Bits and Pieces
"It's .... getting more and more difficult to find something new to write about each day given that absolutely nothing at all appears to be changing, but I'll keep trying." So wrote
Diamond Geezer yesterday.
I've written to him offline because I remain in slight awe of his style and because he also wrote that his
"ISP installed spam-blocking software at the end of January and now only a few rogue Russians slip through the net." My Indonesian ISP ~ Indosat ~ is so busy selling cards for handphones that they don't give a s**t about their Internet subscribers with landlines. Over 80% of my Indosat mail is spam, with the occasional virus being blocked by Norton. When my credit with Indosat is exhausted I'll be using the SMTP facility of our website server ~ Catalyst2 in Ulster if anyone's interested.
Jakartass would love to hear from anyone here who can give a positive testimonial for an Indonesian company which understands the concept of Customer Service. Oh, and provides it too.
Still on computer related stuff, following my recent re-format I discovered that I'd have to download a Java console as Internet Explorer doesn't now include it. And then, thanks to the
b3ta weekly newsletter, I've now discovered a free very user-friendly alternative browser ~
Firefox, which is Java enabled. The only negative comment I have to make about it is that in adding links to my postings, it isn't possible to
copy and
paste from the Properties box of offline web pages. You have to
copy and
type.
Today's title is related thematically to the success of iPod and iTunes. Apparently, there are now more tracks being downloaded than bought in record stores, so Radio 1 is to be allowed to broadcast a
chart of top downloaded tracks. This presumably means that concept albums and extended mixes are going the way of 78s, 8-track cartridges and reel-to-reel tapes. Compilations, random tracking and instant soundbites are in and attention spans get shorter.
I'm not against digital music
per se. I've got nigh on 40 gigabytes of music stored on my computer, much of it being complete albums from my CD collection. However, I can't get my thoughts together with random moods. Compilations can be fun; available here on pirated DVDs are 2 volumes of
Ready, Steady, Go, the classic 60?s Rediffusion TV show with the Beatles, Animals, Rolling Stones, Lulu and Our Cilla lip-synching their way with joyous abandon through classic hits. As do the
Dave Clark Five. These compilations are marketed by Dave Clark International Productions. He must be feeling Glad All Over.
Finally, an update of yesterday's posting.
1. Marlon
Brando issued instructions months ago that details of his final hours and arrangements for his funeral be withheld from the press and public. It would have pained Brando - who espoused civil rights and pro-environment causes - to find President George W. Bush among those paying homage.
2. Sunandrio was buried yesterday in the same cemetery as Mochtar Lubis, Jeruk Purut cemetery in South Jakarta.
Now to listen to some mood music for a bit of peace.
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