Life Without Toast - Sibling Rivalry

Does anyone like my magic screencap?

See what I did there? No?

I'll get me coat.

Posted by Matt at 1:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Last night, while idly dicking about with Google Earth, I put a start point of my parents house in North Dublin (which isn't actually on the map) and an end point of my house in South Dublin into the "Get Directions" area, just to see what it would come up with. While nothing as ridiculous as "swim across the Atlantic" came up, it did come up with a rather more convoluted route than I would have. And then I saw something funny.

See, in the past two years, the Fingal council has built a lovely, motorway-standard dual carriageway out that way. The directions given by Google Earth direct you straight to the motorway, pretty much. But on the map, half of the motorway isn't there. Google obviously did one of their famous fly-bys of part of North Dublin/East Meath recently, and are using brand-new data alongside 3-or-4 year old data. They really, really do need to get along with more of those fly-bys.

Have a look at the full-size image, it's really weird seeing a 4-lane motorway fade away and turn into a field (like a magic tractor). You can also see clearly the blue line which accompanies the directions, which seems to be telling me to drive through that same field, and then along the miraculously-appearing motorway.

Posted by Matt at 4:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Via the totally fantastic Annie.

1. PICK OUT A SCAR YOU HAVE, AND EXPLAIN HOW YOU GOT IT. Ok, it's a little white scar on my left index finger, and I got it from lifting a steel-radial tire when I was about ten. The tire was very old, and had lots of little sharp steel pointy bits sticking out. It ripped open the whole length of my finger, and blood went everywhere. Not that you'd guess now, the scar is tiny.
2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM? What room? My bedroom? Just a mirror (and no, it's not on the ceiling, Adrian). We haven't got round to putting pictures up yet. Soon.
3. WHAT DOES YOUR PHONE LOOK LIKE? A very small camera. And I want a new one.
4. WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO? A little bit like Annie, I would refer you to the Lifewithouttoastcast(s).
5. WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT DESKTOP PICTURE? In work, this. At home, this. I am perhaps overly fond of a nice desktop.
6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW? Lunch.
7. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GAY MARRIAGE? Of course. I'm totally liberal, and believe in everything that involves people being nice to, and respecting, each other..
8. WHAT TIME WERE YOU BORN? I think it was at 9.05am. Ever since, that time is the earliest I've ever gotten out of bed without feeling tired for the rest of the day.
9. ARE YOUR PARENTS STILL TOGETHER? Totally. 35years in December. My parents rock.
10. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO? A rehearsal of "Children Of Eden" on a tannoy in my office. It's not very good.
11. DO YOU GET SCARED OF THE DARK? Not ever. I spend over half of my working life in the dark.
12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY? No idea. Last time I even came close to crying, believe it or not, was Spiderman 2. See if you can guess which bit.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOGNE / PERFUME? I wear L'Occitaine's Eau De Badian because Nikki loves it, and Nikki wears Very Valentino, and I think it's nice too.
14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOUR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX? I honestly don't have a 'favourite', but for fear of getting a box upside the head, I'd have to say blonde hair/green eyes.
15. DO YOU LIKE PAIN KILLERS? If by 'pain killers' you mean 'alcoholic beverages', then yes.
16. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? Pretty much the same answer as Annie gave on this one, not really too shy, more like totally useless. Not that I need to ask anyone out, being as I am, happily living with Nikki.
17. FAVE PIZZA TOPPING? Cheese. Okay, apart from cheese, black and green olives. Mmmm.
18. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I refer you to question 6. And a cup of tea.
19. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU MADE MAD? I don't generally get mad, more just 'in a huff'. And the last person to get me in a huff knows who they are.
20. IS ANYONE IN LOVE WITH YOU? If you read this blog, you know the answer. If you read the answer to questions 13 and 16, you know the answer. If you still don't know the answer, it's 'yes'.

Posted by Matt at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here we go again...

Ladiesandgentlemen, may we present for your listening pleasure, episode IV of our magnum opus, the Lifewithouttoastcast. Click on the little blue "play" button to listen to the show in a streaming stylee through your browser, or click on the '45 to open/save the mp3 file.

If your all iTunes-ey, you should already have it on your computer, ready for synchin'. If you haven't subscribed yet, like, what's your problem?! Stick www.lifewithouttoast.com/Lifewithouttoastcast.xml into your iTunes (or audio feed-reader of choice), and savour the hours of sweet, sweet audio goodness.

We hope you enjoy what is possibly our most eclectic show yet! Comments, complaints, tirades of abuse and awards for excellence are always welcome, as usual.

Posted by Matt at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

_{[WARNING: FLASH + LOUD STAR WARS MUSIC]}

Posted by Matt at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Photoblogging...

