Caught in the act

2006: A year in photographs

As I did last year, I've compiled a small set of photos that sum up 2006 for me. You can view them on Flickr.

Merry Christmas - I hope you've all been good little boys and girls. I know I have ;o)

Merry Christmas Y'all

For the first time ever, I'm actually prepared for Christmas ... like, three whole days in advance. Usually I'm one of these blokes who's still running around the shopping centre on Christmas eve, thinking 'Why didn't I order this cr*p off Amazon?!'.

Well, this year I did order that cr*p from Amazon, and it's all wrapped up and under our tree.

The problem is now I'm getting twitchy. I'm convinced I've forgotten something important. I keep checking my 'Presents Bought For People' list, and cross referenced it with my 'Presents I Bought For People And Have Now Wrapped And Put Under The Tree' list. Everything tallies. Nothing amis. So what have I forgotten?!

No doubt I'll find out on Monday.

Wishing y'all a Merry Christmas.

Oli.

New NEW design :o)

Yes, yes. It's all changed again. If you visited this blog in the last three weeks you'll have seen a fairly drab, colourless design that I started working on. Well, it's gone. Some of you complained that the RSS feed was gone: well, its back.

I was inspired through delayed reaction to a comment Tom made about a week ago. When I told him about my attempt to create a table-free design for my website, he said "keep it simple". I don't know why it took me so long to react, but he was right. I'd wasted almost an entire weekend wondering why the boxes in the sidebar were bunching up; why the spacing and padding wasn't consistent; and why my curved edges didn't display correctly...

...in fact I spent almost a week on this before I realised that I'd forgotten the purpose of my blog. Ho well, silly me. I'm back to reality now, and merrily posting away.

This new design is based on something I liked when browsing a couple of MSDN blogs. The header is easily updatable, so hopefully I can keep you entertained with weekly updates to the banner. I'm also looking into updating this template to work with the new Blogger layout tools. There's a host of useful add-ons which become activated once I do this, such as the ability to show RSS feeds from other sites, etc. All in all, I'm quite happy with this new design. Now, I wonder if my Starbucksblog buddies will let me apply the same treatment to that blog? Its long overdue for an update ;o)

A River Runs Through It

... I'm pretty sure that river wasn't in front of my house when I left this morning:

I'd better take my wellies to work tomorrow!

It's that time of year again!

Compared to the same time last year ;o)

Goodbye NMPFT

It may not seem like much, but those red letters mean a lot to me. They've been up there since I was very small and droolled a lot. When I was at that age, NMPFT was a magical place - somewhere I actually wanted to come.

Then I grew up, but NMPFT didn't. For some reason that I'm still trying to figure out I got a job there, and in those six years I've seen a lot changes. It seems that most of those changes involved removing the magic one little bit at a time, and there's not a lot left.

The photograph here marks the moment when NMPFT made one of its biggest changes I've seen whilst working there: It's changed it's name to the National Media Museum. It might not seem like much, and to some it probably makes sense, but to me it just hightlights a growing trend at the museum. For the last four years the museum seems to have been in a state of constant flux. Nothing, it seemed, was good enough and therefore needed to change. And then change again.

Four years of that has taken its toll. I don't think the museum will ever get back to where it was when I was a kid.

As for the future? The name change also comes with an expanded remit, which will no doubt entail further change. Not that I'm afraid of change. Change is healthy. But only if you get a chance to actually benefit from that change before the next wave of changes arrive.

Anyhoo. I've ranted on enough. The National Media Museum has arrived, and that's that. They even have a new website that I helped code. Check it out ;o)

Welcome Back!

Sorry, it's been ages since I last posted. I've been so busy. No really, I have!

I figured that I'd make it obvious I'd created a new post by completely redesigning my blog. I did this one all by myself, from scratch. I thought I'd have a go at creating a website without using tables for layout. It's proven a bit of a nightmare, with elements not sitting where they should in all browsers ... but I think it looks quite pretty. Well, for a first attempt it does.

A number of things have happened since I last posted, but I'll post them in the days to come.

In the meantime, Happy Christmas! (Is it too early for that yet?)

