Informed Choices

Its not often I disagree with Luis (because he’s going to be a lawyer soon and will sue my ass), but I thought I had to in this case.

In his post, he writes

choice is usually just another way of saying “the engineers and PMs don’t have the balls to make the hard decisions, so instead we’re going to give the users a ‘choice’ they can’t possibly make with any more reliability than a coin flip.”

I think that empowering the user to make and understand the decisions that we make them take is important and that the best way for that is, indeed, as the post Luis refers to as “The most depressing thing I’ve read all morning” is to document these choices as fully and completely as possible.

With that in mind, I have taken the time to design a desktop colour selector for this OpEnSuSe installation process. Please comment on it, and we can refine the idea before submitting it upstream.

(Obviously an important consideration is the initial choice of colours that we make available and so I’d like to hear peoples opinions of what they should be.)

And the rejoicing begins

Well, here it is, today is the big day. In a few hours at 7pm, after some pizza, the rejoicing begins. Its going to be a quiet 24 hours as Jono Bacon will be locked away, blowing his trumpet but most importantly for us, not posting shit on his blog.

So, for 24 hours, let us bask in his absense, before he comes back, ego refreshed having done some self-aggrand^w^wcharity work. Enjoy it while you can.

Join The Dots On Iain’s Birthday Walk o’ Fun

A story…

I went to a concert, and at 11oclock was on my way home, feeling a bit hungry and thirsty having not eaten or drank since lunch…and so our walk begins…

Start at 1, and see how long it takes you to get to your bed at 2

(A game for ages 29+, average completion time: 2hrs)

Key:

1: Start (Pimlico tube station)
3: “Hmm, there’s supermarket round the corner, I bet it has food”
4: Supermarket (Closed)
5: “There’s lights down there, there’s bound to be food
6: Starting to suspect I’d chosen the wrong way
7: Tate Britain – “Must be food around here” – Continue wandering aimlessly
8: “Ohhh, I recognise this, yey me”
9: Still hungry and thirsty decide to try the other way
10: Sainsbury’s. Victory. Closed at 12. Time now: 12:13am. Denied.
11: Victory at Victoria! Sausage rolls, Innocence smoothie and Coke.
12: “Oh Tachbrook Street, I know that street”
13: “My street, that begins with B is to the other side of Tachbrook Street”
14: Who knows why I went down here, bright lights probably…
15: “Belgrave Rd!!! I’m on Belgrave, ummm, Street, it must be this way…”
16: “How the fuck am I back at the other side of Victoria? Seriously?”
17: There was a reason for turning here…The Force perhaps.
18: Ditto
19: “Charlwood Street…that name is familiar”
20: “Lupus Street, that leads to or away from the Tube, if I take it I’ll either be very lost, or back at the start, better keep going the way I’m going, its gotta be close if I’m near Lupus Street”
21: “Wait, is that water? How the hell am I at the Thames now? And there’s Battersea? What, half of London has just disappeared on me?”
22: Debated flagging down taxis/police to ask where Belgrave Street is
23: “Wait, I know this place, this is that bridge!”
24: “Hmm, if I go to the start then thats the longer way than this way, surely”
25: “Oh, thats why Charlwood Street is familiar then, bugger”
2: Bed (Victoria Inn)

(Incidently, yes, I am planning on driving across Canada. Why’d you ask?)

(I’ll have a GPS with me this time)

Doin’ it for the kids

This year for comic relief I will be blowing my own trumpet for 24hours.

This means I will write, record and mix my trumpet being blown all by myself. It’ll be hard, but I have lots of practise at blowing my own trumpet so I think I can do it. I enjoy blowing my own trumpet and to be able to blow my own trumpet and raise money for the kids, well, it makes me think of my heroes, Mr Bono Vox and Mr Bob Geldof who also enjoy blowing their own trumpets for charity.

So feel free to donate to Comic Relief and support me blowing my own trumpet.

(Incidently staying on the Bono/Geldof issue, has anyone noticed that the Live8 logo looks like Live $?)

(Is this good enough for you Mr Garret?)

Patrick Henry League

Found the RPM Challenge to get lazy musicians to actually produce something and get better at what they do. So I thought I’d sort of do it. 35 minutes of music in a month. Unofficially like. Mostly cos I can’t be bothered signing up, and because I’m already away for some of Feburary. Also because of that, I’m giving myself some leeway with the dates.

But I thought I’d write about it here, put up some stuff as I progress in an attempt to get some people to bitch at me if I don’t actually do it.

Last night I came up with – Post-hardcore Ain’t For Kids

Nothing fancy, lacking anything other than guitars for various reasons (my bass is in about 30 bits spread over a 10mile radius of N. Ireland for one), but I guess I’m not posting finished products here, just works in progress, so I can see how I progress and if I get any better at learning how to use the instruments and multitrack.

I already know ways it can be made better (the volume drop when the second guitar kicks in for a start can be easily fixed by readjusting the levels)

But yeah, 35minutes, which in my preferred genre is about 2 tracks, so I’m just going to record whatever comes to mind, hence the first track is a silly little post-hardcore/punk thing (whatever post-hardcore really is, and I’m almost certain its not actually, but I like the name)

(For other stuff I’ve recorded previously: My music page

Greatest Guitar Solos

After reading an article which contains Stairway to Heaven in the top 13 it becomes necessary to compile your own. Not that there are great solos in Stairway to Heaven, but there are far better solos in other artists songs, such as Steps – 5,6,7,8 and Cotton Eye Joe. Stairway to Heaven makes the list sound like a Saturday morning headache in any guitar shop throughout the world. Here are my favourites in no particular order..they are from my very limited experience and range of musical taste and YMMV. I’ve skipped a lot of good ones from artists like the drunken busker on Royal Avenue.
Bacon, Lavigne and the cute one from Busted make up my list of greatest guitarists.

Top:

  • Take the Test – Jono Bacon
  • Voices of Freedom – Jono Bacon
  • Year 3000 – Busted
  • Losing Grip – Avril Lavigne
  • What I go to School For – Busted
  • What I go to School For – Jono Bacon (Busted cover)
  • No Limits (electric and acoustic versions) – 2Unlimited
  • Drum Test – Jono’s Incredible Bongo Band
  • Demo Song #3 – Casiotone Electric Keyboard

Mentions of other worthy guitar songs

  • Learn Guitar in a Month – Bert Wheldon
  • A#minor Pentatonic Scale – Me
  • Smells Like Teen Spirit – Some kid on Youtube (Nirvana cover)
  • Wild Thing – Troggs (Troggs cover)
  • Wonderwall – Drunken Busker on Royal Ave (Oasis cover)