Personal
You've got to make your own kind of music
Monday 22 October 2007
For the best part of 3 years, I've used RapidWeaver. I live and breath (somewhat unhealthily perhaps) it and today I'm finally able to reveal why I've been missing in action for a while: today is my first day as a full time employee at Realmac Software. I've left the music behind, and very tragically the great city of Manchester too, however after a far-from-dull few weeks, I've bitten the bullet / swallowed the pill / signed on the dotted line and will be working at Realmac in Brighton full-time as of Monday 22nd October. I firmly believe that 'you've got to make your own kind of music' and Realmac has offered me the opportunity to do just that.
So what does this mean? The answer is, actually, nothing. Well. Not for anyone who follows what I publish online! The terms of my contract for TUAW & DLS mean that I can still write (but I'm avoiding Realmac related items of course). I'll be here (hell, I'm in the middle of a re-design for this baby) and many, many other places too (hint), so enjoy. If you're heading to London for this week's MacLive Expo, you'll find me around the Expo (Thursday) as I cover it for TUAW, or find me on the Realmac booth (#834) on Friday and Saturday. Please do come and say 'Hello'.
There's a fair few thank yous in order. I've had the good fortune to have so many people offer me support and advice over the past few weeks, and without that, I'd be a wreck. I'm not going to name names here - you know who you all are. All I can say is a most since and heart-felt thank you. Seriously.
You've got to make your own kind of music,
sing your own special song,
make your own kind of music,
even if nobody else sings along.
|
Jetting off
Monday 27 August 2007
Summertime.... and the running is... easy?
Tuesday 10 July 2007
Losing Focus on Manchester
Friday 06 July 2007
Despite the distinctly un-summery weather in Manchester, today brings about a day I've been looking forward to for far too long. The end of the year and the summer recess. I don't leave Manchester until Sunday (thank goodness - I've got tonnes of flat-clearing to do) but I would very much love to get an HDR shot of the Beetham Tower before I go. Fingers crossed. In the meantime, here's a shot to match the title.
News of the Day
Friday 29 June 2007
I'm utterly thrilled to announce that today sees me officially joining the crew at AOL / Weblogs Inc. 's DownloadSquad site as a blogger. You probably know who Weblogs Inc are - they're the company behind Engadget, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Download Squad (of course) not to mention others. I'm really excited about the opportunity to write for such a well known site and some people have asked me what this means.
First, and foremost, in the scheme of things it means nothing. I'm still working part-time for RealMac, I'm still doing the music college 'thang' and above all, I'm not going anywhere from here. Nothing's changing here. It's just adding to the mix of life. Want to see what my first post is about? Well I'll give you one guess. :)
Enjoying the Weather
Tuesday 10 April 2007
Week from Hell
Saturday 10 March 2007
This week has been a little, er, hectic. My inbox, which normally puts minimalists like John Cage to shame, is an overflowing wreck (I tend to keep a maximum of about 5 conversations in the inbox at a time, and tag archive and delete like a madman - however this week just hasn't allowed me to do that). In fact, I'd like to add that if you've sent me an email and I haven't responded, then I apologise, but did get the message. During the week, all I've really been able to do is respond to as many as time permits (not enough) and then be a little ruthless with the Amazon and other newsletters (even though I'd love to read through them and see if there's any deals on external HDs) and simply cull them all.
Either way, this morning's early start (in bed at 2am, up for some RapidWeaver forum maintenance at 8am) has afforded me the luxury of being able to sort that out. Just one more email, out of 28, left to reply to. Expect a RapidWeaver screencast early next week, once I've got an essay out the way!
Either way, this morning's early start (in bed at 2am, up for some RapidWeaver forum maintenance at 8am) has afforded me the luxury of being able to sort that out. Just one more email, out of 28, left to reply to. Expect a RapidWeaver screencast early next week, once I've got an essay out the way!
Shameless Plug
Wednesday 10 January 2007
If, like me, you dugg Casino Royale (perhaps the best Bond film - I've seen them all too many times), then you'll be delighted to know you can now pre-order it on Amazon. And yes, that is an affiliates link, but if you're buying it, it costs you nothing, and pays my bandwidth bills :) I've got that and Borat on order. My love of DVDs is an addition I really ought to cure, but hey, they're two of my favourite films from last year!
Oh, and if you're awaiting the iPhone launch, this site is for you! (Thanks Susan!).
Oh, and if you're awaiting the iPhone launch, this site is for you! (Thanks Susan!).
New Year Resolutions - ish
Saturday 30 December 2006
Normally, I don't make resolutions. So this year, I'm going to set myself some aims in the form of a plan. So, my plan for the year is:
Finish my year at RNCM with full credits. This may seem silly, as I only need pass everything to get full credits, but I've really been thinking about my Clarinet playing and technique more than normal recently, and I hope that that pays off. For a change.
Play some Finzi and some Stravinsky. No matter how slowly.
Play the Piano more - and attempt to finally play John Adams' China Gates.
Get myself a new laptop. The iBook is slowly grinding to a halt, sadly.
Release a string of RapidWeaver themes. These have been long-time overdue, and I really hope that once things settle down in the new year, I'll get these going properly.
Difficult: Do some conducting. Just need to find an orchestra now.
Teach myself how to take better photos, and take better photos. Hence the purchase of a dSLR sometime after the laptop, not to mention some sort of RAW software solution (I'm leaning to Aperture at the moment. Purely because Lightroom is Beta and there's no word on pricing. Plus Aperture has FlickrExport2).
