Bye Bye Blackbird 2/4: The Boy

These song bits are getting more tenuous and coming in reverse order best I can tell... Ah well, I started with the theme so I'll go on...

Pack up all your care and woes,
Here I go, singing low,
Bye Bye Blackbird.
Where somebody waits for me,
Sugar's sweet, so is he,
Bye Bye Blackbird.
No-one here can love and understand me,
Oh what sorry stories they all hand me,
Make the bed and light the light,
I'll be home late tonight,
Blackbird, Bye Bye.

One month ago, The Burning Crusade came out, and I decided to spend the weekends at home. As well as the direct result of my character being level 64, this decision has had several knock on effects. I broke up the newly designated recreational time with West Wing box sets and socialising, which soon resulted in the presence of a man in my life (the socialising more than the west wing).

 

He's a real nice guy, has terrible taste in jokes, but he cooks so it's forgiven. I think I'm still trying to mask the random craziness that lies beneath my calm exterior, but sooner or later I'm going to need to open up a bit more. Anyway, it's early days and right now, we're just good mates. He makes me smile, and it's nice to feel that way with someone again.  

So he's been what's kept me off WoW, expansion pack or not (there's a good opportunity for a joke here I'm sure), and I've loved every Real World second of it :-D

 

What'd be great, is if I can get him hooked ont he old WarCrack too :P
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Phil

Bye Bye Blackbird 1/4: Car

 

Bluebird, bluebird, calling me far away
I've been longing for you.
Bluebird, bluebird, what do I hear you say?
Skies are turning to blue, I'm like a flower that's fading here,
Where ev'ry hour is one long tear.
Bluebird, bluebird this is my lucky day.
Now my dreams will come true.

 

Well... I sold my car.  Bluebird, the two seater Smart car is currently in West London, supplimenting what is now a small fleet, previously made up of two vans in a builders family business.  The verse above is part of a song called 'Bye Bye Blackbird', and if I'm really clever, I'll be able to link each verse to one of my 4 part blog posts because... it seems appropriate.  Bluebird is the positive in the song - it's home, family, freedom, and love.

 

I was sad to see it go, the car once belonged to my Grandfather and was his pride and much joy towards the end of hs life.  That car's since taken me round the nation on work and social trips; gigs; holiday; demon slaying; relocations; and more.  Smarts are great cars for those people who when they're honest, have lifestyles that call for nothing more - they're nippy, responsive, comfortable, cheap to run and just no hassle.

 

When I first brought the car home, I ran up to the loft and started digging through boxes of old toys and stuff.  I was looking for a small red box that you held infront of your eye.  Inside, a negative sat against the white base, which you held up to the light so it would illuminate the picture and you'd see the photograph of my grandparents inside.  They were at a meal, looked like a ball room dancing kind of occasion, and they're eating a very english meat and two veg in their poshest clothes.  They both look really happy there, it's just how I remember them being when ever I go see them.  I found it amongst the Visionaries and Ring Raiders - I probably used the little angled red object as an extra fighter plane in my air armada of Manta Force toys at some point and it ended up in that box.  It since lived in my car, in the draw below the ash tray and when no-one's looking and I'm sat waiting in a carpark or some place... I often sneak a look and spend a few moments remembering my Grandad.

 

So yeah.... I'm sad to see it go.

 

The money is helpful, because it gives me a little to live off while I look for another job.  This is important, because I quit my job.  I really really want to spend money on a new computer - I've been telling everyone who will (or wont) listen for about a year now that Feb/Mar 07 is the *best* time to buy a new PC, and definately not before.  I've been holding my PC together with gaffa tape to stave off replacing it, and shared the dreams of computers I'm drooling over when I saw their 'Coming Soon' publicity.  My predictions on hardware have been bang on the money so far, and I still think now's the time, but I've waited this long, and while a PC bought now will get the most time out of it, personally speaking it's no better a time to be spending for anything, let alone a top spec PC.  As soon as I'm hooked up with a source of income, a new PC is my only goal but I'm keeping the card in the wallet for now - the car will go to feeding and sheltering me before anything else. 

