Spooks! Holy crap!

I have to say, that was the best episode of Spooks ever! Proper wounded they left it on such a cliffhanger! Whoever came up with the story on that one deserves nothing less than a BAFTA. No nominations, no ceremonies, just give the dude an award! Bugger it, give em all an award! And for the next 12 months, the question on the lips of every fan of the greatest show produced by the BBC EVER will be, did Adam kill Jo? The best bit of TV I've seen in absolutely ages!

Now this is FUNNY!!

Oh how I laughed my ass off...and it has a handy message to boot! Freedom to the net!!

Viva la resistance!!

The things people say when they think no one is looking...(another racial issue)

So had a quick play on good ol' XBox Live last night and generally I'll throw the headset on which will allow me to have a chat with other players as I play. Anyways - talking to a couple of guys from down south and there was a little banter going on which is generally the norm. Anyways, one of the guys proceeds to say something along the lines of "Christ...I'm running like a N****R".

Call it racism, naivety or whatever else, but I'd just refer to it as just plain dumb! From my own stand point, I'll admit I was a little offended and this was not only because of the fact that I'm a black man and simply don't like to hear that word being used by anyone (black or white) but on a whole, racist comments whether they are meant to harm or not are still offensive to me (regardless of whether they're talking about black people, asian people etc). I've been on the end of racial abuse when I was younger and knowing a fair bit about black history and how ignorant people had been to others simply because their skin colour was different to that of their own - I just don't like to hear racist comments in any capacity whether it be a joke, passing comment or out right ignorance.

Anyways - when I pointed out the fact that I was indeed, a black man, an awkward silence ensued followed by and apology and one of them attempting to give an anecdote..."Yeah...I met this black fella once and he was well funny...proper nice bloke". Thank you ever so much for telling me that - and on the basis of your anecdote I feel that we have made an ever lasting connection...(obviously I'm being sarcastic).

It's a difficult one when talking about racial issues being as there are those like myself who have been on the receiving end of racial comments which in a predominately Caucasian environment causes you to feel extremely uncomfortable and on the basis of this, it's not something that I would do to someone else. On the flip side of that, there are others who feel that because their comments were said without any malicious intent they are cleansed of any wrong doing. With that said I feel it is important to remember this. The fact that you do not intend to cause offence does not stop others from being offended, and it's a shame that even though we should all relate to each other as human beings - we are still a far cry from doing so.

Just goes to show that it's amazing what people will say when they think no one else is listening.

Technology and the world gone wrong

I think I may have 'bricked' my ipod! I plug it in to charge at work and it kept coming up with an option to update it so I figured "why not". I've updated the firmware tons of times before without any problems, so why should this time be different right? WRONG! Comes to the end of work and I go to 'plug myself in' as usual and when I look at the screen it comes up with this symbol like it needs to be plugged back in! I reset the fucker...same bloody thing. Now I hear you all cry 'well plug it back in' which sounds like a good idea, but to be honest, I just couldn't be bothered. Will see if I can sort it when I get home.

Meanwhile, was having a spy at http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com (I visit it sometimes, its a pretty good site and is ran by a friend of the chief exec of the law firm I work at) and he was talking about the war in Iraq. Now I've made a few comments about this before and one thing that does really piss me off about this entire thing is the fact that it shows if you got enough power, no one is gonna stop you. Did the US get any ramifications on the basis of ignoring the UN? Not that I heard about. They basically came up with some tripe about weapons of mass destruction - glossed over the fact that they couldn't find any and no one has done shit about it. Anyways, I have every intention of talking about this more later, HOWEVER some complete C*NT has decided to play mobile DJ on the bus. Execute all the fuckers I say, would help with the over population problem and one less chav in the country aint gonna be missed by no one. Just told the little doushe bag to turn it down and he gave me a look like he was well 'ard. Don't give it the biggun sunshine or I'll beat the fuck out of ya infront of your girlfriends! Sometimes I'm sure that these fuckers know that this irritates me and I'm very close to beating the ever loving shit out of this wanna be gangster!

GSP, Baaah Humbug and Hi Def Movies on the XBOX

So even though I've been aware of this for some time...George St. Pierre (who by the way...NEVER updates his website) has another title shot at UFC 79 : Nemesis, and while I'm a touch disappointed that I won't get to see Matt Serra pound on Hughes while I chant "Kill! Kill! Kill!" (OK...maybe overstating a bit but I don't like the dude) the fact that I get to see my favourite fighter go and serve up some grade A, satisfaction guaranteed or you money back whoop ass is certainly making me feel better about things. When Serra beat GSP (and I have nothing against Serra at all) I have to say that GSP looked like a different fighter - even worst than he did when fighting Hughes the 1st time and I'm of the opinion that the person who has a better change of winning is the fighter who has prepared himself both mentally and physically. GSP seemed like he was else where to me and it caused him to lose the title. I think if we can see the GSP who is even remotely close to his peak - Nighty Nighy Mr Hughes! And even George says it himself "No one can 'andle my riddem" (the best imitation of a French man I can muster through text). Plus they got Silva vs Liddell which may or may not be superb (Chuck's been a little disappointing of late) and also...I'm quite sure that Layoto Machida should be in the main card that actually gets shown on TV. So if you're in the UK - Sunday 30th December - 9pm - Bravo (I've actually rearranged bits of my Christmas break so that I'm back in time to watch it!!).

Meanwhile - it seems the closer to Christmas I get - the more bitter I feel! I dunno...I just don't like Christmas! It's not Christmas that I don't like but more the fact that it's turned into a period of time where you're damn near obliged to buy people gifts!! Pagan ritualism gone mad if you ask me! Anyways - this year I have decided that I will be buying 3 presents. 1 for me dear old mum, 1 for my best mate and the remaining present for my dearest cousin and favourite family member Max. Everyone else expecting a present will be expecting for a great deal of time! I'm also opting to not wrap any presents and I won't be buying cards either. The reasons for this are 2 fold.

1. To do my bit to save mother earth
2. Cos I ain't forking out coin on decorated paper and card that will get thrown away post December 25th!

Finally - as of yesterday, if you live in the UK you are now able to score movies on the XBOX Marketplace - they've only got 24 movies thus far but it's a start, and I think it's way cool that some of these movies come in High Definition (Woo Hoo!) - the only problem is that I have already own all of the good movies on DVD anyway and the remainder I wouldn't fork out coin to buy/rent. Still does not take away from the fact that it's a trip that they're doing it :) Nicely done Microsoft :)

First Bisping, now Hatton...

Yeah, can't really say I'm that surprised about Ricky Hatton, never watched the fight being as I don't really care about boxing (MMA IS FAR BETTER) - and while it would have been nice for the dude to win, that's just how things go in the world of British Sport, Lewis Hamilton, Mike Bisping, England Football team, England Rugby Team - all of them getting to that final hurdle and then what do you know...all ends in misery. Although the only one that bothered me was the Bisping fight...a damn shame as I was REALLY routing for him to win and I hope he'll be back to avenge that loss.

Meanwhile - the Ultimate fighter Finale was on this weekend...was going on til damn near 1am last night and I ain't staying up that long unless there's someone kicking off that I'm REALLY routing for. The fight with War Machine and J-Rock was kick ass, and Mac's fight although quick displayed a shed load of precision and skill, and while he's a great fighter I still think the dude is a total bully either way you cut it. I won't be routing for that dude any time soon I can tell you. Talking of the UFC, I ordered me an Octagon necklace today...they're selling them in the UFC shop...can't beat some of that action (I'm getting very obsessed with MMA these days) - but they don't ship until Friday and with me being in the UK, I'm kinda curious as to whether I'll get it before I bounce to see my mom for Christmas but we'll see.

