Life Without Toast - Sibling Rivalry

Bish.

Bosh.

Posted by Matt at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (0)

My guide to upgrading to Mac OSX (oh-s-ten) 10.5 ("Leopard"), the easy way:

1. Backup your main boot volume (usually entitled "Macintosh HD) using Superduper. Check your backup, to make sure it's backed up.
2. Insert OSX 10.5 disc into CD/DVD (Super)drive.
3. Double-click "Install Mac OSX".
4. Click "restart".
5. Make a cup of tea.
6. Smoke a cigarette.
7. Look impatiently at your Macs' screen several times.
8. Wait two and a half hours 50 minutes about half an hour.
9. Type in your password.
10. Oh look, my desktop is exactly the way it was before I upgraded my entire operating system. Everything is just the way it was.
11. Except, you know, shinier. And therefore better.

Thus endeth the lesson. Now try installing Vista in the same way.

Posted by Matt at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Matt at 1:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I was browsing through Google Reader's new "discover" section (which is awesome, by the way) just now, and I discovered we now have 16 subscribers to our crazy little corner of the internet.

So 16 people are definitely reading us every day, using Google Reader. I wonder how many are reading us using Bloglines or NewsGator (or another feed reader) or just simply coming to visit (those of you who don't read feeds)? According to the mystical Webalizer it's been as high as 166 per day (in March this year, currently about 80 or so. Which is nice.

I just thought I'd say thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy our particular brand of news, nonsense, stream-of-consciousness, geeky banter, the occasional heart-warming anecdote, reviews, swearing, and babies.

Posted by Matt at 12:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Dragon is doing a much more thorough job of this, giving each of his top 20 it's own post, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents worth.

So, in no particular order (but kinda sorta in order), here's my top 20, and the consoles I played them on:

• The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (N64)


• Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)


• Goldeneye 007 (N64)


• Half-Life 2 (Xbox)


• International Superstar Soccer '98 (N64)


• Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition (duh, Wii)


• Perfect Dark (N64)


• Mario Kart: Double Dash (GameCube)


• Mario Tennis (N64)


• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Xbox)


• Burnout 3: Takedown (Xbox)


• Tetris (Game Boy)


• LylatWars 64 (aka Starfox 64, N64)


• Excitebike 64 (N64)


• F1 World Grand Prix (N64)


• Forza Motorsport (Xbox)


• Conkers Bad Fur Day (N64)


• Sonic 2 (Sega Megadrive/Wii VC)


• Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GameCube)


• Banjo-Kazooie (N64)

Yes, the vast majority of games here are either made directly by Nintendo, or are on Nintendo consoles, and there are no PC games. I've only ever owned Nintendo consoles (bar the original Xbox), and Nintendo are the best games company in the word, bar none. I'm not a PC gamer either, never have been, and probably never will be. Let the shouting begin.

UPDATE: Holy shit! I forgot about Metroid Prime! Okay, it'll have to be a top 21 list so. Or we could lose Sonic, or Banjo.

UPDATE: Other honourable mentions:Super Smash Brothers Melee, Manic Miner, XIII, Pikmin, Street Fighter II (Arcade), Mario Golf, Star Wars Episode 1 Pod Racer, 3D Ant Attack, Super Monkey Ball, Carrier Command, Rainbow Six 3, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Chuckie Egg, Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2, Halo 2, Pokémon, Every Mario game ever, Every Zelda game ever.

Posted by Matt at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBacks (0)

Today for my job I had to do a trip to Waterford City and County to deliver a few thingys and also collect a broken thingy, my boss gave me the keys to the company "truck" yesterday, I was like "em dude, I drive a Mini", he said I would be grand, I sort of feigned an agreement and then I was off. This morning my heart was pounding in work, its a Land Rover Discovery Long Wheel Base Commercial, so lots of blind spots and its about 20 foot long, a LOT longer than poor little Muriel who was left in the yard in work all day and tonight too, I hope no boy Minis have come along and been bold with her, well unless they were really hot boy Minis :)

Anyway, I was great, the Discovery was automatic, something which I was mildly frightened of. I had driven the manual one last week but I was not alone, but today I jumped into her and looked down, no clutch, aaaaaaaaaagh!!! It was grand, a tad annoying when wanting to take off really fast and that, but other than that grand. I didnt hit anything, well I softly grazed a picnic table in a petrol station but not a mark on her.

Crap end to the day though, finally got home after driving from 10.30am till 7pm and there was a number 4 bendy bus broken down ACROSS my driveway, so therefore I could not drive the giant Land Rover in there, they took three hours to fix it, who breaks down across a driveway, fuckin Dublin Bus does, we're not there yet lads, but we're getting there, is that the trains? Who cares, I was annoyed!! The driver was very apologetic I suppose!

Posted by Babs at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Last night I finished my Christmas shopping and I am so super excited about that fact that it is actually rather unreal to me. A few general thought about Christmas shopping, make a list and check it twice, I thought that I had my list finished, turns out, no, hence me having to go back last night and finish up. Be ruthless, if there is a long queue skip it, but not in a brash way, be all "oooh no these books are really heavy, I feel like I am about to faint etc" people will move out of your way, don't under any circumstances go shopping for yourself at the same time, this will result in extreme pain in your arms from carrying the presents in the paper bags and also all of the loot you are frantically grabbing for yourself. Don't bring a friend. It's too distracting, go it alone, people are assholes, Dundrum is great because it opens until 9 every day mid week even a Monday, which is when I normally go anyway, Babs no likey crowds, last night there were crowds, not big ones, but they were there. I met my friend there for hot choclate, the girl in Butlers asks "do you want whipped cream?" nicely to the two of us, we both gave her scornful looks which meant "load it on up there missus" mmm, it was lovely, but unfortunatly Butlers does not provide tea spoons for the take away hot choc so I walked around Dundrum licking the chocolate bits from the top of my cup, I had no choice, if they melt in its so not the same.

