Obituary

Please read the Wikipedia obituary for Columb Farrelly.

I met him once. In fact I spent an afternoon in his company sometime around 1989/90, when I was trying to set myself up as a freelance MIDI programmer. I put an ad in the Hot Press or in one of the music shops in Dublin, offering my services. Columb saw the ad, rang me up and we agreed to meet at his house in Stoneybatter. Things didn't go terribly well, basically because I didn't have a clue what I was doing (still don't as it happens). He was very nice about it, though.

Next thing I heard about Columb was the fact that he'd written the original theme music for Fair City. After that, the Wikipedia obituary...

The only other significant thing I can think of was the fact that he'd discovered Sinéad O'Connor and put her in a group call Ton Ton Macoute. I was recording a demo in a studio in Dublin in 1988 and the studio proprietor stuck on a tape and said "Listen to this". It was a Ton Ton Macoute demo that he'd recorded in the studio. It was pretty damn good, as I recall.

That's it. My brief encounter with Columb Farrelly.

Regards,


djp

You know you're getting on in years when... (No. 1)

...you realise that you will never ever get through all the bottles of after-shave lotion in your bathroom cabinet...

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/11/2008

1. (8) - No Way Of Knowing - A. Tent
2. (-) - My Kind Of Soldier - Guided By Voices
3. (-) - A Time To Be So Small - Interpol
4. (-) - She's Alright - Phil Thornalley
5. (-) - Helicopter - Red House Painters
6. (-) - She Really Wants You (acoustic version) - Aimee Mann
7. (-) - Roger's Cheeks - The B12 Boys
8. (-) - Broken - Belly
9. (-) - What Do I Get? (Peel Session) - Buzzcocks
10. (-) - Light Of Your Love - Carlene Carter.

On a point of clarification, the reason why the A. Tent track figures so frequently in my Top 10 is because it's the very first track on my iPod, based on the artists' names alphabetically. It's not like I actually like it or anything, I mean, sheeesh...:-)

Regards,


djp

The world's a strange place, Brendan...

It certainly is...

1. The replacement for my old (now dead) iPod was delivered - twice. Mind you, the first time they sent me an 8Gb iPod Nano instead of the 120Gb iPod Classic. That had to be collected by the courier and then delivered to the lady in the Netherlands who was expecting it. Got the "proper" iPod yesterday, and it's grand. Normal service is resumed. Just expect that the Top 10 iPod tracks for this month will be, like, totally, different from last month's...
2. In renovating our new home, we had to cut off the electricity supply in order to facilitate all the building work. A few weeks ago, the builder suggested that we really needed to get the electricity supply reconnected. In the meantime, building work would be pretty much suspended on the house. We contacted the electricity company and were told that we had to submit a certificate from the electrical contractor to state that the electrical works had been carried out to a certain standard before the electricity company would consider reconnection. We checked with the builder, who told us that the cert had been submitted weeks ago. In the meantime, a van from the electricity company was seen outside the house. We checked with the electricity company later, and were told that since it had now been confirmed that the electricity meter had been moved as a result of the renovation works, this was no longer merely a reconnection - this effectively was a new installation and we would have to get a cert from the electrical contractor...not only that, but the cost of the installation would have to be paid upfront - we'd have to wait for an invoice, send a cheque and then wait for 10 working days after the cheque had cleared before the electricity company would come out to connect us to the mains. Subsequently, they relented and said that the existing cert from the electrical contractor would suffice. On Monday, I had intended to tell the builder that it was likely to take another three weeks before we'd have the lecky at the house, but pressure of work prevented me from making that call. When I got home that evening, Mrs. P told me that Younger Daughter had told her that another van from the electricity company had been seen outside the house. Later that evening, I went over to the house to see what the story was. I found the box for the electricity meter, opened it, and there it was, a brand spanking new electricity meter waiting to be connected to the mains. We still haven't received the invoice to start the process of reconnection, and yet the process is almost complete...
3. Today I got an e-mail from my ISP to say that the debit card which I use to pay my phone/internet bill had expired - 34 months ago... I was invited to update my card details online, but suspecting a possible phishing expedition, I rang my ISP to confirm the position. I was told that my card had indeed expired almost three years ago, but that the bank had kindly honoured the requests from the ISP to make deductions from my bank account. On an expired card. For three years...

What the hell is going on out there...???

Regards,


djp

Good news/bad news/good news?

