Well, you all know know how I am with decisions - terrible.
So, here's a situation for you all to comment on...
I've been offered the rent of a place, for a sane (or better then sane) price. It's more then I'm paying the parents rent wise - even more when you add little things like bills.
However, it's within the limits of available finances.
Now, the question is what do I do? What should I consider?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sometimes I'm afraid to look...
We've all been there at some point.
You go to a web page, seeing and/or reading some that that you just wish you hadn't. Some graphic detail of someones life. Some quirk or twist.
You want to stop reading but you can't quite bring yourself to. It's the terrible fascinating that draws you along like a prisoner dragged to the executioners axe.
And then there are the pages that you see sometimes. Like this one....
(Open the picture if you can't read it as is)
I'm tempted to read the article. Find out what's so interesting that it's got to the top of The Times news website. Understand why it's the most read story today.
But will it turn into one of those "I really, really didn't need to know that" pages.
Problem is, I can hear the headman. He's sharpening his axe...
You go to a web page, seeing and/or reading some that that you just wish you hadn't. Some graphic detail of someones life. Some quirk or twist.
You want to stop reading but you can't quite bring yourself to. It's the terrible fascinating that draws you along like a prisoner dragged to the executioners axe.
And then there are the pages that you see sometimes. Like this one....
(Open the picture if you can't read it as is)
I'm tempted to read the article. Find out what's so interesting that it's got to the top of The Times news website. Understand why it's the most read story today.
But will it turn into one of those "I really, really didn't need to know that" pages.
Problem is, I can hear the headman. He's sharpening his axe...
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Grrr
Another thing on my list.
Politics is the art of persuading people that you are the best (or least bad) person for the job.
So I find this sort of thing infuriating.
First paragraph or four...
Why does this annoy? Well, I'm not a huge fan of the BNP. They are a tad...extreme for my taste.
But if it's really such a problem why don't the politicians - the professional persuaders - get off their fat, lazy, government funded arses and actually campaign against them?
Address local issues. Talk to people. Perhaps fix the huge mess they've made of pensions, the economy and this little thing you might have heard of - a credit crunch?
Not complain when they win.
Winning not because of some tax give away. Nor bribes and lies.
But promising to try and do something about what people care about. What politicians are supposed to do.
Politics is the art of persuading people that you are the best (or least bad) person for the job.
So I find this sort of thing infuriating.
First paragraph or four...
Hain voices fear over BNP victory
A former minister has warned that the UK's main parties are "complacent" about the British National Party, after the BNP won a local election.
Labour MP Peter Hain told the BBC that Labour's own supporters were being targeted by the far-right.
He said the government needed to make sure local, rather than foreign, workers were prioritised for jobs.
A BNP leader said the recession had helped the party win because potential supporters were being hit hardest.
Mr Hain was speaking after the BNP won a seat at a by-election for Sevenoaks Council in Kent.
Why does this annoy? Well, I'm not a huge fan of the BNP. They are a tad...extreme for my taste.
But if it's really such a problem why don't the politicians - the professional persuaders - get off their fat, lazy, government funded arses and actually campaign against them?
Address local issues. Talk to people. Perhaps fix the huge mess they've made of pensions, the economy and this little thing you might have heard of - a credit crunch?
Not complain when they win.
Winning not because of some tax give away. Nor bribes and lies.
But promising to try and do something about what people care about. What politicians are supposed to do.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Grumpy
There are many things that make me grumpy.
No, really - there's a long list. A really, REALLY long list.
And on that list is something that's inherent in society at large. It's called advertising.
Lets suppose we have two products, A and B. They are for all practical purposes identical. So to get you to buy B, not A they advertise. Be this TV adds, product placements or just great big posters dotted around the place.
This irritates me because if A and B were different then it wouldn't be needed. Imagine, if A was better for one purpose, and B for another. If you had to do something you would simply buy the better product for your task. Advertising would be pointless.
There are two reasons to advertise - your product is not clearly better then the opposition....or no one knows what you make.
It's one thing to tell the world "I exist". Its another to try and worm your way into peoples minds. To make them think "I prefer that one" simply because you've burnt more money on air time.
What brought sudden hatred on tonight?
Because I've just been subjected to a barrage of (really, really pretty) women on TV telling me that I need product xxx to leave my hair so much softer and shinier. That I need lotion yyy to leave my skin soft and wrinkle free. That for the perfect kissable lips I need zzz lipstick available in 4 billion colours.
But it wasn't the products that drove my mind to rage against the lies.
Or that this was in the middle of my sodding sci-fi show, on a channel aimed virtually exclusively at men who don't have to share the remote with someone who might actually want any of these products.
Nope - the truly offensive thing was that I could only spot this because I wasn't interested in the products.
If I was interested - if they were selling...perhaps....Masters of Orion 3, could I have been objective?
Or would they have slipped past my inner cynicism and persuaded me that maybe it's worth a try....
Not selling things because they work, but because they are well presented as being better then rivals by people calculated to distract you, leaving you vulnerable to the deceit.
As I said, it makes me grumpy.
That said, falling asleep and missing the ending really didn't help!
No, really - there's a long list. A really, REALLY long list.
And on that list is something that's inherent in society at large. It's called advertising.
Lets suppose we have two products, A and B. They are for all practical purposes identical. So to get you to buy B, not A they advertise. Be this TV adds, product placements or just great big posters dotted around the place.
This irritates me because if A and B were different then it wouldn't be needed. Imagine, if A was better for one purpose, and B for another. If you had to do something you would simply buy the better product for your task. Advertising would be pointless.
There are two reasons to advertise - your product is not clearly better then the opposition....or no one knows what you make.
It's one thing to tell the world "I exist". Its another to try and worm your way into peoples minds. To make them think "I prefer that one" simply because you've burnt more money on air time.
What brought sudden hatred on tonight?
Because I've just been subjected to a barrage of (really, really pretty) women on TV telling me that I need product xxx to leave my hair so much softer and shinier. That I need lotion yyy to leave my skin soft and wrinkle free. That for the perfect kissable lips I need zzz lipstick available in 4 billion colours.
But it wasn't the products that drove my mind to rage against the lies.
Or that this was in the middle of my sodding sci-fi show, on a channel aimed virtually exclusively at men who don't have to share the remote with someone who might actually want any of these products.
Nope - the truly offensive thing was that I could only spot this because I wasn't interested in the products.
If I was interested - if they were selling...perhaps....Masters of Orion 3, could I have been objective?
Or would they have slipped past my inner cynicism and persuaded me that maybe it's worth a try....
Not selling things because they work, but because they are well presented as being better then rivals by people calculated to distract you, leaving you vulnerable to the deceit.
As I said, it makes me grumpy.
That said, falling asleep and missing the ending really didn't help!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Graphics cards
Because people keep asking me to comment about them, here's a post to answer a few questions.
Firstly, a discrete graphics card is always preferable to anything else. Why? Because there's no performance advantage to being on the motherboard - except that the board manufacturer might be diverting system memory for it.
Either way, don't touch. The only possible justification is in the production of a really low energy system. But I'm assuming you want to play - at the least - warcraft.
Now, which is better - ATI, Nvidia, intel, your maiden aunt...
That's a different topic. You pays your money, you take your choice. However, if you look closely you will find charts like this.
It's not a perfect comparison. It doesn't tell the whole story - the effects of different shader versions, the true impact of mulitple processors, the joy of DDR5 or the like.
But it does give order of magnitude figures. So looking at texture fill rates - read, the amount it can paint on the screen - the cards you mentioned:
6500 GT - Call it the same as a 6600 LE - 1.2 billion/sec
7100 - That's 1.4 billion/sec
Might as well go for a old, creaking 6800 - at 3.9 billion it smokes the pair, put together.
And that's not even the GT version at 5.6 billion.
So my advice? If you're building a new PC and you want to play games...of any sort past solitare...spend a little money now. Call it £60 on a card you won't have to replace in three weeks.
Say, well, this. Not really a game card, but not complete junk.
