Ian Robinson’s Soapbox

Had a play with Ian Moran’s new Amazon Kindle this morning. Very nice indeed. It has the same screen as my Sony PRS-505 eInk reader. The new Kindle is much better to look at than the previous model. If I was buying an eInk device in the UK I’d get the new Kindle. The Sony PRS-300 has a better form factor I think, but the Kindle Store and the easy access to content trumps it in the UK. In North America the Sony Store might make me choose the Sony over the Kindle.

Amazon Associates link above.

Have decided not to do a mathematics degree via the OU as I mulled about in a previous post. I’m going to do self study for a few years using the books in the picture. Click on the picture for a larger view. I already have these books. So in addition it’s free entertainment and fits into my larger plan to pay off everything I owe and get to a debt free state as soon as possible (including paying of my mortgage).

Tags: Mathematics

Debating the idea of taking 6 years to do a part time physics and maths degree via The Open University. Just to give me a framework to teach myself maths. I really have a bee in my bonnet about learning maths. It’s like my own Mount Everest. The modules leading to the degree would be:

MU123 – Discovering mathematics
MST121 – Using mathematics
MS221 – Exploring mathematics
MST209 – Mathematical models and methods

S207 – The physical world
S282 – Astronomy

S382 – Astrophysics
S383 – The relativistic universe
SM358 – The quantum world
SXP390 – Science project course: radiation and matter

Then again I might just do it self study via books I’ve got and not get the degree. I’ve got one already Could do a Masters in something else to get more paper!

In response to the blog post by Dad Who Writes, about his journey from Catholicism to atheism I thought I would post here what I said in the comments to his blog post.

I don’t have a similar journey to share. I’ve always been an atheist. My parents were not religious. They did force me to go to Sunday School for a few months (so I would see what it was about) but I didn’t buy into any of the God stuff. This was a Church of Ireland protestant Sunday School. I have a brother 12 years older than me so when I was growing up I was reading his science and engineering books. I think I started to tell people I didn’t believe in God from around the age of 8 or so.

Testing the WordPress app on my iPad. When I get my new Vodafone MiFi I’ll be using the iPad when out and about a lot more than my MacBook Pro. I also want to do a lot more blogging on a diverse range of subjects. Mainly from airports I expect

Well if you can see this post then the WordPress app works!

Tags: iPad

So the fabled Guyton guitar arrived this week. I will do a post soon with detailed pictures and comments on the build quality (it’s stunning!). Here is a short noodle entitled First Light so you can hear the tone. This is just a noodle of some scales and chords (including a missed D Chord near the end!). It was captured in Guitar Rig 4 using the preset 015 (Comp Plex Driven – MC). I’m going to enjoy playing with this. Very rusty after being 15 months without an electric. But plenty of time now to practice and create

My new guitar is finally ready. Here’s an new picture of it. Should have it soon.

Well that’s another orbit of Sol completed. I’ve now done this 46 times. I’m hoping for another 54. At least!

I recently installed Adobe Creative Suite 4 on my Macintosh. I wanted to use Photoshop for some graphical work, and InDesign for technical document creation. I unselected all the other components that I didn’t want to install. After the installer was finished I had a several, 8 or 9 if I recall correctly, new folders in my Application folder with various Adobe apps in them. I was only installing 2 apps. Why all the other folders? This should have been a sign that Adobe are now pedlars of bloatware. The running apps themselves were slow on my MacBook Pro (2.8Ghz C2D, 4GB Ram and 7200rpm disk machine).

I uninstalled the whole lot. Well I tried. The uninstall option left several bits of Adobe detritus in my Applications folder and in my Preferences Folder. I deleted that manually.

Bye-bye and good riddance Adobe CS. Maybe CS 5 will be different but I doubt it. Given their poor record with the Mac version of Flash I don’t have much hope for their other Adobe produced Macintosh software in the near future. BTW if you haven’t installed ClickToFlash on your Mac, to control Flash loading when browsing, I’d recommend you do so as soon as possible.

Below are some links for alternatives to the Creative Suite Apps. These might fit your needs better than the full Adobe CS offerings. These may not have all the same features of Creative Suite applications, but they are lightweight, easier to use and probably better for most non-professionals. However, some of those listed below are probably better for professionals. Final Cut and Soundtrack, for example.

