Nothing else to say really, except it's pretty much the last bank holiday of the year. Better make the most of it then I suppose....
"Bank holiday comes six times a year
Days of enjoyment to which everyone cheers
Bank holiday comes with a six pack of beer
Then its back to work a.g.a.i.n."
Monday, August 28, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Norwegian Wood
After such a flurry of 'Blog updates recently, I seem to have gone a little quiet all of a sudden, but at last I now have a few interesting things to talk about.
Firstly, this week I finished reading Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood - An absolutely fantastic book that I found myself relating to in a number of ways as well as finding it pretty deeply moving at times. It's one of those books you finish feeling that you've learned a little more about yourself and people you've had dealings with, but without being able to quite put a finger on what you've learned. Anyway, great stuff nonetheless. Next on my 'to read' pile is Ulysses by James Joyce, weighing in at a thousand pages of not exactly easy to read prose. I like a challenge though, so wish me luck!
Speaking of challenges, the ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe board I was provided to test Radeon X1900 CrossFire has finally proved to be a challenge too far for me - To put it simply, it's been a nightmare to work with, with some horrible Serial ATA-related instabilities and quirks that I finally can't continue trying to work around, so as I write this I'm rebuilding my nForce4 system so that I can get back to working and benchmarking at a better pace. Unfortunately, this means that the X1900 CrossFire article I've been promising for so long is now on the backburner again, but I should be updating the Elite Bastards test rig to a Core 2 Duo-based system in the coming weeks, which should put me back on track on that front.
The final item of note on my agenda is that I've sealed myself another article writing gig today, this time writing for the number one UK-based anime website UK Anime. I don't actually have anything to review just yet, but everything is basically agreed with the site owner so you should be seeing reviews by me popping up there every now and then too. The great thing about this is that I spend a fair bit of my free time watching anime anyway, so it'll be a nice change of pace to get to write about it too, while at the same time not cutting into my priorities at Elite Bastards in any discernible sense. In all honesty, I can't wait to get started to try my hand at something a little different!
Firstly, this week I finished reading Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood - An absolutely fantastic book that I found myself relating to in a number of ways as well as finding it pretty deeply moving at times. It's one of those books you finish feeling that you've learned a little more about yourself and people you've had dealings with, but without being able to quite put a finger on what you've learned. Anyway, great stuff nonetheless. Next on my 'to read' pile is Ulysses by James Joyce, weighing in at a thousand pages of not exactly easy to read prose. I like a challenge though, so wish me luck!
Speaking of challenges, the ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe board I was provided to test Radeon X1900 CrossFire has finally proved to be a challenge too far for me - To put it simply, it's been a nightmare to work with, with some horrible Serial ATA-related instabilities and quirks that I finally can't continue trying to work around, so as I write this I'm rebuilding my nForce4 system so that I can get back to working and benchmarking at a better pace. Unfortunately, this means that the X1900 CrossFire article I've been promising for so long is now on the backburner again, but I should be updating the Elite Bastards test rig to a Core 2 Duo-based system in the coming weeks, which should put me back on track on that front.
The final item of note on my agenda is that I've sealed myself another article writing gig today, this time writing for the number one UK-based anime website UK Anime. I don't actually have anything to review just yet, but everything is basically agreed with the site owner so you should be seeing reviews by me popping up there every now and then too. The great thing about this is that I spend a fair bit of my free time watching anime anyway, so it'll be a nice change of pace to get to write about it too, while at the same time not cutting into my priorities at Elite Bastards in any discernible sense. In all honesty, I can't wait to get started to try my hand at something a little different!