Office Fun

Claire carelessly dies whilst cataloguing the TV Gallery acrylic triangles. SPC, soon to be PC, Lacey takes control of the crime scene ... or something like that.

Tomorrow the team *might* actually do some work, but for now they seem happy. Best not to disturb them.

Who will win?

Apple iTV Media Hub

FINALLY! I've been holding back for almost a year now, convinced that Apple must have something in the works that can open up my media library in my living room ... and today they did just that.

I have gotten very close to buying a full blown Mac Mini to allow me to play my music and videos on my TV and HiFi, but I was loathed to spend that much money on a device that was capable of so much more ... and then just play music through it. A few years ago I bought an Apple Airport Express, which allows me to 'send' my music from a Mac or PC to my HiFi. It's been fun, but it's not practical - and since you have to trek downstairs every time you want to change tracks - it doesn't really let you enjoy your music.

So along come Apple today with the announcment of the 'iTV'. A media adapter, for want of a better phrase. It's basically a cut down mac that's sole aim in life is to play music, videos and photos - in HD - on my lovely LCD TV. Although it's not available until Q1 next year, it looks like it may only cost about £170.

So many new things to think about in the space of a single presentation. I tip my hat - that floppy white one I got on holiday - to Apple.

Right ... I'd better start saving!

:o)

Thank You Steve ...

Apple has today updated it's iTunes software to version 7.0 ... and it's a pretty major upgrade.

It's far easier for you to just download it and use it, than for me to explain what's new ... but this screenshot gives you an idea of how the album art is finally being exploited.

If, like me, you have gaping holes in your music collection with no album art - never fear. iTunes 7 now downloads the art for you.

Along with a host of new organisational tools, this really is a decent upgrade ... and it's free!

Slooooooooow Broadband

This is really getting annoying. I moved over to BT Broadband at the beginning of August with the hope of getting better download speeds that I had with my existing ISP.

My line was upgraded to ADSLMax, which is very flakey for the first week as it 'settles' down to the optimum speed. Everything looked promising at first, with downloads peaking at around 2Mbit/sec ... but about a week ago the speed dropped a wee bit. In fact, it dropped a helluva lot. If you look at that graphic carefully you'll spot that my download speed is actually lower than the upload. This test reports an average speed of about 124kbps ... but US sites are averaging about 50-60kbps. Wow! I'm paying £26/month for dial-up speeds!

Thankfully, BT in their ultimate wisdom state that the speed is 'below the contractural threshold', and they will perform a number of test to try and fix it.

May not be doing much blogging until then! TTFN.

From PC to Mac ... and back again

I grew up with PCs.

Actually, I grew up with my parents, younger sister and an imaginary friend called Rupert ... but that's beside the point. Where was I? Ah ...

Yes, I've grown up with PCs. My first 'real' computer was an Amstrad CPC-664. While my friends were busy playing games on their Amigas and Ataris, I was learning BASIC on the 664. Fun, eh? The Amstrad was soon replaced with a 286 PC running a curious operating system called 'Microsoft Windows 286'. It would never catch on. :o). In fact it was useless, so I ignored it - returned to DOS, and continued playing with programs using QuickBASIC.

I'm not going to give you a blow-by-blow account of every PC I've ever owned, but I've had quite a few over the years. It's only in the last five years, as I began working in a more creative AV environment that I discovered Apple, and Mac OSX. I have to admit, I was completely taken in by Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field - and continue to be taken in by it. The Mac is a fantastic platform for creative work, and the operating systems is years ahead of Windows. The Mac was the first computer I sat down to use, and didn't have the overwhelming urge to dive into the system settings and tweak everything to my preferences. Everything was just so easy to figure out and use that I just wanted to get on with the important job of actually using the software.

I've been using Macs for almost three years now, and about a year ago I even replaced my home PC with a G5 iMac. All went well until I began to realise the things I couldn't do on a Mac. Don't get me wrong, I'm not thinking of getting rid of the Mac. In fact, therein lies of the problem. I don't want to give up the Mac - but I want to get back to doing so many things that only the PC can offer. I've spent 6 years working in VB and ASP, and have started the move to the .NET platform. It seems a waste to throw all that experience away and learn Cocoa or Carbon - just so I can continue development on the Mac platform.

