Speech Bubbles

Since I decided to start using more Bookmarks in Firefox, I realised how great the 'Open All in Tabs' feature is. What would it be best for, though? That's right, webcomics. I have usually been reading things like xkcd and stuff, but recently I decided I should add more to my list, just because there is real talent in many of them.

And while I have expanded my list, I don't like reading webcomics unless I have read them from the beginning (with Penny Arcade, it meant reading solidly for many, many hours to get from the beginning). So I'm going to ask you, fine readers, if there are more I should add. It's a webcomic drive, and I'm looking mainly for technie, funny or subversive ones.

Here is what my webcomic Bookmark section is currently like:

Penny Arcade
xkcd
Misfile
The Perry Bible Fellowship
What Fresh Hell is This?
Cyanide & Happiness
LUCID TV
Anomaly

What should I add to my daily reading?

Moves Are Slow

So it's come around again. The beginning of the academic year, and the end of Summer. I used to dread it much, but since leaving school, it hasn't been so frightening. However, I did have something to fear this year. I've been dreading it, but it came about yesterday.

I drove Becky to University, and now she's restarting full time education. Chester isn't close. It took about three and a half hours to get there, and nearly six to get back. But I settled her down and moved her stuff in, and it was very sad. I was mostly too tired to feel sad then, but I do now.

But it was a good drive to get my new front tyres fitting well, and we listened to some good music and I met her new flatmates, who are pretty cool.

And now I'm back in University. I'm here waiting to see Mr Dube about a job. It's good to know that they haven't deleted my account from the systems, and I can still log on. I'm sitting in on one of David Bailey's database classes, and they're discussing Oracle and Development Projects. I'm not listening, so nothing's changed.

I decided to go completely retro. I was sick of the bad signal I was getting from my phone, I guess the aerial just isn't that good. I am now, for the moment at least, using a Nokia 6210, probably the best phone ever made. It's monochrome, the buttons are a bit sticky and it's extra functions are limited to Snake II, and the camera is only 0.5 megapixels (actually it doesn't have a camera). But it's light, comfortable and most importantly, reliable. It didn't let me down (apart from when I started using it yesterday and it kept turning off, but I bent the battery pins and it's fine now).

Now You've Gone and Done It

Well, she insisted upon a laptop, and she bought one. Luckily, she avoided the laptop trap: a cheap one from Acer or Dell or one you haven't heard of. She went for a Sony Vaio, and I am pretty jealous. It was only £500, and that's a very good price for one. I'm impressed. It only has 1GB of RAM, but other than that it isn't too badly specced out.

I had the Second Funtime Korean Ice-Cream Party. It involved a group of friends and some family, just eating curry and then Korean ice-cream, usually courtesy of Yunhae. It was very fun, but Imogen got called back earlier than we'd hoped. It was fantastic to see Kiana again, and I also hadn't seen Natasha or Yunhae for a long time, and that was loads of fun. Most importantly, I got to see Emma again, as I'd really been missing her. Se came up to my house for three days, for her friend Han's wedding and the party and a shopping day in Kingston with me and my sister.

A few people may know about the width limiter at Hammersmith bridge. It's there to make sure wide (heavy) lorries and trucks don't go onto the bridge. Buses have a special lane, but for the private vehicles, they have to be a certain width or less. My car fits, but there are only a few inches to spare on each side. It's quite wide for a small car. Anyway, I know it fits. Whenever Natasha makes a comment on my driving (such as saying it's 'atrocious' when she means it's efficient [I know where all my tyres are, where they are headed and how fast, how much traction they have, how likely they are to lose their traction, and most importantly, how to deal with a loss of traction]), I do something to frighten her, because she's really easily frightened. Such as, this time, headed for the width limiter quite quickly. I know my car will make it, so it doesn't actually matter how fast you go through it, it's a straight line, and straight lines are pretty easy. And that was fun. She'll realise that it is very possible to be safe without driving like you're asleep. As I learnt today, aggressive driving is, in fact, safer.

Speaking of which, apparently Dan "is ready for an apology". If you're reading this, Dan, apology accepted.

I recommend to not only my friends but to everyone ever, ShakeAway. It's a takeaway milkshake place. It's not somewhere where you can go everyday, or even once a week, unless you're a billionaire, but it makes the best milkshakes. I had a Daim with a Smarties topping. It cost £3.90, but once every so often, I really recommend it. Tastier than a Frappucino.

