iTao

On friday I had my portable heart monitor fitted for 24 hours. Seven different coloured electrodes were attached to various parts of my chest after a student doctor shaved me and dealt me a few lines of his jokey patter. The main device was in a small black zipped bag slung over my shoulder. Not that different from a camera case. I went straight back to work and hid the device under my shirt. Looking like I was "packing heat" I spent the rest of the day feeling a little odd for having sticky pads all over me - but only had one slight odd heartbeat type symptom at around 12:39 which I noted in the little diary they gave me. I went and stayed at SwimPig's house, had a few beers and a real coffee at 9pm (which will be noted in the diary too). He took some excellent long exposure shots of me, in my monitor gear, in the garden with a torch. You have to keep your eye on his site. One of the shots may appear soon. Also, my sleep was affected as I normally sleep on my side - so the wife was kept awake by me snoring like a cattle grid. I will be taking the monitor back tomorrow and will expect to hear the results (if any) sometime soon i suppose. Technorati Tags: ECG, heart, monitor, ipod, murmur

Smoke and Mirrors

As a reformed smoker of over 5 years standing I now feel qualified to speak on this matter with some authority.  The UK government has started legislation for a partial smoking ban in UK pubs.

I am not PRO a total ban on smoking in public places - as I will not be able to get my "by proxy" fix of the sweet smell of Old Virginia rolling tobacco wafting over my pint of Guinness whilst I chat.

Smoking is nice.  I loved it and I probably would still love it now.

Call me selfish... but I don't care!

Technorati Tags : smoking, ban, smoking, uk, patricia, hewitt, guinness, pub

Photoshop Kubrick Header Template

Hot on the heels of my previous posting about the Kubrickr header image generator - and bang on the money after Mr Noxious slated my new header design in favor of the old logo (in a LOST stylie) comes a copy of my photoshop template for the Kubrick "Blue Blob" header. Made from two layers, you can either customize on top of the "blue blob" or remove it totally for your own "free form" enjoyment. I was starting to think of a new design and made this template to help me. Hope others can benefit from using this too! Grab the template here Get the Kubrick for Blogger template here Technorati Tags: kubrick, template, blogger, kubrickr, photoshop, lost, header

Obituary

I hereby announce the passing of my sons first Tamagotchi creature, DJ.

They spent 8 wonderful days together, playing games, shopping and pooing.

He spent time in the bath, played with his Ninja Throwing Stars I bought him after we gambled 9p a time on the slot game and he also had a nice day out wearing his hat we purchased from the fat shop keeper.

His favorite treat was Cupcakes (just like Uber!).

We will miss him... but he has already been replaced by TIFF, a new female creature! I'm glad we've got two bathrooms!

Technorati Tags : tamagotchi, egg, creature, cupcakes, ninja

Clockwork Headers

Just found this neat little web based tool to automatically make "Kubrick style" headers for your blog (the template championed by myself and Nick). Images are pulled from Flickr by entering an appropriate tag and then manually cropped to make the JPG which is then downloaded to your PC.

It will never replace spending hours on a tedious multi layered Photoshop/illustrator image (only to find it looks crap at the proper size) but it could be a good way of finding a starting image though.

Not sure why the site will not pull out my Photao tagged images though. Odd.

I still would (eat my own arm for) like a version of the Tao of Mac kubrick slideshow header which is done in Macromedia Flash and pulls random images from Flickr. It just gushes class! Just need some (reliable) webspace i guess.

Found via the Great Flickr Tools collection.

Technorati Tags: flickr, kubrick, template, header, blogger, photao

Get iTunes Workin'

Just spotted these two links via my lunchtime Bloglines readings and thought that I would blog them before my phone rang and I forgot my name... How to find and add media to your iTunes library with del.icio.us - using RSS feeds. Works with MP3, PDF etc.. Subscribe to free del.icio.us videos in iTunes - using keywords like "funny" or "boobies". Both via the excellent Lifehacker site. Not tried it yet - but it does look "interesting"! Technorati Tags: itunes, ipod, apple, ITMS, RSS, del.icio.us, lifehacker, video, mp3, media

On Average

A report yesterday found that on average, the average person spends and average of £21,000 on music in their lifetime. The Uber-Music-Geek however spends, on average £44,000 (mostly due to ordering that rare INXS german remix with the japanese cover notes from eBay). In this modern age, £21,000 equates to aproximately 30,434 purchases from the iTunes Music Store (based on 69p per track). The Audiophile with their £44,000 gets a whopping 63,768 purchases from the same store. With the average size of an MP3 being about 6mb, the iPods for the next generation of tune-heads would need a storage capacity of 200GB (to fit aprox 30,000 songs) and 400GB (to fit aprox 64,000 songs) to enable you to carry your entire lifes music purchases in your pocket. In realistic terms, we are not too far off these possible capacities. Come on Apple, sort it out! There's a market hole waiting to be filled! Just don't make it too heavy! By the time I have purchased (torrented) all my music - i might be a little frail. Technorati Tags: apple, ipod, storage, music, itunes, ITMS

