Goodbye CDs ? March 28, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentAll my CDs have been ripped to my hard disk, and are backed up onto the external drive. The CD player on my stereo died a few weeks ago, so everything is now played via the laptop, with a cable into the aux port on the stereo if I want a better sound. Do I still have a use for my CDs, or should I just put them up on eBay, or give them to Oxfam, as suggested in the Guardian today?
There's not much room left on my bookshelves, and every little counts, so it might be a good idea. I think for the moment though, I'll hang onto them. If something happens to the PC and the backup disk, at least I won't lose them, and one day I might buy a decent stereo again. MP3 files, even at high quality, aren't as good as the CDs, and I may want to rip them again if someone comes out with another format.
That's one reason why I still buy them, rather than just downloading the music. Another is the price, with Amazon's Jersey price being very similar to the price through HMV or Virgin, and without having to have all the clunky software and dubious rights management on the PC. I rather like the little covers, with the lyrics and notes. Above all, I like albums, rather than songs. A lot of my music is classical, so the whole piece is needed and one movement of a symphony is a little bit pointless.
So, for the moment, I'm sticking to oldfashioned CDs. My vinyl collection is in storage half a world away, but that's another story.
Somers Town - A Good Place, Improving Slowly. March 23, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden , 1 comment so farWhen I first moved to Somers Town, people who knew of the area were very dubious, and warned me that it was a den of crime, dangerous to go out at night, one of the most poverty stricken areas in London. Not long ago I met an intelligent, capable Hampstead academic who told me she would not cycle into Bloomsbury for fear of being garrotted as she passed through here.
In the two years I’ve lived in the area, I’ve seen absolutely no evidence of that. I am careful, but no more than I would be anywhere. I often walk home alone around midnight, though never very drunk and always in flat shoes, and have not had any problems. If I did now, it would be sheer bad luck and as likely to happen here as in any of the posh parts of Camden.
However, we live within 500 metres of million pound homes and wealth many of my neighbours will simply never see. That has been true for a very long time, and has done little to help pull this area out of poverty. Talking to neighbours, it seems that what has helped is effective work by Camden Council and the local police making this area a much more pleasant place to live. improved lighting, rubbish collection and street amenities, upgrading the council-owned homes and some rather strict policing of ‘anti-social’ behaviour have all helped a lot. The right-to-buy has allowed many to buy their own homes and gain from the property market rises in the last few years - some have stayed, knowing they’ve got a good asset, others have sold on to people like me. This has, I think, been a major method of lifting people here out of poverty.
So the Urban Fox’ admonishment to locals today in TimesOnline to embrace the changes proposed by Argent for the land behind Kings Cross seems rather patronising to me. The idea that all change is good and that having a rich enclave next door will help people here is frankly ridiculous. Personally, the rising property prices it brings would be great, but will just put even the right-to-buy beyond the reaches of those who have not bought yet. Why would people here get jobs in those buildings any more than they get jobs anywhere else? How will this help the struggling single mother, the pensioner, the person too sick to work?
Yes, it would be good to see development in Kings Cross, but locals should not embrace that development unless it will benefit the community. Noone else involved in the Kings Cross development is involved from altruistic motivation, why should we be?
In Praise of Camilla’s Wedges March 22, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentA rather nasty little article in the Guardian this morning tries to suggest that because Camilla has been seen wearing wedges, they’ll become immediately passe. Now, I’m an arch-republican and would happily see the entire Royal Family and hangers-on relegated to a council estate somewhere out of Manchester, but I do have a sneaking admiration for Camilla, and wedges are the best high heeled shoe there is.
I remember the day Charles and Camilla got married. I was stuck waiting for someone to pick me up from Inverness airport, and there was little option but to watch the show. She was a picture of classical elegance in an understated but appropriate dress, making it very clear that while Diana may have had glamour, youth and the pomp of a faded empire on her side, Camilla is no mumsy frump.
The wedge has made a deserving comeback of late, and any woman who likes to be able to walk, rather than totter, in high heels should take advantage of this. They may be the only elegant evening shoe which could conceivably have been designed by someone planning to wear it, rather than a sadistic bloke. Yes, they are sensible, in a way that stilletos will never be, but they are hardly frumpy. They epitomise a modern ideal of feminity, elegant while completely in control. Surely this does not worry the Guardian?
May need to sell Novera March 21, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Investing, Little Green Portfolio , add a commentThe three environmental stocks I bought a few weeks ago are proving to be a mixed bag.
Straight Plc is fine, and I'm just back into profit. Renewable Energy Holdings is doing okay, but poor old Novera seems to be having a tough time. They just posted news that they'd decided to move their planning application for their East London energy from waste facility from the local council to a different body, indicating that they're having problems getting planning permission through. Their shares have fallen about 15% since I bought them, and are coming perilously close to my loss limit of 20%.
I do intend to be a 'buy and hold' investor, but I'm very conscious that all the books and advice seems to be that one of the most important aspects of making money in the stock market is to minimise losses. If Novera does drop further, it's out the door for me.
Seeing Stars March 19, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment, Green in the City, London, New Zealand , add a commentMiraz over on Oddity 59 has just bought herself a new set of binoculars for stargazing and it reminds me of one thing I do sorely miss in London - the stars. Even in the cities in New Zealand, on a clear night, you can see thousands of stars. Out in the countryside, away from artificial illumination, the southern sky holds millions of lights. The only time I’ve ever seen anything remotely comparable in the UK was in the far north of Scotland.
