John's BLOG

[johnfowles]

Over the years I have often found something of a technological or computer related content that I then had the desire to share with corfiddlers even though it was not related to Gordon Lightfoot
I am also developing a series of tutorials for computer and program use that I need to publicise. I am well aware of the modern phenomenon of blogging whereby anybody can set up a sort of daily chronicle of his or her web surfing known as web logging hence weblog or plain blog to pass on anything that struck them as interesting, with the facility that readers could then respond.However at this time of writing I do not profess to know how or where to set up my own blog, but I have had this brilliant idea:-
This thread will be my own blog and I invite you to reply as you see fit, I promise not to get too long winded and verbose but if I fail to discipline myself for heaven's sake somebody tell me to belt up. OK ?
To start the ball rolling two items to get you thinking:-

I enjoy anything to do with automobiles and each week receive from the UK Daily Telegraph their emailed Motoring Bulletin.

I was interested today to read this article
As Tata Motors takes control of Land Rover, Kevin Hackett drives the oldest survivor in Anglesey, where the marque was born
as found on:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/03/29/mfrover123.xml&DCMP=EMC-mot_02042008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/graphics/2008/03/29/mfrover.jpg
The very first Land Rover made on March 11 1948
Another article in the very same email referred to the vexed debate on what is the right side of the road to drive on this reminded me of my humourous essay on the English pound sign at:-
http://www.poundsign.notlong.com,
In which I digressed into the fact of why the UK drives on the left and made up the following story:-
"friends in the recently rebel tea-drinking colonies somewhere to the
West who, while in some United State of disarray, decided to cock a snoot
(nose) to their old mad King and, in sympathy with France, started to tell
their horses to drive on the right also (note that even today the majority
of right-thinking drivers throughout the rest of the world sit in the right
seat of their cars and drive down the natural, left, side of the road).
Later on the Irish thought they'd follow suit, but made the mistake of
getting all buses and lorries (trucks) to change to the right one weekend,
with cars and push-bikes the next."
Today I learned that this was not so far from the truth because I read with some astonishment the following
report at:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/03/29/mrjon129.xml&DCMP=EMC-mot_02042008
"You might not be entirely surprised to learn that Italians used to drive on the right in town and on the left in the country, a potentially comic situation that was only regularised in 1927."

Convergence
I have for some time enjoyed using a very cheap albeit obsolete mini desktop the splendid Jornada 820
and have on a free website a tribute page to it at:-
http://h1.ripway.com/johnsjornadasite/
that I know badly needs revising and simplifying.
but on there I wrote a page on which I tried to explain my reasons for liking that computer so much:-
http://h1.ripway.com/johnsjornadasite/why_the_jornada.htm
I also started a replacement Jornada section/folder on my own website at:-
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/jornada/ where I said I would
"review the current increasingly complex assortment of devices that are now available for net surfing and general
entertainment to put the 820 into perspective"
I described video and still cameras and the Apple iphone and concluded
"and mobile cellphones that increasingly can do all of the above"
I also displayed this typical Jornada 820 picture
http://johnfowles.org.uk/Jornada/030.jpg
and an early Nokia device I had used in the UK in the 1990s
http://pg.squids.images.focus.de/img/gen/C/F/HBCFAJrayYE_Pxgen_r_Ax270.jpg
A Nokia Comunicator
And a nice looking baby computer
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0009AFX0S.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
the Pepper Pad
As always in the field of computers things move on at an accelerating pace and before long I discovered the
ASUS EEE (http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=13177)
http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/24524.jpg
whose name derives from "the three Es": "Easy to learn, Easy to play and Easy to work"
It has no hard drive and comes with Linux but Windoze XP can be installed
ever since my stoopidly and criminally underengineered Sony Vaio laptop broke its hinges and Sony in their penny pinching wisdom declined to repair such a basic failure free of charge I had missed having a small computer to carry around and had found the Jornada was a tad on the large side and its mainshortcoming simply irksome (due to an obscure security issue although it connects to the internet using its built in 56K modem its outdated (Internet Exploder 3 vintage) pocketIE browser is unable to open up my main email account at http://www.hotmail.com
I naturally lusted after an EEE. I tried Ebay but the ones I went after ended up too expensive. I had also noted the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet which has regular price of about $299.99.This was a bit beyond my budget of $200.00 so I persued these on sale on ebay and third time lucky I won one for $207 plus $6.45 shipping it had extras too as described on the auction details at:-
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220200934619
it is a remarkable machine. the main problem I can see is that it only has wifi internet connectivity unless you "piggy back" on a bluetooth equipped mobile/cell phone.
It is truly a marvel in miniature as you can see from this picture on the appropriately named "ubergizmo" website:-
http://www.ubergizmo.com/photos/2007/1/nokia-n800_468.jpg
And it does have a built in media player for various video formats and mp3s
Plus a built in FM radio facility using the earphone lead as an aerial/antenna
Not to mention a built in webcam for those future videophone calls
and uses camera style SD media memory cards for extra programs etc
At this moment I cannot use it to surf at high speed whilst at home but I am encouraged by for example the banner I noted upon arrival at West Palm Beach airport in Florida last month which proclaimed "complimentary wifi internet access"
and also the free service offerred by all branches including the UK apparently of
McDonalds (http://www.mcdonalds.com/wireless/general_info.html)
However I suspect that as with all of these allegedly "free" access sites you still need to have a wifi account with your own ISP to actually connect though as well as putting up with their dubious fare!!
Alternatively many hotels etc now have free wifi access
I sense that as time goes on there will be a spread of free wifi even entire cities so provided for
for example the UK city where my sister lives has already got a service:-
Manchester (http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/technology/s/218/218441_free_wifi_access_launched_in_city.html)
As apparently does the regional airport of the namesake city in New Hampshire which is only vaguely in or near to the Boston MA "region"!!
Manchester • Boston Regional Airport (http://www.flymanchester.com/wifi/)
Meanwhile I was able to test my N800 at my sister-in-law's house recently and was able to watch on youtube the German tv Sundown
(same video as the Midnight Special in the same year of 1974)
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/lightfoot/images/nokia_Sundown.jpgOk more than enough for my initial "blogging" attempt

