tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62706945765175515482023-06-21T05:24:59.013+01:00Experiments In Reality"The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that is, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible.":: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-64808068827638461652009-11-18T20:50:00.001+00:002009-11-18T20:50:57.406+00:00Rio BravoListening to: the sound of my skin wrinkling with all of these lovely hot baths - you haven't lived until you convert from coal-fire water heating to a combi boiler. Seriously. <br /><br />Watching: the busy traffic rush, rush, rush outside my - brand new double-glazed - window. <br /><br />...so I've moved out - I am now officially on the road to skintsville by way of a beautiful, 2 bedroomed flat in a studenty suburb of a generic northern city. <br /><br />So, strangely, I have nothing in particular to blog about, despite being knee-deep in popular satirical-commentary style topics; council taxes, television licenses, snooping landlords, tescos... In fact, life is so strange and even and mellow that I've found little to seriously complain about. Which is what a blog is all about, right? Well, ok, not necessarily. But often.<br /><br />While I drum up some blogspiration (ho, ho), amuse yourself by leaving me a witty comment. Go on, don't be shy. :: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-56279815638301258322009-10-07T15:05:00.009+01:002009-10-16T12:03:41.529+01:00Gender: queer.Damn, damn, damn.<br /><br />I've squandered my way through £30 this weekend buying and re-exchanging games.<div><br /></div><div>The first game in this saga was Prototype, for the Xbox 360. The purchase was a bit of a blow-out as I'd wanted it since it came out, but after I'd spent a few unsatisfying hours running up buildings, and jumping <i>really really high,</i> I realised I just wanted someone to tell me how the game ended instead of finding out for myself. <i>[Wait a moment, did i just subconsciously review a game? No. No, I couldn't have. Hm.]</i></div><div><br />Normally, I'd just sit it somewhere out of sight where it could wait for my fickle game-moods to swing back to a state of being interested, but I know money will be tight real soon (thanks, moving out!), so I thought I'd like to spend the money on something I know I'd enjoy. So I hovered around for 30 minutes in GameStation, drifting listlessly between Ghostbusters, Fuel, Blue Dragon (I came to xb360 gaming late, and have the privilege of thinking older games are still fun and fresh), The Darkness, Fuel again, Saints Row, Saints Row 2, the one with the cowboys, Fuel for the third time, and back to the bargain wall once more.<br /><br />I plumped, in the end, for Fable II and a collection of umd videos for mam, who by the way is <i>really</i> loving her beautiful, slimline psp.</div><div><br />But here's the crux, <i>the basic, central, or critical point or feature,</i> of this blogpost (and mighty blogworthy I thought it, too - full of pseudo-angst stemming from the pseudo-world of my budding digital-media neuroses):<br /><br /><i>Do i make my Fable II character a girl or a boy?</i><br /><br />Most games default to a boy character (aha! the notable exceptions: tomb raider, fighting games involving jiggly boobs, urban chaos, resident evil), so I reckon I'm not alone in the Girl Gamer World by being entirely, 100% comfortable playing as a laddo in a platforming, running-jumping-climbing-Eddie-Izzard-quotes sort of environment. But as far as rpgs go, I feel I need to look to my inner self to balance out the issue of "with which gender do i identify strongestly?":</div><div><br /></div><div>- <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6666;">I'm not a boy</span></div><div>- <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#9999FF;">but if there's a heterosexual love interest in the game, I will be moderately more involved if it's a girlfriend</span></div><div>- <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#9999FF;">I'm more used to identifying as a more masculine presence in The Real World</span></div><div>- <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6666;">I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6666;"> can't shake that weird feeling that stems from playing Streets Of Rage as a child, where playing as the woman was faster</span></div><div>- <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#9999FF;">boy characters are often cooler, and make me less intimidated physically in The Real World</span></div><div>- <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6666;">it would be awesome </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6666;">if I could be a girl character who is some sort of Matrix version of me (because all lesbians secretly long to look like Trinity, or that blonde girl who died, in the Matrix, apologies for the spoilers to all people reading this from 1998)</span></div><div>- <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#9999FF;">but then,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6666;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#9999FF;">I would be more vulnerable to people seeing my Self as <i>i</i> wished to see me - thus, a boy character is a better disguise for my real Self (as People are not to be Trusted and should be Shunned and sometimes Beaten when appropriate)</span></div><div><br /></div><div>of course, i think we all know what the real issue is here. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have too much time on my hands to think about stuff like this.</div>:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-52658911183427699722009-09-14T11:07:00.004+01:002009-10-07T12:50:51.454+01:00The Strange World Of Beth Monday<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; width: auto; font: normal normal normal 100%/normal Georgia, serif; text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">more iPod calamities for the anguaji household - my chunky monkey white 20GB iPod started emoting at me again the other week, this time it was the "Sad iPod" face - my mother thinks it's hilarious that an iPod can be sad - so i've sprung for the largest capacity flash-based-memory iPod i can afford, which is to say - a 32gb iPod touch off've (yes, again) eBay. some day, i'll have enough money to buy something decent first hand. until then, there's </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">always </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">eBay.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">so i ran once again into the problem of trying to work out how much space there'd be on on a 32gb iPod. doing some quick maths in my head, i estimated that there would be a 6gb drop-off in the actual available space. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">this calculation was unequivocally WRONG and it should be iterated over and over that i shouldn't be allowed to Do Maths by myself as it is DANGEROUS and MISLEADING and will probably result in WORLDFAIL. personally, i don't trust the art of numbers - everything in the world has a </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">feeling </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">to me, or a colour, or an abstraction. although working out 20% of 32gb </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">felt</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> right to me, it proved mightily, heart-achingly, wrong. