by GothNinja | Jan 19, 2011 | Zombies, Media
Zombies are a popular cultural theme at the moment, with a silly amount of computer games from all genres (Western, Army, Etc) having “Zombie SubGames”. And there’s the current hit show “The Walking Dead” not to mention the resurgence in Zombie Films.
They also hold a special place in the hearts of Geeks all over the world, and we here at the Insane Asylum are no different. In fact they have been a constant topic of conversation for years here, due to one of the Inmates having both a fascination and a fear of them. As such we often discuss methods of surviving the inevitable Apocalypse, and what they did wrong in different shows/films.
As such I have a carefully worked out survival plan in the back of my mind that is constantly being updated and added too. I also keep a mental subconscious tracking of where the nearest place to collect weapons is depending on where I am at the time of the outbreak. Now this random thinking while driving, working, etc. has recently brought up a question in my mind. “What is the most valuable Skill/Talent you need someone in your group to have to increase your chances of survival?” I have asked several people (See I do my research) and they all got the answer wrong, but in fairness I will post some of their suggestions.
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by GothNinja | Dec 13, 2010 | iPhone, Films
I recently installed an application on my iPhone called “System”, Its a handy little app that gives you information on you phones memory, processes, disk, batter, and general info. It’s a handy Application for checking your phone, or getting info from it.
The first time I used it, after installation it told me off. “Apparently” I had never done a “Full Charge” since having the phone. What my phone explained to me was this, “Batteries degrade with time, and the memory and life of the battery is constantly getting smaller. So over time the charge lasts less and less. Now if you do a full charge every so often you can extend the life of your battery” This is a good thing, so I read the instructions which were as simple as 1)let your battery get below 20% charge, 2)start system, 3)plug in charger and accept full charge. So I made a mental note to do this at some point.
Last night was that point. I noticed about 10pmish that my phone was down to 6% battery and needed charging, so I figured why not do a full charge. On plugging in the phone and accepting the prompt for full charge, I was given a message saying “Time to full charge 1h 50m”. So I left the phone plugged in and went to watch Star Trek (the reboot one).
<Sideways Tangent>
So the reboot Star Trek ends with Spock Prime going off with the few surviving Vulcan’s to try and build a new world. Now am I the only one thinking this is a stupid ending?
How many times in the TV series & Films has Spock gone back in time? He’s almost a big a time traveller as the Doctor! And he just lost his homeworld, and most his race. Surely that would be a good reason to go back in time and fix it. You could go back a few weeks and evacuate the planet so that no Vulcan’s die in the attack?
Or he could jump back a few years and use his knowledge of future technology to help build a starship with weaponry & shielding to defeat the attacking ship?
Hell he could even just go destroy Romulus now, which means Nero would never be born, and hence be unable to come back in time to change the future. Or do nothing since now Vulcan has been destroyed, then they will not be the technologically advanced race in the future, and so will not be able to invent and build a red matter powered ship, thereby preventing the wormhole being created that brought Nero back into the past to destroy them. Of course If they don’t invent the red matter ship, then they will not get destroyed allowing them to advance to the point they create the red matter ship.
Arggghhhh. This film just created an unending time loop.
</Sideways Tangent>
Before going to bed I checked the phone, it claimed the full charge was done, and it was just doing a trickle charge test which would not take long. So I left the phone plugged in and went to sleep.
at 4AM I was woken by a large siren going off. Turns out that there’s a hidden option on “System” to have a full charge finish alarm or not. And that the soon to be finished trickle test goes on for quiet a while. *mutter* *mutter*
So, where as I recommend people to do their best to extend the life of their phones battery, I suggest they turn off any annoying alarms.
by CodeNinja | Sep 9, 2010 | Media, Hacks
Once again the Media forces miss appropriate the word “Hacker”. This time in an article posted on the IT based site The Register, the article is titled “UK hacker fined for personnel database mischief” and the full article can be read here.
Now this could be fair I guess, lets see what the guy did. According to the article he “gained unauthorised access to staff contracts containing salary details and emailed this to around 400 workers at his ex-employer” Now, I can see why gaining unauthorised access to digital information could be associated to Hacking, Only lets read some more.
How did he manage to bypass the companies security and gain access? When he was sacked he stole his bosses laptop, and emailed out information he found on there. Yes. That’s right! The Mad 1337 h4x0r skillz this guy used was 1)theft of a object, 2)The ability to send an email. Wow.
The title should be X-employees fined for theft and breaking the Data Protection Act. Only the Media likes its word Hacker.
by GothNinja | Aug 11, 2010 | Films, Entertainment
Captain America Film 1990
Monday night I was in the mood for some good old fashioned cheesy superhero action, so I watched the 1990’s film “Captain America”
Plot Synopsis from IMDB
During World War II, a brave, patriotic American Soldier undergoes experiments to become a new supersoldier, “Captain America.” Racing to Germany to sabotage the rockets of Nazi baddie “Red Skull”, Captain America winds up frozen until the 1990s. He reawakens to find that the Red Skull has changed identities and is now planning to kidnap the President of the United States
Sounds good right. Bit of action with good ole Cap’ the symbol of Liberty & Justice & The American Way? A beacon light to lead the way, an inspiration to generations of Impressionable American Teens? Only. Watching the movie, The Captain was shown in a rather different light, and I wonder how many people saw past the Red, White & Blue and saw the Dark evil beneath?
