Xbox 360 crashing?

There is a buzz in the scene saying that multiple, repeatable crashes are occuring on some newly shipped Xbox 360 units, various different games, various different errors (mostly faulty hard disks or rapid overheating causing the unit to shut down), see screen shots and rants here...not good news for Microsoft! Their tech support have been quoted in the forums as saying that the problems are fairly common and, as such, punters (in the US at least) with faulty units are facing a wait of between 6-8 *weeks* for a replacement! There are going to be some very dissapointed boys and girls on Christmas day... :(

Think I'll wait until they have the problems ironed out before dipping into my sky rocket....price might come down a bit too.... ;)

Super Foggy...

Super Foggy
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

...today, and seriously cold (perhaps the short sleeved shirt wasn't the best idea after all), the weathermen are forecasting arctic conditions for Friday (freezing temperatures, snow, ice, gale force winds etc.), just gotta hope the double glazing goes in okay tomorrow...if so I'll be joining the Americans with their observation of "Thanksgiving" I think...! ;)

Double Glazing...

...well, one of the boys at Dorking Windows is off sick today, so, rather than have a plastic bag to cover a large hole in my wall (if all hadn't gone well) we have agreed to change the installation day to Thursday this week...fingers crossed that the forecast snow doesn't pay a serious visit... :(

Chicago the musical

Yesterday was a loooong (but really fun day), Flyingpops was treating her mum to the aforementioned musical by way of a belated birthday gift, we headed up from Redhill to London Bridge via Network rail (on an extremely old train, must have been one of the first generation electric door ones, and it was looking more decrepit than even the most aged of the slam door variety) -

- we wandered around Borough Market (which was *far* too busy to actually shop in at that time of day (best to get there early I think!) the queues for some of the "fast" food type stalls were 40 people deep -

- so after taking in the sights and sounds and aromas, we began our walk along the south bank of the River Thames past "Shakespeare's Globe" -

- towards the "Millennium Bridge" -

- and then across it looking towards St Paul's Cathedral, it couldn't have been a better day to take in the river, just wonderful, so clear and bright, perfect "London Eye" weather actually... -

- We stopped for lunch at a little place called "The Centre Page", which was almost in the shadow of the dome of the catherdral (it was situated in "Knightrider Street" if you can believe that!)...I had a Steak and Ale pie, which was excellent, even though the first time they brought the dishes out it seemed to have been left abandoned in their dumb waiter and sent back down to the kitchen, to much confusion among the staff. Oh and Flyingpops's mum asked the foreign waitress if she might have some "Salad" cream to have with her Fish, chips and salad and was brought out a pot of "Sour" cream...but none of this ruined the experience...

- so, full from lunch we walked around St Pauls -

- and hopped onto the tube (which was nice and quiet for a change!) to Charing Cross to catch the show (which was in the Adelphi on the Strand) -

- Flyingpops had managed to get some bargain priced seats (right in the middle and right near the front of the Dress Circle) which afforded an absolutely stunning view of the stage, however, by the interval the restricted leg room was making enjoying the show almost impossible for me, so I said that I was going to have to find somewhere else to sit. As I was looking around (the back three rows looked totally empty and rather tempting) Flyingpops and her mum were having a discussion about the possible identity of a person that had slipped quietly into the audience from the exit during the performance and whether or not that person looked like "Darius" a fairly well known pop-type singer who emerged into the mainstream after failing to win one of these "Pop Idol" type shows a year or two ago. Interestingly he was supposed to be taking one of the lead roles in this show fairly soon, but neither of them were sure...so anyway, the interval dragged on and I hobbled up to the top of the dress circle to hover and wait to pounce on the best free seat I could when the lights went down...the one I settled on (right at the front on the left hand side) even had a free seat next to it, bonus! I politely enquired of the two young ladies sat deeper along the row if the seat was free, and one of them replied "Well, Darius were sitting there during t' first 'alf but e 'int 'ere now". I said "Right, well I don't suppose he paid for his ticket anyway", smiled and sat down..."Oh, there goes me chance of an autygraf then" she chuckled...but he didn't come back to reclaim his seat...after the show (which was actually rather enjoyable), we hopped on the tube to Leicester Square and walked up Regents Street to check out the Christmas lights (mostly super blurry blue LEDs, but it looked quite effective as they merged into one in the distance) -

- we peered up Oxford Street too, which was, if anything even more impressive, but by then the fatigue was starting to set in and the crowds were starting to get annoying, so we caught the tube from Oxford Circus over to London Victoria and happily collapsed onto a train within about 5 minutes of getting there...exhausted...

