So long since my last post and so many things to write about! Start og the rugby season... Brighton vs Northampton... new LP deck... Colin McRae Gathering.... Mrs Aitch's Finest Marmalade... but one that's more urgent.

Steam have the entire id Collection available for $34.99 this weekend only. After then it reverts to $79.99.

I bought in; the collection contains a rediculous amount of software, most of which I own but most of which doesn't work any more. Well, with Steam it does - and I know it'll work forever more. It's also a great opportunity to backfill holes in my gaming career - for example, Q2MP2 and Hexen / Heretic series. You also get all of the Commander Keens, all the Dooms (1,2, Ultimate, Final, 3, 3MP) - all for just over £20.

Buy it. Buy it now because the deal ends today. You'll not regret!

-(C) H out

Hi all,

Today's post has two topics that are linked by one thing: intellectual property.

First up:  I posted a while back that Nine Inch Nails (NIN) released an album, Ghosts, for USD $5 as a lossless download.  Well, they've recently gone one more.  Halo 27, "The Slip", is available as a free download in any of FLAC, 320k MP3, Apple (urgh) or WAV format.  To save bandwidth, Reznor uses BitTorrent for the large downloads. 

What interested me is that this album is (so far) much more interesting than Ghosts.  Ghosts could be considered nice background music, but actually it's a bit bland - if I'm honest, I've heard it twice.  This album is rockier, it has (shock) lyrics; it's much closer to a "real album".  So, given the content is better than Ghosts, why did NIN make the download free - especially given the quality?  They are selling a number of limited edition CD / LP physical media so I presume they're hoping for a lot of sales - and also concert tickets.

Something else I was impressed with was their photo stream.  Rather than re-implement yet another web gallery, NIN have embraced Web 2.0 and use Flickr! For example: this graph.

While his music sometimes blows hot and cold, I'm having increasing respect for Trent Reznor as a techie who's doing the right thing.

Someone else for whom I have always had respect is John Carmack.  He's the physics, graphics and maths genius who created Commander Keen, Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake (which he wrote when he was my age) and Rage; that's in addition to having code that he owns embedded in every Valve FPS still being released.  I recently heard an interview with him performed by Julian "Rabbit" Murdoch on the Gamers With Jobs podcast (specifically, episode 89), in which he talks about intellectual property, patents and open source.

His views are no secret; he abhors patents and states in the podcast that patents are destroying the industry. Murdoch asks him what he would do with the current US patent system; Carmack states he would disband all software patents apart from a few.  He talks about how the patent office was almost useful when working on his current project, Armadillo Aerospace and how he has never patented code in his career, preferring specifically to deal with infringements using copyright.

The interview starts approx 67 mins into the podcast (though you should really listen to the whole thing, it's ace) and lasts half an hour; I thoroughly recommend listening.  The man speaks perfect sense and rings in my ear as a pure note.  I support his views entirely and this has furthered my respect.

Oh, and Carmack just happens to be on record as a big fan of Nine Inch Nails.

-(C) H out.

Hi all,

After many months of protesting, distrust and general scepticism, I've taken the plunge and created a Facebook account. If you know me, feel free to befriend me; you know who I am. It's not that the general distrust and scepticism has gone; far be it. Facebook has proven itself untrustworth on a fairly regular basis, with the last exploit (AFAIK) coming out in May. But then Windows has critical patches released every month. It's also proven itself to be responsible for the destruction of Spain, but I haven't got a villa so I'm presumably safe.

So, what are the first impressions?

Impression 1: I was already there. It's quite disturbing. I signed up using my regular e-mail address. Despite my complete avoidance of Facebook, I found no fewer than nine friend requests pending. Nine. So, despite the fact I didn't want to be there, nine lovely people had made reference to me, indicating that I definitely existed and leaving a big old H-shaped hole.