After that, it'd be nice to start making some savings, start a pension, and pay off debt - it's time I started having grown up finaces.  

I know I know... I'm getting old.

 

So while I didn't want to sell Bluebird, ever, it would have to happen one day, and it's not going for the sake of a computer - I'll need the savings for the next month or two to live, and I'd stopped driving a while ago because the cost of insurance was just too much and I don't really need a car anyway.

In a month or two... or three or four... I'll buy that flagship computer and on it, I'll place the little red view peice and remember Grandad when I sit down at the end of each day to join my friends online.  And I'll still miss my little car :)

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Phil

Big Changes

Appologies for the lack of blogging lately.  Everything is going on and there's no time to write about it.  Just so you know I'm alive though (and Amanda I will return your call today to assure you of that by phone - sorry to not have done it sooner), the plan is that there will soon be 4 entries posted.  One will be about my car, one will be about my work, one will be about my 'love life', and one will cover everything/anything else.  And then you'll all know why it is no-one's heard from me for a week or two.

It wont be tonight though, for tonight I'll be down at the 24-7 London Boiler Room till too late to blog :)

 

In the mean time, something to ponder...

 

If you could wake up tomorrow with one of the following abilities, which would you choose:

 

a) The ability to hear people's thoughts (someone will wonder if this ability has an on/off toggle.  Let's say they're generally quiet unless you focus on them)

 

b) To remain permanently in top physical shape for your age without effort, giving you not superhuman, but peak human physical abilities, a lot of energy, and of course - a damn hot body.

 

c) The ability to understand & speak any 4 languages fully and fluently. (if so, which languages you gonna go with?)

 

Until next time!

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Phil

"I may not agree with what you say..."

"... but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

 

Ok, in fairness I'm probably not willing to die for this cause... but I'm willing to make a blog post about it at least, and that's something eh?

 

Catholic adoption agencies have threatened to shut down if they are not made exempt from the sexual orientation discrimination laws.

I've been known to say the Salvation Army should just pull it's services where the government are making unfair demands.  It's a constant tension between putting up with rules and regulations that cost you, make things harder, and that you simply may oppose, against the desire to help those you're really trying to provide the service for.  In this case, the Roman Catholic church want to help orphans, but at the same time, wont place a child in a homosexual couple household.  The latter would strongly conflict with their beliefs, but if they play hard ball, it may well be the orphans that suffer.

 

To start off with, I think the Catholic position on 'no gay adoption' is wrong, and that homosexual couples should continue to be able to adopt.  I'm not saying I support their decision, but I do respect their opinion, and think as they're providing a service, they shouldn't be forced to go against their beliefs to do it.
They're not aggressively opposing gay adoption - they're not directly suggesting that is should be made illegal (not in this case at least).  Having accepted the state will allow it, and that it's not their decision to say otherwise, they are only asking that they not be forced to assist, that their religious beliefs be held with the same level of respect as other peoples social beliefs.  This is a conflict not easily resolved by all.  But in this case, there's room.  This would be a valid application for exception.  *This* is the sort of thing I get really quite mad a those fundamentalist evangelical nutters who gathered outside the Lords last week, who've destroyed most good chance groups like the Catholic Adoption services have of being treated as reasonable people.

 

I hope this case is considered, and that the children are considered by both sides.  I realise the church can't go around flexing it's muscles to bend parliament to it's will, but likewise, for the state to do the reverse is over the line, and more than a fight, this needs to be an understanding, adult agreement. 

 

For my contribution to the level of maturity in this debate, I'm going to step up my 'suppress fundamentalist morons' campaign and start ear flicking stupid people if they suggest something like a protest.
Catholics - you can thank me later.
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Phil

Operation 'PEACEMEAL'

Every now and then, I'm awake in the morning while the birds are still singing their tunes, and the HGV's are still taking shortcuts through the suburbs before the commuters come to gridlock those small open roads.

