April 2010
2 posts
Superpowers
What superpower would you have, if you could have just one?
I’m stuck between…
Animal mimicry - cause it would be cool to fly like a bird and swim like a fish.
Omni-linguism - ability to understand any form of language, a natural polyglot
Innate capability - ability to naturally have skills and/or knowledge typically earned through learning
Nobody likes the smart arse who...
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WatchI love this band right now.
March 2010
2 posts
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open street map
Open street map is the place to be, us Londoners should all use it a bit more as the maps are often much more detailed and cycle/walking friendly.
As much as I love google services, I do prefer the principles of open street map and it has much more potential for doing clever collaborative things.
You can compare the two types of map here: http://tools.geofabrik.de, or use this clever...
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paint dancing
This has shot right to the top of my list of things to take up…
Londoners - join in here!
February 2010
8 posts
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Robin Hood
I’m no economist, but the Robin Hood Tax seems like a good idea. I would like to understand it further though. It seems to be a rebrand of the Tobin Tax (they are the same thing, right?).
Instead of a website telling me only why it is a good idea, I want a place that gives these things balanced views. It made me think of Debategraph - a site that attempts to make the best arguments on...
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Seal song
I’m loving these natural synths that are coming out of the Weddell Sea, off the West coast of Antarctica. Big up the Leptonychotes weddellii.
The frequency range of the Weddell Seal’s vocalisations are apparently 80 Hz - 24 kHz. Us humans typically have ranges of 85 Hz - 155 Hz for blokes, and 165 Hz - 255 Hz for woman. It makes me think, we are...
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“From all accounts, the world has been getting worse and worse ever since it was...”
– Idle thoughts of an idle fellow, Jerome K. Jerome (1886). (Thanks George!)
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Samamidon
There was a song I once loved for a fleeting moment, but I became distracted and forgot about it. Then I was sitting in the Union Chapel the other week, waiting to see an artist who goes by the name of Final Fantasy when this chap called Sam Amidon came on stage…
It was his album “All is well” I picked up in 2008, recommended by the musically obsessive Boomkat record store. I...
The swimming song
I learnt to play a song on my cousin’s mandolin last week. It is a lovely song and it goes like this…
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The life of the world to come
The Mountain Goats released a nice album last year called ‘The Life of the World to Come’. Each track on the album is inspired by a different bible verse. I like themed albums - another one I just picked up is the Darwin Song Project, a collaboration of eight artists who were sent on a retreat to write an album of songs that have a resonance and relevance to the life of Charles Darwin...
January 2010
3 posts
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Welcome to Sam Smith Road
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that somewhere in the world there is a road called Sam Smith Rd. In fact, there seem to be at least 10 roads in the USA called Sam Smith Rd. Which is tremendous! I should certainly like to visit them all one day (and write that book of course). But what I was delighted to discover was one of ‘my’ roads, in Mississippi, has a road leading off it...
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I resolve not to go to the gym...
I watched the new year in from a hilltop somewhere near Kidderminster. There was a big bonfire, lots of food, folk song and good company. I love new year’s eve this way.
Then stumbling into the new year, I bought some running shoes. To go with the footwear I made a complicated exercise schedule for the next three months. It’s for a half marathon I signed up to. I don’t even...
December 2009
8 posts
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Happy new year!
Moving record collections from one place to another is a strain on the back, sort of dangerous if you have somehow missed out on health and safety training. Each time I move place, I know people are wondering why I still bother with vinyl. My brother who sometimes does a spot of DJing thinks vinyl always reminds me that it’s silly when you can just chuck it all on one laptop or a big CD...
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A new home
I’ve been moving house today, from my cosy Zone 4 eco-pad at BedZED, deep into London in the Kennington/Elephant & Castle area. I’m excited to have a new place to explore. I will miss the old, but embrace the new. It’s great to be closer to the city and to have housemates again.
Moving house means lugging a lot of records up and down stairs. It’s fun, but a back...
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“Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it”
– Mark Twain (or his collaborator on The Gilded Age, Charles Dudley Warner).
I often think of this quote, usually in the context of groups that talk a lot about climate change but find it hard turning words into action. I don’t mean it as any sort of criticism; responding to issues of climate...
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