A while ago someone showed me some unreal pieces of work by some Youtube dudes. They're called "re-cut" trailers and are pretty much film editors showing off, but the good ones can completely reverse the atmosphere of the film they depict.
Because it's a Friday afternoon and no one can be bothered you know, working and stuff, here are some of the better ones I've seen.
When Harry Met Sally
The Shining
Top Gun (brilliant!)
It's all about the music, but jeez they're clever...
I'm going skiing tomorrow. Woot!
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Flight of the Ace-ness
OMGFWTFBBQROFLMAOETC!1!!!)!!!11m1ehi!!!111
The Most Amusing Men On Earth, Flight of the Conchords, the larrikins responsible for this piece of genius (seriously - I strongly recommend watching):
Have been given their own show on HBO!!
I may explode.
Watch their zany antics:
The Most Amusing Men On Earth, Flight of the Conchords, the larrikins responsible for this piece of genius (seriously - I strongly recommend watching):
Have been given their own show on HBO!!
I may explode.
Watch their zany antics:
Thursday, 14 June 2007
Brrrr
I would just like to point out that it is 11:30 in the morning and the temperature is currently 6.3 degrees.
Six. Degrees. Of centigrade...ness.
Brrr.
A month ago, I was here.
Now, I'm not.
:-(
Still. I loves me some cold weather. More I say!
Six. Degrees. Of centigrade...ness.
Brrr.
A month ago, I was here.
Now, I'm not.
:-(
Still. I loves me some cold weather. More I say!
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
A Question
Is it just me, or do internet service providers have each and every one of us firmly over a barrel?
As the world of the interwebs has grown increasingly complex, websites larger and larger, content displayed with snazzy graphics, the need to have a faster connection has continued to increase.
Originally we all had dial-up. The we moved to quicker dial-up. Then arrived the apparent broad-band revolution and our download speeds were going to go through the roof. Except that they didn't really. Sure the difference was noticeable at first, but then as the web became more complex, it started looking slow again.
Those with the cash just upgrade again - double the download speeds and triple the limits - those lucky enough to an interchange (whatever that is) nearby even have the luxury of being able to choose super-fast ADSL2. This is a pattern that has always irritated me.
Now on top of this, is the somewhat extraordinary fact that ISPs can sell you a new super-go-fast internet package, and yet have no genuine obligation to provide the service they have just sold you.
Precisely.
Take our current home intermaweb situation. Initially we were on your basic broadband 1MB 256k a month thing. Then having found this excruciatingly slow, we upgraded to 2MB 512k. At first it seemed uber-speedy and exciting, but it has slowly become less useful. Of late, it has seemed ridiculous - pretty much dial-up speed.
We are about a week into our monthly billing cycle and we haven't even got close to our limit so we can't have been 'shaped'. I (slowly) uploaded our ISPs website to look for FAQs about speed and found a very useful speed tester thing - much more accurate than the online testing websites it said - download the little program and away it goes.
The advice given on the website, is that for a customer on a 512kb plan, we should expect download speeds of around 50kB/s.
I've been testing.
We haven't yet got above 30kB/s and most usually the download speed hovers around the low 20s. I've tested during peak (6ish), later at night (11ish) and in the morning (8ish) and while the results vary a little, never once have they come CLOSE to the recommended speeds.
Now I understand the business about the network being busy and all, but how can I be paying for an internet connection that is consistently LESS THAN HALF the amount I signed up for?
How is it that ISPs can pretend to offer you something they simply have no hope (or worse, no intention) of honouring?
If I bought a litre of milk, took it home and discovered it was half full/empty I'd be pretty pissed off and I can imagine the shop people would be fairly sheepish if confronted.
In what universe is it acceptable to sign someone up to a contract to supply a good/service and then supply them with half of the promised product IF THAT!?
And it's not just this lot. This has been my experience with pretty much every ISP I've ever dealt with.
Can anyone make any recommendations for ISPs that at least actually ATTEMPT to offer you the speeds you have signed up for? Cos I'm buggered if I'm going to upgrade with this lot to something that is apparently double the speed just to get to where I should be now.
/rant.
As the world of the interwebs has grown increasingly complex, websites larger and larger, content displayed with snazzy graphics, the need to have a faster connection has continued to increase.
Originally we all had dial-up. The we moved to quicker dial-up. Then arrived the apparent broad-band revolution and our download speeds were going to go through the roof. Except that they didn't really. Sure the difference was noticeable at first, but then as the web became more complex, it started looking slow again.
Those with the cash just upgrade again - double the download speeds and triple the limits - those lucky enough to an interchange (whatever that is) nearby even have the luxury of being able to choose super-fast ADSL2. This is a pattern that has always irritated me.
Now on top of this, is the somewhat extraordinary fact that ISPs can sell you a new super-go-fast internet package, and yet have no genuine obligation to provide the service they have just sold you.
Precisely.
