Saturday, June 21, 2003
Ten Years At War?
The US military in Iraq needs to build permanent facilities because they could be there for a decade. Combined with keeping soldiers in Afghanistan, the annual budget is going to be $54 billion. I wonder how much of that money is going to end up with Halliburton?
via Suburban Guerilla
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:29 PM link
The US military in Iraq needs to build permanent facilities because they could be there for a decade. Combined with keeping soldiers in Afghanistan, the annual budget is going to be $54 billion. I wonder how much of that money is going to end up with Halliburton?
via Suburban Guerilla
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:29 PM link
Penis extension
For all those drivers who need to admit that their car is just compensation for their dick-Truck Nutz.
via Nothing But Cool
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:11 PM link
For all those drivers who need to admit that their car is just compensation for their dick-Truck Nutz.
via Nothing But Cool
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:11 PM link
Mean Greeny
Taken with Damian's old digital camera. Delightfully low-res.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:53 PM link
Taken with Damian's old digital camera. Delightfully low-res.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:53 PM link
The happiness radiates in Iraq
according to the Washington Times. On page seven of today's edition, it's all about how the ordinary folks are in Iraq are so happy booze is legal again. I feel the love baby, and can't wait to visit Baghdad for a few nights to party it up! bottle of gin or whiskey for six dollars. What a steal!
Oh, did I mention the Washington Times didn't have any other stories about Iraq, WMDs, or the fact American soldiers are dying at a faster rate when the war was still "on"?
posted by john o at 12:04 PM link
according to the Washington Times. On page seven of today's edition, it's all about how the ordinary folks are in Iraq are so happy booze is legal again. I feel the love baby, and can't wait to visit Baghdad for a few nights to party it up! bottle of gin or whiskey for six dollars. What a steal!
Oh, did I mention the Washington Times didn't have any other stories about Iraq, WMDs, or the fact American soldiers are dying at a faster rate when the war was still "on"?
posted by john o at 12:04 PM link
Immerse
Feeling vain? Wondering what might make a good gift to the girl next door? Why not try the BoneClone? I kid you not, for 50 bucks you can recreate your manhood in all its little glory!!
Give it a go, although you can't, ahem, increase the size...
posted by john o at 11:51 AM link
Feeling vain? Wondering what might make a good gift to the girl next door? Why not try the BoneClone? I kid you not, for 50 bucks you can recreate your manhood in all its little glory!!
Give it a go, although you can't, ahem, increase the size...
posted by john o at 11:51 AM link
I want, I want, I want!
Just found a very funky website that makes and sells corsets and fallen completely in lust. Having had a quick wander round going "ooh pretty", I've decided that I need to buy one in the near future. I also plan to wear one down the aisle.
As I'm Spinneyheads token girly, I should point out that they also do some for the rest of you!
posted by Mysterious Miss E at 12:14 AM link
Just found a very funky website that makes and sells corsets and fallen completely in lust. Having had a quick wander round going "ooh pretty", I've decided that I need to buy one in the near future. I also plan to wear one down the aisle.
As I'm Spinneyheads token girly, I should point out that they also do some for the rest of you!
posted by Mysterious Miss E at 12:14 AM link
Friday, June 20, 2003
A handwritten estimate....
I've been promising people that I'd start working on Post & Publish for the last month or so. I have been doing a little bit of it during that time, honest, and to prove it, here's the first draft of the chapter I wrote to hash out the basic format.
It's not necessarily the first chapter of the book, I think it might appear about a quarter way in. This one's almost totally biographical- infact I swiped one post whole and plonked it into the prose. Each chapter is going to start with a post and expand upon its theme by way of comments, narrative and follow ups. The time periods of some chapters are going to overlap, because you rarely have just one thing going on at a time, and the ordering may not be entirely linear.
Now I have to get a Gantt chart together of all the characters' actions.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:37 PM link
I've been promising people that I'd start working on Post & Publish for the last month or so. I have been doing a little bit of it during that time, honest, and to prove it, here's the first draft of the chapter I wrote to hash out the basic format.
It's not necessarily the first chapter of the book, I think it might appear about a quarter way in. This one's almost totally biographical- infact I swiped one post whole and plonked it into the prose. Each chapter is going to start with a post and expand upon its theme by way of comments, narrative and follow ups. The time periods of some chapters are going to overlap, because you rarely have just one thing going on at a time, and the ordering may not be entirely linear.
Now I have to get a Gantt chart together of all the characters' actions.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:37 PM link
Product Placement
I'm a little lost for inspiration. I'm at page 14 of the Union Jack script and I know what's got to happen next, but I can't quite figure out how to say it. The first draft goes-
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:42 PM link
I'm a little lost for inspiration. I'm at page 14 of the Union Jack script and I know what's got to happen next, but I can't quite figure out how to say it. The first draft goes-
PAGE 14
1- WOLVERINE wanders across the road in front of UNION JACK's car. There's no reason for this, I just know that putting WOLVIE in a comic adds at least ten thousand to the circulation.
