It's like a commentary track for my life

11:02 Woke up late, annoyingly, and can't be bothered doing much. I've still got to do all that homework and other stuff that I mentioned yesterday, so to free up some time, I'm going to do one of these “blogging throughout the day” posts. Haven't done one of these in a while.

11:52 I've just been looking at the Apple website to try and find some sort of cover for my iPhone, since I'm paranoid about scratches on the screen. One case I found said it offered “full protection” for your phone but apparently left the screen entirely open. So I guess “full protection” means “everything but the most important two fifths of the surface area.

13:13 Looking at university courses right now. I need one more as a back-up in case I don't get into the courses I actually want to do. Problem is, I'm having to go solely by their websites and those are... well, pretty useless. The UCAS course searching system doesn't give a huge amount of detail either. Meh. I'll probably just end up choosing one at random.

14:08 Doing these really reminds me how little I actually do in any given day. I'm doing some Physics revision right now, if anyone cares.

14:46 Decided on my final course choices and tried to send away my application form but the UCAS sites is apparently having some sort of internal error. No idea what that means but it isn't exactly reassuring. I'll try again later. For now, I still haven't done much of my Physics stuff.

16:33 UCAS is still having problems of some kind. I'm basically just sitting here doing nothing while my brother plays Halo 3. I've recently become a little disillusioned with Halo. The first game was excellent and the second added some nice touches and the oh-so-important online multiplayer. But the third... I don't know. Good, but a little samey. Maybe that's why I don't find myself playing it a lot.

Anyway, I still need to do some of that Physics, don't I?

16:43 Just had to unplug one of my precious 6-socket power strips so that I could take it into school tomorrow for the consoles in the common room. Kind of annoying but I can live with it for a while, I guess. Haven't done any Physics yet.

19:25 There was a question on the Wii's Everybody Votes channel that asked which futuristic thing you'd like to have – flying cars or robots. Robots already exist. I voted for flying cars. Based on a different spelling of a slight variation on a typo I just made, I'd also like to point out that I wouldn't be averse to flaying Tsars.

19:43 I can't find my slippers.

19:44 I found my slippers.

21:08 Top Gear just finished a few minutes ago. They were racing from one side of London to another by various methods this week, as well as all the other usual stuff. One of these days, I'm determined to do some crazy stunt like those guys do every week. Schemes may well already be forming.

Also, I have just now discovered that the extendible shaving mirror doohickey in the bathroom next door has two differents modes, accessed by rotating it along the central axis. The one on the other side is all crazy and fun-mirrory. And I still need to do more Physics. And try sending off my UCAS stuff.

21:31 UCAS system is apparently back up and running. So that's my university applications dealt with then. Now, I guess all I can do is wait.

22:52 Well, I reckon that's my day pretty much complete. I'm just going to paste this into Blogger, agonise over the formatting for a couple of minutes and then... do my Physics revision... yeah. Not good. You know what's kind of ironic about this unit? I can understand all the quantum mechanics, but “simple” harmonic motion annoys the hell out of me.

Now that I come to think about it, it's not really all that weird

Today has been a weird day. It started off fairly normally with some meeting about my class arranging part of the school's Christmas trade fair followed by Physics first lesson, part one of a double period.

I guess the weirdness started with an animated character in a short DVD bit we were watching looking and sounding surprisingly like Dr Breen from Half Life 2. Well, the faces look similar – the DVD character was wearing some kind of superhero outfit with a large “Q” on it, which I can only presume stands for quantum, the subject of the short.

The second Physics lesson supposedly consisted of research into our course projects but ended up as more of a discussion on how to break through the firewall (we succeeded, by the way) and what was the best way to get TV programs and movies off the internet. Our teacher tends to use BitTorrent, apparently.

I spent a fair chunk of an afternoon study period not playing Street Fighter, which is weird in and of itself. Instead, my friend Sam Stafford (you'll see why we need to use the Stafford in just a second) was giving out some riddles. One in particular had a few people stumped but, between us, myself and Sam Potter (there you go) managed to crack it. Half of the rest of the year stormed in in quick succession demanding the answer and promptly being given it.

