Thursday 21 February 2013

The 2013 Motorsports Calendar is here

2013 Motorsports Calendar is here.

Sorry its late (what with the first round of WSBK already upon us).

Those of you who subscribe (you really should do that see *below for details) will already find your calendar updating over the past couple of days. For those of you who don't or are new then please find my Motorcycle Racing calendar updates for 2013.

I have created a calendar covering MotoGP, World and British Superbikes and for those of you who like a little 4 wheel action with your biking the Formula 1 is included too.

As ever I am starting by recording the weekend activity but where I get the chance I will include actual race sessions for each of the events. The early F1 already include this. Being included in the calendar entries are links to the weather (including in some cases track temperature) and location info that will work for Google Maps driving. I have tested this on an Android and Apple mobile device. Please remember the weather will give current weather only so clicking on a link six months in advance wont really help

*There are a number of ways of utilising this info including importing it into your calendar of choice or subscribing. However as these entries will be updated and added to subscribing to this calendar, rather than importing/exporting, will allow you to get updates and additions as they happen.*

iCal Settings

XML settings
HTML settings

Google's explanations of the usage of the different calendar feeds (including subscription types) can be found here

All other sync options including with mobiles can be found here

The calendar can be embedded as well and I think you can see an example over here somewhere >>>^

I have no idea how many people use this calendar, or what else they might like to see. Whilst this has primarily been set up for me (well I'm not much of a blogger am I?) it is always nice to hear from people that use this. It helps the motivation to update etc.

I'm thinking of adding the Road Races, GP2 and possibly even British Touring Car. Anybody have any views?

If you are keen on MotoGP, WSBK, BSB etc here is my twitter list of riders, teams, bloggers, etc I've created. There is also a Formula 1 list as well
Follow me at @waveydavey001.

Friday 6 July 2012

Today I have found for the first time I have been blocked on twitter. It is not a pleasant thought,  not due to the fact that I have to be friends with everyone, but due to the fact that I wouldn't want to ever unintentionally offend anybody. Blocking is normally down to bad behaviour and can make people assume you are a spammy person. I joined 5 years ago and would hate that anyone ever thinks that.

The reason is because somebody found that a picture they tweeted had found its way into a paper.li newspaper that is published by myself. For some reason didn't feel that comfortable with my explanation as to why that happened. Sadly 140 characters is somewhat difficult to explain the nuances of twitter and how things happen. I believe I have not breached any social media etiquette.

This is why I am linking to this blog post from my paper.li newspapers in future.

I'm guessing if you have arrived here it is probably because you are either involved in MotoGP, WSBK, BSB, Formula 1 or another motorsport. Me I love it, which is why I like to aggregate the daily news into a simple to read format, share it with other fans and credit original posters with the content. Paper.li provides this for me

So why are you on my Paper.li newspaper?

Before I try explain here is the paper.li explanation http://support.paper.li/entries/20023257-what-is-paper-li

Here is my explanation : -

You are on my newspaper because I am a fan of what you are involved in and you have either tweeted a key word (for example MotoGP, F1, etc) or because you are on a list because you work in that environment. Either way that means I am interested in what you say

Everyday  Paper.li looks at my lists etc to find the most interesting links, photos etc and aggregates that so I can get the best news from the most interesting people about the things I enjoy.

I share this with others who care about the things I do. We all enjoy the social experience. Many people read and retweet the things I like

If any people are not sure about this, don't block me. Your tweet I picked up will be public, other people can see it and share it and it is there in perpetuity. Don't blame me.

If your tweets are not meant to be public then you should restrict your account, otherwise expect them to be shared.

Here is hoping that most people enjoy the social in the social media

Cheers, Davey

P.S. If you arrived here oddly from somewhere else then I am referring to my Social Newspapers

Formula 1 News
Motorcycle Racing Junkies Newspaper

Saturday 31 December 2011

Critics Choice Albums of the Year 2011

Every year I pour through end of year lists in magazines, newspapers and more latterly the web to see what music I may have missed. I "find" good acts this way (like John Grant in the 2010 list). Last year I made a Spotify list out of the results and this year I've done the same and thought I'd share it with you.

