My site is full of content based around what my users write.
Not what they found.
I'm also
developing another site, quite a lot like The Word Of The People, but different.
It's a fusion of two ideas I have seen online, but with my own twist on things.
A little fairer to the end users concerned. Well...quite a lot fairer! Once
it is up and running, I will post a link to it here. I have exciting things
in the pipeline for this project, so look out world!
Also, I bought
The Sims Life Stories today. My love for The Sims will never die, and I am
very happy to part with £28 for what boils down to The Sims 2 for people
with shitty graphics cards. However...EA, I want to know something. WHY does
it take so long to install? I realise 3.5gb is a lot of data, but please...before
you release The Sims Castaway Stories, improve the installer. It's been 20
minutes since I began installing, and it's now 71% complete. And the nanosecond
I can begin using my Internet again (needed the USB cable for the DVD drive,
I am going straight to Amazon to pre-order Castaway. LOST on The Sims 2 anyone?
I'm really excited about being able to finally play The Sims 2. Well done
EA for making this happen.
My days on
Windows are now numbered. I have a Ubuntu Live CD, the very latest version.
And on Monday I am buying an Ethernet modem for my computer, so that I can
access the Internet on Ubuntu. Once that is in place, I'll be free to set
up my wireless network, and then I can use The Internet from my bed! Bliss!
And the best bit is, Ubuntu doesn't slow down your computer like Windows,
so my computer will zip along like it did on Day 1. Oh, and rather than being
released every 3 years, Ubuntu is released every 6 months. Free. With the
addition of looking and acting like Windows Vista. I have to admit, and I
have never felt like this before, the days of people buying software are numbered.
I strongly feel now that Ubuntu and the whole Linux movement is gathering
at a huge pace. Vista is $350, Ubuntu is free. Vista is the most expensive
desktop version of Windows ever released, and Ubuntu will continue to be free
forever. Hell, they'll even send you the CD for free! When Vista was released,
all I expected was news on that. I've heard little. What I have been hearing
on the technological jungle grapevine is Ubuntu and Linux news. A lot. Something
in the Linux world is happening, and it's big. And I am rarely wrong on these
things. I say 2 years and things will be even. 5 and Linux will dominate.
And I am
going to the Isle Of Wight festival in the summer! Keane, The Feeling, Kasabian
and most importantly Snow Patrol will all be there. And I think there is a
huge legend coming. They always seem to have legendary bands or artists, but
this year no mention. I am just going to watch and wait.
And thirdly,
for all of you Nine Inch Nails Fans, here are some URLs of MP3s you may find
interesting....
http://www.symphonyofnoise.com/nails/YearZeroRelated/NIN-Survivalism.mp3
http://www.symphonyofnoise.com/nails/YearZeroRelated/MyViolentHeart_from_FlashDrive_2432/My%20Violent%20Heart%20(no%20data%20noise%20at%20end).mp3
http://www.symphonyofnoise.com/nails/YearZeroRelated/webzip%20site%20rips/anotherversionofthetruth.com/audio/opalo.mp3
http://www.symphonyofnoise.com/nails/YearZeroRelated/webzip%20site%20rips/anotherversionofthetruth.com/audio/ballgameOver.mp3
http://www.symphonyofnoise.com/nails/YearZeroRelated/webzip%20site%20rips/anotherversionofthetruth.com/audio/nohurry.mp3
http://www.symphonyofnoise.com/nails/YearZeroRelated/13102951040/PHoneMessage.mp3
http://www.symphonyofnoise.com/nails/YearZeroRelated/06%20Me,%20I'm%20Not.mp3
http://symphonyofnoise.com/nails/yearzero/216.333.1810.mp3
February 22nd 2007: Work in progress...
So, last night I was working on a new project. I call it The
Word Of The People. The idea is simple. Anyone can write a story for this,
a social newspaper. Journalists are paid by adding their own advertisements
within their articles. They can also insert photos too. And here is the clever
bit. The people decide what gets to the top, and what doesn't. As my site
says - "The Word Of The People is, and will always be final."
It's a work
in progress at the moment. I've got some PR rolling for it, and I'm going
to step it up in the very near future. I've also got another couple of projects
in the pipeline. What are they? Well...they're hush hush. I've decided that
since my manager where I work point blank refuses to listen to my ideas, why
should I help them any more? I do my job, and I do it very well, but as for
helping them increase sales with ideas that are years away from mainstream...no.
Not anymore. That technological edge is mine, and I was once willing to share
it, but not anymore. I'll find ways of fusing it into my own business ideas,
and launching them online. Idea being, one has got to hit the mark sooner
or later. Especially as I have seen so many of these ideas from my source
go from being laughed at to being mainstream. Ideas that became YouTube
and Yahoo Avatars. I may lack the megabucks
of these startups and companies, but I have one thing few have. Determination
and drive. Not to mention 180 point IQ and creatvity which is off the scale!