Actually do something with the Objective - C I've been slowly learning.
Unlikely: Get my hands on one 'Che Jobs' t-shirt. If this arrives, I really will be amazed. It would make my year.
Photo Share
Tuesday 12 December 2006
Stickers Wanted!
Saturday 18 November 2006
On Flickr, I've started to document my stickering of the iBook that will eventually be replaced by a shiny new MacBookPro. However, I'm in need of some specific stickers:
1. A Zune sticker, so that I can try to explain WTF 'Welcome to the Social' actually means. (Note, this may not end up on the laptop, but I think it would be a nice coloured logo to sit on an iBook!)
2. A Starbucks logo sticker. Non-negotiable. Update: Potentially Sorted
3. Any other cool stickers you can think of that relate to Mac-geekery.
4. A relatively small John C. Dvorak 'I Get No Spam' sticker. C'mon TWiTs! Where are they?!
5. Aston Martin sticker.
1. A Zune sticker, so that I can try to explain WTF 'Welcome to the Social' actually means. (Note, this may not end up on the laptop, but I think it would be a nice coloured logo to sit on an iBook!)
2. A Starbucks logo sticker. Non-negotiable. Update: Potentially Sorted
3. Any other cool stickers you can think of that relate to Mac-geekery.
4. A relatively small John C. Dvorak 'I Get No Spam' sticker. C'mon TWiTs! Where are they?!
5. Aston Martin sticker.
Prizes of linkage to your site if you point me in the right direction (i.e. an eBay listing) or my ever-lasting gratitude for anyone who actually contacts me, and as a result sends a sticker. Of course, anyone whose sticker makes it onto the laptop can expect muchos Flickr shots of their wares!
* Specifics: As far as possible, I want stickers that have transparent borders (no white borders please!) so that they can overlap in style.
Casino Royale: The Review
Friday 17 November 2006
I KNOW I've talked about Casino Royale rather a lot recently, but after having just seen it, I'm going to tell you one thing: You will want to see the film. I've put together a little review, as much as possible trying to avoid spoilers, but just so people don't get annoyed if something inadvertantly ruins the experience, I've put the article itself on the site, but not the RSS. I know this may annoy people, but I don't want to ruin such a great movie.
Read it here
Read it here
Casino Royale: Tomorrow!
Wednesday 15 November 2006
I'm a big fan of James Bond films (maybe not the greatest thing to admit to I know) and tomorrow sees the release of the latest in the series. I've talk about Casino Royale a couple of times before (trying not to get annoyed over the small fact that the iTunes release is US only!), however I'm now going to explain some of the reasons I love the Bond films.
Firstly, there's the cars. Yes, the cars. Aston Martin all the way! Secondly, the locations (apart from Die Another Day which was frankly a pile of ****). The sets are amazing, even if the story is a little out of this world. Thirdly, and perhaps the most important yet ironic reason, is the music.
If the Bond films are famous for one thing, it's the titles sequence and the music used for it. So here's my question in a simple attempt to stimulate some blogger-reader interaction: Which is your favourite Bond song? Whilst you try and decide, here's a little trailer for tomorrow courtesy of Sony Pictures and the ever-indispensible YouTube:
Firstly, there's the cars. Yes, the cars. Aston Martin all the way! Secondly, the locations (apart from Die Another Day which was frankly a pile of ****). The sets are amazing, even if the story is a little out of this world. Thirdly, and perhaps the most important yet ironic reason, is the music.
If the Bond films are famous for one thing, it's the titles sequence and the music used for it. So here's my question in a simple attempt to stimulate some blogger-reader interaction: Which is your favourite Bond song? Whilst you try and decide, here's a little trailer for tomorrow courtesy of Sony Pictures and the ever-indispensible YouTube:
My personal favourite is Carly Simon 'Nobody Does It Better' from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), but that's not to say the rest aren't brilliant. McCartney/Wings, Sheryl Crow, Tina Turner and Garbage, along with a-Ha are some greats.
England Rugby: 7 Changes
Tuesday 14 November 2006
Seems that there's a few changes to the England Rugby Union side that was completely humiliated and battered by Argentina last Saturday - too bad the one change we all want isn't happening......
Desktops?
Saturday 11 November 2006
Yesterday I posted my desktop to Flickr. Hardly a ground-breaking thing nowadays, but what I didn't expect was all the question over one app in my dock....
The app in question is the one on the very right of the Application area in the above photo (clicking it will open the image in Lightbox at a larger size). If you want to find out more about it, then it's called KIT (Keep It Together) and is from British developer Reinvented Software. It's a handy little app that er Keeps It Together!
The app in question is the one on the very right of the Application area in the above photo (clicking it will open the image in Lightbox at a larger size). If you want to find out more about it, then it's called KIT (Keep It Together) and is from British developer Reinvented Software. It's a handy little app that er Keeps It Together!
Borat
Friday 10 November 2006
Love him or loathe him, the Borat movie is just too funny. It might offend people at times, but I didn't stop laughing. Go. See. Now. I would offer some more insightful commentary, but I would spoil some of the funniest moments and you just wouldn't enjoy it as much..... Some of the moments are just classic (Borat + Ice Cream Van + Wild Bear + Children = *Laughter*!), some are just painful, others you just cringe, but you simply will not stop laughing. Hell, come the end of it, when Borat finally does something he failed to do throughout a portion of the film, you just think *thank &^$%^£*. It's a great watch, and well worth the money!