The other thing I've missed over the last two years is PC gaming. I've tried the consoles (XBox and Gamecube), and even the Nintendo DS ... but it's nothing compared to the sheer range of game genres and performance you get from a PC.

They say you can't have your cake and eat it ... but I disagree.

It's time to go... [CUE: Back To The Future music] ... Back To The PC!

... and if you're going to go back, it's best to do it in style. Yes, that is a Core 2 Duo. A 2.4Ghz to be exact. Combined with a nVidia GeForce 7900 GTX, I expect I'll need to wear goggles when I use this thing!

There's a home for this beast next to my iMac - so hopefully I can continue to enjoy the benefits of OSX. In fact, to highlight the difference, you may notice the PC is a nice jet black to contrast the iMac. How very Zen :o)

I've had no end of trouble getting this thing up and running ... and not for the usual reasons. I have everything ready ... except the motherboard. The company I ordered it from have sent me the wrong one - one which doesn't support the Core 2 Duo CPU - so I've had a very traumatic weekend. So many new toys, but I can't plug any of them in! Nghh!

Hopefully the motherboard thing will be sorted by Tuesday, and I'll be up and running by then. I've bought Oblivion to christen the system with. Its an amazing looking game, and apparently one of the most grueling games for any PC to run. Bring it on!

So then. There we have it. I've gone full circle - learnt a lot on the way - and now feel I've finally got a setup that meets my needs: PC for games and development, the Mac for everything else.

Once it's up and running I'll let you know how it performs. Until then, I've gotta go. I feel the need to go and sit in front of this beast. Maybe tap the keys and pretend it's all working. TTFN.

New Job!

I've accepted a new job!

For those of you know know me well, don't get too excited. I'm only moving offices. I used to be a 'Media Developer' ... and I've now accepted the completely different role of 'Media Developer'. I'm sure I'll figure out what the differences are soon, but the job looks very promising. More creative work - more development work - less messing around being the jack of all trades.

I start on the 21st of August, so I'll let you know how I get on.

A new month : a new look

I decided that was now bored with the old irrelevant lighthouse theme, so I've gone with an equally irrelevant dotty theme. Hope you like it ;o)

Too hot!

We complain when it's cold ... and now we're complaining that its too hot.

Having spent the week sat in an office at 35-degrees, the latest Weebl cartoon cheered me up ;o)

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/wab/cold/

Family Portrait :o)

Rush Hour

Hmm ... no one is going to believe why I was late for work ;o)

The Hoff

I thought I'd swing the topic away from work for once ;o)

My sister sent me this link, and it's one of those videos you watch the first time with a slack jaw ... then a second time with a wry grin; checking over your shoulder to see if anyone is looking your way.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3382491587979249836

I can't figure out whether is good-funny ... or baaaad-funny. It's either a clever attempt at self ridicule, or its a vain, lame, baaaaad music video :o)

Thanks Sis!

PS: Only 3 days to go. Eeeep!

Not Long Now!

Sorry I've not been posting much lately. If you're desperate for some updates, we've decided to document the final 7 days of the Experience TV project on the Starbucks Blog.

Check it out ... we're either going to succeed or fail, but either way it will be dramatic ;o)

AGHHHH!

Ah, that's better. Now, lets see what happens this week :o)

Lost for words...

I really want to talk about that damn place, and everything that's happened in the last two weeks, but I find myself lost for words.

.... nope .... not a single word to attempt to explain what has happened and why. If I ever find out, I'll let you know.

Some of you will know the cryptic nonesense of which I speak. The rest of you will have to remain in the dark for now :o)

Goodnight.

Mmm ... purdy

Yet more graphical nonsense. Shame I don't have time to animated it as we'd planned :o(

3D Heaven

I've spent the last few days working on some 3D sequences for the museum's TV Heaven area. I got bored tonight, and started throwing the logo around ...

... I think I broke it :o)

Ooops ...

Miss T discovers that the delicate Nissan Micra is not suited to off-road use.

