15 March, 2010
Reading
I have just finished a book that I pre-ordered on Amazon, so I got it as a hardback book, which is some thing I don't normally do but for this author I thought I would take a chance.
I think that this may be one of those occasions were I may have had just a bit of a bad result.
On the book buying side I have no problems, the book was sent to me on time and I must admit that all the price promises that Amazon made where kept, in that there was a price change and I got to have the benefit of it. So thank you Amazon.
Now the book contents part.
I am not too sure on this one, even though I have had some time to think all about it, I still feel as if I have been let down in some way by the author.
The book is by Iain Banks and is call Transition, I will not try to explain the story as I think that, that is one of the problems, Iain has I think tried to do what a lot of other authors have done and that is to write a story from many view points and times.
I don't think to me that he gets it quite right, in that this poor reader was at times feeling left behind, even when I went back to reread the parts that did not make sense.
I don't know if its his use of language or prose, but sometimes it just did not work for me.
I was entertained that I am sure of, its just that I was expecting to have an easier time of getting entertained.
I shall now that I have read the book go and have a look at what others have said about this book, to see if it just me or if there is a perceived problem with it.
I think that this may be one of those occasions were I may have had just a bit of a bad result.
On the book buying side I have no problems, the book was sent to me on time and I must admit that all the price promises that Amazon made where kept, in that there was a price change and I got to have the benefit of it. So thank you Amazon.
Now the book contents part.
I am not too sure on this one, even though I have had some time to think all about it, I still feel as if I have been let down in some way by the author.
The book is by Iain Banks and is call Transition, I will not try to explain the story as I think that, that is one of the problems, Iain has I think tried to do what a lot of other authors have done and that is to write a story from many view points and times.
I don't think to me that he gets it quite right, in that this poor reader was at times feeling left behind, even when I went back to reread the parts that did not make sense.
I don't know if its his use of language or prose, but sometimes it just did not work for me.
I was entertained that I am sure of, its just that I was expecting to have an easier time of getting entertained.
I shall now that I have read the book go and have a look at what others have said about this book, to see if it just me or if there is a perceived problem with it.
Nothing to say
Its funny how at one stage I had lots that I wanted to say then all of a sudden nothing zip, why?
I don't know why it happens like that but it does and from some reading that I have done I am not the only one that it happens to.
I was given a bit of advice a while a go about writing blogs, and the advice was that if you have nothing to say then don't try and force it as what you will write will come out as something that will not read well and it will probably not really be the real you speaking.
So I have followed my own advice over the last few weeks.
Which is good.
I don't know why it happens like that but it does and from some reading that I have done I am not the only one that it happens to.
I was given a bit of advice a while a go about writing blogs, and the advice was that if you have nothing to say then don't try and force it as what you will write will come out as something that will not read well and it will probably not really be the real you speaking.
So I have followed my own advice over the last few weeks.
Which is good.
02 March, 2010
ipad
i have been looking at what apple have done in the past with the release of new products and it dos not look good.
What I mean is that when the ipod came out e.g gen 1 it had some shortcomings and the software had stuff missing, which in hindsight should have been there from the very start, even the Gen 2 and 3 devices had stuff missing, but by gen 4 its good.
Now I own and ipod touch, and I use it very heavily every day, I keep running out of storage on it, is a 32GB device, I keep finding that I run out of app space even when I have lots of storage space for the programmes, I have seen and used a gen 1 touch and its not very good and is underpowered and stuff that would drive me nuts.
So with all that it stands to reason that Apple will do it again with the ipad, so I am going to wait for the gen 2 ipad which I am told will be out at Xmas 2010, so not long to wait.
What I mean is that when the ipod came out e.g gen 1 it had some shortcomings and the software had stuff missing, which in hindsight should have been there from the very start, even the Gen 2 and 3 devices had stuff missing, but by gen 4 its good.
Now I own and ipod touch, and I use it very heavily every day, I keep running out of storage on it, is a 32GB device, I keep finding that I run out of app space even when I have lots of storage space for the programmes, I have seen and used a gen 1 touch and its not very good and is underpowered and stuff that would drive me nuts.
So with all that it stands to reason that Apple will do it again with the ipad, so I am going to wait for the gen 2 ipad which I am told will be out at Xmas 2010, so not long to wait.
