We do not yet know for sure whether we will be able to attend yet, but with Alex’s wedding approaching next year, I want to start keeping an eye out for green gifts for the happy couple. As she and Mat are both nature loving, I think something that acknowledged that and did no harm to the earth’s environment would be a fitting gift. Anyone (Alex included ) have any suggestions?

Back when 2Mbit connections were the most a residential customer could aspire to, the broadband speed tests that were available were, in general, reliable. Of course, if the server that the test data was held on was over in America, then you could expect slight variance between reported speeds and your actual potential maximum throughput, and if the test data size was too small, you would need to shop around for larger data test schemes. However, as ADSL+ and then ADSL2 became available, some of the older tests, or less reliable servers meant that such tests could not be relied upon to give accurate results. Of course, you could find three or four different suppliers of tests, run each four times and then average the results, but most people don’t bother. Virgin Media has been complaining that those of their customers who complain about slow speeds were often led to false, or at least slightly inaccurate conclusions. So they are apparently teaming up with on such bandwidth test supplier to try and ensure future tests are more reliable. For now, with my 256Kbit/sec connection, I don’t think I need to worry about changing my bookmarked tests just yet

Another thing we are looking forward to in Wales is laying eyes on the baby clothes that Mum has been purchasing in advance. I am really glad we asked at the ultrasound which gender our baby was, as it meant we weren’t restricted to gender non-specific clothing etc. There is only so much pastel yellow a little boy or girl can handle, I’m sure

Just took a break from posting by have a cigarette on the balcony. Mixed in with the usual array of speeding cars, people who don’t seem to mind driving with just one headlight barely working, and quite a few with no rear lights at all, I saw our old friends the gritter convoy. Spread out in a diagonal line that just overlaps the three lanes in either direction, they usually appear when the snow is on its way. Yippee, lovely snow, beautiful trees and entirely new landscapes are visible out the window, with all the familiar landmarks taking on a new appearance, covered in a crisp white layer. Alternatively, the pessimistic side of me thinks about all the frozen pavements, motorists sometimes unable to stop at pedestrian crossings, even if they want to, and bruised bums from landing oh so elequantly after a dainty pirouette after finding the hidden black ice patches. Whether we will actually see snow so soon remains to be seen.

On the way to Irina’s parents house, there is some digital signage where the operator does not seem to have taken into account the many drivers that frequent that area. Although the screen works most of the time (unlike the ancient model installed near Ramstore), the brightness levels don’t ever seem to be altered for night time, leading to situations where drivers used to driving in low light conditions suddenly find themselves dazzled. I somehow doubt anyone will complain, but it is interesting that this side-effect does not seem to have been considered at all in advance.

I assume you will have come across the rumour that Barack Obama is a Muslim? You can obviously argue over whether this should be considered relevant when it comes to his bid for becoming the president, but the fact remains that he would not stand a chance of being elected if this were proved to be so. How did this rumour start? Apparently, a gentleman named Andy Martin originally put forward the theory in 2004. The Republicans were only too happy to extend the lifespan of this theory, as it obviously would benefit their chance of coming to power. However, Andy Martin has an incredibly chequered past, with severe paranoia issues, anti-semitism (back in 1983, he wrote “I am able to understand how the Holocaust took place, and with every passing day feel less and less sorry that it did.” !) So even though Steven Schmidt is the public face for this campaign strategy, it looks as though Mr McCain actually took his cue from a complete nut case with some revolting opnions. Click the previous link for more info.

(This will be the final link to 236.com today.)

I need to start checking my favourite gadget sites, as I would quite like to check out what sort of remote control helicopters are now available. Why? Because a friend of ours (Losha) was demonstrating his model a while back, and the rotors got damaged. If the cost isn’t too great, I’d like to get him a replacement, and even if the original has been repaired already, we’ll be able to race them

Head over here for the BBC report, or if you find their streaming video has problems with your internet connection, see the following three YouTube videos. On what? Well in case you missed out on the news, a British man dove into the Moat surrounding the Emperor’s residence in Tokyo. The undeniable facts are that he was naked, not likely to get cold this winter with his in-built insulation, either a litttle unhinged or drunk, and splashed water and threw bricks when the police attempted to catch him.

