The Corby Cube

This evening I had tickets to see a show at the Corby Cube which is the first time I have been to Corby's new Theatre.

First impressions, I'm sad to say, were not very good as there is no car parking at the Corby Cube.  Their website has some cleverly worded directions for parking which basically say you can park in the car park next door.

The only problem with this is that it's the swimming pools car park.  And you'll never guess who parks in it?  Yes, that's right, the users of the swimming pool so there was no room for myself and many, many other cars that were aimlessly driving around in circles wondering where they could park.

The best known fact about the Corby Cube is that is has been a cock-up from start to finish.  It was supposed to cost around £21million instead it cost nearer £49million - more than double the initial cost!  The bungling councilors didn't stop there though, they build the Corby Cube to a dangerous design that was revealed in a leaked report to the BBC.

I don't know what they spent the overspend on, it certainly wasn't on a car park.

I finally found a place to park in the car park where all the shops are.  After a short walk I arrived at the cub where I was greeted with a gigantic pavement area that serves no point what-so-ever other than to annoy people who couldn't park in the swimming pools car park as this could have quite easily been used as a car park.

There wasn't a clear entrance to the theater as all you can see is the Library and after walking all the way around the Corby Cube we realised that that was the only entrance so ventured in.  We soon could see some smartly dressed people who looked like they worked in the Theater part of the Cube so we walked towards them and as we did so they greeted us with a smile and a warm welcome and after a quick look at our tickets they helpfully pointed us in the right direction.

After walking down several flights of stairs we ended up in the bar area where we decided to have a drink whilst we waited for the show to begin.  Now I don't know what is in the local water supply but whatever it is, it makes the Diet Pepsi taste like flat dish water so if you want a non-alcoholic fizzy drink then I'd steer clear of anything on tap as it's disgusting - luckily they sell bottle soft-drinks too and that's what we had during the interval of the show.

We were very grateful for the interval as watching a show at the Corby Cube is a painful experience as the seats are the thinnest, most flimsy and uncomfortable seats I have ever had the misfortune to sit in.  Again, I can't for the life of me see where the £49million was spent, not only was it not on the non-existent car park, but they certainly didn't spend very much on the cheap and nasty seats that wobbled all over the place when anyone in the building walked around.

All-in-all I have to say that I sadly would not recommend the Corby Cube to anyone.  Even the McKinlay Theater (which has now been demolished) on the former Tresham Institute site on St Marys Road in Kettering was better than the Corby Cube and Ken Dodd once described that as nothing more than a disused aircraft hanger!

If you're looking for a night out in Corby, then either drive, catch a bus or hail a taxi and go to the Castle in Wellingborough as it has ample car park spacing and the seats are very, very comfortable.

I've given The Corby Cube 1 star out of 5 simply because I don't have an image with no stars in it as up until now I didn't think I would need one.  :(

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Django Unchained Film Review

It's a couple of years before the start of the American Civil War and Dr King Schultz who is a German immigrant dentist is searching for a slave by the name of Django.

When he locates Django he finds that he has recently been purchased by a chain gang so he has to purchase him and gain a bill of sale as proof of ownership.

Why is he searching for a slave?  Well, Dr Schultz is also a Bounty Hunter but there isn't a bounty on Djangos head, instead he needs Djangos help to identify some brothers who do have a bounty on them so he gives Django his freedom and asks him for his help and this is how the story of Django Unchained begins.

As you can probably guess Django agrees to help Schultz and they end up in a partnership and they soon find the brothers that Schultz is looking for, but this is only the beginning of their partnership...

As with Quentin Tarantino's other films, the soundtrack throughout the film is fantastic and plays an important part of the story telling and as per usual there is a different 'special effect' that is used throughout the film that is both gory and funny at the same time.

It's quite a dark film and is Tarantino's first attempt at a Western and I have to say it is one of (if not the most) fantastic film I have ever seen.  Some of the subject matter in the film can be hard to stomach and I'm not talking about the bloodshed but the graphic depiction of how slaves were treated as nothing more than property for their 'owners' to do with as they please.  From whipping their backs to dogs ripping them apart limb-from-limb.  Although you don't always see the full gory details on screen, you hear what is happening and your imagination does the rest.

There is the typical Tarantino humour throughout the film and you find yourself laughing at subject matters that you shouldn't/wouldn't normally be laughing at.  One particular example is there is a moment where what can only be described as the beginning of the KKK where they are discussing the merits of their new headgear which consists of a poorly designed white hood with eye-holes they all can't see out of properly.  I can remember hearing the whole cinema erupting with laughter, followed by an uneasy silence.

