UKtv

Now don't get me wrong ... there is some great US tv and some dire UK stuff.

But when it comes to some things the BBC and some other UK broadcasters truly excel.

At the moment I am really enjoying a number of police procedurals; Messiah, Inspector Lynley, Foyle's War, Daziel & Pascoe ... need I go on? I also like documentaries, in particular the Horizon series.

Then there is stuff like Dr Who, Torchwood, Life On Mars, again ... etc ... etc.

A lot of this stuff does turn up on US tv, particularly on PBS and cable channels such as HBO. But often you have to wait, and even then it might have been re-branded or had a US commentary dubbed on, had advert breaks inserted, edited for content/language/nudity and to fit schedules, etc, etc.

But mostly you have to wait.

I hate that. But for a while there has been a way around it. It is possible to download British tv and watch it within hours of it appearing in the UK. If you have to ask how to do this then you shouldn't be doing it ...

Anyway, it's quite easy to replay the resultant video files on your computer, but rather more difficult to watch the shows on your tv.

Until recently, I've been using a disc player I bought in England, to play cd-roms I burnt with the files on them. This isn't as simple as it sounds, since you need a player which will also read .avi/.divx files - not so easy to find here in the USA. However, I bought such a player from Maplins and not only does it play computer video files from cd-rom, it is also region-free so it will play dvds from anywhere. In fact it claims to play virtually anything which can be put on a disc ... photo albums, cds, .mp3s, etc. And I can confirm that it's a verifiable claim. Further, the device was dual voltage (110v/220v), PAL, SECAM and NTSC. I think it cost about usd100.00/ukp50.00!!! Try and find something like that in BestBuy!!! *The image isn't the same as my player, but it gives you an idea of what's available.

Unfortunately, my particular model pre-dates dvd-r and dvd-rw so files are restricted to about 700Mb, but since a lot of shows are now coming down in the 1Gb+ range, files have to be split before being burned - not always easy - and quality suffers.

But now I've found this; the SanDisk TakeTV. Basically it's an 8GB usb memory stick which will play back video files directly through your tv. What more can I say? For me, an exiled UKtv addict, it is one of the best peripheral devices I have ever had. It is excellent.

In practise, downloaded shows are copied onto the memory stick from the computer. Transfer the memory stick to the adaptor which is already cabled up to the tv and there you go ... what more could you want?

Look out for soon: Doctor Who, Ashes To Ashes.

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*See my hifi / media index here.

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Fish 'n' Chips

Mmmmmmm ... Fish and Chips!!!

What could be more Bri'ish? Well, apart from tikka masala ...

I have been lucky enough to live near two great British fish and chip shops; Mike's Plaice (geddit?), a Welsh/Italian takeout in St Anne's, Bristol - fantastic haddock ; and West Hoe Fish Fryers in Plymouth, neither of which I can find a link for.

So you might think that finding good fish and chips in the USA might be a hopeless task, but not necessarily so.

Nearby New York City has A Salt & Battery (another geddit???), a real Bri'ish fish and chip shop in the Big Apple, but a couple of bars also have a good try, notably The Parlour, on W86th Street.

Amazingly, the fish and chips in the fast food restaurant at the Statue of Liberty were rather better than I've had in some British outlets ... hard to believe, I know ...

Meanwhile, Triumph Brewery*, in Princeton serve very good fish and chips, as well as brewing their own English (style) IPA which is served through a beer-engine at 55F. Nice. *Beware; this website is totally Flash orientated.

Lastly, you can always cook your own. Cod here, is less expensive than back in the UK, and there is an even cheaper alternative called tilapia, which is very good. I've not seen haddock anywhere here at all. You can find loads of batter recipes on Google.

In fact, the bigger problem is finding good chipping potatoes. There are no King Edwards here. So far the varieties I've tried have been very starchy and tend to taste okay, but come out looking rather brown and not very crispy. Until I sort this out I'm resorting to frozen fries ... sorry.

And while tartare sauce is easy enough to find, mushy peas are proving a problem to source here ...

2007 - 2008

Ah ... my first article of the New Year.

And what a year last year was!!!

Did I mention it? But yes ... I got married!!! To the most wonderful Linda.

And what a day it was!!!

Click here to read about it on Linda's blog.










That's me ... hiding behind the lilies; then Linda's daughter A; Linda and the deputy mayor of Belle Mead.