Updates
As I think I sad in an earlier blog, I have just started to do some work on the new James Follett website, pretty much in the same lines as the Dirk Maggs one, well why not it all seems to work okay and once everything is in the updating of the website is to tell the truth really really very easy and that's one of the main things that I want to gain from all of this updating stuff.
I must admit that the James Follett site is smaller I think, in fact I'm not to sure how they compare size wise. I suspect that over the next few weeks it's something that I will find out from first hand experience.
So then, on the James Follett side of things the database is set up and the core elements that go to make up the website are now all in place, all and I say this lightly all I now have to do is get the content transferred into the new website. This is a task that has to be done manually which is a pain but there dose not seem to be any other way of getting the job done, so manual it is.
I have so far only put the very first page up, mainly to see if it all works and all that sort of stuff that you do when trying out new stuff, it all appears to be working how I would expect it to which is good.
So I now have the long task of converting it to the new format. I don't know if I should tell James or not, as I am not sure if he is that interested in his unofficial website these days.
I will set up the domain so that when complete it points at the new website, and when I have checked that it all works I will delete the old website.
If by any chance James does realise any new material it will be very easy to update and also as an added benefit he could also with the right permissions edit the site, or at least correct it or even add missing information to it.
So lots to do.
I must admit that the James Follett site is smaller I think, in fact I'm not to sure how they compare size wise. I suspect that over the next few weeks it's something that I will find out from first hand experience.
So then, on the James Follett side of things the database is set up and the core elements that go to make up the website are now all in place, all and I say this lightly all I now have to do is get the content transferred into the new website. This is a task that has to be done manually which is a pain but there dose not seem to be any other way of getting the job done, so manual it is.
I have so far only put the very first page up, mainly to see if it all works and all that sort of stuff that you do when trying out new stuff, it all appears to be working how I would expect it to which is good.
So I now have the long task of converting it to the new format. I don't know if I should tell James or not, as I am not sure if he is that interested in his unofficial website these days.
I will set up the domain so that when complete it points at the new website, and when I have checked that it all works I will delete the old website.
If by any chance James does realise any new material it will be very easy to update and also as an added benefit he could also with the right permissions edit the site, or at least correct it or even add missing information to it.
So lots to do.
Sky
Looks today as if we are going to have a cold but bright blue sky day, which is nice, as its been just a while since we had that sort of things.
01 March, 2010
27 February, 2010
229 of 365 - Watch out! It's Lady No Pupil and she's come to eat you alive!
229 of 365 - Watch out! It's Lady No Pupil and she's come to eat you alive!, originally uploaded by elsvo.
Just found this images on the old flickr pages, like you do. What I like about this images is the eyes, I have been told that the eyes are a portal into the soul, if that's true then this is I think an images that tells that in spades.
22 February, 2010
Reading
I have just finished reading a book which when it was first out in hardback caused a bit of a storm, well for a few days back in 2009.
You will see what all the fuss is about as soon as you see the books name, but just to prolong things a bit longer, I begin to wonder what all the fuss was about as 90 percent of what the author says is well to be simple and straight forward.
I enjoyed the book and there where parts of it that where presented in a way that I had not seen before.
The book I think losses a bit in that not enough examples of the current state of things is given and then saying where he thinks they are going to go. Don't get me wrong the book is okay its just that I think you need to know where you are before you can say where you could or might go.
Anyway it did entertain me and at the of the day that's all that matters for me.
So after all that the name of the book is "Love & Sex with Robots" by David Levy
You will see what all the fuss is about as soon as you see the books name, but just to prolong things a bit longer, I begin to wonder what all the fuss was about as 90 percent of what the author says is well to be simple and straight forward.
I enjoyed the book and there where parts of it that where presented in a way that I had not seen before.
The book I think losses a bit in that not enough examples of the current state of things is given and then saying where he thinks they are going to go. Don't get me wrong the book is okay its just that I think you need to know where you are before you can say where you could or might go.
Anyway it did entertain me and at the of the day that's all that matters for me.
So after all that the name of the book is "Love & Sex with Robots" by David Levy
21 February, 2010
Updates
The Dirk Maggs website is a bit nearer to being completed as I want it.
I am now working on the odds section, and so far it has some 16 pages, which is a bit of a surprise, I hope to have it all done soon. One thing that I have done is drop pages that are no longer needed as this new website works in a very different way to the old, so much so that features that the old did not have and so had to have pages created by hand to give the feature are now created or done automatically by the new site software, neat!
