Match Point

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Inspired by watching Scoop, I rented Match Point on DVD. This was the previous Woody Allen film that was set in England, like Scoop. The first thing to say about this film is that it is beautifully filmed. The camera work, lighting and locations are stunning. I watched it on my HD Apple Cinema Display whilst longing in my Mirra chair, drinking ice cold Woodpecker cider. Bliss. Story wise the film builds slowly with the introduction of the various characters. This is not a typical Woody Allen comedy, like Scoop. No this is a story about extra-marital affairs. The end is very good, if unexpected. Well worth renting if you haven’t seen it yet.

Scoop

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I went to see the new Woody Allen film, Scoop, when in San Francisco for WWDC. It was good. Typical Woody Allen performance with a few deja vue moments with bits very similar to his earlier films. If anything it was a bit short. The murder mystery suspense could have been longer in the middle. Well worth seeing though.

Or maybe there were 8…

| | Science

Heh! There has been a rival proposal to the one outlined in the last post about how to define a planet. The new proposal classes a planet as the largest body in its region of space that orbits a star. So by this definition the Solar System would have 8 planets and Pluto would not be one. it would be one of the Kuiper Belt objects. I vote for this proposal.

And then there were 12…

| | Science

It looks like the International Astronomical Union will vote next week on a new definition of what can be classed as a planet. The new definition will be any body that has enough mass to form a near spherical shape, due to gravity, and that orbits a star. Under this definition the Solar System will have 12 planets. In addition to the classical 9 at present there will also be Ceres (in the asteroid belt), Charon (which was formally a satellite of Pluto) and UB313 (which was discovered last year). The Charon on is interesting. As Pluto and Charon orbit a common centre of gravity, and this centre of gravity is not within the body of either of them, then this is now known as a double-planet. The Earth and Moon also orbit a common centre of gravity but this is inside the body of the Earth so the Moon is a satellite of Earth.

The new definition introduces a new subclass for the objects out beyond Neptune (mostly – Pluto/Charon do come closer than Neptune in part of it’s orbit) with orbits longer than 200 years. These will be known as Plutons. Ceres can be called a planet in the asteroid belt it seems.

I don’t like this definition. I’m not sure we can can come up with anything better though. As we discover more and more bodies, both in the Solar System and in other star systems, we need to have a definition of planet that is based on a scientific definition rather than historical discovery. My gut feeling is that we should have 8 planets in the Solar System. This would exclude Pluto, Charon and all the other small spherical bodies that are being discovered and that are predicted to be discovered in the future.

I’ve not seen any mention of Sedna. Using this new definition then it should be a planet. I wonder how the discoverer whose page is linked to above will react to that. He seems to be in the historical 8 planet camp.

The Trouble with Lichen – John Wyndham

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I finished Wyndham’s The Trouble with Lichen a few days ago. It was all right. Nothing special. Certainly not as good as the other 3 of his books I’ve read recently and outlined in previous posts. This I’ll take a break from Wyndham for a while. Reading Getting Things Done by David Allen at present to try and get a handle on all the different projects and tasks I have on the go. Certainly need the help!

Troublewithlichen

Thank the maker for BBC Internet streaming

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I’m in San Francisco for Apple WWDC. When I was up in the wee hours this morning I was listening to BBC radio streamed over the Internet. A sanity saver when away if ever there was one. Said it before, but Radio 4 is worth the license fee on it’s own.

Isn’t US TV awful? Obviously they produce really good individual shows, Seinfeld for example, but the daily stuff is just dross. They do know how to do a mean bacon and eggs breakfast though 🙂

Walking and shopping planned in San Francisco today.

Another outing for the Nike+ iPod sports kit

| | Technology

I tried out the Nike+ iPod Sports Kit on a timed exercise session yesterday. I set it for 45 minutes. Worked perfectly. Every 5 minutes the music fades out and the voiceover tells you how many minutes are gone, or if after the halfway point, how many minutes are left. At the halfway point it cuts in and tells you that as well. For the last 5 minutes it counts down on the minute which is good. This think this is definitely going to help me exercise more. Here is a screen shot of the 45 minute walk as graphed on the Nike+ website.

Walk2 Click Picture for larder view

It was uphill then a downhill section towards the end. Hence the speed increase. I also triggered my Power Song with a few minutes to go just to test it. Marvellous 🙂

I’ve also been doing a bit on my exercise bike. See side bar on right for totals. The miles listed are as reported by the bike. I usually do an hour per session and it reports about 13 miles in that time. The calories used is a combination of the number burnt according to the Nike+ and the bike. Probably not very accurate. The bike is good as you can read at the same time!

The Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham

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I couldn’t resist. I had to put Oxygen aside and get into The Day of the Triffids. Like my post about The Kraken Wakes I found this book to be different from what I expected it to be. The Triffids are largely incidental to most of he book. The main theme is the collapse of society after an event makes most people blind. Of course if you can’t see the Triffids you are in trouble…

All in all a very enjoyable read. Next up Wyndham’s The Trouble with Lichen. It’s got a periodic table on the cover so it’s bound to be good! 🙂

Dayofthetriffids

Urban myth

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I’ve always known that Prince of Wales Avenue from the gates of Stormont to the Parliament Building was a mile long. The reason I’ve known it is because it was perceived wisdom. Everyone said the road was a mile long. But is it? When testing my Nike+ iPod Sports Kit I walked the full length of the road. I figured this would be a good test of how accurate it was. The iPod reported that the road was about 0.6 miles long. What? I was disappointed. How could it be so wrong? Bummer.

There is a road that runs parallel to Prince of Wales Avenue just beside the Stormont grounds (Castlehill Road on the map below). It is more or less the same length. I use it regularly to and from work. I have reset my car tripmeter turning into this road the last couple of times and it reports that his road is between 0.6 and 0.7 miles long. Just what the Nike+ iPod Sports Kit was reporting for Prince of Wales Avenue.

I’ve just used Mapquest to measure the length of Prince of Wales Avenue on screen and using the scale on the map it turns out that the road from the gates to the top, just below the steps of the parliament building, is 985 metres!

Looks to me that the common knowledge that it’s a mile from the gates of Stormont to the Steps of the Parliament building might be an urban myth. I’ll have to check the park layout board at the gates (which I’ve never read) and see what it says. It’s more like a kilometre long it seems.

Here is a picture from Mapquest showing the Stormont grounds. Prince of Wales Avenue is listed as Ulster Way on this map.

Mapqueststormont Click picture for larger view

Nike+ iPod Sport Kit

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I got the Nike+ iPod Sport kit today and tried it out tonight. I don’t have a pair of the proper Nike shoes yet so I just stuck it under the insole of a pair of Caterpillar trainers I have. They have a thick insole so I was just aware of the sensor under my foot but it didn’t make it impossible to walk. It’d be uncomfortable to use it that way all the time though. I tied putting it under the tongue and laces of the trainer but it didn’t work there. I set it for a 2 mile distance program. It’s pretty cool. As I walked the distance counted up on the screen. It’s shown in 0.00 format so it goes 0.01, 0.02 etc. When I’d done half a mile the music faded down and the instruction voice told me I’d done half a mile. After a mile I was told I was half way there. At 1.5 miles I was told I’d half a mile to go. I had to stop after 1.75 miles as I the car park in Stormont was due to close!

When I docked the iPod it uploaded the data to the Nike+ web site and asked me if i wanted to visit the site. Here is the result –

Irnikeplus1 Click picture for larger view

I’ll need to get the proper shoes and calibrate it over a known distance. All in all I’m impressed.

Sunset play count hits 100

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I noticed today that the play count for the Kate Bush song Sunset has hit 100 in iTunes on my Macintosh! I said I was listening to it a lot. This includes iPod and desktop plays but not the plays via CD in the car. Here’s a picture of my top 10 in iTunes by play count (click picture for a larger view).

Sunset100

Max Woosnam

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Heard a piece on the Today program on Radio 4 last week about a new book on a sportsman called Max Woosnam. Apparently he was brilliant at everything he did. Here is the introduction from the entry on him at Wikipedia –

Maxwell “Max” Woosnam (September 6, 1892 – July 14, 1965) was a British amateur sportsman who excelled in many sports during the early part of the 20th century. In lawn tennis he was an Olympic gold medallist and Wimbledon champion, both in doubles, as well as captain of the British Davis Cup team. In association football he was the captain of Manchester City and once played for and captained the England national team. In snooker he scored a maximum 147 break; in cricket he scored a century at Lord’s in a schoolboy match, and in a table tennis game against the actor and film director Charlie Chaplin he won while playing with a butter knife instead of a bat.

I love that last line about the table tennis. What a guy 🙂 The new book is available here.

Max-Woosnam Max Woosnam (1892-1965)

New build of YAPT

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There is a new build of the Cocoa version of YAPT available. It now uses Objective-C rather than AppleScript internally (actually I’m still setting First Responder via AppleScript on application launch). See the YAPT page for more info and download. Here is a screen shot of the latest build with some data for Francium displayed.

