Don't let Granny Pam see this !

The Daily Puppy (Warning: Overly Cute).
Also goes with this: DogsBlog.com

Web 2.0 in just under 5 minutes (Youtube Video)

The term Web 2.0 (Two dot oh) has been widely used over the past year or two to describe the "next generation" of web services and technologies which "emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users" (Wikipedia Web 2.0).
The video (link) is a very nice summary for techies and non-techies alike - it's worth the 5 minutes.

MS Vista

There was lots of press coverage of the new MS Vista OS recently.
Some of my friends and family ask me for advice about technology and I usually make it clear that I generally dislike MS and their products and think they do not provide good value for money.
Increasingly both of the main options (Windows or Mac) utilise restrictive technology (e.g. DRM) to stop your computer doing what you want and doing what it is told by the content companies (i.e. music and film).
I think that Linux (see: www.getgnulinux.org) is now ready for most "civilian" users these days - although if you have some specialist needs or devices you may well be tied to a MAC or Windows.

Here are a couple of links to mainstream (i.e. not the geeky ones) reviews:

Dim Vista - Forbes.com: "Windows Vista: more than five years in the making, more than 50 million lines of code. The result? A vista slightly more inspiring than the one over the town dump. The new slogan is: 'The 'Wow' Starts Now,' and Microsoft touts new features, many filched shamelessly from Apple's Macintosh. But as with every previous version, there's no wow here, not even in ironic quotes. Vista is at best mildly annoying and at worst makes you want to rush to Redmond, Wash. and rip somebody's liver out."

NYT's David Pogue on Windows Vista : The New York Times' Tech Editor with an amusing video review (Youtube) comparing the "new features" in Windows Vista with Apple OSX.

Schneier on Security: DRM in Windows Vista: This is a bit more techy but worth reading about the restrictive technology in Vista.

Bottom line from me: Don't "upgrade" to Vista unless you really are sure you know why you want it.

Roddy Frame

It's my birthday tomorrow, and Alison very kindly treated me to a concert by Roddy Frame (myspace) on Sunday evening in Buxton (Opera House). It was a really great gig with a mix of old Aztec Camera classics and songs from his highly recommended recent CDs (The North Star, Surf and Western Skies).
There was an unusual interval when Roddy left the stage for "a cup of tea and to chillout" after some apparent problems with the sound, an inability to see the audience and perhaps some nerves due to the gig being filmed for a DVD.
On his return to the stage after some 10 minutes or so he received a very warm response from the audience and went on to give a really fine performance... Roddy suggested this might be due to a shared 'trauma bond'.
This thread over at the excellent fan site (www.killermontstreet.com) has some good reviews, comments and set list etc.
Thanks to Alison for getting the tickets... a big night out on a Sunday... blimey!

Cat on a piano

While watching this funny "cat on the piano" video (YouTube - Nora, The Piano-Playing Cat) I realised it was not so dissimilar from parts of a CD I had been listening to earlier...
Reconstructive Surgery - John Medeski & Matthew Shipp
hmmmm

Resurrecting distractions...

IMPS - The Relentless
An impressive Star Wars Fan Flick

Polaroid-o-nizer™
Lovely retro-polaroidonizing website... have a play...
As prompted you just need to add some text and give the URL of a photo (must be online somewhere already)
here's some examples...

Louise makes a 'Pam says thanks' Page

The Crimson Room
Minos passed this on.. kind of a cross between japanese-anime style graphics and Myst... can you escape ? Some lovely Engrish subtitles.
Warnings:
- This is the kind of thing which rapidly becomes very adictive !
- There is one piece of info you absolutely need, which is not contained within the game directly, I only got it by finding a cheat page.
Clue (slight spoiler but not really): "1994" - this is not a teaser - it will be obvious when you need it.
**Apparently there are different versions of the game out there where this number is different - be aware.

The game is a freebie shockwave app - and seems to have been copied all over the web, here the link Minos sent to me: The Crimson Room.
Here is a solution - for if you give up: Crimson Room Solution.

BBC SPORT - When does it all kick off again?
just when you're enjoying a break from it all - the new footy season's start dates...

Redferns Music Picture Gallery: DAVID BOWIE PIN UP

This exhibition is a celebration of an artist with a real understanding for rock’s visual appeal.
Featuring rare and unseen images by an impressive list of legendary photographers: Terry O’Neil, Andrew Kent, Mick Rock, Ian Dickson, Denis O’Regan, David Bebbington, Brian Aris, Ray Stevenson, Michael Putland, Barry Plummer and Kate Simon all contribute to this amazing photographic narrative.

PledgeBank - Tell the world "I'll do it, but only if you'll help"
This is another interesting idea from www.mysociety.org/.

"The way it works is simple. You create a pledge which has the basic format 'I'll do something, but only if other people will pledge to do the same thing'."

On Toothache, music and musical heroes...
I have been suffering from a persistent toothache from a wisdom tooth... it's "impacted" see here for an explanation and here's a picture (aaaaarrrrrggghhhh !)


So, whilst waiting to see a dental surgeon at the hospital last Saturday, I was catching up on some reading, including the most recent entries on the ever-readable David Byrne "Online Journal" (don't call it a blog!).

Just imagine my ironic chuckling as I sat in the waiting room reading the following, with toothache, waiting to see a DENTAL SURGEON whilst in the background an eazy-listening-musak cd played chunes from the popular songbook in ver-so-luvverly synth, drum-machine and panpipes arrangements...

NOTE: This is from the entry from June 5
"One can not only hear the music one chooses all the time if one wants, which seems like a good thing, but one can also seek out music from far-flung places, scenes and from times very different than one's own. At least in recorded form it’s more or less all out there.
I find this overwhelming. Probably as a musician I find music either one or the other — completely invisible, inaudible — even sometimes when it’s playing loud — or completely intrusive — impossible to ignore. As a musician there are times when even quiet background music in a bar or restaurant is completely distracting and impossible to ignore. It’s like the effect of having a TV on in room is for most people — it tends to demand attention. All conversation either stops or has to deal with the TV program. Music is like that for musicians.
In this way the easy access to and ubiquity of music is oppressive. It often feels like a passive aggressive assault. I’d pay extra for silence."

Why Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It...
I spotted this a while back - thought it would be good for Louise :-)

Brian Eno on Song-Writing:
I came across these comments on song writing by Eno..:

'Song-writing is now actually the most difficult challenge in music. It's very easy to make music now but lyrics are really the last very hard problem in music. What I think lyrics have to do is engage a certain part of your brain in a sort of search activity so your brain wants to say 'here are some provocative clues as to what this song might be about'. They don't have to be explicit... in fact for me they certainly shouldn't be explicit'.

Grocery Store Wars | Join the Organic Rebellion
Some nice organic food advocacy in a star wars stylee [Flash Movie] - Righteous !
Thanks to Giles for the tip.

eNormicom: Welcome to eNormicom!: "Is your company having an e-dentity crisis? Then you need the eNormicom Image Bucket Program™..."

The Adventures of ACTION ITEM!
Wonderfull send up of consultancy-speak in the form of a DC/marvel comic strip.

Free Online Graph Paper / Grid Paper PDFs
Exactly as it says on the tin. I think this is one for Alison and Louise!