http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/Nokia_N95_First_Impressions.php
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Splashcast Beta
I’ve been fooling around with the system, and have posted some videos (unfortunately Vox doesn’t allow ‘embeds’) here…
It’s interesting how much control these guys give over the player app.
Splashcast Beta
There is a new kid on the Net Video block.
Splashcast has opened up shop for Beta users...
http://www.splashcastmedia.com/
Splashcast allows the user to construct 'shows' and then compile these 'shows' into 'channels' which can be embedded in web pages.
They see themselves as more of a mixed media provider as they can distribute stills, audio, text, video, and RSS feeds.
I've registered and will be posting comments in the WhoTube group.
Feel free to pop in and visit.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Entry for January 30, 2007: Oz day 07
The country celebrated Australia Day last Friday.
I don't really do this 'flag thang.'
I like to think of the whole planet as my domain, rather then just one tiny corner roped off with border control.
I was down at the beach early cause the Google plane was doing a hires geo photo shoot.
There were a few people mulling around with signs lying on the ground.
The thing is, that we didn't see any plane fly over.
Read in the paper today (Tuesday) that the plane was diverted, as it might have interfered with the landing of commercial flights at the main airport.
That afternoon, I joined some mates down at the harbour to see a free gig by the Whitlams.
This is a short clip I took while down there.
Great group, good music, and proper lyrics that tell a story.
Interesting choice of band to perform for Sydneysiders celebrating Oz day.
I\u2019ve included some lyrics including the ones for the song in the video.
I've highlighted favourite bits.
(YEAR OF THE RAT) by WHITLAMS
Creeping into town with all these changes in my head
Funny how my old haunts all look new
A taxi from the airport to the Paris end of King
I'll drop my bags I'll see who's in
My dirty streets
My fabulous friends
Here I am
In your arms again
It's easy being famous in Sydney
Cause everyone's a star
But its got to be deepest darkest night
For you to see them all
There's beer and women even for the thinking man
Join the circus come on down
I've heard they'll even stop kicking you
Just before you hit the ground
My dirty streets
My fabulous friends
Yeah here I am
In your arms again
I'll get a shine-on
All night and day
You rough me up
Till I gotta get away
You know I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Newtown I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Tat, a tat-tat, tat
Second rower with the earpiece and the rumble in his eye
Making sure that I don't stumble, wishes all the freaks die
Over there a plain-clothes cop looking at his watch a lot
Wondering is it time to call in the dogs
My dirty streets
My fabulous friends
Here I am
In your arms again
I'll get a shine-on
All night and day
You rough me up
Till I gotta get away
You know I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Newtown I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Tat, a tat-tat, tat
You know I love you but you try and kill me
You know I love you but you try and kill me, yeah
BLOW UP THE POKIES
There was the stage, two red lights and a dodgy P.A.,
You trod the planks way back then,
And it's strange that you're here again, here again.
And I wish I, wish I knew the right words,
To make you feel better, walk out of this place.
Defeat them in your secret battle,
Show them you can be your own man again.
Don't, don't explain, lots of little victories take on the pain,
It takes so long to earn, you can double up or you can burn, you can burn.
Chorus
And I wish I, wish I knew the right words,
To blow up the pokies and drag them away.
Cause they're taking the food off your table,
So they can say that the trains run on time.
Flashing lights, it's a real show, and your wife? I wouldn't go home,
The little bundles need care and you can't be a father there, father there.
And I wish I, wish I knew the right words,
To blow up the pokies and drag them away.
Cause they're taking the food off your table,
So they can say that the trains run on time.
Another man there was made the trains run on time.
YOU GOTTA LOVE THIS CITY
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
Too sick for breakfast, the car wouldn't start
The train was really full, and his girlfriend had a boyfriend
The houses all the same, now here's the rain
Not falling but collapsing at his feet
Deep breath and he clocks on, raincoat on his arm
He wishes the hours would disappear
But the trip's in vain 'cause awaiting him
A lay-off notice and his severance pay
He shuffles back to the train again
You gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
Back home he lies in bed for days and days
Watching American television, smoking
And playing with himself ringing double-O double-5
Into town on Thursday night
The girls are pretty and the lights are bright
At least he loves his city
Holding court on Taylor Square proper was the man he could become
Lear's Fool is a bum now
With seven holy parcels by his side
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
He walks along the foreshore, he's got a bottle
And he's breathing with his city
It was busy everywhere he went
There was a crowd over the bay
And a fireworks display
It's all very strange for a Thursday night thought he
Then it dawns on him as a cracker explodes
And who the hell is he going to blame?
It dawns on him - the horror - we got the Olympic Games
You gotta love this city for its body and not its brain
And he screams My city is a whore, opened herself to the world
Jumped up and down in pastel shirts
And lathered up thinking about designs for T-shirts
You gotta love this city for its body and not its brain
It's more than he can take, and the stars' reflection breaks
'Cause you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it enjoy the view
You gotta love this city
He's had enough and he sinks to the bottom
I MAKE HAMBURGERS
My first customer was Megan
She came in for a hamburger with the lot - no meat
Hey that's a salad roll I said and we started going out
My second customer was Susan
she came in for Diet Pepsi morning tea
Each day and I said You don't need to be on a diet.
Do you wanna come out tonight?
I said I'll bring Gringo he's got a lot of money
And he'll take us to the bars where they've got a view.
He'll buy us all those beers they give it to you in bottles
They put lemon in the top it don't taste too bad I'm telling you
My third customer was Maria she came in for hot chips and sauce
More sauce she said. I said now you're talking
and she took me home to meet her mother
My fourth customer was Sandy she came in for nothing I could see except me
So it was I too, was eating a hamburger of sorts within an hour
I make hamburgers I get all the girls
and I take 'em out to dinner and I give 'em all a whirl
and If they work I keep 'em If they don't I keep 'em too
But I teach 'em all how to be dirty girls like you
I don't really do this 'flag thang.'
I like to think of the whole planet as my domain, rather then just one tiny corner roped off with border control.
I was down at the beach early cause the Google plane was doing a hires geo photo shoot.
There were a few people mulling around with signs lying on the ground.
The thing is, that we didn't see any plane fly over.
Read in the paper today (Tuesday) that the plane was diverted, as it might have interfered with the landing of commercial flights at the main airport.
That afternoon, I joined some mates down at the harbour to see a free gig by the Whitlams.
This is a short clip I took while down there.
Great group, good music, and proper lyrics that tell a story.
Interesting choice of band to perform for Sydneysiders celebrating Oz day.
I\u2019ve included some lyrics including the ones for the song in the video.
I've highlighted favourite bits.