Although you could wait for it to be released on DVD and Blu-Ray I would strongly recommend you watch this amazing film at the Cinema as the experience you'll get from the atmosphere is simply fantastic.

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Grownups Series 3 - DVD Review

Oh my god, just when I thought it couldn't get any weirder I've just seen Grant in a dress pretending to be Kylie to cheer up the boy he blinded playing tiddlywinks who isn't actually blind (he's just pretending so he doesn't have to go to school) and Michelle in a gimp mask and full rubber outfit!

Grant doesn't stop with dressing up as Kylie, he even ends up dressing up as a Geography Teacher in a 'sexy' attempt to turn on his new girlfriend from his office.

They're still trying to have sex with each other (and anything else that moves) but the humour seems to be a lot better than Series 2 but it's still pretty strange.

Don't bother with Series 2 as that's just complete tosh in my opinion but this one isn't too bad.

The Inbetweeners Movie - DVD Review

Just when you thought The Inbetweeners was over this fantastic and hilarious film comes along!  If you enjoyed the TV Series then you must watch this film.

Will, Simon, Jay and Neil head off on holiday together, not a camping trip like the last episode in the TV Series, this time they venture further afield to Malia where they do everything you'd expect on a lads holiday from staying in a crap hotel to attempting to attract the ladies by wearing Pussay Patrol T-Shirts!


Full of all sorts of politically-incorrect humour you are bound to find this film absolutely hilarious.


All-in-all this is a great British Movie and if you're looking for something to make you laugh then make sure you watch this film/DVD.

The Inbetweeners Movie [DVD]

Blue Streak - DVD Film Review

In this film Martin Lawrence plays the part of a criminal who gets caught in the act.  Just before he is brought to justice he stashes the diamond in the ventilation system of a building that is in the middle of being constructed.

Two years later when he is released from prison, he returns to the scene of the crime to find the building is complete and is now a Police Department.

He then takes on the role of a cop using false ID some bloke in a cafe has made for him.  Lawrence ends up meeting a few of his 'colleagues' as he is partnered up with a rookie cop to tackle crime.

When he can, he gets inside the ventilation system and finally finds where he stashed the gem only to find it has gone.

Will he find the gem and if he does will he get away with it?  There's only one way to find out!

It's not the greatest of films I have ever seen but it's worth a watch if it happens to be on TV or someone you know has it on DVD.

 

Apple Universal Dock Review

If you have an iPhone or iPod then this could be the perfect accessory for you.

There are 2 reasons that you would want to buy this - the first is that you can use it as a Dock to connect your iPhone or iPod to your computer and the second is that you can use it to connect your iPhone or iPod to your HiFi system.

I personally don't see the point of buying this just to use it as a dock to connect up to your computer as you have a lead that does that and this offers no benefit really when connecting it to your computer.


The benefit of this great bit of kit is that it has a Line Out port at the rear which you can then connect to the Line In/Auxiliary port of your music system and you can use the Remote Control that comes with the Dock to control your iPhone and iPod whilst sitting comfortably in your chair.

The Universal Dock comes with 5 Apple Dock Adaptors that allow you to connect either an iPhone 4, iPhone 3G/3GS, 4th Generation iPod, 2nd/3rd Generation iPod or a 5th Generation iPod nano.

If your Dock Adaptor isn't listed then don't worry, have a look on the Apple Store and see if they have one for your Apple device - the last time I looked they also sold them on the Argos website as well.

Your iPhone/iPod gets charged whilst plugged in to the Dock so so theres no chance of your battery going flat as you listen to music all day long.

Prices start from £35 all the way up to £50+ so it's worth shopping around for the best price of what's in stock if you're interested in this great little gizmo.

Read Me Daily by Binatone - eBook Reader Review

If you're looking for a cheap eBook reader then the Binatone Read Me Daily could be right up your street.

Selling at around £69.99 this has got to be one of the cheapest devices on the market right now. With a reading time of around 6-9 hours and an internal memory of 2GB it's suitable for most literature buffs out there!

It has a handy bookmark option so you can continue where you left off and the 7inch TFT display is ample to with the text on and is pretty much the size of a typical novel's page.

You can also play your MP3 files on this handy little device along with MP4 & H.264 videos - don't worry about filling up the internal memory, it has a memory card where you can add up to 32GB more space!

As an eBook reader it works very well with .mobi (Amazon) and .epub (Waterstones) files but if you're looking for something to read PDF files on then this is probably not the device for you as the 7" screen is just too small in my opinion (and this goes for all 7" devices by the way) - you'd be better off with a 10inch Elonex tablet or and iPad/iPad2.

