A buddy at Ultimate Frisbee was talking about how he had nearly watched all of the IMDb Top 250 movies a few weeks ago. He inspired me to try and do the same. So what is Dave's first step for doing anything that can't be finished in an afternoon? Make a spreadsheet. That's right. So, I copied and pasted the IMDb list into a spreadsheet and ticked off all the movies I've already watched, and highlighted the ones I haven't. Turns out I've seen around 82 of the top 250. Naturally I got Laura on board, as it would be a nice thing to do as a couple - either enjoy top quality movies that we've missed, or scoff at the list for being too artsy and out of touch. And since it feels so much like I'm working towards an Xbox Live achievement, I got Steve on board as well. He makes a good film watching buddy.
So, 168 films to go. I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about patching up the holes. I don't want to be a dirty pirate and torrent all the films I don't have, so while I can get them cheaply online, I'll buy them as I go. For the meantime, between the three of us, I think we have a good 10-20 DVDs that we can put our hands on, so we're good for the moment.
That's about it. Oh, if anyone has the Godfather trilogy on DVD/Blu Ray, I would like to borrow it please.
Friday 26 August 2011
Thursday 21 July 2011
Refurbishing Your N64 Controller
It is well known that N64 controllers are very susceptible to wear and tear. After thousands of rotations in Mario Party and power slides in Mario Kart 64, it becomes very inaccurate. It wobbles horribly when in the neutral position, and after a while, pushing the stick the full way to the edge only registers about 75% in the game. This seriously detracts from the gaming experience, especially where accuracy or speed and agility of the analogue stick positioning matters. I mean, how are you going to use the Golden Gun properly while your brother is running around spraying you with the KF7 Soviet? The rest of the controller is fine, it’s only the analogue stick that’s at fault. Luckily, it is possible to replace the analogue stick. I’m about to take you through the procedure now.
You will want to buy a new analogue stick somewhere, probably online. You could try eBay. The controller stick looks like this:
Now, take an official N64 controller with a worn out analogue stick. It will soon be good as new.
Flip it over and remove the screws with a small Philips screwdriver. 
There are nine screws in total that you will need to remove. The two smaller screws in the rumble/memory pack slot will require some care, as they were quite tight for me, and you run the risk of stripping the screw head. Now you can take off the ‘lid’ (the underside of the controller).
The Z button won’t fall off, but the L and R shoulder buttons probably will. Don’t worry about it, they are easy to put back. Note that the switches for the L and R buttons aren’t clipped down, but the short wire will hold it pretty steady. Here’s the other half, full of lovely Nintendo electronic goodness.
We want the old analogue stick out of there, so first step is to disconnect the little connector to the right hand side. I used a flat head screwdriver to prize it off gently.
Next you need to release the switch that’s clipped on to the analogue stick (this is for the Z button) and remove the outer three screws that hold the stick down. Leave the central one alone as it holds the analogue stick module together. Here’s the controller, ready for analogue stick removal:
Here it is from the other side, with the stick removed. The little brown thing is the Z button’s switch which is now loose.
Now, as mentioned before, the central screw of the analogue stick holds it together. It’s spring loaded, so once opened will be difficult to put back together. For that reason, don't do this with your new analogue stick! I took apart my old one, so here’s what it looks like.
That’s the lid off. Then when it pops apart, it looks like this:
I shook out all the plastic grinding dust which built up over the years. There was way more in there than I expected. Here’s a picture next to a penny for scale:
Now, before the new stick went in, I took the opportunity to give the controller a thorough clean. The circuit board for the controller can be lifted up, as nothing is holding it down. If you’re feeling overly cautious, you may want to wear an anti-static wrist strap for this. I didn’t though. The circuit board can be completely lifted free from the controller. The controller’s cable acts as an anchor, so gently pull it free, noting it’s orientation for when you put it back in.
