Saturday, June 01, 2002

>Today was glorius!

Why?
posted by Mess Noone , 9:19 PM Þ 

the life of a repo man is always ...um, glorious...
*cough*

btw:saw don chow last night. i guess he has a transmat release
coming out and this was a release party + more. wonderful!! semi-modular
synth(arp looking sennheiser) & on the fly 808 programming it was totally
entrancing! live tabla, vocals, sitar and flute, hindi dj's too during another part
of the evening as part of asian heritage month. completely refreshing evening.
wish you all could have been there. i even wooped! there is hope everyone!
posted by john , 7:28 PM Þ 

Today was glorius!
posted by Irdial , 5:47 PM Þ 

Barrie Sutcliffe = AWESOME
posted by Mikkel , 5:19 AM Þ 

Happy Birthday Barrie!!!

Holy, Bob Dylan that's killer!!! You are psyched no doubt What
a great dad you have. Enjoy today it's yours and go and get some
treats for yourself!! All the best Barrie, you gemini you!!

Poem:
Barrie Barrie we wish you love and good luck
whatever you desire, whatever you wish
your good heart will attract to you
even though you are a canuck :)
posted by john , 2:58 AM Þ 

Akin: I find your library idea intriguing, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Wait, I already do. HA!

It is my birthday today (the 31st). My dad proves his coolness by buying me Aphex Twin's "Drukqs" on vinyl. How spiffy! And a ticket to go see BOB DYLAN in concert. How's that for clashing musical styles?
posted by Barrie , 1:44 AM Þ 
Friday, May 31, 2002

dosen't appear to be working here ethier past recognising
our ip and the calcs. not sure if we are being added....
wikked/ill though! you go alex!
in xml: Invalid at the top level of the document. Line 1, Position 23
locked up at this ip: 217.35.35.241


109º/just add people- the hi-ryze stuff is really really!!!!!
posted by john , 10:20 PM Þ 

Ubik is good.
posted by Mess Noone , 7:34 PM Þ 

alex, this happened when i tried adding a patch to the quilt

Fatal error: No content-type in POST request in Unknown on line 0

it looks grand though ........
posted by a hymn in g to nann , 6:35 PM Þ 

the quilt should be working now...

yay...

so go and make it pretty... please try not to duplicate patches, cos i'm gonna go through and clear it up... but thanks,
posted by alex_tea , 6:07 PM Þ 

patchwork quilt not working at the moment Alex! The xml file appears to be empty...
posted by captain davros , 2:50 PM Þ 

re: recordsleevehotornot> I already wrote OMGorWTF, which I suppose could quickly be rewritten to NaffOrSpiffy or whatever you want to call it. Just not hot or not.
posted by Mikkel , 2:12 PM Þ 

help me out, i need to collect ip address, my Patchwerk quilt is nearly finished, you can add your patches to the XML file (which is at http://www.R107.co.uk/gdc/patchWerkQuilt.xml if you're interested - open it in IE it parses XML quite excitingly)

anyway, head off to http://www.R107.co.uk/gdc/patchWerk.html have a look around, if you click on the "Sew Patches" button you'll see your ip address and a little animation, once it's shown you what your IP looks like, drag it over the the plus sign, there's no feedback yet, but after you've done that go back to the quilt and you should see your patch there...

let me know how it goes, i'm going to add error trapping and stuff to stop duplication later...

going to my exam now
posted by alex_tea , 1:31 PM Þ 

Organized IP Sharing: the American Way

I spent the whole day downloading and consumming copyrighted material and didn't feel the least bit guilty. As a matter of fact the facility I used to do this non-buying consumption provided the tools and an organized database for me to pratice my skill at intellectual property consumption. The facility is not afraid of the police, infact it is located next door to the police station and the municipal court system--and they use this facility, too.

Yes, I'm referring to using the library to consume written (and audio-visual) works for free, without paying a dime. Maybe you've heard of this, the library? It was brought to our culture by Benjamin Franklin, publisher and promoter of the patenting concept which gave rise to the notion of intellectual property.

Infact, there is nothing discongruous between a patent or copyright and a library where such works are consumed freely by many people. Sharing a work wasn't the crime--misattributing someone else's work as one's own was the offense. But I digress.

Where is the concept of the library of software? If my local library began offering donated titles on a check-out basis, would not Microsoft, through its front called the BSA, demand it to cease and desist?

Today I spent the day at a library and at a Barnes and Nobles reading technical books on a subject I am not familar with, trying to (1) become familar with the subject matter and (2) to find good references that I would then purchase for my own collections.

If the BSA went after published works as well as software, I would have had to purchase 30 books on Java, XML, RMI, XML-RPC, RSS, EJB, etc., to accomplish what I did today. It wouldn't have happened.

Actually, I do the same with software. I'll borrow a friend's copy or use LimeWire, et al, to find a working copy of a program I want to evaluate (unless they have a true trial version to use; Office X preview was not a true trial version--it didn't work just like the real thing). Once I try it I'll make a decision: buy it or delete it. I don't continue to use it unless I buy it, because I want the updates and other goodies--and if I like it I don't mind paying for it. Just like my book scouring at the library/bookstore.

I propose that we establish software libraries--donated purchased software licenses that can be checked out (for evaluation purposes and short-term use). I propose that these be mandated by law to accompany the ever stricter copyright/patent laws so that the "intellectual" benefit to society of Intellectual Property not be lost ensuring the "property" benefit to private concerns.

Free software, on the other hand, falls into the library/copyright paradigm perfectly. Freshmeat, SourceForge, Savanaugh (sp? sheesh), are today's libraries for software. And it is Microsoft, not the FSF, that was fined for piracy--passing off the work of another as one's own. BSA and Microsoft: against casual sharing (like a library) and not respecting the copyright law.