Please note - that's not a recomendation. I wouldn't suggest anything less then an x600 for gaming. Anything less (ie, 9500, 8500) isn't designed for games. So start at 8600...
Firstly, a discrete graphics card is always preferable to anything else. Why? Because there's no performance advantage to being on the motherboard - except that the board manufacturer might be diverting system memory for it.
Either way, don't touch. The only possible justification is in the production of a really low energy system. But I'm assuming you want to play - at the least - warcraft.
Now, which is better - ATI, Nvidia, intel, your maiden aunt...
That's a different topic. You pays your money, you take your choice. However, if you look closely you will find charts like this.
It's not a perfect comparison. It doesn't tell the whole story - the effects of different shader versions, the true impact of mulitple processors, the joy of DDR5 or the like.
But it does give order of magnitude figures. So looking at texture fill rates - read, the amount it can paint on the screen - the cards you mentioned:
6500 GT - Call it the same as a 6600 LE - 1.2 billion/sec
7100 - That's 1.4 billion/sec
Might as well go for a old, creaking 6800 - at 3.9 billion it smokes the pair, put together.
And that's not even the GT version at 5.6 billion.
So my advice? If you're building a new PC and you want to play games...of any sort past solitare...spend a little money now. Call it £60 on a card you won't have to replace in three weeks.
Say, well, this. Not really a game card, but not complete junk.
Please note - that's not a recomendation. I wouldn't suggest anything less then an x600 for gaming. Anything less (ie, 9500, 8500) isn't designed for games. So start at 8600...
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Early Christmas/Birthday warning
There are people who find me impossible to buy for. As such, they like me to suggest lists of things that they could pick from.
The catch with this approach is that (from my point of view) it's a little predictable. If you know what went on the list...then....well...
This approach remains problematic - if you ask me "what do you want" then my mind goes blank, memories of desire flee leaving a rather short list of things as a grope around for something suitable.
It's not a pretty sight.
So I'm going to lend a hand. When I think of something, I'll tell you about it. For two reasons - one, I'd like it. And two - because anything I like must be good, and worth sharing with others.
Today's choice is "V for Vendetta". It's a decent film, with some strong scripting and a cheerful ending. No, really - it ends with a bang. What's more, the original comic book is available in paperback.
Like most things, the box is longer, better and deeper.
And available for less then the DVD.
Go amazon!
--
Edit to add:
There will be more things. Don't all buy me V. Talk to each other!
The catch with this approach is that (from my point of view) it's a little predictable. If you know what went on the list...then....well...
This approach remains problematic - if you ask me "what do you want" then my mind goes blank, memories of desire flee leaving a rather short list of things as a grope around for something suitable.
It's not a pretty sight.
So I'm going to lend a hand. When I think of something, I'll tell you about it. For two reasons - one, I'd like it. And two - because anything I like must be good, and worth sharing with others.
Today's choice is "V for Vendetta". It's a decent film, with some strong scripting and a cheerful ending. No, really - it ends with a bang. What's more, the original comic book is available in paperback.
Like most things, the box is longer, better and deeper.
And available for less then the DVD.
Go amazon!
--
Edit to add:
There will be more things. Don't all buy me V. Talk to each other!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A white marker
At work, if we need stationary we speak to the receptionists who have a stock - or they can order things.
So there I was, after a new pen. All I wanted was a white permanent marker - nothing that special, right...?
Turns out I was the first person - ever - in our organisation or the those we serve - to order such a thing.
It required 2 specialist purchasing people. A justification of why I wanted it (I need to write on black things). A reason why I didn't want to stick a label on the thing and then write on the label in black.
Finaly it went to a manager.
And now they've ordered a box. Of a dozen.
So there I was, after a new pen. All I wanted was a white permanent marker - nothing that special, right...?
Turns out I was the first person - ever - in our organisation or the those we serve - to order such a thing.
It required 2 specialist purchasing people. A justification of why I wanted it (I need to write on black things). A reason why I didn't want to stick a label on the thing and then write on the label in black.
Finaly it went to a manager.
And now they've ordered a box. Of a dozen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
