Charanjit Chana's Blog http://blog.charanj.it The personal blog of Charanjit Chana en-uk Technology, design, programming, sport, entertainment Tue, 07 Sep 2010 06:17:22 -0700 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:47:38 -0700 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification hello@charanj.it hello@charanj.it iPod Touch 4G - Speculation and my requirements http://blog.charanj.it/post/173/ipod-touch-4g-speculation-and-my-requirements When it comes to Apple, I don’t really take the time to speculate but I thought now would be a great time with the imminent launch of the 4th generation iPod Touch, it seems like a great time to start.

My iPod history



The launch of the original iPod saw a new era for music. It’s taken an extremely long time for record companies to come around to the idea of music being digital and I feel that consumers are still being ripped of. Ripped of quite a lot since the introduction of Apple’s 3-tier price structure in iTunes.

With the release of the iPod Mini, I found my own way into the iPod market as I needed an affordable storage device but wanted a small factor MP3 player too. The Mini fit perfectly, although it’s 4Gb capacity wasn’t ideal for the video editing projects I embarked on in University.

In 2008, I purchased an iPod Touch after soon after it’s launch. I never got the iPhone and didn’t understand why you’d want all your eggs in one basket. The iPod Touch came along, but I my iPod Mini still did it’s thing and there was no need to replace it. In the build up to the iPod Touch 2G’s release, I had had my Mini’s battery replaced under the extended warranty and it’s 4Gb capacity was just unmanageable now.

One of the biggest selling factors of the iPod Touch was the ability to have the internet in your pocket. Not anywhere, like the iPhone, but in your pocket none the less.

The introduction of the App store made the device even more compelling and 16Gb, 4x what I originally had, and I was sold!

The third generation iPod Touch didn’t have the technical improvements that would have made it almost essential for me to upgrade, but I’m hoping the 4th generation will.

The future (1st September 2010)



Just yesterday, Apple announced their pre-holidays event, where they usually announce the latest updates to their iPod line.

Over the last few weeks there has been much speculation on the inclusion of FaceTime in the iPod Touch. Evidence points to at least one camera being a certainty. Front and back cameras? Just front? Just back? No one knows, but there’s quite a lot of evidence for their being both. A great move in my opinion, especially if the back camera doubles as a HD video camera. Flash is a must now, I haven’t seen a decent low light photo with any of the previous iPhones.

A retina display will also be a beautiful addition to the Touch. Had Steve Jobs not highlighted an unnoticeable deficiency in the previous screen, I doubt that many, if any, users would have appreciated just how nice the new retina displays are.

My own desires for the next iPod Touch



There is one feature that I have tweeted about constantly, that I really want as part of the next iPod Touch. I have a DSLR, a compact camera and mobile phone with two cameras. Certainly, a camera enabled iPod Touch would make sharing photos on Twitter and Facebook far easier, but not enough to make me drool over one like the addition of GPS would.

A compass I can live without, but GPS would make the device an iPhone without the phone. The exact position it took when the 1st generation was released.

If Apple give it a camera (front or back, along with iOS4), the iPod Touch will easily be a 3 out of 5 star device. With two cameras a 4 and with GPS, an instant 5 for me.

Optimistic updated



One reason that might point to GPS being a reality in the iPod Touch is the more obvious use of location based services. Using the Maps app on the iPod Touch now shows the following location icon in the status bar.

image

This functionality only appeared in iOS4, although location services have been available for a while. For iPod Touch users, isn't much use, other than to tell them that location services are in use. I could be clutching at straws, but we'll soon see with just 5 days to go to the event.

Oh, and this current release probably holds more excitement than the Septmeber 2008 one!

]]> Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:33:59 BMW key fob repair http://blog.charanj.it/post/170/bmw-key-fob-repair My BMW key fob has had an issue for years where the middle button wouldn't lock the car, and as a result the immobiliser wouldn't initialise.

After a quick search on Friday, I couldn't confirm that the key fob could be opened. Today, I took to it with a stanley knife and prized it open and fixed the offending button. A small metal cage had come loose and a flexible piece of metal had made its way to somewhere else in the fob!

Now that everything was back to where it should be, and had to superglue the two parts back together.

If you need to repair or replace the battery, don't be afraid. Attack with a knife, as carefully as possible and you'll be ok. Superglue or the equivalent is necessary to get it back together, but not as hard as I thought it might be!

]]> Sun, 25 Apr 2010 19:57:24 2010 or ten past eight? http://blog.charanj.it/post/166/2010-or-ten-past-eight- Possibly the best way of pronouncing the new year, 20:10 has already begun and I've already made more changes to http://charanj.it!

My portfolio site now has a slightly better layout, more functionality for the portfolio showcase and more key terms and information about me, as a developer.

I'm looking to improve the twitter situation, because not all my tweets are really suitable for my portfolio site, but I'll decide what to do with that a bit later!

]]> Tue, 5 Jan 2010 18:13:52 Goodbye 2009, hello 2010 http://blog.charanj.it/post/165/goodbye-2009-hello-2010 As the world waves it's goodbye to the year that was 2009, I thought I'd write a quick post on how the year went for me.

I got married and achieved a lot of other personal milestones this year.

I got to see Hawaii and an active volcano. Got to see Anfield and sit in the Kop. I got to see Francesco Totti play for Roma at the Olympico while taking my wife around a city I love.

The year has had a few downs, but many many ups and I can't wait for the new year to start. Happy New Year all! :)

]]> Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:46:08 In the pipeline http://blog.charanj.it/post/163/in-the-pipeline I haven't had the time to work on receeve.it properly for a few weeks, but I am looking to release the following things in the near future:

1. Nike+PHP v0.9.1
2. A mobile poker site (trying some revenue ideas out)
3. Migrating the odd blog post from the old Be Unequaled blog

As you may be aware, Be Unequaled is no longer around as a fashion site, but will return in the future in a different form. I feel that the blog had some decent content so I'll be migrating that over bit by bit to this blog.

]]> Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:38:48 URL ABC http://blog.charanj.it/post/162/url-abc Simply type each letter of the alphabet, one at a time and see what URL comes up in your address bar. Post them up and you're taking part in the game!

a: http://angela.sky.com
b: http://www.bbc.co.uk/football
c: http://charanj.it
d: http://digg.com
e: http://expedia.co.uk
f: http://flickr.com
g: http://gmail.com
h: http://hotukdeals.com
i: http://icanhascheezburger.com
j: http://jonquirk.com
k: http://karmaloop.com/index.asp?rcode=CA7004
l: http://liverpoolfc.tv
m: http://maps.google.com
n: http://news.bbc.co.uk
o: http://odeon.co.uk
p: http://picasaweb.google.com
q: //
r: http://reader.google.com
s: http://www.skyarts.co.uk
t: http://twitter.com
u: http://upnextinsports.com
v: http://validator.w3.org/check
w: http://wave.google.com
x: //
y: http://youtube.com
z: //

I took these results from Chrome at work, so the first result was often a well used search term!

]]> Tue, 8 Dec 2009 11:47:00 Nike+PHP a PHP class for Nike+ http://blog.charanj.it/post/160/nike-php-a-php-class-for-nike- So I am a lover of Nike+ and have had a Nike+ stat widget on the side of my blog for quite a while now. The project can be found at http://nikeplusphp.org.

It came to my attention that the method used wasn't the easiest and certainly wasn't up to date. Looks like something changed on Nike's end and that has broken the API I was using.

