Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

I haven’t posted on here for a while… but here I am again.  Posting.  This could either mean I have something deeply interesting to share with the rest of the world, or i’m very bored and needed something to write.  Possibly a combination of the both.  *Ding* latter wins!

Basically, for a long long time i’ve been planning to release an album and promote the crap out of the thing… well!  Production has nearly finished, and everything is being finalised for a veritable disc-shaped invasion of the ears (the good kind of invasion).

The album is called Lost in Transit, and the cover looks a little something like this:

We’ve gone all out on the packaging, with a 16 page full colour booklet (featuring lyrics, photographs, an introduction and thank yous), a transparent case, and shrinkwrapped as brand new with a barcode.  Oh yeah.

I’m still trying to figure out new and interesting ways of promoting the thing once I have a big box of 500 albums sitting in my bedroom, so if anyone has some ideas please throw them my way!  Until then all I can say is… more information coming soon!

Oh yes, and it’s due out in September

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

About time for an update methinks.  With just under 4 weeks to go, deadlines are approaching fast and I have fully settled back into ‘college edd’ mode (meaning 90:10 work:fun) which makes me constantly stressed and a tiny bit aggitated… its actually become a chore squeezing in my social life because i’ve become so engrossed (I hestitate to use the word obsessed) in my work… but hey, at least i’m doing it

The work itself isn’t too bad at all, it’s just the balancing act getting all three projects finished.  For Internet Tech i’m working with three others on a fully interactive website for a ski resort accomodation booking system, Graphics i’m designing/coding a top-down Micro Machines-esque racer called ThrustBuggies, and Data Structures completing a worksheet full of algorithm exercises.

Internet Tech is going fine, except I turn into a nazi in groups.  It’s very hard to keep your cool when one plonker tries to tell you not to use IF statements because it would make the project “harder”.  …Ok… you probably wouldn’t get the significance of that unless you know a programming language - but trust me, it was a retarded thing to say.  It’s like suggesting to build a sandcastle without turrets.  Or something.
Graphics is going much slower, but getting there… i’ve decided on a beach-themed track with some very strange looking vehicles (because i’m no artist) and a nice caribe soundtrack in the background.  It even speeds up on the third lap, mario kart-stylee!  I’m going to post progress on the game in this blog over the next few weeks so you can see it take form… however, at the moment it’s just a blue square on a black background since I havent figured out how to texture yet ;)  D’oh.
Oh and data structures… don’t go there.

So that has been my life at university.  Thrilling stuff eh?  I guess I can always get pissed at christmas…

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

Production on Britchford Town begins January at the UEA!  Meanwhile heres a bit of info on the first episode:

1×01: Fresh From The Womb
When a pro-life activist group called “Mother Nature Now” comes to town, many of Britchford’s townspeople (including Brenden) are brainwashed into joining their cause, and living on a diet of ‘pro-life’ food. Meanwhile, Stue mentors a local primary school child for a week.

Click for a preview!

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

9th December 2006 - Edd’s Birthday Party (Norwich)!

House party at our lodgings in Norwich!  Obviously i’m not going to post the address on here, so speak to me for details

17th December 2006 - Edd’s (real) Birthday Gettogether (Essex)!

Bowling, Cinema and TGI Fridays in Basildon!  More details soon. 

31st December 2006 - NEW YEARS PARTY! (Essex)

James has graciously passed the baton onto me this year, as i’ll be holding the annual New Years Partay!  Drink-ed-ness, Food, Music, Fireworks, Games, and a live midnight link up to Big Ben at midnight!… through the medium of television.

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

Thought it was about time for an update of sorts… So far, i’m actually enjoying the nature of the second year way more than the first.  Sure, things arent quite as sociable without Jess, Dave and Brian living down the corridor, but that just means we have to make more of an effort to socialise… and we are!  Plus - although I hated it at first - its quite nice living out in the countryside after all… everything is just so laid back, and its not like its a chore getting around the city either.  So yes, this year is very cool indeed

Anyway, we’re well into lectures now (week 4 I think?) and coursework has already been assigned… there is a *lot* to do this semester (4 projects), but its probably comparable to how much I did in college when you take away the paperwork.  The best bit about the year though, is that we’re learning C++ and OpenGL in the Graphics unit.  Our major coursework assignment is to produce a top-down racing game (somewhat like Micro Machines) which involves computer-controlled opponents and varying levels of difficulty.  How fun is that???  A huuuge contrast to last years torrent of Maths and Binary!  Heres some music I created for the game:

Main Theme
Jungle Hooka Chaka
Inked
Beachtraps
Spaceport Five

Next semester will be just as cool (if not cooler) with the introduction of 3D to graphics, and a Music module!!  God, its so good to be doing what I enjoy at last!  The only problem is that i’ve reverted back to what I call “college edd”.  All I keep thinking about is the work, and i’m actually having more trouble socialising than working… not a good thing at uni.  But hey, i’m aiming for a first… it must be done.  Oh, and sadly for me, I had to postpone Britchford Town until the workload is a little less demanding   Will I ever get this cartoon made??