Spider vs. CCTV Camera

I installed a CCTV camera at my house a few months ago. Not because I'm paranoid, but because we can't see our driveway - and it's always nice to know our cars are still there.

So - as always - I got bored with the simple setup whereby I could watch the camera on our TV. So I installed a motion-tracking CCTV DVR ... you know, as you do. Basically - whenever anything moves on my drive way, it records the video and emails me a picture...

...so you can imagine my reaction when this appeared in my inbox:


Hmm. A 4-foot wide, glowing spider. That's something you don't see every day. I think I'll lock the door tonight! :o)

Summer is finally here!

I took this photo from the end of my garden. It's official. Not a cloud in the sky. Summer has arrived :o)

BBC does it again ...

Once again I find myself untrusting of the BBCs reporting of technology and science related stories. Here's a nice example:

BBC News: Changing the Face of Wireless

This is a straight forward piece about the future of wireless networking, and how it should help ease the confusion over existing systems.

First of all there's this quote:

"That wi-fi world is full of letters and numbers, a bit like the real world but a lot more complicated."

What the heck does that mean? That has to be the most random thing I've heard all weekend. And whilst that had me stumpted, I continued reading:

"What's happened is the digital world had caught up and demands 10, 11, 12 megabits per second throughput, and 'b' and 'g' and all its variants can't deliver that."

10 megabits? 'b' and 'g' can't deliver 10 megabits/second? Last time I checked 802.11b topped out at 12Mbps, and .11g at 54Mbps ... with Netgear and Linksys offering 108Mbps options. I can see where this quote might have originated: from a discussion about digital media and sustained data rates over wireless ... but existing WiFi systems can easily handle a 10Mbps stream of data. And speaking of data, how many people have the regular urge to pump over 10Mbps of 'digital media' for a sustained period over their network? The average DVD would only need about half that bandwidth to play; digital TV requires even less. This demand from the 'digital world' must be coming from something else, but - of course - they don't state what.

And finally:

"In June 2004, the IEEE started working on the [802.11]N standard and two years on they still have not agreed anything."

They report that fact like it's a bad thing. We've got a perfectly decent - and (if you ignore the 108Mbps offerings) a standardised, compatible wireless system. The brains behind the first two standards are now working on a third (802.11n). They're not going to throw the whitepaper together over beers at the pub ... creating an internationally standardised wireless protocol takes time, I imagine.

I don't know how they do it, but the BBC had once again taken random pieces of information about some current and future technology (seemingly gathered in one phone call, and an afternoon spent on Google), and merged it all together to produce a 'story'. I don't mind the odd bit of 'dumbing down'. After all, not everyone knows the details about wireless networks, and these stories are supposed to inform a wide audience. But it infuriates me when they dumb-down a story to the point where it doesn't make any sense. That doesn't help anyone - it just serves to confuse people, or make them believe something is just so, when the opposite is true.

For a story that set out by saying that the world of WiFi is confusing for consumers, it's done a remarkable job in generating yet more confusion.

To sum everything up using a common expression of mine: "Nghhhh!".

(Have you ever had one of those days where all these little things get to you? :o)

Back to work ...

Well. That was fun. Almost four weeks has gone by without me doing my 'actual' job. I've had so many things to do lately that the core part of my job (and quite honestly, the fun and creative part) has had to be put on hold.

The end of the b.Tween festival marks my return to work, and I'm kind of looking forward to it. Sure, to say there's a backlog of editing for me to do is an understatement! Still, unrealistic deadlines have the effect of focusing the mind, and I fancy a challenge at the moment.

So, for the next 8 weeks this blog will be my forum for venting my frustrations, and hopefully a few moments of pride :o)

Stay tuned ...

Darth Calls In

Google video: Genius!

b.Tween Marathon

Ughh ... that was a long week. I've worked a 63 hour week, and every minute of it on my feet. My legs ache!

Hopefully the result was worth it. We were hosting the b.Tween New Media Forum, and as the name suggests - the technical demands were high. Unlike most events we host, this one had over a week of preparation time - and it needed it.

