Dogwood Tales

Sunday Links

2012-01-22T12:29:00.001Z

Meet Nuru the Aardvark Baby Be sure to watch the video in this post for some schnozztastic action on ZooBorns.
The Chromatic Typewriter Typing in colour
Cold reading An Alan Moore? Don't mind if I do ...
The Top 1 Percent: What Jobs Do They do Revealing infographic
The years of stagnation and the poodles of power Essential Adam Curtis
What is your favourite deep, elegant or beautiful theory?
Oooppps.. 404 - страница молдав... Best. 404 page. EVAR
An Exquisite Beast An intriguing daily art project
The curious cases of William James Clark An audacious Walter Mitty style con man finally gets caught

Caturday in the blankie cave

2012-01-21T15:54:00.001Z

Friday Boo

2012-01-21T15:51:00.000Z

Friday boo (mp3)

Podcast Thursday

2012-01-19T19:13:00.000Z

Two podcasts of note this week :

Seven Day Sunday - The topical news round up is back, hosted by Al Murray and this week featuring the mighty Richard Herring. Hurrah!
Pearl and Dave - You might know Isy Suttie from Peep Show, but you might not know that she is a dab hand at weaving a musical tale of love in the internet age. Funny and touching, and absolute delight - go and download it now!

2012-01-18T19:25:00.001Z

Blackout over ... :-)

Haikusday

2012-01-17T19:05:00.002Z

Clear skies, still, cold air,
The morning star shines brightly
As I scrape the ice

Cheese and ham toastie
With a splash of Worcester sauce
Warming lunchtime treat

A battle of wits
Resolved in a rooftop duel
Cliffhanger ending

Sunday Links

2012-01-15T18:16:00.001Z

Bath Time for Baby Sloths! Drip dry bebeh sloths on ZooBorns
Look at the world's tiniest vertebrate Small = cute, obviously
Kitty Lit Classic literature, now with added cats
The Museum of Bags
Ronald Searle - Obituary As ritten by Nigel Molesworth, goriller of 3b and curse of St Custards
The Mr Men Books reviewed
Least Helpful The very best of unhelpful internet user reviews
Build Your Own President Not happy with any of the 2012 presidential candidates? Build your own!
America in Color from 1939-1943
How the Brain Spots Faces
The Restart Page How many of these reboot sequences (complete with nostalgia inducing sound effects!) do you remember?

Winter Sun

2012-01-14T18:05:00.003Z

Three Boo Friday

2012-01-13T18:39:00.001Z

On the nature of Audioboo (mp3)Email boo (mp3)Music boo (mp3)

Astronomy

2012-01-12T19:01:00.003Z

Blustery again this morning, and whilst my little car is fairly stable on the road thanks to the weight of the hybrid battery, some of the high sided trucks were getting blown around on the exposed sections of the motorway. However, it looks as though the wind is going to drop and we're in for a cold snap over the weekend.

Work has been the usual mix of frustation leavened with the occasional burst of inspiration towards solving a problem. I managed to resolve a couple of issues that have been on my to do list for a while, but when I forwarded them to the project manager as fixed they were replaced with some more things to worry about with nary a word of thanks. Grumph.

I managed to snuck out of the office whilst there was still a glimmer of light in the western sky but my hopes of getting home at a reasonable time were thwarted by an accident and diversion just a couple of miles from home that sent me via a roundabout route through an industrial estate with a big queue of similarly diverted traffic. Grumph again.

Still, work at home day tomorrow and then the weekend, so that's a big plus in the great ledger of life, so hurrah for that.

Truth Boo

2012-01-11T20:55:00.000Z

Truth boo (mp3)

Haikusday

2012-01-10T19:16:00.000Z

A cold winter moon
Balanced on the horizon
Presages sunrise

"You and Osama -
I'm Andrea", Foo Fighters
Inspire Mondegreen

A pounding headache
Cured by ibuprofen and
Gingerbread latte

Code Academy
Interactive Javascript
New achievement get!

Bomber's Moon

2012-01-09T19:02:00.001Z

The full moon shining through the bedroom window was bright enough to wake me up this morning and it was still balanced on the far horizon as I drove to work. There was also a faint glimmer of light from the approaching sunrise, so there must only be a few more weeks of dark mornings to go. The winter has been comparatively mild so far, strong winds notwithstanding - I think that I have only had to scrape my windscreen free of ice once and there has been no snow to speak of.

