Simon Whiteside's blog

I just hooked up Napster and Squeezebox as our house music system. I grew up thinking you had to amass a "record collection". Then you had to amass a "CD collection". Then an "MP3 collection". Now you can throw it all away. All my children will know is the "search" feature on the squeezebox, which will bring them any music, instantly. It's mindblowing.

My father-in-law William White died yesterday.

He'd been ill for a while, so his passing wasn't a big shock - but I haven't had time to come to terms with it yet.

I enjoyed my relationship with him. He was a quiet, gentle person who didn't talk much.

He had a great facility for practical things and was very patient.

Fond memories are of working together making and fixing things.

For example a tool box for the allotment we worked on together, fixing the side gate at our old house, laying a brick wall or rebuilding a low stone wall at our new house.

He shouldered large burdens - working very long hours to support his family, then fighting against renal failure for 20 years.

I'll miss him a great deal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magyarab

Discovered by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A1szl%C3%B3_Alm%C3%A1sy

I had an interesting prolonged internet trawl over the last couple of days. It goes to show how you can be taken on some interesting journeys...

It started with a nice facebook picture (not sure how I got there..) of Elba: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elenatorre/3822783688/

I then read about Elba at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elba

This made mention of Napoleon's first exile there. Click through to his subsequent exile on Saint Helena: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena

Thence to the other remote islands connected with Saint Helena: Tristan da Cunha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_da_Cunha and Ascension http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension_Island

Found an interesting history of Tristan da Cunha, that details almost every month for 100 years, with almost every expedition to Inaccessible http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inaccessible_Island as well http://www.btinternet.com/~sa_sa/tristan_da_cunha/annals_main.html

Very coincidentally I was visiting East Grinstead hospital today, and the nurse came from Ascension Island!!

Just upgraded a workstation from FC7->FC10.

What a nightmare!

Loads of stuff doesn't work - mainly around the X drivers.