Let me explain. Film starts with the Nazi’s making a super warrior with augmented strength, speed, agility, intelligence (AKA The Red Skull), The Yanks countered with their own SuperSoldier program and made a Soldier with augmented strength, speed, agility, intelligence (AKA Captain America). Now both are about 18 to 20 years old at the start of the film. They meet up in Germany, get into a fight and Cap is beaten and fixed to a ICBM, just as it fires he grabs the hand of the Red Skull forcing the Skull to cut off his own hand to escape. The missile fires, crashes into an ice field in Alaska and stays there undisturbed for 50 years.
Time moves on, To hide from the forces of good the Red Skull has plastic surgery and changes his name from the give-away name of Red Skull. He is the head of an international organisation of bad guys, and planning on kidnapping the President of the USA and implanting a brain control chip in him. Luckily the good ole boy The Cap is found in Alaska and revives from his frozen sleep. After sever Adventures we come to the climatic end of the film, the fight between the evil Red Skull and the Heroic symbol of all the Good in America, Captain America! The captain beats up the Red Skull, and finishes by smashing him out to his death of the top of a cliff with a full on smash from his shield. Woo Hoo, Chalk up a victory for America!
Only…. There’s something niggling at my mind. You have Captain America, a man of 20 in the peak of his abilities. Abilities which have been expanded by secret techniques. And he is fighting the Red Skull, a man of 70ish, who has only 1 hand. Its not really much of a fair fight is it? The best champion of america fighting to the death against a geriatric amputee?
Come on America, Pick better a better Hero to represent your colours. You’d never catch Captain Britain doing something like that!
GN
by GothNinja | Aug 10, 2010 | TV Shows, RockTheLAN
The BBC have just finished showing a new three part mini-series call “Sherlock” which brings the Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories into the modern day, with modern technology. You have Holmas armed with smartphones, the Internet, modern forensic labs and all the benefits of modern technology. While Watson who’s just back from serving in Afghanistan no longer writes in leather bound journal, but instead has an online blog. Even the famous phrases from the books have been updated, Holmes’s statement when struggling with a hard problem of “This is a three pipe problem” now calmly states “This is a three patch problem” London is mostly no-smoking these days.
Episode 1: “A Study in Pink”
The first episode in any series (even a mini-series) is basically all about introducing the characters, and setting everything up. This can occasionally lead to a slightly slower “starter”. This was not the case with Sherlock, Yes they introduced the characters of Holmes & Watson, and showed their meeting for the first time, and moving into 221b Baker Street. While that was going on they also had time to show shadowy groups, secret criminal masterminds, and one of the best games of Russians roulette you could imagine. (With strong leanings to the princess bride)
Episode 2: “The Blind Banker”
Another brilliant episode that’s starts simply with Watson making Holmes take a simple case (They need the money) from Holmes’ old school friend. A simple “how did someone break into a secure room” case. It’s not long before the case expands into hidden codes, Chinese Triad assassins, Ancient Artifacts, Murder & Romance. With a very tense ending. Theres no relaxing in the middle episode.
Episode 3: “The Great Game”
WOW. What can I say about the season finally that will not give away any spoilers? It starts with a double case, Mycroft Holmes requests help investigating a suspicious suicide and some missing top top secret plans. Meanwhile after a suspected gas explosion across from Holmes flat a locked strong box is found with a letter addressed to Holmes inside. This leads Holmes on a series of challenges set by some mysterious person. Holmes gets less and less time to solve cases before some innocent gets blown up. This all leads to a climatic meeting in a swimming pool, and the most annoying “I NEED to see how it ends” endings you could hate to witness.
Basically this show is one of the best things I’ve seen on BBC for a long time, and the way they have brought such a classic character into the modern day is amazing. And I am now waiting for a Second and longer series to begin filming.
GN
by GothNinja | Jun 29, 2010 | Media, Politics
My commute too and from the office is currently being sound-tracked by podcasts of geek based American radio shows. And I will say for the record that on the whole I am really enjoying them, they are very informative and entertaining. I just feel I have to mention the absurdity of this mornings podcast.
Basically the presenter was discussing a news story of the time (The podcast was a couple of weeks old). The story in question was :-
Veteran White House journalist Helen Thomas has quit her job after she was captured on video saying Israelis should “get the hell out of Palestine” and suggesting they go “home” to Germany, Poland or the United States.
Now the podcast presenter was defending her, saying she was correct, and in response to one comment of “What would the outcry be if she had said that all the blacks should get out of America and go back to Africa” he made a big point of explaining that was different, and that the problem was the Israelis had gone to the country populated by another people and forcibly taken over that country. And that was what was wrong with the whole thing.
There followed a tirade on how occupying some other people country forcibly was very wrong. And all I could think of was. “But you are an American??? you are a people made up from the peoples of lots of other countries, who went to a country already populated by a native race, and forcibly took over that country, locking away the natives in small reserves.” So basically everything bad he was saying about Israel was things America were guilty off. I was wondering if he thought that the Americans should leave and return to the countries they were originally from?
It amused me, so I thought I would Share….
GGN
Zombies are a popular cultural theme at the moment, with a silly amount of computer games from all genres (Western, Army, Etc) having “Zombie SubGames”. And there’s the current hit show “The Walking Dead” not to mention the resurgence in Zombie Films.