Here in London, with the lack of clear air and the enormous amount of light we pump into the sky each night, there’s scarcely a star visible. Are we really so afraid of the dark? Is it really so dangerous? It’s a primeval fear, walking home at night through a dark patch, but could we not make the street lights illuminate downwards, rather than up as well, and switch off the lights in unoccupied offices? A reflecting shade on every street light would save huge amounts of power, and help us to get our stars back.
New Look
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Blogging , add a commentWordpress gives us an excellent range of templates to choose from, with new ones coming every week. They’ve recently added ‘widgets’ to let you customise how the sidebar appears as well.
I rather like this new one - ‘Thirteen’, by the designer Beccary.
Morning after
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Cafes & Restaurants, Camden , add a commentI woke up this morning, a little jaded after my birthday bash last night. The evening had started with champagne at the flat, which is a very civilised drink and never leads to after effects, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for the delicious rioja at El Parador where I'd taken everyone for dinner. The restaurant was up to its usual high standard, with the lamb and the squid standing out. It's rare to find squid that isn't rubbery or encased in batter (or both) and this melted in the mouth.
So this morning, I had to deal with the aftermath. It's not the glasses, empties and all, but the need to rearrange the furniture which I'd moved around to make space. The lounge chair is definitely going up on freecycle - this room is not big enough. I can only hope that the nice elderly lady downstairs wasn't suffering from a hangover as well, because the racket as I pulled the table round on the wooden floor wouldn't have been good.
Fortunately Camden is full of hangover cures, and the Goodfare Italian Restaurant on the corner of Parkway and Arlington Road is just the thing, with a Sunday roast for under £10. This place has recently changed ownership, and AN Wilson who is apparently a regular, was quoted as very worried in the Camden New Journal. It's had a new coat of paint, but food and staff remain comfortingly the same.
More blogging this week, I promise.
From Spa to Camden March 16, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden , add a commentSorry for the lack of posts - I got back on Monday but work’s been busy, same old, same old. Wordpress seems to have recovered from it’s hissy fit at least.
Hoar Cross Hall is a paradise for the stressed or self-indulgent. There is nothing that has to be done, more than enough to do, and big comfy couches to sit in while you decide if you want to do it. I have been pedicured, massaged and facialed, soaked in hot water, and rather well fed. There is also a gym, which looked very nice. A small army of therapists and other staff is on hand to see to your every whim (within reason), the building is beautiful and the grounds extensive.
When you arrive you are given your timetable and see a nurse to check blood pressure, which is an odd beginning, but the timetable of treatments you’ve booked and, for the energetic, gym classes to attend, gives a little structure to the time. I’m not sure about gym classes - I didn’t like them when I had to do them, so paying for them now seems rather bizarre behaviour.
After that, there’s nothing but jacuzzis, meals, sitting on those couches and the occasional break for an Elemis Visible Brilliance Facial, Lime and Ginger Body Wrap and Deep Tissue Massage, Deluxe Pedicure or whatever else has taken your fancy. Bliss.
And so, back to the gritty urban reality that is Camden. At least there are the Neals Yard Therapy Rooms, with half price massages on a Sunday morning. Very good indeed.
Spa weekend March 9, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , add a commentThis blog will be a bit quiet for a few days while I go off to celebrate my fabulous fortieth birthday at Hoar Cross Hall in Staffordshire. I’ll be back on Monday to tell you all about it.
By the way, Wordpress seems to be having a few problems at the moment. Be patient with it - its a free service, and normally very good indeed.
Another Month of Blogging March 8, 2006
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Blogging , add a commentThis blog is now two months old, and starting to feel established. I’ve moved up to a technorati ranking of 281345, from 494000, so I’m becoming more interconnected. I’m not really getting any more readers though, with average reads hovering around the 30-40 mark, and the occasional day when it gets a bit better. The easiest way to drive the numbers up is to go post a couple of comments on fairly popular blogs. RealClimate was the cause of the spike to 72 at the beginning of the month.
Driving traffic here in that way does take a lot of time, and I am finding I can easily waste a couple of hours playing in the blogosphere, jumping from blog to blog.
It’s also fascinating to see the searches people use. I seem to be high up in google for ‘british jet.com’ (with a space), and so I’m getting a few of those each day. Some of the others are more bizarre, and some sound worthy of a blog entry to find. ‘Lady Penelope tied up’ might not quite be my thing, though I’ll probably do a piece on ‘quiet cafes to read + camden’ at some stage. I’m not quite sure what ‘fitness to strength bud mussels’ would have found, or indeed what they might have been looking for. Unfortunately, it’s too late for ‘investing in green and blacks’ since they were taken over by Cadbury’s, otherwise they would almost certainly have ended up in one of my pension blogs with good investment advice to buy what tastes good.
The most popular post, by a long shot, was the one about my second trip to Malta, when I flew britishjet.com, and the Revenge of Gaia posts have been popular too. I’m not quite sure why the post about a link to here from wordpress’ Best Blog gets so many hits, but then this is all a bit of a mystery. The top 6 posts in the last month are:
Malta again - British Jet.com and anothe
Real Climate review of ‘Revenge of Gaia’
Revenge of Gaia, by James Lovelock
Trees, January 2006
Welcome, Best Blog readers
Decentralising Electricity Supply
