Archive of August 2011

August 26

One Day - a tale of DRM gone mad

It is with some satisfaction that I can honestly say I feel not the least little bit of remorse or concern at having just made an illegal download of a ripped copy on .pdf of the book "One Day" by David Nicholls. If you know how I feel about authors working hard and deserving to be rewarded and recognized for that then this could come as a surprise, so let me explain the background Last Christmas the fabulous Aero bought me a marvelous BeBook Neo to replace or complement my aging Sony E-reader. This was a "Kindle beater" in my opinion, since it not only had wi-fi built in, but a touch screen also! Since then a quick search or look at the tag for E-readers will reveal that the purchase of E-books has been anything BUT straightforwards, in the first instance involving an "all-nighter" as I learned what was involved (everything from a predicated Microshaft framework to a requirement to run Adobe Digital Editions. So in the run up to the holiday I had bought a copy of the Big Issue and read about "One Day" as a possible favourite book for the nation, at which point Aero tells me she has read it, told me about it, and that the female lead rides a bicycle! Immediately I want this tear jerker for some holiday reading and set about buying an E-book copy (since that way it only costs a fiver). Two or three hours later I collapse exhausted, no E-book bought through no fault of mine own.... later that night I search with E-mule and find a seed to start a download. This morning the book is downloaded and I can transfer it to my Sony, BeBook, or anywhere else I choose to read it from. There is no way I am suffering further waste of my time and anguish for the sake of a fiver of which Mr Nicholls sees a good deal less than that! I may as well send him a few bob or buy him a drink when/if I see him! A pretty compelling case for the removal of DRM - that way I should have been able to complete the transaction and pay far more readily than this!
08:20 AM | 0 Comments | Tags: , , , , , , ,
August 25

Airborne Aero!

With the departure for France only days away and Derrick in tip-top condition disaster has struck; believe it or not in the form of "the cuddly toy"! It almost reminds me of the Monty Python sketch with the comfy chair ("Always expect the unexpected"!).... Perhaps I should explain though; Aero has a guide dog, Q. Q likes to have his "puppies" in the form of cuddly toys (with and without squeaks in all shapes and sizes). Q is untidy with his puppies and has never been trained to "put them away" in their basket. About a week ago Q managed to drop on at the top of the stairs and, whilst I was out walking Q, Aero managed to find this and before you know it she was more aero than one might hope, flying down the stairs! The result? A series of collisions on the descent, the main impact born at the base of the spine on the tail bone. And the outfall of that is that it is very painful for my stoker to ride the bike - and likely may remain so to some extent whilst we are in France. Perhaps then it is lucky that I have also bought a bike rack for a solo in order for daughter and us to do the London Sky Ride on our return from France, and can use this to take Rory (my Raleigh aero 100 road bike) abroad for a few reconnaissance rides and maybe some solo fun if the tandem is out of action.
08:06 AM | 0 Comments | Tags:
August 15

Henceforth let him be known as.... Derrick!

I really am not entirely sure how it came to pass.... but since the matter has been the subject of at least two blog posts I feel it bears mention to relate that our tandem bicycle got christened recently. We were riding and talking casually touring local parks and I observed that there was still no name for our mount, but we both agreed this Cannondale seems to have the characteristics of male rather than female gender (something to do with the stiff ride and chunky frame no doubt?). I remarked that it seemed likely if nothing came up we might revert to lazily calling "him" Dale. In no small part this is because Cannondale bikes are often referred to as 'dales on forums and suchlike. Well _Aero_ was very quick to retort that she would never call him that! So I quickly rejoined with, "Well, what are we going to call him then? It might as well be something like..... **Derrick**..." and there was a moment's silence. Then we both realised the name had "stuck"! Funny how this sort of thing can happen with names. Later the next day I was getting the last of the water on Derrick's knees out, so to speak, and checked his credentials from the serial number - it turns out his birthday is in May and he's a sixteen year old teen!
05:17 AM | 0 Comments | Tags:
August 09

Tempting fate with tandem naming!

Over at didactic.me a little while ago I made this post where I said;

`And furthermore I have an idea for a possible name for our tandem - which is: "TANTALUS"`

OH HOW I REGRET THAT NOW! You may perhaps realize what befell [[Tantalus]] (I did not exactly know the full horror of it though!) and it would seem our poor tandem was destined to suffer too! I lifted him off the rack of our car recently on returning from the Cuckoo Trail ride and there was a "swooshing" sound that foretold a significant amount of water INSIDE the frame, just about the last thing you want. Luckily I am not sure I am so superstitious as to thinking the two events are connected, well not beyond my subconscious which I cannot deny may have played a part!

05:06 AM | 0 Comments | Tags:
August 04

Honour Killing

What my mother did for me

Gave birth

Laughed and left

Died a death of shame

What my step-mother did for me

Took my father to task for calling me a pigs arse

Stopped my father stealing my leather jacket

Called herself my mother

What my father did for me

Gave me responsibility

Showed me the way to hate

An introduction to misogyny

with a seasoning of fate

"Poetry" aside...

he did buy me one bicycle once, doubt his addled rotten brain can remember it - I had it for about a day - then I went to the park and let someone else ride it, and it never came back.  I remember he took me to the park to look for them, but they were gone, and that was that.

He never did buy me another bicycle....

And now that I have finally become a father myself ans am hitting those years I simply find it beggars belief and I cannot understand at all.... The sickness of the man and all the opportunities missed.... Christ on a bike he is pathetic and the worst of it is to waste myself having the slightest feelings for him.

He deserves nothing.

10:50 PM | 1 Comment