On such glorious mornings as these, I like to have a leisurely breakfast at José’s café.

Little did I know, stepping through the understated gateway into this hallowed hall of purest coffee and fry ups, that today the dynamics of staff and customer would forever change.  A bit.

José... Or whatever his name is took my order as normal, penning down a list of indistinguishable marks as I specified my breakfast content. Now normally, his faithful wife would be leaning past the partition eager to take the order and begin the process that ultimately leads to my contented stomach, but today, she stood at the far end of the kitchen, scowling through the hatch.
José continued with his routine though, making my foam topped cappuccino and smothering the soft white peak with chocolate powder, offering the caffeine loaded cup across the counter and gesturing me to sit.  I took a table and looked up, noticing my order was still on the front counter.  José turned to speak to the woman lurking in the back, waving my ticket at her with a despairing tone. She was quick to reply, showing unusual dislike for the jolly café host, and while I could not understand the language, gun to head, I’d guess she said "Well how am I meant to make it if you don't *pass* me the ticket? I'm not physic!"

What a change though eh? Until today, these people who'd made my breakfasts for over 2 years had simply been bacon vending machines to my dull, sleepy, morning ritual. But here they were - undeniably real people with passion and everything! More importantly, what a crisis! My order was still in José’s hand, and I wasn't getting any fuller. The situation was out of control - the crisis had spread to involving my very state of nutrition. Was I to starve over the Great War off José’s café? Collateral damage in a senseless conflict. No, I must intervene. Like a UN task force, I had to break my uninvolved position and act to bring peace between these two great powers so that the stability of the wider café could be restored.

Operation 'PEACEMEAL' was about to whirl into action. I'd first find an entry point - some trivial unguarded conversation piece that I could casually drop in, ideally something in the vicinity of harmony or love, so I might quickly go on to make a unifying sweep across both fronts, employing the 'Personal and sincere compliment' tactic, reminding the duo in a two step conversation what a great team they make, and belittling their troubling fall out problems under a greater purpose.

The plan didn't quite execute like it did in my head, turning out as more or a smile with raised brow, accompanied by a slight nod... possibly there was a murmur of some kind too, but otherwise failing to develop into words. As it happened, they returned the wry smile and nod, stopping their argument to proceed with making my breakfast. So ok... No great peace making... But it did get my hunger back on the priority table at least... so a partial victory right?

 

The fry up was great.  The coffee excellent. And off I went to the office. 

Just to think though - I could have been their champion of peace, breaking through the week on week of silence that coated our irregular contact.  I could have become part of those peoples lives, become real to them, shared in their stories and learnt of their lives. 

 

Ah well.  

 

Maybe tomorrow.
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Phil

iPhone

I know the iPhone is like.. so last week - but I've been busy, and besides... it's taken me this long to figure out my opinions on it. For those of you who've not heard of it - here's my take...

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I... just... don't know what I think about the iPhone. On the one hand, I have a natural slant against the Mac grain. But on the other I recognise they do make some top quality gadgets. Some of the services offered with the iPhone are really cool, but some of functions.. I just wonder if they'll work at all for real people.

What winds me up a bit is people thinking this device is ground breakingly new because it's got everything in one and it's a touch screen and all that jazz. This statement is a good example:

"The phone includes Mac OS X, making it the first mobile device to run an operating system. It uses Safari as its browser and is compatible with any IMAP or POP3 e-mail services. Yahoo will forward your e-mails to your iPhone for free!
Jobs said that the iPhone used software that was at least five years ahead of any phone, and there seemed not a soul in the room who didn't agree.
"We have reinvented the phone," Jobs said, and we all nodded in unison.
Oh, and did I mention? The iPhone also a 2 megapixel camera."
...
"A few questions were left unanswered, such as whether the iPhone ran Microsoft Word, and whether the new product's surface would scratch, a flaw that plagued the first generation of iPod Nanos.
But the product was so breathtaking in all aspects and included so many features never seen before in one digital mobile device that all seemed to be ignored or forgiven for the time being."

