Back in the days, Glasgow art-pop band the Yummy Fur, had members like Alex Kapranos and Paul Thomson(Franz Ferdinand) and were led by Jackie McKeown(1990s) or John McKeown. The band existed seven years, from 1992 untill 1999.

But for the fans (I don’t count myself as one), good news! The band is getting back together for the first USA tour ever!

McKeown and Thomson will be in the band, Kapranos will be not. Also, a best-of compilation will be released.

Yummy Fur reunion dates:

If the button says “Sweeeeet” then good on you for doing the right thing and using OpenDNS. If it says “Get Started” then read on!

Man if I had a couple of bucks every time I’ve heard that, I’d be so rich by now. Fact of the matter is, it’s unfortunately far from the truth, and many ISP-provided routers truly suck.

I work with VoIP, and running a Voice call over the internet may be easy with Skype, and you may be OK with choppy calls, but when you’re running an enterprise-grade telephony system, you don’t have the same tolerance for bad quality. Same for Home users, you should not have to put up with daily restarts!

What does that have to do with you? Most probably everything! If you’re here it’s likely because you’re having issues with your internet, and either you think it’s related to your router, or I’ve referred you here from PressF1.

So let’s clear the air about a few routers:

The D-Link DSL-302G is quite possibly the worst router of all time. They should be all be burned in one great big bonfire and D-Link publicly mocked for them.

Dynalink have their overheating RTA1320 that gets so hot the plastic melts and changes from light cream to a rusty looking orange or brown. It’s unfortunately a bad choice in router too.

Telecom have been giving away a 2Wire 2070-series Router and Thomson TG585v7 modems. They’ve got some of the worst web interfaces I’ve ever used, but at least they’re semi-reliable. Again though, they must be cheap routers if they mass-produce them and Telecom gives them away. $199 value? Whatever! Nobody in their right mind would spend $199 on them!

Orcon with their HomeHub / BizHub router which is a Siemens SX-763. Best mentioned so far, but again far from the quality that a router should be. It’s locked-down so you can’t change the USB port or VoIP settings, it doesn’t overheat, but for a VoIP router it doesn’t handle VoIP well at all.

The Belkin N1 is overpriced and fails to deliver in so many ways. I’m not sure why, but around 60% of all the N1’s I’ve dealt with just seem to have packed up and died. Their ADSL performance / reliability was mediocre anyway. suffering from irregular reboots.

The Netgear DG834G has firmware issues, wireless isn’t reliable, average broadband performance and reliability, but to be honest it’s probably the most reliable router I’m recommending people avoid

Linksys, yes I love Linksys stuff but man did they mess up badly with the WAG160N. That thing falls over almost as much as the Dynalinks. Sure, I’ve seen ADSL Sync speeds go up when compared with the likes of a Telecom Thomson TG585 by around 3m/bit, but that means nothing to me if it’s not going to function day in and day out reliably.

What’s the solution then? So many bad routers out there, most free, what can you do about it?

Well don’t take the free stuff that your ISP gives away. There’s a reason why it’s free, and that’s not because it’s a good, quality router!

Tell me what I SHOULD buy then? What are good routers?

If you’re a home user or small-business and want an all-in-one solution that “just works”:
NetComm NB6Plus4Wn

If you’re a geek or a business, or perhaps you want a little more control over your router, maybe you give your internet connection a hammering, or if you want QoS (Quality of Service) to prioritize VoIP / Gaming above other traffic, then you want:
A Linksys AM300 in Halfbridge to a Linksys WRT54GL running Tomato Firmware

Please drop me a comment and say Hi, let me know if this has helped you or got you thinking in any way, or perhaps if you’ve got one of the routers then just say so. Always happy to hear from readers.

Cheers

Chill.

I’m proud to say that once again my state of Illinois has produced a politician that doesn’t care about his constituency, the constitution, or the safety of the people of Illinois. His name is Dickie Durban, a school teacher turned yellow. He votes for any bill being sponsored by his good buddy Obama. He is in the elite club of Illinois politicians like George Ryan, Roland Burris, and Rod Blagojevich. WHat does he care about except his legacy and his pension? 

The latest ploy by Durban is to house the GITMO terrorists in  Illinois. He proposes the Federal Government to buy a brand new prison in Thomson, Illinois and to convert it into a super-max prison. He will then bring jobs to Illinois by staffing the prison to care for the GITMO guys. A while back I wrote a piece titled “A Gitmo Proposal“ which gave my proposal for housing the same guys in  Illinois. My proposal was more interesting than Dickie’s. I wanted to give BO some extra income by housing the terrorists in BO’s vacant house in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

I have a quandary about the prison in Illinois. It is a relatively new facility in Thomson, Illinois. It currently houses about one hundred and eighty inmates. It has capacity for eighteen hundred. How is it that it is only ten percent utilized? The words I hear are that the state can’t afford to staff it. Didn’t they think about staffing when they built the damn place?  It is my guess that this prison was built with ear marks put on some obscure bill by Dickie Durbin.