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">maybe i could usher in a new era of abstract mathematical expressionism. (myheart * 2 = ?/ life)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">but i digress. here's the formula to work out the difference between theoretical hard drive space and actual hard drive space:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">capacity * 0.93</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">dead easy. for drives over 1tb, it's * 0.91 which to me feels like there should be more available space, but i refuse to trust my almost non-existant maths instincts.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">...you know, i had to study differential equations at Geek College. i remember the equation fine: </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">dy/dx = nax^(x-1)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">it has a lovely rythym to it when you say it out loud. regardless, i got a different answer every time i did it, and actually can't remember what it was even calculating. but i do like to drop it into conversations that i studied Differential Equations. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">i studied them in the same way that the ancients studied the stars, the gods or the birds in the sky, ie - from a great distance and mostly with a bemused expression - that is the knowledge that i keep to myself.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">-- </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">incidentally, i'm thinking of switching to serif fonts for blog posts now that browsers treat curls with a hint of anti-aliased glee. thoughts and comments welcome.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">-- </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">decided to revert to Trebuchet as Georgia is just too grown-up for my witterings.</span></div></div></span>:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-34962016390932130612009-08-21T08:41:00.004+01:002009-09-07T12:24:16.065+01:00Poetry In BASIC<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">10 my heart is an infinite loop<br />20 I hate you<br />30 goto 10<br />END</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /># inspired by friend's boyfriend<br /># looking for IT section in<br /># poetry bookshop</span>:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-91402116878471373912009-08-06T13:23:00.003+01:002009-08-06T18:09:02.962+01:00Readybrekhad a gig in a bra shop yesterday. nothing else this week will seem interesting.<br /><br />on the subject of performance and lingerie, i need to sort out which laundries to do before the next mini-gig on Saturday. it will, of course, be a black t-shirt and baggy jeans affair, but which colour underwear to sport? i'd hate to be creatively stifled by my smalls.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-84534111101909306052009-07-21T15:46:00.003+01:002009-07-21T15:49:54.130+01:00can anybody tell me why men think following a woman's recipe is beneath them? what years of fabulous meals have they got under their belt to fuel this arrogance? i'm looking at you, dad.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-2388682565735523232009-07-06T00:12:00.003+01:002009-07-06T00:22:40.133+01:00Have Emulator, Will Travel.got project64 again - playing zelda properly for the first time in years. it's wonderful. i forgot how much i hated the gorons though - yes, i'm only *that* far into it. i'm a very slow gamer. like a slow reader. only with problem-solving skills and spatial awareness. as with my misgivings about the lad-robot in innocent life, i can't help but feel the whole world is placing too much emphasis on a fairy boy. but that's just one girls opinion.<br /><br />i just wish i could play all this on my aspire one. but my netbook won't look at my gamepad, which is in fact only a psp running fusa gamepad. it's a shame, as mupen (stupid name for emulator, or am i missing something?) runs fine an mostly non-glitchy as far as i can tell. ah well. i might shell out a fiver for a cheap gamepad and see what happens. <br /><br />me - part with cash? for gaming? no, thank <i>you</i>. i like to wait until things go entirely out of fashion and then buy them up for pennies, just before they turn "retro". <br /><br />in other news i have taken to anthropomorphising* that my dog wears pince-nez and has a gay crush on my friend nick. it's not so far from the truth. considering this sort of alternative life story that i <i>could</i> be telling, aren't you glad i only seem to talk about games now?<br /><br />anyway. i'm off to blow shit up with bomb flower thingies.<br /><br /><br />* i only got one letter of this word wrong before the spell checker. ossum.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-11465895727647208692009-06-18T18:26:00.007+01:002009-06-18T20:46:57.725+01:00In Silicothank god for twitter: without whom, my meaningless drivel-thoughts might clutter up the rest of my intellect. <br /><br />actually, the more i use twitter, the more i find that twitter-worthy 140-character-or-less thoughts seem to occur to me - like a great mundane void that needs filling up with instant, uninspired observations. maybe my brain was always so banal and uninteresting - just like the rest of the world's brain.<br /><br />well, i'm jacked into the matrix and <i>i'm having a sandwich right now</i>.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-74281185664406031742009-06-04T19:55:00.029+01:002009-06-05T00:34:17.232+01:00E3 Fever (the geekiest i have ever shown myself to be)<b>Swept Up By:</b> tech-festival mood of the ultramodern age<br /><b>Sweeping Up:</b> ultramodern gadget packaging. it's everywhere.<br /><br />woo boy, i have really enjoyed soaking up the feeling of carni<span style="font-style:italic;">val</span> this week from the E3 buzz. my sense gamery-ness has been really inflated over the last few months (thanks to trusty old PSP) and i've been a lot more interested in the games press, the industry and the hype surrounding some of the franchises featured at E3. so i've been well-primed for it all.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">for those not in the know, E3 is a veritable adult playground of a games press-convention-event-thingy. but then, if you don't know what E3 is, this whole post will probably be pretty boring and you can skim the metaphorical bullet-points safe in the knowledge that you haven't missed much, really.</span><br /><br />earlier in the week, i scoured the net for some podcasts to grab on my PSP (trusty, old) and came up with surprisingly little (lifeinsidethebox.com aside, thanks twitter!) - i'm a bit hitty-missy with games sites. see, i hit escapistmagazine.com for zero punctuation and often stick around to read their editorials<sup>1</sup>, but i don't check any of the major sites (ign, gamespot) regularly enough to know about their podcasts. so i was pretty disappointed really, as i wanted a plethora and i barely got a pleth. but the lifeinsidethebox.com folks seem cool - they snabbled me on twitter when i appealed to the higher collective for podcast leads and they seem to be sort of... internet-based gonzo game journalists. which is a phrase that i think i'll hide away and cherish.<br /><br />the microsoft conference hit GMT at 5.25pm although i can't say for sure if it did, as the technical difficulties at xbox.com prevented me from seeing it until 5:45pm. durr, microsoft seems to say. what dis? thank god i missed paul mccartney though. ugh. <br /><br />i'm not going to great-detail it about the conferences, as it's old hat, yesterdays news, and better writers than me are detailing it; i just want to sketch out my impressions of My Very First E3... for, you know, posterity.