July 2010
4 posts
Arrivederci
(I only just noticed that the address to this blog wasn’t working for the past 2 months. I forgot to update something as I moved to a different server. …whoops)
Tumblr has been ever so good to me for the year or so I’ve been with them. The time with them must end though.
Even though I don’t post too often, I find alot of restrictions in their quest to simplify blogging....
Projects Galore
Instead of waiting to be hired for projects that I would quite like to dig my teeth into, I thought I’d might as well do it off my own back.
Teie - Social Network A clone of Facebook if you like, but done in my own way.
Why: It started on Facebook ironically. A friend of mine was complaining about the aforementioned social network and I came out and asked if I built...
The Summer Computer Clean Out
Just took some time to get rid of some UI annoyances on my computer.
Skype is now integrated into my IM client, Trillian.
Skype can now be minimized to the system tray instead of hanging about the task bar.
Cleaned up the bookmarks in Firefox.
Upgraded to the Firefox Beta for a cleaner look.
Sorted my ~200 tab backlog into two categories; Read later and Bookmark.
Cleared out my inbox and...
The Perfect Chill Out
So you’ve just had a hard Monday at work? Here’s what to do. Break out your drink of choice, the more classy the better. Whiskey could do it.
Open these three links all together in different tabs. A quick middle click or ctrl click should do the trick. Link 1 - Link 2 - Link 3
Sit back and enjoy.
June 2010
2 posts
The Live Picture Frame
Someone on my Edinburgh TV crew just gave me a fantastic idea.
Required: A TV that has media server capabilities (UPnP perhaps) or just a TV plugged into a computer. A computer connected to the same network at the TV. A smart phone with a internet connection be it wifi or 3g (Android preferred). An event (A house party preferred).
The Idea: Pictures that have been taken with the camera phone...
Award!
James: I'm opening a tea shop!
TX: You're what?
James: you know tea shops?
TX: shops that sell tea?
James: Correct, cups of them
James: I'm opening one
TX: AND THE RANDOM ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE WEEK AWARD GOES TO...... PAAAAAAAIIIIIIIN!!!!!
James: lol!
Jame: Thankyee
TX: so, you've just won an award, how do you feel?
TX: (this is where you jokingly say "I think I need a cup of tea")
May 2010
2 posts
The Live Streaming....thing
Let’s not debate how great the internet is, because it’s pretty bloody fantastic. So fantastic that it’s gotten to the point where we can stream video, live.
There’s a problem though. Anyone with the internet and a webcam is able to do it. This has the side effect of alot of unprofessional and non interesting content on the providers websites.
This means that someone with...
Branding, Branding, Branding!
The basics of my new website is now up and running at http://www.jamespain.co.uk with only a few minor bugs I may be able to get rid of this weekend. Then I’ll slowly release the rest of the website over coming weeks.
Next up is leaflets I plan to print and distribute. I’ve taken a different colour scheme to the leaflets as opposed to my green’s for a decent reason. As much as I...
April 2010
9 posts
Piracy Generates Crap YouTube videos
I weep when I see at the end of crappy youtube videos ‘made with premiere pro’ not just because it gives it a bad name. Anyone who edits that badly didn’t buy that program. Anyone who buys the program is serious about editting and knows what they’re doing.
This is why I cheer on Adobe’s anti-piracy team. Once it’s perfected, crappy youtube videos will come...
Normality
Client: So what's the range of a wireless router?
Me: Depends what kind of house you're putting it in.
Client: Well how far for a normal house?
Me: For a normal house you're look at around normal range.
Client: What's a normal range?
Me: What's a normal house?
Scene 1 Ext. Park - Day | Script Frenzy - 100...
<!— @page { margin: 2cm } PRE.cjk { font-family: “DejaVu Sans”, monospace } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } —>
EXT. PARK - DAY
Warm winter sunny day, light wind and a scattering of
people in a local normal park. ...
Into Script Frenzy Action
Remember Script Frenzy? 100 script pages in 30 days thoughout April?
