 |
December 2005 Blog |
31st December 2005 - 00:22 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
My new Acer AT3201W LCD TV arrived Friday morning, totally unexpected as it wasn’t due to be delivered until Tuesday next week. I got a call at work from home asking if I had indeed ordered a 32” television and to say that the City Link courier driver was not impressed that nobody was available to help him unload the item, surely they should have slat trucks on the van?
Anyway, after unpacking from a massive box and a great deal of effort getting the thing up two flights of stairs my new piece of kit is now installed and very impressive it is too.
The picture quality is first class, a friend of mine had a plasma television and while some AV enthusiasts may disagree with me, I can't notice a difference in picture quality compared with my LCD TV.
The TV has almost every input you could desire, RGB Scart, S-Video, Composite, VGA and DVI/HDCP (one for the future – High Definition Television) which is great as my previous telly just had an aerial and scart socket.
A full, professional and in-depth review of my television can be found here. It has scored pretty highly and came recommended to me from AV Forums, a message board full of Hi-Fi nuts who probably all have £20,000 overdrafts to pay for their appliances. They do know their stuff though.
28th December 2005 - 22:26 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
Just a quick blog to congratulate Leeds United for beating Stoke City 1-0 tonight. This victory moves The Mighty Whites up to 3rd in the league. American international Eddie Lewis scored the only goal of the game but special praise has to go to the goalkeeper Neil Sullivan who saved a penalty.
Well done to Leeds, keep it up. Here as always is a goal montage/commentary mix of the game.
28th December 2005 - 18:54 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
So I got a Sony NWA3000 MP3 walkman for Christmas. Very cool piece of kit and in my opinion better than those Apple IPods which look like sticks of chewing gum.
The walkman plays various types of audio files and in the same manner as an IPod (or any other MP3 player for that matter). It connects to a PC where you can drag and drop music tracks into it.
The walkman came in extremely useful travelling to and from Leeds the other day making what could have been a very boring and tedious journey just about bearable. Even though my travelling time exceeded 9 hours over 2 days there were no dying batteries, in fact the walkman’s internal power is supposed to work for 35 hours before the need for a re-charge.
All in all very pleased with my new piece of kit. It just takes AGES to drag 20gigs of MP3 files across from my laptop to walkman!
I myself have been spending money on technology. I thought my 28” Widescreen TV was looking a bit old (well, it’s almost 6 years) so after much thought have purchased a brand spanking new 32” High Definition LCD Television.
The Acer AT3201W came highly recommended to me and I decided to take the plunge. My lovely new piece of kit is set for delivery on Tuesday, just in time for the Arsenal – Man United game. In the meantime I have to make to with my tiny 28” TV, poor me! Here are the specs for my new television.
27th December 2005 - 20:34 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
Well I’m back home from my trip to Leeds after a nightmare car journey. Six fucking hours in a car moving at a snail pace through traffic jam after traffic jam. The journey from Bath to Leeds should only take 3 hours if there is no traffic!
The reason for the delay was millions of morons descending upon shopping centres across the country for the January Sales. There were tail backs for miles around every major city, shoppers from Meadowhill in Sheffield, Birmingham and Cribbs Causeway in Bristol.
Stuck somewhere on the M42, snowing outside, bored out my mind
The weather was very cold today, the gritter vans had their work cut out
On the way down to Bath I was listening to BBC Five Live, some psychologist was on talking about how idiotic shoppers are going over the top with these sales, queuing outside shopping centres in the freezing cold just to save a few pounds on an item they would never normally think of buying.
One shopper was on the news boasting how he queued outside a Next clothes shop from 2am and managed to buy a jumper for £32 which normally retailed for £49. Fucking madness, if you asked this man to freeze his bollocks off, sleeping rough for £17 (what he saved on the jumper) any other day of the year he would laugh at you, so why do it for the sales!!??
