I am Ashley Elsdon

someone who's doing some things

Category: Thinking

General thoughts and stuff I think about and ponder over.

Finding new uses for old technology (or not)

Posted by on in Tech, Thinking1 Comment

I recently read an article about people finding new uses for old technology. When I saw the article I was very keen to find out the what and the how, but I was sadly disappointed to discover that it was mostly about people using iPod Shuffles as hair clips. Which is not what I was after really.

For ages I’ve been trying to think of ways to make use of old technology. Uses for the technology that make sense, that are productive and interesting. I’m not really interested in using an old iPod as a hair clip. I don’t think it would suit me for one thing.

One thing I did manage to cobble together was using my old Pebble smartwatch as a key chain.

Not that it is a very useful device if I am honest. It is kind of useful to have the time on my keys, and some notifications are helpful there too, but aside from that it has not been the most successful of experiments.

So what else?

Ideally I would like to find a way to make real use of the old PDAs I have. Over the last couple of years I have sold off a lot of the old devices I owned, and I owned a lot. But I still have a few left that I feel unable to part with. Most of these devices don’t connect to the internet, and if they do they are painfully slow.

A few of them can be used for rudimentary music making, but that is really all it is though. So what could I use them for? That’s the question that is on my mind a lot of the time. Ok, not a lot of the time, but periodically and it is something that I seem to go back to on a regular basis.

Theremini and bC-16
Theremini and bC-16
BeatPad and meeblip

As you can see I have used these devices in a variety of different ways over the years, and, whilst some of them have been interesting and fun, none of them have really had long term appeal or efficacy.

Most of the time I find that I need less technology these days rather than more, so finding a real use for any of these devices seems to become harder all the time.

To start off with I am reviving the Sony NX73V. This is a lovely device and one that I actually bought from new.

I found that there was a restore image on the memory stick from 2018, which is probably the last time I went through this process. Next I need to go through all the stuff that is now on the device from the restore process, but that is a post for another day.

Goodbye 2021

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For the most part it has been a horrible year and one that I am glad to see the back of. I thought that 2020 was bad, but 2021 managed to be worse. In some ways I want to think that 2022 will be better, but I think I am learning to have low expectations, and then lower my expectations further. That seems to be the best strategy.

So goodbye 2021, you were crap.

2020 was horrible

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I’m sure that I won’t be the only person who writes a summation of 2020 that begins like this. I had hoped for good things in 2020 but there were so many bad things all over the world that it is hard to see the good in any of it.

However, there was good. There was light in the almost constant shadow that has been the defining characteristic of this year. I still find it difficult to see it, to remember those few positives that were tiny specs of hope in an otherwise sea of darkness. But they were there, and in some ways it is more important to think of those.

At the start of the year I had high hopes for 2020, but it was not to be at all. This year I will just take one day at a time and leave it at that. No plans, no aspirations, just getting through one day after another. Just surviving, for now.

Quarantine week 1

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Like so many people in this country and across the planet, I am isolating myself. Luckily with family, so I’m not totally alone, but nevertheless it is a strange and seemingly sudden change to how we live.

One thing that impresses me is how we have all adapted so very quickly to this new reality. How companies have changed how they work, how authorities have changed how we do things, and how regular citizens have, for the most part, agreed to change how they live their lives.

No one has a clear idea of how long this will take, or how the world will look once it is over. We take things one day at a time now, there’s no other way.

But, on the upside, it is a chance to catch up with loads of things that our busy lives precluded us from doing. Listening, reading, experimenting and making. Personally I’m finding that there’s time for a doing a range of things that I’ve been meaning to get to for ages now.

Perhaps I’ll post about some of the things I’m finding time to do.

Whatever you’re up to, whatever you’re finding to fill your time, I hope you’re well and safe.

I will be posting pictures that make me happy

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I was looking at old photos as one does at the beginning of a new year, and I thought it might be nice to post some of these every now and then, possibly daily. Pictures that remind me of good times. Pictures that make me smile, make me happy. Stuff I think will be good to share and might make you smile too. So expect pictures regularly, or occasionally. It’ll depend you know.

Not really doing much in the way of automation

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One of the things I wanted to do in 2015 was a lot more automation and getting things to work by themselves. Largely that hasn’t happened. However, there are reasons, the main one being that for the most part I haven’t had the need for it. This opens up a bigger question about technology though. I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who was telling me about something cool he could do with his new phone. It was cool, but when I asked him if it was something that he’d actually use, he said no.

That started me thinking. How many times to we (I) think that a thing is cool and would be really useful only to find that actually, whilst it is a cool use of technology, it is in fact a use that we (I) have no real need for. So in actual fact, it isn’t so cool after all. I’m starting to find this a lot these days. Things I thought I’d use or assumed I’d use are actually just cool, or fun, or more often both, but fundamentally, not of any practical use after all.

It’s a shame, but I’m beginning to start questioning myself when I look at a new app, or gadget or whatever, and say, would I really use this? Would it just collect dust? Would it end up taking up time and effort to show me that I’m not going to find it very useful? This is starting to happen more and more. In many ways it is a good thing though. It means I will waste less time and effort, but it’s also a bit sad. Sometimes it’s nice to play with cool stuff just for the sake of it, and now, I find myself just asking, why?

Good things coming in Day One version 2.0

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I’m a big fan of the Day One journal app. I find it really useful. It seems that there’s a lot of new stuff coming in the next big iteration of the app. Here’s what’s coming:

  • Multiple Journals— In Day One 2.0 you can create and name multiple journals
  • Multiple Photos— A simple and elegant solution for adding multiple photos per entry

It looks like it’ll be really cool, but I hope they won’t mess up a load of other stuff at the same time.

Some thoughts on Big Finish

Posted by on in Books and Audiobooks, Thinking2 Comments

If you’ve only ever been here (this blog) a few times, then you probably already know that I’m a massive big finish fan. It’s true. I really like what they do, and I really like how they do it. Some of the newer series that they’re bringing out have been amazing, and I think that they are just going from strength to strength. Even so, I thought I’d put down a few things I’d really like to see them do in the future, just in case they’re listening (although in all seriousness I doubt that they are).

Here’s what I’d like them to do:

  1. Create an audiobook series for the War Doctor. John Hurt’s performance in the 50th Anniversary episode was inspired, and the character he created shouldn’t be lost forever. There was a single audiobook / book that came out with a war doctor story, but it shouldn’t end there. Certainly not. I think that Big Finish would do an admirable job of creating a whole series for the War Doctor. I hope that they’re considering it.
  2. Day of the Triffids. Big Finish created a follow on story from Day of the Triffids called ‘Night of the Triffids’, which was really good. However, I wish they’d also do a remake of the original. I think that they could do a great job of this. It’s an excellent story and worth a retelling. They could do it so well.
  3. UFO, I’d love to see that back again, and I think that Big Finish could do it some real justice.
  4. Space 1999. Same again!

I’m not sure they’ll listen, or even be aware of what I’m saying, but who knows. Maybe, just maybe …