Happy New Year

A happy new year to everyone...

And look at the post time... right at the end of 2006!

Anyway...

"Manga Force" The Ultimate Collection

After seeing the advert for the Manga Force Ultimate Collection, I decided to go out any buy the first copy - for only £2.99 - with a Ghost In The Shell DVD for free! How could I resist?

Anyway... after spending as much time as I could last night about Manga Force, I came up with a few important things to mention about the collection.

For one thing, they keep referring to Anime (Japanese Animated Movies) as Manga. This is not true. Manga are Japanese comics. The comics always inspire the anime film. Neither are they cartoons.

I have collected a list of as many of the films that will be in the series as possible. The HP website says there will be 50 in the series for £8.99 each. I think it's a bit much for the each DVD, but let's see what's on offer.

Each pack comes with a DVD and a booklet with a synopsis of the film, the director, producer, and has several images from the film/episodes. As far as I can tell this is probably not the right way to go if you are discovering Japanese Anime and how cool it is. I would start with Studio Ghibli films - the best of which is Spirited Away (its on today from 5.15pm to 7.15pm on BBC2 remember!). If that doesn't "spirit you away" then I don't know what will!

The website for the series is here, but there isn't a lot on there.

• 1. Ghost In The Shell [IMDb] [Wiki] (series)
• Blood: The Last Vampire [IMDb] [Wiki]
• Akira [IMDb] [Wiki]
• Appleseed [IMDb] [Wiki] (2 movies)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion - The End of Evangelion [IMDb] [Wiki] (anime series and films)
• Macross Plus [IMDb] [Wiki]
• Ninja Scroll [IMDb] [Wiki]
• Street Fighter Alpha [IMDb] [Wiki] (film and VG series)
• Heat Guy J [IMDb] [Wiki] (anime series)
• Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex [IMDb] [Wiki] (subscription only) (anime series)
• Akira - The Making Of (subscription only)

From only a short list there, I could say that the genre for this series seems to be cyberpunk - or at least traditional Japanese action, fighting and robots! Other non-anime films like this are Blade Runner, The Matrix Trilogy, The Animatrix (Second Renaissance), and I Robot (maybe even Sin City as well).

Windows Live OneCare

It's finally here for UK users and other countries except the US only!

Check out the Blog here: OneCare team blog or visit the homepage here: http://onecare.live.com/

I have now installed Windows OneCare Live on both my Dell and laptop. Why? I'll tell you:

OneCare makes things much easier to manage. It really makes everything simple to use. Other Internet security programs like Norton and ZoneAlarm have loads of advanced features. One of the current problems with ZA is that it won't let display pictures, emotions or games be displayed in Windows Live Messenger. This problem has been running for some time since the release of ZA ISS 6.5. So I've changed to OneCare.

Like I said, OneCare does all the security for you. Antivirus, Antispyware, on-access (real time scanning), a Firewall (inbound and outbound) and a new Backup wizard. If you have Windows Defender installed then you don't need it anymore because OneCare manages all the security automatically. The only thing OC doesn't have is a startup program manager :( Although there are a lot of advanced features missing, it ensures all the security that is needed is there.

OneCare v1.5 (see http://ideas.live.com) is easy to setup - there is no need for Windows Genuine Advantage, either for the download or installation, or Validation either. OneCare also updates its definitions and program version automatically (some restarts are needed occasionally) and it also does all the Windows Updates for you too. By default it also has scheduled scans for scanning and tune-up. Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is also much easier to manage as well.

When you've downloaded OneCare and installed it for the first time, you have a 180 day (it was only 60 days on my laptop for some reason) trial in which to activate the product. Simply request an email be sent to you with a free licence key and as soon as you activate it, you get 1 free year of the whole program!

If you want to make sure your computer is fully protected from hackers, visit this online Security Checker on Symantec and run the Security scan.

PlayStation Music!

Does anyone like the music they used to hear on their old PlayStation games? Have you ever tried ripping the music from the CD using hardware and software? Well no there is no need to look further!

A top site I found a little while ago called VGmusic has loads od MIDI files for loads of PlayStation, Gameboy and Xbox games. The website is at www.vgmusic.com

And another brilliant site I found today is Final Fantasy Shrine which has loads of MP3 music from video games and anime. The website is http://gh.ffshrine.org/

I've recently completely download the "soundtracks" for Ape Escape and Enter The Matrix - the songs are brilliant!

If you've also read my previous blogs you would have found out that there are also a couple of pieces of software that can rip music and other media directly from the PlayStation disc - I've already tried MediEvil I and II, Atlantis, Spyro 1 to 3, Monsters Inc...

Long Time No Blog

Sorry for not writing a new blog for some time, I've been caught up with homework, as per usual!

Office Alternative

While on the subject of college, I'd also like to mention that for anyone who doesn't have Works or Microsoft Office, and doesn't want to spend about £130 quid buying Office, there are some legal alternatives:

• OpenOffice has all the same functionality of MS Office, but the only problem is that it cannot import/export properly to/from Access (Databases). Check out the website. The great thing about this office suite is that its completely free!
• Tesco has recently opened its own range of software including Tesco Complete Office, which appears to have all the features as Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access - and can apparently import/export between both Tesco and MS Office! Check out the website. Tesco is giving it away for only 20 quid with free Internet support!

Chain Mail - Follow Up

I found an interesting webpage about Internet trolls that you may find on forums. Basically it says you just need to ignore them, just like how I told you to ignore chain mails. Read it here.

Another one of those ambiguous jokes

People are a lot like computers - When they are young, they have lots of memory and drive, but when the get old, they become outdated, they crash a lot, and they need parts replacing.

Internet Explorer 7

Unless you have downloaded the Beta/Release Candidate, or don't have Windows XP, you will have Internet Explorer 6. However, there is a new version available for everyone to download, for free, that upgrades IE6 to IE7.

Why do such a thing, I hear you ask! There are loads of reasons on this web page from Wikipedia.

But probably the most important is the security strength. IE7 Beta 1 was released at the beginning of the year, and if you have noticed, a lot of security fixes have been released for Windows XP Service Pack 2.

However, the ones related to Internet Explorer have been for version 6 only. According to Microsoft, many of the security flaws are already resolved if you have Internet Explorer 7. IE7 was already designed against these flaws due to its new operating engine, and so it is impervious to such attacks.

One example can be found on this web page from News.com.com

Therefore I recommend that you upgrade to the new version today!

Like some money for your old phone?

Thanks to either The Gadget Show or Click, I have managed to both get rid of my old Siemens A60 mobile and get some money for free!

