Thursday, March 31, 2005
A study by PC Pro magazine shows just how much power - and money - can be wasted by not turning off electronic equipment. I was already trying to be good this year and have not only been trying to trun off lights when not in the room or leave my monitor on standby but have even been unplugging the power adapters for things like my computer speakers as I know they drain power even when not in use (which is why they are always warm). Seems my good environmental practices might also save a fair bit of money...
# posted by
The BlogMonkey @ 8:53 AM
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
The Queens composer gets in a spot of bother after being found in possesion of a dead swan (a protected species). This man sounds like such a top bloke - my favourite quote"I had to give a statement. I offered them coffee and asked them if they would like to try some swan terrine but I think they were rather horrified. That was a mistake, wasn't it?"# posted by The BlogMonkey @ 2:56 PM
"You know what I thought it would be good to do tonight Edna"
"Watch some Eastenders with a cup of hot coco George?"
"No, I think we should steal shoes from the rich and give them to the poor!"
"Righty-ho, just let me get my wooly cardigan on...." # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 2:55 PM
So did I like it? Well, the jury is still out on that one. The new Doctor is very good but you did sometimes feel that he was on the verge of insanity? Billie Piper, maybe she'll grow on me. Some of the special effects were pretty rubbish and totally unneeded really, like the bit with the wheelie bin. It was almost like they kept to the tradition of having rubbish special effects and just gave them a new modern computer generated look. Don't even get me started on how annoying I found Roses boyfriend either.
It has potential tho and I shall give it a few more episodes. But whats with having no 8 epsiode storylines with a cliffhanger at the end of each!? Wrong, wrong, wrong..... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 2:53 PM
Huzzah. # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 2:47 PM
Monday, March 28, 2005
Blimey, a whole week since my last post. That might be the longest I've ever gone. Kinda been nice having that much time to myself tho, didnt get that even at Christmas. And I have spent much of that time being lazy.Not that I've not achieved anything at all during that time. I have actually tried to mix in a few useful things with the being a total lazy git. I've managed to tidy my bedroom and several other rooms in the house (although looking at the pile of clothes once again in the corner of my room I'm not sure you could tell anymore). I've done a couple of things that I've never done before and really enjoyed the experience. I've been doing my best to cheer up this person - sometimes it's nice to remember that even doing little things that take no real effort at all can bring a smile to someones face.
That same person will also be pleased to know that her pestering and prodding (at my request) has motivated me enough to go down and join the local library. All I have to do now is drag myself away from the computer long enough to read a book. I think the attractive young woman that gave me my library card (henceforth known as library girl) might be the motivation I need for that tho.....
So that was a quick update on what I've been doing. Back at work on Wednesday so things should get back to normal around here soon. # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 9:49 AM
Monday, March 21, 2005
I forgot to mention that I'm not at work this week. In fact I'm not back until next Wednesday - ah the perks of working at a university and getting extra holiday time over easter.Bloggage as a result may be light whilst I attempt to be as lazy as possible. # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 11:02 AM
Sunday, March 20, 2005
I've finally proved to myself that it does work - hair of the dog does in fact cure a hangover. The litre of apple juice, cups of tea and toast I had did nothing much to make me feel more human but get a few bottles of beer down me and I'm raring to go. Okay not raring as such but a damn site better that I was....So as you may have been able to deduce, I had quite a drunk night last night. Okay, I'll admit it I was hammered. I knew I was hammered when I left my friends to walk home and started talking total rubbish out loud (mainly pointing out to myself that I was hammered and trying to accertain who it was that kept moving the pavement). I don't remember getting home. Luckily I seem to have had enough common sense to take out my contact lenses and put myself to bed etc.. which is always a plus.
So the wedding (in case you were wondering) was 'different' to any other one I've been too. The service was at 10:30am and then there was a seven hour gap before the reception so as it turned out the issue of a nice shirt to go with my suit was fairly moot as I only wore the suit for an hour in the morning and just changed into something causal for the evening. And again (in case you were wondering) I didnt actually wear the black shirt in the end. Instead I fished out the shirt I originally bought to go with the suit many, many years ago - a nice dark blue/purple one with matching tie. Took me 35 mins of intensive ironing to get the creases out of it but it looked ok.