Lastly, I
want to comment on a pic I found whilst doing a little research on Wikipedia.
A picture of the mayor of some town in the US with Richard Branson at a press
conference of Virgin Galactic.
Mayor: "nneeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
heh heh heh heh! I'm flyin' it!"
Branson thinking "Oh my god, he's an idiot. Ok, just grin and get out
of here ASAP"
February 22nd 2007: Fake Plastic Comparison
Play the two together, and you will see why this is called
Fake Plastic Comparison. I know I've pointed this out before...but hearing
the two together made even Mike say "Fucking hell...how close?"
February 21st 2007: Stonking newbies, stomach bugs, phone calls and
stuff Streaming Song Of The Day 1: Eminem - Just Lose It
Streaming Song Of The Day 2: Starsailor - Four To The Floor
Streaming Song Of The Day 3: Come What May - Ewan McGregor
and Nicole Kidman
For my Alecita. You know the words say it all.
So...we have
a stonking newbie in our midst at work. Ok, so she's not fast, but Me, Chris,
Malcolm and her are faster than her, Chris, Andy and Malcolm. Possibly because
I was on one last night. Much to Malcolm's disgust. Was also told by the newbie
that I work harder when I don't talk. Hmmmm...irritating but true! But, the
important part is that she faces up incredibly well. She faced up the sweets
last night and it was absolutely perfect. She also cleaned the shelves too,
and took as long as Andy does to just face up. Badly. I'll be damned if he's
going to drive away ANOTHER great facer upper. Damnit...we need someone who
can face up!
I didn't
blog last night because I had a stomach bug. Ok, it was brief. I felt ill,
I threw up, I felt better. In the space of maybe 2 hours. Still didn't feel
right yesterday evening when I woke up, but my meds appear to be taking care
of it for me. Or at least holding it off for now. This is all good for me,
as I HATE being ill. Sign of weakness in my eyes. And I hate being weak.
Plus, yesterday
I had a great phone call with Alecita. Very loving. Very romantic. And I chatted
with her best friend. Nice guy. I say this because he grilled me on my intentions
with Ale and what I wanted with her. Two very good questions, AND he waited
until we were alone to ask me. Guy's got balls, I'll give him that. First
time of meeting me, having seen what I look like, and then interogates me
on what I plan to do with his friend. Nicely done. He earnt my respect. Few
friends would say to their best friend's boyfriend straight out "What
are your plans for x? What do you want from x?" on the first time of
meeting them. I did turn the tables, since he told me that Ale had told him
what she wanted from me. I asked him what it was, since I felt it fair to
know what she wanted as he knew what I wanted (my answer was that I wanted
to marry her and have kids with her, and all I wanted was love in return).
He told me that Ale only wanted one thing from me. A life with me. Damnit...that
girl knows how to get to me.
Actually...I
must confess...I think this is as pure as love gets. I've lost my edge. Before,
I'd have been flirting with newbie like mad. Last night, she spent a bit of
time around me, and I didn't flirt once. We chatted, and no flirting from
me. Not as if I didn't have a chance, I did. I just didn't want to. And other
stuff. I look at other girls and think "cute, but no Alecita". She's
on my mind constantly, and one comment from her can silence me. I have no
clue whatsoever what is going on. It's like she has consumed me entirely.
She's all I can dream of, think of...and...all I can work for. Work used to
be about me, getting more money. Simple as that. Monetary gain. Now it's about
me getting money so she can come here, visit me, and sleep beside me for a
week, or a fortnight, or perhaps even a month.
Right...must
go and do stuff. What stuff? Not tellin'!
February 20th 2007: Exclusive Robbie download huh Microsoft? Hmmm...let
me see...
Streaming Song Of The Day: Robbie
Williams - She's Madonna (you need a BitTorrent
thing for this one)
Streaming Video Of The Day: Robbie Williams - She's Madonna
Non Robbie Williams Related Streaming Song Of The Day: El
Tango De Roxanne - Moulin Rouge
I urge you to listen to this track with headphones on. The
effect is AWESOME. Really epic. And it is posted today for Alecita. Mi esposa. Ok, so because MSN have some deal with OD2 which lets
them distribute music for 75p a track, they're claiming exclusivity on the
new Robbie Williams track download. It's on iTunes too apparrently. Anyway.
I hate the word "Exclusive". Unless it's a hotel, or a bar, it's
probably NOT exclusive. When it comes to the Internet, you can be damned sure
it ISN'T exclusive. As I, a poor nightshift worker is proving. I don't have
the power of MSN, or iTunes or OD2, BUT, I can still offer up Robbie Williams
downloads the same day MSN can. In fact, my fiancee had the video WEEKS ago!
