The collected works of ScottyB

The updated Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Monday hosted free practice sessions ahead of the famous 24 Hour event. The race is currently taking place this weekend.

Round 6 of the FIA GT Championship - what is quickly becoming my favourite race series out there.

While I’ve enjoyed watching the live timing and clicking back to the PC every hour or so to check up on the progress - and hitting the FIAGT web site, its just not the same as watching it live on the TV.

I really have difficulty imagining a more amazing event. Spa-Francorchamps - possibly my favourite race circuit in the world. Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Maserati, Corvette, Saleen, all fighting it out. 24 hours of driving, 24 hours of reliability and consistency. Its an incredible event on an amazing circuit.

Rain has hit the race pretty significantly according to the timing and news updates. I can’t imagine how exciting it must be to watch! Almost as exciting as the last round of the F1 at the Nurburgring I would guess!

I know I’ve said it before, but I really do wonder why the local television stations can’t cover this sort of GT racing…

Link: FIA GT.com
Link: Live Timing

On Wednesday, I’ll be the proud owner of a double-bed.

‘Wow’ you say.

But for someone who has had a single bed since birth basically, this is a revelation.

It’s a cool looking thing, bit of a ‘Samurai’ style to it.. and the mattress is a pillow-top. Felt really nice!

I’m thinking now I’ll have to source some Hattori Hanzo steel to hang on the wall above the bed. A nice Samurai Sword would finish off the unit nicely

Spent most of this afternoon cleaning out the drawers under the bed, moving the stuff from the bed head and cleaning all the dust up from behind it! Gross.

Rant mode on…

As a long-standing user with my ISP, we were informed recently that we had to make the switch to Layer 2 technology.

We sorted the forms and in the process, decided to upgrade from the current 512/128 Unlimited (old plan we’ve had faultlessly forever) to the new Premium 8000 plan.

We were also informed that our old DSL-302G ADSL modem wouldn’t cut it, so we purchased a new NetComm NB5Plus4 Router on recommendation also from my ISP.

On Friday, (before any knowledge of the changeover having been completed), I noticed that I was able to upload to an FTP at ~40kb/s. Significantly greater than I’d ever seen before on the 512/128 plan (usually around 12kb/s up). Could only download at ~55kb/s though (normal 512 rate).

At this point, I still had the old Modem plugged in and hadn’t made any changes. I rang them to confirm this and the representative told me that the switch had been completed and I could plug the new modem in and set it up.

On doing so, I was not able to authorise my user and pass with the PPPoE setup. The Connection Status light remained red.

To cut a long story short, after hours spent on the phone to overseas call-centres, I have done username changes, a password change, set the Router up in bridge mode, and numerous isolation tests all of which have failed to fix the situation.

The last representative I spoke to told me that it was a line fault (unable to sync) and has registered the fault with engineers (who would hopefully get back to me in 24 - 48 hours!)

So I’ve plugged in the old Modem for the meantime - and am back on the Internet, uploading again at the new rate of 35-45kb/s..

If it was a line fault, surely I’d have noticed it in the years prior to this changeover? And why does my old Modem work fine? Surely it wouldn’t be able to sync either if it was a line fault?

This afternoon, I posted a message on the Whirlpool forums - and it looks like this could be a common problem for many involved in the same conversion.

Amazingly, about an hour after I posted, I received a message from a representative who, after telling him my details, informed me that indeed - my layer 2 changeover hadn’t even been done yet, so it was no use using the new Router - and also why it didn’t work yet.

Grrrr!! So why do four representatives from a call-centre all tell me its good to go and all completed and it must be a line fault that’s causing the problem?! Muppets…

Another week gone.

For some strange reason, I’ve been having really odd sleep sessions this week! Last night - again - I had an awesome sleep, woke up completely refreshed and bright. Yet the night before, I slept for roughly the same amount of time, but I felt like I’d been awake all night! And couldn’t wait to get back to bed…

All I know is I’m looking forward to a sleep in tomorrow morning

This has been a busy week. A week of development, a week of solid website coding, or graphic design and of frustration! (Though they usually go hand in hand anyway).

Strangely, my Internet changeover seems to have semi taken place.

I awoke this morning to see I was uploading data at ~39kb/s. Usually I can only upload at about 10 or 12kb/s tops! Yet my download speed is still limited to 50kb/s. Plugged the new router in and set it up this afternoon, but the new plan isn’t active yet - even though I seem to be uploading at the new rate, even with the old modem. Quite strange. I guess the line is sorted by Telstra, but waiting for TPG to finalise…?

