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I’ve changed web hosts and upgraded all the Alias Frequencies sites to the latest version of WordPress, so performance should be better from now on. Turns out the old host was being repeatedly hacked. Oh, and this site is now at http://shannon-oneill.net. That may change as there’s another domain I’d like, but I’m waiting to hear back from the lovely owners. In any case, old links should redirect to the current address. If you subscribe to the feed, be sure to do so via FeedBurner: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ShannonONeill that way you shouldn’t be affected by any future changes. Unfortunately lots of comments got lost in the move. I have no idea why, but rest assured that I didn’t delete them! Things are OK over here. Running the first year course at Uni has been a fun challenge, but we’re in the groove now. I’ve been going a bit crazy with the PhD and some writing projects (why do I do it to myself?) but I can see a bit of time opening up soon which I’ll use for making some new creative work and getting another batch of releases up on Alias Frequencies. With this new site I feel inspired to blog a bit more. We’ll see! =) I’ve opened a Twitter account for, you know, research. Pownce is supposedly better, but it’s brand new and currently invitation only, so we’ll see. In other news, I’ve removed my blogroll. Blogrolls are over – you heard it here. Well, maybe they’re not but mine is too tedious to maintain, as I un/sub from feeds all the time. Ideally Google Reader etc. would add a feature to generate/update blogrolls dynamically, based on applying a particular tag to a feed. (I should quit the arts and become a Web2.0 entrepreneur, hey…) If you’ve mainly been reading this blog as a feed, you might not have noticed the Links page, on which my blogroll resided. It (still) contains feeds from and links to my Google Reader shared items, del.icio.us bookmarks and del.icio.us network links, as well as Flickr, Last.fm and more. So I think that’s enough context to be going on with for now. After several years with the wonderful House of Laudanum (who I highly recommend to anyone seeking an artist-friendly web host) Alias Frequencies recently changed hosts. This involved quite a bit of back end work (we were actually on two servers, and have consolidated to one) but I think I’ve fixed all the links now – if you notice anything broken, please let me know. Some blog comments may have been lost in the transfer, in which case please post them again. It was time to leave the Laudanum nest because we have some big plans, including relaunching the Alias Frequencies netlabel in the new year, featuring the finest in obscure Australian experimental music, past and present. We’re thinking of doing it as a WordPress blog, with each release published as a post. This appeals to us cos of the ease of syndication/podcasting. What do you think? I’ll also soon be launching a beta version of the Australian Music Wiki project that I’ve mentioned here before, and which will be a part of my PhD. We’ve also been considering starting an mp3 blog, as an alternative/adjunct to doing radio shows. We could use some help with these projects. In particular, someone with PHP &/or AJAX skills to help us develop/customise a content management system. Also a graphic/web designer to help make the place look nice. Of course we have no money to offer at this stage (business plan? what’s that?) but we hope to find people who regard these projects as interesting and worthwhile. Please get in touch if you’re interested, and/or mention it to your friends if you think they might be.
I know that I’ve written bugger all of substance here in ages (and that’s all I’ll say about that, as there are few things duller than a blogger blogging about not blogging) but I had hoped to regale you with some travel anecdotes. Unfortunately a strange thing happened to me earlier this week – I lost feeling in half of my left hand, or rather it ‘went to sleep’ with a combination of numbness and ‘pins & needles’. I panicked at first, thinking it might be a stroke – after nearly 30 hours of cramped flight home, DVT was a possibility, so I went to the GP and he did the relevant tests and advised me that it wasn’t a stroke and that I should just rest the arm and it’d hopefully be better in a few days. Well it’s a few days later and it isn’t much better. Some activities such as writing (I’m left-handed) typing and upper body exercise are difficult and make it worse. I’ve been terrified that it might be the beginning of Multiple Sclerosis (I’ve had both an aunt and an uncle die from MS, and the doctors suspect that my mother now has it – so I’m about as high risk as possible) but searching on the web leads me to believe that it’s most likely a case of Cubital Tunnel Syndrome aka Ulnar Nerve Entrapment or Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome (UTS!). Hopefully it’s due to some temporary inflammation, but if the problem hasn’t gone away in a few more days, I’ll need to see a specialist. For now I should try to stay away from computers and any other aggravation. So there won’t be much blogging for a while (well it’s not a bad excuse…). I’ve uploaded lots of travel pics to my Flickr page, and there are still plenty more to come, which I’ll try to finish soon. Bugger. When I opened my laptop today, I had to use more force than usual, and the hinge at the bottom of the screen snapped at its base. The hinge itself has jammed. It’s metal and it just won’t budge (I’ve tried various tools). Even if I could get it to move again, I’d still need to reattach the broken metal base somehow. I can’t see this being easily repaired (and of course it’s long out of warranty). Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, how did you deal with it? Is there anyone who specializes in these sort of repairs? For now I’ve managed to wedge it in an open position, so it’s usable, but it can’t be easily moved without cracking the plastic case or damaging the screen. So it’s no longer portable, which means no more laptop gigs for the Time Being. I’d actually been considering taking a break from gigs this year, but I didn’t expect the decision to be made for me. The laptop is a four year old Dell Inspiron 8200. It was top of the line when I bought it and had given me no problems until now (apart from the hard drive dying last year, but given what I put it through, that wasn’t a complete surprise). I was hoping to get at least another year out of it before replacing it with something smaller and more capable of doing live video. Not that I’ll be able to afford it for some time (I need to pay off the credit cards before running them up again ;)) but what’s the best brand of PC laptop for live music/video these days? Dell was the shiz back in 2002, but appears to have lost its lustre… This is pretty much the model for what I’d like to do with the label side of Alias Frequencies. this year has had a cumulative *weight*, culminating in recent events in sydney (and the blogosphere, etc.) which all but silenced me. i almost deleted this blog a few days ago, feeling that i have nothing to say, especially when everyone else seems to be saying so much. listening is what i do best, but the relentless cacophony can be overwhelming. in such circumstances it is normal for me to retreat into my own private space. but today feels relatively peaceful. the sun is shining and there is a cool breeze. i’ll be spending the evening with dear friends with whom i always have great conversation. perhaps my voice is returning… thanks. |
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