I am Ashley Elsdon

someone who's doing some things

Month: March 2013

Revisiting Nine Horses

Posted by on in Listening, Music

I had a 40 minute drive to do (each way) today and realised that my iPod was completely out of charge, so I had no choice but to take a couple of CDs with me for the journey. One of these was Nine Horses ‘Snow Bourne Sorrow’, which, in hindsight, as it’s been a snowy day, perhaps wasn’t such a good idea.

Anyway, I listened to Snow Bourne Sorrow on the way home, and I was so pleased that I did. It has amazing songs, but most of all I was impressed with the quality and poignancy of the lyrical content. I’d forgotten these songs, and they deserve a listen quite regularly. So I think a Nine Horses re-listen is on the way for me very soon.

Snow Borne Sorrow - Nine Horses

Pebble 1.9.0 arrives

Posted by on in Tech, Wearable Computing

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Well, having just posted about my experience of Pebble a couple of days ago I’ve just got the latest firmware for the Pebble, and I have to say that it is a big improvement on the original.

First off there’s the ability to switch between watch faces very simply indeed. Just using the up and down buttons. Secondly, getting into and out of the music functions are much easier as well. Also, I like the new faces too. Nice stuff.

First impressions of Pebble

Posted by on in Stuff, Tech, Wearable Computing

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So I’ve had the pebble for a few days now. I’ve got used to wearing it, which I didn’t think I would as I haven’t worn a watch for about 5 years now. So far I have to say I like it. The watch faces are nice, the notifications are great although a little erratic at times, and it doesn’t feel strange.

The down side is that it still feels like the interface isn’t quite there as yet. I know that there’s a new version of the firmware coming soon and that will sort out a lot of the problems that the pebble has and will make it more intuitive, and I’m looking forward to that. I suppose in many ways that signals that the pebble is a work in progress in some ways. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, in fact it’s quite fun seeing what’s coming next, and I can see that the improvements are being made.

Once the new firmware is out I think I’ll do another update after that and see how things have improved. For now, I think Pebble is quite good. I’m pleased I got one.

Some thoughts from the mobile music makers meet up

Posted by on in Music, Thinking

This was posted over at Palm Sounds. I thought it was worth say just how interesting the meeting was. Thought provoking doesn’t do it justice at all in fact. It’s been on my mind ever since and I’ve been considering what it means.

But I think it’ll take time to get a considered response together, and it might be a long one.

Doctor Who: Sands of Life

Posted by on in Books and Audiobooks, Listening

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It’s still a little strange to listen to Mary Tamm’s voice, but this is another excellent fourth doctor story, and it has a truly awesome cast as well. David Warner, and Hayley Atwell, as well as Toby Hadoke who I saw in Edinburgh last year with his one man show.

Laurie Spiegel

Posted by on in Listening, Music

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I couldn’t resist getting a Laurie Spiegel t-shirt after discovering her music and work recently. So here they are, both together.

By the way, Lauris Spiegel’s album “The Expanding Universe” is excellent and well worth a listen.

The Expanding Universe - Laurie Spiegel