Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Number Six - a real rock dinosaur
Earlier this year I blogged about buying my first Dylan albums, predicting the start of a slippery slope towards a buying frenzy for Bob albums. Well, that was an exaggeration. So far I've failed to really get hooked by the downright deadpan delivery and the downright miserable tone, although Dylan's prowess as a songwriter does shine through.
Fitting then, that although Bob doesn't feature in my top 10 (or top 30, come to that - and that's about as many different albums I've listened to in 2007) but an album full of cover version of Dylan songs is up there at number six. Take a bow Bryan Ferry, and I'm sorry for calling you a rock dinosaur.
Ferry is one of those few artists whose new albums I'll just buy on spec - along with REM and David Bowie (hurry up, both of you). Another aside, Radiohead used to fall into that category until they did strange things with a 128kbps-only download of In Rainbows, for which I offered the grand sum of nothing, so I could preview it ahead of the CD coming out next year that I can buy and rip at a proper bitrate. Anyway?
Despite having bought Bryan?s Dylanesque album with gusto, it was actually with trepidation that I offered up the silver disc for a first hearing. It's fair to say that Bryan?s mid-life crisis stretched from the late 80s through to his late 90s album (correct me if I'm wrong) Frantic. The album Taxi in particular showed that Bry's writers block was truly hindering the career of a once-great singer-songwriter. Gratifying, therefore, that Ferry decided to bite the bullet and cover some Dylan standards. Not for the first time, mind ? Dylan songs have been popping up on Ferry albums since the early 70s.
It's the first time I'm listening to the start of the first track, Tom Thumb's Blues. I'm seriously worried. Ferry's voice sounds frail, unsure, uncommitted, as if his heart isn't in it. But then the song drops into gear, the Ferry croon kicks in, the sun comes out from behind the clouds, the traffic lights all go green, and all is well. We're flying high.
I'm sure many, many Dylan fans hate the MoR Ferry interpretation. I'd like to see ol' Bob reciprocate with an album of Ferry covers. Just imagine the nasal whine mix of Slave To Love. Maybe I'm gonna start a petition.
Fitting then, that although Bob doesn't feature in my top 10 (or top 30, come to that - and that's about as many different albums I've listened to in 2007) but an album full of cover version of Dylan songs is up there at number six. Take a bow Bryan Ferry, and I'm sorry for calling you a rock dinosaur.
Ferry is one of those few artists whose new albums I'll just buy on spec - along with REM and David Bowie (hurry up, both of you). Another aside, Radiohead used to fall into that category until they did strange things with a 128kbps-only download of In Rainbows, for which I offered the grand sum of nothing, so I could preview it ahead of the CD coming out next year that I can buy and rip at a proper bitrate. Anyway?
Despite having bought Bryan?s Dylanesque album with gusto, it was actually with trepidation that I offered up the silver disc for a first hearing. It's fair to say that Bryan?s mid-life crisis stretched from the late 80s through to his late 90s album (correct me if I'm wrong) Frantic. The album Taxi in particular showed that Bry's writers block was truly hindering the career of a once-great singer-songwriter. Gratifying, therefore, that Ferry decided to bite the bullet and cover some Dylan standards. Not for the first time, mind ? Dylan songs have been popping up on Ferry albums since the early 70s.
It's the first time I'm listening to the start of the first track, Tom Thumb's Blues. I'm seriously worried. Ferry's voice sounds frail, unsure, uncommitted, as if his heart isn't in it. But then the song drops into gear, the Ferry croon kicks in, the sun comes out from behind the clouds, the traffic lights all go green, and all is well. We're flying high.
I'm sure many, many Dylan fans hate the MoR Ferry interpretation. I'd like to see ol' Bob reciprocate with an album of Ferry covers. Just imagine the nasal whine mix of Slave To Love. Maybe I'm gonna start a petition.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Top 10: Number 7
I've got a bit of a backlog of posts here (there's a first time for everything, right) so moving swiftly ahead to Number Seven in my 2007, and heralding the first appearance of The Cat.
