Blog

Decided to import 900 rss feeds into my bloglines account. Not a top idea frankly, took some time to order and sort them all out. There is definitely only so much information one can handle. Sometimes I think I want to try and suck the internet dry, scoop it all into my head. One day I’ll be able to just plug it into my mind directly, but for now I’ll have to take it easy

Writers I like

• John Irving
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Hariuki Murakami
• Iain Banks
• Alasdair Gray
• Hunter S Thompson
• Norman Mailer

Music I like

• The Beastie Boys
• Chemical Brothers
• Led Zeppelin
• Jimi Hendrix
• The Doors
• The Orb
• Krs-One
• Public Enemy
• Wu-Tang Clan

People I Like

• Muhammed Ali
• Evel Knievel
• Mick Foley

Games I Like

• Super Mario Sunshine
• Super Monkey Ball
• Unreal Tournament 2003
• Gran Tourismo 3
• SSX Tricky
• Soul Caliber 2

Still loving Xbox Live as a gaming mechanism. Have dug deeper into it now, played about 5 or 6 games online. Most games have seperate websites to allow you to check your stats on, the system for meeting up with friends you have played with before is fantastic. Basically have been spending too much time playing it, and am loving it.

Have started to make minor changes to the site, you may (or may not) have noticed a new logo up top. Hopefully will start restyling this site over the next few weeks.

Fun weekend with mrsfb, bought her an engagement ring. Which is an odd thing to do for your wife 🙂 It had been lost a little while back, and no amount of searching and lifting floorboards had been able to find it. So we did the next best thing, and I got her another.

Last night was spent getting to Elite ranking on Burnout: Revenge. Lot of work to manage that, and the next level is going to take a lot more. Basically need to win every single race out of about 169, of which thus far I’ve done about 60. So there is still a fair bit of life in the game yet, to get me through the cold winter nights.

Also need to think about what games I am looking for next, ideally need some different themed games for the xbox, with xbox live in them. May end up getting a golf game for mellowness sake. Last night, when I closed my eyes, I could see traffic.

I feel I’ve got a long post building up inside me, but its not ready to come out yet. Partly because I’ve got to work at the moment, but I’m also figuring it out. Something about technology and communication, and how the consumer is now leading the mass media by the hand to where it wants to go.

It partly comes from listening to an episode of Web Talk Radio, which is a great tech podcast, deals with a lot of cutting edge tech issues, but in a very casual and chatty manner. Each episode is a bit like a good geek dinner party. Anyways, there was a great quote from one of their guests, Peter Yorke. I can’t remember the exact terminology, but in essence it was “Piracy is now a symptom of the failure of the media to keep up to date with technology”. I totally agree with this statement, and want to expand my thoughts on it in a long and rambling manner. His example was specificly with the Video iPod, and that by only allowing a single video format (MPEG4) to run on it, Apple were totally out of step with the demands of their consumers, who want to run anything off their mac or pc on it. In being so limiting, selling such a small selection of media in a single format, the consumer who wants to watch a much wider selection, is forced to look elsewhere.

Anyways, as I say, I’ve more to say on this, so I’ll work my day, chill out tonight, have a haircut tomorrow and gather my thoughts.

but it is fucking windy out there today. Actually as I typed that, I looked on my weather map widget, and there is a kind of circular nature to the rain map today, so maybe we are getting the arse end of a circulatory weather system, if not an actual hurricane. I’m fairly sure that they do carry on over the Atlantic to some extent after blowing over/around America.

Still playing a lot of Burnout and also now some Mechassault 2. Getting into the live thing, although I’ve broken my headset already, and now have something held together with surgical tape. Arse. If I get another headset, I’m gluing it in place from the start.

Good break from work last week. Bought the xbox on wednesday night, got that and live set up, very nice and easy to do. Have played a fair old bit of Burnout Revenge since I got back. Thursday, went to Bath to see T, Friday was out with him and H&J for Bath-based drink excess, then Saturday met mrsfb in Reading for a meal with R&J. Felt like I had a social life and everything.

Quieter week and weekend this week, may try to sort dull life things out as I go along. May even try to get back into the way of posting here a little more regularly.

Oh and if you are new here, check out the links to the right, this site is more than a blog, I have written lots of other dull stuff too!

So I’ve got a bonus this month, and thus am treating myself to an xbox. My mate T has been raving for the past few months about xbox live, and its about time I got to beat him down at Burnout, so I am going to sort it out. Going straight from work to the shops tonight. Afterwards I’m having a little meal out with mrsfb, so a fun evening for all.

*big happy new console face*

Somewhat lacking in motivation for all the projects I want to do in my own time. I think I need to sit down
and refocus, split them into smaller bits. And then actually do them. It would be a good idea I reckon.

I was really tired in the evenings all last week, until I realised we had turned the heating back on for
the winter, and had it up just a little too high. Much more awake now

Looking into a site called Ning.com at the moment, it is a place where you can
build web-based apps very easily. Seems to do google map mashups quite easily, so will have to have
a play

Back to work, first full week in ages, and boy am I tired. Really tired. Self-inflicted staying up late watching sport when I should be in bed tired. Ah well, one day I will learn my lesson. Maybe.

Plan for this week, bit of work on some of the things that need doing for my sister’s French experience. I may even start trying to learn a bit more French, as that will come in handy I suspect. Oui, I shall.

Right, coffee with me, podcasts to listen to, oh yes, and work to do as well. Lets go.