Yesterday I took part in my first grading for Krav Maga and passed with no faults! So I am now yellow belt and officially know my basics on how to kick some ass!

I've been training twice a week with John Aldcroft at his Krav Maga centre in Oxford Circus, London. I am now in my third month there and I have to say that I am very impressed with John's skill as an instructor and all round courteous manner. It's a pleasure to get beaten up in his company! He is the highest graded Krav Maga instructor in the UK (currently brown belt but going for his black belt) and yet he lacks the look-down-the-nose arrogance I have experienced in the past from other instructors (in various sports I have done).

John's down-to-earth practicality really reflects the way Krav Maga (as a form of civilian self defense) should work. Here is a modern form of defending yourself that focuses on the reality of the world we live in today. It teaches you to handle a street fight. A messy and stressful situation that boils down to finding an escape route ASAP. This isn't competition karate with a single opponent, this is about finding yourself facing multiple opponents who may be armed (with sticks, knives or guns) and doing whatever it takes to get away quickly or disable them so that they do not pose a threat anymore.

Krav Maga is a well rounded fighting system that appears to cherry pick from many different disciplines such as Jui-Jitsu, boxing, Muai Thai, wrestling (no, not the WWE form of wrestling!) and many others. Jack of all trades, master of none? Perhaps. But being a master of Krav Maga is no joke. For us civilians it's a great form of self defense. For the military and various special forces and police forces around the world it is the de facto fighting system to know. Especially for the military where they obviously take it to extreme lengths. I read that they even have defenses against grenades, which I can only presume is something along the lines of "quickly throw it back!"

So I am happy and proud to have completed my first level so quickly. I'm looking forward to working towards my next belt (orange) over the next three to six months. With John's excellent tuition, and the good humoured, welcoming company of the other guys and gals who train, I am in no doubt that I chose the right way to keep fit and learn life-saving skills!

Watch the buildup.  These guys look serious.
   

Some of you may already know that I am a fan the UFC and went up to Manchester watch UFC 70 when they came over to England for the first time in years. I was thrilled! It's such an amazing display of strength and skill and while I can appreciate it isn't to everyone's taste (as it can be pretty brutal at times) my friends and I are totally hooked.

I especially liked the fact that Jui Jitsu (the martial art I praticed years ago) was an important part of the fights. So recently I felt like picking up a new fighting style to get fit again and learn some new, life saving skills! I looked around for Jui Jitsu clubs and I really couldn't decide. Then I happened to come across the UKs newest self defense: Krav Maga! And it sounded perfect:

"Krav Maga is a very modern and practical style of self-defense that is the only style worldwide known as an art of self-defense and not as a martial art. Krav Maga isn't about being a tough guy, it's not about learning how to fight in a ring, it's about going home alive no matter what the situation. Krav Maga is a survival system dealing with personal safety issues in the context of defending against both armed and unarmed attackers."

So I recently begun training at the Krav Maga centre at Oxford Circus in London. I have to say I am thoroughly impressed with the fighting system even though I have only seen the tip of the iceberg. I'm learning some great skills, getting a seriously good workout and I am really enjoying it!

Sony is about to launch a kind of "virtual world" for the Playstation 3 called "Home".  It looks really good and as long as you own a PS3 and have the internet - it's completely free.  

Check out the video to see it in action:


A two part video taken from the GDC 07 conference.  This is a much more in depth demo of "Home":

Part One:

Part Two:


It's not a "game" but rather it serves as a community "common room" revolving around content for the PS3 itself.  It looks incredible and there is enormous potential for this to grow.  Here's a run down of what you can do:

Users can walk around this virtual world and interact with things and/or other users:

• They can chat with people (by typing and/or talking)
• Play basic "in world" games like pool, arcades, bowling by simply walking up to them and activating them (other users can walk up and join in!)
• watch video adverts on giant screens on the walls.  There are literally banner ads (adverts on big banners!)
• Go to a virtual cinema to watch downloaded HD video content with your friends - you can chat with them if you like! Throw virtual popcorn at them (kidding!)
• Have your own private "appartment" which you can fill with furniture and decorate anyway you like.  Buy premuim content to go inside there too! Put picture frames up on the wall and load personal photos into it.
• Invite friends (like your gaming clan) to your appartment.  They can see your photos on your wall and can view your videos on your TV!  You can have a "party" and play music which they can all hear.
• Buy premuim appartments (bigger, more luxurious) to deck out with your stuff.
• Loads more stuf in the pipeline...

I am certain that this kind of virtual world will take off.  I know that "Second Life" is a game that does this but I am unaware of how it works and what features it boasts.  I have seen screenshots of it and this PS3 Home looks a million times better because it runs off the very high standard PS3 platform.

I can imagine going to a virtual sports stadium to watch people play games!  You could even be a football/soccer player on the pitch playing for your team.  Imagine entering a competition and your team reaching the final - the crowd could be actually made up of real/virtual/real people!  Crazy!  I'd love to see an Unreal Tournament final...

What else could you do?  I guess you could have other social arenas like bars and clubs.  You could meet friends and listen to your favourite bands play music.  I'm pretty sure we've already had the world's first virtual gig so it could be a popular way for bands to go "on tour" without actually needing to travel.

I am blown away by Sony's implementation.  It looks so GOOD.  And in case anyone is wondering, I am the proud owner of an Xbox360 which I like a lot.  However, I am not a fanboy about any other this.  I firmly believe the PS3 is a better system but it was launched years too early.  I've had my 360 for a year and it is a much better all round experience right now.  But I will be perfectly happy to jump ship and buy a PS3 when the 360 starts getting old!

So come on everybody - what other kinds of add-on worlds (like my stadium example) can Sony add to their virtual world?