2- UNION JACK carries on driving to Scotland.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:42 PM link
Office novelist
Tales of first time novelists and how they fitted the writing in with their work.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:16 PM link
Tales of first time novelists and how they fitted the writing in with their work.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:16 PM link
Hulk!
Roger Ebert's review of the Hulk movie.
via MonitorDuty
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:30 PM link
Roger Ebert's review of the Hulk movie.
via MonitorDuty
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:30 PM link
Cross when the Zebra fish glows green
I'm ambivalent about GM, but if there's one thing that could persuade me to get an aquarium it would be glow in the dark tropical fish.
via BoingBoing
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:17 PM link
I'm ambivalent about GM, but if there's one thing that could persuade me to get an aquarium it would be glow in the dark tropical fish.
via BoingBoing
posted by Ian Pattinson at 3:17 PM link
Bull Fart
New Zealand's government are proposing a flatulence tax on sheep and cattle to raise money toward compliance research for the Kyoto agreement.
Unless they find some hitherto unconsidered food stuff that cuts down on bovine eructation then the only solution I can think of is GMing something somewhere along the line. And that's not going to go down well.
Does the Kiwi industrial lobby have greater leverage than its farmers? Does no-one understand that closing the loop on polluting processes will probably make them more efficient? And why is everyone picking on Flossie dammit?
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:56 AM link
New Zealand's government are proposing a flatulence tax on sheep and cattle to raise money toward compliance research for the Kyoto agreement.
Unless they find some hitherto unconsidered food stuff that cuts down on bovine eructation then the only solution I can think of is GMing something somewhere along the line. And that's not going to go down well.
Does the Kiwi industrial lobby have greater leverage than its farmers? Does no-one understand that closing the loop on polluting processes will probably make them more efficient? And why is everyone picking on Flossie dammit?
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:56 AM link
The Terrorist-Security Complex
I'm not the only one who thinks that constant terror warnings and heightened security are doing the terrorists' job for them. I have enough to worry about every time I get on my bike, Simon Jenkins would like the authorities to stop worrying him and get back to proper Policing.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:43 AM link
I'm not the only one who thinks that constant terror warnings and heightened security are doing the terrorists' job for them. I have enough to worry about every time I get on my bike, Simon Jenkins would like the authorities to stop worrying him and get back to proper Policing.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:43 AM link
Obligatory Potter mention
J K Rowling on writing book five of the series. As the kid who plays Harry in the films looks so much like a miniature Harry Enfield, you can imagine this as his 'Kevin the Teenager' book.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:27 AM link
J K Rowling on writing book five of the series. As the kid who plays Harry in the films looks so much like a miniature Harry Enfield, you can imagine this as his 'Kevin the Teenager' book.
Harry, who is now 15, has some excruciatingly embarrassing scenes in the new book. “He is very much in puberty,” [Rowling] says. “I just think it is a very confusing time. Yes, he’s very confused in a boy way. He doesn’t understand how girls’ minds work.”
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:27 AM link
Photo Friday
This week's Photo Friday theme is critters
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:03 AM link
This week's Photo Friday theme is critters
Click the image for the full picture
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:03 AM link
Big News for Ickle
Ickle is a big Powerpuff Girls fan, so he'll probably be well pleased to find that their comic adventures are being collected into trade paperbacks
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:58 AM link
Ickle is a big Powerpuff Girls fan, so he'll probably be well pleased to find that their comic adventures are being collected into trade paperbacks
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:58 AM link
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Romantic Interlude
My Blogroll isn't taking new entries just now, so I'm bookmarking this site, about what sorts of romantic scenes work, or don't, in movies.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:29 PM link
My Blogroll isn't taking new entries just now, so I'm bookmarking this site, about what sorts of romantic scenes work, or don't, in movies.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:29 PM link
We interrupt this transmission......
German viewers of a science programme on cable television were shocked when the feeds were mixed up and the got scenes of group sex instead.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:52 PM link
German viewers of a science programme on cable television were shocked when the feeds were mixed up and the got scenes of group sex instead.
The voiceover for the documentary, dubbed into German, continued during the pornographic interlude.via Peace Dividend
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:52 PM link
Baby Shower
Congratulations to Scratching Monkey on the arrival of Charlie Edward Taylor.
If they were on Blogshares I'd pass on a Movable Type share.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:24 PM link
Congratulations to Scratching Monkey on the arrival of Charlie Edward Taylor.
If they were on Blogshares I'd pass on a Movable Type share.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:24 PM link
Chicken McFuckNugget!
I don't actually have anything to say, I just want to write this expletive down so I can remember it for future use.
Found by Emily on livejournal
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:10 PM link
I don't actually have anything to say, I just want to write this expletive down so I can remember it for future use.
