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Thursday 29th January

So much for winter

I woke on Wednesday morning to a smattering of white stuff but, once I'd cleaned myself up and got dressed, I was disappointed to find that the promised blizzard conditions had not materialised in my part of the world. There was some something of a fierce snowstorm in the middle of the afternoon, but it had mostly disappeared by late evening and what did remain on the ground had pretty much melted by this morning. Conditions were worse elsewhere in the country, but there have been no massive snowdrifts, no reports of traffic jams on the main roads, no train delays and not even a comedy news item about ducks finding the pond frozen. Despite being a bit cold (well, duh!) it's actually been rather sunny round here, which is all a bit disappointing. Eeh, these winters aren't like the ones we used to have, when snow would lie on the ground for a couple of weeks or so, schools stayed open and PE lessons would consist almost entirely of cross-country runs because the sports field was frozen. Actually, I do remember a couple of winters at college when we had snow for a week or so, which would be about ten years ago, but I can't honestly remember any extended cold spells since. Well, the winters were always cold when I was on the dole, but that was because I couldn't afford to have the heating on for much of the day, rather than anything to do with the weather......

And isn't it ironic that schools are closed for the day, yet 90% of the vehicles that do the school run appear to be SUVs? The one time you really need the 4-wheel drive and instead it's stuck on the drive....

Hhm, I typed this entry up at about 10 o'clock this morning and have been having some minor FTP difficulties ever since so that I've no idea what time I'll actually be able to update - it's 16:45 as I type this I still haven't been able to connect. I wouldn't mind but I know the problems not up my end. Given that I also can't connect to any newsgroups after about 6pm and don't seem to be able to post to them at any time, I kind of wonder what I'm paying my ISP for....

Go on, stick your oar in:

Monday 26th January

Watergate doesn't bother me

Eeh, I don't get out much these days, what with me gout and being on the dole an' all, but I managed to go out on Saturday night. I got on the magic bus and went to the Fez club in Sheffield to see Disarm. They were meant to be supporting Fony, who are getting a lot of press attention at the moment, but they pulled out for reasons best known to themselves. Anyway, the bands that did play were:

• Visitor - Efficient, is probably the best way to describe this lot. Enjoyable in a sort of "Yep, heard it before" kind of way.
• Sillibus - Much better than the last time I saw them, at the Scarecrow festival back in July. The more intimate atmosphere obviously suited them and they were tighter and more focussed this time out.
• Drift - Started badly when the bass was both too loud and out of tune. Not helped either by being terribly dull and looking like students. Worst band of the night. There's meant to be a "big buzz" about them at the moment, but I couldn't find anything relevant on the Internet. 'Nuff said.
• Disarm - A good news/bad news gig. The bad news was that they were plagued by guitar problems which deprived them of one guitarist for about half the set, if not more. The good news was that they still sounded pretty good to me. Admittedly not the best gig I've seen them play but still more than good enough to blow Drift away.

Thinking of Kid Conspiracy, have you noticed how many other bands there are at the moment with Kid in their name - Kid Rock, Kid 606, Kid Symphony, Kid Dynamite, Ugly Kid Joe, The Kids from Fame, Kid 'n' Play, MC Our Kid, Rich Kids, Eddie Kidd, the Skids......

Lastly on a "Rawk" tip, this week I have mostly been listening to the free Earache sampler given away with February's issue of Metal Hammer. It features some classic cuts from pretty much most of the label's artists and previously unreleased tracks by Deicide, Decapitated and Lunaris. All top stuff. Makes the other cover CD sound pretty tame by comparison, but that's probably because it is...

Go on, stick your oar in:

Wednesday 21st January

Crushed by the wheels of Industry

Let's start off with some good news - it's Happy Birthday! to my brother and my nephew. And yes, those are two separate people. Both born today a mere 31 years apart. Sadly, my nephew won't read this site (I could do with more vistors) but I have sent him a card so he should be happy. I've sent my brother a card too, (honest, Mark), but it might not have arrived yet. And there was twenty quid in it, so the posties must have nicked it if it's not there now....

Of course, you can't have pleasure without a bit of pain (as I like to tell the laydeez) so it's 'Commiserations' to my best mate Kev, who has been made redundant today. There's never a good time to get laid off, but at least you got Christmas out of the way. Not much consolation, I know, especially when you have to go through the grind of updating your CV, signing-on, etc. Anyway, here's hoping you find another job soon.

