"Nothing but the rain"
I had a complaint or rather more of a suggestion.
Could I somehow differentiate my standard communications from my album reviews?
So, standard communications are now tagged and categorised under the code word:
Penguin
If you want to avoid my album reviews the search Penguin or look for that category.
Thanks Marc.
This is a favourite show of mine. It’s a simple, delightful animation from the BBC. Ladies and gentlemen I give you Dipdap:
I found this in the local church magazine [You’ve got to look at these things if only to get the gossip]. What amused me most was the utter lack of mention of christ or god. It appears that this person goes for social and meditation reasons. We are tribal animals and feel the need to be in like minded groups, that’s why I see my friends. I don’t need to try and believe in a man-in-the-sky to get fulfilment in my life.
As I say in the page about me, follow the evidence. Find out for yourself. Ask questions. Reject dogma.
That was about as calm as I’m willing to go on this matter.
While on my trip to Washington DC I met someone who asked me for my opinion on a bracelet / wrist band thing they had bought. I was worried at first because these things tend to be utter rubbish, woo if you will. There are many performance bands that are supposed to interact with your body’s vibrations and improve your coordination and these are all fraud. They don’t work and they never will. If someone like Powerbalance can show that their bracelet works then we will have to re-write all of modern physics [similarly if ghosts exists then what are they made of? Get me the proof and we’ll develop new physics].
I had just been introduced to the Up by Jawbone wristband. A movement (not position) tracker. It has a gizmo inside that measures how much you move and then you can upload that data to your iPhone or android device. I was so excited by this that I went and bought one from the Apple shop in Georgetown [DC].
The device is easy to use. You wear it on your wrist and then upload the data to your phone app twice a day. You don’t have to upload the data that often but it seems about right.
I have to say I have been really impressed with the data I can collect. The Up band will time and measure the distance of a run, it’ll buzz me when I’ve been inactive. It can tell what sort of sleep I am having and when I got up to look after my boys.
The big question is how to use the data. It’s all very well collecting this stuff but it’s another knowing what to do with it. I have no idea how to use this data to inform what I should do in the future. The walking and running data is fair enough, I know I can aim to move around more but the sleep data? I can only sleep how I sleep. Perhaps I need to search the interweb thing to see if I can find out how to improve my sleep without having to give up alcohol! I love my wristband. I love the information it collects and the graphics it shows me. I’m just not sure what it tells me!
I think a new convention is needed. Being a somewhat literal interpreter of language and also because I like playing devil’s advocate I cause confusion when asked to “scroll up” my computer screen. As part of my job I regularly project my computer screen and write on the display using Microsoft OneNote. Sometimes it is requested of me to show more of my previous writing because those who should be following my work are a little slow.
Can you scroll up please
This is what I will be asked to do and although I understand the intention (to see what I wrote earlier) I irritate by moving the display on the screen so that the “paper” moves up. This is, of course, the opposite of what was being asked.
My argument to my followers is that in the days of paper scrolls being asked to scroll up would have moved the paper up and so would allow more of the bottom of the paper to be seen. I honestly do not know what should be the correct way to move the “paper”. If I was asked:
Can you move the scroll bar up please
I would say that is pretty unambiguous. Moving the scroll bar up has the desired effect. Or perhaps if I was asked:
Could you move the screen down so I can see the earlier work please
Again, it is quite clear what the intention of this statement is. I guess one of the lovely things about language is how vague and foggy it can be. It takes time and clarity of thought and interpretation to say exactly what you mean.
The offending item:
Don’t think I’m going to see the ISS tonight as there is 8/8 cloud cover at the moment. I’m very glad I managed to fleetingly see it last night.
I have signed up for emails from NASA informing me when the ISS is going to pass over this part of the Kent countryside. Hopefully I won’t miss the next opportunity to see it.
I need to spend more time star watching later in the summer. I could do with a decent telescope. Maybe one that connects to my phone or computer to automatically track the celestial body I find interesting.
I’ve seen Jupiter and Saturn through telescopes in Florida and Australia. It’s awe inspiring to see these bodies of our solar system. It really brings home how far science and human knowledge has come in the last 400 years.
We are still in the infancy of human scientific verifiable knowledge. I hope that one day we leave our superstition and fairy stories behind.
This communication went somewhere I wasn’t expecting!
I’m not really sure why I looked or how I found out but the International Space Station passed over the Kent countryside last night. It will also pass over tonight.
According to a website the sighting time last night was about 20:30 Hrs. I was preparing to head outside and observe this modern wonder when there was a knock at the door!
I had a few minutes to help my neighbours out with a problem they had and get into my back garden. Fortunately they only needed a little help and I stood on the patio with a glass of wine in hand.
At 20:35 the sky was not really dark but I hoped to see the ISS pass. The moon was bright. I used my Star Walk iPhone app to check where I should be looking and waited. After a short while there was a bright star travelling fast through the sky. It was the only other thing visible in the sky apart from the moon. After about a minute I looked away and the ISS disappeared behind the dust and particles towards horizon. It was wonderful to see. I’ll be out again tonight!
BTW – I don’t like the fact the website that displays the information has a mixture of 24Hr and 12Hr clock times. I don’t think they understand the conventions!
This is the first in an occasional series where I give my opinion of films I have seen. The reviews are not going to be long and not going to be that insightful. Writing is not a gift of mine. I originally started this many years ago on this Previous Films.
Warning – general plot and theme spoilers.
So, this communication is about the Tom Cruise vehicle that is Oblivion. Let’s start off by saying this film is alright. It’s not stunning. It’s not ground breaking. It’s just alright. Many of the themes the film pushes have been done before. While watching it you can almost put together the films the director/writer grew up with. If you want to watch a decent film with similar themes I suggest you buy or rent Moon, The Island (not a good film), Bladerunner, 2001 etc.. They are generally far better and more organic with better acting.
The special effects in Oblivion are seamless and so you don’t really notice them. The female actors are pretty, as you’d expect, and Tom just cruises around, but then you don’t expect wonders from him. I also feel as though Morgan Freeman is now a cliche of himself! It’s no surprise to see him popping up half way through, there are plenty other actors who would have been better and less recognisable in the role.
Overall, this film is a reasonable starter into science fiction but if you are already a nerd then it’s not worth your money. Watch the classics and philosophise all you want.
Saw KMFDM at the O2 Academy in Islington. Small venue but nice and close to transport.
KMFDM were very good. Loud and funky the band played a good mixture of old and new. I’m not sure about some of the music being samples and recordings but I think I can cope with it if it’s occasional. They started with DIY and played Kunst third. Many hits followed and the atmosphere was as expected.
For someone used to the heavy metal crowd it was quite clear that I had crossed into a newer and different genre. Some members of the audience were not metal fans and were a little more extreme and edgy in appearance. The very tall man in the dress and make up, the other man in a dress and pink hair and the man who looked like a stereotypical butch lesbian with orange hair. I’m just glad these people have somewhere to call home.
The support bands were:
Sheep on drugs were ok but Explore were awful, just not my scene or anyone else’s I think.
It may have taken a while and lots of money but I finally have 1000 cars in Gran Turismo. Who needs another game (or life)?
I’m still not at level 40 in A-Spec though.