Take our current home intermaweb situation. Initially we were on your basic broadband 1MB 256k a month thing. Then having found this excruciatingly slow, we upgraded to 2MB 512k. At first it seemed uber-speedy and exciting, but it has slowly become less useful. Of late, it has seemed ridiculous - pretty much dial-up speed.
We are about a week into our monthly billing cycle and we haven't even got close to our limit so we can't have been 'shaped'. I (slowly) uploaded our ISPs website to look for FAQs about speed and found a very useful speed tester thing - much more accurate than the online testing websites it said - download the little program and away it goes.
The advice given on the website, is that for a customer on a 512kb plan, we should expect download speeds of around 50kB/s.
I've been testing.
We haven't yet got above 30kB/s and most usually the download speed hovers around the low 20s. I've tested during peak (6ish), later at night (11ish) and in the morning (8ish) and while the results vary a little, never once have they come CLOSE to the recommended speeds.
Now I understand the business about the network being busy and all, but how can I be paying for an internet connection that is consistently LESS THAN HALF the amount I signed up for?
How is it that ISPs can pretend to offer you something they simply have no hope (or worse, no intention) of honouring?
If I bought a litre of milk, took it home and discovered it was half full/empty I'd be pretty pissed off and I can imagine the shop people would be fairly sheepish if confronted.
In what universe is it acceptable to sign someone up to a contract to supply a good/service and then supply them with half of the promised product IF THAT!?
And it's not just this lot. This has been my experience with pretty much every ISP I've ever dealt with.
Can anyone make any recommendations for ISPs that at least actually ATTEMPT to offer you the speeds you have signed up for? Cos I'm buggered if I'm going to upgrade with this lot to something that is apparently double the speed just to get to where I should be now.
/rant.
Thursday, 7 June 2007
I'm excited! no really...
On July 7 in London, 189 dudes will don the lycra and pedal their bikes around a 7.9km course with the aim of winning the first race - the Prologue - of the 2007 Tour de France. Over the following 20 days of competition, they will ride 3,542kms in 21 teams of 9, averaging just over 175kms per day.
With €3.2 million to be won, €450,000 of which go the the overall winner, it's a serious business. The French love it and after Lance Armstrong, so do the Yanks. The Germans, Italians, Spanish all have national cycling heroes. Riding a bike in the Tour de France is a big deal - but hardly anyone in Australia bothers to flick it a glance.
It doesn't help that the stages shown live on SBS start at around 10:30 or 11:00 at night our time (it's not their fault we're on the other side of the world), and it's not the sort of sport that will suck you in with it's flashy acrobatics as you casually surf the late night TV dials. But for those who have learnt to love the Tour, it's a wonderful three weeks of drama and heroics.
Over the next little while I intend to get all Toury on yo asses. If you know nothing about it, well, you should - it's one of the great sporting events, one of the great spectacles.
Learning to love the Tour is like learning to love Test cricket. Things don't happen quickly, it's all about the building tension, the deepening tactics and the moments of brilliance that can change the course of the whole event. Like this...
2003. Lance Armstrong attempts to win his fifth Tour de France in a row. It's the 15th stage - 159kms of mountains including two hors category climbs (the steepest hills in the race): the Col du Tourmalet after 124kms; and the Luz-Ardiden at the finish.
At the top of the Col du Tourmalet, with 35kms to go, the race is led by a lonely figure, Sylvain Chavanel, a Frenchman. Four minutes behind him are the main contenders, Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Iban Mayo and four others.
As the following group hits the start of the final climb about 10kms from the finish line, Mayo attacks. Armstrong is up out of his seat hanging onto his wheel in a flash. A duel develops up the steep slope and Jan Ullrich gets onto the back. Then in a famous moment, Armstrong's handlebar catches a bag held by a spectator and he crashes heavily, bringing Mayo down with him.
Ullrich, avoiding the carnage is suddenly ahead of his two main rivals in a small group with only Chavanel to chase down. After four years of Armstrong dominance, the path to Ullrich's first win in the Tour de France lies open. Then something extraordinary happens. Ullrich and his fellow riders slow down the pace and wait for Armstrong to catch up.
Legend has it that a few years earlier, Armstrong and Ullrich had been involved in a close race and Ullrich had suffered a puncture. Armstrong, instead of exploiting his luck, held back and allowed Ullrich to catch up before resuming the race. Jump forward to 2003 and Ullrich, it is thought, is repaying the favour.
Within minutes Armstrong and Mayo are back to the leaders. The pace increases again but Mayo and Armstrong move immediately, breaking the resolve of the pack and leaving Ullrich floundering. There is a brief moment during the break when Armstrong turns his head over his shoulder, catches Mayo's eye and then blows him away, powering ahead in an extraordinary display of endurance and strength.
With 4kms to the line, Armstrong approaches and overtakes the gallant Chavanel, patting him on the back as he does so to console him and acknowledge his effort. Armstrong wins the stage by 40 seconds ahead of Mayo and Ullrich (who fought back valiantly) and goes onto win the Tour for the fifth time. Chavanel finishes the stage in 10th place.
