Month: June 2005

bookmark_borderSnippets

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Remember to download Beethoven’s 6th Symphony (Pastoral) from the Beeb today. Thankfully I’ll be able to get them all before we go on holiday. Symphonies 7, 8, 9 are released over the coming days.

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Blogger have admitted, as suspected, that they added some code to support their new offering of “Blogger Images”. They do offer a fix but it presumes you are using one of their templates, which frankly isn’t good enough. I know that it’s impossible for them to cope with all the differing layouts and uses but in my opinion their code changes are far too invasive and spanks of being a quick hack rather than something they’ve thought out properly.

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In further blog related information, HaloScan is currently having three new servers installed, so the service will be a tad flaky until they are up, running and synchronised. Hang in there folks, it’ll settle down soon (hey, whaddya expect for free!).

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Scheduled posting. I’ve a few posts lined up to publish when I’m away, but I always find it trickier thinking of topics ahead of time than pulling on current events, news, or comments for inspiration. Odd that. How do YOUR posts come about?

bookmark_borderPlanning

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Dragged the suitcases down from the loft last night and started compiling lists of things to be taken on holiday. Clothes, towels, toiletries, books, shoes, camera, various electrical chargers, and… well that’s the thing. I keep thinking we’ve forgotten something, I’ve got travel directions, booking confirmation codes, AA membership (which I thought had lapsed but doesn’t expire until 1st August, bonus!), sunglasses, hat, suntan lotion (ever hopeful), travel sweeties (the ones in the tin all coated in white magic dust)… what the hell are we forgetting about?

Friends are going to pop in and water our plants, my Dad has offered to cut the grass, there is nothing I need to get done at work, nor any other “projects”… yet still there is a nagging voice, picking away at my brain.

I wonder if it’s things like plug adaptors, passports and whatnot, as this is the first time we’ve taken a UK-based holiday (other than the odd weekend here or there), maybe my “holiday mode brain” hasn’t yet realised we’re stopping when we hit the south coast of England, or rather the English Riviera (chortle).

Anyway, further planning of the days ahead are now crucial. Firstly I have to consider what clothes I’m going to be wearing, not because I’m a fashion icon or anything (come on people, you’ve seen the pictures) but by and large because my wardrobe doesn’t have a work/play split. The clothes I wear to work are similar to what I’d wear at the weekend, and barring the addition of shorts and flip-flops, what I wear on holiday. So tonight the careful selection of t-shirts begins, bearing in mind that I’m out for dinner tomorrow night, what will I take, what will I leave behind, what will I be wearing tomorrow and Thursday (I’m off on Friday).

Then there is the small matter of a couple of movies that we want to see – Batman Begins and War of the Worlds – but I don’t think we’ll be able to fit them both in to our schedule. Louise is out tonight, I’m out tomorrow night and Thursday is “last pack” night, but I’m hoping we can sneak one of them in on Thursday. The alternative is to go when we are down there, and given the vagaries of the British weather system that might well be an option.

Nope, this hasn’t helped. I had hoped that posting about this might jog the old brain cells into action, what the hell am I forgetting?

bookmark_borderSummer Burn 2005

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Yeah I signed up again, my third year (I missed 2004 because Louise was in hospital I think) and this is my playlist:

01 The B52’s : Love Shack
02 The Beach Boys : Sloop John B
03 Bran Van 3000. : Drinking in L.A.
04 Chungking : Come With Me
05 The Kinks : Sunny Afternoon
06 Luke Vibert : Slipped Disc
07 Jill Scott : Spring Summer Feeling
08 Go Home Productions : Shannon Stone
09 James Brown : I Got You (I Feel Good)
10 The Zutons : Confusion
11 Ian Dury & the Blockheads : Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick
12 Bebel Gilberto : So Nice (Summer Samba)
13 The Polyphonic Spree : Hangin’ Around
14 The Shortwave Set : Slingshot
15 Dusty Springfield : Spooky
16 Mylo : Sunworshipper
17 Marlena Shaw : California Soul
18 Nouvelle Vague : Too Drunk to Fuck

Your too late to sign up now I’m afraid but if you HAVE and you haven’t confirmed your address then you’d better do it soon!

I wonder what I’ll get on MY CDs?

bookmark_borderThis and that

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Blogger is being an arse. As zoe recently found out they’ve started adding extra code to each post, thereby screwing up her site and (for a short while last night) my miniblog. So until they sort it out the miniblog is on hiatus.

UPDATE: Fixed zoe’s site thanks to this forum post. Will look at my miniblog later.

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Not sure if it’s an extension of this story but having heard yet another report along these lines over the weekend, I have to take issue with the current reporting of these “Happy Slapping” incidents. There is a world of difference between assault and rape and the news agencies reporting the story should really be calling it what it is. Ditch this “happy slap” tag as it’s only serving to trivialise these matters.

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Venus, Mercury and Saturn are putting on a bit of a show this evening, hopefully the cloud cover will lift later on today and give us a fairly unique celestial display:

These three planets are destined to crowd into a small spot in the sky, making for a very distinctive and eye-catching formation that is sure to thrill most sky watchers. Think of it as “The Great Celestial Summit Meeting.”

bookmark_borderPhew

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What a cracking day, I’m nicely pink after spending all day in the garden (which now actually looks like a garden rather than a collection of plants and weeds), nicely full after a nice dinner out with my parents, and nicely prepared to go away on holiday at the end of the week…

Actually, scrap that last one.

You see there is one crucial thing that I’m having trouble with, it’s not the “what to pack” issue (it’s two weeks in a caravan, I’ll be taking shorts, t-shirts and my speedos*), nor the timing, tickets and travel arrangements, no no, it’s much more important than that.

It’s the music.

Let me explain – I’m driving my sister-in-laws estate (car, not 6 acres and stables) down to Torquay while she and Louise and two nieces and a nephew take the train. Obviously I’m going to be in the car on my own for a considerable length of time (10 hours?) and need a good mix of music. I’ve got an iTrip for my iPod and I’ve been pulling together a playlist. Trouble is that the tracks are of varying volume and it’s driving me nuts. What I NEED is a way to equalise the volume on a LARGE playlist somehow.

Any suggestions?

Music wise it’s a mix of upbeat rock tracks, dance tracks, and good old sing along classics, basically anything that will keep me awake – ohh didn’t I mention? I’m driving down overnight so I’ll have my iPod, and several cans of Red Bull to get me from Dumbarton to Torquay.

So, iPod volume suggestions and any suggested “keep me awake” tracks are welcomed. And yes, this week I’ll mostly be yakking on about my holiday.

* I’m kidding of course, I don’t have speedos. I do have a leopard print thong…

bookmark_borderBye Bye Big Blogger

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Ta ta Big Blogger, it was fun. Sort of…

Yes I’ve jumped the fence and left the rest of the housemates to it, just too much going on and I can’t do it justice. If I’m honest it’s just all a bit too chaotic and random for me at the moment, but best of luck to the rest of the housemates, I’ll still be keeping an eye on the proceedings.

I think it’ll be between Vit and mike although Miss Mish has wormed her way into my affections (although I doubt she’s realised it).