What a load of rubbish
iPhoto has a habit of keeping deleted photos in its Trash. This is not the same as the system Trash, and you have to be proactive about emptying it. I went to empty mine today, then thought: hang on. Some of this might be worth something.
So I offer you Rescued from the trash, a gallery of images that, until a few minutes ago, were doomed to digital deletion.
There's more in the gallery: Rescued from the trash
iPhoto is enough for me; I've tried Lightroom and Aperture and considered spending the money on them, but the money isn't the issue. The issue is time. I need simple photo editing software because I don't have time for complicated alternatives.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
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My kind of ARG
In his post Everything you know about ARGs is wrong, Dan Hon slashes into the industry he loves as only a lover can. Savagely, and with terrifying accuracy.
And he helps me uncover something within me, something that I've known for yonks but never sat down and thought about so that I could acknowledge it: I'd love to play these sorts of games, if only I had the time.
Part of Dan's argument is that current ARGs don't have enough players, that only weird people play them. I'm a bit weird, but not weird enough. And what's more, like most Ordinary, Not-Weird people, I have a life. Kids to take to school, work to get done, dinner to cook for those hungry kids and a hungry wife, washing machines to feed, endlessly dripping taps to fix, dripping gutters that I ignore and ignore and fret about during heavy rain, a large-ish garden that I struggle to keep in good order.
I don't have time to play games.
Oh, but wait - I do play some games. There are some games on my phone that I can open and play for just a few minutes, such as when I'm waiting for a bus, or standing in a queue, or when the banana bread needs another five minutes in the oven. These are the gaming gaps that fit into my life, the only opportunities I get to engage - or more appropriately, disengage - my mind and just play for a bit. They are brief, and all too soon ended by the cry of "DAAAAAAAAAD!"
But they do happen, and I quite like them, and there's a tiny handful of games I can pick up, play a little, then put down and carry on with life. I'd like an ARG that was like one of those games. A storygame, as Dan puts it, that would entertain me and automatically bookmark my progress.
Now I stop to think about it, something that combined the ease of use seen in something like Classics, and the instant pick-up-and-play delight of Deadbeef, and the kind of good writing that you get from Iain (M) Banks.
Now I stop to think about it some more, perhaps I should just write something like that. Just write it, and see. You know, in all that spare time I have.
Monday, December 22, 2008
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Thinking the book
Prior to going to Bookcamp next January, my thoughts are turning to books.
- The Economist calls itself a "newspaper" even though it looks to the rest of us like a magazine. By calling itself one thing and looking like another, it manages to occupy both concepts. Can there be a not-book that calls itself a book, and achieves the same result?
- The first print-to-order book I ever purchased was Whelk, by the writers of Upsideclown. That was Matt Webb before he started herding cattle. That book was fabulous, it sparked conversations because it was so different. Not just the content - which was weird enough - but the nature of its very existence. It didn't get manufactured like most books. It was made.
- I still love the presence of books in my home. Although I don't get much time to sit and read these days, I love browsing the haphazard shelves, noting the books I've yet to read, or the ones I read so long ago that I've forgotten them. I don't want to lose that sensation. And I'd like my son to grow up enjoying it too. I'd like him to find himself bored one rainy Sunday, and hunting down old science fiction (just as I used to do).
- As a gadget nerd, I've tried plenty of ebook gadgets and not found any of them particularly engaging. Recently, though, an iPhone app called Classics caught my eye. The difference with Classics is that I actually started reading stuff with it. I think this is largely because the small screen forces re-formatting of the very long paragraphs often found in classic fiction, therefore making it easier to read. I've been zipping through "Call of the Wild" on the iPhone, grabbing a few quick pages during odd idle moments. Because Classics has changed the presentation, it has also changed my reading behaviour. Interesting, that.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
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I sing on Twitter
David Bowie, Elvis Costello, Massive Attack, The The, The Polyphonic Spree, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Peter Gabriel, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, More Bowie, The Sundays, Billy Bragg (twice), The Wedding Present, Catatonia, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell (twice), De La Soul, Furniture.
Why do I sing on Twitter? Because I like singing. I sing all the time. It defines and relives the loneliness of the home office. It echoes around my cluttered office and my voice can boom for the sake of booming.
It can be a little embarrassing when the postman calls, though.
I think more people should sing on Twitter. I've noticed some folk singing too, or even joining in. This is pleasing.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
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