I haven’t really looked at code for a long time, in recent years I’ve been far more focused on creating content whilst someone else does all the difficult backend work. I don’t see that changing anytime soon, but I must admit, the new Codecademy project has captured my imagination. The mission is simple – get more people interested in coding. The execution is brilliant. Step by step exercises reward you with points, and completed lessons gain you badges. There is nothing quite so motivating as unlocking a new achievement – so many games work on this premise.

The site itself is new, occasionally buggy, and still working out the kinks, but the creators are approachable, they have a good Twitter presence, and the lessons are very well done.

I’m working my way through them when I have a spare five minutes at the end of any given day, and I’ve just completed the Hello, New York module. That was a simple five-step exercise that followed the mechanics of working out how much a taxi ride will cost. Giving real life examples helps make things an awful lot clearer and it was much more fun.

I still have my syntax trouble, and I still require the additional bit of help from my expert, but this time I have no grand ambitions and that makes the whole thing less stressful. There’s a new lesson launched each week, and I can’t wait to see how the project develops over the year. Perhaps by this time in 2013, I’ll be the one coding Sidepodcast.

Fast Facts

Title: Star Trek
Director: J. J. Abrams
Year: 2009
Run time: 2hrs 7

Background Info

We meant to watch this when it first became available on iTunes, eons ago, but we missed the opportunity and the rental option disappeared. My dad saw it on TV, and recommended it to me, which reminded me to have another look, and soon enough, the film was back on the rental market, and we snapped it up.

Live Blog

2:37 – The poor Starship is tiny compared to… whatever that is.
5:10 – USS Kelvin isn’t a very Enterprisey name.
11:12 – James, not Jim. They are one and the same, but it just doesn’t seem right on a baby.
12:52 – What an awesome road to speed along!
15:07 – Jeez louise, and I thought our education system was bad. I don’t envy those on Vulcan!
18:30 – Winona is playing Spock’s mother? When did she get old?
24:10 – “a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada.”
24:46 – He should have just double dared him back.
28:54 – So all we need now is “cannae do it captain” and the crew is complete.
33:56 – Yay Spock!
40:16 – They’ve got the right colours on now and everything! This is so good!
46:54 – It’s a good job Sulu buggered up the start and made them late.
52:36 – The only tiny problem with this film is you sort of get the feeling they will all survive.
58:32 – Who knew Sulu was so strong?
59:30 – Are the gazillion lens flares in this intentional? Because it kinda looks like shoddy camerawork to me.
1:00:37 – Love the idea of reusable parachutes but they don’t seem to work in practice.
1:01:03 – I properly love Chekhov.
1:06:33 – Not from my usual icky standpoint, but what’s with the kissing? I don’t remember that!
1:09:47 – “Dammit, man, I’m a doctor!”
1:12:25 – Vulcan death grip! There was so much to love about that scene.
1:15:38 – SPOCK!!
1:21:16 – “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?”
1:25:23 – If he says he doesn’t have the power, I will actually die.
1:32:12 – Old James T is getting plenty beat up in this film.
1:35:50 – Chekhov is just 17? That’s crazy cute.
1:45:21 – When he shouts Spock, it sounds like swearing.
1:50:21 – They make an ace double act.
1:53:54 – They’re not doing the Back to the Future thing of “I’m old!” Too logical, I guess.
1:54:59 – “Put aside logic, do what feels right.”
2:00:41 – Beautiful.

Conclusions

Oh it was so good. So, so good. I love the characters, I love the story, I love the twists and turns and the secret nods and winks, and the appearance of ACTUAL SPOCK. There were a few bits I didn’t like but the good outweighed the bad so much that it still gets a top score.

Things I was slightly miffed by – the fact that we had to stop the film twice for Mr C to do some explaining, although actually I have missed that experience. Also, the relationship between Spock and Ahura, and as mentioned above, not for any squeamish issues but just because it doesn’t seem right. I know he’s half human and all, but it doesn’t seem logical!

Finally, and this one really is quite a big one that I know a lot of people complain about, the lens flare! Dude, Abrams discovered a new toy on his editing software and he was determined to use it. Occasionally, it was beautiful. Amongst the stars, or glinting off the shiny Enterprise, excellent. But as the film wore on, it was used over and over again, in more and more improbable situations. In the middle of a flippin’ auditorium? What is the light reflecting off??

Still, the man himself admits it was a bit much, so that’s something.

Overall, amazing and brilliant. Somehow managing to make me nostalgic for the Star Trek of old but excited for the revamped version as well.