I think that a another couple of weeks will do it.
The only thing that I will I suppose have to work out in the near future is how to update the software that runs the cms, and do it in such a way that it is safe.
The other thing that I will also have to do will be to delete all the old pages on the website so only the new Dirk Maggs site remains.
I am now working on the odds section, and so far it has some 16 pages, which is a bit of a surprise, I hope to have it all done soon. One thing that I have done is drop pages that are no longer needed as this new website works in a very different way to the old, so much so that features that the old did not have and so had to have pages created by hand to give the feature are now created or done automatically by the new site software, neat!
I think that a another couple of weeks will do it.
The only thing that I will I suppose have to work out in the near future is how to update the software that runs the cms, and do it in such a way that it is safe.
The other thing that I will also have to do will be to delete all the old pages on the website so only the new Dirk Maggs site remains.
15 February, 2010
Headphones
Finally got my headphones that Donna brought for me as a Valentines present!
The finally bit is that even though the delivery was supposed to be 24 hours DHL decided that not delivering them on Friday was a good reason to delver them on Monday so they had them Friday am till Monday am, not happy about that rather poor service, I expected better, and there does not appear to be a way of telling them what I think about their service.
Anyway talking about the new headphones is what this blog is supposed to be all about, and they are made by Sennheiser they are an upgrade of my existing headphones, they are noise reducing and they are model PXC300.
I must say that for me they work very well, and do exactly what the manufacture said they would do which is good, even though we got them in a sale they still cost over hundred pounds, but so far I would say they are worth the money. The sound they produce for me is good and the sound reduction technology works very well.
My ipod touch seems to like them and that's all that really matters at the end of the day. I have read else where that they are't as good as expected and that they don't cut out all the external noise, but that's where I think people have misunderstood what a noise reduction headphone is designed to do.
But me I like them and they do what I expected them to do, if I want hifi sound then I would have gone for closed ear type of headphone, and these are not that, so by their very design they can never be better than a closed ear design, but you have to ask yourself do you want to go around the streets looking like Mickey Mouse with big ears?
The finally bit is that even though the delivery was supposed to be 24 hours DHL decided that not delivering them on Friday was a good reason to delver them on Monday so they had them Friday am till Monday am, not happy about that rather poor service, I expected better, and there does not appear to be a way of telling them what I think about their service.
Anyway talking about the new headphones is what this blog is supposed to be all about, and they are made by Sennheiser they are an upgrade of my existing headphones, they are noise reducing and they are model PXC300.
I must say that for me they work very well, and do exactly what the manufacture said they would do which is good, even though we got them in a sale they still cost over hundred pounds, but so far I would say they are worth the money. The sound they produce for me is good and the sound reduction technology works very well.
My ipod touch seems to like them and that's all that really matters at the end of the day. I have read else where that they are't as good as expected and that they don't cut out all the external noise, but that's where I think people have misunderstood what a noise reduction headphone is designed to do.
But me I like them and they do what I expected them to do, if I want hifi sound then I would have gone for closed ear type of headphone, and these are not that, so by their very design they can never be better than a closed ear design, but you have to ask yourself do you want to go around the streets looking like Mickey Mouse with big ears?
13 February, 2010
Updates
I am hoping that to day I can finish the layout changes on the Dirk Maggs website, and that after that has been done the site can be called done as far as this round of changes and updates to it goes.
I suspect that the next changes will be if I get new pictures of any of the voice actors that I haven't already got or if Dirk ever does another new radio production or and yes there are lots of or's in this sentence I get new information on any of the radio productions already featured.
I suspect that the next changes will be if I get new pictures of any of the voice actors that I haven't already got or if Dirk ever does another new radio production or and yes there are lots of or's in this sentence I get new information on any of the radio productions already featured.
12 February, 2010
Updates
So I have I think got most of the images in on the major pages of the Dirk Maggs website, which is good, I have decided at this time that the interlinking of pages on the website is not needed as I give every user of the website the chance to search the entire website for whatever they are looking for.
Saying that the number of users for the new Dirk Maggs website never hit more than 75-100 people a day so I suppose I am not going to upset many people by removing the links, and any way its my site and I can do whatever I want with it, and if removing stuff like interlinks makes my job easier for no real loss of usability then its a step that I am going to take.