I simply websites such as http://www.mopay.co.uk/ or http://www.envirofone.com/, type in the details about my phone, send it in a jiffy bag, and I get money for giving it away! All the money sold for the old phone goes to charity, if you wish. I'm not one to take an interest in charity work, but when free money comes into it, I couldn't disagree!

Silly old phone doesn't even work at all anyway - so hopefully they will still accept it. One minute it was fine, then all of a sudden it just stopped working. The screen just flashes when I try to turn it on and then it turns off. Luckily I managed to find an old T-Mobile handset so I can still use the £8 left over - otherwise it's just wasted!

More giveaway links

Selling Your Digital Photos

Get a wireless router for only £5

More than just Mind Control

Here's a video I found on MSN Video a little while ago, and I think it's just amazing how far science has gone into reading the signals and brainwaves of our grey matter. Anyway...

Man uses thought to control TV

A man paralysed from the neck down has learnt how to use a computer and control a TV using the power of thought.

File Sharing

After reading the latest newsletter from Download.com, I found an important article that said that LimeWire might be closed down in the near future because it allows users to share copyrighted files illegally.

However, software like BitTorrent it becoming more popular with companies like Hollywood's Warner Bros. as a legal method of sharing movies over the Internet. But you probably won't see free torrents - it is more the technology that BitTorrent provides (having multiple copies of the same file at several locations uses up bandwdith very fast) that makes it special. Read more here and here or visit the BBC Click website.

That time of year again

I have been doing some light Spring Cleaning around my workplace (the computer and my bedroom) after I just got fed up with the mess! I do love a bit of Spring Cleaning - clearing out those old documents, filing away old books, looking past over those photos and memories, browsing through the endless trinkets and doodles in cupboards and drawers... it gives a new chance to throw away those forgotten ambitions and wasted bits of paper. I remember as a child doing many stupid or irrelevant things (which at the time, of course, I didn't realise was so time and resource wasting)...

So I like Spring Cleaning. I guess you're asking, where is this blog going? Well, I just wanted to express my anger on the daddy-long-legs that you see everywhere! They seem to be breeding like mad and they all sit up against the windows and doors! Annoying little things! We must be under an invasion because I don't know how there could be so many of them!

And for anyone who has been keeping a track of my Dell Community Forum entries, I am almost nearing completion of finding out the stupid program causing my computer to hang when I connect to the Internet!

Anyway, must get back to do my oh-so important essays for Geography, Biology and ICT.

The best of YouTube

I watched a video on YouTube and only moments ago I was cracking up because it was so hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk15iIkKofc&NR

It is called "apple mac commercial spoof". I will not spoil any of the details, only to say that it is very funny!

It is my dream come true for the little details about PCs and Macs that really get on our nerves - and for this guy, well... you know the rest!

Up-to-date

Lots of things to talk about. Let's be concise.

Internet Explorer 7 has been re-released as "Release Candidate 1". It's not called "Beta 3" anymore.

I have finished reading The Speed of the Dark (by Alex Shearer), which is a slightly weird but fantasticly analytical book. Here is a quote which references some of my existing 'philopsohpies', but I'll spare you the details.
"We have to go where we most need to be, to follow our hearts to where they take us"

College is much more interesting than I thought it was. In the first day, wandering around, I thought I had actually stepped into Hell. Buty after two days there already, I am starting to feel much more confident with myself and my subjects. I have already made friends in my classes (as our teachers have told us to expect) with such diverse people! I believe that my inner extrovert is finally showing itself in the college environment. Probably because College requires you to be much more spontaneous, independent, responsible and confident with communicating with others. Primary and Secondary school allowed you to be a reclusive (very quiet and non-responsive to your environment, not taking part in anything you don't have to, introversion, little interaction with others). Of course, school was cool. I was nervous on the first day of starting College (the first time I have gone on a bus by myself without my lovely mum *Love You Mum*) but now I feel much more confident. *spread arms out in front and clicks fingers*

I have found that a good way to get rid of spots is to just simply wash your face regularly! The stuff you may have bought for your acne problem (if you have one, obviously) might help, but giving your face a good scrub oughta sort those little blighters out!

I found a website with a couple of odd free tools, a non-validation alternative to Windows Update, and this website also has source code for some viruses! What in the world do they think they're doing?

Microsoft adds 'one-click' sex offender report tool to MSN/WL Messenger - read the report

I found an update for Windows XP that adds another tab to MSCONFIG called Tools. It doesn't do much, but it's worth it.

Good night, good luck, and take care to all of you!

A note about *html*

I just wanted to add in a quote from my old book called "Build Your Own Website", by Robert L. Perry. It teaches you the basics of HTML, and the concept of how to write HTML properly. However, as each day passes, it is becoming more and more out-of-date, seeing that CSS and XML are replacing HTML tags and attributes. Sounds like a load of jargon? I'll keep it at that, then.

"Brian J. Dolbeare, who designs web pages for a major corporation, solved - in five minutes - a nagging problem that experts from a leading Internet company overlooked for almost a month."

Of course, it is most likely this problem was caused by a rubbish What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor like FrontPage or Dreamweaver. That's when knowing the HTML does help a lot, and if you know it, you have control over everything on the net.

An introduction to Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli was set up in about 1984 by the famous anime (animated movie) director and producer Hayao Miyazaki.

All the films made by Ghibli are Japanese anime – moves made in animation. Some of you may be familiar with InuYasho, Pokemon, Dragon Z Ball, Cowboy Bebop and the Moomins.

Most of these television series and films are “dubbed” (recorded verbally) in Japanese, so when broadcasting companies such as Disney buy these films, they are re-dubbed with English actors so people in the UK and USA can understand them. This makes a great benefit towards anime that is targeted as children, as reading subtitles instead would be somewhat complicated.

However, not all anime is aimed at children. In Japan, one of the main types of magazines is actually manga, which are Japanese animated cartoons. There are literally thousands of different genres of manga which reach out to all ages – young and old.

Usually when a manga artist or anime director starts to work on ideas for a film, they begin by exploring their ideas using manga to set different scenes in the world and of Japanese history, symbolism, culture or religion. Then the manga is constructed into movie material and voice actors chosen.

Some of Ghibli’s films include Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away (my favourite) and Howl’s Moving Castle.

Although some of these films may seem quite childish, especially My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, all of them have much deeper meaning, symbolism and moral. Miyazaki is well known for creating similar character models and themes (e.g. humans vs. nature) in all his anime movies, and they differentiate form other films by showing how the protagonists (main characters) change and develop.

The top sites for info on these films include IMDb, Wikipedia, Nausicaa.Net, and of course, Google Search.