Overall I would give this great little device a score of 7 out of 10 and would recommend it to anyone looking for a great value for money eBook reader.

Wunderlist Review

Looking for a simple, effective and easy to use To-Do list that you can use both on your Smart Phone and your Computer?

Then why not have a look at Wunderlist?

It's simple, easy to use and works very well! Whilst at work when I remember things I need to do, I simply open the app on my iPhone and quickly add things to my to-do lists. Then when I get home and log on to my computer I can review the list there and tick off the items as I complete them one-by-one!

And best of all, it's FREE!!

www.6wunderkinder.com/wunderlist

The Kings Speech

I went to see The Kings Speech last night and I have to say it was fantastic!

Set in the early 1900's this film is based on the true story of King George VI and his relationship with his speech therapist who helps him overcome his speech impediment to enable him to speak to the nation and the world when we were at war with Nazi Germany.

Although it's a drama and not a comedy there are some hilarious moments in the film where everyone in the cinema was laughing very loudly indeed!

There is some bad language in the film, but it is in context and adds humour to the situation.

It has become a critically acclaimed film and deservedly so - if you've not seen it yet then I would thoroughly recommend you do so.

Apple iPad Preview Review

I have to say, I'm slightly disappointed with the iPad - but I will reserve full judgement until it's released and I can go and see one at my nearest Apple store.

Why am I disappointed? Well, it's the OS I'm disappointed with, I was kinda expecting a cut-down version of OS X to be installed on it so you could install OS X software on it. People keep commenting on how Flash isn't on the iPad - well it wasn't on my MacBook or Dell desktop, but I could install it if I wanted it and was expecting to be able to do the same thing with Apples new product but this doesn't seem to be the case.

Before it was revealed, it was rumoured Apple was going to release a Tablet computer and the iPad is most definitely not a Tablet - Tablets are similar but have a 'proper' operating system. What Apple have done with the iPad is invent a product that is a cross-between an e-Book reader and a Netbook.

Just like what they did with the App-Store and the iPhone, it makes good business sense to do what they've done as something similar to the App-Store is on it's way for use with the iPad.

The one thing that people seem to be getting confused about is exactly what use the iPad is. It is designed for people who browse the internet, read news websites, go on to social network sites, watch videos online, go online to quickly look something up, updating their blogs, checking their emails, reading e-books and many other use

What it's not primarily for, is for creating websites, writing essays, creating large documents, photo editing, video editing or anything else that you really need a proper keyboard and mouse to do! I'm not saying you can't do these things on the iPad (maybe when the right software comes along you can) - but it wont be as quick and easy to do than if you had a laptop with a proper keyboard and scratchpad.

e-Book readers haven't really taken off yet and nobody really knows what to do with a proper full-size Table computer, Apple's iPad is likely to either revolutionise this or put a stop to it once and for all.

Will the iPad to to e-books and Netbooks what the iPod did to MP3 players? Only time will tell.

BookArc - Vertical MacBook Laptop Stand

Oh my god, I can't believe I've just spent £34.99 on a small piece of metal!

About a week ago I was trying to work out how I could make a bit more space on my desk so I started looking for a solution via the Google search engine.  I came across loads of normal laptop stands, some plastic, some metal and some with built-in fans to help keep your laptop cool - but none that would help me free up some space.  :(

Then I came across a company called Twelve South who produced a vertical laptop stand specifically for MacBooks - hooray!   I had a quick look on the shop on Apple's web site and when I saw the price I quickly closed my web browser in shock!   £39.99 + delivery costs!!!

I refused to believe that it would cost so much so I had a good search around and the best price I found was on Amazon.co.uk where after much debate with my wallet, I finally ordered the stand at a cost of £34.99 + 4.50 delivery.

After placing the order 3 days ago (despite all the snow we are currently experiencing here in the UK) it landed on my doormat this afternoon!  :)

Straight away I could see that a lot of effort has been put in to this premium product as the packaging looked very 'Mac-ish'.  After removing the sleeve and opening the box you are greeted with a thank you message.

The BookArc comes with 3 differently sized pieces of rubber which you can fit to the BookArc depending on what model of MacBook you have.  I have to say though, it's not as snug as I expected and I'm not sure this is a design issue or if it's meant to be like that.

My MacBook is now working in Clam-Shell mode and is sitting to the left hand side of my monitor and has freed up a fair bit of room.