[johnfowles]

In advance of any comments on my bold new venture I will add a PostScript
I should have said before that the main point of my first blog was the subject increasingly known as "convergence",whereby small electronic devices appear with an increasing capability including still and video cameras, a full media player, music player (mp3s especially), a dictation machine, a mobile/cell phone GPS navigation ability,a waste disposal unit (under the built in kitchen sink of course)
To this end I subsequently identified and was again victorious on ebay whenI found a neat "bluetooth" add on by Navicore that will convert
my new toy into a full GPS device.
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/Navicore_Personal_USA_on_N800_3_Resized.jpg
and read this Nokia N800 plus GPS review (http://nedim.cholich.com/2007/06/navicore-gps-and-n800-roadtrip-review.html)
When I first got it I wasted a few minutes trying to find where I would plug the N800 in to the very small GPS unit, then realised that
being bluetooth it is of course completely wireless!!
The unit I received came complete with a very nice windshield/screen mounting device and a CD with the required North American maps to load presumably into the N800 and being a European organisation I am hoping that I will be able to buy or download a set of maps for the UK so that this GPS will guide us around over there whenever we get the chance to visit England.
I will soon be trying to convert a sample set of DVD files to the more compact MPEG-4/divX format, because I anticipate getting the complete Reno DVD (at least) onto a single 8 Gigabyte SD media card so that I can play the video complete on my N800.
I mentioned the subject of "convergence" which I was reminded of because amongst other things I subscribe to is the wxpnews newsletter
I just rediscovered a note I made about an article in their January 17th email
entitled:-
"Convergence: The New Holy Grail for Consumer Electronics?"
It seems like I am not the only one blogging such news as a google for part of that title revealed
http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/convergence-new-holy-grail-for-consumer.html
which only repeated the original article that I also found archived at:-
http://www.wxpnews.com/archives/wxpnews-259-20070116.htm
towards the end this article poses the question
"Which brings us, in a round-about sort of way, to the real question of today's editorial: just how far can/should convergence go? Combining devices certainly offers certain conveniences - who wants to carry around separate cell phone, PDA, and MP3 player if you can get it all in one compact package? But, as those who have owned printer/copier/fax machines and other combo devices know, there's also a downside. What happens if one part of your multi-function device dies before the other(s)? Now do you have to throw away a perfectly good MP3 player because the phone quit working?"

