Gearfuse Great Guns

I love all things gadget related and it seems the more gadgetty and useless it is, the more I just have to have it! I had to do a posting promo for Gearfuse.com today because their last 10 postings are just gold... Goldenny Gold Goodness

In order of upload:

10. A DIY virtual reality solution of turning your iPhone on its side and loading the camera app. Stickytape cardboard to the phone and fashion a headband so you can wear it on your face and see where your going.
9. Remember those little tapes for your camcorders? Ditch the tape and flip it over for a perfect iPhone caddy.
8. A TShirt guitar that's actually playable while you walk via a belt mounted mini-amp.
7. Nintendo themed cupcakes
6. Linked coffee mug set. Mugs with little tabs that lock together when your carrying alot back from the kitchen at home or in the office so you don't spill boiling water on your nethers.
5. A personal hovercraft/lawn mower called the airboard.
4. What Mario looks like naked.
3. Kanye west Mortal Kombat fatality manoeuvre.
2. A beanie that pokes you with a metal rod when you aren't smiling.
1. Buy your own 3d custom glasses.

Surely one of those has tickled some interest. Thoroughly recommend you add Gearfuse to your daily favourites grind. Brilliant for all things you never knew you wanted or needed to know about!

Togetherness

Weekend before last I decided I would stop trying to rush the cabinet and just accept that it wouldn't be finished before my party this Saturday.

Since then it seems the pressure has been lifted and I've been able to chill and focus on each tiny part until its totally complete. Quite ironically this has meant its been coming together much much faster than before and it's now looking like it WILL be finished for the festivities!

Ive started building the PC which is basically an old Compaq Evo with 2 tiny HD's, an average processor and a bucketload of RAM. I've been using a normal PC CRT monitor to configure it and the other night I switched to a little CRT TV I had lying around to see what the quality drop was like. *insert toilet flush sound file* Even with the resolution dropped to 800x600 it was disastrously blurry - Eeeeep! and we're off to the shop!

Yesterday I picked up a semi decent video card with SVideo out so I will finish the config and take it outside to see what its like plugged into the bad boy tonight. Cross your fingers, toes and anything else you think can be tied together.

Last night I picked up the new control panel overlay which looks great and I'm really happy with. Tonight I'll polish it (yes I said polish!) for the wiring frenzy to begin tomorrow. With the new overlay I've also discovered that I can mount the joysticks invisibly (no visible fixings) which was an awesome realisation unlike the usual "Oh shit I didn't think of THAT!" outcomes I've been getting.

In answer to Shane's question a few posts ago, Yes you're correct, it will NOT fit through a door when assembled! The control panel comes off with 8 screws and 2 people so I'll need to decide what room it's living in quite soon and stick to it. Anyone want a dining room table? haha

Have been working on it quite alot at night, hence no pic updates in awhile. Ill take a few tonight and post them on Picasa like normal tomorrow.

Wednesday Wigwam - What does the picture mean?
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How to be a role model for your new son

Soundtrack Of The Day: Backspacer

Weekly WTF: Mega Arcade Machine

Nerd Checklist

Found this list on Wired. Let's see how I stack up:

