Stormcaller.net

Thursday, August 26, 2004 - "An aerobics instructor gone horribly wrong"

> Stuff

Something tyring to creep into your tray? [Download]
Uh, how to announce this? Oh yes. Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape Farscape ... [Details]
> Serious

No caps, no french shirts... Fashion discrimination is not against the law? [Details]
Uh, no? A missed appointment simply means that the next patient in line has a chance of getting seen within a couple of hours of the appointed time. These things (at the GP level, probably not at the specialist level) should be encouraged. [Details]
Ye gods. Quantum entanglement is actually reaching an application. Of course, it's only a matter of time before somebody works out new and better theories that break it. [Details]
Untaxed trade good for you? Never! [Details]
Disaffected populations are a bad thing. A very bad thing. [Details]
> Humour

It sounds odd - but wouldn't you do the same thing? And water isn't something that you can easily produce either. [Details]
Am I the only one who would almost pay money for such a funny dictionary? Also - grow up. Marking Kashmir as disputed wasn't a typo. (Graphico? Mouse-o?) [Details]
Well, if you want your child to kill you... [Details]
In Russia, leaves are not considered sacred and trains don't stop for them. But they have many other tourist sights which you should be aware of. [Details] [Details]
Who won? Who cares. Who lost? Who.. oh. [Details]
> Gaming

An adventure game? Wow. [Download]
How about a whole bunch of fan-made games. Mostly, bad - but there's a gem or two in here. [Download]
Um... you could always, you know, buy fewer games. Personally, I'm about halfway through a full replay of super-mario-world right now. [Details]
Summat flash. Your own peril, and all that jazz. [Destroy]
> Comics

Yes, according to the seattle times, Gabe and Tycho got married. Bless. [Details]
It's a shame that some of these words are already taken [Display]
Website under construction. (And when are they ever not?) [Display]
Everything in cartoon network, distilled to raw silliness. This is a good one, don't miss it (and try not to hurl at the concept) [Display]

Posted by Vitenka at 4:23 PM GMT [Link]

Thursday, August 26, 2004 - "Bye-ee"

I'm gone for the long weekend. And I can't figure out how to delete a dupe post.

Posted by Vitenka at 4:22 PM GMT [Link]

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - "Exhalation"

Well, finally got my A-Level results. 'A' in English Lit, 'A' in Maths and 'B' in Physics. Also 'B' in Chemistry AS-Level. That means I get comfortably into Birmingham to study Physics & Space Research, and also get a rather handy £250 grant from the Physics dept. Pretty pleased, of course - and my 100% in all three English papers this year was a nice touch! Shame about the 'B' in Physics, but I wasn't expecting the 'A' in Maths so it balances it out. Nice not to have that hanging over me any more, as it has for the past... well, two years.
> Science/Tech

The two Mars rovers have found more evidence that water once flowed on Mars. [Details]
Epson have created a tiny flying robot weighing just 8.6g (12.3g with battery). [Details]
A lovely satellite picture of Tampa Bay in Florida, post-Charley. [Details]
They might not quite be taking over the world any time soon, but these Japanese combat robots are quite cool. They get knocked down, stand themselves up again and repeat - endless fun! Have a look at the videos, too. [Details]
University students take note. How long could a human being live on only beer? [Details]
> Geek

You can get the standalone download of Windows XP Service Pack 2 on Microsoft's website. [Details]
Google have finally released a little utility that sits in your system tray and checks for new Gmail messages. Handy, and much better than the buggy unofficial GTray program I've been using. [Download]
Most bassists could easily be replaced with robots, really, if the robots were good enough. Stage-presence-wise, anyway. [Details]
Make virtual parts become real. [Details]
> Stuff

Another flash movie of pure joy from Weebl. [Destroy]
An incredible six foot high biro drawing. I probably linked this ages ago, but it's just amazing. I want one of the posters of it, but it's £30! [Display]
Meatshakes: truly brilliant in concept, but utterly vile in execution. [Details]
Want to see something really amazing? [Display]
Northern Bastard or Southern Fairy? [Destroy]
Looks like the Circle Line Party was a success, then. Apparently the whole British Transport Police was deployed to Sloane Square! [Details] [Details]
I tend to not like stupid flash games, especially pool/snooker ones. This, however, is quite clever. [Destroy]

