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| | I'm (sorta) leaving you.... | | | Wednesday, April 1, 2009 (1:03 PM)
(I'm feeling anxious) | | Well, yes and no. Yes I am leaving but not quite in the way you think....
If you look at my earlier blog posts, you'll see I've been developing a brand new website for myself to replace the old http://thelongmile.net. Actually in one hour the new site will be going live...
.....Which includes a blog function.....
Now, don't get me wrong, I loved the community on this site, and frankly I've been quiet for a good 7 months now which is almost entirley my own fault, BUT it does mean that my future blog posts will now be published on my site, and tweeted on the now ever emerging global phenomenon that is twitter.
But I do want to share some things with you
LiveVideo, like all of the social services I subscribe to, was a project. A way for me to discover more about online services. Don't worry you were not lab rats, more, I was the lab rat, aiming to discover more about Video Blogging. 2008 Was that project. Just as 2007 was Facebook, 2006 Was myspace, 2005 Forums and 2004 was chat rooms...
2009 of course is twitter, and I'm already learning a lot. Whilst twitter is very nice in a 'niche' sort of way, it's no LV, Forum or Chatroom. There just isn't enough room to build a social structure in the way you would on here. For example, my respect for Coreyislive, or MrMercedesMan and the conversations I've had with them would be almost impossible to recreate on a service like twitter.
Now, leaving that aside, I need to explain me going quiet here. Back in the end of 2008, I changed over to nights in my old, old, job. Which meant that I was asleep most of the time, and of course, I got out of the habbit of coming on here. Something I need to change certainly is to get back into the habbit of coming on, but I do worry about how the user community has changed over the time I've been away. Certainly I hope it has grown and improved, but then, I should expect some downfalls....
So please, a few words of encouragment about coming back would be nice (it will motivate me a bit more to come on the site lol) plus of course, my future blogs will be posted on http://thelongmile.net when it goes live in one hour... feel free to leave your comments here or there about it...
So like i said, I'm Sorta leaving, in the sense that my blogs will now be on my site (complete with RSS I might add) but at the same time, I'm going to make a bigger effort to come back here....
For now, I hope I'll see you all soon! | | | 98 Views | 3  Thumbs Up | 2 Comments |  |
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| | Erggh | | | Wednesday, March 11, 2009 (4:24 PM)
(I'm feeling confused) | | Being fed up is not something I like to be. True there are times that venting frustration and even anger are well worth it, and somewhat satisfying, but right now I'm fed up. Unfortunatley I have become a casualty of the recession, being screwed over and made redundant.
True It has given me much time to reflect on things, plous begin work on certain things that I am vastly behind on (like sorting out my website) but other than that, its pretty sucky.
Unfortuantely my blog this week isn't that insightfull. True I have found a new love for hobby and crafts, and am currently awaiting a plaster cast to set for a chess set I'm making, but my other projects have gone a little stale.
Firstly my website. Unfortunatley, I've hit a snag. I desperatley want to move this blog onto my site, but because I created my own, in rather poor HTML, I can't seem to get anything integrated into wordpress, and my frustrations about the gallery are starting to manifest.
Do I develop a whole new site? Or Do I sit and suffer with the site I have? Do I change things over? Or Do I use a completley different system. I jus't dont know. I'd love to be able to do so much more with my site, but It's getting rediculous...
argghh I need help! | | | | 102 Views | 2 Thumbs Up | 1 Comment | |
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| | Going Retro | | | Monday, February 16, 2009 (2:24 PM)
(I'm feeling blah) | | Going retro.
When people say going retro, they usually means something like flared jeans, bad nightclubs, big hair styles, strange guitar riffs & are highly wasted trousers that quite literally go up to the neck.
When you say the word retro, people tend to think of the seventies or even the 80s. The time when FedEx was King and an apple was a fruit.
To me the word retro wrote means something completely different.
In fact as of late I’ve been thinking about many past memories and experiences, have me yearning for some of the times in my youth.