How un-American!
posted by Irdial , 8:25 AM Þ 
posted by alex_tea , 6:17 AM Þ 

yo don't know if this ever got done up
here yet but.... Mark Shuttleworth .
>bahdum bum tisch!
posted by john , 1:43 AM Þ 
Thursday, May 30, 2002

forte/sdk for java=bomb
posted by john , 9:04 PM Þ 

posted by Mess Noone , 8:45 PM Þ 

alex_tea (20:26:49 PM): !
attilaschmidt (20:27:07 PM): yeah. quick and identifable
alex_tea (20:27:37 PM): i like house sleeves
alex_tea (20:27:48 PM): i wonder what people think of the tigerbeat6 ones
attilaschmidt (20:28:10 PM): there should be an amihotornot for record sleeves

anyone up for it?
posted by alex_tea , 8:28 PM Þ 

real case pr0n:



thank you akin. *blush*

and anthony too, as i forgot to thank him a while back about my java results... exam tomorrow. do i give a shit? well, i'm staying in tonight, but heh...
posted by alex_tea , 8:27 PM Þ 

meh! yeah!
posted by captain davros , 8:15 PM Þ 

you can all mock me now...

Anyone who "mocks" Alex T will have to answer to

ME.
posted by Irdial , 7:51 PM Þ 

ok alex ...... i've got the java2 runtime environment 1.4 installed ; is that what you meant, or is it necessary to have the sdk also ? anyway, mail me and i'll send you my address
posted by a hymn in g to nann , 7:36 PM Þ 

speaking of anti-monarchy jubilee stuff, has anyone heard the Chumbawamba remake of Her Majesty?

the site: http://www.chumbawamba.org/hermajesty.asp
the mp3: http://www.chumbawamba.tv/media/CW-Her_Majesty.mp3
posted by Josh Carr , 7:08 PM Þ 

meh, I do write in a text editor. Blogger went down, so I sent the blogtext in a mail to meself (since I was at work, I mean, not at home). But the _mail_ got lost.
posted by Mikkel , 6:19 PM Þ 

from an article previously:

(I wonder how long it's going to be before CD glitches find their way into pop music as decorative rhythmic elements).

they already have done... n'sync : pop. irritating glitch pop.

i was getting with this article until i saw the list of cds at the end... that's better... :)
posted by alex_tea , 6:07 PM Þ 

in fact, i saw him land on the news. i apologise. stupid mailing lists.

you can all mock me now...

in fact, dress up like monkeys for me. or would that be monkies?

ape shall never kill ape
posted by alex_tea , 5:25 PM Þ 

Mark Shuttleworth has been down for ages!
http://www.africaninspace.com/
posted by captain davros , 5:23 PM Þ 

who?
posted by alex_tea , 5:22 PM Þ 

Die
posted by Irdial , 5:15 PM Þ 

more more more...

any tips on what to do over the jubilee for us republicans?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=anti+monarchy+jubilee
posted by alex_tea , 5:01 PM Þ 

from a mailout:

When Mark Shuttleworth (very rich space tourist) returns from space,
everybody dress in ape suits.

Pass it on.

shall we?
posted by alex_tea , 5:00 PM Þ 

http://www.rctoys.com/draganflyer3.php

first person to buy me one gets a blowjob.
posted by alex_tea , 4:59 PM Þ 

care you, do i?
posted by alex_tea , 4:59 PM Þ 

http://www.drtmastering.com/faq2.htm
http://www.digido.com/cdmastering.html
http://www.digidesign.com/ptfree/

My advice; blog to text editor (offline) first if your blog is a response to a debate, then copy and paste. It makes you think twice about what you're blogging anyway and saves you from losing posts in cyberspace, which inevitably don't just disappear but do, in fact, clog up fusker.
hey, I've just inserted this secret line in here - anyone found it? post an entry which says "meh" if you do!
Of course this is easy to say and harder to do, but I'd still advise it.

http://www.ibiblio.org/jwsnyder/rft/rft.html
posted by captain davros , 4:37 PM Þ 

antony: yes the java app will run anywhere... well, anywhere with java2 installed. so head off to java.sun.com and install it, then i'll post you the app... it doesn't actually *do* anything useful, which really pissed me off, but it's what they told us to make at college, i guess it introduces and utilises a lot of programming techniques and theories. still as an actually app it's crap... so please don't get your hopes up. :)

as for adverts, it's all to do with compression. in the early days of television advertising, advertisers would notice that their ads were almost silent becuase the television station would compress/normalise (i'm not sure of the difference, i think normalisation makes all the frequencies the same volume, but that seems stupid, please inform me) the adverts and the surrounding television shows so they would remain the same volume. however, if the programme had a large range of dynamics, the advert would be made quieter, and so advertisers started to make their averts so they remain the same volume throughout, and so they are as loud as the loudest part of the surrounding show.

an ex girlfriend's dad is an advertising man, and he explained this to me once. i can't remember it all so i apologise for any errors or omissions... still doesn't make it any less annoying...

as for cutting films and programmes...

the radio times lets you know if films are edited. buffy on bbc 2 is in widescreen and uncut, compared to crappy sky one. infact sky hardly broadcast anything in widescreen. i can't believe they have like 800 movie channels and only one does widescreen.

fuck BskyB, fuck them up their stupid asses.
posted by alex_tea , 4:31 PM Þ 

Oh yeah. Conet was on Mark Thomas last night.
posted by Mess Noone , 4:29 PM Þ 

Who wants to write something better with me?
posted by Mikkel , 2:53 PM Þ 

Bwahh, the really awesome writeup I did is GONE! I distinctly remember hitting "send" on that mail.

I remember ending it off with "I don't think I'd like being in a Starbucks, mainly as a direct consequence of being a geek in school and developing neat defense mechanisms (I'm too cool to be mainstream and have friends)."

I got a great mail, though: 'i don't think your translation of "come on my selector" is correct. i would tend to think that it's "Come to fucking daddy" referring to the aphex twin song "come to daddy". i may be wrong. in fact, you probably are right, and i dont even know why im writing this. you are really cool.'

I AM REALLY COOL!

Also, I just gave blood. It's amazing how well the human body functions with only 90% of the normal blood level.

Btw, OH MY GOD, BLOGGER IS THE WORST CRAP EVAR!
posted by Mikkel , 2:45 PM Þ 


are people f-ing insane????? i guess teller was wrong.
posted by john , 1:04 PM Þ 

All I'm saying is - more Ornettes and fucking... Kaoru Abes... and less Jarvis Cockers... and my world would be an infinitely happier place.
posted by Mess Noone , 1:03 PM Þ 

Could you expect Bush to act another way? A puppet is only animated when there's a hand up it's arse.

saw this somewhere and it sort of applies.

