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.

Of course, the one thing with actually setting these out publicly means that, come a years time I'll actually be held to account for these. Oh joy! ;)

I know Google makes sh*tloads of money through advertising, but this just strikes me as dubious / wrong. 17 billion mp3 files? iTunes Music too? I can smell a rat, but the sad thing is that other people probably wouldn't. Google running ads like these (which appeared next to a Gmail message) simply points people to illegitimate sources of music, if not entirely encouraging piracy.

Before Christmas, there was a little promotion running called MacSanta. It offered 20% off a large number of Mac shareware apps. I picked up 2. Tangerine (which whilst handy is a little too slow on the iBook. Thankfully I knew this and am solving that with the MacBookPro in about 2 weeks time). The other was one I'd never heard of before. Overflow, from Stunt Software. It acts, unsurprisingly, as an Overflow area for your dock. As you can see above, it's a great looking app, and allows all sorts of fun stuff to go on. I love Overflow, and I'd really recommend you take a look at it. It beats anything such as Quicksilver, Spotlight or Finder to launch applications!

As a sidenote, the News Readers bit is one area I really want to get rid of. However, I've yet to find an RSS reader that does ABSOLUTELY everything I want it to. If a couple of RSS readers imported groups from OPML (and why they don't, I have no idea) I'd be sorted. I like NetNewsWire Lite, but (petty I know) I don't like the window it uses with huge buttons at the top. Give me NewsFire, or NewsLife with OPML group imports and I'll be a loyal customer for life. Silly, perhaps, that I'm fretting about RSS readers of all things, but given that I use RSS so much (and couldn't cope without it) it's a big thing. I would use Google Reader, but the last time I tried, they didn't work with Daring Fireball's subscription feeds (which completely rules it out for me). Too bad I guess, but I'm not a fan of the Google Reader UI either ;-) !!

So, I broke radio silence just a little sooner than I'd imagined. Last week of term, I started getting a random error message in iTunes. It was the delicious (Red) Nano I received for my birthday. Bit of a bitch, as it's the first iPod error message I've ever had to endure myself. I've seen others, mainly due to the inept download security functions in Windows XP, but this was the first of my own in 2 years of iPod ownership (click the image for a full size shot):

It's all on the Apple systems with a long case number etc., but has anyone else received this error? Surely I'm not alone in this? As far as I can tell, it seems to be related to not syncing the iPod for a while. Last time, the Nano 'forgot' it was linked to my iBook and the iTunes library on it - despite showing all the playlists I'd synced with it. Hmm. Either way, I guess this means another trip to the store before MacWorld (something I didn't want to really do as I'll be spending hours drooling and buying after the keynote). However just when you think that's necessary, it 'works' again. Several resets and iTunes re-installs later, it decides just to work. Thankfully I video-d myself plugging in the Nano, and the error appearing so even if it's not going to break in front of the geniuses, I can time-shift and show them that it is, seemingly, broken. Last time I visited the store, the iPod started working miraculously at the Genius Bar (thanks for the patience with that, David!). Seems the threat of a trip to Cupertino was enough to scare it into working. The really annoying fact was that I didn't even shut the computer off. It just slept, and yet the error message disappeared. Bloody weird.

Before this post ends on what some may consider a sour note, I'm not actually that angry about this. Any anger I have is directed at the iBook and iPod, not the service I received at the Genius Bar. The staff at the Arndale store are always welcoming, polite and helpful when I've been in there to browse, get my own (or someone else's) iPod fixed or buy. If the Genius cannot see the flaw being demonstrated, then they're under no obligation to fix something that, as far as they can tell, ain't broke. That, in my book, is fair play. Thankfully the iPod isn't completely dead, otherwise the trip north would be horrifically quiet.