So for the past few days, I have been seeing old friends, hearing from many on Facebook, chatting away. I went to University to pick up Natasha and Kiana, and while I was there I spoke to the System Administrator, and asked for a job, and he agreed. I'll be working at University again, like I did before, but with more hours and more money. He's a good guy, Mr Dube. I've also spoken to Erin somewhat, and discussed with her my new idea. I'm going to have to think about it more.

I watched an episode of Pimp my Ride. The presenter, 'Westwood', irritated the hell out of me. I couldn't stand him and the way he spoke. The concept of the show irritated me as well: making an average car look pretty in making it much heavier. But most of all, the name irritated me. It made me sick, actually. I'm sure I've gone on about it before, but I still dislike it immensely.

I also discovered that Jacque lu Cont has done a remix of Chromeo's Needy Girl. I'm going to have to give that a listen. I hope you're all well.

Laptops

Since I've been getting technical, I'm going to be technical again.

Since my last entry, I installed my new DVD drive, and it's great. It makes a fantastic sound when I put a CD in or when I boot up. It's very robotic. I also reread all of Yukina's Blog (link at bottom), and laughed out loud, espacially at the bit about the coaches.

I don't think I've mentioned it properly, but I have discovered possibly the greatest unsigned artist. Binärpilot is a Norweigian techno artist. He gives out all of his music for free online, and you should torrent it. The best place for music like that is, of course, the car. Sometimes it sounds better in the car than the dancefloor, but that's the nature of extreme techno. He's just put out a new album, but listen to 'Promo', it's all of his best stuff. Also, 'Defrag', which is very obscure, but stunning. Seeing as I'm not driving, I'm actually listening to The Cure right now.

Tomorrow Emma comes up, and we have a Funtime Korean IceCream Party, like we did before, but with Emma this time. And Natasha. I haven't seen Emma since we moved out and I blew up my car dropping her off.

Anyway, technicals: My sister is about to go to University. Apart from a Lost Season Three marathon, she also needs to get a computer. For writing essays and other essential University tasks. She wants a laptop, while my father and I believe that she should get a desktop. This has led me to analyse the differences in laptops and desktops, advantages and disadvantages.

Of course, laptops are more expensive. They should be. The technology has to be crammed into a much smaller, portable space, and be able to withstand movement, and use in a variety of environments. Desktops have space to spare (unless you're concerned about aesthetics and cannot be troubled by things like base stations or wires; in that case, get a Mac and never come back to this website). They have space for expansion, and airflow. They're upgradable, and most importantly, user servicable. The last time anyone tried to service their laptop, well, it was Emma's, and it cost a bundle for them to fix after that.

With the budget at which we're looking (under £500), you can get a low specification laptop, or an above average desktop. You could also get a second hand iMac, but... you know. And my sister doesn't need a high powered computer for MP3s and The Sims 2, but my worry is that any laptop for under £500 won't be made from quality components. It'll be using the cheapest RAM, the cheapest HDD, the cheapest motherboard, and will be cooled by an average fan. With someone who doesn't turn their computer off often, the use will get to it, and the latent heat will build up and damage the components. You can't fix laptops, you have to send them to be repaired. And motherboards aren't as tough as they used to be, and they cost a lot to replace, as everything plugs into them. A cheap laptop will probably break. I've been lucky, but most people I know haven't been lucky unless they spend a large amount, and don't throw them around during arguments.

A desktop is harder to move, but that's the limit of its disadvantages. Better value, more power, greater reliability. I don't know, I just think that desktops aren't given the credit they deserve these days. But I'm a traditionalist. I feel like latops are like monocoque chassis, they have advantages, but are less integral than a framework chassis, and don't last in the same way. My ideal car would have a framework chassis, and my ideal computer would be a desktop. Laptops should always be secondary.

That's how I feel on the subject.

Now I'm going to play GTA: Vice City Stories.

Unusual

Here's something strange. When I bought my PSP, I got it from America. It's a lot cheaper to do that. I also bought some RAM while I was at it. Another 2GB to put on my 1GB that was already there. PC3200, it's not that new, but it does the trick. Anyway, I plugged it in (while cutting my hand on my Zalman fan cooling blades), and as soon as I did, my USB flash drive stopped working. It would search for ages, and come up blank. Nothing USB worked.

Odd.

I took the RAM out, and everything was fine again. Now I've just paid close to $100 on this, so it wasn't going to waste. I went into the BIOS and turned off USB 2.0, and the problem went away. How very odd.