Thanks to Japan Probe for the following picture (and preceding videos)…

So why my interest?
Well I saw the following image over at Pundit Kitchen, and wanted to find out more about the background to it.

see Sarah Palin pictures

So what happened to the crude and aggressive tourist? Detained under the equivalent of Japan’s Metal Health Act? Received a good public beating after throwing bricks around? No, he had a slap on the wrists and was released! At least according to the Daily Telegraph’s article.

In a simlar vein to the Regained Freedom post below, I am looking forward to sampling some battered burgers and McDonald’s breakfasts again. I need to be a little cautious though, as I don’t want to be searching for treatments for acne if I go too over the top with my consumption. Anyway, I will try and monitor my fatty foods intake, and balance it out with healthy food now and then

OK, so a score line of 1-0 with the football team you are congratulating being on the losing side wouldn’t normally give rise to a post like this, but when you are playing Germany, 1-0 is quite a respectable result IMO. If you compare the track record of both sides, you can see that managing to not only keep the goal difference down to one, but also only allowing a single goal to be scored in the first place is certainly an achievement. If you are interested in a proper football pundit’s run down on the match, click here.

So, with our trip back to Swansea upcoming, I can’t help thinking about the car waiting for us. A friend of John’s owned it before, so I’m sure all the important parts will be working well, and I’ll not need to check for any steering rack problems. However, I still need to decide on the safest, tidiest and highest audio-quality solution when it comes to connecting my phone for music and GPS needs. As the car currently has a tape player, and mine are all packed away in a box somewhere, it seems to make more sense to use hardware I already own, rather than ripping out the tape player.

Another 236 video here. I had not come across this great Palin speech before. In it, she refers to Joe Biden, the Democrat candidate for Vice President. She refers to having heard about his speeches back in the second grade. Obviously a (not very) subtle reference to her opposition’s age. Which is a bad thing. Except who is that man standing behind her, to the right of this video window? John McCain, who is SIX years older than Biden!

I’m guessing that this was either not through through properly by her speech writers, or it was an inspired off the cuff remark she just thought up on the spot. In either case… OOOPS

Since I was given my TyTn II, I have not been using my old, partially broken, PDA at all. Because of this, I have a couple of compact flash cards sitting in my drawer, crying out to be put to use. Despite having a quick look around the usual USB-based gadget sites, I’ve not found too many options. Does anyone else have a toy that uses CF cards? Are they worth buying? I don’t think I’ll be overly worried about finding a use for the old slow MMC cards I used in my old T68i phone though

To friends and family back home, it looks as though the original mid-November date for moving back is now a little too optimistic. Although we would obviously like to get back as soon as possible, completing the paperwork over here is a lot more complex than it should be, and a few other factors mean we are now looking at coming back some time in December. Luckily we have not bought plane tickets yet, so there is no financial hangover attached to this change in plans. Whatever date we finally arrive, we’re both really looking forward to seeing everyone (relatively) soon.

At some point, I would like to find a good quality, but cheap, upscaling DVD player. With our 1080p screen, it sometimes seems a shame to not try and utilize the full resolution (upscaling players tend to give better results than relying on the TV’s scaler). Although the PC is already connected to one HDMI port (via a DVI<>HDMI lead), our TV luckily has two such sockets, so for now I won’t be needing an HDMI switch. Of course, if Hotbird ever carries a serious amount of HD channels, we may want to upgrade our satellite receiver, in which case it will be time to shop around.
(Yes I understand that upscaling may not be the same process as AA with graphics cards, but it was a shorter post title that way )

Normally if I were to write a post based around Skunk, I would be talking about an upcoming trip to Amsterdam, or very occasionally about the animal itself. However, if you head on over to this article you can see why this is a little different. The Israeli police is introducing this foul smelling concoction as an alternative to other more lethal or at least dangerous weapons.
Although Israeli actions against Palestinian civilians are rarely posted on a favourable light at this blog, this appears to be a step in the right direction. Even if it is used far too early in confrontational situations, or sprayed indiscriminately into a crowd, the fact that no one is going to lose a limb, their eyesight, or loved ones, through its deployment has to be a good thing. Perhaps it is too easy to judge from afar, but if I were over there, I’m pretty sure I would prefer smelling horrendous for a few days to death or serious injury.