Happy New Year to anyone in an odd time zone! And to everyone else in 8 hours in GMT!
dsp
- Wed Dec 31 15:55:00 2003

 Yeah ... but not everybody uses their phones in the same way. Example: If I need to remember a number, I can write it on a bit of paper. If I need to use that number on a mobile phone, I can stick the piece of paper in my pocket ... next to the phone. That way, I never have to read a manual, nor try to get my head round the *dreadful* UI on phones. Also, it doesn't require batteries, and never needs upgrading. Java, on the other hand, opens up a whole (nerdy) world of programming possibilities. That is much more my cup of tea.
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 31 13:09:20 2003

 The best thing I like about my phone is that with the data cable you can sync the address/phone book with Outlook contacts, so you don't have to fanny around entering all the names and number with the keypad.
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 31 11:49:03 2003

 Happy New Year everyone!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 31 11:39:14 2003

 Yeah, I just got a similar phone as well. It can connect the net if you have it set up with the service provider. I have a ported version of ICQ on it, not that I use it.
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 31 11:38:47 2003

 It has occurred to me I haven't yet planned what I'm doing for New Year's Eve. I bet there are lots of irritating people out there who had something arranged and booked in August.
John
- Wed Dec 31 11:04:41 2003

 OK, so the screen's rather small ... but the high number of colours is very interesting. Now I really *need* one of those phones. You're right ... the scope for nerdiness is without limit.
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 31 10:00:30 2003

 The screen is 128x160, 65,536 colours. It's fairly slow. The games it runs are on a par with tetris, puzzle bubble and fairly old fashioned stuff. All 2d, no 3d acceleration. It just uses the keypad on the phone for controls. At time moment I'm just using Sun's command line dev tools. Oh and it's a Samsung E700, and it was 100 quid upgrade on contract. it's got a 640x480 camera built into it too, with 7.5 Meg flash ram for pictures, and 1.5 Meg for Java Apps.
Graf
- Tue Dec 30 21:20:36 2003

 I'm online at home. Not in work till Monday. Worked all through xmas last year though (except bank holidays). In answer to Jimmy's questions about the phone: The java can't use the web on my phone, although some java phones can. I've seen java web-browsers and email apps online, but they don't work with my phone. I don't think you can do multi-player games.
Graf
- Tue Dec 30 21:20:17 2003

 Wow Jimmy! That sounds clever. What's the application?
dsp
- Tue Dec 30 20:17:16 2003

 Personally, I'm at work. Anybody know a good 1-dimensional minimisation algorithm? It's a simple enough problem, but speed really is of the essence ... so I'm looking for something like quadratic convergence. Any suggestions?
Jimmy
- Tue Dec 30 15:31:29 2003

 Are you at work John/Andy - hell, everyone? Or online at home? Or non-of-the-above?
dsp
- Tue Dec 30 14:30:02 2003

 Chie's car is diesel too. For the first time in my life I've actually paid attention to fuel prices and they do seem to vary don't they? Chie usually fills up at a nearby supermarket which is 75.9 per litre. Typically though, around here it's not unusual to see "normal" garages charging more like 79.9 or 80.9. Wow I'm interesting today.
John
- Tue Dec 30 12:06:30 2003

 That sounds absolutely superb. Can the Java use some sort of inter-phone connectivity, or browse the web? Can you write multi-player games with it? What's the resolution of the screen? Is it colour? How fast does it run? What input devices are there? Is there any hardware-accelerated 3D? What development environment do you use? Oh ... and how much does it cost?
Jimmy
- Tue Dec 30 12:06:28 2003

 Sadly not although Mrs DSP has had a ball! I'm at work. I bought some diesel this morning, but like you, paid top whack.
dsp
- Tue Dec 30 11:24:04 2003

 Yes, you can write your own apps. I've only got as far as Hello World so far though. It uses J2ME (java micro edition). I didn't buy it in the sales, though, I paid full price. Did you get any sale bargains, Mr Dsp?
Graf
- Tue Dec 30 11:15:04 2003

 Andy: Did you buy it in the sales?
dsp
- Tue Dec 30 09:46:20 2003

 Java? On a phone? Can you write your own?
Jimmy
- Tue Dec 30 08:27:31 2003

 Ahahaha - I've just got a new phone with runs Java apps, and the potential for nerdiness is almost overwhelming.
Graf
- Tue Dec 30 02:07:05 2003

 Yes, yes and yes.
dsp
- Mon Dec 29 14:06:40 2003

 ODBC? Sick man!
Jimmy
- Mon Dec 29 13:13:04 2003

 Hey Tim - you've done some ODBC stuff with the 'maison haven't you? Is there anything special you have to do, or is it just a case of putting your mdb file in the private folder and then having a play around with some ASP...?
John
- Mon Dec 29 10:49:01 2003

 In true Christmas fasion I am wearing as many presents as possible. I never knew a selection box was so warm! Anyone else in work today?
dsp
- Mon Dec 29 09:20:31 2003

 Nope, I didn't receive any socks at all this year. Or ties for that matter. Mainly quite a lot of chocolate, plus a reasonable array of booze. Naturally, I'm not inclined to complain about either.
John
- Mon Dec 29 09:13:19 2003

 Good morning people. John, I can indeed "Save Target As..." with that delightful telephonic message. It then plays perfectly in WMP. This reinforces my opinion that (despite the fact that the underlying multimedia media technology is fine) the actual media-player itself is a steaming heap of shit (streaming, perhaps?). It has not one redeeming feature. Utter, useless crap. BTW - the message was not from me. But this one is! (or is it?) Hope everyone had a good Christmas. Did anybody get too many pairs of socks, and fancy doing a swap for a tie?
Jimmy
- Mon Dec 29 08:41:34 2003

 Just got back from the tour I've been on over the last few days, over the length and breadth of the country attempting to visit every member of my family. Almost managed to see all of them as well, so I'm fairly pleased with myself. I hope you all had good christmasses!
John
- Sun Dec 28 17:35:03 2003

 Merry Xmas all. Rob, I'll be a bit in getting to that document, sir. I'm not at my house right now...but I'll gladly see to it.
Travis
- Sun Dec 28 03:36:17 2003

 I'm off for a poo.
Rev. Rusty
- Thu Dec 25 01:23:35 2003

 Merry Christmas by the way. God bless us, one and all.
Rev. Rusty
- Thu Dec 25 01:23:17 2003

 Not I. Hmmm, I had a case of this a few days back. I had someone singing on mine... weird.
Rev. Rusty
- Thu Dec 25 01:21:41 2003

 Evening Russ. Goodight to you. ANd xmas tidings. Boing.
Scabz
- Thu Dec 25 01:08:30 2003

 Well it did sound like a bloke...
John
- Wed Dec 24 15:35:21 2003

 The message on the answerphone was not me. I've checked. Merry Christmas!
Scabz
- Wed Dec 24 10:41:18 2003

 Can you try right clicking and saving a copy of it locally first...? It's just a wav file...
John
- Wed Dec 24 09:34:31 2003

 "Media player has encountered an unknown error." That is, indeed, a strange message.
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 24 09:29:17 2003

 OK, which one of you freaks left this message on my answerphone? Personally, my money's on Russ.
John
- Wed Dec 24 09:06:05 2003

 I before e, except after c, and before ght.
John
- Wed Dec 24 08:45:25 2003

 Or is that supposed to be niece...?
John
- Wed Dec 24 08:45:04 2003

 I've just heard I have a new neice! Born this morning at 3AM. Her name is Katie.
John
- Wed Dec 24 08:44:44 2003

 I do hope I'm not the only one left! I'm working until lunchtime.
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 24 08:18:23 2003

 Deck your bowels with something jolly...
Rusty
- Wed Dec 24 02:16:06 2003

 Russell can literaLLY marry people
Scabz
- Wed Dec 24 02:13:38 2003

 I can't spell. Being sober would indeed be folly
Scabz
- Wed Dec 24 02:10:25 2003

 John, I will love you forever.
Rusty
- Wed Dec 24 02:09:28 2003

 I've never been propositioed by a female before. But Russell has by John.
Scabz
- Wed Dec 24 02:04:29 2003

 Merry Christmas, everyone!
Jimmy
- Tue Dec 23 13:43:05 2003

 Yes, Merry Christmas to you too Simon! How does one go about saying that in Hungarian?
John
- Tue Dec 23 11:58:56 2003

 Merry Christmas everyone!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Tue Dec 23 11:57:04 2003

 Or better still Tom, I could come into London and do my shopping there.... Mmmmm Hennekey's at christmas time...
John
- Tue Dec 23 10:43:20 2003

 Or indeed:
Being sober would be folly,
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Tis the season to get trollied,
Fa la la la la la la la la

John
- Tue Dec 23 10:41:39 2003

 Wahey! Is a drink feasible then oh mighty Tom...? I'm going to be in Reading for most of the afternoon - eugh - shopping.
John
- Tue Dec 23 10:37:17 2003