[johnfowles]

And a PPS!
Firstly I found a picture of an N800 with the bluetooth GPS thingie
http://www.linuxdevices.com/files/misc/nokia_n800_and_navkit.jpg
OK further searching got me a little bit clued up on amongst other things
WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) "hotspots" and free access
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/Seattle_-_Columbia_City_WiFi_640.jpg
try these wikis and other sites
http://www.xohm.com/technology.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiMAX
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotspot
http://www.dailywireless.org/2007/03/31/sony-nokia-free-webtablet-wifi/
that last one as Posted by Sam Churchill on Saturday, March 31st, 2007
says
Nokia & Sony: Free WiFi for Webtablets (http://www.dailywireless.org/2007/03/31/sony-nokia-free-webtablet-wifi/)
EarthLink is offering FREE internet service for Nokia N800 users (https://home.feather.net/feather/nokia/n800/main) on EarthLink’s municipal Wi-Fi networks
until January 1st, 2008 (http://gigaom.com/2007/03/30/earthlink-free-munifi-with-nokia-n800/).
http://linuxdevices.com/files/misc/nokia-n800-1-sm2.jpg
.........
The EarthLink Wi-Fi network (http://www.earthlink.net/wifi/) is currently available in the following cities:
Anaheim (http://www.earthlink.net/about/press/pr_anaheim/)
Corpus Christi (http://www.earthlink.net/about/press/pr_corpus_christi_wifi/)
Milpitas (http://www.earthlink.net/about/press/pr_milpitas/)
New Orleans (http://www.earthlink.net/about/press/new_orleans_network/)
Philadelphia (http://www.earthlink.net/about/press/pr_wireless_philly/)
In my book it is pretty "cheesy" that Philly got it early!
But I guess that is par for the course
We are completely brassed off by the incessant Verizon television commercials from all the New York TV stations for their possibly brilliant
FIOS Fibre Optic Internet Service. but can we get it in the Newark area . No bloody way
All very exciting I find what say all of you???

[BILLW]

Nice blog John !

Bill :)

[johnfowles]

I was gratified to see that so far no less than 47 corfiddlers had found and looked at my initial blog but disappointed that only my friend BillW took the trouble to comment
good on yer Bill!!
I am far from discouraged so here is today's blog:-

Metacafe and Half Windsor tie knotsfor the best part of 50 years I wore a tie to school,university or work every day
I recall whilst at school being taught by an older boy hov to tie my tie in a nicely symetrical style called a "half windsor" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Windsor_knot):-
from that wiki:-
The half-Windsor knot is a way of tying a necktie (http://www.corfid.com/wiki/Necktie) which produces a neat, triangular knot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FppCJ46C31A
However since my stroke in 2000 my left hand "dexterity" now there's an oxymoron if ever I saw one isn't what it used to be so trying to recreate the once automatic manoeuvres to tie such a knot is difficult to say the least
Athough my lifestyle nowadays only rarely requires me to wear a tie and I have a selection of the "cheating" clip-on varity anyway nevertheless I do miss the satisfaction of creating a really nice half windsor.
Yesterday by a quirk of fate (see below) I found myself on the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacafe]metacafe] site
at a video helpfully entitled
" How To Tie A Tie"
sub title
"This is a short video on how to tie a half windsor knot."
at
How To Tie A Tie Video - Metacafe

at
http://www.metacafe.com/

I naturally did a search for our hero
initially getting a solitary result:-
Simon Taylor - Song For Winter's Night Video - Metacafe

Simon Taylor - Song For Winter's Night
" Simon's rendition of the original Gordon Lightfoot record. All the instruments and vocals performed and recorded by the wonderful Simon Taylor. Please Comment."
only uploaded on March 31
later I also found
Learn To Play "If You Could Read My Mind" - Gordon Lightfoot Video - Metacafe

"An award-winning guitarist teaches you how to play "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot. This is a sample of a 46 minute video available for download at... More» iVideosongs.com."
the video is far too short so I tried to visit
http://www.ivideosongs.com/

but my computer is feeling particularly liverish today so both Internet Exploder and Firefoxhunt took ages to open the site
where there appears to be no obvious search function
and their help file was no help at all
Could somebody on broadband please have a go and report back
I googled for metacafe and one result was the inevitable wiki at:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacafe

and which describes it as:-
"Metacafe is the largest independent video sharing web site, specializing in short-form original entertainment, where users upload, view and share video"
I wonder just what Google (the owners of youtube think about that claim?)
on that wiki I also read:-
"In October 2006, Metacafe announced its Producer Rewards[3] (http://www.corfid.com/vbb/l%20cite_note-2) program in which video producers are paid for their original content. Through this program, any video that is viewed a minimum of 20,000 times, has achieved a VideoRank rating of 3.00 or higher, and does not violate any copyrights (http://www.corfid.com/wiki/Copyrights) or other Metacafe community standards is awarded $5 for every 1,000 views.
As of December 2007, the top 20 producers on Metacafe have earned over $10,000 each[4] (http://www.corfid.com/vbb/l%20cite_note-3), with the top producer, KipKay, having earned over $100,000[5] (http://www.corfid.com/vbb/l%20cite_note-4)! In total, more than 550 independent video creators have earned more than $1 million through the Producer Rewards program."
which makes it a rather different operation to youtube of course where I would hazard a guess that the majority of videos uploaded are in breach of copyright one way or another

