electric bunnies

Robin Hood

2009-07-05T09:39:00.001+02:00

I have recently worked my way through season 1 of Robin Hood. And when I say worked, I really mean obsessively and compulsively absorbed as much as my blonde head will carry.

Jonas Armstrong as Robin Hood grew on me very quickly, Keith Allan is the perfect villain as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the show itself did not irk me as much initially as Merlin did. In fact, I cannot think of a single thing wrong with this show, other than the fact that Marian (Lucy Griffiths) leaves the show. I mean, how can it be Robin Hood without Marian?

I am looking forward to working through season 2, and I believe season 3 ~~is currently showing~~ has just wrapped up on BBC One.

The most violent country in Europe…

2009-07-05T09:17:00.001+02:00

Britain's violent crime record is worse than any other country in the European union, it has been revealed.

Official crime figures show the UK also has a worse rate for all types of violence than the U.S. and even South Africa - widely considered one of the world's most dangerous countries.

[source]

I have to admit that I am hesitant to believe any article that makes these kind of claims these days. Crime and crime rates appear to be sensational news and I suspect facts and figures are blown out of proportion, or not accurately reported. Like the recent story that 1 in 4 men in South Africa have raped at least one person.

Yes, South Africa has a high crime rate. Yes, the UK has a high crime rate. I suspect one may find the same in any country with densely populated areas.

Sims 3

2009-07-04T12:51:00.001+02:00

My daughter is a massive Sims fan, and has been playing consistently since Sims 1. And, as her mother, I always test drive the games she plays, just to make sure that, ahem, they are friendly and safe and all that stuff, you know, but I am not a big fan of the Sims, mostly because, when I play a game, I like to escape reality, and the whole business of having to take care of your sim’s bodily needs is far too much like reality for me.

When we bought Sims 3 for her recently, I of course had to install it and see what it is all about, as usual. And, out of the series, this one is by far the best.

Other than the improvements in the interface and the Sim creator, there are a couple of other things I really do like about the latest offering. I love the fact that the Sims are no longer bound to their property, but are able to go jogging around the neighbourhood or even walk to the beach. And, once they are on the beach, as you can see from the caps above, they are able to go fishing. And not only is fishing fun, but they can either use the fish they catch in their homes – either as pets or for cooking – or they can sell the fish at the grocery store, earning them money. And, every now and again, they can also donate the fish to science.

There are also more options for your sims to make money now. They can buy into the existing businesses in town, and earn weekly ‘royalties’, sell paintings, sell novels and articles and the vegetables and fruit they can grow in their own gardens.

Things I really like:

More realistic sim creator
Ability to customise everything, including furniture, without much effort
Ease of making money without a job
You can set lifespans to be longer

Things that annoy me:

Swapping between households in the same game is cumbersome.
You still need to take care of those bodily functions.

Sims have come a far way. I look forward to seeing what expansion packs will be available for this version.

SCOM 2007: Health state query

2009-06-23T14:34:00.001+02:00

In MOM 2005, it was so easy to pull the overall state of a device from the database, but the SCOM database is a little trickier and has had me doing query after query for some time now. I finally came across this post by SCOM Bag this morning, and refined the query a little, so it looks like this:

select basemanagedentityinternalid, networkname, ipaddress, healthstate, state.lastmodified as lastdate
from basemanagedentity inner join mt_computer
on basemanagedentity.basemanagedentityid = mt_computer.basemanagedentityid
inner join state
on basemanagedentity.basemanagedentityid = state.basemanagedentityid
where IsManaged = 1
and datepart(yyyy, state.lastmodified) = datepart(yyyy, GetDate()) and datepart(mm, state.lastmodified) = datepart(mm, GetDate()) and datepart(dd, state.lastmodified) = datepart(dd, GetDate())

This will pull the state for each device in the database for current date. Not quite perfect yet, but it is a hell of a lot closer to where I want to be so I can rewrite my dashboard for SCOM

16 June - Youth Day

2009-06-16T10:27:00.001+02:00

"I saw a child fall down. Under a shower of bullets I rushed forward and went for the picture. It had been a peaceful march, the children were told to disperse, they started singing Nkosi Sikelele. The police were ordered to shoot." (source)

Hector Pietersen, 13, carried by a friend.
(picture source)

May we never forget. And may our children always be free and safe.

Merlin

2009-06-16T10:00:00.001+02:00

source

May I confess a new addiction? When I started watching, I was adamant that I would not like the show, because of all the, you know, inaccuracies. I mean, really, Merlin younger than Arthur? Morganna wearing high-heeled shoes! The injustice of it all.

But I continued watching, and, towards the end of the season I actually reached the point where I am thinking about the show when I am not watching.

It probably helps a little that both Arthur and Merlin are kinda dreamy *grin*

(source)

Can’t wait for season 2 to start.

