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March 31, 2004

Life in the Special Hell

Obviously I'm going to burn in that very special level of hell for this, but it's done, and I'm sorry it happened.

I can already feel like my mind is contracting and I feel dirty, not to mention paltry.

It's just the fact that the conversation takes place, that the rating should be lowered because "it's a good film" which makes me just want to point out that what government anywhere should be allowed to legislate value? Applying arbitrary notions like lines in the sand apparently isn't enough. The suppression of thought leads to impoversishment and inefficiency - the disruption of market forces, as some might say.

I wonder what the rating would be if Jesus was sodomising Mary, both of them.

Hi, I'm Louis, and I read (past-tense) today's Life.

Posted by subtitles at 9:40 PM | Personal

March 30, 2004

Wonderfalls, Into My Arms

Is there any doubt that despite the extreme close-ups, that Wonderfalls is Tim Minear's show? I'm sure no one likes that they messed with the airing sequence, but to be fair, those were pretty good episodes, and also good episodes to start with. I still get a bit disoriented when I watch Firefly and Shindig comes so early.

But yes, I must find the time and way to organise a Firefly screening party of some sort or other some time. I should also finish my third chapter.

It was quite fun the way that L word used Nick Cave, though I just remember when I first heard the song, that I wanted the interventionist god to be direct her away, out of some kind of spite or pique.

William Sadler wasn't inaccurate then in describing his character, the Bush thing was hilarious. Almost makes me want to watch the Roswell boxed set I bought.

Posted by subtitles at 9:38 PM | Personal

Awfully

It's not just that I terrorise, it is also that I am beset by anxieties. Things annoy people, people annoy people, certain things with certain people annoy people.

Posted by subtitles at 2:49 AM | Personal

March 29, 2004

Blow Wind Blow

Is it any surprise to anyone that Howard Dean should be so heartbreaking to me right now? His comment is here, and he was replying to this.

Posted by subtitles at 2:15 PM | Personal

Happiness is a Warm Gun

And so good starts are just too much pressure. It's very satisfying not having to be polite. Simmering tension humbug boo hoo.

I, I, I. Am a man more sinned against than sinning.

Posted by subtitles at 8:53 AM | Personal

March 28, 2004

Letch

Much fetching from the Servisair lounge at Manchester.

Posted by subtitles at 2:12 AM | Personal

March 27, 2004

Rome

And so it was that three years of his life, by passings and mishandlings, and the carelessness of listening and the slap-thwap of whispers, became transmogrified into not things.

S- had a habit of wailing on CP, oh wail, oh wail. And so when it came to money, everyone just sort of nudged about the fact that it wasn't just in money that higher ground was gained, which is what friendship is all about.

Posted by subtitles at 6:19 PM | Personal

Dark Pony Death

Who would have guessed that all (as far as I know) of George's stuff is being re-released. I'm suddenly really missing the Travelling Wilbury's albums. The boxed set is this, all his Dark Horse albums, even though I already have a couple of the discs already.

Unfortunately I'll end up waiting for a bit to get it, unless it's available for cheap in Singapore (not a chance), probably waiting for another more comprehensive collection to come out, or at least a complementary one. I already have the albums that aren't dark horse anyway I think.

Note to self: blogs are not meant to be pretentious(?).

Posted by subtitles at 11:59 AM | Personal

Thwack

Is a Sandalwood box just too much to ask?

Posted by subtitles at 8:23 AM | Personal

March 26, 2004

Push

And so there are just moments when the thought of writing makes you sick. Well not so much sick as it just feels woefully and prostrately inadequate. It seems so much of an indulgence, so much of a pretension, a pose, a clever-dickness about it all. And if it were only that whatever it is you burn. I really can't remember when I last felt quite so,.

I don't know it I'm just wanting something more raw, that clever avoidance no longer works, but when I think of the cringing, it makes me already want to rewrite certain bits.

If only people would realise this and have dinner with me.

Posted by subtitles at 11:57 AM |

Bereft

Heard the eternal footman, bought himself a bike to race

Posted by subtitles at 11:45 AM | Personal

March 25, 2004

Gah

And so I would sit in front of the window and stare out longingly at the curtain. All the idle lying on duck shit. It's nice to cuddle sun-block.