Posted by Stormcaller at 6:06 PM GMT [Link]

Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - "Patron Saint of Authors Who Flake On Their Deadlines"

> Quotes

I think, that somebody may need a swift kick in the negative feedback.
Being a maverick doesn't assure that your ideas are good. Just that they are better than other people's.
> Gaming

A slightly different set of things to say than that review. First of all, the AWP is as overpowered as ever. Possibly moreso. Second, the shotguns are better yes, but still not great - once players realise that they can't ignore them any more. You CAN stand on peoples heads. And whilst smoke and flashbangs are indeed awesomely good looking, remember that online your opponent will be cheating and able to see straight though them - and that some people are naturally lucky. Did I mention that the game works without tweaking? Yeah. Recoil (which many are complaining about) feels minimal on most guns - but the spread pattern works as it does in flf. Remember people, short controlled bursts. Or just stick to the shotguns ;) I see one claim that bunny-hopping still works, though. Current beta still has a skybox bug. And team-flashing is going to potentially be a big problem. [Details]
May I humbly suggest that you build a casino there? [Download]
Here's some more information from history: At every turn, sooner or later, we have won. Gaming won't be turned back forever. [Details]
In the style of stormcaller: ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD ATITD... {gasps for breath} BETA2!!! [Details]
> Humour

Uhhh... My brain is hurting now. [Details]
Heightened security alerts do make for amusing SNAFUs. [Details]
Burn rabbit, burn rabbit, burn burn burn... [Details]
Annnnd pet stupidity. Society overburdened with wealth and time much? [Details]
> Stuff

Something tyring to creep into your tray? Flatten it. [Details]
ID Cards - sane proposals being backed by those usually termed 'the enemy' - but no matter, Blunkett is going to go ahead with his own 'destroy the world' proposal anyway. [Details] [Details]
It's true, you know. They don't need any more ability to read or write past age seven once they can read most shop signs. And we don't need history or geography at all... [Details]
> Comics

Dragon Tails - Testing, testing... [Details]
InkTank - Thankee for the imagery of Ninja Habitrails. [Details]
Snafu - Bandwidth limit exceeded is sooo cool (blame VGCats, everyone else does) [Details]
Twolumps - Yup, it's true. [Details]
Nukees - Useful definition. [Details]

Posted by Vitenka at 3:50 PM GMT [Link]

Sunday, August 15, 2004 - "Any Minute Now"

> Geek

Heard about the BBC Motion Gallery? It's the BBC's new website featuring hundreds of thousands of hours of footage of everything you can think of, from all around the world. They've scoured the entire BBC video archives, as well as those of CBS News, for this material. An incredible collection. [Details]
...I especially liked the "Perspectives & Time Lapse" category. Watch some of the showreels. [Destroy]
...there's also the Premier Showreel, the very best of the best clips condensed into a few minutes. [Destroy]
Nice storm pictures from the International Space Station. Thanks, MC. [Details]
Screw motherboards, hard drives, even CD-ROMs... Linux on a flash card - only! [Details]
> Stuff

Soulwax's new album "Any Minute Now" is out soon - the anticipation! It's been three years! The single is great, and I'm waiting for the rest after failing to get tickets to their London gig this month. You can grab the video at this site. [Details]
I'm in a very Soulwax kind of mood, actually. They tend to become my favourite band for a while every few months. They're playing at a festival in their home country of Belgium on Saturday, and there'll be a live webcast. [Destroy]
XFM's Christian O'Connell finally got David Hasselhoff to appear on the XFM Breakfast Show. [Details]
Now's as good a time for another link to the XFM Breakfast Show blog as any, while I'm at it. [Details]
Zach Braff (of "Scrubs", one of the best shows on TV) wrote, directed and acted in his new masterpiece, "Gardem State". He's also been keeping a surprisingly personal blog about the whole thing. [Details]
Wonderful tricks with a goldfish. Do not watch if you are a member of PETA. You may also notice that this is by the same guys who did that anti-iPod crusade because of the short battery life. [Download - 2.82MB]
More idiot liberal "hey, let's make a flash movie about how dumn and evil George Bush is" flash movieage. But I'm linking it because the music is just awesome - "Walk Idiot Walk" by The Hives. Thanks to Ryan Heil for passing this on. [Destroy]
Weebl combines his great animation style with ninjas. [Destroy]
If you're in Florida, er... No, scrap that. Don't be. [Details]
There's something a bit odd about this 'game', but I like it. Drag stuff around. The ending is worth it. [Destroy]
Stupid things are stupid. [Destroy]
Paintballing in a couple of weeks! Paintballs are actually edible, you know. [Details]
Yes, I ran out of ideas and have temporarily resorted to using titles of songs I'm enjoying as post titles. But that's ok, because Vitenka gave you several titles this week.