It’s a big weekend of Motorsport with the 24 hours of Spa coming up.. can’t wait for this one - got the live timing ready to go!

Basically, this is the only television I watch. You know it has to be a good show when it forces me to turn the box on and flick through the garbage to something I actually want to watch. Sit down and view for a complete hour, not just scan by while I’m on the way to “Input 1″ for a DVD…

So last night I managed to catch the latest episode of TG. The Polar Challenge special.

One word: Epic.

I expected it would be good - that was a given. Anything by the Top Gear boys is always good, fun to watch. But occasionally, its exceptional.

While it contained the usual camaraderie and gags, they were more the ‘icing’ - while the body of the cake was pure and complete, raw reality.

From Clarkson getting pushed into the Arctic water by crazy man, or driving over the thinnest coastal ice, to Hammonds emotional video diaries - it was just incredible. Keeping active in -40 degree C temperatures, encountering hungry Polar Bears, digging a sinking car out of the slush, fighting the irritability and loneliness - all things we’re really not accustomed to seeing from the TG boys. And I have to say I was unbelievably impressed.

On the subject of being very impressed, I have to say, that modified Toyota Hilux was about the coolest, most awesome vehicle I’ve seen on the TG show. Absolutely friggin’ unbelievable! Even while their electronics are failing, iPods are retiring, cameras are locking - it just kept going.

Brilliant little tid-bits of discovery along the way too..

Long live the Top Gear!

Behind my computer desks lies a labyrinth of cords. Like a huge colonial pit of intertwined snakes, it is the dark corner of my room where no one ever dares set foot. You just wouldn’t risk it. The desks remain atop the black, slithering masses, containing them within a cheap wood casing purchased from Officeworks (on special, $49).

Once I had Evel Knievel come visit me and even he said there was no way on Earth that he’d dare go near cordville - let alone attempt a jump over it.

So the reputation of ScottyB’s wireathon is second to none. All those who have entered have never been heard from again. Tales of their torments still circulate around campfires and on urban myth websites all over the Internet.

Recently, Layer 3 Internet technologies are being decommissioned - meaning our age old access plan (512k Unlimited, No data cap!) had to be changed.

I was sad for two reasons. Firstly, I could see no real point and secondly, I’ll lose my unlimited data cap. No shaping has kept me going for many a month - now I’ve had to consolidate to a capped plan. So I went all out and selected the 8mbps plan. With an 18GB data cap (works out the same monthly access fee as what I was paying before on the 512k!). Could be dangerous.

Now I can (theoretically) download stuff sixteen times faster - but I’m capped to 18GB of downloads…

Anyway - the parcel arrived in the post today and while I can’t install the new router yet as the rollover hasn’t been carried out, I could unpack and setup.

Back when I first signed up for Broadband, they provided us with an inline filter - probably the cheapest one they could find. No connectors, no plugs - just a solid, contained ‘as-is’ unit. One that wouldn’t plug into the wall socket. So I needed to buy an adaptor to plug it in. Because my phone also required an adaptor - and upon bringing the new filter adaptor home, I realised that both adaptors wouldn’t fit into the wall socket. So I needed to buy another adaptor to adapt the adaptors.

When all was said and done, I had a 4 tiered hulk hanging out of the wall socket, telephone wires everywhere and another connector because one of the adaptors had the wrong sized hole in it. It was all very reminiscent of the lights scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, where Chevy Chase has forgotten to turn the mass of double-adaptors on at the wall.

While the electronic pathways of it all was completely mind boggling, it worked - and that’s all that mattered. So for over 4 years it remained that way.

Until today.

Enclosed in the packaging, along with the new NetComm router, was an inline filter. With provision for wall socket, phone/fax and modem connections. Bravo.

I am aware that these have been available for quite some time, but I’ve never felt the need to change over - after all - my setup worked fine. Why change something when it obviously operates faultlessly? Even if it does contribute significantly to the giant pile of wires behind my desk…

Speaking of which, I still had to unravel and replace the required components. No easy task, I assure you.

Packing my bags, a supply of water, food, rope, climbing gear, a hard hat and suitable protective clothing, I embarked on the long and arduous journey into the Temple of Doom.

I found layers of dust that dated back to the 16th century. Screws and bits of plastic of unknown origin. The darkness consumed me - it was thick and enveloped me like a tiny cave system. All around me the feel of the cables and wires, like leeches on my skin. Then I found it.

The connector I had been looking for. With a ’snap’ it was unclipped and I was backing out of that horrible place.

Never to return - at least not for another 4 cable-lighter years.