Last night I went to see Munster play Glasgow Warriors at the newly-developed Thomond Park in Limerick. It was a great game - Munster won 25-17 in a tight match. The new stadium is good, although I was a little bit disappointed that the areas under the stands are just bare concrete. A lick of paint wouldn't have gone amiss.

But boy was it raining. It came down in buckets. And as a consequence, it seems as if my iPod has got waterlogged. I have it in the hot press ("airing cupboard" to my non-Irish readers) at the moment to see if it will dry out. If it doesn't (bad news), then the cash I have spent on buying a new 120 Gb iPod will not have been wasted (I was thinking of getting a bigger iPod anyway). If it does dry out (good news), then I might use the old iPod in the car.

It's not really a question of winning or losing - it's more a question of interpreting a defeat as a victory.

We'll see how things pan out...

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/10/2008

1. (-) - Camera - Wilco
2. (-) - Bruckner - Symphony No. 7 - 1 - Allegro moderato - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
3. (-) - Sunsquashed - Yo La Tengo
4. (-) - The Frozen Lake - Mental Anguish
5. (-) - The Mystery Of Twilight Part 1 (live) - Jah Wobble's Solaris
6. (-) - Kluba Cupol - Cupol
7. (1) - Better Things - The Kinks
8. (2) - No Way Of Knowing - A. Tent
9. (3) - From Me To You - The Beatles
10. (4) - The Ballad Of John & Yoko - The Beatles

Regards,


djp

Ssssh...it happens

Yesterday afternoon was wonderful for me, my friends, just one damn thing after another:-

1. So the weather finally stays good enough for long enough for me to decide to cut the lawns (front and back). It's been about a month since I cut them last, so things were starting to get a little bit out of hands, herb-wise. Having spent an hour or so pushing my decrepit old lawnmower around, I finished up and went to put the mower back in the garage...only to find that the garage door wouldn't close properly. The left and right sides of the door didn't seem to be on the same page of the script, to the effect that the left-side would go down half-way, but the right-side wouldn't budge, ergo the garage door was starting to twist. An hour spent pulling and dragging only lead to the roller on the left-side popping out of its track. Repeated belts of the roller with a lump hammer lead to the flattening of part of the track. I tried to cut and bend that part of the track, but to no avail. I even tried to unscrew the track from the wall - the top screw was seized tight. By the time I finally got the roller on the left-side sorted, the roller on the right popped out of its track. I then realised that the strut supporting the right-side of the door seemed to be seized. By this stage, my priority was to get some way of covering up the opening to the garage (not that there's anything worth stealing - it's the principle of the thing, y'know). But since the door was not budging and was also quite twisted - beyond repair, I should imagine - I took the decisive step of cutting the door away from its supporting struts and allowing it to stand freely at the opening, being "held in place" by reversing my new van into the opening (I knew I'd find a use for it). I'm guessing a replacement door is going to cost a few thousand euro, but what can I do? I have to have a garage door...
2. Then last night, having got a fill of home heating oil, I followed the standard procedure of bleeding the system at the pump. This involves loosening a nut at the base of the bump and running it, so that some of the oil spills out but clears any airlocks in the pipeline. Only there was no oil spillage - I'm guessing there is dirt somewhere at the outlet of the oil tank. And that's way beyond my ability as a DIY-er. Boiler Guy is due on Tuesday a.m.
   
3. And then to top it all, while mowing the lawn, I got stung by a nettle for the first time in about thirty years. It didn't hurt as much as it used to in the old days - I've obviously acquired a thick skin somewhere along the line, but it's the principle of the thing - guys my age shouldn't get stung by nettles, that's kids stuff

Who'd be me, eh...?:-)

Regards,


djp

Van gone, van got...

After over 8 years of ownership and some 10,000 (vaguely) fun-filled miles, I finally traded in my old 1993 VW Transporter. Although mechanically in pretty good nick, it has just failed its DOE roadworthiness test. Without its roadworthiness cert., I can't tax it and the cost of sorting it out would be more than the van itself is worth. So, somewhat regretfully, I've traded it in for...


...this 1998 Toyota Hiace. It won't win any concourse competitions, but it's just the thing for whatever the hell it is I need it for - whatever that is...:-)

N.B., note Korky getting in on the act. That damn cat.

Regards,


djp

Critter Cadaver No. 4 - dead pigeon

"Coo, e's big, innee?"

Some more of Panther's handiwork, I reckon.