Illinois has a history of projects that are under utilized. There is a very large air port in southern Illinois near Saint Louis that doesn’t have any air traffic. The old “Field of Dreams” principle of “build it they will come” never materialized but we have a beauty of an air port in an area that  no one will ever visit or hear about in the next thousand years. Now we have a prison in the same category. At least this time Dickie is being creative, and is trying to double dip for good old Illinois.

The Obama administration has decided that a western Illinois prison, Thomson Correctional Center, is perfect for housing Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees.  This is apparently strongly supported by both Governor Pat Quinn and IL Senator Dick Durbin.  Does it surprise me that Quinn, Durbin, and Obama would support this?  Of course not.  And of course, I don’t support this effort.

First let me briefly address the most public reason for not supporting this effort.  Many opponents are citing safety concerns for opposing the move of the detainees to rural Illinois.  The concern of some Republicans is, according to a Chicago Tribune article,  that Illinois would become a ‘magnet for terrorists’.”  Republican U.S. Representative Don Manzullo, who represents the Thomson, IL district, said that “Gitmo is not being closed, it’s being moved to northwest Illinois.”  U.S. Representative Mark Kirk od Chicago said that “with the busiest airport in the world and the tallest building in North America, I do not think we should make Chicagoland the center of jihadi attention in the world.”  He also expressed concern over a nuclear power facility in the Quad Cities, a four city region spanning across the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois and located very near Thomson.

Manzullo’s comments suggest that there is a concern about the security of the facility and district of which he represents.  I would reply by saying that the early plans indicate that the prison’s security will be increased and will likely become the most secure federal prison in the US.  I believe that can and should be done if the plan is to move forward.  Therefore I think the security of Thomson will be fine.  Kirk’s concerns are, I believe, with more merit.  My gut says that jihadists will prefer to spend the remaining moments of their lives to kill as many christians and jews as they can, not waste it attempting to free prisoners.  Are Chicago and the Quad Cities viable targets? Of course.  But the truth is that Chicago should not be more of a target due to this prison than it was previously.  And, every nuclear facility is a potential target regardless of where it is located.

Residents of Thomson, IL appear to be in favor of the federal prison for employment reasons.  Springfield’s State Journal Register reports that the “Thomson Correctional Center is here, so it might as well be filled.”  Jim Falls, a resident of a nearby town, stated what many felt, “if they do bring them here, that would put more people to work here.”  And with September unemployment in Illinois reaching 10.5%, 8.4% in the Quad Cities, and 15.2% in Rockford located north-west of Thomson, it is not suprising to hear such comments.  The White House claims that the prison could “create” between 2,300 and 3,200 ongoing jobs (many of which will actually be military positions).  This may seem great for the region, but why did Illinois build a prison in 2001 that sits 90% empty in 2009?  Reports suggest it is due to budget issues.  Well doesn’t the construction and ongoing maintenance of this empty prison add up?  Isn’t that taxing the citizens of Illinois unnecessarily? No wonder Governor Quinn wants to dump it.  This just seems typical of Illinois, to build a prison at great expense for non-existing prisoners.  Illinois’ government appears to subscribe to the tax-spend-waste form of government.  I don’t remember being taught that form of government in high school civics.  Maybe Quin should look at shuttering the prison completely instead of selling it to the feds. 

The reason I have a problem with moving these prisoners to Illinois is the same reason I don’t support prosecuting terrorists in civil criminal courts in New York.  These terrorists are enemies of the state who either planned or were invovled in attacks on the United States of America.  These are not US citizens or US nationals that committed a typical crime.  These are terrorists that killed thousands of innocents.  Those not directly involved in 9/11 attacks, attacked our soldiers on the battle fields as extremists looking to bring down our country.  They should be brought in front of military tribunals just as enemy combatants have always been done since President George Washington established them many years ago.  If the tribunal finds a detainee to be innocent, then give him/her a plane ticket home with our apologies and maybe a little cash for their troubles.  If they are found guilty then punish them accordingly.  Let the tribunals determine guilt and punishment.  Bringing detainees to a federal prison in Illinois will only give more credence to the idea that these terrorists should be accorded rights under our Constitution.  Notice I said OUR Constitution.