Take a bow Cat Stevens, when you were still using that name. At the start of the 1970s you recorded a string of albums that still sound fabulous today ' Catch Bull At Four, Mona Bone Jakon, Teaser And The Firecat, and my favorite of all, Tea For The Tillerman.
Many songs are a simple voice/guitar combination, with Cat's super-versatile voice taking me through a gamut of emotion every time I hear the album. It's almost a Greatest Hits by itself, featuring several songs penned by Cat that would later be covered by bands over and over again.
Tracks that pretty much everyone knows are there, such as Hard Headed Woman, Longer Boats and Wild World ' but it's the hair-raising Father And Son that really seals the deal for me. I was tempted simply to award 7th place to 'all early 70s Cat Stevens albums' as that would have allowed the inclusion of the best-ever treatment of Morning Has Broken - everything, lean back and CHILL song if there ever was one - originally on Mona, although we'll come back to that track further up the top 10.
Play Tillerman and you'll be reaching for the volume control, to turn it up! I'm usually enraptured by the start of Sad Lisa, a song that just drips melancholy. It's the voice, gentle / strong at exactly the right moments.
My early 1970s musical odyssey continues, further up the charts - although the other artist is an unlikely bedfellow for such a good chap as Cat Stevens.
Take a bow Cat Stevens, when you were still using that name. At the start of the 1970s you recorded a string of albums that still sound fabulous today ' Catch Bull At Four, Mona Bone Jakon, Teaser And The Firecat, and my favorite of all, Tea For The Tillerman.
Many songs are a simple voice/guitar combination, with Cat's super-versatile voice taking me through a gamut of emotion every time I hear the album. It's almost a Greatest Hits by itself, featuring several songs penned by Cat that would later be covered by bands over and over again.
Tracks that pretty much everyone knows are there, such as Hard Headed Woman, Longer Boats and Wild World ' but it's the hair-raising Father And Son that really seals the deal for me. I was tempted simply to award 7th place to 'all early 70s Cat Stevens albums' as that would have allowed the inclusion of the best-ever treatment of Morning Has Broken - everything, lean back and CHILL song if there ever was one - originally on Mona, although we'll come back to that track further up the top 10.
Play Tillerman and you'll be reaching for the volume control, to turn it up! I'm usually enraptured by the start of Sad Lisa, a song that just drips melancholy. It's the voice, gentle / strong at exactly the right moments.
My early 1970s musical odyssey continues, further up the charts - although the other artist is an unlikely bedfellow for such a good chap as Cat Stevens.
Back in the train gang
The BMW?s health has taken a turn for the worse, and the timing isn?t good: winter has arrived, and the train strikes in Germany are threatening to cause further chaos. But the train is the sensible option, as the Beemer seems to have had some kind of computer brain aneurism, and I know that whatever the cure, it?s going to be expensive.
We?re not quite sure what?s wrong yet but we know what the symptoms are ? the ABS/ASR light comes on and the ABS and traction control systems shut down. That?s normal if there?s a dodgy ABS sensor but this time we?ve been through that, and the car ECU seems to be blaming a different sensor every time. No sign of any cables having been chewed by our pine marten, either. What?s really worrying though is that the automatic gearbox is playing up now as well ? sticking in third gear and refusing to provide its usual silky-smooth shift.
We?ve been through the calculations and it?s just about break-even for me to get a company car (for the company, it?s a far more positive story because of the costs that can be offset and the sales tax reclaim). So the choice is now either to rejig my package so that a car is included, or to allocate a decent amount of money to buy a two- or three-year-old replacement for the Beemer.
In the six years since I bought it, car prices have crept up. I?d need about 50 percent more cash now to buy a newer 5 series of the same age/mileage that mine was in when we first met. It?s clear that the EUR10k to 20k bracket is the mid-market battle ground where prices are most keen. Cars tend to hang around for ages above 10k before plummeting to ground like a rock. My Beemer is getting into the ?pocket change? territory now ? even in perfect working order it has a trade value of under EUR5k.