Like I said, it was different. We were offered drinks straight after the ceremony but rather than a glass of bubbly to toast in the new happy couple, we could have a nice cuppa or glass of orange. This lack of alcohol was a worrying point for our little drink fixated group and we started contemplating whether anyone would notice if we took our own bottles of wine to the evening reception. Luckily there was wine laid on when we got there (albeit a very limited number of bottles) and although we kept a very carefull eye on the bar area for the first hour trying to figure out if we needed to stock up before it was all gone, it turns out that this was the only wedding I've been to where all the free drink has NOT been drunk by the end of the night! We tried our best to remedy that tho....
The entertainment left you feeling like you were in a 1930's jazz club with songs like this being performed live. So, being the drunk and rowdy group we decided to create our own entertainment. I stole some helium balloons from another table and we proceeded to try to add just enough ballast into the 'basket' we rigged below to make the balloons hover. This got us approving looks from some people and slightly less approving looks from others.
Then we kinda got turfed out and went to a nearby pub (stopping only long enough to swipe 6 more balloons and a very large handfull of sweets as we left. Then the rest is a blur but I do remember chewing on someones handbag to get the balloons (which I'd tied on tightly) off.
It was a nice day and the bride looked beautifull, I'm just not sure they will ever let us back tho.... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 6:31 PM
Friday, March 18, 2005
I found this yesterday whilst searching for the lyrics to 'C'est la vie' by B*witched (god there are some hideous colours on that website - probably cos it's not been updated in 6 years...). Why was I searching for the lyrics you may be wondering. Well it was St Paddys day of course and this is one of themost Irish songs I know. Anyway, I found this website where they deconstruct the lyrics to the song. For example.
I wanna know just what to do
Is it very big is there room for two
From these two last lines, we can determine that the girl is of limited intelligence and/or indecisive....... one would expect that the girl would be able to ascertain the size, and thus occupancy possibilities, of the tree house since she can see it....
I think this should be done with all songs. # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 3:05 PM
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Ooooh, glowy.I'm still trying to decide if these are real or plastic? I suspect plastic but you can never be sure when it comes to the Japanese..... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 5:03 PM
*taps foot impatiently......* # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 3:58 PM
Sod it, I'll wear black. Ok, it will look a little morbid but what the hell. I wore a black suit and shirt to the last wedding I went to. Admittedly I was in a foul mood before I even got to the reception that time and black totally suited (excuse the pun) my mood but still.
Thinking about it I wonder why I actually agreed to go to this wedding in the first place? Nothing to do with the person getting married - I like her and wish her all the best - I just don't like weddings. Think I've ended up either sat in a corner refusing to talk to anyone or retiring back to my hotel room early at about four of the last five I've been to. They depress me and to be honest I could do without that right now.
God I'm in a cheery mood. Still, reading about Andre's continued adventures with coffee shop girl has put a smile on my face. He's a funny man and I wish him all the best in his shag shag shaggedy shag quest with she of the coffee and flapjacks..... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 3:49 PM
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Now this short animation is very freaky but also damn good!
# posted by
The BlogMonkey @ 5:13 PM
For a more environmentally friendly mode of transport you might want to try this hydrogen bike. So clean you can apparently drink the exhaust fumes and quieter than your average PC (which is in fact pretty noisy if it my PC). So quiet in fact that they want to add artificial noise for the real bike enthusiasts - tho why a real bike enthusiat would buy one is another question... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 4:02 PM
Monday, March 14, 2005
Hardcore anime cats.Again, nuff said # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 3:02 PM
Of course now all he has done is made sure that any search for Robert MacNichol brings up a page showing what a total prat he is.... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 11:42 AM
Nuff said. # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 11:40 AM
"....it is the world leader in infant deaths, while one woman dies in pregnancy every 30 minutes." # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 10:25 AM
So, I head into town on Saturday on a quest to find a new shirt only to discover when I get there that the 'fashionable colours' at the moment are peach and pink. Peach and bloody pink!!! Now I may be getting more adventurous in my old age but there is no chance in hell that I'm wearing a pink shirt. I'd look crap, believe me.
I'm tempted by a nice brown shirt but after failing to visualize the whole outfit in my head I send a quick text to a friend with more colour coordination than me and am informed that "no", brown doesn't go with black.
All motivation now lost, I head home dejected.... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 8:26 AM
Friday, March 11, 2005
I have to say sorry for not posting much the last few days oh loyal readers. I'm just lacking the energy needed to do much at the moment - in the real world as well as online. And how am I trying to combat this lethargy? Well, I'm hiding from it more than trying to do something about it, and hiding in a place that doesn't actually exist.The real world doesnt seem to be that appealing at the moment so instead I'm spending stupidly large amounts of time online fighting crime and making new friends in Paragon City. I suppose at least I can say I'm meeting new people, right? Hmmmmm, no I didnt think so either.