These terrorists should be keep in a dark hole in a military prison until they can be brought to trial.  This does not mean that I believe they should be detained indefinitely, as I do not.  I think it is not fair to any human to keep them locked away for years upon years with no opportunity to face a tribunal and provide a defense.  Let’s start prosecuting these terrorists in the tribunals with fair but swift proceedings.

“I am the only conservative Republican leader that wants to bring new federal jobs to Illinois,” Martin says. “I am gratified that Illinois newspaper editors unanimously endorse my position. I have taken a lot of heat from other Republicans, but for me bringing jobs to Illinois comes first. We know how to deal with any ‘wise guys’ that act up in our prisons. Journalists who used to respect Mark Kirk have now begun to ridicule him. Neil Steinberg calls Kirk ‘Al-Qaeda’s self-appointed representative in Congress.’ Ouch! Mark Kirk doesn’t really respect or understand Illinois; he says what his polls and handlers tell him to say. I love Illinois. I put Illinoisans, not politics, first.”

Illinois Newspaper editors endorse Andy Martin’s point of view on housing Al-Qaeda prisoners

Martin says “thank you”

Andy speaks with Thomson prison Superintendent

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN /2010
“The name you can trust”
Republican for U. S. Senator
30 E. Huron Street, Suite 4406
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124
www.AndyforUSSenator.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.blogspot.com
www.AndyforUSSenator.wordpress.com

www.MarkKirk.us
www.IllinoisHighSpeedTrains.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin thanks Illinois newspaper editors for backing his stance on the transfer of Gitmo prisoners to Illinois

Thomson prison Superintendent calls Andy, assures Andy they can safely handle the Al-Qaeda thugs

(CHICAGO)(November 19, 2009) Illinois newspaper editors unanimously endorse Andy Martin’s position that Illinois can properly and safely house any Al-Qaeda prisoners that are brought here. Mark Kirk is being ridiculed for his alarmism and extremism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times calls Kirk’s antics the action of “Al-Qaeda’s self-appointed representative in Congress.”

“I am the mainstream, Midwestern Republican,” Martin says. “Kirk has become a shrill extremist. He stands for nothing but his poll-driven fund raising and self-aggrandizement. I actually care about the people of Illinois. I spoke personally with the Superintendent of the Thomson prison.

“We Illinoisans have a ‘can do’ attitude. Mark Kirk has never been downstate. Kirk doesn’t know us. He is a Washington outsider.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/
opinion/editorials/chi-1117
edit1nov17,0,5529461.story

http://www.suntimes.com/news/
commentary/1887512,CST-EDT-edit17a.article

http://www.pjstar.com/opinions/
x1659502163/Our-View-Giving-Thomson-
prison-a-use-at-long-last

http://www.sj-r.com/opinions/
x206845991/Our-Opinion-Hysteria-over-
Thomson-idea-way-off-base

http://www.suntimes.com/news/
steinberg/1889631,CST-NWS-stein18.article
—————————–
© Copyright by Andy Martin 2009.

Attention was focused at a World Travel Market seminar this week on TUI’s launch of Cheqqer.com (earlier in the summer in the Netherlands) that now has 155,000 customer reviews on the site and aims to hit the 1million mark by early 2010.

www.cheqqer.com

Users are asked to rate reviews which are then displayed using a ranking system driven by how other users rate the quality of a review. Users can also filter the reviews by demographics that best suit their individual needs.

TUI director of web strategy and business development Sandra Leonhard explains “We think community approval is very important. There is way too much content on the web. Now most TUI customers will check what other customers think about their holiday choices so it’s hugely important to offer good user-generated content.”

TUI sees UGC as a driver to improve the quality of their holiday products. She highlighted how for a long time people were fearful about listing bad reviews because it could potentially damage the reputation of a hotel and its forward bookings. But TUI’s answer was that it simply had to improve the product wherever it fell short. “It’s a unique opportunity to listen to our customers.” Said Sandra.

Leonhard wants the site to be more than just about people’s views of hotels and airlines.

She explained: “You don’t go on holiday to take a flight and sit in a room. You go to have a wonderful experience”.

And continuing “We have 30 million customers and between them they will have hundreds of millions of experiences to share and recommend. That’s very valuable content”.

Finishing with, “If a user can filter out what they don’t want and focus on the experiences they are most interested in then it’s (Cheqqer.com) a great resource.”

And the part that really caught my eye (and yours too I’ll bet), ‘30 million customers will have hundreds of millions of experiences to share and recommend’.