Don’t ask me why, but over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking an awful lot about my past. Like the time I lusted after that big bulky cassette player, or the time when I came home to reckless Rick playing on the record player. Yes even I am “Just” old enough to remember LP’s!
In fact I still have a good bunch of them downstairs underneath the old record player that my father owned. In fact I still have that old cassette player that I saw on television. I still have my first MP3 player! I’m pretty sure I even have a few floppy disks still laying about.
But why is it lately, I’ve been thinking more and more about my past. About the old technology I used to have and lust after?
Perhaps it’s because of a new job in IT. Perhaps it’s because every day I’m surrounded by the latest technology with more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at. Perhaps it’s because every now and then, I still pick up that old cassette player, plonk in a few AA battery’s and listen to an old cassette.
Perhaps it’s because every now and then I wind up the turntable, and played Jeff Wayne’s war of the world’s. In all its musical Glory, bellowing out with that soft muted Dolby tone.
I’m not sure I can completely explain why I feel the way I do about technology these days.
I’m not sure I even want to understand why I feel this way. All I know, is that I am enjoying reliving some old experiences.
Sometimes it’s nice to listen to that old tape I recorded off of the radio, with all of its crackling and hissing, and though soft imperfections that you can only get whilst listening to a tape.
Don’t get me wrong, I love listening to my music in high definition. I love the way that MP3 players have made things easy for us, and that you can listen to even the most audacious song in crystal clarity.
It’s never really been an issue for me until now.
A few years ago, I would have complained if someone gave me the option of listening to a tape rather than listening to my MP 3 player or even my CD player.
I would have wanted that crystal clarity that comes with a CD, the somewhat sterile sound that you can get sometimes. I would have preferred playing the latest game like quake, rather than playing an old retro classic like tetris. I would have preferred to be playing again on the latest technology that I had in my computer, and picking up the archaic game boy that sits in its bag even today.
True, had I been forced to I would have played with it for some time, before getting bored and moving on to the more high tech stuff that I owned.
Even now with my car, I sometimes lust after the simplicity that came with my old car. With its big carburettor, spark plugs and distributor rather than the precise fuel injection I have today along with its glow plugs and coil pack.
Even though the new technology is far more reliable, and far safer, there’s something about old technology that just, feels, like it should. I suppose that’s why over the last few days, the Tetris theme has been running in and out of my mind.
Those four or five simple chords, running around over and over again almost begging some childish instinct in me to play. I even found myself the other day, wanting to write rather than type or speak.
True things like voice recognition have come a long way, I’m even writing this entire blog Post now using voice recognition.
It’s also true that keyboard technology has come a long way. Gone are the days of notchy keys, strange brown or yellow stains and the tendency for the odd key to simply not work.
There is no denying that technology has become far more than simple transistors or valves. Technology has become intelligent, refined and usable for everyone.
But every now and then, it’s still nice to pick up that old cassette player and push the button that physically moves something inside the machine. Sometimes it’s nice to hear that tape whirr into action as the familiar hiss comes crackling through your earphones.
When I think of retro I’d tend to think of all things like this, rather than big hair, boom boxes & very bad hair styles. I’d still prefer kitt from Knight rider, to any of the new technology that comes out in the real world to prove certain things are possible. Retro for me, was all about technology and fantasy, rather than drugs or disco.
The technology for me, was in those old cassette players, or even those old record players. The fantasy for me was feeling like that piece of technology was alive. Even when I first started photography, my first camera was an old Russian machine. It was beautiful. It was a mix of leather and cast metal. It was a piece of technology that I knew if I had thrown it down a gorge, or dropped it on to the pavement, I would still be able to feel the shutter snap open as the spring bounced inside the button.
New technology simply does not have that. True you can make an iPod feel chunky and stylish, you can even make it feel heavy and recapture some of that old machinery with a hard drive sitting inside it that whirrs into life. You can make almost any piece of new technology feel a little bit like the old days. You can give anything chunky buttons to move fake switches to try and recapture some of that old technology feel, you can even make games in the older retro style. Complete with eight bit sound and cheesy graphics.