Oh, and, one more thing – these films can get very touchy, moving and compelling, so get the tissue boxes ready! (Especially for Grave of the Fireflies)

I am personally very moves by all these films and the others I have seen (including Only Yesterday, Whisper of the Heart and The Cat Returns), and regard them in as much value as The Matrix.

The animation is beautiful, the characters are life-like and believable, the scenery is outstanding, and the stories and places visited are spectacular. Every one of them will be a memorable treat for your heart and mind!

You may have already *heard* this one!

About a month ago, you may have heard that someone in America had been spreading round a sound clip which is extremely annoying to listen to! Now here's the science: As a youngster, you ears can hear up to 44,000 Hz. But at the end of your teenage years, this slowly drops down to 20,000 Hz roughly. This means you can hear less sounds. Sounds above 20,000 Hz are 'sonic' or 'ultrasonic'.

This means that when you get older, you can't hear the sound.

And teenagers have cleverly been using this sound clip as an advantage over adults. For example, if you had this sound clip on a mobile phone as a ringtone, no adults would be able to hear it! Cool, huh?

However, because the noise is terribly annoying to listen to, some shop owners have also been using it as a deterrent to get evil-looking teenagers away from their shops!

Here's some links:
Wikipedia Article
Teratalks comments
Google Search - Sonic Teenager Deterrent
Google Search - teen buzz (download links as well)

My Favourite Word...

...is Neglect. I can't remember why, it just sounds like what it means, sorta.

Anyway... a useful tip for you, and an intented pun joke: Put money in your shoes - you'll be stinking rich!

I just want to say that I hope everyone got what they wanted on their exam results, that you all passed, and that you can get the future you always wanted. If not, remember that there is still hope for those that believe.

And... I have a new mobile! My dad offered to buy me one for about £100 but I said, nope, I hardly use the one I used to have anyway (the battery broke for no reason :( ) so I thought it would be better just getting a simple Nokia 1100. But anyway... it is a very nice phone and I still have enough features to rattle through yet!

And any of my stalkers (no not really :) ) may have also noticed I have been limping recently because I fell off my borrowed bike.
I now have a large chip of my knee taken away - OUCH! So to all you cyclists out there: please, for your own safety, wear kneepads!
By the way, I was turning round a sharp corner (I'm not very good with them, obviously).

Prepare To Be Spirited Away...

I watched Spirited Away yesterday and I thought it was a brilliant and beautiful film. Although it is fantasy, it is amazing - the characters and the scenery. And the music too, that is just compelling. I am really moved by this film and although it may seem slightly childish, it was great to watch. Furthermore, I also noticed some other things that were interesting too:


* Spirited Away is a lot like Lost In Translation. The unity of two friends in a world they don't fully understand.
* The animation is amazing and reminds me of the animation in The Animatrix's 'Beyond' episode.
* The music (especially the songs Day of the River, The Return and Reprise) sounds like the soundtracks for:
- Godspell - the song Prepare Ye (The Way of the Lord)
- Matilda
- The Polar Express - the songs Suite and Believe
- Nanny McPhee - song played at the final wedding in the snow
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire - the trailer
- other Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli films such as Laputa: Castle In The Sky and Nausicaa

I also have been to a few sites that grabbed my interest towards Spirited Away:
Studio Ghibli - Pictures from the film
Infoseek (Japanese) - more pictures that look as if they have been adapted from it
IMDb's pages and also the messageboard that I have posted on (registration required for access)

Beating Computer Fraud

Those of you who think that Recycle Bin deletes all your files permantently off your hard disk are wrong! When you delete a file, it is merely given the attribute that it can be overwritten.

The programme on BBC's Real Story has told me that I should remind you people out there of this risk. When you throw away your old computer, the hard drive usually goes with it unless you remove it. It is not destroyed, but instead, recycled or kept in storage as e-waste. People can buy these from places like Nigeria. People can get file recovery software (which may be generic) that can recover almost all of your files on your drive. If you use your computer for private and personal information, doesn't that make you think differently? Those people can steal your bank details, your address, phone number, name - all the factors of your identity - and use it for computer fraud. Just because fraud is wrong doesn't mean people won't do it.

The only way to ensure that your data and information is gone forever could be:

• Smashing your computer's hard drive like hell! You can watch some videos on YouTube for some... inspiration.
• Formatting and securely deleting your files (using qualified purchased software).
• Keep it. Attach it as a spare hard drive. Backup your files and keep the old hard drive stored somewhere else.

Also, e-waste is the name for the other materials found inside a computer. There are toxins inside them, some rumoured to be lead and mercury. These materials don't degrade by themselves, they are kept in storage, and the toxins escape due to weathering. People, especially children and workers in Africa, are required to either live among these or to destroy them for money, which harms them.

People, I hope you are aware that throwing away a computer or giving it away is dangerous in more than one way.

You can read about some interesting cybercrime stories on the Symantec website.

Secret Feeling

Universally, I believe that TORTURE is worse than DEATH. Having to endure horrific and scarring experiences of pain is much more evil than just death on its own. The idea of recovery and rejoice after the pain comes to mind, but that is irrelevant.

Sorry if it seems like I have just jumped onto another world, there.

Have you seen The Shawshank Redemption? Well, even if you haven't, I'm going to give you a spoiler anyway. The Old Man in the Library. In the prison. I can't remember his name, but when he left the prison, he was so frightened by the new world around him (seeing that he had been in prison for about 40 years) that he decided to commit suicide. Now that fear is a form of torture.

Another form of torture I am mad about discussing is SMOKING. Yes, okay, it may seem like I have gone over this sbject a million times already, but I finally decided I should reveal something to you.

Some people have told me that I cannot change the world, that I cannot avoid it, and that I will have to get used to the fact that it exists.

I cannot tolerate smoking because there is nothing about it to appreciate. For example, PCs Vs. Macs. I can tolerate the features of a Mac - but not smoking. There are no pros, no good points, no reasons, why I should respect smoking. Does this also mean that I don't respect the people who smoke or encourage others to smoke (the industry)? Maybe.

Although this may sound childish and crazy, my deepest darkest life ambition would be to end the tobacoo industry for good. No, I'm serious. This is because every time I see others smoking, it is killing my mind and body, mentally and physically. I feel sick just hearing about it.

That's why I think it is the worst thing you can do to yourself.

Just to open up on how I really feel - I get this insane anger and rage, a powerful fear and emotion of sickness when I see others smoking. And it just makes it worse when I see young people smoking. It makes me ask myself how they could do such a thing.

