If I’m going to be stuck without a holiday this year then I’m jolly well going to pretend to be a tourist when I’m off work but at home. To this end I was racking my brain for things to do this week that didn’t involve simply eating or long distance driving and if possible hadn’t already been done at least once in the last 12 months. So with my new railcard in hand, me and Si took the train to Portsmouth.
One reason I’ll be happy when the holiday season is over and everyone (except perhaps me) is back at work/school is that I’ll be able to get a seat on a train. For the second time in a week, I got on a train to find a pile of suitcases left in the doorway and not a spare seat in sight. Luckily it turned out half the train was going shopping in Poole, so the majority of the 2 hour journey was spent giving my feet a rest.
The purpose of the visit was to go up the Spinnaker Tower, the millennium project that didn’t even get started until after the millennium and which opened to the general public last October, just before bits (like the outside lift) started to break. The tower is the centre piece of the city’s Gunwarf Keys area, complete with it’s shops and continually expanding residential zone. At 170m it’s the tallest building in at least Portsmouth, but still clocks in at 65m less than Canary Warf and is only just over half as tall as Auckland’s Skytower. That and the fact that anything over 110m is simply a giant spike aside, it’s still an impressive view (yes it is the picture above).
Still it’s not enough to fill a day, nor half a day (given the fact that I can’t use the railcard until 10am and it’s a 2 hour journey). So the rest of the day was enjoyed over a nice coffee and a look around the shops, before heading back for the train.
So for at least some of a day I managed to be a tourist, even if I didn’t get the chance to wear strange clothes, let my kids run around annoying other people or complain about the queues or prices, but you don’t need to tick all the boxes to have fun!
What with a mixture of illness, tiredness, work and other issues, the things I was going to write up here have gone past their best, so I’m writing this for the simple reason that I’ve got tired of looking at the same old post on the front page.
For the vast majority of the week I’ve been working solely on my mac, which is the most I’ve used it (for anything other than as an expensive jukebox). Until last week, when my pc started making alarming noises, I didn’t realise how much quieter the mac is and therefore how much nicer it is to have the pc off, especially when listening to music. I’ve since found out that it’s my pc processor fan which was making the painful noises and so bought a replacement, only to find out that the screws it came with were too big. So having put the old one back in and tightened the screws it seems to have quietened down, which is nice.
The above photo was taken at last nights fireworks at Sandbanks, not by my new camera sadly as Amazon haven’t got an in stock yet, but that’s another thing. I won’t publicly reveal my crazy golf score from last night as the conditions (namely darkness) had an adverse affect on my already poor playing.
Today is also the first day of my summer week off (it sounds like an event but it really isn’t) so hopefully there’ll be some nice new photos, or at least some new posts, by the end of it.
Coming this September, global thermonuclear war for the pc (complete with classic 80’s graphics). From the people that brought you those charming Darwinians.
The Best Pop, Best Rock and Best Urban Act awards have all been dropped from next years Brit Awards. So what have we got left? Best cover? Best New Reality Group? Most Incoherent Interview?
This lunchtime a single red arrow did a little display almost right above where I live (and no I’ve not been drinking!). Sadly, it only used white smoke.
Things have been a bit quiet on here of late. The reason: I’ve just not got the spark. Nothing has stuck in my mind long enough for me to write about it. There’s usually something or other that I want to get done but don’t have the time to do, but at the moment it’s the opposite. I’ve the time, but not the plans. I blame either the summer (or lack thereof) or the fact that I’m using my creativity at work. Either way, here’s a nice apophysis render for you to look at and to try and spark me into something…
I was under the impression that the government got enough out of me as it is, what with the tax and national insurance that I pay out of my wages and the tax I have to pay on everything from my beer in the pub to the petrol I need to keep the car running, let’s not forget the extortionate cost of a passport these days. But it seems that I was wrong, they need more from me, but instead of asking me for money they get it another way.
The story starts while I was having a quick look at the stats for this website. I noticed that the visit of a spider had been recorded (most search engine visits are hidden in the stats) so decided to take a look at the details. It lead me back to 192.com a directory enquiry service that also allows you to search through the electoral roll (you know the one, it’s the thing you have to fill in if you want to vote and the thing that’s a criminal offence not to complete). A few clicks later and I’ve got to the details of everybody in my house. Sure, it doesn’t give you all the details initially (you need to pay for that) but it’s only a couple of searches or some inspired guesswork to complete the picture. The name or address of anyone in the country at your fingertips.
Now I’m not one for being paranoid and I’m firmly of the belief that certain people need to know certain things for various reasons, but I’m against my identity being a commodity, after all, most people would consider themselves a human being, not a text file. Seems the government doesn’t agree with you. The back-story goes that prior to 2002, the electoral roll could be sold to anyone (which was nice) but changes were made in 2002 and as a result of the ‘Representation of the People Act’ (2002), two versions of the roll were created. A full version which is used by credit agencies (fine), for law enforcement (fine) and for various reasons to do with elections (also fine). A second (reduced) version was also created, which is available for anyone to buy. But worry not fellow text files, you can opt-out of this second list by ticking a box on your yearly electoral roll form. What do you mean, “what tick box?”