On her blog. So don't go shouting that it's exclusive. It's not. By the way
Bill...who was Time magazine's person of the year? Actually...they should
stop Time Person Of The Year now. Everyone has been Time Person Of The Year,
so...what's the point?
And we had
a new bod in last night. Quite a cute girl called Caroline. Short (yay!),
podgey (yay!) and blonde (damnit!). Actually, Alecita can be reassured...I
am in no way after her. She's married and with a really young kid. I think
wrecking one marriage is enough for one lifetime! She is actually really rather
stunning (work wise as well as looks wise in my opinion!) And Andy has gotten
himself into my bad books. I suspected he helped Adrian leave. He left for
the same reasons Andy was bitching about. Then he comes out tonight and tells
me he was telling Caroline all the bad stuff about the job. NO. No no no.
Fool us once, shame on us. Fool us twice, you're fucked. I'm not going to
have some guy running around trying to sabotage nightshift. Don't get me wrong.
I like the guy. He's a nice guy and I get FAR more done working with him as
a team than I do anyone else. BUT...if you push people away, there will be
concequences. You sabotage nightshift...I sabotage your drinks. Yes. There
IS an advantage to being the coffee bitch. I decide how potent your drink
is going to be. So, this morning, his cup of tea was double strength, normal
taste. Fuck with me will you? Try insomnia! He wanted to sleep this morning.
Tough. As I told Fred, I may get on with the guy, but that doesn't mean I
won't hesitate to stab him in the back. People I work with are seldom my friends.
To be my friend you have to understand me. To understand me you have to get
close to me. And I let VERY few people get close to me. Outside my family,
there is Mike, Ale, Tizzie...and that's it. And I've known Mike for 15 years,
Ale for 6 years, and Tizz for 2 or 3 years. I forget. I feel like I've known
her FAR longer.
Apart from
that, not a lot else to talk about. Going to be playing in a challange tonight.
A casino has upped the stakes in trying to outfox me. £750 ($1500) staking
money and one hour to play with. What I win, I keep. I feel confident that
I can win between £120 and £150 from them. If not, never mind.
But I think that I can win out.
Lastly, I
have a fantastic Friday Freebie planned. Two, actually. One old, one new.
The new one is really quite spectacular. I think the metalheads who are fans
of this blog (if there are any!) will love this. And anyone interested in
previews of music are really, really gonna love it. Plus I really doubt iTunes
will carry this so neh neh ne neh neh Steve Jobs. Ok, childish yes, but I
am on my 2nd glass of champagne for breakfast.
Allow me
to elaborate. I am having what I call a Gran Canaria breakfast. Pancakes and
Champagne. Not because it's pancake day, but because I LOVE pancakes for breakfast.
Very very bad for you, I realise this, but...god...they taste SO good! And
champagne...well...it's the only alcohol I can stomach before midday. Very
funny looking at the neighbours reactions to me with a glass of champagne
and a fag outside. Almost as funny as Steve at work asking if I really needed
2 cases of beer. And when I said "Yes, I have the day off". He said
"Fuck...are you an alcoholic or something?" And I grinned and said
"Yes, I am an alcoholic, and proud!"
Commenting
has been disabled for tactical reasons. It will return. At a later date. Just
not anytime soon.
February 13th 2007: My greatness, Theme weeks, Valentines Day, VoIP,
and Vodcasts Streaming Song Of The Day: Unforgiveable Sinner - Lene Marlin
So last night I rocked. Again. 100 cases of stuff in 45 minutes.
Ambient done in an hour and a half. I did so well, and yet somehow forgot
to buy cigarettes! So I am trying to spread my smoking across my regular brand
and my emergency cigarettes. Some nasty Mayfair Smooth.
And I have
decided to have a theme week this week. All this week I am going to be playing
Lene Marlin tracks. She is a hugely underrated as a singer. so, all
the streaming songs for the rest of the week will be by Lene Marlin. You should
give her a listen. It;s very good chillout music after a rough day.
I could start
to hate Valentines Day. Doing Valentines Day long distance is not easy. But
I do have plans. I am going to try something ambitious. I am going to try
and pull off a date, 5000 miles apart. Movie, dinner, conversation, presents,
cards, all culminating in sex. I'm pretty confident in my abilities to pull
this off. In fact, we have the movie planned. We're going to watch Moulin
Rogue together. A film I've never seen, which is one of Ale's favourites.
Oh, and I
finally tried out the VoIP service I commented on about on here a few days
ago. I'm going to give it a proper review on Fallout, but until then, let
me just say it's really good, and VERY useful.
Speaking
of Fallout, I am going to record it tomorrow, both the MP3 version and the
Windows Media version. Fallout is going to be about the news of the week,
and the things I have discovered whilst wandering around on the web. As I
said, it's going to be available in MP3, Windows Media Video, and probably
Windows Media Audio too.
Right, now
I must publish this and go to work!
