It seems like weeks and weeks since I've last been on-line. In reality - it has, but finally the essential engineering works on the PC and done and dusted, and before much longer a normal service should resume.
During the downtime a lot has been happening, not to myself especially, but certainly in the wider world, and even just the wider city of London. The pace of the London bomb investigation in particular has been quite amazing in its rapidity, and a true credit to the Metropolitan Police. It's eight days since four poor excuses for human beings tried, but fortunately failed, in their attempts to set off what would have been a second round of explosions on the London Transport system. 8 days later, they are all under arrest by the Metropolitan Police, with one arrested in Rome of all places.
One of the men, while being arrested was asking the police officers involved if they were going to shoot him. This from a man who was seemingly quite content to blow up himself and those around him but a week ago. There are some truly twisted people out there.
There was good news that the IRA are moving towards a permanent end to violence, but otherwise the TV news has been dominated by pictures of famine in Niger, flooding in Mumbai, even tornados in Birmingham.
As for myself I've recently discovered the wide world of podcasting, which may promise a whole new niche of online audio content. Whereas streaming audio generally requires considerable infrastructure and cost to operate, creating pre-recorded downloadable shows is well within the reach of a much broader range of would-be content providers. I've sampled just a few programmes so far, but have been impressed with the generally high quality, both technically and in terms of content. As broadband continues to spread like wildfire, the provision of multi-media content beyond that of the text pages we have seen to date is looking much more viable, and within the reach of a considerable audience. As nearly all MP3 player owners will use their PC to transfer music and audio to their player, it's a logical, yet nevertheless masterful stroke to make available a wider range of content for MP3 players using the same platforms users are current familiar with. It's early days for Podcasting, but an interesting future may well lay ahead.
As for website news, time and internet access (or more accurately the lack thereof) has meant that only a handful of photos from the Royal International Air Tatoo have been added to the photo galleries, in addition to a few snaps from the mobile camera. There is, however, plenty more to be added, and a fair number of photos have been backing up, awaiting optimisation and upload. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before they'll be available online.
20050730
20050710
News during downtime
My PC has been out of action for the past couple of weeks, which is why there's been nothing new either here on the website, although I'll hopefully be getting things back up and running shortly.
And what a week to be off the blog-scene. Wimbledon came to an end and normality returned to my little corner of London, yet that's about as far as normality went. Live8 kicked off with the mammouth musical experience to pressure the 8 world leaders to get their act into gear at the meeting in Gleneagles. Pressure was rising in Scotland as the G8 approached, but all focus was placed on it.
That was until London won the Olympics, and a sideline of euphoria in the city (and hopefully the country as a whole) made us feel good for a while.
Yet the feel-good feeling didn't last anywhere near as long as anyone expected, as the following morning bomb explosions swiftly changed moods and the focus of all those in London and much further afield. Over 50 are dead, yet the people of London gritted their teeth and proclaimed that it would business as usual. I'm in central London now on Sunday afternoon, and it seems as busy as ever. Not been on the tube yet, but that's due to the sunny weather rather than any fear factor. I can imagine some will feel put off for a while, but life goes on, and everywhere I look around, that is definitely what's happening. In the face of the atrocitity that occured just days ago, the city-wide attitude of resolve is truly fantastic.
Back to the G8, and although the focus wasn't there as much as would have been liked, their business continued and was concluded, and although it would never bring what everyone would have hoped for, there was a good deal of progress, not least it seems in bringing aid without the strings of privatising services of the developing nations, which normally meant benefits for the Western companies operating them, and increased problems in the countries supposedly benefiting.
I've never known a week like it. Such a roller-coaster ride of emotions, headlines, triumphs and tragedies. Apologies for this rather rushed update. Normal service will be resumed soon.
And what a week to be off the blog-scene. Wimbledon came to an end and normality returned to my little corner of London, yet that's about as far as normality went. Live8 kicked off with the mammouth musical experience to pressure the 8 world leaders to get their act into gear at the meeting in Gleneagles. Pressure was rising in Scotland as the G8 approached, but all focus was placed on it.
That was until London won the Olympics, and a sideline of euphoria in the city (and hopefully the country as a whole) made us feel good for a while.