Posted by Stormcaller at 7:18 PM GMT [Link]

Thursday, August 12, 2004 - "Comprehension is not an option"

> Quotes

I was unable to narrow down the headline to just one. Here are some more.
Rename "Field Effect" to "Hunter's Principle"
You are absolved, my son, In fact, I apsolve you for the whole weekend. Have fun; it's on the house.
Vo Ist Der Doobery!?
> Serious

Excuse me? A teacher gags a student with tape, and putting that teacher on trial is "nonesense"? Now, maybe there were valid extenuating circumstances - but isn't determining the truth of the matter the whole purpose of a trial? [Details]
On one side, he may not be guilty. On the other - killing someone with a car should be against the law, whether or not a DVD player is involved. [Details]
Hah. Profits at the bleeding edge aint much different. Commodity product, commodity pricing... [Details]
Goddammitalltohell. Brand is meaningless. Indeed, attempting to manipulate people to buy a product based on anything other than the qualities of the product itself should probably be illegal under fraud laws. [Details]
> Gaming

Doom3 tweak guide. AKA - how to make it run slightly less like the brown stuff [Details]
You myst it! [Download]
Did you know that the ring sound effect is explicitly copyright-protected? It's as recognisable as anything else they produced, moreso since they don't change it every five games. [Details]
Bomberman clone the seventy third. [Destroy]
> Stars and Such

Let's start off with the basics, and some pretty colours. [Destroy]
Incoming Perseids! [Details]
Slightly wrong claim - there are NO viable means. As yet the sail is untested. It's definately a good thing to build though. [Details]
> Comics

Vell, Vat else vould he vant? [Details]
> Humour

Get your Pr0z4C HERE! Fr33 as w4t3r! [Details]
We found a video of one of Bush's more telling slips. Well, maybe not telling - but an amusing gaffe nonetheless. [Details]
Well, I wasn't going to bother linking yet another boring discussion about road tax, but: "Yes, why not? It seems like a perfectly sensible idea to me. While we're at it, why doesn't the government employ random tax collectors so that people can be stopped in the street and have their wallets emptied while they wait? Those without any money can be made to walk on a big hamster wheel that will power the House of Commons." A better plan, I have not yet heard. [Details]
This is odd on so many levels. On the mundane level - why is toe licking not assault? on the less mundane level - did I really just say that? And finally, isn't it the default law that anything too screwy to think of shouldn't be banned? [Details]
An honest drunk. Goodness me. [Details]
Not only clones - but also able to change colours! First they're sandy, blink and htey've gone grey - blink again and they're sandy once more! Say it with me - cloooooooone cat! [Details]
Does anyone remember the FAST adverts? Well, this is almost as sad. [Destroy]

Posted by Vitenka at 5:20 PM GMT [Link]

Sunday, August 8, 2004 - "The frisbee - it burns!"