Found by Emily on livejournal
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:10 PM link
Bike Trek
The emailed diary of a woman on a cross-USA bike ride, which starts on the 21st.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:06 PM link
The emailed diary of a woman on a cross-USA bike ride, which starts on the 21st.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 8:06 PM link
Deconstruction
Why Buffy and the Matrix Reloaded work, and why they don't.
I haven't seen enough of Buffy Season 6 and 7 to comment but I pretty much agree with what he says about the first 5 series. And this perhaps explains why the Matrix was fantastic and M2:Reloaded felt like just another sci-fi flick.
posted by Mysterious Miss E at 7:37 PM link
Why Buffy and the Matrix Reloaded work, and why they don't.
I haven't seen enough of Buffy Season 6 and 7 to comment but I pretty much agree with what he says about the first 5 series. And this perhaps explains why the Matrix was fantastic and M2:Reloaded felt like just another sci-fi flick.
posted by Mysterious Miss E at 7:37 PM link
Beer
Beer is cheapest in the Northwest, with real ale as cheap as a quid 75.
Despite this, the cheapest pub I've been in the last few years was down in Croydon. The first round was a pint of Guinness, guest ale and one of those Smirnoff Ice thinigies. When my change from a tenner included a five pound note I stared dumbly at the cash and tried to work out which drink they hadn't charged me for.
We spent the rest of the afternoon, and a bit of the evening, in that pub.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 5:58 PM link
Beer is cheapest in the Northwest, with real ale as cheap as a quid 75.
Despite this, the cheapest pub I've been in the last few years was down in Croydon. The first round was a pint of Guinness, guest ale and one of those Smirnoff Ice thinigies. When my change from a tenner included a five pound note I stared dumbly at the cash and tried to work out which drink they hadn't charged me for.
We spent the rest of the afternoon, and a bit of the evening, in that pub.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 5:58 PM link
One of our airliners is missing
Just where do you hide a stolen Boeing 727, and what do you use it for?
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:37 PM link
Just where do you hide a stolen Boeing 727, and what do you use it for?
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:37 PM link
Wave Farms
A test tidal energy turbine has been installed on the sea bed off Lynmouth in Devon. There have been test versions before, but this is the first to generate electricity.
We need more of this sort of thing. Maybe new build houses could get rebates for incorporating energy conservation technology, low flush toilets etc. There could even be grants for the inclusion of cheap solar panels on the roof, which would charge up UPS type batteries and kick in for a period each day to cut the amount of power drawn down from the grid.
Of course, the utilities companies (scum) would bitch and moan about anything like this and demand that they set up their own, self regulating, energy saving schemes. Which would somehow end up costing the customers more money.
via Carlton Hibbert
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:20 PM link
A test tidal energy turbine has been installed on the sea bed off Lynmouth in Devon. There have been test versions before, but this is the first to generate electricity.
We need more of this sort of thing. Maybe new build houses could get rebates for incorporating energy conservation technology, low flush toilets etc. There could even be grants for the inclusion of cheap solar panels on the roof, which would charge up UPS type batteries and kick in for a period each day to cut the amount of power drawn down from the grid.
Of course, the utilities companies (scum) would bitch and moan about anything like this and demand that they set up their own, self regulating, energy saving schemes. Which would somehow end up costing the customers more money.
via Carlton Hibbert
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:20 PM link
Affiliates
The Guardian gives a quick overview of push button e-commerce. It mentions T-Shirt Zoo, which could be the next stop on Spinneyhead's merry-go-round search for merchandise stores.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 12:38 PM link
The Guardian gives a quick overview of push button e-commerce. It mentions T-Shirt Zoo, which could be the next stop on Spinneyhead's merry-go-round search for merchandise stores.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 12:38 PM link
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Persepolis
A graphic novel about a girl's life in revolutionary Iran. It's been compared to Maus. I must get it.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:18 PM link
A graphic novel about a girl's life in revolutionary Iran. It's been compared to Maus. I must get it.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:18 PM link
Why?
Why does Word think that it knows, within my typing of two words, exactly what format I want my document laid out in? Did someone at Redmond set up the Marvel comic script template? Did they? No? Well stop pissing me off you stupid, stupid piece of software and do exactly what I tell you, when I tell you!
I think it's time for OpenOffice.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:39 PM link
Why does Word think that it knows, within my typing of two words, exactly what format I want my document laid out in? Did someone at Redmond set up the Marvel comic script template? Did they? No? Well stop pissing me off you stupid, stupid piece of software and do exactly what I tell you, when I tell you!
I think it's time for OpenOffice.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:39 PM link
The luckiest Man in the World
Some people believe there is nothing such as luck, but for one man his life has been full of lucky incidences. You could say he has had as much bad luck as he has had good but hey that's life.
So here is the story:
A Croatian dubbed the world's luckiest man after surviving seven major disasters has won the jackpot with his first lottery ticket in 40 years.
