Another Odd Site

In May 2003 I heard about a wierd website and checked it out. Sadly it's gone (well at least I couldn't access it when I tried just now) although it's memory lives on in Google's Image Search (and here for when that finally goes too...)

Once again I've heard about a similarly minimal and obscure site, no sound this time, and a cat instead of a dog. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Limecat. (via memepool)

The Oldies are the Best

A while ago I mentioned the classic game XCOM which tonight I found out can now be played multiplayer and online thanks to the work of Sourceforge project UFO2000.

The original developers of XCOM have brought out their latest installment of the series, Laser Squad Nemesis that certainly looks a lot cooler than the first XCOM, and the even more dated Laser Squad (amiga & speccy box art).

Well the graphics may change, but the core gameplay elements have always been there in some shape or form. There have been several unsucessful attempts to mimic the style of the original XCOM game and I have yet to see a clone out there that manages it. It is good to know that people are still trying, although some look more convincing than others...

Scam Alert

In this age of various e-mail scams, it's easy to forget that the fraudsters are at work in the real world too. Take a look at this message I received recently:

Send
> this warning to everyone on
> your e-mail list. ..............
>
> ....................................................
>
> If a man comes to your front door and says he is conducting a survey
> and asks you to show him your cock, DO NOT show him your cock. This is
> a scam; he only wants to see your cock.
>
> .......................................
>
> I wish I'd got this email yesterday. I feel so stupid and cheap.
>

I hope you read this before it's too late. I was lucky.

Last Saturday

Halo, Sainsbury's, Sol, badgers, spag bol, Nastro Azzurro, Godalming, The Red Lion, empty train, GAbbot, CAGL, Tia Maria and Coke, a Fin, BopIt.

Euphemisms

I hope I'm not the only one who finds this hilarious.

A Mum with Good Music Taste?

People often complain about their parents' taste in music. Often children are subjected to songs throughout their childhood that they learn to despise, and never quite share the appreciation with their parents. Often it works both ways, with parents mocking the listening tastes of their offspring.

Despite this, I must openly admit that my Mum has introduced me to no less than two great albums recently. A while ago she insisted that I had to listen to Grace by Jeff Buckley. I'd never even heard of it before, but I found it soon after in a sale and now really enjoy listening to it. Since then I've become much more aware of the wide appreciation of the album.

The other day I unexpectedly received a parcel from my Mum containing a few photos from Christmas, and a cd-shaped wrapped present. Inside was still life, the new album from aqualung. I'd really liked strange and beautiful from the debut album and featured in a VW advert, and the video for good times gonna come which I saw on MTV was cool.

This wasn't the first time I'd heard Matt Hales sing. On Monday 24th May 1999 I saw a band called Ruth playing live at ussu while I was studying at Surrey University. From their set I remember Waiting For This the most, so much in fact that I spent several years looking for a copy of their album Harrison. Thanks to eBay I finally tracked down a seller and in January of 2002, almost 3 years after hearing them live, I managed to get hold of my very own CD, and it was worth the wait: I loved it. It really is a pity that it never seemed to get the recognition it deserved.

Well, I guess that's just the way things go, but the point of that little detour is that aqualung is Matt Hales, aforementioned ex-lead singer for Ruth (oh, and The 45s too, but that's another story...) I've listened to the new album through a few times now and really like it. OK, the album artwork is a bit pretentious, and the songs can verge on dreary sometimes (you could say the same about Coldplay or Radiohead I guess) but that's just the kind of music it is. See what you make of track one, brighter than sunshine. Try it, you might like it.

The 6th Annual Turing Lecture

Although I became a student member of the IEE back in 2000, my involvement has been fairly minimal up until recently. After I graduated and started my career proper, I thought it was time to take my professional development seriously. So, I got in touch with my local branch Younger Members section and managed to attend a few meetings, gradually getting back into the swing of things.

Up until December 2003 I had still never visited Savoy Place, the London-based HQ of the IEE. I though it was about time I did and took the plunge with the Wheatstone Lecture entitled Forensic Investigation of Explosive Incidents and presented by Kim Simpson, a Senior Forensic Case Officer at The Forensic Explosives Laboratory. Although the topic was not related to my line of work, it seemed interesting enough and so along I went. The lecture itself was enjoyable, but I inevitably felt a bit out of place and made my way home soon after it finished.

Last night I attended the 6th Annual Turing Lecture (held jointly with the BCS) entitled Cyberworld Security - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly and presented by Professor Fred Piper. The lecture itself was informative, thought-provoking, and very entertaining. Digital security is relevant to my area of work, and since I'm currently half way through reading Simon Singh's "The Code Book" I have a particular interest in cryptography at the moment.

