I think that for once the weather men have got it right and that winter is on its way the temps around here are dropping.
In fact I am starting to find it hard to believe that this day last week I was in a tee shirt and it was hot! no really it was nice and warm and the sun was so bright and all that, sunglasses were need, and not just to look cool.
30 September, 2009
29 September, 2009
Winter
So the warm weather we were having looks like it is coming to an end, and I can tell you the nights are now colder, than they were last week
27 September, 2009
Surround Sound
Why are there so many diferant cables need to connect a surrond sound box to a tv and a cable box?
I mean you have scart, Hdmi then component and also audio leads, why> so many, why can't there just be one cable type that does what ever it has to do and you just plug it in to each box?
I have had to buy a new surround sound box, nothing wrong in that I suppose as the old one did last a few years and it did get used very heavily.
Now because things have moved on (and not necessary for the better) I find that I need a optical cable to link the surround sound box to the cable box as that is the only way the surround box can get a digital signal... Why?
So as its Sunday I will now have to go get an optical cable from somewhere so that I get sound from the cable box on the tv.
Hissed off is what I am, wish that the audio and tv companies could get it all sorted.
And no before you say anything none of my tv or cable box is older than 2 years.
I mean you have scart, Hdmi then component and also audio leads, why> so many, why can't there just be one cable type that does what ever it has to do and you just plug it in to each box?
I have had to buy a new surround sound box, nothing wrong in that I suppose as the old one did last a few years and it did get used very heavily.
Now because things have moved on (and not necessary for the better) I find that I need a optical cable to link the surround sound box to the cable box as that is the only way the surround box can get a digital signal... Why?
So as its Sunday I will now have to go get an optical cable from somewhere so that I get sound from the cable box on the tv.
Hissed off is what I am, wish that the audio and tv companies could get it all sorted.
And no before you say anything none of my tv or cable box is older than 2 years.
Hols
Been on a week holiday, and I must admit that was very lucky with the weather for this time of year in England, Dorset.
Lots of days with lots of sunshine and temperatures of 18-19 centigrade, the walking was good and the scenery was , well fantastic.
Lots of days with lots of sunshine and temperatures of 18-19 centigrade, the walking was good and the scenery was , well fantastic.
16 September, 2009
website troubles ?
Its been a few days since I last spoke here about the trouble that I have been having with my website since I moved it to another web host.
Well, I think I might have it sorted, mostly, so it will be interesting to see if I have got it right in the end.
It appears that I can not have a sub domain point to a file with a space in its name, why I just don't know. My old web host had no problem with doing this, but different hosts will have different ideas.
So I shall wait a few days and then look at the web site logs to see what is going on.
Well, I think I might have it sorted, mostly, so it will be interesting to see if I have got it right in the end.
It appears that I can not have a sub domain point to a file with a space in its name, why I just don't know. My old web host had no problem with doing this, but different hosts will have different ideas.
So I shall wait a few days and then look at the web site logs to see what is going on.
13 September, 2009
website troubles
I have had a slight problem since I transferred my websites for my old internet hosts to a new one, mainly for extra features and also cause it was a bit cheaper, I am now starting to have some doubts about it, as for some reason I still can not get the websites that I have fully working, and I just don't know why.
I have made sure that every file on the site is where it should be, in fact I have gone as so far to upload all the site files more than once.
I still get error 400 which if I understand the error codes correctly means page not found.
One of the problems is that there are quite a few websites that now point at my website and now all they are getting is error pages, I suppose that in the end people will just give up.
My master plan to convert my static websites, Dirk Maggs and James Follett is still some time away from being completed.
At this time both databases are set up and working. Both sites have the password system in and also working. The James Follett site has had some wiki extensions installed and working while the Dirk Magggs one has not.
The James Follett site at this time has about 186 articles and has only got to 1975! so there is a long way to go on adding the content.
The Dirk Maggs wiki is even worse for content, in that all I have at this time is the main index page and not much else.
Part of me want to just redirect all the web traffic to the wiki, but with no content that really is something I feel that I can't do as those folks who have used to internet to find out about James or Dirk really do deserve to find what they are looking for if I have it on any of my website pages.
I have made sure that every file on the site is where it should be, in fact I have gone as so far to upload all the site files more than once.
I still get error 400 which if I understand the error codes correctly means page not found.
One of the problems is that there are quite a few websites that now point at my website and now all they are getting is error pages, I suppose that in the end people will just give up.
