I heard some news today which brought back the excitement I felt when I heard that there was to be a new book based upon the incomparable Shibimi by Trevanian.
Apparently Warner Bros. have acquired the rights to make Don Winslow's Satori (based upon Shibumi) into a movie. And they are in talks with Leonardo DiCaprio to star as Nicolai Hel. And there may be a series of movies (Nicolai Hel as the new Jason Bourne).
This is very exciting news: Nicolai Hel finally appearing on the big screen in a big budget blockbuster!
I hope and trust that Trevanian will get the credit he deserves for the creation of these fantastic characters and the basic plot into which Winslow weaved his story.
And I presume that if there is a series of movies then some of the other plots from Shibumi will be incorporated. And if the screenwriters are cognisant of this, then they should ensure that they iron out some of the mistakes in characterisation which Winslow made. Where there are differences, they should be sure to use Trevanian's Hel rather than Winslow's.
If this project comes to fruition, it will be the first Trevanian movie since "The Eiger Sanction" (1975) starring Clint Eastwood. Note: IMDB tells us that a movie entitled "Hot Night in the City" (based on the Trevanian short stories of the same name) was made in 2004. I am overlooking this as I have never seen the movie and have never managed to find out anything else about it.
Here are a few links:
Will Leonardo DiCaprio accept Don Winslow's Satori mission?
Warner Bros Acquires Post-WWII Don Winslow Novel ‘Satori’ For Leonardo DiCaprio
Sunday 30 October 2011
Methinks we doth protest too little
Why do Irish people never protest about anything?
OK some lobby groups do manage to protest every now and then. The farmers and the taxi drivers spring to mind. But what about the rest of us?
And heaven knows we have a lot to protest about. The government, developers, bankers and regulators have brought the country to the brink of ruin. Unemployment (which ran between 3.6% and 5% between 2000 and 2007) has now rocketed to 14.6%. Our country is now run by a troika of the EU, IMF and ECB. It’s hard to believe that we are being rescued by bankers from problems caused by bankers!
In February 2009 an unnamed man threw eggs at the AIB Bank in Cork. I thought this was the kind of thing that could catch on: a non-violent way of sending a message to the bankers. But no. It was a one-off.
There was also a march in February 2009 but that was targeted specifically at the public sector pension levy.
In September 2010, Joe McNamara drove a cement truck with “Toxic Bank Anglo” drove into the gates of Leinster House and disabled it so that it took some time to remove. A sign on the back of the truck said “all politicians should be sacked”. He was subsequently cleared in court of criminal damage and dangerous driving charges.
There was another large march in Dublin in November 2010.
In February 2011 the Irish people came as close as we have to making a large-scale protest about what has been done to us. In line with Joe McNamara’s advice the government party was reduced from 71 seats to 20 and those 20 were sent to the opposition benches.
The “Occupy Wall Street” movement has resulted in “Occupy Dame Street” which, while I think it is welcome, only involves a small number of people.
Contrast our lack of protest about our economic crisis with places such as Iceland, Spain, Italy, and Greece.
So why do not protest?
Is it our natural sunny optimism? Our belief that there is little point in protesting when everything will work out fine in the end?!
Or is it our long history of being oppressed, and our belief that bad things will happen to us no matter what we do. I suspect this is a more likely explanation.
I just wish there was some way that we could make our anger and indignation known and take back some control over our own destinies.
OK some lobby groups do manage to protest every now and then. The farmers and the taxi drivers spring to mind. But what about the rest of us?
And heaven knows we have a lot to protest about. The government, developers, bankers and regulators have brought the country to the brink of ruin. Unemployment (which ran between 3.6% and 5% between 2000 and 2007) has now rocketed to 14.6%. Our country is now run by a troika of the EU, IMF and ECB. It’s hard to believe that we are being rescued by bankers from problems caused by bankers!
In February 2009 an unnamed man threw eggs at the AIB Bank in Cork. I thought this was the kind of thing that could catch on: a non-violent way of sending a message to the bankers. But no. It was a one-off.
There was also a march in February 2009 but that was targeted specifically at the public sector pension levy.
In September 2010, Joe McNamara drove a cement truck with “Toxic Bank Anglo” drove into the gates of Leinster House and disabled it so that it took some time to remove. A sign on the back of the truck said “all politicians should be sacked”. He was subsequently cleared in court of criminal damage and dangerous driving charges.
There was another large march in Dublin in November 2010.
In February 2011 the Irish people came as close as we have to making a large-scale protest about what has been done to us. In line with Joe McNamara’s advice the government party was reduced from 71 seats to 20 and those 20 were sent to the opposition benches.
The “Occupy Wall Street” movement has resulted in “Occupy Dame Street” which, while I think it is welcome, only involves a small number of people.
Contrast our lack of protest about our economic crisis with places such as Iceland, Spain, Italy, and Greece.
So why do not protest?
Is it our natural sunny optimism? Our belief that there is little point in protesting when everything will work out fine in the end?!
Or is it our long history of being oppressed, and our belief that bad things will happen to us no matter what we do. I suspect this is a more likely explanation.
I just wish there was some way that we could make our anger and indignation known and take back some control over our own destinies.