 After all, as the song goes:
Forget the tree and sod the holly,
Fa la la la la la la la la,
Tis the season to get trollied,
Fa la la la la la la la la

John
- Tue Dec 23 10:36:08 2003

 Now then.. I'll be finishing at about 15:30...
tom
- Tue Dec 23 10:34:53 2003

 I don't suppose by any amazing stroke of luck anyone happens to be off work this afternoon and in the Reading area, and fancies a quick lunchtime / early afternoon pint...?
John
- Tue Dec 23 10:33:31 2003

 It's the closes to christmas I've ever worked actually. I was originally going to work right up until last thing christmas eve, but this morning I buckled and decided to take it off instead.
John
- Tue Dec 23 09:55:21 2003

 Congrats John. I've got one whole day left. Finishing tomorrow lunch time.
dsp
- Tue Dec 23 09:54:07 2003

 This morning is my last (half) day at work. Christmas for me officially starts at lunchtime... I can't help but fancy a beer, to be honest...
John
- Tue Dec 23 09:51:41 2003

 Errrr.... good.... Ok...
John
- Tue Dec 23 09:21:07 2003

 I've missed nearly the entire film now...
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 01:00:59 2003

 Well i'm certainly glad we got that one cleared up.
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 01:00:26 2003

 Mr Cox thought he could pull, but was too drunk, so has been barred from Henrys, and had to have a taxi home
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:58:31 2003

 Is Mr. Cox complaining about balls in his garden?
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:56:48 2003

 That was meant to say Andy by the way
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:56:12 2003

 Abdy says goodnight. He has problems with Mr Cox.
ScABz
- Tue Dec 23 00:55:31 2003

 Goodnight, Andy.
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:52:31 2003

 Goodnight everybody. I have to go and phone Andy. See you soon John!
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:51:30 2003

 Pastor John looks yummy.
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:49:44 2003

 And go here: http://www.whatsthebloodypoint.com/ it's dead funny
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:46:56 2003

 Go to Pastor John's house. Go directly to Pastor JOhn's house. Do not pass go. Do not collect £200. http://www.pastorjohnshouse.com/tracts/howi.htm
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:44:52 2003

 James! James' car.
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:43:58 2003

 Emma's fiance - that'll be James
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:43:54 2003

 That's when I lost mine! I had it to protect th camera in the event of a downpour. I think I left it in (insert the name of emma's bloke here)'s car...
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:43:24 2003

 I looked up shelter near John's house on google and I got this page: http://www.pastorjohnshouse.com/tracts/howi.htm
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:41:57 2003

 Well i lost my new white umbrella on my wedding day - horwever I am sure we can find shelter somewhere near JOhn's house. Police stations are always good.
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:40:39 2003

 What if it rains? Emma's still got my umbrella.
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:39:45 2003

 Well I reckon ANdy will be up for it - and we don't live too far away from John, so whenever you can make it down south Russ. (if john is not in we can just sit on the doorstep and wait)
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:38:30 2003

 Well, I noticed that there was an open invite to do exactly that on the most recent article. So... whenever.
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:37:05 2003

 Yes, with Seekers and all that...
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:35:50 2003

 You're just too rude. When are we going to John's to drink whisky Russ?
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:34:49 2003

 That was your fault, Jill.
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:34:24 2003

 Yes, with Seekers and all that...
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:33:57 2003

 Yes, with Seekers and all that...
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:33:54 2003

 YOU made it sound dirty. I was just shoeing off my superior knoeledge of quidditch. Which is played on broomsticks.
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:31:51 2003

 You make golden snitch sound so... dirty.
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:30:47 2003

 I don't want to see any porn in John's pictures. Just Harry Potter scenes. A photo with the golden snitch would be good.
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:28:44 2003

 Oooh, a cracking idea! I was going to ask for more porn...
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:27:13 2003

 Can we please have more photos of harry potter scenes
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:25:39 2003

 I have enjoyed it also. Although i'm not drunk.
Rusty
- Tue Dec 23 00:24:42 2003

 I have thouroughly enjoyed browsing John's photos while drunk
Scabz
- Tue Dec 23 00:23:39 2003

 Eyes on springs - now that would be fantastic!!!
Alex
- Mon Dec 22 21:15:26 2003

 Go on. In a secret menu only the maison users know about... :-)
tom
- Mon Dec 22 17:58:52 2003

 Strange - I hadn't Jimmy's last message when I posted that. We both thought the same thing at the same time and posted at the same time...weird
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Dec 22 13:33:07 2003

 Ok let me have a think about that... errr.... no.
John
- Mon Dec 22 13:26:34 2003

 Go on then! Add it to photostudio!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Dec 22 12:43:39 2003

 John- what a great idea! Why not add it to PhotoStudio? Hats, moustaches, glasses, beards, big noses and eyes-on-springs would all make great additions to the package.
Jimmy
- Mon Dec 22 12:42:50 2003

 I think the time has come for programs like Photoshop to support addition of santa hats via a single click. I'd also like to see Sherlock Holmes style deer stalkers and Isambard Kingdom Brunel-esque top hats.
John
- Mon Dec 22 09:13:43 2003

 Thanks guys. I think it would help if i read some of the instructions for using the adobe package I've got instead of trying to busk it! I think taking a picture of her with a hat on is possibly the best idea......
alex
- Mon Dec 22 08:57:50 2003

 As for adding santa-hats to photographs, the Adobe package (I think it's called PhotoShop) has an extremely good "Magnetic Lasso", which allows you to cut-out bits from photographs by automatically finding the edges of objects. When I've used it in the past, it's been to take an object away from its surrounding, to leave it on a white backgroung (looks pretty good). I guess it would be simple to paste it back onto another picture.
Jimmy
- Mon Dec 22 08:37:40 2003

 Shit. Bugger. I got to the Christmas party on Friday night, and found, to my horror, that I'd left my camera in another jacket. John- I feel I've let you down, mate!
Jimmy
- Mon Dec 22 08:33:56 2003

 Errr search in Google images for pictures of santa hats, and then do a copy and paste....? It's still going to look fairly shoddy, but then shoddy is very much en vogue at the moment.
John
- Sun Dec 21 21:07:40 2003

 Put a Santa hat on bethan and then take a picture?
tom
- Sun Dec 21 20:35:51 2003

 i want to put a santa hat on a picture of bethan. Ive got some free crappy adobe thing and I could draw one, but it alwas looks crap. Any suggestions from you experts?
alex
frustrated, at the computer - Sun Dec 21 19:36:52 2003

 No... scallies are quite a long way from a yuppy. Yuppies generally didn't spit in public, unless they were at a wine tasting I guess...
John
- Sat Dec 20 10:30:23 2003

 Is a Scally like a modern-day take on the yuppie? Interesting stuff...Are they prevalent in the UK? I don't see so many here.
Travis
- Fri Dec 19 19:15:57 2003

 This 'Scally' stuff is interesting business. For a more concrete example, might one of you be able to point out a scally I might know/have heard of from headlines/cinema? Thanks.
Travis
- Fri Dec 19 19:09:53 2003

 The urban-dictionary site is pretty good. I've entered "Jimmy", but sadly it conflicts with an existing definition. Once it's posted, I shall expect you all to go and vote for *my* definition. I thank you.
Jimmy
- Fri Dec 19 08:58:14 2003

 How about a ..... scally-coming-of-age-comes-good-gets-beat-up-but-overcomes-adversity-and-wins-the-scally-girl-over.... kind of story? with lots of 'know what I mean', 'basically, at the end of the day', 'sort-o-thing' .... sub-plots ?
Kev
Home - Thu Dec 18 22:35:00 2003

 ...and if anyone has ever had a hard time explaining to someone from another country what/who a scally is, there's a page full of definitions here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=scally
John
- Thu Dec 18 22:25:05 2003

 How about Scallies: The Musical. It could be a bit like West Side Story, or Grease, except all of the cast are wearing tracky bottoms tucked into their socks, baseball caps, and spend their days hanging around on street corners and shopping centres talking about sniffing solvents and spitting at people.
John
- Thu Dec 18 22:20:31 2003

 I think that choice of name was semi-deliberate - as any good literate deviant will tell you, analrat is only seven letters, not eight.
John
- Thu Dec 18 18:03:05 2003

 Back in the past, this system only used function names 8 characters long. This lead to a whole world of shortning of meanings. Some are quite unfortunate. Analysis Ratio became AnalRat. I nearly coughed up a lung laughing at that one.
Rob Lang
- Thu Dec 18 16:22:50 2003

 Oh I am loving it, although I think we need to get in some content other than Bovine Feline...I do love the 'zany local radio DJ' style voice overs!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Dec 18 14:01:36 2003

 So Simon, what did you think the sheer unbridled quality of MDS radio...?
John
- Thu Dec 18 13:49:53 2003

 Yeah ... the religous cult musical could be good too. We already have a couple of songs ... all we need now is a plot. And some music.
Jimmy
- Thu Dec 18 12:26:45 2003

 Ohh listening to MDS radio now...
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Dec 18 11:21:55 2003

 Rob, I think you overestimate the quality of musical I'm thinking of. You know how the "Reduced Shakespeare Society" do the "Entire Works" in 1 hour ..? Well, I thought that a good musical might be (say) "Les Miserables (abridged)". Keep it down to 5 minutes (10 songs). Add a bit of narration. Apply sound effects. Make 'em laugh.