My master plan to convert my static websites, Dirk Maggs and James Follett is still some time away from being completed.
At this time both databases are set up and working. Both sites have the password system in and also working. The James Follett site has had some wiki extensions installed and working while the Dirk Magggs one has not.
The James Follett site at this time has about 186 articles and has only got to 1975! so there is a long way to go on adding the content.
The Dirk Maggs wiki is even worse for content, in that all I have at this time is the main index page and not much else.
Part of me want to just redirect all the web traffic to the wiki, but with no content that really is something I feel that I can't do as those folks who have used to internet to find out about James or Dirk really do deserve to find what they are looking for if I have it on any of my website pages.
12 September, 2009
Spotify
Been a user of the spotify music site for a while now, one I like about it is that so far most of the trance music that I have looked for has been there.
Sunrise
Today I saw a nice and interesting sunrise, it makes me just a little sad as it means winter must be on its way as it was only 7ish when I saw the sunrise.
It was interesting sunrise with some light clumpy clouds which all light up in some interesting ways, the colours and hues of the clouds changed as the sun rose, I must admit that I sat looking out of the window for a good 10 minutes or so
It was interesting sunrise with some light clumpy clouds which all light up in some interesting ways, the colours and hues of the clouds changed as the sun rose, I must admit that I sat looking out of the window for a good 10 minutes or so
11 September, 2009
Projects
As you know if you look at other parts of this blog going all the way back to 2005, I have several projects on the go.
Some of the projects have been a success in that I have completed them and that I have been happy in they way they turned out.
Others have for one or more reason failed in some way, which when I read about failure of such things is not surprising as there are always failures of projects whether it's for work or for pleasure.
As all the projects that I talk about here are done because I want to it has also been a bit sad for me that a few of my projects have failed.
As I have just moved hosting sites it has been the cause of a delay now in all my website projects and has pushed the Dirk Maggs book project so far back that I really don't want to even think about it.
Actually that's not true as I did have a good idea the other day about it, and that was to change the name of the book from chronology to yearbook, I think that I will let that one similar for a while just to see if in a few weeks it is a good idea or not.
So I suppose I will like others have to get used to the idea that project failures are just a part of life and that the best thing to do is to just accept that and to move on and learn why so that it does not happen again or is less likely to happen.
Some of the projects have been a success in that I have completed them and that I have been happy in they way they turned out.
Others have for one or more reason failed in some way, which when I read about failure of such things is not surprising as there are always failures of projects whether it's for work or for pleasure.
As all the projects that I talk about here are done because I want to it has also been a bit sad for me that a few of my projects have failed.
As I have just moved hosting sites it has been the cause of a delay now in all my website projects and has pushed the Dirk Maggs book project so far back that I really don't want to even think about it.
Actually that's not true as I did have a good idea the other day about it, and that was to change the name of the book from chronology to yearbook, I think that I will let that one similar for a while just to see if in a few weeks it is a good idea or not.
So I suppose I will like others have to get used to the idea that project failures are just a part of life and that the best thing to do is to just accept that and to move on and learn why so that it does not happen again or is less likely to happen.
Reading Now part something
I am still reading Wireless by Charles Stross, and I have to admit that one of the short stories in the book to me was a total misfire.
So it was just a bit of a surprise when I got to the afterword by Charles that he said it was very difficult to write humour, you should have got from that statement that the story in question was supposed to be a fun piece, in the still of PG Woodhouse, I can tell you now, that there are some very good reasons why Woodhouse is so admired, as what he does in print is very very hard as Charles goes on to say in his afterword.
So out of all the short stories that I have read in the book so far one misfire can't be bad can it?
Has the book been entertaining? Yes
So it was just a bit of a surprise when I got to the afterword by Charles that he said it was very difficult to write humour, you should have got from that statement that the story in question was supposed to be a fun piece, in the still of PG Woodhouse, I can tell you now, that there are some very good reasons why Woodhouse is so admired, as what he does in print is very very hard as Charles goes on to say in his afterword.
So out of all the short stories that I have read in the book so far one misfire can't be bad can it?
Has the book been entertaining? Yes
10 September, 2009
Ipod Touch
Well yesterday that is the 9th September Apple updated the OS in my I pod touch to 3.1.1 now that's not a big event in the grand scheme of things, but for me and my I pod it is.
You see my touch which by the way is named DMP is a big part of my life as I use DMP to play a lot of pod cast's for my music that I like, and also for some of the other pod cast like the IYA year of astronomy pod cast and also the Astronomy pod cast, both of which I have listed to since they started, I also happen to like the fact that I can play the odd game or also check the weather while on the move.