There’s three little rubbery button contacts, and underneath are the plastic buttons that you will recognise from the functional side of the controller. They all just lift out, leaving a shell. At this stage, I took some cotton buds and kitchen roll and cleaned off all the dirt and grime from all the nooks and crannies of the controller. Here’s an action shot:
Here’s my desk once I was done cleaning. I set the two halves of the shell together for the photo.
Now to put everything back together. Slide the circuit board back in place. You may have to push the switches for the L and R buttons back into their slots. Now you can place the new analogue stick in position, and put in the three screws to hold it there. Pop the switch for the Z button back into the jaws on the analogue stick module and set the L and R buttons in place.
The plug for the analogue stick needs reattached. One of the wires will be marked white. This wire needs to be towards the centre of the controller to keep the plug correctly orientated. I used a small set of long nosed pliers to gently push the plug in neatly. I went from end to end, basically rocking it into place.
Check that all the buttons are on the right way around. I’m pretty sure that they all go in properly only one way, but just give it a check, then put the lid back on and put the screws back in. Your controller is now good as new. Enjoy!
Friday 15 July 2011
What's the real cost of my driving?
Today I've been trying to sort out my car insurance and see if becoming a member of the IAM will do much to put a dent in my premiums. I'm actually waiting for some information to come back to me, so while all my car details are out, I thought I'd take a few minutes to do something I've been curious about for a while: work out as accurately as I can just how much it's costing me to run this car.
Depreciation
My current car is a 2005 Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi 115bhp and I've had it just over a year and a half (since 12th November 2009). I bought it for £4250 back then. Depreciation is hard to work out, so I looked for the closest matching car on AutoTrader and tweaked the numbers appropriately. By my reckoning the car is now worth £3300, which means a depreciation of £950 (22%).
Straightforward Costs
Car insurance so far has cost me £918.42 (a full term, and a partial term with an added premium to my insurance coming from the old Corsa), Car Tax £250 (2 x £125), but if you were accounting for this strictly, you would take into account that part of this is a prepayment. Accessories and miscellaneous expenses that I've bought for or spent on the car came to £346.13. This is for things like new wiper blades, bulbs, membership of the AA and IAM etc. MOTs & Services came to a total of £1327.88, but a large chunk of this cost was from one massive bill from Lindsay Ford - an expensive lesson on the virtues of shopping around.
Diesel
In 609 days of motoring, I've burnt 2238 litres of diesel, travelling 22500 miles, and an average MPG of 47 (maximum achieved was 55). Total cost is £2829.67. The price of diesel has risen steadily over the last 18 months as shown by the graph below.
Cost Per Mile
All things considered, motoring for me is costing me 29.5p per mile. This puts business mileage in a new light, since they only pay 30p per mile, it doesn't seem like such a boon anymore.
More startlingly, spread over time, cost per day is £10.87! Now, this doesn't account for the mileage given back to me from work, but this is a great deal higher than anticipated.
Bottom line is, travelling anywhere is costing me approximately 30p per mile. A lot of this is fixed costs that can't actually be saved by keeping the car at home - about 13p per mile is burnt up in Diesel. But the fixed costs should be attributed somewhere, and a per-mile basis is as accurate as I can think of that is practical to work out myself. So, put into real terms, 30p per mile means that's £4.60 every time I want to go to Ultimate Frisbee training in Belfast, £5.96 every time I visit Bangor, and £26.79 to visit my Grandparents in Armagh and (on a full cost per mile basis as outlined above) to take the car down to Cork for the Cork Open will cost £156! (£65 of this is diesel costs alone).
When I pay for things like insurance and tax or even diesel, it's hard to keep a grasp of precisely how much each journey is costing. If I keep this figure of 30p per mile in my head, maybe I'll walk a few more journeys, or dust off the old bike. This is a scary amount of money!
Depreciation
My current car is a 2005 Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi 115bhp and I've had it just over a year and a half (since 12th November 2009). I bought it for £4250 back then. Depreciation is hard to work out, so I looked for the closest matching car on AutoTrader and tweaked the numbers appropriately. By my reckoning the car is now worth £3300, which means a depreciation of £950 (22%).