I did a little looking, and it's not just me. When you combine these various, innocuous factors into a computer:

More than 2GB of RAM,
Windows Vista and a
nVidia Chipset

USB 2.0 fails. Impatient to try out my games with improved RAM and getting to leave Firefox running, I left it on USB 1.1 and continued on with life. It didn't bother me until I needed to transfer a 700MB file from my external hard drive. Instead of waiting for it over USB 1.1, I turned my computer off, unplugged two of my four RAM sticks (and incurred further cuts), turned USB 2.0 on, transferred the file, then put everything back. That was faster than waiting. Says a lot about the speed improvements, doesn't it?

Anyway, I got bored of this, 1.1 was having an effect on my response time of my MIDI keyboard, and I worried for my new 1kHz polling mouse. I decided to fix it. More research led me to a Microsoft fix specifically for USB problems on nVidia chipsets. Problem: I can't pass a WGA check, and can't download from Microsoft.com. I searched for workarounds for ages, only realising there was a completely working and legal copy of Vista downstairs on my mother's computer. Before it came to that, searching for the fix file name on Google heralded a direct link, and saved me from getting out of my chair.

Worse than not having USB 2.0, Photoshop suddenly failed a few weeks ago. I Photoshop frequently, for fun. Most people I know learnt it for the Graphics module and subsequently forgot it after they got a passing grade. Like 3DS Max. Shame, they are great programs, and I have continued to use both (3DS Max to a lesser degree, it's not as much fun as Photoshop). But Photoshop decided that whenever you make a new file or open an old one, it hangs, thinking and not responding. That won't do. I managed to get it working once after a series of reinstalls and a Windows Restore. But only once. And once I'd closed it, it stopped again. Scouring the Adobe knowledgebase, I found a reason: it's looking for a networked printer that isn't plugged in. It'll search for hours before it lets you start. I just uninstalled the printer from my computer, and it was solved.

My computer is working very smoothly. Half Life 2 won't acknowledge my updated driver, but it's not a big problem. I am still yet to put in my new DVD burner.

EDIT: You guys aren't commenting. Come back.

Remember C64?

That's unlike me, isn't it? I go travelling, and hardly two blog posts come your way. And I was disappointed myself in their length and quality.

If you want me to tell you the truth, it's because Macs make me nervous. I don't trust them with long stints of typing, it's not natural. Plus, the keyboard was stiff in places, and instead of dust and dirt jammed underneath the perspex, there was a curiously large spider.

Anyway, I'm back in England, and filled with mixed feelings. Why? Because part of me wants to stay here, part of me wants to go back. I love England, it's a wonderful country, and it's my home. Most people I know are here, my stuff is here, I have my own room full of rubbish, it's the way I've known it. Canada is also a wonderful country, with shockingly friendly people everywhere you go. It doesn't have my stuff, but it does have some family and friends. A return flight costs nothing, and I'm seriously about going back for a couple of months before I leave.

But! There are some problems with Canada. I'm sure I already mentioned the limiting speed limit. It doesn't end there. While it doesn't have nearly the same SUV infestation that America does (I didn't see a single Hummer), it is full of pick-up trucks. Roan drives one even. But I can see the use of them. Roan carts stuff around all the time. But still, there are more than I'd like in my country. Plenty of Estate cars as well, which I just plain don't like. However, redeeming much of this, thousands of Subarus! I even drove one for the first time. It wasn't an Impreza, but it did have all wheel drive and was pretty responsive. This one belonged to Anna, Leitha's friend. They are mostly Estate or SUV crossovers, but still, Subarus, they're quality vehicles. I am dreaming of owning one still.

But what's the point of a fast car if you have speed limits that never get close to 120kmh? It would be a very restrictive time for me to live there. My patience would die out and all my savings would go straight onto speeding fines.

Anyway, it'd be fun to go there and fix up the Reliant K car, hang out with cousins more, and just get more of a feel for the place. I mean, come on, their province is bigger than my country. Plus, Roan and I are planning to fix up the cars and sell them on for profit, increasing our fixing until we can afford that Fury. While driving back from the Milford Lodge, Roan spotted a nice looking car, and instructed me to turn around and go and take a look. When we got there, we saw it was a 1968 Plymouth Fury, in alright condition. The owner saw us pull into his drive, and came to see who we were. We struck up a long conversation about the car and about music (he and Roan had played with some of the same people). The car had been sitting for a while so wouldn't start, but otherwise was in good condition. It needed some paint work and maybe even a reupholstering, but it was drivable and shockingly beautiful. He wanted $1700 for it, which I'm sure we could have argued down to $1200. Well, it became our goal. That's something to return for.