Finally, for today, some strange news. According to this EE Times story, security officers could soon have lie-detector glasses. Which, given the notorious unreliablity of current polygraph technology, is not necessarily a good thing. To be honest, I thought this might be a hoax, but it's nowhere near April 1st yet. Or perhaps it's a cunning piece of double-bluff - announce the introduction of a new piece of technology and then equip all airport security officers with new, hi-tech-looking sunglasses and hope that any potential terrorist buys it. Well, perhaps not, but in these days of "increased security concerns", I just can't help being cynical. And whilst I'm being cynical, is this bloke perhaps ripping people off? Could those security cameras "disguised to look like lamps and ornaments" actually just be lamps and ornaments? Maybe 'Aye', maybe 'No'. There are, obviously, issues regarding the ubiquity of the surveillance camera and its effectiveness but to start seeing them everywhere, even in the frame of a picture ferchrissakes, suggests a level of paranoia far surpassing my own. But then again, how do you know I'm not watching you right now?

Go on, stick your oar in:

Friday 16th January

Is that Liza with a Zee?

Good news for all you cycle fans, particularly those who love dodgy '70s styling and wobbly steering - Raleigh are re-launching the Chopper in April. Strictly in a limited edition, though. And with the potential-nadger-crushing gear lever moved to the handlebars for safety reasons. I used to own one of these beasties in the mid to late 70's. In fact, I failed my Cycling Proficiency Test on it at primary school, so that must have been around '75 or '76, but I don't remember having it when we moved to Walsall in 1977, although I might have done. I certainly have fond memories of the "idiosyncratic" (i.e. downright dangerous) handling that took a bit of getting used to. I used to start off in first, get a bit of speed up and then whack it into third and hope I never had to change gear again as taking your hands off the handlebars was about the most dangerous thing you could do at speed. Compared to that, pulling wheelies was a piece of cake. Anyway, in case you've missed it, the Chopper's return has not been without a bit of controversy, at least according to this Times Online story. I have to say that if you'd asked me who invented the Chopper, you'd have got an innuendo-laden reply of little value, but in this case I'm inclined to accept the British Design Council's view rather than the Stalinist-revisionism of Raleigh. Of course, the real good news in all of this is for owners of original Raleigh Choppers, which will surely now soar way past the £400 mark that some models are already fetching.

Go on, stick your oar in:

Tuesday 13th January

Still trying to contact Fireball XL5

Well, I wouldn't want to be accused of spreading a conspiracy theory, but don't you think it's just a little coincidental that the British mission to Mars failed just ahead of the "successful" landing of the American probe? Of course, any sane person might point out that the Americans spent 457 million dollars on their landing craft, which happens to be the size of a golf buggy, whereas Beagle 2 cost about 35 quid and is made from 3 dustbin lids. Funny though, all that money and the Americans still can't convince people that they aren't simply recycling pictures of the Australian desert. Capricorn One, anyone? Perhaps that's where the Mars Express mission went wrong - they actually went to Mars.

I was musing the other day on the likely future of the Internet given that it's likely that at some point in the future you'll be able to access the thing through your telly, thanks to Sony's 25-year plan to turn the PlayStation into the WayStation (and yes, I know that was the rumoured name of MS's X-Box replacement). Fortunately for you, dear readers, whilst I had several ideas I couldn't bring them together to form a coherent argument, so instead here's what my three main points were:

1. Why do you think Sony and Microsoft both got into the games console business? These are not companies that are short of a bob or two and need to make some extra cash. These are companies with large amounts of money and large amounts of influence. These are companies that are thinking very long-term. And at some point in the near future, whether it's Sony or Microsoft or someone else, someone will put all your home entertainment requirements into one box - satellite/cable TV, Internet (Broadband or Wi-Fi), CD player, DVD player, digital radio, games, the lot. (Of course, you'll lose the "redundant technologies" - tapes, video, vinyl). There are already people out there building an Internet browser that will work with a digital TV set, so what does that tell us? It's coming and soon. OK, I've plugged my WayStation in and I'm ready to enter the brave new world. Except, of course, that for a while it'll be pretty much like the brave old world, only you can access the Internet from the comfort of your sofa rather than from an office-style chair in the spare room. The Internet isn't going to look much different, and thanks to the handy keyboard attachment you can access your e-mail and fill out webforms just like you would from your computer. Marvellous!
2. Who controls the content that is delivered to the new WayStation? For TV and Digital radio that'll be down to the usual suspects. As for the World Wide Web, well, you've got an Internet browser so you can surf to wherever you want, surely? Not necessarily. Besides, even if you could find all the mp3's or open source software you could dream of, how are you going to save them? You won't be able to use the WayStation hard drive, will you? (Of course, you'll still be able to find all the porn you want - there's far too much money in that business to censor it.) But my point here is that eventually, whether you like it or not the vast majority of the content that you receive through your TV will be controlled by one or two sources. So we all end up seeing the world as Omnicorp wants us to see it, not as it actually is.
3. And then I was trying to make a point about what might the future hold for "ordinary" internet users, but it all became a bit confused, because there'll be more access to the Internet but that access might be restricted. Plus computers aren't going to disappear, so people will still use them to access the Internet. Ooh, I wish I could have thought of a way of briniging it all together. Perhaps I should have had a couple more bottles of Fiddlers Elbow?