OR: How about "3 Billygoats Gruff: the musical"

Goats Chorus:


We are the billygoats,
We are the billygoats,
We are the billygoats,
We're gonna eat some grass!

Troll

I am the bridge troll,
I'll eat you on your morning stroll,
I make a tasty goaty roll-
I'll bite you on the arse!

...etc...
Jimmy
- Thu Dec 18 11:17:52 2003

 I still like the idea we had a while back of doing a musical about a religous cult.
John
- Thu Dec 18 11:16:07 2003

 Jimmy, having written just a few songs I know that a musical will take more time than I have. Go ahead, but it's a lot of work!
Rob Lang
- Thu Dec 18 09:36:23 2003

 There's now a link to MDS Radio on the main page, to save all that messing about with shoutcast.
John
- Thu Dec 18 09:00:06 2003

 MDS Radio is broadcasting again now...
John
- Thu Dec 18 08:48:21 2003

 'morning all. I had a great idea for radio material ... we could compose and record a musical! I've not made one before, but it can't be *too* difficult, can it? Any ideas for a favourite theme/plot?
Jimmy
- Thu Dec 18 08:36:00 2003

 Hey! Don't clog up the 1-9!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 17 15:07:15 2003

 It would be great if we could relay then contents of the 1-9 across K-MDS-FM
dsp
- Wed Dec 17 14:14:43 2003

 How about:

John, take the electrodes off of me,
I'm screaming 'til my throat is raw.
I'd really like a cup of herbal tea,
It's hot, and fruity, and what is more...


I've always tried to walk the straight and narrow,
And I need a friend with a parquet floor.
I'll head to Pangbourne, to see Mr. Sparrow
Feel like knockin' on Kevin's door...


Knock-Knock-Knockin' on Kevin's door
Knock-Knock-Knockin' on Kevin's door


... or something ...
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 17 13:22:03 2003

 oh, COME ON!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 17 12:50:51 2003

 RADIO, RADIO, RADIO. What you need is a wireless thingy of some type to relay your drunken exploits live to Radio MDS!!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 17 12:49:47 2003

 John, if you'd warned me about the curry, I might have made it ... but now it's 12:40 and I guess you're already drunk. In the meantime, I'll see if I can come up with any more songs ...
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 17 12:42:42 2003

 Just think, now the station can cover East Europe as well!! Hit the radio button, John!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 17 12:22:22 2003

 I hadn't seen that last message when I posted mine, so HERE HERE!!!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 17 12:21:10 2003

 So when is this MDS radio thing going to be on again? Or can I just not find it?
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 17 12:19:04 2003

 What do we want? RADIO! When do we want it? THIS AFTERNOON!
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 17 12:18:42 2003

 John, so tell me more about this DVB card from DVB shop, does it only receive from a dish or does it have both dish and aerial inputs?
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 17 12:02:19 2003

 I am SO tired. I havn't been sleeping well recently... perhaps it's practice?
tom
- Wed Dec 17 11:59:33 2003

 The world's gone to Slough in a shopping trolley.
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 17 11:56:12 2003

 For some bizarre reason I don't fully understand, Chie has to send some printers to somewhere or other this week, and the carrier she's chosen to use is FedEx. As a homage to The Rock, I am very tempted to get a globe, put it in a handcart (whatever one of those is, maybe some kind of trolley), and ask them to FedEx it to hell.
John
- Wed Dec 17 11:47:32 2003

 No, I shan't forget, but there's a high probability I'm going to be rascally drunk by the time I reach you Rob....
John
- Wed Dec 17 11:27:29 2003

 Don't forget tonight, John!
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 17 11:21:26 2003

 Hey Jimmy, it's the christmas curry today. Any chance you feel like taking the rest of the day off work and making a surprise appearance...?
John
- Wed Dec 17 10:59:44 2003

 Gutterally eh? Does your office allow that sort of thing?
John
- Wed Dec 17 10:59:08 2003

 Excellent Jimmy! That made me laugh gutterally at the computer!
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 17 09:06:00 2003

 Please take my hostage off of me...
I can't beat him anymore...
But I know where I can get another one for free...
So I'm going knocking on kevin's door...
Knock..knock..knocking on kevin's door...
Knock..knock..knocking on kevin's door...
Knock..knock..knocking on kevin's door...

John
- Wed Dec 17 09:04:01 2003

 Despite the risk of falling into a horrid internet convention, I did actually laugh out loud there Jimmy. Good work sir. With a little work I think the rest of the lyrics for the song can be suitable modified as well.
John
- Wed Dec 17 08:59:07 2003

 Talking of covering songs for the maison radio ... how about taking a trip to the other side of Pangbourne, where you can record "Knock-knock-knockin' on Kevin's door" ...


... assuming he's not moved, or anything ...
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 17 08:34:10 2003

 Of course it is a scam!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Wed Dec 17 08:28:40 2003

 I don't think you have any need to apologise Travis! Even if it's not some kind of scam, I think there are people in the world more in need than those who've had the same monitor since 1993. Come to think of it, the one I'm using now must be at least five years old...
John
- Wed Dec 17 08:16:15 2003

 Upon re-reading the original post, I hope that wasn't serious...or I apologize.
Travis
- Wed Dec 17 01:18:43 2003

 Hello.IisthestudentfromUS.Inotaskforthemoneybutcouldmuchlongandusetopoflinecomputerandlamborghini.Ifyougivemoney.Methankyou.
Travis
- Wed Dec 17 01:18:07 2003

 Hello.IthestudentfromRussia.Istudyon2rateofuniversityastheprogrammer.Atmeverybadsight.Ishallnotaskyoumoneytotreatment.Iaskyoumoney what to buy to myself the good monitor for a computer.Now at me 14" Goldstar 1453 1993 years. I much and long work on a computerwith the text, and it(he) is simply necessary for me. If you have listed on my account 0,1 $ or how many want, I very much would be grateful to you.www.webmoney.ru My Number: 084967896922My Keep: Z845320976216 With gratitude Eugeny.
evgeny <efimich@yandex.ru>
- Wed Dec 17 00:50:39 2003

 No petrol is a bit too good for the likes of me... It was that farming grade diesel stuff that you can get dirt cheap if you can pretend you own your own tractor, or something like that.
John
- Tue Dec 16 14:59:07 2003

 Petrol fire? You were lucky... I thinking of covering 'Video Killed the Radio Star' with the words 'Maison killed the internet radio star'.
Rob Lang
- Tue Dec 16 14:26:48 2003

 That should read "for", instead of "from".
John
- Tue Dec 16 14:10:00 2003

 You think that's bad? I was burnt alive upon arriving at work, to keep the managers here warm from a few minutes.
John
- Tue Dec 16 14:02:28 2003

 Luxury. I had to get up half an hour before I went to bed and scrape the ice of the gates of hell.
Rob Lang
- Tue Dec 16 11:30:31 2003

 You think that's bad? I had to scrape ice off the inside of my lungs before I could start breathing properly.
John
- Tue Dec 16 08:55:28 2003

 You're not wrong there- I had to scrape ice off the rabbit this morning!
Jimmy
- Tue Dec 16 08:53:32 2003

 Good grief it's cold this morning.
John
- Tue Dec 16 08:29:00 2003

 I think I'm going to turn off MDS radio for the night now...
John
- Mon Dec 15 23:22:13 2003

 Ooooh somebody with an address I don't recognise has connected!
John
- Mon Dec 15 22:34:02 2003

 well, you never know !
kev
- Mon Dec 15 20:17:10 2003

 Fantastic Kev! Thanks - wow 10 listeners! Do you think we can ever really find that many people...?
John
- Mon Dec 15 20:04:37 2003

 I do believe Masion de stuff Radio is now Clustered :)
Kev
at home - Mon Dec 15 19:08:22 2003

 Not that it has any errors in it of course.
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 17:26:06 2003

 John: Have you thought of adding (for your own satisfaction) auto-web-update checking with photostudio. This is a great way to harvest usage statistics! Dead easy to implement on your website too.

