This is great - a search engine just for music. Find and listen to what you want, for free.
Seeqpod
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Travel Resources Pt 2
I'm now back from my travels, and I've got a couple of things to add to this...
1 - Once at your destination pick up any fliers you can to find great nights out, espcially those that have URLs on them, then look to see if the places any good. also buy listings mags - many of these are still far more comprehensive in printed form than online.
As an comment on this, and also the Delicious search tips that I put in last time, you can se why places that want to appeal to the public need an address online.
For example, it's easier for me to recommend The Bird, a buger bar in Berlin (best burger I've ever had) because it's got a website. Similarly Kaffee Burger, a great venue, where I saw an Elvis tribute act on Elvis' "30th Deathday".
But it's much harder for me to recommend The Live & Let Live, the best pub in Cambridge, as it has no web presence. OK, I can link to these sorts of sites, but this info is not controlled by the pub, and given that the pub usually has about ten different draught beers on offer, there is no shortage of stuff that they could put up.
2 - Sometimes you can't get online, so mobile services like AQA can be a godsend. I never tried it for 'what's the best gig on tonight in Hamburg' but it was great for train times at short notice.
1 - Once at your destination pick up any fliers you can to find great nights out, espcially those that have URLs on them, then look to see if the places any good. also buy listings mags - many of these are still far more comprehensive in printed form than online.
As an comment on this, and also the Delicious search tips that I put in last time, you can se why places that want to appeal to the public need an address online.
For example, it's easier for me to recommend The Bird, a buger bar in Berlin (best burger I've ever had) because it's got a website. Similarly Kaffee Burger, a great venue, where I saw an Elvis tribute act on Elvis' "30th Deathday".
But it's much harder for me to recommend The Live & Let Live, the best pub in Cambridge, as it has no web presence. OK, I can link to these sorts of sites, but this info is not controlled by the pub, and given that the pub usually has about ten different draught beers on offer, there is no shortage of stuff that they could put up.
2 - Sometimes you can't get online, so mobile services like AQA can be a godsend. I never tried it for 'what's the best gig on tonight in Hamburg' but it was great for train times at short notice.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Travel Resources
About 5 years ago I arrived in Australia for a few months with a big fat copy of Let's Go Austalia in my bag. I ended up dumping it pretty quickly, because I found that all I really needed was Google. Hostel in Freemantle? Check. Train times for the Ocean Pacific? Check. Good bars in Cairns? Check.
But recently I've been using Google far less for travel because of two new discoveries.
Gridskipper - the quirky, original travel blog has been around for about 3 years, but its new re-design focusses on maps. & since I'm off to Berlin soon, and they seem to have one posting on Berlin every day, it's been essential reading
Delicious - again I've been using delicious for a couple of years, but it's only recently that I've started to search it. For example, if you put Berlin Bars in the search box (without + signs or "quotes" - just berlin bars) it shows you all of the sites tagged by members with those two terms. Obviously this depends on second guessing the tags that other people use, but with a bit of playing around you should get some good answers, and of course you can see how many people have saved each link.
But recently I've been using Google far less for travel because of two new discoveries.
Gridskipper - the quirky, original travel blog has been around for about 3 years, but its new re-design focusses on maps. & since I'm off to Berlin soon, and they seem to have one posting on Berlin every day, it's been essential reading
Delicious - again I've been using delicious for a couple of years, but it's only recently that I've started to search it. For example, if you put Berlin Bars in the search box (without + signs or "quotes" - just berlin bars) it shows you all of the sites tagged by members with those two terms. Obviously this depends on second guessing the tags that other people use, but with a bit of playing around you should get some good answers, and of course you can see how many people have saved each link.
No Catch - Sustainable Farmed Cod
I recently read the book Cod, by Mark Kurlansky, about the impact this amazing fish had had on the world (early US settlers survived on it, for example), and the problems of overfishing.
I was doing a bit of research to try to find an update on this, as the book was published ten years ago, and in doing so I found this site for No Catch, a British sustainable food company that farms cod in sea pens.
The site is pretty funky (the videos in some sections are downright weird), and it gives a lot of information, including a background to the company, a comprehensive list of stockists, and a small but very inviting set of recipes.
I was doing a bit of research to try to find an update on this, as the book was published ten years ago, and in doing so I found this site for No Catch, a British sustainable food company that farms cod in sea pens.
The site is pretty funky (the videos in some sections are downright weird), and it gives a lot of information, including a background to the company, a comprehensive list of stockists, and a small but very inviting set of recipes.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Walkscore
This is one of the best things I've seen in ages. It's a Google Maps mashup that shows the amenities (bars, restaurants, parks, bookshops, grocery shops etc) local to any address, and then calculates a 'Walkscore' - how much stuff is within walking distance. It seems to work fo r all countries where Google Maps works.
So effectively it's a proxy of a fun index. For example my parents' house has a score of 12%, while my flat has a score of 68%, and my office near Covent Garden has a score of 92%.
It also now finally visualises my statement of how many bars, restaurants, takeaways etc there are near my flat. It would also be vital for house hunting, given your lifestyle and how much of a wild time you want to have in your new home.
So effectively it's a proxy of a fun index. For example my parents' house has a score of 12%, while my flat has a score of 68%, and my office near Covent Garden has a score of 92%.
It also now finally visualises my statement of how many bars, restaurants, takeaways etc there are near my flat. It would also be vital for house hunting, given your lifestyle and how much of a wild time you want to have in your new home.
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