As always, shout your comments at my comment box. All recorded comments get
posted.
February 12th 2007: Ugh...
I have just had the stragest experience since...well...since
Adrian walked out last night! I was listening to my chillout station, and
guess who came onto it? JO O'MEARA. Yes. The bully who has broken down since
Big Brother. And...goddamnit...I liked the song. I loved the words, they're
amazing. And her voice isn't too bad either. So...if we could do something
to change her personality... My only complaint is that this is a great song
ruined by pop effects like echos and such. They're a bit cheesy.
February 12th 2007: Escapees, Whingers, Flirts and Herman Munster Streaming Song Of The Day: Black
Betty - Nazarath I should explain the song of the day. I am not a huge
Nazarath fan (though I do love Love Hurts) but I do love this song.
It's full on, balls out rock song like they don't make anymore. Which is a
shame. I am publicly appealing for Tom Jones to get his arse in gear and make
another CD of balls out rock song covers like he did a few years ago. Go on
Tom! You know you want to!
Ok, so the wierdest thing I have ever seen in 3 years of working nights ever
happened last night. One of our team just walked off. I don't mean he said
where he was going, or why. He just walked out the door without a word to
anyone. Just upped and left. It was so wierd. Even now, no-one has a clue
where he went or why. Hopefully we'll have answers because...damn...that was
STRANGE!
In related
news, I am getting really bored, really quickly of Andy's constant whinging.
He wants weekends off, Malcolm won't let him. Big deal. I wanted weekends
off once. Guess what? I dealt with it! I can't have weekends off. No biggie.
The reason he wants weekends off is to go fuck his missues senseless all weekend.
Well whoopdie do. I'd love to do that too but
1) She is 5000 miles away
2) SHE UNDERSTANDS I WORK NIGHTS!
Grrrr...You know what I want? It's a simple thing. Something so fucking simple,
a child could understand it. I want someone who understands that nightshift
is more than just a job, it's a way of life. If you sign up for nights, you
are not doing a normal job. You are going to put your body through hell whilst
you adjust to not being awake during daylight. You will develop a twisted
sense of humour, and you will lose the plot from time to time. However, HR
cannot seem to grasp this concept (having never done more than one night per
week) and so give us people from evening or day shift, who believe they can
cope. Give me strength...
And then
there was Daria who was in full on flirt this morning! Damn that woman was
all over me like stink on shit. To the point where her "hello" was
to grab my arm and feel my muscles. Whilst practically whispering in my ear
"Hi baby". If I was not an engaged man who is hopelessly in love
with my fiancee, I'd flirt back, but all my wishes to flirt with women have
vanished lately. I honestly don't have the urge or desire to try and flirt
with anyone. Haven't for about 2 weeks now. Perhaps longer.
But I just
had to mention the latest NHS advert for giving up smoking. They
have been at full tilt with this lately. I believe the reasoning is that the
smoking ban is coming up soon, and they want people to quit before they go
"damn, I can't smoke here now?" But this latest one takes
the biscuit. It really does. They have evidently signed up Herman Munster
or Lurch from the Addams Family to be their "face of being an addict".
Don't believe me? Look - It IS Lurch from The Addams Family! That hook in
his mouth wasn't a prop. He was just getting off on a bit of pain, and they
decided to take the shot there and then. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of
the Flash adverts that I do actually laugh at. They exist. You can yank on
the fish hook and it stretches the persons mouth. When it gets to a certain
level, it is supposed to launch a popup. Except my popup blocker deals with
that, leaving me free to torture the poor sod who has signed up to be the
face of being an addict. Hahahahahaha. Fun for me!
Tags: black
betty, Nazareth,
Tom Jones, Quitters,
Whingers, Long
Distance Relationships, Night
Shift, Flirts,
NHS, Stop
Smoking, Herman
Munster, Lurch
February 11th 2007: Love this song!
Streaming Song Of The Day: Bloc
Party - The Prayer(rename from .rbs to
.mp3)
This song is stuck in my head. I was singing it all
night last night! And I was stunning last night! I did about 70 cases in half
an hour. Most of the delivery, I did! I was quite amazing. Apart from that,
not a lot happened. We stood around, did little, got eveyrthing done, and
it was all good.
But tonight
is going to be fantastic. We have The A Team. Me, Malcolm, Adrian and Andy.
No weak members. It's going to be a perfect shift I think. Especially as I
have my music with me via my iPod clone. This said, I still need to fill it
with more music. Maybe some more modern stuff. I think the most modern thing
I have on there is The Killers, from their first album, but I find modern
music quite boring and quite dull.
I'm watching
this show called The Verdict, and it is stunning! 12 celebrities are a jury,
in a rape case where the girl is an actress, and all the defendents are actresses.
