Orac

I have a decent computer of my own at last! Cute huh? He's only about the size of a small dog, like a yorkshire terrier maybe. Here's the basic specs for people who care (like me!): Athlon 64 3200+, Corsair 1024MB TwinX XMS 3200, 2 x Seagate Barracuda 160GB SATA II in RAID 0, Sony 16X x 16X DVD +/-R/RW Dual Layer. It's a lovely machine, and the most important thing is of course that it looks so cool :-) With the wireless broadband up and running too there's no longer any need for me to leave my room. Oh except to go to work I suppose.

The Duke no more

<- Keith can't believe the drinks are really free!

Yes the good old Duke of Wellington had one final night of old-school hard drinking and bad dancing on Saturday night, as it's changing hands shortly.

After 17 years of regular attendance I can't quite believe it's over. Never again shall we be told by Lee to 'drink up and fuck off'*

A concise history of me and the Duke:

1988 Get drunk in pub for first time, watching Miller play the guitar at the Duke every Wednesday.
1990? Brother Adam forms legendary band Stone House as the first of several line-ups to play the Duke in the hope of rock stardom and maybe impressing the girls.
1993? I destroy half of garden wall while climbing over it in order to avoid paying at the door. I never tell anybody about what I have done and feign alarm and surprise when the damage is pointed out to me.
1995 Rare video footage of Duke recorded in classic home movie 'The Good Years', published by Jude-Ra the Everliving.
2001 A space oddyssey. 'E's become prevalent, as does loud dance music and spontaneous hugging. Partying at the Duke reaches a new high.
2002 The come down. Duke closes it's doors for 18 months for a posh refit!

Add to that all the Christmas lock-ins, the Summer BBQs, the countless friends and acquaintances made, and the one thing that never changed - the Hardys! Cheers guys :-)



*never say never

Grizzly Man

There's a new film I have to see! Grizzly Man is a documentary by the awesome and slightly bizarre Werner Herzog. It's about a chap by the name of Treadwell who devoted his life to grizzly bears... and then they ate him. Check it out, sounds fascinating! Herzog was big in the new German cinema of the early 70s, and hasn't stopped filming in five decades. Check out the classic Aguirre, the Wrath of God, or Fitzcarraldo to name two of my favourites! Or for the truly strange, the superbly titled Even Dwarfs Started Small.

I'm so busy these days with work, studying for microsoft certs, the gym and of course OGame that I don't know when I'll find the time, but it looks like one not to be missed!

Nerdy gaming with OGame

Thanks to one of my colleagues at work, I have been diverting a lot of my attention lately to intergalactic empire building. OGame is as geeky a pasttime as ever was devised, and I make no apologies for loving this sort of thing :-)

The World Penguin...

...marches through space, bearing the world on his feet.

refer to comments on previous item in case you think I've gone mad

:-)

The Root of All Evil

Did anyone see 'The Root of All Evil' on Channel 4 last night? Richard Dawkins' 2-part programme attacking religion. I love the fact that such a programme can get broadcast on primetime terrestrial TV these days!

Dawkins has no qualms whatsoever about branding ALL faith as a dangerous way of non-thinking. Hear hear! No pussyfooting around! Unfortunately he's not likely to convert anyone. Despite the obvious rightness of his point of view, he is not the most charismatic of fellows, and becomes petulant when his (admittedly vile) interview subjects make absurd statements about creationism or whatever.

Pastor Ted Haggard, an American evangelical leader that he interviews, is so repugnant, stupid and aggressive he confirms Bill Hicks' observation that creationists are among the most 'unevolved' people around. This imbecile even dares to trot out the old 'how can an eye evolve purely by chance' argument. Duh! Not that I expect everybody to have an interest in evolution, but if you're going to attack the theory then you should have at least some vague idea what you're talking about.

As for the muslim guy that tells Richard 'If you are an atheist then what is to stop your women fornicating in the streets?'... words fail me.

Apparently the next part of the programme will go on to explain how religious education is akin to child abuse. Something tells me Channel 4's forums (fora?) are going to be a veritable inferno of angry god-botherers!

"Within each of us, ofttimes, there dwells a mighty and raging fury"

Had to be done! :-D