Finally - I was playing PGR3 on my XBOX 360 last night....ONLINE! I dunno...they should make the game harder. There I am thinking I'm Lewis Hamilton incarnate...turns out I'm more like Ray Charles when it comes to being behind the virtual wheel. All these little kids that can't be more than 15 between em basically kickin the crap outta me at this freakin game. Embarrassing?? To an extent, but luckily I'm able to lie and tell them that my joy pad keeps sticking (although I doubt they believed me!) - ahh well!

First class..went pretty sweet

So had my first MMA class today and it all went sweet, push kicks and knees using the Thai clinch...all good stuff. Feeling a little dodgy right now being as I got a cold but all in all, the entire thing went well. I'll be signing up for full membership with my next lesson and it seems I've suddenly been hit with the Martial Arts bug! Come Thursday...1st Kung Fu lesson :)

Anyways, visit www.kaneacademy.com for MMA classes in Huddersfield town Center.

Take the pebble from my hand grasshopper

Woo hoo! A Martial Arts School has popped up in Huddersfield (where I live) and after a little enquiry, managed to score some information and what do you know, they're teaching Mixed Martial Arts. First lesson it tonight...well up for it, although I ain't got no intention of doing this with competition in mind! As most of my friends know, I'm a big fan of UFC but I have no intention of doing this in any professional capacity EVER! No cauliflower ears for me thank you very much!

Will report back and let you know how good it was...the chic...I mean lady that runs it is 5x World Champion, has over 10 British titles, 2 European Titles and 5 World Silver Medals...I guess that'll have to do.

When good men do nothing...

Edmund Burke said "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" I see no better example of such a thing than this (although "good men" is probably the incorrect terminology to use in this instance). I find it deplorable that any organisation would make such a stupendously idiotic and cowardly decision about the display and exposure of the torture of innocent people. Along with such facts as the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, Russia, France, USA and the UK) are the largest arms dealers on the planet (get your head around that if you can) just makes me feel that the world our children are coming into is on a downhill tumble at an exceedingly scary pace!

At the risk of sounding negative...we're all f**ked!

Movie Reviews

So currently watching Borat and am laughing my ass off! "A man errr yesterday say I must a buy a car with a pussy magnet...if I give you good price will you please put in pussy magnet" - Classic!

Anyways, watched America Gangster today, not what I expected as I thought it would be an action flic but it's not. At the same time, it's still a good movie though and tells a story very well. Only thing is, I knew Denzel Washington was meant to play the bad guy which is one of the reasons I wanted to watch it (after seeing him in Training Day, seeing him play a bad guy again seemed class) although I've never actually watched a gangster movie where I was actually routing for the bad guy. I dunno, could have been just me or it could have been intentional but all in all I'd give it 7 outta 10.

One thing I will say is that 2 of the trailers I watched intrigued me, the first being Alien vs Predator : Requiem (visit www.avp-r.com) and also I Am Legend. The 1st looks like an "Easy watchin' movie", but all in all I reckon it would be entertaining. The 2nd looks absolutely DOPE! Go see the trailer... I think it will be released here (UK) the 1st weekend of the new year (2008) so yeah...check out the web site... http://iamlegend.warnerbros.com

Back in England!

Yeah, so Amsterdam was the bomb! 3 days of being damn near a vegetable but the relaxation was class and well needed! Only thing is, the way I feel now, a long weekend is not what was needed, more like a week! Going from coffee shops, outstanding food and traffic lights that show a countdown until the green light kicks in (I was like a cave man seeing fire for the 1st time) to back home in England and working (but thankfully not living) in Bradford, feels like a kick to the knackers. Not taking anything away from England cos if you go to the right places its a great place to be but being as I am a fan of the city delights (and I'm not talking about chics for sale), coupled with the fact that I just need a 'real break' right now, I think I would have been better off opting for the full week.

Anyways, I actually went to the Van Gogh museum this time round (wasn't actually my idea) but being as it was recommended by others as an apparent "life changing experience" I decided to go. Now I'm not totally lacking in culture and while I'll admit that it was kinda cool seeing the real life pic of the sunflower (my mom had a print when I was a kid), life changing experience? I don't f**king think so! Not putting it down (but I'm about to) and maybe the build up was way too much but either way, if you have not been and get dragged along, make a stop at a coffee shop before you go (trust me on this, its the equivelant of biting down on wood as someone chops your leg off. Barely makes a difference but it feels like it helps).

Anyways, off to wallow in self pity, farewell Holland, I will see you soon! *sniff* *sniff*

UFC 78 (part 2)

OK, so my prediction did not end up as expected, went to a judges decision and who wins it? Evans! Fucking gutted! Was a draw at best! Fucking judges! Shit shit shit shit!!

UFC 78 (part 1)

Well just seen Houston Alexander get beat in the first frigging round! Fair play to Thiago Silva, but I was expecting more of a war! Ahh well. Next fight, Bisping vs Evans, this better be worth staying up for cos so far pretty much all of these fights have been boring as shit! What the bloody hell is going on?

Feeling Guilty

So this is just a very very quick post and as the headline says, I'm feeling a touch guilty. Currently coding the intranet for the company I work for and thought it would be an idea to code in a "bad word filter". I've currently come up with 89 "bad words" and it's suddenly occured to me..."how the hell do I know all of these!!"

I also have the sinking sensation that if I had the consultation of a 14 year old I could easily hit the century mark!!

I was thinking of posting the word list here in XML format or something for other developers but having another think...I don't think I will.

UFC 78 : Validation

So being from England myself and knowing our history with falling at the proverbial "last hurdle" when it comes to sport I must say that I've been a little sceptical when it comes to Michael Bisping. Nothing to do with his skill level or even his attitude, I'm just convinced that most British athletes are cursed when it comes to representing this country, from the England football team (or "soccer" as the Americans call it) to the rugby team and of course not forgetting our Olympic athletes that for the most part are never quite up to par when it comes to collecting medals on behalf of Great Britain. And while I'll admit that I have been doubting if Bisping will walk out with the win due to this plague that has afflicted so many British athletes before him (albeit in different sports) I must say I suddenly feel very confident that Mikes following fight will be for a shot at the title! Why the sudden turnaround? Well I had a catch up on the UFC blogs written by both Bisping and Evans in the run up to the event and I gotta say on the basis of that, my coin is on Mike to win. Mike's final post referring to the fact that Evans has been talking total bollocks made me laugh my ass off! And it's true too. Mike made an extremely good point with regards to Evans talking about his intentions to 'bring the pain' as it were, only thing is, he did this with Ortiz and came out with a draw (on a side note I think it was very disrespectful of him to talk that shit about Tito!). The fact that Mike has not fought any 'popular' names in the UFC means nothing. This guy is pound for pound the best fighter in the UK if not Europe. Evans saying that Mikes belief in himself is what has gotten him this far is a joke at best (I'm quite sure skill drops in at some point you prat!)

So, here is my prediction. I think Bisping will win it with a stoppage in the 3rd round!

Call it blind hope, British pride or whatever else you wanna call it but as good as both fighters are, I think Mike is just that much better and either way, someone will be coming out with a loss on this one. I really don't think that it will go to a judges decision therefore having no possibility for a draw and Bisping will be the one with his hand raised at the end of the fight. I just hope the boo's from the American fans don't get to Bisping (seems some of the guys over there ain't got too much love for the dude)

Egyptian artifacts, getting arseholed and the last word on my new telly

So one of my team got back from his holiday to Egypt and bless his cotton socks he remembered to bring me back something cheesy! It's my new thing, collecting cheesy stuff from different countries (no idea why!) so I now have stuff from Jamaica (cheers Dawn), Egypt (thanks John), China (thanks Ngai), New York (thanks Abi) and of course Holland. Gotta do the popular cities and countries before I get to the obscure ones.