But they did a improvised play which was the rape, and haven't seen the play
back. They have to recall what they improvised. It's as close to the real
thing as is humanly possible. And the actress playing the girl who was raped
is such an amazing actress. She was really in tears and looked really distressed.
And it is so engrossing. I hope it runs daily, not weekly.
Oh, and I
have given up on Noble Poker, because
they have given me a new password, and my account was locked AGAIN! 3 times
in two days. It's completely unacceptable in my view. Besides, I was playing
at Connect To Casino, and I won
$600 in play cash this morning. In less than an hour. I'm not going to reveal
my methods, or even the game I played. Just to leave it at that it is the
most sensible way of betting and recouping losses, and at a game that pretty
much every online casino offers.
February
9th 2007: Friday Fallout, Freebie and Karaoke Ok, so, I am introducing a new feature to my site
called Friday Fallout. For one week only, it's gonna be text. As of next week,
there will be a Vodcast, and a Podcast of the "show". Friday Fallout
is all about stuff that is floating my boat right now, and stuff that is really
pissing me off. Kind of like a one week highlights show.
First on
the list - my Tablet PC. My god. This thing ROCKS. I am serious. I was a longtime
laptop user. My laptop broke, needed a new computer in a hurry so I got a
desktop. I don't hate it...but...I can't take my desktop in the garden and
do shit. The Tablet PC is just awesome. Example - I was in bed like half an
hour ago, listening to the Diggnation podcast, and the sound quality was just
awesome. It was like being in bed with two friends, talking about tech, making
me laugh lots. I have a docking station with it, so I just plug it into that,
and BAM - fully functioning PC. It has Media Player, so all my media is sorted,
and it has a 40gb hard disk, so plenty of space to store stuff. And the battery
life is amazing. 4 HOURS. You may laugh. Go get the specs of a cheap laptop
and check out the battery life. 2 hours? 3 max? 4 hours. Probably more now
I have fiddled with the power saving options. And you HAVE to bow to a feature
I have actually gone and enabled on my desktop. Hibernate. Basically, I switch
off the Tablet with one button, and it saves what I am doing, exactly how
it is, next time I power up, everything is how it was. How cool is that?
And now a
surprise entry. 4oD. DAMN YOU TO HELL 4oD. I know I was raving about it earlier,
but it is shite. It really is. And their customer service is appalling. I
downloaded Ugly Betty episodes, the ones I haven't seen yet. Now bear in mind,
this is a PC service. The files are NOT HIGH DEF! Argh! My monitor is High
Def because it's a fucking PC monitor. They're mostly High Def. So why can
I not watch Ugly Betty in High Def? I am paying for downloads. I am paying
for video downloads from a professional company. And do not bitch about "well
maybe they're not made in high def..." Yes they are. I know this, because
a friend of mine got me ALL the episodes of Ugly Betty in High Def. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
So I e-mailed Channel 4. I asked them for an answer. Maybe a refund. I got
no reply. 4oD. Great idea, great software, let down by the content. Come on
Channel 4, get it sorted. You've lost a regular customer because of this.
I am also
loving Party Poker. They have this training room, where you can play with
a load of bots and practice poker. Now that is cool. I mean, I know nothing
about poker, spent a few hours there playing, came out really good. I played
a little against real people, and won a little money.
Pandora is
also an amazing web based program. Now, I know it's been out a while, and
I used it when it first came out. I thought it was much like 4oD, great idea,
let down in the execution. But I think they have fiddled, and now it rocks!
At the moment I have a stunning chillout station, and a drum and bass station,
and an electronic station. All playing stuff I LOVE. And it didn't take an
hour for it to recognise what is good and what isn't. We're talking maybe
4 or 5 songs here, and it was just playing tune after tune. It's just so well
executed now, and I really love it.
Lastly, I
have to tell you about this new program. It's such a cool idea, and I know
it works really really well. It's called GizmoCall. Now, I have been a Gizmo
user for quite some time. It works better than Skype in my opinion, and the
call quality is great. Now they have launched this service called GizmoCall
which is like a web based version of Gizmo. With one very cool thing. If you
register, you get 10 minutes of calls anywhere, every day. Ale has been using
it the last couple of days to call me, and leave me voicemails, and the call
quality is amazing. I thought she was phoning from her cellphone, it was that
clear.
Oh, and very
very lastly, a big shout out to Waitrose. They do a 1.5 litre bottle of whisky
for about £15 I think. Normally I am dubious about big bottles of whisky
that are not upside down in a bar. But this stuff is really nice. It blends
well with coke, and it doesn't get rid of the whisky taste. It's very very
nice stuff. On a par with Bells I would say.
So, what's
new with me? Not a lot. I have a very cool invite in my inbox at the moment.
Harrods Casino have offered me a place in two Blackjack tournaments, with
a first prize of £200 in each. It'd be rude not to take part! I'll take
Project Vapour there, and see what I can do. Hopefully the limits will be
high, giving me the chance to take a nice early lead. Hell, even 3rd would
be ok, can't complain about a free £50!