Frane Selak, 74, who has won £600,000, said: "I am going to enjoy my life now - I feel like I have been reborn. I know God was watching over me all these years."
His first lucky escape came in 1962 when a train he was travelling on from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik jumped the rails and plunged into an icy river.
Seventeen people drowned and he barely made it to the riverbank suffering from hypothermia, shock, bruises and a broken arm. A year later, he was thrown out of a DC-8 airplane between Zagreb and Rijeka when a door flew open. This time 19 people died but Mr Selak landed in a haystack and escaped with cuts, bruises and shock.
In 1966, a bus he was travelling on in Split lurched into a river, killing four. He swam to safety with cuts, bruises and even more shock.
Accident number four was in 1970 when his car caught fire as he drove along a motorway and he managed to get out with seconds to spare before the fuel tank exploded. His friends began to call him Lucky and he said: "You could look at it two ways. I was either the world's unluckiest man or the luckiest. I preferred to believe the latter."
Three years later, he lost most of his hair when a faulty fuel pump spewed petrol over the hot engine of his Wartburg car and blew flames through the air vents.
In 1995 came his sixth accident when he was knocked down by a bus in Zagreb but sustained only minor injuries - plus the inevitable shock The following year, he was driving in the mountains when he turned a corner to see a UN truck coming straight for him.
His Skoda car crashed through the barrier and over the edge but Mr Salek managed to jump out at the last minute and landed in a tree to see his car explode 300ft below him.
He has also had four failed marriages and, after his lottery win, commented: "I suppose my marriages were disasters too!" But he is now buying a house, a car, a speedboat and is planning to marry his girlfriend who is 20 years his junior.
Also in News:
The Ann Summers Chain won its claim to be allowed to be advertised in job centres as it managed to shed the image of being part of the sex industry.
posted by Daz M at 7:04 PM link
Some people believe there is nothing such as luck, but for one man his life has been full of lucky incidences. You could say he has had as much bad luck as he has had good but hey that's life.
So here is the story:
A Croatian dubbed the world's luckiest man after surviving seven major disasters has won the jackpot with his first lottery ticket in 40 years.
Frane Selak, 74, who has won £600,000, said: "I am going to enjoy my life now - I feel like I have been reborn. I know God was watching over me all these years."
His first lucky escape came in 1962 when a train he was travelling on from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik jumped the rails and plunged into an icy river.
Seventeen people drowned and he barely made it to the riverbank suffering from hypothermia, shock, bruises and a broken arm. A year later, he was thrown out of a DC-8 airplane between Zagreb and Rijeka when a door flew open. This time 19 people died but Mr Selak landed in a haystack and escaped with cuts, bruises and shock.
In 1966, a bus he was travelling on in Split lurched into a river, killing four. He swam to safety with cuts, bruises and even more shock.
Accident number four was in 1970 when his car caught fire as he drove along a motorway and he managed to get out with seconds to spare before the fuel tank exploded. His friends began to call him Lucky and he said: "You could look at it two ways. I was either the world's unluckiest man or the luckiest. I preferred to believe the latter."
Three years later, he lost most of his hair when a faulty fuel pump spewed petrol over the hot engine of his Wartburg car and blew flames through the air vents.
In 1995 came his sixth accident when he was knocked down by a bus in Zagreb but sustained only minor injuries - plus the inevitable shock The following year, he was driving in the mountains when he turned a corner to see a UN truck coming straight for him.
His Skoda car crashed through the barrier and over the edge but Mr Salek managed to jump out at the last minute and landed in a tree to see his car explode 300ft below him.
He has also had four failed marriages and, after his lottery win, commented: "I suppose my marriages were disasters too!" But he is now buying a house, a car, a speedboat and is planning to marry his girlfriend who is 20 years his junior.
Also in News:
The Ann Summers Chain won its claim to be allowed to be advertised in job centres as it managed to shed the image of being part of the sex industry.
posted by Daz M at 7:04 PM link
Going...... Going.......
I just stuck a bunch of 2000AD comics and specials up on eBay (list here) When I get round to selling all the Best of.... mags I'll have to re-read Halo Jones. That's the problem with letting your comics go, you just have to flip through and check out a strip or two. And before you know it, the afternoon's gone.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:18 PM link
I just stuck a bunch of 2000AD comics and specials up on eBay (list here) When I get round to selling all the Best of.... mags I'll have to re-read Halo Jones. That's the problem with letting your comics go, you just have to flip through and check out a strip or two. And before you know it, the afternoon's gone.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:18 PM link
Scamming a Scammer
El Reg is currently a fantastic story about a person who turned the tables on a Nigerian Scammer. I would love to tell you more, but it is probably best you read the full story for yourself here
posted by Tim Wilkes at 1:49 PM link
El Reg is currently a fantastic story about a person who turned the tables on a Nigerian Scammer. I would love to tell you more, but it is probably best you read the full story for yourself here
