Return of the fat arsed work bandit...

Rather than dwell on the title too much (otherwise I'm going to get in a lot of trouble) I feel i need to rant. Now I'm all for revision, as much as it feels like a incredible pain for a bunch of poxy tests that are supposed shape my life, but that's another story. What I am against is spending quite a while doing work, finishing it, handing it in, moving on to looking at some more rubbish topics, to be then told (just before the holidays where i was aiming to relax for a short period before kicking into a lot of revision) 'All that work you did, it's not right'.

For those affected, they know exactly what I am talking about. Now this is different to been given a piece of coursework back as a draft and told what you need to change (usually within a short period of handing it in, you get it back). This is a case of handing it in waiting for over a month, when your mind has moved on to different things, and getting it back, not being told really what you need to do to get a better mark, but get yelled at for 'not putting this in, this in....I told you all this needed to put this in'.

This is usually all met with glancing looks around between the class, the patented 'o shit' position on the desk with your head in your hands and overall a probable feeling of being dumped in a big pile of the brown stuff (coloured if you buy stuff from the ice cream van). Now we have to go back and in some case re make half the work that we have already done, because all of us haven't done something we apparently 'were all told to do'. Now unless I'm being stupid, doesn't it tell you something if 20 plus people haven't done something, that is 'vital' to getting a good grade, we were not told about it.

To be perfectly honest, this has been a problem since the start. Every piece of work in that subject that we have handed in (or me anyway) has not been anywhere close to right first time. I have my own theories for this issue. We have rushed and rushed to get through the bulk of the work, but this plan to get it all done has spectacularly as we have spent more time going back and going over the majority of our work. In my opinion, rightly or wrongly, if there was such a issue time wise, all our lessons should of been planned out better and we should of worked through each piece with more detailed, with regular check on our progress and any issues would be notified.

By doing this, at least we would of had a smaller chance of messing it up and it would allow us to spend less time doing work over and over again.

And also of made people have a feeling of not 'This is the worst subject I have ever done and wished i didn't pick it' to being actually be able to cope with it. However its too late for that now.

Haha techno trickery works for once

Hello there,
This week i bought a massive hard drive for my 'ps triple' upgraded it (resulting in the terrifying experience of nearly fudging the entire thing up) swapped it round, and installed Yellow Dog Linux 6 on it. Now i have dabbled in linux distros before and found the hardest part of using them is getting out of your mind the things you take for granted whilst using windows. For example, nearly every video player on the web uses flash, or some version. Linux comes with one version called 'gnash' which kinda half works, but not with youtube. But instead of simply going to adobe.com and downloading the new one, you have to do all kinds of fairly complicated stuff for a windows users to get it to work, unless your lucky and there happens to be a .rpm to download.

But, overall, I'm pretty happy with hows its gone. I have the wireless internet working with it, I did some coursework yesterday, have browsed the net, used IM and even done some image editing on it. And I'm writing this blog on it. The good thing is that this linux distro does come with all the open source alternatives to microsoft products, many of which i use anyway. The IM client is quicker than WLM if less flashy, Open office has impressed me and the system is quite stable.

There are a few issues with it. It uses virtual desktops, which are great as you simply switch between them using either the hotkeys or your mouse, but can often get unorganized. I have already managed to create a undeletable folder and the 'shelf' which acts like a very customizable start menu (similar to a mac OS) sometimes gets in the way and no matter what i change, it wont act right...But i reckon these problems will dissapear the more i use it. I still will rely on my windows PC for some things, but this works quickly and efficiently. I'm (slowly) learning more about how all this command line business works, but damn it takes some getting used to, I admit I'm a complete n00b at linux!

The main problem with doing this is you have no times to actually play some games rather than do homework on your playstation (oh the irony). I've completed pretty much all the Orange Box, played TF2 for a bit, blasted around paradise city in burnout and now have bought Unreal Tournament 3. I know for you to enjoy online games you need to put time into them but currently i want to play online:

• Call of duty 4
• Warhawk
• Team Fortress 2
• Unreal Tounament 3
• Burnout: Paradice
  
• And other games to go on occasionally,,,,

Its impossible for me to have time to play on all these games, but will be probably be trying to grab half an hour here and there in order to get a bit more time on them.
Apologies for the geeky post, I'm in a geeky mood!
Josh

Well it was a first go i suppose

Hello again,
Though I would upload a recent short video I made for a IT presentation. Now I kinda took inspiration from both Charlie Brooker and Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw in making this video. Now before you thing 'what a judgmental load of crap, hes totally wrong about everything', I may well be, but this was for a ICT powerpoint on various things, and its my first go, may do more in the future, but its whether I have the skill and time to do so. By the way, these will be about as close as i'll get to doing a video blog, I lack the technology!

The video is on Instant Messaging:
(audio is a bit quiet to begin with)

Help...please!

Oh boy...

