Damn Small

Discover the joys of Linux - small,neat, and FREE - with DSL, Damn Small Linux. Bringing life back to an obsolete laptop near you. Geek power.

When bored, swear into Google...

Rapid typing, and you might just fnid the fcuk'n'cnut story.

Pog Poem

A literary masterpiece from How To Love Your Dog - Kelly's Poetry Page:

"My Dog
by Kristen, Age 11
Connecticut USA

I have a dog,
He is really cool,
He loves to play fetch,
and also drool."

The Readyroom Rocks Lycos UK

I recieved this email message from Tripod at the weekend:

During the last 30 days, your website on Tripod (http://members.lycos.co.uk/crosbie71) achieved 16337 pages impressions. This makes your site one of the most popular of the Tripod community in United Kingdom.

Yay for all my visitors!

Geek heaven

I am officially in geek heaven - my name is in the credits for a videogame.

If you buy and complete the beautiful if brief Fable from Lionhead games, and sit through the credits (so you can carry on goofing around in the world after the story is over), you will see the name Paul Fisher Davies in the section headed 'Work Experience Testers' (or something like that).

Actually the game was released before I was due to test - which is today, in fact - and in the end it proved too expensive and impractical for me to make it to Guildford. But nonetheless my name worked its way into the list.

So ta to Lionhead and Big Blue Box for making my geek day!

Firefox - Rediscover the web

Having found Internet Explorer incapable of displaying the odd site or two correctly - if at all - I decided I'd try Mozilla's Firefox browser for a change. And a very nice change it is too. :)

Wiki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia just gets better and better. Link to link to link, with full, well-organised entries, you can waste hours.

Um, like I've just done. :)

Sudan Benefit

Got this email from Justin, as a Brightonian Blogger, to let any local folk know about the following event:

Sorry for the unsolicited mail - I'm part of a crew putting together a benefit for Sudan. It's at Po Na Na in Brighton next Thursday (9th) ...

At this stage we're getting a bit desparate - we're having trouble selling tickets. I know this is extremely cheeky but I was wondering if any of you Brighton Bloggers would be so kind as to plug the benefit of your sites? Tickets are available 2-for-1 from Hedonizm on Trafalgar Street.

Consider yourself plugged, for what it's worth here!

Reporting back in

Blimey, didn't realise the Cabin had been silent for so long.

I've moved house, just round the corner, to live with my Boo just minutes from the sea. And it is lovely.

Been working over the summer and bought a surround sound system. Moving house means you have to rejig almost everything - the wiring of your hi-fi, your internet provider, mobile phone network, bill payment routines and so on and so forth. So it's taken a good month to settle back into routine.

Will shortly become bored enough again to restart blogging. :)

R and J is Famous! ish

I picked up a copy of this years's University of Sussex prospectus to find that the drama page is almost entirely illustrated in images from my and Adam MacRae's production of Romeo and Juliet. No credit, of course, but a quiet sense of Kudos. :)

''The Vonnegut Web''

KURT VONNEGUT: His life & work displayed in a site called ''The Vonnegut Web'' . Because you must.

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek

The .ini file is now in place, so HangMan has a memory for high scores, settings and your chosen wordlist. I hope I've protected against most damage to the .ini via editing. Might improve this later. I just lurve being a geek. :D

More HangMan

HangMan has had an update with a number of improvements.

You can now choose multiple wordlists (and create new ones if you like), there is a simple scoring system you can turn on and off, and you can decide whether to see the answer once hanged.

Still to implement: a High score table and saved settings in an .ini file.

=== Geek and proud. :) ====

HangMan update

Further geekage brings a slightly fixed version of HangMan. I think.

Trimmed blank lines from the wordlist, small edits to the documentation (such as there is), and a change of variable type that - I think - now prevents occasional glitchiness, and, I suspect, a zero chance of getting a word beginning with Z. :)

Rapid-Q BASIC Geekery

I've been ubergeeking around with the wonderful Rapid-Q BASIC, attempting to learn programming.

And I have met with a modicum of success! I proudly present my version of HangMan for your downloading and playing delectation. It has several thousand words to guess and customisable hangman images.

Let me know if it completely fails to work. It's a bit buggy, but if it doesn't work once you can always try again. :)

No need to visit a forum again:

[controversial thread title]

Stuff You Didn't Know

Stuff You Didn't Know You Didn't Know. :) Not 100% reliable, but will while away an hour improvingly.

Faves include:

The word 'bookkeeper' is the only word in the English language with 3 back-to-back double letter combinations.

Elephants are the only animals with four knees.

Leeches have 32 brains.

Microsoft's startup music (a 6-second .WAV file) was written by Brian Eno.

Peanuts are not nuts; they are legumes.

Depress girls!
Get Beaten up at parties!
Annoy the page's owner by correcting him pedantically! (I have)

Protovision

I thought this would be such a cool idea... and of course someone's already done it.

Logon.

BSware

Missing from this list of *ware words is an item that I've come across a few times on my web journeys: BSware.