<br /><br /><b>Microsoft Conference</b><br />technical difficulties snickersomely aside, i must admit even my general british hostility at showy american enthusiasm wore off with some of the titles mentioned and also that nice girl who was in buffy really helped with this too. and remember, sony hadn't shown us their magic dildo at this point, so i must admit i goggled - positively <i>goggled</i> - at project natal and the level of depth with which it seems to implement nintendo's undignified stumblings in motion control. note also the touch of pride at peter molyneux in this mix, too, folks. i can't help it, he's a bit of a hero of mine.<br /><br /><b>Nintendo Conference</b><br />multiplayer mario and a heartbeat sensor thingy. no. no, no, no. <br />i did, however, like the forced chumminess on-stage of the really big guy who looks like he sells things for a living with the really skinny guy that looked like he codes in a darkened room for a living. and i enjoyed seeing the real-life incarnation of the simpsons' <a href = "http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/simpsons/images/c/ce/Lindsey_Naegle.png" target = "_blank">Lindsay Naegle</a> being all feisty businesswoman. moderately interested in golden sun DS. as a previous owner of a GBA, 2xDS, a gamecube and an N64, i feel i have the right to say "nintendo should branch out a little, game-wise". i used to love nintendo's imagination, but now they seem to just add numbers to old games<sup>2</sup>. <br /><br /><b>Sony Conference</b><br />that jack tretton lad. he's a card, eh? self-referential shtick. much chortling. much waggling of eyebrows. good stuff. good stuff. tech-wise, i was mightily excited for a umd-less psp. until i considered the logistics. the taking-away of my buying games in-store. the being forced to use my own bandwidth to download content. keeping my droves of data on an increasingly-filled wodge of memory<sup>3</sup>. but then he said they weren't replacing the proper psp, so i didn't feel pressured any more, and could just revel in a new gizmo. i still don't like the slidey top overbalance, but i think it would be perfect from someone such as my mother, who really should stop stealing <i>my</i> psp and get her own. so in four years time, when it's affordable, that's what she's getting for christmas. either that or a ps2, which i felt vaguely compelled to buy after all that spiel. by this point, i was gimmicked off and yet another motion control wasn't going to find it easy to grab my attention, especially as i was devoting a lot of my energy to eating a sausage roll at the time, but the PS3 hardware looks fucking awesome. if a little baby-steps, baby-steps.<br /><br />those were my vague impressions of all these streaming webcasts that occupied my teatimes all this week. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">INTERESTED IN: </span><ul><li>free racing games on the xbox. i'm impressed microsoft could wrestle with the notion of free</li><li>twitter on xblive - sad but true</li><li>project natal & the ps3's magic dildo - not for me personally(!), but for such a seamless implementation of console hardware/software engineering.</li><li>alan wake - looks a bit like "John Carpenter's The Fog - The Game!" and i'll probably be too scared to play it.</li><li>splinter cell - the new demo made me interested in the franchise. i'm pretty gullible</li><li>metal gear solid rising puns. not the game, just the puns.</li><li>hideo kojima - who looks like a nice young man in need of a square meal</li><li>milo demo - yes, interesting, but with a multitude of ethical considerations (see the film AI)</li><li>uncharted female sidekick - a goldeneye natalya for this new generation. i hope you can shoot her in the bum.</li><li>little big planet on the psp - squee!</li><li>mass effect 2 - thank god i'm not dead. i had seriously invested in this character</li><li>assassin's creed 2. i hope i bond with this new chappie as much as i did with Altair. i know they're the same person, but i'm fickle.</li><li>assassin's creed on the PSP woooooooooo - i know, i know. old news. but still</li><li>soul calibur psp</li><li>tekken on the xbox. ouch, sony. ouch.</li><li>the thing with the dragon</li><li>star wars mmorpg - i'm even considering getting a gold xblive account. yes, i'm going to part with my freaking cash. again. for more games stuff</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOT INTERESTED IN: </span><ul><li>halo</li><li>the beatles (i'm a musician, i can say this, and no, no i won't back down, no.)</li><li>forza. bleh. such hype, for this?</li><li><i>more</i> mario sequels.</li><li>lilac</li><li>hannah montana</li><li>no price cuts for wii. bastards.</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WORRIED ABOUT:</span><ul><li>games industry secretly conspiring against gamers with motion control to make us all look like twats.</li></ul><br /><br />so that's it. my first E3 practically over, although i can't wait to dig into all the post-e3 reports and important bits that i've missed while work got in the way - podcasts in the mornings, webcasts in the evenings. <br /><br />boy this took a lot of writing-up. i didn't realise i'd paid so much attention. well, i'm off to bugger my firmware on my psp. games sure are hard work. (note to self - too trite? this is extremely important i feel)<br /><br /><br />---<br /><br /><sup>1</sup> <sub>actually, i find the escapist articles often hook me in with their titles but let me down when it comes to their content - i've been reading games journalism since the c64 age and we're still using cliches like "a [blank] all it's own" and "it's own particular brand of [blank]" - see harold bloom's comments on cliches of the "stretched his legs" variety if you want to pinpoint what i'm trying to say, but haven't the language to express it. </sub><br /><br /><sup>2</sup> <sub>i'm still going to buy a wii though. and eventually sell it, like alllll the rest of my nintendo consoles. but i'll probably just end up playing gamecube games on it.</sub><br /><br /><sup>3</sup> <sub>i love the solid feel of umds, i just can't help it - having a bunch of them clatter around my desk, i feel so - so - dystopian futurey, so kathryn bigelow. (or i just relive the glory days of minidiscs. i miss minidiscs. sigh.)</sub>:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-40070507265456184312009-05-26T09:48:00.002+01:002009-05-26T09:50:54.667+01:00yesterday i noticed a fluffy dandelion seed on my jeans.<br /><br />i felt used.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-31900171994981097852009-05-05T20:29:00.002+01:002009-05-05T22:11:16.323+01:00The Scratch (or "Humans Optional")<b>Listening To:</b> the loudest laptop fan in the world.