Posts

Yak shaving

‘How I ditched Windows and embraced Linux’ - the prequel.

On Saturday morning, I thought it might be fun to install Linux on my home computer. A year ago, I had experimented with a few Live CD’s and actually installed Ubuntu (not officially supported) followed by Oracle Enterprise Linux (officially supported) on my work laptop (Thinkpad T61). For various reasons, I subsequently had to reverse that change so I thought it might be worthwhile and interesting to install Ubuntu on my own computer (an ageing but reliable Dell 4500).

how I ditched iTunes and started living with Foobar 2000

[Obligatory hat tip to ‘How to stop defragmenting and start living’. As an aside, if you’re an Oracle DBA and haven’t read this whitepaper, please do so. Now.]

I have used various devices and software over my 76 years on this planet to listen to music:

• Record player
• Cassette player
• Transistor radio
• Ears
• WinAmp
• SonicStage
• Windows Media Player

18 months ago, I finally caved in and bought an iTouch which I use a lot; mainly for listening to music and podcasts at airports.

trainspotting

This morning I commuted, Reggie Perrin style, from my leafy suburb into the heart of London by train. Nothing too unusual about that.

After I paid for my daily travelcard, I took my place on an unusually crowded platform. An unusually crowded platform normally means only one thing. An lengthy delay inevitably followed by an overcrowded, late running train.

Sure enough, I soon gathered that there had been a fatality on this section of the railway line last night which caused major delays and now had a knock-on effect to this morning.

three red rings of death

Last Friday, Norman Junior III emerged from his bedroom, looked mournfully at me and pronounced in a quiet voice: ‘Dad - I’ve got the three red rings of death.’

‘Just have an aspirin and sit down quietly for a bit. Your mum will be back soon.’

‘No Dad - not me. It’s my XBox. It has the dreaded three red rings of death and won’t boot.’

And so we embarked on a prolonged saga that involved a fruitless hunt for a two year old receipt that revealed plenty of interesting long lost items but not the actual receipt from Game.

Welcome to Manchester

‘Not in my lifetime.’

Posterous leveraging Tumblr themes

I have experimented at various times with both Tumblr and Posterous which are hosted blog services. I tend to view them as useful services for a scrapbook style blog, a linkblog, a lifestream or even a fully fledged blog. If I was starting a blog today, I would probably use one or the other.

Posterous, in particular, has been getting a lot of coverage recently and I like the ease of use, the ‘Post by Email’ facility and continue to follow developments with interest.

from insurgent to suicide bomber

Spontaneously.

‘Do you think we used enough dynamite there, Butch ?’

the curious case of Michael Shields

I believe Michael Shields is guilty of attempted murder by dropping a paving slab on a Bulgarian waiter’s head, putting him in a coma for 4 days.

I find it worrying and bizarre that Jack Straw sees fit to grant Michael Shields a ‘Royal Pardon’ in the light of an ‘oral confession’ made by another individual when Shields’ parents just happened to pay him a visit.

Particularly, when Jack Straw was fully aware of this information when Shields returned to serve out the rest of his sentence in England back in 2006 and rejected an appeal as recently at 2 July 2009.

inside the mind of Andy Murray

Andy Murray’s hopes of lifting his first major were thwarted by defeat yesterday in the last 16 of the US Open to Croat, Marin Cilic.

I like Andy Murray. I don’t think he’s a dour individual. I think he’s a very talented tennis player who is focused and determined. I admire the fact he coped with being sent to live in Spain at the age of 15 to improve his tennis.

dangerous precedent

UEFA’s decision to ban Arsenal’s Eduardo for two matches after diving in a Champions League qualifier creates a precedent, a very dangerous precedent. This may well result in revisionism, the rewriting of football history and airbrushing Ashley Cole out of the 2003 Shoot Soccer Annual.

I forecast the following events which will have unexpected and dire repercussions for the game:

• Mexico 1986. Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal is ruled out and England win the World Cup. The finest football anthem ever, Baddiel and Skinner’s ‘Three Lions’ never gets written; ‘Ten years of hurt’ just doesn’t scan.
• The award of Wayne Rooney’s penalty that halted Arsenal’s unbeaten run is declared ‘unsafe’. Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ subsequently extend their unbeaten run by a further 20 matches. Fanzine writers universally rejoice at ‘The Immortal 69’ers’.
• Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool mount a joint appeal against Cristiano Ronaldo. UEFA reduce his tally of 84 goals in 196 Premiership appearances to just 3 goals in 27 starts for ‘simulation, posturing and ball hogging.’ UEFA conduct a detailed simulation of their own using Championship Manager on networked PS3’s. United are relegated and jostle for top spot with Leeds in Division One
• Richard Dunne of Manchester City receives a lifetime ban for attempting to ‘deceive a referee’ by impersonating a Premiership footballer. Questions are also raised in betting circles at his general ineptitude yet contrasting displays of brilliant, solid defending in every single Manchester derby.
• Gerard Houlier is sectioned under the mental Health Act before he utters the immortal words ‘Ten games from greatness’. He watches ‘Pink Panther’ incessantly and practises violent martial arts with William Gallas every Thursday. Later appears in a cameo in ‘Kill Bill Vol. 2’. Currently in rehab and guesting on ‘Soccer Saturday’ alongside Phil Thompson.