Impression 2: Social connection graphs. The "Find a Friend" option on Facebook is quite impressive. I was expecting some kind of pseudo-introduction agency where people with like minds are introduced; perhaps a dating agency for those who have their "relationship" status as "Free & Single". Instead, Facebook created a graph of people I knew and people that they knew. In one scenario, I was friends with five people; they were all friends with someone else. There's therefore a high probablility that I was friends with the sixth and so Facebook presented them to me as a potential friend. Extrapolate this and the social graph one could create with the Facebook data is really quite scary.

Impression 3: Real names. Everywhere else in the world, IT people tend to use aliases. Handles. "Cdr Aitch" isn't my real name. However, on Facebook, I'm me - and so are all the other people I know. Fade isn't Fade; Sariel isn't Sariel. iBob isn't iBob and Doza isn't Doza. I've never known any of these people use anything but their nicks on the Internet. What makes Facebook different?

That third one's actually caused me trouble - there are some people on the Find a Friend screen who I'm sure I recognise but don't actually know, as I don't know their real name!

So far, so good. I'm still carefully exploring at the moment - I exepct I'll either get hooked or ditch it in a month. Time will tell...

-(C) H out

Following the remarkable victory by the Conservatives in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, The BBC are reporting today that Brown 'must change course' to win the next general election. Couldn't agree more; he needs to start wearing a lot of blue.

I'm perplexed as to why this is a surprise; the cracks in Labour were appearing towards the end of Blair's reign and pretty much everyone knew that Gordon Brown was unelectable.  To my mind, the Tory government of 2009 was pretty much a dead cert as soon as Labour decided to appoint El Broon as Supreme Commander instead of holding a leadership election.  So why the fuss?  Commissar Gord is unelectable; the Lib Dems will continue to gain seats at a slow but stead pace; the Tories will win by default. 

It'll be interesting in 20 years when the Lib Dems have grown strong enough to genuinely challenge for power; but I don't see it happening for a little while.  Next government is Conservative - signed, sealed, delivered. 

From the Daily Telegraph, 7th May 2008:



Matt_cartoon_668402a
Originally uploaded by Cdr Aitch

Hello!

I am pleased to report that Operation Trusty Steed Phase IV was complete!

I took my motorcycle test at 10:14 this morning and passed, with two minors. As I'm over 21 and took the test on a 500cc machine, I have a full class A licence and am now licenced to ride any motorcycle I like! Woohoo! I'd forgotten how good it feels to pass a driving test :D

Here is the Trusty Steed, in all its glory - a Honda VFR400 R3 (NC30):




Here are a couple of other shots that I took while in an arty photo mood. The first is an infra-red picture of the can after the bike had been running for a few minutes; the second is an oblique photo of the rear wheel. Both slightly cliched, but I'm happy with how they both came out :)





To celebrate the passing, I've just gone on a 25-mile ride for fun - stopping off on the way to have a coke at a pub and to pick up some boot laces. I've not had this much fun on a motor since I got rid of my old 406 Coupe - it's spine-tinglingly, goosebump-raisingly, breath-catchingly good! All I need now is a few more thousand miles under my belt - the more experience, the better. I barely took the bike over 9,000 rpm today - it comes alive at 6,000 and red-lines at 16,500. I'm guessing I'll not take it too high for a while!

One moment to put that in perspective: my 210bhp Peugeot Coupe 3.0 V6 came alive at 3,750 and red-lined at 7,000. The present diesel comes alive at 2,000 and red-lines at 4,500. The bike comes alive at 6,000 and red-lines at 16,500. Sweeet!

Here's to happy riding - and bikers everywhere :)

-(C) H out

Afternoon,

Pleased to report that Operationg TRUSTY STEED, Phase III, is now complete, was a resounding success and was thoroughly enjoyed. The fourth - and final - phase will take place during the week, from the 21st - 23rd.

The following photo was obtained by one of our highest placed TRUSTY STEED operatives.  For your eyes only:


While not undertaking daredevil antics, Mrs H and I have been busy decorating the lounge. We ripped the fireplace out over a year ago and haven't every gotten around to finishing it. Well, we booked a carpet to arrive this week so we really have to get a move on. We've hung about 2/3 of the paper, so now we just have to finish that and paint! Before Friday.