(YEAR OF THE RAT) by WHITLAMS
Creeping into town with all these changes in my head
Funny how my old haunts all look new
A taxi from the airport to the Paris end of King
I'll drop my bags I'll see who's in
My dirty streets
My fabulous friends
Here I am
In your arms again
It's easy being famous in Sydney
Cause everyone's a star
But its got to be deepest darkest night
For you to see them all
There's beer and women even for the thinking man
Join the circus come on down
I've heard they'll even stop kicking you
Just before you hit the ground
My dirty streets
My fabulous friends
Yeah here I am
In your arms again
I'll get a shine-on
All night and day
You rough me up
Till I gotta get away
You know I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Newtown I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Tat, a tat-tat, tat
Second rower with the earpiece and the rumble in his eye
Making sure that I don't stumble, wishes all the freaks die
Over there a plain-clothes cop looking at his watch a lot
Wondering is it time to call in the dogs
My dirty streets
My fabulous friends
Here I am
In your arms again
I'll get a shine-on
All night and day
You rough me up
Till I gotta get away
You know I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Newtown I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Tat, a tat-tat, tat
You know I love you but you try and kill me
You know I love you but you try and kill me, yeah
BLOW UP THE POKIES
There was the stage, two red lights and a dodgy P.A.,
You trod the planks way back then,
And it's strange that you're here again, here again.
And I wish I, wish I knew the right words,
To make you feel better, walk out of this place.
Defeat them in your secret battle,
Show them you can be your own man again.
Don't, don't explain, lots of little victories take on the pain,
It takes so long to earn, you can double up or you can burn, you can burn.
Chorus
And I wish I, wish I knew the right words,
To blow up the pokies and drag them away.
Cause they're taking the food off your table,
So they can say that the trains run on time.
Flashing lights, it's a real show, and your wife? I wouldn't go home,
The little bundles need care and you can't be a father there, father there.
And I wish I, wish I knew the right words,
To blow up the pokies and drag them away.
Cause they're taking the food off your table,
So they can say that the trains run on time.
Another man there was made the trains run on time.
YOU GOTTA LOVE THIS CITY
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
Too sick for breakfast, the car wouldn't start
The train was really full, and his girlfriend had a boyfriend
The houses all the same, now here's the rain
Not falling but collapsing at his feet
Deep breath and he clocks on, raincoat on his arm
He wishes the hours would disappear
But the trip's in vain 'cause awaiting him
A lay-off notice and his severance pay
He shuffles back to the train again
You gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
Back home he lies in bed for days and days
Watching American television, smoking
And playing with himself ringing double-O double-5
Into town on Thursday night
The girls are pretty and the lights are bright
At least he loves his city
Holding court on Taylor Square proper was the man he could become
Lear's Fool is a bum now
With seven holy parcels by his side
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
He walks along the foreshore, he's got a bottle
And he's breathing with his city
It was busy everywhere he went
There was a crowd over the bay
And a fireworks display
It's all very strange for a Thursday night thought he
Then it dawns on him as a cracker explodes
And who the hell is he going to blame?
It dawns on him - the horror - we got the Olympic Games
You gotta love this city for its body and not its brain
And he screams My city is a whore, opened herself to the world
Jumped up and down in pastel shirts
And lathered up thinking about designs for T-shirts
You gotta love this city for its body and not its brain
It's more than he can take, and the stars' reflection breaks
'Cause you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it enjoy the view
You gotta love this city
He's had enough and he sinks to the bottom
I MAKE HAMBURGERS
My first customer was Megan
She came in for a hamburger with the lot - no meat
Hey that's a salad roll I said and we started going out
My second customer was Susan
she came in for Diet Pepsi morning tea
Each day and I said You don't need to be on a diet.
Do you wanna come out tonight?
I said I'll bring Gringo he's got a lot of money
And he'll take us to the bars where they've got a view.
He'll buy us all those beers they give it to you in bottles
They put lemon in the top it don't taste too bad I'm telling you
My third customer was Maria she came in for hot chips and sauce
More sauce she said. I said now you're talking
and she took me home to meet her mother
My fourth customer was Sandy she came in for nothing I could see except me
So it was I too, was eating a hamburger of sorts within an hour
I make hamburgers I get all the girls
and I take 'em out to dinner and I give 'em all a whirl
and If they work I keep 'em If they don't I keep 'em too
But I teach 'em all how to be dirty girls like you
Oz day 07
The country celebrated Australia Day last Friday.
I don't really do this 'flag thang.'
I like to think of the whole planet as my domain, rather then just one tiny corner roped off with border control.
I was down at the beach early cause the Google plane was doing a hires geo photo shoot.
There were a few people mulling around with signs lying on the ground.
The thing is, that we didn’t see any plane fly over.
Read in the paper today (Tuesday) that the plane was diverted, as it might have interfered with the landing of commercial flights at the main airport.
That afternoon, I joined some mates down at the harbour to see a free gig by the Whitlams.
This is a short clip I took while down there…
Great group, good music, and proper lyrics that tell a story.
Interesting choice of band to perform for Sydneysiders celebrating Oz day.
I’ve included some lyrics including the ones for the song in the video.
I’ve highlighted favourite bits.
(YEAR OF THE RAT) by WHITLAMS
Creeping into town with all these changes in my head
Funny how my old haunts all look new
A taxi from the airport to the Paris end of King
I’ll drop my bags I’ll see who’s in
My dirty streets
My fabulous friends
Here I am
In your arms again
It’s easy being famous in Sydney
Cause everyone’s a star
But its got to be deepest darkest night
For you to see them all
There’s beer and women even for the thinking man
Join the circus come on down
I’ve heard they’ll even stop kicking you
Just before you hit the ground
My dirty streets
My fabulous friends
Yeah here I am
In your arms again
I’ll get a shine-on
All night and day
You rough me up
Till I gotta get away
You know I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Newtown I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Tat, a tat-tat, tat
Second rower with the earpiece and the rumble in his eye
Making sure that I don’t stumble, wishes all the freaks die
Over there a plain-clothes cop looking at his watch a lot
Wondering is it time to call in the dogs
My dirty streets
My fabulous friends
Here I am
In your arms again
I’ll get a shine-on
All night and day
You rough me up
Till I gotta get away
You know I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Newtown I love you but you try and kill me
Gotta hold your head up in the Year of the Rat
Tat, a tat-tat, tat
You know I love you but you try and kill me
You know I love you but you try and kill me, yeah
BLOW UP THE POKIES
There was the stage, two red lights and a dodgy P.A.,
You trod the planks way back then,
And it's strange that you're here again, here again.
And I wish I, wish I knew the right words,
To make you feel better, walk out of this place.
Defeat them in your secret battle,
Show them you can be your own man again.
Don't, don't explain, lots of little victories take on the pain,
It takes so long to earn, you can double up or you can burn, you can burn.