Now as I was saying DMP got updated from 3.0 to 3.11 that all went very well in that I did not loose anything and DMP is okay and works okay, the problem is that when linked to I tunes it decides( and I suspect for a very few reasons ) that it needs to back itself up.
Now DMp is a 32BG touch and has left at this time 9 Gigs free, so why has it been backing up since 5 pm and it is now 8.30 pm, surly it should not take all this time to backup?
Then just to add to all that fun itunes has also been upgraded from 8.21 to 9.0. Now it looks nicer, but apart from that I can't see many other differences, although I am told that there are many.
As for the touch from 3.0 to 3.11 the only change that I have seen is that in the music section there is now something called utunes, at this time I don't have a clue as to what that is all about.
One pet peeve that I have on the backup system is that there are no percentages or tine remaing to give you a clue as to just how long the whole backup process is going to take.
You see my touch which by the way is named DMP is a big part of my life as I use DMP to play a lot of pod cast's for my music that I like, and also for some of the other pod cast like the IYA year of astronomy pod cast and also the Astronomy pod cast, both of which I have listed to since they started, I also happen to like the fact that I can play the odd game or also check the weather while on the move.
Now as I was saying DMP got updated from 3.0 to 3.11 that all went very well in that I did not loose anything and DMP is okay and works okay, the problem is that when linked to I tunes it decides( and I suspect for a very few reasons ) that it needs to back itself up.
Now DMp is a 32BG touch and has left at this time 9 Gigs free, so why has it been backing up since 5 pm and it is now 8.30 pm, surly it should not take all this time to backup?
Then just to add to all that fun itunes has also been upgraded from 8.21 to 9.0. Now it looks nicer, but apart from that I can't see many other differences, although I am told that there are many.
As for the touch from 3.0 to 3.11 the only change that I have seen is that in the music section there is now something called utunes, at this time I don't have a clue as to what that is all about.
One pet peeve that I have on the backup system is that there are no percentages or tine remaing to give you a clue as to just how long the whole backup process is going to take.
James Follett wiki 3
I hope I have the spare time to push the wiki item count through the 200 barrier.
James Follett wiki 2
Things on the wiki are going okay, apart from some templates that for some reason or other I just can't get going.
the wiki system reports that it has 187 articles and I am still on productions from 1975!
the wiki system reports that it has 187 articles and I am still on productions from 1975!
09 September, 2009
08 September, 2009
James Follett wiki
The wiki is doing great, I think, it is growing slowly which is what I expect, to tell the truth as it's a long term project I expect to be saying pretty much that for a while to come.
I have got to 1975 on the content that I am adding to the wiki and I only started in 1974!
So a long way to go.
I have got to 1975 on the content that I am adding to the wiki and I only started in 1974!
So a long way to go.
Reading Now 2
Have just started to read yet another book by Charles Stross, I know I seem to be reading an awful lot of his books lately, and that's because I live the ideas that he puts into his stories, and they are also great entertainment, and that is the main reason why I read his books in the first place.
Now I have to admit that the book I am reading called Wireless by the way is the first time that I have read any of his short stories.
I have so far not been disappointed, in fact because the short story allows an author the chance to play, so far the twists and turns in several of the stories have been great.
It goes with out saying, that there are a couple of stories that I think Dirk Maggs could make into great radio shows.
One thing I like about short story collections, is when the author says a few words about the story as an afterword as sometimes it brings into focus just what was or what influenced him or her at the time they wrote the story.
Now I have to admit that the book I am reading called Wireless by the way is the first time that I have read any of his short stories.
I have so far not been disappointed, in fact because the short story allows an author the chance to play, so far the twists and turns in several of the stories have been great.
It goes with out saying, that there are a couple of stories that I think Dirk Maggs could make into great radio shows.
One thing I like about short story collections, is when the author says a few words about the story as an afterword as sometimes it brings into focus just what was or what influenced him or her at the time they wrote the story.
07 September, 2009
Wiki pt 2
www.jfw.dswilliams.co.uk is the new James Follett wiki that I am working on, I must admit that at this time it's not very nice to look at and it does not have a lot of content.
Last count today gave it 139 articles, but some of them are very short articles.
I have a feeling that we are talking months before it's got most of the James Follett website.
Last count today gave it 139 articles, but some of them are very short articles.