Rumsfeld Resignation in Mac Screenshot
Wednesday 08 November 2006
I haven't really been following the US Mid-term Elections too closely today (although I've caught up on it just now). However this article on BoingBoing is too good not to share.
via John Gruber
Casino Royale Wows Critics
Saturday 04 November 2006
I'm glad about this - I've always maintained that we should wait and see about Casino Royale and the first Daniel Craig 007 movie. Now the critics love it, I cannot wait to see Casino Royale!
BBC - Casino Royale Wows Critics
BBC - Casino Royale Wows Critics
Where are the Blue Smarties?!
Wednesday 01 November 2006
This evening I went with a flat mate to see Chicago (which is only in Manchester until Saturday). It rocked. Seriously, it rocked. The music, the staging, the dancing, the acting, hell the venue, it all rocked. Until I went to buy some Smarties at the interval. Smarties are were renowned for their bright colours. Not any more are they bright coloured. The blue ones are gone, the greens no longer bright green, and the brown ones, well, I'll simply say I've seen brighter coloured rabbit droppings..... Perhaps one too many kids got a bit hyper on the blue ones, or more likely the EU decided that they were not *supposed* to look like they did, and so now we're stuck with inferior ones. Boo. Blue Smarties, like Mountain Dew, look like they're not going to be hitting our shores again, and whilst dentist and parents might rejoice, I'm just sad to see them leave.
Borat: Treading a fine line perhaps?
Friday 27 October 2006
Borat may be politically in-correct (slight understatement there!) but there's no denying the character is funny. With the film opening next week, it appears it will be a smash hit. It premiered last night in London, and the BBC has numerous articles about the progress of Kazakhstan's most famous person! On occasions the film trailer is painful to watch, and you do feel for some of his victims, but on the whole it's looking like a must see film.
I Love Being a Student
Tuesday 24 October 2006
Over the summer, my Amazon wishlist grew with DVDs and Books that I so desired. I even pre-ordered a few things: Steve Wozniak's Auto-biography iWoz, DVD Box Set of 24 Series 5 (If there's a radio silence around November 6, this is to blame) and Revolution in the Valley: The Insanely Great Store of How the Mac was made. There were some music scores added too, but I'm in no rush for those. However, come September, my National Union of Students Card arrived offering 5% off at Amazon. Kerrrrrrching I hear you say. Just as well none of the stuff had been dispatched (that might have ruined my day) as I could cancel the orders, and take advantage of the discount (cunning, you might say). Not only that, the 24 box set was actually cheaper.
People questioned the point in getting an NUS card (it does cost a wallet emptying £10 after all!) but I've easily saved more than that just in the last few months. Factor in a nice 5-8% discount at the Apple store (I saved £5-ish on my iPod accessories - and will save myself anything between £50 and £150 on my next laptop) I'm sorted. As for my freebie Young Person's RailCard I get from NatWest for, you got it, being a student, I travel for as little as a tenner each way Manchester to London. My legs though, sadly, are too long for standard class (it's a fact, not BS) so for £18.50 each way I travel first class with Virgin Trains. Food, drink, the lounge with more biscuits TEA and perhaps the nicest crisps ever, legroom and the all important power socket for the latop make it so much fun to travel.
I love being a student! And that, reader(s?) is yet another post where I've failed to mention anything work related. Awesome!
People questioned the point in getting an NUS card (it does cost a wallet emptying £10 after all!) but I've easily saved more than that just in the last few months. Factor in a nice 5-8% discount at the Apple store (I saved £5-ish on my iPod accessories - and will save myself anything between £50 and £150 on my next laptop) I'm sorted. As for my freebie Young Person's RailCard I get from NatWest for, you got it, being a student, I travel for as little as a tenner each way Manchester to London. My legs though, sadly, are too long for standard class (it's a fact, not BS) so for £18.50 each way I travel first class with Virgin Trains. Food, drink, the lounge with more biscuits TEA and perhaps the nicest crisps ever, legroom and the all important power socket for the latop make it so much fun to travel.
I love being a student! And that, reader(s?) is yet another post where I've failed to mention anything work related. Awesome!
Back from the abyss... a.k.a. Nik <3 iPod Nano
Friday 20 October 2006
Emails abounded on Wednesday when some photos of an iPod appeared in my Flickr account..... and people wanted to know why I hadn't blogged it. To be fair, it was my birthday, and I wasn't entirely able to launch RapidWeaver and get writing. So I took a few dozen photos instead. If you've not seen them so far, check them out! Whilst in the Apple Store (Manchester Arndale) my flat mates and I posed for a few flattering PhotoBooth photos. It was great fun. Needless to say, Wednesday evening was a lot more raucous and it's a bit of a blur, but everyone had a good time. Roll on the party proper on 28th October!
Thanks to everyone who sent greetings! The selection of birthday cards were just brilliant, but this one was too good not to share!
Thanks to everyone who sent greetings! The selection of birthday cards were just brilliant, but this one was too good not to share!
Happy Birthday to Me!!
Wednesday 18 October 2006
I'm busy today with a load of (sadly un-party-like) activities such as Musicianship, Language of Music, History of Music and a fantastic Orchestral Audition. You wouldn't have guessed I was trying to celebrate my 20th birthday in between! Either way, expect some muted silence (go figure) for the rest of today.... unless something majorly geeky requires my attention and Flickr upload (perhaps like an iPod).