Last night we burned through the last three episodes of season four of Breaking Bad. Wow, what a gobsmackingly audacious bit of telly, particularly the final scene. I love the quirky camera angles, the moral ambiguity (we are cheering for crooked lawyers, hitmen and drug dealers?!?), and the flashbacks and forwards that tease and illuminate. Where the heckins are they going to go with season five? Good stuff.

In games news, after finishing GTA : Chinatown Wars I returned to GTA III on iOS. Yes, the on foot controls are a touch shonky, but then they always were in the original game. Any sort of jumping, gun play or even just walking around is a bit of a trial, but I managed to collect all of the hidden packages on the first island which makes the game a lot easier by providing respawning weapons at the safe house. The joy of GTA for me is in driving around, listening to the radio and anticipating the next twist in the story line. I also made a start on Sword and Sworcery which I picked up cheaply over the holiday period. First impressions are very positive and I think this will be one to savour.

In other, other games news, I am still enjoying Skyrim, even if the sheer scope of the number of quests is slightly overwhelming. I have resolved not to look in my Miscellaneous quests folder and just deal with one plot strand at a time. My character is primarily a magic user, so I am following the Mages Guild quests to see where they lead. I have also managed to enchant myself a full set of light Elven armour and I suppose that I should work on my smithing skills so I can make use of all of the dragon bones and scales that I have been collecting.

In OU news, I have made a start on my second TMA for my business course and I now have the books and materials for the next course that I am doing on natural and artificial intelligence, which I am hugely looking forward to.

Sunday Links

2012-01-08T16:48:00.000Z

Tapir Trio Takes Twenty-Twelve By Storm! - ZooBorns
Code Year Sign up here for a weekly lesson on programming, and learn to code in 2012
Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky analyse the state of the world in discussion on The WELL
If Atari video games matched the covers ...
Mixtape of the Lost Decade Do you remember the 19A0s?
The Single Lane Super Highway Draw a car and join the highway
Game Over How many of these retro game deaths do you remember?
Travel Size Paper City Paris!
An Atheist's Guide to the 2012 US Election Penn Jillette analyses the religious views of the potential candidates
Raiders of the Lost Ark shot-for-shot A fascinating analyses of the pulp influences on Raiders of the Lost Ark

Dis cushion aint big enough for the both of us

2012-01-07T18:27:00.001Z

Friday is Boo Day

2012-01-06T18:19:00.000Z

Friday is boo day (mp3)

Podcast Thursday

2012-01-05T18:36:00.001Z

In Our Time : In this series, Melvyn Bragg traces the history of the written word from the very earliest cuneiform letters on clay tablets to Gutenberg and beyond. This is radio that genuinely entertains, educates and informs.
Blogging for the Blind : In complete contrast Michael Legge curses, complains and causes much hilarity.

Stormy Weather

2012-01-04T20:07:00.003Z

We've certainly got some seriously apocalyptic weather going on out there at the moment - freezing cold rain and howling gusts of wind that sound like a choir of banshees at full throttle. It was quite impressive to see the weather fronts marching over Leeds yesterday, watching from my office window - one minute horizontal rain and the next a rainbow, followed by a sharp dividing line of cloud and then a brief respite of blue skies, before the next lot of rain.

I'm tired after a mere two days of work this week, but at least I've only got one more day in the office before a work at home Friday and the weekend. It's been busy too, with more weird support stuff being uncovered on one of our web installs. I finally worked out why a RTF document that looked fine in our app was different when converted to a pdf to be embedded in a web page. Not surprisingly it was down to a RTF tag for the height of a table row being mangled by Word when the customer had edited it and then our PDF converter pedantically insisting on displaying it as per the correct RTF standard. It looks like we are going to have to write some sort of fix to work around it. Bah.

I've also had several meetings that will count towards my OU project work and I now need to start working on my next TMA document, but I might leave that to the weekend as I am comfortably on schedule.