To update the car shopping list:
Company car ? probably a Ford Mondeo diesel. Yeah, I know it?s a boring family hatchback but that?s what we need.
Private car ? sensible option is to look for a tidy used BMW 320d ? late old shape with lots of kit or a Spartan new shape. Alfa resale prices aren?t to be trusted ? they hold up ok for three years or so, then plummet, and even the run-out 164s are on the precipice now. I?ve dropped the idea of a Disco, a 740d or an SLK ? and the Astra was the bogey car.
Labels: auto, petrolhead, rant
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Line Rider - surely the most addictive online game ever
Line Rider is most definitely NSFW (not suitable for work) because it's addictive. So addictive that there are a number of competing sites out there offering the same Flash plug-in. My favorite is this Line Rider site, simply because it's the first I found.
Bluegrass: a whole new world
This is not the first mention of my April trip to the 606 Club in London, where I was treated to an exceptional rendition of some bluegrass classics - by a band whose name I'm still trying to find out. I should give them a ring, really, and just ask - who the heck were those Irish brothers who rocked the joint? Headliner of the night was former Robbie Williams collaborator Guy Chambers, who was pretty good, but nowhere near as good as the bluegrass boys.
I'll elaborate: Until then I didn't even know I liked bluegrass. That night led to a flirtation that hasn?t become an obsessive love affair, but is fun for a quickie here and there ? then I was in the UK one Saturday in July, trying to drive down the M5 to Cornwall (with half of the rest of the population of the UK). The only thing that kept me sane, and off the A38 (which was probably even slower) was BBC Radio Two's coverage of the Cambridge Folk Festival, where the bluegrass was a treat.
That was it, I was hooked, and after a bit of research, I ordered a double CD called Flatt & Scruggs/Stanley Brothers - Selected Sides 1947-53: The Very Best of Bluegrass. Not a single track younger than 50 years old! To be honest it doesn't really matter which of the many Essential Bluegrass Collections you pick up: there seem to be a fair few out there. I couldn't listen to bluegrass every day but there are moments when a bit of rapid banjo strumming sounds just right.
That#s why the album is at number eight in my 2007 top 10.
I'll elaborate: Until then I didn't even know I liked bluegrass. That night led to a flirtation that hasn?t become an obsessive love affair, but is fun for a quickie here and there ? then I was in the UK one Saturday in July, trying to drive down the M5 to Cornwall (with half of the rest of the population of the UK). The only thing that kept me sane, and off the A38 (which was probably even slower) was BBC Radio Two's coverage of the Cambridge Folk Festival, where the bluegrass was a treat.
That was it, I was hooked, and after a bit of research, I ordered a double CD called Flatt & Scruggs/Stanley Brothers - Selected Sides 1947-53: The Very Best of Bluegrass. Not a single track younger than 50 years old! To be honest it doesn't really matter which of the many Essential Bluegrass Collections you pick up: there seem to be a fair few out there. I couldn't listen to bluegrass every day but there are moments when a bit of rapid banjo strumming sounds just right.
That#s why the album is at number eight in my 2007 top 10.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
At Number Nine in the charts
Number Nine in my personal top 10 albums for 2007 is occupied by The Beatles' Love. Released about a year ago, for me its the greatest of the greatest hits albums - and possibly the one that has ruffled the purists' feathers, because of the way it mixes up iconic songs we all know and love. I've already bought three copies, and given two away as presents.
It's more than a remix album - Love is the soundtrack to the Cirque de Soleil show playing at The Mirage in Las Vegas.
About a year ago, I actually finally went and found Abbey Road and the legendary Abbey Studios in the St John's Wood district of London - then found myself outside Abbey Studios again in the summer, when I was exploring the Regent's Canal.
Today's observation: mobile illiteracy
Just because you're sending me a message from your BlackBerry "device" it is no excuse for terrible illiteracy. If you're in that much of a hurry, send me the message later ...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Top 10s and shortlists
As we approach the year's end it's a good time to look back at some highlights, and to look forward to the next. I'm kicking off both lists today.