Saturday 29 October 2011
Whither Nokia?
If you owned a mobile phone back in the last 90s or early 00s, then chance are you had a Nokia 3210, 5110, 6110, 6310, or similar. Nokia were the dominant force in the market in those days.
Not so now. Its market share was recently estimated at 23%.
Why?
IMHO, Nokia believed that they had reached the point where they could dictate to the market. Consumers would follow wherever they lead. The first chink I saw in their armour was the introduction of the Communicator series with the GEOS and then Symbian OS. To me, this would the first sign that consumers would not automatically follow.
Then Apple came out with iPhone and turned the market on its head. Google released Android and there were two horses in the race. Symbian just could not compete.
So what did Nokia do? They dropped Symbian (good decision) and got into bed with Microsoft (not so good). So now we have a partnership between a company that makes phones that nobody wants and a company that has a mobile OS that nobody wants!!
Nothing good can come of this. But don’t take my word for this. Let’s take a look at the Nokia share price to see what the “wisdom of crowds” tells us.
In February the share price hit $11.75 just before a sharp decline as the Nokia/Microsoft alliance was announced. In August the price hit a low of $4.82. It has recovered a little and now stands at $7.18.
A few days ago Nokia released its first Smartphones using the Windows OS. I guess we will have to wait a little while to see response of the consumers and investors. But I am not optimistic.
Not so now. Its market share was recently estimated at 23%.
Why?
IMHO, Nokia believed that they had reached the point where they could dictate to the market. Consumers would follow wherever they lead. The first chink I saw in their armour was the introduction of the Communicator series with the GEOS and then Symbian OS. To me, this would the first sign that consumers would not automatically follow.
Then Apple came out with iPhone and turned the market on its head. Google released Android and there were two horses in the race. Symbian just could not compete.
So what did Nokia do? They dropped Symbian (good decision) and got into bed with Microsoft (not so good). So now we have a partnership between a company that makes phones that nobody wants and a company that has a mobile OS that nobody wants!!
Nothing good can come of this. But don’t take my word for this. Let’s take a look at the Nokia share price to see what the “wisdom of crowds” tells us.
In February the share price hit $11.75 just before a sharp decline as the Nokia/Microsoft alliance was announced. In August the price hit a low of $4.82. It has recovered a little and now stands at $7.18.
A few days ago Nokia released its first Smartphones using the Windows OS. I guess we will have to wait a little while to see response of the consumers and investors. But I am not optimistic.
Friday 28 October 2011
Irish Presidential Election
Although the counting continues, it seems that Michael D. Higgins will soon be announced as the winner of the Irish presidential election.
I’m delighted about that: I gave him my own vote yesterday. I think he was by far the most presidential of the candidates. Also, he was the only one who didn’t seem to have any skeletons in his closet.
I must say that Mary McAleese is a very hard act to follow. She was terrific president and accomplished a great deal during her two terms (the visit of the British monarch being the crowning achievement, if you’ll excuse the pun). And indeed her predecessor, Mary Robinson, also did a fantastic job. As I looked at the list of candidates in the polling booth yesterday, I wasn’t sure than anyone there would be able to follow their lead. But perhaps Michael will prove me wrong.
From the very beginning there were three candidates that I did not want to win.
The first of these was Mary Davis. Firstly, we could not have three Marys in a row occupying the highest position in the land! Secondly before I knew anything else about her (other than her name) I knew that she saw nothing wrong in photoshopping her election posters. What put the “tin hat” on it for me was discovering that Fianna Fáil had appointed her to enough boards to have her labelled the “Quango Queen”.
The second was Seán Gallagher. I have no interest in seeing a minor celebrity from a reality TV show being turned in the president. He is too young and has achieved too little. And he was always associated too closely with Fianna Fáil and the Celtic Tiger for my liking. And that was before his spectacular fall from grace of earlier in the week (the “envelope” incident on The Frontline programme).
And the third was Dana Rosemary Scallon. Dana’s strong religious and conservative views would not be to my liking and this would be sufficient on its own to ensure that I would not want her as president. And then there were skeletons that were rattling around in her closet. In her case the “tin hat” for me was her implication that her tyre blowing out was some kind of assassination attempt. Unbridled paranoia. Not presidential material, I’m afraid.
Before I finish up I want to say one more thing about Seán Gallagher. Analysts say that he was winning on Sunday and lost on Thursday because of what happened on The Frontline on Monday. And that was the major factor, of course. But I don’t think we should underestimate the difference between responding to a poll and actually standing in a polling both preparing to cast a vote in a presidential election. When I stood in the polling booth looking at the pictures of the candidates I was asking myself which of them I would be proud to see as president of this country. And it was obvious to me (as it would have been to others I imagine) that Seán was not that person.
I’m delighted about that: I gave him my own vote yesterday. I think he was by far the most presidential of the candidates. Also, he was the only one who didn’t seem to have any skeletons in his closet.
I must say that Mary McAleese is a very hard act to follow. She was terrific president and accomplished a great deal during her two terms (the visit of the British monarch being the crowning achievement, if you’ll excuse the pun). And indeed her predecessor, Mary Robinson, also did a fantastic job. As I looked at the list of candidates in the polling booth yesterday, I wasn’t sure than anyone there would be able to follow their lead. But perhaps Michael will prove me wrong.
