Ben Charlton

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T08:54:04Z

Merry Christmas everyone!

Bomb scare on campus

2008-05-27T15:54:31Z

Library cordoned off due to a suspicious package.

Pics here :)

Bike Pr0n

2008-05-14T21:44:36Z

Bike Pr0n

An Important Matter

2008-04-29T21:18:27Z

The Why Bird from Playbus/Playdays:

Awesome or awful?

Comments please. Tickybox is an acceptable answer.

Edit:
I should explain how this argument started. I think the new default Ubuntu background is basically the Why Bird (or at least her hot 18 year old daughter).

Meme

2007-12-22T07:58:58Z

I don't normally do these, but this one seems quite cool. (via nert)

1 - Go to wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article title that you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Random quotations:
http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on "explore the last seven days"
http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photo shop or similar to mix it all up. Post it.

It's funny because it's true...

2007-12-17T10:35:48Z

Shamless pluggery

2007-12-10T23:27:50Z

You can now sponsor a word on the cheat-o-matic for the bargain price of just £1.

The cheat-o-matic generates well over over 100,000 page views per day by real people. Sponsoring a word gives you the exclusive link from a word to a website of your choice for at least 1 month. For some of the most popular words this means over 350,000 views per month. This is a great advertising opportunity at an extremely competitive price.

To get started, you can either search for a word that you'd like to sponsor, or browse the top words lists here.

If you buy a word, leave a comment and I'll do BOGOF months for LJ folks...

Nokia battery recall

2007-08-14T10:09:02Z

Nokia are recalling a load of BL-5C batteries...

The phones affected are:
Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60

BBC Open Consultation

2007-02-02T10:42:19Z

"How important is it that the proposed [BBC] seven-day catch-up service over the internet is available to consumers who are not using Microsoft software?"

Fill out the questionnaire.

Walkers Baked Crisps - Half-baked Advert

2007-01-21T20:57:05Z

Walkers Baked Crisps - Half-baked Advert (may not be safe for work).

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T01:30:37Z

Happy New Year all, and I hope everyone has a great 2007.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T01:03:24Z

Merry Christmas everyone!

Norks.

2006-09-26T20:43:18Z

Get your norks out for a good cause. Manboobs too, apparently.

WTF?

2006-09-12T11:39:35Z

Irwin fans 'in revenge attacks'

Dead stingrays with their tails cut off have been found in Australia, sparking concern that fans of naturalist Steve Irwin may be avenging his death...

Assburgers Syndrome

2006-08-19T11:04:46Z

Assburger's syndrome is believed to be the most common personality disorder in the Western world, yet it remains one of the least frequently diagnosed. It is an often-degenerative condition that can manifest itself in many different ways in different patients, but almost all Assburger's sufferers exhibit at least five of the following symptoms:

Delusions of superiority.
A hyper-inflated sense of their own intelligence, wit, charm or appearance.
Ditto for their professional, sporting, musical, rhyming and/or computer prowess.
An obsessive need for praise that borders on fellatio
A lack of empathy for others bordering on the sociopathic.
A constant oral discharge of faecal matter.
The arousal in others of violent or homicidal thoughts.

A childhood memory shattered

2006-07-14T18:12:01Z

Lizzie's been watching episodes of St Elsewhere recorded on our Shiny Box of Joy(tm), an early 80's hospital drama which seems fairly tame by modern standards, but was allegedly quite cutting edge in its time.

The problem is with one of the actors in one of the current story arcs. The actor in question plays the part of Dr. Mark Craig and if you look at the imdb page linked above, he's played by William Daniels, who also played the voice of KITT from Knight Rider.

This is awesomely cool, but as I'm not really paying attention (and the TV is behind me), I keep hearing KITT talking about things that aren't really 'in character' for what I'm used to. Yesterday's episode had him talking his current inability to perform in the bedroom.

This is not something you want to hear from the voice of one of your fond childhood heroes.

meme

2006-07-09T20:46:23Z

(Click here to post your own answers for this meme.)

× I miss somebody right now.	× I don't watch much TV these days.	✓ I own lots of books.
✓ I wear glasses or contact lenses.	✓ I love to play video games.	✓ I've tried marijuana.
✓ I've watched porn movies.	× I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship.	✓ I believe honesty is usually the best policy.
✓ I curse sometimes.	✓ I have changed a lot mentally over the last year.	✓ I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me. (penknife - victorinox cybertool, specifically. Best. Tool. Ever.)

