Thoughts and ideas of a dyslexic designer/developer
So if you missed it, the Price of Property on Channel4 (ep3 of 4) was all about Manchester. It had everything in it from the new place Urbansplash was advertising to me a few weeks back to the megabucks deansgate tower (all of 5mins walk from where I live). But what was most interesting was the woman who paid for 7 flats without looking at them in person. Yes its tragic, but the flats which they filmed her going into were the the Danube flats. Yes my block of flats. She's has the bigger balcony that myself but everything is exactly the same. More pictures here.
Generally the documentary series is interesting and worth catching if you can. Its certainly made me think more twice about buying a flat in Manchester at this current moment. I might even be better moving out and into a another set of flats. Rental pricing is going down and that means those penthouse appartments are even more affordable.
Hot of the press, here's the latest artist impression of what MediaCityUK is going to look like in Salford Quays. Interestingly enough the big criss-crossed building is the new location of Salford University. Next to that is a hotel, then next to that one of the BBC buildings. If your interested in more pictures, check out my Salford quays set.
So if you cast your memories back a while ago, I tried to help out some friends by getting the lost ring from a gallery in Manchester's trendy northern quarter. The woman wasn't happy with the fact that I was on the phone and didn't look the part when picking up the ring. So she emailed and phoned someone to find out if it was ok. It wasn't, so we had to send someone else in the next day to do the deeds. That was all caught on camera later but here's the transcript of the discussion between PMs (Puppetmasters) James Tinsley and Jan McGonigal, after I had gone into the gallery and was waiting next door for the final word.
Maybe if there was no glass box, maybe I should have done what other groups did, snatch and run. Then again, we wanted the box it came in too. Plus I did say the passphase correctly!
Over the last few months I've been taking pictures of interesting things on my camera phone (HTC Kaiser). The camera is actually pretty good but lacks a flash for all round use. Anyway, he's the selection…
I love seaside towns like Blackpool. They always have the best arcades and they never get rid of the old ones. So I found Ridge Racer full scale (good but slow) then Ridge Racer 2 (faster graphics and remixed sound track, much more techno)
Going back and forth between London and Manchester late night I see some interesting sights in Euston and Piccadilly stations. Usually drunk people doing stupid things. But this time I was passing the screenis in Euston and I noticed the Hamachi windows gui running. Closer shots show there using a secured hamachi network to control the advertising across a 3g link. This shows two things, Hamachi is good enough for commercial setups and can operate on adhoc low speed connections.
This is how I got my beanbag back from Mashed 08. Yes it does look like my scooter has a huge ass on the top of it. I was getting lots of people waving and honking there horns as I rode from Piccadilly to my flat.
Oh have I forgotten the joy of tapes…
So I thought I'd do a test tonight to taste the difference between rare and well done steaks. I use to a long time ago always ask for my steaks to be well done when asked but slowly over the years started asking for quite well done, then rare to medium then medium and sometimes now just medium-rare. So I thought hey lets actually do a taste test. I did errr on putting up the pictures because I know so many of friends are veggies and even when sitting at the same dinner table as them, I will ask if they don't mind if I order my meat medium-rare (what a nice guy I am right?)
So whats the verdict? Well I think this picture says it all. The steak was exactly the same cut and from the same package (bought at Sainsburys) but one cooked for 3mins each side and the other one 7mins each side. The rare steak was juicy and much nicer to eat. Yes hardly scientific but I can confirm I prefer them rare or medium-rare, but I was shocked at the difference in size.
Ok back to your usual programming…
Sorry I have to do this but please reply if your a real person and not a dirty spammer
Here's some of the replies and stupid emails I recieve.
From Sandraratrue (i mean come on!)
I dnt understand wat u mean
Email from Hellen_jennile (very odd name)
Hi thanks for the mail and am very soory to get back to you very late it
was due to my job.. i will like to know more about you and you can
meet me on yahoo messanger hellen.jennile2006@yahoo.com…Hope
to chat you soon.and i will like to tell you that am not that kind of
people am a real and god fearing lady.
Hellen..
This one kills me everytime, this time from Tracy2008200
Hello Sweetie,
How are you doing ? I was on this site trying to look at profiles
before i found your profile interesting . You sound so nice and i
will be happy to get along with you ) I think we have alot in
common if you are interested kindly give me a chance to get to
know you. I am a single dad of a Son *john*4years old .I live in
Alabama. I just think i will give it a try maybe i could find a
friend then see what happen. Can i be your friend?..I am easy to
get along with also a simple man. I own a house and i live alone
with Son and my pets . I lost my wife in unto Accident 3years ago.
