It appears the sharing site is proving irksome for people trying to download the mp3 files. So - a quick bit of head scratching with Windows Movie Maker and I've turned them into YouTube files instead. Enjoy!
Saturday 30 March 2013
Friday 29 March 2013
Of passwords, Atari, Myspace, Goodreads and smiles!
IT’S been a funny old week this week. Every once in a
while, you find yourself having a week of sorting things out online, and what do
you face? Password after password that it may be years since you last used and
that you spend an age wracking your memory to try and get right. Too many
people, of course, fall back on using the same password for different websites –
which is a security no-no. Step forward LastPass. LastPass is available in two
different versions – a free version and a $12 a year version, and it aims to
take the pain out of remembering online passwords. It works on all kinds of
platforms – from PC to mobile phone and consolidates all your various passwords
into one master key. The free version does the job well, the paid version also
acting as an ad zapper if you want one. Website: https://lastpass.com
Atari Arcade
While wrestling with all those online sort-outs, you do
sometimes need to kill a little time – so how about a little bit of retro gaming
fun over at Atari Arcade? There’s a fistful of classics here – from Pong to
Super Breakout, Asteroids to Yars’ Revenge. My personal favourite? Lunar Lander,
which brought back lots of memories. Although it’s probably only my favourite
because the computer kept beating me at Pong! I think it cheated…
Website: Atari.co/arcade
Myspace
Hello? Website column, this is the Noughties column, it
wants its recommendations back. No, seriously, listen for a moment. There was a
time, back when internet dinosaurs walked the chat forums of the earth, when
Myspace was a Big Thing. It was then bought by News Corporation and crashed and
burned while being rapidly overtaken by Facebook. Now, however, it is back,
having been bought up by, well, Justin Timberlake. The new-look Myspace is being
pushed as a site for musicians to connect more closely with their listeners.
Sort of a YouTube plus direct contact. You’ll find lots of free music here, and
links to where you can go and buy it afterwards. You can see what your friends
are playing, pass on recommendations and see what your favourite artists are up
to. There’s lots of well-known bands on there already, and it’s a niche that
could well see MySpace thrive once more! It’s not there yet – loading times can
be awfully slow on videos, and you need to learn to find your way around a
little – but it’s got potential again.
Website: www.myspace.com
Goodreads
While we’re on the subject of social websites, this is
one for the book lovers out there. When I first signed up to Goodreads, it was
tentatively and in a “probably won’t use it much” kind of way. But it’s
wonderful. The more you use it, the more it opens up for you. You start off by
keeping track of the book you’re reading, and rating how you thought of it and
then, suddenly you find recommendations for other books you might want to try,
you can see what your friends are reading and what they thought of them, they
might pass on tips to you and chat about different book-related topics. There
are lots of authors on there too – and many are happy to communicate with their
readers. Yes, you will sometimes get messages from that nagging friend who
demands to know why you haven’t read that annoying series they’re always banging
on about, or take issue with your low rating of it when you do, but it’s a great
way to interact with people who really care about books. Sci-fi and fantasy
readers, feel free to look me up!
Website: www.goodreads.com
And lastly… when you’re all worn out by this buzzing
around the internet… try The Nicest Place On The Internet. I don’t want to give
too much away, but when you’re feeling blue, when you’ve had a rough day, just
pop along to http://like.allmyfaves.com/like/site/name/thenicestplaceontheinter.net
and smile.
Got any website suggestions? Tweet me
@chippychatty
Fresh Blood: Chapter Three
Fresh Blood.
A murderer, leaving a trail of bodies across New York City. A detective, haunted by dreams that show him glimpses of the killings - dreams that cannot be real, but which lead him ever closer to the killer.
-------------------------------------------------------------
This is Chapter Three of the audio reading of Fresh Blood. If you want to catch up, follow the trail of evidence to Chapter One: http://www.alteredinstinct.com/2013/03/first-listen-first-blood.html and Chapter Two: http://www.alteredinstinct.com/2013/03/audio-fresh-blood-chapter-two-body.html.
