D C G

I need to drum more. The kit's set up and the neighbours are surprisingly understanding so why is it I still choose to pick up a guitar than go and beat something repeatedly? The sorry truth is that I'm fat; I'm old; and I've simply slowed down. There were days when I'd spend hours beating out rhythms and odd timed wonders, but now I can barely get through a couple of tracks without needing a break. Those 16 & 32/4s are now 2/4s. I know if I practice more I'll get back into it, but unlike years past when I get there I find myself wondering what to do. I don't have a couple of albums worth of tunes in my head like I used to, and worse, I know what I'm capable of. That's the biggest kicker. I know what I can do behind a kit, but my dodgy right ankle can no longer go the speed or take the pounding it used to and age is a factor in getting these arms moving. I find myself angry and frustrated for not doing what I should be doing, so rather than face that frustration I pick up a guitar and strum.

RS232

I thought it might be nice to spend more money I don't have (what credit crunch?) on a new TV. Forty inches of South Korean 1080p LCD goodness. Having hooked it up the the V+ box, once the initial happiness of the upscaling wore off, I was hit by a twinge of disappointment that Virgin Media, like Sky, broadcast their HD output in 1080i for understandable service maintenance reasons. Cue Statler and Waldorf style booing, and a quest for 1080p media.

You'd think in the modern hooked up and jacked in virtual life it would be relatively easy to find material, but alas not. Movie trailers are easily viewed online through the PC, but I'm not looking to hook the PC up to the TV. Looking for downloadable content that could be written to a DVD leads me to all manner of Divx and Xvid and Mpeg4 and h/x264 files that then lead on to a ridiculous number of Googles to find out what the hell they are and how to play them. As it turns out it's redundant as the collected wisdom seems to be that once the resolutions get to 720p and beyond it's not so much about the file format but the carrier so standard DVD/DivX players won't output it anyway, even those with HDMI ports and upscaling ability. Which really only leaves Freesat and Blue Ray. Freesat is still in it's infancy and it's reasonable to expect a 12 month gestation period while advanced decoders, probably with hard drives in, get to market at a decent price. Blue Ray, despite now being confident and out of nappies, is still an unstable little toddler. While a format war is never a good thing, particularly for early adopters on the losing side, this latest HD DVD v BRD one had a rather disturbing outcome. Not so much for the format that won, but the manner in which that victory was achieved. A format war decided by the industry that controls it as opposed to the consumer is a worrying turn of events. When the winner is the more expensive and as yet is not a finalised standard then early adopters on both sides end up as collateral damage. The only sensible BRD player is a games console with a pad that promotes chronic finger fatigue.. so no, Blue Ray and even the PS3 may well be the future but they're overpriced and underwhelming right now.

Guess I'll just have to stick with 1080i for the time being, oh, and if anyone sees the Wii component cable in stock anywhere, give us a shout.

A 4AD3DCD

I decided to buy one of these new super phone jobbies. Actually, once again I'm starting with an absolute and blatant lie. The truth is that in a stupid attempt to frighten my better half I bid on a phone on e-bay. It's very nice, a Samsung SGH-G600, great reviews, rather desirable by all accounts, and while the bid I put in was not insubstantial (it had to be a significant amount for the scare factor), I was certainly surprised to find it was a winner. Cue (totally justified) “told you so” and “idiot” remarks from the wise one, and a sphincter so tight if I'd eaten coal I'd have shit diamonds. I'd bought a phone I didn't need, with money I didn't have, for a reason weaker than Derby County's Premier League status. I had intended to simply sell it on, but once it arrived I began playing with it and I like it. A quick glance through the manual shows the phone is fully equipped to be top of any self respecting happy slapper's shopping (!) list. I've never been tempted to get an i-pod, ear-pod or pea-pod so to suddenly have Half-Man Half Biscuit; NWA; Bowling For Soup and the theme tune for The Power Puff Girls blaring out at me when people call is a rather new and refreshing experience. I was just relieved when I got it to work with my in car bluetooth hands free kit, so the sound of Bubbles being the joy and laughter is a very pleasant bonus.

MMVII

You may think that the beginning of May is a bit late to be posting a retrospective. I could counter that it's easy, and indeed lazy, to jump on the January bandwagon and hurl forth reactionary sputum. So I've taken my time. I've considered each of 2007's days, even the rainy ones, to ensure that my verdict on the year is properly considered and definitive. Yes indeed, 2007 was okay.