Alton Towers issued a press release today, basically in summary they have cancelled a special Preview Weekend to go behind the scenes of the brand new World 1st Roller Coaster, Th13teen. Why?
Well basically it doesn’t work… so in summary, they’ve built this “incredibly sophisticated“ ride, only to get “technical difficulties during testing”
Hmmmm… I’m glad I didn’t apply to be the first to ride :P
A recent project I did at uni involving a video ringtone and a flash website - you can check the flash website (which also has the video ringtone on it) here or by clicking on the big image. Like me it’s a bit weird, and I feel it’s worth checking out if you want a bit of a giggle. Anyway I don’t like flash very much - so this is probably the most interactive I’ve got with it in a while :P and in turn it has some rough edges. All artwork is of course conceived and created by yours truly - as is the actual ringtone (although it’s not really what you’d call music…). Not so Interesting fact: I recycled part of Supernova Names logo (a sub-brand of my company, Specific Gravity Ltd) in the video for the comets and the sun.
I quick post to say that I thought the way that this weeks Shameless handled the mental breakdown of Karen very well. And Rebecca Atkinson (the actress who plays Karen Maguire) performed the role very well. Was very real and quite scary.
How embarrassing would it be to be taken out by a milk float…
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/shameless/episode-guide/series-7/episode-3
Alton Towers new Secret Weapon (SW6), Th13teen, opens 20th March 2010 in the area which used to house the Corkscrew (and beyond). Trip to Alton Towers this Easter anyone?
Anyway the new ride is supposed to not just be a rollercoaster, but have other elements as well, along with special “mind” effects and a world first element. I have no ideas what this is but I’m so totally looking forward to finding out. (The track kinda of rules out anything to do with the way the rider actually experiences via the train - so no flying or gravity defying inversions then…)
The idea being that a grave yard has been discovered, and riders must try and escape “The Dark Forest”. Rita is also getting a re-theme (and hopefully a re-name, because the name seems pretty out of place…)
Alton Towers is really hyping up the ride, and has “employed” Celebrity Big Brother winner Alex to recruit the first riders for the ride. I’d apply - but I’d rather someone else tested it first, you can’t trust builders these days and with a name like Th13teen thank god it isn’t going to be launched on a Friday 13th…
Bring on March 2010.
Apple (my favourite brand of all time) introduced iPad this week. My initial opinions of the device where basically why?! But I am now seeing more and more reasons to get one. 1) I don’t like taking my netbook everywhere with me, it is actually as Steve Jobs would say “clunky”, with an iPad I could just stick it in my bag along with my other pads, books etc. I came to my conclusion after realising that actually for most things my iPhone is just fine, and I only really need a laptop when I’m going on long journeys or away on holiday. At the moment I use a netbook to bridge that cap. But it’s slow, the keyboard is terrible (constantly hit the wrong keys) and the screen size isn’t desirable for a standard operating system (particularly vertically). iPad fixes all of this, and it also has the added benefit of all the features of the iPhone (bar the phone) IE touch screen and motion sensor mainly.
Add to wish list: 1 iPad.
Tell us something we don’t know about you.
This is a difficult one - because I don’t know who’s asking the question, so it’s hard to say what you know or don’t know. Erm…. Erm…. I shave my own hair? I know that’s a pretty lame answer. Erm… I guess not a lot of people know that I’ve always wanted to live by the sea (preferable somewhere hot, and not particularly the UK) and have a boat. I also want a 4x4, a big house in the countryside and a Chocolate Labrador (no not to eat…)
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/shameless
Shameless Series 7 started this week, and although I’m probably really sad to admit, but it made me very happy, and really cheered me up. (Perhaps further helped by the several cocktails, bottle of cider and bottle of VK consumed earlier that night - along with plenty of sugar in the form of cake - well it was Lizzies birthday!).
Anyway my favourite character in the first episode was Nin - I mean who wouldn’t want to be that old, that screwed on and that strong. An incredible character - and I hope there are people like Nin in the world.
Other highlights include seeing carl in his boxers (boy has he grown up & got fit) and catching a glimpse (in the opening characters) of carl and mickey, my favourite character, in the sack together.
Anyway what I like about Shameless is that it is just so totally is Shameless. It’s one of the only shows on the TV today which isn’t afraid to bluntly delve into controversial topics. Also I love the concept, I think being shameless is probably one of the most comforting ways of anyone to live their life.