So is the BookArc worth spending around £40 on?  Not really, but are there any other vertical laptop stands?  Not that I could find, so if you want a vertical laptop stand then it's the BookArc or nothing.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a vertical laptop stand then there is one available, but it comes at a price.

Nintendo DSi XL

First came the Game and Watch, then came the GameBoy, GameBoy Colour, GameBoy Advanced, GameBoy Advanced SP, DS,GameBoy Micro, DS Lite, DSi and now...

THE DSi XL!!!

Recently made available in Japan, Nintendo's latest hand-held console (the DSi XL) is selling fast!

Featuring 4.2" screens the DSi XL is due for release in the UK "early 2010".  Rumoured to have built-in games and an additional larger stylus, Nintendo's latest offering will no doubt be something to keep an eye out for!

Asus EEE 1000H

The Asus Eee 1000H is a fantastic bit of kit and I can see why the Asus Eee sub-notebook PCs have been getting rave reviews all over the place!

Small, compact, lighter than a full-size notebook/laptop but large enough to do the job.  The Eee 1000H comes with a 10" display which is more manageable than the 8.9" or less that the other Eee models have.  The keyboard is easy to use as it is about 95% of the size of a standard laptops keyboard. With a battery life of upto 8 hours it is a fantastic buy!

The processor is a 1.6GHz Intel Atom which is designed specifically for netbooks (as they are now being called) and with 1GB of RAM and an 80GB hard disk drive, the machine is definately up to the job of running most business type of applications.

You can upgrade the RAM to a maximum of 2GB which is ample for this type of computer, remember it's not laptop, it's a netbook that is designed to be used to go on the Internet.  Having said that, it is more than capable of running applications such as Microsoft Word albeit slightly slower than a normal laptop.  As it doesn't come with a CD or DVD drive you will need an external CD drive to install any software you have on CD/DVD.  I have noticed that certain antivirus companies are selling their software on USB sticks specifically for NetBook owners.

One negative thing I have to say about the unit is that the cooling fan is a lot noisier than you might expect, it may not be any louder than that found on a full-sized laptop but on something as small as this it is quite noticeable in a quiet room.


Google Chrome OS

With Google's free Chrome OS being released in 2010, NetBooks are set to become a hell of a lot faster as Microsoft Windows is a bit of an overkill if all you want to do is surf the web.

:)

Excite Truck

If you like driving games and have a Wii then this has to be a 'Must Buy' for you!

If you thought tilting your Wii Controller left/right to turn the car in GT Pro Series or Monster 4x4 was innovative then you will be even more pleasantly surprised when you play this game!

This makes full use of the Wii Controller (minus the nun-chuck that is) as not only do you have to turn the controller left and and right, when you take off on a jump you have to rotate it forwards and backwards as well to ensure that you land correctly!

If you take a look at the image below (that I have found on the net), you will see what I mean.

Now if the innovative use of the controller wasn't enough, this game is not all about going across the finish line in 1st place. It's all about stars...

At the start of each race you are told the time limit, number of laps and the minimum number of stars required to move on to the next level.

You get stars for landing correctly after jumping in the air from the raised terrain, for going through 'rings' whilst in the air on certain jumps, for ramming in to your opponents at high speed, for performing 360, 720, 1080 or even 1800 degree turns in the air, for doing 'tree runs' and even for crashing spectacularly!!!

At the bottom-right of the screenshot you can see the temparature gauge. When you activate the turbo-boost (by pressing any direction on the digi-pad) the temparature gauge goes up. When it reaches maximum you must stop using it and let the engine cool down.

The fastest way to cool the engine down is either via jumping through the air or to drive through shallow water.

Overall this a fantastic game which makes full use of the Wii Controller! The graphics may not be outstanding but the game-play more than makes up for it!

One thing I would recommend you think about buying (if you dont already have one) is a Joytech Controller as shown in the image on the right.

I found that it helped me to hold the controller in a more comfortable manor and reduced the aching wrists!

One last thing is that there is now a proper use for the SD card that most of us seem to have brought (and then couldn't find a real use for them)! Any MP3s stored on an SD card in your Wii system will be used during the game - this is why the music rating below is 10/10 as its your own music so you must like it...

Wii Mans Game Rating

Fun Factor: 8/10 - If you like fun car games then you'll enjoy this!
Playability: 9/10 - The only feature that isn't used is the nun-chuck!
Gameplay: 9/10 - Great fun, great game.
Graphics: 8/10 - Reasonable graphics with good weather effects.
Sound/Music: 10/10 - If you have an SD card then it's music of your choosing!

Overall 44/50

*** A Wii Man Recommended Title ***