Yet More Photos!
Tuesday 03 October 2006
It's been a busy Freshers' Fortnight. I've been up for 20+ hours a day for most of the last 2 weeks, and I'm not even a Fresher myself! I've taken a sizeable 350 photos (that have added 920MB to my iPhoto library) and it's been a lot of fun. What have I got to look forward now then? Well, firstly I've got a recording session all weekend for a wind band CD at college (which I'm really looking forward to) followed by the RNCM Woodwind Festival the following weekend, and then it's my birthday on 18th October, so a party is in order - but only after my orchestral audition. The audition excerpts this year are interesting (Shostakovich 9 Scherzo and Sibelius 1) so I'm now looking at those. They're hardly my favourites (I'd love to have some Stravinsky or Copland) but I only have to learn them (not love them just yet!).
People have emailed saying I've never really talked much about the music I spend most of my day doing, so I'm tempted to talk about music far more. Anyone out there with thoughts? Either way, don't think it means the content (such as geeky Apple stuff) is going away. I'm just going to add yet more content. I'm hoping to add far more photos to my Flickr stream over the coming months, so keep an eye on it (and if you want to add me as a contact, feel free). More soon!
People have emailed saying I've never really talked much about the music I spend most of my day doing, so I'm tempted to talk about music far more. Anyone out there with thoughts? Either way, don't think it means the content (such as geeky Apple stuff) is going away. I'm just going to add yet more content. I'm hoping to add far more photos to my Flickr stream over the coming months, so keep an eye on it (and if you want to add me as a contact, feel free). More soon!
Gulp.... MySpace
Wednesday 27 September 2006
So I finally bit the bullet and signed up to MySpace. Boy is it a load of rubbish. I hate the SLOOOW site, but it's pretty good fun. Now I'm going to try and load a flash slideshow up and see what happens.
Oh, and if anyone's on MySpace, check out my profile here.
Oh, and if anyone's on MySpace, check out my profile here.
BACK!
Wednesday 20 September 2006
Paris - Days 1 + 2
Tuesday 12 September 2006
So I'm sat here at Apple Expo Paris (after quite a busy day and a lot of walking). It's been a lot of fun. I caught up with a lot of different companies and saw a lot of insanely great kit (I'm just glad I'm already skint, as I probably would be now I've seen some nice Bose headphones, the 24" iMac and a whole lot more! Flickr would be getting some love. Were it not for the fact that I've not got a USB mini cable with my for the camera - I have a habit of forgetting those damn it!
So what have I seen so far? Well, Paris. The Louvre, the distinctly petty and hideously unimpressive Mona Lisa, the Champs-Elysees, and a far too expensive beer or two.
So what have I seen so far? Well, Paris. The Louvre, the distinctly petty and hideously unimpressive Mona Lisa, the Champs-Elysees, and a far too expensive beer or two.
About Me page added
Friday 01 September 2006
If you've ever wonder who on earth I am, then I've now put a fully functional 'About Nik' page online here. I'm using a new plugin from Loghound.com to put a RapidFlickr slideshow (with Lightbox!) inside an Accordion, and all of that is on a Blocks page! It's pretty sweet (not to mention pushing my luck with prerelease software ;-) ), and I'll post some examples of how to use the Loghound plugin when I'm back from Sweden! Leave thoughts in the comments if you've got some.
Anyway, I'm off to the airport soon, so more on Tuesday!
Anyway, I'm off to the airport soon, so more on Tuesday!
How much for.....
Tuesday 29 August 2006
a McDonalds meal in Turkey? For 6 Chicken McShuggets, Regular Drink and Fries (known everywhere except Turkey as the Extra Value Meal)? Well we discovered at 2.30am this morning - starving after having queued for just about everything - Check-In, Entering the Airport (they scan luggage when you enter the terminal) and food. A mind blowing £8 per meal! The worst bit is that both Don (my brother!) and I had one each. It sure ought to have tasted like the nicest McDonalds ever... but we all know there's no such thing ;-) I do wonder whether they 'got' the idea of FastFood in Turkey - but they're no-where near as inept at serving Fast Food as the French (in my experience) although I'm praying it's quicker when I'm in Paris in a fortnight's time.
Back!
Tuesday 29 August 2006
Well after a weeks glorious sunshine and a lot of doing precisely nothing, I'm back in the U.K. We were unaffected by the bombs in Turkey (we were about to leave as we heard about them - but my thoughts go to all those affected by the attacks), and I'm glad to see that people are still going to Turkey - it's a great place, and I loved the country. I've only got a few photos to show for the week (but that's more than I managed last year!) and will put them online. So I've been gone, and what's happened? Well I thought I would have to exchange the iBook batteries due to the spontaneous combustion problem the Sony-made batteries have a habit of doing. But neither of my batteries is deemed a fire hazard. Phew! But what a greeting I was given by the RSS reader this morning:
Ouch! I also have a rant specially set up to blog about Vodafone, who have in the last week marked GMail Mobile as 'Suitable for 18+' and so blocked it on my phone. Bastards. Especially seeing as I have to prove my age by paying a £1 fee (with a Credit Card that I don't have). Sure they give me £2.50 airtime in reward for this, but can I frankly be arsed? Probably not. I'lll just send a howler through pigeon post to Vodafone and see what that does.