TUI AG – group turnover was Є24.9billion in 2008, workforce is around 70,000 employees and in the UK owns the Thomson and First Choice brands. http://www.tui-group.com/en

From Chelsea Phua:

For the third consecutive year, Sacramento Police Officer John Azevedo and his canine partner, Blitz, have won the “Top Dog” award in the Western States Police K9 competitions, department officials said.

Avezedo also partnered with fellow officer Steve Thomson to win the K9 team award, according to a news release.

Thomson and his canine partner, Crash, participated for the first time in the competition, which includes events testing agility obedience, search and protection.

LINK/PICS

Jusqu’à présent, visionner un film en VoD (vidéo à la demande) sur une téléviseur n’était offert qu’aux abonnés aux services de TV par ADSL (ou câble ou satellite). La VOD constitue donc pour les opérateurs des revenus additionnels intéressants mais pour l’instant encore assez minimes : l’abonné loue son film (entre 3,99 et 4,99€), le film est ajouté à sa facture et l’opérateur touche au final entre 50 à 60% du montant (le reste revenant aux ayants droits). 2 ans après le lancement des 1er services en France, les ventes de VOD sont encore modestes, 10% des abonnés aux services de TV par ADSL sont clients d’un service de VOD, Orange enregistre chaque mois environ 600 000 ventes quand SFR (Neuf TV) doit dépasser les 300 000. Ventes modestes certes mais qui expliquent – en partie – la chute des ventes de DVD depuis cette même période.

Le marché de la VOD est donc prometteur… suffisamment pour que les fabriquants de TV s’intéressent à la distribution en direct de ce type de contenu. Fin juin, Philips annonçait le lancement de ses premières télé connectées, la série Philips NET TV permettant de se connecter (sans décodeur) à Internet pour accéder à un portail de services interactifs. Pas de VOD encore mais cela ne saurait tarder ! Plus récemment, TCL-Thomson a dévoilé son offre Mywish TV, la 1ère télévision permettant d’accéder (en France) à un service de VOD directement depuis son téléviseur. Le téléviseur (écran LCD), connecté à Internet, offre un accès à la plateforme VOD du groupe Canal+. Le catalogue de Canalplay propose plus de 7000 titres, dont 3500 films et de nombreuses séries.

Mywish TV” est doté du wifi intégré afin de se connecter à Internet et de télécharger les films, il dispose d’une mémoire flash de 4 Go intégrée lui permettant de stocker automatiquement les films téléchargés (un film fait en moyenne 1,5 Go). Si cela ne suffit pas, l’appareil est équipé d’un lecteur de carte SD. Par ailleurs, il permet la consultation directe de contenus multimédia (photos, vidéos ou musique) stockés sur carte mémoire, l’accès à un bouquet de radios et podcasts du monde entier ainsi que l’accès à la TNT HD. Pour un prix allant de 750€ (pour le modèle 82 cm) à 900€ (pour le modèle 102 cm), voila une piste intéressante pour résoudre vos problèmes de cordons et d’empilage de box ! Et pour ce prix, 5 fims en VOD sont offerts, yuppi !

For two days this week, the world-famous Mann Chinese Theatre in Hollywood will be hosting AFI DIGIFEST, a veritable smorsgabord of new media and cross-platform experiments and productions in storytelling and audience engagement. You might still be able to snag a seat at this great peek in to the near future of content creation and interactive entertainment (see link at bottom of this post).

I’ve been supporting the AFI’s Digital Content Lab for the past 10 or so years, and for good reason: This is where Apple’s Quicktime technology was launched, and the Lab was winner of last year’s technical achievement award at the Machinima festival, responsible for the deployment of such groundbreaking tech as the mobile interactive apps for WARPED, the Planet Illogica digital artist support network, and the development of the Federally supported ITVS initiative (funding a wide swath of indie films), among others.

Right now, the Lab is working on a variety of very interesting projects with groups including The Leonardo diCaprio Foundation, DavidLynch.com, and the whole team that created “Africa Diary” (led by LM Kit Carson). These projects, and more, will be showcased at this year’s DigiFest.

Some highlights to be seen at DigiFest 2009:

