April 26, 2006

hehehehehehehe this is amazing

I was flipping through .NET magazine in ASDA this morning, waiting for some photos to be developed. In the magazine, there was an article about a web technology called Ruby On Rails (ROR).

Anyway i’ve taken a keen interest on ROR so decided to read it. It was how to get started with it and how to use it for developing..etc..Towards the end of the article there was a little section saying which sites already use ROR. They had 10. The first one was A List Apart, which in my opinion is the best looking site on the Internet. Then next to that was another site that uses ROR called Spread Reading. “Cool”I thought, i must check it oot. So, what is Spread Reading? (get ready for a wank, mason)

Do you like reading, and talking about books? Do you like surprises?

We like both. Spread is our version of a book club. Each month, we will choose a few members at random and buy them a book. They can come back here, and discuss the book. The only thing we ask is that when they are finished with the book they pass it on to another person. It’s like a book club without the deadlines or cookies or weekly meetings.

I’ve just signed up it’s still a very small community

March 16, 2006

Books And Writing

I meant to do a load of C3 writing yesterday, but I just couldn’t get in the mood. I was in a reading mode.

Sat down last night to read a bit of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time…couple of hours later, I’d finished the book. It was pretty class, but the worst of the three I’ve read in the last few weeks. Started on another book now, Love In A Blue Time, the collection of short stories by that Asian guy Hanif Kureishi. It’s quite good so far, 10 pages in.

Otherwise, as at least Sy knows, the work on the story/novel has begun. Syed thought it was good so far unless he was bullshitting me. Send it you if you want Turon? Then I’m ‘going dark’ with info. on it for a bit, and you can see more once I’ve done a good amount more. Unless I think of something and get really excited, or I’m not sure if I’m doing well.

I’m out tonight and tomorrow night (cinema and possibly 5th Ave with uni people tonight, Witchwood -ugh -for Claire’s birthday tomorrow), so you might not hear from me properly for a couple of days. Not seeing Vikki this weekend though (she has a new job and has to work on Saturday for this week only), so I’ll probably be online all Saturday.

Podcast comments? Throw them up!

January 28, 2006

awww Wolstencroft’s new book cover.

looking fucking class.

out on monday. i was going to wait for the paperback but not sure if i can. it depends on the “size” of the thing. i finish early on monday so i’ll go to waterstooones and see. :D

January 17, 2006

Andy McNab - Crisis Four. 4/5 + other stuff…

I finished this book last night, and it was brilliant. Bit of a blurb from amazon.co.uk

Nick Stone undertook a mission to Afghanistan in the late 80s with a mysterious femme fatale, the posh Sarah; they had a fling and she promptly dumped him on her return. In 1995, they meet up briefly on another undercover mission to Syria which starts to go horribly wrong as Sarah appears to be working to a different briefing. Then, in 1998, Stone gets a summons on his pager to meet his bosses at Gatwick. Sarah has gone AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) from her apartment in Washington DC and Stone’s job is to find her. This he ingeniously achieves quite quickly and there then follows a long, tense chase across the US. Sarah’s true past, and the secret that she holds, is gradually revealed and the ending is truly gripping.

The best thing about this book is the journey you undertake. After I finished it i flicked to the front of the book and thought “fucking hell!…what a class journeey..and only for 45p” it’s a long book ~550 pages and McNab describes everything so accuretley. There’s about 10 pages based on Nick Stone getting his mission breif in the back of a car. Then i started to think about the 24 novels and thought they’re sureley way too short. i’d be pissed off if they didn’t describe every detail of every hour. (that’s the whole point on 24) it just seems a bit too short. Anyway Crisis Four is book 2 in a long series. It was much better than the first book and the next one is called Firewall, i’ll get that off ebay. and you must be making it if…

Due to the extremely sensitive nature of his work with the SAS, Andy McNab is the only author who has to submit his fiction to the British Ministry of Defense for review, and he is still wanted by a number of the world’s terrorist organizations. He is therefore forbidden to reveal either his face or his current location.

