Just One Way To Go

Popping the Question

2008-12-05T17:12:07Z

I got engaged the other day.
Which was nice.

Blenheim Triathlon

2008-06-08T07:20:29Z

So my first triathlon yesterday. A beautiful day in a beautiful place. Total time 1.40.51, which I am pretty chuffed with.

Details for 750m Swim, 20km Bike and 5km Run:

Swim Elapsed 00:19:46
Swim Pos 1239
T1 Elapsed 00:05:01
T1 Pos 609
Bike Elapsed 00:43:44
Bike Pos 599
T2 Elapsed 00:01:44
T2 Pos 302
Run Elapsed 00:30:38
Run Pos 898
Pos 773
Total Time 01:40:51
Category M35-39
Cat Chip Pos 114

So the swim was rubbish but I was kinda expecting that. My bike felt good but I could have done better. Same with the run.
Not really knowing how I was going to feel I held back a bit. Probably too much. When it came to the last 400m or so I was running like the clappers. I overtook 4 people in the last 100m. If I could do that I could have done more earlier.

Still it was big grins all round at the end.

NYTimes on Gary Gygax

2008-03-17T15:45:16Z

The New York Times did a tribute to Gary Gygax. Like everybody else. I didn't read it. I could not care less what other people think about the man, my own thoughts are enough for me there.

It did contain this though:

Which is several kinds of awesome.

Playing in Traffic

2007-08-15T23:33:37Z

In some abominal cross between transformers, street luge and medieval armour, some bloke has strapped too many wheels to himself, lain face down on the road and flung himself down a swiss mountain pass.

http://www.compare-network-monitoring-tools.com/letsrace.html

I want to know what the pillion passenger on the motorbike said when he overtakes them at speed.

Last night I dreamt of snow capped peaks...

2007-06-12T17:58:22Z

...caressed into softned angles by scirocco winds cutting across azure skys.

So this morning I decided to climb Mont Blanc.
Again.

Who wants to come?
I am looking at you Gates and Prior.

Corporate Bollocks

2007-04-28T10:33:00Z

I have just stumbled over this on You Tube:

I had assumed it to be some kinda weak joke to begin with. I comedy sketch that was milking the vibe of the "It's got a good beat" dancing dad from The Mary Whithouse Experience.

Unfortunately, not. It would appear this is a real promo for a real company. Even giving them the benfit of the doubt and assuming it to be a self-mocking lighthearted joke, it is still the most embarassing piece of corporate guff I have ever seen in my life.

If I ever end up working for a company that does this sort of thing. Hold a gun to my head until I resign.

Home Safe

2007-03-04T14:49:43Z

For the few that may care, it was not me that got kidnapped in Ethiopia.

Detailed and hopefully entertaining journal updates will follow in an episodic format over the coming weeks. Once I have photos to show (old school film for me you see).

Now though, I will get my self scrubbed clean from this ingrained filth I have accumulated over the last weeks on the road and have a well deserved kip.

Mathematical Genius

2006-12-08T12:46:58Z

Some guy has made the awesome task of teaching school children to divide by zero easy by inventing the number "nullity".
A task even Newton and Pythagoras could not accomplish according to the BBC.

Unfortunately, the stinging criticism this laughable trainwreck of journalism managed to attract is resulting in it being polished into something less embarrassing but, the web being what it is, the original is preserved for eternity by the esteemed Ben Goldacre here.

Even better is the fact that the guy is now putting himself up for an online Q&A next Tuesday. gedhrel should get out his best gnashing dentures and go for the guy's gonads.

Gadget-tastic

2006-09-26T18:49:38Z

So you have seen those videos of andygates cycling to work with a camera strapped to his head.

This guy goes one better. He has taken a radio controlled plane and attached a camera to it.
Woopy-do I hear you cry but, the guy is also transmitting the view from the camera back to his goggles in real time so he can look where he is going from a pilots eye view.
Okay, modertately sophisticated but, he has also attached the camera to some servos that control its movement so he can look around some while flying.
The fact that the servos are then controlled by a head mounted gyroscope that means he need only glance left to take a view to port etc. is the thing that makes it awesome.