• a social network and proposed marketing plan for INTERVIEW PROJECT PRESENTED BY DAVIDLYNCH.COM;
• a proposed online strategy for engaging youth in a series of relevant environmental action challenges for the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation;
• a mobile application that provide an interactive past-to-future timeline for an innovative ITVS cross-platform micro-series;
• an interactive mentoring environment for One Economy that encourages students from low-income families to learn more about science as a career;
• a MOBILE STORY MAKER session with longtime filmmaker L.M. Kit Carson, who shot the deeply moving micro-series AFRICA DIARY using a Nokia mobile phone as camera. The series will soon air on the Sundance Channel.
• 2012, dramatic visual effects demonstrated by Digital Domain;
• DISTRICT 9, a behind-the scenes look at games and an augmented reality application created by production house Trigger;
• LIVE MUSIC, a 3D animation pieced together from contributions by thousands of animators from around the world, masterminded by Mass Animation’s Yair Landau, former vice-chair of Sony Pictures;
• URBAN WOLF, a surveillance camera-based micro-series drama by Parisian director Laurent Touil Tartour;
• ESCAPE FROM CITY 17, an adept meld of machinima and live action created by the multi-talented Purchase Brothers for less than $500;
• MANOBI, an innovative mobile phone application that has helped raise the standard of living for Senegalese farmers and fishermen;
• FIRST THINGS LAST, a dynamic and visual storytelling application for the iPhone created by ScrollMotion;
• NAKED SKY ENTERTAINMENT, a surprising look at what our collective augmented reality future may look like a year from now;
• THE CORNER: 23RD AND UNION, an evocative sound, image, phone, web, and public installation created as part of Maker’s Quest;
• ROUTES, a documentary, narrative thriller, and game about genetics for Britain’s Channel 4 that attracted more than 2 million gameplays;
• MR. HULOT’S HOLIDAY, a restoration of Jacques Tati’s 1953 whimsical tale presented by my old company Thomson.

Here is the link to register, but hurry, as space is limited.

Business is booming in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya – just ask the eight million tourists who have visited so far this year. Despite the recession, the historic coastal city is still the choice of many holidaymakers coveting Mediterranean sun, sand and sea.

The number of visitors is expected to swell to 8.5 million by the end of the year, said Volkan Simsek, the chairman of the Professional Hotel Managers Association of Turkey, at a press conference this week. Last year, almost nine million people visited Antalya, and officials are pleased that this year, one of economic trouble and strife, is measuring up.

Tourist numbers are expected to skyrocket next year, with more UK airports than ever before providing direct flights to Antalya. Travel company Thomson has announced direct flights to Antalya from Doncaster Sheffield from next summer.
Revenue, however, is not predicted to rise along with the numbers of tourists. Tour companies and hotels have offered huge discounts this year to attract overseas business.

Thomsonfly have finally paid up for ruining our honeymoon flights, by squeezing us into the back of cattle class even though we’d paid for extra legroom.

It took 11 months, 4 letters to Thomson, 4 letters to the Air Transport Users Council and ultimately some legal threats for them to finally send us a cheque for £100.

They fought hard and clearly would rather spent time and money rebuffing complaints than actually trying to make amends or keep customers happy.

I can only say this:
Thomson are the worst airline I’ve flown with and have the worst customer service of any company I’ve ever dealt with. Do not ever fly with them. They deserve to go to the wall.

Well, this is something new.

The other night I was dreaming I was on a cruise, but strangely enough it was not about my old favourite ship SS The Emerald.

This was a new dream, it involved lots of mirrors and shiny corridors, gleaming open public spaces, and a little gaudy furniture. What was this new dream. Well, I think it might have been triggered by a couple of things.

Firstly, I am really suffering from not cruising this year. I’m missing all my friends and the comfort and safety of my cabin.

Secondly, I’ve been reading a lot recently regarding the new Thomson ship, The Thomson Dream, formerly the Costa Europa.

Now unfortunately, the Costa ships, to my mind, are not really my cup of tea, as they are quite Italian in style with lots of shiny metal and mirrors, rather than my preferred wood and brass. However, I am sure when Louis Cruise Lines takes the ship on, a few changes will be made, and with Thomson committing to a long term charter, the style of board will probably be “Linda barker’d” if you get my drift.

Another interesting part is where the new ship will be sailing. I’ve read reports that it will be calling in Cuba and some south American countries which sound exciting.

So all in all, I think all this information has entered my mind and is basically being pumped out in the form of dreams. This will undoubtedly force me to save for a cruise next year. LOL

I’m keeping an eye on the prices.!