posted by Tim Wilkes at 1:49 PM link
**SPAM** Just Turned 19 and wild as can be..
29 emails this moring. 27 of them were spam, the remaining 2 newsletters I've signed up to but stopped reading. This isn't absolutely indicative of my inbox, as everyone who regularly mails me is operating on Greenwich Mean Time so my overnights are chock full of junk. SpamPal catches the crap most of the time and now those altruistic folks at Microsoft are taking spammers to court.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:41 AM link
29 emails this moring. 27 of them were spam, the remaining 2 newsletters I've signed up to but stopped reading. This isn't absolutely indicative of my inbox, as everyone who regularly mails me is operating on Greenwich Mean Time so my overnights are chock full of junk. SpamPal catches the crap most of the time and now those altruistic folks at Microsoft are taking spammers to court.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 9:41 AM link
Strewth in advertising
I'm feeling a bit adbusters.
As an unemployed person I have come to accept my place before the goggle box. I watch altogether too much television- Discovery channel and Buffy re-runs during the day and imported crime drama at night. I've learnt a lot of stuff. Amongst the revelations is just how idiotic so much advertising is, and what morons they think we are. To view some of the promos doing the rounds you'd think that the advertising industry doesn't believe that anyone, ever, is persuaded by their crap. Some stuff seems designed to put you off the product it's touting, some tells you you're an idiot and some is just totally wrong either morally or logically.
One such advert is for the new Lexus rx300. Man puts non-descript and incredibly light box in the back of his butt ugly SUPE (Sports Utility Penis Extension) and drives it down narrow continental streets. Of course if it wasn't at least one and a half times larger than it needs to be, the streets wouldn't seem so narrow. Spotting a pile of gravel by the side of the road, he drives one wheel over it. We get a view of a the Sagrada Familia to establish that we're in Barcelona (because once he gets onto the main road he could be in any godforsaken urban sprawl). The driver sees a puddle everyone else is avoiding and drives through it. Finally our man makes it home, and he parks on a stack of rocks in the garden, cue tagline- "You'll have to remind yourself it's a four wheel drive."
You'll have to remind yourself! What. The. Fuck? If you need to be updated on your cars true nature, then why did you buy it? Why purchase something that is clumsier around town, consumes more fuel and wears down a greater amount of its components than a two wheel drive? The advert has established that there's no need for an off roader in the urbs or suburbs. In the country I could understand- dad's Discovery got him home through snowstorms that brought the rest of the county to a standstill and the prospect of mud is never that far away.
A better strap line for the Lexus ad would be something like- "Fo' shizzle! All dem other playas 'as got Range Rovers. Show you put da O in OG wiv a RX. Word."
More idiocy in advertising as and when it pisses me off.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 12:14 AM link
I'm feeling a bit adbusters.
As an unemployed person I have come to accept my place before the goggle box. I watch altogether too much television- Discovery channel and Buffy re-runs during the day and imported crime drama at night. I've learnt a lot of stuff. Amongst the revelations is just how idiotic so much advertising is, and what morons they think we are. To view some of the promos doing the rounds you'd think that the advertising industry doesn't believe that anyone, ever, is persuaded by their crap. Some stuff seems designed to put you off the product it's touting, some tells you you're an idiot and some is just totally wrong either morally or logically.
One such advert is for the new Lexus rx300. Man puts non-descript and incredibly light box in the back of his butt ugly SUPE (Sports Utility Penis Extension) and drives it down narrow continental streets. Of course if it wasn't at least one and a half times larger than it needs to be, the streets wouldn't seem so narrow. Spotting a pile of gravel by the side of the road, he drives one wheel over it. We get a view of a the Sagrada Familia to establish that we're in Barcelona (because once he gets onto the main road he could be in any godforsaken urban sprawl). The driver sees a puddle everyone else is avoiding and drives through it. Finally our man makes it home, and he parks on a stack of rocks in the garden, cue tagline- "You'll have to remind yourself it's a four wheel drive."
You'll have to remind yourself! What. The. Fuck? If you need to be updated on your cars true nature, then why did you buy it? Why purchase something that is clumsier around town, consumes more fuel and wears down a greater amount of its components than a two wheel drive? The advert has established that there's no need for an off roader in the urbs or suburbs. In the country I could understand- dad's Discovery got him home through snowstorms that brought the rest of the county to a standstill and the prospect of mud is never that far away.
A better strap line for the Lexus ad would be something like- "Fo' shizzle! All dem other playas 'as got Range Rovers. Show you put da O in OG wiv a RX. Word."
More idiocy in advertising as and when it pisses me off.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 12:14 AM link
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Wasted day
Not completely, but hardly as productive as I'd have liked.
The agency haven't got back to me about the BT job. I've been waiting for them to call me, tomorrow morning I'm calling them to find out what the hold up is now. The other job looks like a non-starter as well.