Anyway, this fine example of "computers not going away" is all over the Internet so you can't have missed it but, according to the BBC amongst others, Microsoft is to extend it's support for Windows98 for another couple of years. Which is good news for people like me who don't want to, or can't afford to, install XP. Mind you, I used to like Windows 3.1 and if I could emulate that on my desktop I'd be quite happy...

Go on, stick your oar in:

Saturday 10th January

Another bleedin' taste test

Finally, I've felt well enough to partake in some of the exotic ales that I received in my Christmas stocking. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm not really a Real Ale drinker and, despite the comedy potential, I'm not a bitter drinker. (Although I am bitter and a drinker....) To be honest though, if there's alcohol in it, I have been known to drink it. Still, I think it's only fair to appraise you of the following excellent bottled ales that I consumed yesterday evening:

1. Marston's Old Empire India Pale Ale - a revival of the traditional Burton IPA, this has all the characteristics you'd associate with a classic IPA - light golden colour, strong hoppy aroma and a rich malty taste. At 5.7% ABV it's no retiring wallflower of a beer either, this baby packs a kick and no mistake. The only thing that spoils it is the lack of an official webpage.
2. Marston's Double Drop - a new one to me and, apparently, a revival of the "ancient" technique of dropping the fermenting beer from one vessel to another. A nice golden-orange colour, with a good hoppy aroma, this looks clean and fresh and has a relatively light taste. I suspect that if you were to find this on draught anywhere it might not be so nice, depending on the skill of the cellarman. However, in bottles from Morrisons (the supermarket) it tastes great. Oh, and 5% ABV, fact fans.
3. Wychwood Fiddlers Elbow - A small description of this beer can be found on this page but they lose points for requiring a Java-enabled browser (mine isn't anymore). Another light golden brew, made using wheat malt. It has a definite floral aroma and a tangy, almost-burnt taste in the mouth which dissipates leaving a fruity aftertaste. Surprising and very nice. At only 4.5% ABV, that's definitely one you could stay on all night.
4. Ruddles County Ale - the only one of the four beers that has its own web page and the most bitter-like of the four. dark amber/brown in colour with a distinctly bitter aroma. It has a bitter taste with a hoppy, fruity aftertaste. I have to admit that I've had this on draught in several places round the country and it's never been quite this good. (Perhaps because it's bottled at source and you can't feck it up after that, unlike draught beer.) Definitely worth checking out if you're not familiar with it already.

I have to say, without trying to sound pretentious, that any of the beers that I have sampled above (and, indeed, many of the other beers that I have mentioned in previous reviews) could be considered as excellent substitutes for wine, should you not happen to like the stuff. I have never liked wine (despite my ability to knock it back if there is no alternative) and would always choose beer ahead of it. I'm sure the great beer supremo, Michael Jackson, has some hard and fast rules about what to drink with what meal but as a general rule of thumb I've always found that "drink what you like most on the menu" works well.

And another thing - someone bought me a Budweiser gift pack (four bottles and a pint glass) for Christmas. Now, we all know that "Bud" is currently advertising itself as King Of Beers but as far as I'm concerned the phrase King of Soapy Piss would be more appropriate (although I did "force" all four bottles down me). I'd like to pretend that this only applies to Bud brewed in the UK (we have the worst brewing laws, I think) but if anything the US-brewed stuff is even worse. Yeah, I know I'm a lager snob (in so far as that's possible) but even Carling doesn't taste like someone dropped a couple of bars of Imperial Leather in the fermenting vat (someone might have let their cat pee in there though...). I'd almost rather drink bitter than drink Bud, I think.

Woo Hoo! Check out the trailer for Spiderman 2. It looks awesome and I can't wait, despite my reservations about the way they've treated the Doctor Octopus character. Unsurprisingly, Eddy and I had a long discusson about the first Spiderman movie during my Xmas visit. We both agreed that for all its faults, Spiderman wins and Peter Parker loses, which is how it's almost always been in the Spidey universe. Whilst I wait for the second instalment, I'll have to content myself with the official Spiderman 2 website. Heh, Spiderman, website, that's funny.