Yet the feel-good feeling didn't last anywhere near as long as anyone expected, as the following morning bomb explosions swiftly changed moods and the focus of all those in London and much further afield. Over 50 are dead, yet the people of London gritted their teeth and proclaimed that it would business as usual. I'm in central London now on Sunday afternoon, and it seems as busy as ever. Not been on the tube yet, but that's due to the sunny weather rather than any fear factor. I can imagine some will feel put off for a while, but life goes on, and everywhere I look around, that is definitely what's happening. In the face of the atrocitity that occured just days ago, the city-wide attitude of resolve is truly fantastic.
Back to the G8, and although the focus wasn't there as much as would have been liked, their business continued and was concluded, and although it would never bring what everyone would have hoped for, there was a good deal of progress, not least it seems in bringing aid without the strings of privatising services of the developing nations, which normally meant benefits for the Western companies operating them, and increased problems in the countries supposedly benefiting.
I've never known a week like it. Such a roller-coaster ride of emotions, headlines, triumphs and tragedies. Apologies for this rather rushed update. Normal service will be resumed soon.
20050619
Formula farce
Today's American F1 Grand Prix proved to be a complete farce. I've never seen a race like it. Due to either a design flaw or the nature of the diamond-cut track (and quite possibly a combination of the two), cars with Michelin tyres experienced a considerable number of tyre failures during practice. This led to Michelin announcing on the Saturday that they couldn't guarantee the reliability of the tyres (and thus safety of the drivers) for more than about 10 - 15 laps. Not ideal for a 70+ lap race.
A compromise between all the teams should have been hammered out and sorted on Saturday evening, allowing the race to go ahead as normal, allowing the fans to have their race, but probably leading to Michelin runners to be penalised. What materialised was confusion up to the start of the race, where neither Ecclestone, nor Michelin, nor the teams would confirm what would happen. At the end of the formation lap all was revealed, as the Michelin running teams peeled off their cars in the pit lane and their respective garages, leaving just Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi cars on the circuit.
Stubborn, self-interested teams favouring commercial interests over the good of the sport prevailed, yet the American Grand Prix, and who knows, even F1 in the its current form, in the long term, may not. It's been a heavy price to pay. Millions of angry fans will surely be demanding answers, and by no means will they be alone. For what has been the most interesting F1 season for some time, this marks a particularly low point. It's all been a great mess, and the legacy of today's farce will be long remembered and felt throughout F1.
A compromise between all the teams should have been hammered out and sorted on Saturday evening, allowing the race to go ahead as normal, allowing the fans to have their race, but probably leading to Michelin runners to be penalised. What materialised was confusion up to the start of the race, where neither Ecclestone, nor Michelin, nor the teams would confirm what would happen. At the end of the formation lap all was revealed, as the Michelin running teams peeled off their cars in the pit lane and their respective garages, leaving just Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi cars on the circuit.
Stubborn, self-interested teams favouring commercial interests over the good of the sport prevailed, yet the American Grand Prix, and who knows, even F1 in the its current form, in the long term, may not. It's been a heavy price to pay. Millions of angry fans will surely be demanding answers, and by no means will they be alone. For what has been the most interesting F1 season for some time, this marks a particularly low point. It's all been a great mess, and the legacy of today's farce will be long remembered and felt throughout F1.
20050618
Europe
Given that the British media seems to concern itself with the inconsequential gossip of Hollywood so often, it's refreshing that so much focus is currently being placed on Europe. This is not without good reason, yet it's nevertheless refreshing, and a hopeful indicator that the importance of Europe for the UK will continue to be considered and noticed.
This evening's press conference by Blair following the meeting of European leaders and foreign ministers showed the Prime Minister looking the most angry that I can remember. His argument was well conveyed, and he made a well reasoned and sound defence of Britain's rebate. Certainly if the table I saw in the Times the other day was correct, Britain appears to contribute much more to the EU coffers than France, yet appears to receive a good deal less from the Union's handouts.
Right or not, it seems clear that the European leaders need to expend a good deal of effort in getting the Union's house in order. Member countries seem irreparably divided, and if the French and Dutch referendum votes are anything to go by, the people of Europe are none to happy with the direction of Europe and the way they've been consulted on the Union's direction thus far. I don't see any easy solutions, but it'll be interesting to see what ground is made during the summit.
This evening's press conference by Blair following the meeting of European leaders and foreign ministers showed the Prime Minister looking the most angry that I can remember. His argument was well conveyed, and he made a well reasoned and sound defence of Britain's rebate. Certainly if the table I saw in the Times the other day was correct, Britain appears to contribute much more to the EU coffers than France, yet appears to receive a good deal less from the Union's handouts.
Right or not, it seems clear that the European leaders need to expend a good deal of effort in getting the Union's house in order. Member countries seem irreparably divided, and if the French and Dutch referendum votes are anything to go by, the people of Europe are none to happy with the direction of Europe and the way they've been consulted on the Union's direction thus far. I don't see any easy solutions, but it'll be interesting to see what ground is made during the summit.
20050616
Mobile life
I've never been much interested in mobile phones until now. I'm not a big talker on the phone, and the people who I do talk to and in the main much to expensive to talk to by mobile. As a result, when I did get a mobile, (which incidentally I did some years later than my peers and only at the behest of my mother who wanted to keep in touch while I trapsed around Europe), it was a basic device on a cheap tarif. It served a limited purpose, but was at least handy for texting.
Times are changing however. Phones, cameras, walkmans, radios, mp3 players, previously all separate devices are now beginning to merge, and the result are some products which are very exciting in prospect. Whether or not I'd use it to make calls on, a new mobile can be used to take snaps on, and provide entertainment while walking or travelling around. The same computer games I was playing 15 or so years ago are now appearing for mobiles. Robocop, Gauntlet; it seems rather bizarre, but somehow a fitting tribute to those classics of yester-year.
For the first time, I've actually become interested in mobiles, and the 'mobile life' now attributed to the devices. I've spent not an inconsiderable amount of time and effort (although not yet money) into researching which mobile will do the job I want it to, or at least get as near to that as possible. I'd let mobile developments pass me by, as gimmicks such as downloading favourite football goals or music videos failed to impress. Now that I've sat up and taken notice, I'm actually quite impressed by how much is now being packed into these pocket-sized devices. It's taken some time to become familar with the technologies and features, but now, for the first time, I think I'll be looking forward to a new handset.
Times are changing however. Phones, cameras, walkmans, radios, mp3 players, previously all separate devices are now beginning to merge, and the result are some products which are very exciting in prospect. Whether or not I'd use it to make calls on, a new mobile can be used to take snaps on, and provide entertainment while walking or travelling around. The same computer games I was playing 15 or so years ago are now appearing for mobiles. Robocop, Gauntlet; it seems rather bizarre, but somehow a fitting tribute to those classics of yester-year.
For the first time, I've actually become interested in mobiles, and the 'mobile life' now attributed to the devices. I've spent not an inconsiderable amount of time and effort (although not yet money) into researching which mobile will do the job I want it to, or at least get as near to that as possible. I'd let mobile developments pass me by, as gimmicks such as downloading favourite football goals or music videos failed to impress. Now that I've sat up and taken notice, I'm actually quite impressed by how much is now being packed into these pocket-sized devices. It's taken some time to become familar with the technologies and features, but now, for the first time, I think I'll be looking forward to a new handset.
20050615
Advertising on Fotopic
Adverts have started appearing on the gallery homepages of those using the free Fotopic service, which gives 250Mb of space of photos, which is fair enough in my book. I've had to slightly alter the layout of my gallery's front page as a result of the new advert box, but it essentially remains the same. I'm slightly concerned that the Google adverts now appearing on my gallery front page all seem to be connected with Fireworks and pyrotechnics. I'm not entirely sure what this has to do with the vast majority of photos I have online. I'll have to see if it changes to anything more relevant given a bit of time.
20050614
The box
Television schedules are a depressing sight to behold at the moment. Simply scan the evening's offerings on the main channels, and a line-up of lowest common denominater, brain-numbing excuses for programmes fill the airwaves. Celebrity Love Island, Big Brother, Bad Girls on the commercial channels are typical sad examples of programming this evening, while even the BBC is showing Cutting It - a comedy about Hairdressers in Manchester. I can hardly wait.