Remember my post that I haven’t even done a single page?
This is about to change. 100 pages in 2 days? EASY!
I’ll be posting pages as I write them here!
11 Tips for a Great PC Repair Website!
So you know how to use a screw driver and have once seen a hard drive? Then you’ve no doubt already started up your own computer repair business.
After all that experience (read: failures) you’ve already had, you must be wondering why no one is calling you any more. I’m sure you’ve come to the conclusion that you need a website!
As you’re so capable with technology,...
James: my website is going to take a fecking long time to finish
D: porn website?
James: funny
James: personal website
D: so it is porn
“Dear 3am,
We have to stop meeting this way. I’d much rather sleep with...”
– via: http://weheartit.com/entry/1569071
Script Frenzy Status
…I have written no pages, not one…zero…
What I tended to do for essays is to wait till the last day, then do it.
I think what’s happening here is that I’m wasting half the month enjoying myself, then I’m going to crack down.
This means I’ll have to do 6 pages a day…eeaaasssyyyy
Music Tip | The Frames – Seven Day Mile
I’m going to start posting a weekly ‘Musical Tip’ which is basically a recommendation of a track you should spend 3-5 minutes of your listening time checking out.
This weeks Music Tip is The Frames – Seven Day Mile. I found it in the first episode of season 6 of the US TV show House.
All the links follow.
youTube:
Grooveshark Spotify Last.fm Amazon MP3 iTunes 7Digital
...
March 2010
14 posts
“The thing I hate the most about advertising is that it attracts all the bright,...”
– Banksy
Script Frenzy 2010
Script Frenzy is back for another year, starting this Thursday.
The aim is to write a 100 page script in 30 days.
Thousands of other writers are taking part including myself so get involved!
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/
“90 people get swine flu and everybody wants to wear a mask. A million people...”
– Unknown (Found here)
To buy...
Here’s an insight to my to buy list, just because I fancy posting it.
Adobe CS5 The era of CS4 is over and from 12th April, Adobe will host an event (of which I’ll be attending) that will launch CS5. As I’m still technically still a student since I’ve only suspended my studies (I don’t plan on concluding them) I’ll be able to get it for £~900. It’s still...
Your Long Term Clipboard
A: you got msn logs?
James: I got msn logs
A: search for that sims key i sent you xD
James: thats why you bloody sent it to me
James: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
A: win
James: crafty fucker :P
The World Must Know!
James: my head feels like runny cake
A: go to sleep, bitch
James: not before I post that quote somewhere
“I haven’t seen this many attractive, well-adjusted people since Joey got...”
– Brian Barrett of Gizmodo.com
One year of Blogging - Kopimi Intro
Most of my blogs have fallen after a month for some reason or another but this one has kept on going and have been quite popular among some folks.
This blog has been licensed under a creative commons licence since it launched but I wanted to do something to mark the anniversary, just something special.
For now on, I shall be using Kopimi for this blog. It basically means that I WANT to be...
“Why would I need a internet connection in 20 years time?
I’d be on the...”
– Myself
1984 - The Open Source Audiobook
If you’re like me and can’t be bothered haven’t had time to sit down and read George Orwell’s book, 1984, then you’ll be as glad as me to learn that there’s a free, open source, audio version of the book.
Thanks to archive.org, who helped me gain material for documentary’s, they are the people hosting this wondrous thing.
You can download or stream the...
Coffee Break
Over the past few days, I’ve been RP’ing with a randomer over email as an audition for…something.
I’m playing Peter, a mid-life travelling (let’s say) salesman. The randomer is the story teller, and will be put in italics.
The story follows.
The stillness of the coffee shop shattered with the glass of the door, and the young man’s hand punched into the shop...
Nexus One
I managed to get my Facebook account back thankfully, in the swing of things I thought I’d get my faulty phone sorted out.
The Nexus One is Google’s new phone that came out not too long ago, not yet out in Europe. After huge import charges, it hasn’t come without its faults.