Off on Holiday!
Sunday 20 August 2006
It's that time of the year where I drop the iBook (not literally ;-) ) and jet off to somewhere exciting. This year the family's going to Turkey (not quite as hot as Egypt last summer then!). The front page of NikFletcher.com is now set to tell that to everyone who visits, although there's a number of ways to get past it and get to the content which remains online :-) I'll likely have a lot of Flickr-ing to do on my return, not to mention any email that arrives (that is something I'm dreading), so if I don't get back to you around the end of the month, politely prompt me again ;-) Email is set to autorespond from Monday as that's when I'm off, but as I'm in the middle of packing, updating the site is one thing that I could do without. Here's the official notice:
37 Messages..... Joy
Sunday 30 July 2006
'So where have you been?' Read one of my 37 email messages that all desperately required my attention just now. Yes, I've been away, but thought better than to tell everyone just on the off chance they stop emailing me. Since Thursday, I've been all over the place. I was in London Thursday evening (and almost got caught out by the freak weather) and since Friday have been away in sunny Bournemouth Scuba Diving. (For those who know Scuba, I was doing my PADI Open Water Course). It's a bit of a pain though to be honest, this going away thing. 37 email messages? It's just too much - or rather it would be too much were my mail not so filtered. Things that are from this site get dragged, kicking and screaming, through a whole load of filters, and all those messages sent to my GMail account are too, just a few more. Tags, TO: address filters, Stars, Add Tags and simple 'Archive' add to the great GMail spam filter. The Scuba was great, but sometimes I wish my Mac were with me, just to make life easier with email and all sorts of other things.
Anyway, I'm back (at least until 20th August) so it's time to get posting, start replying (apologies if I've seemingly ignored a message. I'm getting there) and get my RapidWeaver theme released.
Anyway, I'm back (at least until 20th August) so it's time to get posting, start replying (apologies if I've seemingly ignored a message. I'm getting there) and get my RapidWeaver theme released.
PHEW!
Saturday 08 July 2006
As I explained last week, this week was always going to be busy. However, it turned out to be a whole lot busier than I anticipated! All was going well on Wednesday, and with the end of term party, I was really looking forward to a break. But since Wednesday, wow. What a mad few days - it feels like it's be another week of its own!
Wednesday evening: End of term party - Was going well 'til about half-past midnight - a friend of mine's leg decided to give in, sending her crashing down to the floor. We ended up spending an hour waiting for an ambulance (with a wheelchair and a police van in between - we did nothing wrong, but don't ask!) to go to A&E. I returned home about 3.30am Thursday morning. She still can't walk.
Thursday morning: 11am - Dress rehearsal for concert in afternoon. I was kinda tired, so it was a hard work to begin with. 1pm Concert. Went well, despite the sleep deprivation, and was well received.
Thursday evening: 7pm - recording Northern Bytes thru Skype, talking to Dan Wood of Karelia Software. iBook nearly went into meltdown, so switched it off and went for a drink.
Friday (day-time): Packing! Oh I do love packing. Especially when you look at all the piles of stuff you've sorted and then realise about 33% of it might not fit into cases.
Friday evening: 7pm - Concert to listen to at Bridgewater hall (RNCM Symphony Orchestra). Elgar 'Cello Concerto & Cockaigne Overture, Gershwin American in Paris, Resphigi Fountains of Rome was the programme. Was a great concert, with Yan Pascal Tortelier conducting. 10pm - last night of term drinks in nearby bar. Midnight - Packing continues.
Saturday morning: 3am - packing completed, time for sleep. 7.30am - reveille and breakfast. Clear out finished, and flat vacated just as taxi arrives at 11.30am.
Tip: Never come home from university by train. Especially if you have 7 heavy bags to carry without the aid of a trolley.
I arrived fine into London Euston. But then things went horribly wrong. The buggy that Virgin Trains had requested just drove by to take some other person to wherever it is people take buggies to (in my case, the Taxi Rank). So I took a £1 coin, and released myself a trolley. I wheeled all 7 cases up the ramp to the departures area to discover the only way to the taxi rank is down a flight of stairs. After a brief, but eventful, session of deep thought, I decided ask someone how to get to the taxi rank, and it appears that I ought to have just followed that ****ing buggy down into the bowels of Euston. So I got into the taxi and was at Waterloo after a whistlestop tour of the capital. After having paid the £10 fare (gulp), I discover there are absolutely no trolleys to be found at Waterloo. So I just piled my stuff up, and tried walking. No chance - the suitcases just toppled over. A very kind American lady did help me figure out how to best stack the bags and for a short while it all appeared to be sorted. Until the lift that was just 15 metres away.... I was now in an angry mood, so just dragged everything somehow onto the train (with the help of the guard).
Quite how I got home in one piece, I don't know. But who-ever that kind American lady was, THANK YOU! I'd still be sat in London without her help - and that would be a great shame, as we're about to light up the BBQ. After a marathon of a day, all I've got to show you is this photo of my train arriving into Manchester before I boarded. Enjoy!
About to LeaveHosted on Zooomr
Time for a cold (preferably alcoholic) drink me thinks........ more soon :-)
Wednesday evening: End of term party - Was going well 'til about half-past midnight - a friend of mine's leg decided to give in, sending her crashing down to the floor. We ended up spending an hour waiting for an ambulance (with a wheelchair and a police van in between - we did nothing wrong, but don't ask!) to go to A&E. I returned home about 3.30am Thursday morning. She still can't walk.