Posted by Matt at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

I didn't know this, and just found it out by accident. If you want any unit of measurement converted to any other unit of measurement, just type your calculation into Google in words, and it'll do the calculation for you. Brilliant eh? Well, it is in my job, where metres and feet cross paths on a regular basis.

For example, here I typed "8.8 metres to feet".

Those clever Googlers. They really are brilliant.

Posted by Matt at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Via Greg Veen I came across Websites As Graphs.

Above is a graph of Life Without Toast. Pretty crazy huh? I didn't know I had created such a behemoth ungodly mess of linkage, divs images and good ol' HTML. Give it a try for your site, watching the whole thing unfold in front of your eyes is quite mesmerising.

Also, have a look at some other images tagged with "websitesasgraphs" on Flickr, some of them are amazing.

Posted by Matt at 7:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

(Or: Why I Am Buying A Mac)

Oh! Windows, you are so totally utterly rubbish,

With your "downloading updates" and "restart now" every fucking day.

Your viruses and bloatware anger and frustrate me so terribly much,

What can I do to make you go away?

Lo! A mystical place place called the Apple Online Store,

An utopia of shiny happy user-friendliness, Core 2 Duo™ and "It Just Works",

People may say I'm just a slutty gadget-whore,

But in reality, what other option is there when Windows is so totally borked?

Soon, there shall be podcasts, movies and stop-motion video,

Visits to the Lifehacker/software/Mac page, and no restarting,

Aqua and iSight and that cool transformer that the cable wraps around, woo-hoo!

I'm so awfully excited, oh yes, I really, really am, that Windows and I are parting.

FIN

_{[yes, I am aware that this ode does not follow the "rules" of an ode, but I don't need no STEENKING RULES, m'kay?]}

Posted by Matt at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (26) | TrackBacks (0)

I got this one today on eBay:

100% of the profits of the auction will go to Africa Aid, which is nice (and which means I donated about ?30). If only I could donate to charity for every cool t-shirt I buy, I'd have donated thousands by now. I suppose I could still do that, without the clever, convenient t-shirt auction being a part of it.

This now takes pride of place as my coolest shirt, only to be worn on the most special occasions, or when I need to look really, really cool.

UPDATE: If you follow the link on Jimmy J's comment, you'll end up here, where there's still a few shirts left, some for a lot less than mine went for. C'mon dudes, it's for charidee, and the shirts are fucking cool. Just imagine strolling into a gig by the really cool band that everyone likes, wearing one of these bad boys. You'd be like, the man (or woman).

Posted by Matt at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

1: I have been told to take the rest of the week off to recuperate from being ill by my boss, and I really want to go back tomorrow but he won't let me, is this weird.

2: Out of 5 people who were in my house last night none of us had injection marks on our left upper arm - this is very weird as we all scar normally

Just thought I would share those.

Posted by Babs at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

For my Birthday like, it's only a month or so away.

Oh and click through to the Threadless site, the detail on this one is very, very cool.

Posted by Matt at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

So as you all more than likely know at this stage, I have the (poxy) Shingles, on my face. It's very sore. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy (seriously). Now if it were on any other part of my body I wouldn't be so upset (I think) but it's because it has basically deformed one side of my face that every time I look in the mirror or if someone who hasn't yet seen the Quasimodo face sees it, I start crying. (Or if I am on the phone to the VHI nurseline nurses who are fantastic I must say - really brilliant at helping calming me down and telling me repetitively that no I won't look like this forever). Now I know that Matt has seen it, but no one else has, which is why I have taken photographic day by day evidence pics (mainly for my new employers in case they don't believe that I am actually that bad) but also so I can gauge my getting better-ness. I will post them when I am better along with a normal faced Babs pic so you can see and hope and pray that you dudes NEVER ever EVER get this.

Night! (I am drugged to the eyeballs on painkillers - woot!)

Posted by Babs at 12:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

[This post contains extensive details regarding an error on the Nintendo-Europe Website, Star Points, Wii Points, Nintendo of Europe being asshats, Nintendo being brilliant, and other videogame malarky. If you have no interest in Nintendo, you may want to leave now. If you want to continue, great! This was quite fun.]

Since there has been an internet, and a Nintendo Of Europe, there has been a Nintendo-Europe.com. For years and years, you have been able to redeem "Stars" contained in Official Nintendo© products (500-1000 in consoles, 250 in games) on the website. These have in the past been redeemable for such craptacular goodness as wallpapers, ringtones, iron-on t-thirt transfers (!), etc. Sometimes, there has been limited quantities of Good Stuff available, such as games, etc (usually for about 5000 points, or about ?2,000+ worth of Nintendo products purchased). Mostly, the "Stars Catalogue" has been ridiculed by Nintendo "Fanboys" for being utterly shit, which or the most part, it has been.