Anyone fancy a homebuild project?

justoneway @ 2006-09-25T18:48:00

2006-09-25T17:52:35Z

andygates posted recently of things SteamPunkish and reminded me of something I had intended to share, but never did, because I got distracted before I managed to get around to it.
That wonderful thing was The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello.

The Spirit of Edward R. Murrow Lives on

2006-09-15T13:15:48Z

I have just watched a couple of Keith Olbermans special comment pieces:

They reminded me what comment journalism looks like and made me wonder when I last saw anything this good.

We might like to think that UK news is better than the sterilised pap that the americans churn out, but this just made me think that our own news shows demonstrate the same signs of castration that are all too obvious accross the pond.

A breath of fresh air. (On MSNBC of all places. Whoever would have thunk it?)

Ray Guns!

2006-08-10T12:59:49Z

Now available to all intrepid adventures who find themselves in positions of peril vis a vis invading alien hordes intent on doing the dispicable to our womenfolk.
Dr. Grordborts Infallible Aether Ocillators is now stocking the following items.

Manmelter 3600ZX - Sub-Atomic Disintegrator Pistol
Dr. Grordbort does it again. "Ready to Use" the ManMelter 3600 ZX comes prepped to vaporise all and sundry down to a molecular level. Featuring many of the latest ameliorations in Raygun Technology, it comes with Phlogiston cannisters, cleaning apparatus and wingdings, so that you may commence atomising Moon Soldiers or neighbourhood dogs at your earliest convenience.

Be a Better Man with a Manmelter. Your wife may come back to you!*

(some assembly required)
*not covered under warranty

FMOM Industries - Wave Disrupter Gun
Are you genetically pre-disposed to not wanting to blow your face to bits? Then, by crikey, this may not be the device for you - Try a kite!

But, if you're a man, then send large money orders forthwith and procure yourself FMOM's latest and greatest. Built from the exacting plans of the famed Dr. Grordbort, and reinforced with purest Tremontium, this little tiger will turn your foes to a slurry!

Goliathon 83 - Infinity Beam Projector
The advantage with this trusty wave discharger is heft. In the unlikely (but statistically probable) event of its malfunction, it doubles as a wonderful cudgel. Brigands and ne'er do wells will cringe when the Goliathon is brandished at them. Of course, its infra-wave undulations will dissolve 7/9ths of an African Elephant in 10 earth seconds, a handy implement to wield on all occasions.

On lower settings a quick zap will cook a Dodo egg to perfection. Order right this moment or consider one's self a snotty cur.

Our Holiday Homework

2006-08-02T21:16:13Z

Right boys, we have a week of nothing better to do than drink and be silly.
Our mission, should we descide to accept it, is to be able to pull this off to perfection by the end of the week:

OK GO - One million ways to be cruel

The girls will not be able to hold themselves back after a performance like that.

I can keep this secret no longer

2006-06-29T11:09:20Z

... skean has given the game away.
I have had my arm twisted into releasing the footage that has remained forgotton for so long.
Captured in the dark days when sciolist used to live in the dungeon.
Is this what he and spike150 used to get up to behind that closed door?

The secret footage.

Sorry guys.

Keeping the dial turned up.

2006-04-18T11:47:57Z

Beer and chilli at the Knights Templar with the usual suspects. A warm spring night encoraged me to prolong the ride home with some diversions to breathe the air and feel the breeze on my face.

Surfing in Woolacombe. The waves were small and the sky overcast. The company was (as ever) good. Tasty pasties, plenty of time in the gentle waves, hot chocolate in The Red Barn. Home in time for Dr. Who.
Went to see Inside Man with Jimbo. The film is entertaining enough. Much more mainstream and accessible than Spike Lee's movies usually are. Filled with vingettes outlining the issues of race and prejudice you would expect. The plot has some whopping holes in it but in a completely forgivable way, it is not taking itself seriously enough for them to matter.
Home after midnight in no mood to sleep was still up at nearly three am watching Veronica Mars.