Looking around for an alternative, I was inspired to build my own class and am now firmly at version 0.7 with it. I've created a small website for the project where you can grab the code and there's some documentation to help you get started.

The project is called Nike+PHP and all you need is a Nike+ account, PHP5 and SimpleXML installed.

The class grabs all the info and creates a PHP array that's easy to use. I'll be updating it whenever I get a chance and will try to get a mailing list up and running so that you are able to keep the code up to date.

If you have any problems, need help or have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know (via email: hello [at] charanj.it) and I'll do my best help.

]]> Mon, 5 Oct 2009 09:08:40 Wedding week http://blog.charanj.it/post/157/wedding-week So my wedding is less than a week away! Keep an eye on my Flickr wedding set over the coming weeks and I hope to post up videos from both the wedding and our honeymoon too.

]]> Mon, 25 May 2009 13:00:23 Photos from FOWD http://blog.charanj.it/post/156/photos-from-fowd I've been uploading some photos throughout the day here at FOWD. Take a look at the slideshow below, or check out my Flickr set.



As we speak only photos I could Bluetooth to my phone have been added, will upload some more from my More photos added from my minimo later!

]]> Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:11:58 So I got the Toshiba H20 http://blog.charanj.it/post/155/so-i-got-the-toshiba-h20 Over the weekend I ordered the Toshiba Camelio H29 camera and it arrived yesterday. The quality is great in good light and not so amazing in low light, but at £165 I don't really expect a HD camera with every bell and whistle.

It is a little dissapointing that it wasn't slightly better, but it's small, plastic and full HD so there's not much to complain about!

Check out my YouTube playlist which I'll update with more HD content soon!

]]> Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:10:33 FOWD 2009, I'm going and I can't wait! :) http://blog.charanj.it/post/154/fowd-2009-i-m-going-and-i-can-t-wait- Tomorrow is the Future Of Web Design conference and I really can't wait to go!

There are a few topics I'll be really interested in and I am looking forward to learning lots more about the industry and where things are headed.

I'm still debating, but I think I'll be taking my laptop. All I'll be doing is taking notes, but I'll have my iPod and hopefully there'll be wifi so I'll be able to check in on emails too!

]]> Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:02:31 I'm getting a HD camcorder, most likely a Toshiba H20 http://blog.charanj.it/post/152/i-m-getting-a-hd-camcorder-most-likely-a-toshiba-h20 I've been looking for a decent HD camcorder since January after seeing a number of offerings from both Toshiba and Samsung. Samsung's DMX-R10 looked like it was going to win the battle, but with a US release date for early May, I have yet to see a European date and that pushes me too close to the honeymoon to allow me to wait for it.

My next choice, up until this morning, was the Toshiba Camileo P30 which is a small form, full HD (1080p) pistol grip camcorder that was well priced for it's feature set. However, some reviews have put me off and I am now looking at the Toshiba H20 instead. A more traditional looking camcorder that has a similar ability, but the following example on YouTube has really put this at the top of my list.

If possible, please watch these videos in HD!


(Toshiba Camileo H20)

After a bit more research, the P30 wasn't far behind, but the quality difference is enough to make me stump up the extra cash:


(Toshiba Camileo P30)

Not sure when I'll be getting either as I have to sort some finances out, but hopefully I'll be posting some test footage soon!

]]> Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:27:28 I'd really like an AppleTV http://blog.charanj.it/post/151/i-d-really-like-an-appletv I've often said to friends that when I get my own place, I'm going to trick it out. At the moment, I have a wall mounted TV and Sky but what I really want is a NAS/streaming solution.

I've seen some, but Mac compatiblity is always a worry.

The AppleTV would seem to be the answer however space is limited. At < £200, it's not that badly priced for the base model, but at £250ish for extra storage, an extra 120Gb just isn't good enough.

I've thought about a Mac Mini but haven't decided on anything yet.

Apple's stuff is just too irresistible to me at the moment, plus I know it works.

Maybe when I get my own place!

]]> Mon, 6 Apr 2009 17:16:41 Madrid and United dispatched, Benitez commits and Anfield http://blog.charanj.it/post/149/madrid-and-united-dispatched-benitez-commits-and-anfield Real Madrid were dealt with quite nicely over in Spain. My friends went to watch the game and I was really happy that they saw a victory as with Real, you never really knew who would turn up! I felt we showed them way too much respect though. We let them have the ball and do as they wish. They didn't punish us, but with the amount of possession they had, they really should have.

Two weeks later, Liverpool were running riot. 4-0 at Anfield. Fantastic. Some 4 days later and we'd scored another 4! The league leaders were poor. Embarrassing even and to top of a good two weeks, Benitez has committed himself to leading the club for another 5 years.

Fantastic! :)

Oh, and here is a gem of a link. Anfield on Google's Streetview!

]]> Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:19:46 My new toy, the Nokia 6600 Fold http://blog.charanj.it/post/147/my-new-toy-the-nokia-6600-fold Towards the end of 2008, my contract came up for renewal and I was looking to move to another network. I had picked my phone of choice, but I was some way off from getting it due to it's price as a PAYG phone.

Since I'm getting married in under 3 months, I knew a contract was going to be a bit of a waste so I opted to go the PAYG route anyway. Fast forward to February/March '09 and it's time to get my finger out and move.

And move I did. I'm now rid of T-Mobile and part of O2! I also got the phone I wanted by parting with some cash. I didn't want to spend that much, but I really liked the phone a lot and felt I deserved something new after 4 years of the same phone. I went for the phone I had previously mentioned, the Nokia 6600 fold.

image

I bought the phone last week but refrained from blogging about it because of a faulty outter screen. An unsightly green line appeared once the phone was switched on for the first time. Over the next few days the line faded, but green pixels were present when white ones were expected. I was glad that I was able to exchange the phone for another and the issue is now resolved. I think I'll be blogging again as I get to grips with the Symbian software (a step down from the N70) and a flip phone, something I've not had for over 6 years and never had in Nokia form.

My faulty screen ordeal was made worse after I also purchased a new phone for my Mum, the Samsung J-700. Although the phone is a fairly new model, it was actually a step down from her previous Samsung, which was annoying. Thankfully I was able to exchange it for an U-600. Hopefully an equal to her previous one, if not better!

Now that I have a fully functioning phone, I have unwrapped it from the flimsy plastic film and am able to hold it properly, I hope to be able to make a quick transition. The change is minimal really, but enough to frustrate.

]]> Sun, 8 Mar 2009 00:22:41 Post India trip blogging http://blog.charanj.it/post/145/post-india-trip-blogging While away in India, the reasons for my resistance to visiting the country became a little clearer to me. I might blog about them at another time, but they are quite personal and probably give away too much about my views on religion, something I'd rather not go into on my personal blog.

I did actually enjoy the trip, the Golden Temple was definitely worth seeing and the McDonald's worth trying!

I hope to be able to upload more photos from the trip to flickr soon and I'll update the blog or tweet about it once I have.

Update - some photos uploaded to flickr

]]> Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:30:04 India, here I come! http://blog.charanj.it/post/143/india-here-i-come- Tonight, I aim to catch a plane to India for some pre-wedding shopping. I have lots to buy but little time in which to do it. An overnight flight will hopefully help us to adjust to the time differences, but even if we don't, we won't be able to let it stop us.

If I'm honest, India isn't a place I've wanted to go and strangely, in the past, it's been more of a resistance to the idea of going rather than just me not caring whether I went or not. Now that I'm going, it doesn't feel like it will be such a bad experience.