This ties into Donnie Darko. There are 3 boys in the film who wait at a bus stop to go to school, and they opening invite Donnie to take a cigarette. They say to him that he deserves it for managing to survive the jet engine crashing into his room.

It just makes me feel really sick. And I'm being honest. I feel awful knowing that people choose to do this to themselves.

Sci-Fi Movies

I like the science fiction genre of the movie industry. I won't name my favourites because there are so many...

... but one I would like to highlight is Donne Darko (2001). I watched it last night on my laptop :)

Although it is somewhat confusing, it shows a powerful use of graphics to represent ideas. I won't spoil it for you, though. I love the graphic used on the American DVD cover for this film, which sums up interesting ideas about it again. It makes it feel as if it is some type of legendary technology or something.

The music is good too, and after visiting music.download.com, I downloaded the free song "Lady Lady" by Mark Joseph, which I think suits the soundtrack of Donnie Darko quite well.

This film also reminds me of "K-PAX" and "Pi", other films about an individuals who have powers that we don't understand.

The weirdest thing is that when I was watching this film in bed, I had a blue short-sleeve shirt on, and grey cotton denim trousers, which was exactly what Donnie was wearing in the beginning of the film when he was reading a book... spooky!

Why is The Matrix so great?

Despite the wicked graphics, technology and cool kung-fu martial arts, the thing I love the most about the series is that every single scene and shot in the three films means something important - it may be a factor of the Matrix itself (like the characters), it may relate to our world (ghosts, vampires, aliens), but it is significant in some way. For example, while just looking at a Matrix Revoltuons poster given to me by a very good friend, I spotted that all the characters (the rebels and the agents) in The Matrix realm wear glasses - this symbolises the 'veil' of truth that the Matrix is not reality. Plus, the characters in the Zion realm do not have glassess, except the council members in Matrix 2 + 3 - this could be represented as a veil: they don't believe in the power of Neo, and so don't accept the reality...

... it's great listening to theose philosopher's commentaries on the DVD...

Angry Alien

If you are a fan of the movies like me, you would have already found this site:

http://www.angryalien.com/

They have recently uploaded the Office Space parody! Ye-Yeah!

Upgrade

As you may have noticed, MSN Spaces has been upgraded to Windows Live Spaces.

[ tumbleweed rolls by ] [ someone coughs ]

Well, that's old news now. So what have I done about it?

The old Windows Media Player feature and list have been removed as they weren't working anymore.

My "Popular Links" module is broken (I will try to get this fixed soon).

The page width is now set at full, so I have been able to use it by putting my 'seemingly endless lists about nothing' in its space.

I'm sticking with Green. I like it. My favourite colours (which have changed a couple of times) have always been the Secondary Colours.

Anyway, have fun with the new experience in Web Logging!

Back From Holz

As you might have guessed, I returned to the world of work after being on holiday (I am trying to think of something boastful to say that Joey from Friends might say).

A summary of Norfolk

Fields, bikes, churches, craft fayres, fish & chip shops, wind, rain, silence, and rabbits.

Also, Norfolk didn't have: mobile reception, multiple radio stations, sunshine, and pavements. Nice chalets, though.

Paranomal

After reading a newspaper article about Crop Circles, thought it might be good to post a blog on my opinions towards paranormal activities.

Basically I like to believe that such apparitions do not exist because there is not enough specific evidence that can do this. However, I do like to think that spirits watching over us is a good idea, especially those that we haved loved dearly. I don't always think it is wise to start talking about paranormal activity in general conversation, such as blaming an event on God - this gets you nowhere.

One point about crop circles is that in the article, someone measured the size (diameter) of a crop circle. It was precisely 12ft wide. It just strikes me, as the newspaper stated, that, if aliens did construct it, how is it possible that they use human measurements? So they seem less weird?

All that stuff people talk about (epsecially in America) being abducted, being controlled or taken places or been in contact with aliens - I think that's all rubbish. No proof.

As for the Loch Ness Monster, I watched a programme about it, and it so happens that at the same time of the first sightings, the first ever scary film, King Kong, was released in cinema. People then mistook otters and fish and practical jokes seriosuly and therefore use the association they have in their minds to suggest that such an ancient being exists.

However, some things are inexplicable...

A Food Tip

Some programme I watched on TV a little a while ago said that, in a meal, you should always eat the fruit and vegetables before eating the carbohydates, meats and fats etc.

This is because fruit & veg digest faster than meats. So if you eat meats then fruits, the fruit will be staying on the top of your tummy for longer than if you eat fruits & veg first.

Anyway.. must go and grab me a chcolate bar!

Guess where I'm writing this blog from...

While on holiday, I have managed to find and use a reasonably good internet cafe.

And as Peter Kay calls it, it is actually called the "tinternet cafe". So I just had to come in a write a blog or something!

The weather isn't too bad here yet, little rain but some nice sunshine too. I've also taken some photos of the sky which I will use as my desktop :) One thing I have noticed is that it is really quiet here, it is almost silent!

I think the chalets here are much better than I've been to and stayed in before, and they are much better than those tight caravans I've experienced before.

To get on the beach you have to walk through an old valley that was built up since the last World War and also doubles as a sea defence. Lovely soft sand. I also stayed a little bit too long out in the sun yesterday and my skin is burning me today!!! So I've bought a nice safari hat which I hope doesn't blow away in the wind.

A nice touch is that I've seen loads of electrical windmills here, so that adds to my pleasure of the environment too :) However I have heard about a fire at a chicken farm so it sort of balances out I think!

Anyway I must go next door and get some lunch, and I must also care for my little ulcer on my lip which is killing me!

I hope everyone else is having a fantastic time on holiday or wherever you are!

Microsoft's Zune to kill the iPod

What is Zune?

Apparently it will be a new portable media player from Microsoft to tackle the iPod. There are already pictures of the prototype, and the official news about it will not be released just yet - and it is meant to be available for Christmas! It is meant to be a community device (this means sharing), and also will be WiFi activated!

Apparently, Microsoft want you to upgrade to the new Zune, and will allow you to download all your previosuly downloaded tracks from iTunes Music Store for free. Any news songs will have to be purchased, of course.

View this webpage: http://comingzune.com - It's weird, so you might also wanna take a look at the Zune Insider Blog - check the older blogs for more relative news

You might want to find out more news here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Zune

All I can say is that more details will be coming Zune...!

Holidays

Just so you know...

I am on holiday from Sat 29th July to Sat 5th August. Just thought you ought to know.