If you want to get really clever, auto submission of errors in your error handling (version, err-handler, code etc.)
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 17:25:50 2003

 On a nerdy Christmas note, has anyone seen this poem before? I love it. It was thoughtfully printed out and laminated for me one year as a present. http://www.dezert-rose.com/humor/christmas/systemsupport.html
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 17:13:08 2003

 Thanks Tim! I've been feeling pretty undervalued and worthless today - my company forgot to (or perhaps conciously decided not to) give me the five year's employment award I thought I was going to get at our Christmas party on Saturday. Some other bloke who had started just after me got his, and in the past several other people who have worked part time at some point have also received one, so it must mean I'm especially unnoticeable or unappreciated. Anyway, your kind words about my software are even more pleasing than they would normally be.
John
- Mon Dec 15 16:50:36 2003

 John: I love the new "Create Index wizard..." added to photostudio it makes the whole process 100 times easier! Incidently I've just been reading some books about useability of software and one key point is about orienting tasks and activities around user objectives. This wizard is and excellent example of this. Chufty badge in the post.
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 16:20:10 2003

 I was thinking the same thing. It cannot be that difficult!
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 16:15:49 2003

 I reckon we should have a stab at producing a christmas number one.
John
- Mon Dec 15 15:50:02 2003

 Guess I'd better head back to work... I think the entire playlist is about 45 minutes now, and it's basically going to repeat over and over for the rest of the afternoon.... But some of those songs deserve to be heard several times in a row!
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:59:49 2003

 Back to work. We NEED another jam.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:59:03 2003

 It's a bit laddish. We'd be singing like a queen?
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:56:44 2003

 DJT was a one-take masterpiece from Dale. I recorded the pretty-standard backing track in the afternoon and in about 2 minutes he had made a classic.
Rob lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:56:10 2003

 I never get tired of our rendition of rocking around the christmas tree either....
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:56:06 2003

 Wow, you are so reckless John. ;)
kev
At work - Mon Dec 15 13:55:44 2003

 All the way across the road.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:55:22 2003

 Yea, hell I'll just leave my PC on when I go back to work...
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:54:52 2003

 One of my personal favourites from your repertoire now Rob... Mr Thomas.
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:54:30 2003

 Is it going to be on all afternoon? I will listening until 4, if so.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:54:14 2003

 My version of Hit Me Baby One more Time hasn't dated like Britney's.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:52:31 2003

 Be my guest..... oh International Rescue. Excellent! There is another track I wrote just for Kate (not on my site, not Home to Me, another one). I'll ask her if it can premiere on the stuff radio.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:51:11 2003

 At the moment it's basically just the set from the jam at Tom's house, plus how to survive and earthquake, and your four words.... I'll go and thieve some more content off you now...
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:45:37 2003

 See Rob, did you hear the little dedication just now? I bet that's the first time you've heard your name on radio without being followed by the words "and police are warning that he's armed and dangerous"...!
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:44:29 2003

 Thanks for the dedication. Are there only 4 or 5 songs? Nick some off my website, if you like.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:44:05 2003

 It's quite easy to add bits on the fly - it's just basically modifying a winamp playlist...
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:42:11 2003

 It's really weird hearing your own music on the radio. Even if it was set up by your old mate in his bedroom.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:37:49 2003

 Striving for shoddiness.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:36:28 2003

 What particular item has tickled your fancy there Rob...?
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:35:10 2003

 HAHAHAHAHAHAAH! John, you're too funny.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:34:32 2003

 I need some transportation. And a location. Oh yes.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:33:21 2003

 I think we need to get the band back together for another recording then....
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:31:07 2003

 We need a perm server, that's all. And something we can all upload to, perhaps.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:31:01 2003

 Chie didn't like that particular ad lib - she said she thought it sounded too much like marketing spiel. I'm not quite sure what sort of company would sell their products under the slogan "quality is not an issue", but there you go...
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:30:39 2003

 Definitely has a future.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:30:02 2003

 So Rob, what's your opinion...? Has potential, don't you think?
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:29:34 2003

 John, your adlibs are brilliant. "Where quality is not an issue."
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:29:05 2003

 Should be 'all there is of bovine feline'
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:25:55 2003

 There's a bit of a pause at the end of Intro / 12 bar blooze isn't there?
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:25:41 2003

 Your hopefully listening to our first radio programme, "The Best of Bovine Feline".
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:24:09 2003

 FAB! Had to download Winamp, but it is cool. 'Really Very Odd' was an excellent title.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 13:19:54 2003

 Did you find our listing then....?
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:17:44 2003

 checking!
rob
- Mon Dec 15 13:15:29 2003

 Right then, we're listed now. So, you need to go to shoutcast.com, then in the search box type "maison de stuff", and we should pop up as the only result.

- Mon Dec 15 13:14:29 2003

 Ok we should be broadcasting now... Sometimes it takes a few minutes for the listing to find it's way onto shoutcast.com...
John
- Mon Dec 15 13:09:31 2003

 "all a bit academic" what does that mean?
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 12:40:23 2003

 Fair play. There's one way to find out!
Rob lang
- Mon Dec 15 12:37:43 2003

 Errrr.... don't know if it'll work through WMP9 to be honest. Maybe yes, maybe no.
John
- Mon Dec 15 12:26:32 2003

 I lunch from 1 to 2. Also, can it be played in WMP9, otherwise, it's all a bit academic.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 12:06:43 2003

 Our outbound ports are restricted. 8080 would work!
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 12:05:33 2003

 Sorry I think I meant shoutcast. If our lunchtimes coincide, I might be able to pop back home and do another test broadcast...
John
- Mon Dec 15 11:38:19 2003

 Nope, it's Shout Radio, so regular Winamp ought to be able to handle it.
John
- Mon Dec 15 11:30:04 2003

 How does that work then? Do you need a special MDS client?
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 11:26:15 2003

 Poo. I missed it. Woe is me.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 10:54:28 2003

 MDS Radio isn't broadcasting at the moment. It requires a machine to be left on all the time, and at the moment I only have one PC at home - I really need a spare machine to act as a server.
John
- Mon Dec 15 10:44:35 2003

 Haha, screw you Ressa. Will checkout stuff radio at Lunchtime.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 15 10:40:52 2003

 Nnnnnnnnyaa!! Ressa! If that is your real name!
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 10:09:01 2003

 Sorry, this message was too big.
ressa <fghfg@dvbv.rco>
Îò ìàìû ñ ïàïîé, jhfjgfygr - Mon Dec 15 09:51:59 2003

 Its the monday morning back after our Christmas do on Friday so there's a lot of photos being looked at. John: I am seriously pushing photostudio!
dsp
- Mon Dec 15 09:36:49 2003

 Well, I work in local government, so not much shaping here.
Mad Mumsie
- Mon Dec 15 09:29:26 2003

 Good morning everyone! Are you all looking forward to an industry shaping week in your highly rewarding and well appreciated position at work?
John
- Mon Dec 15 09:09:36 2003

 Er, good.
John
- Sun Dec 14 20:15:51 2003

- Sat Dec 13 15:01:17 2003

 I think I'm going to shut the server down for the night...
John
- Sat Dec 13 00:20:05 2003

 Travis - MP3 seems to work fine. I'm using WAVs for the intermissions, but of course that will incur the unplesantness of taking ages to upload. The broadcast is currently at 32 Kbps (whoa there!), so I guess any MP3 ought to be at least that ...
John
- Sat Dec 13 00:09:29 2003

 Yes Travis, you are our first non-UK listener, and also our first listener who isn't called Kevin. Amazing, we've only been in air for six hours, and already we've gone transatlantic!
John
- Sat Dec 13 00:06:59 2003

 What format should the media files be for best play? I'll see about getting some music if you're interested.
Travis
- Fri Dec 12 23:03:40 2003

 Maison de Stuff, the radio station that strives for shodiness. Nice! Am I the first non UK resident to listen? I'd greatly appreciate the honor err...honour.
Travis
- Fri Dec 12 22:59:00 2003

 John, I believe Shoutcast allows you to set up relay servers, I am quite happy to Cluster up with you so we can have a greater audience > audio kbps . Just need you IP and your shoutcast port. -- mds radio is FAB--
Kev
home - Fri Dec 12 20:52:47 2003

 I think Chie wants me to leave now... ho, hum.
John
- Fri Dec 12 20:29:19 2003

 John, this is quite a spectacular experience. Will you be doing advertising, jingles and phone-ins?
kev
at home enjoying mds radio. - Fri Dec 12 20:28:43 2003

 hmm, getting a bit repetitive now. More content required. but well done John ;)
kev
- Fri Dec 12 20:20:21 2003

 Yes! Really need some more content now...
John
- Fri Dec 12 20:15:24 2003

 i've just noticed a strange van outside my house, is this anything to do with you John?
kev
at home, peeking through the curtain - Fri Dec 12 20:12:48 2003

 I'm going to get some scotch to celebrate the launch.
John
- Fri Dec 12 20:00:17 2003

 I can tell you're just overwhelmed by the highly professional nature of the whole outfit.
John
- Fri Dec 12 19:56:18 2003

