5.1 ish

Bought a 5.1 surround system for £10 at a boot fair a while back. Only now just had a chance to fit it out in the bedroom.

I can see now why it was going so cheap. Although it's complete, because it's for a PC so it has no amp, so anything I plug into it comes out in Stereo :(

However I had a brainwave... Why not run it through a PC?

Sound from the PC comes out in glorious 5.1 and oh my god it's powerful... Only have to barely turn the dial to fill the room!

Sadly though the sound card can't process the stereo signal from the TV into virtual surround :( so that problem still exists. So question is whether to buy an amp, or wire the PC video out to the TV?

Mini Abomination

Now while I adore the original Mini, I genuinely look at the new Mini and think... "well it's the best they can do with current safety legislation"... and then exclaim that it's massive! And deserves the name Medium as opposed to Mini.

I'd heard of the Mini Coutryman... but until now I'd never seen one. And the first thing that popped into my mind? That's not Mini... it's Massive!

Whilst I don't object to 4x4 cars... I think that they suit certain styles. And styling one after a New Mini just horrifies me, it's the complete opposite of the original concept of the Mini. But someone out there liked it enough to come up with the design, someone approved it, and someone bought it... so that's at least 3 people that like it... I just pray there isn't any more!

Won't somebody think of The Owls?

I'd seen a few trailers for it and even played the demo of the game on the PS3 but the "Legends Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" was a total mystery to me. And it didn't let me down on expectations... it is a very beautifully rendered CGI film, with exquisite attention to detail (the feathers ruffled when the wind blew). One scene immediately springs to mind where they're flying through a storm in slow motion, the 3D rendered CGI raindrops and the "wet bedraggled look" of the owls was beyond description... if it's still on where you are go see it!



This was our first outing with the Unlimited cards from Cineworld, and hopefully the first of many, as the more you use them the better value they become. It was a really good experience being able to just pick the film hand over our passes and only pay a token £1.50 each for the privilege of a 3D film. The only thing that besmirched the experience was a member of the audience.

Where we decided to sit (which being late was a very quick selection) was roughly in the middle, and directly in front of a father and his 2 sons. Aside from them and us there was probably another 4 people in the cinema (owing mainly to the early performance and the fact the film was at the end of its run). As with all cinemas (at least when you're not in outrageously priced "first class" seats) the seats are far too close together and the inevitable fidgeting results in the person in front getting jostled, this is par for the course, and by and large I overlook it. If it becomes a regular occurrence, a quick look around is usually enough to shame the offender into staying still. Sadly in this instance it wasn't... I come to the conclusion the guy behind me was blissfully ignorant to the fact his son (who at the age of ~8 years old was sitting on his lap) was frequently banging the back of Nomis chair. So after a couple of jostles in rapid succession I turned around and exclaimed "seriously mate, please could you stop kicking the chair" to which he replied something along the lines of "why don't you move?". Thinking this was enough to point out what was occurring and he'd have the decency to either sit his son on a seat properly (of which there were hundreds) I turned around and resumed watching the film... only to feel yet another nudge in the back of Nomi's chair. Quickly spinning around I said "Why don't you move" to which he replied "we were here first"... now seriously am I in the wrong here? Shouldn't the offending party in something like this move away, not the victim? He knew what was going on and that it was his fault yet was refusing to do anything about it. So I stood up and said "fine" and promptly sat behind him and rather childishly (although not entirely deliberately) gently kicked the back of his chair :-) Oh what a feeling as he stomped off to get the manager :-) Eventually when he came back with the manager in tow I explained the situation calmly to the manager (who was very calm and collected) whist the other guy ranted and raved. Eventually after hearing my side of the story the manager advocated that "you're both here to enjoy the film, so can we all just sit down?" to which I replied "certainly... and I (emphasis on the I) promise not to kick the back of your chair mate". The rest of the film went on with us sitting behind him, and without incident. When we left after watching all the credits we bumped into the manager I had spoken to earlier, and apologised for the display and that how I was amazed at how idiotic some people could be. Thankfully he agreed with me.

Pick a Bulb

Nomi sent me to get some free daffodils from a local farm shop. When I got there I was told to fill my bag... "If there's any left". I expected to see an empty bucket... Not to have to sift through a dustbin full of daffodil skins!

Giant Turkey

Nomi's Mini is her pride and joy, so naturally no expense is spared in keeping it as near to mint condition as we can allow. So when she spotted a custom car cover she had to get one.

Problem was it was not as simple as that... as nothing is with us :-(

Nomi ordered the cover, and it arrived surprisingly fast. So at the first opportunity she tried it on for size (On her car, not herself). Only to find out that it was massive! On closer inspection I can only assume it was for a new Mini (Or Medium as we call it!) as it had BMWMIN on the label. So a quick email to the company saying can you change it please. Simple yeah? Of course, even managed to get it changed to a full size cover (Original was only for the windows). Postage however, not so simple.

