Archive for December of 2004
Announcing...
December 27, 2004And the winners are...
December 27, 2004
The inaugural You Don't Know Jack* award goes to everyone who blocked up the M25-A2 roundabout today by not understanding that, if all of you decide to drive onto the roundabout - even though you can see there's currently no way to leave - because otherwise the people already on it will be able to get ahead of you, then no-one, including yourself, can exit or enter it. Hopefully you're still stuck there and missed the ferry or whatever you were heading for.
Morans.
* Named after the "I'm Alright Jack" effect, which was explained to me thus: imagine you're seated at a concert and you stand up to get a better view. This will work untill everyone else stands up and your view becomes as bad as before but now you have to keep standing. Much of human stupidity is based on a lack of understanding of this.
Morans.
* Named after the "I'm Alright Jack" effect, which was explained to me thus: imagine you're seated at a concert and you stand up to get a better view. This will work untill everyone else stands up and your view becomes as bad as before but now you have to keep standing. Much of human stupidity is based on a lack of understanding of this.
TSM/Muse at Earl's Court
December 21, 2004
Easily in the top three gigs I've been to. Pics (taken on the phonecam, so of extreme crappiness) are here and thoughts after the jump.
Logitech are idiots
December 20, 2004
I got a Logitech Internet Navigator keyboard recently. As you may be aware, most modern keyboards come with twelve “function keys” across the top which can be “re-programmed” by whatever application you're using to perform different, but appropriate functions.
Logitech has, at least for the Internet Navigator keyboard, decreed that this is a bad idea™ and has replaced them with a set of program independent functions. Thus, pressing F9 opens up the “My Computer” window whilst F2 performs a reply email command. So far, so pointless I hear you mutter.
But wait, it gets better. You can switch this useless feature off by pressing the F-Lock key but, unless your keyboard is wireless and thus battery-powered, it resets to the default setting when powered off and the default setting is “replace the functions keys with the non-functions”. Logitech's “workaround” is to get you to re-program the F-Lock settings to set them all to “Transparent Pass Through” which allegedly passes through the function key you pressed to the program so it can do the function it was intended to do. Except it doesn't.
I get the feeling marketing thought this moronic idea up.
Logitech has, at least for the Internet Navigator keyboard, decreed that this is a bad idea™ and has replaced them with a set of program independent functions. Thus, pressing F9 opens up the “My Computer” window whilst F2 performs a reply email command. So far, so pointless I hear you mutter.
But wait, it gets better. You can switch this useless feature off by pressing the F-Lock key but, unless your keyboard is wireless and thus battery-powered, it resets to the default setting when powered off and the default setting is “replace the functions keys with the non-functions”. Logitech's “workaround” is to get you to re-program the F-Lock settings to set them all to “Transparent Pass Through” which allegedly passes through the function key you pressed to the program so it can do the function it was intended to do. Except it doesn't.
I get the feeling marketing thought this moronic idea up.
Bowling a maiden over
December 19, 2004
If there's one thing that both disgusts and amuses me about religion, it's the extent to which it relies on lies and misunderstanding to shore itself up. A case in point.
Blade: Trinity mini-review
December 18, 2004
The iPod got too much screentime - its performance was plasticy and flat. Snipes has Blade down to a T after three films. Hannibal King added some delightful humour and Jessica Biehl's naked shower scene is, in my humble opinion, absolutely integral to the plot. A couple of minor plot holes... ok... a couple you could drive a truck through, but maybe I'm just picky.
One out of two ain't bad...
December 17, 2004
Thursday night: The Secret Machines and Interpol at the Carling Academy in Birmingham. I booked a room at a nearby Travelodge, printed out directions for home to the hotel, the hotel to the gig, the gig to the hotel and the hotel to home from Mapquest. The journey time was only an hour, so I gave it four. What could go wrong...