Meanwhile, why is it that when you go out for a quick drink for like an hour it never works out that way? My boy Ste came up from London to visit me for the weekend and the plan was, a few drinks, come back and have a catch up. That was at 8. What time did we get back? Sometime past 3 in the friggin' morning! And I ended up falling asleep in my contact lenses which is always agony! Felt like my eyes were bleeding not to mention the massive hangover! Spent the entire day absolutely no good to man nor beast!

Ooh, I've discovered an artist by the name of Fink! The dude is freaking genius! (check out www.finkworld.co.uk) been listening to 'Blueberry pancakes' all morning! Not very often you find an album you can listen to all the way through but 'Distance and time' is definitely one of those albums! Also turns out he's playing in the Dam the weekend I'm there but its all sold out! Gutted! Talking of artists playing in the Dam, Jill Scott has a gig there the same weekend (again, sold out! Double gutted!) her latest album is alright, better than the 2nd but not as good as the 1st. She set the bar way too high with 'Who is Jill Scott?'

Finally, my new TV is the biz, if you get one make sure you got something high def to appreciate the goodness as even DVDs ain't quite up to par compared to the HD content. But very impressed indeed, and runs at 1080i no problem. Although now I'm gonna have to fork out coin on a high def DVD player! Great : last thing I need in the run up to Christmas is another gadget to fork out coin on (and yes, I am fully aware that the acquisition of these toys is a "choice" but the advertising gets me frothing at the mouth not to mention the fact that I'm WEAK!)

More gadgets! This time...HDTV (Part 4)

So my plans last night were, go home, eat and then start rearranging all my electronic kit in preperation for my new TV! That way, I wouldn't have to do anything apart from accept the delivery, plug it in and marvel until it was time to go to work! Did I do any of that? No! Spent most of the evening lounged infront of the TV with my Vaio on my lap coding the new company intranet (which looks freakin dope by the way!)

Anyways, after that email from eBuyer last night I figured no point in moving all my shit around if it don't arrive, just to have to move it all back again when I cancel my order due to the fact that they couldn't get the delivery time right. And what do you know, this morning at 7am on the nose it's the delivery man with my TV! Woo hoo! (nicely done eBuyer, you've acquired a punter for life) So I damn near put my back out moving this monstrosity that's been making my living room look ugly for the past 18 months and got the new set sorted out quick smart (I'm a geek remember! New toys must be played as soon as humanly possible)

It was a little sad really, I'm there making these sounds like a monk doing a ritual, place that bad boy on the TV deck and remove the protective covering..."haaaaaaaar!" this TV is sexy as shit! So I plug in my sky digibox to my new baby and wow! The picture looks shat to say the least! So now I gotta hook it up using something other than scart (I know I know, a school boy error!) and being as I can't find the hdmi cable that I'm sure came with my 360 I'm gonna have to score one of those too.

Anyways, so far the TV looks sexy and when I get a sexier picture coming out of it I'll be a great deal happier. No idea what cables I need to score that would suit all the different connections on all the different devices to get the best result but lucky for me, I work with some of the geekiest people imaginable (an up side to working in an IT department) so the mere mention of "what do you reckon" will no doubt get me a barrage of background information along with facts and figures that I don't need but more importantly, the info I do! So when I plug everything in using new cables I'll be able to finish off this 5 part review and you'll probably not hear from me for a few weeks while I pay hommage to my new gadget!
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

More gadgets! This time...HDTV (Part 3)

So...just got a message from eBuyer tellin me that my goods have been dispatched - "WooHoo" I thought, however I log onto the website (all singing and dancing btw) and they got this cool little thing that lets you track your order (which is currently in sheffield apparently). However, it also says "Your order will be delivered between 0900 and 2000" - DERRR, WRONG ANSER!! I paid an extra 20 notes so they could get the shit here before 7.30 am!! I'm presuming this is an oversite cos I don't wanna have to kick off and kick up a fuss!! (which I most certainly will)

We'll see...

More gadgets! This time...HDTV (Part 2)

Well - eBuyer have done their thing in tremendous fashion...my blackberry's been kicking off for the past hour with email notifications on all the different phases they've gone through and it's currently in the picking phase. I've done my order for between 6am and 7.30am tomorrow morning (Yes...I am prepared to wake up 90 minutes earlier for a new gadget!) so next step...see if...

• it gets here on time
• it's in good nic
• if the TV is any good

More on this later.

In other news...been getting text messages from my best mate (he arrived in Amsterdam this morning) - THE SWINE! (although he deserves it). So quite literally this time in 2 weeks I'll be on an Easy jet flight to Amsterdam - YAY!!!

More gadgets! This time...HDTV (Part 1)

So I've been meaning to score myself one of these babies for a while but figured I'd wait a while until the price had come down a reasonable amount. This time around 5 years ago I managed to get a pretty dope 32" CRT (that's the big box type television for the less tech aware of you out there) for £300. I figured when HDTV's come down to around the same price that'll be a fair price to pay. So a work colleague recommended eBuyer and I gotta say, I'm well impressed with their prices and I've scored me one of these bad boys. If you read the reviews, they're all superb and with the constant mentions of eBuyers alleged "amazing service" plotted around all of these comments I decided to just take the plunge and place the order. This of course was not without a little more research, mainly due to the fact that all this talk of 720p, 1080i etc confused the shit out of me. Anyways - thanks to the oh so wondrous tool that I refer to as the "t'internet", I've managed to enlighten myself as to the wondrous joys in all the differences and if you (like I once was) are someone who has not been enlightened, allow some of these links to show you the path.

Hi Def TV Explained on Wikipedia
Quite in depth, the graphics made me realise what the numbers meant (it's actually referring to screen resolution) and all in all - a great source if you wanna know pretty much everything there is to know.

HDTV resolution explained
Found this on CNET. If you want the quick overview - this is the best place for it. the following quote even helped in purchasing my TV and saved me about £200 in the process!

"...Today, however, the premium for 1080p is still pretty steep, and unless you're
getting a very large set, say 50 inches or more, we don't recommend basing a
buying decision on whether or not the television has 1080p native resolution."
- David Katzmaier

1080i vs. 1080p HDTV: should you care?
Not for a while apparently - a slightly older article but from the looks of it and the way things are going...this still holds quite a bit of water.

All in all, unless your intention is to pay a fat wedge now so you won't have to later...then go for 1080p - but if for the next couple of years you're content to have a TV that looks pretty dope compared to that giant box you stare at that takes up space in your living room - 720p should be alright for you.

Does this happen in any other country?

So I'll be on the bus after a tough day at work and generally all I wanna do is read an interesting book, listen to my ipod or just look out of the window at the world going by. Now here is the bit that makes me wanna kick a kitten! Someone (more often than not school kids) will get on the bus and start playing music. Now I ain't talkin' about like the old days when it was a personal stereo that was a little too loud, no no no, I'm referring to those little bastards with mp3 capability on their mobile phones who insist on playing the shit full blast. Oh and does it end there? Of course not, these phones have speakers (the mother fucker who had that idea needs a severe beating!) so you can hear whatever music it is that these mobile DJ's choose to play from 500 yards away! Now if you're a teenager and have ever done this and had someone tell you "Do me a favour and turn that shit off!!" with a look that would damn near kill you on the spot - allow me to enlighten you as to why this request is phrased in such a way. Like me, these people would have been in this scenario many times before and started off by asking quite politely "Excuse me, would you mind turning that down" only to be met with evil looks and/or attitude. If this happens enough times it gets to the point where you use a boulder to kill an ant and quite frankly, like me, these people have had enough!