Woken Sunday morning by the sun streaming into my bedroom. This presaged good weather so I was out of bed to phone the man about the pottential for throwing myself out of a perfectly good aeroplane at 8.30. The man says "yes" and I am off out the door for a speedy drive to the airfield (NMA's 125 and empty roads encouraging rather too much breaking of the speed limit.)

A brief training session and a sausage sandwich does not seem to be enough to fill the next cople of hours. It passed fast. Suddenly I am strapped tight to a big man called Dave packed in an aeroplane with 12 other jumpers watching the ground fall away. That was one of my few butterfly moments, as the ground gets to the point where you realise you are up high but before it gets map like and abstract, when the feeling cleared. Up toward the broken cloud cover and a guy hops out at 4000'. No worries. A couple of circles later we are well and truly above the clouds and the moment is coming. There are some more butterflies then. The formation teams bail out leaving us and 1 other to go. Dave is butt fucking me along the bench toward the doorway as the last jumper waves at me and slips out of the door. By the time I am sat on the door ledge, feet dangling over 12,500' of nothing he is a small dot almost at the cloud line. I glance around to see the earth's curve, look up and push out. A slow roll over, looking up at the plane getting rapidly smaller as it cuts across a crystal clear blue sky and then roll back to see those clouds coming up really fast. The goggles get washed so hard I wish I had wipers. I have to remember to breathe. That last gulp of air was 20 seconds ago and it is hard to get a proper lungfull at 130mph. Another gulp and I settle into a sufficiently calm state to enjoy the rest properly. 30 more seconds of exhillarating speed, some glances about to see clouds rushing by. We burst from a cloud and the ground is suddenly big and near, the canopy opens and everything goes quiet. I realise the ground is not that near after all, (we dumped at 5000') and we have plently of time to pull a few corkscrew spins and steer around the airfield a bit. The canopy ride was a serene contrast to the seconds of sensory overload that preceeded it. We came in with a stately 3 step landing right on the spot. The buzz takes a couple of hours to quell enough to drive, and even then I am hardly sensible on the way home.

I spent the evening with Richard, drinking a particually good bottle of St. Emillion and the first to be opened in Richard's crate of Cahors. That bottle was very good now and still has some growth in it. In a couple of years it will be magnificent.

All in all a few of days of living life in the way it should be lived. Friends, flavours and experiences both new and familiar. What more to life is there?

Oh! Please God George. Stop...

2006-03-22T16:26:35Z

...pissing over my childhood.

Because 20 Years of Luke shooting Wamp Rats in the desert will not make for good TV. I can see the future holding yet another re-release of Episode IV where his dialogue is updated to say something like "If there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from, discounting all the exciting world shattering adventures I've been having these past four or five years that I will never mention again."

Red hot rusty spoons shoved in his orrifices would not be punishment enough.

justoneway @ 2006-02-20T18:59:00

2006-02-20T19:05:08Z

I had a long weekend this weekend. I have been working quite hard recently. All leading up to a project milestone that we reached on Thursday lunchtime. My boss decided to let me work from home Friday morning and have the rest of the day off.
So I got a lot of spare time this weekend. I mostly spent it doing nothing productive and catching up on lots of things that are usually the first to go when important stuff needs doing.

The Wire

I watched the last 6 episodes of season 3, pretty much back to back. I am now convinced that this is one of the best TV shows I have ever watched. It has the political sophistication of the West Wing without the sentimental schmaltz. It has the convincing examination of criminals and criminality of the Sopranos. It has the detailed depiction of police work of something like Homicide. All that, brilliant acting, and it still manages to pull twists out of the bag that are shocking and yet utterly believable. I cannot put enough vigour into my recommendation. Get downloading.

