Connections
Week from Monday 2nd June 2025 - My INTERNET connection was working appallingly S-L-O-W last week, so I reported it to the TALKTALK concern. They "guarantee" speeds of never less than 10Mbps, but a few days ago it dropped as low as two-and-a-half for a while! It didn't affect my activities TOO much, and it didn't make any difference to the landline phone (Yes! we still have a landline!). But we shouldn't have to put up with it, considering how much we pay them every month! Several text messages were exchanged and I think that they eventually fixed it from their end (I also did the "try-turning-it-off-and-then-on-again" thing with the router). It's now a lot more stable than it had been... but today, a man from OPENREACH came and checked things over anyway. I'd planned on doing a 'BITS'n'BOBS' shopping trip into town, but I stayed in for his visit. Just as well really, 'cos the weather's horrible...
I spent a day failing miserably to install a working Windoze PAINT program(me) that would run an old favourite set of plugins "The Nik Collection". I succeeded in installing The Collection itself via WINE, but they crash if you try to run them as stand-alone apps. I really require a Photoshop-type program to 'host' the "8bf" files. But PAINT.NET failed to install on my virtual partition. SERIF PHOTOPLUS nearly installed, but then froze up at the last minute. I found an old version of PHOTOSHOP itself, which did nothing whatsoever. IRFANVIEW does most things successfully, but it crashes if I try to click on the plugins menu. Other Windoze programs I tried were simply TOO OLD or incompatible... This WINE lark is notoriously HIT'N'MISS, innit?! The search continues...
On Thursday, I went up to the hozzy for a routine BLOODLETTING, ahead of next week's phone-based consultation with the docs. Afterwards I decided that my legs required a good stretching, so I WALKED down the hill to Cosham High Street, where I browsed a few chazzas along the way. I was pretty sore afterwards, but I tell myself that it's probably GOOD FOR ME...
Week from Monday 9th June 2025 - MONDAY DOING MONDAY STUFF... Once I've been to the virtual BANK, done my regular quota of PODCAST listening, washed and shaved, compiled a 'BULLET POINTS' discussion list of HEALTH TOPICS, ahead of Wednesday's telephone chat... I'm catching up on yesterday's CYCLING!
So if it's JUNE, it must be time for the CriTéRiuM du DAuphiNé ... This year, for maybe the final time, I can enjoy it with the sound turned on(!), as ITV4's seasoned professionals are doing the highlights and not those unbearable TNT SPORTS people. Of course, I fully expect it to be pretty much a three-horse race, with the established rivals TADEJ POGAČAR, JONAS VINGEGAARD and REMCO EVENEPOUL being the ONLY names that get mentioned in the media all week! But it should be entertaining. JONATHAN MILAN is LiDL-TREK's man-to-watch, should there be any sprinting to be had.
The telephone meeting with the HAEMATOLOGICALS went smoothly. Nothing new or nasty to report and the doc is happy with my progress. I'll be visiting again in person this coming Saturday for another armful of the ol' PAMIDRONATE...
For this week's 'MUSIC PROJECT', I've been fully immersed in the wonderful world of FRANK ZAPPA b***legs. As yer do!
I would maintain that EVERY Zappa gig is worth hearing at least once, but I don't necessarily want to KEEP EVERYTHING! I will usually select the 'best' bits (ie, UNIQUE PERFORMANCES) and compile 'LISTENING DISCS' that are worth revisiting. But one needs to keep a look-out for badly documented files that aren't necessarily what they say they are! You can only check that by listening and comparing. Often the accompanying track lists are somewhat ill-informed.
An MP3 download purporting to be alternate studio versions of songs that were left off the "THING-FISH" album, turned out to have only a couple of tracks that were markedly different from the originals and which, in any case, bore no resemblance to the tracklist provided. It was also recorded directly from horribly pressed vinyl, but I think I've rescued the few 'good bits'.
A lengthy show that was supposed to be from GOTHENBURG in 1974 (complete with a detailed tracklisting for that gig) turns out, upon closer examination, to be be a completely DIFFERENT gig of the same vintage, from PHILADELPHIA. But it was worth a small amount of research to find the REAL details. I'm doing a single-disc edit of that show, as the sound quality is very good indeed!
