Squeeze Box

Continued Elsewhere

2008-04-10T09:38:00.001+01:00

Squeeze box has now moved to http://blog.mikedaivdsmith.com/ where it will reside for the foreseeable future.

I also write for Palatinate, the Durham University Newspaper.

My personal homepage can be found at http://mikedavidsmith.com/

Thanks for reading!

I'm Pulling Out Of Here To Win...

2008-01-06T19:30:00.001Z

This is to be my final proper post on Squeeze-box. As a new years resolution I've decided to blog more regularly and to do that I need a fresh start.

I've enjoyed this foray into personally blogging over the last 3 years but it's time for a change. I don't really have anything interesting personally to fill this blog with and there are millions of sites out there filled with great stuff from the web and tech comment.

In the next few weeks I will be starting two new sites on photography and music. Links will be posted as they become available.

I'll sign off with this...

I'm pulling out of here to win - Bruce Springsteen

Pink vs. ZZ Top

2007-12-24T23:06:00.000Z

Who'd have guessed this would work?

Merry Christmas!

Covering the Boss

2007-12-10T16:15:00.001Z

I just walked in the Kitchen to hear a few notes of Born To Run which, as you can imagine, was a most pleasant surprise, especially from Radio 1. I thought they may have come to their senses and decided to play decent music.

Alas within a second I realised hell had not, in fact, frozen over. It was a cover version by a modern band. I suggest you listen and see what you think for yourself.

Born To Run (Cover)

Now listen to the interview before the performance.

Interview before performance

Randomness

2007-11-24T18:07:00.001Z

Classic Digg Comment

And on the 7th day God created Google to do the rest of the work for him.

Tried Firefox 3 Beta 1 and decided it was too unstable after two crashes in a very short time. The other problem is the plugins aren't working yet. Without the plugins I would rather use Opera.

ZonTubeβ is a really useful site for trying albums. It links amazon and youtube with a really simple ajax interface allowing you to try every song.

I heard the lead single of Joseph winner Lee Mead's album this morning on the news. I didn't watch the show and I really don't like manufactured pop but this song has an unusual appeal. I don't think I like it but it has a really odd pop style. Will have to think about my opinion of it.

Funny flag seen at a Rock Concert.

Bought a Rice Cooker today. Looking forward to giving it a try tonight.

The dots in gmail addresses make no difference. You can put them anywhere in the address. (except @gmail.com of course)

Fox News : "Marching Americans towards Nationalistic Fascism one manufactured story at a time" - Random Digg Comment

Missing HMRC Data

2007-11-20T20:31:00.001Z

It appears that the Inland Revenue have misplaced two CD's containing the Name, Address, Family Details, Bank Details and NI number of 25million people, about half the UK.

Not the greatest hour for the Treasury.

Around the same time this data went missing, 15,000 more details went missing in the same way from another department.

The data lost was unencrypted, produced as part of the standard process used in transferring data to other departments and external companies (e.g. pension providers).

I'm reliably informed that the same practices have been going on since the late 1980's without anyone flagging up the problem.

It seems astounding that only now problems have arisen as a result. Personally I expect it has happened before but it was kept quiet (probably not the department hiding it from the public but rather a low level worker hiding it from his boss!).

I can't honestly believe that a large computer firm designed a system that allowed all the database to be dumped onto a CD in an unencrypted format. If a backup is needed then surely a basic level of security could be implemented. The system cost £2.8bn! Someone should have spotted this as a potential problem.

Nick Assinder, the BBC political correspondent, has written a good column covering the potential political damage from the whole affair which pretty sums up my thinking on the matter - So long as the CD's stay lost it will just be a big cock-up. If there is criminal involvement (which I doubt), then heads will roll.

George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, made a reasonable effort to criticise the government for the mistake but he seems to be missing the point:

Why does HMRC still use CDs for data transmission in this day and age?

If the data were encrypted then the transfer medium wouldn't make any difference. You could use floppy discs without a problem. Using electronic transmission without encryption would be no more effective.

Naughty, Naughty Mr. Miliband!

2007-11-20T18:41:00.001Z

Naughty, Naughty Mr. Miliband! You really should not be sitting on that patients bed.

I just spotted this story on the Shields Gazette RSS Feed and I couldn't resist commenting on the picture.

We are constantly warned by the ward matrons that we are NEVER to sit on patients beds for infection control reasons. Matrons are normally pretty scary (though nice) people so even the most egotistical consultants don't mess with them.

I suppose being sat somewhere else wouldn't look as good in the photo.

Guitars vs. Women

2007-10-22T20:23:00.001+01:00

Spotted this brilliant list on a random blog:

Guitars don’t get pregnant.

You can play your guitar any time of the month.
Guitars don’t have parents.
Guitars don’t whine… unless you want them to.
You can share your guitar with your friends.
Guitars don’t care how many other guitars you’ve played
Guitars don’t care how many other guitars you have.
Guitars don’t care if you look at other guitars.
Guitars don’t care if you buy guitar magazines.
You’ll never hear, “Surprise, you are going to proud father of a new guitar!” unless you go out to buy one yourself.
If your guitar is flat you can fix it.
Your guitar doesn’t care if you never listen to it.
Your guitar won’t care if you leave up the toilet seat.
You don’t have to be jealous of the guy who works on your guitar.
If you say bad things to your guitar, you don’t have to apologize before you play it again.
You can play your guitar as long as you want and it won’t get sore.
You can stop playing your guitar as soon as you want and it won’t get frustrated.
Your parents won’t remain in touch with your old guitar after you dump it.
Guitars don’t get headaches.
Guitars don’t insult you if you’re a bad player.
Your guitar never wants a night out with the other guitars.
Guitars don’t care if you’re late.
You don’t have to take a shower before you play your guitar.
If your guitar doesn’t look good you can refinish it or get new parts.
You can play your guitar the first time you meet it, without having to take it to dinner, see a movie, or meet its mother.
The only protection you have to wear when playing your guitar is a decent thumb pick.
When in mixed company, you can talk about what a great time you had the last time you played your guitar.

Great Ayton

2007-10-17T19:58:00.001+01:00

I took this picture at Great Ayton shortly before I took the one of Roseberry Topping. It was a really nice day to be in the countryside. I often find it really difficult to believe that places like this are on my doorstep. Stockton is such a different place. I honestly can't wait to escape living in urban areas and I will be living somewhere like this as soon as I can afford it.

Free Music

2007-10-15T18:36:00.001+01:00

There is an ever growing number of bands who are giving their music away in one form or another. In the last few months Prince, Radiohead and more recently Ray Davies and Ocean Colour Scene have given away lots of music that would normally sell for millions.

Various blogs have interpreted this behavior in different ways.

Many see the move as a fad, an effort by has been artists to get more attention than they otherwise would. While this is accurate I don't feel it to be the whole story. For one thing Radiohead aren't really has-beens, while not my cup of tea it is clear to see they are massive.

A particularly good opinion piece offered by Seth Godin, a bestselling marketing guru, describes the move by the big name artists as the second stage in the overall revolution.

Most industries innovate from both ends:

The outsiders go first because they have nothing to lose.
The winners go next because they can afford to and they want to stay winners.
It's the mediocre middle that sits and waits and watches.

In this situation the outsiders are the small and unsigned bands who have been giving away music on garageband.com for years. Now the winners are moving in to share in the success. The final step is for everyone else to jump aboard and the record industry is revolutionised.

I we are a long way off reaching that stage because there is a crutial element still missing: Marketing for the "Mediocre Middle". There are no methods at present that substitute for the big lables. Without the big lables radio would never know what to play and new bands would have trouble gaining traction or the money to fund records.

Once the media adapts to the new world, where they have to find the stories and music instead of waiting for some record company rep to call them, there will be no need to pay for downloads. Bands can get the money they need for hosting and production from gigs. Madonna has realised that she no longer needs a record company to fund records. A concert promoter can foot the initial bill and, since she is who she is, the promotion takes care of itself.

On a side note, the record industry must now move to non DRM downloads. This new front in the music industry will take some fighting/resisiting and if they are still trying to push crap products they have no hope.

Just in case you haven't heard any of prince's latest output here is one of the better tracts from "Planet Earth":

If you can't see the player <a href='http://www.dur.ac.uk/michael.smith/blog/music.html'>Click Here</a> to listen to the song.

- from Squeeze-box Blog.

Orson - Push the Button

2007-10-13T13:50:00.001+01:00

Another classic cover version here, this time from Orson. I first heard this when it was first performed on the Live Lounge and I loved it immediately. It really appeals to me hearing a Rock/Pop band covering a pop girl band in a rock-a-billy fashion. This song is take from the Live Lounge album release earlier this year. I think the album leaves things to be desired overall but again has some really good covers. In particular Love Machine by the Arctic Monkeys.

Orson have a new album out soon which I am looking forward too. Their last album was very strong, not a song I can't listen to in the bunch.

If you can't see the player <a href='http://www.dur.ac.uk/michael.smith/blog/music.html'>Click Here</a> to listen to the song.

- from Squeeze-box Blog.

Roseberry Topping

2007-10-09T19:07:00.001+01:00

My parents visited me this weekend and we had a very pleasant afternoon visiting some very pretty North Yorkshire towns leaving me feel all the more discontented in Stockton!

Roseberry topping dominates the skyline on Teesside, clearly identifiable amongst the Cleveland hills by it's distinctive summit. This photo was taken from the National Trust car park near the bottom of the mountain. I aim to climb it before Christmas but I've been saying that all the time I've lived on Teesside so I'm not optimistic I will make that aim.

Foo Fighters - Band on the Run

2007-10-07T19:45:00.001+01:00

I've always been a fan of good song covers. For me the cover must add something new, either significantly improved production or a whole new spin on the original.