I am well acquainted with youtube of course but had honestly never heard of metacafe.
one very good feature was that there is a "download video" option but
"Note: Metacafe Pro is required. Free Download"
I firstly downloaded a starter program Metacafe4Windows.exe of only 636Kb
when I ran that it went into a download of the full program metacafesetup.exe a larger 7196KB (7.xMB) a seemingly never ending 40+minute dial up download

Scratched CDs
recently there was a tip by I think Yuri to use car polish to remove scratches
I recently won an ebay auction for a spare box set (I would have got it at a bargain price if an idiot had not tried to beat me on the final day. all he succeeded in doing was needlessly pushing the price upway too high!)
whatever the seller one Liz had admitted that "CD3 has a set of scratches but it plays well"
I guess she had not realised that a CD plays from the inside outwards because the worst scratch is towards the outside
and originally the first 10 of the 21 tracks seemed to play allright
but I took heart from Yuri's tip
so I tried two different car waxes lying around but neither did a thing
Then yesterday I read on:-
http://lifehacker.com/software/cds/macgyver-tip-fix-scratched-cds-with-toothpaste-155741.php
"a scratched CD can be recovered by polishing its plastic surface. If, after carrying out the above cleansing, the CD persists in giving reading errors, just polish the CD with toothpaste. That's right, toothpaste. It works wonders, and you won't spend a fortune buying professional cleaning kits
Having learned this trick in college, I can vouch for it. Don't expect to recover your most damaged CDs, but you certainly can work a little magic. Anyone else have any good CD repair tips that work for them? Let us know in the comments or at tips athttp://www. lifehacker.com
in googling for scratched CDs I also found:-
Repair CDs With A Microwave!!! Video - Metacafe
which appears to have been an April Fools spoof
but that IS how I discovered metacafe
Anyway I have now tried Colgate. but sad to say the results if anything was to make the scratch skipping problem even worse as just about every track is now affected. but Gord on the CD case's back inlay photo now has a brilliant smile!!

[/list]

[RM]

Are you blogging or flogging ? In all honesty, the extra large pictures take forever to resize, making this thread almost intolerable to those of us who deal with dial-up. Perhaps you could consolidate the pictures into thumbnails ?

[johnfowles]

Are you blogging or flogging ? In all honesty, the extra large pictures take forever to resize, making this thread almost intolerable to those of us who deal with dial-up. Perhaps you could consolidate the pictures into thumbnails ?

absolutely correct Ron and suffering from the accursed dial-up blues myself I should have known better
My excuse is that I was having so much of a connection problem of late that I lazily in the case of the Seattle picture linked to their original despite it being far to big to display,knowing that this version of the bulletin board will resize so as not to upset the page format but of course that still requires the download of the original full sized file
In fact there are a number of easy methods to overcome this problem
use the upload feature to then show a clickable thumbnail
resize using a photo editing program (I have MGI Photosuite)
upload to a free photo hosting site such as
http://www.imageshack.us/
Or photobucket
resize using the photogadget freeware I have previously espousedthe problem with 1. is that I like to include a picture as an integral part of my posting rather than tacking it on at the end in a detached box
if anybody would like a copy of MGI Photosiuite please PM me
imageshack will actually give you the option before you upload of resizing the picture to a maximum of 640 pixels wide

I have now uploaded to my own site 640 maximum dimension versions of the two offending pictures
and corrected the urls
There remains the intractable problem of having to watch th videos in slo-mo, painfully slo=mo at that so one must be patient then when you event....ually see the "replay" invitation go looking for the cached version in your computer's temporary internet files folder or whatever an Apple calls it.

[Sundown17]

Well, John, I have attempted to read all your blogging, but alas, it is far too much for this one Lady Di to comprehend. All I can say is what Susan and I used to say to each other when she, you, Rik and I were in chat, back in the day, when you and Rik would ramble on about such things..."technobabble". lol

BUT, I am sure some will understand and reap the knowledge you so generously share. And I applaud the project.

And I am gonna blog a little here myself...of a part time musician, full time RN friend of mine... http://www.myspace.com/claytonsabine ...since you seem to roam about the cyberworld you might want to check him out. He categorizes himself as folk/rock/indie. If you click on the cd purchase (and you won't actually be purchasing the cd at that point), you can listen to a sample of all the songs (not just the ones on the myspace page), and the one that is my favorite..."Not That Song". Reminds me of a love lost song a certain Canadian we all know might write. All of Clayton's lyrics are very visual even if the music itself is more rock than folk sometimes. And he writes all this without knowing how to read music.