You can even make movies that had the sense of scale older films like dune or the old stargate film. You can give them that sense of perspective that you just don’t seem to get in the new movies. Everything nowadays seems to be controlled, clean, sterile.
I work in technology, and so I know how important things have become. I know how important it is to have a touch screen technology, or a phone that will do everything for you. I applaud it! I even support it and want to see more of it.
But even now, on this home built computer, I still miss my old Atari and the way the keys would clunk and click. Right now I am sat here with an earpiece and microphone attached to my head, as I dictate this blog Post. But I will never forget the feeling of writing something on paper.
I know it sounds silly, perhaps even a little worrying. But there are many things that I miss. I would never give up some of the technology that I have gained, or the things I have learnt. I would never give up my expensive keyboard or mouse. I would probably never go back to a cassette player or the days when making something to listen to in my car would take an evening’s work at the very least!
But I think it’s all right every now and then to think about the things in the past that inspired us. But for me when I think of retro I think if everything I have just mentioned was what everyone thought of, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Maybe that isn’t such a bad thing, maybe it is. One thing I do know however, is that the moment I finish writing this post, I will more than likely go on to twitter, put on my expensive headphones and open iTunes whilst selecting new music that inspires me in other ways. I somehow doubt that I will get nostalgic, and pull out at old cassette player and listen to the old tape I have of the Moon landing or that album by the shadows.
Technology has taken us far and it’s a good thing. But it’s nice to remember some of the technology that we used to love and lust after. | | | | 87 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
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| | twitteriffic - I think :S | | | Saturday, February 7, 2009 (3:32 PM)
(I'm feeling calm) | | ARGHHH
I was halfway through writing this blog post, and then the computer decided to restart. ARGH that will teach me not to install software in the background!
Anway I was set to regale you with tales of the podcasts and apologies for taking another month to add another blog to this thing, but agh, all I'll say is I found out almost as soon as I hit the "post" button on here that the "Sex With Emily" podcast, was discontinued. I'm not getting sex with emily any more, which is a shame.
I went in search of another podcast and found AOTS: In your Pants, which is along a similar line as the Sex With Emily podcast, talk about life sex and relationships with some humour, but It really isnt working out how I thought it would.
Someone did tell me to check out "The Awful Show" but it just isn't what I thought.
Alas I shall be in search of more podcasts over the coming weeks!
So, twitter. Yes I have only really just found out about the damn thing, BUT for 2009 I've started a new mission. To discover wtf twitter is all about. You can find me on @thelongmile
If anyone out there has this can they tell me what is going on? what the heck it is? and how it works?
Because at the moment I seriously don't understand it. But still, in the two hours I've spent on it so far. It's been fun!
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| | Podcasts | | | Thursday, January 8, 2009 (12:29 PM)
(I'm feeling accomplished) | | Hello all and welcome to my first major blog post of 2009... with of course the exception of the other one I did, whilst sat on my iPhone (not litreally you understand)
For this week, I wanted to share with you some of my reccomendations.
Since getting an iPhone I've found myself walking down Constitution Hill listening to a selection of podcasts I've downloaded the previous night. I guess I've sort of made it a mission of mine to find some of the best podcasts I can over the year.
In 2007 I started to listen and subscribe to quite a few of them. Starting of course with the Chris Moyles Show podcast, as well as the Scott Mills Daily. Although at one point I subscribed to some 150 podcasts, none of them ever really stuck with me, nor did they provide much interest. In fact the only ones that have remained consistant, are the Radio 1 broadcasts, which make me look insane sat on the bus or train as I giggle away to myself.
So thats what I want to share with you, my reccomendations to some of the best podcasts (in my opinion) that I've found so far.
Finding these podcasts hasn't really been that easy, In fact I've searched for random words, looked at the top 20 on iTunes, and received reccomendations from friends and work colleagues.
