Topics

1

Events / Sci Fi Weekender - Sheffield (29-30 March) & Great Yarmouth (31 Oct - 1 Nov)

« on: 21 January, 2019, 06:37:58 pm »

Anyone been to one of these or planning to go this year? Any good? I believe they're usually at a holiday camp in Wales, but they have relocated and split into two as the camp is being refurbished.

I've been offered a free ticket to the Sheffield one (just £11 booking fee) and couldn't say npo at that price. Seems quite expensive at full price. Rather odd to do Fri-Sat rather than Sat-Sun (need to book a day off work).

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General / New Marshall Law figure from Unbox Studios

« on: 01 November, 2018, 01:17:48 pm »

"approved by Pat Mills & Kevin O'Neill" - can't see a vast market for this, but it looks great!

https://downthetubes.net/?p=100823

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Website and Forum / MODIFY function

« on: 20 September, 2017, 08:17:07 pm »

Why do certain threads not allow a post to be edited, even within the strict time-limit that others do?

Is this a conscious decision or a glitch?

4

Help! / HIVE MIND! Techno-twonk needs PC buying help

« on: 29 June, 2017, 04:40:40 pm »

My home PC is old and running a pirated copy of windows 7 that hasn't updated for years - crashes and slow performance are just getting intolerable, the replacment power-pack (after a spectacular explosion one day!) that won't fit in the chassis is precariously propped up next to the open side, and the fan sounds like a blender - basically it's time to take it out back and shoot it.

I'm trying to buy a new one but the technical specs bewilder me. It seems like to get the best processing speeds and graphics, I should choose a "gaming" PC, but I don't do that much gaming - are these also best for streaming TV and music, not to mention awesome comic art?

I found two ACER models that are almost identical in every respect apart from the below:



What would the practical difference be between higher HARD DRIVE CAPACITY versus higher GRAPHICS MEMORY CAPACITY? The one on the right is £100 more.

5

Prog / Prog 2012 - Gone to Texas

« on: 24 December, 2016, 12:03:34 pm »

So is it just me who's got their prog so far?

Intriguing opener for Dredd as he tracks a perp to Texas City, but there's bound to be more to it than that. Rumblings of discontent in the TC justice dept at the current status quo, but it's fairly clear that the rank and file have no idea what Oswin was actually up to. Fabulous artwork by Tiernen Trevallion.

Kingmaker hasn't really grabbed me yet, but the mix of high fantasy and hard SF is an interesting idea. I'll reserve judgement for a while, but I'm not hating it.

The Order was never really a favourite of mine, but again, it's eminently readable.

I'm really enjoying Hope for the Future - I'm not familiar with Guy Adams or Jimmy Broxton but they're making a good fist of this noir-magic thriller.

Kingdom is just sublime - It's Gene and Leezee vs the world. The great doggy names keep coming - "Seizer" made me smile, and I've only just got "Major Canis"

All in all, Tharg steers us into 2017 with a solid collection of thrills. Happy New Year!

6

Help! / Unwanted texts

« on: 03 November, 2016, 02:47:52 pm »

I've just discover I've been charged 5 x 33p for text messages I have no knowledge of. I don't know the number (##### ######) and cannot find any texts to or from that number.  Anyone know how I can block this number on an iPhone?

7

Film & TV / Class - Dr Who spin-off

« on: 25 October, 2016, 09:28:47 am »

Anyone seen this yet on BBC3 online?? It's aimed at teens, so basically it's Sarah Jane Adventures crossed with Buffy. The set up is almost identical - a teacher plus a gang of precocious multiracial kids, including one who's an alien, protect Coal Hill School from beasties that come through an inconvenient hellmouth rift in space/time.

I've watched the first two and it's pretty gruesome - one poor lad has his girlfriend in ep1 and a dinnerlady in ep2 literally massacred in front of him, showering him in gore. People get burned to ashes or skinned alive - you've never get this on CBBC!

Best thing about it is the humour provided by Katherine Kelly as Miss Quill, who's a sarcastic and cynical alien teacher who the Doctor is forcing to protect the young alien prince - her encounter with an Ofsted robot in the 2nd epiodse is priceless.

One thing occurred to me - the Doctor tells them that repeated interference has created a time-rift at Coal Hill - so basically everybody who dies in this series is the Doctor's fault. He's the one that keeps coming back to that school!

8

General / Renewal help!