So due to the fact that the F1 was simply awesome last night - I decided to stay up and watch the complete (typically delayed) telecast. Due to the aforementioned fact, coupled with the red flag / restart / length of the race, it meant I got to bed no earlier than 2am.

As a result of my excitement having witnessed such an awesome race, I had trouble getting to sleep, compounding the dilemma of having to be up at 7:30am for work.

Usually, F1 weekends are chaos for me. I begin Mondays as a relatively unsteady zombie, stumbling around the house in an animated fashion, sitting at my desk feeling somewhat sorry for myself - happy on one hand that I’ve seen the race, but quite displeased that I have to sit there for 8 hours feeling like rubbish and counting the minutes until I can go home and have a proper rest.

These mornings follow a night where I’ll go to bed at around 1:30am, long after the race has actually finished but while the delayed telecast we receive is still showing.

So imagine my surprise when I awaken this morning, feeling completely refreshed.

By the time I settled and actually nodded off, it must have been about 2:30am. Meaning I had about five hours of sleep. Usually six hours gets me by - through the day at least, without being completely useless. But five hours is pushing it. And what’s more, its even increasingly unbelievable that five hours of sleep could deliver a replenished, refreshing slumber.

There has to be a reason for this. There must be some switch, or cycle that explains why five hours of sleep can be equally as refreshing as an eight hour sleep-in on the weekend.

I wonder if there’s some way of managing an hour of sleep and still feeling just as fresh the next day? For if this was possible, it would certainly change the way I did stuff.

Imagine actually being awake for the majority of your life. Only losing 1/24th of your life to slumber as opposed to the third that the average person sleeps away?

How much more we could accomplish…

Wins of the 2007 season with a stunning run to victory in the unpredictable and wildly changeable European GP at the Nürburgring.

Right off the line, it looked like Ferrari had the weekend wrapped up. Kimi Raikkonen took pole position in Qualifying with a solid lap, Alonso second in the McLaren - and Massa only four tenths behind in third.

And it was Massa who would shine. Eclipsing Alonso at the start and almost managing to challenge Kimi for the lead of the race.

That was until about the second corner when the heavens opened up and began causing a significant drama for everyone on the track.

Amazingly, it was Spyker and Markus Winkelhock - who after Qualifying last, decided to start the race from pitlane, anticipating the rain, who made the most of the situation. Slapping on a set of wet-weather tyres, allowing the German to lead his home race, on his Grand Prix racing debut.

Drivers forced to make an extra lap on dry tyres (including Raikkonen, who after making a last-minute decision to pit for Wets, came in too fast, sliding over the pit entry and exit lines and back to the track for another lap) all lost out heavily. Some ending their races - aquaplaning sideways and backwards in the lake that was turn one.

Shortly after, the race was red flagged. The survivors returned to their grid positions under safety car and were allowed to repair and refit for the race restart.

The clouds parted and with the track quickly drying out, the race began again.

On lap 34, having made up significant positions after earlier misfortunes, Raikkonen began slowing - a hydraulics failure - continuing his bad luck streak at the German venue.

Leaving Massa and Alonso out front, well ahead of their nearest rivals. It looked like Massa had this one in the bag. A 5 second lead and basically matching Alonso’s times lap after lap. You could sense that, with only 12 laps to go, it was time to wrap up, turn the engines down and cruise to the finish.

However, only minutes later, yet another rain storm would decide the race was far from over just yet.

Down it came - and drivers dived to the pits for Intermediates.

Alonso almost made contact with Fisichella such was the state of emergency in the pitlane. And when they emerged back to the track, it was clear that the race - and Alonso’s position - was far from decided.

Immediately, the Spaniard was challenging Massa, much faster on his out lap and to within less than a second by the middle sector. All over the Brazilian’s gearbox, drafting the Ferrari down the straights, looking for hints of grip on the outsides of every corner, more confident under braking, trying to pressure Massa into a mistake.

On lap 55, it began. Alonso went to the outside on the very same corner that he almost lost it on in Qualifying, and wheel-to-wheel with Massa, they touched, before Alonso came through and secured the lead.

After that, it was all over - Alonso disappearing into the distance and taking the chequered flag.

“I like the rain, when it happens I am happy,” said Alonso.

Webber, Alex Wurz, David Coulthard, Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and Kovalainen completing the points-scoring positions. Kovalainen’s gamble to switch early in the final stint to wet tyres not paying off. And Australian Mark Webber’s first podium since 2005, though almost lost to Wurz in the last corner.