All except one, the first person Stafford had given the riddle to. She agonised over it for an hour or so, eventually drawing a small crowd of those who had beaten the answer out of others. She got closer and closer until someone finally just revealed the answer so we could all go to next lesson. There were no survivors.

Give or take a few survivors.

Also, at some point, several people started to play “the game”. This arcane ritual, spawned somewhere in the depths of the internet, cannot be won except in exceptional circumstances. The only way to lose is to think about the game and loss is generally assumed (by our rules, there may be others out there) to occur if you just hear about the game or see it written down somewhere. Thus, we all spent a great deal of time telling each other about it.

We once used about 20 sheets of paper and managed to get one guy coming into the room (it was on a note held to a dartboard with magnetic darts in front of the door) and when he opened his locker immediately afterwards (this was where another 18 sheets were). The final sheet would have been the clincher, but people aren't polite enough to shut the door behind them, so he didn't see it.

It sounds simple and bizarre (and, really, it is) but it can provide distraction for a surprising amount of time.

The final example of weirdness to occur today, that I can be bothered to remember right now, involves some Computing homework. You see, I had been planning on doing said homework tonight. Then I got home and discovered that I didn't have the sheets that I needed. This, I thought, was strange, since I'd already used the same bundle of sheets to do two previous pieces of homework. I applied my impeccable logic skills and determined that I must have lent it to someone.

There are four people in my class, all of whom are absent-minded and lazy enough to be candidates. I pretty much gave up hope, mostly because I couldn't be bothered, and went on with whatever I was doing at the time until Sam Potter got in touch asking for help with one of the questions. I told him that I hadn't got them so he scanned his sheets in and sent them to me.

While he was doing that, Jimerson got in touch with him to ask if he had the sheets, since Jimer evidently didn't. As both Potter and I laughed at this, I joked that he should ask Sam Stafford if he had them. Turns out he didn't.

The final twist in this little tale? The scanned sheets that got distributed around weren't actually Sam Potter's. They were mine – he was the one who had borrowed them for the last piece of homework.

Actually, I lied. The final twist in the tale is that I got sidetracked a little and haven't done that homework yet. Or done any revision for the test we have tomorrow. So I'm going to go do that. Seriously.

On All Kinds of Stuff

It's amazing what you can find when you tidy out cupboards. For example, I've just come across some sheets of paper with what I think are level passwords for my NES version of Lemmings. I haven't played that in ages... and now I want to. Shame all 8 of my NESs (don't ask) are currently buried under a pile of all kinds of other crap next door.

The moral of the story is that if you want me to tidy something, hide a copy of Lemmings under it.


I've decided to do a running commentary on me sorting these drawers. I've just found a packet of crayons. And I don't know why.

And lots of earphones. I think they just appear out of holes in the universe. Possibly the same holes that socks fall into when they're not being watched.

And I've just found my old passport. I was thinking of showing a picture of the pudgy, hoodie-wearing 9 year old whose identity I stole in 2000 but the camera just comes out blurry and I don't have access to a scanner. So you'll just have to use your imaginations. Don't imagine me as too ugly.

Daleks are really hard to clean, particularly all the dust that builds up in the slats and around the sense globes. I wonder how Daleks clean themselves... A car wash maybe?


Well, given up on tidying now. I'll have to get more done tomorrow but for now, Optimash Prime!

Ever just seen some cheap little thing and think "I need one of those" even though it's completely useless? And once you get it, even if you realise it was probably a waste of money, you still think it's awesome? Pretty much everything I own is like that and Optimash there is just the latest example.

On the bright side, it gave me a chance to fiddle around in Photoshop:


I was hoping for a better background to edit him in but I went with what I had. I might try again some time simply because I'm trying to get better at image editing. For reasons that totally don't involve blackmail.


I wrote this little post for the MacTake today, discussing some iPhone news. I started off talking about logical fallacies and end up discussing general relativity. I stopped just short of digging out my Physics folder and doing some calculations on the relativistic mass of an iPhone at various speeds.