Rating: 5/5

• Title: Holes
• Author: Louis Sachar
• Genre: Children’s fiction
• Score: 4 out of 5
• No. 83 on the Big Read Bonanza
• Amazon link

I’d never heard of this book or the author, and I didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t know what to expect as I opened it up, but I was pleasantly surprised. It took only a moment to realise I was reading another children or young adults book, but the story was brilliantly captivating.

Initially, it seems to be some kind of redemption story as a kid pays his dues at a detention centre. Then the back story starts to get filled in, and as it all weaves a beautiful path towards the end, every step just makes more and more sense and feels totally right.

I didn’t like the idea of eating onions for a week, but the writing was so good that I actually thought I could smell onions as I was reading. The twist at the end, explaining how they managed to take the suitcase unscathed was brilliant.

• Title: The Story of Tracy Beaker
• Author: Jacqueline Wilson
• Genre: Children’s fiction
• Score: 4 out of 5
• No. 31 on the Big Read Bonanza
• Amazon link

I read this a) because it’s on the reading list and b) because I needed something very light and fluffy after the epic novel The Stand. You couldn’t get more different! I’ve read it before, though, when I was much younger. I remember loving the questionnaire style opening so much that I wrote down all the questions and answered them myself.

The beauty of this book is that Tracy is really a very cheeky, obnoxious little girl, but brilliantly loveable at the same time. I’ve followed her through this book, plus watched her adventures on TV, and you just get under her skin enough to care, but still remain far enough away that she continues to surprise. At times you wonder why on earth Cam keeps coming back, but then you turn the page and the humour and joy of it all makes sense.

I also really like the ending. It’s content enough, but not a definitive happy ever after that would potentially be unbelievable.

• Title: The Stand
• Author: Stephen King
• Genre: Contemporary fiction
• Score: 5 out of 5
• No. 53 on the Big Read Bonanza
• Amazon link

I really loved this. I hadn’t known what to expect, and it wasn’t until I read the introduction from the author that I realised not only that this was a long book, but that I was also reading the Director’s Cut style version – extended even more.

I’m glad it was this version, though, because it made all the difference. All the extra details about the characters meant following them was a more emotional experience. The first half of the book was the best, in my eyes. Following how the outbreak of the superflu emerged, how quickly it spread, and the immediate aftermath of an empty country.

Once it became more about the shared dreams, the good versus evil, and the dark man, it was still a fantastic story, but less intriguing. The human aspect, though, how everyone reacted to their situations was the key to the story, and that’s the bit that spoke to me.

I found myself looking forward to reading it each and every day, keen to get through the chapters as quick as possible, despite the fact there were so many of them! My only complaint regarding the writing was the occasional end of scene sentence along the lines of “but they never spoke to him again.” It’s like completely unsubtle foreshadowing, and sometimes a bit of misdirection. The odd one or two sentences like that would be okay, but they were more and more frequent towards the end of the book.

It’s a minor quibble. The amount of work, time, effort, planning, and humanity that is plumbed into the book makes it top notch.

I finished up my last Sherlock review with a note on the writers trying to force emotions on us, which I don’t necessarily appreciate. However, I thought they handled the logistics of this final episode very well. We all knew what was supposed to happen, so starting the episode with a grieving Watson addressed that straight away. The story was not about the end result, it was about how we got there. (And afterwards, how it was done.)

“You’re boring, you’re on the side of the angels.”

Looking back on this episode from far too great a distance, the end overshadows the entire thing. But there was much to love about all that came before it. In particular, Moriarty’s incredible crime spree that brought him to trial. Sherlock grandstanding in the witness box, showing off just as Watson had told him not to. Molly’s incredible bravery offering Sherlock – the man who belittles her at every opportunity – her own beautiful insight and unconditional support.

The format of this episode was slightly different to the others. There was no major case to be solved in the same fashion as previous outings, but it was more a matter of following Sherlock as he gradually become a fugitive. Finding the reporter with a civilian Moriarty, acting out the role of an actor, helped throw some misdirection and confusion into the mix.

No matter what happened before, however, it all came down to the roof. Their confrontation was a great show of two mighty intellects butting heads, although some of the dialogue left me a little cold. I’m not sure it all made complete sense. Some of it felt like using big words just for the sake of it. Then again, that sounds just like something the two of them would do.

“Don’t think for one second that I am one of them.”