And do said teenagers confine this music playing to the many modes of public transport available? The hell they do! They've now taken to the streets, bumbling around town centres all over the country wearing the obligatory pair of Rockport shoes, Reebok classics or Nike Air Max with their white socks and track suit bottoms, not to mention the giant ear rings and scousers face lift (a method of pulling the hair back in a bun so tight as to give the recipient a face lift). I try my utmost best not to profile people based on appearance but you know what? That's how society made me! And to think that these 13/14 year olds will be running the country one day! These people who think it's cool to have kids at the tender old age of 14 will be taking care of you when your kids put you in a home to be forgotten until those hourly visits at Christmas and if you're lucky, New Year. They're the parents of your grandchildren who will say things highly inappropriate like "why does grandad smell like the cellar?" These kids that for some reason think it cool to "hang out" in and around McDonald's will eventually make decisions that will directly impact your life in many political, social and economical arena's.

Can someone please tell me, give me some reasoning or assurance that it is not just me who worries about this, that these bumbling fools who are meant to be "the future" and have no awareness of the traumatising effect caused merely by the fact that they are not thoughtful enough to invest in a pair of headphones are not the best this great country has to offer! If so at the very least give me the peace of mind to say that this behaviour is not confined to the shores of England and that there are others out there that share my pain!

There are so many things like this that piss me off, from the chics in the call centre that do nothing but moan about their colleagues (I understand the irony in that statement) to the kids that think Happy Slapping is something to be proud of. And while I'd love to write about those things right now I can't. Why I hear you ask?? Because there are not that many hours in the day!

Mother Earth, She's your mom too!

So while rambling on last week about the state of our dear old planet that has been a haven for us for oh so many years, given us some excellent sites and hosted our short and parasitic little lives for us to pay her back by pretty much pimp slapping, desecrating and down right treating her like a 2 dollar whore I decided to not be one of those people that moans about things and does nothing myself to stop it. To take the initiative and help the old girl out! In doing so I stumbled upon The Big Green Switch. This is a cracking idea for a site which gives you hints and tips on how to slow down the inevitable destruction of this fine lady who we refer to as Planet Earth. Trust me when I say some of these things are so simple even a child could do it.

So instead of being the flat mate that always leaves the place in a mess expecting someone else to clean it up or 'That guy' who says to himself "I'm only one person - what difference can I make", visit the site and try a few of these things out. Remember - she's your mom too!

Farewell TV Links

Yup - "The man!" intervenes once again. TV Links has been shut down. While they were linking to copy written material...it's no worst than Google who both host and link to the same types of material (no offence to Google) - but of course...spineless as they are...they hit the little man and ignore the big man! Pathetic!

So yeah...no more Heroes catch ups for me - like the rest of the UK...I'll have to wait til next year until I am able to watch season 2 :( SHAT!

Mother Earth ain't happy!

OK - So I live in Yorkshire...as you can see from this post the date is November 2nd 2007 and I'm currently wearing a Hoody with a T-Shirt underneath and I am damn near burning to death!! I hate the cold with a passion as it is anyway and anyone who knows me knows that I prefer it HOT HOT HOT as opposed to cool/cold but even I...with a heightened sensitivity to the cold could have got away with wearing just a T-Shirt today.

I must say that this freak weather worries me and it's happening more and more all over the planet. This year in the UK we've had the wettest Summer on record in lord knows how long and right now its 15 Degrees C outside and the sun it out! My opinion?? Mother Earth is pissed...we've raped her, disrespected her and down right treated her like a 3 dollar call girl and she ain't happy about it. I think Ursula Rucker said it best in the 4 Hero song Loveless...

"But I'll continue to spin,
until my curious home sapien
offspring pay the price for their sins
against my tainted tears, my breathless breath and once-fertile skins
My sons are million-murderers.
They kill - I kill one million plus.
I never wanted to hurt my children but our creator makes me take
revenge.
It's the circle of life -or at least,it was.

But now it's the end.

No, no it's too late for repentance,
accept your death sentence.
I've given you all I can.
Such beauty and life
you'll never have again.

Now it's the end."

More Environment posts on Technorati

Gordon Ramsey - I salute you!

I gotta say, Gordon Ramsey is most definitely one of my heroes. He'd kick the ever living f**k out of Simon Cowell in a fight in 3 seconds flat!! I was having kind of a down day today...got home...decided to watch some Hells Kitchen on You Tube and sat here laughing my ass off!! They've been playing Hells Kitchen USA on ITV2 quite a bit so I been watching it when I remember...shame I only caught the last few episodes though...cos he seems to go absolutely APE SHIT at the group while he's getting rid of the chaff.

Anyways - decided to dedicate a little blog entry to the big man and even add a little You Tube video for your viewing pleasure.

Here's to you Gordon!

More Gordon Ramsey posts on Technorati

Snap Shots, Amsterdam and the dope fiend!

Added a little update called "Snap Shots". This is a cool little feature that shows the preview of any external sites before you actually navigate away from my lovely blog. If you have a site of your own, it's ridiculously easy to install and all you have to do is answer a few questions, they generate some javascript for you which you put in your site and DING - All good to go.

Meanwhile, the countdown continues! Exactly 3 weeks before I'm off to my home from home...Amsterdam. I can't wait as it's going to be a much needed break...3 days of chill chill chill in one of the most relaxed places on the planet (WOOHOO!!!)

On the subject of the Dam, I was doing a little bit of "research" and stumbled upon this awsome website called dope fiend! It's basically THC induced pod casts and this geezer brings on the Herbal Verbal on a weekly basis...makes an interesting listen if you're a smoker or not. He's on Episode 100 so I certainly got some catching up to do but I had a listen to 1 of the casts while I was coding away last night and it was a pleasure to listen to, information on great places to go...experiments...lock stock the entire lot. Definatley a site I would recommend (so much so that I've chucked it into my fav links!)

More THC posts on Technorati

Charley Uchea Attacked

OK, now while I'd usually be totally against blogging or even discussing this kind of thing in general I couldn't help but make an exception in this instance. Basically - when I go to Boots to grab my Meal Deal lunch, the way the ques are laid out you must walk past the usual girly gossip mags (Heat, Closer etc.) to get to the tills and I'll admit, I have a quick look at the covers to pass the time waiting in the que. Anyways - saw an article that looked a little weird which was Charlie Uchea being attacked (the bird from Big Brother with the dope bod). Anyways - decided to have a quick look to see what it was all about and ended up finding this video. Now keeping in mind that I'm currently at work so I can't hear the sound...but I gotta say...1st thing I did was laugh my ass off!! The neck brace is comedy at it's best...and having been subjected by an ex-g/friend to big brother (I stopped watching a few series back after it got STUPID) and listening to this woman speak (for some reason the way she talks is like nails on a chalk board to me). Either way...I ain't trying to get on at the lady and the fact she got a beat down ain't right (although the fact the other chic still had a lit ciggy hanging from her lip is class!)...but the video still looks funny as shit!

More Big Brother posts on Technorati

UFC 78 : Validation

So, the new UFC 78 site is now up and running and another good job by Red Interactive I must say...they're turfing out those sites pretty sharpish without any detriment to quality.

Meanwhile - Matt Serra's team is cleaning up on The Ultimate Fighter and I gotta say I'm well chuffed about it. I wasn't a fan of Matt Hughes ever since I saw him on another season of the Ultimate Fighter taking a dig at Rashad Evans for "show boating". All due respect - but what business is that of yours bro?? You may not like it but what's the point in tellin' him?? What did he expect...the dude to say "Oooh...I'm sorry Matt...I'll stop doing that then" - DIV! The guy carries himself in totally the wrong way and I agree with Matt Serra when he was throwing his dummy out of the pram because his fighter didn't follow the game plan. DUDE!! The guys cousin just died...have a bit of decorum man. I'll totally be routing for Serra (even if he did beat my favourite UFC fighter for the belt) to bring the pain!!