 Are you enjoying my high quality ad libs kev? I recorded them with my camera.... Hmmm...
John
- Fri Dec 12 19:55:40 2003

 woah,was that dj hawkins i just heard.... you *are* FAMOUS! well a bit anyways...
kev
at home listening to mds - Fri Dec 12 19:52:13 2003

 doh
kev
- Fri Dec 12 19:48:25 2003

 i hear prison is nice this time of year... so is mds going to be a 24/7 radio station ?
kev
- Fri Dec 12 19:48:02 2003

 i hear prison is nice this time of year... so is mds going to be a 24/7 radio station ?
kev
- Fri Dec 12 19:46:53 2003

 Ok well I think I've now ran out of music I can broadcast without being sent to prison.
John
- Fri Dec 12 19:41:35 2003

 I think I'm going to edit the playlist a bit...
John
- Fri Dec 12 19:33:42 2003

 well,you get this app called gs player, then you run it an set it to associate with playlists, then go to the shoutcast.com website and click on the mds link. easy-peasy-lemon-sqeezy..
kev
- Fri Dec 12 19:31:55 2003

 well,you get this app called gs player, then you run it an set it to associate with playlists, then go to the shoutcast.com website and click on the mds link. easy-peasy-lemon-sqeezy..
kev
- Fri Dec 12 19:31:00 2003

 Fantastic Kev! How does that work then?
John
- Fri Dec 12 19:26:12 2003

 sorry john, i was downloading gsplayer. I am now listening to wireless streaming mds on my pocket pc. hurrah!!!
kev
at home listening to mds - Fri Dec 12 19:21:46 2003

 Ah you seem to have disconnected. We now have no listeners.
John
- Fri Dec 12 19:08:01 2003

 Yes Kev, I think you have the honour of being our first ever listener.
John
- Fri Dec 12 19:02:12 2003

 Wahey! I am Rupert Murdoch!
John
- Fri Dec 12 19:01:42 2003

 Am I FIRST to listen to MSD Radio ? .. Hurrah for John ---> [Really very odd] Maison de Stuff Radio Now Playing: Bovine Feline - How to Survive an Earthquake
Kev
At Home - Fri Dec 12 18:57:17 2003

 Ah! Somebody has connected!!
John
- Fri Dec 12 18:57:04 2003

 Just updated the settings... so it's temporarily gone...
John
- Fri Dec 12 18:52:12 2003

 I think we're broadcasting... If you go to http://www.shoutcast.com and search for Maison de Stuff, you ought to be able to tune into MDS Radio. I think you'll need Winamp.
John
- Fri Dec 12 18:49:33 2003

 If anyone is still on the internet, I think we might be ready in just a few minutes for the first test broadcast or StuffRadio....
John
- Fri Dec 12 18:15:09 2003

 John... you *must* resist........ but what about those mini-statelite dishes tho ? Just Think what you could achieve with those!
Kev
At Home - Fri Dec 12 18:06:39 2003

 Over at dvbshop.tv, those crazy Germans are selling DVB-S cards for just over 40 quid (if you buy two at a time, 50 quid if you just want the one). I don't have a satellite dish at home, and still I'm finding the temptation almost unbearable...
John
- Fri Dec 12 17:09:59 2003

 You could easily pay 600 quid for a suit. From Saville Row. Nope, that's expensive. I once paid 700 quid for two *good* suits, four shirts, two ties, a long cashmere coat and a pair of shoes.
tom
- Fri Dec 12 17:03:38 2003

 Right then, I think I'm initially going to have a play with shoutcast, as andy mentioned earlier, what with it being free and everything.
John
- Fri Dec 12 15:06:15 2003

 Or may be it has £559 sewed in to the lining.
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Fri Dec 12 14:19:23 2003

 A ha - but what is the suit made of? I guess £600 would be quite good if it was a titanium suit of armour.
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Fri Dec 12 14:16:13 2003

 mmMMMMmm. Cheese.
Jimmy
- Fri Dec 12 13:23:10 2003

 I think 600 quid is a lot, whether for a suit, or even a tailor. For that sort of cash, though, you could get a *really* nice cheese sandwich ...
Jimmy
- Fri Dec 12 13:22:51 2003

 My goodness, you want eclectic conversations as well as knitted suits.
Mad Mumsie
- Fri Dec 12 13:18:42 2003

 Every now and again I realise how pleased I am with the highly eclectic conversations the message board engenders.
John
- Fri Dec 12 11:57:44 2003

 I could knit you one.
Mad Mumsie
- Fri Dec 12 11:46:54 2003

 They can make Tailors for you now? When you have the Tailor made, will he them make a suit?
Rob Lang
- Fri Dec 12 10:47:32 2003

 For 600 pounds you can fly to Hong Kong and have one tailor made for you.
John
- Fri Dec 12 10:05:21 2003

 I've just had a smashing idea. What we (everyone) should do is record our voices onto WAV. Then John and I (and anyone else who fancies coming along) will mix them and put to music - a la bovine feline. For a subject, we could describe our earliest memories or something. Any other ideas?
Rob Lang
- Fri Dec 12 10:04:32 2003

 Good, one of my colleagues today referred to a 600 pound suit as "cheap", and I wanted to check I hadn't gone mad.
John
- Fri Dec 12 10:04:12 2003

 I would say that £600 is an expensive. But I guess that would depend on how much you earn. £600 is a lot to pay for a bowl of soup.
dsp
- Fri Dec 12 09:52:01 2003

 Does that include a shirt?
dsp
- Fri Dec 12 09:50:04 2003

 Expensive.
Rob Lang
- Fri Dec 12 09:49:56 2003

 Pop quiz: if a suit cost 600 pounds, which of the following words would you use to describe it:
John
- Fri Dec 12 09:17:05 2003

 Movies? Nice. I have to get a digital camera...or something. I've written tons of screenplays and have made a few flicks. I'd love to show them or play them (audio only?).
Travis
- Thu Dec 11 20:17:54 2003

 just to get back to your radio plan, john, do you have an open prototol for your network streaming, I rather fancy making a pda client, so I can to listen/watch "John TV" practically anywhere... also tonight I am making Quorn-spaggy Bolognase.. MMmmmm ... Bol-ag-nase.... #drools#
Kev
At home - Thu Dec 11 19:36:29 2003

 It'd be quite a lot of fun to get hold of some radio play scripts that are free to use and do our own versions of stuff - would be grand!
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Dec 11 18:11:13 2003

 You could almost make it like open source radio...hmpfh....I mean listeners also contributing, once the content had been vetted of course...
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Dec 11 18:09:14 2003

 I guess if we got it anywhere near half decent, we'd have to try to get it mentioned on the John Peel show or something, that would bring in listeners....
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Dec 11 18:07:26 2003

 Ohhh....I like that radio idea....Perhaps I could contribute something somehow....and why stop at radio, you could have some short films to watch as well (just to download I mean)
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Dec 11 18:06:43 2003

 You have won: A spellig mistoke
Jimmy
- Thu Dec 11 17:17:00 2003

 Damn I'm busy that night. Guess where I'LL be?
Mad Mumsie
- Thu Dec 11 16:01:57 2003

 Next Wednesday 7pm, Back of Beyond (Reading, UK) a few pre-Chrimbo seasonal greetings. The usual types. Doesn't have to be late ending, just a few hellos before the big day. Ah come on, what else is there to do? I'll be eating in the pub, so feel free to Join me from 7! Of course, open invite. Don't mind if you bring the missus or your mate. Or your mum. But no sisters.
Rob Lang
- Thu Dec 11 15:00:21 2003

 How about: A CD containg some software which won't compile
Jimmy
- Thu Dec 11 13:16:21 2003

 To the tune of Grandmaster Flash's "It's Like a Jungle Out There":
There ain't no buffers out there,
It makes me wonder how I keep from flowing under.

