Monday 22 February 2010

Security Systems

Following on from the retarded security mechanisms in the wrong places, I've found some gold for you silly, silly iPhone buyers. All us non-iPhoners know that Apple is inherently evil, more so than Microsoft. Never mind the fact they make all their workers miserable with such tight security restrictions, here's how they're out to make YOU miserable too: If Apple don't like what you're doing with your iPhone (which you never actually own, if you read your contract properly, it remains property of the Apple corp) such as "jailbreaking" your phone to download free apps made by other users rather than paying the extortionate fees from the Appstore, they can break your phone. Seriously.

The worst bit they're currently working on is making their adverts "compel attention". Basically, every so often they smack you with an unskippable advert and disable absolutely everything until the user responds. Yup, that's right, it renders your phone completely useless until you comply with it's demands. Scary... http://www.cracked.com/

Talking of security systems, the ultrasonic deterrent has been in use for a while and failing spectacularly to deter kids. Have a go yourself with these sound waves; how high can you hear? http://www.noiseaddicts.com I can make it through all of them JUST, if I listen carefully, even with His Lordship's Helicopter powered laptop. I think I might lose 18 and 19khz, but regain a low feeling of sound from 20 onwards. Must check again when The Helicopter isn't powered up. How'd you do?


Quote of the Day: "When I were a lad, me mother would send me down to t'corner shop wi' a shilling, and I'd come back wi' five pounds o' potatoes, two loaves o'bread, three pints o' milk, a pound o' cheese, a packet o' tea, an' 'alf a dozen eggs. Yer can't do that now. Too many bloody security cameras." - Cat Grumps

Wednesday 17 February 2010

Dragon Ball!

Sorry anime fans, this isn't Dragon Ball Z, this is Dragon Ball Tsam!

Tsam just LOVES a challenge. He enjoys a game we called "Magic Air" - just a clear plastic packaging box that he fell in love with, having climbed in the open end he was digging at the shut end. At first I thought he'd got stuck and was freaking out, but he sulked when I opened it so I let him play with it for hours! Eventually he'd had enough of digging so I opened it again and he happily went to sleep in his new toy. (You can see Magic Air again here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV9M5Lf21ko)

So I figured we'd get him an upgrade, as his favourite box is getting a bit old and battered now...

We upgraded him to a ferret ball.

Tsam hasn't quite worked out how to run long distances yes, but he's having a great time digging it and scooting it a few feet a time. He's blackbearding in the photo because he's managed to sit it outside smexi Kyle's tank and he thinks she's goooooorgeous.

Kyle's just relieved that she can wander around outside her tank without getting jumped on!

Tuesday 16 February 2010

Graffiti - Art or Accident?

I'm making Dragon Hoards as presents to the lizards for their Hatchdays. A nice lady on eBay was greatly amused at my idea and is sending me a mixture of sparkly high quality acrylic crystals of varying sizes and colours. I'll combine it with little coins, "gold nuggets" and other items with silicone or somesuch to safely weld them all down. I think using some gold and silver sprayed pebbles will make nice "nuggets" when coated with a clear seal lacquer.

I've picked up a nice little treat for them as an early present - a ferret ball. Basically, this is a HUGE hamster ball. As Tsammy loves clear boxes, I figured a clear ball would challenge him whilst giving Kyle a break. It'll be nice to kind of let them both out at the same time, though I'm concerned that Tsam might run her over!

Handy arty tips: Methylated spirits removes grass stain, and hairspray removes biro. I also discovered that alcohol foam supplied in hand sterilisers will lift permanent marker from your skin! (footballers - listverse)

Here's a thought for you. Why is that the "You wouldn't steal a movie" clip is normally only ever seen at the beginning of cinema showings or at the start of your DVD? You've clearly legitimately paid for it, so isn't that kind of aimed at the wrong crowd? The only people who ever see it are the people who PAID for it.

Hell, if I could download a car free of charge, I'd be sorely tempted.



Related Quote for Today: "And the first rude sketch that the world had seen was joy to his mighty heart, till the Devil whispered behind the leaves "It's pretty, but is it Art?" - Rudyard Kipling.

Sunday 14 February 2010

Happy Lupercalia!

Valentines is over hyped. It's based on an ancient pagan festival called Lupercalia anyway. So unless you're a fan of being chased round by nude men weilding whips, you don't have to worry about being in the true spirit of the festival. It made His Lordship blush furiously when I told him! (Image: I-am-bored.com) He did give me a great card though: "Roses are red, violets are blue, when we first met I knew it was true; I had stepped in a puddle, and had a hole in my shoe..."

Thursday 11 February 2010

Fast Foody Fancies

I remember sitting on my Nan's garden wall, eating KitEkat biscuits with Rusty and Pippa. My favourite were the beef ones... I try everything twice, just to make sure my first test was accurate. I also try things again in a year or two just to check if my tastes have changed or not.

I still don't like olives though. I tried them again (green and black) a month or two back. Twice. I still don't like them. But I do like eggy bread with maple syrup. Mmmm.

The perfect chocolate sponge - I think I finally mastered it today. It's taken months of tweaking my recipe, but it's paid off as a fine, smooth, velvety, moist, light, foamy chocolate syrup sponge much to my deepest delight. Whether I can make it again is another question, as I don't use measures.