This chap was so big that I couldn't pick him up with my garden grabber (a very useful item if, like me, you have to dispose of dead critters from the back garden), so I had to use a spade to pick him up and lob him into the ditch at the back of the house.

I'm surprised that the pigeons haven't been hit before. There are at least two pigeons which have been knocking around our place for the last few years, and I've often thought they'd be fair game (pun intended). Panther eventually came to the same conclusion - well I never said he was the sharpest chisel in the toolbox...

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/09/2008

1. (-) - Better Things - The Kinks
2. (9) - No Way Of Knowing - A. Tent
3. (-) - From Me To You - The Beatles
4. (-) - The Ballad Of John & Yoko - The Beatles
5. (1) - Easter Parade - The Blue Nile
6. (2) - Do It - Buzzcocks
7. (3) - I'm Afraid - The Cardboard Lung
8. (-) - The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver - Elbow
9. (4) - One Day Like This - Elbow
10. (-) - Michael - Franz Ferdinand

Regards,


djp

Technology be damned...

Had a devilish time this morning trying to program a MIDI file for eventual conversion to audio. My PC "doesn't like" Cubase very much (my new laptop fairly likewise), and it has a tendency to add a certain element of "latency" when trying to play MIDI on a keyboard, so I use a free program called MIDI Maestro which is great for programming (no latency) but is lousy for editing. I program using MIDI Maestro on the PC and then copy across to the laptop to edit in Cubase and THEN copy it back to the PC to "play" using MIDI Maestro. I record the resulting audio on my laptop using Cool Edit Pro. Left, right, left, right...

Well, that's the plan anyway...the new laptop has Windows Vista, which doesn't much like DVDs burnt on my PC using Nero Express. And vice versa - the PC can't seem to read DVDs burnt on the laptop under Vista. After about 30 minutes trying to transfer the files physically, I gave up and sent myself an e-mail from the laptop to the PC, attaching the edited MIDI file.

That worked fine, except that when I went to record the resulting audio, my laptop didn't like my audio interface, even though I'd used it a few weeks ago in Castleisland. After much cursing, swearing, plugging/unplugging the interface, starting up/shutting down Cool Edit and eventually re-booting the laptop, I ended up having to re-install the drivers for the interface. That worked in the end and I got all my work done.

The laptop was supposed to solve a number of my technical problems. Not so sure now that it's all going to be a happy relationship - however, I suspect that the real culprit here is Windows Vista rather than the laptop itself...

Regards,


djp

Well, Derrick, water you know?

Came back from a wee shopping trip up in Kildare today and found this little beauty in the space in front of the bungalow we are renovating...

We're installing a geothermal heating system and that involves drilling a deep hole - deep enough to encounter a source of warm, subterranean water. Here's hoping they drill deep enough to find oil, but not deep enough to find magma...:-)

Regards,


djp

Cat-egory

Korky's little secret is out - he, sir, is a "she", sir...:-)

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/08/2008

1. (5) - Easter Parade - The Blue Nile
2. (-) - Do It - Buzzcocks
3. (1) - I'm Afraid - The Cardboard Lung
4. (-) - One Day Like This - Elbow
5. (-) - The Greatest Show On Earth - JP Den Tex
6. (-) - Living On A Thin Line - The Kinks
7. (2) - Ben Kenobi's Theme - Patrick Gleeson
8. (3) - Lullaby - Pugwash & Friends
9. (-) - No Way Of Knowing - A. Tent
10. (4) - Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi - Air

Regards,


djp

The best rock album in the world...ever

As of this moment, that accolade belongs to the 2 CD Deluxe Edition of "Live At Leeds" by the Who.

You can pick up the single CD version handily enough, and it's a brilliant album in its own right. There isn't a duff track on it and the standout track has to be the live version of "A Quick One". Truly awesome. Four artists, three musicians, a righteous racket.

But if you want to do yourself a favour, seek out the 2 CD version, which includes a complete live performance of "Tommy". It takes the album to a whole new dimension of brilliance. Really.

Regards,


djp

Quill legs

(N.B. - not "quail eggs"...)

Yesterday, I was down in Castleisland to visit my cousin Redmond Roche. We had a jam session and recorded some (very) rough pieces of music. It was great crack...

...but as I spent about seven hours either standing up playing the bass or crouching on the floor trying to sort out various issues of a sound engineering nature (as in "where does that lead go to?", "where's that buzzing sound coming from?" or "why is nothing working?"), I woke up this morning back in Nenagh, suffering from a bad case of quill legs.

