That day on the Thames

Every now and than, everything seems to cluster together: practical session 'till 7am the previous day, tons of mail to answer, city trip at 1pm, people who seem to have agreed on all talking to you at exactly the same time, laundry, dishes piling up, things to arrange.. luckily it's all good fun really.

Today, on the Thames, visited the HMS Belfast (comissioned 1939's). Always have had kind of fond memories of this vessel, for youthful miniaturistic reasons.

(the correct one Pp?)

(on board pharmacy)

(bite the bullet)

Earlier trip, Buckingham P. on a stereotypical cloudy day.



In the studio with GuilioDJ (on the euphonics CS3000) the person who embodies everything that disco music represents. Good laughs while trying to mix a fellows multitrack.


Home made brew.


Station Court, less than 4 weeks and counting.. !

Internship-ing

My plans for the summer:

http://www.motormusic.eu/

If all goes well I'll be helping these guys out, they are gonna be moving there studio.

Electronic systems, wires, moving, rearranging... It's like an ultimate playground for me.

Joy.

Summer

Might have found myself a summer occupation!
Hopefully more on that later.

For now I'll let you enjoy the sight of my latest organic-burger creation, lovely.


Also,
hopefully nobody missed out on this

Meanwhile in the post production studio:

Don't get me wrong, in real live, I don't think it's all about those moving faders. But when making a video.. you have to admit.

Summer switch

Somebody seems to have flicked a 'summer switch' for the area around London! Nice.


It's peculiar, everybody has there own personal 'heavens', not meant in any deistic way, rather the einsteinian view. Simple things. Some examples, personally:

- playing a well-rehearsed gig with a band
- working (hard) with friends to make something happen that people appreciate (ex camp site werchter c3, chiro, pant-less-rock)
- seeing people go crazy over music when you hold the controls
- going jogging with people and just talk
- doing something you don't usually do, even better, convince other people to do something they don't usually do
- having a drink at a place where people know you and you know the people
- just going for a walk
- having an in-dept discussion an coming to a conclusion
- sitting outside in the summer, but in the shade
- writing something that says it all
- making a complex (audio-)system work, just for one day, just at one place
- putting time and effort in something, being pushed, exceeding what you thought was possible and having a physical result.
- cooking with/for people
- going away for the week-end
- dumdumdum..

It's remarkable how these things are almost never about money (you need it though).
Now, how to distill this..


(Try it for yourself, rather revealing )




On other unrelated news: my first flatmate moved out due to a bad exam, he's gonna try again next year.. Too bad, he studied very hard, got up early every morning, went to bed early every evening. Hope I'll see him around sometimes.


(Watching 'Capitalism: a love story', a bit over the top M Moore, but what an insight)

Antiangiogenics

Awesome.
an-ti-an-gi-o-ge-nics

As amazing today as when I first saw it during the live-stream. I hope he has it the right way 'round.

William Li: Can we eat to starve cancer?

Heaven and Hell

Today Mr. B told me about the loss of a singer who's voice can be described as one of the most powerfull in the history of early metal. He was still going strong, as a live performer and as an inspiration, whenever you needed some motivation/inspiration/believe, until today that is.



To be played at Maximum volume
(HQ version)
12 I by proosttom



We'll miss him

Got it!

Managed to get hold of my parcel!

Finally was able to get the Sennheiers HD-25 II. Amazing, like removing a pillow from in front of your speakers (or headphones in my case), like putting on glasses but for sound. No more philips SHP2500! Lovely. Lovely. Lovely.
Also, all-out on food:

(spinache & tuna)

(shrimp stir fry)

(marinated chicken & couscous)
note: don't drink water after couscous like I did.

It's strange how I learned to eat stuff in the UK that I never used to try back in Belgium (shrimps, figs, curries, asparagus, mussels come to mind). (Also, I figured it out: don't buy crap -> don't eat crap)

Never smoothly

That's the thing around here you know, things Never go smoothly.



Current example:

- I order something by mail, parcel package. 24-hour delivery, with tracking number.
- Mail man comes down to station court, doesn't have the key for the outer gate. Rings my flat via the communication system. I'm out, my flatmate answers.
- Mail man says he has a parcel for me, asks if my flatmate could come and open the door (remote key is broken).
- Flatmate says she'll come down to let him in. By the time she's at the gate the mail man will have left without a trace.
- I check my delivery online, see it should have been delivered, but I wasn't home so they left a 'you where out' card so I can come and pick it up at the local recollection office.
- Now, I've never had any 'you where out' card. Why not? Because the mail man leaves them at the outer gate, not the inner gate, not my block door, not my post box. The outer gate. Hundreds of people pass there every hour, wind, weather. Any card left there will be gone in a matter of hours.
- I ring costumer services, explain, they tell me to go and collect it using my tracking number, ID and proof of adress.
- I walk down the office, just to be told I really need a 'you where out' card. I get a new phone number to ring.
- Go back home, call another sorting center and explain everything. Again.
- After some convincing the guy at the center gets my situation. He will send me a 'you where out' card by mail..

- Now I just have to wait for my mail to come in, take the card, ID and what not. Go to the collection center again and hopefully collect my parcel. If everything goes to plan that is..

This kind of thing happens about every time I get a parcel in the mail. It could be so easy. But instead of receiving it I have to go out and actually hunt down every parcel I should get (that is, if I know I should get one. If I don't I will probably never find out) which takes days.



Same thing with credit cards, direct debits, oyster student cards, flat payments, buying a cell phone, setting up an account, getting an NIN, you name it.
This English bureaucracy, tiring

Powerfull beyond measure

Around the interwebs

• This is as sexy and exciting as it gets in the (geeky) world of electronics.

• Some wisdom spoken by Rocky and others. Seems a bit over the top, but there's truth in it.