Cow's Ruminations

Nokia 5800 Firmware V50.0.005 for 0575581

2010-05-06T14:48:00.002+01:00

At last, the new firmware has been made available for my Nokia 5800 XM. I've been stuck on V31 for what seems like ages, and didn't receive V40 at all.

It seems my product code (0575581) skipped V40 altogether, and went straight to V50. I'd checked availability before leaving home this morning, and got the usual result that V31 is all I could get. Lunchtime today, I check, still V31. Then at 2pm I check and bingo, there it is V50 at last.

Still, better late than never.

Nokia UK - Device Software Update – Can I update?

2010-01-26T22:05:00.001+01:00

Pixelpipe blogging from Nokia 5800

testing testing testing. 123

Japanese Bands at Brighton Festival

2008-04-14T01:53:00.002+01:00

Good news at last, the guys over at "It Came from Japan" have announced some dates for the Brighton Great Escape Festival in May. Here's the blurb from their latest myspace blog posting. (Please excuse the copy and paste approach)

ICFJ at The Great Escape festival

We can finally announce the line-up for Japanese bands we’ll be presenting at The Great Escape festival in Brighton in May. Six bands! We spoil you...

Our regular showcase event will take place, as always, at The Prince Albert, 1 minute from Brighton train station, on Saturday 17 May at 1.30pm. We’ll have free sushi and anime visuals provided by Manga Entertainment, and entry is free with or without a TGE wristband. The line-up is:

Bo-Peep
(grungey grrrl-punk three-piece - www.myspace.com/bopeepjapan)
Vola & The Oriental Machine
(androgynous new-wave boys - www.myspace.com/volaofficial)
Levelload
(lightning-bolt boy-girl duo - www.myspace.com/levelload)
Natccu
(soar-away, gritty pop goddess - www.myspace.com/natccu)

We’ll also have two other artists playing together in the evening of Saturday 17 May supporting FlyKKiller. We’ll let you know more details when we have them. The artists are:

Doping Panda
(electronically-enhanced indie three-piece - www.myspace.com/dopingpanda)
Dr Usui
(techy solo project of Motocompo’s main man - www.myspace.com/drusui)

We’ll be announcing more shows for all six bands very soon. Please join the mailing list to be kept up to date!

A huge "Arigatou" to ICFJ, for what promises to be a great day out in Brighton, and for the future events to be announced

Boom Boom Satellites & Levelload gig in Mancester

2007-10-12T12:27:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
More news from those great guys over at It Came From Japan...

BOOM BOOM SATELLITES – Techno-rock crossover pioneers from Tokyo
LEVELLOAD – John Peel faves with an HND in rock'n'roll

22 October 2007
MANCHESTER South (as part of the In The City event)
South Nightclub
4a South King Street
Manchester, M2 6DQ

If you are only turning up to see these bands then...
Levelload play 8.20pm,
Boom Boom Satellites play 9.50pm

New UK Anime Channel on Sky - Anime Central

2007-08-15T01:21:00.000+01:00

This looks quite interesting for any Anime fans out there.

A new Anime channel is set to launch in the UK on September 10th, 2007. Available only on Sky (but free to all subscribers), the channel "Anime Central" will show stuff like Cowboy Bebop, Gundam Seed, Wolf's Rain, Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, Scryed and Planetes, Full Metal Alchemist and Bleech. They also have the rights to Transformers Takara, which includes Transformers Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory.

If you want the full story, head on over to Otaku News.

Tokyo Pinsalocks UK tour dates

2007-08-01T04:09:00.000+01:00

At last... some more gig news to post.

Thanks to the marvellous work by the guys over at It Came From Japan, new-wavers Tokyo Pinsalocks are currently touring up and down the UK.
Here are the dates, but you'll have to be quick.

2 Aug 2007 20:00 Cross Kings London
3 Aug 2007 20:00 Burn Down the Disco Barnsley
4 Aug 2007 20:00 Fibbers York
6 Aug 2007 20:00 The Green Room Portman Hotel Bournemouth
7 Aug 2007 20:00 Engine Room Brighton
8 Aug 2007 20:00 Underworld London

Coincidence is an 11 letter word

2007-06-12T12:02:00.000+01:00

Got this in my email today... seen it before but thought I'd post it anyway... not that I believe any of it. I've put some comments in it like this (Ed - a comment)

The Secret behind the number 11 - Pretty Chilling
Read to the bottom. Try it out. I did and I got goose bumps
If you are a sceptical person - still read on as it's actually very interesting!!