1. Properly secure a wireless router.
2. Crack the WEP key on a wireless router.
3. Leech Wifi from your neighbor.
4. Screw with Wifi leeches.
5. Setup and use a VPN.
6. Work from home or a coffee shop as effectively as you do at the office.
7. Wire your own home with Ethernet cable.
8. Turn a web camera into security camera.
9. Use your 3G phone as a Wi-Fi access point.
10. Understand what “There’s no Place Like 127.0.0.1” means.
11. Identify key-loggers.
12. Properly connect a TV, Tivo, XBox, Wii, and Apple TV so they all work together with the one remote.
13. Program a universal remote.
14. Swap out the battery on your iPod/iPhone.
15. Benchmark Your Computer.
16. Identify all computer components on sight.
17. Know which parts to order from NewEgg.com, and how to assemble them into a working PC.
18. Troubleshoot any computer/gadget problem, over the phone.
19. Use any piece of technology intuitively, without instruction or prior knowledge.
20. How to irrecoverably protect data.
21. Recover data from a dead hard drive.
22. Share a printer between a Mac and a PC on a network.
23. Install a Linux distribution.
24. Remove a virus from a computer.
25. Dual (or more) boot a computer.
26. Boot a computer off a thumb drive.
27. Boot a computer off a network drive.
28. Replace or repair a laptop keyboard.
29. Run more than two monitors on a single computer.
30. Successfully disassemble and reassemble a laptop.
31. Know at least 10 software easter eggs off the top of your head.
32. Bypass a computer password on all major operating systems. Windows, Mac, Linux...
33. Carrying a computer cleaning arsenal on your USB drive.
34. Bypass content filters on public computers.
35. Protect your privacy when using a public computer.
36. Surf the web anonymously from home.
37. Buy a domain, configure bind, apache, MySQL, php, and Wordpress without Googling a how-to.
38. Basic *nix command shell knowledge with the ability to edit and save a file with vi.
39. Create a web site using vi.
40. Transcode a DVD to play on a portable device.
41. Hide a file in an image using steganography.
42. Knowing the answer to life, the universe and everything.
43. Share a single keyboard and mouse between multiple computers without a KVM switch.
44. Google obscure facts in under 3 searches. Bonus point if you can use I Feel Lucky.
45. Build amazing structures with LEGO and invent a compelling back story for the creation.
46. Understand that it is LEGO, not Lego, Legos, or Lego’s.
47. Build a two story house out of LEGO, in monochrome, with a balcony.
48. Construct a costume for you or your kid out of scraps, duct tape, paper mâché, and imagination.
49. Be able to pick a lock.
50. Determine the combination of a Master combination padlock in under 10 minutes.
51. Assemble IKEA furniture without looking at the instructions.
52. Use a digital SLR in full manual mode.
53. Do cool things to Altoids tins.
54. Be able to construct paper craft versions of space ships.
55. Origami! Bonus point for duct tape origami. (Ductigami)
56. Fix anything with duct tape, chewing gum and wire.
57. Knowing how to avoid being eaten by a grue.
58. Know what a grue is.
59. Understand where XYZZY came from, and have used it.
60. Play any SNES game on your computer through an emulator.
61. Burn the rope.
62. Know the Konami code, and where to use it.
63. Whistle, hum, or play on an iPhone, the Cantina song.
64. Learning to play the theme songs to the kids favorite TV shows.
65. Solve a Rubik’s Cube. Only once without cheating...
66. Calculate THAC0.
67. Know the difference between skills and traits.
68. Explain special relativity in terms an eight-year-old can grasp.
69. Recite pi to 10 places or more.
70. Be able to calculate tip and split the check, all in your head.
71. Explain that the colours in a rainbow are roygbiv.
72. Understand the electromagnetic spectrum - xray, uv, visible, infrared, microwave, radio.
73. Know the difference between radiation and radioactive contamination.
74. Understand basic electronics components like resistors, capacitors, inductors and transistors.
75. Solder a circuit while bottle feeding an infant.
76. The meaning of technical acronyms.
77. The coffee dash, blindfolded (or blurry eyed). Coffee [cream] [sugar]. In under a minute.
78. Build a fighting robot.
79. Program a fighting robot.
80. Build a failsafe into a fighting robot so it doesn’t kill you.
81. Be able to trace the Fellowship’s journey on a map of Middle Earth.
82. Know all the names of the Dwarves in The Hobbit.
83. Understand the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel.
84. Know where your towel is and why it is important.
85. Re-enact the parrot sketch.
86. Know the words to The Lumberjack Song.
87. Reciting key scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
88. Be able to recite at least one Geek Movie word for word.
89. Know what the 8th Chevron does on a Stargate and how much power is required to get a lock.
90. Be able to explain why it’s important that Han shot first.
91. Know why it is just wrong for Luke and Leia to kiss.
92. Stop talking Star Wars long enough to get laid.
93. The ability to name actors, characters and plotlines from the majority of sci-fi movies produced since 1968.
94. Cite Mythbusters when debunking a myth or urban legend.
95. Sleep with a Cricket bat next to your bed.
96. Have a documented plan on what to do during a zombie or robot uprising.
97. Identify evil alternate universe versions of friends, family, co-workers or self.
98. Be able to convince TSA that the electronic parts you are carrying are really not a threat to passengers.
99. Talk about things that aren’t tech related.
100. Get something on the front page of Digg.

