Archive for May, 2006
I’ve tried to install Beta 2 of Windows Vista multiple times, both the 32- and 64-bit version, and have so far fallen down at the first hurdle each time.
For some reason, Vista thinks that my motherboard, the otherwise wonderful IWILL DK8N doesn’t have a fully ACPI compliant BIOS, and blue-screens at the first part of the installation process.
I don’t quite understand this, as I’m running Windows XP happily, and device manager says it’s running the ACPI Multiprocessor kernel, and ACPI v2 is enabled in the BIOS, so I’m stumped.
Even Google has let me down on this, as I can’t find anyone with a similar problem with Vista, so I guess I’m going to have to wait to experience the Vistary goodness until IWILL gets back to me with some information.
I’m tempted to install the 64 bit version of XP, and they try an upgrade, but my spider sense is telling me that would be a Bad Thing. Frustrating.
May 29th, 2006
You have to love apocolypsatists (not a real word, I'm sure, but it should be) who make heartfelt predictions of doom, and when they (always) fail to appear start back-peddling frantically. Take Eric Julien, a former French air traffic controller, who, between strikes, says he tracked on radar a UFO travelling at 15,000 knots.
Eric claims that he has had numerous prophetic dreams showing that a comet will impact the Atlantic Ocean on the 25th of May, causing a massive Tsunami which will wipe out the populations in the coastal areas of many countries. Because of these dreams (and his seemingly near constant communication with extraterrestrials) he is trying to wake up the world to this coming catastrophe before it is all too late.
NASA, naturally, know all about this, and are doing their best to cover it up. He invokes ‘predicions’ from Nostradamus, Mother Shipton (notwithstanding that most of her predictions were written decades after she died), Bible Codes, and, most hauntingly of all, the release of the film Poseidon as precursors of the oncoming tragedy.
As I write this, on the 29th of May, with only two days left in May, I’m not going to lose any sleep over this. But then, I live on the East coast of England, so I’m safe!
Be afraid, be very afraid (of your sanity) – SaveLivesInMay.com
May 29th, 2006
Via conscientious a conversation with photographer Jay Parkinson about his aspiring models shoots.
As an aspiring portrait photographer myself, I do admire his aims – his determination to give as little direction as possible to these neophyte models is probably quite disconcerting to them, and this shows in the photos. Many of them look awkward or uncomfortable – indeed there are several I personally wouldn't have chosen to show but Jay aimed to produce non-traditional portraits, and succeeded I feel.
He seems to be consciously trying to sabotage the Maxim / FHM style of photography, and he achieves that, but to my eye the portraits feel cold and detached; in some respect they remind me of the late, great Bob Carlos Clarke's 'Love Dolls Never Die', since those too were devoid of emotion, not unexpectedly since they were made out of pvc.
Out of the series on his website, I only really liked the shots of Hilary and Danielle, the rest left me cold. This is, perhaps, what Jay was aiming for.
May 18th, 2006
Those brummies know what they like, and they like what they see.
Perhaps they’ve had enough going around the Bullring. Then again, that would be a very specialised type of porn.
May 16th, 2006
A freedom of information application was filed by Judicial Watch to get hold of the CCTV footage of American Airlines flight 77 hitting the Pentagon, apparently to clear up the conspiracy theories about the day.
Unfortunately, based upon the footage I saw on the BBC, the only thing visible is a silver blob immediately preceeding the explosion, and it doesn’t look like a convincing aircraft to me.
I’m sure it will be poured over frame by frame by both sides of the conspiracy / non-conspirary fence, however I’m afraid from what I’ve seen it won’t help a jot.
May 16th, 2006