So thats it for now… I shall post progress on my braaand new game when I have some   Laters all!

PS: I also have a few gigs planned for the upcoming couple of months… http://www.eddcoates.com/gigs.html.  Please come show your support!

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

Well i’m finally nice and settled in my brand spanking new house in Norwich.  It doesn’t beat living on campus, but its a manageable distance from here to the university, theres a bus route that runs through the area, and… oh yes!  I have a double bed!!!!  *sprawl*

I’ve been pretty active since getting back… my social life always takes a hit when I return to Essex, so its nice to have things back to normal again.  I’ve been shopping FOUR times (in a week!), saw various people from last year, last night saw Embrace live, Alan Carr is doing standup on Monday and The Divine Comedy are doing a gig next month!  Not to mention a week full of freshers events to wrap around my first second year lectures   It’s so good to be back!

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

New video!!

Everyone goes bongo crazy.

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

There’s only one way to say this glorious bit of news…

*** I PASSED!!!! ***

Hell yeah.  Stars and everything.  I still don’t know exactly what marks I got since UEA are dipsticks and haven’t sent our results out yet… but that doesn’t matter!  I passed, i’m back and stronger than ever.  The resits turned out to be a godsend as it gave me that much needed ‘boot up the hiney’, and scared me enough to ensure this sort of thing will never happen again… i’d be utterly stupid to get this close to disaster again.

But that certainly wont happen again this year…. luckily all that hardcore revision for resits re-ignited my… err… fire for work.  Or something.  Poorly executed metaphore aside, this means i’m back to my hardworking, industrious college Edd self   Computer Science, I am going to kick yo’ ass, and a First shall be mine.  ALL MINE.

Roll on Year 2!!

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

New video added to the Videos > Grand Tour section!

These are my last two days in Colman House at the University of East Anglia.  Watch as I (attempt to) pack for home, provoke the beast, and reminisce the times of old.  Ahh.  …  and perhaps we’ll chase Susie along the way?

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

Well the rest of the week has been rather ho hum, but a surprising amount has happened in the last couple of days…

On Thursday my Supercard finally arrived and I was able to bask in the glow of free DS games   But not an hour later, I got a phone call from the Evening Standard, who informed me that I won a competition!!  2 free tickets to AvenueQ, a three course meal for two at a top London restaurant, and VIP access to a nightclub.  Hell yes!  So I invited Chay, and hopefully we’re going sometime next week   In the evening I saw Snakes on a Plane… which absolutely rocked.  To be honest, it wasnt particularly deep, but when you go to see a movie called “Snakes on a Plane” you generally expect exactly what it says on the tin… and it so does not disappoint.

On Friday, I got up fairly early in an attempt to reboot my body clock.  And play more DS.  I found out from Ian that if my resits really were as disastrous as I thought, then there may be a chance that i’ll be allowed back to do the normal course as opposed to the honours.  Although I may be jinxing that by writing about it on my blog… but huge sigh of relief imminent.  In the evening, I began sorting out the net for Susie, who is currently living alone in our swanky new house in Norwich (I want to move up there ASAP, but i’ve got to finish a web job for a client first).  Turns out we need a MAC address from the people who lived there previously, so lots of fun and games to be had on the phone with BT, listening to that dreadful ‘hold’ music over and over.  Once that was semi-sorted, it was time for Stef’s 20th Birthday gettogether bash thing.  The crowd was relatively small - but interesting - and I managed to get myself completely drunk… which wasn’t hard considering I hadn’t had a drink in 2 months.  Though, now speaking Saturday morning with a thumping headache, this was a bad idea.

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

To celebrate the end of my horrid resits (regardless of whether I passed or not), I decided to treat myself to a little something called a Supercard MiniSD.  Some of you will remember me going on about my GP32, the Korean console that plays old games, movies, MP3s etc… well, the Supercard pretty much turns the Nintendo DS into an advanced version of that

So not only can I play SNES/MegaDrive/NES, MP3s and Movies… but I can also take advantage of the awesome homebrew scene which has been bubbling for the past 2 years!  This means Monkey Island using the touch screen, Doom 1 and 2 over WiFi and AMAZINGLY, wireless MSN!!!  Theres also a ton of other cool stuff like paint programs, an electronic organizer and a free web-browser   Oh… and it has the bonus of allowing you to download and play any DS game on the system… including unreleased imports   Final Fantasy III and Starfox here I come! :P

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

Well, now i’m fully recovered from my hellish week, it’s time to write about it…

Monday

After staying up til 3am the previous night studying Logic theory, I woke up at 9am to do… yes, more Logic theory.  This fun lasted until 12, when I decided it was time to get ready for Norwich… and at 3, I embarked on my journey.  Woo-pie.
I did - yet more - revision on the train ride upto Norwich… only the first half was marred by an intelligent (but still asking for a beating) kid, who was improving her own maths knowledge by selling her mother pretend goods for pretend cash.  Good for her and everything, but lets see… little girl practicing addition, or desparate student practicing matrices.  In all honesty, I wanted to throw her out of the window.