As it turns out this is more than a step on life's journey. It's the start of the US immigration trail too.

We filled out the forms - which seem to require a degree level education; we sent in the application bundle - now I didn't count the number of bits of paper, but if it was a hundred sheets I wouldn't be surprised; I went to have my finger-prints done at the local application support office ... and now we're waiting ... and waiting ...

As for this picture? Don't ask!!!

Anyway, back to the blog ... more stuff soon.

Wikipedia : Caveat Emptor

You'll have noticed I link to Wikipedia a lot.

Wikipedia is one of the internet phenomema of the last couple of years - an online encyclopedia which is compiled by anyone who cares to contribute.

Personally, I think it's great, but beware ...

Wikipedia is useful if you use it as a start to your internet quests for knowledge. Usually it is a good source of information regarding concrete, factual information on such items as .flac or cricket.

However, Wikipedia's strength is also its weakness. Subjects which are open to interpretation can be biased and even misleading.

So treat its information with caution. Don't base your newspaper article, thesis or even your homework on it without verification.

You have been warned.

WiFi 02 : Streaming

There are a couple of choices when it comes to using your WiFi internet radio to play your music collection; running a music server and streaming audio. The Noxon iRadio can do either.

I use streaming to play a random selection of my music library across our home wifi network. It's possible to listen to the stream via a computer on the wlan as well as a device such as a wifi radio.

Probably the easiest way of doing this is to use WinAmp and its associated SHOUTcast software.

Installing WinAmp is straight forward enough. There are possibly better music and media players, but WinAmp is reasonably easy to set up as a streaming application.

In addition you need the SHOUTCast DSP plugin for WinAmp and SHOUTcast Server. Both come with instructions on how to associate with WinAmp. The plugin is activated from WinAmp's options menu, but the server requires a little setting up via a .txt file. The settings are all fully explained in the file, but do require careful reading.

The advantage of streaming in this way is that you can play any music file format you like - or at least have the WinAmp codec for - despite the fact that the iRadio will only play a limited number of formats. For example, the iRadio will not play .flac or .ape files, but WinAmp/SHOUTcast transcodes the stream into an .mp3, or in my case, AAC+/48kbps format for the iRadio to play.

The disadvantage of streaming is that it is not possible to effect a choice of what's played through the iRadio. The music is directed by WinAmp's playlist. However, it does mean that from time to time you rediscover the little gems hidden away in your music collection.

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*See my hifi index here.

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Gridiron : Eagles vs Giants

Well, I did baseball, and now it's American Football's turn.

So a cold, dull day saw us drive across to Phillie to the Eagle's stadium to watch my first US football game. Not my first ever gridiron; I have watched it on tv and local UK teams in muddy fields in the corner of the park, but nothing like this.

The stadium was immense. Several tiers of seating rising high into the sky. Hey, the section where we were even had waitress service. Not like Plymouth Argyle's Mayflower stand at all really.

The protagonists, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants - Linda's team - were at more or less opposite ends of the league, but that didn't stop the Eagles making a good start against the high-rolling Giants. However, the Giants doggedly made a slow, but not particularly elegant come-back to take the game by the end.

US football is a great game spoiled only by the fact that an hour on the field takes over three hours after all the stoppages and intervals are factored in. Fortunately, although it was a cold day there was no wind in our faces, so apart from frigid feet we survived quite well.

Rackett : Joe's Pub, NYC

Hey Rock and Roll!!!

Just how do you categorise Rackett?

I mean, do you measure rock and rollers by their teenage acne or by their ability to wear a rather nice sports jacket?

Well, by the second measure Rackett were right up there with the best ... And by musical standards they were up there too, especially when combined with their librettist (?) Paul Muldoon, award winning poet and darling of the New York Times.

Okay, so he's not the darling of the New York Times, but they don't get everything right, do they?

Anyway, a great evening was had by all. By my estimation half of Princeton's literati were there. Actually, they laughed at the same lines I did, so I must be cleverer than I thought.

The venue, Joe's Pub is one of the best in NYC, and thus by extrapolation I suppose, one of the best anywhere. It's certainly a place to get close up and personal with whoever's on stage. But watch your sports jacket... It will get grabbed by Joe's coat Nazis for sure ...

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*See my hifi / media index here.

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