Well, since being told that we needed to complete 5 essays for Thursday, all on topics which are about as easy to write about as the cultural relevance of a plank of wood. I'd done one and a half up till yesterday and thought to myself (in one of these random moments) 'Tomorrow I'm gonna get up at 7am and write some essays'. Both my mate and my girlfriend looked at me like I'd proclaimed I was turning my bedroom into a brothel.

After lots of questions about my sanity, which I was doubting myself, at about 10pm last night I signed of WLM (but left the PC running itunes' 'really good' library wizard, which managed to put the odd album from my library into separate tracks, yet calls them albums), and went upstairs to watch the movie I said I never would get chance to watch. Its not exactly brilliant, ok its kinda shoddy with occasionally acting as stale as zombie bread, but its decent enough.

Then, against better judgment, I play Half Life episode 1 for a bit longer. Then went bed and woke up at 7. Now, basic motor functions are limited when I have a day off and I get up at the normal time. I went downstairs, and just had to put some podcasts on (as the friend who had claimed to join me failed to turn up, claiming his computer had broke, knowing him, I believe it) and sat and wrote 1 and a half essays.

And boy was it boring. I mean boring like, I got distracted at one point with paperclips. So basically I would recommend doing this as a last ditch attempt to get some work done, whether you want to or not. It was truly awful, but its better than me doing it into the early hours, but that sucks even more.

So basically, I've still got two to do, but have just over a week to do them, so will find some time, the problem being is that I don't really have much of an idea of what the write for the two I havent done, not without tonnes of innuendos anyway...
Josh

Before we explode...

Well, you join me on the week from hell. No, the apocalypse is not coming round the corner, in fact to the majority of people in this world who ain't living in some war ravaged gutter hole where having the aspiration of finding a bed is deemed 'ambitious', it will seem a rather normal week.

Normally, a day off school is treated as a good moment. A long weekend, the ability to do nothing all day, or to catch up with work etc. But this day, for my year anyway, is different. This is the end of the world, as some teachers are calling it. Now I am not work shy or anything, but Friday is the day most of the coursework needs to be pretty much finished...woop-de friggin-woop.

 

Now for some topics (those without coursework now feel the ultimate blessing) its all done, but seeing as the day has sneaked up on us all like a 2 stone ninja, its suddenly turned into a mad rush to get everything finished. Cue everyone going insane.

Am I worried? Well, if you'd asked me that yesterday, the answer would be yes, today, well less so. I learnt that overall, its not crucial for coursework to all be in on that day, some teachers are only picking certain ones, and giving them preliminary marks.

So why the panic. Well I'm afraid to say it, but its the only way us humans seem to operate near our full capacity, well us ones in Britain anyway. We are pushed constantly to achieve targets, and told to panic if we fail  to meet them. Now obviously, feeling like your head is going to melt is not a an ideal situation, but the more pressure we are put under, the better it all works.

 

Well that's enough of that rant, now what else I have been up to...

Last Tuesday, its was my Birthday, what can I say, it was pretty sweet, had a cool time. Got (video game section part coming up) 'The Orange Box' and 'Burnout: Paradise' for the PS3 and Resident Evil: Extinction on blu ray, a book by Charlie Brooker (youtube him) and a few other little bits and bobs. For those that know me, I ain't a terribly materialistic person, but it was nice all the same...

'The Orange Box' has 5 games made by Valve in it, I can't be bothered to go through each one, as it can be found on the newly uploaded episode of 'The Next level', but seeing as I never had the chance to pick up a copy on PC, I decided to sit down and play Half Life 2, mainly so I could start on the episodic expansions for it ASAP. For a game that is fairly old (for some of you) its an incredible experience, which I completed in less than a week, and addicted me more than even the original Half Life (which I really need to go back and play again now!)

I have been on some of the other games in that collection, but mainly have been split between HL2 and Burnout. As I mentioned, I also was given a book, and I do really like a good read. Its not a story or anything, but is funny, clever and relevant, which gives it a thumbs up in my mind. Also, I really need to get round to watching the movie I got, but seeing as I hardly never ever watch movies, it may take a while.

That was a slightly longer blog than expected, but nevermind eh!
See Ya round
Josh

What you don't know can't be real....

Today I attended a course at my karate club, I won't go into the details, mainly so you fools don't try make your own energies combust...

It was  done by this very well trained instructor from Crewe, who does RyuKyu Kempo. Now its kind of controversial as to whether it works or not, as I discovered when I got home and did some research.

Many videos on youtube are filled with comments claiming its a fraud it doesn't work. The instructor at this course admit some people abused this, claiming that they could do things they couldn't. But, from what I have seen today, I know that however odd it seems, it is real.

This did get me thinking though, why are we as people all over the world so close minded about everything. Yeah, something's on this earth are strange and confusing, none more than the human body. So why can't you doubting peeps just think 'ok that's odd, but the guy seems to know what he's on about, I'll just take it as it comes'.

Anyway before I go off on a crazy rant, my arm and chest are still kinda tingly from where he demonstrated something on me, using me...so I'm going to stop typing now..
Josh
(PS: I've wrote this using windows live writer, it seems a pretty good tool for the job!)