Guardian Unlimited | Online | Auntie's digital revelation
Since I grudgingly hand over my BBC licence fee every month (about £10, paid in advance so I pay £20, if you're wondering), and since I learned all about copyright evil from technomad Angus, and since I download heaps of media as it is, I am pleased as punch to read about the Beeb's (yes we are on a first name basis) plan to make its back catalogue available for free digitally.
(Yes, in case you're wondering, I do get all my links from boingboing.net. Best site evah!)
And now for the bad news: new Neil Stephenson novel coming out soon. And it's called, get this, "Quicksilver : Volume One of The Baroque Cycle". Gaagh!!
I can't resist posting this portion of the description from Amazon:
Eliza is a young woman whose ingenuity is all that keeps her alive after being set adrift from the Turkish harem in which she has been imprisoned since she was a child.
GAAHH!!!
(That is a horrified mock-gagging noise by the way.)
I just got back from a weekend in Ireland, but no batteries in the old camera, so you get this stunning image of a foggy Vancouver instead--it's my current desktop, and can be yours too if you download the target here.
I went to Blarney Castle and kissed the stone, which was the ultimate touristy thing but fun! We'll see whether it gives me luck and the gift of gab...I almost hesitated as I think I can gab as much as humanly possible as it is. :)
I also went sailing, and the weather was windy and fantastic. So windy, in fact, that after spending five hours getting to the planned destination, the skipper decided it was too wavy and we spent another five hours heading back to where we started! So, what with the ten hour ferry ride back to the UK, I have been on the water longer than off over the last couple days.
I got well sunburned while sailing, and my face is like a tomato (or a radish, depending who you ask).
Thanks to my local guide, the wonderful Johnny, and to his parents and gang.
I hope everyone out East is doing OK with the power outage...scary stuff! I worry about you when I am so far away. :) Thank god for the Inter-web, without which I would not know that the biggest power outage in Canadian history is going on, but also told me that it's going OK.
Everyone in Van, avoid SARS and wash your hands. :)
Love Flo
Lately Vancouver seems to be everywhere--two of the new American TV shows that I've downloaded lately are showing off Van, Dead Like Me and Tru Calling.
Neither show is very good, but Dead Like Me makes Van look absolutely gorgeous.
Also, three of the seven main characters of my new favourite show, Firefly (cancelled already, sadly), are filming there. One of 'em is making a film version of the classic Isaak Asimov "I, Robot" stories--cool!
If you see any on them, say hi for me!
It's a mental heatwave here but no beach on which to enjoy it. Luckily the office has air conditioning, so at least there's no suffering beyond seeing the sun pass over unenjoyed through the one wee window.
