Masochuticon. It becomes easier and easier to type.

New collaborative creative-writing site, again from Matt, and much like Upsideclown before it. New line-up, though, which is exciting, and love the heavy-type (or is that type-heavy?) design.

So I’m going to be at the Carson Systems “Future of Web Apps” summit tomorrow. Looking forward to it a lot, and looking forward to meeting a whole host of new people. If you see a six-foot redhead with a goatee and a quiff, do say hi!

So, you may or may not remember that I was afflicted with this pain in the neck of a problem: namely, you launch iChat, it loads for a second, and then dies immediately. In trying to solve it, I funted my computer, and needed to reinstall.

Last night, my computer ran out of battery (at the 51% mark, no less – let’s hope this battery holds out), and didn’t sleep, so I gave it a hard reset and thought nothing more.

This morning, I realise I haven’t relaunched iChat – so I do – and it dies immediately. “Bugger,” I think, “this is the same problem as before”. It’s also the same problem my girlfriend’s iBook has.

Then, thanks to this helpful Apple Discussions post, I solved it. The issue is between the iChat in 10.4.3 and my Netgear DG834 wireless router – namely, the implentation of UPnP (Universal Plug n Play) in the Netgear box. My router, incidentally, is on firmware 3.0.something – the latest.

To get iChat working again: log into the router, scroll down the left hand menu and choose the UPnP menu. Then: untick the “enable UPnP” box, click Apply; re-enable it, click Apply.

iChat now works. Bizarre, but fortunately solved. It’s also apparently fixed in 10.4.4, released yesterday, but I’m not upgrading just yet due to being bitten on 10.4.3.

A very bad night. I’ve recently been blessed with this particular problem: iChat quitting seconds after launch.

Reinstall iChat: no luck.

Reinstall iChat, patch through Software Update to 10.4.3 : no luck.

Run Combo Updater as recommended after reinstalling iChat: no luck.

Only now Mail is broken too; all my messages are there, but there’s no text loading in the panels. I’m loathe to reinstall Mail – I’ve backed up the Mboxes just now, even though the GUI is broken, I’m guessing the data is OK. It’s 3 years of Mail I pretty much can’t bear to lose.

So right now, I have a 12″ Paperweight. I’m really, really low about this; no idea how to fix it, no time to reinstall it for a good couple of days. Terrified. Depressed.

Awesome trailer for XBox 360. Unfortunately, it was pulled by Microsoft’s lawyers, presumably because it glorifies violence. Well, if pointing your fingers at people and saying “bang” is violence, I guess it does. It’s a lovely demonstration of what silly multiplayer FPSes are like. Also, it references a great moment in Spaced, and has a lovely punchline. Watch it!

And when you’ve done that, watch this Consolevania style ad for the new Prince of Persia. Whatever the game is like, the ad is delightful, and one of the best games ads I’ve seen in a while. Capturing the feel of gaming without in-game footage – and that’s exactly what I like about it.

So much more to say about the sublime Mario Kart DS, but for now, I felt some technical advice would help Google out a lot.

If you’re having problems connecting to Nintendo Wi-fi Connection through your Netgear DG834G router – as in, your DS can’t see your wireless access point, even if it’s public, insecure, the works – it’s worth upgrading to the latest firmware. You can download that from the “support” page on the Netgear site for the router. Once you’ve flashed the firmware (remember to do it via a wired connection, to avoid bricking the router), you should find the DS finds the access point (be it WEPed or not) first time.

Another game review from yours truly over at Pixelsurgeon: Burnout Revenge.

“… it’s worth forgiving for the stories you’ll take away from it: tales of near-misses, spectacular crashes, and the time you did a power-slide between two oncoming buses, and as was so excited as a result that you crashed into a wall. Give it a chance, and you’ll be rewarded with some of the best arcade racing in a while. It’s good stuff, but it’s not quite – DINGDINGDING – awesome, gold, or perfect.”

The quote will make sense if you’ve played the game – or read the review.

Quotation of the day, from a colleague walking past my desk:

“I wish we could find a way of developing agile webs. On rails.”

I’d left my copy of the Agile book out.

Petteri’s Pontifications is a lovely site (though I have no idea if it has a real domain or not); an amateur photographer providing interesting opinion and technique examples. It’s more discursive and artistic than the relentless technicalities so many amateur forums like to go into. This essay, the Faithful 50, on the magic allure of c.50mm lenses, is a highlight for me. Lots to go back to when I get a DSLR – and a reminder, the next time I’m home, to pick up my faithful Minolta and attach the gorgeous Rokkor 52mm f1.8 to it. I’ve missed grown-up cameras.

A short while later, and I’m slowly shifting up, back out of holiday mode. The 280-odd new posts in NetNewsWire are all out of the way. Some interesting stuff – in particular, MacDara’s new look, which is interesting and a little niggling, as it’s a fair bit of the way toward where infovore should be shortly going (though mine will be slightly less chaotically ‘tumbly’) – and also Matt’s recent work for the BBC, which he mentioned at the last Rails/Django meetup. It’s a shame that the London Web Frameworks Day is full – it wasn’t open for registration prior to the holiday, and I’m a bit peeved it’s full. Ah well, there’s still the usual meetup.

My brain’s also beginning to buzz a little, following a whole lot of exciting ideas I had on holiday. Now I’m back, I’ve got the tools to realise them, and also a few more things on the backburner, and it’s all a little bewildering. I’m sure a night’s sleep and a day at work will bring clarity – and a short sharp dose of reality.