This is actually really freaky!! (Mainly the end part, but read it first)
1) New York City has 11 letters
2) Afghanistan has 11 letters
3) Ramsin Yuseb has 11 letters
(The terrorist who threatened to destroy the Twin Towers in 1993)
4) George W Bush has 11 letters
(Ed - Shame that George Bush has only 10 eh?)

This could be a mere coincidence, but this gets interesting:
1) New York is the 11th state
2) The first plane crashing against the Twin Towers was flight number 11
3) Flight 11 was carrying 92 passengers
9 + 2 = 11
4) Flight 77 which also hit Twin Towers, was carrying 65 passengers
6 + 5 = 11
5) The tragedy was on September 11, or 9/11 as it is now known
9 + 1+ 1 =11
6) The date is equal to the US emergency services telephone number 911
9 + 1 + 1 = 11
Sheer coincidence..?! Read on and make up your own mind:
1) The total number of victims inside all the hi-jacked planes was 254
2 + 5 + 4 = 11
2) September 11 is day number 254 of the calendar year
Again 2 + 5 + 4 = 11. (Ed - No shit!)
3) The Madrid bombing took place on 3/11/2004.
3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 11.
4) The tragedy of Madrid happened 911 days after the Twin Towers incident

(Ed - Strange no-one has said the Twin Towers looked like the number 11)

Now this is where things get totally eerie:
The most recognized symbol for the US, after the Stars & Stripes, is the Eagle. The following verse is taken from the Koran, the Islamic holy book:

"For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced: for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah and there was peace."

That verse is number 9.11 of the Koran.
Unconvinced about all of this Still ..?!

Try this and see how you feel afterwards, it made my hair stand on end:

Open Microsoft Word and do the following:
1. Type in capitals Q33 NY. This is the flight number of the first plane to hit one of the Twin Towers. (Ed - Haven't verified this, one maybe you should)
2. Highlight the Q33 NY.
3. Change the font size to 48.
4. Change the actual font to the WINGDINGS 1
What do you think now?!!

Send this to as many people as you know and in 11 minutes you will get a
nice surprise, if you don't you will get the shock of your life in 11 min.

Why you'd need to send this within 11 minutes is beyond me? Usually I hate this kinda rubbish but hey, even "coincidence" has 11 letters.

Polysics UK Dates June 2007

2007-04-20T00:54:00.000+01:00

If you haven't seen or heard of Polysics, then I suggest you make it a priority to check 'em out, and now is your chance with the recent announcement that they are playing a couple of UK dates this June...

O2 WIRELESS FESTIVAL 2007
Sat 16th June - Harewood House, Leeds, UK.
Sun 17th June - Hyde Park, London, UK.

The official festival site is at http://www.wirelessfestival.co.uk/
This news taken from their official website
or please visit www.polysics.com

UK Jpop gigs

2007-02-19T02:36:00.000+01:00

I've been running a forum for a while now over at www.last.fm (the home of the audio plugin which charts your listening habits) to allow people to post any news about JPop events taking place in the UK and catering for Japanese, Chinese and Korean bands playing in the UK. If you've got any news, why not join up and tell others the news. You can find the forum at www.last.fm

Light sabre effects in real-time!

2007-01-28T21:51:00.000+01:00

Came across this the other day and although it's a little dated (6 months or so) I thought it deserved bringing to your attention. The video takes a while to load but it's definitely worth waiting. It shows the use of computer generated 3d images to enhance/augment reality, all in real-time. Anyway, just watch and be amazed.
Augmented Reality

Myspace - The floodgates of bad design have opened

2006-10-12T00:19:00.000+01:00

I've had a myspace account since late 2005, but never used it because most pages I'd seen looked messy, random, unsightly, like it had been designed by someone who couldn't actually see their monitor. The problem I think, lies in myspace's absolutely crap implementation of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), the code which customises the look and feel of the page, and the fact that they are still using the deprecated TABLE tag for page layout. Tables within tables within tables within tables, within... oh yeah... tables.