I decided to stay for the post-lecture dinner this time and was not disappointed: the food was excellent, the company was far from the stereotypical image conjured at the mention of a room full of electrical engineers and computer scientists. The view of London from the balcony of the Riverside dining room was fantastic and was a good way to end the evening.

They Don't Know What They're Singing

Did you think that the words of the title Chitty Chitty Bang Bang refered to the noise that the car made?

WRONG.

"The name of the car was not derived from the sound it made, despite what Hollywood would have us think, but from the words of a bawdy first world war soldier's song. Officers would obtain a week-end pass or chit so they could go off to Paris for a couple of days and enjoy the favours of the ladies of the town at their leisure. Chitty chitty - bang bang."

She's got CANKLES!

Shallow Hal seems to be one of those films that nobody I know has actually seen. I can't remember hearing an opinion about it, although something at the back of my mind tells me that I once heard that it wasn't any good. Well I beg to differ: I got the video for Christmas, found the time earlier tonight to sit down and watch it, and I really enjoyed it. Sure, it's not great, but it's certainly not bad.

The last film with Jack Black I saw was Orange County. I thought it was pretty awful although Jack's character did make it more entertaining. I read today that his new film School of Rock is doing rather well, although I am still put off by the whole premise of the film. Perhaps I'll wait to see that one on video too.

Looking further ahead, it seems Tenacious D are going to be having a film of their own. And it's going to be directed by Liam Lynch? Yeah, whatever.

That was sound. Yeah, dead sound.

The thought of re-designing my website has crossed my find a few times, but I feel that a priority at the moment is to work on the content, which at the moment almost entirely consists of this here weblog.

So, first step is to sort out my links. I've already extended the list of websites and blogs of friends of mine, along with general links to the sites I seem to visit most frequently. Why? Well, for my own reference mainly, but also to indicate to anyone who cares to notice the sorts of things that I like. The blog framework is still missing a few self-referential sections that I'd still like to add, such as books I'm reading, music I'm listening to, catchprases or quotes I've heard, or anything else that defines the sort of person I am (or that I see enough other blogs incorporating.)

One like I realised I've been missing is to Mantlepies. These guys are great. balls and chair disaster are my favourites from their animations section. tomfoolery is interactive for the ADD sufferers among us, and the fancyteeth series done for channel4 is simply brilliant. If you think the new bt adverts are rubbish, what do you make of this one?

Happy New Year

How was the holiday for you?

As usual, I went up to Scotland for Christmas, but decided to see the new year in back in England for the first time in my life that I can remember. This was for several reasons including wanting to spend it with Lisa and friends, doing something different, and the lack of my cousin Marsha on her 'round the world trip.

The holiday started in Glasgow on 23rd Dec 2003 where Peita, Andrew, Mhairi and Derek headed out to the quirky TriBeCa for a Christmas meal (thank to Peita's booking via 5pm.co.uk). I ordered the steak without fully reading the menu, and was therefore understandably surprised to discover that it was served in a chocolate sauce. It was very real, I kid you not. The oddities continued with a single, unisex toilet with saloon-style swingdoors into a urinal intalled in what looked like a small, tiled shower room, and a large classic motorbike randomly placed in the middle of the tiny restaurant.

And so, after watching drunk people dance about outside the window waving to us, we decided we needed to move on and get pished. The idea was to visit several pubs and bars to give ourselves a bit of variety, but really we just ended in a continual argument about whether each venue was indeed a bar or a pub. My saving grace was seeing a sign on the way out of one subterranean location categorically identifying it as a bar when I had been outvoted by a strong majority inside insisting that it was indeed a pub.

After stopping off in several different but all over-crowded bars, we ended up in the newly refurbished Loft which was a refreshing change: very spacious, not too crowded, and very nicely decked out. There were two huge stills from the Hitchcock films North by Northwest and Rear Window lit by what looked like old-fashioned studio lights.

At some point there we seemed to make a unanimous decision to return to Peita and Andrew's flat for more drinks and a game of Cranium. It was my first time playing, and for those who've never heard of the game it's sort of a mixture of pictionary, charades, Trivial Pursuit and playing Speak & Spell. Sort of.

Well the drinks flowed and the game went on for some time. When it was over, Andrew thought it would be a good idea to teach me how to improve my hopeless skills at SSX3. Despite my inebriation I think the training worked to some degree although the late night made it painful to get up the next day and finish of the last bit of present shopping left for me to do.

Christmas day itself went well as usual, with some interesting presents: a towel that Duke Nukem could learn something from; a t-shirt from threadless; a GBASP; a useful handbook; and Posable Magnetic Art.

It was great to see family and friends that I usually only see once or twice a year, and to make some new friends too.

I returned to Guildford in time for New Year's Eve celebrations, predicably involving food, drinks and over-excited girls with glitter spray.

All in all a good night. I wonder what I'll be doing next time 'round...

Have a good 2004.

Jim x