I’m so busy at the moment I just don’t have time to write anything for the blog. I am aware that this post is now a logical contradiction but I’ll keep writing.
Work is busy and having two kids means there’s no time for anything at home. Although I wouldn’t have it any other way.
In the mean time have a look at a web page with some Wackos. Only a few, mind. Given the billions of humans on the Earth the wacko total is probably quite high.
Gallery of Wackos
Cruel Advert
Clicked on a google news link to Telegraph website article about diets from the BMJ. Advert is brilliant.
Mobile Phones
I have owned a number of mobile phones and most of them were rubbish. Going to give you a rundown of them from the earliest.
Phone number 1 – sometime in 1999 or so:
The Ericsson A1018
The order of the next few phones is not remembered easily. But here goes:
The next was:
then:
And then the nifty fold-out keyboard:
Then we get to the first smart phone:
Then the brilliant and pretty usable N95, it was the last Nokia I owned that worked well:
Then the big memory but pretty useless N97:
Finally, a phone that works. The iPhone 4. Until then the iPhone specification was pretty rubbish. It took a lot of soul searching to convince myself that selling out to the walled garden of Apple was worth it. However, I have to say that the iPhone is brilliant. It works!
The holiday will be a failure
I had mentioned to WW that I really wanted some time playing GT5 this holiday with the steering wheel. I may have said:
If I don’t get to play GT5 this holiday it will have been a failure!
This means no kids or anyone for about 2 hours. The time was set. Monday afternoon. Number one son would be in nursery and WW and son #2 would be seeing friends so I had about 4 hours when I could play uninterrupted!
I needed to complete around 10 online races to get the money and just because they are there to complete. The four hours would be pushing it but I reckoned that without lunch I could have done it.
So I set up the PS3 with steering wheel and pressed play.
GT server down for routine maintenance 12 to 4pm
Arrgggghhh. The only races I could do offline was a World Championship and I didn’t want to spend the time and effort and have to save mid-championship.
I shut down GT5 and played Rock Band. The original save file is copy protected and so I had to start from scratch. Definitely didn’t do the easy or medium – straight to hard.
So far the holiday has been a failure. Going to try tonight.
Talk Talk Part 3
This will probably come as a bit of a surprise but I have been really impressed with Talk Talk. I know that they have most complaints out of the media providers bt I haven’t had any issues.
Download speeds in the evening used to be crippling. It just wasn’t worth trying to download any large files and almost not worth browsing the internet. However, since moving to Talk Talk our evening download speeds have really improved. What I do not know is whether that is down to Talk Talk or some other changes that have been made with the infrastructure in our area. The thing is I can’t be bothered to see which it is.
Now I’m looking forward to downloading iOS5 this evening and getting my iPhone up to date.
Death of the PS3
So it happened again. My re-conditioned 60Gb PS3 from Sony has died. We were watching Wall-E on blu-ray and we got about 2 minutes into the film when:
Pvvvvvvvvvvvvv
The Ps3 turned off and the red light just flashed. The unit is still under warranty and so will be replaced with another re-conditioned 60Gb model, which is good because that is a classic model.
WW agreed I can suggested that I buy a brand new PS3 as well. So Amazon had a great deal on a 320Gb version bundled with a game and blu-ray movie. So until it arrives I am in limbo.
I managed to get the GT5 game save file copied when I tried turning on the PS3 to check it was FUBAR.
Updates later.
Tues 3 Oct
New 320Gb PS3 arrived with Resistance 3 and a blu-ray film. Plugged in and now vertical next to AV amp. Looks very nice. I have noticed though that the disc grabbing motor is much noisier than the old version, the disc reader motor makes a bit of noise and the buttons are real buttons rather than touch sensitive. However, the fan noise is much quieter and so much preferable.
Firmware update completed and GT5 save file copied after a bit of hassle. I’d been saving game files on a SD card because the 60Gb has lots of lovely memory card slots. Had to transfer the files to a USB memory stick using my PC before I could get them onto the new PS3.
Weds 4 Oct
Installed lots of the extra GT5 files onto the PS3 to reduce load times. That took about 40 minutes. Planing to install every game I’ve bought from the store over next few weeks as I now have the space for them. Also looking forward to DLC for GT5 by end of October.