Thursday morning: 11am - Dress rehearsal for concert in afternoon. I was kinda tired, so it was a hard work to begin with. 1pm Concert. Went well, despite the sleep deprivation, and was well received.
Thursday evening: 7pm - recording Northern Bytes thru Skype, talking to Dan Wood of Karelia Software. iBook nearly went into meltdown, so switched it off and went for a drink.
Friday (day-time): Packing! Oh I do love packing. Especially when you look at all the piles of stuff you've sorted and then realise about 33% of it might not fit into cases.
Friday evening: 7pm - Concert to listen to at Bridgewater hall (RNCM Symphony Orchestra). Elgar 'Cello Concerto & Cockaigne Overture, Gershwin American in Paris, Resphigi Fountains of Rome was the programme. Was a great concert, with Yan Pascal Tortelier conducting. 10pm - last night of term drinks in nearby bar. Midnight - Packing continues.
Saturday morning: 3am - packing completed, time for sleep. 7.30am - reveille and breakfast. Clear out finished, and flat vacated just as taxi arrives at 11.30am.
Tip: Never come home from university by train. Especially if you have 7 heavy bags to carry without the aid of a trolley.
I arrived fine into London Euston. But then things went horribly wrong. The buggy that Virgin Trains had requested just drove by to take some other person to wherever it is people take buggies to (in my case, the Taxi Rank). So I took a £1 coin, and released myself a trolley. I wheeled all 7 cases up the ramp to the departures area to discover the only way to the taxi rank is down a flight of stairs. After a brief, but eventful, session of deep thought, I decided ask someone how to get to the taxi rank, and it appears that I ought to have just followed that ****ing buggy down into the bowels of Euston. So I got into the taxi and was at Waterloo after a whistlestop tour of the capital. After having paid the £10 fare (gulp), I discover there are absolutely no trolleys to be found at Waterloo. So I just piled my stuff up, and tried walking. No chance - the suitcases just toppled over. A very kind American lady did help me figure out how to best stack the bags and for a short while it all appeared to be sorted. Until the lift that was just 15 metres away.... I was now in an angry mood, so just dragged everything somehow onto the train (with the help of the guard).
Quite how I got home in one piece, I don't know. But who-ever that kind American lady was, THANK YOU! I'd still be sat in London without her help - and that would be a great shame, as we're about to light up the BBQ. After a marathon of a day, all I've got to show you is this photo of my train arriving into Manchester before I boarded. Enjoy!
About to LeaveHosted on ZooomrTime for a cold (preferably alcoholic) drink me thinks........ more soon :-)
Over the Hedge
Monday 03 July 2006
Last Friday, a large group of us went to see 'Over the Hedge' at the cinema. I've not laughed so hard in ages! The animation is just brilliant, and the guys at DreamWorks have clearly done some ingenius work to make the animals look so good! The music is excellent (another soundtrack from Harry Gregson-Williams, with songs by Ben Folds), and I'd really recommend it if you enjoyed the film (Amazon link). Thursday sees Pirates of the Caribbean 2 come out, so I might be busy then too. So much to do before I leave at the end of the week!
End of Year Soon!
Saturday 01 July 2006
It's been a while since I was able to blog, and a lot's happened since then!
1. My End of Year Recital - done on Thursday, went well (thanks for asking!) and have been enjoying the new found freedom that the end of year brings. With the price of beer going up significantly on my return home (£1.30 going to £2.80) I'm savouring the moment.
2. Moving Out! - End of year means my lease on the flat ends in a week (9th July) and so packing and trashing things has become a favourite. It sadly also means I lose the high speed internet through the University.
3. World Cup! - Sure we lost today (***king Argentinian cheating scumbag referee) but it's been a great few weeks. England did play really well today (particularly when reduced to 10 men ironically) and showed up Portugal later on in the match. If Portugal were owed a goal, we were owed at least 3. But that's life. I had intended to post a rant about why I'm not particularly enamoured with the Argentines (World Cup - France '98 + Beckham + That Foot + Today's Ridiculous Refereeing = great hatred) but I'm not going to. Sorry!
So, what now?!
1. RapidWeaver themes - FIrstly I'm putting my site into a new custom RapidWeaver theme (I'm aware that I've still not fixed this design for IE 6, but for god's sake get Firefox!). Then I'm going to make some themes for general public consumption.
2. XCode and Cocoa - I've toyed with Cocoa and XCode for ages now, and I want to get on with it now.
3. Holidays! - Quite a few of them actually. August sees me go to Turkey for a week with the folks - and I can't wait for the heat and scuba-diving! Start of September sees me in Sweden for a Choir tour for a long weekend - after the amount of abuse I shouted today, something tells me I'll be singing Baritone this year. Then, the week before Freshers' Fortnight, I'm off to Paris to see a flatmate, and Apple Expo Paris.
4. Manchester - Back September 17th!
This coming week is going to be really fun, and hopefully I'll have a whole load of Flickr photos online at some stage to share the good times with everyone! More as it happens!
1. My End of Year Recital - done on Thursday, went well (thanks for asking!) and have been enjoying the new found freedom that the end of year brings. With the price of beer going up significantly on my return home (£1.30 going to £2.80) I'm savouring the moment.
2. Moving Out! - End of year means my lease on the flat ends in a week (9th July) and so packing and trashing things has become a favourite. It sadly also means I lose the high speed internet through the University.
