Beating the recession blues part 3: BBC extras
The BBC is arguably the best media organisation in the world. However if you go to the wrong sections, they can often seem fairly negative and blue. Question Time for example rarely has anything good to say about, well, anything. Also a lot of the
main news can be fairly negative.
The parts I recommend for happy living are:
1)
Iplayer. Since the BBC has begun using flash for all their shows, it has really taken off. Normally you will be able to catch up online for at least 7 days (often more if you factor in repeats and such) or up to 30 days if you download shows (though I don't fully see the point of this unless you specifically want to watch something offline).
If you are international reader, then do not despair. Despite the BBC filtering much of the video content by ip location, you can still get access to a lot of the radio services from the BBC, and if you haven't looked through those you are in for a bit of a treat. There are loads of good shows (especially on
Radio 4 and the hidden gem that is
Radio 7 which predominantly has plays, drama, comedy and other fun goodness).
2) Fun news. Most of the BBC news is sombre, but there is an
Also in the News section, which has more fun bits.
3) The Hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy. If you are looking for something a bit less conventional, the BBC supports the
H2G2 community dedicated to extending Douglas Adam's world. I found it a bit confusing, but perhaps you'll understand it better.
4) Browse - start at the BBC homepage and see what excites you - there are language courses, history and science lessons, information for people with hobbies in Gardening and Antiques, health tips and advice, loads of recipes from many different shows and lots more. In particular if there is a show you like, many of the personalised websites have loads of bonus content and features. I won't spoil all the surprises. But I will say if you haven't give the BBC site a thorough look, you'll probably have missed some bits that you just might find can give you a smile.
Labels: Entertainment
Beating the recession blues part 2: Jibjab new-ish movie
I missed Jibjabs annual yearly review video in December, but I've discovered it at last. You can watch the year
2008 here. For those who don't know
Jibjab is a company that used to produce lots of its own movies, however lately has shifted into ecards and such. It may be more profitable, but I still prefer the proper movies. If you are like me though, do not fear, but instead head over to
Newgrounds flash portal for all your flash needs. Yay!
Labels: Entertainment
Beating the recession blues part 1: Happy news
Around the world people are worrying about the economy and associated troubles, so over the next few posts I am going to cover what's great.
To get things started I want to recommend
Happy News. It is a brilliantly designed website that focusses exclusively on positive, good news and events. Whilst it is largely US centric, there's plenty of international coverage as well. It's perfect if you want to stay sane and remember that life is special. :)
Update: They also run the
Happy Living magazine.
Labels: Entertainment, My philosophy
New Year - New Challenges
There are many lists of things to do before you die - (see a search engine for many examples), but one of the best ones I have found is at
squidoo. Whilst new years resolutions might fail, progress is still progress no matter how small, and that's what I like most about the aforementioned compilation. It has many great suggestions for inspiration and improvement plus tips to help you follow through on your ideas.
Labels: Entertainment, Miscellaneous, My philosophy
Wikihow: advice for all
I've recently become rather impressed with the website
Wikihow. It is based upon the simple idea that people from all over the internet can write advice for other people in the form of "how to" manuals. There are loads of excellent
categories and the search function reveals all kinds of gems. For example try
"write a book".
Some key points to remember are: 1) As the content is not necessarily from experts, not all the advice is good (some is even inaccurate or damaging) and 2) there may be more than one "Wikihow" that deals with a topic you are interested in from different authors.
Enjoy!
Labels: Entertainment, Web tools
Fun mysteries to solve
If you've ever wanted to try your hand at being a master detective, there is now an easy way to test your deductive powers and logical skills online. Simply head over to
Mystery Net and there you can find daily and monthly mysteries, community mysteries and even some famous fictional mysteries to enjoy (under the mystery greats heading). Now if only someone could solve my mystery of where all my time seems to go lately! Until next time, happy solving!
Labels: Entertainment
Dilbert revamped
For anybody stuck in a mundane job in an office, or even who finds themselves in some pretty paradoxical situations,
Dilbert can provide some comic relief. Recently the site has been redesigned so now all the comics are in colour, and there is also a "mashup" feature which allows users to add their own end slide. If you prefer to access the daily strips using rss, this feature has
also been added.
Labels: Entertainment
My witty republican advert..