This year I used a total of 28 lists mainly made up of mainstream Music Mags, Websites & Newspapers but I also used a couple of more specialist publications like Mixmag (Dance), Kerrang (Metal/Rock), No Depression (Americana/Roots) and All Hip-Hop (oh come on). Using these doesn't really change much in the top 100 but it does give a boost to some 'crossover' acts. The full list of sources is listed below.

Most of the lists were top 50 where I awarded 1 point for 50 and 50 for 1 (obviously). Those that didn't I did my best (for some 5 points each) for others 50 downwards. Trust me.

Anyway here are the Spotify Play Lists with all the albums that were available for the top 100 starting with the Number 1 critically acclaimed album by P.J. Harvey. The full list is also below. Where albums weren't available at time of publication it is noted (with alternative links where possible)

Critics Choice Albums of 2011 Nos 1 -50
Critics Choice Albums of 2001 Nos 51 - 100
(for those who are interested 2010s 1-50 here and 51-100 here)

Some observations

  • There were 522 different albums in the total list (more variety than usual)
  • This year there were mixtapes (like A$AP and Big KRIT) making the top 50s of publications for the first time
  • Also for the first time, some lists had self released albums (the music industry has definitely changed).
  • Earnest Singer Songwriter and Rocky stuff seems to be in this year
  • The music now called R'n'B seems to be on the way out (Beyonce had a very low show of the 522 and Rhianna didn't make it).
  • Dubstep has influenced mainstream listening with acts like SBTRKT, James Blake and Zomby making the top 100
  • No place for Reggae with Great albums like Little Roy's - Battle For Seattle not making the list.
  • The album Watch The Throne by Kanye West and Jay Z  made the top 50 this year and also last year
  • Britney Spears only got 1 Point (P.J. Harvey got 708)
Hope you find some new music to have a listen to. What albums do you think should have made the top 100 what do you want to here on the list?

