Minimal

Microsoft have always been big on backwards compatibility when releasing new versions of their software (see Raymond Chen’s blog for evidence). However, their offer to test your .NET v1.x apps with v2.0 is something else. These guys are seriously developer-friendly. I’m sure it must explain a significant part of their success.

Chip-a-chee choop shoop whooo
chukka-chukka-chukka-chukka-chukka wah
Chippity choop-choop choo

Woooooo-ooooo ooooo-waaaah, eeeeooooo waah

etc.

It’s not hard to tell when I’m listening to Portishead at work. It must really irritate those near me, but I love it, so sod them. He he he. ;)

Apparently, today sees the U.S. release of Gran Turismo 4, with the European release coming on 9th March. Somewhat uncharacteristically, I’m not desperately keen to get myself a copy.

Over the past week, I’ve started playing its predecessor again and I’m feeling underwhelmed. While the Feeder-fed intro sequence might be fantastic, it feels like less of a game than my rose-tinted memories portray. Progressing in Gran Turismo mode, especially, has felt like a chore at times. Even playing against a mate was a bit lacklustre.

And then, as if the gods wanted me to abstain, I came across this snippet of Edge’s GT4 review today:

Gran Turismo 4 is fundamentally unconcerned with furthering the art of the videogame. This titanic franchise, this critical, load-bearing pillar of PlayStation, is barely even a videogame at all. It’s a hobbyist software suite, a racetrack tutorial, an encyclopaedia you can get in and drive off.

Well, I guess that seals it. Maybe one day I’ll buy it to learn the Nurburgring, but it won’t be soon. :(

I think I’m still in shock. Did that really happen? We beat them, y’know? :)

Last night’s game was my first in over a month, thanks to away games and a badly-timed holiday. Happily, the performance was an improvement on what I’d last seen. Yes, I know Chelsea were understrength and their substitutions backfired somewhat, but we still played better than I’d expected. I wonder how much of that was down to a sensible formation including the presence of Laurent Robert?

Perhaps the one upsetting thing was Jermaine Jenas’s form. The lad’s gone from great to groan-worthy in just a couple of months. Never mind. He’ll come good again. I just wish we had a manager who could keep him on top form.

As for the local rags hyping our chances of winning the cup, well, that’s as far fetched as ever. Just because it makes a nice romantic story for Shearer’s swansong doesn’t make it any more likely to happen. The 6th round draw might’ve been reasonably kind, but Man Utd and Arsenal are still in there, and in separate ties. Frankly, I reckon we’ve got a better chance of the UEFA cup. Here’s hoping.

Seriously small Pacman, Asteroids, BreakOut and more! Christ, my eyes hurt. :)

(Flash required. Link via Eric Gunnerson.)

...shame it’s not mine. The new banner photo for this blog (you may need to press Ctrl+F5 to refresh properly) was taken by Dave Hooper, one of the guys with whom I stayed in Chamonix. Many thanks to him for letting me use it here. I might see if I can steal a few more and put them in the photos section. I never took my own camera on the slopes for fear of breaking something during a fall (one of my bones, not the camera). Now there’s confidence for you. ;)

Since registering with Tesco.com a few weeks back, I’ve received a steady flow of special offer emails. Deciding they were a waste of internet bandwidth, I looked at the footer for information on how to unsubscribe and found this:

Hang on a sec. Five working days? Days?! And five of them? Have they got a retarded monkey sat at the other end, randomly pressing keys when subscription requests come in or something? Whatever happened to ‘internet time’ and its 24-7, instantaneous responses? Sweet baby Jesus.

Summary: fleeting moments of enjoyment dotted in among hours of deep concentration, trepidation and soreness, some moments of incredible pain and consistently good craic. I’m glad I gave it a try and was in great company, but ultimately, I just didn’t enjoy snowboarding enough to want to follow it up. I think I'll stick to motorsport for future adrenaline rushes.

Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. At least I won't die wondering what it might've been like. Many thanks to Gav and his family for giving me the opportunity (and especially to Bill for the loan of the board). Maybe we’ll be able to get you on a trackday holiday to Finland sometime...? :)

A few interesting posts I missed while I was away:

• Iceberg
  Ash writes his first backlash in over 2 years and it’s a good un.
• Whither Providence?
  Chris expresses concern at the implications behind Dubya’s State of the Union address.
• Mini vandalism part 1, part 2 & part 3
  A friend-of-a-friend makes me realise I’m lucky to only have lost a wing mirror from my Mini.

And who was it let Tony and pals loose on the quayside while I was away? I don’t know... you turn your back for one minute...