In my usual cynical humour I've looked at trying to make fun of the US elections. What do you think of the following joke:
Republican tv advert:
voice-over: "The Democrats only see the world in black (Picture of Obama) and white (picture of Hillary), whilst the Republican party understand there are many shades of grey (picture of McCain)"
Labels: Entertainment, Politics
What do you stand for?
To find out the answer to the question: "What do you stand for?" without an extended period of self-exploration and searching someone has created an
online quiz which can be taken within five minutes to tell you. Highly convenient I'm sure you'll agree. According to the test I stand for human rights, but somehow I think that catergory is pretty vague. Give it a try and see if you agree. Note: all complaints should be directed to the "Junk mail free delivery service" and contain a stamped address envelope... and a photograph of you... (preferably round and the size of a standard dart boa....er....pizza). :)
Labels: Entertainment
Horoscopes....which one should I believe?
If your life is anything like mine, external (good) advice could be rather useful and apparently it is available from fortune tellers and astrologers who look to the stars (or the cards) and discover information about you.
My problem is:
there are hundreds of sites claiming mystic knowledge, but which service should I believe? One might say I'm due for a love encounter, the other I should back away from new commitments until the planets shift. One might suggest its time for a new career move, the other saying I should be take time before making any hasty decisions.
I think ultimately my dilemma can be summarised by The Simpsons: In one episode Homer opens a fortune cookie saying "you will find happiness with a new love", and then they show the kitchen and the chef says open up the "stick with your wife" barrel.
Maybe I should turn to religion for an answer like
Tony Blair suggests. Or would that be shirking my responsibility to take action and make decisions based on rational arguments? I don't know. If anyone has an answer, I'd like to hear about it. ;)
Labels: Entertainment
Unusual web - wierd, wacky stuff I can't explain
Periodically in my travels through cyberspace I come across very odd things. Below are a few such items. Don't worry, normal service will be resumed next post.
Dancing Chibi Fox
Weird Al:
Some of his songs in flash movies are listed below:
Do I creep you outDon't download this songThat's your horoscope for todayWhat I bought on ebay -
also see the list of songs by Weird AlStar Wars clips:
Star Wars kidLego Star WarsStar Wars Help DeskLabels: Entertainment
Happy Easter
Ahh its Easter and in between eating eggs, religious ceremonies and family time you might enjoy:
Some Easter Wallpapers:
The holiday spotBillybear4kidsFunmunchWallpaper baseOr some Easter Games:
Easter Egg SwapEaster fun - a selection of Easter games
Or maybe you'd like to create your own
giant Cadbury's creme egg or a
slightly more appetising one.
Cracking.
Labels: Entertainment, Miscellaneous
Lateral Thinking
How often have you found yourself working hard on something, only to discover that there is an easier way which you could have done it? An example is cleaning. Do you use your hands or a cloth or broom or vacuum? Will you use a toothbrush when scrubbing or something more appropriate? If the end result is the same, why not take the shortcut?
The above are somewhat simplistic examples of "Lateral Thinking". Indeed there is a blog titled "
The Lazy Way to Success" which glamorizes the process of using intelligence to get things done faster or in a superior manner.
It got me thinking about some of the recent flooding in the UK. Why were the houses built on flood plains? Could the streets have been sloped in a manner which drained water away from residential areas? Could the houses have been designed with flood protection? Would it have helped if more people had gardens to absorb the water? Would more parks and open spaces have helped? Could the water have been pumped out at more points along the rivers rather than just in the affected areas?
Perhaps officials in future will attempt to use Lateral Thinking in their planning? In the meantime here are some puzzles to get you started:
http://www.badinage.com/ltq/Labels: Entertainment, My philosophy
Deal or no deal summarised and destroyed.
If you live in a country with too much money and a generally stupid population you might have noticed "Deal or no deal" on television. The basic format is that 22 contestants line up, one is selected and they have a sum of money in their box between 0.01p to £250000. They then chose some of the other 21 boxes to be removed and their rate of success determines the amount offered by the "banker".
When it first arrived, I will confess, for a short time I was interested in it. There are moments of tension and the banker is a clever character. As we enter 2007 however its clear how boring it has become. The format is repetitive and despite assurances by Noel Edmunds to the contrary, the game does not require skill. So now someone has actually won the jackpot its time to kill the show. Noel should learn his lesson from his time at the BBC and move on before he becomes boring, assuming he isn't already.
I generally find it hard to make the distinction between what is boring and what is not on television. Broadly speaking though I have a simple rule: length (In minutes) X level of chat (out of 1(best) to 10(worst)) / quality (1(worst) to 10 (best)). The lower the score the better.