"Light travels faster than sound, thats why some people appear bright until they open their mouths."
posted by chriszanf , 12:39 PM Þ 

mess i disagree. just because you are not a pioneer or
even an active player dosen't mean you are to blame.
loving something, truly loving it and caring for it with respect
and knowledge should bring you pleasure and joy and....
....honor!! you are a keeper of the flame without being corny.
do you know what i mean? a keeper in good faith if you will.
love it and respect that love. knowledge is power and in the end
goodness! it's when coltrane opened the door to the absys, as
beautiful as it is, that so many thought blowing what appear to
be nonsensical scales was cool. before that the clique was tight
and alive. but the deepness brings death when the unaware and
leech infected "dohdohbirds" manufacture their uneducated unrespectful
version of the real deal. that is what has also happened to techno in my
opinion. f*ckall though i ain't ever giving up! that hush over the crowd
when....ah you remember.
*it'll probably happen to the next thing as well!

btw:watch for a drummer named john lampkin on the players circut.
he is on it!!! oh i forgot to ad elvin! sh*t man elvin jones. nuff said!!!!
posted by john , 12:24 PM Þ 

brown and roach, the second miles rhythm section(both for that matter),
the fenominally dynamic ahmad trio with vernell fournier, jackie mclean,
johhny griffin, the red garland trio records with art taylor.....roy hanes,
tadd dameron's writing(and arranging), horace silver's arranging(and writing),
everything monk ever played/wrote and without question basie's band with
papa jo-the swing will break your neck right off they rocked so hard! and he
lost me completely with everything after it but this record is amazing:

(now he sings...)completely deep to the core record this is from an otherwize
bland pianist.


that bush thing is incredible. something you already know but sh*t, that's brutal!
posted by john , 11:40 AM Þ 

Fuck, if I could figure out that KDX shit. I'd post the version of 'Orange Claw Hammer' from Grow Fins, with Zappa on guitar. It's amazing.
posted by Mess Noone , 10:43 AM Þ 

Or Zawinul!
posted by Irdial , 10:40 AM Þ 

"This is unbelievable, scary, but 100% true...

Recently Bush met with Brazilian President Fernando
Henrique Cardoso. Not far into the conversation, Bush
asked the 71 year old statesman an unexpected question:

"Do you have blacks too?"

Condoleezza Rice was present and jumped in to save
Cardoso from having to answer, informing Bush that in
fact Brazil is home to more blacks than any country
outside Africa.

The incident, witnessed by the White House press
corps, is more proof that Bush knows ABSOLUTELY
NOTHING about the world he lives in--AND LEADS!
This is terrifying!

Equally terrifying: the American media did not
report the incident. There seems to be an unwritten
rule that while it's ok to acknowledge Bush's lack
of "intellectual curiosity", any hard evidence of
utter stupidity must be covered up.

The incident was reported outside the U.S.. For
example, by the prestigious German news magazine
Der Spiegel. Here's a translation of the article
(with a link to the original German article):
http://gwbush.com/copies/trans.shtml

Please spread the word about this. American voters
need to know that our pilot is flying blind!

Please visit GWBush.com for the full feature and
some additional laughs on this subject..."

http://gwbush.com
posted by Irdial , 10:39 AM Þ 

Oh, forgot to mention. I am also to blame for similar reasons.
posted by Mess Noone , 10:27 AM Þ 

The "homogenization of jazz" is not Starbucks' fault. It's yours. And your family's. And your friends'. Because none of you were Charlie Parker. Or Ornette Coleman. Or John Stevens. Or Derek Bailey. Or James Blood Ulmer. Or Zorn. Or William Parker. Or...
posted by Mess Noone , 10:26 AM Þ 

care, even if only you do

Alex, i don't suppose your java app will run on windows ? i'm not familiar with linux yet, but would love to look at what you've done
posted by a hymn in g to nann , 9:36 AM Þ 

i will write more later, this is all really interesting... but i have guests and am cooking...

anyway, PAL is slower than NTSC (never the same colour)

Actually, Its Never Twice the Same Colour, refering to its looking different on each TV.

so the pitch would be lowered.

and yet, the pitch is HIGHER. This is the explanation

TV standards Guide Is cool, where I found this:

"PAL which stands for Phase Alternating Line is one of the television formats used in Europe. It has a pixel aspect ratio of 576 vertical lines and 720 horizontal lines. This means there are 288 vertical scanned lines and 360 horizontal scanned lines, with a display frame rate of 25 frames per sec at 50Hz. Colour subcarrier of 4.433618, horizontal frequency of 15.625 Khz, vertical frequency of 50 Hz, video bandwidth of 5.0 Mhz, and an audio bandwidth of 5.5 Mhz FM."

"NTSC which stands for National Television Standards Commission is the standard format of television in North America. It has a pixel aspect ratio of 480 vertical lines and 720 horizontal lines. This means there are 240 vertical scanned lines and 360 horizontal scanned lines, with a display frame rate of 29.97 frames per sec at 60Hz. Colour subcarrier of 3.579545, horizontal frequency of 15.735 Khz, vertical frequency of 60 Hz, video bandwidth of 4.2 Mhz, and an audio bandwidth of 4.5Mhz FM."

Found this, which is not what we are talking about, but is fascinating nonetheless.

I used to run U-Matic NTSC/PAL switchable with pro Sony Trinitron monitor, PAL VHS and NTSC VHS in my place, attached to the studio for dubbing editing playing NTSC video games and stuff, so I have the "bones" when it comes to pre digital standards conversion & stuff. NTSC was the only way to watch uncencored movies at home back then; now of course, its suddenly OK to watch horror movies.

And there is NO REASON for the audio of TV commercials not to be compressed at the station, to save the sanity of the millions (and millions) of TV punters. They cut films for the benefit of the public, why not level out the sound of adverts??

Early morning BLOGDEATH: CRUSH KILL DESTROY!!!!!!
posted by Irdial , 9:16 AM Þ 

I'll care, but only if you do.
posted by Barrie , 5:49 AM Þ 

got some more audio up on the site(www.electronical.org) but still in the process of re-coding/redesigning the pages though.