I'll start with that most taboo of subjects, the one that quite simply no-one wants to really talk about.
Sex.
I sat down one evening and decided I needed a new podcast and started looking about the web for inspiration.
I decided I wanted something that was as humerous and easy to listen to as the BBC podcasts I love so much, but also tackled some of the more interesting and slightly taboo subjects in the same manner.
Enter Emily. Or More Precisely, Sex With Emily.
Sex With Emily's show motto is "changing the world one orgasm at a time", a slightly inept title, yet it did contain some humour. So I set about downloading a selection of various episodes.
The show, as I found out, Is broadcast on mainstream radio in the states, tackling some of the more sensitive issues with a light hearted touch. Don't get me wrong, this is no audioerotica nor is it an advice line where the host mearly ripps into the callers. No it's simply a light hearted, and surprisingly fast paced, look into the sexual world, from dating, to signals to plain old sex tips with lots and lots of humour.
Following on from the subject of sex, I found another show that tackles another issue. Dating, in much the same manner.
Geek Dating 101
Yes I know I know I've spent a lot of time on the web and I know this is focused quite heavily toward someone like me that works in IT etc etc.
However! WAIT! Listen to it first. It tackles dating in much the same way as the "Sex With Emily" podcast, It's fun, with a little geeky side note, but it's really very good, and certainly staying on my watch list.
So far I've done well on finding some light hearted issues
Next up, we're going to try a few more serious podcasts, starting with WNYC's Radio Lab.
It's okay, but doesent have the same... charm as other podcasts I've listened to. It certainly has it's own little things
It's a little intellectual, but no so that it becomes completley uninteresting to the likes of you or me. It's not my number one on the list, but it is staying on my watch list for a while. I'll let you know.
For those who want a little more.... intellectual listening, Stephen Fry's Podgrams is definatley on that list,
When I say intellectual, I really do mean that. It's not easy listening if you dont like british accents, or understand some of the terminology he uses, however he does talk about some very interesting subjects, and it's definatley worth listening to if you possess either the intelligence or understanding.
I think that's it for now, but if anyone reading has some reccomendations, let me know, I'd sure be interested!
Bye folks! | | | | 84 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
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| | Welcome to 2009 | | | Wednesday, December 31, 2008 (5:30 PM)
(I'm feeling annoyed) | | | Welcome to 2009. This year cyborgs take over, google takes over and apple releases another update and whines about how they don't still have the full Market share, also sex toys from apple... Call it..."snapple" maybe? And 12 new iPods... Probably, before the terminators take over...
Let's give 2008 a year in review shall we?
First and foremost, I joined LV, yay... Sorta.
My big experiment into vlogging started off with a few nervous posted videos, to building some genuine relationships with some great people, which also spurred me onto being more open, and using this as a stage for my 3D video projects.
Unfortunatley it all ground to a halt as soon as I switched to nights in my old job. With that my moods and attitudes changed, and I made some foolish mistakes, both online and out in the real world. To those I've turned my back on, and you know who you are, hopefully 2009 will build some new bridges, and once I get my head sorted out with my new job, I should be back... Should be.
Do how was everyones Christmas? Hopefully the last but one Christmas of the first decade of the 21st century has treated you all well.
On with the roundup.
The iPhone 3g came out, pissing off so many people who brough the old one a few months before ( which will probably happen again this year).
The US got a black president elect, paving the way for American history, and dramatic changes for so many people and their perceptions.
The first black F1 driver won the world championship, making history, oh and the credit crunch saw the end of many profitable businesses.
I think it's safe to say a lot of people will be glad to see the perils of 2008 behind them, and who can blame them, unfortunatley the sad truth is, that things like the credit crunch will follow us into 2009 and possibly beyond. Hopefully things will improve but people also need to educate themselves, about money etc.
I really hope that 2009 does bring a brighter future for all of us, for me and for the economy, I would hate this time next year to be complaining about being unemployed, and seeing the world go down the toilet.