I thank you.
John
- Thu Dec 11 10:46:23 2003

 Good choices there Jimmy, but I think we'll also need to have: A mildly contagious skin condition. The word "haddock" spelled out in broken biscuits. A year's supply of brine. The star prize: some grout.
John
- Thu Dec 11 09:48:28 2003

 And prizes! We'll definitely need those. ... etc.
Jimmy
- Thu Dec 11 08:31:47 2003

 Maybe we could have a sort of gameshow, where we play an audio recording of an ex-Radstockian destroying a piece of furniture, and the listener has to guess both the item of furniture being destroyed and the tool being used to destroy it(engineering hammer, saw, shampoo bottle, etc).
John
- Wed Dec 10 17:38:38 2003

 It will only be a success if Chris Challacombe does a "like this this this and he'd be dead!" slot
dsp
- Wed Dec 10 17:29:55 2003

 Marvellous! Now, where did I put that leotard ..?
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 10 17:11:58 2003

 I like it Rob, I like it.
John
- Wed Dec 10 16:39:17 2003

 We could also do spoof adverts selling tins of Elbow Grease and the like.
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 10 16:31:19 2003

 I would like my own slot of my own music, if that's at all possible, mate. For a larf.
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 10 16:30:46 2003

 Thanks Travis! Yea that could be really handy... Obviously we can only really broadcast stuff that is royalty free, so I think we'll just have to accept we might be, er, broadening our music tastes a bit... If I can set it all up the way I want to, then authoring a program really ought to be no more difficult than FTPing a few MP3 files and a playlist. So really anyone who is interested could have their own slot on it... The more the merrier!
John
- Wed Dec 10 16:22:20 2003

 John, I'm intrigued by this idea. I have no idea how it would be set up or anything like that. But I'm fairly certain I can obtain a good deal of royalty free music. It'd be American, of course, and probably shit in general but it'd be free, independent music. And I'd like to help out more if I have the time.
Travis
- Wed Dec 10 14:02:00 2003

 Jimmy - I've always wanted to receive a telegram whilst staying at a hotel. Do you think you can get Alison to communicate her gaff through this media...? Has she planned it yet, or is she just going to wing it on the night?
John
- Wed Dec 10 13:27:22 2003

 How about name that leotard?
John
- Wed Dec 10 13:25:41 2003

 Yea Dan, I was usin it to chop up my hateful ex-girlfriend's corpse and... oh no! I've dug my own grave! The wife's going to kill me!
Greg Mitchell
- Wed Dec 10 13:23:52 2003

 Has anybody here seen my chainsaw?
Nefarious Dan
- Wed Dec 10 13:19:38 2003

 Oh yes. The leopard indeed.
Leopard
- Wed Dec 10 13:16:13 2003

 No! No! Not the leopard!
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 10 13:15:36 2003

 Excuse me, what have I done now?
Mad Mumsie
- Wed Dec 10 13:13:41 2003

 On Earth, at average sea-level, of course.
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 10 12:34:38 2003

 John, I think Alison's just nosey like that. I can get her say somethig insensistive for you, if you like! Would you like insensitivity by telephone or, perhaps, insensitivity by proxy (where somebody else delivers the comment on her behalf)? Insensitivity by mail (or indeed Christmas card) is also an option. You could ever have e-insensitivity (via the web or email-system). After all my Christmas beer has been consumed, I expect to be insensitive until about New Year. Also: I like the jingle idea ... could there be limericks too? Rant for the day? Name that leopard? Guess the weight of the 250g bag of sugar?
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 10 12:33:36 2003

 That was asked to John, I'm not writing a jingle for the radio with my crazed mother.
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 10 12:10:18 2003

 Yes indeed, Mum. We'll have to write a jingle. When are you about over Chrimbo?
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 10 12:06:25 2003

 John, dont worry, the initials thing is very Forces. In the ATC we have ACPs APs, WROs, LSE1s, H2D, Accts4, RAs, not to mention CROs and of course LASER.
Mad Mumsie
- Wed Dec 10 11:35:05 2003

 Aaaaaah Windows Media Player 9 Series.
John
- Wed Dec 10 11:24:32 2003

 Incidentally, what's WMP9? I think our radio station might need a half baked client of our very own.
John
- Wed Dec 10 11:24:13 2003

 I am banking on "how to survive an earthquake" being played hourly. It can be the equivalent of the pips you get on Radio 4.
John
- Wed Dec 10 11:23:30 2003

 Oh, another thing. As a prospective user, I will be playing the radio station through WMP9.
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 10 10:57:29 2003

 Ah, John, if it is 'Just Because', then I am all for it. I'm sure anyone would want to listen to the sort of stuff I listen to. Also, I get the feeling that we will only be able to play music that we have permission to play. This removes most of my CD collection.
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 10 10:56:51 2003

 Why does she want to know Jimmy? Is she planning to phone in her standard insensitive comment to my girlfriend? The christmas party wouldn't be the same without it, to be honest!
John
- Wed Dec 10 10:06:03 2003

 Yea Tim, I want it to be a live broadcast. Realistically, as generally seems to be the way with anything to do with the 'Maison, the only people that will use it will probably be people we know already... but still, if we can link to it from the front page of the 'Maison, maybe other people might listen in for a bit now and again. I think as Rob pointed out, the main reason is "just because".
John
- Wed Dec 10 09:58:00 2003

 Rob - yep mainly the drive is "just because". Also though, if the rest of the 'maison regulars like it, it could become another thing we can all do together. If you have to be sitting at a PC anyway, wouldn't it be nice to be listening to music etc chosen by your mates. Sort of like one long house party.
John
- Wed Dec 10 09:55:44 2003

 Jimmy - http://www.danesfieldhouse.co.uk
John
- Wed Dec 10 09:50:19 2003

 I know someone who has a friend who runs a *ahem* radio station and they web-cast during broadcasts, I might ask someone to ask somebody something or other. If that would help.
dsp
- Wed Dec 10 09:41:38 2003

 Multicasting would certainly be the route for low bandwidth at the server-end. I don't know how much of the internet is currently multicast-aware, though. You'd have to try it, to find out. We did this at Softel once, by setting-up Windows Media Server (or whatever it's called) and playing a video into it. We selected "Multicast only" on the server (RadioGnome, I seem to remember) and that did all the work for us. BTW - what are Softel doing for Christmas this year ? ... Alison is keen to know.
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 10 09:28:41 2003

 Is the concept of 'live broadcast' essential? I suppose that is where the element of excitement comes in... to be able to view a counter on a console that says you have three listeners. Out of interest: With this medium, presumably, you would be able to know if you had any listeners or not. Would you sit silently and wait for the listener counter to click from zero to one, then start with "And if you've just joined us... this is drive-time with veggie cat-lovin..."
dsp
- Wed Dec 10 09:25:35 2003

 How are you going to get people to listen to it? Are you intending on making money from it? How are you going to advertise? Are you doing it 'just because'?
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 10 09:23:45 2003

 I think I'm only going to do this if I can do it without spending any money at all. As Kev was saying there, surely multicasting or whatever you call it only requires a total bandwidth equal to that of your actual audio stream, regardless of the number of listeners you have. You just sned out lots of UDP packets, each with multiple destinations, or something like that. If that really is the case, a regular ADSL connection ought to be fine, no? I've found I can squeeze reasonable audio into 64k/s with MPEG layer II, and basing it on this technology means it ought to be easy to make the transition to DAB or DVB at a later date.
John
- Wed Dec 10 09:09:35 2003

 Years ago, i played with http://www.shoutcast.com/, which seemed quite good for internet radio type things.
Graf
- Wed Dec 10 09:00:59 2003

 Nice idea, John. I'd be more than glad to join your enterprise ... not quite sure how I can contribute, though. Will it be a dedicated web-site, separate from Maison? What will the bandwidth cost? And the hosting? Does it have a name yet (or even a working title)?
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 10 08:47:30 2003

 actually john, being serious for a moment, i think streaming media using wm9 is udp? so the b/w cost of the stream is 1x your allocated b/w for the audio track no matter how many listeners you have. Thats surely the only practical way of supplying a constant stream to a potentially unknown number of client listeners. Of course this would have the disadvantage of not allowing random access in the stream....... oh and I like haggis too.
kev
- Tue Dec 9 23:06:12 2003

 whoops, i seem to have been make fun at johns expense, when he was actually being quite serious. John please except my humblest apologies....... :P
kev
- Tue Dec 9 22:54:52 2003

 Regarding the radio station idea, I was hoping for people like Tim to be able to make suggestions like the one he just did! I thought largely we could get content from as yet unheard of performers who are just keen to get airplay, and so don't want to charge any money for it. I thought it might be nice to have stuff like comedy as well as just music. There must be lots of budding comedians and writers out there looking for some free publicity. In addition maybe some Radio 4 style "magazine programs". If we started with just a couple of hours a week, I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to fill the schedules.
John
- Tue Dec 9 21:29:24 2003

 As I write, Chie is in the other room listening to Jazz FM, through her stereo, being fed by her laptop, which is in turn being streamed to over the network by my machine, which is receiving the channel via my DVB-T card. Earlier on she was watching the telly via the same mechanism which, incidentally, I wrote.
John
- Tue Dec 9 21:22:01 2003

 great, although its probably best to cut john out at this point, since he is bound to want to give all the profits into researching vegetarian shoes or something (sorry John ;)
kev
- Tue Dec 9 20:28:44 2003

 I can provide you with music royalty free, my brother runs a record label.
dsp
- Tue Dec 9 19:37:52 2003

 what about an eMule/eDonkey style radio streaming, each person in the 'horde' hosts one or more tracks, with specified bandwidth, a clever client shares ip's of machines and tracks, so you can listen to the one you want without having to download the whole thing. btw copyright this idea 'to me'. #waits for cash to roll in#
kev
still at home - Tue Dec 9 18:32:38 2003

 are you going to be playing your own copyright material, or are you just going to steal someone else's ?
kev
at home, not going to prison for copyright infringement ! - Tue Dec 9 18:25:35 2003

