RobiNZ Personal Blog

Vale Cilla Black

Today’s news reports of Cilla Black’s funeral and this random Windows desktop background selection (from thousands of possible images) seem worth a mention. Although not really my generation I grew up more than aware of Cilla Black. My parents liked, and often played, her music and gave her name to our rather feisty half Persian family cat. Cilla’s (the cat) mum was a pedigree Persian owned by our neighbours. Planned breeding with other pedigree mates mostly failed but she but was happy to hook up with passing strays. The result was a number of pretty half Persian/half unknown, and it... Read more →

TEDx Auckland — 2013 remembered, bring on 2014!

While buying my ticket to TEDx Auckland 2014 remembered I’d never gotten around to writing a post about the 2013 event. Earlier this year there was some flack about TED, prompted it seems by some ‘dubious’ TEDx events. From my experience at TEDx Auckland it certainly wasn’t one of those. The Aotea Centre was full, the speakers uniformly excellent and it covered a wide variety of topics. In his intro MC @VaughnDavis (below right) made a comment which summed up my TEDx experience. He said with TED on-line you tend to self censor, focus on the familiar, topics of interest.... Read more →

Radiolab Live: Apocalyptical and Amazing

I’ve heard all their podcasts—so expected the typical Radiolab brilliance—but this video of the Radiolab Live tour is amazing. I heard the audio version on Sunday and just watched the video. If you have any interest in science and/or art you must see this. Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad appear with comedians, musicians, video, that distinctive Radiolab audio mix and ‘live’ dinosaurs to tell of endings which changed our world. Radiolab Live: Apocalyptical http://www.radiolab.org/live/ Thanks to everybody who came out to see us on our 21-city tour! We had a blast, and we're so proud of how this show turned... Read more →

Flim & the BB’s live, 30 years later

My Dad discovered Flim & the BB’s before I did. Probably in a Hifi store as they were popular demo disc in the early days of Digital. They were one of the first to use pure Direct Digital DDD technology on CDs. I’m sure the opening track of TriCycle has tested, perhaps to destruction, more than a few systems as the quiet piano opening literally explodes into the full ensemble. Flim & the BB’s are Jimmy "Flim" Johnson (bass), Billy Barber (keyboards, synth, piano), Bill Berg (percussion) with Dick Oatts (woodwinds) credited on the first album TriCycle. They still sound... Read more →

Traffic Light Thought – Elvis K should be a Cadillac?

I’m no Elvis Presley expert, or fan, but surely the personalised plate: [Elvis the King] ELVIS K [Elvis the King] belongs on a Cadillac, not a Hyundai Sonata! Read more →

Amazon’s ‘Recommended For You’… Got me!

I was watching a documentary about Facebook which, in part, mentioned how their adverts are targeted: “Going by the ads I see Facebook thinks I want an AMEX card, a new kitchen, a cinema ticket, a Honda and a holiday in Rotorua. That's zero correct.” Then a bit later: “The ads now think I still want a Honda, tickets to cricket, AMEX Platinum and affordable wall art. Oh, and Facebook marketing. No, no, no, no and no!” On the other hand, Amazon’s ‘Recommended For You’ is absolutely spot on. I had actually banned myself from purchasing any new media until... Read more →

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Flash mob in Wellington

Members of The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with guitarist Justin Firefly Clarke performing the track 'The Ride' from the Good for Nothing feature film soundtrack. Composed by John Psathas. Video by Bryson Rooney. http://www.goodfornothingmovie.com/ http://www.nzso.co.nz/ Read more →

Me, the Fairlight CMI, Thomas Dolby and back to the Murrumbidgee River?

(Way) Back in the 80s I used to buy an Aussie technology magazine “Omni”, correction it was “Omega Science Digest”!. One issue had a card you could send off (with a few au$) to get the demo cassette for a remarkable new electronic instrument. Yes, that there was an analogue demo cassette for a digital instrument gives an idea of how long ago that was! It had a bunch of different tracks, samples etc. all created with the Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument but one (complete unlike the others) was the most memorable. I found Claude Larson’s Murrumbidgee River on YouTube... Read more →

First Circle, my second Metheny masterpiece

I mustn't have told Amazon I own this as today it was first on the “recommendations for you”. Its not the first Pat Metheny Group recording I heard, As Falls Wichita... has that honour, but is the first I owned. A CD when they were still new and represented a hefty chunk of my weekly, first job, income. Some old albums don’t stand up when revisited but First Circle isn’t one. From Forward March — a favourite with dissonant, out-of-tune chords and notes to confound those who don’t know Metheny — to “Praise” it still shines and I listen to... Read more →

“Comfortably Numb”, cycling and @noozeeland

A tweet from @noozeeland today inspired this post. He shared a phrase which commanded only one response. I know the lyrics to Comfortably Numb quite well as I love the song itself, but also for another rather odd reason. When I’m cycling and feeling really tired it’s one song that often gets stuck in my mental playlist. “Comfortably Numb” is an admirable compromise to aim for when all sorts of bits ache but you still haven’t finished the ride! I change the lyrics a bit to so here is my “PsychPod” version, adjusted for cycling, presented with due apologies to... Read more →