Fish For Me

I found a fishmonger. I know this isn’t revolutionary but it’s important to me.

For several months I have been trying to find a fishmonger – a good, decent purveyor of fine foods who will have fresh fish but prepare it for me on site and explain a little more about it. And today I found a great little place by Clapham South underground station: Moxons.

Where’s Matt’s Tongue?

There are too many obvious jokes here.

I have no real reason to post this about Matt Damon and porn apart from the fact that is amused me a great deal:

It’s difficult to tell if Damon’s tongue was firmly implanted in cheek when he spoke, but World Entertainment News Network is reporting that Matt wants to make a “character-driven” XXX flick – with dare we say it, a plot. [source]

and Steph and Alek have some great pictures. It’s probably not wise to think about it a great deal.

Cuties At Lunch

Cute guys in a video. I wish it was like this every lunchtime.

Really, I am not sure Steph and Alek should be allowed to post images of so many cute things. It doesn’t help when you’re catching up with their site over lunch! These images from a Counting Crows video make me want to watch music television all day just to see if it is shown or not.

Another Day Gone

Where did today go?

So I had the day off work today and had planned on doing lots of things. I did, in fact, do quite a lot but not the things I wanted to do. I wanted to work on some web site projects and other stuff that I usually don’t get time to do. Still, I upgrade this Movable Type instance to 3.11 so I can see the new features. I did – also – move it to a MySQL database rather than leaving it on the static files that it used to be on. I hope this has made it better but there will be – no doubt – be some oddities that need ironing out.

Comments now need approval unless you have a TypeKey id. This is designed to reduce the amount of spam but if I find spammers have keys I will just turn all comments to require approval.<

Watching Me Everywhere

Apparently, there are 4.2 million cameras watching the people of London.

In my little piece about gmail last week I noted that my journey to work covers many CCTV cameras. In a piece published on the same day at CNN it was noted that there are something like 4.2 million cameras observing our moves around the British capital. That really does seem like a great number. An American author – Jeffrey Rosen – notes,

Instead of being perceived as an Orwellian intrusion, the cameras in Britain … were hailed as the people’s technology, a friendly eye in the sky, not Big Brother but a kindly and watchful uncle or aunt [source]

Do you really think this is the case? I certainly don’t think of it as the people’s technology although I will admit to resigned acceptance of the devices. On the whole I suspect they are a necessary evil in the world we inhabit. Is that a foolish notion?

Why Do We Love Our Mobile Phones?

Why are we always looking for the next new ‘phone? I know I’ve been looking.

Picture of a Palm Treo 600Occasionally I have noted my use of a Palm powered Treo on Orange in the UK. It’s an OK ‘phone and an OK organiser (and an OK MP3 player and a poor camera) but as one, pocket-sized device it more-or-less rocks. Sometimes I wish it was smaller and sometimes I wish it was bigger. Sometimes I wish I’d spent the cash on the keyboard accessory and then, sometimes, I don’t.

Last month Engadget carried what they said were ‘actual pics of the new Treo Ace/Treo 650‘ which is the next version of the device and – of course – carries some neat improvements. At the start of next year I will be 12 months into the contract for the ‘phone and able to change it. The thing is – although I love all the features and I love the whole Palm experience – I can’t help thinking that I need to get a simpler machine that is just a telephone.

Ah, the dilemmas of the gadget obsessed.

Listen To Musak August 2004

August 2004 was a popular month here at Listen To Musak. No idea why.

Just back from a great weekend away – which I will mention later. However, on my return I quickly read my stats for August (not sure what prompted it) and I am confused. August 2004 has had the most number of pages visited (although not the most number of actual requests) but is, nonetheless, counted as the busiest month by my log analysis tool. I have no idea why as not much really happened in August. Ah well, maybe all those spiders are reading my site! I see Movable Type has now released 3.1 which I think I will look to upgrade to and then who knows what wonders I might add. One of the new features is the ability to schedule posts for the future which will – I hope – allow me to develop another idea I have had for a site.

View From Above

Great pictures on other people’s web sites.

Matt Haughey - view of San Francisco from the airMatt Haughey has a superb picture of San Francisco on Ten Years Of My Life (entry for 1 September 2004) which – for some reason – is making me yearn to go back there. I once visited on a rainy week in 2000. It was a business trip and my first time in the US so there were so many other things going on that I didn’t really appreciate it as much as I would have liked to. I do remember the view from the top of the Marriott but it’s certainly not as good as Matt’s view from the plane.

No Steroids Near Me

Don’t stop me now we are doing so well.

Since February I have maintained regular gym training sessions and have found myself pleasantly surprised by my own enthusiasm for pounding a treadmill or rowing nowhere several times a week. I always return from the gym energetic and enthusiastic but I am starting to note a worrying trend in myself in attempting to rationalise avoidance. So far I have not stopped myself going but my head keeps thinking that I could just miss this one and have a rest. It would be good to rest. I think this is a worrying trend so, my gym buddy, time to put those motivational techniques to the test.

I do have to say that if, like yesterday, Thursday turns out to be a designated gym day then it’s not too bad as the cute aquarobics instructor is marching up and down the pool side encouraging a bunch of ladies to float better (or something). You get a nice view from the third exercise cycle from the entrance.

I am fairly certain that my gym is not full of gay men. Firstly, there is far too much sport on the television screens (although I did watch football match earlier this week – Hull v Bradford if your interested. Bradford won). Secondly, there are no signs of the steroid problem amongst gay men identified by the NHS – although there are a worrying number of overweight middle-aged men wearing those head/sweat bands that used to be popular with tennis players. It’s not a good look – even in a gym.

Digital No 1

The first digital download chart is out.

I’ve noted the online music charts several times. I didn’t hear the chart last night (current chart is here) but Westlife’s old hit Flying Without Wings from 1999 topped first official download chart yesterday. Now, I find Westlife pretty harmless but a song from 1999 topping the first of the digital download chart? Some predict this is good. I am not one of them. Listen to the chart at the BBC.

In related news, as they say, I hadn’t realised that MSN US didn’t have a digital download site. Their UK service does (powered by OD2). MSN has their new US version in beta and it looks OK but isn’t earth-shattering. What do you think?

Long Wave Is The Home Of Hit Music

Atlantic 252 Long wave was born on 1st September 1989. Today is the 15th anniversary (I think) of the launch of the now defunct Atlantic 252. I only mention this because it strikes me that the radio landscape in the UK has changed dramatically since it launched.

Atlantic 252 Large
Atlantic 252

Happy September to you.

Today is the 15th anniversary (I think) of the launch of the now defunct Atlantic 252. I only mention this because it strikes me that the radio landscape in the UK has changed dramatically since it launched. I am no expert but, if I recall, there was something about DJ’s having to stand-up when presenting (which made it sound very American). Gary King was the first voice (Mine is the first voice you will ever hear…on Atlantic 252) but I remember it for Charlie Wolfe and Dusty Rhodes (whose web site I can no longer find) and was Rusty Nails a presenter or did I make that up? It was pop music on very heavy rotation, small amounts of talk and this hiss and crackle of long wave. In 1989 it was exciting and different and, the fact it was really are Irish radio station, gave the feel of a pirate broadcaster. Long wave really was the home of hit music (even if only for a little while).

And for Atlantic 252 fans, a couple of quick links:

Long wave radio Atlantic 252: Born 1st September 1989. Ceased transmission 20th December 2001.

Updates

2014: The fan links on this page were updated as many of the old sites had disappeared and the launch audio embedded.