Livin' the life...

We're not even into 2008 as yet - albeit a matter of hours away - and Yahoo! has already published their "10 most anticipated movies of 2008"! The ones that appeal to me the most are: Rambo, Iron Man, Wanted (Angelina Jolie!!!) and The Dark Knight! Check out the trailers at the site referenced above. Enjoy!

I just came across this mouth-watering photo of good Bajan food so naturally, I am posting/referencing it!

Looks lovely doesn't it? *drool*.. For those of you who don't know, that is Macaroni Pie and (fried) Flying fish.  Not sure what's that thing on the left side of the Pie, any guesses?

Following my Top Movies of 2007 post, when I saw these two articles featuring 'Top 10' tech products - Worst and Best, I thought I'd put them up, and let's see what people out there are thinking. Here we go!

Top 10 Worst Tech Products of 2007: Apple TV, iPod Battery Replacement Kit, Microsoft Surface - too expensive and seemingly fragile; a real let down!, NBC Direct, Palm Foleo, Pear Audio "Anjou" speaker cable, Ringles, SunRocket VoIP, Windows Vista and Wireless USB. [Ref] (Some you will have to google to find out what they are!)

Top 10 BEST Tech Products of 2007: Amazon Kindle (Read more), Apple iPhone (can't deny it. This device is a beauty), Asus Eee, Ibiza Rhapsody, Intel Classmate PC, Nokia N95 (tons of features for the $750 USD), Pioneer "Kuro" Plasma HDTVs, Shure SE530 earphones ($450 US though!), TiVo HD, and Vudu. [Ref]

And that's it!

Kids today aren't easy are they.. poor old santa..

Timmy.. woo..

After reading this forum post and being somewhat lost as I have not watched most of those pics (no way I was watching Hairspray!), I though appropriate to compose a list of 'My Top 10 movies for 2007'. So, without further adieu, here's my list - and for once, it's in order!

1. 300
Live Free or Die Hard
Shooter
Disturbia
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Simpsons Movie
Transformers
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
I Am Legend (still to watch)
American Gangster (still to watch)

Feel free to let me know what you think. In my humble opinion though, the top four were excellent movies. I'm sorry I have not gotten to watch 'I Am Legend' and 'American Gangster' because I feel that these would have rated higher - definitely above Pirates and Transformers.

I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas!!!

If I may, I would like to ask you to pause, just for 15 seconds and think about CHRISTmas, moving beyond all the commercialisation and sales and thoughts of old men in red suits, to its real meaning *hint* I think we are celebrating the birth of someone *hint*.

All the best. :-)

Yours sincerely,
Jason

If you are like me, you can't count the number of times your mother has told you that reading in dim light will ruin your eyesight. Or, probably you're one of the gents that was advised to shave his 'little strands of beard' to enable them to regrow faster and coarser than ever! Well, if you fit into any two of those categories or generally want to have an insightful read, check out the following "medical myth" list.

* Need to drink eight glasses of water (daily?)
* Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight
* Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser
* Eating turkey makes you drowsy
* We use only 10 percent of our brains
* Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death
* Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals

Check out the full article on Yahoo! to understand why these common beliefs appear to be nothing more than popular myths.

Draw took place only moments ago in Nyon, a place in Switzerland about 25 kilometres north of Geneva. Anyway see below for the results (I watched it live online at the UEFA site - where I also got the photo below - So this is literally as fresh as it gets for me, lol):

Here are some random comments from the public that I pulled from a BBC site with respect to the draw:

'1116: Premier League leaders Arsenal have been drawn against reigning champions AC Milan. What a tie.' from SirLordArseneWenger on 606

'1122: "On Liverpool's recent form they will get mauled by Inter, especially away. Arsenal will struggle also. United and Chelsea should be OK, but could still be tricky for United.' from Ssmith25 on 606

Anyways... these games will play starting 19 February! Pool.. Inter, Arsenal.. AC.. I can't wait.. .