Anyway, enough of my crowding on to your blog John, but I do appreciate you allowing me to. And keep up the good work.

Hugs,
Lady Di

[charlene]

Beside how talented he is you forgot to mention how cute you thought Clayton was..
;)
and he is...both of those things..

[Sundown17]

Beside how talented he is you forgot to mention how cute you thought Clayton was..
;)
and he is...both of those things..

I figured if anyone bothered to check out the page...they could see that for themselves.

Not too mention I can't point him in the direction of this place now that you've revealed my private thoughts of a co-worker. There goes all that workplace professionalism. hehehe

[RM]

Mr. Fowles,

Thank you for understanding. Is it possible to present your reasons for interest in a particular gadget or technology and THEN proffer a thumbnail photo of such ?
--------------------

If everybody else is gonna start blogging, then so am I ......(as soon as I can think of something worthy of the effort).

'Twas nice to see John Prine listed as the first influence on Mr. Sabine's page.

[johnfowles]

Well, John, I have attempted to read all your blogging, but alas, it is far too much for this one Lady Di to comprehend. All I can say is what Susan and I used to say to each other when she, you, Rik and I were in chat, back in the day, when you and Rik would ramble on about such things..."technobabble". lol

Hugs,
Lady Di

Thank you Lady Di for your vote of confidence and the hugs
I'll have a real one before long eh?
Now wasn't Lady Di associated with the son of a mad Arabian who runs a clothing stall in London??
regarding the "technobabble" I am endeavouring to make my blogs readable by the great unwashed public out there
and I would hope and expect that if something I say is not clear that people will comment accordingly.
Of course you can always google
for example if you currently haven't a clue about what I meant by GPS
Then simply ask google something like
"what the heck is GPS"
yes phrase it as question google will pick out the key words and present you with a list of possible information sites
try it and see.
In fact doing just that , omitting the quotation marks of course (UK "inverted commas" would you believe)
produced over a million results the very first being suitably (and quite unknown in advance):-
http://www.liveviewgps.com/blog/2008/03/27/what-the-heck-is-gps/
wonderbah no not wonderbra!!
And now I read on:-
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/02/MIDs-will-run-Windows-XP-and-Vista-Intel-says_1.html
that the next new thing will be MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices)
for example:-
http://gizmodo.com/355852/mobile-internet-device-from-benqshake-it-like-a-polaroid-picture
Mobile Internet Device from BenQ—Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/benq.jpg
which looks remarkably like my Nokia N800 !!!
And Ron I'll keep your welcome suggestion in mind
and I look forwards to reading your own blog

[Sundown17]

'Twas nice to see John Prine listed as the first influence on Mr. Sabine's page.

Thanks for checking him out Ron. Yes, one of the reasons I felt comfortable recommending him to this group was because of the people he lists as influences. And he is a fan of Gord's. Says his parents played Gordmusic alot while he was growing up.

[Sundown17]

Thank you Lady Di for your vote of confidence and the hugs
I'll have a real one before long eh?
Now wasn't Lady Di associated with the son of a mad Arabian who runs a clothing stall in London??
regarding the "technobabble" I am endeavouring to make my blogs readable by the great unwashed public out there
and I would hope and expect that if something I say is not clear that people will comment accordingly.
Of course you can always google
for example if you currently haven't a clue about what I meant by GPS
Then simply ask google something like
"what the heck is GPS"
yes phrase it as question google will pick out the key words and present you with a list of possible information sites
try it and see.
In fact doing just that , omitting the quotation marks of course (UK "inverted commas" would you believe)
produced over a million results the very first being suitably (and quite unknown in advance):-
http://www.liveviewgps.com/blog/2008/03/27/what-the-heck-is-gps/
wonderbah no not wonderbra!!
And now I read on:-
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/02/MIDs-will-run-Windows-XP-and-Vista-Intel-says_1.html
that the next new thing will be MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices)
for example:-
http://gizmodo.com/355852/mobile-internet-device-from-benqshake-it-like-a-polaroid-picture
Mobile Internet Device from BenQ—Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/benq.jpg
which looks remarkably like my Nokia N800 !!!
And Ron I'll keep your welcome suggestion in mind
and I look forwards to reading your own blog

Yep, a long hug for you is on layaway til June. :)