 Right, I've decided I want to set up my own internet radio station. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to do this with practically zero outlay? Does anyone want to join me? It's the starting point for a future Murdoch style media empire. I think the only real thing holding me back is having a big wadge of bandwidth - anything that can be done in software I can make myself.
John
- Tue Dec 9 17:09:29 2003

 For a quadruped, wouldn't it be more convenient to have the left set of legs shorter than the right, or vice verse. Then you could walk along the side of hills, etc.
John
- Tue Dec 9 16:27:27 2003

 They are also breeding GM Haggis that can go downhill.
tom
- Tue Dec 9 16:22:21 2003

 Of course, if they are mountain haggis, their front legs will be shorter than their back legs.
mad mumsie
- Tue Dec 9 15:41:13 2003

 Why small? It depends on the difference in lengths of the legs. Admittedly, for a small haggis, the maximum leg length is small, hence the difference must be small ... but not for your fully-grown haggis. These can have extremely long legs... indeed, they are often mistaken for wild Kebabs which, as I'm sure you know, can have legs up to six feet in length.
Jimmy
- Tue Dec 9 14:16:39 2003

 Albeit small mountainsides.
tom
- Tue Dec 9 13:25:04 2003

 Yes, very good for anti-clockwise traversal of mountainsides.
Jimmy
- Tue Dec 9 11:55:41 2003

 It's all those Haggis.
Mad Mumsie
- Tue Dec 9 11:15:52 2003

 I am put in mind of that thing kids do where they all stand in a circle, then all sit down on the person behind them's knees, somehow amazingly not all falling over in a big heap.
John
- Tue Dec 9 10:57:14 2003

 Was that last comment plagiaristic? I'm surrounded by experts here...
Rob Lang
- Tue Dec 9 10:41:27 2003

 I was in Blackpool last weekend. Speaking of which, dsp, there is something Clare and I want to tell you...
Rob Lang
- Tue Dec 9 10:40:49 2003

 Where? Scotland?
dsp
- Tue Dec 9 10:13:54 2003

 Mmmmm.... dangerous territory.
John
- Tue Dec 9 09:45:17 2003

 Andy: There's something Hester and me have been meaning to tell you...
dsp
- Tue Dec 9 09:08:04 2003

 I went to Edinburgh at Easter ...
Jimmy
- Tue Dec 9 08:52:48 2003

 Oddly enough, Hester spent the weekend in edinburgh too. Whereas I strayed from my house as far as Reading in one direction and Wokingham in the other.
graf
- Tue Dec 9 01:11:56 2003

 I like Edinburgh.
John
- Mon Dec 8 15:35:39 2003

 On a shit note I spent half an hour defrosting my car this morning. Ice on the inside and out. Then half an hour into my journey ice-water started to drip from the inside of the sun-roof down my neck, whilst turning a corner in third gear.

On a much happier note, I spent the weekend in Edinburgh which was lovely!
dsp
- Mon Dec 8 15:02:38 2003

 Fahrenheit is much better, at least it sounds warm with all those high figures.
Mad Mumsie
- Mon Dec 8 14:30:35 2003

 According to Google, 70 degrees Fahrenheit is 21.1 degrees Celsius, in case anyone was wondering.
John
- Mon Dec 8 14:07:28 2003

 I've just moved to Texas fairly permanently this year. In Pennsylvania, my parents have 8 inches of snow on the ground. Here, it starts out in the 30s (Fahrenheit) but got up into the upper 60s, almost 70 yesterday. It's nice...
Travis
- Mon Dec 8 13:20:24 2003

 It's cold here too. In fact, it's bloody cold. Bloody, buggeringly cold.
Jimmy
- Mon Dec 8 12:35:06 2003

 I wonder, has anyone started making plans for New Year's Eve yet...?
John
- Mon Dec 8 11:59:25 2003

 Oddly no, and it should be %£^ing cold by now here...
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Mon Dec 8 10:33:12 2003

 Hey, is it bloody cold where anyone else is? Or is this just a localised spot of apallingly freezing weather I'm experiencing?
John
- Mon Dec 8 10:07:47 2003

 I've seen some fantastic music videos from them...I'll pick up the CD for Xmas.
Travis
- Sun Dec 7 15:55:54 2003

 Yes indeed they are very big Travis. They played at Glastonbury Festival this year, which many might identify as the actual point at which they suddenly became famous. A friend of mine at Glastonbury suggested I go see them, and I said I didn't want to, as I never like new music and/or obscure bands. Since then they've been everywhere, and I've had to admit they're actually very good. It's been a constant source of irritation at my own ignorance over the last few months.
John
- Sun Dec 7 11:56:56 2003

 That's pretty funny, Kev. In an unrelated vein, can any of you Brits tell me if a band called "The Darkness" is big in the UK? I've only just heard about them...but I'm impressed.
Travis
- Sun Dec 7 02:28:09 2003

 Nobody posting today ? oh well, if you need to relieve bordom or just waste internet resources for the heck of it..... go to google.com and type "Miserable Failure" then press the "I'm feeling lucky" button
Kev
Home - Sat Dec 6 15:08:36 2003

 On second thoughts, if we had two, we could beat one to death with the other.
Rob lang
- Fri Dec 5 16:20:14 2003

 I think we don't need two.
Rob Lang
- Fri Dec 5 15:05:25 2003

 The real feat would be to create a human Anne Robinson.
John
- Fri Dec 5 14:00:52 2003

 I thought he'd done that already!
Mad Mumsie
- Fri Dec 5 13:36:52 2003

 Kevin Warwick was in the last two, but lost to someone who wasn't a lecturer at reading. In the talking bit at the end he said he was building a robotic anne robinson.
Graf
- Fri Dec 5 11:10:21 2003

 Tetris, even.
Jimmy
- Fri Dec 5 10:21:40 2003

 I don't recall any sort of tune being associated with Tatris. Please hum the tune, and post the .WAV.
Jimmy
- Fri Dec 5 10:21:23 2003

 Ever noticed how irritating tunes can be infectious? One person whistles it, then another person can't get it out of their head for the rest of the day. I therefore want to try an experiment to see how much information needs to be transferred to create this effect. So I'm just going to say one word. Tetris.
John
- Fri Dec 5 10:02:45 2003

 Graf: I didn't catch it, at what point did he go out?
Rob Lang
- Fri Dec 5 09:50:37 2003

 Did he assimiliate Anne Robinson though?
John
- Fri Dec 5 09:27:15 2003

 Kevin warwick is on the weakest link. And he just lost. Yayy.
Graf
- Thu Dec 4 17:58:17 2003

 I'd find that oddly reassuring actually - if the plane did start to plummet toward the ground unexpectedly, on the plus side you'd know at least Paul Daniels was going to perish at the same time.
John
- Thu Dec 4 16:54:53 2003

 ACTUALLY we were on the same plane as Paul Daniels when we went to the States in 1991, and we kept tripping over him where ever we went - literally!
Mad Mumsie
- Thu Dec 4 16:34:53 2003

 Told lots of rather near the mark jokes though.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu Dec 4 16:33:37 2003

 No, I think she is talking about a cheaky chappie who was at the Middlesex Wing ball. He was quite good, though.
Rob Lang
- Thu Dec 4 15:40:24 2003

 Are you trying to tell us you've met Paul Daniels then Jill...?
John
- Thu Dec 4 15:29:11 2003

 Particularly when they interrupt a perfectly good dinner conversation, with tricks that go wrong - and I could see how he did the last trick because his hands were in front of me.
Mad Mumsie
- Thu Dec 4 14:15:40 2003

 I hate magicians - they are all so bloody smug.
Rob Lang
- Thu Dec 4 13:49:39 2003

 A quick poll in my office has revealed a near-50/50 split between killing Blane or Daniels. The most popular suggestion is to place them back-to-back, and hope that the round goes through.
Jimmy
- Thu Dec 4 13:01:38 2003

 It's difficult to know which magicians are more irritating. I mean, given the option (and a high-velocity rifle with a single round), would you shoot Paul Daniels, or David Blane? Or what about David Copperfield? Anybody who's named after a Dickensian character certainly deserves to die!
Jimmy
- Thu Dec 4 12:57:28 2003

 Perhaps this guy is Paul Daniels, looking to make some money after the demise of his brand of light entertainment on telly....
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Dec 4 12:48:51 2003

 ....which then leads on to Debbie McGee.....*shudder*
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Dec 4 12:47:40 2003

 Whenever I hear the name Paul, I always think of Paul Daniels which is worrying. Do I like it? Not a lot.
Simon W
Szeged, Hungary - Thu Dec 4 12:47:01 2003

 He's a bad boy.
tom
- Thu Dec 4 10:47:07 2003

 I don't like 'Paul'. He makes me ANGRY.
Rob Lang
- Thu Dec 4 09:10:04 2003

 Perhaps more basicallys than you might have that warranted, but the point I was trying to make was exceedingly basic.
John
- Thu Dec 4 09:09:36 2003

