iTunes 8

Posted on 15 September, 2008 by adrian

Although I see more and more things to dislike about iTunes with each major update, I’m usually thankful to Apple that these “features” can be hidden or disabled. I just want a program that stores and catalogues my music and videos, manages my podcast subscriptions and works seamlessly with my iPods… a mixture of versions 4, 5 and 6, I guess.

So, the Genius sidebar can sod right off for a start… I just don’t get on with any of those “if you like this, you’ll probably like THIS” suggestion systems. Luckily, it’s easy enough to disable and hide the whole facility. The same goes for the increasing space given in the Preferences page to AppleTV and the iPhone… simple enough to ignore.

But here’s a knotty one… there’s no obvious way of getting rid of the “Genre” column in Browser mode. What is this? Some kind of obsessive/compulsive geek thing, whereby some people can’t listen to music unless they know what it’s supposed to be? It’s as bad as the rating system (if I didn’t like it, it wouldn’t even make it as far as my iTunes library) but at least I can ignore that. I want my two-column browser layout back, DAMMIT!

Fortunately, help is at hand from the support forums. One line of code, typed with a smug flourish into the Terminal, is all it takes…

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1710847&tstart=0

Posted in Apple, Technology | 2 Comments

Do widzenia Polska…

Posted on 12 September, 2008 by adrian

Back from a week’s holiday in Poland, specifically a week in Kraków, apart from an initial couple of days in the mountain town of Zakopane (also in the Małopolska region, but down near the Slovakian border). A whole new country for us, but I kind of suspected I’d love the place, especially Kraków.

I may have mentioned on here before that I have a soft spot for those grand central European cities that flourished around the early 19th century… y’know, Vienna, Budapest, Prague and so on. Kraków fits that particular bill perfectly; it’s a really fantastic place. Beautifully preserved old town, loads of cool cultural stuff, plenty of feeding and boozing options, friendly people, good public transport for easy day trips out of town. And still relatively cheap for us Brits.

We only did two trips out of town, but they were no-brainers from the start. Auschwitz is just totally chilling, but hugely interesting as a historical site. The salt mine at Wieliczka is perfectly nice, but disappointingly sanitised… lots of spectacular salt sculptures, but so little about the actual *mining* that went on for over 600 years. As for Zakopane, the hearty highland tourist theme (it’s Poland’s premier skiiing resort in the winter) is a tad overdone, making the town quite narrowly monocultural, but it’s a great base for exploring the well-marked hiking trails in the Tatra mountains.

So yeah, I’ve got the bug! I want to learn some more Polish (how can you not be charmed by a language that lumps so many consonants together?) and explore more of the country as soon as possible.

Posted in Travel | 3 Comments

Dem… o… crat

Posted on 28 August, 2008 by adrian

I’ve been trying to avoid the endless US election coverage this year. I know a presidential election in the most powerful country in the world *is* important, but wait a minute… the past few months of coverage haven’t even been about the presidential election. It’s all been about the primaries, and now the conventions. Why do we need to know all that in the UK? Just tell us who’s running for election, and we’ll believe you, okay?

Still, there is one consolation. We get the regular comedy experience of Hillary Clinton’s special approach to public speaking. Her halting, contrived tone makes me wonder how she ever became a successful politician. Mind you, maybe this is what Democrat voters like… the audience reaction to her convention speech the other day reminded me of the bouncing, squealing South Park residents when Kathy Lee Gifford came to town.

HILLARY:

I’m here tonight

as a

proud mother

[rapturous applause]

as

a

proud Democrat

[rapturous applause]

as a proud

senator

from

New York

[rapturous applause]

a

proud

A

meri

can

[rapturous applause]

I mean, just… what? At that point, I wouldn’t be clapping and cheering. I’d be asleep, or stabbing myself in the neck with my own Democrat convention complementary pen. I’m sure she’s a very able politician, and she’s done wonders for the position of women in US politics, but it’s not exactly Great Political Speeches of the 21st Century, is it? Anyway, she continued…

HILLARY:

Whether

you voted

for me

or you voted

for

Barack,

the time

is

now

Etc, and you can hear the whole tortuous episode in the BBC’s Today Programme archive (assuming it doesn’t disappear after a week).

Posted in Drivel, Politics | 1 Comment

A foretaste of 2012?

