DVD storage gets bigger!

Fancy watching the entire collection of the Simpsons on 1 DVD? Some guys have come up with a cool idea to create a DVD disk that can hold 1 TB (terabyte) of data - which is "quite a lot" in non-geek speak.

Here's the speel: A normal DVD has a lots of tiny grooves running around it. Inside these grooves are a channel of pits that the laser scans. Whenever a laser scans a groove it records a 1 if it encounters a pit, and if it doesn't see a pit it records a 0 (or vice-versa I don't actually know). Now imagine a pit that is a bit deeper and has some jutted edges in it. If its a jutted edge and a pit then record a 11, if just a pit then a 01, if a pit and a jutted edge on the other side then 10 and so on (the 11 and 10 are binary 1's and 0's). By doing that you've already increased the storage capacity by 4 times.

There are also multilayer surfaces on a DVD disk that work because you shine a laser of different wavelength onto the surface so that it penetrates deeper into the disk and records a different set of grooves.

The difficult bit is getting the technology to write these wierd pits and juts. So they don't reckon it'll go commercial until 2010. Here's the link for more details.

Forbidden access

I came across this website the other day whilst researching into unlocking mobile phones. This has to be one of the most useless disclaimers ever written. In effect it says that if you enter this site then you do not agree to its terms and conditions, namely that no-one is allowed to enter this site! Take a look, I've included the link for "informative purposes" only :o)

The creator of this page or the ISP(s) hosting any content on this site take no responsibility for the way you use the information provided on this site. These files and anything else on this site are here for private purposes only and should not be downloaded or viewed whatsoever! If you are affiliated with any government, or ANTI-Piracy group, MPAA, CCA, Handy Companys or any other related group or were formally a worker of one you cannot enter this web site, cannot access any of its files and you cannot view any of the HTML files. All the objects on this site are private property and are not meant for viewing or any other purposes other then bandwidth space. Do not enter whatsoever! If you enter this site you are not agreeing to these terms and you are violating code 431.322.12 of the Internet Privacy Act signed by Bill Clinton in 1995 and that means that you cannot + threaten our ISP(s) or any person(s) or company storing these files, cannot prosecute any person(s) affiliated with this page which includes family, friends or individuals who run or enter this web site. If you do not agree to these terms then you must leave now! I would like to stress expressly that I did not have any influence on the organization and contents of the linked pages. Therefore I dissociate here by expressly from all contents of all linked pages on these homepage and do make myself not appropriated. This assertion applies to all linked sites on my page! ...

I Found Some Of Your Life

[site dead as of 11/10/04, still a cool idea though!]

I Found Some Of Your Life

This is a link to one of the best ideas of a blog I've seen so far. This blogger found a memory card in a taxi, took it home and discovered exactly a years worth of photos on it. He's publishing one photo each day and trying to recreate the life of this person in the hope that maybe one day that person might actually come across it. Makes for amusing reading!

Puppetdude2: A wimba way a wimba way!!

Puppetdude2: A wimba way a wimba way!!

ha ha ha! You have to go to this article I came across and download the mpg file. Its a great song from the Lion King and is really funny! Thanks to Mark Cox for this!

Birthdays

The birthdays of my friends are listed below. I've also integrated it into the side panel of my blog which lists the birthdays for the current month. If you click on more then you get to this page, which lists the entire collection. Hopefully you won't forget peoples' birthdays now! If your birthday isn't listed then leave a comment or email me.

January 2004
Charlotte Wolley's 21st birthday is on the 17th.

February 2004
Chris Salomons's 21st birthday is on the 4th.
Alex Yap's 24th birthday is on the 17th.
Stevey P's 22nd birthday is on the 21st.

March 2004
Sarah Schaaf's 21st birthday is on the 1st.
Ben Rudge's 22nd birthday is on the 1st.
Liz Jeremy's 22nd birthday is on the 1st.

April 2004
Mary Marshall's 21st birthday is on the 7th.
Yvette Chan's 22nd birthday is on the 7th.
Mark Goodchild's 22nd birthday is on the 15th.
Lucy Raw's 22nd birthday is on the 20th.
Robert Edwards's 21st birthday is on the 28th.

May 2004
Tom Horsington's 21st birthday is on the 3rd.