> Science/Tech

Meet the man who owns the Sun. It would be a lawyer, of course... [Details]
The human-powered helicopter. Its first flight will be this Tuesday, August 10th. [Details]
> Geek

Windows XP Service Pack 2 is out and will be available shortly via Windows Update or download. [Details]
You'll be able to order it for free on CD at this site: [Details]
Alternative walkthroughs - completely break a game and take advantage of all the bugs and flaws, yet still complete the game. He's done "Doom" and "Deus Ex", among others. [Details]
Useless contraptions are brilliant. [Details]
This man is simultaneously an asshole and a hero. And he has a shiny new copy of "Doom 3". [Details]
This kid, however, is just an asshole, and should be killed slowly. [Details]
How savvy are you at recognising fraud online? [Details]
Duct tape for "Doom 3". Very necessary. [Details]
Some comedy genius modded John Carmack as a troll on Slashdot. Hah! [Details]
"Jedi Academy"? Good. "Ground Control 2"? Good. "Manhunt"? Ok. "Spiderman 2" (the PC game)? Shockingly irritating.
> Stuff

The first teaser for the new Batman movie, "Batman Begins", is up on the Warnerbros site. [Details] [Direct Download - 8.01MB]
I can't believe I missed the Circle Line Party - again! Funfun. [Details]
The UK Independence Party. What a load of bollocks that all is then, eh? [Destroy]
Unquestionable proof that Nickelback's new hit is the same as their first one. [Destroy]
How many of the 53 states of America can you name? [Details]
Bunch of us met up in Hyde Park today. Much fun was had, and a new game was invented - Frisburn. This involved playing frisbee with a disc that has been thrown, not caught and has skidded along concrete so much that the edges now resemble a buzz-saw. The pain! Milla did a great job of taking photos, and wrote about it on her blog today. [Display]

Posted by Stormcaller at 11:52 PM GMT [Link]

Friday, August 6, 2004 - "If you get shot enough times, your body will actually build up an immunity to bullets."

> Comics

Wednesday is when I say it is, people.
How do you get away with it? [Display]
The princess and the pea and puss in boots and the little drummer boy and red riding hood and... [Display]
I've been told that some of you don't like reading webcomics. You're just so misguided. [Display]
Slightly odd, slightly repetitive, slightly cheesecaked - but it has jokes and some good riddles. [Display]
Kitty pillow! [Display]
Well, they are. Devils panties - yet another 'artist does autobiography whilst refusing to grow up' - but quite a good one. Plus, as the tagline says: "Not satanic porn". How can you not love the concept? [Display]
> Stuff

A decent caching dns server might be handy [Download]
And on that subject - http proxy of filtering delight [Download]
In case you hadn't got the hint - never ever give out your real name. Duh. [Details]
Uh huh. Raising the interest rates on our loans. Anyone not see this coming? What's an appropriate word here? Oh yes. politicians. [Details]
> Gaming

Why your games will, forever, suck. [Details]
They released it! Fools. [Destroy]
An actual honest to goodness point and click adventure? [Download]
Right. Doom3. Having played it (on import, no less) - I didn't much like it. Very much taking a leaf out of halflfies book, and also the old alien-doom TC. Atmospheric, but not to my taste. Engine-wise, however - it's a big let-down. It's SLOW. Jerky. On a 2.2GHz PC... the system requirements are, to coin a phrase, from hell. And that's even with the low quality settings which left people with exceptionally sharp corners on their heads. The skin and face stuff is good - but otherwise the engine didn't seem particularly impressive. Anyway. Someone released a patch that lets it run on win98. As the comment says: Beware, this MAY be a trojan. To get it to work, apparantly, you have to copy it over the original installer (and yes, that means burning a CD) [Details]
Someone else applied the obvious mod (and, to paraphase pastel heliotrope: "Does it not strain credibility that a Mars base consisting almost entirely of ducts did not think to bring along some duct tape?") - and lets you use the flashlight and the guns at the same time. [Details]
Other people, of course, went right for the graphics settings. Maybe this lets it run on sane processors. If nothing else, it lets you set visible gamma. [Details]
> Humour

Ok, now this is awesomely silly. Not only does it overdose - but catch that 'no drugs were found' line at the end. So what, one wonders, did it overdose on? [Details]
Gaiman, yet again, predicts the future. [Details]
Oh, let's let the photoshoppers have their day. [Display]
Wait, cannibalism is illegal? Damn. [Details]

Posted by Vitenka at 5:18 PM GMT [Link]