✓ I have broken someone's bones. (I'm not directly responsible, but I was involved...)	× I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal.	× I hate the rain.
× I'm paranoid at times.	× I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.	✓ I need/want money right now.
× I love sushi.	× I talk really, really fast.	× I have fresh breath in the morning.
× I have long hair.	× I have lost money in Las Vegas.	✓ I have at least one sibling.
✓ I was born in a country outside of the U.S.	× I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past.	× I couldn't survive without Caller I.D.
× I like the way that I look.	× I have lied to a good friend in the last 6 months.	× I am usually pessimistic.
× I have a lot of mood swings.	✓ I think prostitution should be legalized.	× I slept with a roommate.
✓ I have a hidden talent.	× I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar I have.	✓ I have a lot of friends.
× I have pecked someone of the same sex.	× I enjoy talking on the phone. (I hate* talking on the phone.)*	✓ I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants.
× I love to shop and/or window shop.	× I'm obsessed with my Xanga or Livejournal.	× I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother.
✓ I have a mobile phone.	× I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months. (and I feel like I'm slacking...)	✓ I've rejected someone before.
✓ I currently like/love someone.	× I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.	✓ I want to have children in the future.
× I have changed a diaper before.	× I've called the cops on a friend before.	× I'm not allergic to anything.
✓ I have a lot to learn.	× I am shy around the opposite sex.	✓ I'm online 24/7, even as an away message.
× I have at least 5 away messages saved.	✓ I have tried alcohol or drugs before.	× I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past.
✓ I own the "South Park" movie.	× I have avoided assignments at work/school to be on Xanga or Livejournal.	✓ I enjoy some country music.
✓ I would die for my best friends.	✓ I'm obsessive, and often a perfectionist.	× I have used my sexuality to advance my career.
✓ I think Halloween is awesome because you get free candy.	× I have dated a close friend's ex.	✓ I am happy at this moment.
× I'm obsessed with guys.	× Democrat.	× Republican.
× I don't even know what I am.	× I am punk rockish.	× I go for older guys/girls, not younger.
✓ I study for tests most of the time.	× I tie my shoelaces differently from anyone I've ever met.	✓ I can work on a car.
✓ I love my job(s).	✓ I am comfortable with who I am right now.	× I have more than just my ears pierced.
× I walk barefoot wherever I can.	✓ I have jumped off a bridge.	× I love sea turtles.
× I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup.	✓ I plan on achieving a major goal/dream.	✓ I am proficient on a musical instrument. (I was - somewhat rusty these days.)
× I hate office jobs.	× I went to college out of state.	× I am adopted.
✓ I am a pyro. (and have been in less trouble than I deserve because of it.)	× I have thrown up from crying too much.	× I have been intentionally hurt by people that I loved.
× I fall for the worst people.	× I adore bright colours.	× I usually like covers better than originals.
× I hate chain theme restaurants like Applebees and TGIFridays.	× I can pick up things with my toes.	× I can't whistle.
✓ I have ridden/owned a horse. (Ridden. Didn't like it.)	× I still have every journal I've ever written in.	× I talk in my sleep.
× I've often thought that I was born in the wrong century.	× I try to forget things by drowning them out with loads of distractions.	× I wear a toe ring.
× I have a tattoo.	✓ I can't stand at LEAST one person that I work with.	✓ I am a caffeine junkie.
× I am completely tree-huggy spiritual, and I'm not ashamed at all.	✓ If I knew I would get away with it, I would commit at least one murder. (see above.)	× I will collect anything, and the more nonsensical, the better.
✓ I enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner.	× I'm an artist.	× I am ambidextrous.
× I sleep with so many stuffed animals, I can hardly fit on my bed.	× If it weren't for having to see other people naked, I'd live in a nudist colony.	× I have terrible teeth.
× I hate my toes.	× I did this meme even though I wasn't tagged by the person who took it before me.	× I have more friends on the internet than in real life.
✓ I have lived in either three different states or countries. (If different counties counts...)	× I am extremely flexible.	× I love hugs more than kisses.
✓ I want to own my own business. (I already do.)	× I smoke.	✓ I spend way too much time on the computer than on anything else.
× Nobody has ever said I'm normal.	× Sad movies, games, and the like can cause a trickle of tears every now and then.	✓ I am proficient in the use of many types of firearms and combat weapons.
✓ I like the way women look in stylized men's suits.	× I don't like it when people are unpleased or seem unpleased with me.	× I have been described as a dreamer or likely to have my head up in the clouds.
✓ I have played strip poker with someone else before.	× I have had emotional problems for which I have sought professional help.	× I believe in ghosts and the paranormal.
× I can't stand being alone.	× I have at least one obsession at any given time.	× I weigh myself, pee/poo, and then weigh myself again.
× I consistently spend way too much money on obsessions-of-the-moment.	× I'm a judgmental asshole.	× I'm a HUGE drama-queen.
× I have travelled on more than one continent.	× I sometimes wish my father would just disappear.	× I need people to tell me I'm good at something in order to feel that I am.
× I am a Libertarian.	✓ I can speak more than one language. (but not very well.)	× I can fall asleep even if the whole room is as noisy as it can be.
✓ I would rather read than watch TV. (sometimes.)	× I like reading fact more than fiction.	✓ I have pulled an all-nighter on an assignment I was given a month to do.
× I have no piercings.	✓ I have spent the night in a train station or other public place.	× I have been so upset over my physical gender that I cried.
× I once spent Christmas completely alone because there was a miscommunication on which parent was supposed to have me that night.	× There have been times when I have wondered "Why was I born?" and may/may not have cried over it.	× I like most animals better than most people.
× I own a collection of retro games consoles.	× The thought of physical exercise makes me shiver.	× I have hit someone with a dead fish.
× I am compulsively honest.	× I was born with a congenital birth defect that has never been repaired.	× I have danced topless in front of dozens of complete strangers.
× I have gone from wishing I was a girl to revelling in being a boy to feeling like a girl again in the span of five minutes, and not cared a whit for my actual sex.	× I am unashamedly bisexual, and have different motivations for my desires for different genders.	× I sometimes won't sleep a whole night or eat a whole day because I forget to.
× I find it impossible to get to sleep without some kind of music on.	× I dislike milk.	× I obsessively wash my hands.
× I always carry something significant around with me.	× Sometimes I'd rather wear a wig in day-to-day life than use my own hair.	× I've pushed myself to become more self-aware and thereby more aware of others.
× Even though I live on my own I still cry sometimes because I miss my mother.	× I hand wrote all the HTML tags in this document.	✓ I've liked something which a majority of people claimed was either bad or weird.
× I have been clinically dead for a brief period of time.	× Instead of feeling sympathy/empathy with people and their problems, I simply become annoyed.	× I participate/have participated in auto drag races and won.
× I do not 'get' most comedy acts.	✓ I don't think strippers are money-greedy or slutty for dancing.	✓ I don't like to chew gum.
× I am obsessed with history/historical things and can't wait for someone to build a time machine so I can be the first to use it.	× I can never remember for the life of me where I parked the car.	× I had the TEEN ANGST thing going for at least 2-3 years.
× I wish people would be more empathic and honest with each other.	× I play Dungeons and Dragons weekly.	✓ I love to sing.
× I want to live in my mother's basement when I grow up.	✓ I have a custom-built computer.	× I want to create a certain someone's babies, even though there's a 0% possiblity of ever achieving it.
× I would be in a relationship with one of my pets if they were human.	✓ I've gone skinny-dipping.	✓ I've performed in three plays.
✓ I enjoy burritos.	× I'm Irish and loving it.	✓ I have a thing for redheads.
× I am a twin!	× Most of the times, I'd rather do something intellectual instead of doing something generically 'fun'.	× Once I set out to finish something, I always stay at it until it is completed before I move on to something else.
× I wish there were a way to erase past mistakes.	× I sleep more than 12 hours a day.	× I wish I could be prouder of what I've accomplished, but it's never enough.
× I need more time to myself.	× I wish I was more open-minded.	✓ I hope that I go really prematurely grey.
✓ I download songs from the internet.	× I've just reenacted chapter 58 of Death Note with my best friend.	× I say random things to freak people out.
× I'm still a little mad about the ending of Death Note.	× I love playing Truth or Dare.	× I love listening to slow music, but I hate singing to it.
× Music helps me remember that I am not alone.	× Playing my favorite sport makes me temporarily forget my problems.	✓ I think this survey is particularly long.
× I prefer my LJ friends to my real-life ones.	× I can only hate someone that I love.	✓ I've ordered an extra two shots of espresso to an Americano at Starbucks. (In a latte, though.)

