See Straight Through Winamp3

I've been using Winamp3 for quite a while now as a natural progression from version 2. For those who don't know (anyone?) Winamp is one of the most widely used programs used for playing MP3 files.

Anyway, one of the cool features of v3 is the ability to change the opacity of the windows, which is especially useful if you select the "always on top" mode and you want to be able to see anything underneath. While this is easy to do with regular Winamp3 by just clicking on the little '+' symbol, it is less obvious when using a skin that doesn't have the '+' to click on (a skin makes the Winamp program look different; go check out the skins page if you're confused).

Up until now I figured you couldn't change opacity if the skin didn't support the option, but finally I've found out how! Just hold the Ctrl key while you right click on Winamp and the Scale / Opacity menu pops up.

Signs of the Times

Since I picked up a week's strip of "30p off the Times" coupons I've been taking advantage of the offer. Amidst the doom and gloom of the main paper was an insane story about a woman who poisoned a girl with salt. Apparently, she is believed to be suffering from something called "Münchausen’s syndrome by proxy", whatever the hell that means. Read the story and try getting your head 'round it, because I certainly couldn't. Then there was the story about the Pentagon's suggestion for a sort of stock market for terrorism predictions.

Thank god for T2.

In the suppliment to the Wednesday Times, I found a little gem within the HUMAN JUNGLE column by Jonathan Gornall, under the heading I ADMIT THAT I HATE: "BABY ON BOARD SIGNS"

I resent the implication that, without the stern caution of the impudent yellow diamond, my driving would be reckless. I also bridle that the implied notion that the life of something that only poos and pukes is of greater value than, say, mine.

he then sums up with

Memo to Halfords: I'm sure the rest of us would happily buy a sign declaring: "No baby on board: feel free to ram."

Great stuff.

Marmite the marmoset

My girlfriend found an article in the Metro newspaper the other day that she thought I might appreciate.

Apparently Marmite was abandoned by his mother after a painful birth, so the keepers at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire got in a toy monkey.

I want one.

Read more about it at the CBBC Newsround website.

Rude Counties

I was just happily typing away at an application form, and when I looked back at the last line to check it, I realised I had mis-spelt "Hampshire" in a way that would have been rather embarrasing had I not noticed it.

If you hadn't already guessed, I managed to type Hampshite by accident (I even got it wrong typing the above paragraph!)

Better watch out for that one.

We didn't have toys like that when I were a lad

I used to play with Lego when I was younger, but haven't been near the stuff for years. Honest! Back then, the cleverest stuff was Technic, so I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what a friend had bought for novelty value.

Lego 2 vs 2 basketball! You have to have a go to appreciate both how cool it is, and how cleverly it has been designed. The men have grooves near their feet to catch the ball, and by simply pushing them forwards they pick up the ball ready to throw. Pull back, aim, and fling it in the far basket.

Awesome. I want one.

Revelations in Town

My girlfriend went into town to look at mobile phone deals, so I tagged along. I was my usual sceptical self about all the offers, but one in particular caught my eye.

It seems that you can get a phone with 3 on their VideoTalk plan, which offers a load of cross-network minutes (peak and off peak) at a good price. Might even be tempted myself.

Incidently I also saw a model of the SL55 which I commented on a few days ago. I had remarked how much it resembled the Nokia 7650, but what I only realised today was that it is about a quater of the size. Tiny!

Reelin' In The Years

Today I snapped up two Steely Dan albums, The Very Best of and two against nature, at the HMV sale.

They're well worth a try if you've never heard them before. You're best bet would be the "Best of" album, then try out some of the newer stuff.

FactoidThe band got their name from a steam powered device in William Burroughs' novel Naked Lunch. Best not tell you any more than that.

Stickman Antics

I found a funny short film on ifilm.com called What's Wrong with This Picture?

Check it out!

To start press any key. Where's the any key?

I finally got round to installing my very own "Any" key that was given to me as a present ages ago, and has just been waiting for me to use it.

listen

SL55

Have you seen the new SL55 mobile from Siemens?

I looks pretty cool. But is it a novel idea, or have we seen it all before?

Cheers?

While doing some background reading for an essay I'm writing on Japan, I found out a useful tip in case I ever visit.

Thanks to this page at japan-guide.com, I found this little gem of information:

Do not start drinking until everybody at the table is served and the glasses are raised for a drinking salute, which usually is "kampai". Avoid using "chin chin" when drinking a toast, since these words mean "penis" in Japanese.