Picking up phone calls has been the most worrying one. When the phone starts ringing, nothing would come...
I’ve managed to lock myself out of facebook and the password reset email isn’t getting through. This is all keepass’ fault!
A Male Purse...
L: Someone I was with earlier today pulls out a small coin pouch to check his money
L: "You've got a merse! You've got a merse!" (repeated a few times)
Him: "No it's a coin pouch!"
L: "You've got a mouch!"
Him: "I should slap you..."
February 2010
8 posts
Life to Internet in 5 Minutes Flat
My process of posting something on the internet. Write a breif location specific status and post on Google Buzz. Remove location specific, add more personal details and post on Facebook. Shorten to 140 characters maximum, make more interesting for a wider audience and post to Twitter. Finally gather all detail and media about what is being posted and submit to relevant blog. Done!
Germany here we com...oh we're already here.
As you’ll notice on the right hand side of this blog in the ‘My Location’ section, you’ll see that I’m currently staying in Germany and will be for a few nights.
Daily blog posts with pictures, maps and details will be posted on my travel blog http://www.tophattraveller.com with the first post being published tomorrow.
That’s all to say about it. I’m not...
Hug Request
You Are About To Recive A Hug Choose Your Hug Style 1. Left Arm Up Right Arm Down 2. Right Arm Up Left Arm Down 3. Both Arms Up 4. Both Arms Down You Have Chosen Both Arms Up They Have Also Chosen Both Arms Up Hug Failed
Anger Paints a Thousand Words
I’m genuinely annoyed, very annoyed.
We’ve had Virgin Media for about a year. We only got it because Satanta Sports was broadcasting the golf instead of Sky Sports that year. Since it was only costing us an extra £1 a month with our other Virgin Media products, we’d thought we would keep it since it had on demand content that I was fond of.
Infact the full story is that back in...
James M. Gaylord
I swear I did not specifically search for this person, I just clicked the random button on wikipedia and he came up.
But while he’s on my screen…
James Madison Gaylord (May 29, 1811 – June 14, 1874) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
Well done to him for becoming a U.S. Rep with that kind of name. That’s admirable in itself.
He attended the common schools and the Ohio...
The Love of your Life is Waiting for you(r credit...
If you’re like me…single, use facebook, have lots of friends in relationships…then you wouldn’t have failed to notice all the dating adverts that appear for you on facebook. What makes it a little depressing is the use of pictures containing scantly clad young women that possibly didn’t give their consent for use of their picture in an advert. Not that it’s...
1 tag
You have a nexus what now?
Did I mention I got a new phone? Oh yeah, it checks my email, syncs my calendar, makes the breakfast, cleans the car…
It’s the Google nexus one. If you follow tech news, your ears just purked up.
I’m not going to brag too much about it but just know this:
If you’re thinking about getting a android phone, don’t dilly dally and just get one.
That goes for buying a...
Darn Spelling Mistake
As a web designer, you create alot of domain names on a regular basis. It’s just a routine thing to go though.
I’ve just set up a website called http://www.tophattraveller.com …or as it was previously known, tophattraveler.com.
That mistake cost me £20, it may not be alot but it’s still very annoying. I now have the tophattraveler.com domain with nothing to do with it.
...
December 2009
4 posts
Jaw Problems
E: there's something wrong with my jaw
James: Does it keep flapping about with a noise called English coming out of it?
Naive and Stubborn
James: This is quite the Twilight Zone moment.
Girl: No no, it's just called Twilight.
James: Oh no, I mean the TV show.
Girl: It was a film, not a TV show.
James: I'm not talking about the book adaptation with vampires. I'm talking about an American TV show back in the 60's.
Girl: Book adaptation? Stop fucking with me, and TV didn't exist in the 60's you lying bastard.
The Bar in the Shadow of the Universe
L: I'll take two spades to go and a surreality chaser.
James: Sorry, you've missed our breakfast period
L: It's alright. I'm not staying. I only want the drink.
