There's nothing worse...

...than being a guy, and being ill. It sucks. Nobody has ever been as ill as I feel now - Or so my brain tells me in a horrendous act of self-pity.

Yet, here I am, sat trying to write an article through a haze of drugs and tissues and bleary eyes. Ugh. Still, my drug-induced writing has somehow allowed me to work some Smiths lyrics into a comparison, so I guess it isn't all bad. :p

Apart from that, things aren't too shabby - We have some very excellent stuff around the corner content-wise at Elite Bastards, I have another review up at UK Anime, and so on and so forth.

Now, I would go to bed to continue my suffering, but the cat's curled up and fallen asleep on my lap while I was writing this. Crap. It's alright for some... :p

If it takes another life, I'll wait for you on the other side...

I have to admit, I have something of a vested interest in the Scissor Sister's second album, Ta-Dah, if only because me and Laura have tickets to see them in November. I have to say though, their second album is largely disappointing. Gone is the biting wit of their eponymous debut album, replaced largely with bland 'pop by numbers' efforts that almost leave the group acting as a parody of themselves. There's nothing wrong with leaning heavily on 80s musical influences as long as you get it right, but from where I'm sitting Ta-Dah misses the mark on almost every count, with the current single I Don't Feel Like Dancin' acting as a warning sign for the watered-down cheese fest that follows.

In fairness, things do pick up a little on the second half of the album, culminating in Ta-Dah's saving musical grace - The Other Side, which turns out to be possibly one of the greatest tracks of 2006, and mixing the shoulder-shrugging melancholy you might associate with The Smiths against the kind of catchy pop sensibilities of Duran Duran and the like at their peak. Simply awesome stuff, but not enough to save this rather disappointing album. I can only hope they focus on their debut album in concert...

Success breeds success

I love it when a plan comes together - Particularly when I didn't even have a plan in the first place. ;o) Things seem to be moving on to yet another level at Elite Bastards very quickly - In the past week, I've had a game developer seeking an interview with us (which is done and dusted, and will see the light of day next week together with exclusive screenshots), two major graphics AIBs (one of whom I've been trying to curry favour with for a long time) sending hardware my way, and another one sounding very promising on that front. I can see it being a very busy autumn and winter for the site...

Things are still fun-packed on the anime reviewing gig too, with one new review published today and another completed and ready to go. It really is a great job to do, even reviewing the poorer quality shows.

Anyway, I really wanted to use this entry to share my excitement, so with that done, back to work!

Forging ahead

Boy, have I been on a roll this past week - Not only did I finish our rather popular Radeon X1650 PRO review for Elite Bastards, I've also now found myself an entire week ahead with regard to content, with two reviews sat ready to go any time I feel like it. If only I could stay in this situation all the time, it's a really great feeling to be sat atop a stack of good content. On top of that, I also had time to polish off my first review for UK Anime as well - Appaling to watch though it was, writing an anime review was a joy, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hopefully, I can keep this state of affairs going, as I actually have a much required two week break from my 'real' job starting from now, meaning plenty of rest, relaxation and... Well, 'other things' (Use your imagination!)... for a while. It should also give me at least some time to keep up on the review front, with a fair amount of stuff in the pipeline, not least moving my test system to Core 2 Duo hopefully.

Recent weeks have also made me decide that it's finally time to bite the bullet and take serious action with regard to speed and time-out issues with Elite Bastards' server - This past week, we've had things tuned up a fair amount, with a little more tweaking on the way, but things still seem a little sluggish to me, so I'm looking very seriously at moving us to a new server and host entirely. I've seen the deal I want, so if all this tweaking doesn't get us where I want us to be performance-wise, it'll be time to move again to a very impressive sounding rig. Fun! Needless to say, I'll keep you all posted on where things go on that front as time goes on.

Bank Holiday

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."

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!

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. ;)

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

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.

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?! ;)

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.

Running through sprinklers

You know it's a hot day when you get home from work, spot the sprinkler running in the back garden (No water shortages here, hurrah!), and decide to run through/stand under said sprinkler for a minute or two. :D

Yes, if you haven't guessed, Summer has well and truly hit the UK this week - England are out of the World Cup, Henman is out of Wimbledon... Yep, definitely Summer. ;)

On the down side, any kind of Summer heatwave also means that the tiny, cramped space that is the makeshift Elite Bastards office (or spare room, to give it a less grandiose title) is more or less out of bounds - Too hot to work, and definitely too hot to do much in the way of benchmarking. Luckily, Summer also means less on the sampling front anyway, but I have slipped behind with the things I want to get done as a result of not enjoying getting roasted, and thus I've been spending a fair amount of time (shock, horror!) outdoors. Nonetheless, don't worry too much, as I'm still plugging away on content for the site, and I know a couple of the other guys either have some things up their sleeves or will do shortly, so there should be plenty to keep you entertained. :p

Three Lions on a shirt

This is one of those 'not to much to mention, but I'll write one anyway' kind of Blog posts - It's Summer, which means not a lot in the way of exciting product launches or news and reviews to discuss at Elite Bastards... And who would want to? There are far more important things to involve oneself in, such as drinking, enjoying the sunshine, and that small matter of the World Cup.