Anyway, back to the roads, these idiotic shoppers complete with Christmas holiday makers returning home lead to an afternoon of misery. Had Leeds not won 3-1 yesterday my last two days would have been a waste of time.
Lastly, as promised I have made this commentary mix of the Coventry game. Not up to my normal standard but I didn’t have much commentary clips to work from.
26th December 2005 - 18:33 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
I’ve only recently got back from Elland Road, watching Leeds United beat Coventry City 3-1. Great score line, performance wise it was very up and down. When Leeds played well they looked fabulous but when they played badly they were shocking.
For a lot of the game Coventry City bossed the midfield but some superb skill and finishing from Jonathan Douglas, Robbie Blake and Richard Cresswell got Leeds 3 goals and inevitably 3 valuable points.
A final honourable mention for Coventry City’s
Don Hutchison
who scored an absolute screamer of a goal. If you have Sky watch Football League Review, the goal was so impressive it even won applause from some of the Leeds fans.
Coventry City were awarded a dubious looking penalty. The Leeds fans, unimpressed did their very best to put off Gary McSheffrey, the penalty taker by shouting, stamping their feet and waving their arms. These distractions paid off, McSheffrey hit the bar – Hahahaha!!!!!
The atmosphere was also pretty good for a home match. A crowd of over 24,000 all taking part in a Mexican Wave is not something you see everyday.
I was able to record highlights of the game from BBC Radio Leeds onto my laptop. When I get home to Bath tomorrow I will make a commentary mix for the game and upload.
25th December 2005 - 22:31 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
Christmas Day, supposedly a holiday and a day of relaxation, why is it then that no matter how much or how little you do you feel so knackered at the end of the day?
This afternoon I went to see friends in Bristol. One friend of mine is setting up an internet café and is living out the back of the shop. A lot of work has been carried out over the last few months, from the looks of things by very slow builders. While the rear of the shop is ok it still looks unfinished.
Part of the shop rear complete with a cardboard makeshift door
Where we ate, drank and watched TV
DanInTheMix is on the sofa
I was served turkey for Christmas Dinner, not in the traditional format with potatoes, gravy, sprouts, etc. It was turkey curry, different but still very nice all the same.
I’m off to Yorkshire in the morning to watch Super Leeds United take on the Mighty Coventry City at Elland Road. Will blog tomorrow or Tuesday about what I got for Christmas (Sony NWA3000 Walkman – nice) and what else I got up to, off to bed now as I am very tired and have to set off early in the morning for a long drive up north.
23rd December 2005 - 23:13 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
I have been watching some of Jimmy Carr’s material recently. Very funny stuff, I hadn’t seen much of him before, only on those Channel 4 adverts and making guest appearances on shows like Have I Got News For You. Then last Friday Channel 4 aired one of his stand up shows, thought it was so funny I ordered his new DVD (Jimmy Carr Stand Up) which I have watched twice already, once last night and again with a friend this evening.
It's easy to do an impression of Jimmy.
Just talk in a posh, fast and quite voice.
In a similar manner to Peter Kay or Dave Spikey (other favourites of mine), Carr’s humour focuses on issues his audience can all relate to. That however is the only similarity to the Phoenix Nights duo. Carr is a lot more crude, blunt and to the point.
His interaction with the crowd, especially those (un)fortunate enough to be sitting on the front row is quality making up some of the best moments of this show. I would really like to see him live when he tours again although personally would make a good attempt to hide away from him and the bunt of his jokes, hopefully get a seat behind a long tall pillar, or a big fat person.
I highly recommend you see this DVD, it is just so funny. If you are given it for Christmas you are in for a treat.
Here is just a few of the jokes featured on the DVD. I will say, unlike a lot of acts Jimmy Carr isn’t just about jokes and gags. There is so much more to his performances, so even if these don’t make you laugh you should still check out his disc.
What's worse than finding a worm in your apple?
Being raped
I was asked to judge Mr. Gay UK.