I got to Norwich at 5, ready to meet Alex who I hadnt seen in quite a while.  The plan was to stay with him til Thursday, but unfortunately he neglected to mention that he had any bedsheets.  Ah.  So, we got back to his, ordered in chinese, then I did heaps more revision before finally going to bed at 2… only I didnt get much sleep because it was cold and I kept dreaming of binary.

Tuesday

Got up early, and strolled down to Uni with Alex.  Three months away from the place and everything was starting to seem a bit surreal… especially since the only thought on my mind was “this could be the last time I walk around here”.  I very productively grabbed myself breakfast from Zest… only Zest was closed to everyone but special tour groups!  So I had to go to Blend.  Which was fine, but small things were starting to piss me off.
After breakfast, I did heaploads of revision until 4ish when Cat arrived, and we started to do some together.  Cat invited me to sleep at her’s, Roo’s and Brian’s since they possessed the luxury of bedsheets - amen!!  So I thankfully accepted, I collected my stuff from Alex’s and we went back to Cat’s for dinner.  I had a long chat with Roo (i’ve missed the guy!) before heading back to the university for a planned evening of revision.  Unfortunately, things didnt go exactly according to plan.

Cat’s place was kinda distanced from the uni, so I had to rely on her to drive me to and fro… and unfortunately, revision plans were screwed up because when we got back to uni, a - very futuristic - fire alarm had everyone evacuating the library.  All the while, Cat was stressing like crazy… so when we were finally allowed back in, she was too frustrated to do any work and we had to leave early.  At this point, her stress was only making me feel worse too.  When we got home, I chatted to Roo a bit more before heading off to bed… and again, only got a couple of hours sleep from all the worrying.

Wednesday

The lack of sleep was starting to show itself, and I awoke to find myself hallucinating exam papers!!!  Like, questions on sheets of paper floating around my head, just waiting to be answered… I was going mad.  But, I didnt have much time to recover, because Cat very gracefully gave me 10 whole minutes to get myself dressed and out of the door or she was leaving without me.  I decided things were much better at Alex’s, cause although the bed was cold, at least I wasnt as stressed out of my mind.  So, I brought my suitcases with me, and we drove to uni with 40 mins to spare til the exam… then I noticed my phone was missing.  ARGHHHH!!!!  I later found out I left it at Cat’s.

I sat in with Alex for a bit to go over my notes, then I wandered off to my exam.  Computing Systems wasn’t all that bad really… it didn’t go fantastically, but it didn’t exactly go bad either.  It was one of those exams where a little voice yells “YES!” in the back of your mind when you know the revision paid off.  Ironically, my revision wasn’t even focused on this exam because I was trying to concentrate on the Maths one instead… at this point I was starting to wonder if i’d made a mistake.

After the exam, I think the stress and sleep deprivation got the better of me, because I ended up thinking “fuck this”, and took a very long rest.  I was walking around campus like a zombie… all I could think of was numbers and figures, and my human interaction skills were completely fucked.  For example, when I tried to order a sandwich from Mango, I didn’t understand the pricing system… so I asked… three times… and got some very strange looks from people.  This rebellion procratination continued until 9pm, when I finally decided I was well rested and ready to finish the maths revision.  At 1am, I went to bed.  This time, Alex gave me lots of extra sheets and things, bless him

Thursday

I was still cold, and I didnt sleep much.  Again.  This time, I dreamt of Maths non-stop throughout the night in addition to hallucinating maths papers and a venn diagram in the morning.  It felt like I hadn’t had a break from the revision since I started at 9pm the previous night, and I felt very depressed.  In addition to that, I was wretching and couldn’t eat my breakfast!  Kids, I cannot enthasize enough the importance of sleep (says he who writes at midnight).

By this point, I had more or less broken down… I couldnt hold a conversation, I was shaking/wretching as my nerves kicked in, I looked like utter shit, and my attention span was shorter than a midget’s chuff.  In this state, as much as I tried to revise from 9-2, all I could think about was the time ticking away and none of it sinking in… I think its fairly safe to say I wasn’t going to pass this exam.  And as such, it was bad.  Very bad.