To the Arndale Store Staff: Expect a visit from Uncle Nik just as soon as I can get back to Manchester - although with me being sat in Hampshire now (and until 3rd January) I guess this blog post gives you a bit of a head start to research and offload the problem ;-)

So today officially sees the new design launched. It's taken a lot of work, but it seems to be fully functional in Internet Explorer too! Yes, I know. A miracle in its own right ;-)

When I showed off the new design to a few friends (and I'm sorry if you weren't one of them), people didn't like the oversized menu bar. I liked it, so I kept it :P ! Why? Well it's large enough to show people not only where to go, but also what is on the site. The photos tab, for now, is simply linking to my Flickr account. The photos section is undergoing something of a re-design, and technical issues mean it didn't make it out the door in time for Christmas (and won't be ready for quite some time). I'm not going to show anything of what I've got planned - just yet - as it doesn't work in anything other than Safari (still) but once it's Gecko-based browser compatible I think I'll unleash it. But to give you a hint, wouldn't it be nice to have a single page that were able to display any slideshow I wanted viewable? :)

As for submenus? Pah. What submenus?! None of those in this new design. Everything is done visually (including a cryptically hidden 'About Page') to keep the menu really simple, but on anything deeper than the top 5 pages, the breadcrumb is at the top of the page for easy backtracking and knowing where you are.

The new design is, perhaps, a little odd. But I finally feel like I've reached a design that actually feels finished. I know it's take nearly 2 years of RapidWeaver use to reach this 'design nirvana', but it's finally here and I'm mighty proud of all of the stuff that's happened on the way. Finally, a few words of thanks to end the post...... Thanks are due to Adam, from SeyDesign, all those who previewed the design, to Mike Franklin who gave the design its name (perhaps I'll leave that explanation for another day - I can feel the keyboard getting knackered as I type), and last but not least to the RealMacSoftware team who create the great software I use for the site. Cheers everyone!

There's one more post due around midnight, but until further notice, I'm taking some time off from the site and enjoying the festive season, and I hope you all do too ;)

This video was just too good not to post. Thanks Cara.

Yesterday was a mad day. I'd intended to go Christmas shopping, and document my travels through the immortal genius known as Flickr. Unfortunately, it just was too busy to get any photos. Other than a photo of the Starbucks mug of tea I enjoyed shortly before we really hit the shops. Ah well. The photo can be found here.

Today I'm headed home. Thankfully. The last few days I've spent running around Manchester shopping, practicing and trying (mostly failing) to do my essay. Too bad. Sat here on the train has afforded me some time to just sit, think, and do FA for a couple of hours. This term has really drained me for some reason and I cannot wait to have some 'downtime' at home with my parents.Christmas shopping, therefore, is done. If last Saturday was anything to go by, Manchester this wekend is just going to be HORRIFIC and I don't want to be anywhere near the Arndale the two days before Christmas! Yesterday, I finally managed to pick up a CD I've wanted for a while now: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Soundtrack. Written by my favourite of film composers Hans Zimmer, it's an interesting take on what was initially done by Klaus Badelt in the the first film. Either way, I'm enjoying it immensely.

Whilst it's a long way off, I thought I'd mention a project I'm remotely involved in through college: "Shattered Sounds". The RNCM is putting on Shattered Sounds on July 6th 2007. What is Shattered Sounds? Basically, it's an evening of music written as a response to war. As a result, it's not being held at the RNCM, instead it's going to be held at the Imperial War Museum North at Salford Quays. For those of you who are not aware of IWMN.... IWMN was designed by Daniel Liberskiend, and is one of the most popular attractions in Manchester. It's part of Salford Quays and is a very contemporary buiding. For want of a better, slightly less Wagnerian term, it's what I'd consider Gesamtkunstwerk (total artwork). Every aspect, from the layout which will confuse and lose you, to the slanted floor (it's really really weird) that leads to a lowest corner of the museum, to the white plain walls (that have images and video projected onto them every hour). It's just a really awkward, yet powerful, building to be in.