Monday, August 14, 2006
Boom! Shake The (Server) Room
Whoops, I did it again - We got Slashdotted. Needless to say, the server is taking a pounding at the moment, the site is all but inaccessible, and our traffic is through the roof. It's nice to be popular, but sorry for all you guys and girls who are having to live without your fix of Elite Bastards for a while. Normal service will be resumed shortly... Until the next time it happens. ;)
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Losing My Religion
All my life, I've been looking for a religion that truly fits in with my worldview, and now I have found it - That's right, I am now the newest convert to 'Haruhiism'! ;)
If you're wondering what the Hell I'm on about, you'll either have to ask or watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Personally, I'd recommend the latter. :p
If you're wondering what the Hell I'm on about, you'll either have to ask or watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Personally, I'd recommend the latter. :p
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Still Alright
Well, it seems that someone up there doesn't want me to finish this Radeon X1900 CrossFire review - First I ended up with a faulty CrossFire Edition board, which ATI did an awesome job of sorting out a replacement for me. Then, once I was finally ready to sit down and start work, the bout of lethargy that hit me a couple of Blog entires ago put a stop to things. Now I'm over that - The 74GB Raptor in my test rig has died, which leaves me needing to shell out for a new one before I can proceed any further. Argh!! Any donations for the 'Buy Andy a new Raptor' fund will be gratefully received. ;)
Anyway, when I haven't been tearing my hair out troubleshooting my test system, I've been thoroughly enjoying (and this surprised me too) listening to Lily Allen's debut album, Still Alright. It's simply a fantastic record from beginning to end - The biting wit and 'poisonous' lyrics of Dubstar at their most vengeful, the street-smart delivery of The Streets or Dizzy Rascal, and at times the beats and musical constructs of Madness and two tone at their best. This could very well be one of the best pop records I've heard in years.
Anyway, when I haven't been tearing my hair out troubleshooting my test system, I've been thoroughly enjoying (and this surprised me too) listening to Lily Allen's debut album, Still Alright. It's simply a fantastic record from beginning to end - The biting wit and 'poisonous' lyrics of Dubstar at their most vengeful, the street-smart delivery of The Streets or Dizzy Rascal, and at times the beats and musical constructs of Madness and two tone at their best. This could very well be one of the best pop records I've heard in years.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
As quickly as it began...
...it ended. The day after writing about my feelings of lethargy and reviewers block, so it was gone, and I found myself having a mammoth article writing session lasting several hours. Similarly, tonight I've been hard at work benchmarking away on a high-end graphics board review and made a lot of progress on that front. No guarantees the review will be done next week as I'd like because it'll be a pretty long piece, but at least I'm getting somewhere. Oh, and I have another yet to be looked at by Elite Bastards SKU on the way next week too. :D
Mental block? What mental block?! ;)
Mental block? What mental block?! ;)
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Inner Universe
Well, been a while since my last Blog update, so it's time to throw some stuff down here I suppose - Not that there's much to talk about of note.
In all honesty, I've felt really drained these past few weeks, in no small part due to the hot weather, but also just down to a general sense of lethargy at the moment. I'm not too sure what it is, but I really haven't been able to get my teeth into anything much major Elite Bastards-wise lately, even though I still have plenty to be getting on with. I guess I'm just stuck in a bit of a writer's block-esque rut, but at the moment I can't seem to drag myself out of it. It doesn't help that I'm coming home most nights from work pretty knackered as things have been busy and stressful on that front (to the point where my blood pressure is now officially 'too high' - Eep!) - I guess I just need a holiday or something... So, if anyone has some magical ideas to pep me up and get the articles flowing again, then I'm all ears.
The one thing I have been indulging in plenty of lately is anime - Catching up on vast amounts of School Rumble (which is now officially the funniest anime ever in my book), as well as taking in all of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which was quite simply excellent. The only question now is... What to watch next?
Anyway, that really is all I can think of to type as I sit here feeling tired and altogether sorry for myself because I can't find the motivation to do much else. So, fingers crossed my next update is rather more eventful and upbeat than this one.
In all honesty, I've felt really drained these past few weeks, in no small part due to the hot weather, but also just down to a general sense of lethargy at the moment. I'm not too sure what it is, but I really haven't been able to get my teeth into anything much major Elite Bastards-wise lately, even though I still have plenty to be getting on with. I guess I'm just stuck in a bit of a writer's block-esque rut, but at the moment I can't seem to drag myself out of it. It doesn't help that I'm coming home most nights from work pretty knackered as things have been busy and stressful on that front (to the point where my blood pressure is now officially 'too high' - Eep!) - I guess I just need a holiday or something... So, if anyone has some magical ideas to pep me up and get the articles flowing again, then I'm all ears.
The one thing I have been indulging in plenty of lately is anime - Catching up on vast amounts of School Rumble (which is now officially the funniest anime ever in my book), as well as taking in all of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, which was quite simply excellent. The only question now is... What to watch next?
Anyway, that really is all I can think of to type as I sit here feeling tired and altogether sorry for myself because I can't find the motivation to do much else. So, fingers crossed my next update is rather more eventful and upbeat than this one.
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