I came this little gem of a video on YouTube today. It's worth watching for the music alone but it also does make you realise just how often Homer Simpson changes careers.


I got an actual comment on one of my posts yesterday. Eletric_Rainbow said of "Warning: This post is terrible. Don't read it.":

"That wasn't half as boring as you seemed to think it would be. It was actually pretty interesting. You're very entertaining. :)"

Not half as boring as I thought, huh? How dare you disagree with me, insolent peasant! Everything will be as boring as I say it shall be! Just for that, tomorrow's post will be about the history of turnip cultivation in Europe. Then we'll see who's boring!

But seriously, thanks for the comment. Reading over that post, it's actually not as terrible as I'd thought. Which throws two things into sharp relief; one, I should read over these things before putting them up, and two, it's extremely depressing that I get so few comments that I can afford to devote several paragraphs to each one. On the bright side, I can claim that 100% of comments are positive.

Also, I wasn't joking about the turnips thing. Prepare yourselves.

Warning: This post is terrible. Don't read it.

I've decided I'm going to do another one of my blogging throughout the day posts, since they're relatively easy and I've got some other stuff I want to focus on today. It's 11:08 right now, just for reference. I've been talking with my brother, whose interest in photography led him to the Canon Outlet on eBay, from where you can also get cheaper-than-average refurbished camcorders, so I may finally get round to buying one soon, if Mum can be nagged into giving Erin and I a budget.

Is it my imagination or were there a huge number of commas in that paragraph?


12:05 and I'm rewatching Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Movie. No idea why.


I'm looking through the Argos catalogue, ostensibly to find a toy for my little cousin's birthday. Some sort of gun was recommended. This brings back a lot of memories and also makes me want to buy the Potato Head version of Optimus Prime.


Just opened up Mario Strikers Charged. Both the Argos catalogue and new games have a distinct smell. I like new game smell. I think it's from some kind of addictive substance they put in the boxes to force me to keep buying games.

Love that smell. Kinda creepy.


In games, why are the instructions always stuck in at the back of the bundle of leaflets, after all the adverts and warranties and stuff? That always bugs me.

I can't believe I'm doing a running commentary on me opening a game box.


THIS IS GOING TO WIND UP (sorry, caps lock) being a really long and pointless post isn't it?

And I still haven't done this week's woodle yet. I was hoping to have something interesting but I'll just do a Stick Guys after lunch.


Wow. It just started bucketing down outside. I hate Scottish weather.


Played more of Red Steel a while ago. I can't believe I only got up to the 2nd level of that game before. It might not be a masterpiece but I think it deserves more attention than that. Of course, this means I haven't played Mario Strikers Charged yet.


Eating ice cream, blog later.


You know how I've been selling that Axim on eBay? I won't link to it because by the time I put this up the auction will (hopefully) be done anyway but some of the spam questions I've been getting about it are hilarious. I just got one vaguely promising to give me an "Iphone (4G)" "because our VIP member". It ends "best regards," then gives no name. Bizarre.

The second message is similar (same style of username as well - stream of letters then a random number) and offers me an "IPHONE" (keep trying guys, you'll get the capital letters in the right place eventually) and a "20G PS3". I can apparently get this if I spend more than €699 at a website that I won't name. Suffice it to say that the URL spells "bargain" wrong.

Who do spammers actually catch out with this crap?


There's another Final Fanatsy Retrospective episode out on Joystiq. I've recommended the series before but I'm not watching this one since I want at least some of the plot (that which I haven't picked up from the numerous internet references I've seen over the years) left for when I buy it, which I intend to do soon.


I think I might have given up on Red Steel now. A few too many "I'm walking into a room... and now I'm dead" moments coupled with some "Who the hell is shooting at me?!" moments do not a good FPS make. Still, I can now at least say that I gave it a shot (pun not intended).


There's half an hour till that eBay auction for my Axim finishes. I think I'll go play Strikers Charged or something instead of sitting here, clicking refresh.