First phone to run an OS? First up.. pretty much every phone runs an OS. Secondly, I've been using phones with desktop style OS's for coming on 3 years now, and mine wasn't the first by quite a way. This is not new. Niether are phones with all those protocols or having emails sent to your mobile. It's been in common use for years. And a 2 megapixel camera?

Some people have said to me, 'It plays video! A phone you can watch DVD's on!'

But you can't blame Apple for playing the plebes. It's gotta be done and they do it well - it certainly doesn't take away from the fact that it is a very nice gadget. To avoid backlash from the geeks, and even MacGeeks can't fail to notice there's very little new technology being presented here, Steve's been careful to use words, however ambigious and hidden in the tone, that he's talking only about some of the software when he speaks of the 5 years jump. Again, it's not his fault the press have taken the revolutionary software bits, and immediately after, continued the list with fairly available technology without adding a line break in, making it look like Apple just invented mobile internet connections and touch screens.

Let's get to it. The iPhone.

It's smart. I'm told it knows when you've made a spelling mistakes and corrects it for you in txts and other typing scenarios. It detects when your face is aginst it and shuts down the screen so you don't hang up mid call by brushing your cheek in the wrong place. It adjusts it's operations to what your doing to save on battery power. It knows when you've touched the screen but didn't mean to press there, and ignores you.
If this all works - I'm very impressed and it's great to see them lifting the bar on mobile interface technology. If it doesn't work as flawlessly as claimed - it's going to be pretty damn annoying.

It's sleak. It's the thinest PDA out there. 11mm or so? My XDA wasn't much more than that, and I'm pretty sure the Pearl was thiner and techincally has PDA functionality, though I'm happy not to count it as one. But it's thin. It's not small. It's a large pannel. My SPV M3100 is a lot smaller by height and width, only thicker by depth. It's a way thicker in fact, but I still recon it's easier to fit into small pockets, and more importantly, get out of your small pocket when you hear a call. And don't say buy big pocketed trousers - that's not where the solution should lie.

But the iPhone looks smooth, and because it makes good use of the screen for viedo play - I'm happy that it's the size it is.

It's all touch screen. No (at least, very few) buttons. This is cool, and looks great. I'm not sure I like it though. I'm thinking about the real world for a moment and thinking... I put this in my big pocket and realise my keys are in there too - the poor thing wont stand a chance of not being scratched, which for a touch screen is not a good thing. So you put a case on it... but then... it's a lot thicker all of a sudden and looks nowhere near as cool. I'm just trying to think realisticly about the device. I've been using PDA Phones for years and I know how they fit into your life, I know the day to day quirks of use. Sticking to buttons for just a minute, a few nights ago I got a call late at night. I'd already gone to bed, and was able to answer the phone without even opening my eyes. Why? Because I can feel the answer button. Same reason I can return a call without taking my phone out of it's sleeve (using the hands free to talk through). Physical buttons aren't bad. There's a place for them I think.

I can also use my phone with my gloves on (both the buttons and the screen actually). It's winter. I wrap up when I go out. It's very cold and very very windy here today. Should I be an iPhone user I would not remove my glove to start or skip a track as I walk down the street. And answering a call for that matter - I don't want to have to remove my glove on an icy cold day to answer a call. I'm just thinking - these are my day to day experiences of phone usage, and they're issues. The iPhone is great if I was always at my desk or in a nice environement, but I go outside from time to time and that's what a mobile is for.
I also don't need the computer to decide what it thinks I'm trying to say, because my keyboard works with my nails, which the iPhone presumably wont. The mini keyboard on my SPV is great - I don't know what the line 'No more annoying little keyboards' is refering to. Perhaps thumb boards - they are annoying. With PDA phones, you type with your thumbs, and my thumbs are larger than Steve Job's it would seem. I worry anyone who doesn't have small thumbs will find it less accurate. specifically on the iPhone you have to use the flat of your thumb, and there's no way you can hit the right key on that touchscreen with any accuracy. So it looks at the cluster of letters you pressed, assigns weighted liklihood to each potential target based on distance from centre, and then looks at what the word could be so far, adding more weighting to the selection before picking the one with the highest percent. It may be far more clever - it might learn you're typical touch offset and vocab.
This is not what I'd call 5 years ahead if that's all it is. It's a problem no-one's (actually I bet someone has, but no major company) bothered to solve because it's a problem that keyboards don't have anyway... and it is at most, a week ahead, not 5 years. But if it works - I do like it.

