Friday roundup

Fri Apr 27

This week, like most weeks at the moment, has been stupidly busy. I’ve caught a few really interesting articles on the web but just haven’t got time to write about everything I want to write about. So instead here’s a quick list (in definition-list format, for the technology-afflicted).

Blood, Bullets, Bombs, and Bandwidth
A tale of two California cipherpunks who went to Baghdad to seek their fortune, and bring the Internet to Iraq.
10 tips for optimising MySQL queries
Some of these points are useful for other database systems as well
Hugh McLeod has a wiki
You’re all welcome to join in the fun.
The Stanford prison Experiment
An (in)famous 1970s psychology experiment which showed what happens when you put essentially good apples in a bad barrel. If this doesn’t make you look at yourself in the mirror differently then nothing will.
Very nifty JavaScript with the Ext library
Yes, another JavaScript library, with some neat widgets.
10 reasons you should never get a job
Steve Pavlina is a very smart bloke, but I guess most of us are too scared to think too seriously about what he’s saying.
The new Snickers advert
Is there anything more great than that? I don’t think so.

1971 Marshall Super Bass 100 valve head amp for sale

Wed Apr 25

In a break from my usual mix of web, business and random related entries, I’d like to let you know that my 1971 Marshall Super Bass 100 valve head amp is currently for sale on eBay. The market for these things is probably in the low single figures worldwide, but if someone can give it a better home then I’d love to speak with you. contact me the usual way or respond through eBay.

The sale of this classic amp is being managed by my very good friend Milan Lad, who is a phenomenal musician.

Nick Harper on tour: next stop Kathmandu

Tue Apr 24

How about this for an idea. Take a group of musicians up Everest to play at Base Camp. One of my favourite singer/songwriter/guitar virtuoso people Nick Harper is going, and I bet it will be a great gig.

So, if anyone will be up Everest in October you’ll get to listen to some fantastic music amongst those majestic peaks. Lucky you.

Competing music formats

Mon Apr 23

It’s a shame that despite the hoo-hah over different online music formats that a completely free, high-quality and extremely versatile format is being overlooked somewhat. Maybe it’s just that a lot of people haven’t heard of Ogg Vorbis, but the fact is it could be the answer we’re waiting for.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not without it’s problems, but Ogg is certainly the strongest glimmer of hope for the increasingly beleaguered digital music format landscape. Which, I’m sure you’ll agree, is only going to get more complex as time goes on.

Going green

Sat Apr 21

Here’s another reason to like my hosts. Yep, they are carbon-neutral, apparently.

It’s a good thing when companies (especially companies in the U.S.) start taking climate change seriously. It’s great when people start recycling more, start using low-energy lighbulbs, perhaps even install solar panels or get rid of their car, but changing a companies attitude towards it’s environmental impact is a cause for celebration.

It does seem like it’s the more Internet-savvy companies that are leading the way with this kind of thing. My friend Simon (who’s now a big radio star works for a company with an excellent environmental policy. The word from Sense’s managing director Aidan Cook (I met him, he’s a switched-on guy) is that employees like working there, and the environmental policy is one of the reasons why.

I guess us web-types are just nice people.