In games news, Need for Speed Shift 2 was the free app of the day on the iTunes 12 days of Christmas which sort of makes up for them giving away a 'One Direction' single the other day. It looks appropriately shiny on my iPhone, although it unhelpfully hides the help options somewhere off of the main screen.

Haikusday

2012-01-03T19:10:00.002Z

Leaden skies, cold rain
Traffic crawls reluctantly
Happy new year folks!

Central heating fail
No hot water this morning
Kettle wash instead

Seven thousand steps
Ascending to High Hrothgar
Snow obscures the view

Sherlock nude shocker!
The Mail helpfully prints pics
In case you missed it

Back to Reality

2012-01-02T17:12:00.003Z

The last day of the holidays, and the last lie in too, waking up from a vivid dream about artificial intelligence and ghost hunting with Professor Richard Dawkins. It was somewhat chillier than of late, but I'll take that in return for brilliant blue skies and crisp, fresh air.

Today's toasta bag experiment was blue cheese and prosciutto which was nommilicious, particularly when followed by the last but one custard filled mince pie. Back to healthy eating as well as work tomorrow, I fear.

University work today has included some more study of project management, including risk analysis and setting SMART objectives for a project. I need to set up a meeting with my boss to discuss the project that I have chosen for my case study.

In Skyrim news, I finally managed to climb the seven thousand steps to High Hrothgar without getting distracted by random dungeons, quests or alchemical experiments on the way. I now have mastery of shouting at people to knock them over. Which is nice.

Toasta Bags Redux

2012-01-01T17:50:00.000Z

One of the most useful things that we acquired this festive season was a set of 'Toasta bags' - the idea being that you make a sandwich, pop it in this bit of hi-tech plastic and then toast it. Searching back through the archives of this blog, I find that I was rather dismissive of the very idea of Toasta bags as an invention for drunk students but now it seems I must almost literally eat my words.

I can exclusively report that they really do work, producing perfectly toasted sandwiches that are crispy on the outside and melty gorgeous on the inside, without reaching the molten lava temperatures that the Breville type toasters turn out. The sandwich slides out on to your plate with no fuss, and the bag is easily rinsed out or can even go in the dish washer. No crumbs, no gobs of fatty gunk to clean up and all cooked in a couple of minutes.

We bought them as a bit of a joke present for Jamie, but in the strange hinterland between Christmas and New Year they have been in use every day using up odd bits of cheese and slices of meat. Highly recommended for snack hounds everywhere!

2011 Links

2012-01-01T17:33:00.000Z

It's a Girl! Baby Rhino Born on Christmas Eve Zooborns
2011: The Year in Pictures - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com
BBC News - Quiz of the Year
The 50 Funniest Headlines Of 2011
Top 24 Deep Space Pictures of 2011
The 30 Most Important Cats Of 2011
The 30 Best Animal Videos of the Year
Notable deaths from 2001 A BBC slideshow
2011 in Lego
10 Images That Changed the Course of Science and one that is about to

New Year's Caturday

2011-12-31T17:47:00.002Z

Out with the old

2011-12-31T17:43:00.005Z

One thing that I have enjoyed more than anything else this past year is going out to see live music - we've been to several festivals from the cheap 'n' cheerful Westonphest to the city wide bonanza of Tramlines, and I've seen some truly excellent live performances from Riding the Low and The Swellers, but the highlight of the year has to be The Velcro Teddybears.

We've seen them often enough that the members of the band now come over to say hello after gigs and I am certainly intending to see them again, if only to nag them about recording at least a CD's worth of songs. Some t-shirts for the merch stall wouldn't go amiss, either ...

In games news, my time was mostly taken up with things like Words with Friends, Disc Drivin' and Carcassonne on my iPhone, although I have to note that LA Noir and Portal 2 have been standouts to play on the Xbox. I can see Skyrim keeping me busy in small doses well into the new year.

On the telly, this year we have been mainly watching Forbrydelsen I and II as well as the first three seasons of Breaking Bad. Game of Thrones was a surprise treat out of left field too, with the machiavellian politics being of as much interest as the swordplay and gratuitous nudity.

Finally, I want to get back to some form of martial arts this year, at least when the evenings start getting lighter. There's an Iaido club in Sheffield that I'd like to visit at some point to see if my knees are still up to it.

Friday Boo!