Bye bye Gmail.. hello Google Mail

For quite some time I have been a champion of the excellent Google GMail service and now use that more regularly than the other (13) email accounts I have. In the UK, Google's use of the GMail name has been the subject of dispute as another company has already claimed its right to use the GMail name. So it appears that (for once) Google have given in and will be changing the addresses for the UK users of its service from @Gmail.com to @googlemail.com sometime soon. Shame really. Its not got the same ring to it. I still have 100 invites left to give out for GMail... sorry... Googlemail. So if you want one, let me know. Technorati Tags: gmail, googlemail, google, email, webmail

Whats my Vector Victor?

After spending all day slaving over my PC at work I then spent several hours bashing away last night at a new logo for my blog. It was all for research purposes though.

I have decided to get to grips with Adobe Illustrator CS2 as I do like the look of vector art. I think it will take some getting used to though. Compared to Photoshop I struggled to get it to do what i wanted and had to export back as a JPG to finish it off. The final image’s detail was totally lost when i converted it across… it looked excellent in Illustrator but crappy and pixelated in Photoshop. More practice needed i think – if anyone has any tips on this then let me know.

The new Illustrator CS2 version has a great “Live Trace” feature where you can pull in line drawings you have scanned and it converts them to editable paths. The great thing is that this also works with photos. The eye on the left (which is mine) and the skateboarder (which is not me – as I am much better!) were both processed using this method – and i think it looks pretty cool!

I kind of had a thought the other night that I would start trying some illustrations. I would set myself a goal of learning the Adobe Illustrator application, doing some illustrations and selling them – or having them used/published somewhere within one year. Possibly a tall order seeing as I work on PCs all day and the thought of having to chain myself to the PC all the time when I am at home makes me cringe. At least Illustrator makes it easy to work with imported graphics – so I could also spend time drawing and making art to scan in to use. Is this a silly idea?

If anyone has some good sites with Illustrator tutorials on then let me know please!

Technorati Tags: adobe, illustrator, adobe illustrator, vector, illustration, logo, live trace, tutorials

iPorn

For those who really know what technology means to a man.... iPod Erotica via Surtin.com Technorati Tags: ipod, erotica, iporn, apple

They did it.....

Contrary to Uber-mole insider type sites, Apple managed to Black Propaganda and outsmart everyone again with the announcement of their new iPod. And yes... it does do video! The new iPod which appears to have replaced the standard large capacity colour screen iPod device sports a 2.5 inch (320*240 pixel) screen capable of 30 fps video playback using Apples Quicktime format. Apple has obviously learnt from the success of the iPod Nano and have made the device thinner - and also available in what I like to call "gravestone black". In a 30GB and 60GB capacity the device can playback 2 or 4 hours of video respectively before the battery goes "all Betamax" on you. Also launched at the same time (apart from the new thinner technophiles physical porno iMac) was the new version of iTunes (version 6) which now adds video purchase, sync and playback capability. At present there are only music videos available to download as well as the classic Pixar short animations. Each of these is set at £1.89 each - which ain't too pricey. I dragged one of my WMV files to the application but it refused to do anything with it. It did take one of "my friends" MPG files though and added it to the Video section - but be careful when you ask for playback with MSN Messenger's set to show the currently playing song information against your name! Steve Jobs also announced that in the future there will be episodes of Lost available to purchase and download and (to appease the Wife who haunts all of our tech purchases) Desparate Housewives. And as the new iPod comes with a video out capability you can then plug the device into your TV so the whole family can enjoy your new iPorn Podcasts. So Apple now have a device that plays music, shows photos, stores data, stores organiser information, plays audiobooks and now plays videos! What's next? I am increasingly impressed with the Apple iTunes Music Store and the range of stuff available. If I was'nt such an "Internet Pirate" then I would definitely buy from there. I, for one, welcome the Apple overlords and their new products. Now... where can I get the money to get one? Technorati Tags: ipod video, ipod, itunes, apple, imac, lost, desparate housewives, pixar, ITMS, Quicktime

The Back Quack

I have found that the best way to relax after being told you may have a heart condition is to watch adrenaline sports on the TV and play intense car racing games on your XBox. It beats that Tai Chi and Yoga bollocks any day! I am feeling better and a lot more rational about my "condition" now and the panicky feelings have totally gone away. I am still left with a feeling of pressure on my chest - like I cannot take a full lung full of air even though I can - and the odd griping pain here and there - but generally alot better. I was beginning to think that the pain I am now feeling is more skeletal or muscular so I made an appointment with the local Chiropractor and went to see him this morning. He immediately spotted that I was "all tense" and set about attacking me with his pressure hammer adjustment tool and also gave me a good back massage (my first that didn't end in a blow job and an emptying of the wallet!). I will be going back to him again next week for more of the same. As a practicing Chiropractor and sports injury clinic, I thought he would have seen it all - but he was quite impressed with the poor knotted state of the muscles down the right hand side of my spine.

