10 Downing Street Petition To Stop Ludicrous Bill

The skinny:

This petition has been set up in response to the Government’s proposal to cut off internet access to those who are caught illegally downloading copyrighted files. We think this has one fundamental flaw, as illegal filesharers will simply hack into other peoples WiFi networks to do their dirty work. This will result in innocent people being disconnected from the internet. What's more, such a punishment should be dealt with in the proper way, in a court of law. This guilty until proven innocent approach violates basic human rights.

You can sign the bill Here.

If you want to help out more you can signup to the Open Rights Group and Donate to the cause.

How To Cancel An XBox Live Gold Account

This changes all the time and they deliberately don't make it easy by burying the option, make it effort and generally aren't helpful abot the whole thing.

Phoning up works, but you can also do it from www.xbox.com. To do this togo XBox.com log into your account, select Contact Information, Membership Level and then you will see a bit on the screen that says 'Automatic renewal: On' click the ON (a hidden hyperlink?)
Now just keep clicking next while they try to persuade you to not go through with cancelling your account and you are done. You account won't cancel until your prepaid period expires, but at least they will stop taking money out of your account.

Tony Hawk Ride

Giant Bomb has like a short video overview of RIDE and it doesn't look very awesome.

New Version Of Paint.Net

I upgraded my main system to Windows7 today and it is awesome, but it just so happens that today the new more shiny version of Paint.net was released. A full list of improvements can be found Here, but in brief in looks a lot better, the fonts tool has been upgraded and the selection tool uses a lot less CPU cycles.

If you haven't tried Paint.Net than I can happily recommend it to anybody who doesn't need Photoshop.

Random Fact

Alexander The Great of Greece is thought to have started the trend in men shaving facial hair.

Derren Brown's Celebrity YouTube Channel

Derren Brown's YouTube Channel is rather entertaining.
The hippie is Coops, Derren's skateboarding PA.

DNA Copying

This is the most amazing process in natural science. It begs the question as to wither our knowledge of proteins and DNA could eventually render our current methods of material production, crafting and fitting to create tools, obsolete. A world where everything from transportation and communication devices construct themselves from instructions given from a DNA Engineer.

The Importance Of A Good Website Name

Choosing the right website name is something that all first time webmasters struggle over, but it is a very easy thing to screwup. Take this list of 100 Website Naming Disasters for example.

Boba Fett Hoodie

Occasionally I have seen people on the interwebs wearing a Boba Fett Hoodie. These are media types who probably got given one and this kind of stuff is normally very limited edition, but it has been playing on my mind because I really want one.

So I have been searching for a few weeks now (intermittently, not constantly) and discovered that the Official Star Wars Store Has A Preorder For Them! OMG!!!

Plus postage they are a little expensive. So I have to ask myself, does it meet the Brook critique of purchasability?

+ Item is a silent reference to a much loved franchise.
+ Item does not have text, so people won't stand in front of me and read my shirt, ask to read my shirt or read aloud what I already know to be written on my shirt (this all annoys me).
+ Not buying item will mean I will deeply regret it for the rest of my life as another item that got away. I might even dream about wearing it only to awaken not ever having touched it.

- Tis expensive.
- It might not fit when it arrives.

And then I am like 'can I find photos on the web of people wearing it?'

Yes, YES, and YES! (NSFW). So each time it looks awesome and kind of scruffy lookin'
So did I buy it? Hell YES!
I might post photos come November.

Best, Cosplayer, Ever!

Danny Choo Posted About A Cosplayer named Kaname and I mistook his photos for a computer generated Cloud. Very impressive and I would love to know how he does his hair.

Best cosplayer I have ever seen, More Kaname

High Praise For Windows 7

I have been using Win7 for a few months now, first on a few virtual machines, then the beta on my laptop, and when it was released, the RTM on my work machine. My main system is waiting for the retail release, but it will be getting the W7 treatment in November. I love Windows 7, it is the operating system I have waited my whole Windows OS life for. It is the OS that Vista should have been and the OS that XP tried to be. It is stable, fast, feature filled and after a format I find myself reinstalling very few applications.

Maximum PC did a Full Windows 7 Review last month and I think their final thoughts sums it up quite well:

Moral objections to product activation aside, Windows 7 is unquestionably the best version of Windows that Microsoft has ever released, and is the true successor to Windows XP. If you’re an enthusiast or power user, Windows 7 is well worth your money, whether for an upgrade today or on your next new machine.

I even love the Microsoft advertising; yes MS PR did something I liked for a change.

The Governator Uses Twitter

Now that fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger has a Twitter Feed doesn't surprise me because lots of politicians are trying to have more of an internet presence. And the fact he also uses TwitPic doesn't surprise me either, but the fact he posted a picture of the Sword From Conan The Barbarian IN HIS OFFICE! I fine awesomely amazing!

Wireless Power

This is an interesting TED talk about wireless power that will allow us to power everything without batteries or wall sockets.



If you want to know more there is a How Stuff Works Page on this kind of thing which includes an explanation of the technology in the video.

The Onion's Take On Parenting And The Internet

The Onion is like a glimpse into an alternative reality. Sometimes they do disturbing pieces of satire, but this isn't one of those.

Everytime I see parents talking about the internet they are always afraid of it and say that they can't keep up with what theirs kids are doing because it is all hidden, but the Onion has a different take:


Facebook, Twitter Revolutionizing How Parents Stalk Their College-Aged Kids

How The US Health System Is Wasting Money On Treatment

I blogged recently about how Higher Incentives Lead To Worse Performance, and a very good example of that is the US Health Care system.



Medical professionals in the US earn money by treating patients, not by keeping them healthy.

[Source]

Higher Incentives Lead To Worse Performance

Daniel Pink is a business consultant and the best career counsellor you never had. His TED talk is about how behaviour scientists discovered why offering incentives for a quicker outcome resulted in a slower outcome. This is a very interesting talk and one that has very Human reasoning behind it all.



After watching the talk I wanted to see if he had written any books. I loaded up Amazon and let-out a rather audible gasp! It turns out I have already read one of his.

I read The Adventures Of Johnny Bunko when I started working fulltime. It is an excellent book for anybody who finds themselves in a job where they ask themselves 'is this it?'

He also wrote A Whole New Mind which is more about what his TED talk was about and is now on my reading list.
I will leave you with the trailer for Jonny Bunko.

Johnny Bunko trailer from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.

More Dancing Storm Troopers

This is Danny Choo, he has a Blog. I posted this because I can.

DUST 514

CCP, makers of EVE Online did a Press Release for a game called DUST 514 that is somekind of bridge between EVE Online and console FPS gamers.

But both screenshots look brilliant.
Command Pit
Staging Area

And a video Presentation (Thanks Evil).

Video: Dust 514 - Ego-Shooter im Universum von Eve Online - Gamescom 2009 (5:18)

Star Wars Dance Off

It is something called the Star Wars Dance Off that is part of a weekend event every year at Disney's Hollywood Studio.

Fox News Says The NHS Causes Terrorism

Fox News is the devil. There should be a law against miss representing facts to this degree.



[Derren Brown Art]