Larry's Blog

Well talk about time-scales! I've been asked to edit a music video for general release by a mate of mine, and the clock is ticking very fast, owing to the last editor making a bit of a mess of it apparently.

Just a quick update, but I'd suggest checking out the band - Mesh 29 - as they have a fantastic sound going there!

Now let's see if I can get this done before Friday...

L

Well, apologies for letting the blog slide for a few days, I think the sober lifestyle is really having a horrible impact on me, still - the end of the lunar month is coming up, where I will cut short my abstinence for the sake of a technicality - reclaiming the extra few days on the end of the month, don't you just love a 28-day cycle?

This lapse in presence has been due to me preparing to film another project, and working to finish another two off!

I've spent the weekend working on my latest piece, "Talion" which, thanks to the efforts of my Composer, James Semple, is pretty much finished! I'm looking forward to being able to show everyone, have a premiere and all that good stuff Watch this space for an announcement of completion

L

Hey you lovely people!

I'm not sure how many of you will know of my love for filmmaking; something I'm constantly involved in! See the website for my latest production to reach a state of completion - Talion!

I have another film project coming up in March, the first shoot of which requires an impressive collection of extras for a suave party scene, so if you've got a nice suit/dress and like to meet a bunch of random people with whom to mingle whilst we get some shots, then get in touch! You will get a credit and copy of the finished project if you so wish.

Email: extras@deltapictures.org

This is a semi-pro production being shot in a 35mm cinematography style in DVCPRO HD.

L

I realise a lot of people will be writing today about a pretty hot topic - the inauguration of the 44th president of the USA , Barack Obama. A moment in history if ever there was one and we're living through it! So much that I got requests from colleagues to record it so that in the likely event that they missed the 2-hour long BBC special on the event, I could provide a copy. Yes duplication begins tomorrow, and if you'd like yours, please email me a blank DVD.

Still, I'd like to focus on something a little more random and less relevant today - Father Ted!

In a nutshell, a British situation comedy featuring three Irish, Catholic priests on a fictional (Craggy) island in the middle of nowhere - placed there in exile no doubt because they were the most inept and strange people. The show is a classic favourite of mine (I do collect British sitcoms), and it has it's traditional comedy moments, and it has it's off-the-wall moments, like Black Books (another favourite!).

This particular moment that I wish to share, is just a little more off the wall than most.

Imagine the scenario - a plane full of priests has lost it's fuel and can't make it to an airport or make an emergency landing. And there are only two parachutes. When they readily accept that prayer isn't going to help them, they have a writing contest:

In no more than 200 words; why you should get a parachute."

Now imagine if you will, that when it comes to hearing what everyone has written (after squabbling about copyright issues and the use of laptop computers) one priest didn't write anything, because he's not good at that sort of thing, and instead opts to show a drawing.

Click for a larger view of the weird drawing!

I mean that just came so far out of left field I don't know where to put it!

He then also goes on to clarify:

Priest: It's me! In the nip, with the dog!
Ted: How does that help you win a parachute?
Priest: I'm sorry I wasn't listening at the start there...

And he's so pleased with himself! There's some severe comic genius/comic insanity going into the writing there...

L

I finished my tax returns in the end without too much incident, apart from accidentally including details for work not done in the correct tax year. The only confusing thing was the figure of money they somehow came up with as owing me! And they paid it into my account already!

It's weird but you just feel somehow that it's a trick - probably because you just get used to them taking money and not giving it. It just seems so ominous for some reason! You think: "What misdirection is this?"

So my thoughts are; either they've found I paid too much in 2006/2007 as I was on emergency tax then (it'd be nice to see where the figure cam from though), or it's come out of a miscalculation I don't know I've made - in which case they'll be knocking on the door in a few months to get it back!

I'm obviously hoping it's the former! So I'll just say thanks to HMRC for keeping track and shut the hell up

L

Link: http://www.larik.co.uk/images/4blog/495_challenge.jpg

I'm very much looking forward to the end of this lunar month, mainly as it means I will be able to have a drink again! I have missed it, which is bad, even going as far as to try non-alcoholic Becks - which incidentally tastes like ass. Still, it felt a lot better than not having anything vaguely beer-related in a pub! But yes I'm ashamed of myself I really am!