<br /><br />the killer of all working fortnights has been stopping me from blogging recently. i've found the time to <a href = "http://twitter.com/anguaji">tweet</a> of course, but had i let myself get involved in a more lengthy creative-writing exercise, i may have wandered into extreme anti-humanist areas, tangent-wise. <br /><br />the cause: my beloved BigPoot<a href = "http://www.flickr.com/photos/anguaji/3381256483/in/set-72157612011895334/">*</a> has been virused and malwared and everything-elsewared. so i've fallen into this strange cycle of mistrust with it. i won't let it online. i won't even let it on the network. which has of course led to quite hard working conditions for this net developer... in the first week of this hellish crisis, what time wasn't idled away in front of Malware Bytes running in safe mode was spent feverishly trying to keep my non-nicotined cool and refraining from ramming the spare usb wireless dongle up my Compaq laptop's arse. yes, in a house full of theoretical computers, the actual tally ran as follows, midweek: <br /><br />1 x BigPoot - wheezing, looking peaky and moaning softly to itself whilst mumbling under its breath/rocking side to side<br /><br />1 x HP/Compaq Presario F500 with a tendency to giggle at nothing and no working internal wireless card thanks to a hardware failure outside of warranty. this could be fixed if only the bloody thing had a PCI express card slot, but Compaq didn't think this would be needed in a laptop. and the touchpad gives me RSI, too. who knew?<br /><br />1 x nifty netbook, plucky in attitude with a fine and dandy wireless connection and super-duper battery life, but running linux-linpus lite on a tiny screen and keyboard, so not very pleasing development environment<br /><br />1 x usb dongle (more of a tease than an actual working peripheral)<br /><br />so last week i kinda snapped a little and splurged (awful word) on a newold Sony Vaio. it's a cutie S5M/S from a few years ago, and although it has a terrible habit of running exquisitely hot, it's welcomed into the fold like a stray bantam under a broody hen's - er - well, whatever it is that bantams nestle under for warmth, i guess.<br /><br />in other news... there's been no other news. i've been hiding in my Hobbit Hole for a good few weeks and i must say, i'm starting to enjoy my own company a lot more than seeing people who aren't in my head at the moment. yes, i think i can finally chalk myself up as an official recluse. give me my wireless network, my guitar, my dog and (preferably flat) ground to walk him on, and i am a happy woman. <br /><br /><b>Trying To Concentrate On:</b> technology trends, learning the bamboo flute, exercise and my new moleskine<br /><b>Trying To Ignore:</b> the socialite screaming to be let out in my psyche<br /><b>Baffling:</b> Google's Chrome shipping without spelling-dictionary knowledge of the word "blogging".:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-61791998548520940022009-04-15T11:43:00.005+01:002009-04-15T11:49:16.463+01:00Twitter Poemsto celebrate my 1,000th tweet just now, why not feast on some lovely twitter magnet poems what i wrote:<br /><br /><b>Open Eye</b><br />after life & desire /<br />who are we most spun for? /<br />i, she - wear, devour. /<br />spat out like our home.<br /><br /><b>Gleam</b><br />slow down, boy. /<br />we satisfied all their bestial dances /<br />we - naked, /<br />as if from a ferocious, quiet blaze.<br /><br /><b>Marble</b><br />the ocean will say /<br />the godflower is most like you. /<br />i do gaze, but soft breeze-clouds /<br />are blind from above.<br /><br />please excuse the whole "spat out like our home" debacle, as twittermagnet really wasn't giving me anything more fruity. i've been musing on these as i'm a little bit proud of them, and thinking to myself, how much of these words are my own? but the poetry of it <i>sounds</i> like me, so clearly i'm irrepressible. or maybe i just happen to think like twittermagnets.<br /><br />in further celebration of mentioned twitter landmark, i shall now drink this mug of tea, which i feel i have been tweeting about often and consistently for many months now. omnom.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-24468388143864136752009-04-02T21:32:00.008+01:002009-04-02T23:20:09.019+01:00Koyal (Songbird)<b>Listening To:</b> the muggy night setting in behind me, instead of in front of me. <br /><br />it's funny how, when things change, it always seems to happen so suddenly. technically, everything is changing <i>all the time</i> but i guess you have to really sit still to notice it. <br /><br />but when you strive for change against the grain, don't you notice every single step? for me recently it's been changing the bedroom (let's be honest, it's more of a nest, really) layout around. but the hassle of changing this most supreme space has been mirrored in the equally tasking changing-the-rest-of-my-life. i told myself i wouldn't be ruled by the seasons this year, but it's hard not to feel motivated by spring... <br /><br />the main bedroomchangeexperience motivation was reducing the <a href = "http://hashtags.org/tag/anguaji_mouse" target = "_blank">#anguaji_mouse</a> terror threat. it's strange, for all the noise he made, i only found a couple of signs of habitation. a chewed shoe here, a filled-out crossword puzzle there, the butt of a tiny mouse-sized cigarette stubbed out under the wardrobe... the natural world is a truly amazing place.<br /><br />so no more #anguaji_mouse saga. truly, i think i should Saga it. in runes, and throat-chanting. <br /><br />thanks to new layout, my exercise bike gets a good look-in once again. i think possibly i may be the only person in the world to exercise to The Lord Of The Rings audio book. very theraputic, it's the only thing that can replace Radio 4's the News Quiz (with the fantastico Sandi Toksvig) to cycle to. even when i work out, i Geek. it's in the blood. <br /><br />actually, this audio book has been floating around my life for months and months now, mostly because i either work-out to it in short bursts, or listen to it in bed (i.e. while falling asleep). lately, i've been worrying about it finishing and what would i replace it with, in a macrocosm of human fear-of-death psychology, but a more pressing problem has manifested itself. we're up to the Two Towers and the narrator's Gollum sounds a lot like Zippy from Rainbow. frankly, i've had to skip the entire 4th book so the whole affair can wrap up with some dignity, but i'm dreading the final scenes in mount doom. <br /><br />the rest of my time has been spent significantly avoiding my one-photo-a-day project, venn diagrams shaped like willies (and later - much, much worse), PSPs and the custom firmwares thereof, Cosina AF35s, retro gaming on the go, getting fux0red on eBay (twice) and drawing on whiteboards, blackboards and various other boards. <br /><br />i currently have no plans to end this blog entry with a trite conclusion.<br /><br /><b>Watching:</b> i'll tell you what i'm not watching. The Watchmen. i just finished the comic, and their custodes can custodiet themselves, thank you so very much. <br /><b>Playing:</b> at being the UberGeek, and winning. <br /><b>Excited About:</b> "hacker spaces". killer concept.<br /><b>Worried About:</b> personal ratio of musician-to-geek falling, entering into uncool territory. should gig soon and bring everything back to normal again.<br /><br />[edit: friendNick just pointed out that George could be Legolas*, and we could spin an entire Rainbow-meets-? series out of this genre-melding. nice work, friendNick!]<br /><br />* George would obviously be Frodo, though, Bungle would be Boromoir and Fred would have to be Aragorn. Rod and Jane? Faramir and Eowyn. obviously.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-27464956594571403872009-03-19T17:13:00.005+00:002009-03-23T18:28:29.871+00:00Blog As You Go<b>Listening To:</b> the TV in Coco V's, Newcastle. <br /><br />you know, if you were in Coco V's, Newcastle, UK right now, you could watch me blog this. luckily, my readership is probably still on its way home from work, so i'm immune to blog-stalkers. although it does raise one of the many concerns about the rise of GPS-related information services. <br /><br />anyway. nouveau geek-culture thought for today: can everything be expressed in terms of Version Control Numbering? like, this sentence brings this blog entry to v0.65b - Beta, because i may change this entry in the future, but intend to make it live to the public whilst acknowledging that it may contain flaws. <br /><br />my hair: bethHair v3.0(b?).