160dpi. Now this is nice. It's a very high resolution screen for very sharp images.

Multi-Touch. Here we go! This is the coolness now. Nothing bad to say about this at all. Using two fingers, the actions you make in unison signal different commands. It's something Mac already uses to limited extents else where and very few other people do - it's easy, responsive, and proportionate control. By putting this out there, it raises the bar for other touch screen devices. Again, it's not a leap into the future but something from the recent past being used well.

4GB - 8GB Storage Space. Nice. Again, not something of the magical distant future - any other company can do this at will - but nice. If it had a slot for some kind of SD too, allowing you to add 2-4GB swapable cards in at will like my current all in one mobile does... then that'd be great. It'd be an especially good addition to the 4GB model, which as it stands, no-one should ever ever ever buy. Ever. Don't be stupid. Get the 8GB model. Trust me on that. Just pay the little more and get it. Good.

Swooshy Sounds and Floaty Motions. Not to be made fun of! This is important too. It's all about having a nice user experience - decreases stress with the mistakes (not that any can happen on apple interfaces) and makes you feel like the device is really part of you.

Third Party App's. Oh dear oh dear oh dear. This is where it all falls down for me. Up till now, the iPhone is every other all-in-1's equal, with a lot of polish and some nice bonus features. Up till now, I'd dare say although reporters are stupid, and nothing here is all that new - it is still the best example of this device type. And then... they ruin it. This even turns a lot of Mac fans off. Apple have made it clear they do not intend to allow software to be loaded onto the device, that was made by a 3rd party (not Apple). The reason? Same old reason Apple always have for this kind of rule - they want their reputation to be 'It never crashes!'. Indeed you better hope it doesn't, as without a stylus I'm guessing resetting it isn't as simple as pressing a button. But they want the forums on the net to be full of smug people saying 'It's never crashed - it's perfect!' like they did with the old iMacs. And they'll succeed. The main reason crashes occur is conflicts. Unexpected conflicts between programs that weren't expected to run at the same time as another unknown program, or programs that weren't tested enough under all conditions. To solve this, they ban all unknown factors, much like saying, 'We hope you enjoy our 100% ultra safe swiss army pen knife. We pride ourselves on the reputation that no-one has ever cut their finger with this product. Please note all sharp features of the unit, while remaining present for asthetic value, have sealed shut. Enjoy your £300 nale file. Jack ass.'

But then - they're not after me I guess. They're not after the people who say 'I just want it to make calls', nor the people who say 'My phone is like a full PC! Last night I added a cool app that makes...". They're after the people who want a cool phone, that can play videos and music, but don't want to have much else on the one device. It's the high end mobile users who are just about ready for a bit more than their camera phone. I'd say there's a significant market for that - and in such a catagory, the iPhone is without doubt the best.
Meanwhile, I'm eagerly waiting on the SPV manufacturers to integrate a few of these cool features (the multi-touch and the 8GB storage especially), and upgrade as soon as they do.
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Phil

CORRECTION: Order of the Consoles

It's been brought to my attention that Sony haven't yet hit the 1'000'000 mark in the sense that I was meaning.  When I used the word 'sold' I should have used 'shipped'.  It's believed that Sony had not breached a million PS3's into consumer households by New Years.  It's a shakey start for the Consumer Electronics giant.