http://louiscox.com/wordpress blog about all things relevant to web design and dev Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:04:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=644 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=644#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:03:15 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=644 Continuing the saga of fair usage of my iPhone 3G and o2. Quoted direct from an o2 representative, sic “We are not ripping anyone off” – meaning : we are ripping everyone off as fast as we can before the legislation takes hold. The premise is simple. The iPhone 3G was previously only sold by [...]]]> Continuing the saga of fair usage of my iPhone 3G and o2. Quoted direct from an o2 representative, sic “We are not ripping anyone off” – meaning : we are ripping everyone off as fast as we can before the legislation takes hold. The premise is simple. The iPhone 3G was previously only sold by o2 in the U.K. One SIM available and it was the only one that would work legally and practically for all but the highly computer literate. Then Vodaphone came along and started offering PAYG. Now there is the dilema of allowing the phone user to switch from one company to another. For this Apple have to allow the user to ‘unlock’ their phone, enabling it to be used with different SIMS, especially those abroad for which people were already dismantling their iPhones. Now, Im a life long Apple user from times when Microsoft had to bale them out, and even before then when Apple had to bale out Microsoft. It will take a very long time for me to start to see Apple as anything but the underdog, but now my previously unmovable faith has started to show cracks. Being tied to one of the phone companies like this has definately caused a lot of grief. Then there is the small matter of roaming abroad and being charged crippling sums for very light downloading. I recently tried to use Brightkite whilst abroad in France using the app. For the three times I used it 02 tried to charge me £10. Now I know that SFR – the French equivelant of Vodaphone are currently charging £1 – unlimited download PAYG – which seems very reasonable.
I immediately phoned 02 ( on one of the few numbers that are in my allowance I sincerely hope ) to question this. It turned out that one of the charges actually happened at a time when I was asleep! This was brushed off needless to say with the excuse that it was the French network sending the item late – which of course could not be checked. This is of course a load of rubbish much the same as anything uttered by the spokespeople for the banks. Anything said is with a line toed to not being shot in the foot and is nothing whatsoever to do with honesty until some reliable member of the press picks up on them and starts digging.
Eventually I got a refund, but it took me threatening a complaint. Now the dilemma of the iPhone 4 looms. 5M pixel camera and HD video footage. Forget the HD video footage, who is going to risk trying to upload a photo via a Euro let alone Asian / American / African upload without trying to organise a new SIM from that country. Any U.K. tariff is totally opaque, except for the companies to say £X amount for 1MB which is a total joke. Different apps use differing amounts let alone the fact that different jpegs cannot be totally different in size. This is a fact that all the phone networks know only too well. Their tariff is design as a short hold to capture the maximum amount of revenue before things go against them. Like the banks – If only I could set up my own. The rules would be fixed by national mandate. But then, I may as well hope for a second wave of communist revolution. For now, Ill change my SIM for the country Im in, and would suggest anyone else do the same…

]]> http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=644 0 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=625 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=625#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:22:10 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=625 http://www.triumph-live.co.uk Got to say that the Triumph day event at Mallory park is outstanding value – £24 a ticket, thats £24!!! and as well as a chance to go round the factory and see all the bikes being made, there is a day of events, stunt riding, etc and to top it off you can see [...]]]> http://www.triumph-live.co.uk

Got to say that the Triumph day event at Mallory park is outstanding value – £24 a ticket, thats £24!!! and as well as a chance to go round the factory and see all the bikes being made, there is a day of events, stunt riding, etc and to top it off you can see both the Stranglers ( got to be worth it to see them play Golden Brown? ) – and Mumford and sons who Im not familiar with with I know they are popular. Camping in the grounds of the park is £’s cheap per night as well. All in all a bargain.

]]> http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=625 0 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=618 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=618#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:00:33 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=618 There have been quite a few distopian novels made into films recently and this is very much a second runner to the excellent The Road by John Hillcoat. Its definately trying to walk the Mad Max line, the grand daddy of all post apocalyptic road movie films, indeed it even features bad guys on motorbikes [...]]]> There have been quite a few distopian novels made into films recently and this is very much a second runner to the excellent The Road by John Hillcoat. Its definately trying to walk the Mad Max line, the grand daddy of all post apocalyptic road movie films, indeed it even features bad guys on motorbikes and Arab like desertwear. Overall its not a bad film, and not a bad Blu-ray either. There is a lot of attention to getting the mood right. Much of the shooting is done in monochrome or if not a very limited colour base. All this translates nicely. The sound track reminds me of the recent I am Legend with sparse track dropped in the middle of nowhere – and the one notable here is Anita Ward’s Ring my bell. It is placed in a totally surreal position – but equally it serves to support the position of the characters refering to a history long gone and should be equally valid – rather than something we might think fitting. Excellent work.