Loads of websites have sprung up which will generate these CSS code snippets for you, which is great for non techies, but the code generated is - for want of a better word - bollocks. It may get the job done, but you can get into some serious trouble without even knowing it. Please, if you are customising your myspace site with css code fragments, try it in more than one browser to make sure everyone who visits can actually read your site.

For example, some pages I've seen have got colour schemes that make for unreadable text. I've even seen text the same colour as the background. It seems that the code generators give out code that generally only works with Internet Explorer, and IE's implementation of CSS is not really standard (bring on IE7). Alright, fine if IE is your browser of choice, but if you use any other browser (I use Firefox, but there are others like Safari, Netscape, Opera etc), you could be wasting your time. You may be losing visitors who just can't read your page.

Other pages I've seen have got so many slideshows, mp3 players, widgets and stuff, that the page just grinds to a halt. Some pages I can't even scroll, cos my cpu rockets to 100% trying to deal with all the crap on the page. And then it gets even worse because the page owner wants to render EVERYTHING as transparent!!! WHY??????????????????

Then there's my favourite... a page where you've got a song, 2 videos, 3 slideshows, 20 animated star spangled gifs, 100 comments with animated posters, one comment that is 3 screens wide, and they are ALL PLAYING AT ONCE.

Only one thing to do... move on, save your cpu for somebody else's page that's actually had some thought put into it.

Don't get me wrong, it's great that people have got their own space to customise to their own tastes. Who am I to say it shouldn't be the way you want it? All I ask is that you give it some thought when you add something to your page.

Go!Go!7188 - Kinkyori Renai

2006-09-10T22:03:00.000+01:00

At last Go!Go!7188 are releasing a new single after nearly two years of uncertain silence. They've had solo careers going on, Yumi Nakashima has her band 'Chirinuruwowaka' and an album called 'Iroha', and Akiko Hamada had a solo album called 'Aruyou de naiyou de Arumono'. Both albums are excellent though quite different from each other. I'm so relieved to hear they they're still together, one of my dreams was/is to see them live, at least for now, that dream remains alive. If only they'd tour the UK... yeah dream on. They are however touring Japan for the rest of this year and into early 2007.

Right, some details... the new single is called 'Kinkyori Renai' (Short-Distance Love), due for release on 13th September 2006, with the other track being 'Denwa wo Toritakunai Hi' (The Day When I Didn't Take My Phone). Apparently, according to the Wiki, there is also an album due out in October called 'Parade' though their official site doesn't confirm this as yet. Still, it looks like they've been quite busy getting new stuff together.

I'll be back with a review when I get mine delivered. In the meantime here's some background info at their official site www.breast.co.jp and on the wiki

Japanorama

2006-09-07T01:58:00.000+01:00

Great news... Jonathan Ross returns to BBC3 with another series of documentaries about one of his favourite subjects. No not himself - Japan. Starting at 11pm on Thursday 7th September 2006, each episode investigates a subject that is uniquely Japanese.

Episode:

Kakoii (Cool)
Otaku (Nerds)
Zoku (Tribes)
Owaraii (Comedy)
Bushido (Samurai Spirit)
Kawaii (Cute)

If you want to know more then head on over to BBC3's website for Japanorama

Fancy Dress Costumes - Delivered!

2006-08-02T12:57:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine has launched a website called Somethingspecial which is your 'one-stop shop for fancy dress costumes for every occasion'. It's based in Cardiff and can deliver to your door in just 3 days. They stock loads of stuff and even Official Little Britain costumes, so if you're looking for a costume for that fancy dress party this weekend then why not check out their range of stuff at http://www.somethingspecial.biz ... at least you won't be stuck for ideas.

Misse and Murre - Addictive Java Games

2006-07-21T02:10:00.000+01:00

Here's a very simple, but tricky little game which could keep you amused for hours, if not days. Basically, you are a dog swinging a cat, which you have to let go at just the right time to launch the cat into orbit. You are helped by the use of a booster pack, triggered by the LMB, which can propel the cat even further away from the earth. Too much too soon and you haven't got enough orbital velocity, too little too late and you crash to the ground... it's very addictive and has quite a surreal soundtrack. The best I've done so far is about 2¼ orbits before the cat comes crashing down, bouncing and meowing to terra firma.