Interesting. The clock on my Wii appears to be just a few minutes faster than all my other clocks, hence why I'm back up here before the auction finishes. Actually, I must have stopped playing Strikers with about a minute to spare. Go internal clock!

I did however miss a bid for something else that I wanted. Oh, well. It's a Buy It Now that'll probably be relisted anyway.


And I think my Axim auctions over. No buyers, far as I can see.

Yep, 1 unsold. Ah, well. I guess I'll lower the asking price a bit and relist it.


And that's that done. Now, I really ought to sort out some of the other crap I intend to sell.


I've completely forgotten about this now. And I never did that Stick Guys that I thought I would do.


I'm half-tempted to just cull half the stuff on here and try to make a coherent post out of what's left but I won't because that would be cheating. I'll reread it and, if warranted (which it probably will be), I'll stick it under "crappy posts".

I'll try to have something better for tomorrow. But, then again, I always say that. And I'm fairly sure that I haven't been improving, day in, day out, so I'm probably lying. Ho hum.

Another day in the dull life...

I'm going to try another blogging throughout the day feature. This is partly because I've woken up to find several emails covering the progression of Sam's attempts to install Windows 95 on Shrinkwrap's hard drive throughout the night, inspiring me to try something similar (the noting, not the ridiculous IT), and partly because it's easy. More later.


I've just spotted on Joystiq (which has only recently had a redesign) that Sony has lowered the PS3 price to $499. They'll also be introducing another package at $599, just to keep the meme alive. While this is good news for consumers who want one and it may lead to higher sales for Sony, the fact that they've denied such actions before make them look a bit hypocritical.

There might be a similar price reduction over in Europe (where the damn thing was already more expensive than everywhere else) but I suspect that, in accordance with Sony's "Fuck Europe" marketing strategy, the price will in fact be raised and 50% of the consoles will be rigged to explode.


I'm just watching an eBay auction for an old Axim X3. I've got one that I'm planning to sell so I figured it might be worth checking on prices. So far, they all seem to have gone for £50-60 but this one has some extra peripherals so it looks like it'll sell for more. I'm hoping the keyboard and spare battery that I got with mine will put the price up to about £70, allowing me to buy a second-hand PS2 from a friend (with games, controllers, etc.) with some cash to spare.

This isn't really relevant to anything but it should give those 27th century historians some idea of just how big a part eBay played in my life.


Hmmm.... the one I was watching went up to £85 but it's got Bluetooth and Wi-fi support, which mine doesn't. Still, I'll need to register that seller's account today. It's on my to-do list. And I have to do everything on the list. Or else.


I've just been going over IT plots with my brother. Pretty much every computer in the house, with the exception of my lovely, lovely iMac, is dead or dying. Seriously, closing the lid on the newest laptop leads to an instant BSOD. Anyway, I've been looking at refurbished desktops on eBay and I think one of them might do as a replacement for the family desktop.

Also, this blogging throughout the day method really is very easy.


The weather's really changeable around here. I think the sun just went behind a cloud and my room went dark in under a second. Even with the lights on, it's not back to where it was.

The light levels keep changing. Damned high altitude water vapour.


I forgot to update this thing for a couple of hours and it felt bad. This must be what Bebo addicts fee like.


Coverage of E3 seems to be mounting in anticipation of the July 11th start for the new, smaller version. E3 is traditionally like information Christmas for gamers with rumours being shot down and every kind of surprise under the sun from the industry giants to independent groups. My favourite part has always been the pre-E3 press conferences held by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony before the main event where they unveil all kinds of new gadgetry. I'm not sure whether this has survived into the new format but we shall see, come Wednesday.


You know what I want? A shelf on the wall behind my desk that I can use to rest my feet.


I think I'm going to pause here for a while because I'm leaving the house and shutting down the computer. That would make it hard to continue.

I suppose I could leave it in sleep mode, I often do for similar lengths of time, I just don't want to while I'm not here. Irrational fear, I guess.