My days seem to consist of waking up and playing online for a little while. Go to work. Go home and play until my head hurts and I need to sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat til you reach the weekend. Then it's the same minus the 'going to work' bit.
I know it's sad. I know it's hiding away from things I should really sort out. But don't we all need to hide away once in a while? # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 12:09 PM
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Hahahahahahahahahaaaa!!
# posted by
The BlogMonkey @ 5:58 PM
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
A promotional clip for the Institue for Backup Trauma staring John Cleese, errr I mean Dr H Twain Weck. Viral marketing at its best.Must pass this onto my colleagues in Systems..... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 5:23 PM
One kebab, a small chips and a bullet vibe please. # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 4:30 PM
Does anyone use the word 'chortle' anymore? # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 4:05 PM
Monday, March 07, 2005
Who needs real live people to do jobs anymore? Not the Japanese apparently...
# posted by
The BlogMonkey @ 4:52 PM
I feel I owe him a pint.
My weekend was once again a lazy one spent mostly fighting crime. I am starting to get the hang of socialising in the virtual world now and quite enjoy it. Of course, there is the downside of occasionally meeting total tosspots or in my current case, befriending someone who appears to be about 12 years old.
"Faultline"
"Yes"
"Will u add me to ur friends list?"
"Ok"
*3 second pause*
"Have you done it"
"Just doing it now"
*Pause*
"Have you done it now?"
"Yes"
It seems to be the virtual equivalent of "Will you be my friend?". Oh well, it's always nice to be liked I guess. Better than being a spandex clad, mask wearing Billy No Mates anyway. Or would that be The Amazing Captain No Mates?
I did manage to drag myself aware from Paragon City long enough (and 6 hours is pretty long) to finally build this website for my friend. Only taken me a year. So if you ever happen to be in Lough (hey, you never know), please drop by Off The Beaten Tracks (see how many links I can get in to give him some Google juice) and say hello to may mate Mark. He may even give you a discount! # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 1:34 PM
Friday, March 04, 2005
Is anyone else fed up of mobile phone companies trying to bolster a flagging 3G market by claiming that the mobile phone will be the answer to everything. Favourite quote:"Getting music from your PC onto a device is not an easy experience. You have to switch the PC on, load the operating system, load the program, buy the music, download the music, and then transfer the music.
"All of these steps can be done in one step on a mobile phone."
Yes, one easy step. Open the phone, connect to music download site, try to find music you want using a tiny screen and keypad, download the music etc.. # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 2:43 PM
On the topic of food, this is the blog of choice for all people that like bacon - Bacontarian.com. I'm afraid I can't credit whoever it was that found this site as it was a few days ago and I can't 'member now. Someone over there in my blogroll tho. --> # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 1:21 PM
Now this advice tends to fall into one of two categories.
a) Blind optimism
b) Join a dating agency
Blind optimism speaks for itself. "It's just a matter of time" and "You never know what's around the corner" sounds good - and for some people is perfectly true - but when they have been telling you this for several years or more and you have still yet to meet this mythical 'perfect partner' they are convinced is waiting, you have to wonder if even they believe what they are saying anymore. What do they know that I don't?
Now joining a dating agency is advice that I am getting more and more often nowdays. It's not something I'd ever consider - period. Some people think it's because there's some stygmatism involved or that I am just too shy. Not it at all.
For me it is because I don't like the concept. I don't want to go bowling with a group of strangers whose purpose is to 'find a date' and get asked out by someone at the end of the night just because I 'seemed nice' and was the best choice there. I want someone whose not just out looking for love to meet me and for them to say to thier friends at the end of the evening "That BlogMonkey seems like a really nice bloke. Would like to get to know him better". I want someone to get to know me because they want to, not because they've paid thier dating agency fee and think they should at least try and get to know a few people cos maybe one of them will be Mr Right.
So I guess I stay single a while longer unless anyone has an option c) that doesn't involve doing this.
(I love this line in the FAQ on that site too)
Q. I have pictures on my computer. How do I send them a picture from my computer?
A. You can't! None of them have access to a computer. All correspondence must be done by snail mail. The best way to get your photos to the women is the "Expose yourself to the Ladies" program.