So what have I picked up now? Mike Gayle’s My Legendary Girlfriend. It sounds a bit crap, yes. it’s about relationships and all that. hell, all of Gayle’s books are about that. But this one feels different. I’ve read all his other novels and i liked them. they were nice and quick reads, written ‘comfortable’ langauge. (i read his latest one on Boxing Day…start to finish) This is his debut novel and it just feels fresh and he uses language in a clever way. It almost feels like a different author. I thought Gayle was good with his other novels now i think he’s mint (on this book anyway)

————————————

bought my DS today, turno :) got a good deal. DS, mario kart DS and Warioware Touched! for £115. wanna get ouendan! but might leave that for a bit and get the wifi dongle and mario kart ds, warioware and animal crossing (cheers ;) ) should keep me busy for a while.

also been working on my CV tonight. redoing it all. using turon’s cv as a bit of a helping hand (hope you don’t miiind..you don’t anyway. i’ve asked you).

:D

January 11, 2006

richard & judy book club 2006 :)

so the shortlist has been released. Like always they do authors you’ve porbably not heard of or mostly debuts. two that stick out for me: The Farm and The Lincoln Lawyer. Might get Lincoln Lawyer before they review it on the site and cos the review is in late March I can contribuuute. Could read The Farm before its review date (1st of Feb) but probably wont get it done.

Other good news, they’ve teamed up with the National Library for the Blind (NLB). Place where i will hopefully be doing voluntary work. All the books are being produce in audio, braile and large print so people at the NLB will contribute too. :)

btw, you heard anything from NLB, Turon? since you applied too. i’d bloody love it if they filmed one of the reviews of R&J live at NLB and they ask you to review. :P (ooooh is sy a bit jealous that turon has put his application in before his?…oooh!)

January 1, 2006

youstay holidays :)

soo…yeah being a geek, but well proud of this. i got really into Java this holiday, it’s cos i had a lot of time to produce this program, so i mapped it out fully and took my time. not finished yet, but this is the hardest stage. did it in a breeze. :)

small bit of code:


/**
* Confirmation of the chosen holiday from a client
*/

public void confirmHoliday()
{
this.client = client;
int storeHolidayRef = client.getHolidayRef();
double storeHolidayPrice = client.getHolidayPrice();

// If statement to check that the holiday reference and holiday price are filled in.

if ( storeHolidayRef == 0 || storeHolidayPrice == 0.0 )
{
System.out.println("Please fill in the holiday reference and holiday price");
}
else
{

// Create a new array list element.
// Show confirmation message.

holidays.add(new Holiday(storeHolidayRef, storeHolidayPrice));
System.out.println("Thank you " + client.getClientName() + ". You have booked holiday reference: " + storeHolidayRef + ". At the price: £" + storeHolidayPrice );

// Adding the price of the holiday to the total amount of money made by the rep.
// Adding one to the amount of holidays sold by the rep.

totalMoney += client.getHolidayPrice();
totalHolidays++;

// Reseting the values of holiday reference and holiday price to zero.

client.chooseHoliday( 0, 0.00 );
}
}

have it!

—————————-

while we’re being geeky. thought i’d tell you aboot a mint book. Douglas Coupland’s Microserfs. Basically about some dudes working at Microsoft then leave to start up their own company. its a class business/technology book. you can read a bit on the amazon website too. I read this a while ago, but going to pick it up again. :D

oh and…happy new year, youguys!

October 15, 2005

david wolstencroft’s new booook

ya know David Wolstencroft? (creator of spooks?) his new 2nd book is coming out in january. (his first one is miint) they’ve just updated his website. :D

Ben Sinclair is a recent graduate of Spy School and anxious to succeed on his first assignment. Like everyone in the Agency, he’s heard the stories about Contact Zero. When you have nowhere left to turn, when all is lost, only Contact Zero can save you. Some say it’s an isolated hideout run by ex-members of the Agency. Others say he’s a father figure, ready to protect and care for the dispossessed. To most, it’s an old spies’ tale, a myth to be whispered about behind closed doors and quickly dismissed as fantasy.

