RIP Bertie

RIP Bertie, originally uploaded by petersandbach.

Rest in peace Bertie the Border Terrier. He was scruffy and a little pungent at times, but a great companion with lots of character. Sadly Bertie had to go to the vet for the last time yesterday - his pain and exhaustion go the better of him, but we are very grateful to him for 15 years of good memories and devotion.

The Telectroscope

I can't quite believe this is true but apparently, a tunnel has been built from London to New York, so that, using optical devices, you can see from one end to the other. I thought this may be an April fool joke at first, but it's May, so that's unlikely! Interesting website here

ADDENDUM

Turns out nights must have affected my brain! The Telegraph puts a more likely theory, being that the "tunnel" is actually a broadband connection between London and New York. Sad in a way - all the mystery is now gone!

Music production gadgets

Argh! I'm being persued by musical gadgetry! The Create Digital Music blog has been tempting me with pricey technical wizardry!

The bizarrely named Tenori-On is a Japanese invention (who else) which seems to be trying to create a completely new way of making music. It's extremely exciting (and also quite expensive), particularly as a live instrument. Originally created by a Japanese visual artist called Toshio Iwai in conjunction with Yamaha, as well as being able to be used as a sampler/sequencer and performance instrument, it also has brilliant flashing lights! Check out the Youtubes below for demonstrations of the Tenori On.

The other musical gadget that's got me excited is the Pacemaker portable DJ machine thing. It stores your MP3s, plays them, and allows you to do all the things a DJ would traditionally do with decks - beatmatching, crossfading, adding effects, pitch shifting. Again, it's not cheap (although compared to decks+mixer it's pretty good value), and here are some Youtube vids of it in action...