If you REALLY want to know, I am going up to Norfolk with family. We've also got another friend of the family coming with us too... No, not the goldfish, just some good friends. Hopefully I will get some peace from the noisy RACKET we get round here, like the thunderstorms!

That means... no computer for a week? Nnnnnnoooooooo!

I can still take my laptop though hehe :-) Just no Internet access :-(

I hope everyone else has fun on their summer holidays too!

Catch 22

It's moaning time!

If you're a PC fan, you'll hate this site: http://www.apple.com/getamac/

It has loads of ads about how "Macs are better than PCs". If you think about it, no they don't.

Here is the boasting line: All a Mac can do is photos, music, videos, movies, websites. That's it. With a PC, you get all of that and more. With a PC, you get to CHOOSE what software you prefer for doing your images, internet browsing, movies and everything else. Because there is so little support for Macs, you don't get much choice apart from the "iLife programs".

So what specific software do Macs have then?

Video Calling - A PC can do this too. Microsost have also released a special LifeCam Webcam with a one-touch button to do this too.

Video/Movie Editing - A PC can do this too. It's called Movie Maker. Facts. Seeing that I haven't tried the Mac version, I can't give an opinion.

Music Making - you've got me there. PC's don't have software that teaches you how to play a guitar and then publish it. However, you can still buy similar software for reasonable prices, which are usually more advanced.

Image Editing - PC's also have Paint. How fun. Okay, so this isn't the greatest image editing software in the world, but you might want to leave it to the big guns such as Corel's Paint Shop Pro X or Ulead's range of software. I have tried this software out briefly, and it is good - it allows you to experiment with your images more than a PC can. But it doesn't mean you can't do it on a PC.

"Work Vs. Home" - As above, it isn't just Macs that can handle "movies, music, podcasts" - PCs can too. Windows isn't all about "time sheets, spreadsheets and pie charts". Windows also has Windows Media Player, Movie Maker, Windows Live Messenger and Internet Explorer 7.

"Troubleshooting a PC" - Where would most of our jobs be, like Dell (one of the richest companies in the world), for those technical support staff that help with people who have problems?

"Design" - Computers don't really need to look pretty. It's what's on the inside that counts. With a PC, you can add loads more devices and hardware, and add water features. You can also buy different parts and replacements for your PC, and they all work well with Windows XP. With a Mac - if it's broken, you can't use it at all. At least if you break your screen then you can replace it with a PC, but not with a Mac.

"Viruses" - Think about it this way. If Macs were more popular than Windows, then Macs would get more viruses and security holes because more people would start writing viruses for Macs instead of Windows, as more people would have Macs. Vulnerability goes out the window as Macs have almost no protection.

This discussion of Catch-22 was also mentioned in BBC's Click programme - you can view the article here: http://bbcworld.com/content/clickonline_archive_39_2006.asp?pageid=665&co_pageid=17. Here's the most important quote that I am trying to get across:

"Apple only has small percentage of the market, tiny compared to Microsoft, and the logic is that if you're going to write a piece of malware that goes after the most people,do you write it for OSX, which, according to Apple, has around 15 million users, or do you go for Windows, which, depending on whose numbers you use, has anything between 750 million to a billion users? I think it's a fair argument."

"Faster" - Windows, because it is popular and vulnerable, is "slower" because of the security. If it were the other way around, a Mac would be just the same. Same for Safari RSS, Apple Mac's internet browser. As less security is needed as Macs are less targeted, they can load much faster. Internet Explorer may appear slower because it needs to load the security.

"Fast web publishing" - How are Macs faster in terms of clicks? Windows are just the same. Plus, with a PC, at least you get enough time to reconsider your options and photos before you upload them straight away.

"Podcasts" - The word podcast does not mean it only works with Macs, Apple or iTunes. It means a video listed on an RSS feed. You can also create podcasts on a PC too.

"No searching for drivers" - That's because very few things are designed for Macs, usually made by Apple themselves. Drivers are needed for variety and choice. Belkin, Compaq, IBM, Mesh, Dell... all those big names release similar hardware, so it is important for Windows to support the right driver. With a Mac, you don't have a lot of choice, because there are hardly any companies that do make loads of hardware for Macs, so you don't need loads of drivers. And anyway, I think that Windows XP has the best support for drivers ever.

"Movies" - Windows can do that too, you know. It's called Movie Maker, if you haven't heard already.

"No rebooting" - Windows don't often need to reboot. Usually only after installing important software or security updates (back to the Catch 22). This is dependent on the language types for Windows. C#, C++ and Visual Basic. Windows supports them all and more. With Macs, you don't get a chance to make your own programs and can't learn this language.

Everything on that page linked above is a lie when it comes to talking about PCs and Windows.

"Out of the box" - Not all manufacturers put extra software on your new PC when you buy it. And anyway, all of that software doesn't have catches, it's all free and popular to use on the Net.

"Macs can also handle Windows" - Not well enough. Boot Camp is currently in the Beta stage, so it is still dangerous. Plus, if you want to put Windows on, you need an official installation CD. There isn't much point in having a Mac with Windows on it though, because it takes up space on your hard drive, and loads of your devices won't work. So why did Apple want to add this feature anyway? They obviously think that Windows PCs are good in some way, then?

Conclusion

All of these things above are the facts. Although I have not experienced a Mac myself, I have studied the website above. I just wrote this blog because the way they depicted a PC in those adverts was incorrect. There are no opinions in those adverts, just facts. I have stated above where Apple have belitted Windows and PCs and stated how PCs match Apple Macs, or beat them in some cases.

Personally, as you may have gathered, I hate Macs and Apple, but you have your own choice. I just want to reveal to the world that you shouldn't really be lead by the website listed above. The way they depict a PC does not show the best of what PCs can really do.

So here is the point I am coming back to: CATCH-22. You can't win in either situation. There are two options:

If you choose a PC, you can have fun with all your software and hardware, but you need to make sure you have the security topped up at a cost of about £50 a year for the easy way (instead of using lots of free software or pirate copies).

If you choose a Mac, you don't need any security, you can save money and you have a great range of software to work with. However, you lose the ability to play with more popular hardware and software.

So the idea I'm trying to get across is that both sides have advantages and disadvantages. You are in a Catch-22. So it's your choice. It is not right to say which one is better than the other, because both of them have cons, but both of them also have pros.

