Secondly... here's a nice picture...
So what did I get? I got some moolah, a small bottle of JD, a toaster (yay!), a lap-mat thingie for when I use my laptop when it's not on the coffee table, The IT Crowd DVD box set, and CK in2u. Not a lot, and I'm a little narked at not getting Guitar Hero World Tour. I mean, I only asked for the Solus copy, and not the whole kaboodle... which my sister got instead... for her MORE EXPENSIVE console... but nevermind.
Oh yeah, and I got a cold for Christmas too! I must've caught it on the way to Leeds to see the family, because it kicked in Christmas morning! GAH!
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Woo! Another game I've been wanting to get hold of! Wii Music lets you conduct and produce music by waving the Wiimote and nunchuk in a variety of different ways. I haven't played it for long and already my arms hurt!
The only problem I can see is that there aren't many songs to choose from, and you can't download new ones. However you can share videos with others so you can experience first hand other people's take on the songs in the game.
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I picked up a new game when I was in Leeds visiting some of the family. The sequel to Trauma Centre: Second Opinion has finally come out and I've been dying to get my hands on it! Here're the opening credits:
It kinda reminds me of the intro used for House M.D., don't ya think?
Sadly, I couldn't play it when I was at my sister's because she couldn't find her nunchuk controller, so I had to wait until I got home. It's pretty much the same as before, but with improved graphics and gameplay, brand new story, widescreen mode, and actual speech for the characters (A lot of people find this annoying, but not me). I'm gonna be playing this bad boy for ages yet!
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After a couple of months of re-learning...
I'VE PASSED MY DRIVING TEST!!!!
I'm well chuffed with this feat! The last time I had been behind a car was a few years ago when I was leaning under the instruction of a capable instructor in Middlesbrough who was a friend of the family. Back then, when I did my test for the very first time, I failed it horribly (I got a number of minors and one BIG major!). After that, I didn't continue my lessons. This wasn't because I was disgruntled or put off, I just couldn't be arsed. Public transportation in Middlesbrough was pretty good. Buses were regular, mostly on time, and taxis were plentiful and didn't cost too much to get ya home after a night on the piss.
Now, however, I live elsewhere where the buses aren't as regular, taxis are rare, and they're hellishly expensive! For instance, it'd cost between £5.50 - 6.50 to get me home from a night out in Middlesbrough. That's roughly the same distance as Buxton is from my home now. Whaley Bridge to home in a taxi, less than half the distance... £10!! The alternative? Getting a zigzag pass on the bus for £4.40 which is great value, but the further I go out, the earlier I have to leave.
Now I'm free to go out and get a car! Granted, I can't drink when I use it but it means I can get out and about conveniently and whenever I want to! Time to check out the autotrader website!!!
So how did I do this time? Obviously good enough to pass, but I only got three minors, and one of those was going 30-40mph on a 60mph road... but I'd been told by my instructor to go slow on that particular road because it's such a death trap! Nonetheless, this is such a big improvement since the last test I had, in part because I knew what to expect this time round.
Oooh I can't wait to get a car!!!
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Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to meeeee!
Happy Birthday to mee!
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Yup, it's that time again for another DIET UPDATE and I'm especially proud of what I've achieved today!
Wii Fit informed me this morning that I am now within my IDEAL WEIGHT range! Only just, mind, at:
24.97 BMI
but it's not overweight anymore! Excellent! That's 12 stone 6 pounds!Here's hoping the next milestone comes along in good time...
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So who in the UK watches video podcasts about gadgets?
I like possibly* many other fellow UK-eans like watching video podcasts on gadgets and upcoming technology. The problem I'm facing is that there's very few out there that are decent. I stick to one at the moment - Sky News Technofile. It's informative, varied, and ENGLISH! However it's only weekly, and I want a podcast that's updated more frequently.
So in my search for a suitable podcast, I found two others that fit the bill: Channel 10 and GeekBrief.TV. However, I have pet peeves with both of these...
Channel 10 goes all over the place. If there's an event, such as E3 or CeBIT, they're there! Getting news from the current shows is always a good thing. They don't only cover gadgets but also video games, and sometimes dedicate individual episodes to specific topics which is a nice thing from time to time. An episode pretty much every day is made available to the public, so there's no shortage of clips... but they're SO biased towards bloody Microsoft!!!
Maybe they're tightly associated with them, or they're sponsoring them or something, but that really knarks me off! They cover all the beta software that Microsoft are doing as if each one was the best thing since sliced bread, the Zune is better for your health than Omega3 (which I'm not chuffed about either, but that can wait until later), and I'm sure they would rag the X-box until it got a red ring of death if it was humanly/technologically possible! Ya know guys, there are other companies out there other than Microsoft. Ever heard of Sony, Nokia, Nintendo, or Samsung?
GeekBrief.TV don't go out as often, but they do cover more geeky stuff such as weird gadgets, cameras, and so on, which is what I'm really looking for. The podcast is updated roughly four times a week, which is plenty, and the presenter is certainly easy on the eye. They don't cover games but that's not a problem as there's no shortage of gaming podcasts. They're sponsored by a couple of various means, which means they plug either a domain name website or some sort of storage solution at the end of each clip, but it's non-intrusive and it's a nice way of telling me "The show's over. Move along.". Also, they're not biased towards Microsoft. Great...
...except, instead, they're biased towards bloody Apple! If there's anything Apple do, they cover it! If the iPhone get's a new firmware, they make a point of talking about it! When any new iPod comes out, they dedicate a whole episode to unboxing the damn thing! Two words... Big Whoop!! If they're gonna cover phone firmwares, why not the Nokia E90's big jump to v300? Why not unbox a new Creative Zen when it comes out? Come on guys!
Here's the thing... each of these have their problems but there's one underpinning feature of both of these that I truly hate... they cater for AMERICA! Everything's in dollars! Release dates are wrong! They don't pronounce words properly and they talk ten to the sodding dozen! All these problems are why I find myself going back to Sky News' Technofile... it's British, it's unbiased, and the presenter(s) aren't stuck in fast forward!
Don't get me wrong, they both do a good job, but they're both annoying enough that I won't watch them that much. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but I want a british gadget podcast! Is that too much to ask? Maybe I should start one myself. I've got my ear to the ground. We'll see...
Oh, and my problem with Omega3... it seems to be the the token nutritian of the year. Someone says its good for you, and then suddenly it's in everything! I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna buy a loaf of bread or a block of butter JUST because it has Omega3 in it! If I was really that concerned about it, I'd have more fish, eggs, and certain beef and lamb. Well when you're reaching for that Omega3-infested product again, just remember: it can decrease your immune system, it's not good for those with congestive heart failure, and it's even worse for diabetics. Still want that new milk that's come out?
*Not based on any kind of research whatsoever
UPDATE
I decided that I would ask the creators of both these podcasts to see why they're so biased. When I checked for contact details on the Channel 10 website, I noticed it read:
"This site is hosted for Microsoft by ORCSWEB Copyright 2007-2008 Microsoft"
on the bottom. Well, that's one answer received.
I've sent an email to the makers of GeekBrief.TV to see what they have to say.
UPDATE #2
I sent an email to the makers of GeekBrief.TV and got a response from Cali Lewis herself. Nice of her really, considering she was on the road to some technology event at the time, really nice. In so many words she basically said that she personally likes the iPhone as she feels it's intuitive in it's use.
Now that... is fair enough. She likes the product so she promotes it. I suppose if I was doing a podcast, I would promote Symbian-powered products. At least she's not doing it because she was coerced into it by Apple, and that really was my main concern.
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I've been pretty bored recently, so I thought I'd sort out the gallery on the site again and then add some photos of my friend coming to visit.
;)
Just use a link on the right to see them all.
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[NOTE] This was added because I hadn't updated the site with any posts. I have since travelled back in time and added them. [/NOTE]
I've been neglecting again! Here I am getting bored now and then, when I could be making a post on my blog! Oh well... Here's a quick update of what I've been up to:
I'm doing something about my weight (again!), but this time I have Wii Fit to help. I bought it a few months ago and, to be honest, I barely touched it. Now I've got a routine worked out. I weigh myself on a morning before breakfast, then go to work, then exercise when I get back before having my tea. In conjunction to a calorie controlled diet (Thanks to Weight Watchers), I'm seeing my weight drop every day. Over the last 2 1/2 weeks I've lost 8lbs and it's still dropping. I want to get down to about 11 stone, but I'm going to check how I am at 11 1/2 stone. If I'm not happy with it, I'll continue. Once I am, however, I can get back to my normal eating habits and Wii Fit can tell me if I've put on weight or not.
I still want to make a post on here ranting on about Podcasts, but I want that to be a seperate entry so I'll do that later.
Work is great! Having my own place is great! I'm still loving it! I'm past the point where it feels like a holiday now, and I can feel my sanity being maintained. I'm challenged with new... err... challenges every day at work
They're certainly achievable; it's just getting my head around the logic of 'em. Recently I made an absolute breakthrough, and I'm on the verge of another one. It's very satisfying.I've dyed my hair again... and it's RED! Just think of Mike Shinoda in the early days of Linkin Park and you'll get the jist.
I've dropped zxoncam off the site. I wasn't actually having any webcam feeds at all, and no one wants to read about the cameras that I used to use... so what's the point? Also, I've dropped my gallery... partly because I couldn't be arsed to fix it AGAIN! Instead, I've moved to flickr because, where needs must, I can upload photos from my phone directly to the site.
I've had a lot of problems with my email since I moved my sites to a new server. Recetly I've changed my settings to keep it working and as a bonus I can get them all on my phone. So... anyone using my mobile email address: you needn't bother. Just email me as normal
I got a new monitor for my computer... a lovely 22" widescreen, to go alongside my old monitor. I also got a 1Tb network hard drive, so I can watch video or play music with either of my computers. Finally, I also got a long-range wireless keyboard that I can use on my PCs and Wii. What's the need of it all? Well, it's quite nice being able to watch Father Ted while in bed using all of this
That's pretty much all of it.
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