Anything I didnt understand I assumed the answer was no!

My Score: 62/100
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The Prophecy

The prophecy has been fulfilled
The day has come, earth stood still

A lonely wind whistles through the trees
Swings sway silently in the cool crisp morning air
Surrounded by people I stand alone
All mindlessly passing by - but one

A woman is standing as still as I
Facing me but gazing to the sky
I look up too see what caught her eye
Clouds are forming. Rain will fall

As we both pan down, our eyes lock for a moment
Its then I realise, we have been chosen
Look to the ground and start the motion
Clenching our fists with unparalleled vigour
We point them at the heavens as the day turns sour
Back and forth the fists pierce the air
As others less worthy stop and stare

Like lightning the sky is cleared
As those gathered around all cheer
Dormant in every soul for 30 years
Lifeless inside until the time is near
A dawn of a new day or a door just opened
The fist of power has been awoken

The day has come, earth stood still
The prophecy has been fulfilled

Painters Do It With Strokes

Who in their right mind would EVER want to be a painter? I've brought it up in the past but time and time again, any task big or small that involves painting is a complete and absolute disaster.

In order to paint the new control panel I had to remove it which was expected. Went to Bunnings with an approximate sqm of coverage I needed and nervously approached the paint counter. While I was waiting it sprang to my mind that I should've used primer on the last job because you could see the bogged screw holes on the side under a certain light. Armed with this I doubled my sqm requirements and decided to get primer too.

Paint Chick: "Hi can I help you?"

Me: "Yeah I need 1L of primer and 1L of flat black paint for use with a paint gun like that one" (pointing over to the shelf).

Paint Chick: "Sure, you need this and this and this and this and blahdi blergh fuddle de dee .......... but if you buy it this other way it works out cheaper"

Me: "SOLD!"

Now for those of you that have used an electric paint gun before, you will know two things. 1. They are effing loud, like crazy jackhammer/your neighbours are gunna hate you loud. and 2. They throw out so much paint that you almost need double for the sqm. Spray painting seems easier than brush painting and with a can, yes it is, but imagine a tool that is so limiting and expensive to run, you want to head back to the shop for a paintbrush!

- If you haven't used it in a while, they recommend turning it right up and hitting the switch for a few seconds to work the paint through so you don't get that first spatter on something - paint wasted (PW).
- Every time you hit the button they say to start off to the left (or right) and work across the face so you aren't pointing it straight at the surface when you pull the trigger - this does give a more even result but - PW none the less.
- In my case I'm painting a bizarre thing so some edges are only 16mm thick but because its a gun you need a full blast to paint it anyway - PW.
- When the pot gets low, the pickup tube can't get all the paint so it starts spitting and you need to stop, leaving 100mL or so in the bottom - huge PW.

It also cannot paint anything (well) that isn't vertical without an attachment. As soon as you tilt it even a little it coughs and cries - Fail.

So the gun costs $100 and you use twice as much paint to run it. You also need to have twice as much room for overspray reasons and hopefully deaf neighbours. It would be absolutely perfect for a fence or house walls but for general jobs, spend cash on cans. Just go to the shop and buy 10 cans of black. 50% prep time, far more accurate and no wastage. If you don't use it all, it sits idly in the shed for next time. It might seem like you're spending more but take comfort in the fact that you'll be way in front!
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Weekly WTF: Moustache Bandages

Inverted Turtle

Did you see me in the paper? I was the absolute tool that decided because it was 25 yesterday, the ocean will have warmed up enough for human enjoyment. I have experienced cold water before and had some spills on a snowboard that put snow where there shouldn't be snow but good golly miss molly! Let me try and explain.

For those that know me, you'll know I don't get in the ocean slowly, in fact I usually dive in when the water is around my shin mark. This is so that I can't girly out of going in and so I don't look like a powder puff on the shoreline going "ooooooooooo its cold". Standard tough guy wannabe behaviour.

Warning 1: As I approached the water I noticed that there were only 3 other people in...........and they all had full length steamer wetsuits on.
Warning 2: The only pair of shorts on the beach were on me and the only t-shirt was the one I just threw onto my towel.

