Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

It’s late, my dog’s asleep on the next sofa, and I’m writing away with a film on in the background. I’m sort of half listening and watching, and half writing. And I’m getting strangely drawn into it, too. It’s called Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, which makes it all the more unexpected. I suppose it comes at a time when I’m analysing the conventions of a story, and what makes a good story, and what makes a bad one.

All the traditional conventions of a rom-com are alive and well with this one.

I also stumbled across an article a little bit earlier, and it was strange enough to share. A curious beastie has washed up on the shores of Allonby Beach. The pictures look like a strange mix of octopus and sea shells – it’s a big tangle of slippery looking tentacles. Although it looks like some sort of face-sucking alien, it is apparently goose barnacles.

Just when I thought the news was becoming stale…

I thought that, before I hit the sack, I’d look at the news articles already springing up after Bolt’s magnificent world record.

It was hinted at even yesterday. The quarter finals were hilarious – Bolt, after 50 metres, seemed to be not only jogging, but talking and smiling with his Trinidadian training partner as they eased across the line to claim 1st and 2nd place.

There is a wonderful piece here, too, which perfectly describes the sights and sounds and emotions of Berlin, as they witnessed history in the final. Some of the writing is beautiful, and it sums up the event perfectly.

My friend just told m that he made a small fortune betting on Bolt to break the record – and I imagine it will be even better odds on him to do it in the 200m. He only just beat Michael Johnson’s record last time, but it was into a headwind. And judging by his ridiculous time in the 100, and considering he will only be going faster in the second half of the 200, it could be interesting to see.

The other day, I talked a little bit about the magazine I’m working on with a friend. But although tonight has seen me dabbling once again in a bit of graphic design, it wasn’t for that project this time. I’ve been asked by a friend to help him out with some graphics for his website, so I’ve been getting on with that a little bit. Like writing, and essays, and most things really, it doesn’t take very long once you actually get down to the business of working – it’s just the putting off and procrastination that drag it out longer than it needs to be.

The last I heard, things are still going well in magazine-camp, though. The office is getting messier (which I take to be a good sign). The internet line they decided on – even as small as something from a 2mb leased line provider – is working well. I suppose when I’m not there, working away in Photoshop, there are only two others using the internet, and 2mb is fine for that.

After looking at the various business broadband options, and what have you, they’re happy; they’re sure that they went for the right option. Although I suppose that, at the end of the day, there is not that much difference between the various broadband providers that are out there.

So I think I’ll just wrap up some of these banner ideas – I’m onto the second; I’ll probably aim to get a third done quickly – and then call it a day.

People don’t like wires. And it’s understandable. If you have an Xbox, and you have friends round who are also playing on it, then you don’t really want four long wires tangling themselves together; you don’t want to have to worry about interrupting the game by pulling a controller out, or tripping up. And there’s also the fact that it just doesn’t look very good.

It is good, then, that we live in a wireless age. If you don’t like wires, you can take the wires away. It’s simple, it works, and it’s beautiful, right down to it looking a lot nicer than it otherwise would. Now you can have your Xbox underneath your fancy TV, and your wireless controller on the side, and it looks good; it looks like it belongs: you can have it out and not be embarrassed about it.

This phenomenon is not just for computers and computer game consoles to hog, though. You see it with CD players, with speakers. You can have a very fancy sound system installed in your home if you want, all glossy and with a very distinct lack of wires. And there’s definitely something about it. You can probably even get wireless call logging devices, if you look hard enough.

It’s everywhere, this wireless movement. You can look at telephones and cordless phones are now very much the phone to have. And when you look at things like Panasonic KX phones, and see the variety available, you really can see just how big they’ve become.

There are telecom companies, too; another underscoring of this wireless world we now live in, with wireless phones and wireless internet, and all sorts. So, really, the person who wrote that first article doesn’t have much to worry about. There aren’t many wires left in the world, and any stragglers that have somehow survived to this day probably don’t have much longer left.

It seems that there are other options than Sky out there, for satellite TV.