Straightforward Costs
Car insurance so far has cost me £918.42 (a full term, and a partial term with an added premium to my insurance coming from the old Corsa), Car Tax £250 (2 x £125), but if you were accounting for this strictly, you would take into account that part of this is a prepayment. Accessories and miscellaneous expenses that I've bought for or spent on the car came to £346.13. This is for things like new wiper blades, bulbs, membership of the AA and IAM etc. MOTs & Services came to a total of £1327.88, but a large chunk of this cost was from one massive bill from Lindsay Ford - an expensive lesson on the virtues of shopping around.
Diesel
In 609 days of motoring, I've burnt 2238 litres of diesel, travelling 22500 miles, and an average MPG of 47 (maximum achieved was 55). Total cost is £2829.67. The price of diesel has risen steadily over the last 18 months as shown by the graph below.
Cost Per Mile
All things considered, motoring for me is costing me 29.5p per mile. This puts business mileage in a new light, since they only pay 30p per mile, it doesn't seem like such a boon anymore.
More startlingly, spread over time, cost per day is £10.87! Now, this doesn't account for the mileage given back to me from work, but this is a great deal higher than anticipated.
Bottom line is, travelling anywhere is costing me approximately 30p per mile. A lot of this is fixed costs that can't actually be saved by keeping the car at home - about 13p per mile is burnt up in Diesel. But the fixed costs should be attributed somewhere, and a per-mile basis is as accurate as I can think of that is practical to work out myself. So, put into real terms, 30p per mile means that's £4.60 every time I want to go to Ultimate Frisbee training in Belfast, £5.96 every time I visit Bangor, and £26.79 to visit my Grandparents in Armagh and (on a full cost per mile basis as outlined above) to take the car down to Cork for the Cork Open will cost £156! (£65 of this is diesel costs alone).
When I pay for things like insurance and tax or even diesel, it's hard to keep a grasp of precisely how much each journey is costing. If I keep this figure of 30p per mile in my head, maybe I'll walk a few more journeys, or dust off the old bike. This is a scary amount of money!
Monday 23 May 2011
Fantasy Football Season 2010-11
Last weekend saw the end to the Premier League, and more importantly, the close of one of my favourite niche hobbies, Fantasy Football! I'm not what you'd call an avid football fan; if it wasn't for Fantasy Football, I'd probably struggle to name 5 current premiership players. But with a Fantasy Football team on the go, I now have a reason to be interested in Match of the Day. Man, I am in competition with people who actually support football teams!
This year was a tussle for second place in a local league I play with some of my Ultimate Frisbee buddies. First place was sewn up by the wizard Ben McFeeters. Someone clearly travelled back in time and gave him a sports almanac. 8,066th out of 2.4 million is to be reckoned with. So I was very happy to settle for a (not very close) second place.
In other leagues, I'm still on the old NI Water league, despite having not worked for them in a year. Came second there too. Came second in my own league for Facebook buddies as well. I set that one up so that I didn't have to compete with Ben, and then Kenny Nelson goes and beats me there in his stead! (Well done Kenny by the way!) Didn't manage to break the IFDA's top ten (out of 68 teams), but came close - in at 11th.
Lessons learned:
This year I had a terrible start, using the patented Chris Linter self-destruct method of >2 transfers a week at a cost of 4+ points a turn. I was very trigger happy, and spent way too much of my points where I should have just made do with the one sensible transfer a week. I was trying to find out how many transfers I made at the start, and found that the website only shows the last 50. This only takes me back to Gameweek 16. Looks like I've been making at least 2-3 transfers a week, and didn't seem to wise up until about Gameweek 30. That probably wasn't a great way to go about things. Total of 67 transfers.