This cover by the Foo's from the "Radio 1 Est. 1967" collection takes the Wings song and adds a new spin. It stays close to the original to begin with but adds the Foo's trademark neat grunge effect to the speedier parts of the song. Personally I think it's a really good cover but I like the original and the Foo's so I'm clearly biased. Have a listen to see what you think.

The full album has some good covers but most are carbon copies of the original which I see as pointless.

If you can't see the player <a href='http://www.dur.ac.uk/michael.smith/blog/music.html'>Click Here</a> to listen to the song.

- from Squeeze-box Blog.

Cathedral Notre Dame

2007-09-19T07:36:00.001+01:00

The park at the back of the Cathedral Notre Dame is my favourite part of Paris. The park itself is beautifully manicured, with the stunning back drop added to the scene it can't get much better. Just to the right of where this photo was taken there is a chap selling excellent crepes! Well worth a visit when in the city.

XBox Media Centre

2007-09-17T18:34:00.001+01:00

I'm very tempted to purchase an old xbox and make myself a media center. Being able to stream video would be really cool. Is it worth £50 is the big question. Will be pondering that in the next few days.

Technorati Tags: xbox, media, center, microsoft

iPod Classic

2007-09-16T19:20:00.001+01:00

Feeling the need for a new ipod and having my girlfriend on my back telling me I need to find something I want for my birthday (5 months ago) I figured now was the time.

I settled on the ipod classic (in silver) mainly because of the memory. I've never had an ipod I could fit all my music onto and I really wanted that feature. The new nano was the next choice but I really wanted the space. Why not the itouch? I realised that I'm rarely in a location, other than at home, where I have wi-fi so the main feature of the device is wasted on my. It's small amount of memory was also a big turn off.

The ipod runs like any other ipod. A bit slow when trying something demanding (e.g. coverflow) but fine the rest of the time. The screen is big enough to watch a video on (I watched House on the train yesterday). The interface has been changed slightly, looking slicker than ever, but functionally there is nothing new.

Overall, a great product at the price.

Here is a short video of me using it. The resolution is unfortunately quite low.

Technorati Tags: ipod, classic, video

Pop Singers Fear Of The Pollen Count - The Divine Comedy

2007-09-16T18:00:00.001+01:00

The title of this song caught my eye. I love songs with long titles, generally it's a good sign for the song. My other favorite long title song is "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again", a song I may write about in the future.

The title of this song accurately reflects the subject matter. It's a pleasantly upbeat pop song about hayfever. The basic gist is hayfever is annoying but everyone gets it so get over it!

The Divine Comedy, fronted by Neil Hannon, are a band I like intermittently. There are tracks I love, and when in a certain mood I can listen to full albums happily, but on other occasions I find them a bit tedious. Other tracks to listen to are: "National Express", "Your Daddy's Car" (which sounds like a song from the Simpsons episode where homer goes to the land of chocolate), and "Generation Sex".

If you can't see the player <a href='http://www.dur.ac.uk/michael.smith/blog/music.html'>Click Here</a> to listen to the song.

- from Squeeze-box Blog.

Manchester - The Beautiful South

2007-09-09T13:55:00.001+01:00

The Beautiful South are a group that produced songs that fell right into my favorite genre. I love songs with catchy tunes but more crucially, lyrics that are witty. Several of my favorite groups fall into this category; Barenaked Ladies, Fountains of Wayne, Bowling For Soup and Squeeze to name a few.

"Manchester" is the song that stood out most to me from their most recent and final album "Superbi". The band broke up earlier this year, disbanding due to "musical similarities" (The best reason a band has ever given).

The song is driven by a distinctive and prominent bass line as well as some brilliant guitar licks. As with all Beautiful South songs, the production is spot on allowing all instruments can be heard distinctively.

The Englishness of the song is what really sells it to me. The theme of the song is that it always rains in Manchester, which in turn makes it great. Here are some of the wonderful lyrics:

"And whilst that deckchair in the garden it makes no sense
It doesn't spoil the view or cause offence
Those Floridas, Bavarias and Kents
Make gentlemen wear shorts but donâ€™t make gents"

"So convertible stay garage-bound
Save after-sun for later"

"As you dry your clothes once again
Upon the radiator"

"And as winter turns reluctantly to spring
For the clouds above the city there's one last fling"

I'm really disappointed I never got to see them play live. Hopefully there will be a reunion or a equally good new band formed from the ashes.

If you can't see the player <a href='http://www.dur.ac.uk/michael.smith/blog/music.html'>Click Here</a> to listen to the song.

- from Squeeze-box Blog.

The Last Resort - The Eagles

2007-09-08T11:55:00.001+01:00

I plan to intermittently scribble some thoughts here on songs that I like at the moment. The songs can be previewed in full by following the link at the bottom.

"The Last Resort" by The Eagles is one of my favorite songs. The song isn't what you would call optimistic...far from it. The lyrics tell of the immigration into America from the old world. The lyrics provide vivid imagery of a beautiful new place where the land is cared for and equality stands tall.

"She heard about a place people were smilin'
They spoke about the red man's way,
and how they loved the land"

The song doesn't have a chorus, just verses each describing a journey from east to west over the years. As things move further west and closer to the present day things get less rosy.

"Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought 'em"

Religion is then introduced to the tale in a verse that is as depressing as it is brilliant.

"You can leave it all behind
and sail to Lahaina
just like the missionaries did, so many years ago
They even brought a neon sign: "Jesus is coming"
Brought the white man's burden down
Brought the white man's reign"

I interpret that as religion being introduced to the white man, but far from increasing their morality, it just gave them some justification to do bad things in the name of God - bringing their burden down while allowing them to do whatever they wanted to rule the country.

The song concludes with that anti-religious theme in the setting of a church. The parishioners are singing hymns about heaven and it's perfect nature, not unlike the way people spoke of the "new world" at the beginning of the song. The closing lines of the song (and the album) are possibly the most pessimistic of any song:

"You call some place paradise,
Kiss it goodbye."

I have always felt this song would be appropriate for a funeral, though on closer inspection it may be slightly to anti-religious to play in a church.

If you can't see the player <a href='http://www.dur.ac.uk/michael.smith/blog/music.html'>Click Here</a> to listen to the song.

- from Squeeze-box Blog.

Unfair UK iPod Prices

2007-09-05T21:16:00.001+01:00

I was very pleased to see the brilliant new range of iPods released today by Apple. An added bonus was that the prices seemed brilliant. Only $399 for the 16GB iTouch! Well worth £200 of anyones money.

After the keynote I checked the Apple Store and the prices weren't even close to the ones quoted by Jobs. Below is a summary of the US and UK prices.

	US Price		UK Price		Difference
	In Dollars	In Sterling	In Dollars	In Sterling	%
Shuffle	$79	£39	$98.75	£49	25%
Nano 4gb	$149	£74	$199.52	£99	34%
Nano 8gb	$199	£99	$259.99	£129	31%
Classic 80gb	$249	£124	$320.45	£159	29%
Classic 160gb	$349	£173	$461.53	£229	32%
itouch 8gb	$299	£148	$401.06	£199	34%
itouch 16gb	$399	£198	$542.14	£269	36%

It really doesn't seem fair to me that the exact same product in the US will cost 36% less than in the UK. Sure you can claim it needs to be delivered but that doesn't cost £69, as Jobs kept pointing out, they are tiny!

The prices in Continental Europe are even worse. Once again I'm going to be fleeced for not being American!

Venue for Apple Press Conference

2007-09-04T19:17:00.001+01:00

I just read an article on the Mediaguardian website reading:

"The choice of venue for tomorrow's launch - BBC Television Centre - is being seen as an indication that the new iPod could be announced alongside new downloadable BBC content and the built-in radio."

That sounds great but it doesn't really add up. I've never known Apple to host a big event like this outside the US and a check on google revealed this:

"The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Moscone West in San Francisco"

That makes more sense but has left me disappointed. Regardless it looks certain there will be a UK release of whatever new ipod is to be announced.

Technorati Tags: apple, ipod, london, bbc, press conference

The Eagles - How Long

2007-08-23T16:06:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Kyle for pointing this out to me. Absolutely brilliant new song.

Random Links

2007-08-22T11:11:00.001+01:00

Internet Warning Lables

Demon Dwarf 'glued privates to vacuum cleaner'
When I saw this on wikinews I figured it had to be fake but its amazingly true.

Durham University Prof. Announces:

Tabloids create England-Germany tension around football matches

Another wonderful discovery from the department of the obvious. Clearly the quality control on these articles isn't that high given this quote:
"...the increasing cultural and political closeness between the United Kingdom and Britain."

The 14 Characteristics of Fascism

2007-08-12T16:51:00.001+01:00

The 14 characteristics are (according to : Lawrence Britt, 2003):

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
Supremacy of the Military
Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
Rampant Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.
Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
Obsession with National Security
Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .
Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
Obsession with Crime and Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Sound familiar? That really is quite scary.

Misuse of Facebook

2007-08-08T18:55:00.000+01:00

Thanks to XKCD.com

My Interesting 24 Hours

2007-08-03T22:20:00.001+01:00

The last 24 hours for me have been eventful and most unusual. I feel it necessary to document this day in case my brain damage causes it to be wiped from my memory.

The events began in a very sober setting, a classical music concert. The concert was put on by the OU music summer school and was quite enjoyable if a little long.

Following the concert we had a drink in Hatfield bar before we headed back up the hill to Van Mildert to continue to the drinking. While passing through Saddler Street Andy hopped out to get some cash. At this point I had been wound up all day as Andy and Emma fed me a bunch of lies and I bought every one of them. I decided that I had justification to break shotgun rules and take the front seat while Andy was out. Andy didn't take the rule breach well and decided that he was having the front seat with me in there. So we drove all the way back up the hill with two front seat passengers. Good Craic.