You can view Matt Serra's comments of the episode in question here.

More MMA posts on Technorati

I wanna go to America!!!

Daaamnnn...the Economy in the US seems to be going ever so slightly in a downward spiral. I remember when a British Pound would get you 1.4 dollars, 1.6 on a good day!! Just done a currency check on XE.com and as it stands - 1 British Pound will get you 2.07 American Dollars. Soon as I get back from Amsterdam...thats the next place on my list...no doubt! I don't think I've ever seen the GBP double the dollar before.

So check this out for size...

Apple Store US: iPOD Touch (8GB model) Cost: $299
Apple Store UK: iPOD Touch (8GB model) Cost: £199

Total Saving £54.76

Dell US: Inspiron Starting from $499
Dell UK: Inspiron Starting from £399

Total saving £158.22

BUY BUY BUY!! MUHAHAHA

More News posts on Technorati

Bruce Lee - what a guy...

Was doing a little trawling around the internet as you do (oh the joys of wireless) and came across this poem written by Bruce Lee. Very inspirational...

Who am I?
That is the age-old question
Asked by every man
At one time or another.

Though he looks into a mirror
And recognizes the face,
Though he knows his own name
And age and history,
Still he wonders, deep down,
Who am I?

Am I a giant among men,
Master of all I survey,
Or an ineffectual pygmy
Who clumsily blocks his own
way?

Am I the self-assured gentleman
With a winning style,
The natural born leader
Who makes friends instantly,
Or the frightened heart
Tiptoeing among strangers,

Who, behind a frozen smile
trembles
Like a little boy lost in a dark
forest?

Most of us yearn to be one
But fear we are the other.
Yet we CAN be
What we aspire to be.

Those who cultivate
Their natural instincts,
Who set their sights
On the good, the admirable,
the excellent,
And believe they can achieve it
Will find their confidence
rewarded.

And, in the process,
They will discover the true
identity
Of him who looks back from
the mirror.

Blackberry Pearl - the search is over

The search is finally OVER! Went and scored me a Blackberry pearl yesterday and I gotta say, it's the freakin' shiz. My best mates girlfriend got one about a month back and I was put off by the fact that the typing was a little weird. However I was informed that the difficulty only lasted a few days and after speaking to the dude in the Orange shop - he said the same thing too. Anyways - I left it on charge for the day yesterday while I went to go pick up 'the little one' and I've only been using it today. What can I say...this phone is the SHIT! Works great although I've not hooked it up to my regular email account being as I get ridiculous amounts of spam and I don't want to lash all my allocated blackberry megs before I get a chance to use them. However, the update prior to this one was done via the blackberry and it took maybe 5-6 goes before I got used to the typing. It's roughly the same dimensions as the Prada phone and around the same weight which is great. It has all the features I need (Phone calls, text messages and email) and a bunch of stuff that other people may be interested in like a camera (I just don't see the point), an MP3 player (again...I don't see the point being as I have an iPOD that does a way better job) but I can say with confidence...get this phone!! I wasn't looking to set the world on fire (and this phone by no means does that) but in terms of what I wanted it for...it is absolutely perfect. Well done Blackberry.

Entertaining a ten year old (part 4)

So we've had our first 'incident'. Took 'little miss' shopping earlier on and being as she has been so good I bought her a bratz doll (if your ten and female, these are the shit apparently). Took her to pizza hut for lunch where she ended up ordering more than she could eat, so I ordered her dessert to go. So we get back and the few glasses of wine I had with lunch have made me well sleepy. Luckily, short stuff is content to watch TV and play with her new bratz dolls. Before I go she asks if she can have her cake..."yeah...err no! Not until you've had dinner". So I wake up and go check on her and she's fine, no fires, no male strippers, no drugs all over the table. However I could not help but notice...no cake either. Just the box that the cake came in. As punishment, we're not baking anymore. She didn't seem too bothered but it was the only punishment I could think of on the spot that would equal the crime.

So my friends earlier comment of falling at the first hurdle (based on the fact that I refused to play 'dolls' with her) was apparently unfouded. This entire parenting business is pretty easy. Feed them, give them tools to amuse themselves and bribe them when things get difficult. I should write a book!
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Entertaining a 10 year old (Part 3)

So far this entire thing is working out alright. No moans, groans or complaints from short stuff. Although when asking her if we couldn't go bowling what it is she'd like to do..."we can talk about it tomorrow, I'm reading..." which had swiftly brought me to the realisation that she's absolutely right. Why have a master plan? Everything does not require meticulous planning for us to have a good time. And as I watch her stare out of the window at the world whizzing by I'm reminded of something that a friend once said to me long ago...

"Everything in life is simple, people make things complicated"

I'm now looking at this entire "mission" with a new found positive outlook and weirdly enough...it's all down to the simplistic rationale of a 10 year old. So no more worrying or attacks of anxiety...just play it by ear and have fun while doing it.

On a related note, one of the great things about chilling with the little one is this. With the strikes on the trains etc seemingly catching not only me but most of the travelling public by surprise, the amount of people getting on a dual carriage train at Leicester was a joke at best. However, having the kid with me has it's perks. Soon as I told her to go before me it was as if a path magically appeared in front of us. Let's face it...who's such an arse they'd push in front of a 10 year old girl? We even managed to get a seat while the majority of passengers were standing...mainly thanks to her diving on the 1st pair of seats she could find and lying across them...bless!

Entertaining a 10 year old (Part 2)

...currently sat at Leicester train station. Today of all days they're having a strike so the journey home that should have taken no more than 3 hours is now set to take 5 hours! There was no mention of this on the website of course...money grabbing bastards they are and the train is not for another 30 minutes! I just don't get it. I've been in jobs that I didn't like and do you know what I did about it? Yes...that's right...I got another job! Anyway, thinking about it...they did mention "disruptions to the service" as I was travelling down but the mention of a strike...no where to be seen!

Meanwhile, the little one is sat reading a magazine. When helping her choose she asked "Where are all the girly mags" to which I replied "Cosmo's right there! You got Bliss, the enquirer...take your pick babes". I was met by a comment that made me giggle and cringe at the same time..."I'm 10!". I dunno! Thankfully, the nice lady at the counter (after laughing at my blatant naivety) pointed us in the direction of suitable magazines and a selection was made. Praise lord
for the kindness of strangers!

Regardless of this entire debacle...she seems content to read her mag and I think 'short stuff' (inaccurate for a nick name as she's tall for her age) is looking at this as an adventure more than anything else. Let's see if this lasts!

Entertaining a 10 year old (Part 1)

So I'm currently sat on a train on my way to pick up my little cousin Tiahnna, who may I add has the misfortune of spending 3 days with me. She's a great kid (10 years old), switched on, very intelligent and has yet to loose that honesty that most children are forced to abandon by that age. It's strange how you can both dread and look forward to something at the exact same time - but they're in equal proportions which I guess, helps them cancel each other out. My main worry derives from what it is 10 year old's are into these days. I could use my own
experiences of being 10 years old but this presents the following problems.

1. Back then movies like 'The Goonies' and 'Superman 3' were the shit!

2. Based on past experiences with my nephew of the same age I fear she'd not be impressed by late 80's entertainment and as such it would be wasted on me alone, spending the hours reminiscing about my own childhood and making comments such as "back in my day there was non of this Shrek stuff...", which will only prove to her (and me) that I'm old and uncool! (would most probably cause some eye rolling too)

3. She's female...girls didn't do/act the same as boys did back then and I feel it safe to assume this is still the case.

