New Archers Theme Tune by Eno
Lovely item on this April 1st morning on the BBC R4 Today programme, The Archers & Brian Eno combined... marvellous ! I wonder how many letters/emails/calls they will get... a beautiful choice for an April fools item. They played the "Eno Remix", which had this awful D&B rythm underneath, and some very poor electronic effects - then a number of commentators explaining how it was important to bring the archers into the 21st century etc...

"BBC Executives have commissioned composer and musician, Brian Eno, to remix the existing tune."

THE "BRIEF SAFE"
Eeeeeeeeeeeewwww !

The "Brief Safe" is an innovative new diversion safe that can secure your cash, documents, and other small valuables from inquisitive eyes and thieving hands

iPodrace
A fairly large Quicktime movie... demonstrating the intersection of the worlds of iPods and Star-Wars Pod-Racing based on a union of the word... pod !
Daft, funny & clever.

Creative Commons Music License
one for my talented musical friends :-)
Without a traditional "deal", I would (If I had the least bit of talent!) be following this method to get my recordings out-there. The creative commons "movement" is worth researching and understanding, and may very well be the simplest and best method of bypassing the traditional power brokers and taking control of your music/career.

About the Creative Commons Music Sharing License
The Creative Commons music license helps you:

1. Mark It Legal: Mark your music with the CC logo so fans know that you own your copyright, but give permission to download, file-share, copy, and webcast — but not to sell, alter, or make any other commercial uses. Here's an example of how it would look on a band's web page and here's a short comic describing how fans might legally use your music.
2. Promote It: Register your music at Common Content so people can contact you to purchase commercial rights to the composition or sound recording. Or, have it hosted for free at the Internet Archive.
3. Make It Searchable: Make your music searchable within the Creative Commons audio search engine."

Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age
Just to re-inforce any feelings of a lack of accomplishment you may be feeling.

Google Publishes Print Edition Funny.

Hamlet - The Text Adventure
Very nice...:

"I am in an east-west corridor in the palace. My bedroom door is in the south wall. An opening in the north wall leads on to the balcony.
Horatio is here.
Exits are north, east, south and west."

Plumber, electrician... digitician? - nice piece on the emergence of localised "deep support" and/or the comodification of skills...?
"As homes get more wired, a new trade emerges"

**more funny shit brought to you by updater**
Warning: contains profanity - not for those easily offended (swearing is not, big or clever.. but as this remix/respin on the recent Channel4 promotional talking head-ads suggests, it can be funny ... maybe ?)
Thanks to jamesh for the tip.

Starved of the truth - George Monbiot article on the current Biotech debate, and asks: what is the real question....?

Biotech firms are out to corner the market, so they have to persuade us something else is at stake.
The question is as simple as this: do you want a few corporations to monopolise the global food supply?"

Slashdot | Protecting Our Parents' PCs?
nice article/thread on being "PC Support Man"

The Singhsons
This is a really nice (flash animation - needs sound) indian-remix of everyones favourite cartoon family... funny and reverential ! [thanks to GarryS for the link]

First e-ink e-book reader from PHILIPS
e-paper/e-ink has been talked of for a while now... however, with this becoming a reality(?) this year.. and the wider availability of wireless networkin.... the promise of "all the worlds books available all the time" draws nearer (if the stupid content/copyright would allow us to have access at a reasonable price)... can you say "convergence" ?

Gyoza.org - Gyoza - Japanese Dumplings One For Ray !

How News Travels on the Internet
this is one of those "Blog's will eat themselves" postings which has already become part of the thing it's describing. i think this is all very fascinating, watching the changes in publishing and news-consumption rules changing.... then observing 80% of london tube users reading the awful and free "Metro"... sigh....

Magnatune."We're a record label. But we're not evil."
Interesting approach to re-inventing the recording industry "the way it ought to be"... look at his "reasons why" page (under "information").

Personal Update I haven't managed to post much recently - due to travelling for work... plus Charlie has had Chicken Pox, which has somewhat distracted me from my usual distratcions - thankfully he's getting much better now.
Here's a bunch of things i caught up on over the weekend...

Spam is 10

5th March marks the tenth anniversary of what is generally considered the first spam message

More "New Journalism"
Dan Gillmor: Boost for Personal Journalism in New Gadget Blog

Downing Street Says...