The company decided that the ONLY way to send out the new cover and get the old one back was via courier... simple I suppose; courier arrives, hands over new cover, old cover given to courier, job done. No... courier is given such a massive timescale that he could even turn up at Nomi's work after she's gone home. Nomi told them this wasn't going to work, as she'd have to leave work possibly before he got there. Ensue email screaming match as to how unreasonable and costly this is to the company! (Customer is always right? Not in their book). So she brings the cover in, and waits for the courier. Only to be told the courier has been canceled (Presumably because the company had the hump)! So as a concession Nomi says she'll wait in for the courier tomorrow.

In the meantime the car cover... contained within it's silver bag (With no postage instructions) is sitting downstairs in her office, by the post ready for the courier that wouldn't be turning up until tomorrow... Problem is the post it's sitting with is all in post office bags... which are also silver!

dun dun dun!

Nomi goes to leave for the day and lock up, only to find the bag is gone... along with the post! Panic ensues and she goes to the sorting depot. Sorry it's already gone off in the truck says the postmaster... it'll be lost forever without any address on it.

Thankfully that was not the case, as a helpful colleague of Nomis had stopped the postman from taking it, and hidden the bag just before leaving (Long before Nomi left).

Much relieved she has the cover, the courier surprisingly turns up at a reasonable time and performs the switch.

So now Nomi's Mini is all warm and cozy on our drive... wrapped up like a Giant Turkey :-) And presumably the company in question is still being stubborn and grumpy to it's "valued" customers.

Degu Proofing

The cage I brought Nomi for Christmas to keep the Degus in was supposedly designed to keep Degus in, however since they've arrived they've shown a very powerful desire to dig. This of course in the wild is fine, they in fact live in burrows. In captivity however it means that they throw all the lining of there cage out (In our case we use cat litter... more on that another day). Which would be ok if it wasn't for the fact that it ends up down the back of the radiator!

So I came up with the simple yet elegant solution you see above... wooden strips around the edge of the platforms and base of the cage. Hopefully it'll do the trick, as the next option is clear perspex... but that'll make it look like Hanibal Lecters cell.

Coldest Day of The Year

Today is St Hilary's day, which according to folklore is the coldest day of he year. I however think for Oxford at least it was last week when I took this photo.

I love snow, but it results in everything transport wise grinding to a halt, motorways become mass graveyards for abandoned cars, carparks become tretcherous skating rinks and walkways become invisible trip hazards. One which I fell (litterally) for today... hard... proof indeed that I am not a weeble... as I can and do indeed fall down, thankfully nothing badly injured other than my pride. I will however be feeling stiff for a few days (Not in the good way).

YouTube

Some of you may have noticed that I've been using YouTube to put my videos on my blog... it's been a long time coming but I've joined the YouTube generation. Reason I hadn't before is I didn't want to add yet another website to my list of places to add my stuff. But unfortunately due to blogger not being very good at video uploads (Unless from a mobile) I had to do it.

My YouTube channel can be found here

667 Neighbour of the Beast

That last post was number 666... boy time flies, feels like yesterday I was talking about post 300.

I've noticed that the number of posts for 2008 was more than 2007, but 2009 was sadly lacking... hopefully that will change this year owing to my new T91 EeePC, which will allow me to type in the comfort of the living room, bedroom... or quite frankly anywhere I feel like. Yes yes I know I started this blog on my mobile, but it's a pain in the ass typing anything long winded on a phone. Also I'll enjoy this new toy, as it's touchscreen... and I love my gadgets :-)

Education Renders Us Fit Members For Well Organised Society

Today I went to Oxford Brookes Universities open day... I was hoping to find a course that I could go on to advance my qualifications (I already have a BSc, so I was looking for a MSc or MEng).

I suppose it all started to go wrong when I got there, and realised that there was no parking... at all... unless you have a disabled badge... I suppose you're expected to catch the bus, or instead cycle there. When I eventually found a space (Many thanks to the guy running the corner shop that pointed out that outside his shop was the only place I could park without a permit (Tho even that had a limit of 2 hrs).

I imagined an open day at one of Oxford many universities to be a grand affair with many lecturers to talk to... sadly was mistaken. When I arrived I was presented with the customary bag of goodies and pointed in the direction of a room where all the faculties each had a stand. Not at all what I was expecting... 2 people to a desk and once for each faculty... my god I thought, each faculty has positively tens of courses... where are the other lecturers? I quickly found the Technology desk, and noted they had about 4 leaflets, none of which at first glance appeared to have any relevance to what I intended to study. So naturally I inquired to the only chap that was free at the table, only to be informed that his area was in Audio Visual engineering (IE Films Tv etc), now whilst I would never say I wouldn't do that line of work (I've always fancied being a SFX modeler/tech, especially pyrotechnics :-) ) it wasn't what I was there for, so I asked if there was someone with knowledge in that area around? "erm he'll be back soon" was the response... 10 mins later I decided that I'd take a load off and sit down, so I asked them to point him in m y direction when he showed up.