The list

  1. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
  2. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
  3. Metronomy - The English Riviera
  4. Kurt Vile - Smoke ring for my Hal
  5. Tom Waits -Bad As Me (not yet on Spotify)
  6. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blue
  7. The Horrors - Skying
  8. Tune-Yards - Whokill
  9. Wilco - The Whole Love
  10. St Vincent - Strange Mercy
  11. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
  12. War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
  13. Wild Beasts - Smother
  14. Gillian Welch - The Harrow and the Harvest (not yet on Spotify)
  15. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
  16. James Blake - James Blake
  17. Josh T Pearson - Last of the Country Gentleman
  18. White Denim - D
  19. Real Estate - Days
  20. SBTRKT - SBTRKT
  21. Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi
  22. The Weekend - House of Balloons (not on Spotify get it free here)
  23. Beruit - Riptide
  24. My Morning Jacket - Circuital
  25. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
  26. Adele - 21(not on Spotify)
  27. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
  28. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
  29. Destroyer - Kaputt
  30. Ryan Adams - Ashes and Fire
  31. The Decemberists - The King is Dead
  32. Wild Flag - Wild Flag
  33. Jon Hopkins & King Creosote - Diamond Mine
  34. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (not on Spotify)
  35. Jonathon Wilson - Gentle Spirit
  36. Feist - Metals
  37. Kanye West & Jay-Z - Watch the Throne
  38. Yuck - Yuck
  39. The Antlers - Burst Apart
  40. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
  41. Katy B - On A Mission
  42. Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials
  43. Bjork - Biophilla
  44. Drive By Truckers - Go Go Boots
  45. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
  46. Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What
  47. Zomby - Dedication
  48. Dawes - Nothing is Wrong
  49. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
  50. Black Keys - El Camino (not on Spotify)
  51. Drake - Take Care
  52. Nicholas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
  53. Tim Heckler - Ravendeath 1972
  54. Battles - Gloss Drop
  55. Peaking Lights - 936
  56. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
  57. Washed Out - Within and Without
  58. Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
  59. John Maus - We Must Become the Pitless Censors of Ourselves
  60. Rustie - Glass Swords
  61. Bill Callahan - Apocalypse (not on Spotify)
  62. Cats Eyes - Cats Eyes (not on Spotify)
  63. Jason Isbell and the 400 unit - Here we Rest
  64. Arctic Monkeys - Suck it and See
  65. Little Dragon - Ritual Union
  66. Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
  67. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
  68. Bombay Bicycle Club - A Different Kind of Fix
  69. Panda Bear - Tom Boy
  70. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
  71. I Break Horses - Hearts
  72. Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys
  73. The Field - Looping State of Mind (not on Spotify)
  74. Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls
  75. A$AP Rocky - LIVELOVEA$AP (not on Spotify - Get here while you can)
  76. Lady Ga Ga - Born This Way
  77. Wu Lyf - Go Tell It To The Mountain
  78. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra (not on Spotify but may still be free)
  79. Aiden Moffat and Bill Wells - Everything's Getting Older
  80. Hayes Carll - Kmag Yoyo (& other American stories)
  81. Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX - We're New Here
  82. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
  83. Modeselector - Monkeytown (not on Spotify)
  84. The Vaccines - What Do You Expect From The Vaccines
  85. When Saints Go Machine - Konkylie
  86. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
  87. Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo
  88. WALLS - Coracle (stream it here)
  89. The Low Anthem - Smart Flesh
  90. Friendly Fires - Pala
  91. Koralleven - An Album by Koralleven
  92. The Roots - Undun
  93. Araabmusik - Electronic Dream
  94. Stephen Malkumus & the Jicks - Mirror Traffic
  95. Barwick, Julianna - The Magic Place
  96. Caretaker, The An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (stream and buy it here)
  97. Mastodon - The Hunter
  98. Bradley, Charles - No Time For Dreaming
  99. Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues and the Melancholy Jam
  100. Deer Tick - Divine Providence (not on Spotify)
The Lists used (and links where available)



Tuesday 16 November 2010

For The Benefit of Mr Jobs

Don’t get me wrong, I like the Beatles. I really do. And I recently purchased the Mono Box set on CD (yes CD). I got it for less than £100 (still bloody expensive) but I bet it is better quality than anything Apple will sell me (cheaper too).

I don’t buy MP3s or AAC or digital music in general. I’m old fashioned and I like (and trust) the physical medium with Graphics and sleeve notes. I can rip it into today’s format, back it up easily, and not worry if I change technology (and I’ve had ATRAC, MP3 and AAC so it isn’t just DRM that can annoy me).

It is good that Artists get paid something for their work and especially new artists. I don’t think Sir Paul will need the royalties Divorce or not so I prefer to get my classics somewhat cheaper.

Is this a day we’ll never forget like Jobs said? I Doubt it, but it is a great advert for Apple who in the paid online music business remain to be beaten despite Spotify etc.

As I write the Beatles Red Album is doing quite well on iTunes at £17.99. Here are some real solid deals you might want to consider instead

The Fall the Complete Peel Sessions £16.79 – 6 CDs of a band like Marmite (luv em or hate them)

Joy Division – Heart and Soul 4cd collection £9.87 or New Order Retro 4cd £16.99 – A massive end to end history

Lee Scratch Perry – Arkology £16.43. 52 tracks of a Reggae/Dub producer genius at his absolute prime

Miles Davis – Complete Columbia Recordings £12.99 – Legendary Jazz albums from Jazz Masters Miles Davis and Gil Evans with outtakes £12.99. Includes Sketches from Spain and Porgy and Bess

Johnny Cash Legend 4CD £12.99 – Because he is, well.. a legend

Elvis Presley – From Nashville to Memphis (5 CDs) £12.99 – 60s brilliance from the King

The Message. Story of Sugarhill Records (4 CDS) £14,99 – Early rap/funk/soul brilliance

All the above will be well packaged, yours, rippable and come with great photos and text.