Wish us luck - and if you're nearby and fancy popping in to give us a hand, please do :)

-(C) H out

Secret agent 00H here.  I'm currently engaged in a top secret operation, TRUSTY STEED.  Can't tell you else I'd have to shoot you - but Phase I was completed on Friday; Phase II arrived yesterday.  Phase III takes place on the 19th of April - and Phase IV from 21st - 23rd.  So far so good... wish me luck, comrades

Last post was my own handiwork.  This poem isn't:
Oh take me home  
United Road
To the place
Where I belong!
To Old Trafford
To see United
Oh, take me home
United Road

Yesterday, Dad and I went to see United - Villa at Old Trafford.  First time I'd been to OT (or seen United, for that matter) for fourteen years.  It was spine-tingling to walk down Sir Matt Busby Way, past his statue, and into the stadium.  To see the hallowed turf of the Theatre of Dreams!

We were right at the top of the stadium in the West Stand, a long way from the pitch - but the view was superb.  The seats were so steeply raked that the back of the next seat in front only came up to my shin!  We had 100% visibility of the pitch - no supports occluding our view whatsoever.

 Being so far from the pitch did have one problem though - you couldn't make out players' faces, you had to tell who was who by body language, shirt numbers and haircut.  When you're 100+m from the pitch it's surprising how much Carlos Tevez  resembles Oliviera Anderson!

United won 4-0, thanks to two goals from Rooney, one from Ronaldo and one from Tevez so we went back down the M6 happy.  Hopefully it won't be another 14 years before we see them again :)

-(C) H out 

While I'm filling up my cup, I sit awhile and think;
Of how, without this magic bean, the world would surely sink.
Fuel for teachers teaching class and coppers copping crooks;
For mathematicians summing sums and writers writing books.
Without its power the earth would dim and wonders go unseen;
Thank God! - says I - for southern climes, and their magic bean.

Hi al,

Hope you're well. Today's post is all about (legal!) distribution of DRM-free music.

As most people will know, digital musical distribution has been around for a while - with iTunes selling DRM-ed tracks for the iPod and Microsoft doing similarly for their Zune. However, these suffer from a disease that threatens to cripple the music industry - digital rights management (DRM) - a technique which limits how many times you can copy a track. iTunes in particular only allows you to have the track installed on a five deviecs - so if wish to register a track on a sixth, you must un-register the track from one device first.

This is a pain because it does what it says on the tin - it stops fans from sharing tracks, which is one of the main ways that bands get known and increase their following. Or, it attempts to - because most techies will be able to get around DRM using the Analogue Hole. If you want to listen to a track, it has to go to your speakers somehow. So, take your line out, plug it into your line in and record while you play. This will get you a DRM-free copy, very close to the quality of the original recording. Techniques like this turn DRM into a pointless attempt to cease copyright theft, that only affects a small portion of the market.

Why bother?

This is the question that more bands are beginning to ask. The first high-profile case was Radiohead, with their album "In Rainbows". The album was released on the Internet, in 160 Kb/s DRM-free MP3 files, for whatever you wanted to pay. Pay 50p and they'll charge you 50p for the card transaction; elect to download the album gratis and you could do just that. The album was typical Radiohead whine - I paid 55 of Her Majesty's finest English Pence and consider myself swindled. However, that didn't stop it making Radiohead an absolute mint.

Thom Yorke has since dismised the net-distribution paradigm, essentially revealing this project for what it was - a marketing ploy. Nevertheless, without a label, distribution channels, stores and so forth to take a cut, Radiohead took more cash than they had for any other album. American fans paid around $8 for the album; outside the US, fans paid an average of $4. Across the number of copies sold, that's a lot of dough.

Anyway, rather than waste any more words on the kings of WhineRock, I'd like to bring to your attention two other groups. The Levellers have released two tracks from their forthcoming album on DRM-free MP3 - freely downloadble from the website. Go look. However, the band - or man - I'd like to salute most is Nine Inch Nails and their drummer, vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist, Trent Reznor.