There's a distribution of Linux called BS-ware, and apparently a German company with this name, but I've been seeing 'B.S.ware' or variants used apparently as an abbreviation for 'bullshitware'.

As such, it seems to refer to a) not-very-good software, b) unofficial, burned or ripped-off versions of software, c) software 'wrapped' with adware, spyware, thiefware etc, or d) just anything the user doesn't like very much.

I'm seeking a wiki or other geek slang site that'll take a submission for this; I was surprised not to find it already. :)

FreeMobile4U update

I had an email from Mark at FreeMobile4U, after he had read my blog:

With reference to the points you made on the website. I joined this website like you, wondering whether it was a scam or not. Now I own it. I am trying my best to breath life into it, as I must admit that sales was going slow.

I have reduced the trigger levels on some phone as I thought the previous owner was a bit greedy. Therefore reducing the profits. I will be doing offers and advertising where I can to get people to join the site.

The more people join, the quicker you get your free gift. And I can 100% say that people will.

You're able to move freely from list to list now too. This sounds more promising, though I'm still cheerfully skeptical... I'll keep you updated, of course, and remember, my ref is 4140. :)

Rate My Puppy

Rate My Puppy. Or my Kitten. For when you've run out of cute and need a refill. :)

THE PERFECT PLANET: Comics, Games and World-Building

Interesting article by comics writer Dylan Horrocks, who manages to combine Situationism, RPGs, videogames and James Kochalka into a theory of aesthetics. :)

big blue box forums - The Answers: Release Date!

This is fantastic. :)

I'm teaching a class on semiotics (the study of signs and meaning) at college at the moment and I might just send my students to this thread.

It's not a hoax...as such. And it's certainly not the release date for Fable. (As Pacifist Pig, a contributor, points out.)

But people are what Daniel Dennett calls 'informavores' - they are hungry for meaning, and will seek it out everywhere. They see the world as a sign, and all things carrying meaning.

Hence the amazing display of inventivenes and fun in this thread!

Now, surely there's so many connections that it can't possibly be true that we've all made it up...

...but it is. (PP again)

FreeMobile4U 2

Update on the FreeMobile4U scam... I've received my 'signal boosters', a pair at £20 inc delivery so, what, £8 or £9 each. Am unable to confirm as yet whether they work very well or not, but my reception is normally shit so we'll soon know.

The 'free gift list' is creeping up at a rate of maybe three a day... a little elementary maths (which I should have done in the first place) tells me that at 60th place in the list or so (it didn't look that many) and 30 sales to advance the list one place, it'll only take about two years for me to get my iPod... by which time the list will be over 2000 names long. :D

I think if you get in earlier you might do alright out of the scheme; but contrary to my initial assumption, there is an end to people's stupidity, and I think it'll be reached before I ever get my iPod. :)

1000 People More Annoying Than Mick Hucknall

Just in case you thought it wasn't possible... 1000 People More Annoying Than Mick Hucknall.

Bah

How can it be possible for a teacher to be this poor? How can I have been working for six months and still be skint? How can the Housing Benefits agency think I owe them over £350? How can I only have £30 in my account a week after getting paid? How come the pay scale I'm on now is 5K a year less than it was last year?

How does all this shit happen? I'm not being lazy. I'm not a street sweeper. I didn't drop out of school. I quit smoking. I don't do drugs. I don't live in a high rise condo in central London. How can life be so expensive? How come it's so hard to keep up? How come the average wage in this country is too little to afford the average mortgage?

Something's got to give.

I'm only worried it might be me one of these days.

FreeMobile4U

OK, so this is almost certainly a scam, but perhaps it's a scam that'll pay off. I'll certainly post and let you know.

At FreeMobile4U you can sign up to a list for the grand sum of £20, which, when you reach the top of it, will earn you a free gift - in my case a 40gig Ipod.

I'm very unusually gambling that £20 that this is a working scam... if you gamble with me, quote my ref number 4140. :) This info is being sold for lots of cash at Ebay - don't on any account pay for it. ;)

Away in a Play

It all goes quiet here at the Blabin (oo I like that coinage) when I'm in a show... Boom Boom Boom had a coupla nights in Brighton and London, and I'll bung pics up if I get any - maybe even a video clip...

F and J again

You can now buy a copy of Flotsam and Jetsam with a UK bank account using Nochex... just click here... go on... :D

Bah...

Flotsam and Jetsam didn't sell.... but you can still buy it here at a reduced price... :)

Flotsam and Jetsam mini comic

...is currently listed on eBayfor cheap!

Geeks Ahoy!

Show your true geek-ness - and media archivist sensibilities - and sign the unlikely-to-make-any-difference petition at OriginalTrilogy.com for the original theatrical versions of the Star Wars trilogy to be made available on DVD.

As it stands, Lucas wants his late 90s Special Editions to replace the first-released versions in perpetuity. But, in particular from a Media Studies point of view, being able to see the versions of the films as originally released is crucial for such important, landmark movies.

PayPal

PayPal is working! Sold my Nausicaa book (see below), but haven't had any orders for Flotsam and Jetsam yet... =snf=. Or any donations. Go on, just a quid. Just 50p. Just to see if it works. :)

Boo is...