Gordness, if only I had enough hours in the day to google or ask you about all the things I don't understand in your posts. :) BUT! OH! OH! I do know what GPS is since I was the bearer of Jenney's "Nuvi" last year through our Gordtravels in NY...the windshield mount having since been rendered unusable!!!! That's a start. ;)

[johnfowles]

With the uploading yesterday of a vistory for "May I"
YouTube - May I - Gordon Lightfoot - V70
the TJ tribute group have now covered 70 of Gordon's recordings
their full listing is at:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?s=Ho7habB_Xhw
Amazing whilst googling for something else I was delighted to discover our Yuri's
http://bp2.blogger.com/_od5PmBTqqUM/R6fo6yRuEXI/AAAAAAAACJo/MIAjPHRroqg/s200/Signature+TFTP+Cream.Blog.jpg
own canooeing etc blog at:-
http://bp0.blogger.com/_od5PmBTqqUM/R63w_O65jSI/AAAAAAAACMI/uBTe5ViYmO8/s200/Portage+Marker+1.jpg
http://missinaibi-yuri.blogspot.com/
which makes for an interesting read albeit heavily picture infested which my stoopid dial up did not take kindly to so be warned Ron M!!!
but I did see that he has the famous wheelchair picture from November 2006 there which is of course complete with an admiring "gordlover" looking on:-
http://bp3.blogger.com/_od5PmBTqqUM/RewxpUGESGI/AAAAAAAAAcw/ovhfPAFNc2g/s400/Yuri_Gord-1s.jpg
Yuri's caption to that is:-
"Massey Hall November 2006: Gordon Lightfoot and Myself Chatting about Hornepayne Ontario."
And what what was I googling for??
Since you ask it was for further confirmation of Gordon's Doctorate
which I have now found is mentioned incorrectly on Wayne's site on the 1970's chronology page at:-
http://www.lightfoot.ca/chron03.htm
http://www.lightfoot.ca/degree78.jpg
That picture's filename is degree78.jpg
So was it 1977 or 1978??
bearing in mind that Wayne's site says for 1977
"In June he is presented with an honorary law degree at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario."
a rare inaccuracy on his site I believe because I did find a comprehensive encyclopedial page at:-
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Gordon-Lightfoot
which provided a link to
http://www.trentu.ca/administration/pdfs/HonoraryandEminentList_000.pdf
a Trent University (Peterborough Ontario)
Alphabetical List of Honorary Graduates and Eminent Service Award Recipients (http://www.trentu.ca/administration/pdfs/HonoraryandEminentList_000.pdf)including
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot LL.D (spring 1979)
Other news:-
I have just found an old cassette tape upon which I seem to have started copying the complete radio broadcast from the time that Gord's Gold was issued, I have to admit that I had completely forgotten that tape.
After a quick search in my rarities tape drawer I was relieved to find the original as made for me by a kind corfiddler many years ago

[johnfowles]

I subscribe to a daily newsletter from tech republic.
Occasionally amongst all the uninteresting stuff it contains news of great interest to me
This morning on the onbnoxious talk talk talk New York radio station 1010WINS my ears had pricked up (what else could they
do??) at a report that HP had released a nine inch mini notebook
Those of you who have been absorbing my utterings in this blog will be aware (and I know ShaRron the MN Mouse is because I gave her a demo back in November 1999 at the Delta Chelsea) that I am ultra keen on an early HP "PC Companion" the Jornada 820.see my web page at:-
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/jornada/

fortunately todays TR newsletter had as its subject linre
"TechRepublic] HP launches full-powered $500 mini-notebook aimed at business travelers"
and its main article had a link to:-
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=652&tag=nl.e019

which confirmed
"Hewlett-Packard, the world’s third largest seller of notebook PCs, jumped into the ultra-portable, ultra-mobile computer market today by launching its HP 2133 Mini-Note (below). The 2.6-pound notebook will go on sale on April 15 and is aimed at two specific markets: business travelers and schools"
http://i.techrepublic.com.com/gallery/196537-480-401.jpg

The specs for the HP 2133 are:
8.9 inch screen with 1280 x 768 resolution
1.6 GHz VIA C7-M processor
512 MB RAM (upgradeable to 2 GB)
120 GB hard drive (160 GB optional)
Full QWERTY keyboard (just 8% smaller than standard keyboard)
Integrated 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi
Integrated Ethernet port
Two USB slots
ExpressCard slot
SD/SDHC card slot
VIA Chrome 9 graphics chip
Built-in stereo speakers
Bluetooth (optional)
Webcam (optional)
4 GB solid state drive (optional with Linux only)
Extended six-cell battery (optional)
I left the following comment on the page