My fiancé really enjoyed her trip in October last year so I'm sure I'll enjoy myself. It will be the first trip I've had in a long time where there will be lots to experience, something I'm quite excited to experience.

I've been given plenty of advice over the years on how to cope, but I think people underestimate how well travelled I have been fortunate to become. I've survived in Egypt for a long spell, probably the closest I've been to a country to India. I've survived in the Dubai of 10+ years ago where nothing was around, a quick trip to Malaysia and even a, pretty much, round the world trip to Singapore and back where the travelling must have taken at least 24 hours. A plane and minibus/train ride isn't going to be too much to handle this time around!

We're flying standby but we're hopeful of getting on at the first attempt. If we don't, we'll loose a day on our already shortened trip after having to make changes so that we're back for Valentines. Not for any romantic reasons (not for me anyway), but for an engagement that is taking place.

On the tech front, I'm taking my MacBook with me, as well as my iPod, Nintendo DS and a few books, so there's no chance of boredom setting in, I just hope we either have internet access in the hotel or just too much to do to care! The latter seems the more probable scenario, but either way, I am quite looking forward to a trip I've somewhat dreaded for the best part of my life!

]]> Fri, 6 Feb 2009 11:03:50 Please bare with me - email changes http://blog.charanj.it/post/140/please-bare-with-me-email-changes I am in the process of moving my webmail from one app to another, so please bare with me if you're trying to get in contact as it may take a few hours for the change to propogate properly.

I was planning to do this, but somehow Thunderbird opened (first time in months) and proceeded to clear the 300 email backlog that was stopping me before!

I've set everything up (minus a few unused addresses) and hope to be up and running soon!

]]> Wed, 21 Jan 2009 20:46:50 BBC and BU will be no more http://blog.charanj.it/post/137/bbc-and-bu-will-be-no-more Over the new year, I made a couple of changes that will affect my two biggest projects to date. On 1st February I will be shutting down Be Unequaled, having already closed Billionaire-Boys-Club.co.uk.

Billionaire-Boys-Club.co.uk didn't go where I wanted it to in the long run, but was a great start to a little community and gave me an opportunity to learn so much about communities, PHP, MySQL, CMS', forum admin, website admin, dealing with advertisers and probably 100 other skills.

I enjoyed working on it but Be Unequaled was the natural progression for me. The site was better managed, better built and I felt it was a better place to be without the focus of a brand like BBC.

This wasn't a hastily made decision and plenty of thought went in to what to do. In the end, I had to take my real life into consideration more than I did when the BBC site started all those years ago. With a wedding coming up, a wife to live with and family life approaching, running a forum full time was going to be difficult.

Revenue was another factor in my decision, but not a key one. I made enough to cover my costs and I was hoping this would rise through 2008. It took me almost 9 months to change jobs and I know I neglected the site a little but I think the changes in the economic climate might have had an effect too. Revenue was down a ridiculous amount over 2008 and although I think I covered costs, the amount of time spent running the site vs income was not a ratio I could live with.

I am very sad to see these two sites end, I think they have both ended at the right time. When I closed the BBC forum, a drastic shakeup was needed and since I had BU waiting in the wings it really was meant to be. With BU, the end has come a little more slowly, but it's been clear that no number of changes will take it back to it's peak 12 months ago unless I start to invest serious time and money, things I just can't do right now.

I think the final nail in the coffin at the end of it all was the fact that I had lost a lot of interest. Not by choice but because of other changes in my life. Moving jobs from the centre of London closer to home meant my access to BAPE, Maharishi, CDG, Stüssy and the rest of the industry became almost non-existent.

If you want to read more about the end of the two sites, please see the BBC holding page or the blog post on BU.

Thanks to all the moderators who helped with both sites, the members who joined and contributed and even to those that just lurked!

I will miss both sites, but the time I have saved is already being put to use on a new project that I'll talk more about later!

]]> Mon, 5 Jan 2009 18:22:11 Christmas 2008, Boxing Day fixtures, Woolworths and a PS3 Blu-ray remote http://blog.charanj.it/post/134/christmas-2008-boxing-day-fixtures-woolworths-and-a-ps3-blu-ray-remote Christmas 2008 was a good one. Not many presents changed hands but it was nice to enjoy a lazy day with my family. I received a couple of Blu-ray films, Wall-E and I Am Legend and caught up with a few Sky+'d programs as well as enjoying the various Christmas offerings on the BBC, Dave and Sky Sports!

Come Boxing Day and I was out and about trying to grab a bargain but because of the media's constant bleak outlook on the near future there isn't much to be had.

The only plus point from a pretty drab Boxing Day was Liverpool's victory over Bolton. Another two goals from Robbie Keane at the Anfield Road End and Albert Riera's inventive finish to get things gowing was a great, late, Christmas present for all the Reds around the world. Being top at Christmas was a wonderful feeling and one I haven't enjoyed for 12 years, but I hope it lasts until May because a 19th title would just be something special and would be yet another item that really marks 2009 as a stand out year in my life.

As I mentioned, I did venture out on Boxing day (and today) but there wasn't much to be had. Some stores closed until the weekend, others with nothing to sell as they remain open until they are sold off. Woolworths seems to have been a huge casualty in all this and I am quite sad to see it go.

Truth be told, upon leaving my part time position at Woolworths in 2005, I don't think I bought a single thing from there. I used to pick up newspapers, CDs, DVDs and lots of household items, but if you spend just a minute in HMV, Tesco, Sainsbury's or on the HMV website or Play.com, you'll find things are usually cheaper. That wasn't always the case in my opinion, but it's certainly ended up that way.

In Woolworth's meltdown, it doesn't seem like they learnt their lesson anyway. Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs are all marked as being on sale, but 90% of the items I looked at were almost double the price that HMV and Play were charging!

The two stores I visited over the last few days were almost completely empty and I for one will miss seeing the Woolworths brand on the high street, but I know first hand why they are where they are...

Last thing I'd like to mention is the PS3 Blu-ray remote. What a headache this has been. I am sure the RRP is around £25, if not less, but the only place I could find it in stock in a well known, reputable retailer was on Amazon and it was listed as being available for £35. Comet also had it, but when you make the 300 clicks to get to the checkout, you're told it's sold out. Product info that should be on the product page.

I signed up for alerts and one came through from Gamestation, but when I got to the page, the message was the same as it had been over the last few days, Sold Out!

I made a trip down to my local high street and low and behold, my journey looked to have been fruitless. Gamestation came up with the goods though with quite a few in stock, just hidden away behind the counter. I know have a PS3 Blu-ray remote and I'll be giving it a test drive later today. I'm just glad I don't have to suffer with the PS3 wireless controller anymore!

]]> Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:47:42 Arrested Development related site http://blog.charanj.it/post/131/arrested-development-related-site I wanted to create an homage to Arrested Development for a while, but never found the best way, apart from having random quotes on this blog.

I decided to give them a bit more promincense and set up a domain for that purpose.

Check out the Gobias Industries website!

]]> Fri, 5 Dec 2008 20:45:49 FA back down on punishment over show of support for Michael Shields http://blog.charanj.it/post/130/fa-back-down-on-punishment-over-show-of-support-for-michael-shields Prior to Monday night's game against West Ham at Anfield, Liverpool's fans in the KOP gave a message of support for Liverpool fan Michael Shields.

Shields was wrongly convicted and jailed abroad, details of which can be found on his family's campaign website.