They're totally seized up mate!

So more shoulder muscles excersises and relaxing on the cards for the rest of the week for me. More playing train tracks with my son, chilling to "Party Mix" on iTunes, hammering the torrents and watching crap TV. It's tough being ill.

I *heart* me

When I was younger I used to watch a Sitcom called "Only When I Laugh" which was set in a hospital ward where three mismatched patients would cause havoc each week and make fun of the Asian doctor called "Gupta". This program and the Carry On Doctor films has always lead me to think that a stay in hospital would be quite nice. Well. I got my chance this weekend! Lets rewind a little. Thursday was just another crappy slow day at work, but I began to have feelings of pressure on my chest also accompanied by the odd irregular heartbeat - which I have had before in the past (usually due to too much Coffee). This abated though and in the evening I felt fine. Friday morning was again no issue. At around 10 am at work I started to feel unwell again with increased pressure across my chest and I was a little short of breath. I did not feel very unwell and it did not stop me from doing my work as usual. I didn't feel faint or anything - just felt like I had a child lying on my chest preventing me from breathing correctly. By the end of the day it still had not gone and I was getting a little concerned and decided to see the local emergency doctor after work who checked me over. He thought that it could be stress related but he also thought he could hear a heart murmur through his stethoscope and tried to hook me up to their ECG machine (the machine that goes "ping") for a scan - which didn't work - at all. So he ordered me to go directly to the Clinical Decisions Unit (CDU) at the local hospital to be checked over. I had to call my wife from home as I was not even allowed to walk back to get her to drive me. I still felt ok too at this point - my heart rate was elevated but I felt ok - probably just scared. My poor wifey went into panic mode and had to call my parents over to feed the kids as she was in mid evening meal cook. We went to the CDU and booked in at about 1830. I was checked over by a nurse an hour later with the ECG machine and blood tests but all appeared normal. I was still feeling ok too. Hours later the other doctors checked me over and agreed that they could hear a Apex Heart Murmur which could be a blood flow murmur but they were not sure. I was then checked again by another more senior doctor who checked me for other stuff (Marfanoid Features??) but agreed that my heart was exhibiting these murmur symptoms. My blood test was fine though and there were no other obvious signs (sweaty, swollen ankles, double vision). So I was admitted overnight and was left by the wife at around midnight who had already been home to get my clothes. Meanwhile, one of the nurses was taking lots of blood for some cultures to check for infections which would take about 3 days to grow. I managed to get to sleep after 1am and was woken at 7am for breakfast and more nursy TLC. I was seen by a senior doctor a little after 9am who listened to my chest again and thought that it was a only a flow murmur and I was told I would most likely have to attend as an outpatient for a Echo scan on my heart. I went for a chest X-Ray at about 1030am which showed nothing obvious either and was left to sit on my bed, watching elderly patients nearby slowly dying and waiting for a decision to be made by the Cardiologist who I was told would be round to see me today. I had my delicious hospital lunch (cardboard sandwiches) and dinner (soggy pasta and salty mash potatoes followed by over sweetened apple pie and magma crust custard). Nothing happened until about 10pm when the senior doctors and the Cardiologist did their rounds and they took 5 mins to discharge me. I have been told to avoid caffeine and spicy food until they know what it is exactly. I phoned my Dad and after I pretended I had to stay in for a month he came to get me at about 11pm. However, when I got home and went to bed I started to have real bad pressure on my chest again and began to hyperventilate and feel very faint. My heart rate felt normal (to me) though so I rode it out with some yoga breathing moves provided by my wife and some "head between the legs and deep breathing" action. After a bit of water and chocolate (just in case it was due to low blood sugar) I managed to get back in bed and after 30 mins or so I slept until morning.

Was this a possible panic/anxiety attack?