Having a rest today... ;)

Jack Frost

Frozen car
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

...has offically started his winter duties as of Tuesday this week, which was the first frost of the year (in Surrey at least)...black bin liners on the windscreen and plenty of WD40 squired into the locks in the evening (before he starts playing his little game) means for a much easier life in the morning...for some reason the locks on the Golf just freeze up every time, which is really annoying...need to get some de-icer on the weekend, I can do without all that scraping every morning... ;)

Really pleased we did the preparation in the garden before this cold weather hit now, despite the expert advice being to await the first frost before stripping the beds, it's not funny at all to be gardening in this weather (and I know that all too well)...brrr!

Been rather poorly...

...the last few days, so sorry for the lack of updates but I really haven't felt much up to getting out of bed, had my first solid food since Monday night on Wednesday evening and that was one third of a tin of baked beans that Flyingpops had left over from her dinner...my diet in the interim has been Imodium, Pepto-Bismol and boiled water with Dioralyte...bleugh... :(

Today has been much better although it is staggering how much my stomach has shrunk over these couple of days on a fluid diet (as advised by the medical professionals)...how little I can now actually consume is a joke...like half a tin of soup and I'm full...!

Anyway, sounds like the bug might well have crept over on the weekend with my folks visit to say hello...apparently it's been doing the rounds at my mum's school, lots of people falling ill, so even my "disease proofing" commute - throwing every germ present in the city at me - couldn't defend me from a bug from the country...

Some things aren't good about commuting so far...new diseases at each end....bah...

Still, the aches and sweats are on the way out...back into London to spread the alien bugs tomorrow... ;)

Can't help but feel super stressed about what I am about to face though...normally when I am out of the office for a day or two it takes me a week to recover from the backlog...

Wish me luck...

Hare Krishna News

Well, looks like my mysteriously active, but poorly executed photo has been posted on Hare Krishna News now...! Glad I wasn't rude about them in my posting (hehe)... ;)

Just kidding - anyone who starts a "business" offering the magical combination of free internet access and free curry is alright in my book... :)

It does make me wonder what the cash model is here though...I mean, (although this is a blatant generalisation) they obviously can't be short of a bob or two - I saw one chap last week in Wharfdale road, in his robes, happily loading his bongo drums into the back of a rather new looking Audi hatchback...and curry and broadband don't grow on trees...and when was the last time you saw a Krishna divotee asking for a donation?

I will have to investigate... ;)

Who's Connected

This app is just absolutely superb, really useful for diagnosing "missing" bandwidth on your broadband connection and free! The developer is working on additional modules to show how much bandwidth each app is taking up too, this will be extremely handy for tracking down nasty little apps mucking about on your machine... ;)

Tony's Organics

Omg! That hemp salad shop down the road really does sell dope! Check this out! Funny thing though, because today all those signs around the shop advertising the "medicinal cannabis consultancy" service have vanished...(and the shop was open and full of people at about 9am, which is most unusual)...wonder if something has happened...?

Krispy Kreme

There is a sign, in the middle of the pavement, in Kings Cross, just outside the local "Tesco Metro" on the Caledonian Road -

- it's, oh, I suppose normally about 6 or 7 meters from the entrance to the shop and once inside the store, the actual doughnut display is tucked right round the back. Past the tills, past the tobacco counter, past the newspapers, past the sandwiches, deli goods and snacks, past the chilled section...and yet, stood there, by the sign, the smell of "Krispy Kreme" frosty toppings assualts your nostrils with a power to rival the smell of dope when walking past the hemp shop just down the road...