I want to really talk about the actions of the FA over the last 24/48 hours. Ipswich's David Norris was charged by the FA for showing support for his jailed colleague. In his case, the colleague in question was responsible for death by dangerous driving and does not deserve, in my opinion, any public support. He was completely responsible for his actions and got what he deserved. Unfortunately for Michael Shields, as well as protesting his innocence, the real perpetrator has actually made himself known, signed a confession and said to the Bulgarian authorities that he will take the punishment he deserves, only to be ignored.

As a Liverpool fan, I could easily be called biased, but if an Everton or Man Utd fan had wrongly been jailed, I would expect the clubs to take a similar approach. Liverpool have actually done this before, just not before a televised game to my knowledge, so why the FA are getting their knickers in a twist is beyond me. Liverpool's official site was actually asking for volunteers to help lay out the cards in the KOP a few days before the event, so even though the club didn't ask the FA, it was information that was publicly available.

Had Liverpool been in contact with the FA, it's pretty clear that they would have been unhappy with the prospect of a club showing interest in a slightly controversial topic.

On Thursday, the case may take another step forward and I sincerely hope it does.

I for one am glad that Liverpool Football Club, the players, staff and the fans took the time to acknowledge the situation and to show some support and I am nothing but honoured to call myself a fan.

If you have the time, please visit the website and see if you can help.

There are a couple of articles on the Guardian's website which you can find here and here.

]]> Wed, 3 Dec 2008 16:37:58 Two shoes, 1 yay, 1 nay and a whole lot of Nintendo x Nike love! http://blog.charanj.it/post/126/two-shoes-1-yay-1-nay-and-a-whole-lot-of-nintendo-x-nike-love- I've now seen two Nike shoes on CNET's Crave blog and while one made me smile, the other made me frown.

image

The first shoe features a lot of nice subtle hints to the old NES controller. There's a d-pad pattern and the words 'START' and 'SELECT' well placed and small enough not to distract from the excellent choices in colour. As a huge NES fan and NES owner, these really got me excited.

I was really surprised to see another article amongst the articles in my Google reader but was sorely disappointed with the monstrosity I was greeted with!

image

I think this particular shell for a shoe is quite ugly anyway, but adding lots of black and grey then highlighting in red isn't going to hide that fact. The d-pad pattern is a nice touch, but it has nothing else going for it. It is a matter of taste though and I'm sure people will love this just as much, if not more, than the first pair.

I am on the lookout for the first ones, so holla at me if you find them! :)

]]> Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:07:07 Liverpool vs West Bromwich Albion - 8th November 2008 http://blog.charanj.it/post/124/liverpool-vs-west-bromwich-albion-8th-november-2008 I had a blast this past Saturday. After taking my sweet time getting out of bed and out of the house, we made our way up to Liverpool around 10.30am. I tested out the possibility of twittering with my mobile so that I could micro-blog throughout the day.

The first part of our journey was pretty easy, making a stop just before Birmingham. We didn't stop again until we were maybe 70 miles from Liverpool. The Roadchef services we visited was a little shit to say the least, but I just needed to stretch my legs. I checked in with the friend I was meeting there and once we knew where he was, we made the rest of our journey. It wasn't too long after we left the motorway that we found ourselves looking at the slightly visible roof of Anfield from less than a mile away.

After parking up, we made our way up Anfield road and were soon outside Anfield.

The stadum is impressive, although a little smaller than I had imagined. From the outside anyway. Well, if I'm honest, it's a little smaller than I imagined inside, but when it's full, it feels formidable. I can only imagine the atmosphere on a Champions League night, or in a game against Everton or United.

We were in our seats over an hour before kick off and we took plenty of photos.

I was (un?)lucky enough to sit right next to the West Brom fans, who were actually quite noisy and very upbeat despite the result.

One thing I'll never forget is how awesome it felt to hear and take part in singing You'll Never Walk Alone. My sister took a video of the event, which you can see below.

direct link to video

You can also catch of glimps of me singing it here:

image

The match got under way once we had observed a minutes silence for Remembrance Day. It was impeccably observed by both sets of fans. West Brom certainly had the better possession for the first 5 minutes, but Riera and Benayoun were soon making their way forward. Aurelio was also very adventurous.

I was so glad that Robbie Keane scored and I got to see both goals close up. He looks a very good player, a lot faster than he looks on TV and as with the rest of the side, they all look like they work very hard.

I was a little disappointed that Xabi Alonso was on the bench, but I enjoyed contributing to the reception that Robbie Keane received as he left and rapturous applause that Fernando Torres got as he arrived on to the field.

Xabi's introduction was also well received and welcomed by myself.

Arbeloa's goal looked very good from where I was and even better once I saw it on TV.

I can't wait to go again and hopefully sit in the Kop.

The drive home was far harsher than the drive up. Firstly, we didn't get back until 2am. We left at 7pm. The weather in the North West was just foul too. Not only was it wet, it was just non stop and I wasn't able to bring myself to do more than 40 or 50mph on the motorway. Once we were out of Manchester (detour to drop my friend off), the weather calmed progressively until it was pretty clear near Birmingham. We did make a few stops and I shared the drive with my Dad but I would certainly try to avoid driving in the future.

I definitely fulfilled a dream of mine and coming so close to my birthday, I couldn't really have asked for a better day!


(I just shared a Flickr slideshow of my Anfield set, which I could have done the day I posted this instead of messing around with the usually wonderful Slide Show Pro!)

(Videos of the goals added, available at the end of the feed)

Check out all the photos we took at Anfield on Flickr

]]> Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:59:34 Future phone options http://blog.charanj.it/post/123/future-phone-options I took some time this past weekend to visit an O2 store because I thought it was going to be my network of choice. Having visited them, I'm more sure of this, but it could mean walking away with a new plan, but no phone.

My N70 is holding up, but it isn't doing it's job as well as it has in the past. I'm actually still quite pleased with the quality of both cameras (in the right light) and the battery life improved drastically after I took it out of 3G mode.

I previously stated my phones of choice were the N96 and 6220, but having had more time to look around, I would prefer the 6220 or the 6600 Fold.

Nokia is going to be my phone of choice it seems. SonyEricsson and Samsung phones don't really appeal to me and I know that LG and HTC's touch screen options won't measure up to the iPhone, which I won't be getting because of the poor amount of minutes available and the small fact that I have just purchased an iPod Touch.

image

The 6600 Fold covers has most of the features I'm after. It's pretty nice looking, has 3G and video calling but only a 2MP camera. Not a step up from my N70 in that department, but it's proved to be more than enough for me.

If I can get the 6600 Fold, I will, the 6220 is now second on my list and the N96 no longer features on it. I have seen an LG that features a full slide out QWERTY keyboard, but without seeing it for real, it's not something I'd really be too interested in getting.

]]> Wed, 5 Nov 2008 15:27:08 BIG, the Lee Evans UK Tour for 2008 http://blog.charanj.it/post/122/big-the-lee-evans-uk-tour-for-2008 I wanted to write about the Lee Evans show I saw on Saturday, but the weekend just ran away with itself and I ended up watching Transformers on Blu-ray last night (a story for another day)!

I could not fault the man for anything.

After just 5 minutes, I could feel tears of laughter rolling down my face and had to remember to breathe! The guy is, without any exaggeration, a complete genius.

He came out on time and performed for near enough 3 hours, including his trademark encore piece, his physical interpretation of Bohemian Rhapsody. That's probably the only performance piece I'll talk about here because the tour is still on and I don't want people to stumble across this and ruin the fun for them. I purposely ignored a Facebook group because the first few posts where about his jokes from the Big tour.