<br /><br />hm. i think possibly working out what constitutes a full version change would take too much time and effort to implement such a grand philosophy, though technically it is possible. <br /><br />did sartre feel this way when he was defining the theory of archetypes? <br /><br /><b>Abusing:</b> the HSPDA network to look at lolCats on the go. how times have changed.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-19687672033880393432009-03-10T23:18:00.006+00:002009-03-11T15:42:21.839+00:00Cycling Trivialities<b>Listening To:</b> #anguaji_mouse rustle his newspaper at me irritably whilst waiting for me to finish on the computer.<br /><br />i haven't updated for a while. this is due to many factors, the least of which was losing faith in a previously unheard-of quantity of humanity. but that's not important. the greatest things keeping me from detailing the minutae of my monochrome postmodern life were: <br /><br />1) Sky+ installation<br />2) #anguaji_mouse fixation<br /><br />re: bullet point 1 - this is the best thing to happen to the household since... well, since ever. unfortunately, we've never had sky tv <i>at all</i> while the rest of the world has long-since grown weary of its repetitive programming. this has meant i've had to catch up on 20 years of missed broadcasting. it's led to rediscovering M*A*S*H. bliss.<br /><br />re: bullet point 2 - it all started out with a random nibbling sound. it escalated to paper rustling. i have a mouse somewhere in my teeny (but immensely cluttered) bedroom. i sleep on the floor. this is an awful situation, especially when you consider that i'm the biggest animal softie in the world, and can't bear to catch a mouse in a snap-trap, but the little bugger keeps avoiding the live trap, and persists in taking part in all-night rustling sessions with #landing_mouse. <br /><br />it's gone beyond fixation, though. i'm trying to plug #anguaji_mouse as the next chuck norris. it could happen. and it could happen to #anguaji_mouse. <br /><br />#anguaji_mouse doesn't read books. he just stares them down until they give him the information he needs.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-39131505736139551622009-02-18T21:48:00.003+00:002009-02-18T22:05:46.471+00:00Bed Time Audio Book<b>Listening To:</b> the sound of money gurgling its way down the drain as the pipes heat up this late at night.<br /><br />i just <em>had</em> to interrupt my sleep cycle to tell the world about my new discovery: the post-modern lightbulb joke.<br /><br /><b>HOW MANY Wii OWNERS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHTBULB?</b><br /><br />i haven't thought of any good answers yet, or rather, none that i'd risk my blogging reputation for, but i invite you to submit some suggestions.<br /><br /><b>The Inspiration:</b> i stumbled on a forum post entitled "why do wii owners never get arrested" and it showed links to news stories on a halo gamer that allegedly killed someone, a 13-yr-old that graffitied loads of xbox games n a store, etc. while most thread replies agreed that it was because you can't arrest 6 year olds (ba-zing?), it ended up going down the "lightbulb" route, and i heartily approve (i myself put forward the theory that wii owners were too easily distracted by shiny, colourful objects to have the focus needed to commit crimes).<br /><br />so i conclude: <s>arpanet</s> internet does indeed contribute to culture, but we need a new word for it to sit snugly next to pop culture.<br /><br />ooooh! post-pop culture?<br /><br /><b>Sigh Of Contentment:</b> well-earned, for services to comedy kind. you can thank me later.<br /><b>Good Night:</b> john boy/mr chips/sweetheart:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-19863864044155206072009-02-15T23:20:00.002+00:002009-02-15T23:22:26.665+00:00Sushi Remix / Synoiz Remix / X-over!Having finished the remix of <a href = "http://ambients.synoiz.com" target = "_blank">Synoiz's Andromeda</a>, what better way could i celebrate than sticking it on a random bit of youtube and reuploading it? needless to say, i haven't got any work done tonight, unless this counts as work. and i think it does.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XxuN0mCfWXQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XxuN0mCfWXQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-72928314477791985942009-02-15T17:44:00.003+00:002009-02-15T17:45:50.368+00:00<div align="center"> </div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZhUhpCQCCI/AAAAAAAAAJI/DlgzZPkDdNg/s1600-h/aP1040373.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303081498156468258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZhUhpCQCCI/AAAAAAAAAJI/DlgzZPkDdNg/s400/aP1040373.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a>pleas to send moar hotdogs kthxbai</p>:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-28736924941726210442009-02-12T12:09:00.020+00:002009-02-13T10:56:34.465+00:00How To Save A Life Buggered iPod<b>The Prologue</b><br />i'm a gadget-hungry girl. i always have been. once upon a time, when a beloved walkman died, it was with mixed emotion that i hauled out its sad carcass, as i knew that buying a new one was just around the corner. omnomnom gadgetsssss. in fact, the last walkman i ever bought was a panasonic (i was always a panasonic girl) silver slim thing and it was gorgeous and i loved it, even though it cost £70.<br /><br />but i'm 27 now, and have literally put <i>thousands</i> of pounds into the great gadget economy since i was a frivolous teen. purchase choice now is now made with a priority of:<br /><br /><li>function</li><br /><li>PRICE</li><br /><li>style</li><br /><li>trend</li><br /><li>curiosity</li><br /><br />this is why, although i love music and have a wonderful mp3 collection that stretches back years, i only use for my portable music, a 2nd Generation iPod Nano 4GB (which <a href = "http://anguaji-xen.blogspot.com/2009/02/irant-look-but-dont-touch.html" target = "_blank">as we know</a>, translates into 3.67GB usable space). i love it dearly, but recently felt the need for greater capacity. so i turned to eBay.<br /><br />i bought myself a 20GB 4th Gen iPod for just under £40. cosmetically very good condition, apparently new battery fitted recently and everything was hunky/dory. <br /><br />so, beloved newOld iPod worked for about half a day and then screwed up in the middle of a sync: click click whirrrrr. argh. click click clunk. arrrrgh. much trying to format bad sectors later, i got the awful "folder/support" icon. frantically opened it up once or twice to try the *slap* trick and it eventually spat out a "sad ipod" icon. cause of all this: <b>Hard Drive Fail</b>. after fighting down the gollum-like urge to buy a brand new iPod touch, i ordered a new HDD, flexed my geekgirl tech muscles and jumped right into to replacing the hard drive myself. <br /><br /><a href="javascript:expandcollapse('my_poster')">>> Not bored yet? Read the bit where i fixed it, got the girl and saved the day...