Andy
Compare-Gatwick-Parking
Compare-airport-hotels

Monday 19th     Tuesday 20th   Wednesday 21st   Thursday 22nd   Friday 23rd
    $/Y & E/Y       USD/JPY         USD/JPY         $/Y & E/Y       USD/JPY
  90.00 - 150M    88.50 - 150M    88.00 - 150M    90.10 - 150M    87.10 - 200M
  90.20 - 200M    89.75 - 150M    88.75 - 150M    90.80 - 200M    88.50 - 150M
    EUR/USD       90.00 - 500M    90.00 - 150M    90.05 - 100M    88.00 - 200M
  1.4980 - 200M   90.60 - 300M    90.10 - 100M    89.50 - 200M    90.00 - 250M
  1.4900 - 180M     EUR/USD       90.50 - 200M    132.00 - 150M       CABLE
    GBP/USD       1.4810 - 150M     EUR/USD         EUR/USD       1.6000 - 100M
  1.6000 - 200M   1.5300 - 300M   1.5025 - 200M   1.4680 - 200M     EUR/USD
    AUD/USD       1.5000 - 200M     1.50 OT       1.4750 - 500M   1.5100 - 200M
  0.9100 - 100M      150 OT         GBP & E/        AUD/USD       1.4920 - 150M
  A/NZD 1.2050      AUD/USD       1.6000 - 100M   0.9055 - 100M     USD/CAD
    GBP/JPY       0.8940 - 100M   0.9150 - 100M   0.9000 - 300M   1.0430 - 100M
  140.50 - 100M                     CAD & AUD     0.9300 - 100M     AUD/JPY
  145.60 - 100M     NZD/USD       1.0910 - 100M   AUD/JPY 79.10   76.00 - 100M 

Monday 26th     Tuesday 27th   Wednesday 28th   Thursday 29th   Friday 30th
    USD/JPY         USD/JPY         EUR/USD         USD/JPY         USD/JPY
  88.50 - 150M    88.00 - 200M    1.4680 - 1BLN   87.00 - 150M    87.55 - 100M
  89.60 - 300M    92.50 - 150M    1.4500 - 250M   87.20 - 150M
  90.00 - 150M    93.00 - 200M      1.50 OT       88.10 - 150M
  91.00 - 100M      EUR/USD         USD/JPY       90.50 - 150M      EUR/USD
  88.00 - 200M    1.4000 - 1BLN   88.00 - 200M      EUR/USD       1.50 - 500M
                  1.5000 - 500M   88.60 - 150M    1.4450 - 150M     AUD/JPY
    EUR/USD           CABLE       90.60 - 100M    1.4550 - 200M   76.00 - 100M
  1.3500 - 400M   1.5900 - 100M   91.00 - 150M        CABLE
                    USD/CAD       92.75 - 150M    1.6550 - 100M
    USD/CAD       1.0100 - 100M   90.00 - 300M
  1.1350 - 100M     AUD/USD           CABLE                           CAD
                  0.9400 - 100M   1.6200 - 100M                   1.0400 - 100M
                  0.9250 - 100M     AUD/USD
                  0.9150 - 100M   0.8900 - 150M
                  0.8725 - 150M     GBP/NZD
                  0.8580 - 100M   2.3000 - 100M
Source: IFR Markets