Alternatives to Photoshop

1. Pixelmator – http://www.pixelmator.com/
2. Acorn – http://www.flyingmeat.com/acorn/
3. GraphicConverter – http://www.lemkesoft.com/content/188/graphicconverter.html
4. GNU Image Manipulation Program – http://gimp.lisanet.de/Website/News/News.html

Alternatives to inDesign

1. Pages – http://www.apple.com/uk/iwork/pages/what-is-pages.html
2. Swift Publisher – http://www.belightsoft.com/products/swiftpublisher/overview.php

Alternatives to Adobe Acrobat

1. Skim – http://skim-app.sourceforge.net/

Alternatives to Dreamweaver

1. RapidWeaver – http://www.realmacsoftware.com/rapidweaver/

Alternatives to Illustrator

1. EasyDraw – http://eazydraw.com/
2. OmniGraffle – http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnigraffle/

Alternatives to Premier Pro

1. iMovie – http://www.apple.com/uk/ilife/imovie/
2. Final Cut Pro – http://www.apple.com/uk/finalcutstudio/
3. Final Cut Express – http://www.apple.com/uk/finalcutexpress/

Alternatives to Soundbooth

1. Soundtrack Pro – http://www.apple.com/uk/finalcutstudio/soundtrackpro/
2. Fission – http://rogueamoeba.com/fission/

Alternatives to After Effects

1. Motion – http://www.apple.com/uk/finalcutstudio/motion/

I’ll add to this list if any others come to my attention. I might add some options for Microsoft Windows based users as well. Feel free to give me your suggestions for either Macintosh or Windows apps that do any of the functions shown in the lists.

Before going any further you have to read this short Frank Herbert story Frogs and Scientists.

Okay. A continuation set in the same Universe.

The Continuing Adventures of Lapat and Lavu: Part 1

Lavu sat in a ventilation shaft and looked down onto the central concourse of Green Section. A breeze whispered through the mesh grill that covered the end of the shaft. A babble of voices from the people on the concourse mixed with a hum of machinery from deep in the ship.

“Here you are,” said Lapat, coming up behind him. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“I have been observing the humans.” Lavu responded.

“Ah. You wish to be like the Scientists then?”

“I do. I like what you have told me about the Scientists”.

“And have you discovered anything in your studies?” Lapat asked the younger frog.

“I think so.”

“Tell me.”

“I have watched the human female and male we observed before, near the hydroponics trough. They are always together now. I see them clasping hands and pressing lips together. They also feed together and share food.”

“And what do you make of this?”

“I think it is part of the mating. A later stage after the displaying of the primary skin by the female. I think that the clasping of hands and pressing of lips is done to confirm the mating. The feeding is to bond their pairing.”

Lapat pondered this for a while whilst Lavu watched him and waited.

“Your hypothesis has merit,” Lapat said after a while. “However I have already ascertained that the mating occurs in the Clinic Section of the ship. The human females and males enter a special room with white walls and infant humans are budded from them. I have observed this.”

Lavu sighed and again looked down at the concourse.

“Do not be disheartened!” Lapat said to him. “I know that all Scientists have to be wrong many times before they know how a thing works. Even I have been wrong about many things. You will be a great Scientist one day. Come! Let us go to the central greenhouse and count the insects and maybe find some lunch.”

©Ian Francis Robinson 2010

Tip of the hat to Rebecca Hall for proofing. All errors in the above are however mine.

I’ve been a supporter, and occasional member, of the Conservative Party since 1979. I started supporting them when I was about 15 during the Winter of Discontent. Labour were then, and are now, a political and actual disaster for the UK. The election of Margaret Thatcher’s conservative administration was the best thing that happened to this country for a long while.

Times change and people change. I’ve certainly changed in the years since 1978. The idealistic 15 year old boy is now a 45 year old man (who still has an idealistic 15 year old lurking within!). Of the 3 main political parties in the UK I think that my current world view and outlook is best matched by the Liberal Democrats.

In Northern Ireland the Liberal Democrats are allied with The Alliance Party. You can’t vote for the Liberal Democrats directly. This is a pity. Hopefully it will change at some point.