The latest NIN album, Ghosts I-IV, is available as DRM-free download from the Nine Inch Nails website. Pay $5 (£2.60) and you get four CDs in a choice of either 320Kb/s MP3s - twice the quality of the whiny rubbish - or lossless FLAC, plus forty pages of album art.  As a techie, that raised my eyes - FLAC is great and, given the option, I know which I chose.  At that price, it'd be rude not to buy the album.

No figures have been released yet, so we don't know how much Trent and alter-egos are making from this - but the $300 limited edition package sold out in a day.  There were 2500 copies.  That's $750,000 for a start (although it was physical media).

DRM-free music is the way forward.  It allows the genuine fan the freedom to do what they wish with the music they've purchased.  Copying music is nothing new  - how many vinyl records have been duplicated onto tapes - and it won't be solved by artificial technical restrictions.  The moves of NIN, Levs and (even) Radiohead are to be encouraged - imagine a world where every album was $2 and you could download it at will and play at your leisure.

If there are any big groups selling or giving away DRM-free MP3s, let me know in the comments!

-(C) H out

This story caught my eye a few weeks ago. A young girl kicked to death in a park by a bunch of thugs while trying to stop them attacking her boyfriend.  There was an update today that made me even sadder: she was murdered for being a goth.

Don't know what makes me saddest.  That it happened at all, or that it was something as small-minded as lifestyle.  In my experience, goths tend to be pretty chilled out, decent folk.  Did they antagonise the youths - it's possible - or were they just attacked by a bunch of townies out of their head on white lightning? 

Social division is nothing new;  I had copper waist-length hair as a youth and remember one trip home from school being attacked on Hassocks station purely for being ginger and liking the Levellers.  It's something that happens to people who like to think for themselves; most people bear it, grow through it and lead full, happy, lives.  This incident, however, puts all that in a bit of perspective.

To kill someone for a lifestyle blows my mind.

There's a lot of attention in the media about encouraging social cohesion in the UK between races, different nationalities and different creeds.  Tabloids tend to focus this on the aliens, indicating that they ought to do more to fit in with us.  Strikes me that this case shows that tabloids might be aiming at the wrong group.  It appears that we can't even fit in with ourselves.

-(C) H out

Hello!



I posted a while back about Mrs H being placed 4th in a dressage test. Well, it turns out that being placed 4th qualified her for the Nixon Equine Championships in Milton Keynes - so she and Toby entered. Because a lot of the other riders and horses that were more experienced, we were treating this as a bit of fun and weren't too worried where she'd finish - from a class of 30, we expected 20th - 25th or thereabouts.

Here are a few photos of them warming up:



And one of them in the class:


To our surprise - and great, delight, they finished 10th!


Congratulations to Mrs H and Mister Marmalade! Great things will come...

-(C) H out

Stack update: 6 months after starting, following tangents on Mario Galaxy, and the destruction of the PC (and therefore all save points) about halfway through the game, I've finished Bioshock.

One word does it: wow. This is my game of the year. Admittedly it was released in 2007 but I can't imagine I'll play a better game in 2008 (although I'll give it a go!)

Why is it so good? Because it looks goregous. Because of the sheer amount of stuff you can do. Because of the emotions that it invokes.

Much has been written about the way you feel for Big Daddies if they're wandering around without a Little Sister - lost and forlorn - and the sense of wonder you feel when wandering around Rapture for the first time. However, about 2/3 of the way through the game, some thing happens - and you feel confused. Angry. You begin to question the very premis of the game - and, consequently, every game you play thereafter.

It's one of those things you can't talk about because you'll spoil the game for everyone else. I'd therefore recommend that everybody goes and plays the game (having said that, most of the people reading this blog will already have played it and I'll probably find I'm way behind the curve). Ken Levine is, indeed, an artist.

And if your PC isn't up to it , would you kindly upgrade so that you can join in the fun? You're missing out...

-(C) H out

Hi all

It's Friday! Woohoo! At last!