Shadow of the Colossus

Bought on Saturday morning. 6 down 10 to go. I must ration myself though. It is a game to savour and I seem to be knocking through it quite quickly. This is probably down to having watched the first 5 colossi defeated, or participated in their defeat myself, when I played an import last November. I do love the wandering about the wilderness and should spend some more time doing it, rather than just spurring Agro to the next foe.
Like Ico, it is the aesthetic that is a major part of the experience (not to suggest that the game is at all weak). The echoing ruins, the contrasts between murky shadows and hazy sunlight, the silence broken only by the odd bird cry unless you call out for your horse to hear him neigh in response before galloping your way. All these isolating details contrast with the sheer enormity of the colossi themselves, the ground moving thunder of their footsteps and their agitated to frantic shaking attepts to dislodge you as you clamber through their hides and weaken them with pinprick blows to their vitals.
And most interesting of all is the nagging feeling that what you are doing in the pursuit of your quest is very, very wrong.

I did some other stuff too, but my enthusiasm for diarising seems to have been spent.
So that's all folks.
Boring media geekery for the win!

justoneway @ 2005-11-21T14:13:00

2005-11-21T14:45:16Z

A weekend filled with too much fun and not enough sleep.

Friday night started down at the Pitcher and Piano where I was meeting Wiebka, a friend who was staying over night on her way to London. The whole experience reminded me exactly what I hate about the centre of Bristol on a Friday night. To whit: Queueing for ages at bars crowded with annoying twats and having to tip toe between the piles of vomit (frozen hard or still steaming depending on freshness) on the way out. We bailed on it after a couple of hours and went and sat in comfy leather armchairs in the Hillgrove instead, followed by staying up yakking until the small hours.

Wiebka was on an early train so I had to get up, while it was still dark, and navigate through unbelievably thick fog to take her to the station. The temperature on my dashboard was reading -5C. How can it be foggy and that cold at the same time?

Saturday was spent meeting a bunch of internet friends in RSVP in Bath for gaming and drinking. I got to have a substantial play with Shadow of the Collosus which is everything I expected it to be. I am looking forward to its european release even more now. I played a few games of Buzz! which has these hand held light up buttons that really add to the fun, even if my skills at recognising the songs is lacking. I sang a duet of Tainted Love to Singstar on the big screen and somehow managed a reasonable score for a performance that probably sounded like a truckful of pigs being prepped for the abatoir. It is an ace game for making a drunken tit of yourself to. I don't think it surpasses the eyetoy's physiscal comedy though, on the basis that those spectating still have to listen to the dying pigs.

I only got a little sleep, after staggering into the YMCA in the small hours, due to the thunderous snoring of some guy in the dorm. Loudest snoring ever. Even after being woken up by a few people he would just spark out and start shaking the walls again moments later.

Sunday was spent staggering home, to recover while watching the latest episode of lost. Then some DIY with the assistance of crawlingkhaos followed by going to see The Constant Gardener with him and Dr. Bob. The film is very good indeed and I would recommend it. Very convincing performances, plot and politics. All told with mixed up flashbacks in a way that allows you to grow to understand the characters current actions in a very different way as the movie progresses. It is also beautifully shot with a fantastic contrast between the rich earth textures of Africa against the smooth greys of London's concrete and stone. The final credits run over film projected onto the cracked plaster of some shanty town wall which reminded me of my African cinema experiences (although those were generally accompanied by a mono soundtrack from a speaker that had been out in the rain to long, rather than Vue's nice surround sound). Cracking stuff.

What is wrong?

2005-09-12T10:19:52Z

The ever reliable Ben Goldacre's Bad Science article in last weeks Guardian was a corker. Rather than the usual pillorying of the quack of the week, this one is a serious examination and explanation of the systemic problem that lies at the heart of science journalism in the everyday media.

The main point being that there are no scientists doing it. Everyday science journalism is driven by an agenda that encourages a poor understanding and allows science to be presented in parody. The journalists would rather blame the scientists for poor presentation, than admit to the fact their system might be the problem. A system in which unpublished research, filtered through a PR department full of humanities graduates, into a soundbite press release, which is misinterpreted into an agenda fulfilling scare story, which is sub-edited by somone who does not understand it into something "the layman" will be able to understand and which is then commented on by a pundit who would never dream of reading the research were it ever actually to be published in a proper journal, in a way which underlines their view that scientists are all wacky boffins who are out to kill god.

Is there any wonder the stuff is usually utter tosh?