I am actually quite amazed that it has taken HP nearly 10 years to resuscitate the concept of a smaller notebook
They had introduced the wonderful first HP Jornada "PC Companion" the fantastic Jornada 820 back in 1998 but dropped it after their merger with Compaq meant that they decided to concentrate on the Ipaq and its miniscule button keys
The 820 form factor produced a similarly compact device with a useable qwerty keyboard 90% the size of a normal notebook's
I delighted with this news but at the same time have to say that is surprising that it has taken HP so long to return (more or less) to the formula they pioneered about 10 years ago with the first Jornada.That machine's spec and form factor was in many ways similar to the new model with a slightly smaller screen plus a man sized keyboard.Compared to this new announcement the 820 form factor produced a similarly compact device with a useable qwerty keyboard 90% the size of a normal notebook's.
its main drawback remains the lack of programs for its ARM processor plus Windows CE, whose development veered away to other mobile versions.
Used examples on ebay are however a real bargain
I started a web page at http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/jornada/

[Jesse Joe]

http://harvest.canadaeast.com/image.php?id=113187&size=300x0

AP

Fits in the palm of your hand


Published Wednesday April 9th, 2008


Christine Wright of Hewlett Packard holds one of a new class of miniaturized HP laptops called "netbooks" in San Francisco. The machines are so new the industry hasn't settled on a name for them - low-cost and scaleddown laptops used primarily for surfing the Internet and performing other basic functions like word processing.

[timetraveler]

Sir John, the last time I saw a LandRover like the one you posted was in a Doctor Who story. I just never realized that the vehicle was that old.

[Jesse Joe]

Sir John always find the funniest or unusual vehicule to post. My fav one in the past was that little yellow Mr.Bean car. :Biggrin: :)

[johnfowles]

Newsletters:clap:
My subject today concerns a couple of Newsletters I regularly receive
Firstly the wxpnews and for example here is the title of an interesting item in their email newsletter received yesterday:-
1.How Long Before We're All Forced to be Microchipped? (http://www.wxpnews.com/):mad:
I cound that it makes thought provoking reading and fortuneately somebody has already copied it and uploaded it as a webpage at:-
http://forums.somd.com/news-current-events/136831-how-long-before-we-re-all-forced-microchippe.html

Plus the entire original newsletter is archived at;-
http://www.wxpnews.com/archives/wxpnews-323-20080415.htm

I was going to add the GL saddle Auction item to this blog but decided it merited its own thread in the general discussion forum
On that subject I carried out some further googling and found a Toronto blog at:-
http://www.torontomike.com/o_canada/

it includes a few gems such as
"When Americans travel in Europe, do they really stitch a Canadian flag into their back pack and pose as Canucks? I've often heard about this and yesterday on "The Simpsons" Lisa did just that before their trip to Italy. Is this practice merely an urban legend or does it actually happen?
A little Googling proves this is very common advice given to Americans who are worried they'll be mistreated because they're American.":biggrin:
Secondly some time ago whilst searching for freeware I discovered the enterprising Ian "Gizmo" Richards':clap: fine sites at:-
1.46 beat freeware utilities at:-
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

2.plus another 71 at:-
http://www.techsupportalert.com/more/extended.htm

I found it all so useful that I subscribed to his Newsletter then paid a small sum for the "premium" edition
he issues the Newsletters at roughly monthly intervals and each one has had something of interest to me. the latest one has this:-
2.6 Briard's Brief History of the PC
If you have lived through the PC revolution this is a "must" read and if you haven't, it's a "should" read. It's funny,:) it's nostalgic, it's informative; it's classic Briard. If nothing else, just check out the amazing photos.
http://46best.com/dr/history-of-personal-computers.htm

The history is in two parts and is very detailed, it really is a comprehensive and amusing read especially for anybody who has been deeply involved with the computing world since the early 90s like me. It contains numerous references to IBM a company name adapted I believe from the computer in "2001 A Space Odyssey" (HAL) by the simple expedient of using the next letters in its name.
I think I got that right if not I am sure that Valerie will put me right!!!:rolleyes:
I liked this little quip very much
"Steve Jobs had very big ideas for Apple, some so big that people began calling him Big Jobs":)

[Patti]

YouTube - Wrightspeed X1 Electric Car beats Ferrari and Porsche

[johnfowles]