With Lewis Hamilton’s 9th place finish - out of the points - the Drivers’ standing has closed up once again; Alonso now only 2 points behind his team mate.

22 started, 13 would finish. One of the most exciting races in recent history. Amazing strategies, equally incredible driving, enthralling viewing.

The championships in F1 for 2007 are alive and well.

Got back this afternoon and took some shots of the birds in the backyard.

Upon reviewing the last batch I had taken, I noticed a strange ‘black fill’ across the bottom three-quarters of the image. Solid black - then a hint of image peering through above it. Weird.

I opened it up, cleaned the contacts, flicked the mirror to make sure it was all working and if the springs were sticking or something, closed it up again and shot off another burst of images. The first was fine, but the last three showed the same thing.

I clicked the shutter button once more, but suddenly my trusty 300D wasn’t firing anymore. It was scanning for a focus.

And that’s all it would do, just scan for a focus, never actually ‘get’ a focus.

Thankfully I had already done my promised photos for the day, but this didn’t solve my problem.

I opened it up again, checked and cleaned, put it back together - same story. Dammit!

In a stroke of chance, I flicked over to MF (manual focus) and fired.

*CLICK*

Off she went. Perfect photo…….. Huh?

Put it back into AF (auto focus) and again, no go. Just scanning for a focus. Back into MF and fires perfectly.

Swap lenses. Same story. Same for both lenses, so it rules that out.

Scouring the Internet for relevant discussion, it looks like my 300D has developed some sort of mirror pin problem (read: its probably broken) - so I guess my only option is to have it sent away to Canon for some repair work. Just great.

I guess its not too bad a service life, when you consider since purchase, my DSLR has fired off no less than 65,000 frames. All without a single drama.

It just won’t feel the same without having the third arm, the extension of myself around my neck or in the boot of the car in case of one of those ‘must have’ moments..

Just the other night I found myself sitting down, watching Rocky Balboa.

Right from the lead up, I expected it to be like any other Rocky film, but thought this time it would just be some old bloke beating up a heap of younger opponents.. the reality was significantly more meaningful and much more interesting.

I’d go so far as to say it was probably the most enjoyable of the series, simply because of the character development that is largely missing from its predecessors. It’s about more than just the Italian Stallion kicking (or rather punching) some ass.

Duke: You know all there is to know about fighting, so there’s no sense us going down that same old road again. To beat this guy, you need speed - you don’t have it. And your knees can’t take the pounding, so hard running is out. And you got arthritis in your neck, and you’ve got calcium deposits on most of your joints, so sparring is out.

So, what we’ll be calling on is good ol’ fashion blunt force trauma. Horsepower. Heavy-duty, cast-iron, piledriving punches that will have to hurt so much they’ll rattle his ancestors. Every time you hit him with a shot, it’s gotta feel like he tried kissing the express train. Yeah! Let’s start building some hurtin’ bombs!

Awesome.

I think nearly everyone questioned the return to the Rocky series. And definitely hammered Stallone for his return to the big screen - but he’s done it again.

Great to watch.

Due to the fact that I was genuinely surprised by Stallone’s excellent rejuvenated foray into film, I’m going to give the upcoming ‘John Rambo’ the benefit of the doubt.

I’m not sure how he’s going to swing this one into a meaningful drama, or whether it will be exciting to watch a 61 year old blowing stuff up and running around with a torn shirt, but I can’t help appreciate his ability and resilience in the face of so much criticism.

Go Rocky.

Link: Rock Balboa
Link: John Rambo

I always enjoy getting up in the morning and chatting to my UK buddies.

Back in March of 2004, I joined up to the M2 Forums. That time of my life when I was just looking for a change. Something new, something different to what I’d been doing. Anything different. In February I had ordered the MINI and I was looking for an outlet where I could use this new, expensive little toy when it arrived. I found that in the MINI community.

Without a doubt, it was the single-most welcoming experience I’ve ever had to a group of people - people that would become good friends over the coming months and years.

No questions, no qualms. They saw an enthusiastic poster who was soon to be taking delivery of a car they also loved - and they adopted me as part of the group.

The MINI community is undoubtedly the most welcoming, friendliest car community I know.

While some feelings have been diluted over the past twelve months or so; Standing issues and slanging matches somewhat disparaging within what I always felt was a rock-solid foundation, unwelcome surprises I guess - it still feels the same when I get behind the wheel, still feels the same when I get together with good trustworthy friends and it still feels the same when I wake up every morning, log onto the website and chat to my buddies from all over the World.

Shortly after joining, I ventured into ‘OTB’. The dark land. The underworld. The grub sanctuary. The boob haven.

