Thursday, August 26, 2004
V Festival retrospective
As promised, I've stolen the camera from Van's side of the bed and uploaded some pictures from the V Fest. Hope you enjoy them!
Tent City. Two days and nights of camping, and the baby wipes just aren't doing it for us...
Tent City. Two days and nights of camping, and the baby wipes just aren't doing it for us...
.
The crowds go wild as Faithless do their signature number, "We Come One".
The crowds go wild as Faithless do their signature number, "We Come One".
inside the JJB Dance Tent, first night... can't remember the DJ but the light show wasn't too shabby.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
in all the excitement...
i forgot to mention that the flybook I won on ebay arrived last week! I've been having a blast with this newfound toy and can't tell you how great it looks, feels and performs.
. . .
Yesterday I dragged my ass to Chobham golf course for the launch of the InTouch London south group, a sort of networking meeting for techies in my company in the south of the UK (networking people, not 'puters). It was good to be part of a "real" community again as opposed to just being a PS person in name. Plus I met some real interesting people. The strangest thing was, one of the guest speakers from HP Labs was introduced by my old GBS Director. Of course, being the low level gnat I was he didn't know me from Adam, but strange nonetheless.
The HP Labs guy was awesome though. I can't really talk about what he showed us that was in development, but it was cool. All I'll say is... quantum computing, baby.
=)
. . .
Yesterday I dragged my ass to Chobham golf course for the launch of the InTouch London south group, a sort of networking meeting for techies in my company in the south of the UK (networking people, not 'puters). It was good to be part of a "real" community again as opposed to just being a PS person in name. Plus I met some real interesting people. The strangest thing was, one of the guest speakers from HP Labs was introduced by my old GBS Director. Of course, being the low level gnat I was he didn't know me from Adam, but strange nonetheless.
The HP Labs guy was awesome though. I can't really talk about what he showed us that was in development, but it was cool. All I'll say is... quantum computing, baby.
=)
Monday, August 23, 2004
Whew
Just back from an amazing weekend sleeping on the hard wet ground at Weston Park. Two days of greasy food, long slogs up and down the campsite, queues for disgusting toilets and the occasional drunken yob happily dancing 'round us...
what a great V Fest.
Hopefully when Van wakes up tonight we'll be able to upload some pics and share some highlights.
peace
what a great V Fest.
Hopefully when Van wakes up tonight we'll be able to upload some pics and share some highlights.
peace
Thursday, August 19, 2004
news of the world at large...
Mostly mine.
Van flew in on Tuesday morning, here for the long term finally. I decided, on the spur of the moment, not to go into work and just worked from home. The wonders of modern technology. It was great finally having her near me.
Yesterday we watched Before Sunset. What a beautifully structured, totally satisfying film. Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke were spellbinding, and felt *real*.
Tomorrow we are going up to Weston Park for The V Festival. Should be fantastic.
And you're up to date. =)
Van flew in on Tuesday morning, here for the long term finally. I decided, on the spur of the moment, not to go into work and just worked from home. The wonders of modern technology. It was great finally having her near me.
Yesterday we watched Before Sunset. What a beautifully structured, totally satisfying film. Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke were spellbinding, and felt *real*.
Tomorrow we are going up to Weston Park for The V Festival. Should be fantastic.
And you're up to date. =)
Thursday, August 12, 2004
An Olympian's story
Just stumbled across Scott Goldblatt's Olympic Weblog which is a well written, entertaining look at the Athens Olympics from the athletes' view. He seems to be a very dedicated blogger and I think it's blogs like these that really show the power of the medium. Not quite news, not quite diaries, but combining the best bits of both.
* * *
I've recently read through my own and have noticed a slight shift in the tone of my weblog... it doesn't seem quite as personal and intimate as it was before. I don't know whether it's because nothing interesting's happened (a lot has, actually) or I've become more guarded in my approach to my personal life.
The thing is, my life has actually become MORE interesting of late... I've been out every night this week for example, with the SC munchkins on Monday (barbecue at Guido's), and the IT gang on Tuesday and met Layah's friend Vicky on Wednesday. But I can't summon the energy to paint a vibrant picture of each of thse, and I definitely don't want to be one of those autobloggers who go "did this... did that..." Boring!
I've been here before though... the enjoyment I get out of life is inversely related to the amount of time and effort I spend writing about it... which is pretty bad news!
