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There’s nothing like the great outdoors to shake off the cobwebs. I decided to give myself a break and do something i’ve always wanted to do since i read about it, wild camp up Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa). It’s not the most remote place in the world with restaurant every mile or so and a big one at the top (which was a hotel back at the end of the 19th century when the Snowdon Mountain Railway was built). I figure that if something goes wrong i’ll have the easiest walk out ever without any hope of getting lost on a track that’s only missing the cats eyes and white lines to turn it into a motorway.

Anyway i digress…

Spent most of the day around Betws-y-coed outdoor shops and the Llanberis pass which is home to some of the best bouldering in the world. Set off about 6pm up the Llanberis path up Snowdon. Greeted by many a weary tourist looking to climb the highest mountain in wales with jeans, trainers and a can of Coke. Many of which helpfully told me I was going the wrong way for this time of night. Thanks! It took about three and a half hours to walk to my pitch which was just under Clogwyn Du’r Arddu (or cloggy to most people), on the shores of Llyn du’r Arddu which is a small lake which the copper miners used to clean their copper ore (which makes it a very spooky green).

All was going well when i pitched up at 10pm. Got in my tent, brewed up and made some pasta in my trusty Jetboil, took a few pics and got settled down for the night. This is where it gets interesting… at about 2:30am i woke to find my tent in my face. The wind had changed direction overnight and where once my tent was nessled behind a large boulder, end on to the wind, it was now getting everything side on. The guy gave and the middle pole of my Hilleberg snapped and went through the tent fabric. This does not make for a good nights sleep! I made the call and packed up. Everything stuffed in my sac and ready for a long walk down at 3am! It took about one and a half hours to walk out in complete blackness, with only the distant sight of MRT people scouring a neighboring hill for a lost traveller. I’m certain i saw a ufo on the top of Snowdon but it was probably nothing

I did plan to take many pics from the top in the morning. This never happened and i’ll i managed to get is a picture of my pasta in the Jetboil! I might share that with you one day!

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Well it’s now the end of a era, with sadness this is the list of bass gear which i’m selling. I’m leaving the list open to offers for now.

• Musicman Stingray 5, Translucent Blue
• Warwick streamer Stage 1, Grade AAA Flame Maple
• Eden Navigation (WP-100) Preamp
• Eden XL410 Bass Cabinet (4×10, 700w rating)
• Boss TU-2 Guitar Tuner
• Boss OD-3 Bass Overdrive
• Line 6 Bass Pod XT Pro

After a little search around it turns out that dscacheutil replaces lookupd in 10.5. I tend to use this for flushing the dns cache, which can be now done like this from the command line.

dscacheutil -flushcache

Here is a collection of pictures of my work colleagues in the buff at a work outing.

Technorati Tags: buff, funny, headwear, lol, lolleagues

It appears that google has added the iPod Touch to it’s list of devices which use it’s mobile gmail service. Recently i’ve been using gmail though Safari on the Touch and only getting the standard gmail interface. This morning i get the gmail mobile interface which is much better for a screen the size of the Touch’s (Can anyone confirm this is the same for the iPhone?)

Admittedly it would be awesome if Google turned this into a full iPod Touch/iPhone application but this is going a good way towards that.

Technorati Tags: apple, gmail, google, iphone, ipod touch, macosx, technology, touch

Here is my friend at work sporting my new high vis BUFFLOL.

Technorati Tags: buff, funny, headwear, lol, lolleagues

The Touch/iPhone Mac Address is buried away in the menus. Here’s where to find it.

• Go into the settings menu
• Click on general
• Click on about
• It’s right down there at the bottom under Wi-Fi Address

Technorati Tags: apple, iphone, ipod, ipod touch, help, touch

I could resist no longer. I know it’s only 3 weeks before the iPhone comes out and i know i don’t need one but have you seen it! I was in the Apple store London and just couldn’t leave without one. It’s now plugged into my lappie on the train, charging as we speak.

I can see people on the tables around me looking at me/it as i play with it. It’s just flawless. I’ve got a Nokia 770 internet tablet, it doesn’t even come close. Bar bluetooth and the ability to install your own programs, it lacks nothing compared to the 770. You’re lucky if you can open one of the applications on the 770 before next christmas but this thing is just unbelievably responsive and super usable. If the N800 is all Nokia has then i think Apple are pretty safe for a while.

As soon as i turned it on it picked up the GNER wireless network on the train and asked me if i wanted to connect. No crawling though configuration options and “find network” icons. “I need the internet”, “ok then here it is”. Central to the way Apple designs it’s products, the technology should facilitate the user not the other way round. The iPod touch does this perfectly.

I’m also loving the way it zooms on webpages when you double click. It’s not just a indiscriminate zoom to 125%, it’s contextual. It will zoom to the size of the div box full of text or the image you want to see. It’s a beautiful thing to behold. Most of the time we as users notice things we fight against, “Why does it do that”, “come on i have work to do”, “that’s just crazy”, but rarely do with think that something is useful or facilitative. I think this is largely the mark of great design, that a user is unaware of it and can just get on with what they want to do.

I know this is just an iPod and it’s just about playing the music, but it’s clearly so much more.

Technorati Tags: apple, iphone, ipod, ipod touch, itunes, macosx, osx, technology, touch

I’ve searched through the new pages related to the release of the forthcoming Leopard server and failed to find mention of time machine. The screenshots still display the time machine icon but it’s something i would have expected to be mentioned on the site. Admittedly time machine maybe isn’t enterprisey enough for a large organisation but as far as the SMB goes, it’s a perfect addition to the life of a Sys Admin or Techy person. Simplifying backups by the addition of an external drive or RAID.

Do we take it that they aren’t going to include it and have just failed to notice the use of the icon in the screenshots or just that they don’t deem it newsworthy enough to mention it on the website?

Technorati Tags: apple, enterprise, leopard, leopard server, macosx, osx, SMB, technology, time machine