First, the look back - at my favorite albums of 2007. There's only one category - the albums that have been most played this year on my iPod. I'm starting at Number 10 with Real Live by the Hamish Stuart Band. Out-of-stock on Amazon but if you're passing the 606 Club in Fulham (where the album was recorded in 2000), drop in with a GBP Tenner and the album's yours.
One of the most-recent additions to my iPod, I bought Real Live on the night Hamish Stuart and his band played the 606 Club in October. The album manages to capture the memory of that night. He might be pushing 60 but he's still one funky dude...
Plays: On a loop during much of November
Marks out of 10: 8 - the album's quite short, also it does NOT include Pick Up The Pieces, more's the pity.
Now the look forwards. I'm starting to think about my next commuter car. The 30-something KM journey is a combination of unrestricted autobahn and congested city streets, and finishes up in an underground garage. Going to and from work is pretty much all the car will get used for except an annual trip to Hanover for CeBIT and a few weekend errands.
The list is currently totally unstructured and very eclectic - these are the cars that catch my eye for one reason or another, because the main rule is that whatever I get has to be special in some way, and fit for all weather. There's nothing Japanese on the list because their cars are either too bland (Honda Accord, Toyota 'most everything), too big and too bland (Lexii, big Toyota off-roaders) or just too bananas (Scoobies, Mitsubishi Evo, Toyota muscle cars). So here is take one of the list: can you spot the spouse-satisfying sensible choice red herring?
First, the look back - at my favorite albums of 2007. There's only one category - the albums that have been most played this year on my iPod. I'm starting at Number 10 with Real Live by the Hamish Stuart Band. Out-of-stock on Amazon but if you're passing the 606 Club in Fulham (where the album was recorded in 2000), drop in with a GBP Tenner and the album's yours.
One of the most-recent additions to my iPod, I bought Real Live on the night Hamish Stuart and his band played the 606 Club in October. The album manages to capture the memory of that night. He might be pushing 60 but he's still one funky dude...
Plays: On a loop during much of November
Marks out of 10: 8 - the album's quite short, also it does NOT include Pick Up The Pieces, more's the pity.
Now the look forwards. I'm starting to think about my next commuter car. The 30-something KM journey is a combination of unrestricted autobahn and congested city streets, and finishes up in an underground garage. Going to and from work is pretty much all the car will get used for except an annual trip to Hanover for CeBIT and a few weekend errands.
The list is currently totally unstructured and very eclectic - these are the cars that catch my eye for one reason or another, because the main rule is that whatever I get has to be special in some way, and fit for all weather. There's nothing Japanese on the list because their cars are either too bland (Honda Accord, Toyota 'most everything), too big and too bland (Lexii, big Toyota off-roaders) or just too bananas (Scoobies, Mitsubishi Evo, Toyota muscle cars). So here is take one of the list: can you spot the spouse-satisfying sensible choice red herring?
- Peugeot 307cc
- BMW 3-series or 5-series - probably diesel, saloon
- SLK or last-generation SL320 (the SL500 is just too thirsty)
- Alfa 166
- Alfa 159
- Land Rover Discovery
- BMW 740d (but probably too expensive)
- Opel Astra
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Shiny new RSS feed
I got sick of all the posts showing up with a 1 January date (I was skiing that day, not posting, in case you wondered) so I have a shiny new RSS feed for occasional observations, for you RSS fans:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/occasionalobservations
It does RSS and Atom really well.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/occasionalobservations
It does RSS and Atom really well.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
After almost a year of Office 2007...
I've used Office 2007 since the very early days - and grown to love it. It's only after temporarily reverting to Office 2003 that I realize how much I miss O2k7. It's the little things where the newer suite has finessed things - such as the big SEND button in email and the one-click-to-PDF converter.
Wish I could say the same about Internet Explorer, but it's the opposite here - unexpected probs with Firefox and so since I'll only be using my loaner PC for a week or so, I'll stick with IE. Time to learn the tricks of 7.0.
Labels: tech
Monday, November 12, 2007
Plaxo: the social outcast of social networking sites?