I fully intended posting this as a new small talk thread or even in the general forum (as it is of relevance to Gordon's near fatal 2002 "mechanical failure" but this cretinous dial up connection tries half heartedly to load up the post a new thread page( but it gets as far as showing the correct page title at the top then pisses around for ages then lyingly insists either that it is unable to display the page or the screen goes black and in the bottom left hand corner it claims "done" and I feel ruddy well done I can tell you. so as this thread will have a handy quick reply box I'll try it this way and a pox on dial up!!
As one who like our hero was keen on Jazz in my youth.
I am saddenned to read of the death of a venerable UK jazzman and radio broadcaster
"Humphrey Lyttelton, veteran broadcaster, dies aged 86 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/26/nlyttelton126.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_26042008)
Known as "Humph", the jazz band leader, trumpet player and master of innuendo died following surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm after being admitted to Barnet General Hospital in north London on April 16."
http://www.leedsconcertseason.com/files/LICS/humph%20(with%20tmpt)%201(1).jpg
I guess he just wasn't as fit as Gord,we should again be mindful of our good fortune and particularly thankful that Dr Michael Marcaccio was on duty in Hamilton on that fateful night back on Sunday September 8th 2002
http://www.swosa.ca/medimage.aspx?entryID=46146&max=250
I am using that "stock" picture found by google image searching because the one I took backstage of the worthy doctor after the first benefit concert in Hamilton on November 2004 is 'locked up" on an external hard drive that my silly new computer system (yes I built it myself) unilaterally and suddenly insisted requires formatting which is utter nonsense
Somewhere I might still have the 45 of Humph's superb hit "Bad Penny Blues"
I was never bowled over by Humph because at he time I liked my jazz either trad(itional)(New Orleans ) style or modern
(like Gord I admired Dave Brubeck a lot) , but Humph was sort of neither one or the other to me so not really my cup of CHar(tea)
YouTube - 'New Bad Penny Blues' Humphrey Lyttelton
Bad Penny Blues
comment on youtube
"Bad Penny Blues is a trad jazz piece written by Humphrey Lyttelton and recorded with his band in London on April 20, 1956.

It was originally released as Parlophone ER 4184 and became a 'hit record' in Britain at the time.

It was the first British jazz record to get into the Top Twenty, and stayed there for six weeks."

YouTube - Tribute to Humphrey Lyttelton
BBC tribute

[johnfowles]

On the aesthetic appreciation of the Fiat Panda, pens and Mac portables
Pure craftsmanship creates elegant fountain pens, and the pint-sized Fiat Panda is pretty cute as well
a good read is an article by the BBC Top Gear (car programme) presenter James May in this week's Motoring Telegraph
on the Fiat Panda
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/Fiat_Panda.jpg
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/04/26/mrmay126.xml&DCMP=EMC-mot_30042008
there is a lengthy collection of responses there too including such pearls of wisdom as:-
"Posted by CorduroyQueen (http://www.corfid.com/core/exit.jhtml?exit=http://www.jamesmayboard.proboards101.com/index.) on April 26, 2008 11:38 PM

James, you’ve recently written with wit and polish about a wide range of consumer durables, from Waterman pens, to Apple computers, to Omega watches and even Gap jeans.

Have you ever considered writing about cars? I think that, if you ever tried your hand at motoring journalism, you might be rather good at it"
In the same issue was an article on the Chevrolet Aveo, that is just about to go on sale in the UK at a price including taxes of £7,695 (at todays exchange rate that is US$15,195.30), this compares with a New York price of only US$10,235 (less $2000 cashback). It is made in Chevy's new factory in Warsaw Poland
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/graphics/2008/04/26/mfchevy1.jpg
and basically replaces previous US market small cars that were badged as Chevys but were actually Korean Daewoos from that defunct car manufacturer
John
http://images.net3media.com/funnyfreepics/manwomen.jpg

[Yuri]

Thanks for visiting my Canoeing blog, 'Tails From The Paddle' John. I have a number of references to Gordon Lightfoot throughout the stories as Gord's music was my constant companion while canoeing through the wilderness imagery he often captures in his tunes.

While speaking with Gord in November of 2006, I failed to get the scoop on whether he too spent a sleepless night in Hornepayne Ontario, as I did, due to continuously shuffling trains in the CN rail yards. My story is presented as a chapter of the Missinaibi River trip.

My photos are resized, yet as they are an intricate part of my tales, I believe that posting them as thumbnails would lose the impact I desire. High speed dial-up and cable internet is the norm rather than the exception so I have no regrets in having a "heavily picture infested" site as you so graphically describe:)

I invite all to check it out and see how Gord's tunes wind their way through my stories.

http://missinaibi-yuri.blogspot.com/

Your blog is a nice touch to the Corfid experience. Thanks John

Yuri