After the exam, I grabbed my suitcase from Alex’s office, took one last - overly dramatised - look at UEA, and got on the bus back to the train station, which took me back to Shenfield.  And so concluded my Norwichian adventure.

That night, I met up with James for a movie and chinese take-away, then I went home… to sleep for a very long time.

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

Resits for Maths and Computing Systems are on Wednesday and Thursday… needless to say, i’ve been revising my ass off in preparation.  I’m still nervous as hell, but I think things are going to be okay…

I’m heading upto Norwich tomorrow - two days early - to take advantage of the lack of distraction, and get some extra hardcore revision in.  Coffee helps lots   So… be back Thursday, with a smile or a frown!  Hopefully the former.

PS: Maths is fun. WTF?

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

Yeah… well!  I was randomly flicking through channels on Sky Digital as you do… there was nothing particularly funny on the normal channels so I thought “I know, i’ll laugh at christians instead!”  So, off I went to ‘Faith TV’… where they were advertising something called “Miracle Spring Water”.  Its a huuuge shame I couldn’t record it, because this is one of the most outrageously hilarious (yet oh so offensive) things i’ve ever seen in my life!  Essentially, you order the spring water, “follow the instructions on the packet”… and you receive a “divine transfer” from god.  Everything from cheques, to material posessions, to CURES for hepititis and CANCER.  Yes, you heard it… the cure to cancer is being sold on Sky as we speak!  And how can it be a scam when the host’s teeth are so sparkly white?

Anyway, if you want a laugh, click here for the ad!  Shudder.

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

A new podcast for the song “Troglodyte” has been added to the music site.  Please click here Enjoy!

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

Always good to hear when AOL, scurge of the internet, runs into a bit of trouble…

From ZDNet:

AOL apologised on Monday for releasing search log data on subscribers that had been intended for use with the company’s newly launched research site.

In one search log, terms such as “how to tell your family you’re a victim of incest”, “casey middle school”, “surgical help for depression”, “can you adopt after a suicide attempt”, “Fishman David Dr - 2.6 miles NE - 160 E 34th St, New York, 10016 - (212) 731-5345″, “gynecology oncologists in new york city” and “how long will the swelling last after my tummy tuck” appeared in the set of data.

Aren’t you glad you’re not with AOL?   Oh, and if you want to read the data for shits and giggles… click here!

Edit: A compiled list of the funniest data can be found on Something Awful.  Just what the hell was someone expecting to find when searching for “can I store cum in a glass and eat it after 4 days”.

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

Retakes for Maths and Computing Systems are on the 23rd and 24th… I need an overall 65% in both, including 40% in one of them to pass the year.  I want to scream?

So basically, 50% and 15% will do.  Or 60% and 5%.  Or 40% and 25%… you get the picture.  I’m putting all my hopes into the Maths unit, as thats where i’ve been focusing my revision lately… seeing as the Computing Systems unit was horrible, to say the least.  Again, I want to scream.

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

I have finally ended the procrastination and begun revision for my retakes on the 23rd.  Luckily, after years and years of exams, I finally discover a method of revision that works for me… going through all my notes (and the textbook), and writing them out in my own words, reading as I go along.  Yes, I know its sentences like that that make you think “no wonder he failed the first time…”, but hey, best I learn the mysteries of revision sooner  rather than later.

I’ve just finished writing an episode for Britchford Town called “Blocked”, which satires the whole diabolically evil MySpace trend, and hits upon internet addiction.  It was hitting home even as I wrote it   This is a fully-formed script for the show, as the structure is nearly perfect, and the only changes left to make are tiny grammatical or humourous ones.  Viva la Britchford!!!

It turns out my wisdom teeth arent responsible for my constant colds… because according to the dentist, they wont be coming through.  However, they wont be causing any trouble in the future, so that’s all good   And my teeth are perfectly healthy!

Aaand finally… my glasses arrived!

Yes, now I need a hair cut.

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

I’m finally feeling better again after 3 full weeks with the flu… which means I can sing again!  Woo!  Apparently I keep getting ill because i’m teething (wisdom teeth, that is), which plays havoc with the throat, nose and ears.  Something the dentist should be sorting out on Friday… I’m really not looking forward to that.

I’ve also been getting into a little something called Brain Training for the Nintendo DS.  Well, just the demo.  Funnily enough, i’d never played Sudoku before in my life… and now I am completely and utterly addicted to it.  Even through the demo only includes one puzzle   So!  To rectify that, I am going out in erm… 5 minutes? to get Brain Training and Big Brain Academy   Hoorah!

I’m still not totally used to keeping a blog… there were other interesting things that went on this week, but it didnt cross my mind to post about them.  Oh well.

Originally published at Edds Place. You can comment here or there.

A new video has been added to the drunken hijinx section, the 999 LCR Preparty!