I got my Wii in December. When the Wii came out, information surfaced stating the if you "linked" your Wii account and your Nintendo-Europe account, Wii points (used for purchasing classic games from the likes of Nintendo, Sega, Hudsonsoft, etc, for download-and-play action on your Wii) would be available for exchange for Stars in the Stars Catalogue, sometime "in the future". I thought this was great news, and promptly rummaged for every Nintendo product I had, and it's associated Stars contained therein, and registered them all. I ended up with about 5,200 points.

And then I waited, all the while checking the Stars Catalogue and Wii.com every week or so for any updates. And I waited.

And then I waited some more.

And then... There they were. A couple of Fridays ago (the 23rd of March, to be precise), I logged on to the NE website and there was "WiiPoints" available for 789 points (a weird amount, but I'll get to that). "Only 1,542 left!".

And then... I got a 404 error when I clicked the "buy" button. Hmmm, I thought. And then I looked at my "Items Purchased" page, and this is what I saw:

Blank. Apparently, I had acquired "--". And then I looked back at the Catalogue page, and lo, the "Wiipoints" were gone.

So I mailed Nintendo, and waited. And waited.

Posted by Matt at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I got this in the post today from Hong Kong. It's a KingMax 4GB USB drive. I can't put into words how small this thing is, so I took this picture with a pencil for a size comparison. The pencil is of the standard size (it's a Faber-Castell Columbus 2103 HB, pencil-nerds), and the USB drive is of the teeny-tiny size. And I plugged it into my PC, and it really does hold 4GB.

So, in theory, why isn't the iPod Shuffle available up to 4GB? And surely you could fit more than 8GB into a Nano too? Wouldn't a 16GB or 32GB Nano just be the absolute bollocks? Or even a 32GB iPhone (if you're stupid enough to buy an iPhone, whenever it eventually comes out)?

I love tiny technology.

Posted by Matt at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Photoblogging...

I love sunny days off.

Posted by Matt at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I was going to just stick this in the links in the sidebar, and then decided that no, it's just TOO FUNNY not to post in the main blog. It's Alanis Morrisette. Stop, no, seriously. It's Alanis, doing a cover of "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas. Genius.

Needless to say, it's a heck of a lot better than the (shite) original, mainly because of the hilarity of it all.

The bit where she nuts the gangsta-lookin' dude in the face is the best bit. :-)

Posted by Matt at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

I haven't been tagged, but I am off sick from work today - so meh:

Three Things That Scare Me
~ skangers
~being sick because I never am
~motorways

Three People Who Make Me Laugh
~ Conor & Liam as one (my two roomies)
~ Trishbags
~ Any one of my family members at any given time

Three Things I Love
~ Marmite on toast with real butter
~ Really cold Erginger
~ Living near a beach

Three Things I Hate
~Arrogance
~ When people wind me up when I am oh so obviously not in the humour for it at all
~ Overcooked food

Three Things I Don?t Understand
~ A lot of maths (like the hard stuff, not adding etc)
~ Peopl who refuse to wear a seatbelt / indicate / check their mirrors / drive at 70mph in thick fog
~ How come I used to have size 6 feet (39) and now they are a 5 (38)

Three Things On My Desk (its more a dressing table slash desk so...)
~ 2 mirrors
~ make up
~ coconut oil (for my hair)

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die
~ Own a gaff of my own
~ Go to India and learn yoga from a master
~ Meet all of my living relatives

Three Things I Can Do
~ Counsel my friends when they are having a hard time
~ Make strangers feel like they've known me for years
~ A tripod headstand and then jump into a handstand with no one spotting me and no wall (only since last week - its all in the shoulders)

Three Things I Can?t Do
~ Stop talking (a lot)
~ The lotus position due to my crappy Verso ankles
~ Maths

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To
~ Today FM on a Sunday avo with Jim O'Neill, best ever music!!
~ Your own advice
~ "Dear Jessie" by Madonna (I recently rediscovered this gem)

Three Things You Should Never Listen To
~ A used car salesman
~ People who smile with their mouth but not with their eyes (total sign of slyness)
~ A kango hammer

Three Things I?d Like To Learn (but won?t)
~ To be a weather person
~ How religion makes people kill
~ How to drive a truck

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid
~ Flintstones
~ Bosco
~James Bond Junior

Posted by Babs at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Help me ... I have a swollen face, it's not visibly swollen, but still scary to feel. I am convinced I have Bell's Palsey, even though I have no symptoms, all under my eyebrow is swollen and sore, and also I have a big lump in my jaw, sobaroonie! What if I wake up and I am the Elephant Woman. I am unimpressed with my immune system, I haven't been to the doc since November 2004 when I had a horrendous chest infection. I don't even know what time the surgery hours are ... worst face in the world.

Posted by Babs at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)