benc @ 2006-05-06T18:36:00

2006-05-06T17:37:25Z

benc @ 2006-04-24T18:21:00

2006-04-24T17:22:25Z

Fuck the AUT - seen in the men's toilets in the Templeman Library at the University of Kent...

Khaaaaaaaaaaaaan!

2006-04-16T16:34:09Z

Edit:
The Sci-fi channel are running a star trek weekend, but have opted to skip Star Trek 5. Good call, I reckon.

Digital camera retailers

2006-04-14T19:18:56Z

Does anyone have any experience with http://www.letsgodigital.co.uk/ ?
They're pretty much the cheapest online retailer for the camera I want.

Jessops appear to have a pretty good deal on at the moment too, although it's online only. Anyone know if they'll match their own online price in store? I'm willing to pay the extra few quid to pick it up in store, but it's not worth it otherwise.

whine whine whiny whiny

2006-04-11T15:08:30Z

* pissed off with computers in general.
* annoyed at work stupidness - things should be getting better in the near future, but i just want to be able to do my pissing job without interruptions/stupidness/"my thing is more important than anything else" and people making the wrong (ill-informed or stupid) decisions.
* worried about the state of the world in general - bush/middle east, id cards/terrorism laws being used to erode what rights we have, and underhanded labour plans to do whatever the fuck they like.
* it's gone from being a nice day to shitty weather.
* mum's still in hospital, they don't know what's wrong.
* general life-related stress, including egg saying one thing, and doing another, *and* sending me letters to my old address, despite my new one being the one they list as holding on their website. wankers.
* too much to do, too little time
* other people with bigger problems that I can't help

this post's brought to you without the benefit of capital letters. i couldn't bring myself to drop punctuation though.

Cane Hill

2006-04-03T21:26:14Z

Cane Hill Asylum wanderings, including pictures and rant about rent-a-cop security guards...

pledgebank

2006-03-14T20:31:34Z

Pledge to withhold excessive council tax increase. Please spread this round (and sign up!).

Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

2006-03-09T23:25:12Z

The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill or the "Abolition of Parliament" act is an evil piece of legislation...