PS3 stand arrived so I don’t have to worry about it falling over. It’s much thinner than the old version and so less stable. Now have a few more USB ports and some snazzy blue LED lights if I want to impress WW.
Old reconditioned 60Gb now taken and on its way to console heaven. Just waiting for the return of the next one.
Fri 7 Oct
New old PS3 delivered. Sony have kindly replaced my recondition PS3 with another (although it was within warranty). I have not yet checked it works as I need to be free of children to do it. New PS3 is wired in so this 60Gb will have to wait until half term.
Tues 11 Oct
GT5 version 2 download released and so very excited. Just waiting for DLC.
Cars
We tried searching for films suitable for a sensitive 2 year old and all the interwebs came up with were:
So we bought Cars from eBay.
It’s brilliant. The sons love it and have watched it about 10 times in the last week.
As expected from Pixar this film is really well written and directed. The artwork is fantastic and the detail is awesome.
I said to wonderful wife that I thought the cars suspension moves the wrong way when they go around corners. She replied
that’s your issue with a film with talking cars?
Fair enough. Although I guess they could have cool active suspension so the side of the car on the inside of the corner is lower rather than higher than expected. Essentially a car rolls to the outside of the corner not the inside, hey you could have cool lever linkage also!
Anyway, great film and sons obsessed with racing cars! Brilliant.
Tesco are rubbish
I had to take a toy back to Tesco as I had found it 20% cheaper at Argos and Tesco say you can just change your mind and return an item. So I checked the T&Cs at the back of the catalogue and took the required items back to Tesco Grove Green.
- The product with original packaging
- The order confirmation email
My wife had ordered the toy and paid using her card but she was out that day but the catalogue and email said the card wasn’t necessary.
I go to Tesco and hand back the toy and show the email.
Do you have the card used to pay for the toy?
No, was my reply. The instructions in the catalogue say you don’t have to bring it back with you.
It will say somewhere in the email that you need to bring the card. You always need the payment card when you return items.
After looking through the email, I suggest that the person serving me have a look as it says exactly the same as the catalogue: just bring the product and the email confirmation. Could I possibly have the returned money as a giftcard?
yes, but only this once and as a goodwill gesture.
My problem with this is that if the return instructions had said I needed the payment card then I would have taken it. Why was I made to feel like an idiot when I was following instructions from Tesco.
The person serving me refused after that point to look at me. I was trying to point out that perhaps she could talk to someone senior about the fact that the emails and catalogue are wrong. I tried to say this in as helpful manner as possible but obviously failed.
Tesco: you have messed up.
The origin of wine
A foible of mine:
I only buy and drink wine from regions I have visited
Fortunately I have been to Bordeaux and other great wine producing areas but I just decided about a year ago that I might as well impose a restriction just for the hell of it. Should someone offer me wine then I will drink it from anywhere. For me, this rule just makes choosing wine a little more interesting.
Places I can’t drink:
- South America
- North America (apart from Florida)
- Asia (apart from Hong Kong and Singapore)
- Africa
Individual areas that I can drink:
- Most of France
- Bits of Spain
- Cyprus
- South East Australia
- Southern Portugal
That’s about it. Hey, as the Great Sheldon said “if your going to have foibles you might as well make them bizarre”.
Extras
I’ve given up treats such as chocolate, crisps and donuts bought in by other department members.
Essentially I’m not bothered by crisps but I do like chocolate. I have decided to give up all “treats” for around six months or so. I won’t eat them at home or buy them. If they are offered as food at a friend’s house then that is fine.
Really this is about losing (or not gaining) weight and proving I have some willpower. Now I just need to promise that I’ll play the PS3 a bit more.
LED Car Lights
When Audi put super bright LED lights on the front of their cars I was really impressed. They looked cool and were possibly a good safety feature.
Then everyone got in on the act. Citroën, Porsche, VW and the other day I swear I saw a KIA with these lights.
Now I’ve changed my mind. They aren’t cool. They are annoying. Always on and too bright if these lights were the reason you bought a car then get your head examined. They are the automobile equivalent of a snake shaped belt buckle.
