Miscellany

Dust

when the light above my head went BANG!
Insomnia by Faithless

Like dust gathering on the abandoned, this is where the other stuff goes - until there’s enough of whatever to create a new page of delight. Let me know if you’ve got something worthy of this collection...

Recommendations

Hosting

When I first setup my website I didn’t know what I needed or where it was going so I opted for some fairly cheap and cheerful web hosting that served me well for the early years. Now though I need something more colourful and robust - after several hours of research over several months I found my perfect match in 1&1 Internet. For as little as a fiver a month I get all the bells and whistles I could ever want, I reckon; even if you don't need them, the support and control panel are really easy to use - and with a massive backbone to the Internet, eco-friendly server environment, at a price like that, you can’t go wrong. More about this in my 'blog.

Hearing

Don’t Lose the Music is a campaign started a few years ago by the RNID. I am in full support of its movement to increase awareness about noise levels in clubs - it’s not about turning down the music, or guys in white coats monitoring sound levels from the dance-floor. The RNID’s website provides information for clubbers, DJs and musicians alike on the dangers of, and protection from high music volumes in clubs/concerts - not all sound systems are the same! It’s up to you, act now before the ringing in your ears after a weekend of debauchery becomes an irreversible whine! I wear earplugs most of the time, especially when DJing for two hours straight; I bought them from Sensorcom.

Research

Discogs Discogs is an established community that relishes in building upon an existing database of music recording releases; focusing on Electronic Music, its aim is simple: to build the definitive Electronic Music database - one big giant interconnected discography. For a geek like me it's spooge-worthy. Enough said. My profile on Discogs is rhythmic.

Playback

Winamp has been around for a long time, long before MP3 was the buzz word of the day. It’s a media player supporting nearly all of today’s popular audio formats - indeed its MP3 playback particularly makes it probably one of the best software MP3 players out there... it’s lightweight (if you get the 'lite' version!) and it’s free!

Searching

Consider an alternative to Google, a web search that gives money to your nominated charity every time you perform a search and click on a result. Enter Everyclick - it works just like any other major search engine but the difference with Everyclick is that you can raise money for your favourite charity. What’s more, you can choose which charity you would like to support from over 170,000 UK charities. To date around 115,000 people have already helped raise around £500,000 for charity just by searching the web.

Surfing

Firefox from the Mozilla Organisation is arguably the best web browser you can get for your Windows PC, and it’s been leaving Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in the dust over recent years where security is concerned (but that’s not to say Firefox is infallible!). Not only that, but you can super-size the lightweight browser many, many times over with a fascinating array of add-on extensions for personalising its functionality (my picks: AdBlock Plus, Facebook Toolbar, Web Developer toolbar). If you already know all this, clever clogs, then why not help Spread Firefox?

Shout outs

Simple: Nightclub. Oxford. Intimate warm and friendly vibe, it’s what I’ve been searching for. Expect the unexpected when keeping it Simple.
Em Williams: DJ. Fellow resident at Simple in Oxford.
Sean Holbrook: DJ. Former resident at Simple in Oxford... Holdtight!
Slide: Nightclub. Oxford. Well over a decade of hosting great House music nights with top, top DJs.
Lee Mortimer: DJ & Producer. Ministry of Sound resident and co-founder of Wearhouse Music.
Fazed Music: Label. Launched in 2006 by DJ & Producer, Ashley Roberts.