Another day, another "unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful" letter. If there's any employers reading this, and you're looking for a hard working Computing graduate, I'm your man. I'm prepared to work anywhere - even another country if necessary. You can download my CV by clicking here.
If you're not already, you really should be playing the rather excellent Nation States. It's an online game where you create your own country, fashioned after your own political ideals, and care for its people. I created my own country, GazNET, a few days ago, and it's blossoming quite nicely.
In sports news, my beloved Aston Villa continued their impressive pre-season tour of Sweden by thumping Pitea 8-0 in a friendly game. Villa recently signed Gavin McCann from cash-strapped Sunderland for £2.25m, and are also chasing after their goalie, Thomas Sorensen, as well.
Across the Atlantic, my favourite MLS team, D.C. United, beat Blackburn Rovers 6-5 on penalties in a friendly game last Wednesday, and came back from two goals down to stun New England with a 4-2 victory last night! D.C. are now off the bottom of the Eastern Conference for the first time in ages.
If you're wondering why there's a lack of updates, it's due to the fact I'm engrossed in trying to make D.C. United a force to be reckoned with (which is proving much harder than I thought it would be) in Championship Manager 4. The game is now a lot more playable than it was after five huge patches!
This site has been having a few problems recently, and I've only just found out why. A few days ago my hosts, DreamHost, changed the path of my server without telling me! Anyway, the problem is now sorted, and comments and posts that haven't been showing up are now showing again.
Saddam's sons were killed today in a firefight with U.S. troops in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Good riddance I say. The headline on CNN's website is superb. If you've missed it, I've taken a screenshot of it. Now all we need to do is get (dead or alive) the main man himself and find those weapons!
Troubles continued for my favourite MLS team, D.C. United, over the weekend. They lost 2-1 at home to the San Jose Earthquakes. Thankfully, D.C. are still in reach of the other teams in the Eastern Conference, so they could still make the playoffs yet... well, miracles do happen, you know!
I got my copy of Innocent Eyes by Delta Goodrem today, and I must say, it's an excellent album - stop what you're doing right now and go get yourself a copy! On first listening, the two tracks that stand out for me are Butterfly and Lost Without You (which is quite possibly the best track on the album).
After squeezing past the Pittsburgh Riverhounds with a 2-1 win in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night, my favourite MLS team, D.C. United, return to league action tonight at home to the Western Conference's San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose are on fire at the moment - it'll be a tough game, that's for sure.
Friendship - I've just been pondering the meaning of that word - but only because I've not heard off certain "friends" for ages. I've recently learnt that the reason for this is because they're occupied with girlfriends. Wonderful. I'm happy for you guys. But do remember this: girlfriends come and go - friends do not.
Wow! My first ever computer, the Commodore 64, has got a brand new guardian angel in the form of Ironstone Partners, who have licensed the brand from Tulip Computers. Who ever said the good old C64 was dead? I do wish I'd kept my trusty C64 now - I sold it for peanuts years ago.
After my favourite MLS team, D.C. United, beat the Chicago Fire 2-1 for only their second away win of the season, they take a break from MLS action to face the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the lower A-League in the U.S. Open Cup tonight. D.C. should win easily, but given their current form, I'm not so sure!
According to various news reports, and following hot on the heels of the recent "Chelski" news, some mystery Venezuelan billionaire has expressed an interest in buying a major stake in my beloved Aston Villa. This is great news - and it sounds too good to be true - but I'm not getting my hopes up just yet.
If you've just left College, or are leaving next year, and you're thinking about going to University to further your education, take my advice: don't bother. Because once you've completed your degree, employers just won't want to know you - a fancy degree doesn't guarantee you a job anymore.
If I knew then what I know now (trying saying that three times fast) I would have worked for a year and then gone to University. Better still, I'd of gone to University, but taken a year out during my course and worked for a year to gain that "experience" that every employer seems to want these days.
I received the letter I was dreading today: "Unfortunately on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful". Oh well, at least I got an interview. So it's back to the drawing board I guess. In the meantime, I urge you to e-mail them and tell them what a big mistake they've made not employing me.
In sports news, my favourite MLS team, D.C. United, lost 3-2 in overtime to their rivals the MetroStars on Saturday night. In tennis, Roger Federer won the Wimbledon men's final, Serena Williams won the women's final - and Tim Henman crashed out in the quarter finals (though it wasn't to Agassi as I'd predicted).
I have to get out to the movies more often than I do (which is hardly ever these days) - there's so many great films being released at the moment. I simply must see Matrix Reloaded, Terminator 3, The Hulk, and Bruce Almighty - all four look excellent. I'll try to see one or two of them over the weekend.
It's my birthday - I'm 22 today! Thank you to everyone who sent me cards, e-cards, and presents. Today is also the 57th birthday of U.S. President George W. Bush. I wonder how many other famous people share the same birthday as me? I'm sure Jeeves will be able to tell me. If not, I'll ask Google instead.
Today was also the day of a global hacking contest, which aimed to see 6,000 websites defaced in six hours. The contest kicked off early this morning at 0600 GMT, and according to this article, it appears that no major sites were hit during the contest - just smaller, more insecure ones.
D.C. United produced an excellent 3-1 victory against Dallas on Wednesday night. That was their first away win in Dallas for nearly five years - and, more importantly, their first away win of the 2003 season! They'll be looking to give archrivals the MetroStars the same treatment at home tonight.
I rather like the look of the official Aston Villa Video Game due out in autumn (thanks to Charlie for the link). I hope it won't be full of bugs like CM4 was - and require five patches to just make it playable! It may have to compete for my time, though, as NHL 2004 is due out around the same time!
Whilst searching through my CD collection yesterday, I came across the dance rework of an old Barry White tune - You See The Trouble With Me. I then read that the legendary soul singer had died at the age of 58 after a long illness! Spooky? Just a coincidence? Either way, he'll be sorely missed.
On a more amusing note, Barry White was the nickname myself and Vishal used to use to refer to one of our lecturers at University, because he looked and sounded (sort of) like him! We were going to stick a poster of Barry White on his door as an amusing last day prank, but we never did in the end...
Happy 4th July to all my American visitors!
After being thumped 3-0 by the Columbus Crew over the weekend, my favourite MLS team, D.C. United, will be looking to bounce back in their game against Dallas tonight. United held a 75 minute team talk after that loss to Columbus, so it'll be interesting to see how they've responded to it.
Wow, it's July already - and guess what? It's my 22nd birthday on Sunday, so you really should buy me a present - I like receiving presents! You don't have to, of course, but if you want to and you're stuck for ideas, take a look at my Amazon wishlist, or send me some money via PayPal.
I was on my way to take my Driving Theory Test today when I caught an old lady looking at me on the bus. She said: "You remind me of my son - he was handsome, too". She also said I reminded her of Elvis with my dark hair and smile - I look nothing like him! Hmm. Don't you just love public transport?
As for my Driving Theory Test, I'm sad to announce that I failed it. Miserably. I passed the hazard perception element, but failed the multiple-choice element by six marks! Oops. That'll teach me for only revising the night before I guess. I'll have to book another test now, which will cost me another £18. Argh!
