Tom's Soaking

I missed this, must have been this week though. But some jerk-off pretending to be a reporter had a water squirter disguised as a microphone and Tom Cruise was happily about to give an interview when splash! See it all here, and Tom's disgust afterwards. I prefer Dennis Pennis verbal put downs to this idiot and unfunny stuff and I actually take Cruise's side - but only up to a point. He clearly didn't like it but I think I would have reacted in a similar way myself if it happened to me. Afterall, it was water but could easily have been acid. If his skin had been damaged that could have put an end to his career. Will Cruise be thinking of this incident everytime he has a microphone stuffed under his nose? He should have pressed charges as a deterrent to others, he would have gotten criticism for pressing charges of course. He had something nasty done to him and that happens to even the most saintly of us occasionally. We can usually forget it and move on but with Cruise being so public a figure the damage must be worse. I'm not saying he won't be able to forget it but since it was captured on film, it does make it more likely that it will be re-shown ad infinitum. How cross would that make you?

Michelle McManus

I just watched a show about the Gillian McKeith healthy lifestyle plan and her tutelage of Mammoth Michelle McManus as the narrator dubbed her. I actually thought the commentary was a bit condescending and that they repeatedly showed the before version of Michelle in bathing suit. I thought it was noticeable that they didn't show her in bathing suit afterwards, she wore some kind of middle age skirt and blouse ensemble at the end as Gillian gushed at how far she had come to lose 5 stone in 5 months. It's a big achievement (the narrator would deliberately emphasise BIG at this point) but the point is surely that its got to be a long term change, afterall she can't go on losing weight at the same rate. The programme concentrated far too much on the reasons for starting and not enough on what fish she eats now, the type of exercise she is doing and how she prepares and stores food. The McKeith plan is an expensive regime, I think. It's OK if you have the time for the gym but most people don't have time to go to the gym everyday. I know it has to be a lifestyle change and I guess what I'm saying most people can't make the change as radically as somone as well off as Michelle. Even Michelle's veggie flat mate said she wouldn't have the strength to do what Michelle is doing. I'm sure the fact that the camera is on and she is recording what she is doing has a positive pyschological effect.

BB Boredom

A few weeks into BB and I usually feel a sense of boredom. I feel it now, at least the Work House idea was quite a good one and is at least quite entertaining. After Sam left I did feel a bit down, just because I quite liked looking at her I think. Even Derek has been a bit more entertaining with his comment about Science - "for the first time in my life, I've met a back man that makes me want to join the BNP". Science is irritating, he's not even funny with it though and I think that's his problem. It'll be interesting to see whether its Roberto or Derek on Friday, I think it'll be Roberto actually.

Digital video

If you want to create DVDs on your PC, you can't go far wrong with Adobe's products:

• Premiere Pro
• Encore DVD
• Photoshop

Premiere lets you edit digital video from your camcorder. Encore allows you to create menu systems for your DVD and photoshop allows you to create background images for menus and you can edit photos with it to create images for photo-montage sections of your DVD.

Sam's Exit

OK, so I was a little surprised at Sam's eviction from the Big Brother house. My money would have been on Derek. I suppose it was more interesting to keep Derek and Roberto in the house. Sam was attractive I thought, but her laugh was annoying and I don't think I would get on with her in the real world - just to contradict my previous post. She didn't have much about her actually, she didn't let her real persona out of the hat and just became boring instead.

This bloody weather!

I don't like hot and sunny weather. I just don't do it. The sun gets in your eyes so you can't see, the back of my neck gets sunburnt, I don't drink enough water so I end up with a headache, shops are too hot, the house is too hot and I can't sleep at night because I'm too hot and there is no breeze. Basically, its a misery. Don't get me wrong, I don't desire winter all year round and a hot summer makes Christmas all the more enjoyable when its cold, dark and frosty in comparison. BUT I hate the fact that cars, homes and shops in this country just don't have the necessary air conditioning for these conditions. With air conditioning this weather would be so much more bearable.

Reasons why I don't play online games

I have never tried online gaming for the following reasons:

• I buy and play cheaper older games and I'm not sure that networked play is still supported (e.g. Command & Conquer Gold Edition, SOCOM I, XIII)
• low bandwidth - 56K modem (worried in the past that playability would be so poor to be not worthwhile)
• setting up internet connection sharing, buying the right kind of cables and asking ISP for any information - the process is too painful
• privacy fears

SOCOM US Navy SEALS

Bargain time again - this time I bought a pre-owned version of this game with a head set earphone and microphone. I'll look a bit daft playing though as I'll probably not play the online version. See next post.

Contestant Sam

Her resilience after tongue lashings from various housemates has made me quite like Sam. I think she is probably my favourite now, although I do like Vanessa too but she's a bit too much of a gossipy bitch especially when she's with that Craig the wierdo bitch queen (who I would never get along with in real life because I can't stand bitching men).

DVD Decrypter RIP

It would seem that DVD Decrypter is no more. I must have been one the last people to discover it for the first time only a few weeks ago. A great program, its a great shame that its gone. Check the comments on the post for an alternative source. I shall continue using it.

PSP Pangs

I really want to pre-order a PSP. Even though I know there is no chance in hell of my family agreeing for me to have one. I still want one. I'm just a big kid. Am I being selfish? I don't drink or go out. Maybe I should go out more and enjoy the company of other men, drooling over young women in pubs.

Vote Anthony Out

I have taken a dislike to Anthony. He's quite unpleasant. He's so thick. I think he looks up to Maxwell, when he had a go at Science for throwing the bin at Maxwell (not that I think he did) I felt he was just labouring the point too hard - whose fucking argument was it anyway? Not his, that's for sure. He should have stuck his neck in. I want him OUT!!

More game bargains

It's been a few weeks since I bought Metroid Fusion for the Game Boy Advance. Which is a great game, by the way. So, I thought I owed myself the chance to pick up another bargain. I really fancy Advance Wars for GBA too, which I thought I might pick up pre-owned for a bargain. Unfortunately GBA games in general seem to hold most of their value, even when secondhand. So, I didn't feel a copy of Advance Wars with a beat-up old box wasn't really good enough value at the price. Instead I picked up a few more PS games:

• Time Crisis
• Spyro 2: gateway to glimmer
• Spider-man
• Medal of Honour Underground

All of which seem really great. The only thing is I don't have a GCon 45 light gun for Time Crisis and the game with the Dual Shock (digital only) controller just feels a bit strange. Oh well, I can't see my wife agreeing to the purchase of one.

DVD Ripping

I've been ripping some DVDs lately, using our new family workhorse PC. If you want to know how to do it I recommend looking for DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink information on the web. It's not hard to find.

Mary's Out!

So Mary's gone. Shame in a way, she got the other housemates on their toes. Nice to see a bit of character from Saskia as she spat a few unpleasant words out at Mary. I'm beginning to warm to Sam a bit, she's a horrible weak person but she is pleasant to look at (I'm so shallow!).
I think BB6 would be better if Mary had stayed and the awful Craig had got evicted. For someone with a hair salon he has shit hair: oh, and did I say he's an idiot?

Mary the witch

I was starting to warm a little towards Mary. But then she had her birthday party and was so excited by having a crap halloween-ish party (with accompanying crap music). I would have thought she would just have said it was all false but she seemed to think it was totally her. What kind of a witch is she?