But now I've learnt of the existence of the Gothenburg 'tapes', my curiosity has been stimulatified and arousulated, as there are indeed 'UNIQUE PERFORMANCES' thereupon. So I now have to track THAT one down as well! IT MUST BE HEARD! (Update: I just found it on That YouTube They Have Now.)
I spent a day failing miserably to install a working Windoze PAINT program(me) that would run an old favourite set of plugins "The Nik Collection". I succeeded in installing The Collection itself via WINE, but they crash if you try to run them as stand-alone apps. I really require a Photoshop-type program to 'host' the "8bf" files. But PAINT.NET failed to install on my virtual partition. SERIF PHOTOPLUS nearly installed, but then froze up at the last minute. I found an old version of PHOTOSHOP itself, which did nothing whatsoever. IRFANVIEW does most things successfully, but it crashes if I try to click on the plugins menu. Other Windoze programs I tried were simply TOO OLD or incompatible... This WINE lark is notoriously HIT'N'MISS, innit?! The search continues...
On Thursday, I went up to the hozzy for a routine BLOODLETTING, ahead of next week's phone-based consultation with the docs. Afterwards I decided that my legs required a good stretching, so I WALKED down the hill to Cosham High Street, where I browsed a few chazzas along the way. I was pretty sore afterwards, but I tell myself that it's probably GOOD FOR ME...
Week from Monday 9th June 2025 - MONDAY DOING MONDAY STUFF... Once I've been to the virtual BANK, done my regular quota of PODCAST listening, washed and shaved, compiled a 'BULLET POINTS' discussion list of HEALTH TOPICS, ahead of Wednesday's telephone chat... I'm catching up on yesterday's CYCLING!
So if it's JUNE, it must be time for the CriTéRiuM du DAuphiNé ... This year, for maybe the final time, I can enjoy it with the sound turned on(!), as ITV4's seasoned professionals are doing the highlights and not those unbearable TNT SPORTS people. Of course, I fully expect it to be pretty much a three-horse race, with the established rivals TADEJ POGAČAR, JONAS VINGEGAARD and REMCO EVENEPOUL being the ONLY names that get mentioned in the media all week! But it should be entertaining. JONATHAN MILAN is LiDL-TREK's man-to-watch, should there be any sprinting to be had.
The telephone meeting with the HAEMATOLOGICALS went smoothly. Nothing new or nasty to report and the doc is happy with my progress. I'll be visiting again in person this coming Saturday for another armful of the ol' PAMIDRONATE...
For this week's 'MUSIC PROJECT', I've been fully immersed in the wonderful world of FRANK ZAPPA b***legs. As yer do!
I would maintain that EVERY Zappa gig is worth hearing at least once, but I don't necessarily want to KEEP EVERYTHING! I will usually select the 'best' bits (ie, UNIQUE PERFORMANCES) and compile 'LISTENING DISCS' that are worth revisiting. But one needs to keep a look-out for badly documented files that aren't necessarily what they say they are! You can only check that by listening and comparing. Often the accompanying track lists are somewhat ill-informed.
An MP3 download purporting to be alternate studio versions of songs that were left off the "THING-FISH" album, turned out to have only a couple of tracks that were markedly different from the originals and which, in any case, bore no resemblance to the tracklist provided. It was also recorded directly from horribly pressed vinyl, but I think I've rescued the few 'good bits'.
A lengthy show that was supposed to be from GOTHENBURG in 1974 (complete with a detailed tracklisting for that gig) turns out, upon closer examination, to be be a completely DIFFERENT gig of the same vintage, from PHILADELPHIA. But it was worth a small amount of research to find the REAL details. I'm doing a single-disc edit of that show, as the sound quality is very good indeed!
But now I've learnt of the existence of the Gothenburg 'tapes', my curiosity has been stimulatified and arousulated, as there are indeed 'UNIQUE PERFORMANCES' thereupon. So I now have to track THAT one down as well! IT MUST BE HEARD! (Update: I just found it on That YouTube They Have Now.)
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