There was a massive demand on network bandwidth and connectivity, including rolling out a new WiFi network in many areas of the museum (Which, incidentally, I forgot to secure before I left yesterday - so if anyone wants free WiFi, head to NMPFT this weekend!). The event was also webcast, which caused me the biggest headache and a sleepless night prior to the event.

All that said, an hour into the first day of the forum I think I'd pulled it off. Everything was running smoothly, and for the first time in a week I could relax.

My only regret was that I was too busy to see any of the presentations. :o(

Ah well. Back to my normal job next week ...

Eurovision!

It's that time of year again. Large swathes of the country coalesce into groups to celebrate an evening of audio-visual torture ... and we're no exception.

As usual, my money is on the Moldovian entry. I doubt they'll win, but there's something about them that appeals to my insane nature.

Updates later...

Registrar: Check.

Today is the day: I'm confirming the date and time of the registrar for our wedding. So - we've got the venue booked, and the registrar. I know we've got a long way to go yet, but if nothing else happens -- at least we'll still get married :o)

I would tell you where and when it's all going to happen, but I'm afraid I can't afford for the whole of the internet to turn up on the day. Sorry :o)

UPDATE: Job done. 1400 on the magic date. It's all downhill from here, providing my credit card doesn't run out :o)

Log cabin anyone?

We've finally decided on a venue for our wedding next year. We searched high and low; looked at stately homes and posh hotels ... and then we found this place. It's a log-cabin retreat seemingly in the middle of nowhere. :o)

New Month - New Look

Well? What do you think?

I thought it was about time I sorted out this blog-thingie of mine. I was never happy with the old layout for all sorts of reasons ... the number 1 pain being that it could only display images that were 400 pixels wide, and Flickr serves them at 500 pixels. While the pictures look fine on my Mac (which does a fine job rescaling them on the fly), my photos looked awful when viewed on a PC (Hmm!).

Besides, there's something peaceful about this harbour template. I'm not sure exactly where a lighthouse fits into my life, but I'm sure it's a metaphor for something ;o)

Anyway. I hope you like the new layout, and I'm very sorry I've been such a slacker and havent posted squat for 5 weeks.

KEFin' Hell!

Ah, new HiFi kit. So small and unassuming, but looks can be deceiving. This thing needs clearance from Air Traffic Control if I want to turn it above -20dB :o)

Gold Hill Geocache

Didn't find Old Ma' Peggaty's ... But did find a cunningly hidden Geocache :o)

Monkey World

Yep, we made it. All the way to Dorset to see monkeys ... I'm sure there was a reason for it. I just can’t remember what it was :o)



Next stop: Gold Hill and some geocaching. Stay tuned...

D70 n' Chips

I haven't taken that many photos in 2006, and here's the reason why. Through messing with several old lenses and extension rings to do some marco work I've ended up with an unpleasant amount of dust, hair and other crap on the chip.


I decided enough was enough. It was time to spend a silly amount of money and clean the thing myself. Eeek!

I'm glad I spent that bit extra and bought the Pro kit. I ended up using 6 of the swabs to clean the chip. It took some getting used to, and to be honest the chip was clean after the 2nd swab. I thought it would be nice to make extra sure, and ended up covering the chip in hairs again. Doh!

I suppose I'd better go clean all my lenses now. I think I've learnt my lesson.

Shark!

We're gonna' need a bigger foyer!

When Label Printers Attack!

My Digital Lifestyle

First of all, sorry for the lame post about the Microsoft Origami project. It was so poor I deleted it all together and thought I'd start a fresh, more structured post.

Let me start by saying that I am a gadget nut. I love gadgets, and they cause an unhealthy but welcome drain on my savings. The one proviso I have for any gadget is that is must be useful and easy to use. Digital cameras, mobile phones and iPods all fall easily into this category.

But recently I've been having doubts about where some of these so-called gadgets are trying to lead us. The Microsoft Origami project is an example that got my temperature rising last week. Particularly when I saw the media proclaim it as 'Microsoft's iPod Killer'. Have you seen the size of that thing?! I wish the press would excerise some common sense when reporting these stories.