Saying that the number of users for the new Dirk Maggs website never hit more than 75-100 people a day so I suppose I am not going to upset many people by removing the links, and any way its my site and I can do whatever I want with it, and if removing stuff like interlinks makes my job easier for no real loss of usability then its a step that I am going to take.
Reading
I have just finished reading the very latest book by Robert Harris called Lustrum which as you may or may not know is book 2 in the Roman trilogy that he is writing. A the books chart the life of the real life figure of Cicero.
So far both the 1st book and this book have both been a good read, and I must admit I don't know where real life stops and the fiction begins, but checking real life with what he has written he dos not go to far from what happened all that time ago.
Part 3 will be out next year if Robert keeps to his publishing time-scale, which is good because I would love to see how he will bring it all to great conclusion.
So far both the 1st book and this book have both been a good read, and I must admit I don't know where real life stops and the fiction begins, but checking real life with what he has written he dos not go to far from what happened all that time ago.
Part 3 will be out next year if Robert keeps to his publishing time-scale, which is good because I would love to see how he will bring it all to great conclusion.
11 February, 2010
Updates
Just do a bit more updating of the Dirk Maggs website, and even if I have to say it myself it's going well.
I think that in the next day or so I should have all the pages in all the pictures in. The only thing that will be left to do will be the interlinks within the website, which will take some time.
I also have an idea for the odd extra page here and there after that the only changes will be if new material turns up or a new production by Dirk appears.
I think that in the next day or so I should have all the pages in all the pictures in. The only thing that will be left to do will be the interlinks within the website, which will take some time.
I also have an idea for the odd extra page here and there after that the only changes will be if new material turns up or a new production by Dirk appears.
10 February, 2010
Updates
I have made some more progress on the Dirk Maggs website, in that I think I have worked out how to get some of the tables to center up. Its a bit of a cheat in that all I do is make the table width bigger, and some how or other it center itself when being displayed, no I don't understand how it does it, but it appears to work, this means I now have to go through all 200 odd pages, as I did't keep a record of what pages were broken, oh well
08 February, 2010
Updates
Have some how found just a bit of time to do some more update to the Dirk Maggs website, I have added a few more images and also added some changes to the layout of a couple of the pages, so hopefully making them easier to read.
I still have a layout issue on some pages where for some reason or other the pictures in a frame will not center up in the page, why I just don't know.
So those pages will remain broken until I find a way of correcting what ever the fault is that breaks them.
I still have a layout issue on some pages where for some reason or other the pictures in a frame will not center up in the page, why I just don't know.
So those pages will remain broken until I find a way of correcting what ever the fault is that breaks them.
07 February, 2010
Cold
So mister BBC weather man has just said that temperatures this week will be 5 centigrade lower than they should be.
I want spring, when is spring going happen.
I want spring, when is spring going happen.
05 February, 2010
Nothing
Funny how you can go from having lots to say to nothing, I suspect that I am in my nothing to say period!
01 February, 2010
Reading Now
I have just finished reading the latest Matthew Reilly book called "The Five Greatest Warriors" and I must admit that it was a great read and I felt that I had been entertained, which is what I want from most of the books that I read.
This book which I have to wait some 2 years for was worth the wait and completes the story which was started back in his earlier book called "The Six Sacred Stones" which I read back in 2006-7!, yes 2006-7 even I had to check the year that I read it.
Matthew writes books that are just all out thrillers with action and some very clever puzzles in them, they will never win awards for literature, but then I don't read that kind of book, I want to be entertained and to go with the help of the author into a movie that is better than Blue Ray and is more 3d than 3d and better sound than Dolby, and I think that Matthew is for me one of those authors who just does it for me, your mileage many vary.
So would I say to others read this book, yes if you like the kind of stories that Matthew writes.
This book which I have to wait some 2 years for was worth the wait and completes the story which was started back in his earlier book called "The Six Sacred Stones" which I read back in 2006-7!, yes 2006-7 even I had to check the year that I read it.
Matthew writes books that are just all out thrillers with action and some very clever puzzles in them, they will never win awards for literature, but then I don't read that kind of book, I want to be entertained and to go with the help of the author into a movie that is better than Blue Ray and is more 3d than 3d and better sound than Dolby, and I think that Matthew is for me one of those authors who just does it for me, your mileage many vary.
So would I say to others read this book, yes if you like the kind of stories that Matthew writes.
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