This is the sort of stuff legends are made of. Despite the rumours of drugs, the Tour de France remains one of the great bastions of sportsmanship, while the sheer endurance required simply to complete a Tour is phenomenal.
Watch it.
Well if that hasn't got you interested, stay tuned. There's a lot to know about how the whole thing operates and the more you know, the more interesting it becomes. Needless to say it's not just about who can get to the finish line the quickest.
If you're one of my readers who's just not that into sport, don't dismiss the Tour - it's as much a cultural event as it a sporting contest - and you never know, you just might learn to love it like I did.
With €3.2 million to be won, €450,000 of which go the the overall winner, it's a serious business. The French love it and after Lance Armstrong, so do the Yanks. The Germans, Italians, Spanish all have national cycling heroes. Riding a bike in the Tour de France is a big deal - but hardly anyone in Australia bothers to flick it a glance.
It doesn't help that the stages shown live on SBS start at around 10:30 or 11:00 at night our time (it's not their fault we're on the other side of the world), and it's not the sort of sport that will suck you in with it's flashy acrobatics as you casually surf the late night TV dials. But for those who have learnt to love the Tour, it's a wonderful three weeks of drama and heroics.
Over the next little while I intend to get all Toury on yo asses. If you know nothing about it, well, you should - it's one of the great sporting events, one of the great spectacles.
Learning to love the Tour is like learning to love Test cricket. Things don't happen quickly, it's all about the building tension, the deepening tactics and the moments of brilliance that can change the course of the whole event. Like this...
2003. Lance Armstrong attempts to win his fifth Tour de France in a row. It's the 15th stage - 159kms of mountains including two hors category climbs (the steepest hills in the race): the Col du Tourmalet after 124kms; and the Luz-Ardiden at the finish.
At the top of the Col du Tourmalet, with 35kms to go, the race is led by a lonely figure, Sylvain Chavanel, a Frenchman. Four minutes behind him are the main contenders, Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Iban Mayo and four others.
As the following group hits the start of the final climb about 10kms from the finish line, Mayo attacks. Armstrong is up out of his seat hanging onto his wheel in a flash. A duel develops up the steep slope and Jan Ullrich gets onto the back. Then in a famous moment, Armstrong's handlebar catches a bag held by a spectator and he crashes heavily, bringing Mayo down with him.
Ullrich, avoiding the carnage is suddenly ahead of his two main rivals in a small group with only Chavanel to chase down. After four years of Armstrong dominance, the path to Ullrich's first win in the Tour de France lies open. Then something extraordinary happens. Ullrich and his fellow riders slow down the pace and wait for Armstrong to catch up.
Legend has it that a few years earlier, Armstrong and Ullrich had been involved in a close race and Ullrich had suffered a puncture. Armstrong, instead of exploiting his luck, held back and allowed Ullrich to catch up before resuming the race. Jump forward to 2003 and Ullrich, it is thought, is repaying the favour.
Within minutes Armstrong and Mayo are back to the leaders. The pace increases again but Mayo and Armstrong move immediately, breaking the resolve of the pack and leaving Ullrich floundering. There is a brief moment during the break when Armstrong turns his head over his shoulder, catches Mayo's eye and then blows him away, powering ahead in an extraordinary display of endurance and strength.
With 4kms to the line, Armstrong approaches and overtakes the gallant Chavanel, patting him on the back as he does so to console him and acknowledge his effort. Armstrong wins the stage by 40 seconds ahead of Mayo and Ullrich (who fought back valiantly) and goes onto win the Tour for the fifth time. Chavanel finishes the stage in 10th place.
This is the sort of stuff legends are made of. Despite the rumours of drugs, the Tour de France remains one of the great bastions of sportsmanship, while the sheer endurance required simply to complete a Tour is phenomenal.
Watch it.
Well if that hasn't got you interested, stay tuned. There's a lot to know about how the whole thing operates and the more you know, the more interesting it becomes. Needless to say it's not just about who can get to the finish line the quickest.
If you're one of my readers who's just not that into sport, don't dismiss the Tour - it's as much a cultural event as it a sporting contest - and you never know, you just might learn to love it like I did.
AB v PK
Ha!
Matt Price on his Australian blog post about Keating's performance on Lateline last night, just wrote: "I’ve sent a message to Andrew Bolt..., suggesting now might be the time to strike with a proposal for AB v PK weekly program."
I would watch. That.
I saw the Keating interview and it was as good as everyone's saying it was. The man knows how to speak. Well. And eloquently. And passionately.
To see him going Andrew Bolt would be a joy to behold.
Why can't this country have politicians with panache any more?
Matt Price on his Australian blog post about Keating's performance on Lateline last night, just wrote: "I’ve sent a message to Andrew Bolt..., suggesting now might be the time to strike with a proposal for AB v PK weekly program."
I would watch. That.
I saw the Keating interview and it was as good as everyone's saying it was. The man knows how to speak. Well. And eloquently. And passionately.
To see him going Andrew Bolt would be a joy to behold.
Why can't this country have politicians with panache any more?
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