Ok,
I promised a freebie, so here it is. A puzzle game called Elebit
Shuffle. Read the instructions carefully, because I didn't and got really
frustrated until I read them again. Then it became a ridiculously addictive
game! You really should try it out.
Mustang
Sally
Mustang Sally
Guess you better slow that Mustang down
Mustang Sally, now baby
Guess you better slow that Mustang down
You've been running all over town
Ooh, I guess you gotta put your flat feet on the ground
Spoken:
"Sing it to me one more time girls."
-Chorus-
All you wanna do is ride around Sally [Ride, Sally, ride]
All you wanna do is ride around Sally [Ride, Sally, ride]
All you wanna do is ride around Sally [Ride, Sally, ride]
All you wanna do is ride around Sally [Ride, Sally, ride]
Tell you, one of these early mornings
I'm gonna be wiping those weepin' eyes, yeah
I brought
you a brand new Mustang [ride]
It was a nineteen sixty five
Now you comin' around to signify a woman
Girl, you won't, you won't let me ride
Mustang Sally, now baby [Sally, now baby]
Guess you better slow that Mustang down [down], alright
You've been running all over town
Oh, I guess you gotta put your flat feet on the ground
Spoken:
"Oh yeah, baby, you gotta put your flat feet"
-Chorus-
All you wanna do is ride around Sally [Ride, Sally, ride]
All you wanna do is ride around Sally [Ride, Sally, ride]
All you wanna do is ride around Sally [Ride, Sally, ride], ah yeah
All you wanna do is ride around Sally [Ride, Sally, ride]
One of these early mornings
I'm gonna be wiping those weepin' eyes, yeah
Spoken:
"Oh yeah, baby, come on, boys"
Those weepin'
eyes, oh yeah, those weepin' eyes
Those weepin' eyes, yeah, yeah, yeah, those weepin' eyes
Those weepin' eyes
Oh, those weepin' eyes
yeah, yeah, yeah, hey yeah
Ok, so, I
am going to ask you to do something special today. I want you to record your
karaoke in the box below. I'll post all of them on this site, promise.
February 4th 2007: Relaxing last hours... Streaming Song Of The Day: Please
follow this link...
The link above is a link to a radio station I have created.
I love this kind of music, and it is perfect for stimulating my mind and chilling
me out at the same time. It's one of the best things I have ever discovered
online.
I also wanted
to share this picture I found on Digg
Apparently,
it looks like The Eye Of Sauron. I wouldn't know. However, I really like it,
because it's so violent, yet so beautiful.
Right, and
now for the rants. And guess what? Jo
O'Meara has angered me again. She has said that Big Brother should be
scrapped because it's too cruel. No, you misunderstand Jo. Three on one bullying
is cruel. Not helping your fellow man when they are down is cruel. Making
very nasty jibes about someone is cruel. Not bothering to understand another
culture and instead mocking it is cruel. You got what you deserved. You were
going to commit suicide? Good. Shame you didn't. If you had, you'd be doing
the world a favour. One less bully in the world. I bet you're real sorry.
Sorry GAY cancelled your gig. Sorry no-one wants you. Sorry your dog business
is going to go bankrupt. And sorry that an S Club 7 reunion will just never
happen now. Yeah, I can see you're REALLY sorry. Whinging little turd.
Rant over
with. Onto something a little more light hearted. Comic
Relief. They are doing a charity
car boot sale. This has inspired me. I have a LOT of tat in my house.
Stuff I never use. I bet I could sell some of this stuff for Comic Relief
on eBay. I mean, it clears out the junk I have here, and it gives the money
to a good cause. Also look out in the next few days for the appearance of
a quiz with 3 prizes for Red Nose Day. It will be hosted by GoToQuiz.com
February
4th 2007: Quick
Post
I just wanted to post this, because I thought it was funny.
Kinda.
DISCLAIMER:
If you lack a sense of humour and fail to realise this is a PARODY...it is
not my fault that you get upset or outraged.
February
4th 2007: Tipsy Jack Streaming Song Of The Day: Robbie Williams - Feel
So, I have ranted at 4oD about something. I downloaded a half
of the available episodes of Ugly Betty. How unimpressed was I when I found
out that...THEY ARE NOT HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO. Ooooohhhhhh...makes my blood
boil! I pay for these files, I don't pirate them, and they are going to my
computer. Computer monitors are HD capable and have been for many years. So
why don't they offer HD videos? Or do them as default? I cannot believe they
charge for grainy, crappy video.
Anyway. I
have been a busy boy tonight, with no Ugly Betty to watch. I watched The Commitments.
Fantastic film, shit ending. I've only been waiting 16 years to watch that
film. But it was worth every second of the wait. It really didn't disappoint.