I’m not convinced of any safety argument either. If manufacturers want lights on all the time because they know that most drivers can tell when to flick the switch then change your name to Volvo.
Bands I have seen
This is a memory test. Trying to list the bands I have seen live. I guess this page will be edited as I remember the hazy days of long ago before children.
1st Concert
Iron Maiden (support: White Dwarf) 10 December 1988, Wembley Arena
After that:
AC/DC, Wembley Arena, Donington, Wembley Stadium
Aesthetic Perfection, The Underworld
Alice in Chains, Cambridge Corn Exchange twice, Download ’13
Asking Alexandria, Wembley Arena
Bon Jovi, Wembley Arena, Wembley Stadium, Twickenham
Bullet For My Valentine, Wembley Arena
Combichrist, Wembley Arena
Dan Reed Network, Wembley Arena
Diamond Head, Milton Keynes Bowl
Elvis Presley (kind of), Wembley Arena
Evile, Brixton Academy
Faith No More, Wembley Stadium
Gary Moore, Wembley Arena
Great White, Wembley Arena
Guns ‘n’ Roses, Wembley Stadium twice and Milton Keynes Bowl
Iron Maiden, Cambridge Corn Exchange twice and Earls Court
Jose Gonzalez, Shepherds Bush Empire
Killing Joke, O2 Academy Islington
King’s X, Wembley Arena
KMFDM, O2 Academy Islington
Level 42 (the shame), Wembley Arena
Lostprophets, Brixton Academy
Madonna, Wembley Stadium
Megadeth, Wembley Arena, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Milton Keynes Bowl, Brixton Academy
Metallica, Wembley Arena, Earls Court, Donington, Milton Keynes Bowl
Ministry, Brixton Academy
Motley Crüe, Wembley Arena, Donington
Nine Inch Nails, Wembley Stadium, Brixton Academy
Prince, Earls Court
Peter Green – Chatham Theatre
Queensryche, Donington
Rammstein, Wembley Arena
Senser, Portsmouth somewhere, Underworld
Skid Row, Wembley Arena, Wembley Stadium
Slayer, Wembley Arena Earls Court
Suicidal Tendencies, Wembley Area
Testament, Wembley Arena, KoKo
The Almighty, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Milton Keynes Bowl
The Black Crowes, Donington, Brixton Academy
The Darkness, Wembley Arena
Treponem Pal, O2 Academy Islington
Ugly Kid Joe, Wembley Stadium
UK Subs, The Square
Van Halen, Wembley Stadium
Wat Tyler, The Square
White Lion, Wembley Arena
Winger, The Astoria
Wolfsbane, Cambridge Corn Exchange twice, The Marquee
Yngwie Malmsteen, Shepherds Bush Empire
For the Download 2013 list click here.
PS3 Insurance no more
The other day I got a letter from Domestic and General who are the people who underwrite my PS3 insurance. My payments are to increase from £4.99 to £7.99! That’s a 75% increase! Now even given the ironic situation of times past I have phoned D&G and cancelled my policy. Somehow £60 a year seemed ok but nearly £96 is ridiculous. I’ve also cancelled my Sky+HD insurance as I’ve just had a new box.
Now, if the PS3 dies I’ll buy another. They are cheap enough. Then I’ll do my best to fix my classic 60 Gb model. It’s lovely! Lots of USB ports, PS2 backwards compatibility (suck on that you later model users), multimedia card slots and SACD playback because, yes, I bought some of those!
Now I just need to remember to back up my game saves regularly.
Patriotism
I always feel a twinge of patriotism whenever I see the Union Flag or Cross of St George on the back bumper of a car. Seeing the red, white and blue or just red and white makes a touch of “proud” run through my blood.
The person who spent around £5 on a bumper sticker or magnet obviously has a price limit attached to their patriotism because the vehicle is more often than not built in a different country. BMWs with the England flag, Mercedes with the Union flag and Chevrolets with a Cornwall flag.
I believe that if you are that patriotic then your car should reflect your taste in flag adornments!