"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie." The Fellowship of The Ring - JRR Tolkein
So many rings, so many different uses - the same applies today to social networking websites! Just like Tolkein's rings, there are different sites for different needs - MySpace and Localisten for the kids, Facebook for friends, LinkedIn and aSmallWorld for business networkers.
The thing is, there are so many of these sites now that people are forced to pick and choose. I can't join them all: I'm already on XING so I don't need Viadeo, which I understand is quite big in France; I have a user:pass somewhere for the Calando Club but never got past the front page, and so on. I've Twittered a few times but when I'm also updating using Facebook, why repeat myself? As for Dodgeball ... well. I'm just too old for a site like that.
Perhaps when Web 2.0 really lives up to its name, one of these social networking sites will emerge as an aggregator for content from all the others - pulling everything together into one big, happy family.
So far Facebook is the surprise early leader here, allowing me to at least pull in lists from LinkedIn and XING, and to belong to the aSW user group.
Just like in real life there's also a social outcast among social networking sites. Step forwards Plaxo, a site that began life as an online repository of business cards. Boy, did I get sick of those automated emails asking me to update my contact details - sometimes even presenting me with a poor quality black-and-white scan of my business card.
Then last week, Plaxo reinvented itself, launching a service called Pulse, and I started getting invitations, starting as a trickle but by late last week, this had turned into a deluge (in terms of social networking site invitations, anyway).
I had to try - and Pulse isn't too bad - it looks like the Facebook friend updates. There are still some glitches - for example it doesn't seem to want to let me confirm all of my network contacts. It also shows promise in being able to sync with other sites like last.fm and Flickr, and some others I don't (yet) use such as Furl, Jaiku and ImageShack.
For many people, Plaxo is still the social outcast but perhaps Pulse is the start of its rehabilitation?
It's clearly going to take a while for Plaxo to win the hearts of many - who, like me, tired long ago of those facile "update your business data" emails that would have bounced anyway if I'd changed my email (doh).
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie." The Fellowship of The Ring - JRR Tolkein
So many rings, so many different uses - the same applies today to social networking websites! Just like Tolkein's rings, there are different sites for different needs - MySpace and Localisten for the kids, Facebook for friends, LinkedIn and aSmallWorld for business networkers.
The thing is, there are so many of these sites now that people are forced to pick and choose. I can't join them all: I'm already on XING so I don't need Viadeo, which I understand is quite big in France; I have a user:pass somewhere for the Calando Club but never got past the front page, and so on. I've Twittered a few times but when I'm also updating using Facebook, why repeat myself? As for Dodgeball ... well. I'm just too old for a site like that.
Perhaps when Web 2.0 really lives up to its name, one of these social networking sites will emerge as an aggregator for content from all the others - pulling everything together into one big, happy family.
So far Facebook is the surprise early leader here, allowing me to at least pull in lists from LinkedIn and XING, and to belong to the aSW user group.
Just like in real life there's also a social outcast among social networking sites. Step forwards Plaxo, a site that began life as an online repository of business cards. Boy, did I get sick of those automated emails asking me to update my contact details - sometimes even presenting me with a poor quality black-and-white scan of my business card.
Then last week, Plaxo reinvented itself, launching a service called Pulse, and I started getting invitations, starting as a trickle but by late last week, this had turned into a deluge (in terms of social networking site invitations, anyway).
I had to try - and Pulse isn't too bad - it looks like the Facebook friend updates. There are still some glitches - for example it doesn't seem to want to let me confirm all of my network contacts. It also shows promise in being able to sync with other sites like last.fm and Flickr, and some others I don't (yet) use such as Furl, Jaiku and ImageShack.
For many people, Plaxo is still the social outcast but perhaps Pulse is the start of its rehabilitation?
It's clearly going to take a while for Plaxo to win the hearts of many - who, like me, tired long ago of those facile "update your business data" emails that would have bounced anyway if I'd changed my email (doh).
Labels: social networking, web 2.0
Friday, November 09, 2007
iPhone Europa
The iPhone has arrived in Europe. As from today, T-Mobile Germany and O2 in the UK are selling iPhone models.