3. World Cup! - Sure we lost today (***king Argentinian cheating scumbag referee) but it's been a great few weeks. England did play really well today (particularly when reduced to 10 men ironically) and showed up Portugal later on in the match. If Portugal were owed a goal, we were owed at least 3. But that's life. I had intended to post a rant about why I'm not particularly enamoured with the Argentines (World Cup - France '98 + Beckham + That Foot + Today's Ridiculous Refereeing = great hatred) but I'm not going to. Sorry!
So, what now?!
1. RapidWeaver themes - FIrstly I'm putting my site into a new custom RapidWeaver theme (I'm aware that I've still not fixed this design for IE 6, but for god's sake get Firefox!). Then I'm going to make some themes for general public consumption.
2. XCode and Cocoa - I've toyed with Cocoa and XCode for ages now, and I want to get on with it now.
3. Holidays! - Quite a few of them actually. August sees me go to Turkey for a week with the folks - and I can't wait for the heat and scuba-diving! Start of September sees me in Sweden for a Choir tour for a long weekend - after the amount of abuse I shouted today, something tells me I'll be singing Baritone this year. Then, the week before Freshers' Fortnight, I'm off to Paris to see a flatmate, and Apple Expo Paris.
4. Manchester - Back September 17th!
This coming week is going to be really fun, and hopefully I'll have a whole load of Flickr photos online at some stage to share the good times with everyone! More as it happens!
Flixster - surely you don't need it?
Monday 12 June 2006
I'm not sure who I'm more angry with. My gullable friends, or Flixster, the site that allows you to see if you have similar tastes in movie with your friends.
Here's why Flixster is going to fail:
1. It doesn't have the e missing from the end of the name. I mean, come on, every 'happenin' web service is spelt without an e. Flickr, Switchr, Strippr*
2. You surely know if your friends have similar tastes in movies, or neither of you care.
So please stop sending me invites. If I'd wanted to join, trust me, I would have done so by now. I'm on Flickr (which incidentally lets you share names of your favourite movies with other users anyway) so if you need me, find me there. Here's what to look for if you've never had the pleasant (and horribly cliched) email from Flixster:
Here's why Flixster is going to fail:
1. It doesn't have the e missing from the end of the name. I mean, come on, every 'happenin' web service is spelt without an e. Flickr, Switchr, Strippr*
2. You surely know if your friends have similar tastes in movies, or neither of you care.
So please stop sending me invites. If I'd wanted to join, trust me, I would have done so by now. I'm on Flickr (which incidentally lets you share names of your favourite movies with other users anyway) so if you need me, find me there. Here's what to look for if you've never had the pleasant (and horribly cliched) email from Flixster:
Thankfully, invites only get sent twice, so it looks like they finally get the hints. However, looks like my SPAM mail is gonna get fuller until I add myself to the database of 'Don't Send Me Invites' that 'Team Flixster (Joe and Sarah)' hold. I'm not gonna be adding myself to that - can you smell the sold details from that database already? I can.
*The name strippr is used here for effect. I'm not in the know as to the usage of this name. Sorry.
Mission Impossible 3 - Spoiler Alert
Thursday 25 May 2006
Last night I went to see M:I 3 at the cinema, and I was blown away by the movie. A proper plot and serious action sequences really made this film rock, whereas M:I 2 was really just a few action sequences thrown together by some half-baked plot. The entire cast is very excellent, and the effects are just amazing. Directed by J.J. Abrams (of Lost and Alias) with a brilliant soundtrack from Michael Giacchino, it really is a very good film, and I'd recommend going to see it.
On a side note, I'm going to be away travelling for the rest of today, and seeing folks until Monday. Whilst I will be checking my email pretty frequently, my general Mac-using will be reduced (sadly). I'll try and post on Saturday evening when I'm back from the Guinnes Premiership Final at Twickenham.
On a side note, I'm going to be away travelling for the rest of today, and seeing folks until Monday. Whilst I will be checking my email pretty frequently, my general Mac-using will be reduced (sadly). I'll try and post on Saturday evening when I'm back from the Guinnes Premiership Final at Twickenham.
Da Vinci Code - Spoiler Alert
Saturday 20 May 2006
My willingness to queue wasn't quelled by being unable to attend the Cube opening - mind you this time lapse movie shows some pretty insane queueing!! Tonight I went with a small group of friends to see one of the most anticipated movies of the year. I have to say, I was impressed with some of the film - Ian McKellan's Sir Leigh Teabing, Hans Zimmer's score and some of the witty repartee. Unfortunately, Tom Hanks is really a little dry, and whilst he plays the part really well, the script really didn't explore Robert Langdon's personality. Large swathes of the book's little details were missing - the recollection of his speech that turns into Langdon's phonecall from Bezu Fache, the connection of Sophie with her brother being two examples - and why oh why they removed the scene at the King's College London Library I will never know - some great moments could have been put into the script there!
Using someone's mobile phone to search for "A Pope" was lame, and really just to Bondian to be plausible - it was sheer product placement just like the glistening Sony logo on Teabing's large plasma display which hit me like a tonne of bricks when you looked at it. In fact there really was a lot of placement - Sony TVs, Sony Ericsson phones & smartphones. French car makers got a lot of attention, yet strangely the Smart car wasn't really featured. Google wasn't either - some other search site was shown on the phone. Never since Die Another Day have I seen so much product placement. Another point that was missed was the fact that Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu book train tickets to Lille, not Brussels in the film.