Yes, the World Cup - Those few weeks that come only once every four years where I eschew my usual disinterest in the television and instead become glued to it, taking in game after game after game, removing my computer hardware reviewer hat and firmly placing a wannabe Andy Gray hat on my head instead. So yes, you could say I've been enjoying the feast of football so far... Indeed, as I write this I'm simply killing time until England kick off their final group game against Sweden. We've already qualified for the last sixteen, which takes the pressure off somewhat, but it's important for us to get a good performance under our belts after a couple of stumbling, pedestrian displays in our opening two games.

I've also been making the most of the sunshine to spend time chilling out with a good book, currently in the form of Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore - A pretty excellent read so far. There's something I love about Murakami's ability to put plausible characters into surreal, bizarre situations which they then accept and thrive in without question - Somehow, I just find it reflective upon the attitudes of most in the real-world, a celebration of the human spirit if you will.

Music-wise, I'm currently sat about listening to Thom Yorke's first solo album, The Eraser, which isn't bad at all - I don't quite understand his feeling that it's all material that wouldn't suit Radiohead, as the vast majority of the album seems exactly like tracks that would suit Radiohead... Oh well, he's the boss, and there's some good stuff on the album so I won't complain. I also finally got arround to picking up Gnarls Barkley's album, St. Elsewhere - I wasn't expecting much beyond the hugely over-played by now Crazy, but again was pretty impressed. It's a hit and miss album, but the tracks that work do so damn well, so it gets my vote.

So, that sums up the past few weeks in a nutshell for me - TV, books, music, with review work slotting in nicely alongside it all. I just hope the rest of you guys and girls are enjoying the Summer so far as much as I am.

Dylan Moran

Just this minute got back from seeing Dylan Moran's stand-up show live.... Absolutely fantastic, side-splitting stuff. I might write more about it some other time, but right now I have to go and tend to my pentagram. Of cheese.

Victory for the Comic Muse

Well, it's 'Blog time again (otherwise known as that time when I try to avoid review work like the Plague ;) ) - Things are still pleasantly busy here, with plenty of articles to write, and another trip to London for an ATI briefing recently. As always, some interesting stuff was on offer, and it was good to catch up face-to-face with Rys again, however briefly.

We've also finally (although somewhat temporarily) transistioned across to our new-look front page at Elite Bastards, which is a sight for sore eyes and should help us both with promoting our own content and being ready for future improvements and the like. Aside from that, not much else to report on that front.

Book-wise, I finished reading The Da Vinci Code this week (Yes, I know I must be the last living person to read it!). In all honesty, I found the final stages of the book and its twist and turns too implausible to enjoy, so all in all it was a little disappointed. Still, it's back to my Haruki Murakami reading spree after this, which I would hazard a guess at being far more down my street if it's even a patch on The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles.

Musically, far too much of my time has been spent listened to the new Boards of Canada EP, Trans Canada Highway, ad infinitum. Predictably, it's Boards of Canada so I love it. Today I got hold of a copy of the new Divine Comedy album (see this Blog entry title for its name!), which seems excellent from my first listen, almost like everything Morrissey's last album could have been but wasn't in some ways.

Arsenal lost the Champions League Final, but did their fans proud which in itself was more than I was hoping for. More importantly, the weekend before they claimed forth place in the Premiership and a Champions League spot for next season, deliciously at the expense of Tottenham. Henry is staying now too, so things are looking up again for the Gunners. :D

Finally, over the past week or so I've been somewhat taking stock of my life after everything that has gone on in the past year or so, and I came to a somewhat startling discovery - I'm actually happier now than I was a year ago. Love being blind and all that, a year ago I was largely fooling myself into thinking I'd found happiness, when in reality I was anything but. I used to go home from work every day wondering what mood swings or accusations would be thrown at me, I was constantly having to try and pick my way through the swathe of pathological lies fired in my direction, and I was unable to voice my own true opinions without being shouted down or risking the aforementioned mood swings or accusations - To put it simply, every day was a draining and stressful experience. Oh, and then there was copious periods of time listening to Bryan Ferry and pre-Avalon Roxy Music... How did I ever survive?!

Now, in contrast, I have the time to pursue my own ambitions rather than being expected to bolster someone elses, can listen to the music and watch the shows I like, and more importantly I'm surrounded by people who genuinely share my tastes in general, and have respect and time for my opinions. It's really quite liberating. Vive la difference!!! :D

Panic on the streets of Birmingham...

