Monthly Archives: August 2006

A Glass Pyramid

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Yesterday, I mentioned that I went to the Tate Britain to see an excellent performance by Scritti Polliti. It was a great evening on the lawn outside. I didn’t go in the building. In fact, I don’t think I have been in Tate Britain since they moved all the modern work to Tate Modern. Although modern, contemporary art doesn’t always work for me I do love Tate Modern for its location, for the building and for the scale of things.

It’s good, therefore, to see that it’s doing well. So well, in fact, that they are proposing a radical new extension to the building in the form of a great glass pyramid. The artist impressions look absolutely stunning and I really hope that it gets built. I am certain there will be an outcry because of the scale of the building next to the historical landmark that is the power station that houses the current exhibition space but I think they will work well together.. The pyramid would be a superb addition to the South Bank which already is one of my favourite parts of London.

On this day…

2006: Dropped at 0815
2004: Doesn’t Time Fly?
2003: Things To Say
2003: Five Live and Weblogs
2002: To Some People Enola Gay is Just a Pop Song

Thinking About Time

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I’ve been thinking a great deal about the use of time. I am, you see, a great procrastinator by nature but this doesn’t help when you have a long list of things to do. I can be very organised. However, when I am very busy the organisation tends to fall away. Experience tells me that this leads to more procrastination.

Preventing the clutter and disorganisation is a little like preventative medicine. Getting life in order will prevent the procrastination as I’ll be able to clearly see what needs to get done. I have spent some time reading the excellent series of articles at Lifehacker (Getting Things Done) and I’ve come across some more great ideas that are part of Dave Seah’s Printable CEO series (The Emergent Task Timer could be very useful to see where the time goes).

I can already hear you, by-the-way. This is all very dull and not very creative. It’s all very business and not much fun. Admit it, that’s what you are thinking. And I say, how true. But a little bit of organisation yesterday got me out of the office on time and down to Tate Britain to see Scritti Polliti’s free gig. And that was fun even if the pictures are rubbish. On the other hand, his new material is superb.

UPDATE: And before you point it out, I am well aware if the irony in spending a day reading items about organisation in a bid to prevent my procrastination.

On this day…

2003: Ciao Is The New Hi
2002: Baby News

Who Will Be Mayor

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Yesterday, I spoke about my liking of the BBC’s Top Gear programme. It’s odd because I would not have pegged myself as the kind of person who would watch it. Regardless, I find the three presenters funny, infuriating and very watchable. Now, I wonder what would happen if Jeremy Clarkson were to become Mayor of London. It is rumoured, you see, that his name has been suggested as a prospective Conservative candidate.

Give that the current Mayor blamed Jeremy for global warming and the possible destruction of life on earth, [The Times Online] I think it would make an interesting election indeed. Now I have a lot of time for Ken Livingstone but I can help thinking that I would like to see him as the ‘star in a reasonably priced car’. Especially as he, apparently, has no licence and can’t drive.

On this day…

2003: Seven Inches of Joy

What’s The 20th Most Complained About Show On UK TV?

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Occasionally you are required to browse the information super-highway for things related to work. And, more often than not, on that journey you get side tracked by something in the way. A little like driving to Abergavenny and being stuck behind a caravan for most of the time on the A40. Which is interesting as I suspect that caravan owners are the biggest group of people to complain to the BBC about Top Gear. And it is the fact that, according to Ofcom, Top Gear is the 20th most complained about show on TV that stopped me in my tracks today. The BBC has – apparently – been forced to make a statement, “We acknowledge some viewers do not appreciate the Top Gear team’s sense of humour but their provocative comments are an integral part of the programme and are not intended to be taken seriously,” [Top Gear: 0 to offensive in 6.5 seconds from Guardian Unlimited: Organ Grinder] said Auntie.

The thing is I, John Plunkett (who wrote the article for The Guardian’s website) and, I guess, millions of others love watching three blokes talking about cars on the telly. And I am not interested in cars that much. I’m not sure Jeremy Clarkson and I would get on very well (mainly because I wouldn’t be able to stop laughing at him) but that doesn’t stop me enjoying every word that he speaks. Richard Hammond is, of course, there to be both amusing and the totty to watch. And then there’s James May. You couldn’t have Top Gear without him but one of the great mysteries is why not. Ultimately, I love the banter between the presenters more than anything else. Except the bits about racing fast cars. I like that too.

I am not surprised so many people complain. It’s often rude, politically incorrect and responsible for a large part of the hole in the ozone layer. It’s also funny, self-deprecating and addictive television. It is, also, television made with passion. And that’s what makes it stand head and shoulders above much of the dross on the box at the moment. When somebody loves what they do, how can that enthusiasm not be infectious? Sunday nights. BBC2.

On this day…

2002: The Taxi Cometh

Update

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A website like this is a funny thing. It’s more of a personal memoir than anything else. I’ve always maintained that I write it for myself but a few of you have contacted me over the past few months wondering where I have been. So, I think updates are important. If you read Monday’s entry from Helsinki you may have noticed the ‘On This Day’ link. It pointed to the seven wonders of Britain. Have you visited any of them? I think if you are planning a visit to the UK then they should be on your list. Looking back on what I wrote in 2002 I see that I have only crossed one more off the list. I visited The Eden Project not long after that list came out. It is fabulous. You should spend the time heading to the Cornish coast to see it. Now, do you want updates on anything else?

On this day…

2004: Bang Bang For Gately
2002: A Weekend Airborne

Where Are My Palm Treo 650 SMS Messages

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You may be aware that I have been a long-time Palm user and fan of their products. Sure, like many, I have been frustrated that their development lacks the pace of some of the others in the same space and their product range is limited. But, I was a user of the Treo 600 when it was first launched in the UK and am, currently, a Treo 650 owner. They may not be the best ‘phones in the world and they’re old-school when it comes to PDA functionality these days but they more-or-less work for me. I also have a Palm Lifedrive that I don’t really use and am trying to find a sensible use for.

Having said that I am a fan I really must impress upon the product managers to work with users. It’s always the technology that lets me down. Yesterday, just before I went to Helsinki, my Treo’s SMS Message program somehow corrupted leaving me with limited access to messages. There are a few users who have posted handy hints but little official help (its the Messages Database in case you’re wondering and not the SMS Messages as some threads seem to hint). I spent a good hour trying to fix it as SMS capabilities are quite important to me when I travel (it saves on the cost of the calls).

To resolve the problem I had to completely remove the Messages Database and then we were back to normal functionality. On my journey of Palm discovery, I realised there is really no SMS back-up help. I sync my Palm daily and you would have thought that SMS and MMS messages would have been archived in the Palm Desktop. But no, they are stuck in their little databases with almost no way to get them out – and once your database is corrupted all hope is gone.

Fortunately for me, it’s not that important to keep old messages but it’s nice. This site is a reminder of things I did and I increasingly use my Palm Treo 650 photographs on Flickr as a visual reminder of what I have done. It would be nice to add a SMS/MMS timeline to that as a personal record (a little like Nokia’s Lifeblog). So, c’mon Palm: help us keep our data in multiple ways.

On this day…

2002: Welcome To August 2002