3. Little Timmy (me) at age 10 was all of 18 years ago and I can barely remember a damn thing about it!

However, I think (or hope...I'm unsure of which yet) that I have a plan. Not only that...I have a backup plan!! My plan is, the cinema to watch that movie with the rat that can cook (even at 28 that looks kinda cool). And then off to a bowling Alley (if I can find one). That should eat up enough of one day and the following day I figured off to Liverpool to visit the slave museum. Teach her a little black history. Now, my worries with this initial plan are as follows.

1. I ain't sure I'll be able to find a bowling alley. I think the one that was there before was closed.

2. If the above turns out to be the case then I'm gonna have to come up with a plan of attack for the 2nd part of day 1.

3. While my recollections of my childhood at 10 years old are vague, one thing I do remember is that when I was off school, learning anything with the exception of how to play the latest video game was the furthest thing from my mind.

Which brings me swiftly onto plan B. I'm going to ask her what she wants to do. Now my worry with this is that she'll come up with something outrageous and ridiculous, this being the case...there is no plan B!

Now I realise that it would appear I am looking at this opportunity to bond with my little cousin in a negative way, which I will admit is true to an extent. But this negativity derives only from my worry that she'll be bored and will want to go home as swiftly as she arrived! Regardless of which, I realise that in life there are no problems merely challenges and situations and I have every intention of rising to this challenge!

More on this later...

Find a distant cousin with your DNA

So Ancestry have started a service by where you can send in a swab of your DNA in order to help find relatives. In principle this is an outstanding idea, however, this all seems a bit suspect considering the fact that one of the many ongoing debates in the UK right now is the privacy of biometric data. With the possibility of identity cards being mandatory for all UK citizens by 2010, recent moves toward combining European DNA databases and all current UK Issued passports containing biometric data, not to mention the fact that the UK is one of, if not THE most surveilled place on the planet, it would seem that things are slowly moving toward a big brother state without the masses realising.

They'll have a disclaimer and privacy policy saying that they won't share such information and blah blah blah, but I'm not about to believe that such agencies as MI5/MI6 and Special Branch can't get hold of that information if they "REALLY needed" to. And all this talk about it helping with terrorist threats, what a pile of shite. Unless you have some system by where anyone without an identity card is automatically recognised (and a system of that magnitude would cost billions to roll out), not to mention the fact that for those who had left their cards at home would feel harassed and threatened due to the constant requests for the card. Throw in the obvious discrimination issue (it would be safe to assume the establishment is more likely to ask non-whites to produce these cards on an ad-hoc basis) and if we mix in the fact that damn near all UK Communications are monitored, it makes me worry where things will be in 20 years. I'm not a criminal, the extent of my law breaking is taping something off the radio and a bit of littering every now and then but with that said, I still have every right to my privacy. It seems like a conspiracy theory right now - but a great many things sound unbelievable until they actually happen.

Anyways, just a thought....

More News posts on Technorati
More Consipracy posts on Technorati

UFC 77 Review and Brock Lesnar in the UFC?!?

So UFC 77 was alright last night...seen better fights but the Franklin/Silva fight was edge of the seat stuff.

Tim Silvia vs Brandon Vera
This fight was about as exciting as watching paint dry. Pretty much 95% of the fight consisted of Brandon Vera being pushed up against the cage with not a great deal of action at all. Tim's getting booed quite a bit in general these days and I can see why. People want exciting fights - and if you play it safe all the time, people will get frustrated and show that frustration. Not to mention that the dude's 6' 8". He's awkward as hell! So with that working against him, he can't really afford to have boring fights if he wants to get the fans respect. If you knock opponents out - the people will come! However, I'm not hating on the guy (although it certainly sounds that way I know) and I totally respect all the fighters and the work they put in. That said - the end result was exactly how I predicted.

Tim Silvia wins by Judges decision.

Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin
This was not a bad fight at all. Right away you could tell that Franklin had a few more tricks up his sleeve to ensure what happened in the last fight was not going to happen again. Soon as Anderson tried to get him in that Thai clinch, Franklin immediately started making moves to get out of it and the first 3 minutes of the round didn't look too bad. With that said, Anderson has way more in his repertoire than just holding someones head and kneeing them in the face and right at the end of the 1st round, Franklin got tagged with a sweet shot, talk about saved by the bell. Second round comes and I knew it wouldn't get to a 3rd. Much respect to Franklin as the dude totally gave it his all but Anderson's too hardcore right now. Anyways, once again and exactly as predicted...

Anderson Silva wins by 2nd round stoppage.

Nostradamus who?? Randy Couture...eat your heart out!!

Finally, they announced during the event that Brock Lesnar is now a heavyweight in the UFC - ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME!! As someone who used to be (USED TO BE!!) an avid fan of WWE, it's hard to imagine him being anything but awkward...although admittedly - he's a freaking HUGE dude and I wouldn't wanna take him on. Although for some reason I can't help but think of that episode of friends when Monica's boyfriend joins the UFC and gets a total ass whippin'. But hey...we'll see. He's a former All American wrestler which counts for alot but until I see that first fight - I'll be reserving judgement. Size and strength only takes you so far (Couture vs Silvia is a perfect example) - and if you come up with someone who has the skills...nighty night!

Oh - and the UFC 78 site has a holding page now, those guys at Red must be well busy!!

More MMA posts on Technorati

UFC 77 : Hostile Territory TONIGHT!

Yeah - I know it actually "happened" yesterday, but living in the UK - we always get stuff late. Anyways...just a reminder for those of you who have totally forgotten about it. Bravo Channel 121 - 9pm tonight. And lets not forget my predictions for the 2 main fights on the card.

• Franklin will almost certainly get another ass whippin. 2nd Round stoppage. He's a great fighter but Silva's skills are jumping by leaps and bounds each fight.


• Tim Silvia will win it by judges decision.

Enoy people, I reckon it should be GREAT!

More MMA posts on Technorati

Command & Conquer and Quake Wars

Yeah, so I was threatening to give my opinion of Quake Wars a few weeks back and decided to give it a quick review on here. Basically - it looks well sexy but being as I ain't played Quake properly (or games in general for that matter) since Quake II was released (yeah...that long ago!) it was all a bit to take in. They've totally changed the format from the old 'Dive onto a server, kill some people and do one' methodology to this ongoing game where you're either a human or alien and the game pretty much lasts forever (give or take a day or 2). Pretty cool theory I guess and I s'pose there's still room for clan play - but for my liking...waay too complex. The reason I say this is because what I got was not what I was expecting and it just was not my cup of tea. I was looking for something you could pick up every now and then if you get bored and have a play but there's so much too it you'd need to take a few hours figuring out what all the different characters you can play do. All in all - a great game if you're into that kinda thing with a shed load to do but for me...way too complex for the kinda stuff I want it for.

Meanwhile - just has the most incredibly geeky weekend in years! Was wanting a little R 'n' R without having to lash a fat wedge of coin so had a little play of Command & Conquer the 1st Decade for pretty much the ENTIRE WEEKEND! (yeah...little seems a bit of an understatement - but hey...it ain't like I do it all the time now is it). Anyways - Pretty much stuck to Generals and I gotta say...I like it. Totally my kinda game...takes about 20 mins to work out the functions of each side and then bingo bango...you're off. Totally recommend it (even if it is 4 years old!!!).

More Gaming posts on Technorati

Propod, Fantasy Interactive and Google

Well, decided to drop an email to Fantasy Interactive to find out what the deal was with Propod and whadaya know, the gems that they are mailed me back!

"Dear Tim,
Thank you for your recent contact, and interest in Propod. Already, Propod has generated a lot of excitement and interest and we are currently producing all the relevant information that will go live on the Propod website in the 4th quarter of this year.

Given the wide-ranging inquiries from individuals and businesses among a variety of industries, we have prepared the following brief details.