L X C
_____ = Program boredom score.
Q
For example:
The Simpsons: lasts 30(20) minutes .
It has a lot of chat, but a lot of events and actions also so I'd give it a 6.
The quality of unseen episodes is normally 10, but repeats are only worth an 8
So 30 x 6 = 180 / 8 = 22.5 (One of the best scores)
Celebrity Big Brother: lasts 60 minutes
It has almost entirely chat so I'd give it a 10
The quality of the show is awful so I'd score it a 2
So 60 x 10 = 600 / 2 = 300 (One of the worst scores possible)
Coincidentally these shows are all on the same channel at the moment, unless you pay extra for your television, in which case you are probably very boring indeed.
So back to Deal or No Deal.
It lasts 45 or 60 minutes
It has mostly chat so 8/10
The quality of the show has steadily declined so 3/10
45 x 8 = 360 / 3 = 120
On my scale, anything above 100 is not worth watching.
Proof! Simply apply the same formula to any show and, if like me you are struggling to differentiate between boring television content, you can have a mathematical formula tell you the answer. Eureka!
Labels: Entertainment, My philosophy
News on November 5th
There isn't really any direction to today's post. I'm just going to write a bit and see where it leads. I found something entertaining at
Brainbashers. A selection of
"simple" puzzles. I've also been keeping up with the news. The main headlines aren't that great, but look a little below the surface and there is a lot of interesting things going on. Normally I'd provide links to the stories, but I think I'll just hint at them and perhaps it will inspire you to go hunting for knowledge. There is some very controversial Linux news at the moment. A scientific report has arrived indicating Britain may have to change its national favourite take away. China has declared it will offer more aid to a certain continent, although I don't know whether I regard loans as "aid". There were several blackouts across parts of one continent. I'm sure there are lots more interesting things to uncover, so its worth exploring.
Today is also special because it is
Bonfire/Guy Fawkes Night. Unfortunately, whilst most of us love them,
fireworks have become extremely expensive and this spoils a lot of the fun, having the knowledge that the pathetic sparkle you just set off cost £20 or whatever you paid. It does seem a little like burning money, or to be more precise exploding money. Of course there is always the option of going to a show, but they often cost quite a bit to get in and the quality varies.
Regardless, enjoy your evening and remember the legal time limit for fireworks on November 5th is midnight, so there is plenty of time to have fun. If you'd prefer an evening inside I refer you back to the first part of this post and also suggest you may also enjoy
Cyber fireworksLabels: Entertainment
A directory of....pointless sites?
Some things just have to be shared:
http://www.pointlesssites.com/Warning: Some of the sites are surprisingly entertaining. Visit only when you have spare time.
Labels: Entertainment
Reverse physchology...
A new song titled "don't download this song" is surfacing. I began with the aim not to listen to the song, but somehow I ended at up at
http://www.dontdownloadthissong.com and listened to it anyway. Of course the artist was lying. If he didn't want people to download it, he surely would not have made a site about it. Still it raises some ethical issues, doesn't it?
Labels: Entertainment
How would you like to destroy any webpage with tomatoes?
If the answer is yes (who wouldn't?) then check out
http://www.destroysites.com/. Its a simple idea. Simply enter the site, choose your weapon and go. Hours of fun!
Labels: Entertainment
Time magazine creates top 50 list.
5 seconds: 7 + xy = 15. y=1 x=? The
BBC is reporting that
Time magazine has created a
Top 50 websites list for 2006.
Apparently the criteria is whether a site is "cool". Its quite a good list with many small sites getting listed, but there is a clear omission:
http://www.rogepost.com/. The site allows you to host a 100mb file for free. I think that is very cool.
Answer: 8 Labels: Entertainment
How good are you at connecting the dots?
A candlemaker creates his candles from lumps of wax, one candle per lump. He can also make one new candle from the off-cuts of ten other candles. On one day he has 100 lumps of wax. Including the candles he can make with off-cuts, what is the total number of candles he can make that day? I have discovered a remarkable way of testing your dexterity, artistic skill and general co-ordination.
Its a new game called Scribble and apparently I am pretty good:
One word of advice: the level ranking is based on speed and not accuracy. I don't know whether its true or not, but there are rumours of an elusive level 5...
Answer: 111. For more like these have a look at BBC Mind GamesLabels: Entertainment
