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Month: November 2002

Techy: Cheap Int’l Phone Calls

November 29, 2002
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[Red Phone Box]I’ve just investigated the costs of calling my Nigerian spammer friend Jerry Duruibe, but BT charge 62p per minute for calling Nigeria (even though they do provide some useful information if you are calling abroad). It’s still cheaper than NTL‘s 75p per minute tariff!

The normal international call-saver number I use – KomTel’s 0871 871 8989 (which I got via The Register) – won’t work as Nigeria isn’t one of the covered countries (a similar international call saving service is available on 0871 871 9971, 0871 871 0610 and 0871 871 2929 by the way: but they all seem to be cover the same countries). The cheapest “alternative-supplier” I’ve managed to find so far is Alpha Telecom (10p per minute to Nigeria/Lagos), but that isn’t a “pay-as-you-go” service which I’m hunting for (you’ve got to “pay-in-advance” either via credit card or pre-paid phone card).

It looks like, if I’m going to call Jerry then C2000 Ltd or Go Talk would be cheapest at 29p per minute… I’ll think about it though.

[Thanks to Joel Feinstein‘s list which assisted in my research]

Net: Reindeer

November 28, 2002
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[Inflatable Reindeer]As sort of mentioned in a previous entry, I was going to blog about Reindeer – and here it is 🙂

Now, if you wanted to count the number of inflatable reindeer you had, would you first inflate the vinyl critters, fill a hallway with them and then take a photo of them and have people on the internet count them for you?. Or do the intelligent thing and count them before you blow them up?

And do you know the names of all of Santa’s reindeer? Well, according to Clement Clarke Moore’s 1822 poem/story “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas/The Night Before Christmas”, the reindeer were called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. The “most famous reindeer of all”, Rudolph, didn’t get added to Santa’s listed until the 1939 song “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer”.

Oh, if you wanted to write to Santa – the Royal Mail have helpfully provided his address as: Santa Claus, REINDEERLAND, SAN TA1.

It’s beginning to feel like Christmas is nearly here already!

Continue ReadingNet: Reindeer

Fun: Lego Movies

November 28, 2002
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[A shot from One: A Space Odyssey]Ok, I was just about to blog about something else funny that I found on the ‘net, when I came across the Lego Movie website. Last time I checked, they only had part of Monty Python and the search for the Holy Grail, but they’ve now got: “Scary Thriller” – a horror movie type spoof which, just as you think something is about to happen, it doesn’t – a “a Star Wars Spoof (actually “Episode V 1/2: ‘The Han Solo Affair'”) which, although being just a single running gag had me laughing (either I’m easily pleased, it was funny or it was because I should be in bed now).

They’ve also got One: A Space Odyssey (parody of 2001 – I’m just about to start re-reading that book after reading 3001, 2061 and 2010 – and yep, in that order), but the Spider-Man spoof was just too quick for my liking… I’ve found out that most of those were actually made by Spite Your Face productions and they’ve got a good background details page about ‘One’.

There’s also a Lego rendition of M.C.Escher‘s Ascending And Descending picture and Belvedere out there on the net…

No wonder after all that active, the little men just want to relax, build computers and smoke!

Hmm, I so much want to buy some Lego’s now: it’s been age’s since I last played with them… *sigh*.

Personal: Congrats Sis!

November 27, 2002
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[Torn L plate]Congratulations to my sister on passing her practical driving test yesterday! Woo! Well done sis!

Now I’ve just got to get round to applying for a new license (my license was in my wallet when it got stolen a couple of months back), then have a brief “refresher” on the road and then get around to taking my test… I can drive a car all right – just not legally on my own yet 🙂

I also found out yesterday that a good friend’s father passed away last week. My condolences to you – and, yep, I will send you that e-mail as I promised…

News: 2DTV’s George Bush advert

November 27, 2002
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[George Bush putting a video in a toaster]I laughed as soon as I came across this article on BBC News about the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) ruling that new adverts for the ITV’s satire show 2DTV video were “offensive because they questioned President George W. Bush’s intelligence, and without having asked his permission”.

Do you really have to ask someone’s permission to insult their intelligence?

Yeah, yeah – I know that isn’t quite what they said, but Dubya does seem to be acquiring a reputation of not appearing too intelligent. And a satire/parody/caricature show is all about “enlarging” certain factors of a person’s personality/looks to make them larger than life. In the word’s of Slashdot – “It’s funny, Laugh”! Plus, if the BACC really think that people belive that is the “real” George Bush putting a video into a toaster – doesn’t that mean that they are insulting the intelligence of the viewing public themselves?

Anyway, 2DTV is back on TV and is being broadcast tonight for half-an-hour at 10.30pm…