June 2004
Ankor Raithatha's 21st birthday is on the 7th.
Anthony Kane's 21st birthday is on the 23rd.

July 2004
Helena Jones's 21st birthday is on the 7th.
Victoria Fraser's 21st birthday is on the 26th.
David Smith's 21st birthday is on the 29th.

August 2004
Audrey Statham's 25th birthday is on the 14th.
Catherine Blair's 21st birthday is on the 15th.
Jon Boyd's 22nd birthday is on the 20th.
Alexa Maria Rathbone's 21st birthday is on the 25th.

September 2004
Beth Denham's 23rd birthday is on the 2nd.
Steve Kenworthy's 22nd birthday is on the 4th.
Andy Moxon's 23rd birthday is on the 8th.
Nathan Bass' 23rd birthday is on the 8th.
Mark Cox's 35th birthday is on the 11th.
Tommy Kwan's 22nd birthday is on the 24th.
Wenna Price's 22nd birthday is on the 27th.

October 2004
Susie Gardner's 20th birthday is on the 1st.
James Aron's 22nd birthday is on the 8th.
Simon Meadows' 21st birthday is on the 8th.
Kenny's 22nd birthday is on the 10th.
Natalie Wood's 23rd birthday is on the 12th.
Jean Smith's 23rd birthday is on the 19th.
Laura Calder's 23rd birthday is on the 23rd.
Ed Meers's 22nd birthday is on the 23rd.
Andy Mullinger's 22nd birthday is on the 27th.
Rob Steel's 22nd birthday is on the 27th.

November 2004
Afzal's 22nd birthday is on the 15th.
Kate Hancock's 23rd birthday is on the 18th.

December 2004
Tim Laurence's 23rd birthday is on the 11th.

To be added
Felicity Brigg's 22nd on 22nd June (1983)
Tim Webb 21st on 15th June (1984)
Abi Harrison's 23rd on 9th July (1983)

Learning Cantonese

I recently started learning Cantonese.

Obviously there's no way I'm gonna be able to learn to write chinese for many years so some bright spark came up with a way of writing down Chinese words phonetically (this process is called Romanisation) so English speaking people can learn to pronounce the words correct.

Actually, I've also got a CD which really helps you to pronounce the words properly but the best way to learn Cantonese is to find some people who speak it. Fortunately at work there are several people who can and they really enjoy teaching me! It takes a lot of patience because I have a mind like a sieve!

"jou-sahn" means good morning
"sin-saang" means Mr
So "Jou-sahn Steve sin-saang" means Good morning Mr Steve

The best phrase I learn today was "Craig jyu" which means Craig is a pig!! Sorry mate!

A Life of Dreams

"There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other."

I am challenged by the above quote because although I dream of peace, the obstacles in the battle for lasting peace often appear insurmountable. Yet through the eyes of faith, and facing up to the grim realities on the ground, with costly and concerted perseverance, we will see war turned to peace. [ a friend ]

Shooting upside down

Continuing on the photo thread, it snowed in Oxford recently and I was able to grab this picture of a bridge reflected in water.



The fun thing with this photo is that you can turn it the right way up to get the same shot.

Siamese Murder

Senario: One half of a Siamese twin murders someone.

So what do you do?
If one half didn't try to stop the other then they are both guilty. One half would be called an accessory to murder and hence punished less than the actual murderer. So if one gets 10 years in jail and the other gets 40 what do you do?

On the other hand, in some countries there is the death penalty for murder but not for being an accessory. So you kill one half and the other will probably die too which then makes the state government guilty of murdering someone unworthy of such punishment!

But what if one half was asleep or tried to prevent the other from murdering? Is that provable? Wouldn't the aliby be the murderer. What if he confesses and says the other didn't do it - does that mean he gets off too? Surely you can't punish an innocent person. But surely a guilty person must not go unpunished.

take a look at this website
Answers as comments please!

Blue Elephants

"There's no way I'm marrying a blue elephant"

Well that's what Cat said whilst trundling through the women's section of Debenhams in Oxford with her boyfriend close behind. Rather speaks for itself don't you think.

Just for fun here's a ~link~ that'll tell you what happened to that famous Blue Peter Elephant!