I'm thinking about bidding on an Amtrad Mega PC, a sort of combination of an old Amstrad computer and a Sega Mega Drive. Just a few minutes to go. I probably won't buy it because it's too expensive, has no monitor and, most importantly, is completely useless to me. But then again, so's most of the rest of my stuff.


Nah, didn't get it. I think I had a sudden and unexpected attack of sanity there. Happens every so often.

Fortunately, it's passed now and I can consider trying to find a colour monitor for my Amstrad CPC 464 (top of the range tech, there) since all I have is a green and black one. Problem is, all the monitors seem to be going with other systems and postage is a pain. The irony here is that the extra C in "CPC" stands for "colour". Green is a colour, I guess.

Incidentally, I got that Amstrad from my local GameStation which now seems to be winding down an awful lot of stock. When I was in there today, they had no retro stuff and not many good new games, lots of second-hand PS2 stuff and the like. Shame, it used to be quite good for that sort of thing.


I'm going to call this the end of the post now because nothing interesting ever happens to me after 8 o'clock. I may read this over before posting it to check spelling and such but that sounds too much like hard work, so I might not.

A brief summary of my day (for the benefit of 27th century historians)

You know what sucks? When you've just watched the first episode of a really good anime series and the second episode's been pulled from YouTube because it's illegal or some such nonsense.


Not much time or energy tonight (not that I ever have either of those) so I'll make this quick.

I tried proper driving for the first time today, doing some simple lessons at an off-road place. Nothing hugely interesting but it alleviated some fears I have had ever since I tried go-karting and utterly failed. To be fair, my nervousness that time had some justification: the boiler suit I was given had a large, singed hole at the elbow.

I also watched Genesis of the Daleks for the first time today. I've not finished it yet but it seems to be living up to its reputation as one of the finest serials of its era. Unfortunately, I saw most of it with Sam and Erin and the whole thing devolved into a series of fights, sparked by their desire to fiddle with all the stuff on my desk and Dymo label everything and my desire to stop them.

Also, the downward scroll on my Mighty Mouse has gone again. I suspect that whatever dirt is in there is either to tightly wedged to come out with a simple clean or that the mechanism is faulty and prone to easily failing. Either way, I want a new mouse and I'm not stopping until Apple tech support give me one.


That's pretty much everything that's happened to me today. It has, all in all, been rather enjoyable. I will definitely have a woodle up tomorrow since the first week of the holiday is over. I define this as the "goofing off period" and thus, after it, I can no longer justify goofing off.

In theory.

A day in the dull life...

I'm trying something a little different today. I'm just going to leave this document open and add little snippets to it throughout the day.

11:05
Having just replaced a light bulb in my bedroom, I could have sworn I smelled something strange and I did think that the bulb wasn't quite the right one. After sniffing the air for a few seconds and deciding that there was definitely something about that bulb, I look up. The light isn't even on. I'm not paranoid.

15:36
Kind of forgot about this thing... nothing much to say, except that I really don't like learning English quotes (which is why I haven't been learning any) and I really like chocolate.

17:01
Just returned from PC World with a new USB Flash Drive and a device that'll let me transfer stuff straight to SD cards, which will be useful since I can't get my PPC to connect to the Mac. Odd, since Microsoft has an awful lot of their software ported to Mac but not any version of Active Sync. It should also make transferring stuff to my GP2X a little quicker since I won't need to turn on the actual device every time.
Went to B&Q as well. I believe I've found the perfect paint colour for a replica TARDIS.

18:21
Seems like I'm incapable of blogging during the day.

20:15
This whole really-slow-liveblogging thing doesn't seem to be working out that well, does it? On the bright side, it's easy for me to write, assuming I can remember to do it.

21:20
Just realised that tomorrow is the 11th: one month till the exams. A month is a funny, relatively unspecific amount of time, but a very scary one in this context. I'm starting to think that I was wrong in my earlier post. It really doesn't seem all that far away.

22:38
I think I'll bring this to a close and post it now. Not sure how good this piece has actually been but it took me over 11 and a half hours. Doesn't really show, does it?