As I dove head first into Antarctica, the first feeling was of course extreme cold but then after about 30 secs the bottom 1/2 of my body went completely numb - quite an odd predicament when the only way to stop yourself drowning is to walk back in! Luckily the numbness didn't last more than a couple of minutes as pure crisp gut wrenching pain took over. I'm talking a thousand tiny needles making a full colour tattoo on your legs all at the same time.

Usually you can get over the cold by catching a few waves, going for a bit of a swim or pissing but none of these worked. All I could do is crawl back to shore and pretend that it never happened! A nice warm day today though so no doubt I'll be heading back to the beach over the weekend at some stage to give it another go!

Glutton for punishment? Yes that's me!

Later Bakers
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Boom! Shake The Room!

Started the first round of painting yesterday and everything I did came up quite nicely. So far I have only done the metal pieces that hold the glass and speaker grill in place but it IS a start.

Totally on the fence regarding the green side panels. The laminate has been on there for donkeys years and isn't faded, and is very clean but - its bloody green! The good folk at Bunnings said it IS possible to paint but if they're wrong, its my loss not theirs. There's no coming back from the blotchy, uneven, ugliness that is a bad paint job.

There is also the side note that if I decide to put artwork on the sides at all later on, it will be much easier to stick it to laminate instead of gloss ON laminate.

Anyway while I mull that over, I've also moved on to the sound system in this puppy. It previously had 2 x 10w 8" speakers running straight off the board but I'm thinking of something with a little more 'ooomph'. It doesn't have to be that loud cos your head will be about 50 cm from the speakers at all times but it has to throw out the beats if I decide to use it as a jukebox too.

As of this moment I've sourced 2 x 50w 8" cones with 2 x 2" tweeters running off a crossover from an old home speaker setup. They can be fitted with only small modifications but the trick is going to be how to power them. A standard PC doesn't come close to the output watts required so I need to fit a basic amp inside the cabinet too. As luck would have it, I do have an old one but its very cumbersome so with technology these days they will have made one with the same performance that you need a microscope to see!

Time to go shopping! WooHoo!
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8-Track Perth

Check out this wiggedy-whack Perth train line map I found on railmaps.com.au.

http://www.railmaps.com.au/perth.htm

Obviously its Perth in a very London feel which in my opinion makes it a hell of alot easier to read! Quite often you just cant tell where the station exactly is but this makes it very clear. Who'd have thought our home town could have blossomed into something this magestic............now to get the bloody buses up to speed!

Didn't even know this site existed but it's got quite alot of good info on there which until now I didn't know I needed to know yet somehow I'm happier that I know it?!?

More work on the cabinet artwork tonight and ideas being bounced around for a thumping speaker system installed in there!

Have a good Tuesday night guys, I'm off to TPC!

Weekly WTF: Batmobile

Cabinet Update 45 of 976

As pictures say 1000 words, here is what I did on the weekend.

http://picasaweb.google.com/philgdawson/MameStandupProject#

Weekly Summary
Bunnings Trips - 3
Possible Injuries - Electrical - 3 (1 potentially fatal, 2 spiked hairdo's)
- Physical - 5
Actual Injuries - Physical - 4 (1 Circular Saw Incident, 1 Smashed Finger, 1 Slashed Wrist and 1 Egg on Head)
Total Injuries - 12
Total Injuries That Could Have Been Avoided - 12
Tools Needed - 10
Tools Used - 23
MDF Dust Inhaled - 2sqm
Marriage Status - 'On The Rocks'

Cut the surround off the old TV casing and mounted it into the cab as the other one I had did fit quite right. Also cut the panel off the front and cut a perfect hole to mount it into the cabinet front, incase you need to play with brightness or something later on. If you were ever wondering if you can use a jigsaw to cut up a TV, Yes you can.

On Bunnings trip 2, I picked up a new fluro cos the other one is just a tube (no starter etc), 3m extension cord and normal 3 prong 240v plug. Last night I connected the plug to the fan, plugged it in, works great. Cut the end off the extension cord and hard wired it into the back of the fluro, works brilliantly. Need to mount the fluro deeper into the cab to allow for the housing bit that contains the starter etc so will probably do that tonight.