When we got to the bar we continued drinking and proceeded to get plastered. The night was great fun but as with all other nights out this summer, it went on far longer than anticipated. I had to check on a student in another college and while there played on facebook (the results weren't pretty). Got to bed at 4:15.

In the morning I had to be up at 7:00 so I set 3 alarms. When the cleaners woke me up at 10:00 I'd slept through all 3 alarms and several phone calls. Wasn't the end of the world as I wasn't needed that badly anyway(not that I'd have been much use).

Did a bit of wandering in the morning until Andy asked me to help him move some teles (this is a crap job but it had to be done). In the process Andy accidently let a door close while I was locking the other door causing it to hit my head pretty hard. Not nice! I was ok though and continued with what we were doing.

About 15 minutes later after looking for a swipe card in one of the school cars we were locking the car and the boot wouldn't shut. So I started moving the obstruction but Andy continued to shut the boot again - with me in the way. This second, harder, blow to the head made me see stars and feel very dizzy so off we went to A&E. That's where the fun stuff ends, after that there was just a dull 2 hours in A&E to be told I'm ok.

Lessons of the day:

Be careful with head
Don't trust Andy

Browser Useage

2007-07-23T20:39:00.001+01:00

During a dull moment today I've been looking through the Google analytics breakdown for the Stephenson JCR website that I manage. Of 16,217 unique visits since July last year 70% use IE and 23.5% use Firefox. The website is used almost entirely by students, possibly explaining the unusually high percentage of Firefox usage.

Personally I'm a big Firefox user and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. If I ever have to fix your computer I will, by default, install Firefox and make it your main browser and do my best to hide any evidence of IE. So far I have had no complaints or anyone ever go back to IE so clearly it is easy to use.

Technorati Tags: firefox, ie, visitors, google, analytics

Die Hard - The Music Video

2007-07-23T17:52:00.001+01:00

This video is brilliant. The song was clearly created by a big fan. I love that they note that the last one wasn't at Christmas. Were it not for it being in New York that would be almost unforgivable.

Here is the updated version including a verse for the 4th film.

Technorati Tags: die, hard, music, video, comedy

Harry Potter - The Loss Leader

2007-07-20T11:29:00.001+01:00

According to Wings On Some Wheels, ASDA is selling Harry Potter for less than cost. I was actually discussing this with someone (though I'm not sure who) last week and I said it wouldn't surprise me if ASDA buy the books from someone like Tesco(or someone who has a large supply) and then sell them at a loss just to piss off the publisher.

The tactic is nothing new, for many years supermarkets have sold basic products such as beans and milk at a loss just to get people in the stores. The loss leader tactic has left them with many enemies as they have crushed smaller retailers using the tactic.

Personally I support the tactic because it means cheaper stuff. In the long run it will mean smaller retailers will provide something different to compete, which I also see as a good thing.

I don't know how much this will directly bother Bloomsbury. They will make more money from ASDAs loss. Perhaps there will be some indirect losses from the competing retailers who will be frustrated they are selling less and the publisher isn't doing all they can, but I don't think that will be a big loss.

Technorati Tags: harry, potter, asda, loss, leader

Open Letter to Subway

2007-07-18T20:32:00.001+01:00

Thanks to http://flyryan.livejournal.com/.

Technorati Tags: subway, comic

The Floods in Hull

2007-07-18T20:24:00.001+01:00

News of the disaster was swiftly carried abroad by the town's 35,000 racing pigeons, as victims were seen wandering around aimlessly muttering "fookinhell" and "chuffinnorah".

The flood decimated the town, causing £30 worth of damage. Several priceless collections of mementos from the Balearic Isles and the Spanish Costa's were damaged beyond repair. Three areas of historical burnt out cars were disturbed.
Many locals were woken well before their Giro arrived. Radio Humberside reported that hundreds of residents were confused and bewildered, still trying to come to terms with the fact that something interesting had happened in Hull.

One resident, 15 year old mother of 3, Sharon Braithwaite said: "It was such a shock, my little Chardonnay-Madonna came running into my bedroom crying. The twins, Tyler-Morgan and Megan-Storm slept through it all. I was still shaking when I was watching Kilroy the next morning". Locals were determined not to be bowed, as looting, muggings and car crime carried on as normal. So far, whilst the British Red Cross has managed to ship 4000 crates of Sunny Delight to the area to relieve the suffering of stricken locals, rescue workers searching through the rubble have found large quantities of personal belongings including, benefit books, jewellery from Elizabeth Duke at Argos, and bone china from Pound-stretcher.

Can You Help? Please respond generously to our appeal for food and clothing for the victims of this disaster.

Clothing is needed most of all, especially:

Fila or Burberry baseball caps
Kappa tracksuit tops (his or hers)
Shell suits (female)
White sports socks
Rockfort boots
Any other product sold in Primark

Culturally sensitive food parcels are harder to put together, but your efforts will make a difference.
Microwave meals, tinned baked beans, ice-cream and cans of Colt 45 or Special Brew are ideal. Please do not give anything that requires peeling. Remember: · 22p buys a biro for filling in compensation claims · £2 buys chips, crisps and a blue fizzy drink for a family of 9 · £5 will pay for a packet of B&H and a lighter to calm a child's nerves.

Urgently required: Tinned whippet food. Bones for Jack Russells

Please do not send tents for shelter. The sight of such posh housing will cause residents to believe they have been forcibly relocated to Beverley .

- Thanks to Tom for that one.

Technorati Tags: comedy, hull, flood, chav

Funny Quote

2007-07-05T22:23:00.001+01:00

From a tutorial on the Consumerist blog:

Disclaimer: These instructions are for
intermediate to advanced computer users and we will not provide any
support nor be liable for anyone who turns their computer into a
scorched pile of rancid silicon.

My New Vista

2007-07-04T21:00:00.001+01:00

Nope nothing to do with the new Windows operating system. This is the view from my new bedroom. Not all that exciting, but nicer than some. Plenty of trees, which I like.

The reason for this new view is my new job. I am the Assistant School Administrator for the Open University summer residential school in Durham. Basically, I help run the place, along with several other people in similar positions. So far the job has been great. Working alongside some great people, all from Durham/Newcastle Uni (except my boss who works for the OU but is equally cool) which helps things immensely. On my first night went out for some drinks (and eventually some dancing) and got quite drunk which was a lot of fun.

It's a bit strange being in a Durham college. I'm used to being a Stocktonite and this is a real eye opener. Not surprisingly life here is far better (even outside term time), which is disappointing in the long run.

Anyway, more posts to come from me with hopefully some nice pictures of Durham.

My bedroom (van mildert college)

Recent Reading and Grand Central

2007-06-15T16:58:00.001+01:00

The image is of the Atrium of Grand Central Terminal, New York. The massive flag was put in place shortly after 9/11 and has remained in place since. Quite an impressive sight. There is another flag in the building shown in a nice picture by the NY Daily Blogger.

In other news...

Paul McCartney has created an iTunes advert. I quite like it to be honest. Nice and colourful. Song is pretty good too.

A group of students have proved what we all knew to be true, an then some. Food is still safe to eat after you have dropped it, so long as it's less than 30 seconds - even for wet food!

In a story by the Consumerist blog, a Dell employee has spilled the beans on their tactics. I ignored the story until I noticed this afternoon that Dell have sent a take down request. It was then nice and clear that there is something worth looking at.

The part that interested me most was that if you go on the Small Business section of their website you get better deals than Home. Sure enough, you can get the Inspiron 6400 from the home site for £429 with Vista home and a 80gig HD. On the Small Business site, the same laptop, with a 120gig HD and Vista Business is only £399. Crazy!

Technorati Tags: dell, new york, grand central, consumerist, itunes, food

Student Loans

2007-06-15T16:19:00.001+01:00

Following a very interesting discussion last night at the pub on the issue of student loans, I felt the need to do some numerical research. My first step was to work out what is currently being paid.

For the next academic year, the government gives £3,244 to the parents from a home that has an income of less than £16,340. Of that amount £1127 is a loan, the rest is a grant. From that income there is a sliding scale to £34,000, where nothing extra is given.

I therefore assume that the government has picked the figure of £3,244 as the amount of money that needs to be given to a student so they can afford university (AMM). In a fair society all students should get that amount of money.

The government assumes that parents earning less that £16,340 cannot afford to give any of that and parents earning £34,000 or more can pay it all. Principally it’s quite a reasonable stance in my opinion. However, I disagree with the numbers.

My initial belief is that there is a problem with the simplicity (if you can call it that!) of the current system meaning a group of people in the middle are paying out relatively more for university. So I did some Maths.

I calculated the percentage of the income it is expected parents should be providing. The amount the parents should be giving was chosen by working out the difference between the full subsidy and what the child actually gets. The result gave a graph like this:

As predicted, there is a section of people in the middle who are expected to pay up to 10% of their income to support their child at university. On average, of the parents who pay anything, the AMM is 6% of the income. I believe that it’s unfair that for some people it’s almost double that.

So what’s the solution? And won’t it be even more complicated or expensive?

The solution I believe will level the playing field will be no more complicated and only very slightly more expensive.

Currently the loan section of the AMM is between £1,127 and £0 for households earning up to £34,000. Households earning less than £23,085 get the full amount, and those in between are on a sliding scale.

If the criteria were altered for this section alone, increased fairness can be achieved. I would propose households earning up to £35,500 receive the full £1,127. There is then a sliding scale up to £52,500, above that nothing is given. The result is this graph:

The new system dramatically reduces the middle group inequity. It’s not perfect but I’m only using rough numbers and only altering one aspect of the system.