I've been waiting for a call from my guy I'm doing the freelance work for. He'd call my mobile so, in theory, I could have gone awandering. Except that he'd be calling me up about things I need the computer to do.
And even if I hadn't been hanging around moping over a phone that won't ring, there's little I could do because I don't have any money. There are various reasons, including the Housing Benefit people being as crap/ overwhelmed as they were last time.
I'm annoyed. I'm not free enough of worries and responsibilities that I can just get out and enjoy the sun and I can't do anything about it because the people I need to talk to won't phone me.
[Moan over.]
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:25 PM link
Not completely, but hardly as productive as I'd have liked.
The agency haven't got back to me about the BT job. I've been waiting for them to call me, tomorrow morning I'm calling them to find out what the hold up is now. The other job looks like a non-starter as well.
I've been waiting for a call from my guy I'm doing the freelance work for. He'd call my mobile so, in theory, I could have gone awandering. Except that he'd be calling me up about things I need the computer to do.
And even if I hadn't been hanging around moping over a phone that won't ring, there's little I could do because I don't have any money. There are various reasons, including the Housing Benefit people being as crap/ overwhelmed as they were last time.
I'm annoyed. I'm not free enough of worries and responsibilities that I can just get out and enjoy the sun and I can't do anything about it because the people I need to talk to won't phone me.
[Moan over.]
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:25 PM link
RPM
As CD drives get faster, they reach the potential limits of the one part that the drive manufacturers can't ensure is perfectly balanced- the disk itself. A 52x speed single head drive is spinning disks at 10,000 rpm, but one brave soul and his Dremel have tested the media all the way to 35,000, and video'd the resultant dancing disks.
via Dave Barry
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:54 PM link
As CD drives get faster, they reach the potential limits of the one part that the drive manufacturers can't ensure is perfectly balanced- the disk itself. A 52x speed single head drive is spinning disks at 10,000 rpm, but one brave soul and his Dremel have tested the media all the way to 35,000, and video'd the resultant dancing disks.
via Dave Barry
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:54 PM link
African Queen
Toto (you don't remember them? Here are a few of their albums on Amazon) have had to post a rebuttal of a statement on their website which said that one of their members wouldn't be on the summer tour because he was having a sex change. It seems the music press has a hard time recognising a joke, even a blatantly obvious one. (Insert "Which would explain [band of choice]." here)
via Left & Right
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:09 PM link
Toto (you don't remember them? Here are a few of their albums on Amazon) have had to post a rebuttal of a statement on their website which said that one of their members wouldn't be on the summer tour because he was having a sex change. It seems the music press has a hard time recognising a joke, even a blatantly obvious one. (Insert "Which would explain [band of choice]." here)
via Left & Right
posted by Ian Pattinson at 4:09 PM link
Mongrels
Mongrel Nation on the Discovery Channel has Eddie Izzard, in his own special camp and random way, explaining some of those things I've been saying for years. Namely, the British aren't some homogenous bunch, but the creations of centuries of immigration and invasion- and that's what makes us so great. This knowledge, and the idiocy of the racists who cling to made up symbols of 'Britishness', is what inspired the themes of my Union Jack idea.
Plus, as a Northerner, there's a strong chance I'm part Viking. This could mean I'm distantly related to Johnny, but nothing's perfect.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 1:34 PM link
Mongrel Nation on the Discovery Channel has Eddie Izzard, in his own special camp and random way, explaining some of those things I've been saying for years. Namely, the British aren't some homogenous bunch, but the creations of centuries of immigration and invasion- and that's what makes us so great. This knowledge, and the idiocy of the racists who cling to made up symbols of 'Britishness', is what inspired the themes of my Union Jack idea.
Plus, as a Northerner, there's a strong chance I'm part Viking. This could mean I'm distantly related to Johnny, but nothing's perfect.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 1:34 PM link
Stuff to buy
The Spinneyhead store may be dead but now you can buy Blogger t-shirts. There's a few other Blogger wearables at the Google store.
posted by Brian Frost at 12:04 PM link
The Spinneyhead store may be dead but now you can buy Blogger t-shirts. There's a few other Blogger wearables at the Google store.
posted by Brian Frost at 12:04 PM link
Monday, June 16, 2003
eBrothel
What's left of Nevada's Mustang Ranch brothel (previously mentioned here and here) is to be auctioned on eBay.
via BoingBoing
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:39 PM link
What's left of Nevada's Mustang Ranch brothel (previously mentioned here and here) is to be auctioned on eBay.
via BoingBoing
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:39 PM link
ClosedWorld
Is it just a coincidence that the day BT announces it's merging its OpenWorld service with Yahoo content is also the day OpenWorld's servers decide to go tits up all afternoon and are still seriously screwing with the LapLink connection I'd finally got working after a month and a half?