So anyway, myself and a friend from work are looking forward to an end-of-the-month Friday night, and came up with a nice warmup exercise. JD Wetherspoons has recently come under fire from health groups for reducing the price of a pint of Greene King IPA to 99p. Still, makes for a cheap Friday! I also found a very humorous thread following the Wetherspoons down-to-earth local pub vs crammed shit-hole snobbery argument!

Discussing this, Mikey and I came up with a rather humorous, OTT plan, which I have to say I spent waaay too much time making a poster for. Ah well, it was a bit of fun

Click the picture for a larger view.

Oh dear, at least it'll be miles better than "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

L

Basically an update to my post The Medusa Touch; and as you might be able to tell, things have gone slightly better since I arrived home!

I initially predicted doom when, as I walked in the door, my mum's iMac shut down suddenly. I didn't seem like a crash, but like an inpromptu shutdown. I was seriously beginning to think "OK, what have I done so wrong that this happens to me?" Either that or someone somewhere was having a good laugh at my expense!

But happily enough, I've managed to do three fixes in thirty minutes and everything both at work and at home is operating perfectly again. Just really odd for it all to happen in such quick succession! So, everything I've done in the latter part of the day has worked out. Thank feck.

I thought I'd share one of the particular problems here, as I couldn't find any online help for it at all, or at least anything that matched up the symptoms with the solution. It'd probably not common, but on the rare off-chance that it might help someone one day - here follows the details.

Occurred on my PowerMac G5 running Mac OS X 10.5.6:

Dual 1.8GHz
8GB
2x 500GB Seagate HD
GeForce FX 5200
ATI Radeon 9200
PCI gigabit Ethernet controller
(+ 6.4 TB USB/FW800 storage, optical 7.2ss audio, 3x 19" iiyama)

When booting normally, I would either get no signal moving to the monitors, or a blank blue screen that might alternate in saturation every now and then. If I was lucky, I might get a moveable mouse pointer, but nothing more. Apple does have a fix for the blue screen on startup problem, which is usually encountered when installing OS X v10.5.1 for the first time.

I encountered this problem with my MacBook last year, and followed Apple's instructions to fix it. Basically boot into Single-User mode (hold down 'Command + S' on startup, and type the following into the command line:

/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
rm -rf /System/Library/SystemConfiguration/ApplicationEnhancer.bundle
reboot

I also had to download the 10.5.2 updater onto a memory stick and run it from the command line after this was done.

Still, that was the laptop. This PowerMac was going to require more, as booting into the command line highlighted two further problems on this occasion:

1. Upon booting into Single-User Mode and getting root, the following message would display after root#::

RTL8139::fixEnetFlowControl -Flow Control is disabled

And although you could type further commands, running fsck just resulted in the check hanging and the fans getting louder and louder until you feel you have to shut it down before the bugger takes off!

"Ok fine, so I'll just connect it in target disk mode to one of my laptops and remove the file that way."

No you won't. I don't know why, but this was a dead end too. In the end I came up with a solution. First remove any third-party hardware improvements (like my second graphics card for instance) from the computer (remember to follow Apple's recommended practice for installing or removing components), then follow the steps below:

1. Boot up holding down the mouse button (to get the CD tray open).
2. Insert the Mac OS X Install Disc and reboot holding the "C" key to boot from the disc.
3. Select language and wait for the menu bar to appear at the top of the screen.
4. To to the Utilities menu and select Terminal
5. type the following: (where Macintosh HD = the name of your boot drive)



cd /volumes/Macintosh\ HD
rm -rf /System/Library/SystemConfiguration/ApplicationEnhancer.bundle
exit

6. Quit the terminal.
7. Open Utilities > Startup Disk
8. Select your normal boot disk and click restart.

You can also now put your hardware back at your leisure.