Download Chapter Three here: http://speedy.sh/XJ9JT/Fresh-Blood-Chapter-Three.mp3
Download at SpeedyShare UPDATE: For anyone having trouble with the SpeedyShare link, now available on YouTube:
Tuesday 26 March 2013
Find free books online - and more
A column I ran recently including good sources for ebooks online - plus some cool sources for music too - enjoy!
HANDS up if you got a shiny new tablet computer or a Kindle for Christmas.
Hmm, let's see... one, two, three, four... ok, I'm stopping counting, I see
a forest of hands.
So now that you've got them, what can you do with them? Let's give a few pointers.
Project Gutenberg
Ebooks, ebooks and more ebooks. Project Gutenberg has been creating and
distributing free ebooks for years now – all fully legal and above board.
Lots of these will be out-of-copyright books from years gone by. Some
genuine classics, some just old. But a quick look at their top 100 list
shows Les Miserables propelled to the top as the movie hits the cinemas,
while there are also delights such as the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,
Pride and Prejudice, Beowulf and Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis. There's even
the Kama Sutra at number 7 – well, the advantage of ebooks is no one can
frown at the cover while you're reading! Personally, I noticed A Princess of
Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs on the list, so skip on down to the next
website while I just click download...
http://www.gutenberg.org/
Free Booksy
Less comprehensive than the vast Project Gutenberg, but containing many a
more modern book is http://www.freebooksy.com. Nicely categorised, it's easy
to find free thrillers, romances, mysteries, fantasy, books for children and
young adults, even cookbooks or travel books. Well worth a look, but I find
it useful more for dabbling with new or lesser-known authors than looking
for a guaranteed hit. New is no bad thing, mind you!
Blogotheque
On to music – and a smashing little website called www.blogotheque.net. A
French website that's also available in English, I'm throwing down a
challenge to someone to create a Bahamian version. The website features a
host of artist in small, intimate little performances of their work. From
well-known artists such as Gil Scott Heron or the Jon Spencer Blues
Explosion and Jessie Ware through to performers you've never heard of, all
captured on camera up close and personal. It's a great way to showcase the
music over the showbiz. There's also something magical about the level
playing field, where famous musicians are captured in exactly the same
fashion as the up-and-comers. Well worth a look.
Otomata
From listening to music to creating music and the brilliant, brilliant
Otomata site. This is an online music sequencer. You simply position sliders
on the screen, hit play and start to create music as the sliders bounce up
and down the screen. You can redirect sliders horizontally instead and watch
as they collide with their vertical partners, changing the shapes on the
screen and the sound of the music at the same time. Mystifyingly beautiful
at times, and you can even record your piece. It is also available on
iPhone/iPod/iPad. There is also a link to a reddit page full of compositions
by people far more talented than I! Visit
http://www.earslap.com/projectslab/otomata for more.
Yowindow
Sometimes when you see a weather forecast, you think to yourself you might
as well just look out your window. Well, Yowindow takes that and runs with
it. It shows the world outside a virtual window and, as you push the slider
at the top along, the sun, clouds, moon and weather changes move through the
sky in a virtual animation. It's quite the most picturesque forecast I've
seen – although the screenshot I've included with this column shows rain for
today! Sorry about that.
* Got any suggestions for websites to feature in future columns? Send your
tips to @chippychatty on Twitter.
HANDS up if you got a shiny new tablet computer or a Kindle for Christmas.
Hmm, let's see... one, two, three, four... ok, I'm stopping counting, I see
a forest of hands.
So now that you've got them, what can you do with them? Let's give a few pointers.
Project Gutenberg
Ebooks, ebooks and more ebooks. Project Gutenberg has been creating and
distributing free ebooks for years now – all fully legal and above board.