There's another messageboard page on this website with a very funny video from YouTube about how rubbish Macs are!
http://spikedhumor.com/articles/31000/Why_Macintosh_Sucks.html?page=12

Thanks for reading :-)

Luca Maciswrote: Hmmm, Ok, Thats Clearly BIASED. Come on Rob, What you say may be true that PC's may be very good and can do everything a Mac can do but doesnt mean it can do it better. I have a PC and i really do enjoy using a Mac but not even im sure which one is better. A Mac is fantastic for many things such as video calling, video editing, music making and image editing and manipulation. It's got a very simple menu system without the vulnerability of virus's. I agree that if Macs we're more popular than pc's then they would be facing the exact same problems when it comes to virus but that isnt the case at the moment so it's not an affective argument. Don't get me wrong, pc's are really good especially since almost every company makes PC software rather than Mac software but Mac's have, compulsory, yet very effective alternatives and untill you have actaully USED A MAC YOURSELF for long enough you shouldn't dumb it down so much. Hell if i had the money i would have a mac. It's just a lil overpriced, and pc's are fine Aug. 5 | Delete

"What's the point in people writing viruses?"

... someone asked me this a couple of days ago. I thought it was a little bit obvious, but you do need to consider what is at stake here when dealing with viruses and spyware.

A virus is a software program that changes settings in your computer to stop you from using it properly. It loads itself when you login, it hides itself from the Task Manager, and it causes errors to appear.

Many virus writers make them to merely prove what damage they can do or to show off to others.

Sometimes viruses are used to import malicious software into a computer.

A spyware program defines a group of mailicious types of programs that take over your computer. For example, adware (advert-based, popups, calling high charge numbers with diallers). A new type is called "randomware", where the spyware encyrpts all of your files in My Documents. The offender informs you that unless you do not pay them for a decryption code, you will not be able to open your files.

Spyware "spies" on your computer, watching everything you do. It can also install fake software such as anti-virus or anti-spyware, encourage you to pay towards buying fake software, and can direct you to fake banking websites to install viruses. Spyware is very dangerous because the worst types can record everything you type in (password, banking details, account numbers, phone numbers, emails) and also search all your files for contact infromation. This information is then collected by the spyware program and the next time you connect to the internet, all that data is sent off to the offender.

Wikipedia article

Yahoo Online Protection - What is a virus?

How Spyware works

How Phishing works

Symantec Cybercrime website

If you want a really easy graphical introduction to learning about it, click the Symantec link above and under "Phishing and Pharming" and "Bots, Trojans and Spyware", click the Flash Demo.

Goodbye Messenger :( ... hello Messenger?

MSN Messenger is no more!

You will all have to upgrade to Windows Live Messenger.

It's still the same old MSN, just with a new name. So you can't really call it "MSN" anymore.

It's "WLM" or "Messenger" now.

Download it free here: http://get.live.com/messenger/overview

If you have MSN Plus! 3, please uninstall it before updating to the new Messenger, as the new Messenger will only work with the new MSN Plus! Live 4.

Bye Bye Win9x

Microsoft have stopped giving out security updates for Windows 98 and Me (Millenium Edition).

Read more here: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5159436

Also, by 10/10/06, there will be no more updates for Windows XP SP1.

People, that means you will all have to upgrade to Windows 2000 or Windows XP or Server 2003.

However, some computers are not compatible for this upgrade, so you will have to buy a new PC or a Mac.

This sounds like an episode of Doctor Who series 2 here, with all the Cybermen!

More news from the Microsoft Security Newsletter, linked to the Security At Home homepage:

Us lot in the UK still can't have Windows Live OneCare

Understanding Anti-Virus software and FAQ

5 safety tips for using a public computer

Beware of scams when job hunting online

Tips on blogging safely for parents and kids

Where to report Internet-related problems

Why didn't I think of this earlier?

Here is all our dreams come true!

I have just remembered that I have a downloaded clip of Jeremy Clarkson smashing up a laptop. The program was called "Inventions That Changed The World: Computer". Here is a picture for your fun. I will upload some more with audio soon, too. I might even add it to YouTube or make a SWF from PPT...

NEW! Watch my uploaded video of Jeremy battering the laptop here on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdSZ5GgLcDs

A Brilliant Film

For once, I would just like to say that apart from The Matrix, I have found another film which is amazing in terms of one character - Milton Waddams from Office Space.

Milton is a lonely worker in an office. He mumbles pathetically when he speaks. Nobody really wants to listen to his quiet complaining. He wants his famous red stapler back. His desk keeps getting moved for no reason, even downstairs in the dark. He is a sad character, and yet, my favourite line is "I could... set the building on fire!"

This single quote relives the intense and compelling power within all of us. Whenever we get angry, whenever we get stressed so things can't bother us anymore, we always think that fire, setting the building on fire, will solve all our problems. This is the first film I have seen that takes advantage of that power. However, the most cheery thing is that although the character of Milton persues this anger, he keeps so quiet and passive about it until the end!

A Powerful Statement

"Pain may come and go, but hope is everlasting" - Me, July 2006

Download flash videos!

Here is some software that I have tried before, but it doesn't save all Flash animations from Internet Explorer:

Flash Saving Plugin from BrowserTools.Net

FlashCatcher from JustDoSoft

Some of them can extract sound and pictures, though:

SWF Extractor from GlobFX

Flash Decompiler from Eltimate Software

SWF Decompiler from SoThink

.. but the best one I have found is for Firefox.

Video Downloader 2.0 can download flash from YouTube, Google, iFilm, Metacafe, DailyMotion and Music.

I knew that Apple were bad, but not this bad!

Got a new MacBook? Well, you might have well been better off buying a PC. Why?

People have been complaining to Apple saying that their MacBook's wrist pad area is becoming discoloured after only a few weeks. The paint is ending up stuck to people's wrists after using their computer. Amazing. And I thought Macs were meant to look pretty!

Find more information on the MSN News article or click here to visit a website about everyone who had been affected by this awful occurance.

Luca Maciswrote:

Yeh, coz there's nothing every wrong with PC's out of the box. (sarcasm)

Aug. 5 | Delete

Time for a moan

I was reading Real magazine for March (I know I sound stupid, but I got bored in the toilet) and read an article about a mother who lost her 18-year-old sun due to happy slapping. After a week coming back from holiday, he went to a party and was punched in the face by someone. He died after a week due to a heart attack after being put on life support systems. Now he's gone. The attacker was only put in jail for 2-and-a-half years.

If you want to know, the victim was punched in the face, with blood dripping down from his fractured skull. Other incidents in the news have been:

- a 16-year old did a random happy slapping spree along London's South Bank, killing an innocent barman. The attacker is in a young offender's institution for 8 years.

- a 14-year old kid hung himself at school using his tie because bullies were happy slapping him regularly

I would just like to express how sorry I feel to all of those who are deeply affected by this sick craze. Taking videos of people being innocently harmed by violence does not justify the pain they must go through. It may make you feel stronger, or bigger as you may impress others, but it is not good. It is not right to offend others. Just think about it: THIS IS SICK, PEOPLE! AWFUL!