And that should do it. It's the same fix I realise, but it works around the fixEnetFlowContol issue, which stops you following Apple's instructions to the letter, and is an x86 notification which has the danger of getting you confused with other errors and thinking that you might need to replace hardware! Also avoids you having to re-install OS X.

Anyway, I hope someone finds it useful, it's had me annoyed all day! Pity that I've had these problems, but the windows machines I used went down too, and it hasn't shaken my firm faith in Apple as a superior product! To all of those who disagree -

Windows is and here!

L

Deary me, what a bad start to the day! The only reason I'm actually having time to write this is because today I seem to have the technological equivalent of the 'Medusa Touch' - in short, every computer I use turns to buggery! Starting at just after midnight this morning, when I tried to turn my PowerMac G5 on, the fun and games started, and after staying up too late trying to fix it, I came to work this morning with the comforting thought of; "at least I won't have to put up with this shite at work today".

Wrong.

Couldn't have been more wrong! I've wasted most of the morning somehow breaking and trying to fix computers! And considering the work I do, it's not a good place or time for this to be happening. I have considered static electricity, or wondered if I was generating a magnetic field somehow. Maybe there are solar flares? Whatever it is, I don't need it right now!

I think there should be a recognised term for this (other than force-9 disaster area - a colleague pointed out that to qualify as force 10, you have to create hurricanes every time you fart), as it turns out I'm not the only one who has experienced it.

Still, it's strange how people become vaguely hostile towards you when they find out you're causing glitches - it's somewhat like the 21st Century equivalent of being a lepper. Many people have suggested to me that I just go home rather than causing problems and damage, then come back tomorrow with a fresh head (and electromagnetic field). Good idea, but just imagine explaining that to your boss - "Sorry, but I've got to go home because everything I touch blows up." I'm sure that would go down really well...

I can only hope this is a 24-hour thing...

L

I received an email earlier today from a very good friend of mine; Marcus. He told me about the green activists latest plan to stop further expansion of Heathrow - buying a plot of land slap-bang in the middle of the proposed development zone!

These, amongst other mirthful antics, reminded me of another story I'd like to share with you all - a story of a man named Richard Butler, who became understandably peeved when Derby City Council decided it was going to build a £35million ring-road through his front garden.

Knowing it wouldn't be long before they served him compulsory purchase orders for the property - he began to protest, in a very reasonable manner given the options open to him and the ample similar situations from history to draw on as an influence. He put up banners.

The council then, in an act of pettiness, took him to court because the 'advertisements' were illegal under the Town and County Planning Act. Whilst they continued to argue, and he put the point across that the council were selectively enforcing this law as many pubs had banners hanging off them.

However, whilst this legal issue was being resolved Mr Butler sold off plots of his front garden for £1 each to buyers as far away as Italy and China - meaning that when the council finally served him with a compulsory purchase order, they had the nasty and complicated task of tracking down all the owners of all the plots of his garden.

It may not have stopped the Connecting Derby scheme, but it sure slowed it down - so hats off to Mr Butler, for an innovative and humorous rebellion. I wonder if these tactics can be adapted for use in Heathrow? *ponders*

L

We've recently been told that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is actually suffering from ill health, months after speculation about his weight loss and gaunt appearance started to circulate. This isn't the first time in fact, as a few years ago in the midst of Steve's battle with Pancreatic Cancer, his obituary was accidentally published by Bloomberg, seemingly confirming fears that he had died.

This time, the poor chap has been suffering from a hormonal imbalance, and has had to hand over some of his duties at the Macworld Expo to marketing vice-president Philip Schiller.

Well Steve, please get well soon and bring more of that good ol' innovation to Snow Leopard and all the other great releases to come - we can't wait!

As unfortunate as Jobs seems to have been with his health, there was one rather amusing reaction. I'm sure it's meant in a complimentary way

And for those people who have been harping on at me about iTunes and DRM - you know it had to be done by law in the first instance right? And now we have iTunes Plus! DRM free! So you can eat my arse!

(If you are, like me, a pro-Apple/iTunes chap, you may pass un-molested.)

L