Anyone found any better ????

P.S. The other great news from this announcement is the price of Beatles CDs which seem to remain constant are dropping. Cheers Mr Jobs.

Thursday 28 October 2010

Jack Burnacle Speaks

Whilst at the Weston Beach Races I bumped into (alright ran after) Jack Burnacle and asked him if he was aware of the Twitter Drinking Game that grew up around his commentary around the Indianapolis MotoGP.

Those who aren't aware these are some of the rules as tweeted by @twitgp



After a hilarious practice and qualifying we got ready for the race.



...and these are just some of the results.



Anyway Jack vaguely remembered so I asked if he would like to record a message. Quick as a flash he came up with this.

Jack was an absolute Gent and a bloody good sport.



Those who like MotoGP, WSBK, BSB etc might like to follow or review this twitter list I created.
Anyone who just wants to chew the fat and talk nonsense may enjoy following me @waveydavey001. Then again.....

GET YOUR MOTOGP, WSBK, BSB & F1 DATES IN ONE CALENDAR HERE

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Weston Beach Race 2010 Start (via iPhone and Pen)

Had a great time at Weston Beach Races again this year. If you haven't been make a date for next year. It is raw and dirty and you get close enough to feel it (still hoping the sand hasn't damaged the camera) and taste it. To be fair you could possibly taste it from about a mile away.


Weston Beach Race 2010


Whilst most spectators, me included, spend most of the 3 hours watching the riders cornering, getting stuck and tackling the dunes the start is a sight to behold.

This year about 500 bikes lined up and I can only describe the look and roar as the heat haze and sand cloud come out of the distance as being like something out of Mad Max.

Video never does it justice but I try. I shot the start in 2008 on a Nokia N95 and that can be found on my Youtube channel along with some other snippets. This year I tried some HD filming on both my iPhone 4 (by hand) and Olympus Pen (attached to the railing via a Gorrilapod). Each clip is reproduced below. Let me know which you think took the better shot.

The photo above was taken on my iPhone. More are available on my Flickr Set along side some Olympus Pen shots (damn why didn't I take the zoom lens). Eventually more video will be put up on youtube.

iPhone Version


Olympus Pen Version






Find me on Twitter at @waveydavey001

Get MOTOGP, WSBK, BSB & F1 2011 Dates in iCal and XML calendar formats here

Monday 18 October 2010

MotoGP, World Superbike, British Superbike and F1 Calendars

Update 6 January 2012 - Planning your 2012 trips etc now. I'm adding dates and updating all the time. So far we have the MotoGP provisional Calendar, Worldsuperbike and BSB calendar, the F1 2012 calendar, Le Mans 2012 and the Isle of Man TT and classics plus the AMA Supercross (starting tomorrow). Irish Road Races to come. These should all work for existing subscribers. Non subscribers will need to re download. Those that subscribe will know that I update so that which is down as a single entry across three days will as a minimum into Practice, Quali and Race and at maximum will have the full race schedule and times of races.


As ever I am pleased that some find it very usefull and greatful that people let me know that they are using it via the comments, twitter etc. Please feel free to let people know of the service.



Original Text  - With the World Superbike and British Superbike seasons over and the Moto GP and Formula 1 seasons drawing to a close, some peoples thought will turn to other things, perhaps Christmas.

Mine turn to next years events.

I have created a calendar covering MotoGP, World and British Superbikes and for those of you who like a little 4 wheel and politics with your biking the Formula 1 is included too.

Included in the calendar entries are links to the tracks, ticket sales and more. I intend to add to this and update with schedules etc as and where possible.