Give it a go if you've got a few 'days' to kill, but beware... you will be addicted.
You need java installed to play.

http://www.foogamers.com/games/misse_murre/

Youjeen - Hey Jerks

2006-05-30T02:12:00.000+01:00

Been browsing through Youtube recently (see previous post) and thought I may as well post some of my favourite songs that I've found videos to at Youtube. First off, Youjeen, a Korean artist (who went on to be lead singer of Cherry Filter), and her first single called "Hey Jerks". Enjoy...

7188 Visitors

2006-05-22T17:28:00.000+01:00

A milestone for me in that my "fave" band being Go!Go!7188 and my visitor count reaching that magic number. Haha - how sad am I? Well, if you really want to know... 7 in Japanese is "nana", and Nana Visitor is my mate's fave babe from DS9 (trek). Haha - how sad is that? What! You want more.. 7+1=8 haha, and 7+1+8+8=24... my mate's other fave TV show. Sadness abounds. Any other sad facts about this number can be posted in the comments. :-)

Japanese Gigs in the UK

2006-05-12T03:17:00.000+01:00

Here's an another excellent chance to catch some Japanese bands in the UK. For full details, head on over to It Came From Japan. Playing in London, Brighton and Bournemouth from the 18th to 21st May, the bands are... BO-PEEP (Ferocious grrrl-punk from Tokyo), PUPPYPET (Poppy boy/girl ska-punk from Osaka), and SHINONOME (London-based experimental J-pop madness). Did someone say "free sushi"?

Deadly Tantrum

2006-05-08T13:45:00.000+01:00

A friend of mine has created a wicked short film called Deadly Tantrum, about a mutant nutter called Geoffrey who kidnaps a young girl, ties her up and is about to blow her head off when in walks Simon, a local policeman to sort him out. Blood, gore, a power saw and lots of fighting ensue before Geoffrey gets his just desserts. Head on over to Deadly Tantrum's homepage to have a look. Oh and you'll need broadband to watch the film, unless you download it.

Ashes and Snow

2006-05-03T02:00:00.000+01:00

Can't remember where I found this site/link, but it was ages ago and I'm so glad I did. Probably the most 'zen' site I've ever seen. The theme is 'human/animal interaction', with stunning imagery and videos merging seamlessly, backed by a completely blissful soundtrack, and controlled with an interface that draws you further and further into its murky depths. If you ever need to chill, just marvel at some of the best photography possible at Ashes and Snow. You'll need flash 8 installed, 1024x768 screen resolution, a half decent machine, oh... and broadband for the 'Enhanced Experience', (although lower spec visitors are catered for too with the 'Basic Experience').

Prepare to be at one :-)

New Words for 2006

2006-05-02T16:43:00.000+01:00

Got sent this in an email so I thought I'd post it here for you all to have a larf. Enjoy...

New words for 2006

TESTICULATING
Waving your arms around and talking Bollocks.
BLAMESTORMING
Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
SEAGULL MANAGER
A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.
ASSMOSIS
The process by which people seem to absorb success and advancement by sucking up to the boss rather than working hard.
SALMON DAY
The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed and die.
SITCOMs
Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids or start a "home business".
SINBAD
Single working girls. Single Income, No Boyfriend And Desperate.
PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE
The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
OHNOSECOND
That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you've just made a BIG mistake (e.g. you've hit 'reply all')
GOING FOR A McSHIT
Entering a fast food restaurant with no intention of buying food, you're just going to the bog. If challenged by a pimply staff member, your declaration to them that you'll buy their food afterwards is known as a McShit with Lies.
AEROPLANE BLONDE
One who has bleached/dyed her hair but still has a 'black box'
AUSSIE KISS
Similar to a French Kiss, but given down under.
BEER COAT
The invisible but warm coat worn when walking home at 3am after a booze session.
BEER COMPASS
The invisible device that ensures your safe arrival home after booze session, even though you're too drunk to remember where you live, how you got here, and where you've come from.
BREAKING THE SEAL
Your first pee in the pub, usually after 2 hours of drinking. After breaking the seal of your bladder, repeat visits to the toilet will be required every 10 or 15 minutes for the rest of the night.
GREYHOUND
A very short skirt, only an inch from the hare.
MILLENNIUM DOMES
The contents of a Wonderbra, i.e. extremely impressive when viewed from the outside, but there's actually naught in there worth seeing.
MYSTERY BUS
The bus that arrives at the pub on Friday night while you're in the toilet after your 10th pint, and whisks away all the unattractive people so the pub is suddenly packed with stunners when you come back in.
PICASSO BUM
A woman whose knickers are too small for her, so she looks like she's got four buttocks

14 things to do in Tesco (or other favourite chainstore) while your partner takes their time...