We went into La Senza (the undies shop) and really I was quite disgusted, I did also almost get kicked out for basically pissing myself laughing, some of the stuff in there was so Ann Summers, as in, yock!! I will describe one item and you can make your own judgements, it was a g-string, made of this horrible shiny material, with a, oh god its hard for me to find the words, it had a zip down the front, I mean, can you not just take them off if you are going to be getting busy, a zip, about 2 inches long, ew, they were vile. They also had mens stuff which I had never seen before in there. I am sad, they have dropped their standards, in other words, I'll not be going there again, yock!

(PS: Apologies to Matt for talking about underwear...again).

Posted by Babs at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

So I was browsing one of my favourite sites tonight, and I saw this (it's an ad, and if you hadn't guessed by the "turn on sound" button, it's very NSFW to press the "turn on sound" button).

I was mildly amused. I was also shocked that Eircom have come up with an ad campaign that's mildly amusing, as opposed to "totally pants", the way they usually are. I was even more surprised that it was on a site that wasn't from Ireland, but more a targeted ad for people accessing in Ireland. This means Eircom's advertising department appear to have acquired some sense.

I find that the most shocking bit of all. But I'm still not going to get Eircom Broadband, because although Eircom's service is known to be reliable, that's only because they are a bunch of fucking Nazis.

Posted by Matt at 1:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Today I found ?40 on the ground, at first I thought it was a ?20 but on closer inspection it was 2 of them neatly folded, they had obviously just fallen from the hands/pocket of its owner. I didnt keep it. I handed it in so to speak. It got me thinking of my time of poorness.

It was about 6 years ago, I was in 2nd year in college and I was in town, it was a Monday night and it was lashing down, sheets of rain, I wanted a taxi home but had the ?4 for the nitelink and that was all. I had been in the pub drinking with my friend. We went to the an ATM at the bottom of Grafton Street, as I was at the machine I glanced towards the ground and saw a wallet. I picked it up and inside was over ?400, someone had obviously just gone to the ATM and dropped it, my mind was racing. Could I keep it. It was over a months rent to a very very poor college student. It was all of my Christmas presents bought. It was a lot of money to me. I looked it the wallet. Passport pictures of a boy, credit cards, gym membership card, bank card, a million other pieces of identification. Could I keep it? I reluctantly walked to Pearse Street Garda Station and was pretty much pushed in the door by my pending guilt. I handed the wallet in, with all of the money still in it. They took my name and address and told me that if it hadn't been claimed that I would be the rightful owner after a year and a day. I wanted that money so much. But I thought "what if that had been me who dropped it, I would be fucked".

Two weeks later I got a letter, it was from the person who owned the wallet, attached was a voucher for Tower Records for ?50, it was her rent money, it was her money, she gave me a reward because she, like me, would have been fucked if I had kept it. It made me smile for the whole day. I sold the voucher on the college notice board for less than the face value because I needed it more than I needed the music it could have bought me. But I felt good for weeks later because I hadn't been that asshole.

When I found the money today I wanted to keep it, but I couldn't, because I know how pissed off I would have been if it had been my ?40. Do other people hand things in?

(*Note: Once, I threw a twenty euro note into the bin in the shopping centre beside my house with a reciept, the most thick thing I have ever done, I hope the cleaning person who may or may not have found it bought themselves something nice with it and that it didn't go to a landfill!!)

Posted by Babs at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

If I can find an El Cheapo flight.
Ok here's the dealio, I need to book a flight to Melbourne, Oz-Tralia, for two people, either end of Feb beginning of March, or middle of April (Ciara, my travel bud is in college, she has exams or her students have exams or something) anyway, help meee!! I looked on Trailfinders and they are 1200 dolla, ie: way too much. I need to go and I want to go too. One of my bezzie buds is there now, we used to send mammoth emails constantly, now, he is jobless and has just signed up for a year on an apartment, doesnt really have the cash for an internet cafe, especially in the middle of the night there when I am in work, another of my bestest buds will be there for the three months listed. I want to go, I need to go, I just cannot fathom spending that much on a flight, donations are welcome if you like, haha!! In my dreams.

Also, speaking of friend who is there now, funny thing happened today, I was in my parents house watching Back To The Future and we were texting, I said something along the lines of "oh its awful here, almost dark and only 4.30 and pissing rain, the only thing keeping me sane is Marty McFlys shennanigans" he says "Back To The Future, its 3.55am here, how you like them apples, now I must go and have the one thats one too many", I laughed a lot and spilled tea on my new Cashmere jumper (its Penneys cashmere and I love it), Penneys gotta whole lotta things for Christmas and a lot for the family, tra la la la la, only if you are able to root through the velour tracksuits and the fake Ugg(ly) boots though, I spent 170 dolla there last weekend and came out with a whole new winter work wardrobe that fits me, then unfortunately I visited M & S on Monday night and ended up spending almost the same amount on tights socks and other assorted undergarments, they last forever though so its ok.

I know this is very disjointed, but thats how my conversations roll, over and oot...

Posted by Babs at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)