Its a long story . I am willing to get along with you. Can you
give a chance so that we can get to know more about each other .
If you are interested please send me an IM or send..If you are
interested please send me an send me an message to my e.mail
address tracy.debby@yahoo.com
Hope to hear back from you.
Tracy
From Irino4ka (who interestingly cancelled _his_ profile today)
Hello not the familiar friend!!!
I the lonely girl from Russia, wish to find lonely beloved, is
not simple for games, and for serious attitudes.
There are interested persons, write to me I shall answer
without a delay. Beforehand I thank for your time given for me.
P.S. I write from the Internet – cafe, therefore I have inquiry
to you.
Please write to me on: konushnya@yahoo.com
Another Russian lady, this time olhakiska
Hello!
My name is Olga. I am interested in acquaintance with you. I am
interesting woman with good character, sense of humor, opens in
dialogue. I love to bring happiness to people, and the best thing I
need in this life is the happy smile of my Beloved man. I want to love
and to be loved. Tell more about a place where do you live. I will
look forward to hearing from you.
You can write me: ma3bl.lyalyagirl777@gmail.com
Have a good day.
Last one for today, Sallyisloving
Hi
I'm Sally, i seem to be new to this online thing.if you go thru my profile it would tell you
more about me..You seem to be very interesting..I'm seeking a relationship..Are
you?..Here is my email… sallyisloving@yahoo.com ,email me bcos i feel on email is
better than on here bcos its a more easier and better way to communicate… or you can
im me or add me on msn messenger …I would be waiting to hear from you as soon as
possible..
Yours Sincerely
Sally
I was reading Melinda aka Miss Geeky post about the Dark Knight then linked off to a old post which I've never seen before. 10 problems with today's cinemas is a frank look at the problems with cinemas. I'll quickly run through them here.
So I've got some comments about most of these.
The Poor Projection Quality is a big problem, not only is it lazy projectionist but also dirty glass. I have a couple of times gone out and asked for someone to fix the projection. I remember in one film in Beckenham Odeon, the screen was so out of focus half the cinema went out and complained. Who knows what the other half did. Bad Volume, is again another big problem but its more that this. Some cinemas haven't been setup correctly. For example a cinema where I worked didn't even have a working sub in a couple of the smaller screens! The larger ones were THX certified but that was when they first opened. Speakers can blow or more likely go out of phase. Hell I think a rat in one of the big cinemas in London had chewed through a speaker wire because the sound was so unbalanced. Its not always the cinemas fault is true. For example me and my cousin have done tests between different multi-channel formats. Dolby Digital 5.1 can sound very harsh and in your face sometimes, while the same film in DTS 6.1 can sound more natural and more spread out. Then throw into the mix SDDS and things get clearer again. This isn't scientific in anyway because it depends on the audio track, how it was mixed and what equipment the track is run through. For example most Dolby Digital equipment is realtively cheap in the cinema world, while DTS is more expensive and again getting in SDDS equipment is not going to be cheap. I've seen cineams which do crazy stuff like put all the input throught a normaliser before going out to the speakers!