There must be a "Krispy Kreme" smell emitter somewhere around there, either that or they sellotape a few doughnuts inside the sign each morning... ;)

DIY Dalek

Wow! Check this out...it's the build-diary (with pics) for a fan-made replica of one of the new Daleks (full size) from the last season of Dr Who...! Apparently the guy that built it managed to put it together from spy photographs (leaked from the set during filming), so the build was complete before the season had even fully aired on TV!

Here is a shot I took of the "official" prop at the Dr Who exhibition on the pier at Brighton (scary! ;) -

- I prefer the home-made one now I come to compare them, actually! ;) Rumour has it that there is a massive war between the Daleks and the Cybermen in the new series to look forward to also...Can't believe the BBC script writers actually considered leaving them out to begin with...duh...I think "Delek" was the best episode of the last season... :)

Mischief managed...

Very interesting - full article here...

"With these maps, you can see down to the room on campus how many people are logged on," said Carlo Ratti, director of the school's SENSEable City Laboratory, which created the maps. "You can even watch someone go from room to room if they have a handheld device that's connected."

Marauders map anyone?

Avian Flu

I must pass on this picture, not sure if Daniel is the photoshopper of origin, but the subject is "Avian Bird Flu finally arrives in the US" click, look and chortle...

(not sure how his trackback works, but I'll have a go like this...don't click that link, it goes somewhere boring...but I'm not sure what else to do with it...)

Life in the fast lane...

...it's funny, you know, but this blogging lark really has put the breaks on in my life, and in a really good way...

I can't tell you how many years of my life seem to have shot right by, just "getting on" with things, well, it's either that or this year has just been more interesting than most, but I honestly think that taking a step back each day, taking the time to reflect on what I would like to write about, and perhaps capturing a moment or two of each day on camera, has made me much more conscious of the passage of time and has imprinted *many* more of my experiences firmly into my mind...it's almost like, rather than just *doing* life - hurrying along with my head down, heading towards the inevitable destination - I've stopped, looked up and realised what I was doing, and deliberately started walking along at about a third of the pace, stopping to smell the roses....it's like Yoda's remonstrative - "Never your mind on where you are, hmmm? What you are doing!" - while he gave Luke an accusatory poke or two with his gnarled little stick...those were some wise words, in retrospect...and that really was the space I was in, rushing along...would be a bit of a shame to get to the end of the journey and realise that you have largely missed it because you forgot to look out the window...

Anyway, I digress - this year is now marked out as having a real sense of scale for me, i've only been blogging since March and now that seems like the distant, distant past. Why would I remember one lunch out of all those meals I have eaten subsequently so clearly? Because at the time I judged it as noteworthy...It doesn't even feel like this *year* that I planted all those seedlings, let alone a couple of months ago... !

So I guess I am saying, I owe a lot to that spur of the moment decision...despite sometimes, and I guess inevitably, feeling like blogging is a pain, it's *easier* not to bother, not to write anything, not to Flickr the photos and link everything up, but persisting with the exercise has done something extremely profound to my experience of "life", which is something I should grasp with both hands and hang onto as hard as I can...

So, reminder note for next life -

1) Keep a diary, even if the internet hasn't been invented yet

Hare Krishna - Matchless gifts

Hare Krishna - Matchless gifts
Originally uploaded by finkangel.

This is really odd - if 7/7 hadn't ever happened (the pictures I took of events that day and the few days after had zillions of hits) then *this* picture would be my "Most viewed" ever on Flickr - coming in at almost 1000 visitors...! *confused shrug*

Must be a load of people interested in Krishna poking around on the internet, just ironic that it's one of the worst shots I've posted! How annoying!

Brockham Bonfire (update)

...some pics!

The "Guy" being paraded to the bonfire, before being hoisted into position. He is packed with hundreds of extremely noisy bangers -

- then, the much anticipated "suprise" as this was the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes night and the 120th (documented) year of a bonfire night in the village litereally hundreds of thousands of flourescent streamers were shot out over the crowd, it was amazing! Then the torchlit procession placed their brands into the base of the bonfire sending a load of smoke and burning ash into the crowd (happens every year!) -

- then the fireworks, which without any shadow of a doubt were the most impressive display I have ever seen, probably only went on for about ten minutes, but there wasn't a single second the sky wasn't completely filled, just awesome...