"Every day the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman meets a small coterie of political journalists known as 'the lobby' for a topical chat, or 'briefing'. We've built an unofficial site that lets you read summaries of these briefings and add your own comments"

Far Side cartoons made real in Photoshop

world subways: "subway systems of the world, presented on the same scale"

Yahoo! News - Enthusiasts Call Web Feed Next Big Thing
Story about RSS Newsfeeds on Yahoo, a good introduction and update on the subject.

I've been using bloglines.com for a while now, and find it's a great way to track subjects I'm interested in...

Try It Out here on some of the feeds I follow.

[see earlier item]

Guardian Online Web watch
Some interesting things in this weeks edition, including "Six of the best: Hotspot finders", and "Un-googling".

What We Learned In The New Economy
Interesting and insightful article from Fast Company Magazine. I particularly like the part on "The Brand Called You"... makes a lot of sense:

Boom-Time Buzz: Free Agent Nation is a utopia. The Brand Called You makes you more marketable than ever.
Cold Reality: Free Agent Nation is a jungle. The Brand Called You is the only way to survive.

Simon Hoggart pokes fun at our honarble MP's register of members interests, lovely :-)

"Meanwhile, the new register of members' interests was published yesterday. It's always fascinating, and here are a few nuggets.
Most boring freebie: Richard Allan, visit to Ottawa to Centre for Collaborative Government, a Canadian thinktank.
Most meaningless job: 'Peter Mandelson, adviser to AM Conseil, an industrial consultancy on strategic development, including internal and external communication and change management issues.' Does one single word of that convey anything at all?
Most disappointing perk: Alistair Burt, 'upgrade to business class on flight from London to Paris'. Can anyone sink eight gin and tonics in a 35 minute flight?
Most obvious legal tax wheeze: Barbara Follett, 'communication consultant to Ken Follett, author'. ('Pick up the phone Ken, then you punch the numbers in that order ...')
Most politically incorrect trip: Edward Garnier, 'a day's shooting in Bedfordshire as guest of the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association'. Just make that 'shooting endangered species', and you have a full house."

The DrumSolo Collection
One for Ciaran...:DRUMMERWORLD: The DrumSolo Collection - from Steve Gadd to Dave Weckl

Barcode Yourself
You are a number, you are not a free man.

Independent journalists blog from Iraq and Iran
These are interesting blogs worth a look. Some good points on "embeded journalism" and the nature of reporting, as well as first hand accounts.

http://www.kevinsites.net/"Kevin Sites is a freelance solo journalist currently on assignment for NBC News in Iraq, but this site is a personal website not affiliated with or funded by NBC News"
http://www.stuhughes.co.uk/"DISCLAIMER: Stuart Hughes works for BBC News, but this is a personal website not affiliated with, endorsed by, or funded by the BBC. Archives of Stuart's work are available here, and at www.bbc.co.uk/news"

Curry KitKat anyone?

"As well as the cumin and masala flavour, NestlÈ is considering offering lemon cheesecake, liquorice, saffron and passion fruit."

Chicks dig computers
i) A Linux Distro for Barbie? Lovely !
ii) Female IT Experts
Suggested by jamesh. Enjoyed by guys in a post-feminist, ironic, laughing *with* the sisters kinda way.

That Petrol Emotion prove they CAN break into the Top 40 !
It seems the wonderful Mark and Lard have been running a survey to find the "WORST BAND NAMES EVER". As a personal friend to some of the stars of TPE, I'm impressed at their solid position of #35 in the ranking, proving once and for all that they can make the top 40 !
Thanks to RayG for the tip ;-)

Coole Games - Hit the pinguin (HOT!)
More penguin related mayhem - thanks to jamesh for the tip

[See earlier item]

World of Ends Concise and highly clueful essay on the internet... makes lots of points which seem so very obvious, especialy once they are articulated so clearly by somebody else ! Worth a read for anyone interested in the internet and the future of humanity.

What the Internet Is and
How to Stop Mistaking It
for Something Else.

Written by Doc Searls and David Weinberger - who were behind the highly influential (apparently) 1999 book/essay the cluetrain manifesto

Wikitravel
I ran accross this nice site just recently... may be a good introduction to "Wikis" for those who are uninitiated.