There’s plenty of speculation over how Sherlock has managed to fake his death falling from such a great height. The immediate conclusion is that Molly had something to do with it, but it cannot be that simple. Little things, like Watson’s bump to the head and blurry vision all add to the picture, but I can’t believe we’ll get anywhere near the real answer until it is revealed to us. Moffat suggests there is something we have all missed, a clue where Sherlock acts out of character. There are so many of those, though. His heart to heart with Molly, classing Lestrade as a friend. Even the emotional phone call on the roof would fall under what Sherlock usually so distasteful refers to as “sentiment.”

“Aren’t ordinary people adorable?”

I thought Martin Freeman was incredible in this episode. I wasn’t emotional, that rarely happens, but I could have choked up at the scene by the graveside. The fall and the preceding phone call were not such moments for me. I felt it was all too clinical, too unbelievable for Sherlock to be sacrificing himself for such a cause. He doesn’t care about other people, and falling to his death would help remove his growing fame (see also The Doctor in series six). Those bits weren’t about feeling sad. The aftermath was something else.

Watson’s stubborn belief, his words, and the smaller things like Mrs Hudson stumbling away over the uneven ground. Beautiful. We should have left it with that, rather than the in-your-face shot of Sherlock looking on. We all knew that he was going to be there somewhere, I’m not sure we had to see it. Perhaps it would have been too depressing an ending otherwise. This way, we were left with a glimmer of hope, and an awful lot of theorising to do.

Went out on Monday and Tuesday – both of which felt like I had wooden legs and had forgotten how to use them. It was bitterly cold, and in places it was frosty, and as it is quite dark I was stepping carefully. That wouldn’t help my speed, but I can’t pretend I was capable of anything spectacular anyway.

Wednesday was a rest day, and then it was to Thursday, where I finally felt like I had been out for a run before. So far, my “record” for these January dark evening runs is 3.5km, and this was 3.49km, so almost back to normality.

Then today’s longer run. I was battling an awful headwind for the first kilometre or so, and I do so hate the wind. It felt like I was going nowhere, and I know my time reflected that. However, I gradually picked up the pace and was amazed to find that I clawed the average back to 8:28 by the end.

What I like about my new route is that it is somewhat shaped like a lollipop. Run one kilometre in a straight line, then round in a circle and back down again. Potentially, if I was feeling adventurous, I could attempt more than one circle. Maybe one day.

Fast Facts

Title: Mission: Impossible
Director: Brian De Palma
Year: 1996
Run time: 1hr 50

Background Info

I can’t quite understand how it is that I’ve not seen Mission Impossible before. I know all the stuff – this mission will self destruct, and the theme tune and stuff, but I actually had no idea what the story was or how the film played out. Finally available in HD on iTunes, this was our chance to find out.

Live Blog

0:18 – The drums sound like the A Team. I’ll wait for the proper MI music.
2:30 – Ooh, fake room, that’s so cool.
3:12 – Oh, actually, the music just makes me think of Ace Ventura. D’oh.
5:32 – I love a movie that gives me full synopsis before it starts. Missions are ace.
6:11 – “This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.”
8:29 – Twice they’ve mentioned she’s his wife. Important?
10:18 – Ooh. Netscape Navigator alert!
10:57 – Amazing how quick the team have been introduced and straight into action.
15:07 – I love Tom’s disguise. He’s oooold.
16:50 – They all seem to be playing chicken with the lift. I don’t like it.
22:56 – This mission has not gone so well.
25:19 – Not many people from the opening credits appear to have survived.
31:08 – This music is quite annoying.
36:36 – Ye olde internet is so cute.
42:36 – That sewn up balaclava is the scariest thing ever.
46:01 – Hehehe, an actual floppy disk.
51:08 – Ehhh, it’s the only French man in the world! Awesome!
55:47 – Oops, imagine causing a total CIA lockdown because your coke dripped.
58:28 – “Zero body count.”
1:01:55 – It seems to me that the glasses might fall off.
1:02:38 – It’s so quiet, I can’t imagine watching this in the cinema.
1:11:34 – It was all going so well!
1:18:46 – See, the mistake they have made here is that he’s gone Rogue™ and they’re giving him The Rage™.
1:28:41 – It’s wrong to think of the Lewis and Jenson photoshoot whenever you see that angle of Tower Bridge.
1:31:33 – She just said Chunnel!
1:34:37 – Ooops, busted.
1:38:52 – OMG, high speed train scene. This is about as awesome as it gets.
1:40:48 – Although, helicopter in the tunnel is about as ridiculous as it gets.

