Mini Review: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart “0”

Oh Jon, you and your comic commentary.

This is a mini review so I'll keep it short and sweet.

I've seen clips of the show that looked very funny in the past, and apparently they weren't the best bits. This how is a good'un! Certainly worthy of more4, and I can't wait to not have to download it over bittorrent (although I probably will continue to do so, because at 200kbps, you can't go wrong).

I love the bit about God and I have to say it's a very well-rounded show overall. Not so sure about the roudy audience, but I can deal with them. I suppose they add to it.

Rating: 92%
For a daily show, by any stretch, it's an accomplishment. It's up there with Norton's openings.

link You wouldn't explode “1”

Find out how well you could cope with just being in space.

How long till you pass out? How long till you die?

Surprisingly long, actually. And your eyeballs wouldn't pop out.

Result.

More4 Ads are Go “0”

I love Channel 4. Now I'm starting to love more4.

It's not even launched yet, but they sure have a decent bit of presence. Their raunchy 'Adult Entertainment' ad campaign hit just the right chord. They've said themselves, they've done this to attract eyes and perhaps to give a little shock to the launch.

But only today has the 'Adult Entertainment' marketing facade lowered to reveal the true nature of more4 to those who aren't in the loops.

It's looking absolutely brilliant. The idea is spot on, and I can't wait to see the final station going.

Good looking brand, too.

12 Top Hits! “1”

Blimey.

Google & Physics “1”

You can use Google to help you with your Physics homework. Or, you can use it to work out your exact (depending on how accurate you measure your mass) GPE. That's gravitational potential energy.

First find the gravitational potential of a point on the surface of the earth, then work out your mass in kilograms, then pump it into the grand equation. It even shows you the correct unit!

Keep in mind significant figures (because 11 stone isn't exact, I should say my GPE is 4.4 × 109 joules). Blimy! That's loads!

Amazing! How about the GPE of a 450 kg satellite on Earth?

For the sake of grand correctness, you'll need to stick a negative (-) in front of your answer, because you have to work a lot (4.4 × 109 joules in my case) to get out of Earth's pull. If it were positive, you'd be thrown away from earth rather fast. I think. I left out the negative bit in the equations because it isn't so much fun to know that.

link Ordering a pizza “1”

Staying the same “1”

I've been cycling and I've also noticed I've been getting really, really hungry, and am probably eating twice as much as I was before I was cycling.

I don't want to keep on having to eat all of this sugar and fat to satisfy me, so I am about to engage in a grand scheme of eating. It will start as an experiment, and move to a regular pattern if it is successful.

Googling about, I have found recommendations that eating little and more often will keep the hunger at bay and help with your metabolism. Now, I'm the first to say that the Internet is pants and that this might go against my intuition of eating, but I already eat like this, except for the little part.

I'm going to ramp up the sessions where I am eating not so much (break time, when I get home) and eat less when I usually eat loads (dinner time). This means that I'll be getting six meals a day which are roughly the same size. I'll also have to regularly eat a decent breakfast.

I'm going to engineer them so that they cater to what I'm about to do next, for example, breakfast is going to be complex carbohydrates and some sugar (for the trip in).

I'm also going to more or less force myself to stop eating the sugary crap I do each day, the kind of crap that is abundant at my school. It simply can't be doing me any good, even if I am burning it all off.

Instead, I'm going to prepare a few sandwiches in the morning and have them at break, when I get home and in the evening (around 9pm), which is when I usually lay onto the shit.

Yes, I'm going to call it that because I want to emphasise to myself that it is quite bad.

I'll make a trip to some shop to buy everything I need a week in advance tomorrow. Perhaps I'll cycle to Budgens on the way home.

I know exactly what I'm after as far as the sandwiches are concerned; really high quality stuff, rich in seeds. There is a sort of bread you can get which is stuffed with seeds and is so moist you don't need any butter at all, so I think that's the one I'll go for if I can find it.

As for what goes in the sandwiches; I like the idea of lettuce and turkey, but I don't mind experimenting here. The simpler the better. These sandwiches need to travel.

This blog post was the result of me putting off stuff. Back to work!

My Provisional Driving License “1”

Whoop! It's finally come!

My picture is pretty good, and I even got a bit of a smile in there!

Tomorrow I'm going to phone up the local driving instructor and start taking lessons, I really can't wait!