Two pics for posting today. Firstly: I broke Steam.


According to Valve's main content distribution system, I've been playing games for 168.6 hours over the last fornight. That's twelve hours a day, every day, despite holding down a full-time job. I must be so dedicated. And no, I didn't just fire up Portal and leave it running overnight :p

Oh well - simple things 'n' all that :)

Secondly, on the way back from a Saints game, the sky was awesome. Since the cars in the car park were going nowhere, I whipped out old trusty and took the following:


Have a good weekend - TTFN :)

-(C) H out

Hi all,

No, it's not a typo. Source Fource are a cool new group of action-figure heroes, with a mission to save the planet!  From what, we don't know presumably something dirty like SCO.  What we do know is how they'll be doing it - using the super-powers of Vista Sensei (brings cities to their knees!), Office Master and - my personal favourite - MSDN Webcast Guy!

They're a gimmick that Microsoft are running for people who listen to live MSDN Webcasts and Virtual Labs - essentially, get your MSDN subscription, listen to two of the above between March 15th and April 15th, fill in the feedback form and get yourself your very own plush Source Fource action figure.  I can't decide whether I love this (toys! free!) or whether I'm merely amused by it.  Microsoft producing action figurines?  Whatever next.  Mind you, they have previous.

Wonder if they'd trade a figurine for a discount on Vista?

-(C) H out

After the crashing of the hard disk (see blogs passim), the only PC in the house was Mrs H's laptop.  As a result, I started to attack the original Starcraft, in preparation for having a clue about the story thus far when Starcraft 2 is released later this year.  I'm happy to say I finished it on Sunday, woohoo!  Still got the Broodwar expansion to go - but that can wait, as Starcraft 2 has been delayed a few months.

I'm now going for something modern... hmm... Bioshock, again.  Last time, I was 3/5ths of the way through and the disk died.  I'd been rescuing the sisters all the way.  This time, I'm going to harvest.  Mmm, ADAM...

New stack here :)

-(C) H out

Evening!

This evening was fun. Mrs Aitch, some friends and I went to see "Freeborn John", a musical based upon the Rev Hammer / Levellers album Freeborn John.  It starred Rev Hammer, the Levs (woohoo!) and New Model Army. Costumes were non-existant and half the cast were half-cut - but it was ace!  We both enjoyed it a lot :)

Simon Friend had a part playing a Drunken Cavalier in one one of my favourite tracks from the album - which was super live until he forgot a verse! The band and his duet partner tried so hard to get him going but it just wasn't happening - oops!

The Levs came on for their band performances just after the break - and gave it all the gusto that one comes to expect from a Levellers concert.  The crowd had mainly come for the Levs and within about 15 seconds there were revellers dancing in the aisles.  Great stuff.

Honourable mention too to the Bishop, who put up with a lot of heckling from the crowd and gave it back admirably.

So, next Levs gig? I note, from the Levellers website:

25-05-2008
Sunday
The Cresset, Peterborough
www.cresset.co.uk

Peterborough. That's an hour away.  It was further than that when we went to Birmingham... 

I feel like bouncing.

-(C) H out

We have technology! And also a friend with a video camera and DVD burner, a copy of DVD Decrypter, FLASK MPEG and a YouTube-enabled web browser.

Combine the lot, add a pinch of patience and the result is:

YouTube page here :-)

Enjoy!

-(C) H out

Hi all,

What a beautiful day it is today. Perfect for riding...

Well, that's what Mrs H thought, anyway. She entered a dressage test today - five miles from her stable. Not having a horse box / trailer, she had to ride to the test - most unusual! Still, it settled Shadowfang (nee Toby) down and got all his boistrousness out of him.

This was Mrs H's first ever dressage test - she was so nervous! Didn't have to be though - Toby behaved himself impeccably and they finished fourth out of twenty in the class!

Here're some shots from before & during the event. As always, click for the Flickr photo page!


Now, off to listen to the Manchester Derby - and to watch teh Rugby. TTFN!