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...