My week of technological disasters goes from bad to worse. Lost the camera (it still has not turned up yet), and as previously mentioned the only hard drive on our PC is corrupted. I got the Windows XP disks and tried recovering it, but no joy, so ordered a new one and will have to reinstall everything. In the mean time I plugged my IPOD into Jim's laptop (that we have borrowed for the week) to charge it up, DEFINITELY clicked "no don't sync my IPOD with your so called music collection" but it erased everything anyway. I think it saw the amount of Sigur Ros that was on the laptop and committed suicide. The IPOD was one of my chances to salvage all my music if I can't recover this hard disk, but now that's gone... Got about 4000 tracks on my work computer, but I'll be annoyed if I can't get the lot back. I am dreading trying my external backup drive in case it doesn't work. Gah.

Computer still dead, so not updat1ng much. Got the installation disks and tried to recover the boot record, but no joy. Recovery looked like it was working, so I don't know that the whole disk is dead, but I've bought a new hard drive anyway, will try a fresh install on that and then try to recover data from the other disk after that.

I wouldn't have thought people needed much encouragement to take a weapon along to a Justin Hawkins performance really. Not sure I can make this, but would you like to be in the ex The Darkness frontman's new video?

I have been asked to supply big beardy warrior types for a music video that promises to be a grand showcase of daftness - a Monty Python and the Holy Grail extravaganza of nuttiness! It's for Justin Hawkins of The Darkness and his new band, Hot Leg.

Would you like to charge around in a big field by a castle wielding swords and whatnot? We're after medieval re-enactment types with their own costumes, weapons, vague sense of how to wield stabbing implements etc.

The shoot will be in striking distance of London. You'll have to find your own way there but madness and MTV fame lie at the end of your journey, honest. We need as big an army as possible for one day and a select few for the other, when we'll be shooting the big fight scene with the band.

I'll be there to a) stand around being cold, and b) tell you where you need to be.

So here's what we need from you in an email to hawkins.video@gmail.com:

- Your availability from Saturday 30th August to Tuesday 2nd September

- A photo of yourself

- A list of any weapons you're bringing along.

From neilgaiman.com. Posted on Jim's borrowed laptop. Computer still dead and no-one else can find their Windows XP disk either.

Bah, turned it on today and I'm getting the blue screen of death with a unmountable_boot_volume error. Thought at first it was the backup drive or an IPOD plugged in, but no, it's the one and only hard drive that is knackered. Apparently I might be able to recover it, if I can find my original Windows XP disks.

Oh yes, the backup machine. No of course it's not an actual backup of the disk with operating system etc, I was lazy and just backed up pictures and music and things.

Weekend will be spent partly scrabbling around for some Windows XP disks, and possibly ridiculously buying a new computer.

Luckily I have this old backup computer that I was playing around with. It's got Linus installed on it though and I don't think Clare will like that when she has to work at home this week. Ooh, maybe I dual booted it and I can get away with it.

A ten man bike powered mobile bar. Looks like something they built on Scrapheap Challenge recently:

From pubcrawler.uk.com

A squirrel carrying a coconut.

UPDATE: The Sun has it too. I don't read either of these papers, but The Guardian news podcast seems to have missed it...