Chorus
And I wish I, wish I knew the right words,
To blow up the pokies and drag them away.
Cause they're taking the food off your table,
So they can say that the trains run on time.
Flashing lights, it's a real show, and your wife? I wouldn't go home,
The little bundles need care and you can't be a father there, father there.
And I wish I, wish I knew the right words,
To blow up the pokies and drag them away.
Cause they're taking the food off your table,
So they can say that the trains run on time.
Another man there was made the trains run on time.
YOU GOTTA LOVE THIS CITY
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
Too sick for breakfast, the car wouldn't start
The train was really full, and his girlfriend had a boyfriend
The houses all the same, now here's the rain
Not falling but collapsing at his feet
Deep breath and he clocks on, raincoat on his arm
He wishes the hours would disappear
But the trip's in vain 'cause awaiting him
A lay-off notice and his severance pay
He shuffles back to the train again
You gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
Back home he lies in bed for days and days
Watching American television, smoking
And playing with himself ringing double-O double-5
Into town on Thursday night
The girls are pretty and the lights are bright
At least he loves his city
Holding court on Taylor Square proper was the man he could become
Lear's Fool is a bum now
With seven holy parcels by his side
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
You gotta love this city, love this city, you gotta love this city
He walks along the foreshore, he's got a bottle
And he's breathing with his city
It was busy everywhere he went
There was a crowd over the bay
And a fireworks display
It's all very strange for a Thursday night thought he
Then it dawns on him as a cracker explodes
And who the hell is he going to blame?
It dawns on him - the horror - we got the Olympic Games
You gotta love this city for its body and not its brain
And he screams My city is a whore, opened herself to the world
Jumped up and down in pastel shirts
And lathered up thinking about designs for T-shirts
You gotta love this city for its body and not its brain
It's more than he can take, and the stars' reflection breaks
'Cause you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it enjoy the view
You gotta love this city
He's had enough and he sinks to the bottom
I MAKE HAMBURGERS
My first customer was Megan
She came in for a hamburger with the lot - no meat
Hey that's a salad roll I said and we started going out
My second customer was Susan
she came in for Diet Pepsi morning tea
Each day and I said You don't need to be on a diet.
Do you wanna come out tonight?
I said I'll bring Gringo he's got a lot of money
And he'll take us to the bars where they've got a view.
He'll buy us all those beers they give it to you in bottles
They put lemon in the top it don't taste too bad I'm telling you
My third customer was Maria she came in for hot chips and sauce
More sauce she said. I said now you're talking
and she took me home to meet her mother
My fourth customer was Sandy she came in for nothing I could see except me
So it was I too, was eating a hamburger of sorts within an hour
I make hamburgers I get all the girls
and I take 'em out to dinner and I give 'em all a whirl
and If they work I keep 'em If they don't I keep 'em too
But I teach 'em all how to be dirty girls like you
OK, I know that I’m going to come across all ‘geek boy’...
... but I was looking through the spec list for the N95 on the Dev site and something stood out…
Video Ringtones!
Does anyone else do this?
This would be very funny.
Nokia N95 Technical Specs
Operating System:
Symbian OS v9.2
Developer Platform:
S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1
Frequency Band:
GSM 850
GSM 900
GSM 1800
GSM 1900
WCDMA 2100
Regional Availability:
Asia-Pacific
Europe
Display:
Resolution: 240 x 320
Color Depth: 24 bit
Memory:
Max User Storage: 160 MB
Memory Card: Micro SD
Memory Card Feature: Hot Swap
Unlimited Heap size
Unlimited Jar size
Network Data Support:
WCDMA
HSDPA
EGPRS
GPRS
HSCSD
CSD
WLAN Support:
802.11b/g
WPA
WPA2 (AES/TKIP)
Local Connectivity:
Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR
Infrared
Mini USB
UPnP
USB 2.0
WLAN
Java Technology:
MIDP 2.0
CLDC 1.1
Advanced Multimedia Supplements (JSR-234)
Bluetooth API (JSR-82)
FileConnection and PIM API (JSR-75)
JTWI (JSR-185)
Location API (JSR-179)
Mobile 3D Graphics API (JSR-184)
Mobile Media API (JSR-135)
Nokia UI API
Scalable 2D Vector Graphics API (JSR-226)
Security and Trust Services API (JSR-177)
SIP API (JSR-180)
Web Services API (JSR-172)
Wireless Messaging API (JSR-205)
Java Verified Root Certificate:
UTI Root
Symbian Certificate:
Symbian A
Symbian B
Symbian C
Symbian D
Browser:
HTML over TCP/IP
S60 OSS Browser
WAP 2.0
XHTML over TCP/IP
Messaging:
MMS
MMS+SMIL
SMS
Email Protocol:
IMAP4
POP3
SMTP
Digital Rights Management:
OMA DRM Forward Lock
OMA DRM v1.0
OMA DRM v2.0
Delivery Method:
HTTP Download
MMS
OMA Download
Camera:
Resolution: 2582 x 1944
Digital Zoom: 20 x
Image Format: JPEG/Exif
Feature: Auto Focus, Red-Eye Reduction, Flash, Self Timer, Carl Zeiss Optics
Video Resolution: 640 x 480
Video Frame Rate: 30 fps
Video Format: MPEG-4, H.263
Secondary Camera:
Resolution: 288 x 352
Image Format: JPEG/Exif
Video Resolution: 288 x 352
Video Frame Rate: 15 fps
Video Format: H.263
Video Features:
Video Call
Video Editor
Video Player
Video Recorder
Video Ringtones
Video Sharing
Video Streaming
Video Formats:
3GPP formats (H.263)
H.264/AVC
MPEG-4
RealVideo 7,8,9/10
Audio Features:
Audio Recorder AMR
Audio Streaming
Music Player
Stereo
Audio Formats:
AAC, AAC+, eAAC, eAAC+, MP3, MP4, M4A, WMA, AMR (NB-AMR), MIDI Tones (poly 64), RealAudio 7,8,10, SP-MIDI, True tones (WB-AMR)
Document Formats:
Excel, PDF, Powerpoint, Word, Zip
Graphics Formats:
BMP, EXIF, GIF87a, GIF89a, JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG, WBMP
Extra Features:
Digital Recorder
Flash Lite 2
GPS
OpenGL ES 1.1 Plugin
PoC (Push-to-talk over Cellular)
Stereo FM Radio
Stereo Handsfree Speakers
Still Image Editor
SyncML
Themes
TV Out
USB Mass Storage
Visual Radio
Keypad Description:
2 Labeled Soft Keys
5-way Scrolling
Dedicated Media Keys
Side Key Mat
Size:
99 x 53 x 21 mm
Weight:
120 g
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Tagged.
I scored two of these so I'll knock them both off at the same time...