I saw Bill Bailey at Wembley almost exactly a year ago (give or take a week) and that was one thing I'd ticked of my list of things to do. Seeing Lee Evans live was another and possibly one of those things competing for the very top. When I see Liverpool play at Anfield next week, that will most certainly be another!

If you can find tickets for the Big tour, please go. You will enjoy yourself and you will laugh. Guaranteed. If you can't, get the DVD. I will be adding it to my collection.

]]> Tue, 4 Nov 2008 16:55:00 Football shirts are an unusual passion for me http://blog.charanj.it/post/120/football-shirts-are-an-unusual-passion-for-me I admit it's not the most exciting hobby, but I do like to buy football (soccer) shirts. As well as defining my fashion sense during my college and university days (and a lot of my evenings), they provide a sense of history.

A lot of clubs might experience a short burst of success, be on the brink or dominate regularly and owning a shirt from that era is a nice way to recognize their achievements.

As a Liverpool fan, I'm almost duty bound to buy their home kit every two years. My fiancé and sister have one (courtesy of me) and I own around 15 shirts from other nations and teams.

Among them are kits for AS Roma, India, Brasil, Italy, Spain, PSG, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

One thing I have yet to do, and would love to, is buy kits with even more meaning. So far I have a Brasil kit which actually means quite a bit to me because of it's limited edition nature and features. It has the World Cup final venue from 2004 embroidered onto it. It also features a 5th star, but under the confederations badge, rather than on top like their post 2004 final shirts feature. Small details, but things I like.

Browsing Subside today, I noticed a collection of pre-named and numbered shirts on sale, with a few featuring real legends. Although a 1994 Italy kit with Baggio would be perfect, I've seen them for around £100, this one may also find it's way on to a desired list.

image

Both the shirt and player have aged extremely well and I am considering getting some of the poorer purchases out of my collection and investing in wonderful pieces like this.

]]> Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:42:26 Tickets for Liverpool vs West Brom arrive http://blog.charanj.it/post/119/tickets-for-liverpool-vs-west-brom-arrive Got them today and super duper excited about it! :)

image

]]> Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:29:06 An iPod Touch version would be just perfect http://blog.charanj.it/post/117/an-ipod-touch-version-would-be-just-perfect Surely those lovely people over at SwitchEasy could rustle up something along the lines of their iPod Nano Capsule Thins for the iPod Touch.

image

The completely black housing is a beautiful creation and something I've craved since seeing the original biscuit earlier this year.

An iPod Touch version would indeed be perfect. I mean, a silicon shell wouldn't exactly be revolutionary and having a separate screen that was able to adapt would be right on the money. I know there are probably lots of other issues for the manufacturer to consider, but I can dream!

I seem to have lost the pin connector cover which is a bitch because the small section that sits under the home button bends upwards without it. I don't see it as a problem now, but if the bend increases over time, another case will be needed.

]]> Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:22:23 I'm going to Anfield http://blog.charanj.it/post/115/i-m-going-to-anfield A dream of mine has always been to go up to watch Liverpool play at Anfield. I want to be a part of the atmosphere and I am happy to report that I know have tickets for a match in November.

Liverpool entertain West Brom on the 8th November and I will be there, just behind the goal in Anfield Road stand cheering them on! The game is a late kick off and should be on TV so i'll try and get it recorded... although having said that I don't actually own a VCR anymore!

The tickets were not cheap, and it was a stressfull experience trying to get through online/on the phone for 50 minutes this morning, but definitely worth it.

The last time I saw a Premier League match was when Chelsea beat Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, so seeing a Liverpool win would just be the icing on the cake.

I'm planning to make a day of it and visit the club shop in the city centre, but we'll see how the day goes. I'm planning to take my fisheye camera with me and I think I might be twittering my movements for the whole day. I'll plan to get there as early early as I can and if it's at all possible I'll try explore the stadium and stand in the Kop!

]]> Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:57:10 My new jeans (Twelve Bar selvedge denim) http://blog.charanj.it/post/114/my-new-jeans-twelve-bar-selvedge-denim- Over the last few years, Japanese selvedge denim became a big deal to those interested in street fashion. The fad has died out a lot, but having had a full range of different styles of denim, I have to say that I feel that selvedge is the way to go.

This isn't something I'd normally blog about here, but I liked my new jeans so much, I thought it only fair.

Twelve Bar is a brand I really like, but I haven't found them to be very easy to come by in the UK. Luckily they ship internationally so it's not all bad.

In the summer, they released a new line which contained some selvedge denim. I like the product photos, but I've found it to be better to try before you buy when it comes to jeans.

After a few months, I gave in and purchased a pair of their 'Newman' unwashed denim and I am very, very impressed. The jeans feature a lot of nice features, including custom buttons and back pocket embroidery.



You can see all the details in this flash file and checkout my ass and crotch in these photos!

image
image

]]> Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:52:16 Be Unequaled interview http://blog.charanj.it/post/113/be-unequaled-interview Shameless plug for an interview I participated in for Unequalled Magazine.

]]> Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:19:11 Being sick sucks http://blog.charanj.it/post/111/being-sick-sucks I was off sick for the first half of this week, so my 'blogging' was reduced to a few tweets.

I haven't had the chance to watch the keynote from earlier this week, but I am keen to discuss the new MacBook lineup, something I hope to do in the next few days, even though the event became a distant memory about two days ago!

I hate being sick.

]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:05:30 What a load of fucking bollocks http://blog.charanj.it/post/108/what-a-load-of-fucking-bollocks Pure bullshit from the Juventus manager.

I wonder Alonso would rather be?! 2nd in the faster Premier League or 11th in the slower (my opinion) Serie A? As much as I love Italian football, English football is at the very top right now and Liverpool are lucky that Juve didn't want him.

]]> Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:23:15 The iternet isn't as international as it should be http://blog.charanj.it/post/107/the-iternet-isn-t-as-international-as-it-should-be When it comes to web based apps, surely your location (language permitting) shouldn't exclude you from being able to access a site or service.

Off course, governments and organisations may wish to block you, but that's a different story.

Why are those of us in the UK blocked from using Pandora? I really want to download the Pandora app but being outside the US makes this impossible.

It looks like an excellent app and I really miss using Pandora.

This isn't the only case of this either. In this day and age, anything served up as a digital download should really be released simultaneously across the globe, shouldn't it?! I don't think I'd be far off if I touted greed as the main reason, but how much money do record labels and film studios not make by not having international releases for digital companies compared to the money they loose from piracy and people using proxies to get around these restrictions?

DRM sucks too by the way.

]]> Thu, 9 Oct 2008 12:12:51 Boo to all Windows only apps and accessories http://blog.charanj.it/post/106/boo-to-all-windows-only-apps-and-accessories Not that is an important one by any means, but still, I want one!

image

Via engadget.com, from USB Geek.

]]> Wed, 8 Oct 2008 17:14:35 The Nerdist http://blog.charanj.it/post/100/the-nerdist From my addiction to video podcasts (hightened even more by the arrivial of the iPod Touch), I've come across a few comedians that I really enjoy watching.

One of them is Chris Hardwick, who frequently pops up on G4's various Attack Of the Show podcasts. I'm a subscriber to his blog and have recently found some of his stand up on YouTube. I won't be too kind and say that he's the best, but he certainly full on and passionate about the topics he talks about.