Return Argos stuff. Buy Bikram Yoga. Buy Shooting the Past. Nuts for dad. Trains on Sunday leave at 5.10 and 6.10, arriving at 7.19 and 8.24.

Posted by subtitles at 6:30 AM | Personal

March 22, 2004

Paul Smith

It seems ShareReactor has been the target of some governments sting, so it's offline and the owner is facing criminal charges. But well, there's still Shareconnector, fileheaven.org, therealworld.de, bucktv.com, and others who might never reach the scale of SR, but that's what suprnova is for. The wheel's always turning, but it only matters to the people on the rim.

So yes, Paul Smith shoes. 2 pairs of them no less. Lightning struck hell freezing over.

Posted by subtitles at 4:55 AM | Personal

March 17, 2004

Refugees

Easy racism (against mainland chinese for instance, or boat people) on the part of someone from a racial minority is fantastic, especially in the way it discomfits those in the majority who experience it with a kind of shock at the non-fraternal illiberality of it all. Of course it happens easiest from those who come originally from a place where they are anything but the minority.

Posted by subtitles at 10:33 PM | Personal

Support

I have listed a number of faults in ascending order of importance. Please reference my previous inquiries using ref. no. 1655925, I spoke with Adam (both times). I'm referring to my notebook, a 3150HW which is about 3 weeks in my posession.

1) Whenever I open PowerDVD 4, the screen refreshes as if I had changed the colour depth from 32 to 16 bit. I have also seen this problem with display models I've seen in stores, so I wonder at how widespread this issue is.

2)Most of the time, when I unplug a USB device, the system completely shuts down. These are items that I cannot "stop" through the OS before I physically remove them - specifically my USB mouse and USB audio devices. I have updated both my bios as well as my usb drivers (uninstalling and reinstalling) to the latest version available. (3)If the battery was connected while this happens, the backlight will fail to come on when I restart the system. The only way I can get the backlight to come back on is to shut down, remove the battery, and start up again using only ac power.

4)USB audio devices have huge problems on my notebook. These devices, that work on all the other systems I've tried them on (and are hence not faulty), do not seem to function properly on the USB ports. I've tried both the Creative MP3+ and the Hercules Muse Pocket. After installing the latest drivers and restarting to fully install these devices, the sound is perfect. In particular, DVD's play perfectly with no problems. Video mostly plays with no problems. Video with MP3 soundtracks above 192kbs seem to cause crackling sounds. CD's consistently cause the same crackling sound. Music files of 192kbs (and perhaps below that as well) seem to cause the crackling. This crackling is loud, audible, incessant and continuous along with the sounds/music. Once the crackling starts, it continues indefinitely until the computer is restarted. Some times the crackling occurs after playback of a not-crackling-inducing media/file is stopped and later restarted.

A circumstance I would like to suggest and perhaps rule out/query as contributing to the USB problems would be that I am currently in the UK and have been using (obviously) UK power sockets to charge my batteries/use AC power. In the course of this, I've used both an adaptor for the american socket and a replacement input cable to the power supply that has a UK 3-pin head.

Would the wireless module be a factor in all this, since it (apparently) connects through USB?

I need to know if all this behaviour is consistent with your engineers' experience in dealing with faults regarding this notebook. I do not relish sending my notebook in for repair if this is simply an ongoing/novel issue that cannot, from what you've heard, be definitively/routinely repaired. I'm unclear on what your policy is regarding exchanges, but I'm more than willing to exchange my notebook for a tested replacement instead of sending it in for an uncertain repair process.

This of course is complicated by the fact that I will not be in the US for the next few months at minimum, so I would appreciate a clear course of action for when I do return to the US.

It's been suggested to me that I should RMA, but I would only do so if you can assure me that ALL of my issues stated above can be addressed by my doing so. In particular your tech staff has tended to suggest that the faults with the USB audio devices are the fault of the devices and not the notebook, which, if you've read the extent of my experiences, seems incredibly unlikely. I would need you to acknowledge all of these faults as recognisable and valid, and that they can and will be fixed, before I RMA. Nothing would frustrate me more than to recieve my notebook back with any of the above issues not satisfactorily addressed.

It's also come to my attention that you are in fact responsible for keyboard caused scuff marks on the LCD screen due to faulty keyboard placement and I would appreciate it that if I RMA, you would deal with those issues as well. ie: you would reposition the keyboard and replace the screen.