My Fear:
I hate going to pubs and restaurants alone.
(I don’t fear flying, I just don’t like it)
Wishful thinking:
That Oz gets a government that I can be proud of.
Embarrassing moment:
Went to a movie last night, and was going to have a quick meal with mates in a pub.
I said that we should go to ‘the Dog.’
What’s ‘the Dog?’ A mate asks
A pub called The Duke of Glouster I replied.
Why is it called the Dog? Said the other.
I have no idea I said.
Then my mates looked at me like I was making a joke.
Unfortunately I wasn’t and I had to have it ‘spelled out for me.’
I not usually that slow by the way.
Something True:
The answers in this tag.
Something Cute:
Buggered if I know! I’ve SMSed a mate and will update this when/if they get back to me.
5 (Not So) Interesting Facts About Me!
1. I have a cold today. Felt it coming on yesterday with a few sneezes, and a stuffed up nose. This morning I woke up and it’s in full voice.
2. I’ve had good reviews for my kissing technique
3. I now have enough underwear to last for two weeks before I need to do a wash.
4. Today is wash day
5. I’m always surprised how much snot is produced when I get a cold.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Macro Newbie
I've recently been inspried by all the great macro shots floating around Flickr so I recently took some of my own...
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Entry for January 25, 2007: London Cemetery Series
I took these photos years ago when I was living in Islington, London.
I didn't remember the address when I uploaded these to Flickr, so I found the cemetery by locating where I used to live in Islington, then scrolling the map along the route I used to take to get to the cemetery (I used Google maps cause Yahoo's maps don't zoom down far enough.)
So cool all the red London buses chocking up the streets.
This cemetery is in Stoke Newington, and looking at the names of the roads around the cemetery, I reckon this must have had a important building nearby.
The grounds were amazingly overgrown, and it looked like some recent hacking to clear out path had occurred.
It was like discovering a lost city, in the middle of London.
It's too bad that Vox doesn’t let us embed things like Google maps, but here is the links, and if you visit Flickr (now that I know the location) I've Geotagged the photos.
Google map link
London Cemetery Series
I took these photos years ago when I was living in
Islington.
I didn't remember the address when I uploaded these to
Flickr, so I found the cemetery by locating where I used to live in Islington,
then scrolling the map along the route I used to take to get to the cemetery (I used Google maps cause Yahoo's maps don't zoom down far enough.)
So cool all the red
buses chocking up the streets.
This cemetery is in Stoke Newington, and looking at the
names of the roads around the cemetery, I reckon this must have had a important
building nearby.
The grounds were amazingly overgrown, and it looked like
some recent hacking to clear out path had occurred.
It was like discovering a lost city, in the middle of .
It's too bad that Vox doesn’t let us embed things like
Google maps, but here is the links, and if you visit Flickr (now that I know
the location) I've Geotagged the photos.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
It's been a hot and busy evening.
We've been adding Affiliates all evening.
Wish you all well in the new week and let's see if we can track down some more cities.
Welcome to the group.
Hiya,
I’ve noticed that there are Sydney and Melbourne groups
started, and I’ve placed links to these groups in the profile burb.
I’ve been trying to think of Tags for the group that
communicate Australian themes.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Have a good one.
This ‘Wifi verse Cell’ stoush is getting interesting.
Google have been making moves to get access to our eyeballs
24/7 by building a free Wifi network in L.A.
http://gigaom.com/2005/09/30/google-confirms-san-francisco-wifi-plans/
There are now appearing mock-ups of a possible Google
phone...
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/18/the-google-switch-an-iphone-killer/
Seems like now is the time to start thinking about buying
shares in companies that own Wimax bandwidth.
Nokia are also making moves in this direction. Long have they complained about being screwed by the cell
phone networks.
Nokia are also building Wifi capabilities into their phones,
along with the Cell access.
There is talk that Nokia phones will be able to
automatically swap between cell and Voip.
Less need to depend on cell networks to sell product.
Nokia also have a wireless tablet which looks just the
ticket for a city wide Wifi network…
http://mobilecrunch.com/2007/01/18/nokia-n800-a-real-world-review-after-one-months-use/
The pleasure and the pain
I've seen some videos demo-ing Nokia's vision of the future.
What's weird, is that there is little in these videos that Nokia
couldn't implement right now,
and Apple would have go allot less press in January.
What piss's me about Nokia is that they let marketing get
hold of devices.
Why have I had the one phone for three years?
Cause Nokia announce a phone I really want, and then when
it's released, there are obvious flaws engineered into the phone.
Canon has done the same thing with the G7 camera they
recently released.
I'll be interested to see what delicate flaws the N95 has.
P.S. I think it's interesting that the one comment that I
keep picking up from the N95 videos floating around YouTube is 'gee it's quick'
when the screen updates.
Gee, possibly a decent processor would fix that?
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Episode 2
Hummm,
Second episode of Bleach has been viewed.
I guess there was a bit of consolidation, cause not allot happened.
Back in a Japanese high school, and the Death God is now living in his bedroom
closet.
I love the weirdness of Anime ;-)
Panarama
I've just started playing around with a piece of free panorama
software.
These are some shots I did with a Pentax W10 and stitched up
with Autostitch...
What are people’s recommendations for commercial products?
What’s with the group title?
Just a short piece for international bright young things.
‘Great Southern Land’ is the title of a song by an Australian group called
Icehouse.
Great Southern Land Lyrics
Standing at the limit of an endless oceanstranded like a runaway, lost at sea
city on a rainy day down in the harbour
watching as the grey clouds shadow the bay
looking everywhere 'cause I had to find you
this is not the way that i remember it here
anyone will tell you its a prisoner island
hidden in the summer for a million years
Great Southern Land, burned you black
so you look into the land and it will tell you a story
story 'bout a journey ended long ago
if you listen to the motion of the wind in the mountains
maybe you can hear them talking like I do
". . they're gonna betray, they're gonna forget you
are you gonna let them take you over this way . ."
Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land
you walk alone like a primitive man
and they make it work with sticks and bones
see their hungry eyes, its a hungry home
I hear the sound of the stranger's voices
I see their hungry eyes, their hungry eyes
Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land
they burned you black, black against the ground
Great Southern Land, in the sleeping sun
you walk alone with the ghost of time
they burned you black, black against the ground
and they make it work with rocks and sand
I hear the sound of the stanger's voices
I see their hungry eyes, their hungry eyes
Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land
you walk alone, like a primitive man
you walk alone with the ghost of time
and they burned you black
yeah, they burned you black
Great Southern Land
I quite like songs that are locked to a place :-)
Thursday, January 18, 2007
I've just started watching Bleach.
First episode down.
What the heck was that with the punch-up
with the dad!
funniest moment, when the guy, stabs
himself in the heart, becomes a death god, and the girl death god exclaims,
I've never seen such a big sword.