Now, onto Robin Hood, which I believe is just as addictive.

Lego Harry Potter

2009-06-14T08:36:00.001+02:00

This looks awesome. I love the other Lego games on Xbox, and this one looks like it will be as much fun :)

Time traveller’s wife: another trailer

2009-06-14T08:08:00.001+02:00

ohnotheydidnt: "The Time Traveler's Wife" TRAILER

2009-06-14T08:01:00.001+02:00

Can’t wait :)

WATCH IT HERE

source: ohnotheydidnt

It looks like we are only going to see it November/December locally though.

SCOM Quick and Dirties…

2009-06-10T18:55:00.001+02:00

I was sure I saw an email come into my mailbox this week about one of the two quick and dirty scripts for SCOM I posted recently asking how to implement it, but it looks like something ate it.

Just to clarify: these scripts are not for use within SCOM. Instead, it should be saved as a .vbs file (visual basic script file) and run either as needed or as a scheduled task in Windows. Apologies if I was not clear in my instructions.

I have also noticed that the formatting has gone for a ball of crap, so I have uploaded the files as text files to Skrydrive. They may be found here and here.

Gizmodo - Star Wars Death Star Grill

2009-06-08T18:05:00.001+02:00

Gizmodo - Star Wars Death Star Grill Unleashes the True Power of Dark Meat - Star Wars'

The Youngest Kid to Graduate College Feature Story

2009-06-07T19:35:00.001+02:00

Holy cow

The Youngest Kid to Graduate College
6-Jun-2009
Written by: Stefan Julian
11 Year Old Graduates With Honors
Moshe Kai Cavalin started college at age 8 and graduated at 11. On Friday he graduated with honors from East Los Angeles College.
According to Foxnews.com, he graduated with a degree in astrophysics. Cavalin wants to be a movie actor and compete in the 2016 Olympics in martial arts. According to Digtriad.com, he wants to go to Stanford and be an astrophysicist.
Kotaku.com reports, Cavalin has tutored his classmates and is graduating with a 4.0 grade point average. Cavalin plans to head to a 4 year university.
He is the only child of an Israeli father and a Taiwanese mother. Calavin looks up to Bruce Lee and Albert Einstein. The little prodigy says that he’s just a regular kid who loves piano and martial arts. He specializes in algebra and advanced astronomy.
Calavin is the youngest kid ever to receive an Associate of Arts Degree. His mom and dad have decided it is time for him to take a break.

The Youngest Kid to Graduate College Feature Story

And now for the gnus

2009-05-27T21:21:00.001+02:00

Two quick pieces of news:

1. I wrote (and passed) the SCOM exam (70-400) today. This means I am finally qualified to do my job :)

2. SCOM R2 went gold on the 22 of May. I am really looking forward to upgrading my environments soon.

My first movie

2009-05-21T07:41:00.001+02:00

I played around with Live Movie Maker last night, and spliced together a couple of videos of my brother clowning around.
Full time taken to create movie: 1 hour.
Most of the time was spent converting the video files, first from MP4 to WMV, because, for some reason LMM cannot read anything but WMV, and then from WMV to MPG for uploading.

I am quite pleased with the results:

Abuse of Child 'Witches' Burgeoning

2009-05-19T13:26:00.001+02:00

Abuse of Child 'Witches' Burgeoning
Posted May 18, 09 10:17 AM CDT in Crime & Courts, World
(Newser) – Children dubbed “witches” are facing increasing abuse in Nigeria and elsewhere, advocates say. “They would take my clothes off, tie me up and beat me,” said a 14-year-old, whose grandfather concluded he was a “witch” 2 years ago when he cried at the threat of being beaten with a broom. “Nigerian witches are terrified of brooms,” the grandfather tells CNN.

“Children accused of witchcraft are often incarcerated in churches for weeks on end and beaten, starved, and tortured in order to extract a confession,” said a member of an advocacy group. Often, the children have conditions like learning disabilities or epilepsy. Some 15,000 kids are labeled witches in two Nigerian states, and “it is a growing issue worldwide, among not just African communities, but in countries such as Nepal,” said a UN worker.
Source: CNN

Over and over, i read stories like this. Stories of our children being abused. In Africa, in Asia, in Europe.
When, oh when, will our children be safe?

Eskom wants more…

2009-05-17T09:45:00.001+02:00

And for a change, Cosatu and I are in agreement…

The Congress of South African Trade Unions says it is "totally opposed" to power utility Eskom’s proposed 34% electricity tariff increase - and urges National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to reject it.

"Such a massive increase would inflict misery on thousands of poor households, especially as there is not yet a tariff policy that protects poor consumers, many of whom would have to give up using electricity at all, faced with such a rise in their cost of living," says Cosatu.

It adds that a 34% increase would also hit hundreds of small and medium businesses who are already struggling with the effects of the global financial crisis.

