Mia

Apologies for the very long post ahead... I wonder if someone could help my brother? He only bought his PC last Sept, and now it's not working. He had Norton 360 installed, but it ran out after a year and his PC started freezing etc. so he bought Norton Internet Security 2009. The installation didn't go right, so he uninstalled it and did it again, and it seemed OK for a short while. But now when he switches his PC on, all he gets is the following white text on a black background: Checking file system on D: The type of the file system is NTFS Volume label is DATA One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency. You may cancel the disk check, but it is strongly recommended that you continue. windows will now check the disk (It said to press any key to cancel this check, but that does not work). It then says: CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3) File record segment 136 is unreadable File record segment 137 is unreadable File record segment 138 is unreadable File record segment 139 is unreadable 192 file records processed File verification completed 0 large file records processed 4 bad file records processed 0 EA records processed 0 reparse records processed CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3) 302 index entries processed Index verification completed 0 unindexed files processed CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 3) 192 security descriptors processed Security descriptor verification completed 56 data files processed CHKDSK is verifying usn journal... 131632 usn bytes processed usn journal verification completed. The screen just sticks on this and never advances, so he cannot do anything except switch the PC off at the mains. Is everything corrupted? Sorry for all the text, but I thought I'd better write the whole lot down so hopefully someone might know what is wrong.

Hello Raven! Nice to find another Cold Comfort Farm fan (or are you? You only say that you read it, not that you liked it! ) I really must get around to buying the Spaced boxsets, as I found out about it late so didn't see the first series. Going to watch the IT Crowd tonight. I didn't realise it was a documentary rather than a comedy. And Russell T Davies? On the whole, good I think.

Yeah - the way he moved in that Saturday Night Fever dance!

I've forgotten to post about this lately, but it's consistently good (and Uther's consistently a complete and utter ) . I really like the relationship between Arthur and Merlin, and think both actors are perfectly cast (in fact, all the cast are spot on). One thing about this week's ep though - Arthur must be a bit dim to swallow the lie about who was the sorceror. Hasn't it occurred to him that if the village already had a sorceror in Merlin's friend, then it surely wouldn't have needed any help against the bandits?

I decided to give this book another go today, and I really got into it this time! It's a real page-turner, and I'm already nearly halfway through and thoroughly enjoying it. Sorry Stephen King, you've gone onto the backburner for now!

Oh, of course. I forgot Kelly Brook left last year after her father died.

Maybe! But they're definitely fleshing his character out and giving him some backstory now. Before, it was very black and white - Sylar's evil and always has been. Now, they're showing how he became what he did and how his choices weren't always really his own. I think it's fascinating. But he still gives me the creeps! Especially when he does his "evil" look upwards from under his eyebrows! *shiver* And I agree with you about Hiro!

Someone will definitely go this week. But I was wondering about it myself - aren't they going to be a week short now? My favourite dancers tonight were Tom, Rachel and Jodie. I wasn't too keen on Christine's dance. I think it will be Christine and Jodie (or even Austin!) in the dance off.

Just Nation by Terry Pratchett...

Another great episode this week. It was really interesting to see all the backstory, especially how Sylar was manipulated by the company and how totally evil Arthur Petrelli is. I couldn't believe that he was quite happy to kill his own son just to get what he wanted. The bit at the end with Hiro and Arthur was a brilliant cliff-hanger (poor African guy! ) and for the first time ever, I gave into temptation and watched the first few minutes of the next episode on digital, because I couldn't wait a week to find out what happened to Hiro. He is definitely my favourite character.

I still like it, I'm just irritated by the fact that they only show the short version now (without the library bit)! Though I did wake up on Sunday with the music from it stuck in my head - now that was annoying.

I guess the reason I'm taking it seriously is that I don't like unfairness (yes, I know I'm going to be facing continuous disappointment in life, but anyway...) I don't buy this "It's entertainment, and I'm entertaining" argument from John. Firstly, it is a dancing competition that people happen to find entertaining, it's not a comedy show to find the funniest dancer. It's to find the best dancer. Secondly, John ceased being entertaining after the first couple of times. He does the same thing every week, and the "joke" has now worn thin, when good dancers are getting the push whilst he stays. I really can't stand the man's arrogance and smugness. If I were him, I would be embarrassed and ashamed to see good dancers leave when I was still there, but he obviously has no shame. And I know it's not his fault - it's the people who vote for him to stay.

Judy, that's exactly what I thought! I think you're right. I really hope he goes tonight, because everyone else is better than him. I loved Rachel's rumba, and also the tango... was it Tom? I'm trying to remember what dance Austin did.

I love that one too!

Another travesty. John should have been out, but thanks to people voting him through, it meant Rachel Stevens ended up in the dance-off. If he goes through next week, another decent dancer will get kicked out so he can walk through another routine with a smug smile on his face. He is really starting to annoy me. At first, he appeared quite charming, but now he's coming across as very smug and arrogant. I didn't like his comments about it being an entertainment show, and as he was entertaining he should stay. It may be an entertainment show, but it is first and foremost a dancing competition, and better dancers than him should not go while he stays. Do we really want him in the final?! I think a lot of people are voting to keep him just to annoy the judges!

Hey, what a good idea Michelle! I'd never have thought of that if you hadn't mentioned it. But I think your money will be safe - it's Pratchett, and I've never read one I've really disliked.

I'm fighting the temptation to buy it at the moment - I don't buy hardbacks unless I really have to. But I'm not sure I can wait until it's out in paperback!

Oh, right! There's so much happening that I can't remember what's gone on half the time! But I agree with you, I didn't want his character to go either. I liked his performance in Alias and I liked him in this too. That Mr Petrelli's a right evil .

David Walliams?! David Suchet?!! Ricky Gervais?!!! I think I need to go for a lie down...

Yes, I've been very jaded with this series, but last night's episode was awesome! I really enjoyed it. Loved the funny bit with Hiro getting hit with the spade, and I was so glad he didn't kill Ando. I felt sorry for poor old Adam Monroe - buried alive for centuries and then killed in that nasty way. And Peter at the end!! It was a great episode that rekindled my interest.

I loved Austin's quickstep, Tom's paso doble, Jodie's waltz and Lisa's tango. Jodie has really improved - her waltz was beautiful. Cherie can only do ballroom dances, she cannot seem to do any latin. John is easily the worst and should have gone, though I'm glad Andrew did as he was very poor too. I know what they mean about Rachel - she is young and should be excellent, but there always seems to be something lacking in her performance, like a spark or that bit of attack. She always seems leaden as if it's a big effort. Her jive was good, but she didn't have that special energy that would have made it excellent. She just always seems slightly under par. Compare her energy to Alesha's and there's just no contest. I think the final will be between Austin and Tom. I loved the show dances on Sunday too. The five ladies were amazing in their dance, and I enjoyed the "mixed up partners" one where Anton and Vincent briefly danced together. It made me laugh, especially when Anton pulled a face and wiped his hands after dancing with Vincent!

And where exactly is the problem with that?! Michelle and Janet, I totally agree. I couldn't stand her at first, but I really warmed to her. I too was gutted when she left and I cried because I felt so sorry for her never being able to remember all the things she'd done. And that's the product of good writing and characterisation - I do know that it's only fiction. But fiction done well should be able to provoke such an emotional response and make you care for the characters as if they were real.