This is a rather interesting article I found on Christian site Crosswalk.com, especially for guys (note though that it is written by a woman). Gals, you can feel free to refute any of the claims! Check it out: 9 Lies Men Tell Themselves About Women!

I was just speaking to a friend about Wireless connections and the fact that having, or just even connecting to these types of networks -generally all connections and pcs probably can be seen -can always be risky business. To exemplify my point, and also for the benefit of you guys and gals, I found this nice video for you to view. Take a gander!

Hardcore stuff huh? Not really, anyone can do it. Be vigilant, be veryyy vigilant!

You think your work stories are strange? Check out the following excerpts! Granted though, some are quite amusing!

"2. “Cola wars get physical as Pepsi worker attacks Coke employee”
Two employees from the rival companies got into a tiff over shelf space in the aisle of a Wal-Mart in Indiana. The Pepsi worker allegedly assaulted the Coca-Cola employee, hitting him in the face, giving him a black eye and breaking his nose. Police say the two were also accused of trying to run each other over with pallets full of soda bottles.

3. “Alleged robber asks victim out for date”
After two men robbed a Domino’s Pizza delivery woman, one of them called the victim from his cell phone to apologize – and to ask her out.

4. “Four women fired for gossiping”
Four women employed in a small New Hampshire town were fired for gossiping about a relationship between the town administrator and a fellow co-worker. They were fired on the basis that “gossip, whispering and an unfriendly environment are causing poor morale and interfering with the efficient performance of town business.” " [See the others here!]

My comments? #2 is.. a definite front page shot, #3 is.. lol.. well, he MUST be crazy.. then again we live in such a strange world at times! He may just have a chance! #4 sounds fair enough to me. Poor morale has always been bad for business!

ha! I wonder what he's playing...

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

"Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he as no one to help him up.

Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

We can go a lot further together than we can go alone... :-)

For some weeks now a friend (not from UK) and I have been locked in a 'discussion' as to whether Coventry was in Warwickshire or not. It was my opinion that it was not mainly because the radio station would always say things like, "And today it's going to be a cold and wet day in Coventry and Warwickshire..." or "At 7:30 we bring you the latest news for Coventry and Warwickshire".

Well now I officially have the proof! This Pictures of England website clearly indicates that Coventry is NOT part of Warwickshire as some delusional people think but instead, constitutes part of the West Midlands county along with towns such as Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Now that this is known and I have won that 'discussion', I can resume my work. lol taa

"Marseille 0-4 Liverpool: Rafa's Reds run riot

Liverpool delivered an inspired performance when it really mattered to secure a place in the Champions League knockout stages at the expense of Marseille.

The Reds became the first English side to beat Marseille at the Stade Velodrome in European competition as early goals by Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were added to by second-half strikes by Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel." [Full story]

Good going guys, great work. Especially Torres, Kuyt, Hyypia and.. Harry Kewell!

"Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has said teachers who refuse younger students access to the site are "bad educators".

Speaking at the Online Information conference at London's Olympia, he played down the long-running controversy over the site's authority.

He said young students should be able to reference the online encyclopaedia in their work.

Mr Wales said the site, which is edited by users, should be seen as a "stepping stone" to other sources.

As long as an article included accurate citations, he said he had "no problem" with it being used as a reference for younger students, although academics would "probably be better off doing their own research". " [Check out the full story where they talk a bit about the new procedures which aim to make Wikipedia more trustworthy.]

Re. article: *darn.. *grumble* :-\

I actually watched this on tele and found it totally astonishing and therefore must let you know about it! See the video clip and article excerpt below.

Another interesting article which is related to the one above is this one, where it is reported that Mugabe has told European leaders that he will not be lectured on how to rule Zimbabwe and "On human rights and good governance, Africa sets its own agenda, of its own free will,"" [Ref]

Sounds fair enough right? After all no one tells US or UK governments how to run their countries, right? But then what about the repots of .. "racist dictatorship" as mentioned by the Archbishop? Are such claims to be ignored? .. Up to last night I was watching Black Hawk Down (on Five movies!!) and well.. forgive me if this sounds distasteful but certain parts of Africa seem like very worrying places.. May God help us all.

