[IWE] Saturday Miscellany

[Bill Patient]

And OJ is finally guilty=20

-----Original Message-----
From: iwe-admin@warhead.org.uk [mailto:iwe-admin@warhead.org.uk] On =
Behalf
Of Peter Whysall
Sent: Saturday, October 04, 2008 4:23 AM
To: iwe@warhead.org.uk
Subject: [IWE] Saturday Miscellany

VP debate: Biden won by a nose. Palin's still thick as week-old =
porridge.
The folksy, twee routine is unlikely to cut much ice with Messrs Putin,
Sarkozy, Cameron, Ahmadinejad et al, should the unthinkably stupid =
happen,
and America fucks it all up by electing this half-wit.

UK politics: Brown's so utterly desperate, he's recruited one of the =
only
credible politicians left in the Labour Party - Peter Mandelson.=20
The problem here, of course, is that Brown hates Mandelson with a =
passion;
Mandelson backed Blair over Brown when John Smith died in the 90s. This =
is
Labour. Old grudges die hard. Oh, and Mandelson's had to resign twice in =
the
past because of corruption allegations. Niiiiice.

Music: New albums in my library include:

Ashtech, "Walking Target" - chilled-out ambient dub reggae. Probably not =
a
lot of help in the gym.

Peaking Goddess Collective, "Organika" - This is one for you, Mr =
Anderson.
It's along the same lines as some of Shpongle's less sample-y, more
instrumental stuff. Also probably not a lot of help in the gym.

Monolake, "Hong Kong (remastered)" - A lovely album, end-to-end.=20
Starting off with the single best rainfall sample I've ever heard, =
through
some laid-back, mellow soundscapes with just enough percussion to =
maintain
texture and interest.

Aes Dana, "Aftermath" - Long, luscious swathes of electronic =
diaphanousness.
There are 5 tracks on the album. The album is 50 minutes long. These =
tracks
have room to breathe.

C.O.N. Sequencer, "Strange Planet" - Absolutely 100% Not Ambient.=20
Crunching guitars and pounding basslines over some pretty bouncy trance =
make
for an album that /is/ good for the gym.

The Orb, "Okie Dokie It's The Orb On Kompakt" - Well, the thing is, I =
don't
think that The Orb ever really topped "The Orb's Adventures Beyond The
Ultraworld" and "U.F. Orb", recorded back in the 90s. This album would =
be
fooking brilliant if it was anyone else. But it's not.=20
It's The Orb, so it's only average.

Software:

There's not much wrong with Apple Mail, but I don't really like its =
message
threading.

So I'm playing with a client called GyazMail, which seems to have a =
decent
feature set, a nice interface (although use a bloody Cocoa font picker, =
not
The Giant Font List From Hell, please), is pretty quick, and threads
messages the old-fashioned way. It's not free, but at =A39 it's not =
exactly
pricey. I'll see what I think when the 40-day trial expires.

Delicious Library 2 continues to delight and amuse me.

I am utterly bastard stuck on level 61 of Droid Assault. A giant =
assassin
droid with a hyarge laser keeps killing me.

Books:

America Unchained by Dave Gorman is a fascinating and entertaining =
account
of Dave Gorman's attempt to drive coast-to-coast across America without
giving any money to The Man. Recommended.

Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie is a marvellous and rather =
emotional
look at The North. Of England, that is. Americans reading it will be =
like
"WTF?" (Box probably excepted), but I thought it was brilliant.

V for Vendetta. I've seen the film, and thought it marvellous, but =
always
let my snobbery about "graphic novels" preclude me from reading it. =
Mistake.
Big mistake. There's nothing childish or simple about this book, which =
is
considerably darker and more detailed than the film.=20
Watchmen is now on my Amazon wishlist.

Phone: I'm a couple of months into my iPhone 3G. Still loving it. For
real-world, day-to-day use, it's the best phone I've owned yet. The =
software
improves with every update (unlike my Sony Ericsson, which has, since =
the
last software update, taken to deciding, from time to time, that the SIM =
in
it is unregistered. At random, unhelpful times.)=20

It's feature poor (I dunno about this in real life, but if you make a =
big
tick list versus a Nokia S60 or a WM6 phone, it is), but then I don't =
know
anyone with a Windows phone that (a) makes women go "ooh, let me look at
your phone" *and* (b) has a dynamometer in it so that your blokey mates =
can
record their lateral G-forces as they wander round the pub. Plus, the =
email
client is tops. It remains to be seen if time and ubiquity will render =
the
iPhone as naff as a Razr, but hey ho.

Weather: well, Autumn has arrived with a bump. It's cold, wet and =
miserable
here. Last Saturday, we were walking the dogs on the beach and wishing =
we
hadn't brought our coats. This Saturday... well. Welcome to the UK. The
weather does this.

Enjoy your weekends.


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