Wikitravel is a project to create a free, complete, up-to-date and reliable world-wide travel guide. So far we have 1147 destination guides and other articles written and edited by Wikitravellers from around the globe. Check out the Help page to see how you can edit any page right now.

Apple plays Big Brother
A nice (large, slow to download/play) remix advert pointing out the very strange and outrageous position of the Recording Industry establishment, plus Coke, plus Apple.

Our World Our Say
An interesting site/organisation agitating and petitioning for a proper ("full, independent and open") inquiry as to why Britain went to war with Iraq (er, I thought it was to protect access to Oil, which is running out, and seeing as iraq has the second largest oil reserves....)

Identity
Our World Our Say is a non-party political organisation with no specific religious affiliation.
Mission
Our World Our Say works to give people a voice when politicians circumvent them, particularly over world changing issues. Through re-connecting ordinary citizens with their elected representatives and giving them a voice, we aim to give people power over their own future and invigorate the democratic process.

Ziggy gave-Away Guitaaaaarrhhhaaaarrrsssss ! Bowie Donates 2 Guitars

"David Bowie has been supporting B.A.D.D. Bikers Against Drunk Drivers for over 18 years and has signed two donated Takamine 12-string acoustics. David also personalized them with lyrics to Ziggy Stardust and Rock 'N' Roll Suicide."

Copy-crippled CDs launch in UK
More on this ongoing saga of stupidity... remember, CDs that the record companies call "copy protected" are actually broken, and do not comply with technology standards... don't but copy protected CDs ! If you want to stop piracy, don't pirate your collection or download pirated music.... it's easy !

Crippled CDs that won't play on many CD drives, including car players, crept onto the UK market last month. Of course the CDs, which break the Red Book standard, don't allow you to copy the music. And on some car players they play nothing but silence.

Guardian comment piece Blair's claim is simply incredible.
A former senior intelligence officer challenges Lord Hutton's account.

truly, madly, geeky, you have to love this...Jeff Russell's STARSHIP DIMENSIONS

"this site is intended to allow science fiction fans to get an impression of the true scale of their favorite science fiction spacecraft by being able to campare ships accross genres, as well as being able to compare them with contemporary objects with which they are probably familiar. The scales are based on meter-to-pixel ratios so that they are accurate on any platform"

Tuning in to the surreal voice of God
Thanks to Ciaran for the tip...

"A look at the impact of Maradona’s involvement in a TV talk show."

Aussie Glossie
From Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin's TV web site...

Crikey! What did Steve just say? Learn some popular phrases from the land down under.

Re-established contact with Henning in Denmark today - hi Henning !

Cyberloo blast rocks Stoke-on-Trent
The Register reports on "Roof blown off killer roboconvenience" - hysterical punning report... also see links to his earlier reports, confirming his theory of these incidents being the beginning of "humanity's innevitable war with the machines". Lovely stuff.

Guardian Unlimited Football Columnist Richard Williams on why skilful footballers should be allowed to do their tricks:
Here, here - could not agree more ! - do read the whole piece, but here's a nice extract...:

"....in the first leg of a Carling Cup semi-final, Jay Jay Okocha lined up a free-kick outside the left-hand corner of Aston Villa's penalty area. In front of him stood two defenders, covering the near post. As he prepared to run up, at about 45 degrees to the left of the ball, there could have been only one thing in his mind: to curl it with his instep over the wall and towards the far post. Nothing else was possible.
Instead, despite approaching the ball at that wide angle, Bolton's Nigerian midfield genius contrived to strike it with the outside of his right boot, sending it around the left side of the defensive wall and just inside the near post. Goodness knows how he produced such scorching, snaking velocity at such an unexpected trajectory from such a disguised approach. A double-jointed ankle, perhaps. Or maybe just a double-jointed imagination."

Google Guide: Interactive Tutorial Making Search Even Easier

"Why Take The Google Guide Tutorial?
Google is so easy to use, why take this online tutorial? If you're like many people, you use only a fraction of Google's features and services. The more you know about how Google works, its features and capabilities, the better it can serve your needs."

