Merrill Lynch Japan predicts Sony will lose more than $1 billion on hardware during its next-gen console’s first year on the market, a sum it may not be able to recoup. Apparently it will sell for $399, but cost $494 to make, so they’ll lose just under $100 per unit, ouch!
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner (aka Bennifer Mark II) are married and she’s pregnant. This is important news people!!!
Remember I said Google Earth would take up a lot of your time?
Well, this is a prime example, a 3D rendering of downtown Atlanta, as viewed from just north of Bank of America Plaza, the largest building in Atlanta…
And this is me only just beginning, I wonder what other fabulous views I can find…
Originally uploaded by FLC.
Google Earth is now publically available. But beware, you WILL spend hours upon hours looking at this…
Possibly the best slideshow on Flickr today. A true rouge’s gallery if ever there was one…
iTunes 4.9 is now out, complete with podcasting support. I personally don’t get the whole podcasting phenomenon, but to each their own I guess…
Rockstar Games release Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2 as free downloads. Time to kick it old skool….
It was another trip to Turner Field to see the Braves taking on the surprise contenders for the American League East Division, the Baltimore Orioles. The Braves went into this match looking for a sweep of the Orioles, and get their 5th win in the last six games as they try to pull themselves closer to the National League East leaders, the Washington Nationals.
It was a pretty wet day as it drizzled for the entire game, luckily there was no rain delays, and, despite a slew of injuries, the Braves went on to win with a comfortable score of 8-1, mainly due to John Smoltz’s pitching, Andrew Jones’ fielding and hitting and Rafael Furcal’s hitting also, but it was a great all-round team performance with everyone doing their part.
Smoltz was the undoubted star of the game though, he pitched the entire game, striking out 7 Orioles, this gave him him 2,487 career strikeouts, thus passing Don Drysdale for 27th place on the all-time list, while holding them to a single run (a Rafael Palmero solo homer in the 5th) and only 5 hits… He even managed to get an RBI double in his last at bat, so not a sloppy afternoon’s work for a guy who was a closer the last few years…
Despite the rain, it was still a pretty decent crowd that turned up, some even brought brooms in anticipation of the series sweep… This brought my overall record up to 7-3 (.700) (or *7-4 (.636)), things are looking up again.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Here was the view from our seats, a pretty miserable grey sky with most of Atlanta hidden by clouds and rain, next up is the July 4th game against the Chicago Cubs…
For all my complaining about the rain during Music Midtown, nothing quite compares to the rain at Glastonbury this year…
Wow, and I thought 1997 was a bad year for rain there…
Last night we got last minute tickets for the Braves game against the Florida Marlins (Marlins, we meet again) so we headed out to the ol’ ballpark for a game under the lights…
For statistical purposes, my Turner Field record sits at a nice 6-2 (.750) (or *6-3 (.666) depending on who you ask, I say that Mets loss last year is definately asterisked) in favour of the Braves, I’ve seen them beat the Marlins twice before, so it stands to reason that last night would have been a win… Nah, it was an old fashioned 8-0 ass whooping…
Just a tad disappointing…
Anyways, we had fun regardless of the lacklustre performance out on the field, the only real highlight was Brian Jordan making a sweet diving catch out in right field. Though it must be said that Marlins pitcher (with the weird wind up) Dontrelle Willis threw an excellent game, so it wasn’t totally the Braves fault…
So it was, again, disappointing as my record officially slumps to 6-3 (.666) (or *6-4 (.600) damn, I’m teetering just above .500). Hopefully Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles won’t be too disasterous…
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Time for a few panoramas… Firstly, the view from our seats and then from center field at the end of the game.
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip.
Isn’t that how all good stories begin? Well this tale starts with a fateful trip to get some ice cream, not any ice cream, but Jakes Ice Cream…
Jakes Ice Cream and Muncheteria is, as the website says, “good home made ice cream and a really cool place to enjoy it,” and there are a variety of locations dotted around Atlanta, and Robyn has a big book of savings coupons, and Jakes is in there, located, so it said, at 14th and Howell Mill, so we get there, catching a glimpse of the new, huge, IKEA store along the way, and there’s no sign of a Jakes Ice Cream. Oh well, there is another at 10th and Piedmont in Midtown, so we go over there, find it but our story doesn’t end here…
This isn’t the one Robyn went to before, regardless that we found a Jakes Ice Cream, Robyn insisted this wasn’t the one she wanted to go to, ok… So we head BACK to 14th and Howell Mill, determined to find this phantom muncheteria. We even find the exact address, and it’s not Jakes Ice Cream, so that’s kinda weird… So know Robyn chimes in that this Jakes place was over near the Carter Center, so we go there and drive around some scary neighbourhoods along the way… And low and behold we find the place she was talking about, but it’s dark, the lights are off, the door is locked and there is a sign saying “After 6 glorious years, this Jakes Ice Cream and Muncheteria is closing as of 7pm today” (or words to that effect)
Now, we didn’t know if 7pm today meant TODAY, and if it did then it was an enormous tease… As Robyn put it “it’s like freaking Wallyworld.” Enough said…
So finally we get back to Jakes in Midtown, and the storefront is mightily deceptive… It wasn’t until we rounded the corner and saw some guy with ice cream that we realised it was actually open, and after a 2 hour trek through Atlanta, Robyn finally got her Animal Cookie ice cream…
The punchline? After going all that way because of a savings coupon, she forgot to use it…
After 35 years of frustration, Sandy Springs residents voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to transform their unincorporated community into one of the largest cities in Georgia. Unofficial returns showed that 94 percent of people who cast ballots voted “yes.”
Michael Schumacher claimed a hollow win in a farcical US Grand Prix, with just six cars taking part. Because of the Michelin tyre safety row the only cars on the starting grid were those of Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi.
Jeff Dauler, co-host of The Bert Show on Atlanta’s Q100, has decided it’s time to sue Jennifer Wilbanks. About time, why should this crazy eyed woman with more than a few screws loose profit from her absolute stupidity…
About 5pm we were sitting around doing nothing in particular when Robyn’s friend and co-worker, Charles, asked us if we wanted to go see the new movie “War of the Worlds” at the local cinema, well Robyn had been feeling not so well during the day but decided to go see it anyways…
The movie was very “whelming”… It wasn’t overwheling and it wasn’t underwhelming, it was right in the middle, and can basically be broken down into 3 acts, the first 15 minutes sets the stage, the middle 1 hour and 40 minutes is a little bit adventurous and a little bit boring and the final 5 minutes is the finale, and I ain’t even kidding… There is next to no build up, save for a little monolouge and the introduction of Tom Cruise’s character, who, we’re told, isn’t exactly an ideal role model for an action movie. As Michael Hanscom put it, there is no heart to this movie, none at all. You’re just thrown in and expected to pick up the pieces you’re given.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that it’s a bad film, it could be enjoyable for some, it’s just not an enthralling movie, it tends to lose it’s self from time to time, most noteably when Tim Robbins character is introduced, and the resolution, which is pretty well known if you know anything about the books, radio play or other film adaptations, is just so sudden that even though the end credits are rolling and the lights are up, you’re waiting for something more to appear. I can safely say it’s possibly the worst ending I’ve seen in a long, long time… Even if it is true to the original story…
It’s probably best viewed as a rental later on down the road…
Robyn, meanwhile, dislikes “suspence” movies (which this had in spades, as well as it’s fair share of gruesome scenes) and is most likely deeply traumatised by the whole ordeal. I’m not sure if that is a recommendation or whatever, I’ll let you draw you’re own conclusions.