2011-12-30T17:35:00.003Z

Friday Boo! (mp3)

Boxing Day Links

2011-12-26T12:18:00.001Z

A Snowy White Kiwi Hatches Just in Time... ... for Christmas on Zooborns
私信 Maru's Christmas Bag
Writers and Kitties Famous authors with their feline friends
The Ghosts in the Living Room Adam Curtis documents the history of fly on the wall documentaries about the paranormal in suburbia
Hey! Keep scrolling down ...
How It Works …. The Computer Everything you ever wanted to know about computers, in an easy to read Ladybird book
The hunt for Britain's ghost trains A fascinating article of the history of so called Parliamentary trains, run at inconvenient hours on odd routes to satisfy legal obligations
Minicraft A mini 2d version of Minecraft, created in a couple of hours as a programming project

Advent Day 24 : Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Goggies

2011-12-24T15:14:00.000Z

Advent Day 23 : Western Swing Xmas

2011-12-23T13:20:00.000Z

When it comes to Christmas music, you can't beat a bit of classic, rooting, tooting Western Swing. Just click on the picture below and head over to 'Western Swing on 78' to download some mighty fine festive tunes.

To get you in the mood, here's a bit of Bob Wills. His 'Hooray! Christmas is here!' at the start is the 1930s equivalent of Noddy Holder ... :-)

Advent Day 22 : Woody Allen Jesus

2011-12-22T16:43:00.000Z

Apparently this song from Tim Minchin was deemed unsuitable for broadcast on the Christmas edition of the Jonathan Ross show - can't think why ...

Moominland Midwinter

2011-12-22T16:37:00.001Z

Moominland Midwinter (mp3)

Advent Day 21 : Solstice

2011-12-21T17:39:00.003Z

The light is coming back! While you are waiting for the sun, you might care to download this rather wonderful Sunrise Mix of two hours of chilled out funk.

Edited to add that this year the actual solstice is at 5:30 AM GMT on the 22nd of December (h/t Rachel!)

Advent Day 20 : A Night With the Stars

2011-12-20T20:26:00.003Z

Electrons are both
Standing waves and particles
Quantum mystery

A diamond could jump
Out of its box, given time
And uncertainty

A world of strange quarks
Explained with the aid of
Some chalk on a blackboard

Advent Day 19 : What a wonderful world

2011-12-19T19:08:00.001Z

Sunday Links

2011-12-18T17:33:00.001Z

One Day Old Capybara Trots Out to Say Hello ZooBorns
UPDATE: More Pics of Vienna's Baby Anteater even more schnozzular action on ZooBorns
HTTP Status Cats
The Invisible Mother Somewhat creepy Victorian photos of children held still by poorly concealed parents
Devastating Explosions at the Touch of a Button
Lists of Note
History of the typewriter recited by Michael Winslow (otherwise known as that bloke from off of the Police Academy movies)
Extreme Pogo Stunts If you thought that parkour looked a bit scary, wait until you see people jumping off walls with pogo sticks ...
Pickin' & Trimmin' The very best of barbershop music

Advent Day 18 : Singing Christmas Hedgehogs!

2011-12-18T17:24:00.001Z

Keeping an eye on Caturday

2011-12-17T17:06:00.000Z

Advent Day 17 : Poundland Festive Tat Reviewed

2011-12-17T13:36:00.001Z

(h/t @Redclaire over on Twitter!)

Remembering Hitch

2011-12-16T20:21:00.002Z

Remembering Hitch (mp3)

Christopher Hitchens 1949 - 2011

2011-12-16T20:17:00.001Z

"The only position that leaves me with no cognitive dissonance is atheism. It is not a creed. Death is certain, replacing both the siren-song of Paradise and the dread of Hell. Life on this earth, with all its mystery and beauty and pain, is then to be lived far more intensely: we stumble and get up, we are sad, confident, insecure, feel loneliness and joy and love. There is nothing more; but I want nothing more."

– The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer, 2007

Advent Day 15 : Xmas Podcasts

2011-12-15T20:13:00.000Z

Firstly, go and download this Coverville Christmas Special which features cover versions of every track on the Phil Spector Christmas album. Secondly, head over to Mitch Benn's Podcast page (or search on iTunes) where he has his traditional reading of a Christmas Carol available for your listening pleasure (you might also like to buy his Christmas album while you are there). Next, go to Nat Johnson's Soundcloud for a very special, exclusive festive treat.