New Orleans before and after satellite images

2005-09-06T08:20:48Z

Google have set up a site using their maps technology to allow for easy comparison of the city before and after the flood.

The site allows you to flick from the flood view to the usual satellite view with the buttons in the top right corner.

Scary things to note are the inter-state off ramps and the stadium and running track near the middle.

Outstanding TV Journalism

2005-08-25T08:55:17Z

In a particually wonderful slot on Channel 4 news last night there was a guy telling us all about Internet Telephony.
The whole piece was presented in front of a great big screen with "How it works" written accross the top and a diagram underneath. The diagram was awesome. There was a computer on the left. There was a computer on the right. There was a wire between them. There was the word "Internet" superimposed over the top of the wire. That was it.

We should set up one of these Internet Telephony companies and make squazillions of pounds. It looks dead easy.

Commentary on the bible in Lego

2005-08-20T18:25:03Z

Too cool for words:

http://www.thebricktestament.com/

I particually liked some of the sections on The Law.

Neal Stephenson on Star Wars

2005-08-12T10:48:46Z

I missed this article on Star Wars by Neal Stephenson when it was first published.

I am really glad I found it though.

justoneway @ 2005-07-18T15:31:00

2005-07-18T14:55:34Z

According to the BBC the nation is divided over the proposed new hate laws. Not very suprising that, but this unsurprising assessment is not what bothered me about the story. What bothered me was when I read the questions they asked and then started eye rolling lots.

Question one asks you to choose between "supporting laws to prevent abuses or inciting hatred on faith grounds" or "banning critisism of those with different religious beliefs is an unjustified curb on free speech". Funnily enough there was no answer that said both of the above and they are not mutually exclusive. Basically the question is trying to assertain something other than its direct content. If they want to know which way you would swing when it came to a compromise why don't they just ask. It would be a bit more honest and would actually result in the respondents thinking about the answer. The question is also first answer biased. If you agree with both statements you are more likely to plump for the first one presented. Thus giving a marginal lift to the "supporters" of the law in the case.

Question 2: "UK laws should respect and be influenced by UK religious values" Yes, No or Don't Know. Another cardinal sin of packaging. I am given the choice of not respecting religious values or having laws influenced by religions. I know exactly what my answer would be. It would be "Fuck of with both your answers and ask me two seperate questions you idiots."

Questions 3 and 4 are do you approve of homosexuals/women in high religions office. Yes or No. With no option to say I couldn't give two hoots since sex and gender are irrelevent to me when thinking about the subject. But again the question biases its result set by forcing you to pick a side. This may result in respondants allowing their view to be mis-represented because they do not want to be percieved as someone who actively supports or condemns.

Poor show BBC. 3/10. Must try much harder.

Kicking the Habit

2005-06-27T16:19:17Z

I am reminded by sciolist's latest post of one of the reasons I have taken the move of cancelling my online game subscriptions. These things are too much of a non-productive time sink and there are ladies wandering about in skimpy summer clothes. The view from my desk of said ladies is just not up to much, particularly when the blinds are drawn to ensure I can see whatever beastie is luking in the dark of my monitor. So cancellations all round.

I am now looking forward to gaming that can be dropped at the hitting of a quicksave key so that I can do whatever better thing is calling on my time. I am looking forward to not having to endure the moans of either real or online people who want me to do something when the other side is making demands on me.

Real Life Wins! It was no contest really.

I will not miss WoW. It is a thin and insubstantial game anyway. The easiest way to illustrate that is to point out that it will not miss me. The world will stay the same and everything will be as it ever was.

Eve on the other hand I will miss and judging by the continued attempts people make to drag me back in it will miss me too. The trouble is, the game is only really rewarding if you are prepared to invest time in the social aspects of it as much as the actual gameplay itself. (And if you do that there is nothing to compare against it for depth.) I do not have the time to keep this up anymore so it has to go. Still I have left my mark there. The alliance will remember me. The things we have done are woven into the games history. And when it gets dark again in the evenings I can always go back. We shall have to see if the interest it has provoked in me for 2 years will just vanish or if I relapse into the addiction come winter.