I'm supposed to be modifying stuff on, and downloading from, the guy's computer, as I proved I could do earlier, but now it connects and then hangs before finally deciding that 'read services' have failed.
This is beginning to piss me off!
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:58 PM link
Is it just a coincidence that the day BT announces it's merging its OpenWorld service with Yahoo content is also the day OpenWorld's servers decide to go tits up all afternoon and are still seriously screwing with the LapLink connection I'd finally got working after a month and a half?
I'm supposed to be modifying stuff on, and downloading from, the guy's computer, as I proved I could do earlier, but now it connects and then hangs before finally deciding that 'read services' have failed.
This is beginning to piss me off!
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:58 PM link
Treat your lady
6 ways to please your lady. Most appropriate for Team Spinneyhead, and most of the people we know, is number 1-
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:35 PM link
6 ways to please your lady. Most appropriate for Team Spinneyhead, and most of the people we know, is number 1-
if you are the type of boy who spends more time fondling/nurturing various electronic devices, that's ok. just understand that, like a computer, a lady who hasn't been rebooted in awhile may be hesitant to perform at optimum capacity. you may have to upgrade your operating system to get her up and running and back to normal. don't expect that flipping one switch is gonna turn her on automatically. you might have to flip a few switches, plug/unplug some things and even install a few additional items to make it work out. have faith...it worked in the past, it will work again.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:35 PM link
Metalhead
Considering we only won last week's pub quiz because of Jenny's extensive knowledge of prog and 'classic' rock I think she'll rate higher than me on this one.
In fact I know quite a few people who'll score higher.
I am 29% Metal Head
Most other metal-heads acknowledge my presence, but they laugh at me behind my back. Maybe I need to stop spending all that money on haircuts and invest in a few Pantera T-shirts.
Take the Metal Head Test at fuali.com
via 5ub5onic
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:23 PM link
Considering we only won last week's pub quiz because of Jenny's extensive knowledge of prog and 'classic' rock I think she'll rate higher than me on this one.
In fact I know quite a few people who'll score higher.
I am 29% Metal Head
Most other metal-heads acknowledge my presence, but they laugh at me behind my back. Maybe I need to stop spending all that money on haircuts and invest in a few Pantera T-shirts.
Take the Metal Head Test at fuali.com
via 5ub5onic
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:23 PM link
Blog for America
I've just blogrolled the blog on the site of potential presidential candidate Howard Dean so I can see how his campaign progresses and whether this Internet tactic pays off at all.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:10 PM link
I've just blogrolled the blog on the site of potential presidential candidate Howard Dean so I can see how his campaign progresses and whether this Internet tactic pays off at all.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:10 PM link
Oxymoron
The problems of using military intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:37 PM link
The problems of using military intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.
Throughout history, in virtually every conflict, a universal law has applied. That law says that when it comes to military intelligence, whatever you think you know is incomplete, and some of it is wrong. You don't know what you don't know, you don't know how much you don't know, and you don't know what part of what you think you know is wrong.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:37 PM link
Dirty Bomb
The best source of information on the effects of a dirty bomb would be an investigation of Chernobyl's legacy. Sadly, everyone's too busy with everything else to give it serious funding.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:27 PM link
The best source of information on the effects of a dirty bomb would be an investigation of Chernobyl's legacy. Sadly, everyone's too busy with everything else to give it serious funding.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 6:27 PM link
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Almost every year, Republicans in the US House of Representatives pass an amendment to the Constitution banning the burning or defacement of the Stars and Stripes. It gets voted down in Congress every time. Which is good, because otherwise Team Spinneyhead's planned 4th of July celebrations might cause me problems when I finally travel to America.
via Andy Social
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:21 PM link
Almost every year, Republicans in the US House of Representatives pass an amendment to the Constitution banning the burning or defacement of the Stars and Stripes. It gets voted down in Congress every time. Which is good, because otherwise Team Spinneyhead's planned 4th of July celebrations might cause me problems when I finally travel to America.
via Andy Social
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:21 PM link
"the world's fastest lorries"
So, Bentley won the Le Mans 24 hours.
The official site has loads of pictures.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:07 PM link
So, Bentley won the Le Mans 24 hours.
The official site has loads of pictures.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 2:07 PM link
Got Comics?
Comics gossiper Rich Johnston has a real career in advertising. The two strands have come together in a recent edition of one of his online columns, where he took up the challenge to create a campaign to sell comics to the masses.
I think Patrick Stewart is my favourite. (He and creator Warren Ellis have hatched, so far, fruitless plans to do a Transmetropolitan movie, with the Bald One perfectly suited to lead character Spider Jerusalem.)
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:34 AM link
Comics gossiper Rich Johnston has a real career in advertising. The two strands have come together in a recent edition of one of his online columns, where he took up the challenge to create a campaign to sell comics to the masses.