In the forthcoming election I will be voting Alliance and will be donating to the Liberal Democrats. My vote will not change the MP that is elected in the East Belfast constituency. It will however make it easier for me to look in the shaving mirror.

I hope that the Liberal Democrats get the chance to lead this country in to the 21st century to a fair, and liberal environment for all.

And off we go again. I kept a list of album of the year contenders last year and picked my favourite in December. I will be doing the same this year. As I buy new albums this year I’ll update this list and pick my favourite after Christmas. Last year was a bumper year for brilliant new music in my opinion. Arguably the best year for new albums that I liked since 1975, which is when I started buying albums with my own (pocket) money. The albums listed here will not be in any order of preference during the year.

First addition to the list is The Family Jewels from Marina & the Diamonds [Listen on Spotify. Buy on Amazon or iTunes. Follow Marina on Twitter]. I first discovered Marina via a tweet on Twitter early in 2009. The songs available then were brilliant. Tracks like I Am Not A Robot, Obsessions and Mowgli’s Road for example. I got to see Marina live at the iTunes Live Festival in July at the Roundhouse in Camden [Buy on iTunes]. She was excellent live. A brilliant voice delivering her very good songs. The new album that has just come out doesn’t disappoint. The new tracks added to the existing tracks are very good. I like Shampain and Girls especially. Definitely a album everyone needs to buy.

More albums will be added to this list as 2010 progresses. Well, hopefully. If good albums are released

Here are the iPhone apps that I use the most. This list doesn’t include any of the built in apps like iPod, Safari, Mail, Voice Recorder, Clock etc. that get used all the time. Everyone has those. The #goodiphoneapps comes from Twitter. It is a hastag that is used to flag tweets about iPhone apps people like. Here are my favourites then. In no particular order. This is just the start of the list. More to add.

Fizz Weather – My favourite weather app on the iPhone. Has lots of options including 2, 5 and 15 day views. Weather warnings. Satellite views.

PCalc – A brilliant replacement calculator. It has all the functions you would expect from a physical scientific calculator. Adheres well to the metaphor that iPhone apps should look, feel and act like the real world devices they replace.

Stanza – a book reader and ebook library management application. Turns your iPhone or iPod touch into an eBook reader. The iPhone is a very nice eBook device indeed when using this app.

Groceries – The Grocery Shopping List – Neat little app that allows you to build a shopping list as you remember things you need. Then when you get to the supermarket you can check them off as you shop.

I listed my shortlist of 11 albums for my choice of album of the year in a previous Soapbox post. All of these albums are brilliant and are worth multiple listens. But I said I would pick 1 of them as the best of the year. My pick of the year is Blue Roses from Laura Groves.

It was close as they are all great albums.

UPDATE: Blue Roses was my pick. All 11 are brill though.

We are now in the last month of 2009 and this is my final list of albums that are candidates for my Album of the Year. It’s been a really good year for new music. In addition to the albums listed here there are several musicians who are breaking through but who have not released full albums yet. Plus there are several albums that just didn’t make the list. For example Kasabian, Adriane Lake, Imogen Heap, Placebo, Muse, Elin Ruth Sigvardsson, Elle Stevenson, Nerina Pallot and Tori Amos. It has been a great year for new music.

These are not in release date order. Nor are they in preference order. It’s going to be very, very hard to pick one from this list. Will listen to them all again over the Christmas holidays and pick the winner before the new year. I was going to wimp out and not pick one. But decided that would be crap

If you want to pick your favourite from the list then post your choice in the comments. If enough people (more than 5) comment I’ll have a draw for an iTunes voucher code to buy an album.

Those Thousand Seas from Claire Tchaikowski [Listen on Spotify or Last FM. Buy on Amazon UK or iTunes. Follow Claire on Facebook] I can’t remember how I found this album. I think it was buy following friend links on MySpace. Irrespective of how I found it, I’m glad I did. It’s a beautiful recording. I like Undone especially.