I also discovered a new source of information to add to the Decision_Engine.xls spreadsheet that I have going. I certainly don't try and rely on my own meagre knowledge of football, and guesswork to pick a team. Top secret of course, don't want to give away my edge.
Now that it's over for the summer, I have a spare half an hour each week where I'm not crunching the stats through Excel *sniff*. I will miss it.
Final stats:
1962 points
144,737th out of 2,462,452 players (top 6%!)
This year was a tussle for second place in a local league I play with some of my Ultimate Frisbee buddies. First place was sewn up by the wizard Ben McFeeters. Someone clearly travelled back in time and gave him a sports almanac. 8,066th out of 2.4 million is to be reckoned with. So I was very happy to settle for a (not very close) second place.
In other leagues, I'm still on the old NI Water league, despite having not worked for them in a year. Came second there too. Came second in my own league for Facebook buddies as well. I set that one up so that I didn't have to compete with Ben, and then Kenny Nelson goes and beats me there in his stead! (Well done Kenny by the way!) Didn't manage to break the IFDA's top ten (out of 68 teams), but came close - in at 11th.
Lessons learned:
This year I had a terrible start, using the patented Chris Linter self-destruct method of >2 transfers a week at a cost of 4+ points a turn. I was very trigger happy, and spent way too much of my points where I should have just made do with the one sensible transfer a week. I was trying to find out how many transfers I made at the start, and found that the website only shows the last 50. This only takes me back to Gameweek 16. Looks like I've been making at least 2-3 transfers a week, and didn't seem to wise up until about Gameweek 30. That probably wasn't a great way to go about things. Total of 67 transfers.
I also discovered a new source of information to add to the Decision_Engine.xls spreadsheet that I have going. I certainly don't try and rely on my own meagre knowledge of football, and guesswork to pick a team. Top secret of course, don't want to give away my edge.
Now that it's over for the summer, I have a spare half an hour each week where I'm not crunching the stats through Excel *sniff*. I will miss it.
Final stats:
1962 points
144,737th out of 2,462,452 players (top 6%!)
Sunday 8 May 2011
This is a blog post from my new phone
So I made the jump from luddite to smartphone owner. I've been craving the silky smooth interface of an iPhone, for a while but just didn't have the finances to pay the Apple tax. So I opted for an Android phone: the HTC Desire S on O2. With a 90 quid cashback deal through Quidco, the phone cost me just 15 quid, and the tariff I'm on with O2 is a bit less than the Simplicity tariff I was on with my old Sony Ericsson. If it wasn't for the fact that I probably should have done this sooner, this move probably would have made me feel like a genius. Still getting used to using the thing, but I definitly don't regret not getting an iPhone. Android seems to have all sorts of benefits. Maybe I'll come back to you on that once I'm used to working this thing.
Friday 15 April 2011
Dirty Wee Bird
Friday 18 March 2011
Film Blog 2010 - Easy To Write; Boring To Read
Thought I would write on my blog again. Easiest blog I can do is to go onto a website listing all the cinema releases from 2010 and pick out all the films I've seen, as well as the films that passed me by that I'd still like to see, and write a quick spiel on them:
http://www.filmdetail.com/2010/01/14/uk-cinema-releases-2010/
Kick-Ass
I laughed so hard when the wee girl gets shot. The warehouse sequence was immense. Laura took me to see this. I was so chuffed. Great film.
Date Night
Thought it was going to be a bit funnier, but still pretty good.
The Losers
Seemed like a cheaper version of the A-Team. Such a B-Movie, but leave your brain behind kind of fun action movie. Good show. Thought it was clever in parts actually.
Iron Man 2
Not as good as Iron Man. Bit of a let down.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Time to hand in the man card: I actually enjoyed this.
Inception
Blew my mind. Pretty similar concept to The Matrix in my mind. I felt The Matrix had a better explanation for the technology. Loved the ideas in the movie.
Toy Story 3
Thought I would be scoffing all through this 'kids movie'. It was awesome. Hid the tears in the cinema.