Let's have a great 2009! | | | | 44 Views | 2 Thumbs Up | 1 Comment | |
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| | Life is a highway | | | Friday, November 7, 2008 (9:13 PM)
(I'm feeling accomplished) | | | Ahhh so the week is nearly up. In just a few days, I start my new job at my new company, which I cant talk about. Though I can say I'm proud to be working for such a company.
Anyway, Life is getting better,
Lewis Hamilton won the Grand Prix, Something I've been betting on for a long time, (and made quite a bit of money on the bet I might add), and Barack Obama won the election (TAKE THAT McCAIN & RACISTS EVERYWHERE). So yeh, pleased about that. As well as that, I've been recording the podcasts over at thevideospotlight, and I'm pleased to say that's been going well.
Though the most of this week has been spent trying to recoup my sleeping pattern, which has failed miserably, I think some sleeping pills might be on order very soon.
Incidentally, the Marks a bit fat and wants to get a bit thin thing failed miserably as soon as I switched to nights, and Im now working very hard on dropping that extra 13 pounds...
aghh, stressed, but accomplished, wierd mix | | | | 86 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
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| | 19th nervous breakdown? | | | Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (3:52 PM)
(I'm feeling cheerful) | | Evening all! At least, I think it's evening, it could be a little earlier or later for you when you read this, but right now for me, it's the evening. 10 40 at night to be precise.
I know it's been a little while since I updated my blog channel, but, thankfully it's not as long ago as the last one. So as I sit here, sipping on my tea pondering what to write, I am for once, very, very happy.
For everyone thats read and watched my blogs and vlogs over the last two months, you'll know that I've been, somewhat unhappy. When I say unhappy, try to imagine being at the Oscars, and not winning anything. Ever. Unhappy, in fact, is what I am using to (politley) describe how I feel about my current job. I made the disasterous descision of switching to the nightshift, which has completley screwed up my health and my sleeping patterns. True the job got a lot better, the customers were far more pleasent for the most part, and the additional responsibilities I gained and things I had to learn, were very valuable. Not to mention the fact I was placed onto a pretty good team, with some very good people on the nightshift.
However, as some of you probably read, I recently got my Microsoft Certification, and I have been trying for a very long time to get into any sort of IT related job. Then, on the evening of Tuesday the 21st of October 2008, I finally made the descision, to hand my notice in, to a job, that simply, did not suit me (as well as some other reasons that I cannot and will not go into).
Let me repeat. IVE FINALLY HANDED MY GOD DAMN NOTICE IN! YAY!!!
One of THE happiest days in my life, It must be said & hopefully it wont be too long untill I move into a better role in an IT career. Something I have been waiting for, for a very long time indeed. Isn't it nice to finally get what you've been after, especially as I know I'm going to put my heart and soul and much more into whatever job I go into next.
So finally things are starting to look up, what else has been going on?
Well, for those of you that know coreyislive, you'll know that he runs a site called The Video Spotlight over at ning.com. The site's been growing slowly, and taking off, going through some redesigns and tweaks before finally reaching what it is today. I've been helping on one critical feature though that I feel is going to help it grow even more from what it is today.
A Podcast!
Yes thats right, I now produce a podcast. I came up with the idea on a whymn, a flaked idea that ran through my head, and finally decided to do it with coreyislive and laura.in.real.life.
It's a hoot, and a lot of people are loving it (certainly more than those that hate it). We're still tweaking out the final details of the podcast and refining it each time that it goes up, but luckily the video spotlight podcast, as well as the new show 'techcast' (airing in a few days time) has gone down a storm.
As well as that I've been tweaking and developing my own website, which will be going offline for a day or so as I do some pretty major rebuilds on some of the pages. The users wont see anything at all, but the work I am doing will finally fix some of the nagging problems that frankly shouldnt exist.
Other than that I'm just peachy. A little tired as I'm slowly readjusting my body clock back into day mode as I'm finishing up work with my current employer. But luckily, It's going smoothly.