</a><span class="posthidden" id="my_poster"><br /><br /><b>The Fixing Bit</b><br />okok, i tired you enough already. don't worry, though - it's real easy to run through the actual steps. lucky for me, i stumbled on <a href = "http://joshhighland.com/blog/2005/12/24/replacing-the-hardrive-of-an-ipod/" target = "_blank">this great guide</a> by <a href = "http://twitter.com/joshhighland" target = "_blank">Josh Highland</a>, without this i would've had to piece the steps together myself - many thanks!<br /><br /><b>1: Find A Buggered iPod</b><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR4m2wudvI/AAAAAAAAAG4/3DfDLQ1X3PU/s1600-h/P1040217.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR4m2wudvI/AAAAAAAAAG4/3DfDLQ1X3PU/s400/P1040217.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301995270252164850" /></a><br />well, i was lucky enough to have my iPod brick on me without (much) provocation, but if you want to play along at home, you might have to hunt around for your own cream-crackered iPod. this should be easy enough, as apple's build quality and internal design is a bit sketchy at best (ouch, steve jobs. ouch.), specifically in the older models. (1st-4th gen iPods)<br /><br /><b>1a: How Do I Know My iPod Is iBuggered?</b><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR5ACzhCRI/AAAAAAAAAHA/ic-izbN0PtE/s1600-h/P1040222.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR5ACzhCRI/AAAAAAAAAHA/ic-izbN0PtE/s400/P1040222.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301995702981822738" /></a><br />oh, well, the buggeration of an old iPod can manifest itself in seemingly infinite symptoms. firstly, and i didn't realise it when i used mine on monday, a hard drive that's on the way out can make some pretty loud noises as it seeks the data. other signs that your iPod may not be long for this mortal coil: wigging out in the middle of songs, skipping randomly, not syncing properly (although this may be a bad mp3 file, you know) all of these culminating in the classic "folder" icon on your lcd display, and eventually the dreaded "sad iPod icon". in my case, i first had misgivings when it wouldn't sync past about 10GB of music. ¬_¬<br /><br /><b>2: Get a New HDD</b><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR5lIU6b9I/AAAAAAAAAHI/4E4Y3ilUJuM/s1600-h/P1040232.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR5lIU6b9I/AAAAAAAAAHI/4E4Y3ilUJuM/s400/P1040232.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301996340119236562" /></a><br />this is easy peasy. find a good retailer on eBay and get yourself the appropriate model. my 4th generation takes the MK2004GAL model, but i could also use the 2006 HDD that was used in the 4th gen iPod Photos. it cost £25 with p&p included, and was shipped via special delivery. a good retailer will send it out through a good postal service as it's important to know it'll be well looked after en route - HDDs are finicky little things. <br /><br /><b>3: Get Your Tools Together</b><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR5r_Y4vsI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/wPsFE9a_dGc/s1600-h/P1040229.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR5r_Y4vsI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/wPsFE9a_dGc/s400/P1040229.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301996457979068098" /></a><br />for this experiment, you will need, to whit: <br /><br />1 x pen knife or other thin implement (fnar, fnar)<br />1 x iPod<br />1 x firewire cable/wall charger (v. necessary)<br />1 x usb cable if you haven't got a firewire port to sync through with your pc/mac/etc (optional)<br />1 x guitar plectrum<br />1 x spanky new HDD<br />1 x courage (abundance of)<br /><br />set everything out nice and neat so you feel like you're special. oh, here's a tip: chances are when your hdd was dying, your battery was running out like a mo' fo' too, as the bloody thing keeps trying to restart and restart, so you'll need some means of charging your iPod. if you don't have a wall charger (or firewire cable/port), get one. you'll need it for when your iPod restores. i have no idea why usb won't work - something to do with the older models, i presume. <br /><br /><b>4: Open Up Your iPod</b><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR6BToU1MI/AAAAAAAAAHg/pv2jfITGOMA/s1600-h/P1040231.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR6BToU1MI/AAAAAAAAAHg/pv2jfITGOMA/s400/P1040231.jpg" border="0" alt="my trusty (and mostly unused as i'm a fingerstyle player) ani difranco plectrum"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301996824189785282" /></a>- this is the very unorthodox bit -<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR554A5m9I/AAAAAAAAAHY/0Av3jFrf2Dw/s1600-h/P1040234.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR554A5m9I/AAAAAAAAAHY/0Av3jFrf2Dw/s400/P1040234.jpg" border="0" alt="i'm doing this i'm doing this i can't believe i'm doing this"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301996696517581778" /></a><br />this is by far the trickiest bit, i found. i looked a bit online, and found that <a href = "http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93789/" target = "_blank">this guy's</a> method is a better description of events than i could give, so pop off and read it and come back. anyway - the case was so tight i did have to make a wee dent in my metal backing with a pen knife to make room for my <a href = "http://www.righteousbabe.com/store/prod_bottoms.asp?id=441" target = "_blank">Ani DiFranco</a> plectrum to squeeze between the metal back and front cover. you should also remember to put your iPod on hold, because you'll end up switching the damn' thing on later if you're not careful.<br /><br /><b>5: Have A Rummage</b><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR6Z-bmB2I/AAAAAAAAAHo/cSgla2TMT3s/s1600-h/P1040236.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR6Z-bmB2I/AAAAAAAAAHo/cSgla2TMT3s/s400/P1040236.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301997247995971426" /></a><br />time to be careful careful now, lay everything out - and take great pains not to disconnect anything by accident! i'm talking battery wires (botom right of the main case), headphone jack/hold connectors (glued to the rear backing) and hdd cables (at the top of your hdd).<br /><br /><b>6: Take Out Your Old HDD</b><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR6iIgOF1I/AAAAAAAAAHw/3tKyyre3bfA/s1600-h/P1040239.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR6iIgOF1I/AAAAAAAAAHw/3tKyyre3bfA/s400/P1040239.jpg" border="0" alt="boo! hiss! why did you have to die on me?? swine. judas."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301997388138682194" /></a><br />look at the top of the hdd. you can see the black bit that's connecting the hdd to the ipod logic board. if you lift up your cowardly old hdd using the top connector as a hinge (CAREFULLY), you'll see that it's attached via a ribbon (which appears to be randomly taped to the logic board, i mean wtf?), just like a teeny tiny fairy-like IDE cable. aww. so, carefully remove this cable from the top of the hdd - it'll just come loose using a bit of pressure. you now have the very essence - <i>essence</i>, i say - of iPoddery in your hands. oooooOOOOooh.<br /><br /><i>O HAI: if your hard drive is not completely fux0red, removing and reattaching the ide cable may help to restore your iPod back to full health, so you may be able to avoid replacing the costly hdd altogether by reassembling the iPod after doing this and trying it - you never know, it just might work.</i><br /><br /><b>7: Rubber Up</b><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR6v9na6fI/AAAAAAAAAH4/BnELYtwEIRM/s1600-h/P1040240.