There are a number of ways of utilising this info including importing it into your calendar of choice. However as these dates are at the time of writing provisional, subscribing to this calendar, rather than importing/exporting, will allow you to get updates and additions as they happen.

iCal Settings

XML settings
HTML settings

Google's explanations of the usage of the different calendar feeds (including subscription types) can be found here

All other sync options including with mobiles can be found here

If you like and are planning to use this calendar, let me know here or on Twitter. That way I'll know how important it is to keep updated and in order.

If you are keen on MotoGP, WSBK, BSB etc here is my twitter list of riders, teams, bloggers, etc I've created. There is also a Formula 1 list as well
Follow me at @waveydavey001.

UPDATE 12 December 2010 - I've carried on updating and added Red Bull Rookies, Superstock, Supersport etc as well as the Isle of Man TT Races. Hope to update with schedules etc in the future so I would go for a subscription rather than an Import if at all possible to keep up. Thanks for the tweets etc.

Update 21 November 2011 - Start planning your 2012 trips etc now. I'm adding dates as I get them. So far we have the MotoGP provisional Calendar, Worldsuperbike and BSB calendars plus the F1 2012 calendar, Le Mans 2012 and the Isle of Man TT and classics. These should all work for existing subscribers. Non subscribers will need to re download. Keep spreading the word :)

Friday 23 October 2009

Playing with Google Wave and Embedded Blogs

Well One Year and 3 Months Ago on this Jaiku post (gotta love Jaiku) I wrote

"What I've always thought would be good was to be able to use a microblog embedded into popular blogs as comments. This wouldn't work if you set up your own microblog but a feature such as Jaikus channels that you could have member posting and guest posting (using a Capatcha or something) would be ace. Maybe some open source guru could build that into Laconica/Identi.ca"

There was more to it than just that, but read the post if you are bored and you'll see. Anyway I was alerted to Disqus which was sort of getting there and has improved since.

Anyway, Jaiku had its issues, but seems to be coming back into its own and I moved to Twitter (the shame). I still however like the idea of threaded conversations embedded into blogs, but built around a community.

Could Google Wave be the answer?

Hopefully below is an embedded wave on which you could comment. I'm not sure if those not on wave can see it. Either way add your thoughts and comments to Wave or Disqus below.








Sunday 19 July 2009

What Is On Wavey's iPhone

I've spent a good couple of hours adding, deleting and re-ordering applications on my iPhone today. Nearly all 'home screen' bookmarks gave been removed and I've tried some reorganising loosely into themes.

In honour of Gerrymoths Nokiaaddict regular posts on what he installs on his various phones (see E71 example here)I thought a quick post of what is on my iPhone now would be of use.

Of course I'm a lazy a**e so there are no links, no real descriptions or anything. However Gerry, even poor imitation, is a form of flattery.

There are many so Apps, (this is just a snapshot of mine), and many ways to organise them, here are some screenshots of my layout.

Firstly the Front page, (not so important now the iPhone has Spotlight).



Next up Social Networking - I'm trying out lots of Twitter Stuff at the moment.



Office Applications - I don't wear a tie that often ;)



News and Music (including Music Based games.



Photo and Video Stuff - All good, but the one thing that makes me miss the Nokia



Games I Play - Peggle is SO ADDICTIVE



More Games lined up to try



Sport - Wimbledon was on here a week ago.



Finally Travel and Location based stuff.



So there you have it, this is how I've organised my iPhone and what I've installed. How do you manage yours? Leave a comment and let me know.

Monday 4 May 2009

Lomo Fisheye #2 photos

While in Hong Kong we bought a couple of Cameras from the Lomography Store. One was the Supersampler which I've yet to run a roll of film through, and the other was the Fisheye #2.

This was the first time I've used a Film Camera in over 10 years, (the last time I remember was firing a couple of shots off on Mrs Waveys APS camera on our Honeymoon).

The results were mixed and because of the extreme range of the lens a couple came out with fingers and thumbs in the shot.

I tried a few experimental night shots with double exposures, flash (built in, ring flash and external) but they were all dreadful.

Hopefully I've learnt something, but have a lot more to learn


Click here to see this set on Flickr