But during Ben’s operation in South America, he is brutally framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Barely escaping with his life, he finds himself suddenly cast out by his handlers in London. Isolated, terrified, and on the run, he reaches out to his fellow graduates. Only Lucy, his old flame from training, replies to his SOS—with one of her own. The news is bad: on this same day, across the globe, seven of their fellow classmates have been found dead. The three left behind—Ben, Lucy, and Nat—must join forces and quickly discover that, myth or no myth, Contact Zero is their only chance for survival. What ensues is a spellbinding quest that takes them from South America to the capitals of Europe in search of the most elusive treasure a fugitive spy can attain—sanctuary.

can’t WAIT for that journey! :)

October 14, 2005

spppppppppppy

since i’m in a spying mood. (i’m downloading last night’s spooks) i thought i’d go sick and write up this amazing scene from a spy book i read in last summer. The book is called Deep Black by Andy McNab. Most of his novales are based on a character called Nick Stone who goes on missions and shit in every book. oh and turon, he and this other guy write spy books for kids, so everyone’s a winner.

anyway here’s alittle extract from Deep Black. i tried to explain this to turon but you knwo wha ti’m like with quotes and shit.

:-)

August 20, 2005

whoo hoo novels based on 24 :)

HarperCollins Publishers will be releasing a series of novels based on the characters of 24. there will be six all together. the 1st and 3rd one is written by Marc Cerasini. he’s had no input into the tv show itself, but has written an analysis of Tom Clancy’s books for The Tom Clancy Companion. so he’s had experience in all these counter-terrorist shiiiite. the second one is by John Whitman - a quick look on google shows that’s he’s worked on novel adaptations of Planet Of The Apes, Jurrasic Park : The Lost World and Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back. the 4th and 5th one is written by a Parke Godwin, his google info was boring. there’s no info on the 6th novel, yet. anyway:

the whole series is called 24 : Declassified.

1. Operation Hellgate - October 1st 2005
2. Veto Power - November 1st 2005
3. Trojan Horse - January 1st 2006
4. [no title yet] - March 1st 2006
5. [no title yet] - April 1st 2006
6. TBA

a bit of a blurb on the 1st novel:

Within twenty-four hours a nightmare will be unleashed that could cause the death of untold millions and devastate a great nation. It’s a plot being carried out by the unlikeliest of allies. A powerful mole within the deepest reaches of U.S. Intelligence has secretly conscripted the very criminals he’s been charged with investigating — former IRA terrorists, Latino and Asian gang members, Middle Eastern assassins and others — creating one of the most insidious terrorist networks law enforcement has yet to take down.

One man stands between the destroyers and the death tide: Jack Bauer, lone wolf operative for America’s brand-new elite Counter Terrorist Unit. But he’s three thousand miles from the CTU command center without backup in a strange city, New York. He’s been artfully set up and is being hunted by the FBI for the murder of two of its agents. And time’s almost up . . .

[amazon linkage]

July 23, 2005

random book afiza just bought me

Idoru

Idoru : William Gibson

The author of the ground-breaking science-fiction novels Neuromancer and Virtual Light returns with a fast-paced, high-density, cyber-punk thriller. As prophetic as it is exciting, Idoru takes us to 21st century Tokyo where both the promises of technology and the disasters of cyber-industrialism stand in stark contrast, where the haves and the have-nots find themselves walled apart, and where information and fame are the most valuable and dangerous currencies.

When Rez, the lead singer for the rock band Lo/Rez is rumored to be engaged to an “idoru” or “idol singer”–an artificial celebrity creation of information software agents–14-year-old Chia Pet McKenzie is sent by the band’s fan club to Tokyo to uncover the facts. At the same time, Colin Laney, a data specialist for Slitscan television, uncovers and publicizes a network scandal. He flees to Tokyo to escape the network’s wrath. As Chia struggles to find the truth, Colin struggles to preserve it, in a futuristic society so media-saturated that only computers hold the hope for imagination, hope and spirituality.

Excerpt if you’re interested