Get 24 boxes of condoms & randomly put them in people's trolleys when they aren't looking.

Set all the alarm clocks in Houseware to go off at 5 minute intervals

Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the ladies toilet.

Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone: 'Code 3 in Houseware'... and see what happens.

Go to the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M's on credit.

Move a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

Set-up a tent in the Camping Department and tell other shoppers you are sleeping over and invite them in if they bring pillows from the Bedding Department.

When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask: "Why can't you people just leave me alone?"

Look right into the security camera, use it as a mirror and pick your nose.

While handling large knives in the Kitchen Dept, ask the clerk if he knows where the anti-depressants are located.

Wander around the store suspiciously, while loudly humming the theme from Mission Impossible.

Hide in a clothing rack .. . . and when people browse through, say: PICK ME!!! PICK ME!!!"

When an announcement comes over the loudspeaker, hit the floor and assume the feotal position and scream "NO!...It's those voices again!!!"

And last but not least - Go into a fitting room, shut the door and wait a while... Then yell loudly: "There's no toilet paper in here!"

Multi-Touch Screen Technology

2006-04-11T23:58:00.000+01:00

If you haven't seen this yet, prepare to be amazed.
Imagine a touchscreen, that does more than just sense touch.
Imagine using all ten fingers instead of a mouse.
Imagine interacting with the screen, stretching photos and landscapes.
Imagine the applications.
Imagine "Multi-Touch Screen Technology".

Multi-Touch

Possibly the Coolest Bar In Cardiff

2006-03-30T23:49:00.000+01:00

Just spent the night with a few friends at a very chilled place down in Cardiff Bay called 'Bar Cwtch' (pronounced Cooch - as in 'cuddle up to' or 'small space'). Excellent, quiet atmosphere, no mayhem, fantastic food, nice wine, very friendly staff, and only about 20 people in total - just far enough away from the madding crowd.

The word 'cwtch' has a few meanings here in Wales... here's a quote from... Valley Voices

..."And 'cwtch' the word, the wonderful word 'cwtch' has got so many meanings. Now, we have still got a cwtch under the stairs" ... "and she's from Blaencwm! I don't know if they say space under the stairs or what, but it's cwtch to us. And of course you can come and have a cwtch, you know, catch hold of someone - cwtch. You can tell a dog to go and cwtch, and then we had a coal cwtch, so that's about four different meanings there."

I'm not sure but it may have similar roots to the word 'coop' or 'coopy', meaning a 'small chicken house' or 'to crouch down' but I think I prefer Cwtch. The Bar is actually down some steps and has an low-lit atmosphere just right for cwtching.
Anyways - a well-thought out monicker for a great bar. Check it out :-)

Glamorgan Animation Awards

2006-03-15T23:34:00.000+01:00

Every year Glamorgan Centre for Art & Design Technology holds its Oscars-style awards ceremonies to showcase, highlight and celebrate the outstanding work produced by its most talented students. GCADT is located at Glamorgan University on the Pontypridd Campus.

http://www.glamfest.net/Glammies_05.htm

Go Go 7188 videos a plenty

2006-03-07T02:04:00.000+01:00

Those very nice video hosting peeps over at www.youtube.com have LOTS of videos to browse through. I found a fantastic selection of my favourite band (wish they'd get back together though) Go!Go!7188. Either head over to Youtube and search for your own faves or click Youtube to list all the vids from Go!Go! Nana Ichi Hachi Hachi. Currently they have...

Also found videos by Shena Ringo(48), Halcali(31), Otsuka Ai(214), Zone(873! though not all of the band), Brilliant Green (77) and High&Mighty Color(113). Loads of viewing pleasure :-)