It's been a busy time for me Elite Bastards-wise this past week (just for a change!) - Aside from continuing to plough through the ever-growing mountain of review hardware (with some pretty cool reviews coming up I have to say), the highlight of last week was a trip to Birmingham to cover the Computer Trade Show (aka CTS) for the site, complete with press pass of course...



Needless to say, the site name got some interesting reactions throughout the day. ;) Although the show was apparantly not as packed full of items of interest as last year's offering, there was still plenty to cover, and more importantly it gave me the chance to go toe-to-toe with a bunch of marketing people with regard to getting review samples (more work for me - Yay!). I had some productive discussions on that front, so we'll have to see how they pan out in the long run, and I had a few interesting meetings during the course of the day too.

It also looks like we've found ourselves a willing provider of samples for NVIDIA graphics boards, thanks to some insanely generous and decent fellow who keeps going around recommended us and fighting our corner whenever they talk to AIB partners... You know who you are, and you know how grateful I am for it. ;)

So, all in all, the site is continuing to move onwards and upwards, to the point where I'm seriously starting to need someone to help out with some of the review workload and to let us cover more products methinks. It's something I'm still mulling over though (I'm such a control freak sometimes!), so more on that soon no doubt...

Goodbye old friend...

A few hours from now, Arsenal's close to 100 year stay at Highbury will finally come to an end, as they move on to a new stadium at Ashburton Grove next season after their final league game this afternoon. Every Gooner knows it's a necessity to progress as a football club, but I'm sure it won't stop most of us from missing the old place.

It was somewhat premature, but at least I got to say my goodbyes to the place last Summer, before it gets turned into flats and apartments in the next few months.









So many cherished memories...

You burn at both ends, yet still you're fine...

I should start by explaining today's 'Blog title - It's a line from a song on Zero 7's rather excellent new album, The Garden. The song in question is a great one, and this particular line seems to capture how life is going for me right now. Why am I burning the candle at both ends you ask? Well, it's something to do with this little lot:



Yes, thats right, I have just one or two reviews and article to write at the moment. ;o) On top of that, I'm currently trying to finalise going to CTS in Birmingham in a couple of weeks (I have my press pass already), and also arrange some other cool things for Elite Bastards. As per usual of course, this isn't me complaining so much as loving life - Call me a masochist, but I'm loving the hectic lifestyle at the moment.

Aside from that nice little pile of work, all is well in the world - The new car is great, life is smooth and relaxed despite being so busy... Oh, and there's the ever so small matter of Arsenal reaching the Champions League final on Tuesday night. Apologies to anyone in a five mile radius of me that evening for the foul-mouthed tirades and uncontrolled shouts of joy coming from my vicinity, particularly during those heart-in-mouth final few minutes. Of course, I have to go through that whole trauma all over again in three weeks time, but I wouldn't swap it for anything - As someone who never thought I'd live to watch Arsenal play in a Champions League final, it really is a dream come true, win or lose on the night.

So, I think that covers everything going on in my world for now, so back to rifling through that pile of hardware...

My new baby!

I just picked it up from the garage, and brought it home... My new pride and joy!

Apologies

I just wanted to write a quick message here to all of you who expressed concern about my last Blog entry, and/or my lack of contribution in certain places as of late. The fact that people have even taken the time out to ask has been a real comfort to me, so thanks to all of you who had me in their thoughts. :)

Anyway, I think it's only fair to tell everyone the full story of what has been going on in recent months to help you all understand what's being going on in my private life as of late, so here's the scoop:

The whole thing started just after Christmas really - Me and Tara got talking again, she said she felt like she'd made a big mistake leaving the way she did, that things weren't going well and that she really regretted and was sorry for what she'd done.

So, over the past few months, we carried on talking, even met a couple of times. It came to a head a few weeks ago, when she said that she'd really like to get things back how they were. We started talking about how to go about things, when to do it, and so on.

Until a couple of weeks ago - I got an e-mail from her out of the blue, saying that she'd been thinking about things and had decided that she wanted a divorce after all. Later that week, she called and told me she wanted me to pay at least half of the divorce fees, and basically gave me a whole lot of attitude. Of course, I gave her some back, and said no way was I paying that much after everything she'd done, and the whole thing ended rather unpleasantly.

Eventually, she agreed to pay all of the fees if I paid for and organised the initial filing (which I have to do, she can't because it was her who commited adultery), and has left it all up to me for now. Anyway, that's kind of beside the point.. The whole event has left me feeling all of the pain, anger and heartbreak of a few months ago all over again, only worse this time.

Mentally, I'm on the mend again, but it really was a big blow. So, thanks again for your support guys and girls (and you know who you are), it really has made a big difference to me bouncing back.

On a far more positive, and entirely unrelated, note; There's a new Boards of Canada EP being released in June. Can you say excited?!?!