My main objections to this whole system is as follows: Firstly, I don’t like how easy it is for any old person (like me) to find out this stuff. Secondly, I don’t like that some of the companies who buy this data then sell access to it on to others. I don’t like the idea that someone can buy the data from the government and then sell various portions of it on to someone else who might sell it on again and so on and so forth until it ends up in god knows who’s hands. While I fully expect that the vast majority of people who buy this data use it for legal purposes, there’s always a flip side. Thirdly, I don’t know why anybody bothers. There is not one occasion where I can remember benefiting from the results of these practises. I’ve not signed up for any credit cards, despite being sent an application every week, I’ve not bought anything I’ve not gone into a shop or online store with the explicit desire of buying in the first place. Adverts go in the bin, surveys go in the bin, catalogues go in the bin. If I want something, I’ll come to you, got it? The only result is a lot of wasted time, effort and resources.
What is even more annoying is that as part of the build up to the creation of said two lists, the electoral commission (them who collate the information) recommended to the government (and I quote):
“The view of the Commission is that electoral registers should be compiled exclusively for electoral and other limited statutory purposes and that they should not be made available for sale for commercial purposes.”
and go on to say:
“It is the view of the Commission that the commercial exploitation of information obtained compulsorily for electoral (and other limited) purposes is wrong in principle and likely to be seen by many as a disincentive to register.”
So the electoral commission had the right idea, but the government (chosen by the people for the people lets not forget) chose to ignore them. A decision which had nothing to do with money I don’t imagine, or the marketing industry. So in the best interests of the public, our information continues to be sold and used, and I’ll make a bold guess here, against the knowledge of most of the general public.
So here’s a suggestion (and if the electoral commission got ignored, I’m not going to hold out hope of this being used), if you must make money out of the data of your citizens, let us choose to opt-in rather than opt-out. Let’s make it a conscious decision. Also, I’d like a cut of any money you make out of me, a cheque in the post will be fine, after all you already know my address!
Happy Birthday to the IBM PC. It’s just a shame that the dot matrix printer didn’t make it this far!
For a reason I won’t go into in any depth, but it involves my dance music mixing past, I’ve just been on a little search through my mp3 collection. Thanks to itunes, the days when I would have to trail through folders and playlists to find the track I was after are a thing of the past, but it also means that I don’t find the odd track that I’ve got lying around from an artist that I either then forgot about, disappeared, or I wouldn’t generally like. So having stumbled across a bunch of said tracks, I though I’d just mention a couple which for one reason or another, stand out.
Elevator Suite - Backaround
“lounge-pop maestros” (not my words) Elevator Suite seemed to appear, then disappear between 1999 and 2001. A quick search on the interweb concludes that the slightly chilled soft beats here which wouldn’t feel out of place nowadays were created by Andy Childs, Paul Roberts and Steve Grainger. There apparently was an album “barefoot and shitfaced” which clearly didn’t sell.
Cherry Ghost - Mathematics
This is more recent. I remember hearing this, possibly live, on Mark Riley’s 6 Music show ‘Rocket Science’. (A few minutes later… ) A quick search gives a possible date of January 14th this year, which means I’ve got an exceptionally poor memory (but I knew that already) and I’m really sad for looking it up. Another chilled out tune from a ‘new’ band fronted by Simon Aldred. A recent posting on their myspace page reveals that they’ve signed to Heavenly Recordings (home to Doves, Hal and The Magic Numbers) and have hence been banished into the studio. Hopefully, more is to come.
Battle - Tendency
Another new band. Battle, in fact aren’t from the town of Battle, home to keyboard only indie stars Keane, which means that this sentence is meaningless. Currently, Battle are currently performing the new band rite of standing on whatever stage they can find waving their hands wildly in the air. Tendency is the bands biggest success so far. Expect and album or similar in the not too distant future, probably.
Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather for Ducks
A slightly rambling, chilled out track from their 2003 album ‘Lost Horizons’. I imagine this ended up on my pc as a result of being played on radio 1 (back when I listened to it) or after being on a tv advert. Either that or because with duck noises, it’s the closest track I can find with anything related to penguins.
If the tone changed half way through this post then I appologise, but as I finished it in a hurry 2 days after starting it or I know it would have never been posted. If you’re very lucky people then I might do another of these in the near future.
After an eternity, the football is back. Season 2006-2007 has begun!
The nightlife in Bournemouth to me seems about as varied as the premiership results these days, the place attracts one kind of person (usually stag and hen nights) and plays one kind of music, mainly that rubbish that passes for music these days. So when we heard whispers of something a little different.