The system would require some extra admin work as more students would need means testing. As the extra money given would be a loan, rather than a grant, the government would not lose any money (unless they charge the wrong interest).

If you have spotted a fault, please let me know.

Coming next: Extra Children and The New Loans System.

Technorati Tags: student, loans, politics

Stockton Town Hall

2007-06-14T17:53:00.001+01:00

Stockton Town Hall is located in the centre of the High Street (which incidentally is the widest in England). The bulding isn't overly impressive, and not a patch on South Shields Town Hall (which I will upload tomorrow).

Been a day of good news. Most of my medic friends have passed this academic year and Kieran was elected to VP of the JCR. Well Done! 

The Lakes

2007-06-13T20:43:00.001+01:00

Camping in the Lake District may not be the most glamorous of holidays, but I love it. The fresh air and the peace and quiet of the mountains. Nothing quite like it.

The picture above was taken about 5 yards from my tent in Keswick. The view is Derwentwater showing Cat Bells.

Safari on Windows

2007-06-11T20:04:00.000+01:00

I'm posting this from Safari on Windows.

My first impressions are mixed. The speed is defianatly faster and the look of the general interface is as sleek as would be expected from Apple.

However, there are two big flaws for me. The biggest problem is the fonts. The font's aren't even close to standard windows fonts, let alone what you get when you enable cleartype (or use IE7). Fonts have always been the biggest issue for me with linux, and is still the reason I don't use it more. Without nice basic fonts, web browsing is a pain!

The second problem is the lack of extensions. I use several extensions in Firefox, mainly adblock and scribefire. Without them it isn't really going to change my browsing habits.

A third and minor flaw is the lack of a spell checker. I'm used to the one you get on Firefox.

Still nice to try something new and I applaude Apple's inititive. I'd like to see the mozilla developers take note and speed up Firefox.

To give it a try go to http://apple.com/safari

Darlington Market Hall

2007-06-10T17:52:00.001+01:00

I work in Darlington and on the walk from the train station to the office I pass this impressive work or architecture. The town clock was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, who is best known for the Natural History Museum in London.

Whitehall

2007-06-08T15:26:00.001+01:00

The view down Whitehall at noon on my recent trip to London. Looking at all the bustle around on this picture reminds me why I could never live in London.

Cool Graffiti

2007-06-05T10:34:00.000+01:00

I've still not got the internet at home so I am unable to upload any new pictures leaving me with a choice of New York, New York or New York.

This wonderful example of graffiti really impressed me. The park in Downtown Manhattan would be very dull was it not for this lively work of art adding much needed colour.

NY Street

2007-06-04T10:59:00.000+01:00

This picture illustrates the sheer scale of New York to me. The picture was taken on 57th street (I think) during 2006. I hope to return there sometime this year.

I haven't posted in a week or so because BT are crap. It's also come to my attention that people are reading this through Facebook. I added the import ages ago and I always forget that these things show up in the news feed. I really need to watch what I say.

Skiddaw

2007-05-22T11:01:00.001+01:00

Just read an eye opening story on the BBC website which is from the Whistle Blower series. Reading it was an unusual experience. I'd never though that supermarkets would be that reckless when it comes to handling meat but at the same time every part of the story fits the way these big companies work.

The stores are managed by store managers who have a massive degree of autonomy and have one goal - meet the targets. It's very easy to see how they would be willing to look the other way if it means targets are met. Supermarkets also have an unfair legal advantage. If I ever got food poisoning I would not be likley to sue a supermarket beacuse my chances of winning are poor.

One part of the story rang most true:

Now, Tesco are proud of their training, but when I was tested I was simply handed the answers I needed and told to input them on a separate sheet.

While working at a similar organisation at Christmas I was handed the answers to the computer quiz just to speed up the process. To be honest I was more than happy to cheat because the quiz was badly designed and I could work out most of the answers regardless, but if someone who wasn't as bright were to do the same thing they may miss something important.

The photo is of Skiddaw from Keswick Rugby Ground.

London Morning (6)

2007-05-20T19:07:00.001+01:00

After a long time on the Underground we ended up in the lovely suburb of Loughton. The campsite advertised itself as central (since updated). Well it took us near an hour to get there on the tube and then another hour and a half to get to the site.

When we finally arrived the friendly site owner was most accommodating and asked us why we didn't take the shortcut. The shortcut was less than obvious, basically it consisted of walking for 30 minutes through some bull filled fields and quite dense forests. Even when we knew the way we came very close to getting lost. Here is a short video of the trek.

The whole point of our trip to London was to see Live 8, which was really good though the atmosphere wasn't as good as I'd expected. More pictures of that coming in the next few days.

I've really started to get into Windows Live Maps over google maps. I'm a big google man but it's satellite coverage is far worse. Also the collections feature in WLM is really cool. I used it to show the short cut in this post. Here is a summary of our walking route in London.

London Morning (5)

2007-05-19T20:25:00.001+01:00

This is the last of the central London Morning pictures. In the next post I will show where we were actually staying. Central it was not!

London Morning (4)

2007-05-18T09:59:00.001+01:00

From Trafalgar Square it was down the Mall and a walk through St. James' Park. It really was a stunning morning. If we had known what the rest of the day held in store I think we would have thought twice about the whistle-stop tour of the sites.

London Morning (3)

2007-05-17T20:46:00.001+01:00

11 Minutes away from Whitehall I took this shot. While perhaps not the greatest photo ever, the sparsity of Trafalgar Square in July illustrates the hour of the day.

London Morning (2)

2007-05-17T10:29:00.001+01:00

The next step of the route through London took us up Whitehall. Picasa tells me I took this one at 7:31am a whole 9 minutes after the one of Big Ben. More of the route still to come.

Another exam this afternoon. Not looking forward to this one but once it's over I'm 90% done.

I Went Down To The River...

2007-05-16T18:47:00.001+01:00

...and of the river i took a photo. This was taken on my D900 on the way back from my exam on Monday. Was a really clear day. Actually makes Stockton look bearable...well almost.

Ruby on Rails vs Java

2007-05-15T16:52:00.001+01:00

Spotted this on Digg. I think the top comment says it all:

"this is by far one of the geekiest things i've ever seen. and i love it."

London Morning

2007-05-15T14:57:00.001+01:00

This shot was taken at 7:23 in the morning shortly after stepping off a very long bus journey to London that left Newcastle at 11pm the night before. On that morning myself and my good travel buddy took in a whistle stop tour of many of the main sights. Will post more pictures from the morning in the next few days.

Second exam over today. Thats two down two to go!

A few other interesting posts today from the South Shields blog man and a really good idea spotted by the London blog man.

Summer in the City

2007-05-14T09:40:00.000+01:00

First exam is this afternoon, not looking forward to it but will be so happy when they are all over.

The above picture shows Central Park in the summer. It's the part of the park around the baseball pitches, which, when not in use provide a nice spot to sit.

Looking at the guy in the centre of the pic it makes me wonder how many pictures take by people I don't know I'm in.

Stunning Public Art

2007-05-13T08:42:00.001+01:00

I've slowed down again on the posts but thats exams for you. First one tomorrow last one a week tomorrow. I can't wait!

This picture is best viewed in its full resolution.  It was taken towards the back of Madison Square Garden towards Penn Station. It shows some of the key landmarks from all around the world painted on one building.

Bryan Adams

2007-05-10T08:11:00.001+01:00

Bryan Adams in Concert at St. James Park last year. Can't remember which song this was but it was a really good show. All the classics done.

The National Gallery

2007-05-08T19:51:00.001+01:00

Two posts today since I missed yesterday(due to massive amounts of revision!). This is quite clearly the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London. Take on April 7th this year.

All the pictures featured are available in full resolution by clicking on them.

Sky Scraper Through Trees

2007-05-08T19:48:00.001+01:00

Took this picture on my most recent visit to New York City. The shot I think looks a lot like Miami owing to the style of the building and the trees in the foreground.

Durham Cathedral

2007-05-06T11:16:00.001+01:00

I took this photo during a night out at Castle College on the day of my last exam last year. I look forward to the same plan after exams this year. Hopefully the weather will be as good!

Saltburn

2007-05-05T20:18:00.001+01:00

Here is a picture of Saltburn beach that I took last summer on a moderately warm day. The beach is very pleasant and has some very unusual cars that transport people down the cliffs. The town has very little too it other than a few pubs, a train station, one amusement arcade and the beach.

Not a patch on South Shields beach because its so rocky but it was a nice day out none the less.

Neil Sedaka

2007-05-04T21:58:00.001+01:00

When I was young (really young like 3-5) and first discovering music my music exposure was somewhat unusual. The main records I remember(and who owned it) were:

The White Album and Help (on vinyl, my dads)
Lilly the Pink (vinyl single, father again)
Mud - Greatest Hits (Tape Dads I think)
Don Mclean Greatest Hits (Tape, Grandads)
Neil Sedaka Greatest Hits (Tape, Nana)

All influenced me in many ways and explain my love of guitar and piano rock, cheesy songs and of course pop music of various forms. I owe a debt of gratitude to the repective owners for giving me such a broad outlook on music.

The reason I'm posting this is that I just happened to find a version of Neil Sedaka performing "Calendar Girl" with one of my current favorite bands Fountains Of Wayne (the other being Barenaked Ladies).

The performance is most entertaining thanks to Neil's good nature. I actually have a bootleg of FoW doing their own version of the song so its clear they have been fans for many years and its good to see that bands I like now are influenced by the songwriters I remember as a child.

As an extra here is a version of Amarillo at the Albert Hall with both Neil and Tony Christie (Neil having written the original - in case you weren't aware).