I feel ok now but I do still have a feeling of pressure/discomfort on my chest and feel slightly out of breath at times. Maybe when the blood cultures are grown they will discover some sort of infection - who knows. I will have to go back to the docs some time next week to hand in my letter of discharge but also to inform him of the "Panic Attack" situation last night. I will also be making an appointment with a local osteopath for a skeletal check up as the pain I am feeling in my chest does feel as if its actually on my breastbone and surrounding area. The osteopath in question has done wonders for my whole family in the past - so I am expecting great things. Maybe being hunched over a keyboard for 8 hours a day has finally done something to me! Needless to say I shall be "self certing" myself off work for as long as possible. Enough time to chill as much as I can and time to see the doctors and the osteopath. It could be related to stress I suppose although I don't feel I have anything to be stressed about. Work is easy and my home life is very good. I will be going back to see the Cardiologist in around 10 weeks for the Echo Scan so until then - and when the results come in a few weeks after - I will not know for sure if there is something wrong with my heart. But at the moment it all points to nothing serious.

The Boy Who Heard Music

Hot on the heels of us creative wordy types over at Handshandy, Pete Townshend of The Who fame has began to tread our path by posting two chapters of his novella over at his Blogspot blog.  I have’nt read the whole thing (yet) so if you can be bothered, let me know what its all about.

Sure makes better reading than Pamela Anderson's blog though!

Oh. And Pete uses a Mac by the way.  Why does’nt that surprise me?

Technorati Tags: the who, pete townshend, blogger, novella, novel, pamela anderson, handshandy, celebrity

viPod?

 So next week Apple are doing another of their Invite only announcements and the rumors circulating the Internet is that they are going to announce a Video iPod.  I reckon it’s going to be called a ViPod.

Although Uber iGod Steve Jobs recently said that they were not planning a video version of the popular iPod range as "no-one had got it quite right yet" - this does not mean that they will not do so. As with any Apple product, the security has been kept tight as ever but with other product enhancements, like a new range of the popular iMac Mini and possibly a new range of "Professional Mac Workstations" in the offing, the announcement could be not what we are expecting (or predicting).

I for one did not expect them to announce the iPod Nano. That was a total surprise. Read from that event that Apple still have the upper hand on this and could announce something totally new that we have not expected.

People have already found links within the newest versions of the iTunes software that appear to link to some sort of downloadable movie content - the same as they did when they found that iTunes also contained code for exporting to the new ROKR iTunes mobile phone before Apple and Mr Moto (officially) announced the device.

Engadget have already posted a possible sneaky shot of the Video iPod. It kind of looks how I would expect it to look if there was such a device. But Steve Jobs has got to have something clever up his sleeve to make this work.

Seeing how the majority of portable video players out there support various formats, including the BitTorrent's friend, "DivX", would I pay £xxx for a device that only allowed me to download content to the player via iTunes and in a format decided by Apple? Hell no. I don't do that with the music on iTunes at the moment. It takes what i feed it (and loves it)!

Or will they be releasing a new version of iTunes at the same time that will convert my DivX, Avi and Mpeg files to their copyrighted locked down Quicktime format? Only time will tell. The dudes over at Engadget have already reported that someone has found information in iTunes regarding the Microsoft WMV format - which can also be copy protected.

When, not if, the device is launched, stand by to subscribe to iPorn and iVidcasting too by the way...

Technorati Tags: ipod, apple, video ipod, steve jobs, itunes, music, video

Sweaty Pits Ahoy!

21 years ago, this 32k game, Revs, on the BBC Micro was "the business". My friends and I enthused over the limited colour graphics and blocky details for many a long weekend (when we were'nt playing D&D).

I remember showing the game to my neighbour who was (is?) a chief marshall at Silverstone racetrack. He was blown away by the realistic graphics and car handling. I can still feel the beads of sweat dripping down from my armpits as i just hung onto first place whilst he stood behind me, egging me on.

I have recently been playing the new Burnout: Revenge game on my XBOX which is amazing too. I can't see how it can get much better than this!

But... I have just watched a new trailer of the new Project Gotham 3 game due out for the XBOX360 at the beginning of December - and i felt those beads of sweat all over again. I'm getting excited now! I was being good and telling myself that I will not get a 360 when it comes out - but I think I have just changed my own mind again!

Technorati Tags: xbox, xbox360, project gotham racing, microsoft, revs, bbc, bbc micro, PGR3, PGR

Sunday pleasures

This weekend I went to see the parade of fat celebrities over at Collectormania 8 in my home town. Although i missed seeing a fat Batman I did get to see a fat Daisy Duke and a fat Buck Rogers to add to my collection of "The bloaty stars of yesteryear".

It was another of those times when i could have spent lots of money on pointless transforming robot and Star Wars toys. However, my time (and money) could have been better spent over at the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Berlin which were held this Saturday.

I have yet to get the whole results through from the Beard Team USA Blog, but I am already looking forward to the next event which is to be held in London in 2007! Better get grooming chaps!

Technorati Tags: beard, moustache, collectormania, batman, buck rogers, star wars, milton keynes, daisy duke, dukes of hazzard