 What you mean is, so called Paul, that you want to get a big group of people together who basically all give you money, which you then keep basically. Sell it like it is, boy.
John
- Thu Dec 4 09:08:52 2003

 So a 10-quid investment yields just under 14,000 by the end of the year. Interesting. (No pun intended)
Jimmy
- Thu Dec 4 08:36:24 2003

 Make money while you sleep! Make your online deposit and earn 2% per day. Make $10 deposit and earn $0.20/day! Make $100 deposit and earn $2/day! Make $1000 deposit and earn $20/day! Order now only for $4.95 and you'll receive $10 bonus deposit to your account.
Paul <cash-opinion@usa.com>
- Thu Dec 4 07:27:31 2003

 I saw Mr Jackson on the beach the other day. I said: "Excuse me, you're in my son."
Rusty
- Wed Dec 3 22:58:47 2003

 I'd assumed "Rusty can vouch for me" had a hidden "as being a certified deviant" implied.
John
- Wed Dec 3 14:37:37 2003

 I once asked Michael Jackson for a reference. Sadly, all he felt able to say was "Who are you? Where did you get this number?"
Jimmy
- Wed Dec 3 13:09:30 2003

 It would be like asking Michael Jackson for a reference when working with children.
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 3 12:36:20 2003

 You said: 'Rusty can vouch for me' like that was a good thing. Awww, that's kinda sweet really. Unfortunately Mr John's more than aware that anyone who gravitates towards me, or my seedy portion of the interweb, is generally broken :\
Rusty
- Wed Dec 3 09:47:32 2003

 Rob, what a profound thought - all that education is obviously paying off.
Mad Mumsie
- Wed Dec 3 09:44:45 2003

 Surely, if we find out who they are, they're not the mysterious stanger anymore. We never actually find out who a mysterious stranger is.
Rob Lang
- Wed Dec 3 09:11:53 2003

 Any chance of any clues...? Other than perhaps that you knoe Russ...?
John
- Tue Dec 2 22:55:55 2003

 the mysterious stranger is making me scared......
kev
under the duvet - Tue Dec 2 22:54:31 2003

 you windows user you ;)
the mysterious stranger
- Tue Dec 2 21:12:43 2003

 Rusty can vouch for me
mysterious stranger
the yellow house at the end of the street, - Tue Dec 2 21:11:55 2003

 Nice! Once I've had a chance to read it all, I'll get back with comments. My semester's coming to a close and I've got more work than I know what to do with. Thanks, all.
Travis
- Tue Dec 2 17:42:50 2003

 Then there is John Smiths and more... Pubs can be family pubs too, so you can bring the kids along while you get hammered. This is quite an English thing to do in the summertime. Kids playing in the beer garden, parents getting bastard-faced.
Rob Lang
- Tue Dec 2 16:49:42 2003

 In the midlands, we/they drink marstons pedigree, and other such fine brews from said brewery.
Graf
- Tue Dec 2 14:37:32 2003

 Ah yes, my ramblings on London, if you've not already seen them: http://www.maison-de-stuff.net/archives/00000143.html
John
- Tue Dec 2 09:09:01 2003

 I think beers, specifically bitters, are quite a regional thing in the UK. Round 'these parts (the South East) people drink beers from breweries like Brakspear's and Morell's. Around where Tim is (up north) Boddington's is more popular. Actually there was a reference to Boddington's on Friends once. Now that's a very English beer, brewed in Manchester. You might well find that in Americaland. Where Simon comes from (Dorset - South, slightly west) they have a whole array of local Dorset breweries - something about Badgers springs to mind. In South Wales I remember beers like Hancock's and Felinfoel being popular. Go to London and there's a lot of Fuller's and Sam Smith's. Back in the Midlands, where I come from, people drank, errr, actually god knows what they drank there, but it was probably something different and unique. Scotland also has lots of it's own beers - McEwan's Export is the beer of choice if you want to appear Scottish. In the North East, there's of course Newcastle Brown Ale as you've already aluded to, and pop down to Devon and Cornwall, and they've not discovered beer yet, and are all drinking Scrumpy (cider - the English meaning - i.e. alcoholic - very).
John
- Tue Dec 2 09:06:58 2003

 londonsuggestionstotravis:
Jimmy
- Tue Dec 2 09:04:36 2003

 You must be able to get Guinness there, surely...? As for an English beer, well, I'm not sure we export that much. I often see Bass abroad, not one of my absolute favourites, but I like it nonetheless. Probably my favourite English beer of all time was Hancock's, although it's near impossible to find it here, so you'll have no chance anywhere else. Funnily enough, I think it's brewed by Bass now. I guess American beers are more like what we'd call lager - Your Budweiser, Coors, Miller etc. Although maybe no-one drinks any of those over there, and they're just made for our benefit. When I went to America a few years back, *everyone* was drinking Busch, made by the same people who make Budweiser. But then that was Connecticut. Ever heard the joke that goes "American beer is like making love in a canoe...?"
John
- Tue Dec 2 08:59:46 2003

 Alcohol in supermarkets! Hah! Next you'll be telling me that you can also get it in pubs. What rubbish. Oh, this does bring me to a semi-serious question: I'm new to the world of beer drinking. I still prefer hard liquor but I've enjoyed a certain New Castle, I believe. Any suggestions for respectable beers? There seem to be a good number of imports available at the local 'pub' as it likes to call itself.
Travis
- Mon Dec 1 21:58:00 2003

 well actually John..... err No
kev
- Mon Dec 1 18:52:47 2003

 Kev - when you're having one of your days off, do you ever go out of the front door and come back in again around 5:30, to recreate that pleasing feeling of getting home after a hard day's work...?
John
- Mon Dec 1 17:25:09 2003

 Your mysteriousness makes me deeply uneasy... So much so I'm not going to tell you where our message board comes from.
John
- Mon Dec 1 17:22:37 2003

 where did this message board come from? I like and I want to add a message board to my site. the mysterious stranger
mysterious stranger
the yellow house at the end of the street, over here - Mon Dec 1 17:10:27 2003

 .. also John, did you know that they sell 'alcohol' in supermarkets too....
Kev
Home, home, not at work but at home ;), - Mon Dec 1 16:54:23 2003

 Are there PUBS in London? Good god, when did this become public knowledge!?
John
- Mon Dec 1 15:12:14 2003

 Travis, believe me, you won't have any difficulty in finding the pubs.
Mad Mumsie
- Mon Dec 1 14:30:06 2003

 Or take a boat trip to Greenwich from Tower Pier, walk up through Greenwich park to the Observatory/Museum and stand with a foot either side of the '0' Meridian line. So much to see and do, so little time.
Mad Mumsie
- Mon Dec 1 14:27:14 2003

 You've forgotton the most important bits! Regents Street, Oxford Street, Bond Street, Covent Garden, HARRODS. (Born to shop!) There's also Westminster Abbey and St Pauls Cathedral, The National (theatre), The Globe Theatre (a replica of Shakespeare's theatre,) Hyde Park, Richmond Park, Regent's Park and Zoo. Windsor Castle is not far away, in fact you fly over it (I think) landing at Heathrow.
Mad Mumsie
- Mon Dec 1 14:25:46 2003

 As yet, I'm not certain as to the budget...it's quite a few months in advance. I'll see if I can find anything online about the place you mentioned. I'm greatly thankful for the help and would certainly appreciate a guide if such can be available. I'd, of course, need to be led to some pubs...
Travis
- Mon Dec 1 14:15:05 2003

 As far as hotels, it all depends on your budget. Also, unlike many other metro systems, the underground is safe to travel on at all times of night in all areas.

There is loads to do in London. All national museums and art galleries are free. Some other stuff is not, but the prices aren't too silly. I would recommend the London Eye. All the big tourist traps (Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Tower Bridge etc...) are all within a reasonable walking distance.

Another option, if London is not quite enough for your stay, is to travel out to surrounding towns. Oxford, for example, is only an hour away.

What you need is a guide to show you about, and I would be happy to help you out there. I'm sure John wouldn't mind helping either! Having a guide would certainly help in local tidbits.
Rob Lang
- Mon Dec 1 11:25:31 2003

 You've come to the right place Travis! I lived in London for a while, and go there pretty regularly still now... I think my ramblings about why I love London so much would be better suited in an article rather than here on the board - I'll post a link when I'm done. Rob has lived in London considerably longer than I have, so I'm sure he'll have some input to offer as well...
John
- Mon Dec 1 08:54:36 2003

 Any suggestions for an American trying to arrange a trip to London? I've never been but the wife and I are considering it for towards the end of next summer. Suggestions as far as what to do, where to fly in to, where to stay, etc., are greatly appreciated.
Travis
- Mon Dec 1 01:31:21 2003