Finally, Sally is broadcasting her Christmas special edition of The Unsigned Side now! (Podcast available later)

Advent Day 14 : Star Wars Snowflakes

2011-12-14T19:16:00.001Z

Time for a spot of creative festive geekery with these downloadable Star Wars snowflakes!

Advent Day 13 : The Higgs Boson

2011-12-13T19:09:00.000Z

Particles exchanged
May form an intrinsic field
That gives rise to mass

Advent Day 12 : The Sistine Chapel

2011-12-12T18:30:00.000Z

Say what you like about the Catholic church, they certainly don't stint on the interior design. This is a virtual recreation of the Sistine Chapel in all of its opulent, gold encrusted glory. If anything, it makes the gaunt figure of Christ on the cross on the altar look rather insignificant ...

Advent Day 11 : You don't need to believe ...

2011-12-11T16:56:00.001Z

Sunday Links

2011-12-11T16:52:00.001Z

Meet Perth's Newest Baby Puggle! - ZooBorns
Lovely Owl Owl-tastic head skritching cuteness
The World’s Highest Artificial Tornado Architecture meets art
A Stanford education for free! Sign up for free remote learning courses
Project Aon Remember the 'Lone Wolf' game books from way back when? They are now all available to download and play in handy html format.
BAROQUE.ME Bach's cello suite visualised. Give it a little while to load - works best in Chrome
Page 23 A short film, revealing the hidden lives of the people in the Ikea catalogue
The Bitch, The Stud and The Prawn More essential reading from Adam Curtis
Everyday objects in close-up items brought to life at a MILLION times magnification
Techno Is The Word! Random techno music generated from the words that you enter
What Really Happened Aboard Air France 447 Reading this analysis of the cockpit transcripts of the ill fated Air France 447 that crashed into the Atlantic two years ago, it seems that the tragedy was caused by simple, human error. Gripping and frightening.
Vamps, Crooks and Killers Hollywood superstars known for their good guy roles, take on the mantle of classic movie villains

Advent Day 10 : Your moons are rubbish, astronomer tells Christmas card artists

2011-12-10T16:54:00.001Z

It's a traditional Christmas card scene - a winter wonderland, lit by a sliver of a silvery moon. It takes a proper astronomy to point out why the artists have got it wrong ...

Advent Day 9 : Gingerbread AT-AT

2011-12-09T18:26:00.001Z

Advent Day 8 : Imagining the Tenth Dimension

2011-12-08T19:14:00.001Z

We are all quite comfortable with the idea of our normal three dimensions of space and the extra (one way only unless you happen to have a blue box that's bigger on the inside) one of time, but when you start to think about the more esoteric bits of string theory that only work with a whole bunch of extra dimensions on top then things get a bit hairy.

Fear not! Imagining the Tenth Dimension will explain all with a rather nifty bit of animation which will gently guide you all the way into the tenth dimension. Enjoy!

Advent Day 7 : Oskar the Blind Kitten and the Christmas Tree

2011-12-07T19:11:00.001Z

With a tip of the Santa hat to @lisybabe over on Twitter ...

Advent Day 6 : The Swellers

2011-12-06T20:37:00.001Z

Into it, stories

Chicago fights, flaky ex

Girlfriend, over it

Broadway calls, punk thrash

Two minute songs, all non-stop,

Scarcely time to breath

Four Michigan punks,

The Swellers command the stage,

The crowd jumps for joy

Advent Day 5 : Evolution

2011-12-05T18:30:00.001Z

Evolution is simple and elegant explanation for the complexity and diversity of the life that we see around us. It is supported by one hundred and fifty years of evidence from Darwin's patient cataloguing of variations in the wildlife that he observed, to a rock solid fossil record, to the latest analysis of mutations in DNA down the generations which allow us to pinpoint exactly when different species diverged. It is the corner stone of modern biology and critical to understanding the dangers caused by evolving diseases such as MRSA.

So, why do some people have such a problem with it? Why are they so keen for a literal deus ex machina to explain life rather than the plain truth? I don't know, but perhaps this video will help ...