Here in Germany it's possible to pick up an 8GB iPhone on a 24-month contract for EUR 399 - a mere EUR 100 more than the 8GB iPod Touch.
T-Mo monthly contracts start at EUR 49 a month but they do include "unlimited" mobile data. "Unlimited" for the EUR 49/month model means 200MB before you're bumped down to dial-up modem speeds. At the top end 5GB a month is a lot for the mobile internet but so is EUR89 a month.
There are also a nice array of accessories, so you could easily blow through the EUR500 mark on picking up an iPhone today... the Bluetooth headphones look interesting, but they're EUR 119.
Here in Germany it's possible to pick up an 8GB iPhone on a 24-month contract for EUR 399 - a mere EUR 100 more than the 8GB iPod Touch.
T-Mo monthly contracts start at EUR 49 a month but they do include "unlimited" mobile data. "Unlimited" for the EUR 49/month model means 200MB before you're bumped down to dial-up modem speeds. At the top end 5GB a month is a lot for the mobile internet but so is EUR89 a month.
There are also a nice array of accessories, so you could easily blow through the EUR500 mark on picking up an iPhone today... the Bluetooth headphones look interesting, but they're EUR 119.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Skype, Outlook 2K7 and the missing 40MB of memory
For weeks I've been aggravated by the same error message: "A data file did not close properly the last time it was used ..." from Outlook 2007 - but since the quick fix was just to let the system do the integrity check and then Shut Up and Go Away, I didn't tackle it.
Until now. The tipping point was when I closed down Outlook and then 10 minutes later, discovered that it's still hogging 100-plus MB of system memory. When it's not even supposed to be running any more. There's also low-level CPU activity, but I've closed Outlook, I'm not defragging, my VPN's dropped, in fact I even disconnected from the grid to see if this would change things. It didn't.
Plenty of Googling around eventually leads me via those wiseguy Mac users advising me not to use Outlook (like I suggest not using Leopard right now, dude) to "yet another MS blogger" - but that's false modesty as this YAMSB has an answer that helps get to the nub of the problem. It's not Outlook, it's the plug-ins, stupid. From here it's a downhill race and simple process of elimination until I discover that Skype is to blame - at least for the memory-hogging. Skype has the "useful" function of importing my Outlook contacts so I can call them via Skype instead of a POTS system (I don't, usually).
A bit of task killing and a restart later and Outlook is "only" using 44MB of system memory. That by itself is a start. You need to be online with Skype and have Outlook running to stop Skype sharing.
However, Outlook is still refusing to shut down properly. Running in safe mode is much faster, well, at least by Outlook standards - except that it tries to "synch" those lame standard installed RSS feeds with my hand-picked ones at start-up (the answer is NO!! Get out of here and never come back again. Ever).
Now Outlook is running at a super-lean 13MB, and it's quite fast. Amazing. Skype isn't running, by the way. So I re-run OFFDIAG, the Office diagnostics program, which usefully tells me it fixed one problem, although it won't pony up the details even in advanced mode. (Sigh) As ever it's "package 36 of 36" that takes the longest to run.
Next is another reboot, with Skype consigned to the sandbox. Let's see what happens next. At least I got some of my memory back :-)
UPDATE: What happens next is that Outlook runs faster - and closes down as it should. Problem solved. Next: well, I suppose other Vista performance issues. Just like XP, after six months or so the whole system slows down, due to crowded logfiles ad infinitum. Also I have my eye on the 3-plus GB that Google Desktop is taking up, as I'm trialling software called SmartDesktop which could, theoretically, give me that 3GB back. Watch this space.
Until now. The tipping point was when I closed down Outlook and then 10 minutes later, discovered that it's still hogging 100-plus MB of system memory. When it's not even supposed to be running any more. There's also low-level CPU activity, but I've closed Outlook, I'm not defragging, my VPN's dropped, in fact I even disconnected from the grid to see if this would change things. It didn't.