Since I came to Warwick, I have been constantly inquiring about opportunities to play some football. Ideally I wanted something not too demanding, but which would probably let me play a game I love, at most two times per week. While asking around one day, I came across a lecturer who was pretty sure there was a Comp Sci team (*yey for me), and he told me he would ask around and inform me of whatever information he found.

Well yesterday was, "that day"! When he saw me he came over and said that there was indeed a team, and that he was also told exactly how to find out more about it, and even how to get involved! He then proceeded to say two of the most dreaded words I've heard in... oh, the last 15minutes! i.e. "Check Facebook"!

Would you believe that?! (Then again, being people of the 21st century, you probably would.) The only way it seems like I can find out more is by signing up to Facebook and searching for the Warwick Comp Sci team (group)! Surely this is discrimination of some sort! Actually, check the definition, that's my proof!

I do not know about you guys (and gals), but I think it's a real shame when real-life social gatherings have, presence and activity in the 'virtual-world', as an outspoken prerequisite!

I saw this commercial on TV only yesterday and it reminded me that I simply could NOT, not blog about it! If you have not viewed this advert yet, please check it out below. I guarantee, it will be worth it! (Also bear in mind that £10m was spent to produce it!!)

Background info..

"The 90-second "tipping point" TV ad is Guinness' most expensive campaign work to date, was filmed in a poor Argentinian mountain community.

It features an intricate domino cascade watched by the villagers, involving books, burning hay bales, cars, oil drums and household furniture, which ends in a tower of books transforming into a giant pint of Guinness. The ad is topped off with Guinness's long-standing "Good things come to those who wait" strapline. ...

Around 6,000 dominoes were used for the ad, around 10,000 books, 400 tyres, six cars and 45 wardrobes, while 24 hours of footage was captured despite the dominoes taking just 14 seconds to topple." [Ref]

"But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe."

1 Timothy 4:7

Have a great week!

First, a brief look at this year's (2007) hurricane season and it's effects..

"It was not a violent wind but a violent shaking - by the strongest earthquake to hit the Caribbean in 244 years - that signalled the official end of a very active hurricane season.

The season, which runs June 1 to November 30, saw 16 cyclones forming of which 14 became named storms, five hurricanes, and two major hurricanes which touched almost every country in the Caribbean basin, the US, and Central America, leaving 252 dead and at least US$600m in damage." [Full story]

Next, and more specifically, here's a reported summary of the effects of the Earthquake two days ago (which I initially blogged about here)..

"Hundreds of people were injured - two seriously - during the strongest earthquake to hit the Caribbean in more than two hundred years.

The French Caribbean island of Martinique, located between St Lucia and Dominica, took the brunt of the impact of the earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter Scale which struck around 3pm EST on Thursday.

Two people were seriously injured in Martinique's Lorrain district when they threw themselves out of windows as the quake struck. More than 100 more required medical attention said French overseas minister Christian Estrosi. ... In Barbados, another two people were injured during the stampede of thousands of panicking Barbadians in the capital Bridgetown." [Full Story]

I'm tempted to say, "Another year, another World AIDS day", but that just seems so callous and totally misrepresents my thoughts. AIDS.. *sigh, serious business. As I sit here reviewing some statistics and facts, it's just plain scary!

Again though, in the back of my mind I'm thinking, we can put a man on the moon [Ref], control machines (robots or satellites) from hundreds of miles away [Ref], even develop WMDs that can obliterate entire nations, yet, AIDS and Cancer are taking us to the cleaners! Now, please do not get me wrong, I know this view in itself is probably rather ignorant and possibly even naive but geez, HIV-related deaths in 2007 so far total 2.1 million, of which 330,000 were children under 15 [Ref]!

Check the stats (quick or full) people! Also, here's the England PM Gordon Brown's message.