Funny!
Nice art.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Sometimes I can’t work out whether we are incredibly brilliant, or insanely crazy.
Two stories from today’s Sydney Morning Herald.
On the horizon, solar-powered tankers to slake Sydney's thirst
January 17, 2007
Richard Macey reports on a plan to build ships using wind and solar energy to transport water from Tasmanian dams to parched mainland cities.
THE dream of a transcontinental pipeline carrying water from Australia's wet north to the drought-stricken southern cities appears all but dead.
Rising from its ashes is a proposal to ship water from Tasmania to Sydney.
Five years ago Solar Sailor won an Australian Design Award for its electric catamaran, often seen plying Sydney Harbour. With rigid sails covered in solar cells, the boat catches the wind when it blows, or generates power from the sun when it shines. If the conditions are right, it can use both.
Now the company, chaired by the former prime minister Bob Hawke, proposes initially using conventional supertankers to ferry Tasmanian water to mainland ports.
Later it would use even bigger hybrid electric supertankers, powered by solar and wind energy.
Using ships to quench the thirst of Australian cities has been considered by a West Australian panel which studied ways to supply Perth with water from the Fitzroy and Ord rivers.
Led by Reg Appleyard, a professor at the University of Western Australia, the panel found a 1900-kilometre pipe supplying Perth with 200 billion litres a year would cost $12 billion to build, while a 3700-kilometre canal would cost $14.5 billion.
The energy needed to pump the water would generate at least 500,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.
A third option, using ships, would cost $6.2 billion, but would produce 2 million tonnes of greenhouses gases.
The study found taking water from northern Australia would increase water costs at least fivefold.
"There is plenty of water; that's not an issue," Appleyard said. "It's getting it to its destination."
Piping water to Sydney would be no less costly and environmentally damaging, and unlikely to compete with desalination, he said.
But Solar Sailor's chief executive, Robert Dane, said there was a cheaper and greener solution.
North-west Tasmania had abundant water, he said, in hydro-electric dams just 15 kilometres from the coast and only a short sea trip from mainland cities: "The water is used once for hydro electricity. It is not used for irrigation or feeding a town."
Within 18 months a 50 billion-litre-a-year supply could be operating, using two conventional supertankers each ferrying 330 million litres to Sydney, the Central Coast, Melbourne or Queensland "just like delivering oil".
Within five years specially built electric tankers, each carrying 500 million litres, could be plying the routes.
The ships would be powered by rigid solar sails, coal-fired electric motors, or both.
The company proposes exporting up to 200 billion litres of Tasmanian water a year for 20 years, enough to supply almost a third of Sydney's needs.
The ships would moor on the horizon off Sydney and the water would be pumped through undersea pipes to Kurnell, then into Sydney's water supply.
It would cost about $1 a kilolitre, including a 30 cent-a-kilolitre royalty to Tasmania for water otherwise "going to waste".
If rain filled Warragamba Dam, the ships could sail to other markets.
Shaun Rigby, a spokesman for Tasmania's Water Minister, David Llewellyn, said no decision had been made: "We will listen to what they have to say, but we want more information."
NSW's Water Utilities Minister, David Campbell, said: "The Iemma Government does not see a need to ship water from Tasmania, because our water supply is secure."
However, "if private companies believe this is cost-effective and viable our [policy of granting third parties access to the water system] may open the way for this type of venture".
Nuclear waste containers will not work, say scientists
Wendy Frew Environment Reporter
January 17, 2007
CERAMIC containers developed to "immobilise" highly radioactive waste may not prove durable enough to prevent the toxic material leaching into the environment, research published in Nature has found.
Certain kinds of nuclear waste stay highly toxic for tens of thousands of years, and scientists have sought ways of stabilising or capturing the radioactive elements long enough to allow the waste to degrade naturally.
Researchers at Cambridge University directly measured the radiation damage from nuclear waste to the ceramic containers and found they degraded faster than had been expected. The research team, led by Dr Ian Farnan, found radioactive waste could turn zirconium silicate, which the nuclear industry had hoped could safely store radioactive waste, into a less reliable material after 1400 years instead of the desired 250,000 years.
Some governments, including Australia's, have touted nuclear energy as a partial solution to climate change, but environmentalists and some scientists have argued the radioactive waste generated by nuclear power plants creates a new set of environmental problems.
An Australian scientist said the significance of the British research was limited because it looked at only one kind of material. The senior principal research scientist at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Greg Lumpkin, said the organisation had moved beyond zircon by developing a titanium-based material called Synroc.
"We left zircon behind years ago, but it has persisted as a model used by the industry," Dr Lumpkin said.
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation had yet to commercialise Synroc but was pursuing partnerships with overseas organisations to have the technology adopted, he said.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Things that I'm wondering about this device...
- Will it tag the photos with GPS info?
- Can this info be read by sites such as
Flickr for instant Geotagging? - Can it GPS tag the video?
- How much better then Mjpg, is the Mpeg4
format that they have decided to use? - Will it be able to take a series of photos
at predefined intervals? - Does it make coffee?
Current topics that I'm preoccupied with...
- Desalinisation plants
- Nuclear power plants
- Pot Plants
What are you currently pondering?
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Advertising and Web Video
I read an article on user resistance to video advertising being attached to the beginnings and or ends of their uploaded clips.
From the Splashcast blog…
Survey Says: Ads in Videos Are Annoying
by admin
An interesting new survey of web users by Burst Media this month found that most people do not like advertisements placed in online video, few people pay particularly close attention to them and a significant portion of viewers leave a site all together when they see ads placed in videos. These aren’t surprising conclusions to come to. (via)
From the write up of the survey:
Among respondents, one out of two (52.7%) say they typically continue watching video content once they encounter an advertising unit; 40.4% say they typically stop watching.
Interestingly, one-quarter (27.9%) of respondents who stop watching video content once they encounter an advertisement also say they immediately leave the website…three quarters (77.5%) of respondents say advertisements in online video are intrusive..
What does this mean for video sharing companies and video content creators? It’s something that needs to be discussed widely.
It’s hard to say whether there will be an ongoing consumer backlash, almost all new media face struggles to become economically viable while early consumers yearn for content free of advertising. I don’t particularly like pre-roll ads myself, though I try to click on all the post-roll ads I see in videos I like just to support all the people involved.
Google AdSense is far and away the most profitable form of online advertising that’s emerged of late but that’s in large part because many people don’t recognize the text link ads as ads at all! Other media have found that the initial backlash fades when consumers begin to empathize with content creators and delivery services. At least that’s been the case where advertising has been kept low-key.
For now at least, advertisers are willing to pay far more for ads that run before videos than for those running after. If the practice of leaving a site all together upon seeing a video ad becomes common, though, pre-roll ads may not be the most valuable in the long term.