Advent Day 4 : The Ice Fountains of Enceladus

2011-12-04T15:40:00.001Z

The Cassini mission is one of the greatest scientific endeavours ever undertaken. It was launched in 1997 and after a journey of over seven years reached Saturn. It follows a complex orbit, allowing it to study each of Saturn's major moons and the famous rings, and it launched the Huygens probe which successfully landed on the methane seas of Titan.

There have been many surprising discoveries, but perhaps the most beautiful are the ice fountains of Encaladus. Continually erupting and sending ice crystals thousands of kilometres into space, they are a true wonder of the solar system, described most eloquently by Professor Brian Cox in this clip.

Here is a picture captured by Cassini that shows the astonishing scale of the fountains

Advent Day 3 : APOD

2011-12-03T11:53:00.001Z

Astronomy Picture of the Day is one of my favourite photo blogs. Every day brings a new picture on a space theme, often of breath taking quality. They are accompanied with an explanation of exactly what it is that you are seeing, with links to further reading.

Today's picture is a wonderfully colourful time lapse exposure of star trails, with a very festive feel.

Advent Day 2 : Santastic Mashups

2011-12-02T18:21:00.001Z

Music is the perfect way to get yourself in an appropriately seasonal mood and what better way to get the party started than this Santastic set of Christmas mashups mixing artists as diverse as Otis Redding and the Beastie Boys, to Andy Williams and The Osmonds. You can play individual tracks in your browser or download the lot, complete with a themed cd cover to go with it.

On a similar theme, if you head over to last.fm you can download Rudolph the Paranoid Reindeer. It is left as an exercise to the reader to spot the tracks that have been mixed to produce this festive gem ... enjoy!

Advent Day 1 : Euler's Identity

2011-12-01T15:26:00.001Z

Euler's identity is simple, beautiful and head scratchingly weird. It brings together two irrational numbers, an imaginary one and a perfectly ordinary one and sums them up to make nothing. In this breathless video, stand up mathematician Oliver Humpage explains all.

Advent Calender

2011-12-01T15:13:00.001Z

This is my new project for December. Every day I aim to post something that gives me joy, inspires wonder or makes me laugh. I'm going to include little bits of science, skepticism, songs and silliness (and the occasional cat picture). I don't know how long I will keep going before I run out of ideas, which is why I am asking you, yes you, gentle reader, to chip in with suggestions of your own. Just post a comment with a link and a little bit about your choice and I will post it up here for everybody to enjoy.Here we go ...

One Day To Go Boo

2011-11-30T20:42:00.001Z

One day to go boo (mp3)

Movember Update

2011-11-29T18:52:00.001Z

So, we're nearly finished with Movember - you can see the results below!

Thanks to the generosity of friends and colleagues the total currently stands just over £250 for a very worthy cause. There is still time to donate if you would like to help - just go to the page here and click on the donate button. It will be very much appreciated - thank you!

From Movember

Haikusday

2011-11-29T18:45:00.001Z

Working remotelyBeware the session timeoutBloody annoyingConvert DATE to CHARAnd back to DATE, removes TIMEAnd sorts correctlyEmail server downPeace and quiet causes a riseIn productivityMarmite disasterTwenty tonnes spilt on the roadSend for hot toast, stat!

Tired Boo

2011-11-29T18:40:00.001Z

Tired boo (mp3)

Sunday Links

2011-11-27T16:54:00.001Z

Baby Hula the hippo makes a splash On Zooborns
Science vs Wonder Are they compatible?
The Pale Blue Dot Yes. Yes, they are.
Meet the man behind the protest mask An interview with Alan Moore
Public Opinion and the Occupy Movement See how they match up in this interactive feature
Money Possibly the best infographic ever created
A Map of Skyrim
Dovahkiin Gutenberg Every collectible book from Skyrim, now available to read as an e-book
Press Play and Record Classic NME Mix tapes from the 80s
1930s Futuristic Fashion Predictions Some amazing predictions for the year 2000
Cory Doctorow on Carpool on ebooks and publishing
Heavy Machinery in Trouble!
Amanda Palmer Presents the Year's Most Amusing Tweets Played On The Ukulele
A brief history of the drum machine
Realistically-encumbered adventurers Ever wondered exactly how RPG heroes carry all of that stuff?