Propod is an interactive solution of the highest quality. The dynamic application has all the markings of Fantasy Interactive; it is not just simple and beautiful, its usability is exemplary. The platform has been developed to allow the simplest of users, the “Moms and Dads,” as we put it, to easily share their digital life through a clean and efficient platform.

Propod will launch publicly in the earlier part of the upcoming 4th quarter and will be released in three unique versions.

A brief overview of the 3 models:

Propod.com: Individual members of the public can sign-up for free and businesses can sign-up for a small monthly fee. You will then receive your own “pod” with a URL such as, “yourname.propod.com” or “yourbusiness.propod.com”.

Propod Enterprise Edition: Businesses or organizations can have the Propod platform customized to fit their specific needs, and then implemented into their own environment. This version is for internal use only.

Propod Complete: Corporations with a large distribution network can buy Propod. Fi customizes and implements over an agreed-upon period of time. The client can then distribute it under their brand to their customers."

So - as you can see, by the end of the year it would appear that I'll be blogging on propod! If you'd like to see an example of a propod (there's only one out there at the moment) visit Think Swedish. Oh yeah, that'll all flash baby!! I'd code my own but just don't have the time with the amount of freelance stuff I'm doing. Also, while programming skills are up to par, my design ain't nearly as pristine as there's. And as an old friend would say "you don't have a gimp to put a pool ball in your own gob!". Shame I can't say the same thing to my underlings at work but gotta keep P.C. n all o that. Anyways, I'll be turning this back into my online folio at some point but until then I'll carry on blogging here and will add a final post when my Propod is up n running. One thing I will say...this blogging lark is a bit addictive once you get going, but hey, better this than .

Also - been checking some news articles and quite frankly, I want a job at Google. If you're in the development community it's a well known fact that certain companies really take care of their staff (Google being one of them) and looking at this article it would appear that these guys being big on technology have even extended this to their toilet facilities! Sweet lord! Toilet seats that vibrate...I read that article and I was like "DUDE!!! Niiice!!!". Apparently IBM are pretty cool for that kinda thing too. Rumour has it that they'll literally leave a bunch of developers in a room and just let them come up with stuff on their own! This idea being that intelligent/creative minds will come up with pretty fly stuff without the requirement for direction. GET IN!! No change of that happening at most companies though! The mere suggestion of such a think would either cause a barrage of laughter or weird looks swiftly following by the recommendation of psychiatric help. However, what these people fail to realise is that some of the greatest products were based on some guys coming up with something as a school project or hobby (Facebook and Google being perfect examples of this). 'Outside of the box' is the key phrase here, I don't think following the usual mould is the way to go if you're planning on setting the world on fire.




More Technology posts on Technorati

UFC 77 : Hostile Territory

3 wild guesses what I'll be watching this Sunday. UFC 77 : Hostile Territory will be showing on Bravo (Sky Channel 121) on Sunday at 9pm. 3 hours of woop ass cage fighting action and I reckon it's gonna be a hum dinger!! Rich 'Ace' Franklin will be fighting Anderson 'The Spider' Silva for the UFC Middleweight championship which is a rematch I've been looking forward to for a long time. I was shocked like you would not believe when Silva pretty much handed Franklin's arse to him back in UFC 64. Then we have Brandon 'The Truth' Vera facing off against Tim 'The Mainiac' Silvia (who for some reason does not have a profile on Sherdog?!?). For such a big dude (he's 6' 8") Tim's got some decent skills so here are my predictions.

• Franklin will almost certainly get another ass whippin. 2nd Round stoppage. He's a great fighter but Silva's skills are jumping by leaps and bounds each fight.
• Silvia will win it by judges decision.
  

Let's see if my predictions are as accurate as those of Randy Couture...

Meanwhile - it would appear that England's very own Michael 'The Count' Bisping is set to fight Rashad Evans in UFC 78 : Validation (at the time of this post the site was not up). It's a tough one to call but as usual...I'll definatley be routing for Mike. Both have 15 wins with 0 losses (the only difference being that Rashad has 1 draw to his name but that was against Tito Ortiz which is a great achievement by any standard!). So way too close to call in my opinion but I'll make a prediction on that closer to the event. And the great thing is - the winner will face Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson for the UFC light heavyweight championship. How cool would it be to see an Englishman win it??

Either way - it's nice to see that the UFC is getting the coverage it deserves as opposed to being called a "blood sport". You gotta remember, these guys are skilled professionals who train hard constantly. Not just random dudes off the street that love to have "the off".

You can find out about this and many more UFC events at the official UFC web sites: -

• UFC (US)
• UFC (UK)

More MMA posts on Technorati

Black people less intelligent? PLEASE!

So - was reading the Metro on the train as usual this morning and was reading an article on Jean Charles de Menezes. For those of you not living in the UK - this poor dude was shot by the Fuzz back in 2005 when we had the terrorist attacks over here in England. Few hours later...it turns out this guy wasn't a terrorist at all. Anyways - thought I'd write about it as they're now saying that he had cocaine in his system which caused him to act irrationally when confronted by armed police. Sorry - but this is a blatant character assassination of an innocent man in order to show the police in a better light. I'm not about to say that the police are not allowed to make mistakes (although this was quite a mistake) but their profession as some may feel, does not make them high and mighty beings, and like you or I they are human beings and as such are going to make mistakes. That being said, why not just admit you were wrong as opposed to disrespecting the mans memory in such a way. That would certainly count toward earning my respect and I believe the respect of many people in the public arena as opposed to what can only be referred to as the actions of cowards.

Meanwhile, in my search to find some links to relate to "my 2 cents" I stumbled upon an article entitled "Black people 'less intelligent' scientist claims". Being a black man myself I decided to have a read and thought this was some form of joke paraphrased to draw attention. It never occurred to me that this was literally the case! However it would appear that Dr James D Watson (one of the molecular biologists responsible for the discovery of DNA structure) has been ignorant enough to make such a claim. My first reaction was laughter quickly followed by sadness. I think any statement that claims black people are genetically predisposed to being less intelligent than other races is mentally retarded to the highest degree. It also leads me to wonder if Dr. Watson has taken social and economical factors into account. While I am willing to concede that in certain parts of the world black people may well have a lower IQ compared to some other races, this has nothing to do with genetics and everything to do with environmental factors. Let us not forget that Egypt - globally known as one of the greatest and most advanced civilisations of it's time is in Africa and it was that very continent that gave birth to such notions as democracy and commerce. And would this sad little mans theory not filter to all black people?? If so how does that explain the likes of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King and Barack Obama? Furthermore, while the IQ of many non white peoples may be less than that of their caucasian counterparts - this is something that I am willing to guarantee has see-sawed over a period of a few millennia and will continue to do so on the basis of the fluidic nature of cultural, economical and political change in different countries. 1,000 years from now will be very different compared to 2,000 years from now in terms of cultural diversity and the opportunities available (or not as the case may be) to the masses. Regardless of which, what disturbs me more are some of the comments added to the post. For the most part the comments were well thought out and presented in a fashion as to not cause offence but it's a shame that in our day and age there are so many people that agree with this obviously deranged fool.

I totally concur with fellow blogger's Karen Scott and Mike Yarmish and feel there are enough sane and like minded people in the world to outbreed fools like this!

Where's Huey when you need him?




More News posts on Technorati

The countdown begins...