The power of moving pictures indeed.
| — | (via clientsfromhell) |
As a teach head, what do you see the tech/IT industry being like in 10/20 years and do you think the iPad will be a success?
I actually don’t like the iPad yet. Although I think my opinion will change. (It’s probably just because I’m on a contract for one of those “clunky slow netbooks” and am feeling jealous). Also not sure I wanna carry an iPad and an iPhone along with me - why cant the macbook air be the next step up - they should just put mobile broadband in that…
I think everybody will be in the cloud. The majority of the western world will use social computing as their main form of communication. A lot of the smaller provided today will be made redundant by automated process.
And I will have 60” 64 core iMac.
Our WebFloat service and website re-launches today with a brand new design, and even more flexibility for creating custom web hosting packages. Ordering custom web hosting is now even easier,…
What made you realise you were gay and how long did you suspect before hand?
I’d like to know who asked the question… but anyway…
I guess ultimately I ‘realised’ my sexuality when I couldn’t change or ignore my feelings after trying hard to change them for a long period of time. I couldn’t say how long I suspected, I guess ever since I started finding men sexually attractive - IE adolescence/puberty. It doesn’t feel like I was ever anything other than gay to myself even though I may have presented otherwise to people around me.
Life Is One BIG Balancing ACT…
Everyday (like lots of people) I balance student life with business life and then both of those are also balanced with whatever is left to make some sort of social life.
Sometimes it gets confusing - worlds collide and things get lost mid-air. Just this morning I totally blanked my new housemate for next year and good friend - I was lost in mid-air trapped in my own little bubble rushing around.
This post marks a new era of RetroNerd where I intend not to always post things that make sense to one particular area or group of people. I’m scrapping the balancing act - and living life merged. So my uni time is my business time, my business time is my uni time, my personal time is my business time and my business time is my personal time.
Basically I give up trying maintain a different image of myself for every (very different part of my life) and I’m going to start living life merged. So if you call me expect to hear music in the background. If you party with me, expect me to be working as well. If you study with me, expect me to be doing anything but studying :P.
So eventually this little blog will actually have some representation of my real life - not just one aspect of how I would choose to present myself. The cuffs are off. Lets go.
(Oh and the design is a work in progress people. In case anyones wondering yes it is custom and it’s (going to be) a 80’s mash up influenced by fantasy, neon lights (neon rainbow / ministry of sounds 80’s) and good old saved by the bell.)
I am loving Spooks – despite the magical technical things they seem to be able to do that don’t make sense. To hack into a bank we simply go to one of the computers open it up and put a round thing between two wires it seems – and it seems when we shuv it all back in within a matter of seconds the computer is up and running exactly as it was before. Oh well the bombs, running, guns, timers and near-end-of-the-world(or UK) scenarios are always interesting. Wednesday is currently Fish’n’Chips+Waterloo Road+Spooks day for me and Lizz at the moment lol. *guilty pleasures*
Talking about magical technical things that don’t seem to make sense. Windows 7. I really don’t get why everyone is raving about it – is it because it looks “nice” and works? Well they’ve really exceeded expectations: a computer which actually works – who’d of thought it ey. Anyways seems as I get it all free – I’ve just installed a Windows 7 VM which seems to run fast enough so it’ll replace my XP VM. Fortunately I can escape the vista style theme and butterflies by running it in coherence mode with OSX Leopard. Now my mac dock and my windows dock are the same. Mac Power Looks like Mac needs a new slogan because “It just works.” isn’t going to cut it now Windows works as well – I’ll do my best to report on annoyance and crash of Windows 7 at time goes by
I’m stuck in a hell holeish world of an eternal cold and misery lol. It peaked at the end of October after a fantastic night at Alton Towers Scarefest (I love Alton Towers and everything that it stands for) – I woke up and realised that I actually couldn’t open my mouth very much. So I thought oh – it’s ok – it’ll go away. 3 days later I could no longer open my mouth enough to speak or even swallow my own spit – in fact if I had it my way I wouldn’t of swallowed at all because it was just total agony. Anyway hoping for some antibiotics and to go home, I went to the doctors. Unfortunately they said I needed to go hospital. So I spent 3 days in hospital on a IV drip with multiple antibiotics, painkillers and nutrition running through me. I spent my time with a bunch of old men and an infuriating bed-side computer/tv thing which I felt like smashing several times. Not the highest point in my life. Anyway coming to 2 months on – I still have the damn after effects.
