Last night I went out to see Happy Feet with Penelope at Soutland. All I can say is the movie was fantastic. The little penguins are so cute and the whole movie is entertaining and funny all the way through. It’s more like a musical than a movie, with so many songs and well known actors doing the voiceovers, it’s a lot of fun.
For anyone who’s thinking about seeing it, do it. It’s a great movie for adults and kids alike.
Yesterday Foxtel released their new Remote Record service for iQ customers. Widely talked about, this service allows subscribers to schedule recordings on their iQ device from the internet. Despite a few problems with the site yesterday that prevented me from signing up, I managed to get on there today and I have to admit I am impressed. I was slightly skeptical about the whole thing and how it would work but after a little play, it is actually a useful service.
Some of the notable features are:
The best thing about remote recording is the speed between clicking record on the webpage and it recording on the iQ. I tested it using a program that was airing at the time and within 15 seconds of submitting the request, the record light was on on my iQ. Very cool! You can find the new Foxtel guide here.
Anyone who was watching Temptation on Channel 9 on Friday night may have noticed a familiar face. Daniel Kinsey was on the show, fighting it out for his slice of television quiz show glory. I must say, he did put up quite a good fight, as the questions on that show often cover a broad range of topics and can be quite tough. An incorrect answer by the leader saw a three way tie on $55 at the end of the last round which left Daniel in with one last chance to win the game. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, and the reigning champ took out the game.
One thing that has me puzzled, when asked by host Ed Phillips, “Do your friends ever say you’re nineteen going on fifty?” Daniel replied, “It has been said.” Now tell me people, who has ever said that!?
Download a copy of the show (MP4).
This post is a continuation of Happy New Year…
July
War of the Worlds and Live 8 were making headlines in July and semester 2 and GigManX continued to roll along. Around mid July, grandma returned from the UK and Richard and I began to move into the Widget arena with the new assortment of ISP Usage widgets. Stu M managed to injure his back (obviously *cough* working too hard!) and Muppets Inc. was born in my Organisational Behaviour class. We celebrated birthdays for Ed and Gronow and capped of a relatively busy month with System Administrator Appreciation Day.
August
Uni was powering along well and my results were higher than ever. Podcasting was starting to make it’s debut and the ski season provided a perfect opportunity to get away for a weekend. Houses were burning down, the weather was crazy and the WordPress Tiger Style caught my attention.
September
September was a time for many developments. JamesX 5.0 was launched and rekindled the blogging spirit. September also saw the return of The Bitch Box and the surprise release of the iPod nano. eBay acquired Skype and my thoughts turned to how much snow would be awaiting me at Perisher. Returning just in time to expand my gadget collection with the Harmony 880 and RAM upgrades on the table.
October
October was quiet as the uni year ended (for RMIT anyway :)). James Blunt was in our ears and we had new iPods to listen with. Addo’s blog made a comeback along with my gallery. And that was it for October, but not before the clocks went forward and my new office was ready.
November
Spring Carnival fever hit Melbourne in November and it was Cup Day and Stakes Day that kept me busy this year. Dennis got older and I finished exams. The question now was what to do next. Two days at home and I had my gadget fix - TomTom GO 500 was here at last! Of course, November is always an exciting time for me, but this year was extra special for it was my 21st!. The party was huge and is still a fun topic. But it was tiring and some serious resting was in order!
December
December was seemingly busier than most with enrolments and concerts, birthdays and Christmas it was as packed as it could get. But I did get some toys along the way, new plates for the car and iPAQs for work. Then came the K600i to wrap up season, just in time for organising Boxing Day, it seemed it would never end. But it did, and it was time for a break, escaping to Bright for the last few days of 2005.
And so there you have it. The whole year in one (well two if you want to be picky) little package. For those who were here for the journey, thanks for your support. 2006 looks to be a promising year.
Last night I went to see War of the Worlds with Richie, Stu and Han. Personally I found the movie terrible, in fact it’s possibly one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I warn that there are spoilers ahead so if you don’t want to know, skip the next paragraph.
The movie just didn’t have a storyline that seemed to go anywhere. The “aliens blowing up anything in sight” theme got old after about the first ten minutes, it’s a pity it carried on for over an hour. And there were so many blatant continuity problems, which seemed to be due to preferring product placement over realism. How on earth does a Sony HandyCam work perfectly just after an EMP has ripped through town? How does a train run with no electricity and when it’s completely on fire? Once you couple that with the casting of the annoying 4 foot blonde child, with allergies to nuts, back problems, and who complains and screams about everything, you really have a bad movie. The reusing of sets was annoying too, although it was as obvious as the movies other flaws. The effects weren’t bad, but like everything else in the movie, it got boring. The whole middle of the movie just keeps looping over and over with the same boring crap, people dying after aliens roam the planet shooting lasers from their heads. The only person who ends up coming out on top is Tom Cruise, it’s a pity the audience has to endure so much to get to that point.
I don’t think I’ll be going back to see that one in a long while. The soundtrack is great though. Any one else want to comment on this movie?
LINK:
Movie Mistakes
This morning the great FOXTEL Digital upgrade took place. I was surprised at how quick and easy it was for Al (the sub-contractor) to install the new point in the living room. After about two hours it was all done.
I have to say, I am quite impressed with the quailty of the picture. It makes normal TV look like you are watching it from DVD - a huge improvement from the analogue system. The extra timeshift channels are good too since I always seem to miss the first screening of most shows. The iQ is the most fun. It does a lot of really cool things like rewinding and pausing live TV. I’ve already queued up about 10 hours worth of recording. It records with no loss in quality from the original. Now I just need to rig up a way to save things from the iQ box and I’m set. It shouldn’t be too hard, I just can’t be bothered fiddling with the wiring again just yet.