In totally agreement about relative screen size, you can't have a 132 inch screen in your living room (well one of my friends actually tried this). I feel the Odeon Leicester Square screen is good but the empire is nicer for general action movies. The old skool (spelt that way for a reason) cinemas which are more like theatres are actually pretty good. If you've never experienced one, imagine Empire but you walk down instead of up. The best cinema I've seen for this is screen one in Odeon, Streatham. The modern multiplexs tend to use the staduim seating which leads me to a new frustration. Bad Seats, when I was growing up all cinemas went for the gentle slope and tiny seats which flipped up when you stand up. Then Showcase Cinemas came to town and brought stadium like seating and adjustable seats. So the seats flipped up but the back would also go back. These were “the lick” (best you can get) at the time but if you actually sat in them for a while it would push on your back not be very comfitable. The best seats i've ever sat in are the gallery seats at the Filmworks/Odeon Greenwich. There like a car seat which don't flip up but also have depth so my legs are comfitable. If your smaller, I guess the depth will mean you will have a gap between your back and the seat. Sofa style is a welcome additon too (aka the ability to flip the arm rest up). And with these seats theres even enough room to put my motorcycle jacket on the back of the seat in front or my bag next to my feet. On Seat Selection, its got to be closer to the front, enough to almost fill your vision. Odeon have/had standard measurement ratios for cinemas seats to the screen, so I would usually aim for row H or I. I'm sure others do too. When I worked at the Odeon Leicester Square, if I was unhappy with the customer I would put them in Row AA which is near the back of the lower circle. Generally all cinemas should give you a good seat where ever you are. For example theres a legal limit on Row A, its just a matter if you like the intense feeling (almost IMAX like actually)
Actually about the IMAX experience… Its great, I've been to the IMAX in Bristol, Berlin, Minneapolis, San Francisco and London. But I have a problem with them being used for films like the Dark Knight. For me its mind blowing but its too much. Its just like sitting in Row A. When I watched Matrix revolution on the IMAX it just didnt work. The Matrix was not shot for the IMAX and it showed, maybe Dark Knight will be different due to all the action sequences shot on IMAX cameras. 1.33:1 works well for those scenes of atmosphere and depth but not for story telling I feel. The first thing I ever bought online was the Twister DVD from Amazon.com. It comes in 4:3 (fullscreen) on one side and 2.35:1 (letterbox) on the other. Trust me I never want to see that movie in 4:3 ever again. Maybe if it was a 132 inch screen in my living room it would be something special.
Air Con is a must for cinemas, I was actually sweating in the Dark Knight after 3hours. This is wrong! I like it cranked up because I want to feel like a ice lolly (popsicle) and make my ice cream last longer. Decent waiting areas is a good point, see I prefer the big lobby solutions to the corridor solutions of multiplexs. Going back to Odeon Streatham, Screen One has a upstairs lobby where you wait and downstairs is where the food and drinks are. So you can wait away from the hustle and bussle. Another thing this cinema screen has for it (new point inserted) small toilets in the screen! There's nothing worst that having to run the length of the cinema to pop to the loo. Having them in the screen also means you can hear whats happening while just going for a quick one. Another problem is the lighting. The lights should be on at the start, dim during the adverts and again at taiilers and at showtime they should be off. The light of the screen should be enough. Oh and at the end, the house lights should never come on till everyone has left the screen or the credits have finished.
At the Odeon, as a usher. If we turned the house lights on before everyone had left, those people were entitled to a complete refund of somekind. Actually thats something most people don't know, you can legally ask for your money back up to 15mins into a film. So if somethings not right, walk out and ask. Don't settle for they will fix it, remember your missing the film. The last time I ever had to do this was when me and Sarah went to the Odeon Leicester Square to watch Red Dragon and there were rats or mice running around the cinema. Yeah it was nasty and wrong on so many levels. But one thing Miss Geeky also missed is people! Certain people won't frankly shut the fuck up when the film is on. And there seems to be a trend towards not having a usher (blame the multiplexs) in the screen to keep people quiet. So now you have to decide yourself if your going to boldly tell them to quit or just live with it. Thats not right, the cinema ushers should be there to keep the volume level almost slient, stop people wondering in and out with there phones and generally make sure everything goes smoothly. So finally the cinema experience will be worth the money there charging.
I made reference a while back to how much I go to the cinema (almost once a week!). And I got to say I do like cinema and have really high hopes for digital cinema which may flatten the field and cause a longer tail effect. So maybe we'll get the pe
rfect cinema experience in the future, but I got to say home cinema is hot on its tail and rightly so.
I knew nothing about this till my friend told me on a phone call. Crazy, I had no idea. I really should include some news feeds to my aggregator.
I did say I wanted a beach holiday a while back and I wanted it to be pretty cheap… So Blackpool it is… Hey and perfect timing, for rain, rain and more rain. Does not matter, hotel has free wifi, the rollercoasters are all running and I got myself an extended weekend. So having just booked the whole thing 5 mins ago (yes its 7am now) I'll sleep, wake up, pack and jump on the scooter. I don't expect to do much more that walk on the beach, check out the rollercoasters and head into the arcades. Maybe I might find some of the classics and end up spending my pocket money on Ridge Racer like I use to when I would spend some time in Weston Super-Mare (the blackpool of the south west don't you know?). Well what ever I do its going to be relaxing…