And then after that, I went and recoded every page of this blog so that it
fits the new look, and uploaded the whole lot. And if you go to the music
page, you will find something special. A collaborative jukebox with access
for each and every reader of this site. Please enjoy.
Oh, and I
will admit to playing Blackjack again. Despite telling Ale I wouldn't. But
it all worked out well in the end. You see, I am currently ranked 2nd in the
tournament, after hitting an all time low of 8th trying to reclaim 1st place
off someone. I will settle for 2nd. It's funny, the guy I tried to beat, he
is now 8th, and the person who was in 3rd this afternoon and about 5000 behind
me, is now 9th and 11,000 behind me. I'm actually 10,000 ahead of the current
3rd place person, and about 9000 behind the 1st place person. Quite respectable
I feel. I mean, me and the guy in 1st are really in a league of our own. It's
going to be an interesting year at the tournament. Bad luck on his part, or
bad luck on my part may be all there is to us winning or losing unless the
rest of the players can catch us. It may sound like bragging, but think about
it, I have twice as many points as the person in 3rd place. There is actually
12,000 points seperating me and 10th place. 3rd to 10th is actually really
really close.
Writing comments
is so 2006, 2007 is about convergence - podcasting meets comments:
February
3rd 2007: This is so cool...
So...I have been playing with something that is really really
cool. It's absolutely fantastic. The new 4oD service from Channel 4 in the
UK. Basically, if it's been shown on Channel 4, you can download it. Including
films. TV episodes cost 99p ($2) and movies cost £1.99 ($4). But the
price isn't the only stunning thing about this. What is really cool about
it is how damne fast it is. I downloaded all 3 episodes of £50 Says
You'll Watch This and the whole series downloaded in less than maybe 3 or
4 hours. An episode of Ugly Betty takes an hour and a half.
Now you may
be thinking "Oh, I use file sharing, I don't need this 4oD thing".
Well, yes you do. It's much faster than Bearshare, which is the fastest
P2P program out there at the moment. I have no idea what technology is underpinning
this thing, but it's like Bearshare on steroids! Plus, what about when you
buy a series on DVD? Say a series is £14.99 ($30) for a few episodes,
and the series is 12 episodes long. You can download the whole series for
less than £12 ($26), but pay for it in installments. I don't think £1
an episode for a series you love is too much to ask.
I do have
a few grumbles about it though. As far as I can see, it only applies to films
shown on Channel 4, not E4 or Film4. C'mon Channel 4, if you have the technology
and the movie rights, share the wealth. This is a good system, don't fuck
it up with small drawbacks. BUT...the biggest problem I have is time limits.
You can keep anything you download for just 2 days. Come on! 2 days? That's
not really fair. I mean, fine, if it was free, 2 days would be fair, but you're
paying close to DVD prices for something temporary. It'd be like someone saying
"well, you can have this ferrari at 60% of the full asking price, but
after 2 months, we're taking it back." So I am fighting back. I have
downloaded a DRM ripper, and anything I download from 4oD, I am keeping for
keeps. I paid for it, I should get to keep it. It's not piracy, it's fair
use. Pain in the arse stripping DRM tags out of every show? Yes. Worth it?
Just about.
So what else
is big in the last 24 hours? Well...I am going to start offering up a Vodcast.
A video podcast. A weekly thing kind of emcompassing everything I've been
talking about (excepting work stuff). It'll probably be recorded and uploaded
on a Thursday, with an audio only version available on the same day. I'll
also try and make both available here and on iTunes. I'm also planning on
finally converting all those old pages into the new, faster loading variants.
I'm also going to make some other stuff available on this blog that should
really help with the Web 2.0 thing I am trying to achieve.
Last, but
not least, I am planning to have an Ugly Betty fest tonight, because I really
love that show, and I do think Betty is soooo cute and really quite sweet
too. Yeah, go ahead, slate my taste in women! I'm also going to try and watch
Nylon. I watched most of the series when it was on, but missed the last 3
episodes because I was working. And it's very apt for me to watch at this
time. It's about a long distance romance between New York and London, hence
NYLon.
Leave your comments in this little box. Go on, shout your little blog reading
mouth off at me! I love it.
February
3rd 2007: Thursday
night, a new era, and a new philosophy Streaming Song Of The Day: Sweet Home Alabama - Lynard Skynard
Ok, so, I have finally bit the bullet and bought a domain name.
You can also see this site at Jacksblog.co.uk.
It's FAR faster than the one at Freewebs. I'm hoping it will usher in a new
era in my blogging. I mean...I now have reason to blog. Value for money!
This entry
is being done at 3am, so technically, I was out Thursday, but it feels like
yesterday. It was quite a good night for the most part. We went to Yates,
which was dead. So we went to the Hogshead, which was actually deader. By
the time we left there, there were 3 bar staff, another member of staff who
was off duty, and 2 doormen. And us. And that was it. So we went to Que Pasa.