Yes, as I sit here, with a cup of coffee beside me and the television on in the background, I’m pondering the benefits of getting the fancy sort of TV. Previously, when I thought about satellite TV, Sky was the first thing that came to mind; it’s not just synonymous with it – it is eponymous. Here, satellite is Sky. Sky is satellite. It’s just been around so long that it has a spike-like grip on the market.

I notice that if you are investigating into satellite, there are websites to help you with the decision. Satellite Help, for example, offers news and blogs and forums that can be invaluable when you are looking into these things. I’ve discovered a number of alternatives in this manner that I quite simply did not know existed previously. Virgin Media, of course, is another big one: like Sky, they are a satellite powerhouse; developing over recent years to deal with more than just the internet and phones, but TV as well. Their service seems to be based around on-demand – so you get a basic package, and from there can pay a fee to watch what you want when you want.

There are other options, too, like the Eurovox box. It has its own sub-forum, where there is seemingly a thriving community willing to answer questions and provide information if you need it. And there is the Dreambox, which, it seems, is a similar sort of thing. I’ll have to look into it further, because I’m not entirely sure of their uses myself. But it’s interesting to note the alternatives to Sky that are out there. Even as I’m sitting here now, with the TV on in the background, I’m thinking that satellite is definitely something I’d like to invest in. Especially in time for the upcoming NFL season.

Today was spent in Norwich, and I only got back at eight in the evening. A long day. And when I got back I realised I had missed a text message from a friend. He asked if I wanted to see The Hangover, at 8.45. I said yes. So the day became even longer; but it was certainly a lot of fun. I think part of what made it such an appealing and funny movie is that I see certain similarities between the characters from the film and the characters in my life. The wild night that the four friends have in Las Vegas is something to aspire to, I think, or at least there is a mentality a bit like that around here. It’s all about the memories, as they say. There is this notion that you should get smashed; that if you can’t remember your night, chances are you had a good one. But yes, it was a good film.

Earlier in the day, I had a nice surprise in the form of a large wad of tickets and coupons being posted through the door, offering discounts and special deals for what looks like pretty much everything. Free stuff is always good. I only looked at it briefly, but it looks like it allows me to buy books and dvd’s at discounted prices. Or buy Panasonic cordless phones, and save 25% if I order online – that sort of thing. It was a nice surprise, to be sure.

Now, for the rest of the day, I think I’ll just work on a little bit of graphic design stuff. I have been asked to make a new website for my American football team, because the current one looks a little on the bland side, so it’s going to be my job to try and sharpen it up. I’m thinking something simple, and to the point. Something like the Highland Telecom website, or even the god Checker website – which is a very informative site on all things myth, and well worth a look.

This particular blog will serve as something of an errata, I think.

Yesterday, I was rambling about how there is no point taking out home insurance: I was rambling about how you are not very likely to find a car smashing into your house, or a tree blowing down and spearing your roof. But it seems I have been proven wrong. A couple in West Virginia have had a lump of bridge crash into their home following a demolition, and I would hazard a guess that they would be quite happy to have their home insurance.

And then I moved on to the development of technology, where I probably should have provided a few more links for you in case you wanted to read up on the latest news and reviews of some of the incredible technology that’s at our fingertips, or just read up on smart phones in general.

And lastly, there is a good website here, if you have an old phone and are looking to get rid of it: mobile phone buyers like this one are only too happy to help you help the environment, and it couldn’t be more easy.

Anyway, that should round everything out nicely.

It has just occurred to me that I have been babbling on about my own internet woes, when all around the country there are people who can’t even access the internet. This article over at the Guardian website shows how there is a plan in place in the UK to introduce a tax on phone lines, which will apparently allow greater internet access in the countryside. Obviously there will be split opinions. There will be those who have their fast internet, and don’t know the troubles of trying to use it in the country. There will be those who just don’t want to pay even more money for no immediate benefit to themselves

But then you notice that it’s only £6 a year. It’s not very much really. And if it can help with places that don’t yet have internet access, or help increase the speed of slow internet access, or help with sustaining a connection that has a habit of disconnecting for no good reason – then is it not worth it? In the past, I’ve lived in the middle of nowhere – and the internet out there can be infuriating. Frequently, you can go for an entire day without connection, and just as frequently it can cut out for apparently no reason other than that you are living in the countryside, and that’s just what happens.