Posted on 20 August, 2008 by adrian

I’m already quite excited about the 2012 Olympics. I mean… the OLYMPICS! IN THE CITY WHERE I LIVE! Apart from the inevitable public transport cock-ups and ridiculous prices, how can that be anything but EXCITING? And if the GB medal haul is a sign of things to come, even better. But here’s something I hope we don’t see in 2012…

Organizers Stick to the Job of Hiding Companies That Aren’t Official Sponsors (Wall Street Journal)

Just who, in whatever sponsorship committee meeting back in 2000 or whenever, allowed that even to become the slightest vaguest hint of a suggestion on the agenda? “Okay, so you’ll sponsor us, but on the condition that we try to fool the public into thinking that your competitors don’t exist? Sure, where do we sign?”. And remember, this isn’t a Crazy Totalitarian China story… it also happened in Athens, where people were asked to remove t-shirts with “inappropriate brand logos” before entering the stadium.

Let’s not let it happen, eh? Sponsorship is advertising, not mind control.

Posted in Consumer, Sport | Leave a comment

Olympic heartbreak of the day

Posted on 12 August, 2008 by adrian

In this first (and probably last) instalment of an exciting and emotionally draining new series, I bring you the sad story of Russian weightlifter Svetlana Tsarukaeva.

Lifting in the Women’s 63kg Snatch category (stop giggling at the back!) she hoisted the 107kg barbell to head height, only to lose her grip and drop it behind her. Sobbing in disappointment, she was led from the arena, but misjudged the exit and walked headfirst into the wall.

I wonder if she heard the wistful sound of Air on a G String…

[EDIT: watch the whole routine on Youtube]

Posted in Drivel, Sport | Leave a comment

100 easy words

Posted on 12 August, 2008 by adrian

This is fun. How many of the 100 most common words in the English language can you think of in 5 minutes?

Take the test!

I got 57, but failed on loads of what I thought would be absolute certainties.

Posted in Drivel | Leave a comment

Volvic with fish? Are you MAD?

Posted on 27 July, 2008 by adrian

Thanks to Marina Hyde in the Guardian, I think I’ve found the most ludicrously pretentious book in the world. Act fast, and grab your copy of the not-to-be-missed bestseller for the summer…

Fine Waters: A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Most Distinctive Bottled Waters

Consumers are beginning to recognize that bottled water, like wine, has a unique identity that is defined by its origin-whether springs, wells, or glaciers… Bottled waters can be an epicurean delight if water is paired with the right food, served in the right stemware, and enjoyed at the right temperature. But unfortunately, bottled water drinkers are exposed to only a few of the major brands, and until now, there’s never been a guide for connoisseurs.

However did we manage?

(by the way, the original Guardian article is worth reading, too)

Posted in Drivel, Food/Drink | 3 Comments

Garden wildlife

Posted on 19 July, 2008 by adrian

This little chap was hopping around the edge of our lawn the other day. I picked him up to say hello, and he was kind enough to pose for a couple of pictures…

frog1

That picture’s a bit misleading in terms of proportion. It’s only when you zoom out to see my hand in full that you realise how tiny he is. Barely out of tadpole school.

frog2

And now, having seen that one, my eyes are now accustomed to distinguishing a couple of his siblings from the spiders and insects scurrying around in the garden. I’m just amazed that a passing cat hasn’t eaten any of them yet…

Posted in Local | 3 Comments

Of course we mustn’t mock the uneducated, but…

Posted on 18 July, 2008 by adrian

I was in Asda a few minutes ago, doing my usual frustrated shuffle behind slow-moving gawpers. Immediately in front of me, a couple are obviously looking for something specific. She heads for the International Foods aisle, but her shaven-headed, tattooed and string-vested consort points out “nah, that’s for all that fackin’ foreign shit”.

So they do a quick about turn into the next aisle. “Yeah, thassit”, he mutters, as they make a beeline for the…

Dolmio pasta sauces!

I coughed a little laugh into my basket.

Posted in Drivel | 3 Comments

lolronaldo

Posted on 11 July, 2008 by adrian

Cristiano RonaldoPoor little Cinderonnie. Wicked Uncle Alex is stopping him from going to the ball Real Madrid. Still, all is not lost… it turns out that his fairy godfather has arrived in the shape of…

Sepp Blatter!

Yes! FIFA’s own surreal stand-up comedian has likened Cristiano’s plight to modern slavery. Apart from the bit about being bundled into a transit van and driven illegally across borders in the dead of night, obviously. Oh, and the underage prostitution, heroin addiction and constant threat of physical violence. And technically, he probably gets to keep most of his £100k weekly pay packet, giving just a small cut to his agent, rather than having to give the whole lot to a menacing Russian pimp with gold teeth and a machine gun.

But yeah, apart from a few small details, tantamount to modern slavery. It’s a shit job, y’know?

Posted in Football | 1 Comment