Goodbye Pandora...For Now At Least

2007-05-03T08:25:00.001+01:00

I've been happily using Pandora a lot these last few weeks while I've been revising as it plays music I generally like but I don't know the songs and thus I can't sing along in my head.

Alas news yesterday explains that it will be unavailable outside US IP addresses. I know I could use a proxy but thats a lot of effort, so I am going to have to leave it for now.

A UK service by Pandora is expected soon though!

The Lake District

2007-05-02T21:50:00.001+01:00

I have decided that until I can no longer be bothered I am going to try to upload a selection of good photos that I have taken in the past few years.

The above photo was taken in the Lake District this past summer when I went walking with my dad. I can't for the life of me remember what the name of the fell in the centre is but I know the lake is Buttermere.

I just tried to find the name of the fell but I gave up after finding this image as the header of a website with maps on it:

The image just happens to be from the top of that very mountain (or at least I think so based on the other images I took on the day which seem to correlate). My photo was taken on the green bit between the lakes at the top left corner of the first lake.

A Very Happy Birthday It Was

2007-04-28T21:37:00.001+01:00

I had an excellent birthday this year and got some really great presents from many cool people. Below are some pictures of the best two (well novelty-wise). Thanks to Lauren and Kyle for their excellent choices. All the other things I got were great too but not as photogenic!

Here is an image of Dr. Mike Smith:

A sign of things to come?

Nice Picture

2007-04-28T21:33:00.001+01:00

I took this shot a few weeks ago from the fire escape on the top floor of my house. I can't actually remember if it was sunrise or sunset. I'm going with set since its in the west.

Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band ready for new album?

2007-04-12T10:38:00.001+01:00

According to NME.com 'Little' Steven Van Zandt says that a new album could happen any time and they could be on the road again within 3 months!

I can only hope he is right.

Studio 60 Note

2007-02-18T20:17:00.001Z

For those who watch Studio 60 and don't know much about the West Wing here is an observation I made.

Matt Albie=Aaron Sorkin(Writer)

Sorkin wrote the West Wing for the first 4 seasons before John Wells (ER) took over full time. Sorkin was fired/left due to a drug problem. The last episode of S60 showed Albie having his first drug encounter.

Other similarities include that Sorkin was well known to write full episodes of the West Wing with no help - something noramlly seen as impossible. S60 started with Albie having to write whole episodes despite everyone saying it can't be done.

Sorkin had a relationship with Kristin Chenoweth who played Annabeth Scott in the later seasons of the west wing and also appeared on the 700 club show which Harriet Hayes appeared on causing the break-up of Matt and Harriet much like Aaron and Kirstin(note: Kirstin is very fit and aaron did very well for himself).

Jobs you legend!

2007-02-07T08:44:00.001Z

I woke up this morning as always to the Radio 1 news and as I am half asleep I am only just paying attention. It wasn't until I was going through my feeds and spotted the word DRM that I thought I may have heard him on the radio denouncing DRM. Hard to believe.

So I check the BBC website and sure enough thats exactly what he has done. I really don't know if the force that is Steve Jobs can get this one done but if he does I will buy a hell of a lot more music online.

The Secret Life of Blu Tac

2007-02-02T19:46:00.001Z

These are all pictures taken at Aran's Birthday party. Thanks to Lauren for their production.

Really Interesting Abandoned Island

2007-01-30T08:25:00.001Z

Architecture, design, architectural competition, architectural awards. Architectural project modelling and visualization.3d graphics. Private house. Presentation rendering. 3d interior and exterior design.A website has unearthed some great images of an Island off the coast of Japan that was abandoned in the 70's. It is really stunning.

Resistor Karma Sutra

2007-01-29T19:16:00.001Z

These are some real funny images. Credit to Smith Happens

Classic Condom Ad

2007-01-25T08:26:00.001Z

It says everything really!