So, back to Shattered Sounds. An evening of music, with ensembles littered across the IWMN playing a multitude of relevant music, and perhaps some other important works too, is going to be a frankly amazing experience. Full symphony orchestras, wind ensembles, string quartets and more. It's simply going to be awesome.

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That's the end of my shameless plug. For now, so in the mean time, send someone a Christmas cracker from the Crackermatic (charity donation required).

HAEV U SEN THES GREAT AOLER TRANSLA2R?!?!!!! OMG WTF ITS AEWSOM3!!!!1!11 OMG WTF IT MAEKS U SEM LIEK UR 12 YEARS OLD

VIA!!!1!!111 WTF DA AEWSOME JON GRUBR!1111 OMG LOL

(translation: Have you seen this great AOLer translator? It's awesome. It makes you seem like you're 12 years old!

via the awesome John Gruber.)

Check this out. But be warned, it might encourage you to spend yet more money on deserving shareware. I've just bought Tangerine.... and I really hope there's not too many more shareware apps that I've been wanting to buy coming soon. That would just decimate a small % of the MBP fund!

MacSanta - Giving you 20% off Mac software!

According to this, my iPod is going to die in 11 days. Eeek. It's been a good 2 years, but somehow I really don't want it to die. Not before the true video iPod comes along anyway ;) !

Subtitle: Or why I seem to spend more time messing with my own site than any of my RW themes....

Since I hit the web in 2005, the site has been forever changing. The site changes look fairly frequently (something that is stupid, given that until fairly recently there was never a sizeable update of content occurring frequently). And as ever, there is something brewing for the new year (check it out here). But that's not the point. People don't really care about a re-design. Until it's done. So instead of talking about the new design, I'm going to go off on an alternative path. A path on designing for RapidWeaver along with why I use RapidWeaver (I get all manner of emails about that). Enjoy!

Websites
1. Stating the obvious - I am a web snob. I look at a site, and will dismiss it very happily if it contains: Firefox-based browsers not displaying CSS (WTF?!), Use of Java, Windows Media Player content, music that plays when you visit the site, popup adds and more. Some of those things are common things that everyone gets pissed off about. But some things, like CSS not showing in Gecko browsers, are just guaranteed to make me disregard a site, no matter how great it may be in (sigh) Internet Explorer or Safari.

Browser Choice
Following on from my previous point, I'm going to talk about browsers. Safari is the default browser on Mac OS X. It's a great browser, really it is - it's damn fast, and seems less cluttered than others. I also love the Apple + 1, +2 for easy bookmark bar navigation (I'm very much a keyboard shortcut person). But, and this is pretty much the only thing that stops me using Safari full time, GMail does not have all the full functions when in Safari. No web-chat (GTalk/Jabber from within the browser - something that has been really handy at certain points). But other than that, I love Safari - especially as in GMail (something I use for literally every message I send, regardless of the address) I can use the Apple + Left Arrow command to actually get to the start of the line when replying to messages. Camino doesn't do too well with that sadly.
Camino is currently my browser of choice. Firefox power, Mac style. Enough said.
So why am I making a big point over the fact that CSS not showing in Gecko browsers by talking about browsers? Well, a year or so back, it wasn't acceptable to say 'Just use Firefox if you want transparent PNGs to appear properly', in this day and age (with Firefox's market share growing) it's not acceptable to say 'Just use anything other than a Gecko browser'. People respect sites that just *work* on their chosen browser (and that's why my own site is being changed so that it works in everything!). Period.

Why I Use RapidWeaver
1. I like software that exports to a FTP server (not a server-side app) as it allows easier media integration. It also means that moving my site is pretty much simply a case of re-publishing to a new location. OK, things like the Base URL need to change, but that's a 2 second job.
2. RapidWeaver is just so simple yet powerful. Plus, the 3rd party plugins rock.
3. It's developed by an English company. Go RealMac!
4. It allows me to do as little or as much code as I care to. Sometimes I love writing my own code. Sometimes, I choose to leave things such as RSS generation to RapidWeaver (its sorts out the content and permalinks etc).