Ons hou van meisies. En as hulle kan sing, is hulle baie nice. En as hulle

Mavis Vermaak - Mavis Vermaak

Afrikaans is, nog beter. Nou as die meisie in Afrikaans sing, dan is ons magteloos. Maar buiten dit, is hierdie die soort CD waarvoor ons Vetseun is…
As jy nog nie die voorsmakies op die internet geluister het nie, doen dit, maar indien jy het weet jy hierdie gaan lekker wees. Sulke trippy surround sound klanke met die woorde wat soos herfsblare val in die eerste liedjie, dis die enigste Engelse een, die gefluisterde woorde, prag. “Still“.
Met nog driedimensionele byklanke uit die stad en omgewing, hoor mens branders en polisiesirenes deurmekaar, en woorde, “‘n Deur slaan oop…” “Kaapstadslaapstad” is een van die webmp3s wat ons raakgeloop het voor die “ontmoeting” met Mavis, en ons hou mos van sulke gepraatde Burroughserige Thomsongoed, ons het ons beentjies agter van Kaapstad se ander woordsmitte geloop, maar nooit van die Bokkoors ontslae kon raak in die Ondergrond nie… Hierdie gedigvertelling vloei soos soet stroop oor mens se bewussyn, en voor jy jouself kan kry is dit weer die koor en se jy saam: “‘n kind raak weg in…”, geen manier om die vertolking van random gebeure mis te kyk as die agtergrondbeskrywing van elke voorstad se realiteit. eers na ‘n paar minute word Kaapstad reguit aangespreek en in perfekte eggo-ende sanik betreur, en gewaarsku. ‘n Heerlike vertellende beat liedjie, perfek vir middae, of middernag teen die Berg. “…die berg…”
Ons kry bietjie rus op die meer melodieuse “Hei“, met akoestiese kitaar, woorde nogsteeds meer gesê as gesing, intens eintlik, maar meer gelukkig… ‘n Liedjie oor laas Sondag se gebeure, en die storie van Dawid en liefde vertel oor alhoemeerwordende kitaarklanke. En wanneer kitaar met klavier ondersteun word, is dit eintlik ‘n meer sad song as mens mag dink. Maar mooi soos sonopkomste…
Beats op “Diep Kaleidoskoop“, webmp3, ‘n lekker bas met ‘n getokkelde ritme ‘n klankbaan skep vir die fluisterwoorde daaroor, Mavis hier in amper ‘n meer Hiphop klerasie, die teks nou meer ritmies en direk, al is dit elektronies eggo-end en spiralend om ‘n amper Amerikaanse Indiaan trans gevoel op te wek. ‘n Staal slag verleen ‘n amper industriële gevoel voor die snare ons in ‘n meer rock rigting stuur vir die koor, “…gee nie om wat jy van my dink nie…”, jy kan op die stuk mosh as jy moet. Ons breek af tot die trans beat voor ons met opdraende liriek weer die mosh in is, ‘n lekker aweregse Afrikaanse liedjie wat mens aan Jane Rademeyer se Afrikaanse snit dink, stuitig en opreg, amper windgat. As ons ander ooreenkomste moet trek, sal dit sukkel. Ons internasionale sangeresse, soos Björk, Sinead, Tracy of Tori te noem sal niks verkeerd mee wees nie.
Voor die laaste gedig se dralende woorde oor ons spoel met ligte drom en klavier begeleiding, kan mens allerhande klanke uit hierdie CD neem, en ‘n groot klomp moed. As daar nog mense is wat gewillig is om die musiekwêreld so te betree, as soveel mooi klanke en idees en vorme op CD vasgelê kan word, as mens sulke mense het, dan is ons cool. Dan is die introspeksie en oplees, die nuuskyk en belangstel, die sand en die see, die bome en die lug, die ANC en die AWB ook, is dit, dit alles werd. “16 Februarie 2007” is ‘n vertelling van ‘n vliegtuigvlug na Roodepoort, wat glad nie beskryf hoe mooi dit is nie. Maar ons het beperkte byvoeglike naamwoorde teen die tyd, dis mooi ok.
Ons breek nog ‘n ritmes uit aan die versteekte einde,”Famous Man” is ‘n lekker mengsel van drom en klawerbord, ‘n mallerige konstruksie wat in ‘n housebeat ontaard met basslines, samples en alles. Hoop ons ontmoet ook vir die ou. Miskien ‘n kykie in wat ons kan verwag van Mej. Vermaak in die toekoms.

: facebook : myspace.com/mavisvermaak : rhythmonline.co.za :

Mavis Vermaak verleen ´n hipnotiese klankbaan aan die dag… oorbrug generasies, tale, eras en landskappe en klink soms so Europees soos die verenigde kleure van Benetton. Haar evokatiewe woorde rol oor die rand van die oggend, haar emosie is gestroop en onapologeties Hierdie vreemde musiek vind neerslag in jou sentrale senuweestelsel en bly in jou binne-oor weerklink. – Deborah Steinmair

Kaapstadslaapstad is ´n meesleurende snit wat handel oor koerantopskrifte en die ongemaklike realiteite van gebroke, sub-ekonomiese gemeenskappe Dit is hartseer in elke opsig en kruip met somberte onder jou vel in… Daar is ´n waarheid in elke liriek en elke storie. Die musiek is eg en ryk deurweef met die ervaring van die lewe en oorlewing in Kaapstad. – Clive E. Smith – Woodstock Slim

Met vyf snitte neem Mavis jou op ´n intieme reis deur haar verwikkelde binneland… Haar trefseker lirieke en die smaakvolle, stemmingsryke begeleiding van Juan Penguin vloei natuurlik en hipnoties saam. Dit is veral die onheilspellende “Kaapstadslaapstad” en die elegiese “16 Februarie 2007” wat beïndruk. – Danie Marais – Beeld

… ´n byblywende, poëtiese avant-rock vertelling oor liefde, verlies en die donker kant van die lewe in kosmopolitaanse Kaapstad. – channel24.co.za

Someone stumbled across Comcast’s quiet rollout of “HomePoint” service in Florida at the end of last week, but the cable company is making up for a soft rollout with a launch of a marketing campaign in Denver today (Monday, October 12).  Comcast plans to roll out the service to other markets in the months to come.

Most wonks looking at this seem to be going ga-ga at the simple expedient of deploying a combination of router and cable modem — can we say “yawn” here? — and missing the point that the HomePoint phone runs DECT 6.0 and has the Casabi service embedded in it.

Casabi is a client/server technology that puts a SIP client with a “lite” web browser directly on the phone so you can do very simple things like download ticker updates on things like news, sports, and the weather straight to the phone, as well as read email and do other interesting tricks.