Plenty of Googling around eventually leads me via those wiseguy Mac users advising me not to use Outlook (like I suggest not using Leopard right now, dude) to "yet another MS blogger" - but that's false modesty as this YAMSB has an answer that helps get to the nub of the problem. It's not Outlook, it's the plug-ins, stupid. From here it's a downhill race and simple process of elimination until I discover that Skype is to blame - at least for the memory-hogging. Skype has the "useful" function of importing my Outlook contacts so I can call them via Skype instead of a POTS system (I don't, usually).
A bit of task killing and a restart later and Outlook is "only" using 44MB of system memory. That by itself is a start. You need to be online with Skype and have Outlook running to stop Skype sharing.
However, Outlook is still refusing to shut down properly. Running in safe mode is much faster, well, at least by Outlook standards - except that it tries to "synch" those lame standard installed RSS feeds with my hand-picked ones at start-up (the answer is NO!! Get out of here and never come back again. Ever).
Now Outlook is running at a super-lean 13MB, and it's quite fast. Amazing. Skype isn't running, by the way. So I re-run OFFDIAG, the Office diagnostics program, which usefully tells me it fixed one problem, although it won't pony up the details even in advanced mode. (Sigh) As ever it's "package 36 of 36" that takes the longest to run.
Next is another reboot, with Skype consigned to the sandbox. Let's see what happens next. At least I got some of my memory back :-)
UPDATE: What happens next is that Outlook runs faster - and closes down as it should. Problem solved. Next: well, I suppose other Vista performance issues. Just like XP, after six months or so the whole system slows down, due to crowded logfiles ad infinitum. Also I have my eye on the 3-plus GB that Google Desktop is taking up, as I'm trialling software called SmartDesktop which could, theoretically, give me that 3GB back. Watch this space.
Friday, November 02, 2007
RSS = really overwhelmed
The number of my unread RSS feeds just passed 1000. And RSS was supposed to be the way of streamlining all those blogs and news streams I wanted to read but never found the time to do.
Game over. I'm tempted to delete all my RSS feeds and start over.
Game over. I'm tempted to delete all my RSS feeds and start over.
Labels: rant, RSS, tech, web 2.0
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Breaking the "rules"
I'm breaking the never-post-after-midnight rule as it's been my first chance to catch up on world news for a couple of days. How mad is this: Oil is almost US$100 a barrel, but the USD continues to set new record lows against the Euro, yet gas and diesel prices in Euro-land continue to climb.
I smell opportunistic profiteering. Yeah, the prices are jacked because oil barrels keep going up. Yes. But no. The USD is falling just as fast so where's the difference going? Oh boy, are those stock prices for the petroleum companies looking healthy.
It's totally not politically correct to say this, and after midnight, so double-plus bad, but forget investing in renewable energy companies and get on that fossil fuel bandwagon before the wheels finally fall off.
This could be worth a bit of research into the last hurrahs of staple-but-outdated technologies - you know, like the stagecoach, the gas lamp, the typewriter - to see if the leading manufacturers enjoyed a massive surge as they crossed the finish line. Any more for my putative research list? The fax machine? The CRT TV market (gut feeling is that this will show a fabulous last flourish), or the LP, which eventually lasted longer than the Compact Cassette despite tape taking over market share leadership briefly in the mad, mad days of something like 1988.
I smell opportunistic profiteering. Yeah, the prices are jacked because oil barrels keep going up. Yes. But no. The USD is falling just as fast so where's the difference going? Oh boy, are those stock prices for the petroleum companies looking healthy.
It's totally not politically correct to say this, and after midnight, so double-plus bad, but forget investing in renewable energy companies and get on that fossil fuel bandwagon before the wheels finally fall off.
This could be worth a bit of research into the last hurrahs of staple-but-outdated technologies - you know, like the stagecoach, the gas lamp, the typewriter - to see if the leading manufacturers enjoyed a massive surge as they crossed the finish line. Any more for my putative research list? The fax machine? The CRT TV market (gut feeling is that this will show a fabulous last flourish), or the LP, which eventually lasted longer than the Compact Cassette despite tape taking over market share leadership briefly in the mad, mad days of something like 1988.
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