"Nothing but the rain"
When I stayed with my parents recently I was browsing through the cupboard and found this mug. It’s lovely that they have kept some of this stuff from all those years ago.
If you’re not sure to what this refers then please go here.
Just so you know, this is the 600th communication from this website. I think I’ve probably spent too much time on it!
In 2001 I first got internet access and a home PC. I think it was 2001, it was either then or 2002! It was dial-up access with a bandwidth of around 56Kb/s I first got broadband and wireless in about 2004 or so. Since then I would agree with the “new” hierarchy of needs with Wi-Fi at the base. I feel definitely lost when I don’t have internet access, especially when my phone has no data signal too.
This is a diagram of my home network. Just because I wanted to, you know? This is an hour of my life I won’t get back, but was worth it. Click for a PDF.
Here’s a video of me (taken by an iPhone 5S) in slow motion scoring a strike. It was completed in one take!
This is my first communication about a music festival in 2014 that I am going to attend. In 2013 I went to the Download festival at Donington Circuit, see here for more information.
So, the basic story:
There’s a pretty good “gig” app on the iPhone called Songkick. It scanned my music library and then lets me know when bands I like are going to tour the UK (and other places) and generally keeps me informed, avoiding the need for me to regularly scan magazines or the web for information.
The phone beeped one day and Aesthetic Perfection had announced they were playing in February. I immediately got in touch with my gig-buddy and he said that he thought he was busy on the London date. After checking it turns out it is his wedding anniversary and so we agreed to pass that particular concert. I had thought about going by myself, when he asked if AP were playing anywhere else in the year. Looking through the app it turns out that they are playing something called Alt-Fest [this was a web link but the site is dead]..
A bit more digging and the line-up looked very interesting and the tickets were very reasonably priced. Andy said he thought he was in Italy during that time. After checking his diary and plans it turns out that Andy is indeed in Italy. I held off buying tickets for a while, thinking it would be unfair to go without him, and he thought about changing his flights.
One Friday morning I caved in and bought a couple of tickets and booked a hotel in Kettering. I’m not going to camp at a festival however lovely all the people there are. I like the idea of electricity and a warm shower and proper toilet.
So, next year I am going to Alt-Fest, which as far as I can gather is a crowd funded festival, they campaigned on Kickstarter and have gone from there. The only problem with that is it will become mainstream after just one season and will have to cope with all the commercial interests of all festival promoters. I hope they do well. There are going to be 50,000 people there and the acts look awesome.
Bands I’m looking forward to seeing:
It is going to be good fun.
I was having a text conversation with my sister about my lack of mixer drinks for use with Jack Daniels. I tried to say that I’d go and buy some coke but I have fingers that are a bit bigger than my keyboard on the phone. Whoops!
I seriously laughed out loud in my house while alone for a good five minutes. It’s still a giggle when I think about it.
So, firstly I’m ashamed of the placing in this result table from Gran Turismo 6. Sixth place is pretty shocking. I hate the Kart races, the tracks are generally tight and small and the Karts are somewhat twitchy. Anyway, I’m glad I snapped this one with the phone because I don’t think it’ll happen again.
6th Place with a time difference of 6.666 seconds.
Suck on that!
I am an occasional follower of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I love the way the church has answers to all the really hard questions to life and by giving these answers I don’t have to think about what worries me any more. I also don’t have to question those areas of knowledge anymore.
Recently I mentioned this church at my workplace and I was told that it wasn’t a “real” religion. I countered “define ‘real religion'”. It’s wonderful that when faced with a made up religion people suddenly question their own made-up religions. Ha Ha.
Anyway, it turns out that I am eligible to become ordained as a minister in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I can be a Pastafarian minister. I can’t wait. I am really looking forward to this.
By it for me now by clicking here.
Hopefully, once I become ordained I can then apply to perform ceremonies like marriage and naming parties. Excellent.
Saturday 21 December. A date that will live in my memory and on this communication. Andy and I travelled to The Angel to see Combichrist at Electrowerkz venue.
This is the running order, taken after I went to the “rest rooms”.
The whole venue was a bit weird. Pretty much a dark room in a strange building with a bar and unisex toilets. The black painted walls were painted with phrases and sayings and my favourite was the one that said “Hadley’s Hope” – the terraforming city on LV426 in the film Aliens. The mixing desk was hanging from the ceiling and the bottom edge of this construction was just at head height.
The first band on were shit. I reckon my staff band at work were better than them. They said they were from Coventry. Not sure if that’s a causation thing or not.
One of the things about listening to the type of music I like now is that the whole musician thing is constantly questioned. The eighteen year old me would hate me. I like electronic music which can be played using a laptop. Das Kapital (below) had three laptops and bopped around behind them. My issue with this is that although I might enjoy the music I don’t understand the creation process. Surely if your music is samples and drum tracks why don’t you just press play? Perhaps I need to see more of this type of music created. If only there was a festival dedicated to alternative music, somewhere like in Kettering next year.
Combichrist consisted of two people. Singer and mixer-dude. They were very good. It was brilliant to hear the old songs played – the gig was billed as the Old School Electro Set. I didn’t take any photos as I was about two rows back from the very front. As much as it ashames me I held my hand up and got to hold hands with the singer twice. I am such a teenager.
Songs I remember them playing:
There were others and I am sure I could find them if I searched the internet thingy but I can’t be bothered.
Andy gave this gig a 10. I am bordering on 10 but at the moment more than likely it is: 9.9 < r < 10. Don’t know why, there was just a little something missing and I’m not sure what that was.
My Rock Hands:
Use as often as possible.
It’s such a shame that my iPhone camera doesn’t do very well in the low light. The moon has been gorgeous these last few mornings. A full moon and setting. Brilliant.
I’m amused by effects of our eyes on our perception of reality. To me, when I looked at the moon it seemed much larger than in the photo. My eyes and brain do a really good job of ignoring all the stuff I’m not interested in. To me, this view was mostly the moon and tree. My brain just chose to ignore all the houses and car. It will really freak you out once you start understanding perception of reality. We observe so little of what we see.