* * *
I've recently read through my own and have noticed a slight shift in the tone of my weblog... it doesn't seem quite as personal and intimate as it was before. I don't know whether it's because nothing interesting's happened (a lot has, actually) or I've become more guarded in my approach to my personal life.
The thing is, my life has actually become MORE interesting of late... I've been out every night this week for example, with the SC munchkins on Monday (barbecue at Guido's), and the IT gang on Tuesday and met Layah's friend Vicky on Wednesday. But I can't summon the energy to paint a vibrant picture of each of thse, and I definitely don't want to be one of those autobloggers who go "did this... did that..." Boring!
I've been here before though... the enjoyment I get out of life is inversely related to the amount of time and effort I spend writing about it... which is pretty bad news!
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
a narrow escape
Thank God Van mentioned to me in passing that a group of IT "consultants" recommended to their bank that they license all their Microsoft software before the big bad BSA come down on them with a court order. I smelled a scam coming up - IT freelancers are not usually known for their law abiding tendencies.
Sure enough, the total cost of upgrading was "about" 1.8million. NOt including their fees of course.
As with anything in the Philippines, the case for and against software licensing is never straightforward. On the one hand there are the big bad software giants like Microsoft whose full price applications cost more than most people's annual salaries and help them take over the WORLD. On the other there are the evil software pirates whose activities fund terrorism, steal your wife and shoot your dog!!!
There's so much hype and bullshit and politics on both sides. As always, it's the decent small business who gets squeezed. Open source software groups, thankfully, have begun to produce decent alternatives to the Microshit empire and solve both problems at the same time: the license and application are free, compatible with Word and Excel etc., and are sometimes even better than the £399 pound version - viz the OpenOffice.org application suite .
Sure enough, the total cost of upgrading was "about" 1.8million. NOt including their fees of course.
As with anything in the Philippines, the case for and against software licensing is never straightforward. On the one hand there are the big bad software giants like Microsoft whose full price applications cost more than most people's annual salaries and help them take over the WORLD. On the other there are the evil software pirates whose activities fund terrorism, steal your wife and shoot your dog!!!
There's so much hype and bullshit and politics on both sides. As always, it's the decent small business who gets squeezed. Open source software groups, thankfully, have begun to produce decent alternatives to the Microshit empire and solve both problems at the same time: the license and application are free, compatible with Word and Excel etc., and are sometimes even better than the £399 pound version - viz the OpenOffice.org application suite .
Friday, August 06, 2004
My little brothers would SO love this - a portable PSOne system! The creator, "Brian" deserves all credit, and probably a Sony job offer!
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Revisiting
This weekend, I traveled up the Great North Eastern Railway to Edinburgh for the jazz festival. I would stay for a day and a half in this city before traveling to Newcastle, place of my last EBT assignment, steeped in nostalgia and remembrance... but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Got in at about 1pm, just in time to catch a mexican lunch, check into the Edinburgh Backpackers' and score a coffee and a couch at the local Starbucks where Fiona Mcdonald (a local blues singer with a voice like smoke, as all good blues singers do) had a couple of sets, remarking that "this is the quietest coffee house I've EVER been in."
A young girl sat down in the comfy seat in front of my own, erm, comfy seat and began to sketch. Later I realized she was actually sketching me. By the time the second set ended, we had struck up a conversation. I hope her computer finds this blog
Later in the evening, after casting about for a suitable gig, I found myself at Henry's Jazz Cellar enjoying the discordant wailings of the Peter Wettre five. The quintet was very talented, none more so than the drummer, who practically faded into a blur of sticks as the set progressed; but the pianist was a bit too, well, "kalat" to be enjoyable. Peter Wettre himself, who looks like a tall nordic Fred Durst, handled his alto sax duties just fine.
The show ended at 11:30. Crowds were forming at all the usual clubs; the leather-and-eyeliner goths started to stir from their perches; B-boys and cruisers were starting to get rowdy. Saturday night in any uni town is remarkably familiar; testosterone and sexual desperation always hangs in the air. I decided to get an instant noodle dinner and beat it back to the hostel for the night.
...
And the Sophia Coppola award goes to...
...this product quote, from the ASUS WL-HDD page.
"You’ll never disorder time even after being unplugged."
Priceless.
I've been in Edinburgh and Newcastle over the weekend, and I'll try to post that great experience here, but only after I've tended to my day job. Seeyas soon.
"You’ll never disorder time even after being unplugged."
Priceless.
I've been in Edinburgh and Newcastle over the weekend, and I'll try to post that great experience here, but only after I've tended to my day job. Seeyas soon.
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