I think Patrick Stewart is my favourite. (He and creator Warren Ellis have hatched, so far, fruitless plans to do a Transmetropolitan movie, with the Bald One perfectly suited to lead character Spider Jerusalem.)
posted by Ian Pattinson at 11:34 AM link
Sunday, June 15, 2003
The Real Thing
Coca Cola in Southern California sacked a prominent Teamsters union official on the pretext that he was spotted drinking Pepsi in the store room of a shop he had just delivered to. Other union officers have accused the company of *ahem* clutching at straws.
via Lauren Andreacchi
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:57 PM link
Coca Cola in Southern California sacked a prominent Teamsters union official on the pretext that he was spotted drinking Pepsi in the store room of a shop he had just delivered to. Other union officers have accused the company of *ahem* clutching at straws.
via Lauren Andreacchi
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:57 PM link
Wish List 2
Okay, so I'm feeling a little greedy today. And I've been wandering around bookshops both real and virtual, which always gives me a hankering for printed matter. Added to the wish list are-
Branded by Alissa Quart, about the global conglomo-corps attempts to dominate the teen market. Pretty much a companion piece to No Logo.
Fat Land by Greg Critser. How America came to have the fattest population on the planet (bar, apparently, a couple of Polynesian islands).
The Geurilla Film Maker's Handbook by Genevieve Jolliffe and Chris Jones. One day I'd really like to make a low/ no budget film. I've had a few ideas- from shorts to full length romcoms, but lack the sort of technical knowledge this will provide.
ArchiLab's Earth Buildings: Radical Experiments in Land Architecture. I want to learn more about architecture, particularly energy efficient/ low impact stuff.
The Company by Robert Littel. A 50 year story of the CIA which spins its tale into and around actual Cold War events.
If any of the rest of Team Spinneyhead have wish lists I'll put up links to them in the side bar.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:09 PM link
Okay, so I'm feeling a little greedy today. And I've been wandering around bookshops both real and virtual, which always gives me a hankering for printed matter. Added to the wish list are-
Branded by Alissa Quart, about the global conglomo-corps attempts to dominate the teen market. Pretty much a companion piece to No Logo.
Fat Land by Greg Critser. How America came to have the fattest population on the planet (bar, apparently, a couple of Polynesian islands).
The Geurilla Film Maker's Handbook by Genevieve Jolliffe and Chris Jones. One day I'd really like to make a low/ no budget film. I've had a few ideas- from shorts to full length romcoms, but lack the sort of technical knowledge this will provide.
ArchiLab's Earth Buildings: Radical Experiments in Land Architecture. I want to learn more about architecture, particularly energy efficient/ low impact stuff.
The Company by Robert Littel. A 50 year story of the CIA which spins its tale into and around actual Cold War events.
If any of the rest of Team Spinneyhead have wish lists I'll put up links to them in the side bar.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 7:09 PM link
Wish list
I'm updating my Amazon wishlist. If you're feeling generous, please send me one of the items listed. If you're not that rich, then how about dropping a few pennies in the tip jar. I'd like Spinneyhead to pay for itself, covering hosting fees and subscriptions to Blogger Pro etc., and maybe one day take the whole photos section completely digital (thanks to Damian for giving me his old digital camera. I'm going to take a few test photos with it later today.)
Whilst I'm at Amazon, I would like to recommend Interface by 'Stephen Bury' (actually Neal Stephenson and Frederick George working together), which the system recommended to me, but I've already got. It's a neat story about political manipulation and the power of the focus group taken too far as a medical chip in a Presidentail candidate's brain- put there to help him recover from a stroke- is used to manipulate his actions on the election trail. It's a prescient satire on Wubble U (except that the candidate being manipulated is a decent and intelligent man who is appalled when he discovers what's going on.) I've stolen the chip- in- the- head idea for my Union Jack proposal, to be used in a slightly different way.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:11 AM link
I'm updating my Amazon wishlist. If you're feeling generous, please send me one of the items listed. If you're not that rich, then how about dropping a few pennies in the tip jar. I'd like Spinneyhead to pay for itself, covering hosting fees and subscriptions to Blogger Pro etc., and maybe one day take the whole photos section completely digital (thanks to Damian for giving me his old digital camera. I'm going to take a few test photos with it later today.)
Whilst I'm at Amazon, I would like to recommend Interface by 'Stephen Bury' (actually Neal Stephenson and Frederick George working together), which the system recommended to me, but I've already got. It's a neat story about political manipulation and the power of the focus group taken too far as a medical chip in a Presidentail candidate's brain- put there to help him recover from a stroke- is used to manipulate his actions on the election trail. It's a prescient satire on Wubble U (except that the candidate being manipulated is a decent and intelligent man who is appalled when he discovers what's going on.) I've stolen the chip- in- the- head idea for my Union Jack proposal, to be used in a slightly different way.
posted by Ian Pattinson at 10:11 AM link