Accomplished boo

2011-11-26T16:50:00.001Z

Accomplished boo (mp3)

Dis is mah impression of a kangaroo

2011-11-26T16:24:00.001Z

Yet another late night boo

2011-11-26T16:16:00.001Z

Yet another late night boo (mp3)

Thanksgiving boo

2011-11-26T16:15:00.001Z

Thanksgiving boo (mp3)

Who Boo

2011-11-23T18:54:00.001Z

Who boo (mp3)

Haikusday Boo

2011-11-23T18:53:00.003Z

Haikusday boo (mp3)

Early Boo

2011-11-23T18:53:00.001Z

Early boo (mp3)

Sunday Night Boo

2011-11-21T21:00:00.001Z

Sunday night boo (mp3)

Sunday Links

2011-11-20T18:57:00.001Z

Meet Shane, Cincinnati Zoo's Baby African Pygmy Hedgehog!
The Art of Science
Catbird Seat An intriguing mathematical conundrum
360-Degree Video A Beautiful Helicopter Ride Through Scenic Landscapes
The GAG Quartet - le Internet Medley OVER 40 MEMES IN ONE SONG - AMAZE!
Eurozone debt web Who owes what to whom?
Another 10 quirky science stunts perfect for xmas parties!
Because our Father's Lied Christopher Hitchens on the war poetry of Rudyard Kipling
The Evolution of Western Dance Music
Vintage British Argos 1985 Catalogue The book of dreams!
A brief history of Beer
Drinkify At last, a website that recommends the perfect drink to match the music you are listening to. (Why not try a Velcro Teddybear? )
The Future (according to films)
James Burke: Connections One of the very best popular science programmes, now available to watch online

Working Weekend Boo

2011-11-19T19:11:00.001Z

Working weekend boo (mp3)

I don't get outta bed for less than a tin of gushy fud

2011-11-19T19:06:00.001Z

Occupy Audioboo!

2011-11-18T18:45:00.001Z

Occupy Audioboo! (mp3)

Podcast Thursday Redux

2011-11-18T18:44:00.001Z

Podcast Thursday redux (mp3)

Downhill all the way

2011-11-16T19:51:00.001Z

Downhill all the way (mp3)

Haikusday

2011-11-15T19:35:00.001Z

Planning migration
Of major client web site
From test into live

One colleague on site
Another in project room
Coffee deficit

Out of the fab four
His journey ran from Mersey
To Maharishi

Mid Movember

2011-11-15T19:24:00.001Z

Mid Movember (mp3)

Mo 14

2011-11-15T19:23:00.001Z

Mo 14 (mp3)

Sunday Links

2011-11-13T19:47:00.001Z

Spots and Stripes at Howlett's Animal Park
Possum eating strawberries Nom nom nom
Nature Wants to Eat You
Following the reindeer evocative photography
50 Great Images That Are Now Yours
How unfathomable were your odds of coming into being?
Yelping with Cormac If Cormac McCarthy wrote Yelp reviews
Thirteen movie poster trends that are here to stay and what they say about their movies
The Truth about Violence Sam Harris
The Fence - Geoff Thompson A simple rule of self defence
Want to see something vanish right in front of your eyes?
Assassin's Creed Hoodie Do want!
Prof or Hobo? Can you tell the difference?
Spent Can you make your money last to the end of the month as one of the 99%?

Caturday

2011-11-12T18:14:00.001Z

Movember

2011-11-12T18:12:00.001Z

I don't make a habit of asking for charitable donations, but this is a cause that is very important to me. I am now two weeks into my moustache growing efforts (pictures available at the link below!) and it would be great to see some support for a charity that will make a very positive difference to the lives of many men.

http://mobro.co/thermalsatsuma

Britain in a Day

2011-11-12T18:09:00.001Z

Kinect or not Kinect?

