Ok, so it wasn't a victory like I'd predicted, but at least Villa got a point against West Brom, and to be honest, 1-1 wasn't a bad result (although Villa should have won because Mellberg's header was over the line!). Villa face Charlton away tonight. It'll be a tough game, but I'm confident Villa will get at least a point.
My favourite MLS team, D.C. United, did well to earn a point in a 2-2 draw on Saturday night against a Columbus side riding an eight-game unbeaten streak prior to kick-off. Two absolutely scorching free-kicks from either side (Eskandarian for United and Paule for Columbus) were the highlights of the game.
This is the funniest quote I've read in ages: "It's not like it's a brown paper bag; it's the holy grail. It's probably the most important non-religious artifact in Canada." Go and read how the Stanley Cup momentarily became the world's most famous piece of lost luggage after Air Canada officials deemed it too big to fly.
Woohoo! Villa got their season off to a flyer on Saturday afternoon with an excellent 2-0 victory at home to Southampton. Well, I did predict a win, didn't I? Villa played really well, and could of won by more if they hadn't of eased off in the second half. Villa face West Brom next, and I confidently predict another victory.
Over the other side of the pond, D.C United grabbed an important three points by beating the Colorado Rapids 3-1 at home in midweek. They followed that up with a 2-2 draw at home to New England on Saturday. D.C. face the Columbus Crew away on Saturday. A win would be great, but I'd settle for a point.
The AcoustiFan I bought from QuietPC the other day doesn't fit in my PC, so I've had to send it back! It appears that only a fan specifically made to fit my Dell machine can be used. However, I suspect I was sent the wrong replacement fan in the first place, so I'm (hopefully) going to acquire the correct one shortly.
The new fan I bought for my PC arrived this morning. Unfortunately, it's noisier than my current fan, so I'll have to send it back! Argh! I've just this minute ordered an AcoustiFan from QuietPC, which promises ultra-quiet, low vibration operation - sounds good to me! Ok, bad joke. Anyway, moving swiftly on...
The English Premiership kicks off tomorrow! Woohoo! My beloved Aston Villa start the season at home to Southampton. Unfortunately, Angel (injury) and Solano (suspension) won't be playing, but new summer signings Martin Laursen and Carlton Cole will make their debuts. Good. Naturally, I predict a Villa victory!
Remember I told you that the noise from my PC was really annoying me? Well, it's not the PSU that's making the noise, like I first thought, it's the CPU fan. Apparently, Dell don't stock a CPU fan for my particular machine anymore, so I've had to purchase one from Upgrade Options instead. It'll arrive in 1 to 2 days.
A routine service for my car ended up costing me £531.59 today. Ouch. This motoring business can be seriously expensive! I'm declaring myself officially broke until further notice. Still, at least all the problems that were found have been fixed. As for repairing my bank balance, well, that's going to take considerably longer.
I was moaning the other day about Microsoft delaying Windows XP Service Pack 2. Well, today Microsoft announced that SP2 has now been released to manufacturing. Woohoo! That means it should be available for download via Windows Update shortly. Early indications seem to suggest that it's rather secure, too.
My favourite MLS team, D.C. United, didn't play last week due to the MLS All-Star game (which the East won 3-2). With all the injuries and suspensions they had, it was probably just as well. The rest didn't do them any good, though - they lost 2-0 away to San Jose on Saturday. Up next for United: the Rapids at home.
The noise my PC is making is really beginning to annoy me. It only seems to occur when it's warm in my room. I'm fairly certain the PSU is to blame. I'm definitely going to install a new, quieter one in its place when my bank balance is a little healthier. The ones over at QuietPC sound good, so I might plump for one of those.
Phew! I've finally cleared the e-mail backlog that had been accumulating in my inbox for the past week and a bit. It sure does help having an excellent e-mail client like Thunderbird, which is a joy to use, and makes dealing with e-mail from multiple accounts easy. Best of all, once trained, the spam filter is outstanding.
Aww, for crying out loud - how many more times are they going to delay it? Microsoft announced a few days ago that they've delayed Windows XP Service Pack 2 again. Argh! I wish they'd just hurry up and release the darn thing. As soon as they do, I'm going to do a clean install of Windows and then install SP2 on top.
I recently finished reading Michael Connelly's The Last Coyote and Harlan Coben's Back Spin. Connelley delivers yet another superb Harry Bosch story that's easily better than the previous three. Coben's Myron Bolitar novels are always entertaining, however, Back Spin wasn't quite as good as Fade Away.
Man, working full-time six days a week is killing me! Still, with the car due in for a service on Monday, the money will come in handy. This is just a quick post to let you know that updates will resume shortly, and if you've e-mailed me during the past week or so, I shall definitely reply over the weekend. Right, I'm off to bed...