Weather looking tops all week so will start painting the bits and pieces in the sunshine and the control panel/green sides and front will probably be done en-masse on Saturday.

Tonight - Fluro and Reconnect TV panel on front.
Tomorrow - Artwork!!!! Desperately!

All in all it looks the bomb! Really Really happy with it so far.
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Fil's Firty + Luke's Not!

"Anything But A Halloween Party On Halloween Party"

I'm turning the big(ish) 30 on Oct 23 and to commemorate this monumental occasion, the celebrations will be held at our place on the 31st! We are also lucky enough to have Luke 'The Duke' Tate celebrating his 2nd anniversary on that day so the festivities have been doubled! (It also means I can pretend all Luke's mates turned up for me not him, not just a hat rack!)

When: October 31st
Where: Our Gaff
Time: The Duke, TBA
Filthy Phil's, 7pm til Sunday (kids welcome)
Theme: Anything But Halloween! Yes, that means you can wear whatever the hell you like.

Beers and softies provided, food also supplied - vegetarians welcome but you'll probably go hungry.

Just bring yourselves, a sense of humour, money for a cab home and wicked presents. RSVP if you feel like it but if you're a NO, expect to be talked about behind you back by the YES's.

Hope you can make it!
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Fists of Fury

No I'm not announcing the release of a new Rocky flick or a porno. In T-minus 14 days I will have reached a mature enough level to adequetly shake my fist at anything or anyone I disagree with, just like an old fuddy-duddy.

The fist shake in itself is a noble status symbol, opening displaying your opinion that you think you're being hard-done-by. For this reason it was deemed necessary to have 30 years of life experience to fully understand what should be considered 'fair play' and to start to develop a biased, narrow minded, judgemental outlook on everyone else whether they care or not.

Let me explain: Someone drives past my house faster than I'd like, fist shake, light sprinkle of rain just after I've washed my car, fist shake, lose a close carpark to a younger rival, fist shake, jedi son refusing to join the dark side and rule the galaxy together, fist shake, politician on TV cutting the pension allowance again, fist shake, kids want to put me in a home, fist shake, birds crapping on my favourite lawn chair, fist shake, kids walking around with a smart-arse look on their face - SHAKE THAT FIST GRANDAD!

I have also set myself a reminder to add this link to my favourites on my birthday so I can keep up to date with what the rest of the world is shaking their fists at. http://www.ishakemyfistatyou.com/. It also has clear instructions for the lost art of fist shaking:

How To Shake Your Fist
(1) Lift Arm
(2) Make a Fist
(3) Narrow Eyes and Scowl
(4) Shake Fist
(5) Say "I shake my fist at you, _________!"

While I had never considered Step 5, I've realised it may be important if your in a social situation and need to confirm your fist shake's intended recipient. Nothing's more awkward than a fist shake misfire.

For those that are still under 30yo, I bit you adieu, but hang in there - your time of the fist is coming! For the rest of you old farts, look out, my fist could be heading your way soon.
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Astro Boy: The Movie

Couldn't let the days pass any longer without blogging about the new Astro Boy movie. Here is the full synopsis from the official site. (Caution to be taken if at work as its a little colourful, loud, active etc! You'll see what I mean.)
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A thrilling tale of a true hero, Astro Boy is an all-new, feature film full of action, adventure, humor and heart. It will be brought to life on the big screen in breathtaking CGI animation on October 23rd, 2009.

Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist named Tenma (Nicolas Cage). Powered by positive blue energy, Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly.

Embarking on a journey in search of acceptance, Astro Boy encounters many other colorful characters along the way. Through his adventures, he learns the joys and emotions of being human, and gains the strength to embrace his destiny. Ultimately learning his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to understand what it takes to be a hero.
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Purely based on the previews and fluff I've read online, it looks like its going to be quite good. Definitely no limit on the CGI and animation work that's been put in so, epic or not, it's bound to be 'explosive'.

Animated movies have stepped up over the last couple of years just like they did (with Pixar's strong influence) in 1995's Toy Story. Recent releases such as this and Speed Racer have pushed the bar so high it seems anything is possible. Animation is becoming so clear and detailed that the lines between it and and real footage are becoming ironically 'blurred'. Despite by Astro FanBoy nature, I don't think I'll be gracing the cinema for this one. These days movies are released on DVD after about 6 months anyway so the short wait will be over in no time!