2011-11-11T18:21:00.001Z

Kinect or not Kinect? (mp3)

Mo X

2011-11-11T18:19:00.001Z

Mo X (mp3)

Midweek Mo

2011-11-09T20:25:00.000Z

Midweek mo (mp3)

Haikusday

2011-11-08T20:13:00.002Z

On support, no time
Free to contemplate, compose
Apposite haiku

Three days of trying
Every folk remedy
To cure my hiccups

I feel surprising
Concern for cousin Roman
GTA redux

Reflecting on a
Past project, evidence of
Transformative change

Mo Better Blues

2011-11-08T20:09:00.003Z

Mo better blues (mp3)

Hiccup Boo

2011-11-07T19:20:00.002Z

Hiccup boo (mp3)

Sunday Links

2011-11-06T17:07:00.001Z

Mo 6

2011-11-06T16:40:00.003Z

Mo 6 (mp3)

Fifth of Movember

2011-11-05T19:03:00.000Z

Fifth of Movember (mp3)

Hiding from the bangs in mah blankie cave

2011-11-05T18:38:00.001Z

Mo IV

2011-11-04T20:00:00.000Z

Mo IV (mp3)

Movember Day 3

2011-11-03T20:20:00.002Z

Movember Day 3 (mp3)

Movember Day 2

2011-11-02T20:59:00.001Z

Movember Day 2 (mp3)

haikusday

2011-11-01T20:51:00.001Z

Back after week off
It seems that the next row of
desks is closer still

Pizza work do mail
Epic fail - hit reply all
Broadcast my choices

The day's third coffee
Starts to have an effect on
My sleep deprived brain

I'm going to try
Reading Siri a haiku
My goodness - it works!

Mechwarrior's back
As free to play MMO
Big stompy robots!

Movember Day 1

2011-11-01T18:56:00.004Z

Movember Day 1 (mp3)

Sunday Links

2011-10-30T16:42:00.000Z

Tiger Triplets a Great Achievement for Taronga Zoo - ZooBorns
Life In A Day A unique collection of videos from around the world, all filmed on the 24th of July, 2010
android dreams Stunningly beautiful time lapse film of Tokyo set to music from Blade Runner. Watch this in HD and full screen.
Barry Feinstein (1931-2011) You might not know the name, but you will recognise some of the most iconic photos from the 1960s
The Royal Society Archive All of the Royal Society archives, now online
The Museum of Obsolete Objects
How big was the world's population when you were born? I am somewhat flabbergasted that the world population has more than doubled in my life time. Yikes.
Zombie in a Penguin Suit a poignant short film
The Evolution of the Spacesuit
Dare you join the seance? Listen to this on headphones, with your eyes shut ... if you dare!
Haunted Air Halloween Photos 1875-1955
Shape Type A game based around typography and font design? Sure, why not?

Cat shaped dent

2011-10-29T18:07:00.002+01:00

Riding the Low - Rock and Roll's Best Kept Secret

2011-10-29T17:59:00.001+01:00

Friday nights at the Leadmill provide a raw, lo-fi alternative to the usual mix of music to be found on a night out in Sheffield. They open a stage to a wide range of local bands and ones from further afield to belt out some tunes and have a good time, and in doing so drag the audience along with them.

The first band that I saw on this occasion were Jukebox Memory Loss playing their last ever gig, apparently. This is a crying shame, because they were really rather good - bouncy indie-pop with a cheeky sense of humour to the lyrics.

From Riding the Low 28/10/11

In contrast, The Wynells are still going strong and brought along a sizeable contingent of fans and friends with them. Somewhat heavier than the preceding band with a touch of metal in the guitar solos, but very engaging and worth a listen, I would say.

From Riding the Low 28/10/11

Finally, the band I had come to see took the stage.

From Riding the Low 28/10/11

I had been blown away the first time that I saw Riding the Low and they managed to up the ante this time with a superb set featuring plenty of songs that were new to me as well as a couple of familiar favourites. Some of the new ones have a dark edge to them ("What has the universe done for me lately" and "Piss Parade" which is "about those people that like to piss on your chips") in contrast to the slightly more sentimental "This Gun Wants You Back" and "Beer Tears". Lead singer Paddy Considine promised to close the set with twenty minutes of heavy rock 'n' roll, and he didn't disappoint with solid support from a band that really know how to let rip.

I get the feeling that Riding the Low could easily command a much bigger stage, if they wanted to, but while they are happy to play the Leadmill there is no better place to see them.