He's against nature, he's against God and he's going to Hell.
I broke up with a girl once because she lied about her weight.
She died in a bungee jumping accident.
On Remembrance Sunday do spare a thought for the German ex-servicemen.
At least our old soldiers are remembering winning.
Two things you should always leave on overnight - fridges and life support machines.
If not you'll lose an awful lot of vegetables.
20th December 2005 - 23:06 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
I sustained a terrible injury at work today. There was panic, pain and gore… paper cuts can really be horrific.
My cut made an awful mess
Anybody who has every had a paper cut will know it is one of those things that shouldn’t really hurt much but bloody well does. The thought of the wound is often a lot worse than the injury itself, looking at the slit in my hand and feeling the two torn pieces of skin rubbing together made me feel sick. My office didn’t even have any plasters so I had to last the rest of the day and make it home carrying along a war wound.
It is now over six hours later and while the bleeding has long since stopped the skin hasn’t healed. I do expect it to heal on its own, no need for stitches although I have some vodka, cotton and a needle to hand should I need to perform emergency surgery on myself.
The paper which cut me!!!
Health and safety in the workplace focus on so many areas nowadays, trailing wires, hazardous Christmas lights, hot drinks. No safety inspector has ever recognised the danger of a common piece of A4 paper – lethal!
13th December 2005 - 22:03 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
I’ve been watching Space Cadets on Channel 4 the last few days. For those not in the know a group of normal people are tricked that they are being sent into space as part of a reality TV show. Instead they are being filmed in a simulator in the countryside just outside of Ipswich.
Today they saw earth from space, well what they thought was earth. It was actually an image projected onto a screen (probably the wallpaper off somebody’s computer).
Something which I find very amusing is the Russian Captain onboard. He is really an English actor employed as part of the scam. His Russian accent is just hilarious and I’ve seen enough Bond films to know what a Russian sounds like. This guy sounds EXACTY like Chelsea’s Portuguese manager José Mourinho.
Here is the “Russian” Captain and here is José. Can you tell them apart? It’s tricky isn’t it!
12th December 2005 - 22:16 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
A recent news story about Wayne Rooney made me laugh. His fiancée Coleen McLoughlin is making a TV Show. In the show she mentions Rooney’s weight…
According to The Sun she said: "They all think Wayne's a big fat person and eats burgers every day, which he's not, and I don't know where they get it from. “
well… football fans have eyes, they can see he’s fat
she added “It does my head in because people really believe that. His favourite food is lettuce. He loves salad."
Yeah, salad as long as it’s in a burger bun :o)
Wonder if Wayne wishes Coleen will spend more time in Miss Selfridge and less time talking to the media. The documentary entitled Coleen's Secrets is due to be aired on Channel 5 (or Five as they now call themselves) soon. I won't be holding my breath for any quality though. Sunderland have more chance of winning The Premiership than Coleen's Secrets has of winning Documentary of the Year.
11th December 2005 - 20:36 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
I turned on the news this morning to hear about the explosion at a fuel depot in Hemel Hempstead. Luckily nobody was killed and casualties were kept to a minimum.
I was up to see the news story progress from early morning, at which point there were worries of terrorism. It seems that nowadays this is the day we live in. Are we always going to worry about Osma Bin Liner every time some major incident takes place?
As the morning went on it thankfully emerged that the whole thing was an accident. The police officer in charge of the incident was urging people to stay calm and not panic buy petrol. Obviously not everyone took note of this advice as stock piling has been taking place.
The panic buying reminded me of this funny clip from The Simpsons where news anchor man Kent Brockman is reporting a story about a mass exodus of Springfield residents. Thankfully the British news reporters are a little more diplomatic than the US ones.
11th December 2005 - 00:32 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
Bollocks. Leeds United’s great run of winning games came to an end on Saturday, losing 1-0 at home to Cardiff City in a terrible lacklustre performance.