I have a feeling that we are talking months before it's got most of the James Follett website.
Wiki pt 1
As you know I have started 2 new wiki's which in time are going to replace my existing static websites, I have to admit that it was something that I have looked at over the years, but for various reasons the use of the wiki's as the main websites did not take place.
But I know think that the time is right, so I have started, but to make it easier I have started with the James Follett site as it is smaller, and hopefully it will not take to long to get the basic content into it.
Once I have done that I will the move the old site out of the way and point everything to the wiki.
Currently I have 114 articles, and have only done 3 radio play and 1 TV show!
So I don't know how big it will be.
But I know think that the time is right, so I have started, but to make it easier I have started with the James Follett site as it is smaller, and hopefully it will not take to long to get the basic content into it.
Once I have done that I will the move the old site out of the way and point everything to the wiki.
Currently I have 114 articles, and have only done 3 radio play and 1 TV show!
So I don't know how big it will be.
04 September, 2009
wiki
So I have a few new wiki's( 2 to be exact!) which in a later blog, I will give the url's to.
Now I must admit that I have played with wiki's before, and have had a lot of fun in working out all the different things that you can do with a wiki.
The thing is, that as the software that makes the wiki and in this case the software is (mediawiki has got much better) I suppose the time has now come to commit the 2 main websites that I have and convert them to wiki's
This is a process that is going to take a lot of time, which one thing about it is, not so unreasonable, as it took some time for the websites to get to the stage they are now, I think that as a first phase the conversion in that just getting the website content into the wiki would be a very good first step.
After getting the content into the wiki, the next step is arranging the content to take advantage of the wiki workspace as there are big differences in holding the content in the static version compared to the dynamic, which is what you get in effect, when the content is stored in a wiki database.
So for the next few months the plane is to move the content from the static website to the wiki, as I have two main websites the plane is to move the smaller static website, which is the James Follett one.
At the current rate of progress ( remembering that I have to learn the wiki mark-up language)it could take until December, (and as I write this, it's only September) so this is a project for the long haul, when I have got all the website content in the wiki it goes without saying that I will have to change the url pointers such that instead of pointing to the static website they will point to the dynamic of wiki website instead.
The day that I do the re pointing, is in the future as so far I have only done 30 or so pages of the James Follett website and it has over 200 at the last count.
Now I must admit that I have played with wiki's before, and have had a lot of fun in working out all the different things that you can do with a wiki.
The thing is, that as the software that makes the wiki and in this case the software is (mediawiki has got much better) I suppose the time has now come to commit the 2 main websites that I have and convert them to wiki's
This is a process that is going to take a lot of time, which one thing about it is, not so unreasonable, as it took some time for the websites to get to the stage they are now, I think that as a first phase the conversion in that just getting the website content into the wiki would be a very good first step.
After getting the content into the wiki, the next step is arranging the content to take advantage of the wiki workspace as there are big differences in holding the content in the static version compared to the dynamic, which is what you get in effect, when the content is stored in a wiki database.
So for the next few months the plane is to move the content from the static website to the wiki, as I have two main websites the plane is to move the smaller static website, which is the James Follett one.
At the current rate of progress ( remembering that I have to learn the wiki mark-up language)it could take until December, (and as I write this, it's only September) so this is a project for the long haul, when I have got all the website content in the wiki it goes without saying that I will have to change the url pointers such that instead of pointing to the static website they will point to the dynamic of wiki website instead.
The day that I do the re pointing, is in the future as so far I have only done 30 or so pages of the James Follett website and it has over 200 at the last count.
Ark
Have just reading Ark by Stephen Baxter and I must say that for me it was great entertainment. The story does not have too many flat spots and does let you the reader into the Ark.
A couple of things that must have passed me by was what happened to the folks who saw ARK 2?
What happened to the folks on Earth II
What happened to the folks on the ARK after Earth III
Overall a good story told well, if the above is anything to go by there might be a book 3 in the series, not sure if I want it as in some ways its great that the author has left some questions for the reader to decided what happens.
I still think it would make a great radio show, which means that it will never happen.
A couple of things that must have passed me by was what happened to the folks who saw ARK 2?
What happened to the folks on Earth II
What happened to the folks on the ARK after Earth III
Overall a good story told well, if the above is anything to go by there might be a book 3 in the series, not sure if I want it as in some ways its great that the author has left some questions for the reader to decided what happens.
I still think it would make a great radio show, which means that it will never happen.
03 September, 2009
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