Little did I know this minute-long foray would become an ongoing obsession, completely consuming most of my spare (and un-spare) time. Looking back, what I know now is it has easily become one of the most enjoyable phases of my twenty-four years.

Someone is always there; To bounce an idea off, to discuss something, to vent, to stir, to joke, to banter, to admire the female form with. Each character an integral part of the whole network - each with their own quirks, their own personalities. We have all made the place tick, its all become a huge global network of people from all walks of life, brought together, united all because of the like-minded view that the MINI is an awesomely fun car.

It’s incredible really.

So for the past 3 odd years, I’ve logged on regularly and I’ve forged friendships with people from Newcastle, Australia - to Newcastle, UK. People I’d otherwise have never met.

This morning was no exception. I logged on as usual, toothbrush in mouth, empty bowl of cereal at the desk, already running late for work thanks to a power out that meant we couldn’t get the garage door up (thank heavens for those UPS backups for my computer..). I received a pager from my Brother from another Mother, MM - to tell me that GT5 Prologue was on the cards. He was about to post details.

Excellent.

A gadget freak, and avid gamer like me, MM is the Sony enthusiast - so much Sony enthusiast, that everything from gaming rigs to surround-sound systems must be Sony. It all has to fit. Stands to reason then that he owns (much to my chagrin) a PS3 bought at the release date and has been playing F1 and GTHD ever since. And constantly reminds me that he is, can and will do too.

Appallingly, Sony have raped the Australian gaming community by charging a cool thousand dollars for the Playstation 3 gaming console. Sure, its loaded with a Blu-Ray drive and is state-of-the-art graphics gaming, but when you consider the unit costs 49980 yen (~$470 AUD) to the Japanese or $599 USD (~$690 AUD) to the Americans, it makes our $1000 asking price look incredibly bloated and frankly, very hard to stomach. Especially since price-drops are rumoured for the US - and their deals include remote control and an additional 6 (yes, that’s six) Blu-Ray movie titles (which retail here for around the $40 mark each).

*sigh*

But enough of the complaining. I had decided to hold off on the PS3 purchase. Christmas I said.

But GT5: Prologue is due in October.

- A new in-car driving view has been added.
- It will support 16 cars on track at once.
- The “enemy” AI has been greatly improved.
- Every car actually sounds correct this time.
- It will be released this October via PSN.

And it looks like this:

So immediately, you understand my dilemma. How can I live for ~2 months knowing that such a game exists, available for play, when I don’t own the console to play it?

And can I survive two months of MM telling me just hooooooooow good it is?

Link: Video

Arriving to work this morning after a nice, full weekend of the office being closed up, we were greeted with a vile, putrid odour - blasting us in the face like a spray of turbulent air, making our stomachs heave with its seemingly ‘physical’ wall.

The stench was thick, so much so it was almost like you could swim through it.

We raced for the windows, left the door open, opened the vent to the roof.

Not a pleasant thing to have to do due to the fact that its the middle of Winter, this morning it was a crisp four degrees celcius (probably colder in our uninsulated, tin shed) - and in order for the tiny wall-mounted air conditioner to be of any use whatsoever, the office has to be sealed tight like a Tupperware container.

The smell was extremely gross however. So our only option was the cold.

We immediately started checking for the source.

Fridge… off milk? No.

Bins… rotten food? No.

An animal crawled in somewhere and died? Nope.. Not that we can see.

There’s a terrible realisation that happens after a good thirty minutes of searching and cleaning. The reality that you may not find the source - and that we might have to put up with this for days to come.

Once, about 18 months ago, we had some sort of animal crawl into the wall space in the back room. And perish. The foul brew that developed within that wall - and eventually the room - was enough to turn even the strongest-stomached people into putty. Racing for the nearest toilet bowl. With no way in or out, no access whatsoever, we had no choice but to put up with it for two weeks.

Living near the bush is like that. Every now and again, you get something like that - an animal that chooses the nice warm walls, or the hot, damp earthen floor of the under-house to make its last breath.

As of this afternoon, we’ve still not uncovered the source.

Hooray.

My Guillermo del Toro experience continued last night with the viewing of Hellboy (2004).

The Dark Horse Comics movie adaptation was one of those films that slipped through the cracks of my movie-viewing experience. Released in 2004, its taken me three years to manage a sitting - largely because I missed it at the cinema, couldn’t ever find it to hire out on DVD - and until just recently, its not been present at the local DVD retailers, or simply too expensive to justify purchasing.