The film is let down by the near passes to sad as I have to say it – The Postman. OK, fair do’s maybe Im a miserable git, and like to see people in a constant state of tragedy but I think its really hard to make a feel good distopia, thats the whole point. But admittedly its a very long way from bad here. It would have so far to go to match the Postman. There are a lot of positive aspects such as Denzel Washington who plays a role outside his comfort zone. Ok there is a fair bit of action but he has to do the kung foo thing which he pulls off quite well and hes also playing the drifter – not his usual hero. The story is passable adding in well enough to the tempo of the film. Generally its worth a watch, but in preference to the Road, it’s definately a second runner to me.

]]> http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=618 0 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=604 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=604#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 10:54:23 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=604 If there’s one thing that sticks in my craw its paying a shit load of money to use my iPhone abroad. I like to use geo-tagged items like posting in Brightkite, the exciting thing being that you can go somewhere very remote and log where you have been. Obviously I’d be expecting to pay to [...]]]> If there’s one thing that sticks in my craw its paying a shit load of money to use my iPhone abroad. I like to use geo-tagged items like posting in Brightkite, the exciting thing being that you can go somewhere very remote and log where you have been. Obviously I’d be expecting to pay to use this service abroad – especially somewhere outside of Europe, but at £3 / Mb this is ridiculous.
I spend a fair amount of time in France, and Ill be buggered if Im paying a £50 bill just for reading some text email and posting a few items in a blog, as they say – C’est des conneries!. So I set out to find out about getting a French iPhone or sim card or whatever. Just to solve this issue.
I came across this article in Wired magazine online, which is the meat in the sandwich. Dont get me wrong there are a lot of good articles out there explaining the situation such as Made by Many here, and ones telling you how to lower the British charges such as this in PC advisor, but what you really want is to use is a local SIM and pay local charges, balls to taking it easy, is this 1990 or 2010. So, as the Wired article says, unlocking the iPhone is the first step. In the Wired article they use a bit of software, but in actual fact I asked o2 and they said they would just unlock it for me enabling me to use a European Sim. I have to wait for it to be switched, which can take two weeks. I spoke to 02 at some length and it appears that the only thing stopping us iPhone users taking a pre paid Sim card abroad is the fact that the network companies are making a killing, and its not in their interests to publicise the fact that you can do this.
That said however I have not actually done this myself yet. Im awaiting the unlocking to go through, and I go to Paris in two weeks, so God willing I may be able to test then, but failing that, it will be July and I aim to get it working by then. Will post further items as and when I get it working.

]]> http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=604 1 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=598 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=598#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 17:38:10 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=598 When this first came out in 1990 I remember going to see it, and it’s as shocking now as it was then. It really is in a little genre of its own. Its a bit war film ( Vietnam ), a bit horror and a bit nostalgia human interest with a drugs twist thrown in [...]]]> When this first came out in 1990 I remember going to see it, and it’s as shocking now as it was then. It really is in a little genre of its own. Its a bit war film ( Vietnam ), a bit horror and a bit nostalgia human interest with a drugs twist thrown in for good measure. And it comes out the other side well intact. The basic plot by elliptical method we follow the plight of the lead characters road to recovery from post traumatic stress after his platoon surfer horrendously in a battle. The story then flits between his home life on the streets of New York as a mailman and the battle. As it gets further into the film we begin to realise that not everything is as expected and eventually the film starts to take a very dark and horrific road.
Jacob’s Ladder has everything you could want from a film really. Great actors headed by a young Tim Robbins. There is a bit of everything all nicely tied together in a really great story. The only slight criticism I would have of it is that it has a bit of a saccharin sweet ending.
As a blu-ray it has huge appeal. I saw the 1080p version and its really beautifully detailed. There is a lot of interior close up smokey mood light scenes as well as very dark horror scenes and broad daylight as well, its all in the mix really. The Blu-ray really goes a long way to re-creating the original cinematic quality. As a blu-ray its really one to buy in my opinion.

