A Car Too Far » Fun Links

Never lose a game again…

Matt — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 16:56:27 +0000

This was sent to me by a geek / tech-friend of mine at work. It’s one of those things that takes a few moments to work out quite how it works but once you do, the genius cannot be denied. Such a simple way of both portraying a lot of information (all the permutations) as well as the demonstrating the solution set for the classic game of Tic-Tac-Toe.

This is taken from of the the many self indulgent sites I keep an eye on. If you know someone who is heavily into tech, they probably know about http://xkcd.com/832/

Good Stuff to watch (Free Diving)

Matt — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 15:41:42 +0000

I think this is a lovely bit of footage and a fantastic soundtrack to boot. I don’t really know much about its origin I’m afraid, it’s just one of those things I came across and felt it was worth documenting with the world. Enjoy.

Your man should smell like a man

Matt — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:07:36 +0000

It’s a well known fact that I love being a man as much (or more than) the next….errrr man, but far be it from me to over extol the virtues of being macho. There are however some times when you just feel proud….

After watching this (and a string of similar videos) myself and Jim actually went out to go buy some. I am sad to report that ASDA do not stock it.

My advice for new house buyers

Matt — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:11:52 +0000

A friend of mine at work today announced that she’s now in the market for a new house and is looking around as a “first time buyer”. She asked a bunch of us if we had any advice. It got me thinking about it so I sent back my top tips when looking for a new house. In no particular order these are….

A House I'd like.... but can't afford

Understand that you can tailor your monthly repayments to exactly what you want by splitting your mortgage into “interest only” AND “capital repayment” in the proportions that fit you.
Come to peace with the fact that you will hate estate agents. When they ask what your MAXIMUM budget is and you tell the 150K, the first thing they’ll do is show you an AMAZING house for 160K. They will only return calls when it suites them and they are NEVER on your side (their commission is a percentage, thus the more you spend, the more they make. Of course they have to make a sale to cash in so they’ll push you to buy). Come to peace with their overpaid, immoral, egocentric ways and work out how much of it you’re willing to put up with.
Be aware that all your relatives and friends will use the opportunity to offload all the the crap that they can’t bring themselves to throw out and expect you to be thankful that they’re giving you their 1980s paisley curtains that have sat in the garage for 15 years. Politely decline and buy some crap from Ikea.
Ikea can be OK but mostly they wont have what you want when you want it. The staff will be clueless and less available than the yeti. You’ll come out late at night at the end of your tether and broke. You will have a cheap hotdog. 3 months later you will remember the hot dog and go back. You still wont fit the things you buy in your car.
Fixed fee solicitors are never fixed fee. They will always have “additional” fees that will take them (sometimes over double) their estimates. Often these are fees that they must pay directly on your behalf.
When someone says “don’t worry, you will probably remortgage after 2 years” calculate how much that extra “arrangement fee” will cost. It wont be worth it.
You will plan to “overpay” on your mortgage and will spend a long time asking difficult questions to the advisor about what the penalty will be and how much you can overpay per month. You will not overpay.
See if you can pay bi-weekly rather than monthly. Most companies wont let you do this now, but if you can, you’ll shave about 7 years off a 25 year mortgage whilst paying the same monthly amount.
Don’t be tempted to redecorate all rooms at once or your spend 6 years with a half finished flat/house. Do one room… move on… next room… move on etc. Otherwise you’ll get overwhelmed.
Don’t go for the cheapest workmen you can kind, if it’s too cheap to be true, it is. Go on personal recommendation and inspect work they have done for other people. This will save you money in the long run.
Simple things can change the appearance of an old flat more than furniture. New doors/handles, carpet, recessed lighting etc all look good. If not, get a pet and your house will look shit anyway.
Decide if it’s a house or a home. If it’s a house, do stuff that will help resale (make sure you have a bath, neutral colours etc). If it’s your home, don’t give a stuff about what anyone else says, go with what you like and deal with it when/if you ever sell.
Location is important but so is the feel you get when your inside your house.
Babies don’t like stairs. If you’re planning on having one, think about that before you by a 10th floor flat.
Use the opportunity of moving to throw out crap. Go in as empty as possible and build something you love.
Housewarming party BEFORE you decorate, housewarming dinner AFTER.
Minimalist is not the same as being tidy.
Dark colours make places smaller, mirrors make things appear bigger.
Chase cables into walls. It’s worth the effort.
Write a will.

SQL Injection Licence Plate

Matt — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:55:45 +0000

This is one of those “geek only” jokes because if you get it will simultaneously snigger out loud and and be very ashamed of yourself….

… or at least you should be.

Thanks (again) Giz.

One for Pee Gee

Matt — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:14:58 +0000

This is a special post for Peeg, in homage to his ingenuity last night with the glow sticks.

…plus of course I wet myself a little when I saw it. I want one!

(Image courtesy of Giz)

Another Mac Vs PC video (but this one’s good)

Matt — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:15:46 +0000

I know there’s been a lot of “stuff” put up here in the last few days but I’m slowly going through my mail box and clearing out all the old emails that have flown back and forward between me and some of the other guys. This one was from Ollie Gee… props bud!

This stuff just writes itself….

Matt — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:03:02 +0000

There’s not really all that much I can write about either of these; they pretty much come with their own explanation. The first is the American’s approach to a workout for your arms… my personal trainer side would like to call it “functional training”.

The second takes just as little imagination and probably comes under the same heading (no pun intended)

How to make Windows 7 look good

Matt — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:42:56 +0000

I always seem to come across anti Microsoft snippets (I guess there’s more of them around in the ether than there is of any other company). I’d expect the balance to change a little over coming years as Apple tightens its grip on the user experience but that’s a story for another day.

Anyhow, a little behind the curve on this one, and only worth a click if you’re a bit nerdcore.

How to make windows 7 look really good.

Happy Saturday.

This is How a Pissed Off Designer Quits His Job – Job – Gizmodo

Matt — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:28:46 +0000

There’s always times when a company gets on top of you but sometimes it gets just too much. A couple of guys I work with are software developers who are going through something similar… lets just hop they don’t take the same route…

How to quite your job if you're in software

Thanks Giz.