From the very beginning there were three candidates that I did not want to win.
The first of these was Mary Davis. Firstly, we could not have three Marys in a row occupying the highest position in the land! Secondly before I knew anything else about her (other than her name) I knew that she saw nothing wrong in photoshopping her election posters. What put the “tin hat” on it for me was discovering that Fianna Fáil had appointed her to enough boards to have her labelled the “Quango Queen”.
The second was Seán Gallagher. I have no interest in seeing a minor celebrity from a reality TV show being turned in the president. He is too young and has achieved too little. And he was always associated too closely with Fianna Fáil and the Celtic Tiger for my liking. And that was before his spectacular fall from grace of earlier in the week (the “envelope” incident on The Frontline programme).
And the third was Dana Rosemary Scallon. Dana’s strong religious and conservative views would not be to my liking and this would be sufficient on its own to ensure that I would not want her as president. And then there were skeletons that were rattling around in her closet. In her case the “tin hat” for me was her implication that her tyre blowing out was some kind of assassination attempt. Unbridled paranoia. Not presidential material, I’m afraid.
Before I finish up I want to say one more thing about Seán Gallagher. Analysts say that he was winning on Sunday and lost on Thursday because of what happened on The Frontline on Monday. And that was the major factor, of course. But I don’t think we should underestimate the difference between responding to a poll and actually standing in a polling both preparing to cast a vote in a presidential election. When I stood in the polling booth looking at the pictures of the candidates I was asking myself which of them I would be proud to see as president of this country. And it was obvious to me (as it would have been to others I imagine) that Seán was not that person.
Sunday 23 October 2011
Best Albums Ever: The Lexicon of Love (ABC) and Purple Rain (Prince)
The best albums I have ever come across were:
The Lexicon of Love – ABC - 1982
Purple Rain – Prince – 1984
The former contained a string of hits such as "Tears Are Not Enough”, "All of My Heart", "Poison Arrow", and "The Look of Love”. It was produced by the incomparable Trevor Horn. I bought the “LP” originally and then the “1996 digitally re-mastered edition” on CD (which included the brilliant “The Look of Love (U.S. Special Remix - Edit)”). I note that there was a 2 disc “2004 deluxe edition” as well.
The latter contained such gems as "Let's Go Crazy, "Take Me with U”, "The Beautiful Ones”, "Computer Blue", "Darling Nikki", "When Doves Cry", "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm a Star", "Purple Rain". All the songs are brilliant: “Take Me with U” may be a little weaker than the others while “When Doves Cry” (one of my favourite songs of all time) and “Purple Rain” are the pick of the bunch.
I had the pleasure of seeing Price play Malahide Castle this summer. What a great night: the man is a total genius. I’ve never seen ABC live, unfortunately.
Interesting to note that both artists used single character abbreviations in their song titles: “4 Ever 2 Gether” for ABC and "I Would Die 4 U" for Prince.
I heard Prince being asked in an interview if we would take credit for starting this trend (which we now see very prominently in TXT/SMS messages). Wisely he declined to do so!
The chorus of “4 Ever 2 Gether” is a classic in this regard:
4 ever 2 gether, 4 years 2 come
4 love 2 strong, 4 us 2 part
The Lexicon of Love – ABC - 1982
Purple Rain – Prince – 1984
The former contained a string of hits such as "Tears Are Not Enough”, "All of My Heart", "Poison Arrow", and "The Look of Love”. It was produced by the incomparable Trevor Horn. I bought the “LP” originally and then the “1996 digitally re-mastered edition” on CD (which included the brilliant “The Look of Love (U.S. Special Remix - Edit)”). I note that there was a 2 disc “2004 deluxe edition” as well.
The latter contained such gems as "Let's Go Crazy, "Take Me with U”, "The Beautiful Ones”, "Computer Blue", "Darling Nikki", "When Doves Cry", "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm a Star", "Purple Rain". All the songs are brilliant: “Take Me with U” may be a little weaker than the others while “When Doves Cry” (one of my favourite songs of all time) and “Purple Rain” are the pick of the bunch.
I had the pleasure of seeing Price play Malahide Castle this summer. What a great night: the man is a total genius. I’ve never seen ABC live, unfortunately.
Interesting to note that both artists used single character abbreviations in their song titles: “4 Ever 2 Gether” for ABC and "I Would Die 4 U" for Prince.
I heard Prince being asked in an interview if we would take credit for starting this trend (which we now see very prominently in TXT/SMS messages). Wisely he declined to do so!
The chorus of “4 Ever 2 Gether” is a classic in this regard:
4 ever 2 gether, 4 years 2 come
4 love 2 strong, 4 us 2 part
Friday 21 October 2011
Best Chinese Martial Arts Movie
I was trying to decide upon the best Chinese martial arts movie of all time (I will look at movies from other countries in future postings).
I thought a good approach would be to use the “wisdom of crowds” as exemplified by the rating system in IMDB.
So if I choose the best martial artist actors and directors, and then get their highest rated movie, I should have a list of the top contenders.