Post-roll ads are of questionable impact, though. Just yesterday, for example, Jay Dedman and Ryanne Hodson of FreeVlog and RyanIsHungry cited the unproved viability for all but the biggest stars of Revver’s post-roll ads with revenue sharing when they explained their decision to work with Podtech.
As we move towards launch here at SplashCast, we’re feeling a real need to explore revenue streams other than pre or post-roll video ads. Other than white-labeling software (a great approach), there are not a lot of alternatives that have been brought to market yet. We’ve got some interesting ideas we’re working on.
I think the questions brought up by this Burst Media survey are of general interest to anyone who uses the web. If pre-roll ads drive away viewers and post-roll ads are not worth very much - what models are likely to emerge with strength in the coming months?
From infrastructure providers to content creators, people need and deserve to be able to afford the time and energy it takes to make the thriving ecosystem of online media continue growing.
I’ve been thinking about a solution that would allow advertising to be less obtrusive when attached to uploaded clips.
I’ve noticed that companies such as YouTube like to watermark their videos.
As an example…
I did a short clip of a ‘Walk Against Warming’ protest march a while back.
The clip has a short intro title sequence.
Potentially, I could have uploaded this video to a site such as Splashcast, and be presented with a series of clients compiled by the people running the site.
I scroll down and find a sponsor that I feel fits my clip, say Green Peace.
I select this sponsor and when my video is posted on the site, a watermark with the Green Peace logo and a corporate message is overlayed across the bottom of the clip (or some user selected zone.)
The watermark appears for a standard minimum time period before fading out. If I don’t want to have the watermark on the content, I make sure the titles I’ve built run for this minimum time.
The video producer may elect to keep the watermark up for a longer period of time, and the sponsor pays extra for this extended time under the viewer’s eyeballs.
If the watermark is clicked on, the video producer also receives a ‘click’ fee.
Content producers may feel comfortable with a series of sponsor messages appearing during the running of their clips?
Eg: The Mentos in the Coke bottle guys might well choose to have a Coke logo floating for half the clip, after which a Mentos watermark appears.
This system may be self policing in that most content producers would try to find a sponsor match, most likely to gain them ‘click’ fee’s.
You may find that content producers end up highlighting the watermark to improve the ‘click’ rate
(there would also be parody potential :-)
Possibly a site generated sponsor roll at the end of the clip would also be an option for those who would accept a smaller fee for having the end of their clip tagged?
Some people may go for all the options!
Sponsor controls
There may be problems with sponsors not wishing to be associated with a video.
The sponsor can ‘pull’ the watermark at any time.
When a video is initially uploaded to the distribution site, there should be a one day ‘cooling off’ period where the video is withheld from the public.
The sponsor has the opportunity to refuse to be associated with that clip.
If the content provider chooses not to have a sponsors watermark, the clip would appear immediately.
Content providers could have a sliding scale of ‘trust worthiness’ that can be used to speed up the process.
New providers might have to wait a week for approval.
The content provider should be allowed to select three sponsors in case their first preference pulls their approval.
Customisation
The thing with Googles Ad Sence is that they give the content producer a large degree of customisation.
A video site could do the same thing with the watermarks and all options would modulate the payout to the content provider.
The content producer could select from three levels of transparency. Solid pays the best, highly ghosted pays the least.
Control over how long does the watermarks appear after the default time limit has passed?
Choose whether the watermarks appear at the beginning, during, or in a sponsor roll at the end of the clip?
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Entry for January 10, 2007: I’ve been back at work since Monday.
Spent the weekend cleaning. Read about the Japanese nationwide spring-clean on the web...
One of the Japanese traditions I most anticipate is The Great Cleaning that proceeds New Year's Day -- otherwise known as o-sooji. (The o is honorific denoting greatness, sooji means cleaning.)
Traditionally, New Year's in Japan was a time to wipe the slate clean of the cobwebs: debts, grudges, unfinished business as well as the thin filaments hanging from the ceiling and dust bunnies behind refrigerators. Much has gone the way of the samurai dressed in warfare armour but the spirit of the tradition remains intact.
So on the days leading up to New Year's, workers, business owners and homemakers commit their time, spray bottles and buckets, cleansers and rags, dusters and mops, and hands and knees to cleaning their properties. Homes are scrubbed top to bottom -- windows too! Employers "knock off early" so employees can clean their desks. Shopkeepers from the operators of the small noodle shops and izakaya (Japanese pubs) to the large department stores will emerge from behind closed doors and be seen sweeping steps, sidewalks and stoops. Mostly men but many women too will be scrubbing their automobiles spotless and placing on the hood small ornamental pieces of greenery representing fresh tidings.
Only today have I cleared the pile of ironing I had sitting on the bed. I bought clothes for the new year in the sales.
I finished off the yearly ‘family type stuff’ with a drive up to dads farm for a couple of days of country fresh air last week.
It was nice to see big fluffy cottonwool clouds in the sky as I drove up the highway.
Currently blue skies are drought skies over here.
I think that the happiest I’ve been in a long while, was driving up to dads and back. Not the arriving there, but the drive itself.
Threading through the country side, music blasting out of the radio, stopping off in tiny rural towns for drinks and snacks.
I helped dad round up some calves, then we snagged their ears with electronic tags.
I’ve read about this sort of measure in the U.S. where animals are tracked by computer to quickly shut down disease outbreaks like BSE or foot and mouth.
After seeing the chaotic business of animal movement in the U.K. I reckon this is probably a good thing.
The calves in the 'cattle crush' (metal fence arrangement designed to allow a single person to handle half a ton of unhappy muscle and bone) were shitting all over the place, and I’m told that the dogs like to lick it up, especially when the wind has formed a bit of a crust on top (hay I felt sick after hearing the story, I’m just passing on the joy!)
There were also the swarms of flies, which didn't seem to bug dad very much. I guess that's what you get when you lump a group of animals together in one spot.
A while back, dung beetles were introduced to the area in an attempt to reduce the 'turdage' (that's an official measurement. much like tonnage.)
While the calves were penned up, we cut marking wedges out of their ears, and I’m told that the weirdly intelligent Indian Minor birds like to peck away at the discarded triangles of flesh. These sly little buggers were perched strategically (trust me when I say that this word is very apt for Indian Minors) around the area while they waited for the humans to clear out.
Dad finished the job, with trickles of blood running down one hand.
As usual when visiting parents (even at my age) I arrived home totting a bundle of food.
A bag of cherries, Chocolate brownies and a slice of pizza for my lunch.
Aims for the New Year…
I’m thinking that it would be nice to finally fix up the kitchen, so I’ve got that to look forward to.
Post more videos.