The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord

2007-01-23T13:07:00.001Z

Stolen From http://www.proft.org/tips/evil.html, very funny

My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear Plexiglas visors, not face concealing ones.
My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.
My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell in my dungeon.
Shooting is not too good for my enemies.
The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragon of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box. The same applies to the object which is my one weakness.
I will not gloat over my enemies predicament before killing them.
When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought, I'll shoot him and then say "No."
After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.
I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labelled, "Danger: Don Not Push". The big red button marked "Do Not Push" will instead trigger a spray of bullets on anyone stupid enough to disregard it. Similarly, the ON/OFF switch will clearly not be labelled as such.
I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum - a small hotel room well outside my border will work just as well.
I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.
One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation.
All slain enemies will be cremated, or at least several round of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.
The hero is not entitled to a last kiss, a last cigarette, or any other form of last request.
I will never employ any device with a digital count-down. If I find that such a device is absolutely unavoidable. I will set it to activate when the counter reaches 117 and the hero is just putting his plan into operation.
I will never utter the sentence "But before I kill you, there's just one thing I want to know."
When I employ people as advisors, I will occasionally listen to their advice.
I will not have a son. Although his laughably under-planned attempt to usurp power would easily fail, it would prove a fatal distraction at a crucial point in time.
I will not have a daughter. She would be as beautiful as she was evil, but one look at the hero's rugged countenance and she'd betray her own father.
Despite its proven stress-relieving effect, I will not indulge in maniacal laughter. When so occupied, it's too easy to miss unexpected developments that a more attentive individual could adjust to accordingly.
I will hire a fashion designer to create original uniforms for my Legion of Terror, as opposed to some cheap knock-offs that make them look like Nazi stormtroopers, Roman foot soldiers, or savage Mongol hordes. All were eventually defeated and I want my troops to have a more positive mind-set.
No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power, I will not consume any energy field bigger than my head.
I will keep a special cache of low-tech weapons and train my troops in their use. That way -- even if the heroes manage to neutralize my power generator and/or render the standard-issue energy weapons useless -- my troops will not be overrun by a handful of savages armed with spears and rocks.
I will maintain a realistic assessment of my strength and weaknesses. Even though this takes some fun out of the job, at least I will never utter the line "No, this cannot be! I AM INVINCIBLE!" (After that, death is usually instantaneous.)
No matter how well it would perform, I will never construct any sort of machinery which is completely indestructible except for one small and virtually inaccessible spot.
No matter how attractive certain members of the rebellion are, there is probably someone just as attractive which is not desperate to kill me. Therefore, I will think twice before ordering a prisoner sent to my bed chamber.
I will never build only one of anything important. All important systems will have redundant control panels and power supplies. For the same reason I will always carry at least two fully loaded weapons at all times.
My pet monster will be kept in a secure cage from which it cannot escape and into which I could not accidentally stumble.
I will dress in bright and cheery colors, and so throw my enemies into confusion.
All bumbling conjurers, clumsy squires, no-talent bards, and cowardly thieves in the land will be preemptively put to death. My foes will surely give up and abandon their quest if they have no source of comic relief.
All naive, busty tavern wenches in my realm will be replaced with surly, world-weary waitresses who will provide no unexpected reinforcements and/or romantic sub-plot for the hero or his side-kick.
I will not fly into a rage and kill a messenger who brings me bad news just to illustrate how evil I really am. Good messengers are hard to come by.
I won't require high-ranking female members of my organization to wear a stainless-steel bustier. Morale is better with a more casual dress-code. Similarly, outfits made entirely from black leather will be reserved for formal occasions.
I will not turn into a snake. It never helps.
I will not grow a goatee. In the old days they made you look diabolic. Now they just make you look like a disaffected member of Generation X.
I will not imprison members of the same party in the same cell block, let alone the same cell. If they are important prisoners, I will keep the only key to the cell door on my person instead of handing copies to every bottom-rung guard in the prison.
If my trusted lieutenant tell me my Legion of Terror is losing a battle, I will believe him.. After all, he's my trusted lieutenant.
If an enemy I have just killed has a younger sibling or offspring anywhere, I will find them and have them killed immediately, instead of waiting for them to grow up harboring feelings of vengeance towards me in my old age.
If I absolutely must ride into battle, I will certainly not ride at the forefront of my Legions of Terror, nor will I seek out my opposite number among his army.
I will be neither chivalrous nor sporting. If I have an unstoppable super-weapon, I will use it early and as often as possible instead of keeping it in reserve.
Once my power is secure, I will destroy all of those pesky time travel devices.
When I capture the hero, I will make sure I also get his dog, monkey, ferret, or whatever sickeningly cute little animal capable of untying ropes and filching keys that happens to follow him around.
I will maintain a healthy amount of skepticism when I capture the beautiful rebel and she claims she is attracted to my power and good looks and will gladly betray her companions if I just let her in on my plans.
I will only employ bounty hunters who work for money. Those who work for the pleasure of the hunt tend to do dumb things like even the odds to give the other guy a sporting chance.
I will make sure I have a clear understanding of who is responsible for what in my organization. For example, if my general screws up I will not draw my weapon, point it at him and say "And here is the price for failure." then suddenly turn and kill some random underling.
If an advisor says to me "My liege, he is but one man. What can one man possibly do?", I will reply "This." and kill the advisor.
If I learn that a callow youth has begun a quest to destroy me, I will slay him while he is still a callow youth instead of waiting for him to mature.
I will treat any beast which I control through magic or technology with respect and kindness. Thus if the control is ever broken, it will not immediately come after me for revenge.
If I learn the whereabouts of the one artifact which can destroy me, I will not send all of my troops out to seize it. Instead I will send them out to seize something else and quietly put a Want-Ad in the local paper.
My main computers will have their own special operating system that will be completely incompatible with standard IBM and Macintosh powerbooks.
If one of my dungeon guards begins expressing concern over the conditions of the beautiful princess' cell, I will immediately transfer him to a less people oriented position.
I will hire a team of board-certified architects and surveyors to examine my castle and inform me of any secret passages and abandoned tunnels that I might not know about.
If the beautiful princess that I capture says "I'll never marry you! Never, do you hear me, NEVER!", I will say "Oh well" and kill her.
I will not strike a bargain with a demonic being then attempt to double-cross it simply because I feel like being contrary.
The deformed mutants and odd-ball psychotics will have their place in my Legion of Terror. However before I send them out on important covert missions that require tact and subtlety, I will first see if there is anyone else equally qualified who would attract less attention.
My Legion of Terror will be trained in basic marksmanship. Any who cannot learn to hit a man-sized target at 10 meters will be used for target practice.
Before employing any captured artifacts or machinery, I will carefully read the owners manual.
If it becomes necessary to escape, I will never stop to pose dramatically and toss off a one-liner.
I will never build a sentient computer smarter than I am.
My five-year-old child advisor will also be asked to decipher any code I am thinking of using. If he breaks the code in under 30 seconds, it will not be used. Note: This also applies to passwords.
If my advisors ask "Why are you risking everything on such a mad scheme?" I will not proceed until I have a response that satisfies them.
I will design fortress hallways with no alcoves or protruding structural supports which intruders could use for cover in a firefight.
Bulk trash will be disposed of in incinerators, not compactors. And they will be kept hot, with none of this nonsense about flames going through accessible tunnels at predictable intervals.
I will see a compentant psychiatrist and get cured of all extremely unusual phobias and bizarre compulsive habits which could prove to be disadvantageous.
If I must have a computer system with publicly available terminals, the maps they display will have a room clearly marked as the Main Control Room. That room will be the Execution Chamber. The actual main control room will be marked as Sewage Overflow Containment.
My security keypad will actually be a fingerprint scanner. Anyone who watches someone press a sequence of buttons or dusts the pad for fingerprints and then subsequently tries to enter by repeating that sequence will trigger the alarm system.
No matter how many shorts we have in the system, my guards will be instructed to treat every surveillance camera malfunction as a full-scale emergency.
I will spare someone who saved my life sometime in the past. This is only reasonable as it encourages others to do so. However, the offer is good one time only. If they want me to spare them again, they'd better save my life again.
All midwives will be banned from the realm. All babies will be delivered at state-approved hospitals. Orphans will be placed in foster homes, not abandoned in the woods to be raised by creatures of the wild.
When my guards split up to search for intruders, they will always travel in groups of at least two. They will be trained so that if one of them disappears mysteriously while on patrol, the other will immediately initiate an alert and call for backup, instead of quizzically peering around a corner.
If I decide to test a lieutenant's loyalty and see if he/she should be made a trusted lieutenant, I will have a crack squad of marksmen standing by in case the answer is no.
If all the heroes are standing together around a strange device and begin to taunt me, I will pull out a conventional weapon, instead of using my unstoppable super weapon on them.
I will not agree to let the heroes go free if they win a rigged contest, even though my advisors assure me it is impossible for them to win.
When I create a multimedia presentation of my plan designed so that my five-year-old advisor can easily understand the details, I will not label the disk "Project Overlord" and leave it lying on top of my desk.
I will instruct my Legion of Terror to attack the heroes en masse, instead of standing around waiting while members break off and attack one or two at a time.
If the hero runs up to my roof, I will not run up after him and struggle with him in an attempt to push him over the edge. I will also not engage him at the edge of a cliff. (In the middle of a rope-bridge over a river of molten lava is not even worth considering.)
If I have a fit of temporary insanity and decide to give the hero the chance to reject a job as my trusted lieutenant, I will retain enough sanity to wait until my current trusted lieutenant is out of earshot before making the offer.
I will not tell my Legion of Terror "And he must be taken alive-" the command will be "And try to take him alive if it is reasonable practical."
If my doomsday device happens to come with a reverse switch, as soon as it has been employed it will be melted down and made into limited edition commemorative coins.
If my weakest troops fail to eliminate a hero, I will send out my best troops instead of wasting time with progressively stronger ones as he gets closer and closer to my fortress.
If I am fighting with the hero atop a moving platform, have disarmed him, and am about to finish him off and he glances behind me and drops flat, I too will drop flat instead of quizzically turning around to find out what he saw.
I will not shoot at any of my enemies if they are standing in front of the crucial support beam to a heavy, dangerously unbalanced structure.
If I'm eating dinner with the hero, put poison in his goblet, then have to leave the table for any reason, I will order new drinks for both of us instead of trying to decide whether or not to switch with him.
I will not have captives of one sex guarded by members of the opposite sex.
I will not use any plan in which the final step is horribly complicated, e.g. "Align the 12 stones of power on the sacred altar then activate the medallion at the moment of total eclipse." Instead it will be more alone the lines of "Push the button/"
I will make sure that my doomsday device is up to code and properly grounded.
My vats of hazardous chemicals will be covered when not in use. Also, I will not construct walkways above them.
If a group of henchmen fail miserably at a task, I will not berate them for incompetence then send the same group out to do the task again.
After I capture the hero's super weapon, I will not disband legions and relax my guard because I believe whoever holds the weapon is unstoppable. After all, the hero held the weapon and I took it from him.
I will not design my main control room so that every workstation is facing away from the door.
I will not ignore the messenger that stumbles in exhausted and obviously agitated until my personal grooming or current entertainment is finished. It might actually be important.
If I ever talk to the hero on the phone, I will not taunt him. Instead, I will say that his dogged perseverance has given me new insight on the futility of my evil ways and that if he leaves me alone for a few months of quiet contemplation I will likely return to the path of righteousness. (Heroes are incredibly gullible in this regard.)
If I decide to hold a double execution of the hero and the underling who failed or betrayed me, I will die first.
When arresting prisoners, my guards will not allow them to stop and grab a useless trinket of purely sentimental value.
My dungeon will have its own qualified medical staff complete with bodyguards. That way if a prisoner becomes sick and his cell mate tells the guard it's an emergency, the guard will fetch a trauma team instead of opening the cell for a look.
My door mechanisms will be designed so that blasting the control panel on the outside seals the door and blasting the control panel on the inside opens the door, not vice versa.
My dungeon cells will not be furnished with objects that contain reflective surfaces or anything that can be unraveled.
If an attractive young couple enters my realm, I will carefully monitor their activities. If I find they are happy and affectionate, I will ignore them. However, if circumstances have forced them together against their will and they spend all their time bickering and criticizing each other except during the intermittent occasions when they are saving each other' lives at which point there are hints of sexual tension, I will immediately order their execution.
Any data files of crucial importance will be padded to 1.45Mb.
Finally, to keep my subjects permanently locked in a mindless trance, I will provide each of them with free, unlimited internet access.

iPhone

2007-01-09T19:29:00.001Z

Apple have done it...they have launched possibly the nicest looking product in technology history. The new iPhone is tiny and still has the power to run an entire operating system.

4GB and 8GB models available. The phone is widescreen and touch screen with wi-fi and itunes built in.

There is also a 2 megapixel camera which by the looks of things will take a very nice photo. You can edit documents, check e-mail and surf the web with this little thing too.

If it weren't for the price ($500 ~ £300 + 2 year contract) this could be the product to replace everything else. ipods, phones, pda's and cameras.

CD's Vs. iTunes

2007-01-08T19:08:00.001Z

A nice post here over on life hacker that pretty much sums up my stance on things in the debate. Get rid of DRM and I will buy online.

BitTyrant

2007-01-05T21:37:00.001Z

What can I say but this program is brilliant. A torrent I was downloading at 30kbps all day suddenly shot up to 200kbps when I changed from Zudeo to BitTyrant. I don't know how the program does it but it can't be good for the bit torrent system.

However, I am quite greedy so I will be sticking with it for now.

I first spotted the post about it on ZeroPaid the day before yesterday and now on Lifehacker so I decided to try it and man am I happy i did.

On the plus side it looks just like Azureus too!

Ashley X - more comment

2007-01-04T21:19:00.000Z

I just spotted this over on the BBC website and the part I have put bold really sums things up for me.

Professor Raanan Gillon, Imperial College London, UK: "My immediate response was shock, horror and disgust. How could a child be mutilated in this way?

"But on reflecting, it seemed to me there were some reasons in favour. She could be looked after much better by her parents...in a much more appropriate way as a child because she will remain an infant [mentally] for the rest of her life anyway."

Another point to note that I hadn't even thought of is this:

"There is no doubt that people who have got severe mental handicap find it difficult to cope with menstruation.

"There have been cases in the past in this country where children with severe mental handicap have had their uterus removed to prevent them accidentally becoming pregnant...and to mean they don't have to go through the trials of menstruation." - GP Dr Rosemary Leonard

Either way I support the move though I think it should be carefully considered before being implemented again.

Ashley X

2007-01-04T15:25:00.000Z

Not a long post but I just want to add that personally I can see the parents side of the case in the dispute over the operation on Ashley X in Seattle. I spotted the story this morning on digg, then on the bbc then a comment over on Wings on Some Wheels. Personally I think that the operation will help the girl in the long run and its the parents at the end of the day who will be doing most of the girls care.

I do think the case should have had some legal scrutiny but hospital ethics committees are well equipped with the facts and are made up of a large number of people so if they OK'd it then I don't think they were too far out of line.

Myers as Moon

2007-01-04T15:21:00.000Z

According to NME Mike Myers is going to play Keith Moon in the 2009 film 'See Me, Feel Me: Keith Moon Naked For Your Pleasure'.

Other than Myers being a little on the old side that sounds like a good choice as he is an excellent actor with a real enjoyment of rock music.

Netvibes

2007-01-04T15:09:00.000Z

Netvibes is really coming on as a feed reader and basically an online desktop. There was a review on Web Worker Daily recently of netvibes and its competitors. It seemed to come out on top and personally the only feature I see missing is the ability to save feeds you like forever.