A few months ago, I bought a PSP. I haven't spoken about it much, but it's been a great thing to have. On holiday it saved me from all the times I was stuck alone. While touring Spain and France I watched most of a new anime and in Canada it brought me the rest with some Family Guy as well. I also put some albums on it, and as soon as I found out Val had wireless, I was set. While I was there, I bought GTA Vice City Stories, and boy, did that throw me back to my youth. I really am getting back into gaming in a big way, and the PSP has helped. I'm still looking for MGS3 second hand, I never got to play it back in the day, and I have to do something about that before MGS4 comes out.

I could have typed out blog posts on my PSP, it's true. It would have saved me from the Mac, but it didn't seem worth it with all the clicking and entering more than fifteen characters of text taking a while. So I used it for browsing more than writing. And while I bought a few second hand games, I also bought some new hardware. Computer hardware I tend to go for new stuff, knowing that it can wear out and fail, and leave you with nothing. The same can happen with new stuff, but it's under warranty. So I have a new DVDRW and a brand new mouse. The last mouse I had, was a expensive Microsoft Intelimouse, which cost me around £50. It was very good, but it wore out. It started double and triple clicking on left click and middle click, which is murder on tabbed browsing. I feel it should have lasted more than the four years it did, but maybe that's optimism gone too far.

I went and purchased the top end Razer mouse in Canada. It cost about $60, which is less than the £41 it is here. It has 2000dpi, which is murder in the Windows environment, but stunningly fun in the FPS environment. I had a frantic bout of Half Life 2: Episode One last night. I'm eager for Portal more than anything else to be honest. I tried out Narbacular Drop, which one could assume is the prequel, and I have had to stop myself from playing in case I ruin Portal for myself.

I am yet to install my DVDRW drive, which will replace my existing one which no longer writes or reads CDs. Which is bad because all the music I listen to in the car is CD based. Anyway, now I can take the old one and make a laser pointer out of the laser.

Before I go, I should mention, the anime I watched on my PSP was The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. It's writing and storytelling method I regard as on par with Lost. Not quite as enjoyable, but close. I'm overjoyed at the news of a second season, and I recommend anyone who is into good storytelling and anachronous plots.

But that's enough for now.

Left Right

The first thing I should point out here is that I haven't been submerged for about three and a half years or so. This is because I don't really like swimming. Since my parents had a really good shower installed, I haven't had a bath. The same has been true through all my University accommodation. It's always been showers. So I haven't been underwater for a very, very long time.

So I'm in Canada. I heard about this lodge trip on which my sister and mother were going, and I thought it would be cool, and I have been out in the Milford Lodge (one recalls the Milford Academy) for two days.

It's a set of wooden lodges on the front of a reasonably large lake. Supplied are many canoes and paddles. I haven't been canoeing since I was about 10 and that was in the Thames. But here I was, with a genuine Canadian Canoe, all to myself, with my cousin and sister paddling around me. It was good fun. After we set out on a small row around our most local lake, we stopped by a floating platform near our lodge. My sister, in looking for her mooring rope, capsized and went in. I was quite impressed; it's usually difficult to capsize those things unless you mean to.

We had a very long row the next day to a remote beach (probably only accessible by canoe). Messy sandwiches and sunburn later, we rowed back as fast as we could, through semi-rapids (Pike's Run), and over massive lakes. It took us about an hour and a half to get back, but that's after four hours (or so) to get there.

As we approached our home lodge, I felt hot and bothered enough to want to tip the boat over. I didn't, as Becky was with me, but after we landed I suggested it to Roan (cousin), and he was more than eager. So for the first time in nearly four years, I went underwater. We tipped the boat and went in. It wasn't really cold, in places it was warm, but we even managed to get all the water out of it afterwards (in shallower water). I got in again, and as Roan did, it tipped, and the canoe sank slowly. And that was the most fun. It could even be considered accidental.

We tipped it a few more times, and the trip slowly came to a close. We made it back to Mahone Bay, where we were staying with the rest of the family. Since then, we've done a lot of fun things, the main one being searching for a "woods beater", or a very cheap car to thrash through the woods and then scrap. We found a little Mazda 323 in red which would only cost $50 (Canadian), which is nothing, but the car needed to be released by police, which even to this day it hasn't been. Eventually (yesterday), we bought a 1989 Plymouth Reliant K, which cost us $200, but we didn't have the plan to destroy it. We plan to keep it and sell it t Roan's girlfriend as her first car by the end. It's just an old car, and it has a few things wrong (old radiator, burst brake lines), but I'm going to give some time today to repairing it, so I can take it through the woods and dirt roads briefly before I leave tonight.

When I get back to England tomorrow morning, I can relay more of my adventures, such as my new gaming mouse and DVD writer. But until then I'm going to repair some car.