The reason that *$'s put so many outlets in one place is 'saturation'. They aim to have such an overwhelming presence that they squeeze the competition (and therefore choice) out of the market.
What I dislike about all chains like them, is the homogenization, to instill a 'comfort' in the familiar (and as for that f£$%^&* muzak...!!!). Everything in the store is in the same place as the one down the road. This freaks me because you can never be sure where you are.

Anyway, I prefer tea. Green, if you've got it!

care, because i'll do you
posted by chriszanf , 2:02 AM Þ 

Just to clear things up, I never said I have bought from Starbucks. In fact, I have never bought from them in my life. My dad has gotten me a few cups from there a few times, but I never spend my money there (and there's no way I would turn down a free cup of hot chocolate from my father).

I think my biggest beef is Starbucks' "cultural" evil. How it caters mainly to the "yuppie" mindset I see hanging around the shops. Yeah, the people who think Moby is cutting edge, but that's just taste. I really hate Starbuck's homogenization of jazz, making lame lame lame covers of good tunes for sale on CDs with lame art. Things like that *really* piss me off. I must be a snob or something.

As for their making money... I have no problem for that. Same with the "good" design. It's brilliant in concept, I just don't like it. If people are successful with things... good for them. No problems. If someone can kick ass in this world, more power to them. Just as long as they kick ass in a friendly way.
As for any statistics on third-world coffee farmers, I'm just too much of an ignoramus to go find them. Work makes me tired, and hungry. Must make dinner.
posted by Barrie , 12:32 AM Þ 
Wednesday, May 29, 2002

i do because you care
posted by john , 11:23 PM Þ 

i will write more later, this is all really interesting... but i have guests and am cooking...

anyway,

PAL = 25fps, NTSC = 29.7fps
PAL has more horizontal scan lines than NTSC, which is console games (used to / still do in some cases) have a letter box effect. this is also why some older games are unplayable due to the slowdown (Street Fighter II on the SNES).

anyway, PAL is slower than NTSC (never the same colour) so the pitch would be lowered.

also, adverts are louder than tv progs for a reason. yes it's annoying, but it's not for the reason you expect. more on that later.
posted by alex_tea , 10:27 PM Þ 

I care, because you do.
posted by Irdial , 9:39 PM Þ 

enema ideas:

redbull and skyvodka
oreo cookie ice cream
recycled plastic bag
the "grande" skim double mocha
candy glass
pasta primivera with clam sauce
socket 478 ddr266bus dual highcolonic
the redwood forest cocktail(bark, moss, and miracle grow)
the double dutch(maui wowwie and unsalted olddutch potato chips)
the twins(a lock of danny devito's hair and a crumpled autograph
from arnold schwarzenegger)
the mr t.(secret recipe)*the fool who tries this is pitied*
the backpackers delight(a spelt muffin, granola, and spf15 sunblock in
a green tea marinade)
the sun forte(????)
the iron chef
and my favortie: "the clapper"(220v of good old fashioned tried
and true electricity!) refreshing and effective!!

hey, where is C.E.S. it's been a while?? we need him back!!

ok more *$s:
1st:"Local shops dont sell coffee next to a Starbucks because they dont
know how to make coffee."
-????? i'd rather have giuseppe make me a coffee than buffy the
co-ed tart. and frankly you know the reason "local joe" dosen't sell
next to starbucks isn't because of the quality of the brew. come on sir.
it's called overhead yo!
2nd: "prozac"

more chain yanking
*$s is just like mcdonalds. whether they are good or not is
an individual issue. hey we are all right. every idea is sacred
just like a cow. how's that for pc y'all? i'd just rather support the
little guy you know. whatever though who cares really. like family farming
or adm farming. the public will buy what you sell them good or not and that
is a fact. *$s has money and money makes money and so on. there is no
good argument. just common sense. but again who cares really. if that is the
best coffee in your area then so be it but as an ex-employee of many years at
a local coffee shop in boston i can make a wikked apple cap. where the milk forms
an apple shape in the shot. lovely. if you let me make you one when we come to
england i promise you the *$s stuff won't do it for you as much as it does now.
john rules and *$s drools!! ;)

btw: i have to get one of those shirts. the irdial '02 as well!! they are
awesome. did you just crank those out with the quickness? i love
the spontenaiety!! kudos!!

and hey what did you guys think of that mix? a little commercial but
hey it's vancouver you know. i'll make another soon with old a.r.t 1
kirk de stuff and some deeper techno related blahs and not all the ihr
get me a gig stuff. although on a dance floor that is fun. but there are
no dance floors anymore are there. it's a drag.
posted by john , 7:49 PM Þ 

those are dope...ram a p4 in there with a ddr p4b or higher and
you be chillin' like a mega villin'.
posted by john , 6:19 PM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 5:50 PM Þ 

designers are trying to trick the user of the space but that's the whole purpose of design .... by definition, a designer is attempting to make us view things according to a plan

Wal-Mart takes away all the business from the local shops in my small town only if the shoppers want to visit Wal-Mart

who am i to judge? one who is able to judge

Watchers of ITV are STEALING from ITV when they skip ads. the only thing worth watching on itv are the commercials
posted by a hymn in g to nann , 5:42 PM Þ 

Dav, you are so leet!

I knew someone who ran a compressor on his TV to make the commercials as loud as the programming (we all know that commercials are louder than the programmes right?)
posted by Irdial , 5:26 PM Þ 

Acrobat 5 has been released for Linux / UNIX.

This has got to be a side effect of OSX being based on Unix.

Can we now expect all the adobe apps to be available for Linux? Or am I dreaming?
posted by Irdial , 5:25 PM Þ 

I actually have an old Yamaha SPX-90 installed beneath my teevee to correct that pitch-shifting problem.

It makes my life better in so many different ways.

Am I stealing from a newspaper though if I turn over a page with a big advert on that I'm not interested in?

http://www.whale.to/c/gearin.html
Michael Gearin-Tosh knows a thing or two about coffee enemas.

n.b. blogging this in mozilla in Win2k and the writing window is half the width - anyone else get that?
posted by captain davros , 4:57 PM Þ 

How does this affect UK viewers?

Slaves of the UK who watch BBC dont watch ads, so not releveant.