What I have taken to doing is placing all new feeds I come across in a test feeds tab and decide whether I like it. The most recent move into main use is that of Lifehacker which really is a good blog.

The blogs I would like to promote are Engadget and CNet news but they post so bloody often its just annoying.

Anyway I have uploaded a copy of my opml file so if you want to see what I'm reading and what it looks like just upload this file into netvibes (you don't even need to register!)

2006-12-15T21:15:00.000Z

Die Hard 4 Trailer

I really really can't wait!

End of DRM=End of iTunes

2006-12-07T13:47:00.000Z

One of my real interests in technology lies in the Digital Rights Management(DRM) debate. In this post I will outline my thoughts on what is going to happen with it.

Every few days there is an interesting comment post either on Digg or one of the many blogs I read regarding DRM; normally proclaiming the end of it for one reason or another. While I would love for these posts to be true I know that for the time being at least, they never will be.

The Status Quo

There are many reasons that DRM will continue to exists; below is a brief list of them:

Record Companies Like DRM - Most record execs seem petrified of the possibility that music will be free to use as we like. After the scares that the Napster years gave them they are not willing to risk that happening again.
Realistically the idea that people will share the music they just paid for is pretty thin. DRM is very easy to circumvent if people really want to and there are still many ways to get music for free if you want to, in my opinon the people who use itunes aren't the ones who pirate music anyway. If all music stores were to remove DRM tomorrow I expect they will see no real changes in sales and the likes of bit torrent would not see a surge in users because the paid downloaders will continue to pay and the pirates will continue to pirate. In the long term I would expect an increase in paid download sales as people will have fewer problems with compatibility.
The General Public/Governments don't really care - Most of the public only encounter DRM when they try to move music to incompatible devices and even then they probably aren't aware thats the cause of their problem. Despite the efforts of the likes of Bill Thompson to educate people via the BBC, people are still mainly ignorant.
Governments only really care about an issue if they are going to lose money or votes. DRM makes them money from lobbying groups like the RIAA and people don't care enough about it to change their vote - so why would they legislate against DRM? They wouldn't!
The Market is Being Impeded by the RIAA - There are a lot of music download services out there, but on the whole they use DRM. Those who don't use DRM are left with the indie labels and on the whole these make no real difference to the overall picture.
In any normal market were a company to start offering the better product that is non-DRM protected music they would prosper. However thanks to the RIAA and their foreign counterparts such a product isn't available. I personally don't believe this will be the case for ever but for now they have the power.
iTunes holds a near monopoly - At present iTunes has the lions share of the music downloads purchased due to their superb products. iTunes works very easily with the ipod and downloaded songs. The average user has no idea that the songs are even protected, as long as they happy doing everything with iTunes there is no problem for them. The minority of people who use other players either don't pay for downloads or use their CD collection so have no problem.

The Times They Are A Changin'...albeit slowly

iTunes and the iPod are DRM's biggest ally, though at times it may not seem to be the case. At present most people own who own a portable music player have an iPod of some variety (I do and I am quite happy with the product).

The iPod will not be the best music player on the market forever. The tech world moves very fast and based on the brief history of gadgets; I can reasonably predict that within the next decade, a new gadget that plays music will be produced by a company other than Apple. When that day comes people are going to want to keep the music they bought on itunes ... uh oh - you can't do that! Suddenly the general public and in turn Governments care.

You may be thinking that this happens every few years and people just spend money buying the music again on the new format. While people have been willing to spend more money in the past I doubt they will in future because no one really expects to pay twice for a file containing the same song. No doubt DVD Jon will come up with a nice easy to use solution we are all told is illegal but will use none the less. So we will all have the music we paid for back in a useable format.

With the next popular format however people will be wise to DRM and won't be sucked into the con that it is. The only question is what will the record companies come up with instead?

Porn Watching Statistics

2006-12-04T19:44:00.000Z

Classic

Funny article

2006-11-28T19:51:00.000Z

Just a random post because I saw something in the times that really couldn't have been more wrong!

Electronic items are also much cheaper in the US. Microsoft’s Zume player — the competitor to Apple’s iPod — retails in the States at about $249, or £129. In Britain the cost of the Zume is £229.

Difficult to say which is a bigger mistake - that its for sale in the UK or that its the Zume!

Drunk Uni Pals

2006-10-10T20:38:00.000+01:00

Here is a video(The Aran Price Experience Feat. Kieran Phyo) shot, edited and produced by yours truly. Windows Movie Maker is really a good piece of software. I expect it will be improved upon in Vista with video being used more thanks to the likes of you tube.

The real reason I posted this is so that the video is indexed on google so it is easier to find.

Quick Post

2006-10-10T16:14:00.000+01:00

I've been really quite busy in the last few days and I haven't had a lot of time to post. Lecture's have begun and I am working hard...at least for now anyway. I am also holding down two jobs and as usual at uni I have a pretty active social life so I am just trying to figure out how best to fit in sleep.

Google has bough you tube and I really don't understand why on earth they would waste $1.86bn on a brand name. I doubt even Nike is really worth that much. At the end of the day the tech is nothing new and there are plenty of alternatives that the fickle users may suddenly like better. Google really need to stay ahead of the game and prey they can make some good deals with record and film companies to make a profit out of what I expect to be a real loser of a deal.

They really should have just agreed to advertise like they did on MySpace, it would have cost less, carried less risk and been immediatly profitable.

Anyway I plan to post again tonight if I get time.

Lost

2006-10-05T14:26:00.000+01:00

Just finished the new episode of Lost. Stunning visuals in the opening scene but yet again we have more questions than answers. Hopefully this will change as things continue. Still good compulsive viewing though.

Fountains of Wayne

2006-10-04T21:43:00.000+01:00

Fountains of Wayne - Band Review

I first discovered Fountains of Wayne somtime in 2004 when they brilliant video for Stacy's Mom was doing the rounds. My initial reaction to the song was similar to the reaction I had to Bowling For Soup's "1985". I thought the song was good but nothing outstanding and left things at that. To be honest the name put me off a little, it just sounded a little too experimental.

In the summer holidays of that year I started listening to Radio 2 on a morning because I quite liked Ken Bruce's banter and a good selection of music. During the holiday months the record of the week was "Hey Julie" by FoW. That song really appealed to me. It is catchy, musically impressive and containts a good selection of funny lyrics. So on my next trip to Newcastle I bought their then current album "Welcome Interstate Managers" (for the steep sum of £12 - I never normally buy full price CD's; only those on offer but I really wanted this one). To date it is the most played CD I've ever owned, even beating Oasis's "Whats the Story...".

"Welcome Interstate Managers" really has everything. Some of the songs are slow and acoustic(Hey Julie), others have a pop-punk feel(Stacy's Mom), others have a more oasis style rock sound(Little Red Light), Zeppelin-esque riffs (Bright Future In Sales) and one track is country(Hung Up On You).

I personally played the album millions of times and since then my brother, father and girlfriend have done the same. These three people have very broad tastes in music (all rock/pop based but they are as different as Westlife and Floyd) and something in the album appeals to each of them. To me that is a marker of a great album.

During my several trips to America in the last 1.5years I have bought all of their CD's and with the help of the internet I have lots of their video's and bootlegs. Overall I would say that the order of the albums goes like this (1 being best):

Welcome Interstate Managers
Utopia Parkway
Fountains Of Wanyne
Out Of State Plates

All of the albums have great pop songs on them and are worth more than just about any of the albums you can buy from Razorlight, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand etc. (N.B. I paid for albums from all of the last 3 artists so I'm not just blindly insulting them).

I look forward to the next release and hopefully a UK tour in the near future!

I will leave you with the video for the brilliant Mexican Wine:

Violence In Society

2006-10-04T21:02:00.000+01:00

Fresher's week here in Stockton took a very unpleasent turn on Monday Night. At a newly opened club called che bar everything was going really well, everyone was having a good time. I was not drinking as I was recovering from the flu but the songs were good and I was having a good time. Like most clubs it was very hot inside so I stepped outside for some air.

I was stood outside for about a minute when one of the freshers reps seems to have a scuffle and runs very fast towards the club. The bouncers stopped him quickly and before I saw anything else the guy behind him had two bouncers on him. What had happened was the freshers rep had been stabbed in the chest. From that point on I was in a state of disbelief while trying to help out keep people in the club until the police and ambulence had gone.

It seems that the knife missed all internal organs and the freshers rep is going to be ok though he is still very ill.

I, like everyone who reads a newspaper, knew about the increasing number of incidents of knife crime in the UK but I've never been personally involved. The effect it has on people is quite dramatic. The next day I still felt like I was in a daze as I spoke to the other members of the JCR who also know the freshers rep hurt. Everyone is shocked and hoping and praying for his recovery.

I really feel sorry for him and his family who must be going through such an ordeal at the moment. I also feel for the bar owner. The night was great and through no fault of their own their reputation has been tarnished.

On a side note, when I gave my statement to the police the next day I was told the attacker was a fail asylum seeker. That really annoyed me but I'm not going to discuss that messy issue in this post.

Netvibes

2006-10-01T21:47:00.000+01:00

Netvibes, a great website that acts as my gateway to the internet has made some useful improvements. The main difference to me is made by the box.net incorporation and the myspace tool. While I use neither site very often I think due to the easy of accessibility provided by netvibes I may start doing so. If you click on the screenshot you can see a good view of what it looks like at the moment.

Studio 60 On Sunset

2006-10-01T21:34:00.000+01:00

I just finished watching the first two episodes of Studio 60... and it's brilliant. It really picks up where the West Wing left off. The stories are superb but as with the early parts of the West Wing, its the dialogue and acting that really make the show watchable.