Get a flat mate, or turn my residence into an illegal b&b.
I’ve been back at work since Monday.
Spent the weekend cleaning. I was reading about the Japanese nationwide spring-clean on waterbaby blog.
Only today have I cleared the pile of ironing I had sitting on the bed.
I finished off the yearly ‘family type stuff’ with a drive up to dads farm for a couple of days of country fresh air last week.
It was nice to see big fluffy cottonwool clouds in the sky as I drove up the highway.
Currently blue skies are drought skies over here.
I think that the happiest I’ve been in a long while, was driving up to dads and back. Not the arriving there, but the drive itself.
Threading through the country side, music blasting out of the radio, stopping off in tiny rural towns for drinks and snacks.
I helped dad round up some calves, then we snagged their ears with electronic tags.
I’ve read about this sort of measure in the U.S. where animals are tracked by computer to quickly shut down disease outbreaks like BSE or foot and mouth.
After seeing the chaotic business of animal movement in the U.K. I reckon this is probably a good thing.
As usual when visiting parents I arrived home totting a bundle of food.
A bag of cherries, Chocolate brownies and a slice of pizza for my lunch.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Entry for January 07, 2007: New years message
Hiya,
It’s a new year and I’m back to blogging.
First up, Christmas.
I can be a 'grumpy old man' when this time of year rolls around.
I don't have a TV so I get to miss a big chunk of the commercialisation type thing, and this has helped reduce the degree of season surliness.
Some of the best Christmas’s I've had, was when I was travelling and living in hostels.
Christmas would be a coming together of all the strangers that were living in the hostel at that moment.
Not having friends and family around forced everyone together and it was simple and nice.
No baggage or expectation, Just food and fellowship.
This year I was a dirty whiner, and told everyone that I was sick of spending the Christmas/New year period isolated in my flat next to the beach in sunny shiny Sydney (yeah I know, I said I was a dirty whiner)
So I had heaps of invitations suddenly appearing (I will take anything from a ‘pity fuck’ down to a ‘pity dinner party’ or ‘pity meet up for a cup of coffee.’)
My immediate relatives and I got together the day before Christmas. Four generations sitting around a long table, the top of which was uneven as it was jerry rigged from a series of small table’s hidden beneath a couple of table cloths.
I think I made the comment ‘when did we become the Walton’s?’
All the girls were trying to out ‘domestic goddess’ each other. All the boys were trying to out talk each other.
At one point I visited the toilet which was down the other end of the house, and realising the I could still hear everyone perfectly, muttered to myself ‘gee we make a lot of noise when we all get together!’
The thing with ‘hanging out’ with family is that I don’t get a choice in who these people are. So I get to hang out with all sorts, including people with right wing political views. These people have started making comments like ‘what a disaster Bush has been,’ and I’m left weirded out that it’s taken them almost seven years to work this out.
Christmas day dawned grey, and it was real quiet out on the streets (I set fire to a couple of cars and no one noticed.)
A ‘quiet one,’ is where the family has disappeared off to celebrations with their partners families.
I detoxed by drinking a few refreshing G&T’s. Ate oven fries, crumbed fish, and drained a bottle of red for Christmas dinner.
Afternoon saw some golden rays bathing the city.
Boxing Day
Saw me arriving for dinner with my mates. A lovely couple who have a deaf little dog, a brilliant liquor cabinet, and who have finally found a sunny corner for their two ‘pot plants.’
Then there was a BBQ with an ‘inner circle’ group from work, so my commitment to building contacts within the industry is proceeding nicely.
There was the usual bitching about our respective employers.
Most of the people had bought their kids along, so in the future I will need to find a child that I can steal for a night.
Chilled out till New Years Eve, where I joined a billon other bodies in the city.
In Sydney a lot of people gather down at the harbour where we watch fireworks mounted to the high curving iron span of the harbour bridge, from barges floating down in the harbour, and from a few of the tall buildings in the city.
The fireworks started and the concussive shock of the ignitions, showers of sparks reflected in walls of windows, the spotlights mounted on the bridge, sweeping the swirling gunpowder smoke haze, was giving me World War Two flash backs, and I wasn’t born then!
One of the rocket platforms floated in the harbour twenty meters away from where I was standing.
My clothing shivered, and the wharf that I was standing on shook with each air burst over head.
Supposedly three tons of crackers where burnt that night.
I was standing close to a group of girls who were screaming in some sort of prepubescent multi orgasmic release.
I kept looking around to see if Robbie Williams or Johnny Depp had suddenly materialised somewhere nearby.
I left around two, and noticed on the way back home that lot’s of women were wearing really impractical footwear. Lots of minuscule-flappy-sandaled-heeled numbers. I reckon some would be cleaning out between their toes when they got home, what with all the debris lying around like mashed cans spilling puddles of beer, cigarette butts, broken glass bottles, vomit, possibly blood, and sticky discarded chips smothered in tomato sauce.
The only people more busy then the buses and street sweepers at two that morning, were the ambulance crews.
It’s a new year and I’m back to blogging.
First up, Christmas.
I can be a 'grumpy old man' when this time of year rolls around.
I don't have a TV so I get to miss a big chunk of the commercialisation type thing, and this has helped reduce the degree of season surliness.
Some of the best Christmas’s I've had, was when I was travelling and living in hostels.
Christmas would be a coming together of all the strangers that were living in the hostel at that moment.
Not having friends and family around forced everyone together and it was simple and nice.
No baggage or expectation, Just food and fellowship.
This year I was a dirty whiner, and told everyone that I was sick of spending the Christmas/New year period isolated in my flat next to the beach in sunny shiny Sydney (yeah I know, I said I was a dirty whiner)
So I had heaps of invitations suddenly appearing (I will take anything from a ‘pity fuck’ down to a ‘pity dinner party’ or ‘pity meet up for a cup of coffee.’)
My immediate relatives and I got together the day before Christmas. Four generations sitting around a long table, the top of which was uneven as it was jerry rigged from a series of small table’s hidden beneath a couple of table cloths.
I think I made the comment ‘when did we become the Walton’s?’
All the girls were trying to out ‘domestic goddess’ each other. All the boys were trying to out talk each other.
At one point I visited the toilet which was down the other end of the house, and realising the I could still hear everyone perfectly, muttered to myself ‘gee we make a lot of noise when we all get together!’
The thing with ‘hanging out’ with family is that I don’t get a choice in who these people are. So I get to hang out with all sorts, including people with right wing political views. These people have started making comments like ‘what a disaster Bush has been,’ and I’m left weirded out that it’s taken them almost seven years to work this out.
Christmas day dawned grey, and it was real quiet out on the streets (I set fire to a couple of cars and no one noticed.)
A ‘quiet one,’ is where the family has disappeared off to celebrations with their partners families.