More

We are already paying through our arses for basic services that are not reliable. We are paying a penalty if we use more than an ‘appropriate’ amount of electricity – which, I can tell you, is not as much as a normal household would need running the bare minimum of appliances. To add 35% to that will kill both low-income families and small businesses. Not only will it directly impact on how much it costs to run a household, but it will also increase the cost of food and everything else. I am sorry, Eskom, but maybe you need to relook at your finances and how much you pay your fatcats before you try and milk this country for another cent.

We, the public, have until 2 June 2009 to comment, in writing, this requested increase. Please, use your voice. Visit NERSA for more info.

Another returning pleasure

2009-05-17T07:19:00.001+02:00

When I got all excited after my previous post telling my husband which of our favourite shows were returning, he asked about the one show that has really grabbed him and that was sadly not on the list, Dexter (mostly because there were no Showtime shows on the list).

From what we could previously see, the future of Dexter was in the balance, but I did a bit of googling last night, and it would seem the scales tipped the right way, because, thank goodness, Dexter is returning.

Fall TV cheat sheet: What's in? What's out?

2009-05-16T09:38:00.001+02:00

List from here. I have highlighted the ones I am really happy about in green, highlighted those I am unhappy about in red and left those I haven’t seen/don’t watch/don’t care about untouched.

ABC
The Bachelor: Already renewed.
Better Off Ted: Officially renewed.
Brothers & Sisters: Already renewed.
Castle: Officially renewed.
Cupid: It's a goner.
Dancing with the Stars: Already renewed.
Desperate Housewives: Already renewed.
Dirty Sexy Money: Officially canceled.
Eli Stone: Officially canceled.
Grey's Anatomy: Already renewed.
In the Motherhood: It's a goner.
Lost: Already renewed.
Private Practice: Already renewed.
Pushing Daisies: Officially canceled.
Samantha Who?: Could go either way. Prospects brightening.
Scrubs: Officially renewed.
Supernanny: Already renewed.
Surviving Suburbia: A long shot.
Ugly Betty: Already renewed.
The Unusuals: A long shot.
Wife Swap: Already renewed.

CBS
The Amazing Race: Already renewed.
The Big Bang Theory: Already renewed.
Cold Case: Could go either way.
Criminal Minds: Sure thing.
CSI: Sure thing.
CSI: Miami: Sure thing.
CSI: NY: Sure thing.
Eleventh Hour: Now a long shot. Hearing the crew is looking for other work.
Flashpoint: A long shot. Could continue airing in Canada.
Gary Unmarried: Could go either way.
Ghost Whisperer: Officially renewed.
Harper's Island: It's a goner.
How I Met Your Mother: Sure thing.
The Mentalist: Sure thing.
NCIS: Sure thing.
New Adventures of Old Christine: Could go either way. ABC poised to pick up if CBS passes.
Numb3rs: Safe bet.
Rules of Engagement: Safe bet.
Survivor: Already renewed.
Two and a Half Men: Already renewed.
The Unit: Now hearing it's a goner. Back to being a long shot.
Without a Trace: Could go either way.
Worst Week: A long shot.

FOX
24: Already renewed.
American Dad: Already renewed.
American Idol: Already renewed.
Bones: Sure thing.
Dollhouse: Officially renewed for 13 episodes.
Family Guy: Already renewed.
Fringe: Officially renewed.
House: Sure thing.
King of the Hill: Officially canceled. <--AWWW
Kitchen Nightmares: Already renewed.
Lie to Me: Officially renewed for 13 episodes.
Prison Break: Officially canceled.
The Simpsons: Already renewed.
Sit Down, Shut Up: It's a goner.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: A long shot.
'Til Death: Already renewed (unfortunately).

NBC
30 Rock: Already renewed.
The Biggest Loser: Already renewed.
Celebrity Apprentice: Already renewed.
Chuck: Now a safe bet. (Yay!)
Friday Night Lights: Already renewed.
Heroes: Sure thing. Now officially renewed.
Kath & Kim: It's a goner.
Kings: It's a goner.
Knight Rider: It's a goner.
Law & Order: Safe bet. I hear they're already working on next season's episodes.
Law & Order: CI: Could go either way.
Law & Order: SVU: Already renewed.
Life: A long shot. Now hearing it's a goner. Now officially canceled.
Lipstick Jungle: Officially canceled.
Medium: Safe bet. Reportedly renewed for 13-16 episodes.
My Name is Earl: Could go either way. Fox may rescue it if NBC passes.
The Office: Already renewed.
Parks and Recreation: Officially renewed.
Southland: Officially renewed for 13 episodes.