Go on, stick your oar in:

Wednesday 7th January

Reading the Encyclopedia of Jazz

Following a moment of inspiration and a few hours of perspiration I've updated all the "journal" pages on the website to share a similar look to the index. I've done this because I want to start implementing a more uniform look and feel to the blog part of the site. This also gives me something to build on should I suddenly decide to change the layout of the pages on the site, which is something I've been considering. It might not happen, of course, as there's knack-all on the site apart from the blog at the moment. But at least the foundations are there. Oh, and I've added a couple more external links - one to the Gods of Cockernee pub-rock and the other to a former Rutle. Can you spot them? There might be some more links added later in the week, depending on how bored I get.

Monday 5th January

The Glorious Twelfth Night

At last, the 1948 Show. Er, no. At last, the update I should have done this time last week. Still, I do have a valid excuse although you probably don't really want a detailed report on the viral infection that we all suffered from last week. And, yes, it was an infection, not food poisoning (gee thanks, doc.), as it took us down one at a time. Anyway, enough of that - on with the show.

Much to my parents' chagrin, I legged it on Christmas Eve, down to that there London to spend some quality time with my little bro', Eddy. He had to work till mid-afternoon, so we arranged to meet in a pub opposite his flat in Bethnal Green. Unfortunately, that pub was shut, so I had to nip into your typical East End boozer. It was packed full of "geezers and their birds". Fortunately, I'd cut my hair earlier in the week, so I didn't look out of place. Unfortunately, the place was packed so I had to prop my bag up against the bar and stand by it as I waited for the boy. Whilst I was waiting I realised that the jukebox was playing a medley of Christmas songs by Elvis, causing me to mentally kick myself for not including anything by the King on my list of essential Chrimbo tunes. What-a mistake-a to make-a! Also whilst I was waiting for the Edster, I was offered a mince pie by a very kind old lady, who may or may not have been Old Ma Kray, but I had to refuse as I don't like them. Anyway, Eddy finally turned up and we had a couple more beers and then headed off for something to eat. A quick wash and change at his place later and it was off up to Shoreditch to meet up with his mate, Pete. I wouldn't say it was deserted in Shoreditch on Christmas Eve, but there were tumbleweeds blowing down the street and the strip club bouncers looked even more bored than bouncers usually do. Still, we found a decent boozer and settled in for the evening.

Christmas Day dawned bright and early, but we all missed it as we were still asleep. Rising in the late mid-morning instead, Eddy knocked up a fry-up for the three of us (Pete had stopped over). Very nice it was too, although it was only at the point that the fry-up arrived that I remembered having a kebab on the way back from the pub the previous evening. No wonder I wasn't feeling that hungry! After breakfast there was the traditional Morecambe & Wise Christmas Special on telly and the traditional exchange of gifts before we headed out for the even more traditional beers on Christmas Day. First we sampled the atmosphere in yer actual East End boozer - which was even more packed than it had been on Christmas Eve, and then we went to a free house for some delicious Czech lager, where we met up with Richard, one of Pete's colleagues. From there it was back to Eddy's for the traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings (so it's a good job he's a decent cook) and champagne. After chilling out watching some DVDs we had a game of Ghettopoly. It's Monopoly set in "da 'hoods" of L.A., basically. The train stations are all liquor stores, the utilities are replaced by Da Crack House and Da Porn Store, and Jail is replaced by the Emergency Room. Anyway, despite the constant yucks supplied by the Kreme of Sum Yung Gai Massage Parlor and the distractions of Hip Hop Honeyz on the DVD and Gangsta rap on the stereo, it really did just turn out like any other game of Monopoly. We called it quits at 2 a.m. after it became clear that Pete was going to win whatever deals we cooked up between the rest of us. Eddy then managed the near-impossible and managed to book a cab to get Pete and Richard home, and for less than the traditional arm-and-a-leg-at-this-time-of night-guv'nor.

Me and Eddy spent Boxing Day chilling out in front of the telly and working our way through the ridiculous amount of cans of beer that we had apparently bought on Christmas Eve. Never got round to smoking those cigars though.... And did anyone else think it particularly sad that Channel 5 had the best line-up that night, even though it consisted almost entirely of thirty-year-old repeats? Or perhaps it was just that we were sad?

I headed back oop Narth on the Saturday, managed to spend a couple of days with my nephews, before being struck down on the Tuesday last week. Having spent three days oscillating between bed and bathroom, I felt well enough to get up for a few hours on New Years Day. Since then I've been slowly recovering my strength, having not eaten for those three days. I sincerely hope nobody else has the misfortune to suffer from this lurgy, I really do.

Anyway, it's a New Year, New Me, so it's enough of the moaning and back to the grind of finding a job and sorting out just what I really want to do for the rest of my life. Well, that shouldn't take long, should it!

Go on, stick your oar in:

Thursday 1st January 2004

Happy New Year!

Go on, stick your oar in: