a n d r e w - i r v i n e . c o . u k

Sorry everyone

zxon — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:24:31 GMT

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 :P

That's pretty much all of it.

They can take our lives but they can never take our FREEDOM!!

zxon — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:56:40 GMT

RIP Misty [[ XX/12/05 - 18/08/08 ]]

zxon — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:07:48 GMT

It's with regret that I have to report that Misty has passed on. She was taken away from us while I was away for the weekend.

When I moved to the Midlands, Misty moved with me and soon settled into her new home, sooner than I did to be honest. She was my prodajay, my friend. She made me feel not quite so alone. Not having a garden to bury her in, I went to the edge of the field behind the flat and buried her by a tree.

She will be sorely missed :cry:

Gymnasts impress judges at Beijing Olympics

zxon — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:19:54 GMT

Ur too fat and ugly so ai poek out eyes so u cant findz fud

zxon — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:28:37 GMT

itteh bitteh kitteh commiteh needz new hangout

zxon — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:49:34 GMT

Yay! New phone!

zxon — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:47:33 GMT

Nope... not a mobile...

...it's my new home phone. It's wireless and also supports skype! I've been using one that work very kindly donated to me since I moved in (which I'm giving back to them tomorrow). I went through a hell of a lot of trouble trying to get this bloody thing and now I have it! My flat is complete... well, as much as it can be for a single bachelor with his own place who likes his gadgets (not THAT way!).

All in all though, my life is going well. I'm getting out more, my job is nigh-on perfect, I'm learning more songs on my guitar and am still in touch with my friends up North. I'm not getting onto the site that often to post a lot as I'm up to all sorts of stuff. I hope that everything will level out just a teenie bit so I can continue to update these pages.

I have a couple of random rants that I might post on here later, one of which is about video podcasts (which perhaps most geeky UK visitors to this site might agree with).

Hallelujah!! Praise teh lord!!

zxon — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:50:11 GMT

Nuh-uh Iz not bujin til i getz cheezburger

zxon — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:57:23 GMT

GH Aerosmith released the same day as SSBB!?

zxon — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:35:26 GMT

I only found this out last night... Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, a game I'd been looking forward to getting, was released on Friday... the same day that Super Smash Brothers Brawl was released. What were Activision thinking?? If you don't know what I'm on about, watch the video...

Still, I've ordered my copy today, complete with guitar, and it should be arriving in a few days. I didn't opt for quick delivery or anything, as I've also got SSBB to go through too.

Finally the UK gets Smash Bros Brawl!

zxon — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:25:11 GMT

The US have had the game for months, and we even got Mario Kart before they did, but it took Nintendo ages to finally get Super Smash Bros Brawl to our shores. Why that is, I don't know... but it's here and it's mint!

I've been playing it all evening and if you're a fan of the N64 and GCN versions, this one can't be missed! It's just as playable as the previous ones, and graphically it's up there with Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda Twilight Princess, proving you don't need HD to get great graphics!

I'M BACK!!!

zxon — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:31:48 GMT

Hi everyone! I finally managed to get my internet sorted out at my new place! This is just a quick message to say I haven't died, I'm still here! Quite a lot has happened over the last few weeks but I'll fill you in with the appropriate details if and when necessary :)

I'll see ya's later

zxon — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:58:14 GMT

OK everyone, I have to start packing up my PCs and get ready to go to my new home... where there's no internet... and where I won't be able to afford to run my own server 24/7.

Tonight I've moved this site and The Anythings website to a brand new host and they're working OK for the most part from a simple move. I need to get round to fixing my gallery (again) and also the gallery on the band website isn't working since the move. Sadly I can't get on to it until I have internet access at my new home.

Anyways I'm saying goodbye for now but it'll only be for a couple of weeks I'm guessing. There won't be any updates on here for that long but I'll keep track of what's going on so I can then add them all on here when I get online again... then again, I do have limited 'net access on my phone... hmmm....

UGH! THAT IS SO UNFAIR!

zxon — Thu, 08 May 2008 01:15:42 GMT

Influence: Harry Enfield

Wii were expecting something smaller

zxon — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:41:12 GMT

Guess what I went and bought today...

Go on... guess... *

I bought Wii Fit today (Hooray!), which is quite a feat in itself actually. It was sold out everywhere!
HMV - gone. Game - gone. Gamestation - gone. Curry's Digital - gone. Vizavvi - gone. Chips - gone!
I was ready to call it a day and head off to the bus station, when I thought "What the hell, I'll check Argos. It's only over the road". How daft I must've looked when the Argos stock checker showed "7 available"! 8o I noted the number and hurried to the counter. As I went, a mother and two children went past, the mother carrying a bag with "Wii Fit" showing through the semi-transparent carrier... and then a young couple, also sporting an Argos bag with "Wii Fit" faintly showing through it. I thought "By the time I get from the catalogues to the counter, they'll have gone!". Luckily, this wasn't the case, and I was back home within 30 minutes sync-ing it to my Wii.

I gotta say, it's outstandingly simple, and it's as challenging as you make it! I've done 30 minutes of "exercise" today, including jogging, yoga, skiing, and some other balance games, and I was sweating more than Michael Jackson in Toys-r-us. Of course, this may have had something to do with it being scorching hot in my room cos I get the afternoon sun, or the fact that I can't open a window else the house'll be filled with wasps, or that I was wearing dark (and rather heavy) clothing at the time.

I couldn't do any of the muscular stuff yet though. I simply don't have the room for now! I have boxes and bags of most of my stuff all organised and yet scattered around my bedroom, ready to be put in the car come Saturday morning. When I move into the flat though, I'll try them out!!

What struck me as strange is that when the woman behind the counter handed me the bag, it nearly dropped to the floor like a ton of bricks. This thing is HEAVY! And, check this out...

...it's HUGE too! I thought it'd be just as big as a regular set of bathroom scales, but nope! The only way you could make it seem smaller is if you sat a 16" pizza on the top! Then again, why would you HAVE a 16" pizza if you're meant to be losing weight? Isn't what why you bought the "game"? ;)

Anyway, I haven't been following my diet for the last couple of months (as you've probably noticed on the site... no diet updates). However, they will start up again as I chart my progress on Wii Fit. Get this, I'm only a 25.47 BMI, that's only past the borderline to overweight. Not bad considering how long I've been off the diet. That'll soon fall, I hope.

* If you did actually try to guess, you need to get out more!

I've got a flat!

zxon — Sat, 03 May 2008 22:20:05 GMT

I put a deposit down on a flat today in Chapel-en-le-frith. I had four homes lined up for viewing today. That was difficult, getting them all setup for the one day I was coming down to view them. Still, it all went well.

The first flat we saw was in Heaton Chapel. It had nice high ceilings, a huge kitchen, nicely fitted bathroom and a massive bedroom. It was a big flat! Great... except it was the most expensive one of the lot! To top it off, although it was right near the main road leading towards work and the train station was a stone's throw away, GETTING to work would've been a nightmare. The earliest train would be approaching work at 09:05, so I'm late before I even arrive! Also, the buses go down one of the longest roads in the country, and I'd have to get up probably at the crack of dawn to get in on time. Useless! :\

Next stop: Buxton, where there were two flats to check out. The first one was one I was especially looking forward to, as the photos of the place on the internet were great! Upon entering the flat, it was a different matter. Sure, there were marble-esque counter tops in the kitchen, which came complete with fridge/freezer and dish washer, but the kitchen was a bit small for a flat nearing £600 pm for rent. The living room was ok, and the bedroom was quite big. The bathroom was certainly bright, but there was no shower. Well, there was, but I'd have to hold it myself. To top it off there was no double-glazing and despite it being a nice flat, I'd have to knock it down to £500pm rent to make it worthwhile... and I could tell they weren't going to barter that well to be honest. I couldn't get information on buses but I do know it was near the train station, and it would've cost me nearly £4 a day to get from Buxton to work.

The second flat in Buxton, the third one overall, doesn't even warrant a mention. It was a pain to get to as there were loads of steps OUTSIDE as well as INSIDE the building (and we're talking very deep steps). When you enter the flat you're greeted with dark orange woodchip wallpaper, a grungy bathroom, a derelict kitchen, and bamboo furniture in the living room. It... was... HORRID! :sick: The view was nice though.

We had a nice little drive from Buxton to Chapel-en-le-frith for the very last viewing. This drive gave me time to realise how busy it was on the road leading out of Heaton Chapel. It certainly would've been a nightmare to get to work from there. Still, with ten minutes to spare, we got to the final flat. The building certainly looked nice, the flat was a nice size with lovely furnishings, the bathroom was perfect, and the bedroom a decent size. It wasn't the cheapest flat there, but it was certainly a good price considering what was on offer. There was even a Co-op supermarket no more than 2 minutes walk away, so that'll be handy for any shopping. As well as that, there were aerial fittings in both the living room and the bedroom, and the flat came with it's own TV... which meant one TV would have to go in my room. Shame :P

We're aiming to get me in there by next Saturday, which means a couple of last nights out with friends next week, as well as plenty more packing!

Crack open the champagne lads, Wii did it!

zxon — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:13:28 GMT

That's it! All the characters unlocked in Mario Kart Wii! The only thing I've been doing these days is looking for a new home and playing Mario Kart... hence completing it so quickly! Don't believe me?

Anyway, next stop: Online! Or at least it would be if our internet connection would remain stable! The modem resets itself when there's more than normal load on the connection (e.g. streaming videos, FTPing files, downloading torrents, playing online games etc) so I can't stay online long enough to do more than one race at a time. It's pathetic!

I've got a new job!!

zxon — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:24:47 GMT

Yes indeed peeps, I've been offered the job that I applied for. It's at Digital Umbrella, and get this... it's a Web Developer job as well! Finally, my knowledge and my degree is going to be put to use!! No more lounging around the house all day and scraping pennies, and certainly no more bloody call centres!! I'm on the up and up! :)

I need to sort out so much though. I need to find accommodation for starters, work out my finances, sort out an internet connection at the house and move my sites to a new web host (I won't be hosting them personally any more).

Ooh 'eck! :|

Another job interview

zxon — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:21:01 GMT

In my quest to find myself a new job, I've got myself another interview to go to this morning. It's about 2 1/2 hours drive away so that's going to be fun huh? I'm all ready to go and am nervous as hell! This is the second job interview I've gotta go for since I left Garlands, if I remember correctly. Wish me luck!

Here Wii Go!

zxon — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:18:45 GMT

I recently thought that since I'm going to have to send off my Guitar Hero III disc to get it replaced, I won't be able to play it for a few weeks. That, coupled with the fact that a game I really wanted just came out, I thought maybe another title was in order.

That's right... Mario Kart Wii! It came out this time last week and it really is a lot of fun! I'm going round to a friend's tonight, taking my Wii with me, so I think I'll take this along too (Heck, there's gonna be four of us!).