Googlism: boo is easy to pose and can either sit down or stand up.

Google Search: tawdriest phrenology

Eat My Googlewhack!

Human Knowledge: Foundations and Limits

If you've ever been interested in anything, try reading this. Start with the timeline of the future. Wow. :)

New NWN pic!

A new portrait has been added to NWVault but I'm not sure where to put it on this site. For now, you can download it here.

Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind

I'm selling a set of Nausicaa books over at Ebay - for christ's sake someone buy 'em, they're great!

All art is emotion

I've been searching for this phrase to try and track down who said it, but I'm beginning to suspect it must have been one of my lecturers or a teacher once.

It's a truism, but it's not the whole story. I think that all art is emotion wrapped in a formal problem. Just the formal problem is empty practising. Just the emotion is mere blathering. The two together, that's art.

Flotsam and Jetsam

My new mini-comic Flotsam and Jetsam has been completed.

Um, dunno how much it'll be or whether I can sell it to you yet, but maybe a couple of quid including postage? Mail me if you're interested...

Crosbie's Comics Corner

It's up! Though a bit empty at the mo.

Those wishing to investigate my other artistic skillz than the NWN portraits can now settle into Crosbie's Comics Corner.

More will gradually come. :)

Comics Time

Another one-page comic for you, this time playing with panel format and reading order: King of the Castle

More Comics

Another little page of comics for you: The Blind Date.

'My Brighton and Hove'

Having got hold of a copy of Chester Brown's Louis Riel Comic-strip biography, my mind turned to seeking out some Brighton history which might speculatively be the basis of a comic book.

I found a cracking site at My Brighton and Hove which includes pics, bits of history, personal memories and more. Check it out if you're a local.

Name Confusion

For the second time I've been confused with Crosbie Fitch, a local Brightoner who was emailed as the owner of this blog. On a game chat site (Big Blue Box's Fable forums) someone thought I was a member of the Brighton IGDA Chapter. This turns out to be Crosbie Fitch -- I didn't know he was a games developer. There are a number of links to other Brighton devs there too. :)

Crosbie's

The address of the Ready Room is now www.crosbies.co.uk as well as the complicated members.lycos thing. Yay! It should be 'masked' so you see 'crosbies' in the title bar, but that doesn't seem to be working... yet. :)

Test your geography

Neat and simple state and country recognition game at jayzeebear.com - click through to the area of your choice and play the game. :)

Red and Proud

Let's face it, you're still a ginger.

The Insanity Test

For a cheap giggle, take The Insanity Test. No, it's not one of those long-winded online questionnaires that tell you you'd be Eeyore in Winnie-the-Pooh, it's just a giggle. :)

American Elf

Over at americanelf.com, the wonderful James Kochalka keeps a daily-updated comic strip diary.

I mention it here because he's suffering from post-neoannual date amnesia and persistently misdating strips... and, with my English teacher hat on, I couldn't help poking my nose in to his forums to point this out.

Well, it's become a bit of a running gag in his strip... and makes me feel like, in my small way, I've been of influence on a work of art.

I love the InterWeb. It makes the world a smaller place. :)

Boo Goes to the Gym

If you appreciated the greatness of Boo in the piccy below, you might also enjoy Boo Goes to the Gym.

In full colour too!!

Flurry of Activity

Blog posts are like buses. None for ages then a whole bunch come along at once.

I'm glad to have the blog freshened up, and do promise new content on this site before too long. :)

BooBlog

Over at BlogSpot, there's now the BooBlog... if Boo can keep it up! ;)

F*ckin' BOO!

Here's a cartoon wot I drew of Boo! (Short for BabyBoo.)
This was an image that went on a t-shirt for my girlfriend this Christmas.
:)

BLOGGER

BLOGGER is just the best thing in the world. :)

And now TITLES too!

As you can see, post titling has been implemented in the Blog Cabin. :)

Blog Tinkering

A little fiddling with my Blog and finally I've fixed the archive section to the left. Hurrah!

This has long been knackered, I've now found out, by Lycos banging script-filled code onto every html page on every site. I've managed to bypass this problem by renaming the archive to .txt so they're not swamped with repeat ads.

Don't worry Lycos, I'm not screwing you, just getting my site working again!

Also added in some of Blogger's new features. We love Blogger. :)

Blankets

Long overdue update of my Reading section (on the left) to add a link to the fantastic Blankets by Craig Thompson, which everyone should own.

The Blog Cabin has very much become a randomly-updated record of my web browsing rather than any kind of personal diary or online journalism.

That's fine, as that's one definition of a weblog; and when I go Blog-browsing, I'm happier to find a page full of fun links than I am to find pretentious pseudy proto-journalism. :)

Fantastic idea from the wonderful Scott McCloud of Understanding Comics fame, and I might have to have a go myself. Check out The 24-Hour Comics Index.

Also on Lycos, a budding comics writer is working on Planet DUMBASS. His art is rather fab, though when it comes to his stories, why we should care is less clear. :)