Here are the results (sorted by rating):
Ip Man (2008) – 8.10 - Donnie Yen
Hero (2002) – 8.00 - Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Yimou Zhang
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) – 8.00 - Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Woo-ping Yuen
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) – 7.88 - Leih Lo
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) - 7.80 - Stephen Chow
Iron Monkey (1993) – 7.7 - Woo-ping Yuen, Hark Tsui
Enter the Dragon (1973) – 7.6 - Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen
A Touch of Zen (1971) – 7.6 - Sammo Hung
The Legend of Drunken Master (1994) – 7.59 Jackie Chan , Anita Mui
Drunken Master (1978) – 7.59 - Corey Yuen
Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976) - 7.47 - Yu Wang
The Prodigal Son (1981) – 7.45 - Biao Yuen
So this approach indicates that the top three Chinese martial arts movies of all time are Ip Man, Hero, and CTHD.
I have to admit that I wouldn’t really quibble with that.
Notes:
I thought a good approach would be to use the “wisdom of crowds” as exemplified by the rating system in IMDB.
So if I choose the best martial artist actors and directors, and then get their highest rated movie, I should have a list of the top contenders.
Here are the results (sorted by rating):
Ip Man (2008) – 8.10 - Donnie Yen
Hero (2002) – 8.00 - Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Yimou Zhang
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) – 8.00 - Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Woo-ping Yuen
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) – 7.88 - Leih Lo
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) - 7.80 - Stephen Chow
Iron Monkey (1993) – 7.7 - Woo-ping Yuen, Hark Tsui
Enter the Dragon (1973) – 7.6 - Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen
A Touch of Zen (1971) – 7.6 - Sammo Hung
The Legend of Drunken Master (1994) – 7.59 Jackie Chan , Anita Mui
Drunken Master (1978) – 7.59 - Corey Yuen
Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976) - 7.47 - Yu Wang
The Prodigal Son (1981) – 7.45 - Biao Yuen
So this approach indicates that the top three Chinese martial arts movies of all time are Ip Man, Hero, and CTHD.
I have to admit that I wouldn’t really quibble with that.
Notes:
- “Enter the Dragon” was the top rated movie for a number of people as shown above but I also included their second rated movie to show something more reflective of their own work
- John Woo’s “The Killer” and Wai-keung Lau/Alan Mak’s “Infernal Affairs” came up a number of times in my searches but I rejected them as not being kung fu movies.
A* of the Day: Willie O’Dea
I never expected to be making an “A* of the day” posting in my blog, but I heard something on the radio yesterday morning that was so astounding that I have to make this inaugural posting.
The programme was “Morning Ireland” and (as I write) a recording of the programme is available here:
Podcast
The interesting part starts about 1 minute in.
The presenter (Cathal Mac Coille) introduces Willie O’Dea, Fianna Fail spokesman for “Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation” to talk about his criticism of the Government for failing to do enough to prevent the loss of 950 jobs in Aviva.
At 3:27 Cathal asked: “Can you point to any announcement of job losses when Fianna Fail were in power, which was mitigated, reduced or delayed by the intervention of any minister, or any Taoiseach from Fianna Fail”.
What a fantastic question!
Willie replied: “I’m sure there have been instances…”
Cathal asked: “You can’t point to one, can you?”
Willie replied (wait for it): “Off the top of my head, first thing in the morning, no I can’t...”
He then rallied with “I don’t have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Irish industrial history to go right back to 1932 to instance every particular single case, and I don’t think I should be expected to either”.
Well done, Willie.
Cathal replied: “No, just asking for one” and then moved on quickly.
I guess in the heat of the moment, Willie was unable to come up with something about his dog having eaten his homework!
But full marks to Cathal for not allowing Willie to get away with this piece of hypocrisy.
The problem here is that Fianna Fail are operating under a number of illusions. The first is that they are providing a credible opposition. The second is that anyone cares a jot about anything they have to say about anything.
I have heard Micheál Martin starting to make similar criticisms of the current Government. These guys need to take a good look in the mirror, remember their roles in the decimation of our economy during the last government, keep their heads down and their mouths shut, and give thanks every day to the voters who (against all reason) put 20 of them back into the Dáil.
The programme was “Morning Ireland” and (as I write) a recording of the programme is available here:
Podcast
The interesting part starts about 1 minute in.
The presenter (Cathal Mac Coille) introduces Willie O’Dea, Fianna Fail spokesman for “Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation” to talk about his criticism of the Government for failing to do enough to prevent the loss of 950 jobs in Aviva.
At 3:27 Cathal asked: “Can you point to any announcement of job losses when Fianna Fail were in power, which was mitigated, reduced or delayed by the intervention of any minister, or any Taoiseach from Fianna Fail”.
What a fantastic question!
Willie replied: “I’m sure there have been instances…”
Cathal asked: “You can’t point to one, can you?”
Willie replied (wait for it): “Off the top of my head, first thing in the morning, no I can’t...”
He then rallied with “I don’t have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Irish industrial history to go right back to 1932 to instance every particular single case, and I don’t think I should be expected to either”.
Well done, Willie.
Cathal replied: “No, just asking for one” and then moved on quickly.