I'm hoping that not only will I shortly be able to start my vlogging again, but that I'll be able to develop and build on my own website, and include some of this content on there.
Hope to see everyone very soon, especially those in the liverooms that I've missed (danigirl is one!)
Take care all! | | | | 62 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
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| | whoops | | | Monday, September 22, 2008 (9:56 AM)
(I'm feeling crazy) | | HOLLLLLLYYYYYY CRAPPP!!!.... It's been almost three months since my last blog post.
Whoops. Now I distinctly remember saying, that I was going to do more blogs more often, because I cant get to do videos.... WTF happened there..........
anyway um, sorry all. Did you miss me? .... no I guess not then. Still, for those of you that actually read this thing... Hi!
So, lets see whats happened in the last few months. Unsurprisingly not much. You know just the usual, working alot, eating healthily as I'm trying to loose weight, getting Microsoft certified, getting an iPhone..... wait hold up... I got certified?
AH! YES! THAT!
I got certified!. Took bloody long enough. Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician.... great.. I now need business cards that are 4 inches wide but still, I finally got my damn certification... take that dole queue....
Actually saying that I work for Lloyds, and their taking over HBOS... Great! but crikey there are some roumers going around arn't there..
Moving swiftly on...
...actually wait again. I havn't made some quip about an out of work movie actor/actress or a failing washed up political leader.... hmmm... who too make fun of... who too make fun of............... eh.. I don't know. Could possibly be that Michael Moore has been out of work so long that he's eaten the stock market... could explain what's been happening. Big ol chunk of the finance sector swimming around in that collossal ocean he calls a stomach... Oh look, a joke.. crap. and not my usual form but still, a joke.
Oh yes, and I finally got an iPhone. Now, theres more to this than, "OMGWTFBBQSAUCE I GOTS ME AN IPHONE"... really there is. Why don't I explain the whole saga?
I'll start first of all by saying.... "I Love my blackberry". I really do. So much so that I was really quite interested in the blackberry bold. I really did want it. Sadly my less than favourable experience with T-Mobile meant that I ended up leaving them not so much out of choice, rather... desperation. "Lost faith" is an understatment.
Now the whole saga, could leave me in a little bit of a legal issue, but, here's what I think I can say about it.
I ordered the blackberry, to be told it would be sent next day, I then called with a query and was told it was out of stock and would take two weeks. I was also told I did not have to have the blackberry email service, and I could just use the web'n'walk service. That sounded Ok to me, I didn't need push, and pop3 checking it every 15 mins was fine for me.
I got the phone, and was lied to about that, turns out I had to have the blackberry email service, so that got switched. Then I thought a few days later. Whats the point of having a blackberry without unlimited data? I called, got told I had a discount, and promptly set it up. That evening, I got a text saying I'd be charged full price, queried it, and I was lied to again. Great.
I asked to cancel the contract, because I felt they had breached it a number of times, to be told they would charge me some 400 quid for the privilege. I complained, and got told, I could cancel with no charge, or continue with some heafty discounts that would work out to beat every other mobile provider in the country for what I was getting. So I took that.
Couple that with issues where I wasnt recieving calls, despite the other person saying it was ringing and also being told to fix it would cost me money, even though it was probably their error for sending a faulty sim card...
and when I came to leave, I got told I'd receive an early termination fee of 20 quid, despite the fact my contract was up... was a bloody cheek.
So essentually, I didn't want to touch T-Mobile with a ten foot barge pole.
So what does that have to do with me getting an iPhone?... I'm getting to that be patient.
Time came for me to look for a new phone. i was already tempted by the iPhone but very much liked the Blackberry Bold as well.
I desperatley wanted to go back to O2, because let's face it, I was with them for years and they were very, very very good to me. No problems at all, and I had hefty loyalty discounts stacked up. (I left because I wanted the phone.. big mistake).
I hate orange, after their diabolical broadband support, I'm wary of vodafone considering they are hugley expensive for call costs, and well, let's face it, 3 is a joke. they have the highest turnover of any phone company and none of the price plans really suited. So it' left o2.