]]> http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=598 0 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=590 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=590#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 16:56:05 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=590 I was not really sure where this was going when it started, other than to say beautiful prostitute and leading character falling in love with said prostitute had to end badly. The lead character is convincingly played by Johannes Krisch. After falling in love he realises that he needs cash to fund a new start, [...]]]> I was not really sure where this was going when it started, other than to say beautiful prostitute and leading character falling in love with said prostitute had to end badly. The lead character is convincingly played by Johannes Krisch. After falling in love he realises that he needs cash to fund a new start, and so decides to leave the city with his new love and rob a bank close to his elderly fathers house. Enter unwitting local Policeman. Up until this point he has led a pedestrian life in very rural part Germany and has been trying to start a family with his wife, who just so happens to be a helper to the lead characters father. Eventually all the characters are drawn together in the name of revenge.
Banality is the watchword here. Much of the films impetus is derived from the very beautiful surroundings yet they are at pains to stress divide between the excitement of the city and the drudgery of the countryside. The major problem is that not many people will really get the aesthetic of the banal. Its been done with hollywood films like 24hr photo without much success which is unfortunate really as this is a great dramatic film. If you get the idea of the banal making art then this is a good buy on Blu-ray. If foreign and flat is not your thing then its going to be a bitter pill to swallow.

]]> http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=590 0 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=579 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=579#comments Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:30:13 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=579 Its hard to know where to start with this. Is it a good film? well its early to tell for me. I certainly wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, but felt that it was an experience watching it. Its definately shocking, and should not be watched by anyone easily offended – and believe me when I [...]]]> Its hard to know where to start with this. Is it a good film? well its early to tell for me. I certainly wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, but felt that it was an experience watching it. Its definately shocking, and should not be watched by anyone easily offended – and believe me when I say that sex features heavily in it. One of the first scenes had a passage of actual penetrative sex – which I had a problem identifying initially as obviously its not something you see in anything other than a porn film. Secondly there are very graphic images of violence and often connected with sex as well – although its almost exclusively aimed at the films main male character played by Willem Dafoe. Scenes of torture and mutilation obviously put it squarely in the horror genre which is played with throughout the film. Add to this the main story is about the death of a couples child and you can begin to see why this was a very difficult film, and controversial in many ways. There are quite a few other complexities as there is a lot of symbolism, most of the film is set in a very dark and moody forest. Willem Dafoe’s character is meant to be a therapist and initially the film starts out on that direction but eventually his academic knowledge and spelled out theories give way to reading the signs and understanding there is something far more fundamental at play. Often he is spoken to by animals in a dream like state. Charlotte Gainsbourg’s character I started to loose sympathy with as she becomes increasingly sadistic and chaotic, which was of course the film makers intention.
It’s hard not to lampoon a film when its shot in slow motion black and white ( in parts ). He obviously intended to do this to remove any emotional response from the initial scenes but it does have that ultimate art house pretentiousness to it initially. The film also has a funny little lull just after it starts where nothing really happens for ages. Other than that I can really aim very little criticism at it. It is an art house film and draws very heavily on painting for some of the scenes besides all the symbolic imagery, Goya comes to mind, and probably Breugel amongst quite a few. Obviously it will be hated by the Daily Mail brigade and anyone else easily upset by something thats clearly intended as a work of art but will ultimately be read as a corruption of sensibility.
In terms of the HD, its definately a quality experience. Many of the scenes are shot with very high resolution B&W film and are tangibly rich. The colour work is also drenched in atmosphere and mood. The main hurdle to its success as a blu-ray is the fact that its going to be just such a controversial film. It one click up the art house scale away from something like the Shinning which it has a lot in common with, but I cant see that many people going for it. It makes a great change for me to be reviewing something that is definately not mainstream though.