Lots of these will be out-of-copyright books from years gone by. Some
genuine classics, some just old. But a quick look at their top 100 list
shows Les Miserables propelled to the top as the movie hits the cinemas,
while there are also delights such as the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,
Pride and Prejudice, Beowulf and Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis. There's even
the Kama Sutra at number 7 – well, the advantage of ebooks is no one can
frown at the cover while you're reading! Personally, I noticed A Princess of
Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs on the list, so skip on down to the next
website while I just click download...
http://www.gutenberg.org/
Free Booksy
Less comprehensive than the vast Project Gutenberg, but containing many a
more modern book is http://www.freebooksy.com. Nicely categorised, it's easy
to find free thrillers, romances, mysteries, fantasy, books for children and
young adults, even cookbooks or travel books. Well worth a look, but I find
it useful more for dabbling with new or lesser-known authors than looking
for a guaranteed hit. New is no bad thing, mind you!
Blogotheque
On to music – and a smashing little website called www.blogotheque.net. A
French website that's also available in English, I'm throwing down a
challenge to someone to create a Bahamian version. The website features a
host of artist in small, intimate little performances of their work. From
well-known artists such as Gil Scott Heron or the Jon Spencer Blues
Explosion and Jessie Ware through to performers you've never heard of, all
captured on camera up close and personal. It's a great way to showcase the
music over the showbiz. There's also something magical about the level
playing field, where famous musicians are captured in exactly the same
fashion as the up-and-comers. Well worth a look.
Otomata
From listening to music to creating music and the brilliant, brilliant
Otomata site. This is an online music sequencer. You simply position sliders
on the screen, hit play and start to create music as the sliders bounce up
and down the screen. You can redirect sliders horizontally instead and watch
as they collide with their vertical partners, changing the shapes on the
screen and the sound of the music at the same time. Mystifyingly beautiful
at times, and you can even record your piece. It is also available on
iPhone/iPod/iPad. There is also a link to a reddit page full of compositions
by people far more talented than I! Visit
http://www.earslap.com/projectslab/otomata for more.
Yowindow
Sometimes when you see a weather forecast, you think to yourself you might
as well just look out your window. Well, Yowindow takes that and runs with
it. It shows the world outside a virtual window and, as you push the slider
at the top along, the sun, clouds, moon and weather changes move through the
sky in a virtual animation. It's quite the most picturesque forecast I've
seen – although the screenshot I've included with this column shows rain for
today! Sorry about that.
* Got any suggestions for websites to feature in future columns? Send your
tips to @chippychatty on Twitter.
Monday 18 March 2013
AUDIO: Fresh Blood Chapter Two - The Body
Fresh Blood.
A murderer, leaving a trail of bodies across New York City. A detective, haunted by dreams that show him glimpses of the killings - dreams that cannot be real, but which lead him ever closer to the killer.
***
In my last blog post, I provided an audio reading - by me - of Chapter One of Fresh Blood. Time for Chapter Two, where Detective Nathan Miller, shaken by disturbing dreams, arrives at the scene of a murder...
Available to download as an mp3 at http://speedy.sh/gEU7d/Fresh-Blood-Chapter-Two.mp3
Download at SpeedyShare
For anyone having trouble with the SpeedyShare site, chapter two is now available on YouTube:
Saturday 2 March 2013
First listen: First Blood.
Fresh Blood.
A murderer, leaving a trail of bodies across New York City. A detective, haunted by dreams that show him glimpses of the killings - dreams that cannot be real, but which lead him ever closer to the killer.
***
Fresh Blood is due for publication later this year as an ebook. For now, it is a work in progress. And while the words and I battle back and forth in the traditional wrestling match that goes on pre-publication, I'm also starting to dabble in working out the best way to present it to you, the readers of this blog, and hopefully in time the readers in a wider audience. To which end, I am creating an audiobook version of the novel to be released for free in a countdown to the ebook's release.
So here, available today, is the first chapter of the novel. Recorded by me, the author. I won't expect the voiceover work to come rolling in, that's for sure, but hopefully it will give you a glimpse of the world of Fresh Blood. It will introduce you to Detective Nathan Miller, and the first of the dreams that are to drive him to doubt his sanity, but to follow his night visions wherever it takes him. Whatever the cost.
You can download the first chapter as an mp3 file here: http://speedy.sh/qJCfe/Fresh-Blood-Chapter-One.mp3
Download at SpeedyShare
Audio effects by NicStage
For anyone having difficulties with the SpeedyShare site, chapter one is now available on YouTube:
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