I head you end up in prison for doing that sort of thing.... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 10:45 AM
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Lots of things I've been wanting to talk about the last week or so but have been distracted from doing. Trying to fix old mistakes and rebuild bridges - that sort of thing.Anyway, first is I know I need to change my New Year banner above. Think I know what I want to replace it with. Just need to get round to doing it.
Was also going to give you all a handy dandy tip for fixing a monitor that has severe magnetic distortions (swirly psychadelic colours in normal speak). Why my monitor went like this I don't know but it did. And the degaussing button on it did help and maybe eventually it would have fixed itself entirely but I found a way to manually degauss it. If you don't have access to a degaussing wand (now there is a techy chat up line if ever there was one - "want to come round and play with my degaussing wand?") what you do is plug a power adapter for something like a shaver or computer speakers into an extension plug. Then you turn it on and slowly put it onto the monitor screen and draw circles - wiping away the magnetic field. Supposedly when done you are supposed to very slowly withdraw the adapter away from the screen before turning it off. Anyway, it worked for my monitor!! Now don't say I don't ever tell you anything usefull.
What time I havent spent fiddling with my monitor recently has instead been spent playing City of Heroes. Far too much time if truth be told. Life - what life?
It's a good game and as I said before my first venture into MMORPGs. I've been tempted to play before but the problem for me was always the social side. Stupid as it sounds I'm as bad at meeting new people in the virtual world as I am in real life - I'm a shy guy at heart and always wary in situations that are new to me. For the first couple of days, everytime anyone spoke to me or invited me to join a superteam I'd desperately seek the 'open crevasse and jump in' superpower button. I'm getting better tho and was part of a successful team last night, although I was the quite brooding hero throughout.
For anyone that has always wanted to wear a mask and have superpowers, this game is for you! Nothing like floating several hundred feet above the ground surveying the city or being surrounded by a crackling electrical field as you draw power to blast your enemies. And should you decide to play (or already are) I'm a Tanker by the name of Faultline playing on the EU 'Defiant' server. Look me up and together we can save the innocent, right wrongs or just dance around in our kinky skin tight uniforms....
Hmmmm, this post is too long. My thoughts on the Spongebob Squarepants movie shall have to wait for now. # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 8:29 AM
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
The best 404 Page, ever.
# posted by
The BlogMonkey @ 11:34 AM
"I intend to stand against Jack Straw in his Blackburn constituency. Just to annoy him." # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 10:41 AM
Then again maybe it was just because no one would have looked at the story if rather than linking to it with "CNET News.com's Charles Cooper recounts how Symantec put in an Oscar-losing performance when his PC came under virus attack." it actually told the truth and said "CNET News.com's Charles Cooper recounts how Symantec put in an Oscar-losing performance when he couldn't be arsed to do a quick Google search to solve a problem caused by his wife installing some free software". # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 9:50 AM
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
I was going to post today about my online superhero exploits. Or about the clever trick I found to fix my monitor. Then I heard some news.Seems I am now officially the only person out of the 17 people I was friends with at university that is single. Most were coupled off or married years ago but a few were still left unattached until recently. Now tis only me.
I'll be in the corner with a large glass of wine if you need me.... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 10:00 PM
I wouldn't mind one of these radio controlled blimps. The fun you could have indoors. Dangling sweets below and hovering it just out of reach of little children etc..
Now this is weird. Send a virtual hug with a Hugms. Never knew a text hug in physical form looked like some oddly mishaped sex toy? And I can just imagine the text conversation now.
"Thank u 4 virtual hug baby!"
"Eh?? Oh soz, just sat on hugms." # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 11:19 AM
Now I'm in favour of wind farms but with all things a little common sense has to apply. Destroying important environmental areas to create one is daft. However the same can be said for saying that they are a blight on the landscape - I actually think they look quite nice and certainly no worse than all the power pylons you see around. I remember flying over somewhere (I have no idea where it was) and being so impressed by the number of turbines I could see. Five here, another three in the corner of a field over there. Just odd ones dotted all over. Seemed like such a sensible approach.
I can never really understand some peoples opinion that things like wind power and energy efficiency are mutually exclusive either - money should be put into both to achieve the best results. You don't have to do one rather than the other.
Of course solar roof tiles are the answer.... # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 8:09 AM
And is it just me or does Ron Jeremy not look like a cardboard cut out in that picture? # posted by The BlogMonkey @ 7:56 AM