Just. The doorman, who is always a self righeous arse, asked where we had
been, and how much we had to drink. God I love my ability to lie convincingly.
I will share. If I want to lie, I tell people what they want to hear. I just
finish off in my head. So, when he asked how many we'd had, I said - "Oh,
just a couple". And finished in my head "in each bar". Thing
is, your body language doesn't give you away when you lie like this. Because
you are still telling the truth. You're just not verbalising all of the truth.
Que Pasa
is insane. It really is. Once we got in, there wasn't room to sit. Now, bear
in mind, this is an exclusive bar. You have to pay to get in, no matter when
you show up. And it was rammed. Good music, exceptional drinks, and I freaked
the doorman out. You see, I take exception at being watched by doormen. And
he had to go and cross the line and watch me didn't he? So, I used the same
psychological techniques on him that I use on the barmaids. And as we had
been talking outside for about a minute, he couldn't have helped but smell
my scent. A mixture of many different aromas which trigger feelings of attraction
in people. So, this huge, massive, macho man who I am certain prides himself
on being straight, suddenly, he looks at me, and I look back. I use my tricks,
and all the feelings of attraction rush into him, triggering the scent memories,
triggering stronger attraction. He ran, and didn't bother me at all for the
rest of the night, and was even very polite to me when we left.
And we had
to leave. Because Mike had one beer too many, and was really quite drunk.
So, he threw up in the toilets. Then asked if we were having another drink.
So after a very brief argument, we left. Then waited for Matt to pick us up
and argued some more about his depressiveness. He's been single for 5 years,
and STILL he's hung up over his ex, which is why he has been single for 5
years. There really is only so much you can do for someone, you know?
Anyway...then
we stopped off at Somerfield, because I needed to get some food, and I also
wanted to know when I was back in. And they were all so nervous about telling
me who had been given Andrei's job. With good reason. FUCKING CHRIS! The idiot
cannot handle ANYTHING. Never mind. Malcolm is off soon, and doesn't want
to give Chris full time supervisor responsibility. I'm gunning for it. And
I am gunning for Chris's job. New philosophy. If I want something, I am going
to do my damndest to go out and get it. And I want to fulfil my dreams of
progressing through the company. Of course, until mine and Alecita's company
does phenomenally well, and storms the handmade jewellery world. The girl
is talented, no doubt about it. And I cannot wait to showcase what talent
she has.
Please leave voice comments using this little box. All comments recieved will
be posted and replied to personally.
February
1st 2007: So... Streaming Song Of The Day: Sweet Home Chicago - The Blues
Brothers
I am not an entirely happy bunny. First, I got 4 hours sleep.
I'll prolly crash for another hour or so later. Secondly, everyone seems damned
determined that I will not win the Hit21.com tournament. Some little whippersnapper
for whom I have no respect has shot in at number 1 with 10,000 more than me.
That's fine. If he/she/it wants to up the stakes, that's all good with me.
But I am determined to win. I've never been at number 1 once, let alone three
times in a week, and I am not going to let some kid just waltz in and steal
it.
Secondly,
I have been learning about Web 2.0, and it is interesting. To the point where
it may actually call for an entire shift in this site. Or at least a Web 2.0
mirror of this site. It'd have a collaborative music player, tv channel, games
section, and Alife lab. I'm planning to launch it really soon. Like in the
next day or two.
And so far...I've
done nothing else productive! I'm actually just waiting on some clothes to
finish tumble drying, then I am off to Southampton. And possibly buying a
400gb external hard disk. £89 at Maplin. Bargain I think, because they'll
never be that cheap again. Well...maybe in 2-3 years, but I need that sort
of storage capacity now. It will mean that this bad boy I use to create all
my projects on will have almost 1 terrabyte (a thousand gigabytes) of storage
space at it's disposal.
Oh, and big
news for me and my personal life...plans are in the pipeline for Alecita to
come visit me in April, which will be amazing. I think we're both realising
how much we missed out on by her not coming here for these two weeks I had
off. I'll book the end of April off, and then spend 2-3 weeks with my fiancee.
Who knows...maybe I'll make an honest woman of her in those two weeks. Whatever
happens, it's going to be a blast!
Pop your voice comments in this little box here. All comments will be uploaded
on the next revision.
February
1st 2007: Blackjack Update
For those following my progress in the hit21.com tournament,
and I know one certain girl is... I lost my place at number one AGAIN! Irritating
as hell! But...my first hand was a blinder. Dealer had a 6, I got two double
down chances, and a a natural Backjack, and took 3750. Put me over 3000 ahead
of the guy who was number 1. I decided that was good enough for me and stopped.
I WILL win this damned tournament.
Jack's Blog 2.4
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