Archive for September, 2008
Movie:: Tropic Thunder
Posted by martin newham in Film on September 30, 2008
Synopsis: It’s a send-up of inflated, corpulent, grandiose Hollywood: its more-is-better philosophy; the super-sized egos of its actors and directors and executives; the imperialism of its production shoots.
A send-up rather than a satire, it’s not half as savage as it appears and perhaps even ought to be. That’s no surprise. After all, its cast list, including Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black and Tom Cruise, is itself super-sized. These are guys who have done well from Hollywood. They’re not going to bite the hand that feeds them.
Ben Stiller, directing his first feature since Zoolander (2001) from a script he co-wrote with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, plays action hero Tugg Speedman whose career is in decline. (Source: Telegraph.co.uk)
Conclusion: Yeah, very funny (in places). Check out the movie mogul – amazing! Enjoyed it a lot more than “Pineapple Express”.
Just a quickly today
Posted by martin newham in Musings on September 27, 2008
Just a quick post from Starbucks in a very sunny Croydon.
Got a busy weekend, need to write pt2 of the "Google Reader and TwitterFeed" guest post on http://styl.eti.me also prep read my assignment for my 1st week on my UNI course; and there’s more, update a clients website with new content. Blimey!
Quick post
Posted by martin newham in Musings on September 20, 2008
First of all I’d say thanks to a couple of good friends; Graham (www.imjustcreative.com) and Roger (sty.leti.me) for inspiring me, and encouraging me into writing some posts and guides – keep your eyes open.
Secondly my search for a Mac flatbed scanner continues, I need a new one as my old canon one “just didn’t work” when I plugged it into my Mac – sort it out Steve! What do you mean you’re trying fix a pile of cr@p called MobileMe? Ok give your guys a call at the Kingston shop and tell them I’m coming down and I want answers.
Damn, why is it so called “assistants” in shops such as Currys, PC World think we are stupid? I ask them for information on; in this instance a camera and they read out the paper ticket – “yes, I can read. Any other information?” I typically get a blank look back, and the answer “no”, why bother?
My drink is melting and it’s time to venture forth into the masses again; the throng of fools and idiots that apparently can’t read! I you ask your typical shop assistant.
Movie:: Pineapple Express
Posted by martin newham in Film on September 16, 2008
Synopsis: Lazy court-process clerk and stoner Dale Denton has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver: to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop and the city’s most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be traced back to him–and it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they’re not suffering from weed-fuelled paranoia: incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both. All aboard the Pineapple Express.
Conclusion: Of course it had its good bits and the bad bits, but in my opinion wait for the DVD. To be honest I think you needed to be doped up to enjoy the film on its “many” levels; 6/10
Webcam:: Large Hadron Collider
Posted by martin newham in Web/Tech on September 13, 2008
Well we all know that Wednesday was a scary day for all for at 08:30 BST they turned on the “"Large Hadron Collider”. WIkipedia tells us;
The LHC was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and lies underneath the Franco-Swiss border between the Jura Mountains and the Alps near Geneva, Switzerland. It is funded by and built in collaboration with over eight thousand physicists from over eighty-five countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories. The LHC is operational and is presently in the process of being prepared for collisions. The first beams were circulated through the collider on 10 September 2008, and the first high-energy collisions are expected to take place after 6-8 weeks. [Source: Wikipedia]
Many people watched the webcams located around the facility with their fingers crossed that all would be fine; but there is more to come at the numerous experiments being carried out continue. Below are two of the primary webcams their main site is here.
- Camera 7: looking at the Underground Experimental Cavern from the Saleve side.
- Camera 8: looking out of the window of the 1st Floor of the SCX building that houses the CMS Control room.
Click here to see what they’re up to now |
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Saturday Starbucks
Posted by martin newham in Musings on September 13, 2008
Well haven’t done this for a while, weekly life-dump. Hi to all the new readers from www.twitter.com
It’s been busy at work spent a couple of days at the datacentre performing general audits of hardware. A number of projects are ending and a new one is starting.
I’ve been tasked to design the hardware and assist in the network development for a large client in the UK. Involves a number of web and db servers for the primary site and the remote DR site. It will take a couple of weeks for the design, then a break while the suppliers pull their fingers out and finally the build.
Family are doing well, mum’s going back into hospital at the end of the month for a couple of weeks for her heart, so we hope all goes well with that.
I’m happy to say I’m a student (again) I start a couple of Open University courses in October and they count towards a BA/Bsc if I hang in for the full 4 years. 
Movie:: RocknRolla
Posted by martin newham in Film on September 9, 2008
Synopsis: When a Russian mobster sets up a real estate scam that generates millions of pounds, various members of London’s criminal underworld pursue their share of the fortune. Various shady characters, including Mr One-Two, Stella the accountant, and Johnny Quid, a druggie rock-star, try to claim their slice…
Conclusion: Well, if you like “Snatch” and “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” then this is the movie for you; the seedy underbelly of London’s gangster cult. Personally I felt it had is great parts and it’s sloooow parts, but a good plot that keeps you guessing..
Street Surveys: How to avoid
Posted by martin newham in Musings on September 7, 2008
Walk down any street in most towns, cities or countries and there will be someone that wants your opinion or will try and sell you something. For example; take a walk through Staines in the UK and more than likely one of the many guys in army camo’s will try and get you to sign up for a game of paintball. Likewise, Croydon and Kingston there will be people asking for you to help out on a survey, you’ve met them all I expect.
Well I have a tip for you that will enable your swift escape; guaranteed – I’ve tried it many times and it’s worked every single time. Of course you could use the approach “No!”, “too busy”, “Je ne parle pas Anglais” (yes, I’ve used that one), but I have a more sympathetic approach.
The approach
You see there is one thing that all canvassers have in common; a spot. They have been assigned a particular location and can only engage in a conversation in that area. They need you to stop and talk with them, sure they are polite but they need the numbers on the clipboard, and what starts as a couple of minutes can extend into a lot more.
The trick
As they start to talk to you, probably introducing themselves, apologise to them and tell them you are in a hurry; some will let you go but others will persist. Here’s the killer, tell them you are happy to answer their questions with a smile providing they walk with you. This is the crunch, it will take them out of their assigned location – they will not walk with you.
Give it a try next time you’re approached and let me know how it went – it’s never failed for me.