Weekly Quote W/E 26/04/08

Think I'll stope doing intros to these...

"The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...
The solution to this problem lies in the heart of manking. If only I had known I should have become a watchmaker." - Albert Einstein.

Moonwalking Bird - need I say more?!!

With great thanks to QI and YouTube for this one



Dontcha jus' love animals?!

Word of the post: Moreish - doesn't show up in't dictionary (and with good reason I think!) generally used on adverts, most likely a type of food what makes you want to eat more of it like.

X-box 360: Suitable for all

Well I recently invested in an X-box 360 because well, in gaming terms, I needed to - see more of my reasoning in THIS POST. It has worked out pretty well so far, I got a very good price on amazon which included a pad and a 20G hard drive. There were also sopme good deals with it, I got the Wireless entertainment pack, with another pad and two games for £25 down from about £100 or so and I also was able to purchase Halo 3 for £10 when getting the console so it worked out rather well for me on the whole. The other games were Forza 2 and Viva Pinata of you're interested.

I went out and grabbed some more games for it, chiefly the new Lost game, which has proved to be a good buy, especially as I got it a few pound cheaper than RRP from Tesco. I also bought the latest Splinter Cell as I had not been able to get it on PC and also "The Urbz" 'cause it looked fun and was exceedingly cheap. It was something of a joy being able to get these games without having to check for Hard Drive space or processor power and I managed to get the lot for a little over £40...about the price of one Playstation 3 game!

It's been great having it, but one thing really tickled me about it. On the box of the console which itself did not include any games, was printed one of these babies...












I had to laugh that they decided to state that a piece of hardware and the setup screen are safe viewing for people of all ages - what will they think of next?!

Word of the post: Unseemly - adjective

1.	not seemly; not in keeping with established standards of taste or proper form; unbecoming or indecorous in appearance, speech, conduct, etc

Weekly Quote W/E 19/04/08

Ok her's another yadda yadda yadda, more from Watchmen for ya

"Shall not the judge of all the Earth do right?" - Genesis chapter 18 verse 25

See ya

Workin' 1 to 4, what a way to make a livin'!

Hi readers

I mention not having much to write about 'cause I'm settled in a routine, but it struck me that i hadn't really mentioned what that routine is so I'll very briefly set that out for you now.

I've finished University and now, after a brief, halfhearted jobsearch I am now working at my old part time job I started while in Uni. I work at a local special school, working with kids who have various learning difficulties. I don't feel particularly comfortable giving details on what I do in my work since it involves kids, and a lot of the data protection stuff is still fresh in my mind so I won't go into specifics, but rather talk about how it impacts my day to day routine.

Due to budget restraints and other factors I can only work in the afternoons, which I find a bit odd, but I'm used to now. I used to work mornings which, aside from getting out of bed, were ok 'cause I had the rest of the day free after. Afternoons is a bit more limiting and segments my day a little more than I'd like. Recently I've found that I can just about get around Chester so it's not too bad and I can look at the shops and get a few things done if I need to.

One of the oddest things is not having assignments or homework. I've just about shaken it off, but for a long while I kept going in feeling that there was something I should have done at home to prepare, then realising with some relief that there wasn't. This is good, but I guess it makes my free time a little more free than it should be.

This could be a problem as I intend to do teacher training next year, and by all accounts it's pretty intense and while I am used to schools and education I'm not too used to a heavy workload and it will no doubt take some getting used to once I get started, but hopefully it will be good all the same.

Well that's more or less it and I should probably leave the ol' keyboard alone once again so that's basically what I'm up to. Pretty much everyone who reads this will already know more or less all of what I said, but I felt like saying it all the same.

Tra

Word of the post: Provisional - adjective

1.	providing or serving for the time being only; existing only until permanently or properly replaced

Weekly Quote W/E 12/04/08

Woopsy! Little bit late with this one, the old X-box arrived yesterday and has been a bit of a distraction heh! Hmm, I had a really good quote and all, but I've forgotten it so I think I'll carry on with the Watchmen quotes for now.

"And I'm up while the dawn is breaking, even though my heart is aching. I should be drinking a toast to absent friends instead of these comedians." - Elvis Costello

Till the next time something happens...

Birthday Presence

Almost a fortnight ago now was my second 21st birthday and a good day it was too. Much in the way of fun was had and I really enjoyed myself with friends and family. Often I take on a load of expectations and worry about making it the best day ever, this year I just chilled with it and had the more fun for it I think.

We started with just a gathering round at mine for friends who couldn't make it to other events a few days before my birthday. We spent most of the evening trying to hook up my mate's Xbox to our TV with little success, getting sound, but no picture. This was a little depressing as I was intending to get an Xbox myself. Just as we gave up and tried something else, my mate slapped himself on the head and realised he'd left it switched to HD viewing, a simple flick of a switch the problem was solved and we had a great time playing Wrestling games. The Xbox is now ordered.