The CW
90210: Already renewed.
America's Next Top Model: Already renewed.
Everybody Hates Chris: It's a goner.
The Game: It's a long shot.
Gossip Girl: Already renewed.
One Tree Hill: Already renewed.
Privileged: Prospects brightening.
Reaper: It's a goner.
Smallville: Already renewed.
Supernatural: Already renewed.

I have been holding my breath for weeks now about Chuck, and I am so glad to see things are looking up for this show. Also very very glad Big Bang Theory has been picked up for at least another two seasons – I am completely addicted to these geeks.

Why am I disappointed that Smallville has been renewed? Well, let’s see. We are going onto season 9 now of a show that started off really awesome and then morphed into a badly written soap. I cannot believe this drivel is being continued while good shows keep getting the axe.

Spockness

2009-05-16T08:01:00.001+02:00

Your results:
You are Spock

Spock		80%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		75%
Data		71%
Jean-Luc Picard		70%
Worf		65%
Deanna Troi		65%
Beverly Crusher		55%
Will Riker		55%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		50%
Mr. Sulu		50%
Geordi LaForge		50%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		45%
Mr. Scott		35%
Uhura		35%
Chekov		30%

You are skilled in knowledge and logic.
You believe that the needs of the many
outweigh the needs of the few.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz

Thunderous Thursday

2009-05-14T11:22:00.001+02:00

The song stuck in my head today. It is one of two NiN songs I actually like, and I always misquote this song by saying 'black would be the colour if I had a heart'

I still recall the taste of your tears
Echoing your voice just like the ringing in my ears
My favorite dreams of you still wash ashore
Scraping through my head 'till I don't want to sleep
Anymore

You make this all go away
You make this all go away
I'm down to just one thing
And i'm starting to scare myself
You make this all go away
You make this all go way
I just want something
I just want something I can never have

You always were the one to show me how
Back then I couldn't do the things that I can do now
This thing is slowly taking me apart
Gray would be the colour if I had a heart
Come on, tell me

You make this all go away
You make this all go away
I'm down to just one thing
And I'm starting to scare myself
You make this all go away
You make this all go away
I just want something
I just want something I can never have

In this place it seems like such a shame
Though it all looks different now
I know it's still the same
Everywhere I look you're all I see
Just a fading fucking reminder of who I used to be
Come on, tell me!

You make this all go away
You make this all go away
I'm down to just one thing
And i'm starting to scare myself
You make this all go away
You make it all go way
I just want something
I just want something I can never have
I just want something I can never have

~ Something I Can Never Have, Nine Inch Nails

Star Trek

2009-05-11T15:53:00.000+02:00

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

May...

2009-05-04T13:47:00.000+02:00

Windows 7 RC Announced

2009-05-03T19:00:00.001+02:00

This via email today:

Windows 7 Release Candidate Announcement
Thank you very much for your help in testing the Windows 7 Beta. Your feedback is invaluable in helping make Windows 7 a high quality operating system. With your help, we have reached the next major milestone on the journey to Windows 7: the Release Candidate (RC).

On April 30th, the RC became available to MSDN subscribers and TechNet Plus subscribers.

On Tuesday, May 5 (PST), the RC will be available to everyone via our Customer Preview Program. As with the Beta, the Windows 7 RC Customer Preview Program is a broad public program that offers the RC free to anyone who wants to download it. It will be available at least through June 30, 2009, with no limits on the number of downloads or product keys available.

I will do my next round of reviews once I have installed the RC rather than on the Beta.

Darth Vader Toaster | GeekAlerts

2009-05-02T09:25:00.001+02:00

I wants one!!!!

Darth Vader Toaster

When sipping your morning coffee from Darth Vaders helmet, you can now also brand your toast with a silhouette of the Dark Lord of the Sith, using this Star Wars toaster.

This black, ominous kitchen appliance easily leaves the mark of Vader’s helmet in every yummy piece of toast. Slather some Bantha butter on top, or make two pieces for an extra-Sithy BLT. Force power not required to operate toaster.

The Darth Vader Toaster is estimated to arrive in January 2009 and the product can now be pre-ordered for $54.99 from the official Star Wars webshop.

Darth Vader Toaster | GeekAlerts

electric bunnies

Robin Hood

The most violent country in Europe…

Sims 3

SCOM 2007: Health state query

16 June - Youth Day

Merlin

Lego Harry Potter

Time traveller’s wife: another trailer

ohnotheydidnt: "The Time Traveler's Wife" TRAILER

SCOM Quick and Dirties…

Gizmodo - Star Wars Death Star Grill

The Youngest Kid to Graduate College Feature Story

And now for the gnus

My first movie

Abuse of Child 'Witches' Burgeoning

Eskom wants more…

Tag clouds

Another returning pleasure

Fall TV cheat sheet: What's in? What's out?

Spockness

Thunderous Thursday

Star Trek

May...

Windows 7 RC Announced

Darth Vader Toaster | GeekAlerts

Darth Vader Toaster