That changed on Saturday, when I discovered a 2-disc special edition for sale at Big W. Only $12.

I really had no idea what to expect - I’d not followed the graphic novels or the recent animated films on any respectable level. I’d ‘heard of it’. That was about all.

Ron Perlman I knew from Alien: Resurrection, Blade II and Narc, Selma Blair from The Fog and Cruel Intentions and John Hurt from V for Vendetta, Alien and my fav - Spaceballs. I’d even read that David Hyde Pierce voiced ‘Abe Sapien’ (though isn’t credited). So the movie definitely wasn’t short of proven talent and names.

“A demon, raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness”.

A comic book movie is based upon a comic book, a wild fantasy world with virtually no rules, implausible circumstances and unrealistic physics. As long as you can get past this concept, you will enjoy Hellboy.

Hellboy reminds me a bit of ‘Marv’ (Mickey Rourke) in Sin City. That brute force warrior; Iron skin and Titanium fists. Its a fantastic character that you immediately form a liking to.

Abe is a true display of prop-genius. The suit is amazing, the makeup terrific. And Doug Jones’ movements are wonderfully fluid - he makes for a great character.

Abe Sapien: Remind me why I do this again.
Hellboy: Rotten eggs and the safety of mankind.
Abe Sapien: Ah!

All over, its a polished flick that really deserves more credit than it seems to have received. The Hellboy character is an interesting, funny, powerful one - and I can only look forward to the sequel due next year.

Hellboy: Mmmmmm nachos.

Great film.

Link: Hellboy at IMDB
Link: Hellboy at Wikipedia

And plenty of sleep in there to boot.

I’m not ashamed to say I slept in on both Saturday - and this morning. It was cold. Too cold to force yourself out of bed when there’s really no reason to get out. True, its a waste of a morning - and I’m probably the biggest advocate on the ‘less sleep is more life’ policy, but when the outside temperature is 4 Degrees Celcius and its about 25 under the sheets, the decision is really completely simple.

That’s not to say I’ve had a completely lazy weekend. Shopping had some place in there, as well as hanging a new unit for DVD’s on the wall.

One trip to Mac’s Hardware, five hollow wall anchors, screws, three shelving brackets, two measurements, a new drill bit (and a partridge in a pear tree) later, and it was on the wall. Populated with tin box set DVD’s and other shelf-space-wasting items moments later. After that, it was time to sit back, enjoy the fruits of my labour and watch a DVD.

This afternoon I went bed shopping. Who knew a Queen bed was so large? It looks quite mediocre on the shop floor, but run the measuring tape over my room and you quickly realise a) how looks can be deceiving and b) how small my room is.

So its back to the drawing board. Double-bed seems to be the only thing I’ll fit in here.

I’m going for one of those low-slung pointy ones, sitting close to the ground with the little timber ‘tray’ around the edge. A ‘platform’ bed as they call them.

(but in black or white…)

Something modern to freshen up the room. I guess it also means I’ll have to get a new desk to match up the more modernistic feel, but then its all stuff I can take with me when I move out, so one can’t complain.

Watched this for the first time with Kate on Friday night.

“The story of an uptown rat that gets flushed down the toilet from his penthouse apartment, ending in the sewers of London, where he has to learn a whole new and different way of life”.

One word: Awesome!

From the opening sequence to the slug-sung credits, it is a fantastic, colourful 85 minutes of fun!

The characters are brilliant. Sid, the messy home wrecker. Rita, the independent sea woman and out main character, Roddy.

Completely stealing the show is the enigmatic, ‘Le Frog’ - voiced by Jean Reno, the master behind probably my favourite film of all time (and still about the only DVD I don’t own), The Professional. The little green master of espionage and mystery owns his scenes and is sheer comedy at its best.

Ian McKellen takes a break from his recent Magneto roles to voice the quirky, evil ‘Toad’.

And his sidekicks, Whitey and Spike, also make for some great story telling and classic scenes.

Its all fun and games in this one. One of the best animated flicks I’ve ever seen.

Link: Flushed Away at IMDB

El laberinto del fauno - The Labyrinth of the Faun. Or to those of us in the Western World, Pan’s Labyrinth.

Set within the 1944 fascist regime era of rural Spain, Guillermo del Toro’s latest is a dreamy and chilling story, focusing on Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) and her World of fable and fantasy creatures.

With her pregnant Mother, she is forced to travel to be with her adoptive Father, the cruel Capitán Vidal (Sergi López) a military Captain charged with cleansing the rurality of the rebel legions.