Yup - 5 weeks and 2 days until I go to my home from home...Amsterdam! I absolutely love the place and have been a minimum of once a year for like the past 5 years since the very 1st time I went. My boy reckons that the 1st coffee shop you go in tends to end up being your favourite and for me - it's Betty Boop! Absolutely love the place...it's small but don't let that fool ya, the tunes are mellow, it's chilled as anything (although ain't too easy to find) but if you go - I would totally recommend the place. The people are way cool, they make a bad ass fresh orange juice and the nicest black coffee I've ever had! Another place I'll be visiting...the Green House. Pretty cool on a night and a major mix of people. Last time I went I was sat around a table with a couple o guys from Cali, a geezer from South Africa and some of my homies from good ol England - just chillin and talkin about life n stuff (as you do). Going to be taking my cousin with me and we're calling it her Hajj being as I've been telling her everyone should go at least once in their lifetime if able!

One thing I do remember - and I was higher than a giraffe's ass when I was told this so lord know's how I remember. Just as the South Africa dude was leaving - he said some (what at the time sounded like) meaningful stuff which for some reason stuck with me.

"You walk down the street, you smile at someone and sometimes they smile back and sometimes they don't smile back. The important thing is...you smile."

Was either the ramblings of a total stoner or some zen Socrates type stuff - but the dude was right. Other people should never define how you perceive things and you should never let anyone have that kind of control.

Anyways - just occurred to me that I'm telling peeps the weekend I'm not gonna be at home n stuff...so don't go trying to steal my shit - I'll find you!!!

Spooks and The search for a gym!

Spooks was cracking last night. Although a bit gutted that it's a 2 parter - my lack of patience for this kinda thing is a joke at best! They always show the 2nd episode on BBC3 at 10.30 - but ain't no way I'm gonna be up til midnight just to be mullered the next day at work (sad I know but I prefer to be on point than waiting for the day to end!). Any who - I think it would be really cool if they got Matthew Macfadyen back in at some point as a special guest. And as usual it was always good to see Hermione Norris back on the scene, I ain't usually one for blonde chics but she's a M.I.L.F!!!

Anyways - went searchin' for a gym in my lunch break...I do this like every few months now. I used to go to a gym that was literally 3 minutes from where I work and it was great!! Less chance of spending my time buzzing around town buying crap I don't need and I get to keep fit in the process. Only problem was - went there one day and there's a notice on the door saying the place had been repossessed!!! I was GUTTED! Anyways, still working out but it's hard to get into the routine being as soon as I finish work...the last thing I wanna do is go to the gym! So I found a new gym on yell.com today and decided to check it out. What can I say...questionable ain't even the word. A very close friend of mine told me that if you go into the changing room of a gym and there's no lockers be weary! Usually means dodgy as shite and this place was just that. Broken windows, workout benches being held together with electrical tape and equipment that looked like it would fall apart and kill you if you were dumb enough to use it. Not to mention most of the dudes in the place looked like they were, are or very soon would be on some form of illegal medication. Just one of those places where you walk in and everyone stops what they're doing and looks at you!! Erm...no thanks...think I'll stick to what I'm doing at the moment...ergo the search continues :( SHAT!!

New and improved baby!!

Just updated my blog template. The standard ones with blogger were kinda boring and the one I used was the best of the bunch and even then I wasn't totally impressed so I decided to update the template and here it is. Had to get rid of the Blogger bar at the top as it was messing with the layout but I've added a nice little feature to the panel on the left which displays the labels, added some links to web sites I visit pretty regular (I'll be adding more soon), so all in all, quite chuffed with this :)

Anyways - off to watch Spooks

Heroes, Spooks and Barack Obama

So - as per this post - watched the 1st 3 episodes of Heroes Season 2 - actually quite good (spoiler to follow...) seems like Peter Petrelli's been workin' out (I'm sure the dude didn't look like that in series 1!!) although I'm a bit gutted that he decided not to open the box. What gives dude!! And it's a damn shame that they killed off George Takei (Sulu from star trek)but it would appear that it's out with one original star trek member and in with another as it turns out that Micah's grandmother is Nichelle Nicols (Uhura from star trek)- I so didn't see that coming. I reckon she's got a power!!! And what the hell is Sylar's problem...the damn fool!! Evil or not...find out where you is before you start killing peeps you idiot!! Also - I think that Heroes and Star Trek have a bit of a deal going being as the dude that plays Sylar is gonna be Spock in the next Star Trek Movie.

Anyways - enough about that. Spooks is back on tonight (if you're in America the show is called MI5 apparently) - it ain't 24 (or as good as) but it's the closest we got. Besides...as woop ass as 24 is...it's pretty much the same flavour each season - you'll have a mole, someone you expect to be evil that turns out to be good and vice versa with a touch of "What's gonna happen now" at the end of the series. Also...if I was in the "24 world"...I'd be wondering why all these dodgy goings on in my life always lasted for exactly 24 hours...not knocking the show cos I never miss an episode but comon guys!!!

Finally - was watching Panorama last night with the title being "Is America ready for a black president" and while I admire Barrack Obama for going for it - I think the poor guy is ahead of his time. We've come a long way in the past 50 years but he's always going to be looked at on the basis of his colour, not his skills as a politician. I also got to agree with Al Sharpton's comment with regards to Obama saying we're 90% of the way there. Soon as he said that I found myself screaming "Stay of the crack!" at the TV! This is not the case in most if not ANY country and this is certainly not the case in America. If we had come 90% of the way...he would have a better chance of becoming president and would NOT be judged by the colour of his skin but the content of his character. Colour just simply would not come into it and it's the big debate right now! Either way...I think it would be way cool to see a black president in my life time - but the dude better be working out cos you ain't gonna be able to do no speeches without bobbing and weaving them hill billy snipers!! And either way...I think almost anyone would be better than the dude they got in office right now! It always makes me twitchy when a man who is in charge of one of the most powerful countries in the world can't even pronounce the word Nuclear!!! (please tell me I ain't the only one to have noticed that!)

Randy Couture Quits the UFC

They've called it a retirement but it's actually a resignation. Probably the best damn fighter in the UFC and my hero, Randy "The Natural" Couture has handed in his resignation as of 11th October '07 and I got to say I am gutted!! Apparently - he's not being paid enough (and possibly some other issues) and while I'd usually say "Stop your whining" I think I can understand the dudes point. If you've been around for ages - worked your way up - slaved your guts out to become world champ, only to see newly signed fighters getting paid more coin while having not proved themselves in the UFC, I'd be pissed too (and while they may have proved themselves in other MMA organisations - the fact still remains that you gotta take care of the people that helped you get to the top). Anyways - the guys at the UFC are calling it a "retirement", however it would appear from reading pretty much every other article on the net that's it's blatantly a resignation. From the Articles I've read, Dana White is playing it off like Randy's some freakin' idiot and other people are putting ideas in his head, namely his agent who was apparently "Bitch Slapped" by Dana. But I must agree with what has been said by Randy...

"Disrespecting my agent Matt is insulting to me because it says I'm not
intelligent enough to make a decision on my own or surround myself with quality
people. It's all about respect, something they've never given me or anyone
representing me."

Taken from The Fight Network

When it comes down to it - you gotta do what's best for you and you can not continually take advantage of any one's good nature without expecting some form of repercussions at some point. Respect works both ways in any situation and while I think it's a damn shame that he's handed in his resignation - I got to admit that I would have done the exact same thing.

More information on this as well as links to other sources regarding this incident can be found on Randy Coutures web site.

Being Human

My cousin, who may I add is one of the nicest people I know sent me this over the weekend and I thought I would share it with the world. Some very true stuff!

Being Human

• You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period this time around.
  
• You are enrolled in a full time informal school called life. Each day you will have the opportunity to earn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.
  
• There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error, experimentation. “Failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately work.
  
• A lesson is repeated until it is learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. Then you can go on to the next lesson.
  
• Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.
  
• “There” is no better than “here”. When your “there” has become “here” you will simply obtain another “there” that again, looks better than “here”.
  
• Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
  
• What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need; what you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
  
• The answers lie inside you. The answers to life’s questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.
  
• You will forget all this.