Brockham Bonfire

...tonight (assuming the rain holds off), it being the first time in goodness knows how many years that November the 5th has actually fallen on a Saturday night! For tonight's entertainment we can thank Guy Fawkes and his miserable attempt to blow up the Houses of Parlement in London...

Brockham is the biggest bonfire party I have ever witnessed, it's been practiced for well over 120 years (documented) but may well have been running for many years longer than that...in 1920 the bonfire was apparently made 125 feet tall and was recorded in the Guiness book of records, and in 1990 (I was there that year) the bonfire partially collapsed into the crowd! So now the bonfire is of more modest dimensions, although still extremely impressive...I took the snap last Sunday while they were putting it together...

Should be a good night! :)

Interesting shops of Kings Cross #7

Here we have the imaginatively named "Blue Eros", not wanting to get all "Eats Shoots and Leaves" (people in glass houses and all that) but the use of the apostrophe does grate a little...surely sign makers should have a duty to correct these things... ;)

Just down the road you can just about see the "friendly" facade of "The Scotsman", which kind of seems to be pretending to be a pub, but I hear disturbing rumours (and have on one occasion witnessed a large group of HVJ wearing men rush in through the door while issuing a number of wolf whistles) about the activities that occur behind those blacked out windows...(but more on that another day ;)

So, the guy comes back...

...to check out the boiler, this time, I decide to sit and watch him work...no joke, he tries for almost an hour to get any smoke at all (btw - he is making the smoke by lighting pieces of kitchen paper with a cigarette lighter, which struck me as rather dangerous) to do *anything* other that get sucked straight up the chimney vent. I kept on saying "Oh that's great, so it's all fine after all then?", and he is like "Nah, just need to do some more checks"...so, getting rather bored of his performance I decide to enquire as to exactly why he is using kitchen paper, and not a smoke bomb like the guy that did the test for us last year...he pauses for a minute and then says "Oh, well, yes, I could do, yeah"...after watching all the smoke zoom straight up out of the roof, he *still* won't concede that all is well..."It's borderline" apparently....so he carries on with the kitchen roll trick...Flyingpops then arrives back home, I come downstairs to tell her the good news, and suddenly and mysteriously it's (in the last 3 minutes) stopped working! Anyway, so I have to nip out to the shop quickly and by the time I have got back he has left, saying it's okay after all, charged us £40 and not issued a safety certificate...cowboy...!

My subconscious...

...(sorry, no time to actually post anything from the last few days- but-if you are interested - ) while the "Master Control Program" is idling, the background engine in my mind seems to pick random snippets from my experience to echo, I've been half heartedly keeping a list (for about a month now), so if you would like to peer therein (during downtime), see the list below -

• Various tunes from the Zelda series, especially "Ocarina of Time" (N64)
• The opening tune from Final Fantasy VII (PSOne) called "Prelude" (midi version you can listen to in that previous link)
• The line "lotsa times, when a body comes out of the water, there's like, leaves and thangs in the mouth" from the autopsy scene in "Silence of the Lambs" (yeah, odd, I know...)
• The theme tune to the 80's TV show "The Smurfs"
• Occasionally a pop song or other from the radio that wakes me up in the morning (but rarely)...most notably "Play that funky music" by Wild Cherry...
• Two lines from "Day of the Dead" - "It's the R Cortex, Sarah, that central piece of primordial matter that controls our baser instincts. It's the motor that drives them..." (in a posh English accent) and "My job is to fly the whirlybird...and I'm doing that job just fine" (in a strong Jamcian accent)...
• The words "Hoy!!! **CANADA**!!!" (being yelled in a strong Japanese accent) from the anime of the manga classic "Akira"....
• Arnie saying "Sarah Connor?"

But, the undisputed winner, popping in at least twice every day -

• "So long, and thanks for all the fish", the *incredibly* catchy theme music to the recent movie version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (which must, by now, be very annoying to the people that work around me!)