The Duckworth Lewis Method from The Duckworth Lewis Method [Listen on Spotify. Buy onAmazon UK or iTunes. Follow on Twitter] Who said the concept album is dead? Tell most of the people you know that there is anew album about cricket and they’ll likely run a mile! But this is very good. The songs are brilliant in their own right. Well worth a listen. No need to be a fan of cricket. In fact probably better if you aren’t. Then you can concentrate on the music.

Blue Roses from Blue Roses. [Listen on Spotify. Buy on Amazon UK or iTunes. Follow Laura Groves on Twitter] This was another Twitter find. Can’t remember now how I came across it. But I’m glad I did. I love this album to bits. I have always loved piano/guitar music (witness my Queen and Kate Bush addiction!). Blue Roses has some beautiful piano tracks, and some great acoustic guitar stuff. It may be the case that the song Does Anyone Love Me Now? will be one of my favourite songs ever. I was going to list some other tracks but couldn’t separate them. They’re all good!

Lungs from Florence + The Machine [Listen on Spotify. Buy on Amazon UK or iTunes. Follow Florence on Twitter.] Several people had been cajoling me into listening to Lungs for a while. I kept promising I’d do it. I had a free hour one day last week, or the week before (cant recall now), and I listened to it on Spotify. Wow! it’s good. Florence has a really nice voice. When coupled with the music on the album the result is very good indeed. I especially like the tracks Cosmic Love and Hardest of Hearts.

Fever Ray from Fever Ray [Listen on Spotify. Buy on Amazon UK or iTunes. Follow Fever Ray on Twitter.] Fever Ray is a new solo project by Karin Dreijer Andersson who is a member of The Knife. She has a brilliant voice. I reckon Karin could pass the Kate Bush Test by singing names from the phone book and make it sound wonderful.

The Fame from Lady Gaga [Listen on Spotify. Buy on Amazon UK or iTunes. Follow Lady Gaga on Twitter.] This actually came out originally in 2008, but it was re-released in November as The Fame Monster. It was well into 2009 before I heard Poker Face on the radio though. This was the song that hooked me. The whole album is brilliant. She has been getting a lot of press recently. Even made the cover of the current issue of Rolling Stone. Richly deserved. Lady Gaga is the genuine article. Not a manufactured artist.

Wild Young Hearts from The Noisettes [Listen on Spotify. Buy on Amazon UK or iTunes. Follow The Noisettes on Twitter.] When I first heard a track from this album, Don’t Upset The Rhythm, I thought it was a new Lady Gaga song. The whole album is simply brilliant. Only one track is like Lady Gaga. They have their own sound. And a very good sound it is too. The singer, Shingai Shoniwa, has a very powerful, beautiful voice. The song Atticus is now one of my favourite tracks ever, from anyone.

Two Suns from Bat For Lashes [Listen on Spotify. Buy on Amazon UK or iTunes. Follow Natasha on Twitter. ] This was first recommended to me on Twitter. Good call that was. The songs Sleep Alone and Daniel are superb. The others are good as well. Liked this so much I extended my stay at Apple WWDC to go see them in San Francisco

Hardships! from Jenny Wilson [Listen on Spotify. Buy on iTunes. Follow Jenny on Twitter.] I wasn’t going to include this when I was thinking about writing this post. I loved Jenny Wilson’s first album Love & Youth. The follow up is less easily accessible. However it is definitely a grower. I’m liking it more and more. So it has to be on the list as it may be my favourite in 7 months

If you follow my ramblings on Twitter you’ll not be surprised to see that I’m adding Spinnerette by Spinnerette to this list! [Listen on Spotify. Buy on Amazon UK or iTunes. Follow Spinnerette on Twitter]. Another band that I discovered in a posting to Twitter, which is rapidly becoming the place where I discover new music. I’ve been playing this a lot since I got it. This might be one of the best albums I’ve heard in a long while. I’ll hold judgement until the newness novelty has worn off. I’m going to see them live in London on 16th July. Fabulous

Polly Scattergood from Polly Scattergood. I listened to this because Polly was playing in The Roundhouse at the iTunes Live Festival the same night as Bat For Lashes. It’s a very good album. I love several tracks from this such as Bunny Club, Nitrogen Pink and Untitled 27 [Listen on Spotify. Buy on Amazon UK or iTunes. Follow Polly on Twitter ]