I guess in the heat of the moment, Willie was unable to come up with something about his dog having eaten his homework!
But full marks to Cathal for not allowing Willie to get away with this piece of hypocrisy.
The problem here is that Fianna Fail are operating under a number of illusions. The first is that they are providing a credible opposition. The second is that anyone cares a jot about anything they have to say about anything.
I have heard Micheál Martin starting to make similar criticisms of the current Government. These guys need to take a good look in the mirror, remember their roles in the decimation of our economy during the last government, keep their heads down and their mouths shut, and give thanks every day to the voters who (against all reason) put 20 of them back into the Dáil.
Thursday 13 October 2011
New DVDs
I went mad at the weekend and bought myself four (yes 4!) new DVDs.
There are:
1-3 are directed by Yip Wai-Shun. 4 is directed by Cory Yuen.
The action director for 1-2 is Sammo Hung, for 3 is Donnie Yen, and for 4 is Cory Yuen.
All four DVDs are from Cine Asia and have lots of extras.
1-3 are 2 disc editions.
3-4 have an audio commentary by Bey Logan (I really enjoy his commentaries and this was a crucial factor in my purchasing decision).
I have already seen 1 and 2 before and I really loved them. Great performance by Donnie and great action sequences designed by Sammo. I was listening to Bey Logan last evening and he said that he had seen action in Ip Man 2 that he had never seen in a move before (he is obviously a great admirer of Sammo’s work).
I bought the four of them for €22 in Xtravision.
I have a lot of enjoyment in store over the coming days/weeks!
There are:
- Ip Man (2008) – IMDB rating 8.1
- Ip Man 2 (2010) – IMDB rating 7.5
- Kill Zone(2005) – IMDB rating 7.1
- The Legend (of Fong Sai-Yuk) (1993) – IMDB rating 7.1
1-3 are directed by Yip Wai-Shun. 4 is directed by Cory Yuen.
The action director for 1-2 is Sammo Hung, for 3 is Donnie Yen, and for 4 is Cory Yuen.
All four DVDs are from Cine Asia and have lots of extras.
1-3 are 2 disc editions.
3-4 have an audio commentary by Bey Logan (I really enjoy his commentaries and this was a crucial factor in my purchasing decision).
I have already seen 1 and 2 before and I really loved them. Great performance by Donnie and great action sequences designed by Sammo. I was listening to Bey Logan last evening and he said that he had seen action in Ip Man 2 that he had never seen in a move before (he is obviously a great admirer of Sammo’s work).
I bought the four of them for €22 in Xtravision.
I have a lot of enjoyment in store over the coming days/weeks!
Tuesday 11 October 2011
Early Computer Magazines
In his book "Outliers: The Story of Success", Malcolm Gladwell produces examples to back up a theory that 10,000 hours of practice are required to become proficient at a complex task. He stresses the importance of getting the opportunity to complete the 10,000 hours of practice. If you work 37.5 hours a day for 52 weeks a year then this equates to over 5 years of experience.
He uses Bill Gates as an example. Bill has access to a computer terminal connection to a remote mainframe computer in 1968 when he was in the eighth grade. He says: “From that moment forward, Gates lived in the computer room”. This was an exceptional opportunity for a young boy in 1968.
When I became interested in computers, the first part of my 10,000 hours was limited to books and, more importantly, computer magazines. I started out with Electronics Today International (ETI). I thought I was going to be interested in electronics until I discovered the microprocessor! Then I began to buy specialist computer magazines (with ETI at first and then instead of it later). My favourites were Personal Computer World (PCW) and Practical Computing. I read each issue from cover to cover. I still have many issues in my attic to this day.
I learned computer languages by reading program listings (hard to believe for people discovering computers today, but magazines in those times would include long program listings – generally written in BASIC – and people would enter these programs into their own computers). So these program listings were my Rosetta Stone. And all of my programming was done on imagined computers (we would call them “virtual” computers today!). I remember going on a holiday to my cousins in Co Derry and borrowing a book from the local library there on programming in Fortran. So I was able to add the ability to read (I have purposely selected to use “read” rather than “program in”) Fortran code during that holiday.
My first access to a real computer came when I got my own Apple ][ computer in 1978. Then came the process of changing from being able to read programs, to being able to write them! I would equate this change to the difference between learning the theory of driving a car to the actuality of being behind the wheel!
Here are some links to information about the magazines I have mentioned above:
Early UK Computer Magazines
PCW Covers
Practical Computing Covers
He uses Bill Gates as an example. Bill has access to a computer terminal connection to a remote mainframe computer in 1968 when he was in the eighth grade. He says: “From that moment forward, Gates lived in the computer room”. This was an exceptional opportunity for a young boy in 1968.
When I became interested in computers, the first part of my 10,000 hours was limited to books and, more importantly, computer magazines. I started out with Electronics Today International (ETI). I thought I was going to be interested in electronics until I discovered the microprocessor! Then I began to buy specialist computer magazines (with ETI at first and then instead of it later). My favourites were Personal Computer World (PCW) and Practical Computing. I read each issue from cover to cover. I still have many issues in my attic to this day.