As escape from the void of entertainment or information that the TV currently represents, I'm listening again to Radio 4's PM programme on which I've heard that today Bob Geldoff was slagging off Ebay because people have been selling Live8 tickets on the auction site. Not for long however, as fake £10,000,000 bids messed up the auctions of those profiteering from selling the tickets, and shortly later, following a frenzy of media coverage, the MD of Ebay pulled all the Live8 ticket auctions from the site. Peace is restored, but a lot of hot air and bluster has been expelled in the process. More entertaining than a sitcom about Mancunian hairdressers I'm sure.
As escape from the void of entertainment or information that the TV currently represents, I'm listening again to Radio 4's PM programme on which I've heard that today Bob Geldoff was slagging off Ebay because people have been selling Live8 tickets on the auction site. Not for long however, as fake £10,000,000 bids messed up the auctions of those profiteering from selling the tickets, and shortly later, following a frenzy of media coverage, the MD of Ebay pulled all the Live8 ticket auctions from the site. Peace is restored, but a lot of hot air and bluster has been expelled in the process. More entertaining than a sitcom about Mancunian hairdressers I'm sure.
20050609
The end is the beginning
I finally went to see Star Wars Episode III this evening. It was a worthy conclusion to to the double-trilogy (for want of a better phrase) and certainly superior to the previous two films. If I had to rank all of the films in terms of preference, I'm not sure where Episode III would nestle with the original three films. I think some rewatching of the originals is in order, not least as it helps place where the prequel Episode III concludes. I certainly wouldn't go so far to say it was a classic. It'll be remembered longer than many films of similar calibre, but coming more than a quarter of a century after A New Hope, it can't claim to be part of that original story of good vs evil that was so defining at the time.
Fans of the Star Wars series should see it, but that doesn't need to be said, as they will all have gone unquestioningly to the cinema already. For those who aren't fans, they'll not be missing out on a great film, and out of context of the films which surround it, much of the film's significance will be lost. You'll know what group you belong to, so do what needs to be done.
Fans of the Star Wars series should see it, but that doesn't need to be said, as they will all have gone unquestioningly to the cinema already. For those who aren't fans, they'll not be missing out on a great film, and out of context of the films which surround it, much of the film's significance will be lost. You'll know what group you belong to, so do what needs to be done.
Thursday
The weekend is beckoning (almost).
I was slightly peeved last night to see that the Cambridge Folk Music Festival had sold out already. In fact it sold out about a month ago. Oh well, there's always next year. It did at least make me think about planning which events I should make an effort to get to this year. I think I'll head to the International Air Tatoo, as I've not been to that in about 10 years, and last years experience at Farnborough was a good one. Plus, it would be a good opportunity to put my camera through its paces.
I was slightly peeved last night to see that the Cambridge Folk Music Festival had sold out already. In fact it sold out about a month ago. Oh well, there's always next year. It did at least make me think about planning which events I should make an effort to get to this year. I think I'll head to the International Air Tatoo, as I've not been to that in about 10 years, and last years experience at Farnborough was a good one. Plus, it would be a good opportunity to put my camera through its paces.
20050608
Yawn
Another late evening post, at a time when, all things being equal, I should be tucked up in bed getting some well needed rest for the next day's work.
Here in South West 19 the first signs of the impending tennis season are in evidence. Some of the local taxis are sporting a fruity Robinson's juice livery, the shop frontages are being tarted up, and even the ticket barriers at the station are sporting tennis related advertising.
That said, no-one's sure exactly sure when Wimbledon fortnight is taking place. "Towards the end of the month" seems to be the best I've manage to establish so far.
Hey-ho. One thing's for sure: when the tennis does arrive, I'm unlikely to miss it whether I want to or not!
Here in South West 19 the first signs of the impending tennis season are in evidence. Some of the local taxis are sporting a fruity Robinson's juice livery, the shop frontages are being tarted up, and even the ticket barriers at the station are sporting tennis related advertising.
That said, no-one's sure exactly sure when Wimbledon fortnight is taking place. "Towards the end of the month" seems to be the best I've manage to establish so far.
Hey-ho. One thing's for sure: when the tennis does arrive, I'm unlikely to miss it whether I want to or not!
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