Yapt15072006 Click Picture for larger view

Time to get fit

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I need to get fit. Been a real sluggard recently. Not good. I’ve always been tall, slim and naturally fit without having to work at it. Funny how this changes as you get older! Well, I’m still tall! It’s time to put in some work and get rid of the “beer” belly. It’s more like a junk food belly but that doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well.

I’ve posted about this before, but walking is really good exercise. So I plan to do a few miles a day and get fit. I might do some jogging as well, although it’s hard on the knees. I went for a 2.5 mile walk in the grounds of Stormont tonight with the ever brilliant Roger Taylor playing on the iPod. I’ll do another few miles tomorrow, either at Stormont or down beside the sea at Carnalea (see picture in header at top of this page). I’m sure you will be on the edge of your seats to read about how I get on [1]. I think I’ll go the cricket training on Monday and Thursday nights from now to the end of the season as well. I don’t think I’ll be able to play as I’m away in the USA for a few weekends in August, or have other stuff to do on Saturdays. I plan to play next season though. It’s a good incentive to get fit.

The new Nike+ iPod Sports Kit looks good [2]. I was ordering a set of JBL On Time Speakers for use with my iPod as a bedroom alarm clock (they have a built in FM radio as well) and I had a £20 money off voucher for use on the Apple Store. The Nike+ iPod Sports Kit costs £19 so I stuck one on the order and therefore will get it for free 🙂 I’ll need to get a pair of the Nike running shoes to fit the sensor into and some of the iPod ready clothing. There is a Nike Store a few blocks from where I’m staying in San Francisco in August whilst I’m at Apple WWDC. It’d be daft to go all that distance and not go shopping! The black Nike Air Zoom Moire shoes look just the ticket (see picture below). Once I get the kit I’ll be able to plan and follow a fitness regime using the iPod to record the progress and visualise it on the Nike+ website. Both of the iPod products mentions here, along with all the others, show how much of a platform iPod has become. it’s no longer just a music player. Having said that it is the best portable music player available. The other stuff is a nice bonus that doesn’t detract from the core functionality.

[1] About 100 people read this site every day, on average. Sometimes it spikes to a few hundred. Amazing!
[2] Review of Nike+ iPod Sports Kit available.

Nikeairzoommoire Click Picture for larger view

YAPT sub-page

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I’ve created a sub-page of the soapbox for YAPT. There will always be a link to this sub-page in the side bar on the right. This sub page will have a link to the latest version of YAPT. It will say when the latest build was posted and the archive will contain the latest post date as well.

Podcasts redux

| | Science, Technology

So who’s won my podcast war. Or, to put it another way, which podcasts do I look forward to? There are five that I listen too. Here they are in order of preference, but I do like them all.

1) The Nature Podcast

2) Science Talk: The Podcast of Scientific American

3) In Our Time

4) Seed’s Science + Culture Podcasts

5) CocoaRadio

I’ve recently added the TED Talks video podcasts as well. They look good but as always time will tell.

Dune (The Movie)

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Watched the 1984 version of Dune on DVD today (it’s a holiday in Northern Ireland). If ever a film needed an extra hour added its this one. It’s not often you hear people asking for scenes to be added to a film. I don’t think it would be possible to understand the film if you haven’t read the book. Urban legend says that the first cut of the movie was 5 hours long. Interviews in the DVD Extras reveal that David Lynch wanted to release a 3-hour version in theatres but the producers wanted a 2-hour cut. Lynch was correct I think. It’s interesting in this era of long films that in the 1980’s it was deemed that a 3-hour release would be too long. Hopefully one day we will see a restored David Lynch Director’s Cut.

Dunespecialedition Click Picture for larger view

Cocoa version of YAPT

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As I said in a previous post I was switching the development of YAPT from REALbasic to Xcode. This was due to an overall slowness in the GUI in the REALbasic version. There was an irritating delay in activation and deactivating the buttons for each element when switching the application to and from the front on screen. Also the About… dialog box was sluggish in displaying. Add in the fact that REALbasic can’t create Universal Binaries for Intel based Macs yet.

The first development version of the Xcode Universal Binary version of YAPT is now available. It’s much snappier in use and uses the Cocoa framework and Applescript. Only Hydrogen and Helium do anything at present. I plan to finish the interface using these two elements and then add information for the other elements once I’m happy with the layout etc. I’d be interested in any comments. This switch to using Xcode and Cocoa means that YAPT will be Macintosh only. There will not me a Windows or Linux version. There are plenty of other Periodic Table applications for those platforms anyway. Actually there are several for Macintosh as well but I don’t like them 🙂

Cocoayapt Click Picture for larger view

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