Cya Astro Geeks

P.S. Does anyone think that Astro looks a bit old? Maybe he is more of an Astro Teen.

No, Not Those Kinda Vaults

Well the artwork debate is in full swing which is great, the only thing missing is the artwork!

Ive opened another Picasa Web Album to show you guys some of the stuff I've found and may or may not make the cut. One that wont make the cut is the picture of Hu-mer here so I thought I'd at least use it for the blog posting.

Not entirely sure how to link to Picasa from external so here goes:

http://picasaweb.google.com/philgdawson

I've made my Mame folders public so hopefully you should be able to see them without having to log into anything. Let me know if you can get in and I'll keep adding pics etc as I find them in my breaks.

Next Phase: I had to take the plastic protective casing off the TV to get it into the cabinet and unfortunately that also meant I had to disconnect all the wiring inside. I managed to do it without blowing myself up with 24,000V so now all I need to do is try and remember how it all went and plug it all back in.......while squatting inside the cabinet.

Definitely an alcohol free night until I can get that sweet picture back on the tube! If you don't hear from me tomorrow, I wasn't successful so it's been great blogging to you all and could someone send an ambo over to my place before the buzzards start circling.

Biiiiiiiiig Day Out

Firstly apologies to my good man Phil who I have all but deserted on here, not that I don't want to just that with my new work schedule I haven't had much downtime in the office and I forgot my password so I couldn't log in from home

anyhooooooooooooooo

BDO lineup has been announced and tix went on / are going on sale this week according to where you live. For the 2nd time in BDO history there will be a double dose for Sydney which sold out in hours, so they announced a 2nd day out!

Of course there are masses of artists out and about for the festival so I wont list them all, you can go and research that for yourself

www.bigdayout.com

As far as I go this excites me
MUSE : POWDERFINGER : KARNIVOOL : THE DECEMBERISTS : THE TEMPER TRAP : LILY ALLEN

But is it enough to go? Seen Muse twice in the last few years, seen the finger lots, the others are artists I would definitely watch but hardly make a stop the presses to see.

2nd announcement of artists to come....
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Standup Cabinet Update

It might not look like much but let me tell you it took ALOT of work to generate these 2 pictures.

The first is a shot of the newly installed 27 inch television screen which has been drastically modded to mount inside the cabinet. It still needs to be wired up but fingers crossed I can remember where everything goes and can get it turning on and off without blowing myself up with 20000 volts. The plastic bezel thing you can see, hides the mount and finishes the edging off a little nicer. All that's left is the tinted glass with fixings and she's smicko.

The control panel and mounting has been drawn for a few weeks but I've been waiting on the trackball from America before a circular saw even gets close to the wood. After close to a month, it has finally arrived and, turns out, it will fit nicely into the layout we've drawn. Instead of trying to copy the drawing, I've enlisted some help in the printing of it 1:1 so it can be overlayed and marked out exactly onto the wood. Once created I can build the box to hide all the wiring and the angled support with keyboard drawer.

Its hard for me to describe what it will look like but as they say, a picture says a 1000 words. I hope to have one by the end of the week so keep biting your fingernails in anticipation. I expect the ETA will be late October but that could change depending almost entirely on control panel artwork design.

Still looking and googling for awesome artwork ideas so please keep the thinking caps on. If your thinking about a character, it needs to be arcade related not just retro ok!

Happy Joysticking Slot Jockeys
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Aspect Gaming Towers

Every now and then someone comes out with an idea that makes you think.......yeah, why the hell DON'T these exist!

Speaking from experience (and I'm sure most of you can also relate) having gaming stuff is great but if it isn't organised it can be a total pain the x-butt. I know that somewhere in my house there is a Wii, 2 guitars, 4 Wiimotes, 2 Nunchuks, 2 memory cards, 4 steering wheels for Mariokart, 4 Gamecube controllers, a PS2, 2 microphones, 2 PS2 controllers and a whole lot of other gaff that I'm sure I can't find too.