Watchers of ITV are STEALING from ITV when they skip ads.

Sky viewers are stealing nothing, because they pay a fee to watch sky, and so you can skip adverts with a clear concience with Sky.

Of course, that guy is full of shit, and what he says doesnt mean jack.

Pardon my slang.
posted by Irdial , 4:16 PM Þ 

What's with the higher pitch? NTSC => PAL conversion gone wrong?

NTSC = 25FPs
PAL = 30FPs

PAL's frame rate is faster, hence the sped up audio.
posted by Irdial , 4:08 PM Þ 

wtf, I had a writeup, blogger went down, I emailed it to myself, and now it's gone. Bah, I'll post it later, if the whole starbucks thread is still on.

Ads: Neither explicitly or implicitly do you agree to watching commercials. There is not signing of contracts, there is none of that. Nothing. You pay for a station, and you can damn well decide which parts you want to watch and which you don't want to watch. There is no grey matter here, it's up to yourself. And only you.

What's with the higher pitch? NTSC => PAL conversion gone wrong?
posted by Mikkel , 3:56 PM Þ 

Never mind having you programmes "raped" by commercials; did you know that in the UK the TV is cut to shreds by censors, and that they then advertise and show these programmes and films without declaring that they are making cuts? Star Trec TNG is cut, films are often cut.


I dont have a problem with this (!) ecxcept when you are COMPELLED to pay for something, you should AT LEAST expect to be told EXACTLY what you are getting. There are laws to stop people putting pink lemonade in yellow lemonade bottles without telling the public, why should TV be any different? When the BBC puts on a movie and cuts it, they should ANNOUNCE THIS at the start. Of course, no one thinks that this is needed; the BBC is a nepostistic all powerful self serving paternalistic monster that is answerable only to itself.

To top it all off, the audio of any american program that you watch in the uk is a quarter of a semitone higher in pitch than when it is played on a real TV set. This means that all the speech is higher pitched, and all of the music is too fast and out of tune.
posted by Irdial , 3:17 PM Þ 

how would this affect viewers in the UK? and how does the license fee fit into this model?

i'd much rather pay a subscription than have the teevee / movies i watch raped by commercials. this is what annoys me about satellite/digital/cable television, the fact that there are adverts even though you already pay for the channels.

and the BBC is slowly letting advertising creep into it's hallowed halls... whenever an event (the Chelsea Flower Show, par example) is sponsored, the BBC have to call it buy it's sponsored name, (Carling FA Premier League, Benson & Hedges Snooker World Cup) or name the sponsors (as in the CFS example). worries me slightly that the bastion of non commericalism that is the BBC is letting it's standards slip.
posted by alex_tea , 3:04 PM Þ 

Jamie Kellner, CEO of Turner Broadcasting, says that skipping commercials, even if you're in the bathroom, is stealing.

In the April 29, 2002, issue of "Cableworld" magazine, Kellner describes personal video recorders (PVRs) like TiVo and ReplayTV as devices designed to "steal" programming because they allow consumers to skip programming in 30 second intervals. Kellner states:

"JK: Because of the ad skips.... It's theft. Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots. Otherwise you couldn't get the show on an ad-supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial or watch the button you're actually stealing the programming.

CW: What if you have to go to the bathroom or get up to get a Coke?

JK: I guess there's a certain amount of tolerance for going to the bathroom. But if you formalize it and you create a device that skips certain second increments, you've got that only for one reason, unless you go to the bathroom for 30 seconds. They've done that just to make it easy for someone to skip a commercial."

Despite what Mr. Kellner thinks, television viewers have no "contract" with broadcasters. While it may seem laughable that a powerful industry executive such as Mr. Kellner holds this belief, it's no laughing matter -- Mr. Kellner's colleagues in the television industry are suing electronics manufacturers to keep PVRs off the market.

http://action.eff.org/tinseltown/tinsel.asp
posted by Irdial , 2:51 PM Þ 

i went in starbucks once. i had a cup of earl grey. it wasn't in a cup, it was a cardboard beaker. it wasn't very good tea either. i could make nicer tea at home for cheaper. i don't like coffee. my friend says that only really good coffee is nice. the rest is bitter. it's a bit like mullholland drive, i should go into starbucks and dribble the coffee all down my shirt infront of the staff and then start talking threateningly in italian. maybe if i was old, fat and had olive skin and silver hair this would work better.

i don't like starbucks cos it's culture on a stick for suits. the same people who go to all bar one and the slug and lettuce. they probably think moby is the cutting edge of electronic music. i expect they think the acquisition of cultural objects (art, music, etc) makes them cultured. who am i to judge?

as for coffee farmers and anal sex, i want to go and see that play madonna is in.

a: i haven't been to the theatre since i was a wee child and maybe this would be a nice start.
b: it's about art, the set design and costumes are supposed to be really good.
c: apparently madonna satisfies the anal fetishes of a collector. whatever this entails i want to witness it.
d: even though i abhor celebrity, i am mildly interested in seeing madonna act on stage. i fucking hate her though. i liked her up until music... i wish she'd grunt for aphex. björk grunts for matmos. well maybe not...

as for being ruthless, akin doesn't hate *$s, and yet he is making money from t shirts promoting the hatred of *$s. to me this seems akin (akin?wha?) to people selling diana plates and t shirts and things like that... but... maybe it is entrpreneurial. i know i spelt that wrong.

oh i finished my java GUI on time, going to hand it in. it works. on mac os x and pc. anyone running linux who has java installed wanna try it? email me it looks sexy in Aqua and boring in Metal.
posted by alex_tea , 2:14 PM Þ 

the mechanics of destruction

matt herbert offers his take on everything from the poison arches to *$s to rwanda on his new radioboy album. amazing.
posted by Ken , 12:54 PM Þ 

*$ is a hell of a lot worse as it is a rather ruthless corporation.

being ruthless is not evil. Also, *$s is rated as one of the best companies to work for in the USA, by its staff, who enjoy generous stock options amongst other benefits.

Coffee farmers getting fucked up the ass, anyone?
Can you be specific? Anal sex has nothing to do with coffee. Unless you are a coffee enema pumping colonic sex freak.