Posted by subtitles at 9:47 PM | Computer Stuff

Race

And so Joss Whedon really inhabits that kind of mediocrity, the kind that Karen seems intent on bringing out in me. It is perhaps how much not I want to be intervened in that makes me so unprepared to be inadequate and unconsidered. Go fill your anxieties like a well - exactly like a well. Other people probably realise that suicide is a solution. And one that is fed.

Gone, but I don't know wh....

Posted by subtitles at 8:41 PM | Personal

March 16, 2004

Remember

Need to remember to keep notebook charged so have to go to smokey area. Have a look at Karen's prospective lamp. Need to download all the crap required for creative, just in case, though the driver's what's most important. Must bring CD and DVD to test playback. Must check that they've credited my account as and when they do. Check the train timings for friday. Remember to buy watch and liquitabs. Collect pin no. Go crazy and buy a powered usb hub.

Posted by subtitles at 3:28 PM | Personal

D1

Oh and of course there had been a ridiculousness about soliciting friendship, or the feeling of it, remotely, and by proxy, which he admitted later; but you get lonely after you leave and you wish the ones who could make it otherwise weren't either. But cradle snatching happens, and well, that's something.

Posted by subtitles at 9:55 AM | Personal

Note-Taking

"Is it time for the descent into hell yet?"

"Oh we love those, ."

"You remember that last one, with the buttons and the fringe?"

"Oh no, was it...? Oh yes, yes... no."

"Excuse me, are you writing stairway to heaven in there?"

And so it was an overly bright day in Manchester and K and D2 were in The Filmworks, after it was a multiplex but before it was sticky. K felt it was very much like a the painting of the open door, both in the hanging and the brushing, and especially with the unintentional red lights, and that smell that smelled like pre-haunting emulsion. That was the day when they'd both discovered why you always have a pair of sunglasses on overly bright days in Manchester.

Posted by subtitles at 9:49 AM | Personal

March 14, 2004

For Andrew (Come get Firefly)

First off, let's send you to C-Span.org, it's the website for a public interest broadcaster in the US that has loads of content on the elections so far and in particular, content on Dean. His remarks at the Gridiron Luncheon are a good place to start. And well you could have a look at www.deanforamerica.com.

I'll say it here. I don't think John Kerry will win it. And if he does, I really don't think he'll be the kind of president envisaged by those who support him. Put simply, he doesn't have the brass. "He's better than the other guy" is not good enough.

But enough about that. You can find a nice simple bittorrent client here. More info, and an introduction and useful FAQ can be found on the original bittorrent page.

Once that's installed, you should go to www.suprnova.org (yes it's misspelled) and go crazy. The link for Firefly, though, is here.

The problem, though, is that you're behind a router, and without you reading a router manual (they're actually really short and clear though) this is what you should do. You have a Netgear router. I'm not sure of the exact model no. but I suspect it's this, the manual for it is here. Anyway, you need to know about port forwarding, so you should read this to figure out what to do. The ports required are supposedly 6881-6999, but you can read more about it at the rather more informative d-link page, they're another company that make networking equipment, but the info is similar. Oh, and you find out your IP (which is where the ports will be forwarded to ie your computer) by looking at this.

Posted by subtitles at 12:51 PM | Personal

March 12, 2004

Backlight

Ok, so first really alarming thing about my lovely Averatec. It was on mains, I changed power saving mode to Max Battery, closed the lid, and when I opened it again, the backlight wouldn't come on. Restarting didn't help. Wasn't until I shut down and unplugged the mains, plugged in the battery that it came on again. Somewhere in what I've done is the reason but I can't for the life of me think what it could be. And obviously changelogs for bios' are too difficult for them. Thankfully it wasn't a hardware thing with the latch.

Well there's that and the fact that when I'm going to hibernate and unplug my usb mouse, the thing shuts right down. I'll see how it goes, if it keeps up I might give them a call just to get the lay of the land at their tech support dept. Maybe an RMA somewhere within the warranty year - where I can get them to flash the bios for me.