I suppose the winning run had to end somewhere although I always hoped we would beat rivals Cardiff. Predictably the “Blackwell Out” Leeds supporters are now out on WACCOE (and numerous other Leeds United message boards). I ask them “Where were you when we were winning?” Some fans are just plain fickle. I think that unless Leeds win The Premiership, Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup there will always be some moaners.
While I have had issues with Mr. Blackwell in the past I now value him as Leeds United manager, he is a good man doing a good job. It was a bad result today, he made mistakes as did the players. I won’t hear a bad word said about him based upon what he had done so far. I’ll judge him at the end of the season. He is owed that at least.
I did gain little consolation by betting £10 against Leeds winning (my mini insurance policy). Ladbrokes paid out which I used for a few drinks in town and a taxi home after. Would have preferred 3 points though :o( - bring on Wolves next week who I believe we will beat!
10th December 2005 - 12:54 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
So the draw for The World Cup 2006 was made last night.
England
Paraguay
Trinidad & Tobago
Sweden
What an easy group for England. Decent results from this group will get the whole country believing we are unbeatable and will win the competition. Then we’ll face Brazil…
I think England will win their group and based upon the way the team meetings will pan out should reach the Semi Finals and get beat by Brazil. You can view my full predictions here and also make your own.
So all in all a decent draw, could have been a lot worse, on the other hand it could have been a lot better like this one….
Back to more important football news, Leeds United play Cardiff City today, very special game for me. The real rot for Leeds started in January 2002 with the surprise defeat to Cardiff in The FA Cup. Giving the Welshmen a real thrashing on the pitch will certainly kill off one of the ghosts from the past.
C’mon Leeds!
7th December 2005 - 22:59 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
Great game of football tonight, myself and fellow Leeds fans are over the moon and The Whites didn’t even kick a ball! Manchester United travelled to Portugal to play Benfica, a game they had to win to guarantee qualifying to the second round of the competition…. they lost :o) :o) :o) HaHaHaHaHa!!!!!!
It was actually a good game. End to end stuff which kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole game. Man Utd were pretty poor although you can never rule them out grabbing a goal so when the final whistle went it was a great relief.
One thing about the fans, now I wasn’t at the game so cannot completely comment but those shown on TV today were woeful! Half time, losing 2-1 they were standing around looking glum in silence. Leeds fans at Southampton, 3-0 down at half time, singing their hearts out for the team. Leeds won 4-3. Maybe Man U fans should get behind their team more?
Finally for all football fans who are not Man U supporters here’s a real treat for you – my commentary mix for tonight’s game entitled “Scum Out”.
NOTE: Some forums and websites have been linking direct to this file this wasting bandwidth. Please refrain from doing this in the future. Instead link directly to http://www.sparkster.net. Alternativly link to this page.
One last thing, congrats to Benfica and good luck for the rest of the season, a thoroughly entertaining game.
4th December 2005 - 00:04 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
Well I may be £11 worse off this evening after my earlier bet but I am very, very happy. Four wins in a row for Super Leeds United, 3rd in the league, things are looking extremely rosy for The Mighty Whites. I topped off the fabulous day by going to town to celebrate.
I have already made a goal montage of the game, this week with a Christmassy theme.
I will also give an honourable mention for Liverpool’s Peter Crouch who scored today. His first goal today was debatable and eventually was declared an “own goal”, he later scored another goal which was most definitely his. Well done Peter, guess Sparkster.net taking the piss got you going. Expect a Rob Hulse goal drought blog later in the week…
3rd December 2005 - 14:18 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
Leeds face Leicester City today almost a year to the day they played last season. Last season’s game was very poor and Leeds lost 2-0. Incidentally Leeds also played Leicester this time five years ago when Rio Ferdinand made his debut. They lost that one too.
This time around Leeds have been doing well of late, three wins in a row, the first time in almost three years. Should they win today it’ll be the first time Leeds have won four games back-to-back since April 2001.