I used one medium egg, a glass of sugar, a glass of flour, half a glass of good cocoa, and an egg and a half sized chunk of Vitalite. Blitzed together until it turned into a solid lump, I sloshed milk in it until it formed ribbons and peaks in the blending, then poured into a greased, syruped plate-sized pyrex circle dish. 12 minutes in the microwave with checks at the 8 and 10 mark, et voila - dreamcake. Turns out it's just as good on day two!

And all the house smells of cake. Mmm.

Tuesday 9 February 2010

Just Jovialities

Here's a fun site for you to try: Cleverbot! Cleverbot is like the Igod upgraded. The logarithms are much more sophisticated this time and it genuinely learns from the people playing with it. His Lordship tried to break the programme using illogical math (0/0 = ?). It thought about it and told him "That is mean!" I forget the subject Bot and I were discussing at the time, but I loved the response I got to one of my questions: "Well, I can't eat antigravity. It isn't a matter of liking or disliking it at all. It is just there."

In line with a little fun today, I've added one of my favourite movie clips of all time. Himself and I have been Maru fans for some time, but this clip reduces me to tears of laughter EVERY time we watch it.



Interesting fact of the day: Most numbers written do not contain the letter "A". It's only when you get to "One thousand" that it truly appears!

Saturday 6 February 2010

Fancy Digs (AKA Spade Storage)

I've been househunting, but this one is my current favourite. They're asking 56K for this "two bed bungalow". I'm sorry, but it's a frikken' shed with double glazing and a toilet!

Should have a sign on the bathroom door: "Water the plants - sprinkle when you tinkle!"

(Image and details: http://www.findaproperty.com/displayprop.aspx?edid=00&salerent=0&pid=1214557)

We've run into some complications however, as with His Lordship's Mother being ... unwell (family: email me for more details), His Lordship Senior doesn't want us moving so far away as it will upset her. He's also told us we can stay here and pay whatever rent we feel comfortable with, but if we mess him around, we're out. Whilst I sincerely appreciate the offer, it has left me very confused - I want stability, somewhere to call mine, as at the moment it feels a lot like pouring water into a bucket with a hole in; paying rent when it could be a mortgage on something I can keep and get money back out of when I'm done with it.

Whilst I also appreciate they're not everyone's cup of tea, I love lizards. As if you hadn't guessed by now! So I spend a few quid on accessories for them, or upgrades, or heaven forbid every couple of years, a whole new animal, but it's not like I'm spending my money on anything else lavish like holidays abroad, going to the Ritz or Manolo shoes, as much as I might like to. I'm sincerely looking forward to the day when I can put up my tripletank and move my dragons into their new luxury abode, but there's no point building it just to move it again a few weeks, months, whatever, later is there? As I have spares, I'm certainly not going to put wear and tear on £100 worth of lighting that needs replacing every 12 months for no good reason!

Friday 5 February 2010

Mix Ups and Muddles...

Frustratingly, all my plans have been turned on their head again, so I have to move the tanks upstairs at some point so we can rent the downstairs rooms as His Lordship believes we'll get more for it. My thought on the matter is that it's massively inconvenient - where am I going to put visitors?! It's really going to tick Terry off, being shufted into a different environment. He's 12.2g of sticky, sneaky malevolence...

Aww. I got sent the wrong controller. They're shipping me a new one and refunding postage to return, which is kind of them. In the meantime, I picked up a new animal hut to match Tsam and Kyle's, and saved £5 on that too, free P&P. And got sent the wrong one. Though, this was a bonus as it was bigger than the one I was expecting.

I've been teaching Tsam how to use the new hideyholes that are built into the tank - the clever boy cottons on to new ideas SO fast. I bunged him in, waited for him to have a good look round and wiggled a finger in the top. He politely licked the finger and had a look out of the hideyhole. "Oooh" he says! Out pops his head, has a look around and hops out, easy as. He was twice the speed second time round, so I'm content he knows what he's doing to get out - getting in is going to take some learning though. Kyle, bless her, has a little bit more difficulty. She's very slightly too tubby to fit through with the same ease as Tsam!

Talking of which, I have been speaking to Barry and Kisa of BloodBankDragons and discovered it's possible to ship dragons over with the ones sent for European reptile shows. Normally to export a BBD from the US costs $800. As lots are being shipped for the EU Expo, that reduces it to about $150 - which is an equivalent saving of about £400! I'll still have to wait until I move into my own home though (Pic: Bloodbankdragons.com - another pretty dragon. Still like the red and black one though!) Current Potential "Savings": £685

Talking of savings, ApplianceDeals sent me another nice little message to let me know they'd upgraded their webpage. I have to say, it looks a lot more professional than their main competitors; having had a poke about on it, it's a lot easier to use too. The search function is much slicker and the front page alone has such easy access to choice! Let's put it this way, I'll certainly be back for a fridge-freezer when my old one finally claps out!

Thursday 4 February 2010

WARNING!

There's a nasty little adware going round compromising people's MSN accounts. BEWARE of ANY links anyone sends you, especially "laughed like hell.com". It WILL compromise your account and replicate itself. If you have been hit by it, put a warning on your MSN immediately, close the program, change your password and run some malware programmes.

I should have been more suspicious when my mother asked me if I was on Facebook and finished with three question marks, but these adwares are getting REALLY smart. No email in the webpage and looks a lot more legit. They VARY as well.