20 mins later he showed up... looking pretty bedraggled... hardly an advert for the course. Must have had a tough day I thought... so I posed my questions about the course, and he adequately answered them... all the time munching his way through a stack of biscuits that had been laid out as hospitality to the prospective students (His long day can't have afforded him much of a lunch!), suffice to say as a spokesman for the university I was quickly beginning to doubt that this was the place for me. Especially when I discovered that the course on Advanced Engineering Design was primarily focused on Automotive Design (Oxford being home to various F1 design housed I should have guessed this in advance), which unfortunately is completely irrelevant to my current employer, and frankly far detracting from my chosen career of Aerospace and Defence Engineering.

Ho hum... I now continue to look... hopefully a few well placed letters to some Universities may come up with something of interest.

Yet Again The Assholes At Orange Bugger Up A Perfectly Good Phone!

Oh such a joy I thought the W995 is out I can upgrade my phone again :-) This time I won't fall into the same trap by getting direct from Orange and it having mucked up software... I'll get it from Phones 4 U instead.



FAIL

It's had the software modded again!



This time it's really bothersome to me... before there was a workaround in the form of me blogging via email. Which actually turned out rather useful.



This time they've deleted the menu for RSS feeds... argh... why? Are these people that write the Orange software incompitent? Are they unable to add something without removing something else. I mean I'm sure that I'm in a minority here of people that use there phones like this. But why remove a manufacturers default feature?



I never had this problem on O2... or is it just coincidence that I switched to Orange when mobile phones started to get this complicated?



It's not Phones 4 Us fault (unlike the rather unhelpful people at the Orange store last time), they get given what they can sell. only hope that someone comes up with a new homebrew firmware sometime soon... I'll be watching this space for any news.



On a side note I've found an app that may help solve my woes (Not tested it tho).

Selotape Flavour Custard

Many people will attest to the fact that I'll eat anything... Especially when hungry. But despite that I do have a sense of taste. And the custard at York Uni did not taste right. Hugh hit the mail on the head tho describing it as "sellotape" flavoured! We since figured out that this must mean it's made from recycled post it notes. Seems to be the only recycling they do here!

Best Pies in Oxford?

Or supposedly... But sadly disappointing. The song from Sweeny Todd sprang to mind. Not really that bad... But for the price I would've expected more. There's a reason people buy Burger King. I'm intent on buying nice healthy food these days so guess I'll have to pay extra.

Bowls

We have a round sink in our new house. Why is it proving so difficult to find a round bowl though? Mind you given the layout of this Tescos it's impossible to find any bowl. Can you spot it? Answers on a postcard please :)

Car breaks... Again.

Not blogged about my car go a while... That's not to mean it's been ok tho. I had the engine rebuilt again 2 weeks ago... How did it go? Well I'm off home in an RAC van as my head gasket has gone... Again :( and after only 700 miles :(

Insomnia

Typical... Bloody typical. I can't sleep. My body just twinges all over so I can't possibly stay still. It's driving me mental.

Nomi suffers badly with insomnia, but typically tonight is one of the rare occasions where she's totally sound asleep.

I'm bored out of my little skull :( might try playing a bit of PSP to help me nod off.

Snow Day

The snow in Kent is pretty bad, but not un-drivable. It annoys me that the news are making out it's like some sort of snow apocalypse. It's several inches at most, when I was a lad I saw several feet fall and no one complained! (Man that makes me sound old).

So me and Lou decided to make a snow man :-)

What was the largest snowball ever to be thrown became the body :-)

And here's frosty, complete with scarf and hat, with an apple for eyes, a potato for a nose, and a napkin for a mouth.

Bling

Andy just loves to show off his Bling :) i know this is a spoof item... But seriously. Who buys the real thing... It is just the rapper version of a Chav gold clown!

iJoy Ride

I have it on good authority that this is neither a sex toy or a rodeo bull... What it is, is it's a exercise "device" that works on your stomach and hips. Good to see that yet another industry is adding "i" to the front of everything. iWish I could go back in time and assassinate the person that thought of using iWhatever as a naming policy at Apple... iHate it... the only thing that iHate more is when other companies copy it. Even more so when it's totally nonsensical like this. iJoy? Really... I mean come on... Sounds like a vibrator attachment for the iPod... No wait that's the iVibe. Perhaps it should be renamed the "iLook Like a Cowboy on This Thing".

My Heath... (Insert Gimmic Here)

I know Ubisoft are kings of the cookie cutter game. But this just takes the piss... What's next... My Health Coach Let's Quit Heroin?