That aside, the purpose of the Origami project is so vague as to cause me some concern. What is it? Why do I need it? Microsoft claim that you can use it to email, surf the web, write documents, watch videos, listen to music, and browse your photo albums ... which is nice. Isn't it basically a PC then? It's a PC, but you've made it smaller? And in all honesty, once you add the keyboard and removable DVD drive, you've not made it THAT small, have you?

But the fact that Microsoft is touting this device as somthing that merges a PC and a PDA, and even aims to take on the PSP and the iPod, you have to ask yourself, 'Do I really need an All-In-One super gadget?'. I mean, do you really need to carry ALL your photographs around with you ALL the time? Sure, I like the feature on my Windows Smartphone to send a recieve emails, but I'd never have it replace Apple Mail, or MS Outlook. Is all this stuff really necessary?

And who the heck decided that the future was 'being able to watch full length feature films in the palm of your hand'? I enjoy going to the cinema, and for the times I can't get there, I've built a home entertainment system that attempts to replicate the scale of the cinema. The idea of paying to watch a film on a PSP or iPod doesn't appeal to me at all. Yes technically it's possible, but how useful is it?

It's all about your lifestyle. About fitting these things in. A truly useful gadget is one that requires very little effort to do this. The iPod is a great example. It's clean, simple and unobtrusive. I already had my music collection. I was already using iTunes. I knew what kind of music I liked, so the iPod just helped me listen to it more often, and in more places.

On the other hand, carrying 25'000 photos around and watching full length movies on a device the size of your wallet ... why? When did that become our most pressing demand?

We're always going to need our desktop PCs. They'll always be more powerful, and therefore more enjoyable to use. They'll always have bigger screens, which give you the space to organise your work. With that in mind, why should we have our hearts set on creating a true mobile 'Everything' gadget?

For this reason I can see why Apple have been so tentative with the development of the video iPod and associated services. For the same reason I can also understand why Microsoft have released the Origami project on us. In most cases Apple seems to wait to evidence of demand before producing something. Microsoft seems to think they can create that demand. "Build it, and they will come!" ... well, it looks like I'm finally getting tired of being told what my life is lacking. I like my life the way it is, and I want gadgets that can make me enjoy it more often.

It's all very well me saying this now, but I know that Steve Jobs' reality distortion field is out to get me at least one more time :o)

Snowed In

It doesn't look like we're going out today!

We're Engaged!

Donna and I are now engaged to be married. Crikey!

I proposed to her on her birthday, the 14th of Feb. I was terrified, and she was totally surprised ... but thankfully she said yes ... three times in fact :o)

I'm not really with it at the moment. I've been in a far away place for about a week now. Give me a few days, and I'll write some more :o)

One more thing....

So then. There it is. The Apple Expo in California. An eagerly anticipated event for anyone passionate about Apple products, as they invariably launch new software and hardware. In the past, even if we've had a pretty good idea about what Apple are going to launch, they always seem to have a trick up their sleeve.

So then. How did they do this time? Personally I thought the event was pretty tame for Apple ... but that's not to say the updates weren't interesting. They just didn't have the 'Oh my, look at that', heart racing, giddy as a schoolboy, dreaming about how this new box will change my life .. kind of effect.

To jump in at the deep-end: Apple released their first ever Intel-based Mac. This in itself is a major milestone for Apple ... but it was overshadowed by the hype they gave the shift to Intel in the latter part of 2005. We were all expecting at least one member of the Mac family to replaced with Intel hardware for this event. Yeah, OK. So they surprised us by having not one, but two members of the family upgraded: The iMac and a complete revamp of the Powerbook (now called the MacBook Pro, thus dropping the IBM/Power association). They're nice looking machines, and they're faster than their IBM counterparts ... but I'm hesitant to start dreaming about owning one :o)

This is the first time that the Intel-based version of the Mac OS-X operating system has been made available to the public, and there are bound to be teething troubles. Especially since any software that has not been recompiled for the Intel CPU will be run through a subsystem named 'Rosetta'. In theory this is great, as it means older applications will always run on these new systems. In reality, however, any application running through Rosetta is bound to suffer some performance degradation, which may frustrate new owners of these super-fast machines. I think I'll wait for a while :o)

The other thing I find suspicious is the lack of information about the new Intel 'Core Duo' chip. Is it a 64-bit chip? Yes, I know the benchmarks show this thing is almost twice the speed of the G5 ... but in order to achieve this has Apple / Intel taken a backwards step?