I find it funny that a show who's main theme is improving the standard of television is in itself trying to do that. It seems much of the basis of the plot is real life. The creator Aaron Sorkin had some drugs problems during the production of the West Wing leading him to leave the show.

Clearly the actors know Sorkin is something special given so many who starred in the West Wing are parts of this series (Brady Whitford, Timothy Busfield and Matthew Perry).

I want to see the show grow from strength to strength and I hope that it takes of in the UK in a way the West Wing never did.

My New House

2006-10-01T18:40:00.000+01:00

Here is a video of my new house:

Bowling for Soup

2006-09-29T22:26:00.000+01:00

Bowling for Soup - Band Review

Bowling for Soup have got to be one of my favourite bands of recent times. The name alone amused me when I first heard it and everything from that point on has been funny.

The first time I head of the band was on a DAB station where they were playing clips of songs they play and it included a clip of '1985' - only the lines "Since Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, way before Nirvana". Hearing that tiny clip of the song made me want more, so I downloaded it. The song itself is great but I just assumed it was another one hit wonder pop/punk song a-la Blink 182.

My rediscovery of the band came from the most unlikley place - a hayseed dixie concert. I was at the gig at Newcastle uni with Kyle and we were aware the band were playing at the uni in the next few weeks. I said I had only heard the one song and Kyle started singing a bit of 'Girl All the Bad Guys Want'. The song sounded quite good, even just the chorus from Kyle. So I again downloaded the song. Another classic.

At this point I was leaving for University. Once there I obtained a few of their albums - 'Drunk Enough to Dance' and 'A Hangover you Don't Deserve'. Now the titles alone were brilliant. I was left hoping that the albums did their name's justice. Sure enough they lived it up.

'A Hangover you Don't Deserve', BFS's most recent album is in my opinon their best work. Every track on it is catchy and whitty. I only wish I could write song's like this, they seem effortless but they really aren't.

The band has a new album due for release in November and a UK tour (aptly named "The Get Happy Tour") comming in February. I will be getting the album and going to a gig without a shadow of a doubt and I would encourage everyone else to do the same.

Their newest song, 'High School Never Ends', is on their website sounds like the album to come will be great.

Here is a video of them doing '1985' live

Trip to the toon

2006-09-29T22:09:00.000+01:00

Today me and Caroline went to Newcastle for the day to see her friend Charlotte. Long story short we met kyle up there and went for a nice meal. All in all, a very good day.

I decided the best way to make sure that I actually post in the blog is to actually plan what I am going to cover. So in the next few weeks expect articles on:

Lost and a new TV show called "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"
My favourite bands and why I like them
How freshers week at stephenson goes
A video of my new house (hopefully online tomorrow)

Apple and Testing

2006-09-27T21:07:00.000+01:00

iTunes 7 has really annoyed me these last two days. First of all it
won't play my music properly. Then it goes and breaks my brother's iPod
nano which it fell to me to fix. It wasn't too much trouble, after it
initially wouldn't be regognised in itunes after an update I found that
the disc drive was corrupted. So I reformatted it and the problem was
solved. It still wasted some of my day due to poor testing by apple.

Apple have done the honorable thing and released a new patch to correct
some of the problems but I can't help think that it could have been
avoided by proper testing. The biggest flaw in my opinion is that a new
feature for the ipod shuffle doesn't work at all. It really doesnt
bother me that much but its a bit of a problem for apple.

On the topic of the Shuffle, my brother kindly donated mine to his to me
since he doesn't use it at all and the headphones are slightly worn. But
on the whole i like it. Its much more useful to me than an actual ipod
because every song on it is one that I like.

Return to blogging

2006-09-26T21:22:00.000+01:00

Lately I have had a real desire to start blogging about several issues. The only problem is that my normal method of blogging is to use an extension for firefox called performancing. It allows you to publish your blogs from a split screen interface within the browser. This makes blogging really easy. The only problem is that it doesn't work with blogger properly which is just useless to me.

Anyway....Skype. This program has been out for a long time now but I've just started using it properly as it makes it much easier to talk to Caroline in her room which is 3 floors above mine and is simply too much walking.

Watch this space for more posts.....now available on facebook as well as http://squeeze-box.blogspot.com

New Anti DRM Move

2006-09-19T18:03:00.000+01:00

It appears that Yahoo! are going to start selling an album in MP3 format. You will only be able to buy the full album for $9.99 but its in MP3 format. Its a good move in my opinon, a wise move on Yahoo!'s behalf as if they can get it to work they will have a head start with the alternative business model.

What this blog is going to be

2006-08-17T21:46:00.000+01:00

I have decided that I need to choose what I want this blog to be otherwise its really pointless. At the moment it is a mix of things. Half of them can be done by talking to friends or reading other blogs/digg.

I am now going to make this an opinion based blog. The posts will be longer and basically more like an opinion column you may find in a newspaper. I will continue my posts containing many links to technology items but they will only be published once a week.

Windows Live Writer

2006-08-14T17:45:00.000+01:00

This morning before work I was browsing the blogs over my special K and i stumbled upon the new windows product - Windows Live Writer. I figured I'd give it a try see what I though. So I downloaded it and installed it. It took quite a while to install >5min. I didn't have time to use it before work because of the slow install! Not a good start...

When I get home my firewall starts asking me if I want to allow Onfolio Server to access the net. Well I don't ever remember installing it. It isn't spyware so I have to assume its from WLW. Another bad point. I really don't like bundled tools. Not to mention its desperate attempts to get me to use Windows Live as a toolbar, homepage etc.

I finally give it a try and it works quite well. Looks pretty enough but at the end of the day I don't use IE. That makes it useless to me. I like the drag and drop features of performancing. So thats where this is being written from. WLW is leavnig my PC as I type.

And Now For Something Not That Different...

2006-08-13T20:59:00.000+01:00

Here goes with the first round of my Round Up Session. This is similar to those found on Wings on Some Wheels (Mangled) and on John Battelle's Searchblog. I hope to release this every Sunday.

Apple should take note of this video before releasing leopard.

This is a very amusing video of Darth Vader and Wife. Not so funny if it happened to you i'd imagine.

Coca Cola haven't lost their touch for innovative advertising.

Here is a brilliant selection of High Res photos from the 30-50's. The one of london is particularly good.

For the paranoid...a way to stop google logging your searches.

It seems the BBC is designing a digital radio adapter for the Ipod and other mp3 players. No release date or even any real details. It seems like a good idea but perhaps some specifics would be nice. Not sure why the beeb is doing this, its not really their job. Wasting my liscence fee!
A nice video about customer power.

Though this video uses a mod on GTA it still looks very impressive.

Not fair that the Czech get such good adverts!

Political Correctness and The Sun

2006-08-12T21:23:00.000+01:00

Last night in the pub I was discussing the airport security issues with a friend of mine and I proposed that once airports return to normal they though search people of middle/far eastern origin more than they do with Caucasian
white people.

Of course, in the current political climate airlines would never search one
race more than another. Personally I think this amounts to negligence on the
part of the airlines. If men and women are discriminated on the basis of sex by
an insurance company why aren't white and brown (for want of a better term)
discriminated against by airlines. It amounts to the same thing, men are more likely
than women to claim on their insurance so their insurance costs more. Brown
people are more likely than white to blow up a plane so they should be
searched.

I think were the British people polled on this issue most people would be happy
for it to be introduced, this includes many people who fall into that category
as it would be for their safety as well. The only reason it won't happen is the
fault of the media.

The "Baa Baa Black Sheep" Problem

Most English people are under the impression that schools and nurserys can
no longer teach the nursery rhyme baa baa black sheep because its racist. There
is no law in place that bans the rhyme, nor has there been any legal precedent
that makes it a liability for schools to teach it. So the question is: Why
don't most nurserys teach it?

The answer in this case is because teachers think they are going to be sued or
attacked for teaching it. This fear is the fault of the media. I have read
reports in several tabloid newspapers/websites on the issue and it seems the
whole basis for the story is that a couple of nurserys in the oxford area
withdrew the rhyme. Presumably shortly after a parent heard of this they called
a newspaper. The newspapers made a big deal of this point.

Each paper basically made it clear that it is political correctness gone mad.
So it seems the only reason the papers published it was to show the public how
daft political correctness gets. In the process of making their point, they
have made matters worse. Most nurserys now seem to adopt this policy because
word spread from the articles but people missed out the part about the papers
just trying to make a point, they tell it like a new law passed down.

It seems to me that the best way for a newspaper to stop political correctness
having more of an effect is to either not report the matter. Tabloids unfortunately,
will never adopt this policy; for were they to remove anything that would
needlessly scared the British public, they would be little more than a topless
woman, some sports news and the Dear Deirdre Column.

Airport Searches

Returning to my original issue the "baa baa black sheep" problem can
be applied. Were the airports to enforce my proposed policy, there would not be
the uproar most of the public would expect. The newspapers would conduct polls
on the issue, and as is the case with most political correctness issues, the
real voice of the public would not be the one the newspapers cover. The words
of a few outspoken Muslim leaders would dominate the headlines instead.

White English people aren't
racist on the whole; we just don't want to be made to feel like we are being treat
like a minority in a land that is rightfully ours.

I think its time the Sun has a new campaign. Why don't they go after
political correctness and make it clear to the people their rights to freedom
of speech weren't taken away when we started allowing mass immigration.

Pimp that Snack

2006-08-12T14:36:00.000+01:00

Has there been a better idea for a website than this? I really doubt it.

On the wonderful Pimp That Snack.com people basically make giant versions of normal snacks. The pictures below are a Custard Cream and a "Jaffa Quake"!

I may have to waste some time in the comming weeks creating my own pimp of a snack. Will be great fun!