I learned computer languages by reading program listings (hard to believe for people discovering computers today, but magazines in those times would include long program listings – generally written in BASIC – and people would enter these programs into their own computers). So these program listings were my Rosetta Stone. And all of my programming was done on imagined computers (we would call them “virtual” computers today!). I remember going on a holiday to my cousins in Co Derry and borrowing a book from the local library there on programming in Fortran. So I was able to add the ability to read (I have purposely selected to use “read” rather than “program in”) Fortran code during that holiday.
My first access to a real computer came when I got my own Apple ][ computer in 1978. Then came the process of changing from being able to read programs, to being able to write them! I would equate this change to the difference between learning the theory of driving a car to the actuality of being behind the wheel!
Here are some links to information about the magazines I have mentioned above:
Early UK Computer Magazines
PCW Covers
Practical Computing Covers
Sunday 9 October 2011
Defeat in Wellington
Was up at 6 AM this morning (along with half of Ireland, I imagine) to see our boys take on the Welsh in the Rugby World Cup.
Final score was 22-10, but not in the way we would have wished!
I don’t think that anyone would deny that the better team (on the day) won.
They were very well organised, very strong and determined, and they took their chances.
The pattern of the game seemed to be, from the Welsh perspective:
I was also disappointed for Tommy Bowe. He didn’t get a chance to shine in this game as he had in previous ones.
It is important to remember, as our World Cup adventure comes to a close, that the lads did us proud. They won all 4 games at the pool stages, including that historic victory over Australia. And that particular win will live on in our memories for a long time to come.
Sometimes when a team knocks you out of a competition, you do not want them to go on to do well. A great example of this for us is France in the 2010 soccer World Cup after the disgraceful cheating by Thierry Henry. No so in this case. I think that lots of Irish people will now be behind our Celtic neighbours.
Final score was 22-10, but not in the way we would have wished!
I don’t think that anyone would deny that the better team (on the day) won.
They were very well organised, very strong and determined, and they took their chances.
The pattern of the game seemed to be, from the Welsh perspective:
- Defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; opportunity; score
- Defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; defend; opportunity; score
I was also disappointed for Tommy Bowe. He didn’t get a chance to shine in this game as he had in previous ones.
It is important to remember, as our World Cup adventure comes to a close, that the lads did us proud. They won all 4 games at the pool stages, including that historic victory over Australia. And that particular win will live on in our memories for a long time to come.
Sometimes when a team knocks you out of a competition, you do not want them to go on to do well. A great example of this for us is France in the 2010 soccer World Cup after the disgraceful cheating by Thierry Henry. No so in this case. I think that lots of Irish people will now be behind our Celtic neighbours.
Thursday 6 October 2011
Steve Jobs
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Steve Jobs this morning.
I have been a long-time admirer of Apple and the work that Steve and his people have done there. I mentioned previously in this blog that my first computer was an Apple ][ (purchased in about ’78 I think).
At the time that computer came out it was head-and-shoulders above other similar computers. It was extendable, had a proper keyboard, hi and low res graphics, and a strong case that would support a monitor/TV. I got a lot of enjoyment out of that computer (and learned a lot too!). It is still up in my attic as I can’t bear to part with it.
The story of those early days (of the “personal computer”) is very well told in the ’99 TV movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley”. Noah Wyle does a good job portraying Steve.
I don’t know specifically about Steve’s personal contribution to the history of innovation at Apple, but I did see a documentary (The Triumph of the Nerds) where he was emphasising the importance of shaving 5 seconds off the boot-up time for the Mac. He was telling the engineers to imagine the time that would be saved by millions of users powering up their Macs at the start of the business day. This is an excellent example of (a) the importance of putting the needs of the user at the heart of decision-making and (b) showing leadership by motivating your team to achieve goals which seem to be impossible.
What I do know/believe is:
And that is his legacy.
I have been a long-time admirer of Apple and the work that Steve and his people have done there. I mentioned previously in this blog that my first computer was an Apple ][ (purchased in about ’78 I think).
At the time that computer came out it was head-and-shoulders above other similar computers. It was extendable, had a proper keyboard, hi and low res graphics, and a strong case that would support a monitor/TV. I got a lot of enjoyment out of that computer (and learned a lot too!). It is still up in my attic as I can’t bear to part with it.
The story of those early days (of the “personal computer”) is very well told in the ’99 TV movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley”. Noah Wyle does a good job portraying Steve.
I don’t know specifically about Steve’s personal contribution to the history of innovation at Apple, but I did see a documentary (The Triumph of the Nerds) where he was emphasising the importance of shaving 5 seconds off the boot-up time for the Mac. He was telling the engineers to imagine the time that would be saved by millions of users powering up their Macs at the start of the business day. This is an excellent example of (a) the importance of putting the needs of the user at the heart of decision-making and (b) showing leadership by motivating your team to achieve goals which seem to be impossible.
What I do know/believe is:
- Apple is now (and always has been for me) a cool company making cool things
- Steve’s name will be revered in Apple and in this industry long after other names have faded from memory.
And that is his legacy.
Tuesday 4 October 2011
Favourite Websites
I am going to nominate 2 “favourite” websites, but for quite different reasons.