I just wanted to share some photos I took of UFC 70 in Manchester.

We were sat up quite high so it's difficult to see what's going on from my photos (especially because they were taken with my crappy phone camera).

Here you can see a rather blurry Bruce Buffer introducing the fighters in the only way he knows how:

"In the reeeed cornerrrrr, fighting out of Liverpool by way of MANchester Engeerrland, weighing in at ONE hundred and EIGHTY POOOOOUDNS, Mike, the Cooooooount, BIS-Piiiiiiing!"

Next time we're definitely going for closer seats!
  

I'm a Brit watching from afar the American presidential candidates jostle for position on campaign trails and television debates.  Never before have I been so aware of the candidates and I am intrigued by them all (each for very different reasons).

Just so you know where I am coming from, I get most of my information from the internet.  I truly believe that the internet is the best medium as it has yet to be (entirely) controlled and manipulated like TV and the press.  The internet has made "underdog" candidates stand out clearly despite them lacking a budget anywhere near the $20 million reportedly raised by Obama and Clinton.  Of course, it's important to read widely and not ignore the media as it is very revealing to see what they choose to edit out or highlight as important.  I also realise that it's not a bad thing for, say, a newspaper to "take sides" and support someone (it's normal isn't it?) but only as long as they don't try and hide that fact and pretend to be fair or indeed "balanced".

Also, please bear in mind that much of what I see on the internet (courtesy of YouTube and other video hosting websites) is taken from the mainstream media - so I'm effectively watching clips from FOX/CNN/MSNBC/C-SPAN/etc., in addition to non-networked video such as candidate "video blogs".

I would be very interested to know what Americans feel about the various candidates.  I remember a few months ago "discovering" Barak Obama and feeling quite excited that someone with his views would be running for president.  Then very recently I heard about Ron Paul and he blew me away.  I couldn't believe someone would be so outspoken and truly want to get America back on track.  Now I've just "found" Mike Gravel and have been blown away again.  How I would dearly love someone so plain speaking lead Britain!

Now, I'm sure they all have their drawbacks.  Nobody's perfect, right?  But seriously, if I was an American I would be voting for Ron Paul or Mike Gravel.  Obama is nothing to me now!

Disclaimer: these are my views at the time of writing and I reserve the right to change them should any serious flaws emerge in their campaigns!

So, calling all Americans: Am I a clueless limey who doesn't understand the real issues here?  Or are you spoilt for choice with some quality, forward thinking leaders-in-the-making? Educate me please!


Some food for thought:

Ron Paul:

"Presidential Exploratory Committee" Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPlPT4bncq8



"Ron Paul 0wnz the Federal Reserve" (Dated February 17 2007 C-SPAN)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4kxTkhwR_Q


"*FLYING UNDER THE RADAR* RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT" (MARCH 29, 2007 MSNBC)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uem3OIp6kzU



Mike Gavel:

Former Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska won Best of Show at the Presidential Debate in South Carolina. (April 26, 2007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf8FR4fEgRU


Presidential Candidate Mike Gravel: "The War in Iraq" (Added  November 27, 2006)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SdCg389bsQ


Senator Mike Gravel talks to MSNBC about the war in Iraq (Added  February 04, 2007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtH7ZR-jyrI

At 2:30am this morning my sister's three-legged cat, in his life long persuit of being THE most annoying creature to hobble the earth, decided to quench his thirst from a glass of water I had on my desk. Needless to say the little, limb-challenged animal managed to lose his balance, tumble off my desk and send the entire pint of water pouring onto my laptop.

I was brought out of my deeply refreshing sleep quite suddenly by a startled feline yelp and a worrying splashing sound. Seconds passed as I tried to gather my thoughts, then a horrible sick feeling decended upon me as I put "cat + water" together and got "uh-oh".*

I sprang out of bed and in the dark I could just about make out the pint glass on its side, with the dangerous end resting neatly next to my laptop. I could see water running off my desk on to the floor and decided the first thing to do would be to get the laptop out of there quick-smart. I picked it up, pulled the power cable out the back and in doing so tipped what felt like a small tsunami over myself. That really worried me because that had all come from the laptop itself and it was still dripping quite profusely. I grabbed a towel and quickly began wiping down the keyboard only to accidentally catch the power button. I froze as the laptop sprang to life and lights came on from all over it. Crap!! Electricity bad now! Very bad! I held the power button down for 10 horrible seconds until it forced itself to power off and immediately removed the battery before continuing to dry the laptop.

The floor around my desk was soaked, some books and a stack of notes were all wet through and my laptop was now sitting on a towel infront of my radiator, in the shape of an upside down "V", drying out in the vain hope that nothing had shorted out. I uttered a few expletives, launched a disabled cat into orbit and went back to bed hoping 5 hours of drying out would magically fix it.


In the morning I put it back together and tried turning it on but it wouldn't. My heart sank. I took it to work anyway and hoped that my colleagues would have some useful tricks up their sleeves. And it turns out they did.

We did nothing more complicated than taking as much of it apart as possible and leaving them near (but not too close!) to a radiator in the office to dry out. A whole day of that and when I put it back together it turned on! Hurrah!

However, at first Windows wouldn't boot up unless I was in Safe Mode. I ran the built-in disk checking/fixing software and now it runs with no problems! Now all I can say is thank god it was water and not a sugary drink!


* Actually, the equation was more like "(laptop/water) * (cat / 3 legs)" which evaluates to "oh dear god NO!", but it was early and I'd just woken up so I'm sure you can forgive that minor mathematical error.

I really should get my DJ website, Jinja-Ninja, up and running again. But there's just so much work to be done here! There's not enough time in the day...