Posted by subtitles at 5:18 PM | Computer Stuff

I Can't Help You Baby

You wonder when "they'll like us when we win" stops being enough. If there was one thing that made Dean stand out it was that he was willing to say that he's willing to make the right decision, whether it's popular or not. I'm not saying his rationale for revisiting trade agreements wouldn't have been fallacious, or that they wouldn't be fueled by the same affective fallacy that afflicts so called "liberals", but at least the gesture was there. Kerry can still bite me.

Now it just seems that jobs has become such an Issue that only the Republicans can sound the right note. And as for Lou Dobbs, you wonder whether there was some point when the media said to itself that a part of their service to the public should not be to feed its anxieties under the pretext of assuaging them, but rather be a tool for public education.

Posted by subtitles at 4:50 PM | Personal

The End of Satire

For a government that is founded on it's ability to educate it's electorate, it's unwillingness to promote what is right and things that are irrepressible, is simply irresponsible - a lacking of will and information.

You claim that people aren't going to like it and yet you concieve of yourself as being able to guide people into thinking the right way. You can stick your neck out and say unreservedly that free trade is the way to go (as they admirably should) and yet this truth is just too difficult for people to swallow even when it has no effect on them or their perception of their pocket books.

Posted by subtitles at 8:49 AM | Personal

Vibes

I wonder if I would ever explain to Mary the feelings I have of antagonism towards people who previously had authority over me. Or if I could explain, as I could to Cari, that I (like her) live in morbid fear of bumping into people I might know on the street.

So yes, I've always gotten bad vibes from certain people, and others well probably don't have the time or inclination to be that friendly. Not that I don't understand this, I never really want to see any of my recruits' ever again, as might be rather explosively been shown when that guy turned up in Su-lin's room. But translation man.

I think I will try to make the first step and try to e-mail Matt.

Posted by subtitles at 6:19 AM | Personal

Economist Roundup

As you'd think, the Economist probably does a lot better at making the case that trade and capitalism have to be accelerated, not retarded, to make the world a better, and less poor, place.

That, and why Americans really shouldn't be so obsessed with the movement of jobs. And basically that they're better off now than they ever were. (The first link requires subscription)

Posted by subtitles at 5:44 AM | Personal

Lost in Space

Just right now, Aimee Mann is making me want to cry.

It's all about drugs, it's all about shame.

There's just an emptiness of feeling in the inability to make connections and the inability to think and have thought. It might a bit be about superiority and pity but it's also a great feeling to have access to that well of feeling and that grasp of intellect and thought. You wonder if righteous anger might not be seperated from it.

Posted by subtitles at 5:38 AM | Personal

March 11, 2004

Waffles

I'm just here, not really wanting to look at my scribbles, wondering if I should go to Borders. I'll be off to have dinner in a minute probably, likely to be burger king. Don't feel like browsing DVD's or CD's, feeling a bit tired, wishing I wouldn't end up smelling.

It's pretty goddamn cold today, about 4 degrees. I'll probably eat, then go back to Karen's, hang out till I got to Delwyn bearing eggs and hopefully a working copy of DVD-Region-Free.

Posted by subtitles at 11:49 AM | Personal

March 10, 2004

More Gripes

So yes, it is pretty annoying that Caffe Nero's wifi access is absolutely superb on the ground floor. Admittedly it's not so smoky, but there are also no power points and it's right next to the drafty door. Mugsy. But no dropped connections and just a generally wonderful connection - while my battery lasts. Cunning bastards.

Posted by subtitles at 1:00 PM | Computer Stuff

Lost

And I don't feel like playing Ultima 9. Is this really a genuine sense of not wanting to be immersed to come up and want againt to be swept away? Only this time the Oceans have stopped and the waves are too embarassed to crash anywhere except Karen's room.

I'm seeing Ve-Yin tonight, hopefully for a nice fulfilling dinner. It'll be a bit strange no doubt, I hope he figures to come upstairs to look for me, though I'll take a stab at staying downstairs for a bit.

And so aside from thinking I should get the Echo Indigo, I wonder if I should just sit in front and try like it matters. Lost lost lost. For better or worse, I think I'm going off to go and write to Cari.

Posted by subtitles at 7:38 AM | Personal

Panic and Grit

Just feeling a sudden desperation to write, despite being on Karen's computer and her ancient keyboard. It's not like shuttlecocks, it really is like being stuck, breathless and dazed, unable to move.

