This & That
This & That
New musical experience
I'm not sure that I expect Radio 4 to deliver me a real slap-in-the-face experience, but it happened today.
As a serious Purcell fan I listened to the current edition of 'Soul Music' and its explanation of why Dido's Lament has such strong emotional appeal.
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As part of the programme, it revealed that apart from the well-known classical renditions (of which Janet Baker's must surely be the best) there were versions by Alison Moyet and Jeff
Buckley.
Now Jeff Buckley's name is known to me ...
It must be the pointy hat ...
Asked why god allows disasters such as the Haiti earthquake, the BBC reports John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, as saying" I have nothing to say that makes sense of this horror - all I know is
that the message of the death and resurrection of Jesus is that he is with us ."
Translation: "I have absolutely nothing useful to say, but if you want one, here's a platitude".
Final score: Real Life = 1, Church of England = 0
And people still ... << MORE >>
Translation: "I have absolutely nothing useful to say, but if you want one, here's a platitude".
Final score: Real Life = 1, Church of England = 0
And people still ... << MORE >>
Mac Automator - why didn't I discover this before?
I watch only a moderate amount of TV, and most of that I watch on my iPod. Until recently I carried out the various steps manually:
- download the program from the BBC via iPlayer Downloader or iDownload
- convert downloaded file (.mp4) to iPod-compatible format (.m4v)
- import converted file into iTunes
It turns out that using Automator is just so damned ...<< MORE >>
It's a WIMPY!
Just imagine: a world with no MacDonalds, no Burger King.
[Pause for thought]
My childhood was enlivened by the occasional visit to Norwich and to the burger palace of the times: the WIMPY!
Fried egg, beef patty, chips and that curly frankfurter. I don't remember what it was called, but the Wimpy meal of my childhood is unforgettable.<< MORE >>
[Pause for thought]
My childhood was enlivened by the occasional visit to Norwich and to the burger palace of the times: the WIMPY!
Fried egg, beef patty, chips and that curly frankfurter. I don't remember what it was called, but the Wimpy meal of my childhood is unforgettable.<< MORE >>
Should it really be this easy?
So you step on to the endless travelator that is international air travel.
You queue up, check in, walk on, sit down and belt up. Food appears [ingest], you avoid watching a film intended offend no-one and you sleep fitfully. More foods appears [ingest], you disembark to face the unsmiling man in immigration and eventually step, blinking, into the light of Africa.
<< MORE >>Fantastic winter weather
On Sunday evening I went for a walk on the clifftop at Jardin d'Olivet. It was bitter in the wind, and the grass was covered in frost which had remained all day in the shade.
Two full weeks of clear, dry, cold winter weather is almost unprecedented in Jersey and this has been the best Christmas and New Year weather I can remember in the 25 years I have lived here.
The sunset was spectacular but the beautiful red sky only lasted a matter of minutes.<< MORE >>
Converting a Polstar PGM-248 GPS for use with a Kenwood APRS radio
A couple of years ago I bought a GPS for use with an ETEN M600 PDA. Shortly thereafter I left my job and had to return the M600 (bad timing!) but I kept the GPS since it was bought with my own cash.
The GPS has sat unused ever since, but today I decided to convert it for use with one of my Kenwood APRS-capable 2-way radios.<< MORE >>
The GPS has sat unused ever since, but today I decided to convert it for use with one of my Kenwood APRS-capable 2-way radios.<< MORE >>
Jersey weathercam
My website weather page (www.utting.org/weather/jersey.html) will soon have the Webcam button reinstated.
The weathercam looks due east and can also be see direct from this link.
I am hoping to configure my weather station software to record a daily 'weather movie' and will update this entry when it is availble. ...<< MORE >>
The weathercam looks due east and can also be see direct from this link.
I am hoping to configure my weather station software to record a daily 'weather movie' and will update this entry when it is availble. ...<< MORE >>
Find me (again) via the International Space Station!
If you have read my earlier blog entry you will know that it is possible to link up a GPS receiver with a 2-way VHF radio and transmit positional data. This system, called APRS, is a very popular Amateur Radio activity.
Generally this data is transmitted from one fixed 'home' or (vehicular) mobile station to another. Increased coverage is achieved by receiving stations re-transmitting ('digipeating') incoming position reports. Some receiving stations also pass incoming position reports to Internet servers so that the location of a transmitting station can be queried via the Findu service.
Taking matters a step further, it is possible to ...<< MORE >>
Generally this data is transmitted from one fixed 'home' or (vehicular) mobile station to another. Increased coverage is achieved by receiving stations re-transmitting ('digipeating') incoming position reports. Some receiving stations also pass incoming position reports to Internet servers so that the location of a transmitting station can be queried via the Findu service.
Taking matters a step further, it is possible to ...<< MORE >>
Showing Garmin routes on Google Earth
I'm a serious fan of Google Earth, just for being nosy inquisitive and even for checking out locations before booking holidays.
It struck me last night that it would be interesting to display Garmin GPS routes on Google Earth, but since I haven't paid for the update to Google Earth Plus I can't import directly from a GPS unit. However, after a bit of searching I found a website which converts Garmin (.gdb) route files into Google earth (.kml) files....<< MORE >>