Why did the film producers need to change the details?!
The story also didn't link the Senechaux with the recording devices, and infact ignored the line about the other three senechaux telling the same lie as Sauniere. The film is very graphic at times, and to be honest I was rather suprised at it being awarded a 12A certificate - all of us agreed it possibly ought to have been rated 15. Talking of mad queing, I would have taken a few photos (obviously outside the theatre!), but my hands were full of popcorn and a soft drink. There were about 500+ people queuing for our late night showing (of which there were 2 at the same time) starting at 2230 - and if you're planning to see it, go as early as possible. The ads and movie combined take 3 hours, so I've only just got back to halls!
Overall: A bit of a let down, particularly as so much was unecesarily cut out, however the saving graces above made it a relatively good film - although I'm not pre-ordering the DVD. If you've not read the book, don't go until you have. You simply won't understand the entire fuore around the film and book unless you've read the excellent novel first. We're planning to go see another film soon, probably Mission impossible III as that's been well received and it's a good filler for the Bond film in November. The Bond trailer was shown tonight before the film - looks very slick, and I am looking forward to that one too. Shame the films critics were right, but an enjoyable evening nonetheless. The photo below was taken in the queue whilst I tried to eat some popcorn handsfree. Not particularly elegant, but my halo is just visible ;-)
iTunes isn't running ('it's only 2.45am' I hear you say!) but if it were, I'd probably be listening to Barber Symphony Number 1 in E Minor.... or the Gladiator Soundtrack for the 100th time!
Using someone's mobile phone to search for "A Pope" was lame, and really just to Bondian to be plausible - it was sheer product placement just like the glistening Sony logo on Teabing's large plasma display which hit me like a tonne of bricks when you looked at it. In fact there really was a lot of placement - Sony TVs, Sony Ericsson phones & smartphones. French car makers got a lot of attention, yet strangely the Smart car wasn't really featured. Google wasn't either - some other search site was shown on the phone. Never since Die Another Day have I seen so much product placement. Another point that was missed was the fact that Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu book train tickets to Lille, not Brussels in the film.
Why did the film producers need to change the details?!
The story also didn't link the Senechaux with the recording devices, and infact ignored the line about the other three senechaux telling the same lie as Sauniere. The film is very graphic at times, and to be honest I was rather suprised at it being awarded a 12A certificate - all of us agreed it possibly ought to have been rated 15. Talking of mad queing, I would have taken a few photos (obviously outside the theatre!), but my hands were full of popcorn and a soft drink. There were about 500+ people queuing for our late night showing (of which there were 2 at the same time) starting at 2230 - and if you're planning to see it, go as early as possible. The ads and movie combined take 3 hours, so I've only just got back to halls!
Overall: A bit of a let down, particularly as so much was unecesarily cut out, however the saving graces above made it a relatively good film - although I'm not pre-ordering the DVD. If you've not read the book, don't go until you have. You simply won't understand the entire fuore around the film and book unless you've read the excellent novel first. We're planning to go see another film soon, probably Mission impossible III as that's been well received and it's a good filler for the Bond film in November. The Bond trailer was shown tonight before the film - looks very slick, and I am looking forward to that one too. Shame the films critics were right, but an enjoyable evening nonetheless. The photo below was taken in the queue whilst I tried to eat some popcorn handsfree. Not particularly elegant, but my halo is just visible ;-)
iTunes isn't running ('it's only 2.45am' I hear you say!) but if it were, I'd probably be listening to Barber Symphony Number 1 in E Minor.... or the Gladiator Soundtrack for the 100th time!
Busy Busy Busy!
Wednesday 10 May 2006
Apologies for the lack of postings. I've been really busy recently. In the mean time, there's a teaser out from RealMacSoftware about the new release of RapidWeaver [due this month]. Check it out here!
Sunshine in Manchester
Thursday 04 May 2006
Manchester isn't a city known for it's good weather, however the last few days we've been hit with something of a heatwave. Picnics have been called, and catching a few rays has become a favourite past-time of everyone in college. We went to the park this afternoon. It's normally pretty miserable there, but it was PACKED. Only took 2 photos, but have a look at them on Flickr!
Jack will be back!
Tuesday 11 April 2006
Woohooo! Kiefer Sutherland has apparently signed for 3 more series of 24 and netted a cool £22.9 million for the role of Jack Bauer as well as continuing to produce to show too. I can't wait!
Why I hate Sunday travelling
Sunday 12 March 2006
Disaster Strikes NikFletcher.Com! :-o
Tuesday 24 January 2006
More amusing Steve Jobs posters!
Monday 23 January 2006
As mentioned previously, this Steve Jobs movie poster competition made me laugh. Here's some more entries that I loved!
24 Arrives!
Tuesday 03 January 2006
Happy New Year!
Sunday 01 January 2006
Boxing Day Photo
Monday 26 December 2005
Went for a Family walk this afternoon, even though Don is away, and took this photo from the top of the South Downs. Hope you like it!
Merry Christmas!
Sunday 25 December 2005
Merry Christmas to all my visitors, and have an enjoyable New Year. I'll be back blogging properly in the New Year, but that doesn't mean I won't be working on the site. I've got some stuff I want to play with to see how it looks online, and whilst there won't be a complete redesign of the site, there will some little changes around the site to look forward to! See You in 2006! :-D