I also have to begin to study for the exams. One of my friends randomly gave me a theory book full of questions and answers for the theory exam when I bumped into her the other day. Two problems solved there, methinks!

Whoo! I'm really excited about it now!

I am really enjoying cycling into the sixth form, though. Cycling back is like an Olympic-level work-out, but once it's over I feel extremely free to eat whatever I want for the rest of the day.

Cycling might make me fat.

Fun Europe Fact “1”

The Danish government pays for their disabled to have sex with a prostitute once a month.

link Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down “0”

Fully deserving of a link, I just stumbled upon this site and am not quite sure how to take it.

Sure, I like it. It's probably even useful. But with fig reviews and polls on your favourite finger, you have to wonder... is it for real?

Oh yes and take a gander at some very interesting poll results:
Is the slight slump in tea sales an issue? (778 Votes)
No not really (15.30%)
I'm concerned (10.03%)
They'll be back (12.98%)
I blame the French / Americans / Govenment / etc (47.17%)
I've got a fall-out bunker and enough supplies to last five years (14.52%)

Thanks again, B3TA “1”

Blindness “1”

I've just cycled the 600+ calorie ride home from school.

It's a new tradition of mine to stuff my face with all sorts of suary bad stuff to replenish my energy a.s.a.p. (I'm exhausted, you see). Dr. Pepper plays a vital role in this.

Cue the burp which I just produced; so gassy and long it temporarily blinded me.

Yes, it really did.

Video Lovelies “1”

I'm gearing up for the filming of three adverts, part of my media studies coursework, which'll showcase educational software entitled... wait of it...'buster'!

Yay!

I've been testing out some great software, and can now share with you two lovely demos of my work so far.

The first is a kind of sneak preview into the ad, except a picture of my friend is used instead of video. Watch it here. It's quite short, so try dragging the time thingy along to see what's going on.

The second is a quick look at the heavily-rendered environment of the final screen, with the word 'buster' on display. The actual final things will looks quite different, but here you can see the style emerging. Watch it here.

I will be sure to post the final thing up after it's been marked and moderated, and I might also be making my own version specially for 'Buster Tests'.

As I develop these adverts, I'll probably also upload any cool clips I make that are worth sharing.

You'll need QuickTime 7 to watch these two clips (I love QT much more than Windows Media or Real).

London's weird bus/boatmobile “1”

Yep, it's a bus too.

I just stood there shocked when it drove out of the Thames when was just standing around one day.

link Talk about sensitive! “1”

Scroll down the page to see how this theatre company decided to inform the public about the death of Mo Molam, who passed away a few weeks ago.

You may laugh. [via b3ta]

Questionable Clip Art “0”

Hmm. Great stuff, Microsoft.

link Is it abuse? “1”

Jobazaar get Fintanater'd.

link New Orleans crisis shames US “0”

Most interesting article regarding the tragedy. Certainly read the comments and have a think.
It disgusts me to think that my 'brother and sisters' in New Orleans have been ignored and discarded by the US government like so much trash that no line the streets of this once beautiful city. I am embarrassed it took so long to get help to people only eight hours away.
Lara Tosh, Nashville, Tennessee
This article is so wrong-headed, it is hard to even begin to criticize it in a short space, other than to say it is written by an anti-Bush foreigner who has little understanding of America. Bush was right: no-one could have predicted when this devastating storm would hit. I don't blame anyone for the tragedies of nature.
David Augustine, Mendham, NJ
I completely agree with the article. What has been going through my mind this past week is that the crisis did seem political, racial, and I am disgusted. It's unconscionable that after an entire coastline was just destroyed, while New Orleans began to drown, the President was making fundraising speeches in California on Tuesday. As president, elected to serve the people of this country, why didn't he stop everything and call out the help those people needed immediately?
Lori Thoma, Reno, Nevada
Bear in mind that this is an opinionated article (and is clearly labeled as such).

I rather like blockquoting and think I'll get myself some nicer styles for the future.

This is a rather interesting article from Wikipedia, too.

iPod Nano - Thoughts & Review “4”

Cor blimey!

Apple have replaced their iPod Mini range with something even smaller and even more expensive! Amazing!

iPod Nano White and BlackWell... actually it is amazing.