And while I'm on the subject of bad things, I would like to stress how much I hate the idea of alcohol and smoking. I was walking on my round today, which is recycling day, and I saw quite a few blue boxes full to the top of alcohol bottles. I felt deeply ashamed, angry and confused.

I would like to emphasise that I do not drink, and I do not smoke, and I never intend to in my entire life. And I just get this really sick, disgusted feeling whenever I'm walking down the street and seeing people smoking, or talking casually about it. It feels like a burning fire, this unescapable rage making me wonder why so many people "enjoy" drinking and smoking. Take it simple, people: excessive amounts are bad for you. More than one bottle every 3 days is enough. Okay, so I put my hands up for birthdays and celebrations, but not for the behaviour and choices that people make. Seriously. There is no good reason why anyone should smoke. There are no reasons why people need to drink so much - all it does is shrink your brain and body cells so you become more thirsty as you reabsorb less water.

I'm just stating the obvious here. Come on, people. Think about it. It's not good for you. There is a life without it.

Louisa Hollowaywrote:

hey i agree with u on the happy slappin.....its sick why do people need to do it....chavs bet they're all chavs.

stupid selfish worthless chavs

the alcohol bit yeh ppl drink too much and i used to be so against even one bottle lol but now when i got out, only when i go out, i drink and it takes the edge of the night like your confidence sours and for some people this turns them into larrie or however u spel that, losers.

i think the worst is these 11, 12,13 year old kids drinking, it so sad.

good luck with ur results by the way, they're never as bad as you worry they're gana be lol.

cool site

July 10 | Delete

Wahoo!

Yes! No more exams! Goodbye KHS!

... however, it still feels like I'm still at school

Anyway, "Good Luck" to everyone in their exams, their future at college/sixth form/employment, and beyond!

Just when you thought I'd run out of ideas...

Yep, I'm sure all the people who have looked at my artwork for my Year 11 Journal have gone crazy because there are so many ideas I have put into it. Well, of course, I did write 6 sides of A3 for my evaluation.

But maybe I shouldn't boast about my work that much. I think I need to cut down on the whole bragging thing.

Anyway. Anyone who has visited my Music List will know that I love Moby's music. And it just so happens that I went looking for artwork from Moby's most recent album 'Hotel'. And here we are.

I really like the trees and rain one. That's a good idea. ("Raining Again") A good description for the rain in the lyrics is "bullets on tin", which really captures the soundscape of rain. I think all the other songs are brilliant too!

Anger Management Session

~ Rest In Pieces ~

Hotmail website problems?

So here's what happens: you try logging onto Hotmail, and a page comes up saying Server Too Busy.

Well, what does this mean? It means that you can't get to the page just yet, but you can follow the instructions below so you can still access all your e-mails.

Outlook Express, which should be on all Windows XP computers and older versions, has the feature to handle Hotmail accounts. Choose one of the instructions here:

http://email.about.com/od/outlookexpresstips/ss/wt041202.htm - step by step images

http://www.thundercloud.net/hotmail/hotmail-how-to-1.htm - interactive images

Also ensure that you click "Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA)" to ensure your password is secure.

Outlook Express also allows you to downloaded all attachments from messages all at once. Be it pictures, text documents or other files, OE can get them all. This is really useful as in Hotmail, you have to do them all one-at-a-time. Simply: when you have opened a message, go to File > Save Attachments, then locate a folder to save them in.

Personality Test

This section has been revised from an older blog:

Thanks to the StumbleUpon Toolbar, I now know who I am. And it's true, too.

INTJ - "Mastermind". Introverted intellectual with a preference for finding certainty. A builder of systems and the applier of theoretical models. 2.1% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)
Introspectives.org - messageboard for people with this personality

Click here to run the personality test yourself. It may take a while to fill out, but it is worth it!

Here is some more rubbish about me:

Birth’s day of the week	Thursday’s child “has far to go”
Robert	"From the Old English meaning 'bright fame'. Good natured, friendly and outgoing with a great sense of humour. He has great energy."
Chinese symbol	Horse
Astrological star/sun sign	Aquarius, the water bearer
Personality type (Jung)	INTJ – systems builder, analyst, logical-intuitive
Birthstone	Amethyst, symbolises sincerity
Personality Profile	Day of Precognition – “a whiz with the computer”
Learning Style	Mathematical/Logical

Here's some stuff about INTJ:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=INTJ&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8
http://www.geocities.com/lifexplore/intj.htm

AaRrGgHh! My CD drives are missing!

I thought I was going crazy today when I looked at My Computer and noticed that both my CD-RW drive and my DVD-ROM drives were missing! So I followed the usual procedures:

Restart. Nothing beats that.

Check Device Manager - it was saying that both drives had an error; it was showing a small icon with a yellow arrow - when I saw this I thought I was in big trouble!

Try the troubleshooter as linked in the Device Manager's properties for each item - I had already done everything it asked me to do, so it finished saying "Sorry, Troubleshooter can't help you." Fat lot of good that is.

Driver updates - nope, they're all up to date, it says.

Dell Diagnostics - Dell install a small partition space on the drive to hold the Diagnostics program for scanning the computer for hardware failures. Unfortuntately, it passed all the tests though.

System Restore - I haven't got enough that go back far enough as I am running out of space on my computer!

And finally... try contacting the OEM - so I went to the Dell Fourms for my Dell Dimension, and I found a thread that details my exact problem on this page. And when I followed the instructions about the registry, restarted and watched - it worked!

Now I'm so happy because the good thing is that I solved it really quickly, and all my methodical processing, as above, got me my resolution! Anyway, thanks to the Dell Forums!

Noel or No Noel

Today's Deal or No Deal was amazing! Debbie ended the game with:

1p (the lowest value) in box 1 (the lowest box) and

£250,000 (the highest value) in box 22 (the highest box)!

Now I think that's amazing! She critically managed to knock out almost all the reds in one go! She dealt "one too early" at £15,000 and said that she "read her stars" before the game, of which predicted she would get "a good deal".

I'm getting into the astrological side of things as well this month as many things (such as daily time organisation) seem to be working well for me too! I might even start reading my horoscopes on teletext again...!

Podcasting

After a quick look at Wikipedia's article for this somewhat foggy type of technology, I stumbled upon a website with podcasts about how to do things on a Mac - including software and hardware tools!

Take a look here: http://screencastsonline.com/sco/

podcast n.