New Film on Johan Cruyff in Barcelona... Reign in Spain

"When the Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff moved to Barcelona, the people thought he was an angel. Geoffrey Macnab reports on a remarkable film portrait of Catalonia "

Football Anorak - as they say themsleves... "Comprehensive UK Football statistics for gamblers and fans alike"

Guitars!
of interet to some of my guitar playing friends... these high tech art-meets-craft guitars www.teuffelguitars.com
Also, for guitar techies, former Bowie Axe-Man (as they say in rock journalism) Reeves Gabrels discusses technique and rigs and equipment and all that to quite astounding depth on his website Q&A Page
...and another of my fave guitarists goes into even more detail about such stuff on his website: 'splattercell.com'

badgerbadgerbadger
I think I'm late to this one, though I've yet to find anyone who already knows it ?
Hampster[sic] Dance for this century ?

The Oracle of Bacon at Virginia
Thanks to Jives for the tip...

If you like the Kevin Bacon game you'll love this game that links any actor/actress to any other!

[Also see earlier item on the Baconizer]

Magnificent Union of Digitally Downloading Artists
Launched by Brian Eno & Peter Gabriel, this very much reflects my point of view regarding distribution and consumption of digital music. It asks and answers the fundamental question... "Who needs the (old school big and greedy) record labels ?"
here are some links...
Wired News: Just Say 'No' to Record Labels
BBC NEWS Gabriel to launch musicians' union
MUDDA Website

The era of sentient footballs

A new technology from Europe: RFIDs inside footballs to gather data and -- most importantly -- confirm the ball's location on the field in real time. The article is auf Deutsch, but reader Christopher has provided an excellent English summary, quoted below.

IKEA WALKTHROUGH v2.3.1
I love this, definately worth a read...:

"IKEA is a fully immersive, 3D environmental adventure that allows you to role-play the character of someone who gives a shit about home furnishings. In traversing IKEA, you will experience a meticulously detailed alternate reality filled with garish colors, clear-lacquered birch veneer, and a host of NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS (NPCs) with the glazed looks of the recently anesthetized."

Amazing London Street Art
Thanks to Mark for the tip.

pya!
Flash game - Thanks to JamesH for the tip.

time-warp Archive of Vintage Technology Through the Decades

The Guardian | Paul Flynn: Why I love going to the cinema alone

eXtreme Segway

lunchclock.com - Covertly Extend Your Lunch Hour!
I love this - very nice thought process involved here...

"Lunchclock uses a trivial and hence unpatented chrono-distortion algorithm to calculate how much to speed up or slow down the clock based on the details of your working day and your desired lunch period extension"

Proper use of the Photoshop trademark
Corporate Madness...

The Photoshop trademark must never be used as a common verb or as a noun. The Photoshop trademark should always be capitalized and should never be used in possessive form, or as a slang term. It should be used as an adjective to describe the product, and should never be used in abbreviated form. The following examples illustrate these rules:
Trademarks are not verbs.
CORRECT: The image was enhanced using Adobe® Photoshop® software.
INCORRECT: The image was photoshopped.

So Melanie , what first attracted you to Billionaire software CEO Larry Ellison ?

Larry Ellison's most important merger / Oracle CEO ties knot with novelist at Woodside estate; Steve Jobs takes wedding photos"Billionaire software CEO Larry Ellison and romance novelist Melanie Craft sealed an eight-year courtship by marrying during the winter holidays, the couple told The Chronicle Tuesday.

The wedding was the first for Craft, 34, and the fourth for Ellison, 59, CEO of Oracle, the world's No. 2 software-maker.

The couple married on Dec. 18 at Ellison's 45-acre Japanese-style compound in Woodside. The ceremony was conducted beside a waterfall by Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, a close friend of the couple, and attended by Ellison's best friend, Apple computer co-founder Steve Jobs, and his wife, Laurene. Jobs did double duty as the wedding photographer."

Lazy Cycle Motorized Recliner

Scalextric races on to the Net:

Music site tries floating price tags
An interesting approach...

A little known online music store is experimenting with a new pricing system in which most songs start out costing a dime, and their prices fluctuate from there based on customer demand.

Tolkien Barbie and Ken

Flatulence Deodorizer

it is my birthday present, my precious: "Gollum has a new precious, my precious"

My other VAX is a VAXbar: "the VAXbar!"

Monochrom Brandmarker
Very intersting survey into the reality of brand recognition. I think the BP one is particularly interesting, as they have spent a lot of money on rebranding to their new "greener" image, and yet many people seem to still associate the older "classic BP Shield" logo.