]]> http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=579 0 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=575 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=575#comments Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:45:15 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=575 Ok this is outside my normal blog posting but as many people suffer from this problem and I have a lot of experience of dealing with the issue I thought I would write something. My fear is strong enough to cause me very severe physiological problems associated with a heightened state of torpor, severe distress [...]]]> Ok this is outside my normal blog posting but as many people suffer from this problem and I have a lot of experience of dealing with the issue I thought I would write something. My fear is strong enough to cause me very severe physiological problems associated with a heightened state of torpor, severe distress and so on. My particular fear centers around being in the air, and not take off and landing like a lot of people. I am able to force myself to get on a plane and fly, however I’m not suggesting to do that is a sensible thing for someone that has a genuine problem.
My fear of flying started back some time in the eighties. I was fortunate because my parents loved traveling and had a business that allowed them to pay for us as a family to go anywhere in the world. It came as a shock to me in later life that people I knew had not in some cases left the town they had grown up in, let alone England. I had managed to travel half way round the world. I had logged comparatively a lot of air miles by the time it kicked in really. I cant remember the exact point of which it happened. We flew into O’Hare in Chicago and I experienced a very bad pressure problem in my head due to the plane banking and dropping suddenly, which seemed to last forever as a child, but confirmed as at least a day. I also flew to Spain and seem to remember a very bad flight but no exact details. There was nothing substantial, no key moment.
I had a very substantial period during which I could not afford to fly anyway – being a student. It didn’t bother me at all during this period, I never thought about it. This lasted until about ten years ago when I was with a partner that flew for her job. To her the notion that someone could be afraid of flying was sheer nonsense. I made one of the biggest mistakes of my adult life and set myself back years by giving in to someone brow beating me into flying – and I would get over it once I was ‘up there’. We flew to Paris – business class. I turned up at the appointed time at Gatwick. Explaining the looming dread that hovers over you is very difficult. Its like an environment that encircles you. The fear eventually becomes all encompassing, blocking out all other thoughts and emotions. I drank a few drinks to little effect.
When I got on the plane I began to realise that I was not equipped mentally or physically to deal with the problem. As the plane climbed it took all my mental faculty to hold on to my sanity. I tried eating something at one point and it tasted just like cardboard which I can remember very clearly. The worst part came when I flew home, after a long weekend. My problem flared in the check in at Charles De Gaulle. My temper blew when I discovered there was a problem with luggage. Today I would have been arrested, but then I think some of the passengers took pity on me and helped get me to the front of the line and sorted out so we could get home. On the flight things deteriorated badly and during the half hour flight, I was locked into a fear cycle that would not let go, like a death grip. I described my state as like a piece of fruit that has gone through accelerated rotting – like those time lapse films. I sweated profusely and imaged that my smell had manifested as extreme body door. This in turn was annoying the other passengers, especially the guy that was sat next to me. I was a total mess by the time I reached England in what was a tiny flight – hardly worth the effort now with the Eurostar. The enormous mental strain of holding the torpor in check eventually broke like a dam on the train going back to Brighton where I lived. I had an enormous and particularly vicious argument with my partner. That was the beginning of the end for us now I look back. For her I think she lost all respect for me, I guess not acting like a man. For me I lost all respect for her having no sympathy for what was in my experience very frightening and really traumatic.
My road to recovery started when I had some cognitive therapy from a local health center in Brighton. The biggest mistake is to think that anything will cure you. It wont. The fear will ways be there. What is important is to have someone show you a perspective on what your state or paranoia is. It puts you back in the driving seat. You might be struggling still to control it, but its you that’s in control and not a distant communication from some dark place. I saw the cognitive therapy through, although at the time I did not actually fly until some time after. Eventually I broke up with my partner, who was I felt still piling on pressure to fly again.
Some five years ago I decided to take up a friends offer to go snowboarding. I also decided to try a drug solution to the problem. I went to my GP and asked for Tamazepam. This I discovered is a very good way of controlling the issues associated with a fear of flying. I did take what some would consider too much – three tablets on the way back, but to me it was a perfect solution. Tamazepam is very good at making people not care about things. If the plane actually did go down I would have been stuffed, but of course the reality is its by far the safest way of traveling. The hard edge of the fear and knock on bodily effects are completely removed. Its also nice knowing that you can ‘turn up the dial’ if needed, which in itself has a calming effect. Your back in control. I guess in a way I should really be searching for a drug free solution but for now it definitely does the trick. Im about to be booked for two weeks in Crete.