For my birthday itself I again decided to just have a relaxed day, since one or two people were busy on the day itself. I organised a trip to Ellesmere Port and let people sort out their own arrangements. Not as many came as I'd thought, but we had a good day. First I went round Blue Planet with my best mate Edd, caught up with two more friends for a walk round Stanney Woods (or a swim as far as the dog was concerned) then they went back to do their respective coursework and then we met up with another friend who we chatted to whilst bowling and then we went around the shops to select a birthday present (Watchmen by Alan Moore) before heading home to a delicious cake and other nibbles. I finished off the evening by killing off Agent Smith on my computer (see Blogga the Hutt)

I got some nice swag too. Mostly money and chocolate, but I also got a cool T-Shirt with a Space Invaders design from my sister and a SatNav from my parents who was been great fun. I chose Sean, the Irish accent as my guide and so Sean he has been dubbed. And he came in useful too.

The next day we trotted off to Pwllheli to go to an outdoor pursuits centre. It was a heck of a long drive. The automatic route seemed to go here there and everywhere, but Mum new a quicker route and Sean's ability to auto adjust (instead of saying "do a U turn" as many models do) guided us to our destination...well actually it got us to a farm down the road, but it was fairly close!! We followed this up with a Quad biking trek, most of which I spent ramming Edd with my Quad...unintentionally of course! We slotted in a bit of bowling then made the return journey, after which I slept, knackered from probably the longest drive I've done.

My shoes are almost recovered from immersion in mud so all in all I'd have to call it a good time and a fun birthday with great friends.

Word of the post: Ordnance - noun

1.	cannon or artillery.

2.	military weapons with their equipment, ammunition, etc.

New Coke Advert - GTA style

OK, so they have long been an official sign of Christmas's arrival, but for the rest of the year Coke's ad's are generally viewed with a cynical eye - especially the new "Coke side of life" campaign. But this new advert, modelling the video game Grand Theft Auto and twisting it subtly has to be a mark of great thinking and one of the best ads I've seen in a while, very funny, very creative - and here it is courtesy of YouTube

Yes I am concerned about how much I'm talking about Coke!!!



Oh and on the videogame front, here's an add from China modelled on World of Warcraft.



Fun huh?!!

Word of the post: Peripheral - adj.

1. Related to, located in, or constituting an outer boundary or periphery.

Weekly Quote W/E 05/04/08

Well it's been a week for birthdays this week, with mine commencing, my friend's midweek and my Granddad's to close. I may recount some of the adventures had on these occasions but for now I'll finish with a quote that has nothing to do with anything but is a piece of brilliance so great that the creators put it on a t-shirt which you can buy (Penny Arcade - sidebar)

"If you say anything else - word one - I will kill myself. And when my tainted spirit reaches it's destination, I will topple the master of that dark place. From my black throne, I will lash together a machine of bone and blood, and fueled by my hatred for you this fear engine will bore a hole between this world and that one.

When it begins you will hear the sound of children screaming - as though from a great distance. A smoking orb of nothing will grow above your bed, and from it will emerge a thousand starving crows. As I slip through the widening maw in my new form you will catch only a glimpse of my radiance before you are incinerated. Then, as tears of bubbling pitch stream down my face, my dark work will begin.

I will open one of my six mouths, and sing the song that ends the Earth."


Now that's what I call a threat!!!!

Product Testing - Diet Coke Plus (Vitamins)

Hehe! Just had a bit of fun Googling this image. I'd searched for a picture of Diet Coke Plus, when I did a post weeks back on Diet Coke Plus antioxidants (scrool down you'll find it somewhere) but when I googled the same thing to find the image again I actually found a link to my blog in google images and no sign of the original image and I guess the same thing'll happen when I put this post up, kinda funny huh? Well I think it is anyway...

OK so the two new Diet Coke variants have lasted a coupla weeks, at least they were still in a fridge in ASDA a little while ago. They haven't wormed their way into vending machines or the like, but new drinks rarely do and with Diet Coke Plus being a smaller sized and slightly different shape bottle it's unlikely to happen soon.

After the green tea debacle that is the Antioxidant variation I expected some equally intriguing yet unpleasant taste. I was dissapointed by the result yet at the same time glad to have something i could swallow down without grimmacing. The added flavour was orange, fairly predictable with it being vitamins and having orange designs on the bottle, but heck it could have been carrot or something right?!

Orange is nice, yet boring. I've been mixing Coke and Fanta since I was tall enough to reach self service Coke machines so Coke with a hint of Orange is nothing new to my taste buds. nonetheless it is a fauirly pleasant taste so if you want a healthier option with you're Coke, which is something I think I need to do, though I'll stick to Maxes and Zeroes thanks, then this might be the one for you.

Word of the post: Ignoble - adjective

1.	of low character, aims, etc.; mean; base

Weekly Quote - Birthday Edition

Well yes, my Birthday has passed and now I am 21 for the second time around - for those who might want to know I've had a good few days with my friends and though they may have cost me a good pair of shoes the things we did were well worth doing. A good old tradition was kept up in that me and my friends went around the shops until we found something suitable to get as a present! The one we chose in the end was "Watchmen" the influencial graphic novel by Alan Moore, creator of other well known books such as V for Vendetta and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Each Chapter of this fantastic book and with a quote, the first of which I furbish you with now - enjoy.

"At midnight, all the agents and all the superhuman crew, go out and round up everyone who knows more than they do." - Bob Dylan