While I really hope Leeds win today I do have a bad feeling about this game. Hoping I’m wrong but I can see a draw or even a Leicester win today. Because of this I have stuck £11 on a Leicester win or draw.
This really is a win-win situation. Should Leeds get a poor result today Mr. Ladbrokes will console me a little by giving me £21. Should Leeds win I won’t care about the lost tenner, 3 points for Leeds always feel brilliant. Of course I would prefer the latter, always love to see a Leeds victory.
Good luck today Leeds, lets make it four in a row (and cost me a tenner).
2nd December 2005 - 23:21 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
Came across a novelty Christmas record today, Is This The Way To Santa’s Grotto. This is unsurprisingly a parody of Tony Christie’s Amarillo song which was a big hit earlier in the year.
The song performed by Santa himself is extremely cheesy, festive and sure to annoy everyone after a couple of plays. I am sure it is already being piped out repeatedly by department stores across the country throughout their long festive opening hours. It is only a matter of time before the staff at BHS hang themselves in the lift shaft with tinsel.
I have downloaded the track from Napster and am only keeping it on my PC to be mean and annoy anyone who comes round by playing it on loop to them.
Here’s a quick sample of the tune, it is available to buy over the net as a WMA, alternatively you can purchase the single. There is also an album out called “Santa Sings” although if you spend good money on this you need therapy.
Anyone who hears this track and needs bringing back to normality should visit their local record store along with a prescription for “The Pogues – Fairytale of New York”.
1st December 2005 - 20:25 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
Well it is now 1st December so like last year I have given my blog a festive theme. Bit more flashing lights and snowflakes this time around, some may say this page looks cheap and tacky but isn’t this what modern day Christmas is, a commercialised money spinner? I think people have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas… still I’ve still asked for a £180 Sony NWA3000 Walkman :o)
I keep hearing Eminem’s new single When I'm Gone on the radio. My God this guy has some unresolved problems. The so-called talented rapper is still going on and on about his ex-wife (get over it mate) and daughter Hailie. Here is a verse from his latest piece of work
I keep having this dream, I'm pushin' Hailie on the swing
She keeps screaming, she don't want me to sing
"You're making Mommy cry, why? Why is Mommy crying?"
Baby, Daddy ain't leaving no more, "Daddy you're lying
"You always say that, you always say this is the last time
"But you ain't leaving no more, Daddy you're mine"
Now I’ll admit it, back in the days of The Marshall Mathers LP I was a big Eminem fan. I loved tracks like Stan, The Way I Am and I’m Back. Since then he really has gone downhill in my opinion and should throw in the towel and turn to music production. I am sure even the most die hard Eminem fans are fed up with hearing what a bitch Kim is and how much he loves his baby Hailie who must be about 10 by now.
So, Marshall, Eminem, Mr. Slim Shady, whatever you’re calling yourself nowadays just quit the music game, get yourself a girlfriend, get over Kim and be prepared for Hailie’s teenage years, she won’t be so pleasant to you then I can tell you!
Finally onto football. Liverpool and England “striker” Peter Crouch. This strangely highly rated striker has played 18 games or 24 hours for The Reds. He has scored 0 goals. He has missed a penalty and played against some of the poorest defences in the league – Sunderland, Birmingham City and Portsmouth as well as lower league Crystal Palace.
It has now become a running joke in the media and with most football fans about when Crouch will get his first goal. Even though I am not a Liverpool fan or even have a team in The Premiership I am still eagerly watching Liverpool’s results and having a laugh when I see Crouch omitted from the scorers.
You have to feel sorry for the lad though, he tries so hard but simply cannot put the ball in the back of the net. I wonder how long the fans will stay behind him before eventually realising he really is a football failure like Michael Ricketts and James Beattie. On the other hand he may score at the weekend and go on to get more goals than Theirry Henry…. HaHaHaHaHa!
|