]]> Thu, 2 Oct 2008 09:52:39 Facebook is so over http://blog.charanj.it/post/98/facebook-is-so-over Well for me anyway! I don't care about the new look, but I am fed up with it.

I know it's still a popular platform but it's just not relevant to me anymore. If my significant other wasn't still using it occassionly, I'd be out already!!

]]> Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:23:51 Keeping myself up to date http://blog.charanj.it/post/97/keeping-myself-up-to-date In the past, I've often stumbled across gadget and tech news a little too late but I've been making better use of the web apps and services available to me.

Google Reader has to be my favourite right now. It's something I've wanted to see for ages, but only after a bit of searching did I find it. I'll be adding a Google Reader widget to the sidebar in a few days so that I can share my favourite topics with my audience.

On another note, spammers have hit my commenting system, hard :( I'll be logging IPs in the future to help combat the problem. I'll try and write up a full blog post about it when I get around to doing it.

]]> Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:33:45 Finished reading Watchmen... http://blog.charanj.it/post/94/finished-reading-watchmen- So, I finally made it through the Watchmen graphic novel. I thought it was a very good read, and the graphics are beautifully done throughout. From the trailer I've seen, the film looks to be pretty faithfull too, which is always nice to see.

I have to say, though, I was a little underwhelmed and don't understand the hype as I thought I might. I am actually looking forward to the film though, because it definitely looks like something that needs to be seen.

image

I will confess that I often skipped or skimmed over parts that intertwined with a comic inside the novel, but only the other comics text. I didn't see it as important, but I may go back and read these bits to see if they have any effect over the story, but from the bits I read, they did not.

One for comic/graphic novel fans, but for those with a casual interest, probably not one that will interest you in the way that the forthcoming film hopefully will.

]]> Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:11:20 Diggnation in London http://blog.charanj.it/post/93/diggnation-in-london I was catching up on Diggnation episodes yesterday morning and saw a live one from two or three weeks ago and thought I'd make the effort to go see they guys if they ever came back to London. Turns out they're coming in October, but I won't be able to make it :(

Kevin Rose tweeted about it and they'll be appearing on day 2 of the FOWA expo at the London ExCel.

Damn :(

]]> Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:46:33 La Machine in Liverpool, spotted in London http://blog.charanj.it/post/76/la-machine-in-liverpool-spotted-in-london I saw a photo, possibly through Digg, of a giant mechanical spider earlier this week and saw a feature on the BBC's breakfast programme this morning.

Turns out the people behind the installation, which is part of Liverpool's City of Culture celebrations for 2008, were also behind a huge mechanical elephant that made it's way through Piccadilly Circus a couple of years ago.

Check out my video here or read on for a photo of the spider.



If the movie doesn't load, see the video on Flickr.

image

Photo found in [url=http://flickr.com/photos/29222703@N08/]kierhardie[/url]'s Flickr feed, through Digg.

]]> Fri, 5 Sep 2008 21:58:39 Worst stand up comedy, ever http://blog.charanj.it/post/75/worst-stand-up-comedy-ever A while ago I bought a Dave Chappelle DVD that I thought was the worst stand up comedy I had every seen. I was a fan of his, but the hour long DVD I purchased had very little going for it. Fast forward to August 2008 and I realise I wasn't quite right... turns out the Indian Invasion Comedy DVD is the worst example of stand up EVER!

A couple of the performers have their moments, but over the 2 hours, there's maybe 5 or 6 minutes of laughs. 5 or 6 minutes?!

Avoid this DVD at all costs. Had I ordered from Amazon, I'd be able to leave a review, and not many retailers seem to have this, so the only way I can really vent my disappointment in this DVD is here on my blog, which is annoying because I really don't want to give it much attention, but I feel I must warn you all!

Worst stand up EVER (best bits are in the trailer btw so watch that and save yourself 2 hours and few $$$)!

]]> Fri, 5 Sep 2008 10:23:54 Arrested Development themed stuff http://blog.charanj.it/post/74/arrested-development-themed-stuff I just stumbled across some Arrested Development 'inspired' merchandise on One Horse Shy. All pieces feature the same bit of text often uttered by the characters in the series

I've made a huge mistake



image

]]> Thu, 4 Sep 2008 11:36:09 Web to do list just gets more and more useful http://blog.charanj.it/post/72/web-to-do-list-just-gets-more-and-more-useful I find myself using the web version of TaskPaper, a digital to do list, more and more.

There was a time when I would email every little note, comment, link or thought to myself and then pick them up alter, but I can now keep my email free for other types of spam. I must admit, my use is probably more limited to quickly sharing links with myself from work, and I often forget to pick them up at home, but having them in one central place is becoming more and more convenient!

Sending NSFW stuff for viewing at home has never been so easy! :)

]]> Wed, 3 Sep 2008 14:03:14 now on twitter http://blog.charanj.it/post/70/now-on-twitter I finally decided to sign up to twitter to see what all the fuss is about. So far, it's all been concious, rather than spontanious twittering, but that may change the more I use it.

If you'd like to follow me on twitter, you can find me at http://www.twitter.com/cchana. You'll also see my new avatar there and on Pownce!

]]> Mon, 1 Sep 2008 19:52:10 More Windows pain http://blog.charanj.it/post/67/more-windows-pain Preview in OS X is an awesome bit of software that makes it easy to, funilly enough, preview various file types. Wonderful if you want to browse through some photos before dragging them into Photoshop or maybe into the Flickr Uploadr.

Windows' own version of preview software isn't so great. Zoomed into an image? Want to scroll up? Grab the handles. No mouse gestures here, just zooming when you click or use the scroll wheel. Keyboard keys? Forget it, next or previous images!

How can such a fundamental piece of software be so wrong?

There is one nice feature, which is the ability to close the image you're on and open it for editing... only problem is, it doesn't use Photoshop, it uses Paint!

The fact that it only previews image formats is also a problem for me. Adobe Acrobat is slow and bloated. Yes there are alternatives, but when Apple can provide an awesome, simple, intuitive all-in-one solution, why can't Microsoft supply a product which is at least 2 of the 4? Simply adding some intuition to it's simplicity would be more than enough!

I know Vista has better preview capabilities built in. Especially when it comes to previewing documents in a side panel in the Explorer window . Avery nice touch, but I wonder how the Preview works for graphic and PDF files...

Update: OK, so I accidentally figured out the move controls, you just hold down the ctrl key, grab with your mouse and move the document about... but as with using the scroll bar, there's no live scrolling, so it's all guess work! Better than nothing, but still a huge pain!

Oops! OK, so there's live scrolling too, but only if I move at a snails pace and the drag method is not a default state when you hold the ctrl key if you've zoomed in!

It must sound like I am just nitpicking, but really, should I need to open Photoshop for when I want to just reference small details on a design?!

Another update: OK, so the middle mouse button acts as a drag too BUT the lag is still there and now I'm getting annoyed with there only ever being one instance of the preview app to be available at once. Want to preview two files from different folders? Forget about it!

]]> Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:45:20 Nike iD - London Studio http://blog.charanj.it/post/64/nike-id-london-studio Ever since the store opened a couple of months ago, I've been dying to go! Doing it online is fine, and pretty much how the whole 'by appointment' service works, it's just... better!

After making my appointment, I spent a few days lurking through forums, trawling through the Nike archives and picking the brains of previous visitors for ideas, inspirations and what to expect.

My research was pretty much pointless, because apart from one key colour I wanted, I ended up with something a little unexpected but something that I will definitely be wearing when it arrives.