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR6v9na6fI/AAAAAAAAAH4/BnELYtwEIRM/s400/P1040240.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301997625734261234" /></a><br />now that your old hdd is safely out of the way, you can take the funky blue padding off it by gently coaxing it off, and gently uncoaxing it onto the new drive. it should fit nice and snug - and <i>do</i> try to remember which way round it all goes. <br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR7jUEju0I/AAAAAAAAAIA/fj5ZOKa4lgw/s1600-h/P1040241.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR7jUEju0I/AAAAAAAAAIA/fj5ZOKa4lgw/s400/P1040241.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301998507935382338" /></a><br />next, use your guitar pick (or the lovely josh suggested one of those razor thingies you use to get the paint off've shiny surfaces) and patiently sort of <i>scrape</i> the last bit of foam off the body of the hard drive. <br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZVQcsq_mcI/AAAAAAAAAI4/TojBplgR58M/s1600-h/P1040242.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZVQcsq_mcI/AAAAAAAAAI4/TojBplgR58M/s400/P1040242.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302232590256675266" /></a><br />josh also suggests sticking this lot back onto the new hdd with a spot of glue, but there was enough adhesive still on the foam for me to keep it in place - not to mention my concerns at melting glue with the hella heat that comes off these old iPods!<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR73fBJSoI/AAAAAAAAAII/ktzFyud5qLA/s1600-h/P1040244.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR73fBJSoI/AAAAAAAAAII/ktzFyud5qLA/s400/P1040244.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301998854471240322" /></a><br /><br /><b>8: Whack It In, I Say!</b><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8Bxvv-LI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/9vJjx9k11nA/s1600-h/P1040246.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8Bxvv-LI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/9vJjx9k11nA/s400/P1040246.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301999031297243314" /></a><br />ooooh so close! right, so re-attach the hdd cable to the new hdd. they belong together, they're soulmates, they are. so... yeah. press it gently into position.<br /><br /><b>9: Close It Up</b><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8LZT3keI/AAAAAAAAAIY/4x_HLA6nu_I/s1600-h/P1040247.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8LZT3keI/AAAAAAAAAIY/4x_HLA6nu_I/s400/P1040247.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301999196536541666" /></a><br />now, carefully close your iPod case again, and try to think positive thoughts as you attach it to your pc. <br /><br /><b>10: Restore (or "Hold Your Breath And Cross Your Fingers")</b><br />so... iTunes will have a look at your iPod, and hopefully it'll be obsessing about restoring it. that's fine, it's a natural urge. let it restore it. now, if you've got firewire (and all goes to plan) it should finish the restore and be telling you the iPod will be restarting (and that the dialog will close in 10 seconds) or something like that. if you don't, it'll want connecting into a wall charger to complete the restore. once you've done all this, you should see a wee status bar on the screen of your (now-happy) iPod. everything good. if you kept it connected to the firewire all this time, as i did, once you've selected your language on the iPod and checked your "about" bit in the settings to make sure all is well, you'll need to disconnect the iPod from the poot and reconnect it before iTunes will look at it properly and give it a name.<br /><br />i named mine "iPob". and i love it.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8VhKNzhI/AAAAAAAAAIg/ZfHqqGD2jxs/s1600-h/P1040248.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8VhKNzhI/AAAAAAAAAIg/ZfHqqGD2jxs/s400/P1040248.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301999370442231314" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8beYJHbI/AAAAAAAAAIo/KK7_2FuE1ng/s1600-h/P1040251.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8beYJHbI/AAAAAAAAAIo/KK7_2FuE1ng/s400/P1040251.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301999472774553010" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8qiO84_I/AAAAAAAAAIw/Ggzq29dILUo/s1600-h/P1040258.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rchTBVgug7M/SZR8qiO84_I/AAAAAAAAAIw/Ggzq29dILUo/s400/P1040258.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301999731507782642" /></a><br /><br /></span><strong></strong>:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-48101755692024223642009-02-11T15:30:00.009+00:002009-02-13T11:34:49.782+00:00Definition: a lunchbreak study on form and netculture.<b>Watching:</b> the clock<br /><br />i have a very heavy net-life. being a web developer, this is right, proper, and it's how i keep my eye on the web-trends. i have a twitter account, quite a few blogs, check my personal list of favourite sites often. i also have a myspazz account for various musics (as well as better outlets for such creations) and lastly (but not leastly, it's just narrative convenience) - a flickr account for my photos.<br /><br />thanks to flickr, i'm doing a "<a href = "http://www.flickr.com/anguaji" target = "_blank">one photo a day</a>" project this year. it's a pretty tall order when you're not a professional photographer, or travelling, or doing something exciting. mostly it tends to be stuff that happens to be near me when i remember i should take a photo. but in participating in this, i've noticed there's a few flickr-based terminology trends cropping up: bokeh wednesday, self-portrait tuesday, zen friday. <br /><br />ah, but not just flickr. i got excited about today being <a href = "http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation" target = "_blank">zero punctuation</a> wednesday. and of course, there was always <a href = "http://icanhascheezburger.com/tag/caturday/" target = "_blank">caturday</a>. someone mentioned sandwich thursday, too? what a concept.<br /><br />well, it got me to thinking, and if i had the time, i'd muse here in my blog on the following points for a lot longer, instead of leaving them as an unordered list: <br /><br />a) humans still love to apply structure to whichever culture they create - twitter is so amazingly open-ended, and there's so many people using it, that new rules and clubs and styles are created all the time<br />b) funny how quickly the net became part of boring life, instead of being the new novelty<br /><br />and<br /><br />3) netculture replacing the TV as a medium for week-shaping? (think x-factor saturday, corination street mondaywednesdayfridayandsometimessundaysomnibusatweekends)<br /><br /><b>It's So Cold:</b> so terribly, terribly cold.<br /><b>iPod:</b> is a profanity in the anguaji household right now. more on this in a future post.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-16442752215340112552009-02-04T16:13:00.011+00:002009-02-05T10:03:43.508+00:00iRant: look, but don't touch. v1.7i can't believe that there's people out there who're still not clued up about usable space on ipods/hdds/etc. "my ipod only holds 18GB - it says 20GB durr what dis?" i don't mind techno-ignorance as i'm pretty used to being immersed in it, thanks to my mega-techoid-brain, but this particular branch of the infidel seem to think that they're being ripped off by some... some bizarre <em>inner circle</em> conspiricy, when they should just clue themselves up on technology.