I'm glad I didn't find that one out the hard way...

Can you take it all away?

I've decided to learn the lyrics and guitar part to my favourite Puddle of Mudd track, Blurry, from their debut album "come clean".

Well, thankfully the lyrics are printed on the CD sleeve, and a quick Google search for the tab got me started. Now I just have to learn how to play perfect-sounding harmonics as quickly and consistently as they do. And sing at the same time.

-sigh-

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

is cak.

As usual, I have more to say about the overall cinema experience and trailers than the actual film.

I saw a few posters in the lobby, including the interesting looking Freddy vs Jason (how much more they gonna milk these characters?)

There was also one for Teminator 3, which I'm planning to watch on an evening after seeing the original two films back to back if I ever get round to it.

Once in my seat, I had to sit through the new Diet Coke advert. Have you seen it? It's the one where a girl is sat on a train, and as soon as she opens her bottle of aforementioned drink, she starts to see words around her in an order that makes a rather suggestive message. The punchline is that after reading something along the lines of "Hey, you turn me on. Why don't we get together", she puts the top back on the bottle, and the man sat opposite brings the newspaper down that was covering his face. The girl is obviously not impressed by the guy (dressed in suitably tasteless shirt and chubby face), and her smile fades and she turns her head. My point is that she's certainly not much of a pretty face either, so perhaps she should take what she can rather than wait forever...

And then the film. Well, I've given my opinion already, but what's left to say is that there is a surprising number of famous faces beyond the angels themselves ranging from main parts to cameo apperances (including Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Pink, John Cleese) and parodies of other films and television programs (the Cape Fear joke and music is overused).

So if you do find yourself dragged along to see this film against your will, play spot-a-celeb, spot-the-parody, and appreciate the gratuitous and frequent show of female flesh. I certainly did.

0800 052 2000

Welcome to ntlhome. To help us direct your call, please please key in your home telephone number, including your area code, after the tone. -beeeep-

(enter number, then choose option 2: "reporting a fault", froma menu)

Hello, ntl customer support, ***** speaking. How can I help?

Hi. We got cable modem installed the other day, but I don't think it's running as fast as it should be.

OK, let me put you through to cable modem support.

(please enter phone number. again. etc)

Hello, you're through to cable modem support.

Hi. We got cable modem installed the other day, but I don't think it's running as fast as it should be. I check out the diagnostics page of the modem, and it says it's running at 150k.

(asks about house address)

And your name?

James Sheppard. I'm calling on behalf of **** ******

If you're not the account holder then I'm sorry, but the data protection act prevents me from giving out any information about the account to you.

That's fine, I don't want you to give me any information. I'd just like you to check out our modem.

I'm sorry, but due to the data protection act I can't give you any information about the account.

I know, and I don't want any information. I'm telling you that our "600k" connection is only running at 150k, and I'm asking if you can please fix that.

If you're not the account holder, I can't give you that sort of information.

I'm not asking for information. I'm letting you know about a fault, and asking if you can sort it out.

(finally, a change of tact:) Due to the data protection act, I can't to anything to the account.

OK, I understand you've got to follow rules. I'm not trying to get you into trouble, I'm just trying to get our modem fixed.

I'm afraid only the account holder can do that.

...and that's about as much as I can be bothered to remember and transcribe.

references:

Robin Walker's Cable Modem Troubleshooting Tips

nthellworld.com

The Polos of Death

Browsing through the random selection of videos that are stored on my housemate's computer, I found something very random, and very cool.

Without giving too much away, the short (under 9 mins) film features Boba Fett, some polos, and cameos by the cotton-wool brothers. Why not head over to the official website and check it out?

I'm downloading the sequel, Strawhide, right now, although our new "600k" broadband connection is not downloading as fast as I think it should. Getright currently states 17.6K/sec, and I know at my last house it managed 40K/sec most of the time.

Tsk and pah.

We're Saved! Broadband again at long last!

Today marked the installation of our 600k cable modem connection with ntl. The installation itself went without incident; if only I could say the same for the rest of the day...

Suffice to say that it is late now and I should have gone to bed hours ago, but we just got SmoothWall running on our designated firewall machine after discovering the original hard disk was causing the installation to fail at the same point several times in a row =(

Anyway, the connection is there, so now we've got to tidy up the cabling and invest in a switch or two. I guess I'd better start updating this blog a bit more frequently too.