As for the interior being ugly, allways similar etc, I have already addressed this, and this does not make them evil, it just means that they have bad taste.

Local shops dont sell coffee next to a Starbucks because they dont know how to make coffee. Period. I have already addressed this point too. I will add to that; if there were two places of identical quality to get coffe, the closest one to you would always win, or the quietest one, or the one with the best free newspapers, hottest steamer (!). People will of couse, walk an extra 5 mins for a better coffee. But you know this.

The money that goes into a big black hole is handed over willingly by the people who drink the "damn fine cup of coffee and Smashing hot chocolate"; you cant say that they suck and that you hate them AND drink thier stuff and give them money to grow; it simply doesnt make sense!

As for them sueing, they sue to protect their trademarks. "*$s" is not a trademark of Starbucks® so there is nothing to fear there.

they just do.
You HAVE to do better than that!

it is the nature of large
corps to "survive" and facilitate growth of capital by
any means. investors need to be appeased and see
returns so whatever produces the bottom line. how
more clear can it be?

Ummm whats wrong with giving people jobs and selling good coffee?? Whats wrong with making a profit?

but if it was up to me starbucks and the
sweatshop ideals are one and the same and need to be dealt
with.

Starbucks is the polar opposite of a sweatshop, this is a fact. They look after thier employess well, and are famous for it. Once again, the fact that their shops are "an eyesore" does not make them evil

I say again: will someone PLEASE explain to me EXACTLY what *$s is doing that is so wrong??

What does "exactly" mean?? It means give me some clear examples of how *$s is an immoral, evil, bad company. It means give me examples of how thier behaviour as a company has been wrong. It means give me examples of how thier corporate policy and business practices are bad. If they have put business before people, show how they have done this.

By all means, hate them irrationally, irrational hate is Fun® but at least say so! You do it like this:

"I just dont like companies that are sucessful and which make huge profits."

"I am a socialist. Profitmaking is wrong. Thats why I hate Starbucks."

"I dont like chain stores."

"I just like to hate!"

"What-Ever!!!!"

"prozac"

"Stop blogging first thing in the morning DINGBAT"
posted by Irdial , 10:19 AM Þ 

*$ makes a damn fine cup of coffee. Smashing hot chocolate, too.

*$ attains the coffee they use in a very smarmy way. Most coffee producers do, but *$ is a hell of a lot worse as it is a rather ruthless corporation. Coffee farmers getting fucked up the ass, anyone? This does not make people like me happy. I actually don't drink coffee unless I'm forced to. It tends to upset my stomach. What's wrong with a nice cup of tea? On that, I actually have had some nice coffee my boss brought back from Jamaica (he has a farm there) that's harvested and sold locally there. It's expensive as fuck, but damn fine stuff.

*$ has brilliant interior design. It is also ugly as shit. Why is it brilliant? It makes the spectator think it is quirky and unique. It looks like all these different bits of furniture have been haphazardly cobbled together. How charming. IT'S NOT. EVERY *$ looks exactly the fucking same. It's almost insulting knowing that the designers are trying to trick the user of the space. Brilliant in terms of how well they do trick and manipulate people's perception of the space.

*$ likes to edge out local shops. This takes away money from the "local" economy and gives it to a sprawling, multi-armed international conglomocorp. I don't know how local economies work everywhere else, but I am not happy when a Wal-Mart takes away all the business from the local shops in my small town, then jacks the prices up when it's closed the all down. Same basic ideas working here - the money is not distributed locally. It goes into a big black hole.

Thusly, *$ is evil. The devil wears a blue dress and offers sweet, sweet candy.
Kind of like Mikkel.
posted by Barrie , 5:52 AM Þ 
Tuesday, May 28, 2002

I like your t-shirts, Akin, but be careful! *$s sues.


They have no sense of humor. It is unfortunate you don't have better coffee choices in England.
I live in Little Italy, where the espresso runs freely, and they make mochas* with chocolate whipped cream.

*not to be taken lightly. There have been reports of adverse behaviour aprés consumption.
posted by mary13 , 8:32 PM Þ 

Those plastic bags outnumber the sewer rats
-yo bro i used to work on carmine st at bleeker and i don't know
about that! *wink* restaurants' basements can be...well, tricky to say
the least.

they are everywhere though esp. down on canal. interesting
dilema a tax would be. might be a good idea actually still processing
it. those vendors down on canal are nasty. and every bodega gives 'em out
like water. it is a problem. i guess it's about individual responsibility really
when it comes down to it. whether you take the bag or put your bagels and
pop in your own backpack. it's tough to force anyone to do anything. you know
the tg song 'convincing people' right? maybe i'll do a remake named
'forcing people'. ah ha, thanks for the idea!!
posted by john , 8:08 PM Þ 

on star$$$$$. explaining why they are $ grubbing
is like explaining why rabbits mate. they just do.
it's in their nature to do so. it is the nature of large
corps to "survive" and facilitate growth of capital by
any means. investors need to be appeased and see
returns so whatever produces the bottom line. how
more clear can it be? this is why some people choose
to avoid the large corp environments as much as
possible. putting $ before people is the wrong way
to go in a global sense. not in a business sense however
if your brain is small. it's better business to make happy
employees but not when your customers don't care if the
employees are being treated fairly and this can be controlled
thru solid public relations and other means. this explaination
should be clear. please let me know if it's not though.

and really if they are not happy employees they can just quit
but as the ladder slides down the working poor get shit on as they
are at the bottom of the hill. but to be honest i only see middle
class college students working at starbucks so......that is another
issue entirely. hey whatev to it really though. everyone has their
opinion and all are valid. but if it was up to me starbucks and the
sweatshop ideals are one and the same and need to be dealt
with. plus star$$$$$ cafe's are an eyesore. tres non design. it's like ikea
gone even worse!

i am sure you know by now i have to have something to bitch at!! :)
posted by john , 7:46 PM Þ 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_1990000/1990836.stm

...Some people. I mean, Jesus Lord. What the hell were she thinking? Oh, you were mad at your son? So you destroyed 1 billion quid worth of unique historical paintings? THATS REAL SMART THERE, MA'AM! I hope you're proud of yourself.
posted by Mikkel , 6:45 PM Þ 

In America, brown recyclable bags have slowly been phased out in favor of the plastic bags that wreak havoc the world over.