<br /><br />for reference: hard drives have less usable capacity than advertised because, like the universe (we Pratchettians suspect), quite a large portion of the actual, physical, <i>object</i> is taken up with the knowledge of where the rest of the stuff <em>in</em> the object, is. er.<br /><br />that is to say, 1.5GB out of 20GB is keeping a record of where the actual files can be located in the rest of the 18.5GB. <br /><br />see? hmph. maybe that's not the best explanation, after all. anyway, it's listed as 20GB because it <i>is</i> 20GB, it's just the file system (FAT32, NTFS, etc) is unwieldly and in need of it's core updating, i suspect. <br /><br />i've often thought privately that computers should be treat like cars - pass a test and <em>then</em> be allowed to buy one. and drive it. er. and crash it. oh! that works. at least after crashing cars, the drivers don't ring the carmaker and whine and complain that the car crashed on them. well, you get the idea. it was a weak meatphor (i think that was meant to be "metaphor" but lack of red meat is starting to affect my subconcious).<br /><br />at the very least, we should implement some system... something along the lines of restricting learner computer users from interacting with the internet. look, but don't touch people. look, but don't touch.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-78978546248600913142009-02-04T15:03:00.004+00:002009-02-04T16:30:42.150+00:00X-over<b>Another: </b>crossover with <a href = "http://anguaji-music.blogspot.com">the _music_ blog</a><br /><b>Sorry, but:</b> nothing else has been happening.<br /><br />here's an interesting pondering: i don't know how long it normally takes to finish a remix of a track. isn't that strange?<br /><br />i'm remixing a track at the moment for <a target = "_blank" href = "http://www.last.fm/music/Synoiz/">Synoiz</a>, called Andromeda. i've loved the track for a long time - well, since it was made last year anyway - and i'm pleased with where my first try at remixing is going.<br /><br />but as i made a cup of tea this morning, i thought: "if i got me skates on, i could have the structure finished by tonight" ...and this from someone who's unaccustomed to finishing anything musical? (which is the by-product of having the shortest creative attention span in the music world) so... i'm just wondering how long it normally takes to remix a track. strange, isn't it? i have no frame of reference, so i don't feel hindered by either not spending enough time on it, or by being too needlessly in-depth. i'm going to keep myself ignorant until it's done, so that i can look it up later and see how i compare. <br /><br />---<br /><br />ooooh i got a <a href = "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88cCnlxOJNY" title = "this has to be the strangest application of a nanoPAD ever" target = "_blank">nanoPAD</a> last week - i'm sick of programming beats one click at a time, and having no decent midi interface, that's the only option. the thing is, money's a bit tight at the moment, so i was complaining to a friend on monday (during the great snow-in of 09) that i should probably sell it, as all i keep doing with it is picking it up, waving it around making "ooh shiny" noises, bashing out the same crappy beat and putting it away again - and though it was a bargain, it was still £50 - which is a weeks shopping as we young professionals know.<br /><br />that was monday night, and i now have three more beginninngingingings of newer tracks, and the start of the remix, all contributed to greatly by the nanoPAD.<br /><br />my guilty, guilty thoughts betray an unease with all this materialism though and want me to sell it anyway.<br /><br />stupid thoughts.<br /><br />---:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-57358404249422085192009-01-30T11:42:00.007+00:002009-01-30T15:24:36.706+00:00Royalties Overdue<b>Listening To:</b> beats pound the rhythm of the rain?<br /><b>Watching:</b> My Name Is Earl on c4 catchup. but - and this is important - not on my netbook. bbc iplayer is the only available catchup service that works in linux, as it's purely flash video: nice one, beeb, but a big Boo Hiss to c4 and itv (i'd love to be able to watch Cadfael on my laptop, but it's just not meant to be, Little Derek Jacobi)<br /><br />i came on here to moan at the internet, in that wit-treading post-humorous, find-the-punchline-if-you-can way that i have, but between starting the aforewritten, intricately-constructed, hyphen-filled sentence and winding my merry way to the conclusion thereof, i forgot what it was that was vexing me.<br /><br />so, then, to a list:<br /><br />1) i'm happy about being able to watch AVP2 tonight. yes. yes, i am.<br />2) i'm thinking of bringing in the phrase post-saying-the-word-post, but i can't decide if the whole thing is one long hyphenated word or an actual phrase. also i believe it's use could be very limited.<br />3) i used to love twitter, but now the world know about it and jonathon ross is using it, i'm not so sure. <br />4) i have a 50mm, 1.7 lens and i'm exquisitely happy about it<br />5) i'm sick of the cold<br />6) but i like the slightly lighter nights.<br />7) i got a drum pad midi-interface, but now i have rhythm-block, which i think mighty unfair<br />8) i've given up red meat, and hope to fade out white meat at some point.<br /><br /><b>Wondering About:</b> what stephen fry's french accent sounds like to the french<br /><b>I Wish I Could:</b> be bothered to change the strings on the guitars that i still haven't changed the strings. of. on. er.<br /><br />i don't know what that last bit of grammar was doing, but it ground itself to a halt, so i think i'll leave it be for a while to catch its breath.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-26497890647794833152009-01-27T01:56:00.003+00:002009-01-27T02:18:19.067+00:00Take 9life feels very iPod at the moment - by which i mean, shiny, new, interesting, colourful, fun and a little bit hopeful. it's probably the spring under the winter, seeping through.<br /><br />call me Synesthasia Girl, but it feels iPod to me.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270694576517551548.post-34758682942331626862009-01-22T12:33:00.004+00:002009-01-22T15:46:09.393+00:00Dairy Products And The Art Of Zen<b>Living On:</b> busy-ness. no time to talk, got Stuff To Do! oh, but i can blog. that's a given. that's part of the Stuff To Do!<br /><b>Thinking Of:</b> the days getting lighter and not tripping over the dog whilst walking so much.<br /><br />i had two major boiled-egg-related enlightenments today. <br /><br /><b>Boiled Egg Thought 1:</b> how can the universe not have an underlying purpose when soft boiled eggs taste so good? the complexities behind this seemingly simple statement are pretty immense.<br /><br /><b>Boiled Egg Thought 2:</b> why has nobody developed a perfectly-proportioned boiled egg plate complete with two egg cups and just enough room for three slices of toast (and possibly somewhere to put the tops of the eggs)? if i could make this, i think i'd be rich.<br /><br />to couple BET1, is atheism nihilism?<br /><br /><b>Pleased:</b> for America for finally getting something right in the eyes of the rest of the world.<br /><b>But I Wish:</b> he looked less menacing in certain poses. have you noticed? oh, i can't help it, i'm essentially an Aesthetic sort of girl.:: bethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05801479383248762535noreply@blogger.com0