And thinking about the past isn't all that happens when you have no future, the present just seems to loom. As with all panic attacks, things go away, but it's just a feeling of wanting to sleep perpetually, and of worry and sinking.

The Corner is a bit disappointing. I suppose if I was expecting the Wire, this isn't it. I just hope the rest of it is better. But the landscape is similar though, and not in buildings of people so much, but in language and lingo. I've only really seen 2 actors who would eventually go on the Wire, but here it just seems they're all not quite where they should/would be.

I suppose though, that this really is much more of a journalistic work than The Wire is - it's just that the breadth and subtlety of The Wire is so much more appealing, and so much less Gritty.

Posted by subtitles at 7:28 AM | Personal

March 6, 2004

Echo West

For some reason, the wireless link has shaped up in the past couple of hours, so that I might actually have a ghost of a chance at watching Angel soon. Of course I could just wait 3 weeks, but it's the principle of it.

It's getting a bit annoying sitting here, but that's being sort of paliated(?) by my looking for sound solutions for my lovely new laptop. So far the Echo Indigo seems the most promising - PCMCIA, so no dangling about. Thing is that it's about 130 US, and it would probably cover up my wifi switch, which might be a bit annoying.

Also I wonder if I would really need to try to get along with WinDVD 4 to get the most out of it - I'm finding since DVD Region-Free that I really like WMP as playback software in favour of PowerDVD.

I can't be bothered to write another entry, and I'm sure these cafe driven ramblings please no one but my fingers, but I just watched the West Wing where Toby tries to save social security; and it's still good. But obviously that's what really precipitated me wanting to spend 130 dollars.

Posted by subtitles at 9:48 AM | Personal

Mmm... Soup...

And so Caffe Nero is all that bad. It's not so smoky today, the music is a more sedate weekend version of the usual frenetics.

I've tried the food and it isn't horrible. The pasta is okay, not something I'd recommend even as microwaved food goes. The soup wasn't all bad though, and is palatable.

It'd be nice if they had a toilet round here.

I wonder if I would have been better off having Eggs Benedict at City Screen, but then it's not Eggs Michael, and City Screen ain't the Original Pancake House.

Doesn't everyone love spotty wifi connections :P.

Posted by subtitles at 6:45 AM | Personal

March 5, 2004

Tokin'

It really is just too noisy and far too smoky to write comfortably at Caffe Nero. I wonder when they're going to start recognising me and bugging me about not ordering drinks. I suppose I could buy overpriced water, but it all just makes me want to go to the toilet.

I suppose Cari won't be able to find a fourth for mahjong, so if they want to play anything it'll have to be Tai Di.

Oh, and clever man at this electronics shop near the Shambles managed to get me the requisite cable I'd want to plug in in the UK without an adaptor. Apparently those small plastic things aren't allowed here. I suppose the fact that it leads to me sticking pens into sockets doesn't cross their mind. But yes, adaptor cable is good.

Posted by subtitles at 9:49 AM | Personal

High

Isn't it just predictable that the table next to the power point should be the one with the spotty wireless coverage? The Bastards.

But at least now I'm getting my money's worth from my access plan. Fat chance of me buying much coffee from this place though. I get the feeling wifi is not a priority for most of the latte sipping crowd here.

So yes I'm back in York in the most surreal way possible. Luckily Karen's friend just got back from Mecca, and "know's a guy".

Got confirmation that I'll be going to see Cari on Monday. House of Sand and Fog is still showing here, so some time next week maybe. I'll probably try to move to Delwyn's after dinner or something.

Amazingly, torrents are doing fine, and Angel is on it's way.

Posted by subtitles at 9:13 AM | Personal

March 1, 2004

So You Want to Buy an Averatec Notebook

At Michel's (rather cryptic) request, the notebook can be found at the Averatec page, and the price can be gotten at Pricegrabber.

Anyone who's asked me about buying a computer has gotten this as a recommendation from me. And now that I've finally gotten it, I'd say that was a well founded recommendation. No Neverwinter Nights, and laptop hard-disks are a bit poky after a raid array, but regardless a fantastic value.

For no particular reason I'd just like to wonder aloud at why editing/copying over my search.ini causes search boxes to disappear every once in a while. And also whether Caffe Nero will have power points.

Posted by subtitles at 5:13 AM | Computer Stuff