]]> http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=575 0 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=569 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=569#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:39:41 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=569 I was expecting a lot more than I got…This film has always been lorded as one of the best world cinema films of all time and I watched it for the first time the other day in Blu-ray. If Im honest I’ve, been avoiding watching it. Its very nostalgic. Ironically so as the one of [...]]]> I was expecting a lot more than I got…This film has always been lorded as one of the best world cinema films of all time and I watched it for the first time the other day in Blu-ray. If Im honest I’ve, been avoiding watching it. Its very nostalgic. Ironically so as the one of the lead characters persuades his younger accomplice to not look back to a life in a tiny provincial Italian town where he has grown up and leave forever to create a life for himself. The film itself is dripping with nostalgia ( until the end ), with not only fifties nostalgia but Italian life nostalgia if you can imagine as much crammed into one film. What annoyed me most about the film is some very unresolved story components – which undoubtedly will be argued as “Artistic choice” which is bullshit in my opinion. It gives it a very bitter aftertaste. Its a very watchable film though. The hero of the film is played by a boy, a young man and an older man respectively. The young boy is outstandingly good, as are many of the support characters. There are nice touches of reality as well with no holes bared explaining the role of the cinema as abused public space by all the local inhabitants.
The Blu-ray I had was 720p, and not a bad conversion. Unfortunately the era of the film really lends itself to grainy film and all the horse power involved with Blu-ray is a bit wasted. In addition to that much of the subject matter is really mid distant and close up action that also does not lend itself to Blu-ray bang for buck return. If your a fan of world cinema especially Italian then you will want to have this – if not the DVD will do.

]]> http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=569 0 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=560 http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=560#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:38:05 +0000 admin http://louiscox.com/wordpress/?p=560 ( exhibition on until Tuesday at Weymouth Pavilion ) So expectations were high ( for Weymouth ) as the archeological find of a lifetime turns up, under the proposed bypass that was eventually forced through – which personally I think is all about jobs myself – as lets face it, you can get much more traffic [...]]]> ( exhibition on until Tuesday at Weymouth Pavilion )
So expectations were high ( for Weymouth ) as the archeological find of a lifetime turns up, under the proposed bypass that was eventually forced through – which personally I think is all about jobs myself – as lets face it, you can get much more traffic in – but how the hell is it going to get to Portland and the Olympics – which is ultimately what its all about. This being pertinent as obviously the archeology has to be seen to be handled well because any adverse PR would reflect badly on a very shaky new build.
Sexy dig finds come in two basic varieties – ones with treasure like the Sussex cup and ones where someone or something has been brutally murdered in a dark ages style – points added for garroting, cracked skulls and in this particular case anything ritual. Pretty sensational – fifty beheaded vikings placed in a pit bodies one place, skulls in another.
The proposed venue? the Pavillion. Ok, not the most appropriate place but it would have to do at short notice. Forgiving the council all that unfortunately I think Im not alone in saying that it was pretty poorly thought through. I also have to say that there were council team members on hand to talk to people but I didn’t see any actual archeologists to explain the significance of the find. The remains of the bodies were placed on simple tables with a cloth placed over them and a wooden box placed over the top with a perspex lid. Small bits of paper were placed on the top with please do not touch looking for all the world as if they had been printed on an office computer five minutes before. All in all it looked very amateur.
It strikes me that this would only be for two reasons – one that the important stuff was kept well out of arms reach of the idiots or two the organisers are incompetent. I sincerely hope it was the former, although its very sad to think they feel its necessary to do this as everyone locally has the right to go and see it as long as they are not going to wreck it for anyone else. I did get to speak to one of the organisers and apparently over six hundred crates of finds had been made and would be handed to the county museum. None of the bodies / skulls or viking were on display disappointingly. This may be because they are still in the custody of whatever academic group still has them or again because they do not want the more “exciting” finds on display until they are buried behind six inches of perspex.
The rest of the exhibition comprised of various bits from the dig, again rather disappointingly all housed under very basic makeshift boxes. They had also created a series of colour stands around the room to convey the most basic of information regarding the dig, like where, how etc. The main stage was taken up with a looped projection that showed static images ( no audio ) of the dig in progress, broad strokes of what was going on.
Overall I was expecting something more like a professional display of finds and information. Certainly something better than a basic wooden box on a cloth covered table for the main exhibits, which felt almost disrespectful to the deceased. It would have been much better to have a qualified archeologist backed up with slides, do fixed talks to the crowd I feel. Lets hope the exhibition at the County Museum will do the find justice.

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