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On a recent train journey I overheard a conversation about someone who’d enjoyed the first class wine so much on a recent intercity journey that they had difficulty staying awake so as not to miss their destination. Staying awake is a problem for many commuters and for those whose destination is not the terminating station, it can be both costly and time consuming. An alarm clock is the obvious tool of choice, to solve the problem, but it’s not convenient. Helpfully some phones include alarm clock applications, but aside from the fact that they can ring a bell at a predefined time, they’re not very useful because what’s important is getting off at the right station, not at a specific time. More…

When, by chance, we saw The Velvet Hearts at The Edge a couple of months ago, we were left with the overriding impression that this was a band who had taken a step beyond the norm and were producing something really rather special. We saw them a second time at the sunny Portsmouth Bandstand, and were again impressed, not just by how well the sound translated from the tiny Edge venue, but also by the way the band handled (and revelled in) a stage invasion by a dozen primary school kids, without missing a beat – in terms of stage rapport, think of Barenaked ladies and you’re getting the picture, they enjoy what they do, and it’s infectious. More…

This is one of those “maybe it exists but I can’t find it” ideas. Something that I’d find very useful would be media player plugin that could use the ID tag from mp3’s (etc) to nip off to the WWW and find the relevant guitar tab so playing along is thus a very easy process. The idea could be taken further for different instruments, of couse, but it’s generally something similar to the usual “buy this album” button which is purely commercial. So, what’s out there, anyone know? If it doesn’t exist someone please write it!

After my viva last Tuesday we ended up at the edge of the wedge and what was already a very good day got even better thanks to some very talented musicians and a comfy stool at the bar. More…

In Britain, the process of finishing a PhD involves the submission of a written thesis, followed by an oral examination called a viva voce (the literal Latin translation is “live voice”). The “viva”, as it’s commonly known, is an in-depth discussion into all aspects of the thesis which typically lasts between 90 and 180 minutes. It is conducted by a specially convened examination board, with both internal and external examiners, who typically have have four weeks to digest the thesis beforehand. In the viva, the PhD candidate must defend their thesis: if the defence is successful, the candidate is awarded the degree More…

We recently spent a couple of nights in Dublin without hearing the beat of a single Bodhrán or even a hint of live music coming from any bar. So last Friday night we were spoiled, with no fewer than two concurrent Bodhráns (and a guest washboard player), mandolin, guitar, accordion and bass thrown into the bargain, and we only had to walk for ten minutes to hear it. More…

This is a true story. Two staff in a small convenience store are chatting as the queue I’m in slowly moves forward towards their dual tills:
Shopkeeper 1: These plastic bags get thinner and thinner!
Shopkeeper 2: Yeah. More…

Since we’ve owned our own home we’ve tried to always use environmentally friendly products for all cleaning and laundry tasks. This has been surprisingly difficult because the big four supermarkets in the UK have had a pretty poor record of having more than one “eco” product in any section at any time. More…

According to the various fragments of promotional material I’ve seen the Kich’n'Komposter is a cross between a separating centrifuge and a waste disposal unit. It grinds up food waste, then separates it from the water so it can be composted. This may not seem particularly fantastic to some, but we try and compost everything, so as summertime swings by once more, the downside of regular kitchen wastage once again takes to the wing: Flies. More…

It’s only 15 months since I mentioned the rocket-like acceleration of Akismet which went from a standing start to the point where it had fended off a million spam messages for its users in just 4 months. If things had continued at that pace it would have squashed a cool 5 million spams by now. More…