Okay, so I should be getting ready for Paris right now, but this is pretty big. After weeks of denying it, Nintendo finally announced that they will be launching a revamped version of the DS in late March. This new version will be two-thirds the size/80% of the weight of the original and the ability to set the LCD to four different levels of brightness (including the option to set it brighter than the original DS.)

As well as this, they’ve redesigned the case to match the design of the revolution controller!

My poor little Nintendo DS. We’ve been together a long time. You’ve seen me through some tough times, some God-awful transatlantic flights, and I’ve even grown to love your beauty-spot of a dead pixel. But I don’t know how much longer you have left.

Well, five nights, to be exact.

Continuing this jet-setting lifestyle that I’m becoming so accustomed to, herself indoors and I are heading off to Paris tomorrow for a few days. This is mainly a way of making up for the fact that I was 5,000 miles away for her birthday earlier in the month, but also as a way of recharging our collective batteries (and it means I’m finally, FINALLY going to Disneyland, having been itching to go since it first opened).

If all goes according to plan, I won’t be anywhere near a computer until I come back. So things will be even quieter than usual around here. And it’s a shame, because I had so much to talk about. Like my favourite ascerbic journalist, Charlie Brooker, describing Adrien Brody as “a cross between Ross from Friends and a disappointed sundial.” Or the new trailer for the Silent Hill movie.

But all these will have to wait. I’ve got french people queueing up to be rude to me.

Netsource Speed Test

Originally uploaded by THRILLHO.

For a little while now, I’ve noticed that my netsource connection only sucks during the evening, when people are home from work, during which time it’s barely better than dialup. In the very late night and early in the morning, the connection is spectacular and actually comes close to approaching the “2MB DSL” it’s advertised as.

So, to put my theory to the test, I set up a cron job to wget a 1MB file from ftp.heanet.ie twice every hour. I calculated the average of the two hourly downloads and used that for my result.

And, well, the graph speaks for itself. The connection is best at 7AM, and worst at 6PM. At least this gives me some demonstratable proof of what I’m saying when I speak to Netsource about my connection.

Right, so where was I?

A few months ago, I wrote about Snakes On A Plane, the high-concept thriller about uh… snakes. On a plane. The IMDB has recently updated its information about Sheldon Turner, the writer of SoaP. One of his upcoming projects is called The Breathtaker and its IMDB plot summary runs like this:

A small-town police chief pursues a serial killer who strikes only during tornadoes, brutally killing his victims in the eye of the storm.

Jesus. This guy is really working hard to redefine the term “High Concept”, bringing us into “Huge Concept”.

Also: I’ve started visiting Script Sales almost daily now. It always cheers me up to read about scripts whose log-lines describe them as “A monkey spy adventure in the vein of ‘The Bourne Identity.'”

…?!

I wish I could say it was more than just a coincidence that I’m in San Francisco at the same time as Macworld but unfortunately, I’m only here to help our company move its San Francisco office two blocks down the road. The move itself took place over the past weekend (and the few days before it), so for the last few days I’ve been running myself ragged trying to make the entire thing as seamless as possible. And, minor cable issue aside, the whole ordeal has been fine. We’re back up and running and I’ve got time to enjoy myself.

No gun issues this time. Actually, the whole trip has been rather subdued. Like I said, I’ve been pretty busy since I got here. Working 12-hour days has meant that I’m going hotel -> work -> hotel. Sleep -> work -> sleep. The jetlag hasn’t been given a chance to catch up with me.

Although it’s not all been work. I’ve still managed to find time to do some wandering. Being a huge nerd, I went hiking around San Francisco to find the offices of American Zoetrope, Francis Ford Coppola’s production company. While I was out there, I took a trip towards North Beach, past the City Lights bookstore – the heart of the beat movement. And, naturally, also found time to do a little shopping. Current haul includes

• Sin City: Recut, Extended, Unrated
• Down by Law (Criterion)
• F for Fake (Criterion)
• Legend: Special Edition

But of course, the entire city has gone Mac crazy. Macworld is taking place just 10 minutes down the road from where I’m sitting. Today, as I’m sure you’re all aware, is keynote day. On the trip down Market Street, from Powell to First (roughly ten or so blocks) I passed 4 Starbucks, each one filled to overflowing with people on Powerbooks and iBooks, presumably waiting for Steve Jobs’ keynote to begin (sitting in one of the windows was that guy who laser-etched his powerbook).

And now, only 6 hours after the keynote ended and the products were launched San Francisco is covered in ads for the new Intel Macs. Unbelievable.

Birthday Loot!

Originally uploaded by THRILLHO.

Today I managed to defy the odds by surviving exactly 27 years. To congratulate me (or perhaps console me), people gave me some loot. Current haul includes

• Badass G-Shock watch that’s been on my del.icio.us wishlist forever (the same one I tried to order a while ago but they wouldn’t ship to me because of the war in Iraq)
• Classic Slip-on Vans
• Kubrick GTA III set
• A food mincer
• A food warmer (not pictured)
• Doctor Who Box Set
• Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint

27 being the age of the Rock N’ Roll death, I’m starting to feel a bit bummed out by the increasingly long list of people who had completed their entire careers and went to that great gig in the sky by the same age as I am right now. I’ve got about another 11 months and 30 days left to make my mark on the world or else I’ll miss my window.