A multimedia broadcast that can be detected using RSS/Atom. Allows a podcaster to upload multimedia such as videos, pictures and audio to a hosting server, create an RSS feed that points to it, and allows anyone to download the media via the details provided in each RSS entry. May be used for interviews, video tutorials, news broadcasts or topic highlights on software and hardware.

TeChNiCaL fAuLt?

We would like to apologise to all visitors to this blog and associated website for th recent amount of missing updates to such services. Unfortunately, RJC-UK has foound a technical fault known to cause a long delay in updating the slice of the Internet he works so hard for. This lack of concentrated work produce is due to REVISION!

Good luck to everyone in their exams and I hope you all have a good future at college/sixth form/employment and beyond!

P.S. The updates concerning technology news etc. will be posted here shortly. Sorry for any inconvenience!

Part 2

Some of you may think I am a hypocrite when I say you should be doing your revision, when I'm not doing much myself! I would like to apologise to those who think that life is pointless thereof. I would also like to highlight that I am a terrible procrastinator and even though I had a whole week to revise for the exams, I did it all on the last Sunday instead. So my lesson to you is: don't put things off!

In the meanwhile, I have been redirecting all of my website into one server - Byethost. Why? Simple adverts. 250MB disc memory. 20GB traffic bandwidth/month(!). 5MB file size. Custom error pages. Single FTP access. 20 Subdomains. In other word, basically - luxury! More details on this page.

My subscription of Norton Internet Security has also run out during the half-term. And I don't really want to be buying great big software like that at this point, so I have accidentally opt for ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite. I thought I was only downloading the Firewall (alongside Avast Home and AVG Anti-Virus) but downloaded and installed ZoneAlarm's full package instead! I have also fully registered it for another 143 years, if you get my drift! It took a little bit of working out to get it to allow my Internet and shared files to work when connected via LAN to my laptop, but it's all sorted now so I'm really happy :)

And another note - Windows Defender has also been helpful when I've been getting viruses trying to come in through mscracks.com - so that's another reason to have it installed on your system!

Part 3

I saw a substitute teacher carry floppy discs a couple of weeks ago. I mean, seriously, why would anyone still use a floppy disc? They are unreliable, easy to break, slow and hold only 1.44MB. That guy is crazy!

I think I'm gonna sell most of my old floppy discs on eBay soon as well!

Problems playing video clips?

Having problems playing files like AVI? Here are some things you can try out:

Download the codecs from Cucusoft

Reinstall the P2P program (e.g. BitComet) then try redownloading the files

Try other torrent websites like TorrentSpy and read the comments for any codec details

Try a media player such as VLC Media Player

Try running a Hash Check on the downloaded torrents when complete

Try a different media player except VLC, WMP, Real and QuickTime

Or... the files are corrupted. Some files that people upload are 'blank' or 'dead', as in they contain nothing. Bad luck.

Bad week for Technology

The past few weeks have shown me that technology doesn't always work like it should.

Firstly, I tried writing some ruddy DVDs using an external hard drive I borrowed from a good friend. But the discs wouldn't write properly. So now I've gotta figure out if it was the DVDs themselves, the software writing them or the files. For the meantime, I need to but some more blank DVDs!

The smartcard system in the Kid's Club wasn't working for 2 days last week.

A copy of The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King, which I tried watching with my family, went all jittery only half an hour through the film! Will be watching a proper rented copy this weekend instead.

My ICT teacher left a USB flash disc drive inside one of his laptops, put the laptop in the case, and it's now broken his USB drive so all the coursework marks are gone!

Instructions I gave to a friend a couple of days ago about how to tell Internet Explorer not to diconnect after a few idle minutes weren't the same procedure he could get to on his computer - so I will have to go round there today and fix it for him.

Now my urge to hit a computer is rising!!! or I might just throw it out the window instead! GRR!

REVISION!

People, start being serious, please! These are your f***ing exams here! This is your ruddy future!

Please stop thinking about getting drunk, going on holiday or thinking about the future - 'cause you won't have one if you don't do some bluddy revision!

Now it's time for me to go and do some too :) I will also take advantage of staying after school in the LRC to revise.

starletwrote:

good policy but you could say it in a nice rway couldnt you . good on you that you take youre gcse's seriously. good luck!

June 3 | Delete

Paper Round

I'm possibly thinking of quitting my paper round cause:

Nature is killing me! The summer has brought along a hoard of snails, slugs any other slimy bugs ; flies and wasps flying all over the ruddy place and I keep walking into spider's webs!!! GGRRRR!!!

Plus, I have my exams coming up. Don't really want it to interrupt my revision or important sleep.

I have to wait til next weekend though cause my boss isn't back for another week because he's on holiday. Ha!

But the things I would miss would be, of course, the money, which I haven't spent any of it yet!; and also everyone I see on my round who make it just that bit more worth it :D Okay, so I see loads of cats too but I don't care about them much!

College

I have finally managed to go to a Harlow College Open Evening that wasn't on my birthday.

From what I could work out, the people were really helpful and the whole evening was really good. They seem like a really good college to study at. Just one problem though: what courses should I do?

I got a copy of their prospectus and ticked the AS levels I was interested in. I sorta came up with Applied I.T., Art, then maybe English and Maths as I enjoy those subjects well. I also found out they they do a BTEC National Diploma in I.T., so I thought this could get interesting.

Really what I want to do is IT (or "ICT"). I am just completely sure I want to do this subject, but I'm not really sure about giving up some of my other subjects. So I talked to one of the Open Evening staff and she suggested, that if I like Art, English Lang/Lit and I.T. then I could be heading for a career in Journalism. Personally, this doesn't sound too bad, but not exactly eveything I hoped for anyway.

When I found my way to the I.T. department (btw they have LOADS of computers at this college, I mean LOADS, and they have a good bunch of Macs as well :), the lady said that I might be interested in doing the BTEC I.T. course, which counts as 3 A Levels. She said to read the info book (which I will at some point during my revision), which says the BTEC is much more design and development of different projects, while the A Level is basically everything I already know (Office Applications, HTML etc.). So now I'm stuck.

My mum was talking to my uncle (big computer software company guy, really big company he owns), who said that I would be better doing the A Levels... but I suppose we'll find out. He also said to do Business Studies - he started his own business and is now a millionaire - but I think I should still stick with my own choices and opinions.

He also said, when it may come to the time, that I may be working for his company (I worked there in Surrey for Work Experience to get away from home) or he might be able to get some work for me

My ICT teacher has also offered me some website development that could get me some money after the exams... and so has my art teacher! What a lucky guy I am!