« on: 12 September, 2016, 07:55:42 pm »

Had an e-mail saying Rebellion can't auto-renew my subs because payment details are wrong (I lost my card and replaced it during the last year)

Trouble is I can't find anywhere on the website to do this. If I click on "My account" >>>> "Edit account information" it only allows me to change my name or phone number, if I click in to the subscription details it says "card type: DELTA and there's an orange box saying ATTENTION REQUIRED - this box looks like a clickable button but doesn't do anything.

Spoke to Denise (She hasn't gone just yet!) but she can't get into the payment section from her end and take card details over the phone.

I've mailed subscriptions but no reply yet and I'm not sure if I'm even covered for this week's prog.

9

Off Topic / i-phone help

« on: 04 January, 2016, 08:05:45 pm »

Decided to join the 21st century and get me a smartphone as my old one keeps switching itself off for no reason and doesn't do clever things like everyone else's phone.
Against my better judgement I was persuaded to get an i-phone5s because I use an i-pod for my music and was told transferring it would be easy.

Soon as I connected it however, my PC tells me that I need to download a newer version of i-tunes - I did this and have  lost 90% of my music (it has only retained songs purchased through the i-tunes store, so I'm having to re-import everything else including all the CDs I ripped - massive pain in the arse).

It has also deleted all my playlists - now these are still on my i-pod classic and i-pod nano (as are all my missing tunes) but I can't work out how to import them back into i-tunes. The apple support centre points me towards programs such as ipod2PC, but these all cost money - is there an easy free way?

I've really no idea what I'm doing with this phone - any recommendations for easy idiot-proof starter guides?

10

Off Topic / When did you start KEEPING your comics?

« on: 11 April, 2015, 02:27:28 am »

I'm curious as to when you stopped reading comics and chucking them away, and actually started saving them up.

Most, if not all grown-up comic readers on here, would have been reading comics as a kid. We all went from the Beano/Dandy to Krazy/Whizzer & chips, through to 2000AD and Marvel comics. But all those Beanos got read and chucked, at least in my house.

For me it was 20000ad that made  me incapable of just throwing the thing away after I'd read it - I kinda snuck it past my folks - They were always generous with allowing us comics and magazines on the  weekly newsagent's bill. I was allowed 3 comics , and I remember ditching Whizzer & Chips n in favour of 2000ad.

I'm not sure what it was that made me hang on to these comics (which in those days were considered as disposable as newspapers), but 20 years later, My mum was nagging me to move all the hundreds of progs in her loft!

11

Off Topic / Saturday Guardian - Comics Special (feat. Gibbons, Irving & more)

« on: 26 April, 2014, 07:55:25 am »

The magazine in today's Guardian is a comics special featuring strips by:

Gillian Flynn & Dave Gibbons
Dave Eggars
Audrey Niffenegger & Eddie Campbell
Michael Faber & Roger Langridge
Christian Ward adapting Margaret Attwood
AM Holmes & Frazer Irving

12

Film & TV / Blake's 7 - the early years

« on: 14 August, 2013, 01:15:22 pm »

Hour long audio dramas recounting the origin stories of the Liberator's crew, currently airing on Radio4Extra at 6pm (repeated at midnight): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sp6cg/episodes/guide

last night's 'Travis' episode was okay but not overwhelming - I was pretty knackered and didn't make it through to the end; but the first one about Zen I thought was excellent (still available to listen).

Anyone heard the others? Are any of them particularly worth catching (or avoiding)?

13

General / Dredd on Uncyclopedia

« on: 14 May, 2013, 12:23:11 pm »

I found this bizarre but very funny page when looking for something else .. apologies if it's come up before (damn you search function!) but it's new to me:

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Judge_Dredd

14

Classifieds / Free to a good home - DELLl printer cartridges

« on: 07 February, 2013, 09:12:51 pm »

I've just found some printer cartridges for my old Dell printer/scanner - which no longer works 'cos it isn't supported by Windows 7. As printer ink is stupidly expensive and they're no good to me, if anyone here can use 'em they're yours.

I have  2 x DELL M4646 Colour cartridges and 1 x DELL M4640 Black

Just PM your address if you want them.

15

Events / Manchester signing - 1st Sept - meet up?

« on: 30 August, 2012, 05:03:02 pm »

John Wagner, Steve Yeowell and Sean Philips at Travelling Man Comics on Dale St, this Saturday at 1pm - anybody else going? fancy a meet up for a pint afterwards?