Now they are saying that half the country will have access to super fast broadband by 2012, which is quite good going, I think. To think that here, now, we’re talking about homes all over the country having 10MB broadband, when, back only five or six years, it was unheard of to have anything near that in homes, is quite staggering.

Day after day, technology advances steadily on. And I find quite incredible. Here in the era of the iPhone, it’s quite easy to lose sight of the fact that, not so long ago, we relied on a wireless for entertainment, and had to spin the dial on a phone. Now in a matter of minutes you can buy BT Synergy business phones, and talk to friends and family from the garden if you want to.

And there are companies out there that cater for all this sort of thing, companies like Brite Telecom, when, fifty years ago the word “internet” didn’t even mean anything.

It’s quite easy to take it all for granted.

To wrap up the day, here are a couple of interesting stories. First of all is something potentially very frightening: a possible outbreak of the bubonic plague in Libya, not far from the Egyptian border. Specialists have been called in, because they don’t know for certain what it is; but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on. Illness and disease has been such a prominent feature in the news recently, it’s almost like the god of illness has got bored, and sent a few playthings into the world:

“I am bird flu!”

“Pah! I am swine flu!”

“Puny illnesses! I am the BUBONIC PLAGUE!”

…

Here is an interesting (and random) (and slightly more upbeat) piece of news for you. Although it is more of a fact, than a piece of news: earwigs have two penises. I found the line about favouring their right penis quite amusing. It must be quite wonderful just to be able to say to your earwig girlfriend, I’m sorry, I tend to prefer my right penis, thank you.

…

If you’ve been following my blogs in the past, you’ll know that we (my flatmates and I) have been struggling with slow internet for a while now, and were wondering whether or not to get rid of it and go for one of the more business oriented, speedy SDSL providers.

Because there are ten of us between the two flats, the cost wouldn’t have been too huge for us. The more we researched all this kilostream circuiting stuff, though, the more confusing it became. And, at the end of the day, it’s easier to live with a little bit of slowdown and pay £5 each a month, than try out a completely new thing and have to pay £30 each.

And so, after weeks of deliberating, e’ve finally decided against it, it seems.

According to this news piece, a man has been given the equivalent of 86 cents in compensation, and that five years after the stabbing incident. I know compensation is a different beast to insurance, but even so, hearing things like this make me doubt the worth of any type of insurance. First of all, anything that warrants a claim is very unlikely to happen, and then if you are unfortunate enough for it to happen, then, like this poor person, there’s the worry that you don’t get anywhere near as much as you should do.

For a lot of things, I’ve never really been overly concerned with insurance. Often insurance brokers might seem attractive, but often they don’t tell you much about anything. Of course, sometimes the opposite is true, and they tell you a lot. But insurance, to me, is just a way for companies to make money. An example is the world of electronics. If you buy a laptop, they’re reasonably cheap at first, but the companies try and sell you insurance; it’s where they make their money. Is insuring your home really any different? Obviously there are benefits to it, but the reasons they give are slightly ridiculous. How likely is a truck driving off the road, and smashing into your house. Or a tree falling down only to slam into your roof.

The people I know who have taken out insurance feel secure in their homes. They say it’s all worth it. And they know that if something terrible happens, they’re sorted. Certainly, some home insurance providers offer still further benefits, special deals, and discounts. But aren’t they all just the same, in the end?

And then there’s the fact that no one that I know has ever had the misfortune of a lorry smashing into their wall, or a tree going through their roof. Perhaps I’m just ignorant, because I’ve never taken out insurance, and have, thus far, been lucky enough to be justified in that choice?

It would be interesting to hear your thoughts, because, particularly in these times, it might be an area people will be cutting back on. Or perhaps it’s so invaluable, so useful, that it’s more important than ever. Have you ever taken out insurance like this?