If you ever wanted to quickly grab something you'd want to set about 2 hours aside for the task. Enter Gaming Towers. Clearly you COULD just grab all the stuff and chuck it into a plastic box or something but that's no where near as cool and you can't show it off :P. There is also the added 'keep out of reach' factor which springs to my mind more and more these days. What I mean is, if you don't have kids and someone who does comes round, you can grab the lot and put it away in a matter of seconds - gold.

For some reason the good people at Sony have been ignored as they are only currently available for Microsoft and Nintendo but I can't see these not being promptly snavelled up by gamers everywhere. Not entirely sure why they only allowed for 1 guitar but it wouldn't be that hard to mod it a little and hook a second one on there.

This just got me thinking....... why haven't we arranged a 4 player Mario Kart session at our place? Anybody? I'm free Friday!

Weekly WTF: Toilet Mug

Who's Among Us?

After 3 days featuring on the squidring.com homepage, I've already nuked the poll sidebar. It was just annoying, ugly, boring and terribly mainstream for my liking.

I'm still trying to come up with a decent replacement but on the left I've added a couple of funky little tools I found online.

Apart from the Hit Counter, there is a little black and red box with a number in it. That is the number of people that are reading the blog at that exact time, including yourself. I'm completely expecting it to always be '1' but I deemed it worthy enough to put there. As I write this, it says '3' so WooHoo - maybe I was wrong! If you click the button it also shows you where in the world the people are, so I can see that the current 3 readers are in Perth and picking their noses.... well not quite.

I've also re-added the search box because a few of you said it was hard to find old articles. A nifty feature of this one is, when you type something in and click the button, the results are embedded on the page above the first article. But that's not all - the search results also contain 3 Tabs so for example if you search for 'Camera', you can display results from squidring.com, the sites in the 'Blogs We Check' listing and even good-ole Google.

Ciao Brown Cows

P.S. I've made progress on the arcade cab so stay tuned for a pic in the next couple of days.
P.P.S. Top marks for anyone who can name the character in the picture.......
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Love My Episodes

For those that like to keep up with everything that is TV, here's a great site for you. http://www.myepisodes.com

Unlike other TV show sites that hook you in, promise you all the info you could ever need then bombard you with advertising, popups, surveys, polls, crap crap and more crap - MyEpisodes.com is super simple and it delivers.

Its also a little different to a standard guide as you need to know what you want to watch. Once you register you can build your private TV Shows list from the millions of available shows they offer and display your personalised guide. My list currently contains 41 shows which is a complete list of every show I've been hooked on or want to keep track of. They can be anything from really old shows, right up to ones that haven't even started yet! It tells you when they were on, when they will be on and if the show is continuing or ended/cancelled.

The brilliance of the website is the automation of it. Once you build your list, your finished. Instead of you scouring the net and finding out when a show is coming back on the air or even IF it's coming back, the site does it. It shows a fully customisable listing of when each show is next on and when you click 'watched' it disappears to your archive. So of my 41 shows, its telling me that 8 of them are on telly tonight - done, that's it, a one stop shop.

It also contains a 'Time I've Wasted' link which adds up all the durations of all the shows you've flagged as watched. I was a little hesitant to click it at first because the astronomical figure could send me straight home to smash the TV but it wasn't as bad as I thought! Answer: 4 months, 1 week, 8 hours, 30 minutes.

Have a great day players.....
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Smoke and Mirrors

Whoa total radio silence there for awhile. Sorry guys its been a bit of a hectic week!

As beer club in the office has been postponed from 4.30 until 5pm, I've finally got 5 mins to chuck a posting up.

Thanks for your feedback on the white stripe and as a popular answer was a quiz, I thought I'd look into it. The problem you see, is the internet! I'm sure you are all really really honest and pinky swear not too look up the answers but hey, just to be fair, why don't i just say you're all really smart and choose something else to put there!

As for the other suggestions Simon, my cooking repertoire doesn't consist of anything I didn't read off the side of a box/powder packet, if I wrote down all of the books I've ever read you'd barely have enough content for a table of contents, due to constant abuse I've discovered that no one gives a brass razoo about new iPhone apps (yes I know.....JEALOUS!)

Still open to suggestions, could always put an advert there! I'll do it, I will, I mean it - ah who'mi kidding. In the meantime, fill out the happy poll I've put there.

Have a good weekend humanoids!
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