O2 didn't stock the Blackberry Bold, though orange did. I was prepared to put faith into orange to try them out, see if their mobiles were different, for the sake of getting the phone I wanted, and well... my contract came up. And my contract is the type that meant, If I didn't renew, I would be locked in for another 18 months, with no new phone... not good. So crunch day came, and well, the iPhone was the only logical choice....
I like it, it's great, don't get me wrong, it has some huge advantages over the Blackberry, the touchscreen is gorgeous and the APP store is way better than anything the Blackberry has... yet, but, I'm going to miss having a Blackberry, a phone that I can throw onto the floor hard and know it wont break, a smart business phone with an actual factual keyboard thats far more responsive and intuative than a touch screen, and a battery that lasts about 5 days, plus a simple non gimicky interface that looks good, and is ultra reliable.
Sorry Apple. The iPhone is a brilliant phone, theres no denying it, half the blackberry forums admit that, but it's just not quite there yet. All it needs, literally, is the ability to use a bluetooth or wireless fold out keyboard with word to go... (come on thats not too hard, how many PDAs, have sold fold out keyboards that are the same size as the iPhone and have a cradle, so you can type into them?), it needs copy and paste, badly, MMS would be nice, zoom on the camera, and well, let's face it, I'd really really like them to bump up that battery life. New battery would be great. Thats all it needs!... still, I'm pleased with it.
It' also addresses the earlier problem we had last time I posted, about podcasts.
Ahh the saga goes on. The dog's fine BTW, and the feelers are well and truley extended now that I'm certified. Lets hope the market picks up though.
Still, nights are going.. well... ish... I'm knackered, I've taken on the responsibility of making a few things for the figures in Q3 but that's about it. Anything else and I could breach my contract or the DPA.
Anyway thats it for now, HOPEFULLY there will be some more regular updates... I need to push myself to do it, but for now, as always tata!
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| | Ahh... nights | | | Monday, October 13, 2008 (3:49 AM)
(I'm feeling tired) | | So I havn't posted a video in a while... not since I introduced you all to Molly the dog............
Why?
Well I've switched to the nightshift in work.
What crazy things inspired this I hear you ask? Was it to do with a movie, a bad case of road rage in the rush hour traffic, or was it the fear from will smiths latest movie that has shunned me away from the light into the dark?
The answer is none. And yes you would be right in thinking it's because I can't think of a funny or witty one liner about some washed up movie actor who's agent has been working overtime to create two similar movies in one year because apparently "Will Smith" likes wandering about in cities being a superhero, or the only person left alive who act's like a superhero.....
Mind you... bridgend smells funny at 4:15 in the morning. I can quite figure out why.....
Ok so next on the list is bad movies... again. Will smith and Hancock aside (do you think they should have dropped the 'han' from the title?) I watched one movie recently, that was hyped and hyped and hyped...Teeth...
If you havn't seen it, youre a damn site luckier than me. The story is, a young teenage girl suddenly discoveres she has teeth in her vagina.. that are hungry...... Now... this was marketed as a horror movie.... not only that it was marketed as a serious movie......
The acting is SO BAD that it's actually funny.... Like the scene in the gynacology room, where she gets an exam and then.. 'she' or rather 'her teeth' manage to bite off the OBGYN's fingers... it's HILLARIOUS
This was marketed as a horror movie. a NON PORNOGRAPHIC horror movie, I might add... but seriously, it's the best freaking comedy I've ever seen.... but as a movie, it's rotton, seriously rotton.
Next up, iTunes single of the week.
In the UK right now, it's Cage the Elephant - Ain't no rest for the wicked.
Hold up. This is a major song release in the UK. It's in the charts! What happened to the person in the office that picked out all the neat obscure songs that no-one had ever heard of? Still, Kudos to the person for picking something that alot of people might actually want to download, but again, negative points to the person for making the lives of undersigned or even unsigned artists, even harder...