James: Fine, some revenge with your drink?
L: No thanks. Don't want my teeth to freeze.
James: We're having a special offer today, if you trade in an arm and a leg your drink won't be lethal
L: Jolly good! Thats rather cheep! All the other bars cost two legs and an arm.
Contempt
L: You are piggybacking someones internet?
James: it seems so
James: I'm enjoying it
L: It's like piggybacking a person. But digitally.
L: Less lube
James: indeed, hence the term piggybacking
James: lets not ponder about the lube
L: It could be a national sport.
L: Lube pondering.
James: I have no intent to take part
L: Oh you're no fun. :P
James: I am, just in different ways
L: ways that don't involve lubricant.
L: Or piggybacking.
James: I'll leave you to do my share of that stuff
L: So kind of you.
James: quite
L: You didn't say about inflicting my share on you in joke form however.
James: hmm?
L: Of piggybacking.. and lubricant.
James: ah
James: quite right
James: I'm just trying to shove the image out of my head as fast as I can
L: Sure you mean shove?
L: Wouldn't persuade be a better word.
James: perhaps I should arm myself with a spade next time I see you
L: For what purpose?
James: self defence
L: Against?
James: you
L: Maybe.. I can be dangerous in large doses.
James: you freak me out quite well
L: Because I'm so twisted?
James: in the head, yes..
James: not too sure about physically
L: Be glad there aren't more like me.
James: I'm sure there are
James: I've just managed to fend them off/ignore them
L: No no.. there is just me.. I've killed the rest.
James: that explains why I've been having so much free time lately
L: Less twisted people badgering you?
James: just the irish
L: Ah now they are twisted physically.
L: Too much dancing.
James: you have a point
L: Anyway, re your twisted point. I'm sure you know others like me..Plenty of them at hesfes.
James: true but at this point in time, they're not on several hundred light pixels infront of me
L: Unlike me?
James: correct
L: I'm sure we can fix that problem.. you can acquire their emails when you see them.
James: I think that's the wrong approach to this 'problem'
L: Oh what is your approach?
James: wishing that I outlive you
James: with the help of this spade...
James: *weilds spade*
James: sholdn't be much of a problem
L: You're introducing it artificially to the system. Clever.
James: Yeah, I thought so
James: this presents you with a problem though
L: It does?
L: How to avoid the mad spade murderer?
James: As with many people, you have a weakness to spaces coming at you with a great speed and power
James: correct
James: and ofcourse, I meant to say spades
L: You did. Clearly a Freudian slip there
James: It could have been worse so I am relieved I did not mention any genitalia
L: Would you believe me if i said a spade was a part of the anatomy?
James: It'll be part of your anatomy soon enough
November 2009
1 post
“It was a match made in the apple store.
As we looked into each others canon...”
– Myself
October 2009
3 posts
“Hi, I’m James and I have an addiction to information.”
“CSI don’t solve crimes, they just beat up black people”
– My lecturer
Dear Blog,
Hey, it’s me…
Look, I know you never thought you would hear from me again after this long, but I’ve been doing some thinking and…well….I want you back in my life. Just hear me out, I know you must be angry but at least give me a chance to speak.
When we first got togeather, it was a match made in heaven. I could tell you everything on my mind and you would listen....
September 2009
1 post
The intro that's needed
I’m James Pain and how the hell did you find this place?
…maybe that’s a bit too harsh…
May I inquire into how you got to this position?
….nnoopeee…too formal…
I have no idea how you got here but enjoy it none the less.
…much better…
This is my blog and it’s been going on for some time. Mainly media has just been posted on it and it...
July 2009
7 posts
Horror Film Idea; Obsession
Scary idea for a horror film. The tap water is spiked by a highly addictive slow working drug by terrorists. Normal people start constantly hanging around taps and constantly drink and slowly turn into violent junkies. Eventually they die from the obsession. In the middle of this crisis the water is turned off by the government trying to control this but the junkies start leaving the taps with...