Actually, I’m not that patriotic. I have some teams I follow and watch mainly the Essex cricket team, the England cricket team and the New Orleans Saints. I wouldn’t say I’m a fan. I tend to watch on tv and have a little emotional investment but it’s not the end of the world if they lose.
Following a team or patriotism or religion just satisfies our human need to belong to a tribe. None of them can be suggested to be a better form of tribalism than the other. Country, Jesus, town, county, country, football team It’s all the same thing really.
I am writing
Two minor things that annoy me are symptoms of my inflexible understanding of language. I will talk about negative questioning, which troubles me, another time but for now here are two main methods of starting a letter:
Dear Sir,
I am writing to inform you that the programme you showed . . .Dear Sir,
I wish to inform you that the programme you showed . . .
Both of these annoy me. In the first case it is obvious you are writing so there’s no need to state that. Just start by saying
“I found the programme you showed the other night rather sexless”.
The second method of starting a letter would have me reply
“you can wish all you like but you won’t get it”.
I do understand that language is fluid and evolves but we could always force a correction in usage if we insist on decent use of the English language.
I must be on the spectrum somewhere but I don’t interpret language literally it just annoys me when people are inaccurate.
Whose next top model?
My wife and I have finally given up on %%%%% Next Top Model, where %%%%% is a variable string representing one of the following:
America’s, Britain’s, Canada’s, Australia’s
I estimate I have seen fourteen series of America’s Next Top Model, three seasons of Australia’s Next Top Model, two of Canada’s and four of Britain’s Next Top Model. Now I will watch no more. Finally I have become bored with the format. It was fun watching young women argue and shout at each other while living in the same apartment. It was fun learning about the industry of fashion, which is still one that I think is mostly a crock of shit. I don’t see that fashion does anything useful. It was fun watching girls cry when their hair is cut short on the advice of the experts, but finally I am bored and moving on to other things.
It always struck me as interesting that the girls who shout the loudest are usually the ones who fail. See also X Factor and other such shows. Those who have humility are usually the ones who succeed.
No MORE. Thanks Tyra Banks for the show but it is time to move on.
An aside: whenever I have spoken to pupils at work, it is a boys’ school, they like to claim I am “gay” for watching a modelling programme. This is interesting, as I explain, because what I am watching is half naked women and commenting on how they look and NOT getting hit by my wife. They don’t get it.
Fiction
Picture of part of my bookshelf. Note the fiction title surrounded by reference books!
Ambition
Think I’d like to break into the top 10000. Doing ok at the moment on Angry Birds. Have spent far too much time playing it though.
What happened next!
It wasn’t weather, it was aliens landing. Wow, who’d thought Hollywood could get it so right?
Aliens have landed in Kent. This is the view of the Burham Nature Reserve where Romans defeated the Kent tribes and crossed the river.
Facebook and me
So Mr Facebook! Our relationship is almost non-existent. The only influence I maintain on Facebook is from my wife’s account and my friends who find out about me from her.
There’s a history. I started a website in 1994 for the student union that employed me. I was in a sabbatical post in charge of clubs and societies so when we got some web space I wrote the union’s web pages. The latest which are absolutely nothing to do with me are at www.su.ic.ac.uk
I didn’t do any more web stuff until about 1999 when I bought some web space and had my own web pages designed using MS Frontpage. These were at www.iparish.org.uk
Other sites I’ve had are www.ianparish.me.uk and then www.iparish.plus.com and now finally this site.
The point is that when social networks really took off with myspace I had my own site. I didn’t need another website to write stuff or advertise my own presence to the world. So I pretty much ignored all social networking while I had a website. Facebook didn’t bother me, if people want to stay in touch with me or vice versa then we could talk or email or text.
Over the last few years I have recognised that it would be easier to keep in touch with friends if I was on Facebook but it’s too late. I refused for so long that I just can’t do it now. There are principles at stake. Not going to take the plunge now.
My wife finds this amusing and slightly annoying as I sometimes ask her to send messages to people for me, not that often though. Also I am on twitter, mainly to follow F1 and NFL. I keep in touch with one friend through twitter but basically I don’t do social networking. Just don’t see the need if you have your own website, which I do.