The place was called ‘Sixty Million Postcards’ (not ‘three million bicycles’ James, that is closer to a Katie Melua song) and the rumour was that it played that rare thing in Bournemouth, something alternative and a bit indie, but in an atmosphere that didn’t involve black paint on the walls. So last night we gave it a go, and left a little over an hour later. While the venue is nice enough, whether the new owners left it looking trendy from it’s former life (which judging by the single banner for a sign on the outside and the attempt to customise behind the bar which looked less than polished, was probably the case) or whether money had actually been spent on decor remains a mystery. I’m sure it’s a nice place to go for a quiet drink or meal, but it seemed woefully inadequate for a music venue. How they plan to have gigs there is a question thankfully I don’t have to answer. There just isn’t any space in there with all the huge seats dotted around, and nowhere to dance.
Having spent most of the evening listening to classic 90s dance, we were in the mood for something upbeat. Boy were we in for a shock. While the website cited music from The Who to The Editors and We Are Scientists, what we got treated to by the djs (note: word used in loosest term) was anything but, and when we thought things were getting better, with The Futureheads version of Hounds of Love and a bit of Bloc Party, did we get the up-tempo original versions? No, every song seemed to be a remix, played as slowly as possible without the sound being distorted. Oh dear.
So, go because it’s ‘trendy’ and that’s what you value, don’t go if (like me) you value the music. I can’t see us going again because the peeps I know don’t do second chances. People of Bournemouth, something different please?
It was with little pressure that I went to see Cars this week. While not of the opinion that Pixar can’t do anything wrong, they don’t seem to make a habit of doing so. Ever since Monsters Inc, I’ve always considered their films worth a watch.
Even after having battled through the queues outside, we still managed to get to your seats for the trailers, an endless list of cg animated titles knocked off at speed to cash in on the current trend for such things and with little more than toilet humour and parodies of other films to give them content. Even the animated offering from aardman (where Nick Park is a man who can do no wrong) looked less than appealing.
As for Cars… As I’ve seen and heard in other (more serious) reviews, it’s not as crammed full of jokes as some of their past offerings. Yes it’s got predictable characters and a predictable plot, plus the soundtrack is a bit dodgy, but it’s meant to be a kids film, I expected nothing less. But at least the characters are things you can relate to, which is more than you get in a lot of current animated releases.
But where Pixar constantly excel is elsewhere in the film. The graphics are fantastic, a level above what everyone else can manage. It’s the reflections, the dust and the water effects that often go unnoticed that deserve praise. Huge effort has also been put into creating a believable and engrossing world in which to place the characters. The hills are shaped like cars, the fly’s are shaped like cars and each animated character, be it plane, car, truck or tractor behaves in it’s own way, in a way which we’d expect them to behave, it’s worth taking time to look away from the centre of the screen to appreciate the effort that’s gone into this. Sure the ‘in jokes’ are there, lightyear tyres, or the birds on the telegraph wires, but they’re extras, no focus is put on them
While it’s not going to be a classic, it’s good clean fun for all ages, even big kids like myself. Even though it was perhaps 10-20 minutes too long, you won’t be disappointed.
Oh, and the extra scenes during the credits are amongst the funniest in the film, DO NOT LEAVE EARLY.
The logo above has been popping up on signs all around (me) recently. It’s the logo for ‘Car Share Dorset’ a little organisation designed to encourage people to share lifts, reduce congestion, help the old environment etc. Worthy cause, rubbish logo. From even a non-speeding car it looks like a blob, and when viewed up close it’s still a complete blob. Could the combined people of the whole of Dorset produce something better? Even up close some people might not be able to make out the outline of Dorset as the basis for the design! Just a quick look around the web shows thousands of people with talent to produce better than this.
I’m also not really happy with the messages that the logo comes with “Share cars and cut this queue”. While aimed at the queues that occasionally build up during the week due to people going to/from work, they’ve gone up just in time for the summer holidays, when the roads around here turn into giant worms crisscrossing the countryside, with ripples of movement moving up their lengths, when the majority of people on the roads drive their big 4×4s and people carriers and are more interested in pushing your car out of the way than sharing with the next family. The normally quiet road I take home from work is jammed everyday by tourists pouring from the beaches and attractions of Purbeck and taking the only road out towards their hotels/campsites/etc in Poole and Bournemouth. Queues made worse by road works and overgrown vegetation left overgrown purposely to make people slow down. Congratulations, it works, you’ve created chaos. At the weekends it’s even worse. At various times of day, it’s almost not worth leaving the house if where you want to go involves the car filled roads.
Before you ask, most places are too far to cycle (plus it’s far too dangerous with the idiot drivers on the roads), the buses are non existent (and stuck in the queue themselves) and it’s a 20 min walk to the railway station to board a train whose timetable is designed solely to benefit those who live in the larger towns up the line.
Conclusion, it’s about the only reason why it sucks to live right here. If only they’d valued humans above lizards and build that bypass. Still, I can dream…