I should have said used to certainly when I was growwin up in New Yawk, A&P, Grand Union and the rest always gave away brown paper bags by default.
posted by Irdial , 5:26 PM Þ 

>In America, this sickening, inneficient and shabby way of carrying your shopping home is unheard of. Beautiful, recyclable, spacious and sturdy brown paper bags are the norm.

In America, brown recyclable bags have slowly been phased out in favor of the plastic bags that wreak havoc the world over. For awhile it was a binary at the register ("Paper or plastic?") but now they just give you plastic unless you forcefully request paper. And even then, the store may not have it.

A plastic bag tax would do wonders for the streets of NYC. Those plastic bags outnumber the sewer rats. And they can fly. And climb/nest in trees. And boy can they scream and make some noise.
posted by Josh Carr , 3:57 PM Þ 

Weird how what I read during the day ties together more often than not. See, try drawing a horizontal line. In one end, place the culture fascism piece davros posted. Then go and read these two pieces: Advertising@e2 and Advertising@e2 and place those in the other end.

The thing is, I see both sides of the case. That is, the first piece believes that the public are capable of making sound decisions (they go to Starbucks because it's better than hometown guy), and the last pieces believe that the public aren't (they are influenced by the corporations). The interesting thing: We hope for the first case, and fear the last (unless we're bosses of a conglomerate). I'm no expert, but in everyday life, I tend to see more of the second case (which is probably due to my left-wing affiliation), but what do I know? Nothing.

I have no idea what my point with this was. I have never been in a Starbucks. I rarely eat McDonald's (I prefer a kebab or shawarma anyday).

Apropos Nazism, may I point you to Godwin's law?

...

With regards to Kartoo, I saw it, thought of HT, but couldn't get it to work? Maybe it was slashdotted or something...
posted by Mikkel , 2:31 PM Þ 

http://www.kartoo.com/

Attention all HT crew, take a look at this site!
posted by Irdial , 12:09 PM Þ 

"There are no restrictions. It is only that there have been several things which have been forbidden by the law," he said.

And they want to join the EEC??

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2006000/2006759.stm
posted by Irdial , 12:02 PM Þ 

posted by Irdial , 11:21 AM Þ 

Here's someone's opinion on the matter anyway http://www.tomatonation.com/kultur2.asp, actually more interesting about the Beach Boys than that coffee shop but give it a read anyway.
As for me, it don't mean nothin'. None of it. Nowt.

This does though http://www.2manydjs.org/frameset.htm - I can't stop playing it!

Isn't ascii art fabulous too?

                                                                  
    _/_/_/                                                        
   _/    _/    _/_/_/  _/      _/  _/  _/_/    _/_/      _/_/_/   
  _/    _/  _/    _/  _/      _/  _/_/      _/    _/  _/_/        
 _/    _/  _/    _/    _/  _/    _/        _/    _/      _/_/     
_/_/_/      _/_/_/      _/      _/          _/_/    _/_/_/
posted by captain davros , 9:35 AM Þ 

You cant drink at *$s AND hate them (and remain logical).

No one has been able to explain to me in a satisfactory way, why *$s is so very evil. Are they more evil than McDonalds? Burger King? Raytheon? Glaxosmithkline?

They have a rechargable money card....ummm this is NOT evil last time I checked, unless they embed it in your right hand or forehead. :]

I want it spelt out to me why *$s is evil in 500 words, otherwise, wake up, smell the coffee and lay off *$s!

Now theres a fukkin t-shirt! Later today, promise!
posted by Irdial , 8:34 AM Þ 

those flimsy bags you mean like the ones from 7-11 or
something. the bodega bags right? they make good
wastepaper basket liners for the bathroom and they are
good for keeping fresh vegtables fresh in the fridge but we try
not to use them if poss. iz dat whut you guys are talking about as i
am a little too lazy to show last 10 or whatever.

and yeah they make good coffee but those coffee comdoms
they hand out on every cup are a drag and all their cool mugs i
wanted had their stupid logo on them. the employees were pissed
off about those cards though. i mean how much money do starbucks
execs need anyway. shit i'm sure it ain't the best paying job out there
and to cut the tips and the customers frees are patheticly low. bad business
too. but when your that big who the fuck cares it's all public relations and
location then. did you know that on robson st here in vancouver there is
a corner where one starbucks is on say the southeast corner and another
on the northwest! and they are both always full. with busines like that you can
afford to treat your employees like burger flippers. take mcdonalds...worked for
them huh? and that is one reason why star$$$$$ can suck it. i'd danrather
drink brown hotwater than go there again. but their mugs were cool.... :)
tea-hee
posted by john , 6:50 AM Þ 

I hate starfucks. They make a decent brew, but it's how they make it. Their damn trendy stores. Blotting the landscape. Blarugh!

Mikkel, baby, what's wrong?

Also, Akin, in canada I routinely have to deal with the horrible plastic bags as well. Flimsy pieces of crap. All they're good for is holding cat shit. And so they do. Though, most of the time I shop "wholesale" and put my gorceries in boxes, so I don't ever have a huge accumulation of the flimsy bags.
posted by Barrie , 12:18 AM Þ 
Monday, May 27, 2002

the employees at star$$$$$ are handing out a
leaflet condeming this:

we got one at the counter.

star$$$$$ are scumbums.
posted by john , 10:37 PM Þ 
posted by john , 8:14 PM Þ 


ps. jenlovehewitt bangs enrique iglesias btw. i read it
in the "star". ;p
posted by john , 7:32 PM Þ 

http://mailman.xmission.com/pipermail/zorn-list/2002-May/000159.html
posted by Mess Noone , 6:55 PM Þ 

BAbe, you NEeD ThYas!
http://www.chill-pill.com/
posted by Irdial , 5:48 PM Þ 

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK I HATE MYSELF I HATE MYSELF I HATE MYSELF I HATE MYSELF VENT VENT VENT FUCK FUCK FUCK AHRAHRHGFBVcik ublmncvslcbjgfiu bv,bncm ,n

GODDAMNIT.

btw, Akin, I forgot about my usa.com addy, so I didn't realize you sent a pgp mail to me, but now I can't open it cause my install is fucked up for some reason.