Oh, and be sure to read the whole article to see what I created.

Floor one of the London Studio, is pretty much open to the public. It's the same as what you see online, BUT you can see hundreds of shoes on display. You can pick them up, touch them, see the materials up close. I didn't have time to visit this section on this visit, but it would definitely make me think twice about certain colours and combos.

The second floor is where it's appointment only and you are assigned a design consultant. I was assigned Simon, who was a great help. You may know what you want, but with extra materials and more panel options, you can get a little too crazy, so it's great to have someone there as a guide.

All of the consultants have had training in various aspects of the Nike iD experience, and they're not just the pick of the day from the shop floor, so they do know what they're talking about!

I managed to spend the full 45 minutes (and then some) on designing my shoe. I ended up with 5 final options, but went with the first one I did!

Currently, there's a choice of the following:

Dunk hi, dunk lo, Air Force 25, Classic BW and the Air Max 90. A great selection and they're all open for even more customization than the Nike iD website. Currently, you have the choice of normal , cracked patent and a wood effect leather, all of which can be combined in any number of ways.

Oh, and with the dunk celebrating 10 years since it's re-introduction into production, look out for any specials that may appear at the London Studio.

Here's mine:

image

I'll reveal the design once it arrives in 2-4 weeks! ;)

I have posted loads of photos of the final product on Flickr, so feel free to take a good look around.

Find out more about Nike and Nike iD on the Be Unequaled brand and store pages.

Update(s):
6th January, visited the studio and order placed! :)
7th January, status set to 'on hold/awaiting payment'
8th January, status set to 'in progress'...
14th January, still in progress... :(
22nd January, still in progress... :( :(
23rd January, shipped to store... :)
25th January, arrived in store?! :?
26th January, confirmation they arrived in store yesterday

I will be trying my hardest to make it to the store this weekend to pick them up, but if I don't I'll make the trip on Monday and I'll be sure to blog about them as well as post up photos in the forum of my little callabo with Nike!

Last update: I picked up the shoes on the 28th, check this post in the Nike iD thread I started for photos!

(This post was originally posted on the Be Unequaled blog)

]]> Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:00:51 My idea of a perfect room http://blog.charanj.it/post/62/my-idea-of-a-perfect-room There's no way I will get away with this for myself, but when I have a little boy, I am so doing his room up like this Super Mario Bros themed one!

image

Complete with a fully working NES!

]]> Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:04:06 More HD frustrations http://blog.charanj.it/post/60/more-hd-frustrations Why is no one (to my knowledge) developing software that makes HD-DVD or Blu-Ray discs Mac compatible? I've tried the Windows alternatives via boot camp on my MacBook but the amount of time it takes, the lack of support and the general feeling of shame from booting a Mac into Windows is just not enough to make me fork out for the full version of HD playback software that I can't get to work during it's trial period.

I think I'm going to weigh up the practicalities and cost of building a media centre for myself. Oh, and get rid of XP on my MacBook. The 10Gb I'll get back will be much appreciated.

Here's a list of what I'd like in a media centre PC and I'll update it with the lowest costs I can find:

  • Case £???
  • Motherboard &amp; CPU £???
  • 2Gb RAM (4Gb RAM) £???
  • DVD RW £???
  • Blu-Ray/HD-DVD ROM (RW if possible and only one bundled with playback software) £???
  • Graphics card (HDMi output (DVi woud be OK too)) £???
  • Sound card (5.1) £???
  • Wireless network card £???
  • Front mounted memory card reader and USB slot(s) £???



The following would be nice to have too:

  • Firewire card (may already have one) £???
  • Bluetooth (own a dongle already, but integrated would be better) £???
  • TV input for basic DVR (and to accept the Wii?!) £???



I will most definitely post up photos of my progress if it's viable and I go ahead. And just to see how far out of touch I am with building a PC, I estimate the things I deem to be essential to amount to around £450 and everything £475. Hmmm, maybe a PS3 wouldn't be such a bad idea!

]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:07:57 Watchman book finally arrives http://blog.charanj.it/post/58/watchman-book-finally-arrives I had to wait quite a while for this one, but I finally received the Watchmen book from Waterstones.

There's been a huge amount of buzz for this graphic novel since the trailers release and plenty of discussion about the forthcoming film and the success of the book at this year's Comic-Con.

image

I got the book to see how much of all this is just unnecessary hype and to get a better understanding of the following it seems to have. At first glance, it just seems like many other graphic novels that I've browsed through, but hopefully the story and illustrations come together in a way that I can forgive the hype for!

]]> Sat, 16 Aug 2008 09:20:25 Life imitating the Simpsons http://blog.charanj.it/post/57/life-imitating-the-simpsons Anyone remember that episode of the Simpsons when Homer puts a deep fat fryer in his car? Well, we're almost there with 12V microwaves.

Marketed as a 12V In-Car Microwave by Maplin, I would assume it's better suited to a caravan or motor home environment! Or at the very least, this should be kept in the back seat.

image

It is advised that you start the vehicle prior to using the microwave to improve cooking times and prevent the car battery from becoming discharged.



I wonder if it would cook food faster if it was plugged into a Bugatti Veyron rather than something like one of those Austin Metros?!

]]> Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:03:28 W3 Consortium's sense of humour http://blog.charanj.it/post/51/w3-consortium-s-sense-of-humour The W3 Consortium do a lot of important work which helps to make the web a better place to code in. Amongst all the serious stuff that they have going on, it's nice to see that they do have a laugh every now and again. As well as the internet joke feature on the W3 Schools homepage, their current joke takes you to a joke landing page with the following animation:

image

I can only imagine how tedious writing a spec for something like HTML 5 can be, especially when you look at the length of some of the documents, so I think it's only fair they get to let their hair down and have some fun!

The Window's interface only makes it even funnier for me because and the truth of the error message is just genius!

]]> Wed, 6 Aug 2008 14:30:02 Sesame Street goes hardcore! http://blog.charanj.it/post/49/sesame-street-goes-hardcore- I was watching the Digg Reel and came across two awesome Sesame Street videos that just made me smile so much.

The first one was so wrong, but so funny, and featured unnecassary censorship of Sesame Street (video below). The second featured my two favourite characters, Bert and Ernie as they become the centre of a well edited video put the sound of MOP's Ante Up!



The editing is so good and if you have any memories of Sesame Street you shouldn't be able to hold in a smile! Read on more video gold!

Unnecassary censorship:



Dave Chappell on Sesame Street:



Beatboxing flute Sesame Street theme tune



The count censored:



the Count f**ks coockies:



Ernie censored:

]]> Sat, 2 Aug 2008 09:21:08 Web professional? Take the survey http://blog.charanj.it/post/48/web-professional-take-the-survey image

I just took the A List Apart web design survey. Approx 40 questions on your involvement with the industry which weren't too intrusive. Will be interesting to see how the results fit in with my answers!

]]> Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:38:01 Business cards for me http://blog.charanj.it/post/46/business-cards-for-me I've wanted a business card for some time now, but never really had a solid idea or design that stands out. Add to that the initial cost, not being able to get a fully customised card and the uncertainty over customs charges, it became a less and less attractive option. Luckily, I was given the chance to design my first business card in the last few days and I am very happy with the final results.

The business cards of other developers I've met are often cluttered and contain so much information. Name, title, company, address, telephone, mobile, fax, email, favourite colour, pet's name and so on. I wanted something simple that allowed people to know who I am, what I do and how to get in touch. What more does a business card need to do?!

