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!