There were other semi-interesting updates today too: A new iLife suite (iLife 06), which had some pretty tame new features for a major update. The addition of a web authoring package, iWeb, looked more promising ... but it's not clear whether it's only for .Mac subscribers.

With so many recent updates to the iPod, it was hard to believe they'd come up with anything new .... but they managed to squeeze in an iPod remote/radio adapter which allows you to listen to FM radio on the iPod. Great. Just what I always wanted .... oh, wait. It's only available for the new iPod video :o(

All that aside, I think that the shift to Intel looks promising. If anything I would guess that Apple are making a point by keeping the design of the new iMac and the laptop almost identical to the previous model. They're saying "Look. We've shoved Intel chips in these things, any everything stays the same. We're still Apple". I'm sure there'll be many more innovative Apple products over the next 12 months, but for now they're playing it safe.

There'll be more Expos. (Fingers cross for NAB and Final Cut 6 :o)

UPDATE: Apple have posted a TV ad they've made about the Intel switch.

Flickring Boat

I've decided to upgrade to a Flickr Pro account.

I figured: What am I going to use Flickr for? Am I going to fill it full of random holiday photos and images of empty coffee cups ... or am I going to put my better photos on it, and see what people think?

I was surprised then, after uploading this photos I took in Tunisia, that it only took 10 seconds to get the first random comment posted about it. Another 10 minutes go by, and all the other photos I uploaded were getting a look in. Not bad, eh?

After hunting around the Flickr website, finally trying to figure out what's available, I discover 'Groups'. Groups are communities of Flickrites who share a common interest, or like a certain genre of photography. There are groups for black n' white photography, photographs taken in West Yorkshire ... even photos of Apple Macs. Joining one of these groups allows you to publish your own photos in the group for comments. They're also a source of amazing and inspiring images.

If you already use Flickr, then you probably said 'duh!' while reading the last paragraph. I can't believe I've been a member for so long, and never bothered to find out how the site works. Ah well.

Hopefully my new year's resolution (No. 6), which is to 'Get out and use my camera more often', will result in a very Flickry year :o)

New Phone

I got a new phone last week. It's not the smallest one I've ever owned!

I don't know what happened. I was all set for getting a smaller phone; the story of Tim's Nokia Communicator fresh in my mind ... and then I bought this. Ah well. It's cool anyway!

2005: The Year of Stuff

Hmm. I can't think of any better way to describe it:

"Yeah, I remember the year of '05. Stuff happened."

To be honest, I just got on with living. I did some pretty amazing things in the
latter half of the year, which are still hanging around on this front page.

So then, what did I do then? Lets have a look (in no particular order):

• I had the most amazing holiday to the USA in July. Cost us a fortune, but worth every centy-Americany-penny-thingy.
  
• Joined the gym in January. I even went to it a few times. :o)
  
• Bought a new car. Ever since I bought my Renault Clio six years ago, I've always fancied owning a Laguna. Yes, I know it's a bit of an old-mans/reps car ... but I've never been too bothered with the outside of a car. It's the inside that I spend all my time in :o)
  
• I've technically owned four ipods this year. Not bad. I'm aiming for less this year.
  
• Attended IBC at Amsterdam. Finally!
  
• Miss T's entire family moved to Spain ... and then back again.
  
• I bought my first Apple computer. A shiny G5 iMac. Miss T has had to fight for attention ever since :o)
  
• I discovered that Miss T and I weren't the only folks to painfully enjoyed the Eurovision Song Contest. Here's to more Eurovision parties.
  
• I went rock climbing in the Lake District with my good friend, Emma.
  
• Hmm ... and I can't quite remember which year I discovered geo-caching ... but I certainly did quite a bit of it in 2005.
  
• I started a blog!
  
• ... and a load of other stuff that's probably important, and that I should remember.

Working on the principal that a picture speaks a thousand words (that's about 5 Power-of-TV questions), here's Oli's 'Images of 2005'....

Enjoy.