Conclusions

It wasn’t at all what I thought it might be. I suspected it might be either funnier – like Ocean’s Eleven – or more serious – like Bourne. It was somewhere in between, but I couldn’t quite figure out where it was trying to place itself. I’m not really a massive fan of Tom Cruise, but he did a decent job, and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen quite such an impressive display of The Rage™.

There were a couple of twists and turns I wasn’t expecting, which is good. However, I lost the plot a couple of times, mostly because I am quite stupid, but even so, that doesn’t speak well of the film to me. I also think the end was just so far removed from reality it was stupid. A helicopter in a tunnel, and all that followed? It might as well have been a cartoon. Even the most silly Bond is more believable than that. It was a passable way to spend a couple of hours but I don’t think I was missing much all this time.

Rating: 3/5

Thank you for the wonderful SPOILER. GOOD JOB.

Ever heard of a spoiler warning?

Thankfully, I have a pretty prominent spoiler alert at the very top of the post, so I feel like I did my part in trying to avoid this exact situation. Even so, I do feel slightly dismayed to think I’ve spoiled someone else’s enjoyment of the show – it’s such a good one.

As a conscientious blogger, I try to put in a threefold strategy to avoid people being spoiled.

1. Make the title as specific as it can be, including series and episode numbers. You don’t want to think you’re reading a generic post about Sherlock or Doctor Who, only to find information about an episode you haven’t watched yet. The title should be the first barrier to people who are trying to stay in the dark on the episode in question.
2. A Spoiler Alert banner. I have spoiler alerts for Doctor Who, Sherlock and Film Watch, even when the movies are years and years old. If I’m writing about TV that doesn’t have a banner, I do try and incorporate spoiler warnings into the text itself. I know that images may not show up for everyone everywhere, but it’s a more elegant solution and as part of this three-pronged attack, is normally good enough.
3. No spoilers in the first paragraph or two. Some people don’t read titles, and I don’t want the first words to reveal the end of an episode in bold letters with exclamation points. Breaking into the post gently gives readers time to realise what they are looking at and turn away if they want to.

I hope that those are enough to keep the majority of people from being spoiled, but I also think that at some point you have to take responsibility for your own ability to stay unspoiled. There’s plenty of scope for debate on how old a film should be before it becomes common knowledge (Sixth Sense?), and how awkward it is that TV companies still don’t understand the idea of a global community. Apparently Sherlock is not on until May in the US, which makes avoiding spoilers that much harder.

I do think, though, that if something has already been released then the onus is on you not to be spoiled. Assuming you’re not reading a post about baking lasagne and being spoiled on your favourite TV show, then it’s up to you to avoid the good stuff.

I knew that I was behind the times on the final episode of Sherlock, so I signed off the internets for 24 hours until I could catch up. I loitered on my Twitter mentions page, and that was all. It was painful, but it meant that much to me. It was the same with the finale of LOST, which I said we’d never speak of again, but forced both Mr C and myself off the internet for several days. In that instance, it wasn’t worth it, but it would have been much worse if we’d read the end before we’d seen it.

It’s a tricky subject, one that is full of shades of grey and great arguments. It comes up often in conversation on Sidepodcast, because watching sports delayed is a challenge. Ultimately, I think spoilers are a fact of life, and you can do your best to ward them off, but the odd one is always going to slip through.

• Title: The Mechanic’s Tale
• Author: Steve Matchett
• Genre: Memoir, sport
• Score: 4 out of 5
• Read my full review on Sidepodcast
• Amazon link

Matchett’s three books follow distinct paths – the first an entire year with a championship winning team and the third a look at how to put together a fast race car. This second book focuses on life as part of the pit crew. From getting the job, through winning and losing as a team, to desperately trying to get out, the book expands on its predecessor with more experiences from the F1 paddock.

Rather than covering a single year, this book spans a decade, starting with how Matchett found his way into F1. It ends with his final moments as part of the Benetton team, covering everything that happened along the way. From the specific details of promotions and payrises, to the rather more philosophical thoughts that come from motorsport, Matchett misses nothing and explains everything – clear and concisely, open and honestly.

You could, perhaps, argue that he’s honest to a fault. Revealing some innermost thoughts can occasionally herald paragraphs that are a little harsh. You have to really believe in yourself to get ahead in F1, but sometimes I wonder if that requires believing so little in other people. Having said that, when it comes to safety, there’s no room for messing around!

The writing is excellent. Give or take the odd misspelling of Stirling Moss’ name and you have some great descriptive work that brings you right out to each circuit. Engaging and heartfelt, with just a slight edge of disapproval, it all comes across as a level-headed piece of writing.