She discovers, and is followed by a magic insect, which she believes to be a fairy. This insect would eventually lead her to the Labyrinth where she would be given The Book of Crossroads, and her eerie quest to discover her true place in the world.

Not at all what I expected, I have to say - but like a lot of films lately, I have been pleasantly surprised. I heard it was good, but I had no idea it would be completely amazing.

It is a mix of chilling reality and heart-warming fantasy. The vision and meaning changes as you watch it.

It is epic, there really isn’t any other word to describe it.

Link: Pan’s Labyrinth at IMDB
Link: Pan’s Labyrinth at Wikipedia

Link: Pan’s Labyrinth at Dark Horizons
Link: Official Site

There are always little gems of films, the ones you hear about, don’t think too much of to start with, but you go see them and realise they will go down in time as one of the greats.

Comedies these days tend to be hit-and-miss type affairs. The whole ‘vile’ humour thing.. the rubbish of ‘Jackass’ and such just don’t do anything for me - I don’t find it ‘comedy’. It’s kind of like watching Funniest Home Videos and seeing a 4 year old come crashing off a bike and faceplanting into a brick wall. Apparently this is humour to some, but I find myself seeking out the comedy of old - the unexpected, the slapstick, raw, the dry wit, the pithy comebacks, the hilarious one-liners.

Adam Sandler is one who has kept these comedies alive. Classics like Bulletproof, Happy Gilmore, Big Daddy.. and the more romantic-comedy style of The Wedding Singer. Always easily enjoyable, always fun.

Jim Carrey too, with films like Ace Ventura - and later, Bruce Almighty, which maintain that clean, but awesome comedy feel.

More recently, The 40 Year-Old Virgin was one of those unexpectedly brilliant comedies. It sounded okay, Steve Carell is a classic, but I don’t think anything could have prepared the viewer for the hilarity that would ensue.

Judd Apatow’s latest, Knocked Up is no exception.

Alison Scott: I’m pregnant.
Ben Stone: You mean, with emotion?

There are constant laughs, start to finish. From the unlikely pairing of Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) and Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) all the way to the crowning, there’s always something crazy, something utterly hilarious to surprise you and have you doubling-over in laughter.

Jay: I’m going to be there to rear your child.
Jason: You hear that, Ben? Don’t let him near the kid, he wants to rear your child!

Many of the gang return for roles in Knocked Up, Paul Rudd as Pete, the disconnected husband of Debbie (Leslie Mann - which we remember from 40 Year Old Virgin as the drunk driving chick Carell takes home). Carell too has a cameo role (as himself) and even Harold Ramis is in there as Ben’s Father.

Ben Stone: Do you want to do it doggie style?
Alison Scott: You’re not going to f**k me like a dog.
Ben Stone: It’s doggie style. We don’t have to go outside or anything.

Fantastic film making at its comedy best.

Last Saturday, I purchased the DVD-series of Planet Earth, the BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough and produced by Alastair Fothergill.

There are 11 episodes over 2 DVD sets and a total of 4 DVD’s. Each episode has 5 parts and includes a 10 minute ‘making-of’ at the end. Amounts to 647 minutes of footage - Almost 11 hours.

Thus far, I’ve watched “From Pole to Pole”, “Mountains”, “Fresh Water”, “Caves” and “Deserts”. The first 5 episodes.

The visionary is stunning, the camera work amazing. The facts are sensational… “During Antarctica’s winter, emperor penguins endure four months of darkness, with no food, in temperatures of –70°C”.

The first episode is basically a general overview of the series, by describing each of the environments that are looked at in more detail in later programmes.

“Mountains” takes you to Ethiopia’s Erta Ale - the longest continually erupting volcano, The Andes, The Himalayas and glaciers like the Baltoro in Pakistan. You see Panda, Grizzly bear (and cubs), Rutting Markhor, Golden Eagles that hunt migrating Demoiselle Cranes…

“Fresh Water” describes the course taken by rivers and some of the species that take advantage of such a habitat. From places such as Venezuela’s Tepui, where there is a tropical downpour almost every day. Angel Falls, the world’s highest free-flowing waterfall. The Colorado River, the Amazon, the Mara River.. Piranha, Cichlids, River Dolphins, Long giant Salamander…

“Caves” was probably my favourite so far. From the opening sequence; crazy cave jumpers diving into massive open caves.. Mexico’s Cave of Swallows particularly, at 400 metres deep and is the Earth’s biggest. Diving into it is akin to jumping off the Empire State Building. Borneo’s Deer Cave and its three million wrinkle-lipped bats are featured (the making of featurette on the ensuing mound of deposited guano below - and the millions of cockroaches that blanket it is a laugh). Mexico’s Cueva de Villa Luz is featured, with its flowing stream of sulphuric acid and snottite formations made of living bacteria. The programme ends in the recently discovered (and absolutely stunning) Lechuguilla Cave where sulphuric acid had carved unusually ornate, gypsum crystal formations. Absolutely amazing - took my breath away.

