“Dolores McNamara from Garryowen, County Limerick, scooped £77m (112m euros) in the National Lottery Euromillions draw.”

BBC NEWS | UK | Irish lottery winner scoops £77m

Regarding this, apparently some people were not so appreciative:

“The 646 complaints said posters for The L Word, which showed semi-naked women in body oil, were offensive, degrading and unsuitable to be seen by children.

It is the most complaints for a single advert the ASA has received this year.

But the watchdog said the images were not sexually explicit and accurately reflected the show's content.”

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Outcry over lesbian TV show ads

“Miami attorney Jack Thompson claims cheat codes make EA's life sim a pedophile's paradise by showing genitalia; calls for ban on T-rated game.”

Sims 2 content "worse than Hot Coffee" - PC News at GameSpot

“Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) announced today that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has changed the rating of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on all platforms from "Mature 17 " (M) to "Adults Only 18 " (AO) because of the so-called "hot coffee mod," an unauthorized third party modification that alters the retail version of the game. Take-Two cooperated fully with the ESRB's investigation.”

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Announces Conclusion of ESRB Investigation

One of the cool things my new camera can do is “stitch” pictures together into a panorama. First up, when you're taking the pictures it shows the previous picture you took so you can line-up the next one. Then, when you've transferred the pictures across to the PC there's a program that'll adjust the pictures so their edges line up, like thus:

My old digital camera broke (whatever gunk by brother got on it when I lent it to him a while back finally killed the slidey screen that covered the lens/acted as the on switch) so I splashed out on a new one. Here's one of the first pics I've taken with it.

Since I'm no longer playing WoW, thought I'd change the header image. The original is here.

Well... colour me surprised: after re-writing the first book four times, she's done it again.

“Too much of the book was either a repeat of what we have seen before, or bogged down by Rowling's attempts to manoeuvre plot lines and characters into position.”

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Arts | Harry Potter review blog

Warren Ellis has been posting pics from ComiCon, or the Nerd Prom as he calls it.

Testing their morality to the limit, GameSpot (or G-Spot perhaps) tests out the “Hot Coffee” mod for GTA:SA on the PS2.

“The next screen proved that the PlayStation 2 edition of the game does indeed include a sexually graphic minigame, which plays almost exactly the same as the Hot Coffee mod. It begins inside a bedroom with Denise, wearing only a pink thong and a cutoff T-shirt bearing the Rockstar logo, performing simulated fellatio on CJ, who is fully clothed in jeans and a "wife beater"-style tank top.”

Confirmed: Sex minigame in PS2 San Andreas - PlayStation 2 News at GameSpot

The problem with Formula 1 isn't really the qualifying format, but maybe they'll open up other aspects of the sport for supporters to vote on.

“The Formula One teams have come up with ideas for possible 2006 qualifying formats. We would like your feedback on two particular suggestions. Check out the key points of each below, then vote for your preferred option at the bottom of the page.”

The Official Formula 1 Website

Tickets for the world premier of Serenity - the movie spun off from the cancelled Fox series Firefly - at the Edinburgh International Film Festival went on sale today. The EIFF's site was immediately overloaded.

“EIFF have confirmed the website/phone issues have been caused by Serenity... By the way.”

WHEDONesque : Comments on 7229 : Edinburgh International Film Festival Serenity premiere

It was wierd enough when it was just that I'd lived in New York when they destroyed the World Trade Center and I'm now living in London when someone has a go at blowing up the Tube; but now I find the latest lunatics come from the city where I grew up...

“Firefox 1.0.5 is a security update that is part of our ongoing program to provide a safe Internet experience for our customers. We recommend that all users upgrade to this latest version.

Here's what's new in Firefox 1.0.5:

* Several security fixes.
* Improvements to stability.”

Mozilla Firefox 1.0.5 Release Notes

...oh yeah!

“Pets will now enter passive/follow mode when their masters mount.”

World of Warcraft Community Site -> Patch Notes

I also took a few photos of the sunset yesterday. I think they came out quite well, though the moon one didn't really work.

Some photos I took of the animals, intentional or otherwise, that were around us at a BBQ at my parents' place yesterday.

So far, no-one I know has lost anyone in today's bomb attacks in London. Sadly though, 40 people I have no connection with have died so far and some 700 have been injured in what appears to be Al-Qaeda's first successful attack on British soil (the laughably and redundantly named “The Secret Organization Group of Al-Qa'ida of Jihad Organization in Europe” have claimed responsibility, though there are dissenters to this, not least those who don't think they would kill so few people).

The entire world has apparently condemned the bombings, including Hamas. Which is nice.

MeFi thread here. 3 buses and 3 underground trains hit - 20 people dead so far.

An email from MSN Music:

Note to all MSN Music users

From August 1st 2005 we are changing the price of our single music download tracks from 69p each to 79p.

Our album prices are staying the same - still fantastic value at £6.99!

This is, presumably, because that's the price Apple's iTunes gouges people at.

But why does he talk in a scottish accent?

MechaJon

(found at Scam City version 8.0 » MechaJon!!!)

Heard this on XFM last night. A tight little tune with Joy Division-esque vocals. You'll probably need the new Quicktime to view it though.

Editors: Blood