Windows 8 Maps and Scottish Pirate Metal

I'm still getting to grips with Windows 8 so this may be an unfair rant. One of the problems in building intuitive interfaces is that the user has to guess what the designer wants the user to do and the designer has to pre empt what the average user will do.

So I was presented with a map roughly centered on Newcastle , with a Bing logo in the bottom left hand corner (and we all know how rubbish Bing searches are) , so that doesnt bode well for the package. Eventually I discovered that a right click on the bottom of the screen brings up a menu with a directions button whicjh I selected , put it my start and destination post codes and it drew a blue line on the map....

...and that was it , no printed directions , no opportunity to put in detours. So went back to Google Maps and got what  I needed.

Anyway it's sunny, and I will we driving down despite having a cough , cold , maybe hayfever and feeling quite rubbish. This day in 1692 an earthquake destroyed Port Royal in Jamaica , a notorious pirate haven . Article here. This gives me the inspiration for todays June's Tunes , the Scottish Pirate Metal (how niche can you get)  band Alestorm

Five Inches of Pleasure ..... 500 Posts .....Spiritual High ..... Becoming More Like God

and this is my 500th post, and it is music related. Every so often something just comes into my head, and one of the things I liked about the CD single heyday (is that the right spelling ?) were the remix singles. Two that stuck in my mind were Spiritual High by Moodswings featurg Chrissie Hynde and Becoming More Like God by Jah Wobble featuring Sinead O'Connor.

These are just the tip of the iceberg and the Moodswings CD dropped through my letterbox featuring six versions of the song clocking in at forty minutes , currently on my CD player. It cost me just under three quid including postage. The Jah Wobble one was on sale at £25 so I think I will leave that for the time being , maybe just invest in the new deluxe version of Take Me To God. Anyway I've include Youtube copies of both tracks for you to enjoy.

Can My Phone Read My Mind?

A friend of mine had posted on Twitter about tge general incompetence if tge contestants.  This called to mind the excellent Mitchell and Webb Apprentice sketch so I thought I would send her the link from Youtube. The recommendations are usually Charlie Brooker and music related. Top of the pile today was a Mitchell and Webb cricket sketch.

It's just coincidence but it would give Derek Acorah a series!!

Life is just a TLA and Iron Maiden

It's the sixth of June already. We're half way through 2013. Another work day. And need a piece of music for today's June's Tunes. It's funny how sunny weather is quite uplifting but when it's grey you can easily feel down . It that what they call SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder) . Yesterday I was told I may have had a TIA , and the doctor spoke as though I should have known what he meant . It's a sort of mini - stroke that leaves little or no trace barring the damage it does. So in theory you could have one and not be aware of it. TIA stands for Transient Ischaemic Attack which would have disturbed me even more if he'd come out with that !

Still it's just another TLA (Three Letter Acronym) , anyway here's today's tune ,ad it's the sixth we'll go for Iron Maiden's 666 - The Number Of The Beast:


   

Oh by the way Maiden England are playing The Doll at The Black Bull soon . Check here for details.

Trailing Spaces and TIA

Whenever you parse a string in any programming language you should usually exclude trailing or leading spaces. This is because usually they have been but there accidentally, It means that comparisons will fail if you do not remove the spaces.This has happened four times to me today on web forms.

It's amazing how many basic rules seem to have been thrown out of the window with the new programming regimes . Fast and cheap , standards gone , and we have to live with it.

In other news com back from hospital with the news that they think I've had a TIA except I still cant use my little finger properly. So it looks like its just going to be a long slog to regain the use of it once more , either that or I stick to playing bass!

Anyway today's tune for June  is The Hospital Song by 10CC , I'd forgotten how good this was :

How Times Have (Not) Changed

In 1974 Robert Wyatt was at a party , possibly worse for wear , fell out of a window and broke his back and never walked again. Not good for a drummer . He didn't let it stop him and released this version of The Monkees' I'm A Believer on Richard Branson's fledgling Virgin label.

It was promoted by an appearance on Top Of The Pops , but some BBC manager decided that a guy in a wheelchair was too disturbing for the public and he wasn't allowed on again unless he sat on a normal chair. Nice treatment of people who have to use a wheelchair then.

Anyway the record is brilliant and it may get you into Robert Wyatt. The follow up to this was Chris Andrews' "Yesterday Man" , and hopefully everybody has heard his wonderful rendition of Elvis Costellos Shipbuilding.

Rant over and hopefully the BBC are different now (but probably not).

The Moon In June

This was one of the songs that I had down for the June's Tunes. Obviously it could be used any day , but less obviously it is probably a tune most of you don't know. Always loved Soft Machine , but lots of you will know Karl Jenkins and maybe even Robert Wyatt - banned from performing on top of the pops because he was in a wheelchair and it might disturb sensitive viewers. He actually was on once with a stellar backing band featuring Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) , Fred Frith (Henry Cow) and may others when he covered The Monkee's I'm a Believer . It may actually be already on this blog (check the Robert Wyatt tags). Oops it's not but I will actually post about it soon.

Anyway summer is still with us and is likely to be here all week.

Happy days