“Deserts” features Mongolia’s Gobi Desert - with temperatures ranging from –40°C to +50°C. Home to the rare Bactrian Camel. Africa’s Sahara Desert is visited as well as the massive dust storms that streak across its expanse. Egypt’s White Desert and the massive Namibian dunes (at ~300m high). Areas of the Australian outback and Utah are also shown. Lions, Red Kangaroos, Nubian Ibex, nocturnal Fennec Foxes, Desert Locusts - but the acrobatic (and stunning-coloured) Flat Lizards feeding on black flies stole the show.

The series so far is a colourful and beautiful look at planet Earth, but some of the scenes involving hunting and ‘natural selection’ are quite graphic and sometimes quite upsetting. I couldn’t help but well up watching the Elephant calf get separated from its group during a dust storm and unbeknownst to direction, wander back into the desert..

It is life at its most raw. Beautiful and horrific. Divine and sadistic. Only in nature is there such a fine line between life and death.

Link: Official Website
Source: Planet Earth on Wiki

Our (not-so) friendly neighbourhood Cockatoos visited en masse yesterday, keen to destroy the surrounding pool lamps and take what was left of the seed and bread lying around on the deck.

You can clearly see in the foreground on the fence, the broken lamp. And the whereabouts of its top remain unknown.

These loud, destructive individuals visit on a regular basis - and while we try not to encourage them - if you don’t feed them, you get something damaged. They are beautiful birds, but it would be nice if they had a little more respect for our stuff - especially when you’re giving them an extra source of food!

This one was a little more tame than the rest of the pack - he’s a regular - can hand feed him the bread and seed.

His mate had dropped down to the pool deck to finish off the rest of its meal.

And spotted another two on the lower deck.

After they had their fill, they departed with a deafening cacophony of sound… all except this greedy bugger, who decided to stick around and pick up whatever had been left behind.

Buggers..

F1…

The British GP got under way last night. And thanks to Channel 10 running Big-****ing-Brother through until well past 11pm, we got a delayed telecast as usual.

Live Timing as provided by F1.com was much more exciting than usual - plenty of purple numbers, lots of numerical overtaking and loads of similar numbers all added up for an exciting race.

Three different leaders over the three stints, with Hamilton leading early, Alonso leading the second stint and finally Raikkonen grabbing the lead - and eventual race win in the final stint of the afternoon.

So exciting was the live timing that I decided to stay up for the TV coverage and retired to the other room to watch. It’s been a while since I’ve watched a race where the victor wasn’t decided in the first 15 laps - and certainly a while since I’ve not known who was going to be the winner until the last 15 laps.

Kimi Raikkonen took an utterly dominating victory, the last stint before refuelling, running longer than Alonso was some fine driving. Seeing Alonso up at the front of the pack challenging for the win again was a fresh sight. Also commendable was Massa’s performance. A run from the back of the grid to 5th was fantastic - a testament to his skill and the raw pace of the Ferrari’s this weekend. Kubica was bulletproof in holding-off the charging Massa too.

Fantastic race.

Unfortunately the delayed telecast meant I didn’t get to bed before 1:30am - and am subsequently quite tired today - but what can you do…

FIA GT round 5 at Oschersleben…Hopefully this evening I’ll be watching the race, but I managed to catch some summaries of the race itself and read the news articles this morning..

Post-race scrutineering totally overturned the race result in Oschersleben today, with first the third-placed Lamborghini and then the winning Corvette failing scrutineering and being excluded from the event. It is not yet known whether either team will appeal.

This meant that the nr 1 Vitaphone Maserati MC 12 of Bartels and Biagi inherited the win - giving Vitaphone the Oschersleben hat-trick it had hoped to achieve.

The GT2 win went to AF Corse Motorola for the fifth time this season, and the second consecutive win for Ortelli and Bruni. Collard and Malucelli were second after a fine performance from the BMS Scuderia Italia Porsche; Collard’s battle with Tim Mullen in the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari was one of the star events of the end of the race. Mullen and birthday boy Jarek Janis finished third.

Racing has never looked so good…

…

I really do love the Porsche 997…

Link: www.f1.com
Link: www.fiagt.com