Designing for RapidWeaver
Once you know how RW's theme workflow goes (css classes, plist bits and pieces), it's really easy to get going with your own themes. Compared with Sandvox, or iWeb *sigh*, it's simply far easier to work with. Sandvox requires lots of HTML files, whereas I find RW's theme structure to be far more compact.

Truth be told, RapidWeaver users are very very diverse, and have a huge amount of creative genius. That means, they're always pushing the limits of what they do with themes. That makes a theme developers job really complex - especially with some of the awesome (previously mentioned) 3rd party plugins available. When I design my own site, I only ever code the stuff I know I'm going to need (blog and styled text) as that encompasses all the page content I'll ever have (apart from the Frappr map) - even the Rapidflickr stuff is taken care of. I never use movie galleries, and photoalbums are already done, so I leave most of the theme empty (come to think about it, it would be easier for me to remove the extraneous portions of code to reduce the CSS files download time, but that's something I'm hesitant to do).

Why do I mention 'my site vs everyone elses'? In short, I've been converting all the had-coded pieces of the current theme I'm using into a sellable RW theme. People have asked for it, but I use so much handcoding at the moment that it wasn't working with all of RWs functions - only those that I use on a day in, day out basis. The logo at the top? Handcoded. The box at the bottom, that too. What about other things, such as lightbox? That too is handcoded. It's not done through an addition to the plist, it was hardcoded into the index.html template. As I tinkered about with the current theme, I simply piled on mode code wherever I wanted it, failing to realise that if I'd done it through RapidWeaver, it wouldn't be biting me in the ass now. So where am I at this point in time? Well, I'm putting all my energies into music right now (this blog post has taken about a week to write) so don't expect it before new year. I'm in need of a break, and a new laptop. I can't code on an iBook that has keys falling off and the Apple and S buttons worn off!

Thanks Larry!

Harsh, but perhaps true (and in any case hilarious) Apple advert parody. Classic!

In October, I posted about how many photos I've been taking sh*tloads of photos. Well, it seems that the trend has continued, for today my iPhoto library hit 5Gb. Yes, pity the poor iBook for they're all on the internal HD (something's going to be done with that when I get the new laptop)! So, in the last 2 months I've taken over a gigabyte of photos. Not bad really, considering it doesn't feel like I've taken that amount (a little over 500 shots). As ever, my photos make it onto Flickr before they arrive here, so check them out!

Great YouTube video!

It appears NASA are due to launch another shuttle some time this month. Given the huge leap in technology that we're seen, it's easy to think of the shuttles as 'cutting' technology (something they're very much not). Take this for example:

If the launch doesn't get off Dec. 7, NASA can keep trying through Dec. 17. After that, the agency will likely call it quits until January. NASA wants Discovery back from its 12-day mission by New Year's Eve because shuttle computers aren't designed to make the change from the 365th day of the old year to the first day of the new year while in flight.

I'm always in awe of things like the shuttle, and you perhaps don't realise just how complex the beast is until you look at the stats on Wikipedia!

I talk waaay to much about just how funny Fake Steve is, but there's yet another hilarious, yet risque, post from el Jobso. If this isn't in your RSS reader, then somethings just not right with your computer!

This is what I call a good effort. Manchester is, if the city council don't get stopped, to be the largest WiFi hotspot in Europe!

Manchester could become the biggest free wireless internet hotspot in Europe under plans unveiled by the city council....The initiative is being led by the council's Digital Development Agency (DDA), which outlined plans for initial coverage of 100 square miles, rising to 400 square miles in the future.

Kerching. Looks like I will finally be able to use my iBook in public without having to pay for (or otherwise 'borrow') WiFi. Neat.

Looks like this 40% off wine and champagne at Threshers wasn't meant to made available to everyone! Too bad it is I guess. Get it here! I've got a backup if it's taken offline for some mysterious reason ;)