A Comcast spokesperson said HomePoint would support SMS text messaging down the road, so a home user could get texted; the feature isn’t currently available.

Interestingly, Thomson previously said it was planning to roll out “Advanced Cable Gateway” to Comcast in the third quarter of this year.

Does this gear support HD Voice? Welll, the ACG supports DECT 6.0, but there’s no explicit naming of CAT-iq. Nor is there any reference to G.722 codec support.  At this point, it is not clear if HD voice will be embedded in the second generation of ACGs Thomson is working on and/or if HD voice will be available through existing hardware as a firmware upgrade to the ACG and handsets.   Comcast is being nice enough to look into some HD-specific questions I lobbed onto them today, so stay tuned.

Haven’t dine at Casuarina Curry for quite some time. The crispy prata still maintains it’s standard, much to my delight and I am confident that this one beats the stall at Jalan Kayu. Briyani is so-so only. The fish curry pales to Riyadh Muslim Food at Defu Lane. Won’t mind going back for a quick prata fix.

  [Options Maturity Calendar]                [>>]
   Monday 5th     Tuesday 6th     Wednesday 7th   Thursday 8th     Friday 9th
    USD/JPY         $/Y & E/Y       USD/JPY         $/Y & E/Y       $/Y & E/Y
  88.95 - 150M    88.00 - 250M    89.00 TC 500M   90.00 - 200M    87.55 - 100M
  90.00 - 150M    90.00 - 150M    89.25 - 150M    91.00 - 150M    88.00 - 150M
  91.00 - 150M    90.10 - 100M    90.00 - 150M    91.20 - 100M    88.35 - 100M
    EUR/USD       90.75 - 150M    92.45 - 150M    91.25 - 100M    89.55 - 150M
  1.4650 - 200M   91.00 - 300M      EUR/JPY       133.00 - 100M   133.00 - 100M
    GBP/USD       130.00 - 100M   134.45 - 100M     EUR/USD         EUR/USD
  1.6135 - 100M     EUR/USD         EUR/USD       1.4575 - 150M   1.4600 - 500M
      CAD         1.4620 - 150M   1.4500 - 150M   1.4700 - 150M   1.4700 - 500M
  1.0900 - 100M     GBP/USD       1.4900 - 200M   1.4850 - 150M   1.5000 - 150M
  1.0700 - 100M   1.5955 - 100M   1.5000 - 300M   1.4900 - 100M     CAD & AUD
    AUD/USD         USD/CAD         USD/CAD         AUD/USD       1.0825 - 100M
  0.8750 - 100M   1.0850 - 100M   1.0600 - 100M   0.8600 - 100M   0.8620 - 100M
                                    AUD/USD       0.8700 - 150M   0.8750 - 100M

  Monday 12th     Tuesday 13th   Wednesday 14th   Thursday 15th   Friday 16th
  U.S Holiday       USD/JPY         USD/JPY         $/Y & E/U       USD/JPY
                  88.00 - 150M    91.75 - 150M    88.25 - 100M    90.70 - 150M
    USD/JPY       88.35 - 100M    92.05 - 150M    89.75 - 150M      EUR/USD
  90.00 - 150M    90.00 - 150M    92.25 - 150M    90.00 - 150M    1.4400 - 150M
  87.30 - 150M    90.50 - 150M    95.00 - 250M    90.35 - 150M    1.4815 - 150M
    USD/CAD       90.60 - 100M      USD/CAD       135.00 - 100M   1.5175 - 100M
  1.1100 - 100M   90.65 - 100M    1.0800 - 100M     EUR/USD         USD/CAD
    AUD/USD         EUR/USD       1.0515 - 100M   1.4680 - 150M   1.0750 - 100M
  0.8350 - 100M     1.4850 OT       AUD/USD         AUD/USD       1.0850 - 100M
  0.8550 - 100M     CAD & AUD     0.8500 - 100M   0.8715 - 100M   1.0955 - 100M
  0.8900 - 100M   1.0800 - 100M   0.8725 - 100M   0.8700 - 100M     AUD/USD
    AUD/NZD       0.9000 - 100M     AUD/JPY       0.8640 - 100M   0.8640 - 100M
  1.2340 - 100M   0.8680 - 100M   79.25 - 100M    0.8630 - 100M   0.8600 - 100M
                  0.8645 - 100M   79.75 - 100M    0.8500 - 100M
                  0.8550 - 100M                   0.8890 - 100M
                  0.8500 - 100M                   0.9200 - 100M

Source: IFRMarkets and Oanda