Still at least they went out and found the 'not so well known' version which does not include the silly guitar and drumbeats....
SPAM! Thats next!
Has anyone else noticed a distinct lack of enthusiasm from the spammers latley?
Everyday, I sit down with a cup of coffee and go through my spam email folder on my gmail, hotmail, and thelongmile.net servers. Mostly because I'm worried something important, might get shoved in there when it shouldnt be, but secondly because I find them quite funny at times, at the sheer amount of effort people go to, to try and bypass the spam filters.
Emails with the taglines C1/\L15 & \/1@GR@ ONLY 2 DOLLARS, are sometimes amusing (the spammers have learnt 7331 speak!, that is SO 1997!) but the ones that really amuse me are the ones that make no sense at all. The ones that seem to have an excerpt of a book, but dont actually try to sell you anything, and have no attachments.... Theyre funny, in a creepy sort of way, but somewhat pointless.
Yet latley, all I've been getting are the emails asking me if I want fake watches or pirate software at low low prices, or strangley, fake underwear. Yes I've actually had one asking me if I want rebranded Calvin Kloon underwear at a fraction of the price..... Could it really be that after almost 11 years on the internet that the spam emails asking me if I want a bigger chicken, or the ones that tell me I can "please her longer" are gone?
Strangley, I'm going to miss the 600 or so emails I get a day telling me that I can get penis enlargment, penis pumps, viagra, cialis etc etc. I'm going to feel strangley unpopular only getting offers for fake watches etc... No idea why..
Next up, Podcasts.
Who here actually takes the time to download a podcast to your MP3 player and listen to it on the move? From what I've been hearing, not many. Now I subscribe to about 40 or so podcasts. Alot of the technical blogs, Cnets 'Buzz out loud" Radio 1's chris moyles show etc, but I generally sit here and listen to the podcasts while im winding down after work, or doing things like this blog. (FYI CNET Buzz Out Loud is what's playing right now).
Now what would REALLY make this good for me, is being able to listen to them in the car. Now I know everyones about to say "Ahh well just plug your ipod into your car stereos Aux port or get an IPOD compatible car stereo" but that would then involve buying an iPod, and pressing additional buttons whilst driving along.
Now I know some smartass is going to say "well just burn them to a CD-RW every couple of days". Now, think about this for a moment. There are so few CD Players out there, that will even cope with a CD-RW, mainly because the disk is thicker, and so many players just plain don't like them.
It would be nice though if someone came up with an intelligent solution to this. Wi-Fi hotspots are ever more common, so why not develop a system like an RSS feed aggregator? Now I know this is getting technical for alot of people, but how many people use things like Google reader? or even Viigo on smartphones? All a podcast is, is an RSS feed. So why not stick all of your podcasts onto a centralised source on the web, so you can access it on any computer in the world (thats good!) but it means you could download it on any internet enabled device or wifi device, such as an iphone, or most smartphones on the market... so then develop it so your in car stereo can either sync them daily while your car is sat in the garage, drive, parking lot or wherever you leave it overnight, or even as you drive through wireless hotspots?
That seems to me like a really good idea! He'll I'd buy it... and well... in theory it wouldnt be THAT hard to implement! My idea though, I want copyright privs and royalties if it ever get's developed. MY IDEA! NO STEALING!
Well I'm going to leave you with that as I wander down to somerset to get a bigger and better espresso machine.
I leave you with a hot tip for the week (oh look I've just implied I'm going to do these weekly.. yup, I am.. reed and seed)
Anyway my hot tip for this week, is B-movies. DONT FORGET ABOUT THEM!
Sit on the couch, get a few beers and a pizza and watch the old B-Movies in the mornings like you used to!
Seriously, I miss watching those B-movies, like "ESCAPE FROM PLANET MARS" etc etc. Or the modern day B-movies (so to speak) like Lexx.... Wernt they great?
Take care all! | | | | 159 Views | 2 Thumbs Up | 2 Comments | |
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