My favourite website (judged by the number of times I enter it into my browser’s address bar) is IMDB.COM. I’m sure I go to this site every couple of days. It is an unbelievable font of information on movies and TV shows. The site must have been used to settle SO many arguments over the years (how DID we settle arguments before the Internet arrived?!).
My favourite website (judged by the enjoyment I get from it) is grooveshark.com. I don’t know how is it possible that a website can exist where you can play any (well, almost any) song that takes your fancy in real time. More quickly that you could find a CD, or perhaps even find your iPod! So if you’re at your computer, and you want to hear something by Lady Gaga, then you’re in luck.
But if you want to hear Bing Crosby singing “Danny Boy”, or “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” or even “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's an Irish lullaby)” then they’re available too!
But perhaps the most interesting thing for music geeks is the number of remixes you can get. So if you want to listen to “Crazy” by Seal then you can choose from the following (and more):
Works for me!
My favourite website (judged by the number of times I enter it into my browser’s address bar) is IMDB.COM. I’m sure I go to this site every couple of days. It is an unbelievable font of information on movies and TV shows. The site must have been used to settle SO many arguments over the years (how DID we settle arguments before the Internet arrived?!).
My favourite website (judged by the enjoyment I get from it) is grooveshark.com. I don’t know how is it possible that a website can exist where you can play any (well, almost any) song that takes your fancy in real time. More quickly that you could find a CD, or perhaps even find your iPod! So if you’re at your computer, and you want to hear something by Lady Gaga, then you’re in luck.
But if you want to hear Bing Crosby singing “Danny Boy”, or “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” or even “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's an Irish lullaby)” then they’re available too!
But perhaps the most interesting thing for music geeks is the number of remixes you can get. So if you want to listen to “Crazy” by Seal then you can choose from the following (and more):
- Single version (4:30)
- Album version (4:28)
- William Orbit mix (5:27)
- Live (5:19)
- Acoustic (4:02)
- Acapella mix (3:28)
Works for me!
Monday 3 October 2011
Favourite Singles of Recent Years
The following is a list of some of my favourite singles of the last few years:
2007 – “Apologize” – One Republic
2007 - "Happy Ending" - Mika
2008 - "Broken Strings" – James Morrison featuring Nelly Furtado
2008 - "Viva la Vida" – Coldplay
2010 - "For the First Time" – The Script
I couldn’t tell you how many times I have listened to these songs!
And here are some of my other favourites of recent years (which I loved but didn't listen to often enough to make the top 5):
2008 - "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" – The Script
2008 - "Breakeven" – The Script
2009 - "Halo" - Beyoncé
2010 - "Replay"- Iyaz
2010 - "Forget You" - Cee Lo Green
2010 - "Fireflies" - Owl City
2010 - "Hey, Soul Sister" - Train
2011 – “Gold Forever” - The Wanted
I guess these lists tag me as (a) a pop music fan and (b) a big fan of superb Irish band The Script!
2007 – “Apologize” – One Republic
2007 - "Happy Ending" - Mika
2008 - "Broken Strings" – James Morrison featuring Nelly Furtado
2008 - "Viva la Vida" – Coldplay
2010 - "For the First Time" – The Script
I couldn’t tell you how many times I have listened to these songs!
And here are some of my other favourites of recent years (which I loved but didn't listen to often enough to make the top 5):
2008 - "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" – The Script
2008 - "Breakeven" – The Script
2009 - "Halo" - Beyoncé
2010 - "Replay"- Iyaz
2010 - "Forget You" - Cee Lo Green
2010 - "Fireflies" - Owl City
2010 - "Hey, Soul Sister" - Train
2011 – “Gold Forever” - The Wanted
I guess these lists tag me as (a) a pop music fan and (b) a big fan of superb Irish band The Script!
Sporting Heroes Once Again!
In my first posting in this blog (just a week and a half ago) I mentioned some things which I thought I might blog about. I never anticipated that I would be blogging about sport! But here I am with my second entry on this topic.
Ireland had a comprehensive win over Italy this morning (36-6). Another fantastic team performance by the Irish team. My favourite individual performance was by Tommy Bowe. He:
Pool A – Won by New Zealand (played 4, won 4)
Pool B – Won by England (played 4, won 4)
Pool C – Won by Ireland (played 4, won 4)
Pool D – Won by South Africa (played 4, won 4)
Which team (according to the World Rankings!) doesn’t deserve to be in this list?!
What a fantastic performance in the pool stages.
Roll on next weekend and Wales!
Ireland had a comprehensive win over Italy this morning (36-6). Another fantastic team performance by the Irish team. My favourite individual performance was by Tommy Bowe. He:
- Scored the first try (which was incorrectly disallowed)
- Made the second (scored by “Captain Fantastic”)
- Might have scored another fabulous try later in the game but was illegally tackled close to the try line when not in possession of the ball.
Pool A – Won by New Zealand (played 4, won 4)
Pool B – Won by England (played 4, won 4)
Pool C – Won by Ireland (played 4, won 4)
Pool D – Won by South Africa (played 4, won 4)
Which team (according to the World Rankings!) doesn’t deserve to be in this list?!
What a fantastic performance in the pool stages.
Roll on next weekend and Wales!