I settled on having the following information

  • Name
  • job title
  • email
  • website
  • skills



I also wanted a double sided design. After playing with some options, I settled on having my portfolio site's URL as a centre piece. It may only be something that other programmers appreciate from some of the responses I've had, but it's something I really like and am proud to have.

image

My first attempt really got me thinking creatively. I wanted to hide my details with in small snippets of code, but coming back to make some changes a few days later made it clear that it was just too much.

I thought it was clever and highly relevant to my field of work, but I hope to be giving the majority of cards out to potential clients, rather than fellow developers, so it made sense to keep it normal and sensible. After all, if no one can decipher what the symbols and letters mean, I won't be getting much business from them!

My first amendment was to centre my name/URL horizontally, but I kept it close to the top rather than completely centre it. My second amendment was to move the key information to the back. With my previous attempt, I had struggled with what I should add to the back so this new approach gave me the opportunity to add more info and to present it in a clearer way than before. My name, position and contact info becoming more prominent.

Despite wanting to make things less cluttered, there was plenty of space on offer. I decided to add my key skill set to the bottom of the card. I could clearly show what they were and what I am good at. This was one thing I wasn't really sure about, because to a potential client, this may mean nothing. On the other hand, if they recognised a few words, or did some research, I would hope that they would impressed the range of languages I could work with. For networking opportunities, this would be an easy way of letting other's know what I had to offer.

After a couple of weeks, I finally got my hands on them so here are some pictures of the final piece, I hope you like them.

image
image
image

You can download a digital version of my card, email me for a hard copy or for a vcard that should be Address Book (Mac) and Outlook compatible.

I would like to hear some opinions on what you think of my cards! Please feel free to leave a link to your own business cards.

]]> Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:28:45 The HulaBike http://blog.charanj.it/post/45/the-hulabike Watching the Gadget Show isn't something I ever got into the rythm off until very recently, but I am so glad it finally happened. I've always enjoyed he odd bits I've seen but none more so than the weird bikes segment on this weeks show.

image

The HulaBike was my favourite from the show and I wish it was in production. Luckily enough they provide some CAD applets that allow you to go about building your own. If I ever come across one, I will seriously consider buying one.

]]> Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:19:21 I really LOL'd at this FAIL http://blog.charanj.it/post/41/i-really-lol-d-at-this-fail Just like icanhascheesburger.com[/url], failblog.com provides us with hundreds of images that are there for the sole purpose of making us laugh. Now, I love a good laugh, but if I'm honest, these sites rarely make enough of an impression to literally LOL.

I did, however, literally laugh my ass off at work at this one:

image

Yes, the Backwards B fail had me in stitches. Another worthy of note is the book rental fail which also bought a huge smile to my face!

]]> Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:37:40 Accelerometer applications http://blog.charanj.it/post/36/accelerometer-applications Some research I was doing bought me across a few accelerometer based apps for the Mac. Unbeknown to me, there's actually an accelerometer built into the MacBook lineup, which is used to protect the hard drive in your notebook from falls by taking the heads away from the discs when a fall is detected.

A few people have developed apps that tap into this feature and few are as cool as the LiquidMac application which is able to detect the orientation of your MacBook.



I took a video screen capture of the application in full screen mode, above. I rotated my MacBook randomly, left and right. I have tried upside down, but that's just one trick too far for this app.

SmackBook is a new way to switch between 'spaces' in Leopard. By taping your laptop on the left or right side, you're able to make switch between the spaces. A very nice use of the hardware.

If you have any more apps, be sure to post a comment!

]]> Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:17:30 New blog layout feature, featuring IMDBPHP http://blog.charanj.it/post/32/new-blog-layout-feature-featuring-imdbphp IMDBPHP is a wonderful bit of PHP that delves deep into the world of IMDB.

As you may know, I am a big fan of Arrested Development, and really wanted to feature a quote script from bluthfamily.com but the resulting layout didn't really fit into the layout of my own blog.

I did write to the author/owner of bluthfamily.com, but as soon as I pressed send, I wondered if there was an IMDB API. It turns out there isn't, but IMDBPHP does exactly what I wanted.

With the quotes returned in an array, I was able to randomly select a quote and display it to screen. What's more, I spent a bit of time playing with the rand function and got it to randomly pick one of three programs (Arrested Development, the Office and The Smoking Room) and then select a random quote.

The documentation isn't great, but the movie details page gives you the best example of how to get going.

You can see the result of my work just below the list of external links in the sidebar.

Sorry for any bad language!

]]> Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:22:22 Registering charanj.it http://blog.charanj.it/post/29/registering-charanj-it Charanj.it is the new URL for my personal website. It's also the domain that this blog's sub domain now belongs too.

During development, I was using the now removed blog.cchana.co.uk but I had been looking for something different, something witty, something clever or something random.

I feel I found something that fit a number of the above criteria, but none of them grabbed me. It was actually seeing ma.tt as a website's URL that made me go for it. I really wanted to register a few different domains, but the costs involved for some suffixes were beyond ridiculous.

Registering a .it domain isn't too bad, but far more time consuming than registering a .co.uk or .com domain. Upon purchased, at almost £40 for two years, I had to mail/fax a signed document that would then be reviewed. None of this was explained clearly and from what I read before attempting to register the domain, the document was a formality. In fact, the domain wasn't officially released until it had been received and checked.

The experience wasn't great with Livetodot, but it got the job done and the domain is now mine.

I toyed with the idea of having the address charanj.it/sblog for this blog, but I thought that this may confuse a few people, so I stuck to my somewhat tried and tested sub domain method.

  • Charanj.it is now the URL for my personal portfolio
  • Blog.Charanj.it is now the URL for this blog
  • hello [at] charanj.it is now the email address I'll be handing out to potential clients and to fellow professionals but will actually forward to...
  • chaz [at] cchana.co.uk, which will remain my main email address



Please feel free to share your own URLs that are personal to you, for whatever reason.

]]> Fri, 4 Jul 2008 05:05:02 Stand up comedy http://blog.charanj.it/post/11/stand-up-comedy Comedy is one of my favourite things. I love a good laugh and I enjoy watching stand up comedy. I've been lucky enough to see Russell Peters and Bill Bailey live and I'm looking forward to the possiblity of seeing Russell Peters again and seeing Lee Evans live for the first time.

There are a few comedians that really make me laugh, with the above and Richard Pryor at the very forefront. Michael McIntyre is another that's grabbed my attention recently and I've enjoyed the odd clip I've seen online.

Anyway, here's a clip of Russell Peters, I hope you enjoy!

]]> Wed, 4 Jun 2008 04:27:10 Camera Tossing http://blog.charanj.it/post/4/camera-tossing I am a regular veiwer of Tekzilla, a technology video podcast. Tekzilla has introduced me to quite a few things, but none I've embraced so quickly as camera tossing.

image

It may sound dangerous and in some ways it is! As Patrick Norton suggests, maybe try this with a budget camera if possible. I've only tried it with my Nokia N70 so far and with relatively short throws.

The purpose of camera tossing is to throw, or toss, your camera while it's taking a photo. The rapid movement means even relatively short exposures cause streaks to appear across the photo. Results vary and from my own, short, experiences you can't know what the results will be.

The results are pretty nifty, as you may be able to tell from the photo above, which was actually my second attempt. You can see the rest of my attempts in my flickr camera tossing set.

It's something I'll be trying again soon, and I may even be brave enough to give it a go with my Nikon D70!

]]> Sun, 4 May 2008 02:57:34