The A-Team
Thought this was going to be lame. It wasn't too shabby! Some genuinely funny bits and as expected, great dumb action sequences and pretty explosions.
The Other Guys
Caught this on DVD recently. It's hilarious. Very interesting end credits.
Still to watch:
Machete
This looks like insane, over-the-top gratuitous action. So 'over the top action it's funny' is the best action. The trailer sold it to me.
RED
Old actors kicking ass! Laura even said she wanted to see this. I have a lot of time for Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren.
Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
Apparently a pretty mediocre movie. I'm just interested in the dynamics of the stock exchange. How boring is that.
The Social Network
Can't believe this passed me by. Seems like a pretty big deal. Better watch it.
http://www.filmdetail.com/2010/01/14/uk-cinema-releases-2010/
Kick-Ass
I laughed so hard when the wee girl gets shot. The warehouse sequence was immense. Laura took me to see this. I was so chuffed. Great film.
Date Night
Thought it was going to be a bit funnier, but still pretty good.
The Losers
Seemed like a cheaper version of the A-Team. Such a B-Movie, but leave your brain behind kind of fun action movie. Good show. Thought it was clever in parts actually.
Iron Man 2
Not as good as Iron Man. Bit of a let down.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Time to hand in the man card: I actually enjoyed this.
Inception
Blew my mind. Pretty similar concept to The Matrix in my mind. I felt The Matrix had a better explanation for the technology. Loved the ideas in the movie.
Toy Story 3
Thought I would be scoffing all through this 'kids movie'. It was awesome. Hid the tears in the cinema.
The A-Team
Thought this was going to be lame. It wasn't too shabby! Some genuinely funny bits and as expected, great dumb action sequences and pretty explosions.
The Other Guys
Caught this on DVD recently. It's hilarious. Very interesting end credits.
Still to watch:
Machete
This looks like insane, over-the-top gratuitous action. So 'over the top action it's funny' is the best action. The trailer sold it to me.
RED
Old actors kicking ass! Laura even said she wanted to see this. I have a lot of time for Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren.
Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
Apparently a pretty mediocre movie. I'm just interested in the dynamics of the stock exchange. How boring is that.
The Social Network
Can't believe this passed me by. Seems like a pretty big deal. Better watch it.
Friday 25 December 2009
Fun thing to do: go to
http://www.filmdetail.com/archives/2009/01/17/uk-cinema-releases-2009/
and pick out which films you went and saw this year.
Here's mine in chronological order.
Defiance
Role Models
Slumdog Millionaire
Notorious
Seven Pounds
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The International
Watchmen
17 Again
X Men Origins: Wolverine
Star Trek
Angels and Demons
Public Enemies
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
District 9
Up
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Was going to give them all a quick review, but that was taking too long. Think my favourite was possibly Star Trek.
http://www.filmdetail.com/archives/2009/01/17/uk-cinema-releases-2009/
and pick out which films you went and saw this year.
Here's mine in chronological order.
Defiance
Role Models
Slumdog Millionaire
Notorious
Seven Pounds
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The International
Watchmen
17 Again
X Men Origins: Wolverine
Star Trek
Angels and Demons
Public Enemies
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
District 9
Up
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Was going to give them all a quick review, but that was taking too long. Think my favourite was possibly Star Trek.
Thursday 26 November 2009
Christmas Ringtones
I just heard my first Christmas ringtone today, and it reminded me of my Granny. Despite being a real technophobe, she owned a mobile phone. One day, she asked me to put the volume up (she was also hard of hearing). I changed her settings as requested, but also mischievously changed her ringtone to the pre-loaded midi version of Jingle Bells. This was in Summer. Since she couldn't do much on the phone except make and receive calls, the ringtone remained out of season for a good few years.
Maybe I have a twisted sense of humour, but anytime I think about it, it makes me chuckle.
Maybe I have a twisted sense of humour, but anytime I think about it, it makes me chuckle.
Friday 17 July 2009
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