Sunday 2 October 2011
Unmissable TV: Downton Abbey and House
I watch too much TV. And I watch it in the worst way: flicking from channel to channel, deciding there’s nothing on, and then flicking through them again in spite of that!
So most of the time there is nothing on TV that I would really care about seeing or missing.
But, strangely, there are 2 shows on at the moment that I would HATE to miss.
One is “Downton Abbey”. This is a very enjoyable programme, now in its second series. Kudos to all of the cast and crew. I am reluctant to single anyone out because everything is so well done, but it would be difficult to ignore the contributions of Julian Fellowes (creator, writer, exec producer), Brendan Coyle (who plays Mr Bates) and Michelle Dockery (who plays Lady Mary). And, of course, I would have to mention the inimitable Maggie Smith.
The other is “House”. I have been a huge fan of Hugh Laurie since forever. I first saw him on Saturday Live in sketches with Stephen Fry. My admiration for these two was cemented in Peter's Friends, Jeeves and Wooster, and, of course, A Bit of Fry and Laurie.
For some reason I missed the start of House on TV and I didn't want to join midstream. But last Christmas my wife bought me seasons 1-5 on DVD and I was able to catch up (she also bought me Jeeves and Wooster on DVD at the same time!).
So Downton Abbey is running at present (season 2) and House will be starting up again in the States next Monday apparently (season 8!).
Happy days!
So most of the time there is nothing on TV that I would really care about seeing or missing.
But, strangely, there are 2 shows on at the moment that I would HATE to miss.
One is “Downton Abbey”. This is a very enjoyable programme, now in its second series. Kudos to all of the cast and crew. I am reluctant to single anyone out because everything is so well done, but it would be difficult to ignore the contributions of Julian Fellowes (creator, writer, exec producer), Brendan Coyle (who plays Mr Bates) and Michelle Dockery (who plays Lady Mary). And, of course, I would have to mention the inimitable Maggie Smith.
The other is “House”. I have been a huge fan of Hugh Laurie since forever. I first saw him on Saturday Live in sketches with Stephen Fry. My admiration for these two was cemented in Peter's Friends, Jeeves and Wooster, and, of course, A Bit of Fry and Laurie.
For some reason I missed the start of House on TV and I didn't want to join midstream. But last Christmas my wife bought me seasons 1-5 on DVD and I was able to catch up (she also bought me Jeeves and Wooster on DVD at the same time!).
So Downton Abbey is running at present (season 2) and House will be starting up again in the States next Monday apparently (season 8!).
Happy days!
Saturday 1 October 2011
The Times They Are a-Changin'
Ireland is going through some very difficult changes at present.
The “Celtic Tiger” is well and truly dead. Unemployment is running at 14.5%. The Bank of Ireland’s chief economist, Dan McLaughlin, has predicted that Ireland’s national debt will hit €173bn by the end of the year, an average of €81,519 for every worker in the State. As a result of the bail-out we have received from the EU-IMF-ECB “troika”, it seems that our national sovereignty has been eroded.
This morning I had occasion to be in the IDA Science & Technology Park on the Snugborough Road in Blanchardstown in Dublin 15.
I worked there (in Lucent Technologies) between 1997 and 2001.
I was overwhelmed by the changes that have taken place there. And not for the better.
The Lucent building (which is very sizeable) seems to be largely abandoned. A number of the other buildings seem to be closed down. Others (judging by the number of cars in their car parks) seem to have greatly reduced workforces.
When I worked there, there were queues of cars entering and leaving the park every morning and evening. During the summer, if we went for a walk around the estate, there would be hundreds of people taking a stroll.
Not so any more.
I was struck by the changes that have taken place there over the last 10 years. And I could not help wondering what the next 10 years holds in store for other businesses, and for our whole economy.
Obviously I hope that the coming years will see a recovery and a return to more optimistic times. But I can tell you that it was difficult to be optimistic this morning in the fact of what I was seeing.
The “Celtic Tiger” is well and truly dead. Unemployment is running at 14.5%. The Bank of Ireland’s chief economist, Dan McLaughlin, has predicted that Ireland’s national debt will hit €173bn by the end of the year, an average of €81,519 for every worker in the State. As a result of the bail-out we have received from the EU-IMF-ECB “troika”, it seems that our national sovereignty has been eroded.
This morning I had occasion to be in the IDA Science & Technology Park on the Snugborough Road in Blanchardstown in Dublin 15.
I worked there (in Lucent Technologies) between 1997 and 2001.
I was overwhelmed by the changes that have taken place there. And not for the better.
The Lucent building (which is very sizeable) seems to be largely abandoned. A number of the other buildings seem to be closed down. Others (judging by the number of cars in their car parks) seem to have greatly reduced workforces.
When I worked there, there were queues of cars entering and leaving the park every morning and evening. During the summer, if we went for a walk around the estate, there would be hundreds of people taking a stroll.
Not so any more.
I was struck by the changes that have taken place there over the last 10 years. And I could not help wondering what the next 10 years holds in store for other businesses, and for our whole economy.
Obviously I hope that the coming years will see a recovery and a return to more optimistic times. But I can tell you that it was difficult to be optimistic this morning in the fact of what I was seeing.
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