I detoxed by drinking a few refreshing G&T’s. Ate oven fries, crumbed fish, and drained a bottle of red for Christmas dinner.
Afternoon saw some golden rays bathing the city.
Boxing Day
Saw me arriving for dinner with my mates. A lovely couple who have a deaf little dog, a brilliant liquor cabinet, and who have finally found a sunny corner for their two ‘pot plants.’
Then there was a BBQ with an ‘inner circle’ group from work, so my commitment to building contacts within the industry is proceeding nicely.
There was the usual bitching about our respective employers.
Most of the people had bought their kids along, so in the future I will need to find a child that I can steal for a night.
Chilled out till New Years Eve, where I joined a billon other bodies in the city.
In Sydney a lot of people gather down at the harbour where we watch fireworks mounted to the high curving iron span of the harbour bridge, from barges floating down in the harbour, and from a few of the tall buildings in the city.
The fireworks started and the concussive shock of the ignitions, showers of sparks reflected in walls of windows, the spotlights mounted on the bridge, sweeping the swirling gunpowder smoke haze, was giving me World War Two flash backs, and I wasn’t born then!
One of the rocket platforms floated in the harbour twenty meters away from where I was standing.
My clothing shivered, and the wharf that I was standing on shook with each air burst over head.
Supposedly three tons of crackers where burnt that night.
I was standing close to a group of girls who were screaming in some sort of prepubescent multi orgasmic release.
I kept looking around to see if Robbie Williams or Johnny Depp had suddenly materialised somewhere nearby.
I left around two, and noticed on the way back home that lot’s of women were wearing really impractical footwear. Lots of minuscule-flappy-sandaled-heeled numbers. I reckon some would be cleaning out between their toes when they got home, what with all the debris lying around like mashed cans spilling puddles of beer, cigarette butts, broken glass bottles, vomit, possibly blood, and sticky discarded chips smothered in tomato sauce.
The only people more busy then the buses and street sweepers at two that morning, were the ambulance crews.
New years message
Hiya,
It’s a new year and I’m back to blogging.
I was hoping to get a few things finished off last year like the Spanish dolphins peice, but December has been pretty busy, so I’ll finish these items off in the next couple of weeks.
First up, Christmas.
I can be a 'grumpy old man' when this time of year rolls around.
I don't have a TV so I get to miss a big chunk of the commercialisation type thing, and this has helped reduce the degree of season surliness.
Some of the best Christmas’s I've had, was when I was travelling and living in hostels.
Christmas would be a coming together of all the strangers that were living in the hostel at that moment.
Not having friends and family around forced everyone together and it was simple and nice.
No baggage or expectation, Just food and fellowship.
This year I was a dirty whiner, and told everyone that I was sick of spending the Christmas/New year period isolated in my flat next to the beach in sunny shiny Sydney (yeah I know, I said I was a dirty whiner)
So I had heaps of invitations suddenly appearing (I will take anything from a ‘pity fuck’ down to a ‘pity dinner party’ or ‘pity meet up for a cup of coffee.’)
My immediate relatives and I got together the day before Christmas. Four generations sitting around a long table, the top of which was uneven as it was jerry rigged from a series of small table’s hidden beneath a couple of table cloths.
I think I made the comment ‘when did we become the Walton’s?’
All the girls were trying to out ‘domestic goddess’ each other. All the boys were trying to out talk each other.
At one point I visited the toilet which was down the other end of the house, and realising the I could still hear everyone perfectly, muttered to myself ‘gee we make a lot of noise when we all get together!’
The thing with ‘hanging out’ with family is that I don’t get a choice in who these people are. So I get to hang out with all sorts, including people with right wing political views. These people have started making comments like ‘what a disaster Bush has been,’ and I’m left weirded out that it’s taken them almost seven years to work this out.
Christmas day dawned grey, and it was real quiet out on the streets (I set fire to a couple of cars and no one noticed.)
A ‘quiet one,’ is where the family has disappeared off to celebrations with their partners families.
I detoxed by drinking a few refreshing G&T’s. Ate oven fries, crumbed fish, and drained a bottle of red for Christmas dinner.
Afternoon saw some golden rays bathing the city.
Boxing Day saw me arriving for dinner with my mates. A lovely couple who have a deaf little dog, a brilliant liquor cabinet, and who have finally found a sunny corner for their two ‘pot plants.’
Then there was a BBQ with an ‘inner circle’ group from work, so my commitment to building contacts within the industry is proceeding nicely.
There was the usual bitching about our respective employers.
Most of the people had bought their kids along, so in the future I will need to find a child that I can steal for a night.
Chilled out till New Years Eve, where I joined a billon other bodies in the city.
In Sydney a lot of people gather down at the harbour where we watch fireworks mounted to the high curving iron span of the harbour bridge, from barges floating down in the harbour, and from a few of the tall buildings in the city.
The fireworks started and the concussive shock of the ignitions, showers of sparks reflected in walls of windows, the spotlights mounted on the bridge, sweeping the swirling gunpowder smoke haze, was giving me World War Two flash backs, and I wasn’t born then!
One of the rocket platforms floated in the harbour twenty meters away from where I was standing.
My clothing shivered, and the wharf that I was standing on shook with each air burst over head.
Supposedly three tons of crackers where burnt that night.
I was standing close to a group of girls who were screaming in some sort of prepubescent multi orgasmic release.
I kept looking around to see if Robbie Williams or Johnny Depp had suddenly materialised somewhere nearby.
I left around two, and noticed on the way back home that lot’s of women were wearing really impractical footwear. Lots of minuscule-flappy-sandaled-heeled numbers. I reckon some would be cleaning out between their toes when they got home, what with all the debris lying around like mashed cans spilling puddles of beer, cigarette butts, broken glass bottles, vomit, possibly blood, and sticky discarded chips smothered in tomato sauce.
The only people more busy then the buses and street sweepers at two that morning, were the ambulance crews.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Video distribution sites.
There are an amazing number of online video sites these days.
Here’s my current list…
http://www.nowpublic.com/
(Current affairs orientated)
http://www.myspace.com/
(Murdock’s evil empire)
http://video.google.com/
(best quality playback that I’ve found so far)
http://www.youtube.com/
(Owned by Google, and recently overtaken in ‘hits’ by MySpace.)
http://one.revver.com
(Supposedly these guys pay per view)
http://www.brightcove.com/
(potentially huge Uber site)
http://www.ning.com
(These people are a bit of a pain to use, but the Geotagging is cool)
http://portal.vpod.tv
(Euro chic)
http://www.veoh.com/
(Some interesting features like auto cross posting and have a P2P content distribution.
I’ve posted the links in the bar on the right.
I wonder who will be still around in a couple of year’s time?
This list will grow before it shrinks.
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