When the size of the new device in question actually clicked (I don't think their site does a good job of that), I quickly inhaled and said the usual "ohmygod" quietly under my breath. I was surprised!

For me, this is both a good product and a bad product.

It's a good product in that it's tiny, looks great, probably works great, and is likely to fit anywhere, including the tiny pocket found on the right pocket of jeans (which will help me when finding money or glasses).

It's bad product because it's a lot more expensive that the Mini just for the same kind of space. The technology for this has also been around for quite a while; it's simply taking the mobile part of mobile phones and replacing it with better flash memory (available for ages in the form of CompactFlash 4GB cards). Now that's quite expensive, so I expect memory to be the source of cost here.

But, as I am now learning, 4 GB doesn't seem like enough. It's starting to get to me that I can't transfer ALL of my music to the 'pod, so I certainly won't be going for one of these.

No, I am waiting for the next iteration of the bigger iPod. Apple has done quite a bit with iTunes, and now they know that there are many people out there who are going to have a bigger collection that 4 GB.

If Apple can come up with a smaller, lighter version of the 20 GB, it's mine. Believe it or not, I think 20 GB it pretty much a limit for me.

But that's what I said about the 4 GB Mini just a few months ago.

Overall, well done Apple. It's yet another considered product, but I'm not quite your buyer.

What's going on in the USA “0”

The people are starting to speak, especially Barbara and Kanye. But, alas, Michael Brown gets the sack. Sorta.

But it's not over yet.

Driving Theory Tests “0”

This is just an idle promo for some driving theory tests I'll be putting up on Buster Tests soon. Don't read on if you're not interested.

So, as I said, soon they'll be some nice driving theory tests on Buster Tests where you can revise your driving theory ready for your actual exam. The questions will be based on the Highway Code, and they'll also be some questions concerning actual in-car practices.

Good luck with your driving theory exam and you actual driving test!

Whoo!

New idents for BBC Four “0”

Hmm, nice and fresh approach.

link You're the Best, Kanye West “8”

Tell it like it is, brutha.

I've only just seen the clip of the hands-down fantastic Kanye West talking on an NBC fundraiser.

It was clear that he abandoned the auto-cue and just went all-out to say some very important words which I think evade many of the citizens of America, especially during election times.

He said "George Bush does not care about black people.", among other things.

You can download the amazing clip and see for yourself.

Is he right? Well, I see no solid evidence to the contrary. He is, after all, a cowboy. Texans don't like blacks. It's an unfortunate stereotype, but in a conservative state with history like that, you must admit that a good number of white middle-aged men will foster such views.

I personally have a very strong feeling that Bush simply doesn't really care about all of those black people dying, but is only really acting (reluctantly) because of the criticism (or chance of impeachment?)

If you happen to be a conservative American and are reading this thinking, 'how can he possibly say that?' or just plain 'what?', I would like to point out that the news you watch or read in times like this is quite unlikely to tell the important stories behind such a tragedy. On the record cast I linked to a BBC Radio 4 podcast where you can hear some of that for yourself. There's plenty of it to go around, and I do wonder how much airtime it's getting in the US. Certainly on stations like Fox News.

This whole event is nothing short of a shame, especially because it's a man-made disaster.

I will hold back for now for sake of respect, but I can see the facade of free, equal, rich America falling fast. As one reporter said the other day, this hurricane has uncovered an ugly part of America, a secret shame if you will.

However, you haven't excatly been having a good few years...

My New Bike “4”

Whoooo! I've gotten my lovely, fantastic, terrific new bike. It's a hybrid model, it's blue and it was built for me by a nice guy in Cheddar.

It's really worn me out just going around the area on it, and I simply can't do the hills I live on yet. My legs have been like balloons and my bum hurts a lot.

So I'm going to get some nice cycling shorts, gloves and shades ready for the Monday morning journey to Churchill. This is costing more and more, but I'm enjoying it.

One great new thing I've discovered is that now I can use the direction and strength of the wind (as seen on the BBC site) to my advantage. If it's going in the right direction, good. If not, I'll try to get a lift.

If something's not quite making sense here, it's this. I didn't get my usual free bus pass to school this summer, so I've had to buy a bike to get to school. I can get lifts, but I get moaned at for doing so.

I'll try uphill cycling a bit more tomorrow to try to get used to it. Hopefully I'll be ready by Monday.

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