Quill legs is a phenomenon which is not unique to Nenagh, but which is suffered by a significant number of people, mostly men, from the town. The Quill is a famous pub in Nenagh and has been the location for many memorable work booze-ups over the years. These usually involved five or six hours of drinking beer, talking shite and...standing. The following day, one would wake up with a thumping headache, caused in part by the volume of alcohol consumed the night before and also (in the "good old days") by active and passive smoking. And of course, one would suffer from very stiff legs and derriere from all the standing. Quill legs.

Regards,


djp

Pigeon defaecetive

We were up in Galway yesterday, helping Elder Daughter buy a gown for her grad dance (I was helping by doing the driving and getting the hell out of the way).

I spent a nice hour sitting on the ground by the banks of the Corrib with my iPod on. The weather was nice and the banks were crowded with lots of young people. Afterwards, I wandered the streets enjoying the summer throngs - people sitting out in the fine weather eating or drinking coffee (or pints of stout).

Eventually, I decided to contact the other members of the gown-buying party. I stepped out of the throng and stood in front of a shop window. I was just in the process of sending Elder Daughter a text when I felt something warm, soft and squishy hit my left hand. I looked down and saw a glob of slimy mucus oozing down the back of my hand. I looked up and saw a pigeon turning his backside to me. Yes folks, I'd gotten a little "billet doux" from the bastard. It was a pretty good shot, I have to say. If I'd been him I'd've been rather proud of my accuracy.

I spent the next five minutes pushing through the mob, trying to find a newsagents where I could buy a bottle of water to wash my poor handie. I had to be careful not to proffer my money using my left hand - God know what the shop assistant would have thought if she'd seen the pigeon poo...

Of course, we all had a good laugh about it afterwards, but some laughed more than others.

Regards,


djp

Lads, in the name of Jaysus will ye get a life?

Click here and marvel at the capacity of humans to argue about non-essential issues...:-)

Regards,


djp

What's new with me?

Oh, some stuff...

1. We were in the UK for a few days at the end of June. Quite enjoyable, although the weather wasn't great. Some pics of Chester and Liverpool. Chester is a beautiful place - very laid back - I could imagine that if I stayed more than a week I'd turn completely mellow. Liverpool, on the other hand, is a bit of a kip, apart from the Albert Docks area. Sorry, Liverpool fans...
2. Elder Daughter turned 18 a few weeks ago. I am not allowed to post any pics (actually, I haven't asked for permission, but I know what reaction I'd get...). We had a nice meal out in the Peppermill in Nenagh. Gettin' ould, boy...
3. Got two bad soakings a couple of weeks ago and finally succumbed to a bad head cold last week. Just in time for a wedding last Saturday. I don't enjoy weddings much, but this one would've been OK if I hadn't been wearing the internal balaclava. I'm just getting over the cold now. Took a lot out of me.
4. My laptop has finally bought it. Or to be more precise, the adaptor isn't working anymore. Or to be even more precise, it was working this morning, but it ain't now. And the laptop's battery has fully discharged and can't now be recharged. And I've got some valuable data on the laptop's hard drive that I can't extract. I could get a replacement charger, but since I was going to be replacing the laptop in a few months, I thought I'd go the whole hog and get a new laptop now. I'm just as unlikely to be able to afford it in the future as I am right now (possibly even more so...) so what the hey? We got a laptop for Elder Daughter's birthday, so I'm getting an identical one from the same source.
5. Oh, and say hello to the new arrival in the family - Korky

He's quite a handful, and Panther and Poppy are having a touch time dealing with his youthful energy and exuberance. But hey, life goes on, dunnit? I suspect that Korky might have had something to do with the death of the laptop's adaptor. He seems to like cables of all sorts...:-)

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/07/2008

1. (1) - I'm Afraid - The Cardboard Lung
2. (2) - Ben Kenobi's Theme - Patrick Gleeson
3. (-) - Lullaby - Pugwash & Friends
4. (5) - Le Soleil Est Pres de Moi - Air
5. (-) - Easter Parade - The Blue Nile
6. (-) - So Much Love - Dusty Springfield
7. (10) - Grounds For Divorce - Elbow
8. (-) - The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver - Elbow
9. (3) - Wrong Turnings - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
10. (-) - These Winds - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci

Regards,


djp