Andrew J Dunlop

You know when you’ve traveled lots by train when…

If you are running Apple OS X and you use, or want to use your computer as a media centre this is a very good set up. Front Row for all your local media and DVD playing and integrated with this EyeTV for live TV (in conjunction with a USB tuner) and Boxee for internet content (inc. a iPlayer interface) all controlled by your Apple 6-button mouse.

What you need:

Boxee

Boxee Front Row plugin (forum posting)

EyeTV

pyeTV (EyeTV Front Row plugin)

I wonder if there is any way to get people out of their cars. The argument people use against using public transport is that it needs improvements of some sort (e.g. punctuality, frequency, options). When the people of Manchester are told that £3bn would be pumped into doing just that BEFORE congestion charging would begin to pay for it they voted no!

Most arguments against using public transport (or dare I suggest it walking and cycling) are just excuses. Yes, there are problems with it and yes there are circumstances where it isn’t available or it really is inconvenient. However, there are many people who do have a bus just down the road or are just nipping round the corner and instead of catching the bus or walking 15mins immediately jump in their car. Also people easily forget the huge problems excessive car use causes, to mention a few; congestion, pollution, unreliability, huge level of road deaths, noise, stress, etc. 

There are a lot of motorists who just will not use a viable public transport options unless they are forced to and a system of charging for silly journeys where there was a perfectly viable public transport option is the only response to that. This will either result in them using public transport or provide more funds to further improve it. 

Following on from this mad train journey…

Start 21:45 30/08/2008

Berlin Hauptbahnhof (21:45) to Paris Gare du Nord (09:14) - City Night Line Nacht Zug

Paris Gare du Nord (12:13) to London St. Pancras (13:28) - Eurostar

London Paddington to Reading - First Great Western

Reading to Birmingham New Street - CrossCrountry

Birmingham New Street to Crewe - Virgin Trains

Crewe (22:20) to Holyhead (00:31) - Virgin Trains

Holyhead (02:40) to Dublin Ferry Port (05:55) - Irish Sea Ferries

Dublin Ferry Port to Dublin Bus Station - Bus Éireann - Not included in ticket

Dublin Connolly Street (07:35) to Belfast Central (09:45) - Enterprise

Belfast Central (10:50) to Ballymoney (12:00) - NI Railways

Arrival: 12:00 01/09/2008

Duration: 38hrs 15mins

Using: 9 Trains (inc. London Underground), 1 Ferry & Bus

…and all in time for my Mum and Dad’s wedding anniversary party.

As of two weeks ago, I am engaged to Rebecca Smith.

On Saturday 17th May I asked her to marry me on a beach near West Bay in Dorset.

[My bro Matthew pointed me towards this one]

My blog is now at ajdunlop.me.uk (blog.ajdunlop.me.uk should still redirect).

This does away with my very out of date webpage and anything worth keeping will be added as pages in wordpress. Hopefully this moving about hasn’t broken anything, if it has let me know.

I have redesigned my blog and integrated my (excuse for a) site into it. New version of Wordpress (2.5) is wonderful, now only if it could come up with some posts for me this site would have a point.

If Microsoft succeed in taking over Yahoo! I am mostly not bothered as there are alternatives to most of Yahoo!’s services. The thing that worries me (not in a loosing sleep way, mind) is that Flickr will be destroyed. Microsoft don’t want to take over Yahoo! just to have another company in their portfolio, they will want to integrate its services with theirs and probably re brand them all. At the minute Flickr is a very well laid out site and quite minimalistic despite the large array of features it has.In this regard it is still very different looking to Yahoo!’s other sites. Now add Microsoft’s style of site to this and you have a mess, even worse if they go down the MSN branding route. Another problem is that the MSN sites and MSN messenger carry adverts, whose to say that Microsoft will just be happy to make a small amount of money they make on the Flickr pro accounts and leave it at that rather than plastering it will ads to make a bit more. I hope Microsoft loose this battle but failing that, that they think carefully before making any changes to the services they acquire.

[The mock up Microsoft Flickr logo is courtesy of dr_lopbot]

… I forgot to say, If you are using Wordpress update to 2.5 NOW! It has solved problems with reliability that I had with the last few updates and the dashboard is much improved.

[For those thinking "I know what a trouser press is but not a word press." don't worry all you need to know is that it lets me write and publish this blog.]