AFARHGF FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK
posted by Mikkel , 5:41 PM Þ 
posted by Irdial , 3:18 PM Þ 

What it is:
posted by Irdial , 10:34 AM Þ 

The last two times I was in America they had flimsy crap-bags. They even consistently gave you double the amount (one bag over the other) so they would be strong enough to keep in your goods. My cousin, whom I was visiting, even though he tried to recycle the bags by using them for trash, and bringing his own bags to the store, ended up with tons of the damn things.
posted by Mikkel , 9:00 AM Þ 

brave lady. not for the weak of heart, certainly.

btw, alex, you win. i was going to consult my brother for further ugliness jokes, however i felt this was cheating.
lucky you!
posted by mary13 , 8:44 AM Þ 

The new issue of "Mined" magazine is out, featuring many fascinating pieces, one of which is an interview with yours truely.

In a publishng "scene" that is so morally, ideologically, creatively, and in all the ways that count, bankrupt, it is very refreshing to find a publisher that is quite simply, "doing it right". You can sit down with this, and read it. It is beautiful and sensual. It is an oasis of silky finesse in a world of filthy grit. It is a small island of measured thought in an ocean of publications that only measure (100 most beautiful wimmin, endless and pointless chronologies that are repeated over and over. Statistics have become a fetish, but more on that later).

You must buy Mined.
You must be like Mind.

Get it from:
6a Poland Street
London
W1F 8PT
020 7434 0110
mail@tankmagazine.com
posted by Irdial , 8:42 AM Þ 

"Meat is Murder, so murder meat"
Meat Whipflash
posted by Irdial , 8:34 AM Þ 

plastic bags : next year a government ( uk ) tax will be imposed on the use of plastic bags - it'll cost you at least 10p per bag every time you take a new one from a shop

And of course, a very sturdy, long lived thick bag can be bought for 10p at Watrose, meaning that NO ONE will accept the flimsy, disgusting, overproduced, revolting nasty "ends up getting used for everything" bags that plague the UK.

Nothing is quite as bad as having a house with these bags in it. I have always associated them with images of poverty and so therefore "would rather not have them in my house" particularly as they are notorius for suffocating children.

In America, this sickening, inneficient and shabby way of carrying your shopping home is unheard of. Beautiful, recyclable, spacious and sturdy brown paper bags are the norm.

See? Americans can get it right!!!
posted by Irdial , 8:31 AM Þ 
Sunday, May 26, 2002

i don't know how she advertised, barrie, but however she made it known that these services were available, the methods were successful ; ]
posted by a hymn in g to nann , 9:27 PM Þ 

I saw Zga last night. There seems little more to be said.
posted by captain davros , 9:12 PM Þ 

Beer and computing... my friends and I did a similar thing last night... except the "computing" was playing Final Fantasy on my friend's NES (Famicom). Good times were had by all.

>the girlfriend of a friend of mine used to earn a very good living carrying out similar, but not quite
>so extreme ( cheese graters were favoured ), favours for gentlemen of a warped disposition.

Did she advertise by using phone booth cards? :x

With my feet upon the ground I lose myself
between the sounds and open wide to suck it in,
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out,
I'm reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me, whatever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.

Spiral out. Keep going.

(Tool-Lateralus)
posted by Barrie , 7:39 PM Þ 

ouch!
posted by chriszanf , 6:33 PM Þ 

you're so ugly; when you were the born the widwife mistook you for afterbirth, threw you in the bin and your mother cradled her placenta for 5 months before they realised what had happened.


see what coding does to your brain?
posted by alex_tea , 5:24 PM Þ 

i have no problem with people not eating meat either, one of my flatmates (soon to be departed) is a vegetarian and she cooks the most amaing food i've ever had. my dad's a farmer (although arable, not pastoral) so i'm pretty aware of what goes on, i've ever been in a broiler house, which was a shocking experience, and i try and buy free range chicken and eggs. i also try and buy british, i know this may sound stupid and patriotic (which i most definately am not)., but it's more to do with suporting the british farmer because with my dad being a (non land owning) farmer i can see first hand how their industry is being raped by europe. it's also about buying locally and pollution and things... actually i saw an advert on the tube yesterday, i think it was buy-local.co.uk but that looks wrong, so try big barn instead, looks more like it.

also beer / coding. i too feel into that trap yesterday... i spent the evening before / morning and afternoon with my girlfriend and was outside most of the day so when i came home in the evening and strapped myself down for another week of struggling to implement these exception traps i had a beer and just couldn't concentrate on what was going on, it wasn't that i was inebriated in anyway, just preoccupied... bad idea.

as for bags, i think this tax is awesome... but what will we use for bin liners? currently we have some big sainsbury's bags that you buy and they give a new one if it breaks for free, but they're still plastic. canvas bags sound nice, plus you're not acting as a walking billboard... and i put small purchases in my ever present back pack...
posted by alex_tea , 3:06 PM Þ 

local butcher yes, fantastic isn't it ? ..... real yellow fat

submission? nice idea .... the scientists were measuring the plants' reactions to being chopped at the base of the stalk though ... mmm ... the girlfriend of a friend of mine used to earn a very good living carrying out similar, but not quite so extreme ( cheese graters were favoured ), favours for gentlemen of a warped disposition
posted by a hymn in g to nann , 10:49 AM Þ 

well, got my site back but all my files are lost. Got all but a few html files on my machine but maybe its a sign to redesign. As compensation they've upped my space to a phenominal amount to what I started with. If they stay true to their word, I'll have nearly 5 times the space and bandwidth! Gee, I AM yellow!!
posted by chriszanf , 7:31 AM Þ 
Home
 
People
 
Services
 
Articles
 
News
 
About


Subscribe to “Irdial-List” Our Mailing List.
The Blarchives are here.
The Blogs on irdial.com are powered by WordPress.
Here is the Blogdial Atom XML feed.
Here is the Blogdial Feedburner XML feed.
Open Content 1995-2005 Irdialani Limited. All Rights Relinquished where applicable.
Links: STAND FIPR PI PF NUFORC M2M SB FTT FFF RMS A-SCROB ONGAKU Blogroll BLOGDIAL WOE CHEZ MANNING