Hey, hey and ho, fucking ho! The hippy is here to sort out all your gift-giving dilemmas. That is, if you’re shopping for someone who is supercool!

I’ve got a few recommendations for you and there’s still time to order them all online and receive them in time for the big day!

I’ll start with a book that is well worth giving to anyone who appreciates the vast complexity of human emotions.

- Post Secret – the book
I’ve championed this blog before and I’m still a big fan. The artist solicited people’s secrets, anonymously via postcards. They’re actually quite moving and I’ve been on the brink of tears more than once checking out his website. The book is a well-put together collection of postcards; some that have been on the site and others that are brand new. It would look great on anyone’s coffee table and I was very happy when it recently became available to purchase in here Blighty.
- Post Secret – the website
- Post Secret – the book (via Amazon UK)

It’s a worthy project, which has genuinely touched people, so please buy a copy and support the artist, Frank Warren.

Now for a musical suggestion, two CD’s that I like very much:: Muse – Black Holes and Revelations and the Killers – Sam’s Town.

Muse has been a favourite of mine for quite a while now and their latest album does not disappoint. This is big, anthemic music performed with passion. If you like hard rock with an intelligent edge, this is the CD for you!

The Killers second album is also a winner, but I was a big fan of their first, Hot Fuss, so no one should be surprised that I dig this one too. It’s got a very traditional rock and roll feel, but with electronic textures that keep it in the 21st century. Big in the UK, not so much in the US, which is weird because they’re from Las Vegas. Give it to someone who just likes good music!
- Muse – Black Holes and Revelations (via Amazon UK)
- The Killers – Sam’s Town (via Amazon UK)

I’ve selected Amazon for the book and the CDs as they’re very reliable and they can still ship out to the UK before xmas!

My friends at Everyonedoesit.com have a huge selection of gifts for the hippy in all of you. Besides having one of the largest selections of legal highs available in the UK, they also are one of the best distributors for all things RooR – this hippy’s favourite glassware.

They recently started stocking the classic RooR glass water pipe and I’ve just ordered the three-piece model for myself. It’s coming tomorrow! And at only £65, it won’t break the bank either! RooR, quite simply make the best glassware in the world, so if you need a gift for someone who enjoys alternative smoking methods and substances, this is the pipe for them!

EDIT stock quite a big range of RooR goodies, with something to suit every budget, from the mini-steamroller right up to RooR’s collaboration pieces with Shiva glass, that do actually cost an arm and a leg, but are gorgeous!

You can also check out EDIT’s extensive selection of legal highs, with a flavour and effect to suit almost everyone’s tastes! At the moment, I’m still favouring Spice Gold, which costs a bit extra, but has quite a kick. It mixes especially well with weed too!

And finally, EDIT also has a selection of xmas gift boxes, again in sizes to suit everyone’s budget. They even do a line from RooR!

I’m a big fan of EDIT and have been for years now. I shop with them, a lot and they are fantastic. I should also mention I’m an affiliate of their’s, which is why you see their adverts on this site. But I wouldn’t give them space on my website, if I wasn’t 100% behind what they do!

Ok, now onto the big gift, for that someone special. Choose Apple!

I love my Apple toys, I’m typing this on my iMac right now and my new Mac mini is sitting under my Sony Bravia. I just sold my iBook, to make room from my next laptop, either a MacBook or a MacBook pro, I haven’t decided yet!

The easy choice from Apple is an iPod, though you do need to choose a model. I have to say, even though I don’t own one, I think the 2nd-gen, 8gb black nano is the best one in the line-up. A friend of mine has one and it is pure sex and plays music too! If you hold one in your hands, you’ll want one!
The new iPod shuffle is also a little devil of a music player; as small as a matchbox, holds around 240 songs and only costs £55 quid. What’s not to love?

I’ve got a 60gb iPod with video, which has since been replaced by the 80gb version is also a fantastic piece of kit, though it’s the most expensive one they make. What can I say? I’ve got good taste.

By far, the best thing Apple is selling at the moment is their MacBook. Everyone loves them and they’re expected to sell several hundred thousand of them in the run up to xmas. You can still order one online and probably get it by xmas, or you could just walk into any Apple shop and walk out with one. You do need to pay for it first!

So there you have it, the hippy’s helpful holiday shopping guide! I hope it’s helped someone out there decide what to get someone special!

And if you’re shopping for this hippy, I’m really hoping for a green xmas…so just get me an ounce or two of skunky bud. I’ve been a very good boy all year, you know!

Here’s a treat, I’m blogging from my office.

I haven’t done this in ages and ages; I’ve been keeping my secret online life separate from my professional world.  What’s different tonight? I’m bored. Bad for me, but good for you guys!

I’ve just strapped on my iPod and I’m grooving to the new Muse album, “Black Holes and Revelations” and if you haven’t bought it yet, shame on you! I’ve been a Muse fan for a while and their latest release sets the bar quite high, it is an instant classic. Favourite track: “Starlight”, which is the current single.

I saw Muse’s set at the Reading Festival on television and it was fanfuckingtastic. Matt Bellamy, the lead singer/guitarist was phenomenal. I’d love to see them live. Even better, Mrs. Hippy saw it too and now she’s become a fan, but of course, she has good taste. She picked me, didn’t she?

Musically, I’m also digging the latest Outkast album, “Idlewild”, which is also the soundtrack to their upcoming film of the same title. Speakerboxx/The Love Below” is a tough one to follow, but the boys from Atlanta have come up with another winner.

Other things I’m grooving to recently include the debut album from “The Automatic”; Razorlight’s latest and “The Kooks”. I’ll also admit to liking Snow Patrol’s latest single, “Chasing Cars”, but don’t tell anyone! Sometimes, I can’t help myself with occasional flashes of poor taste!

Since Big Brother ended, I’ve had more time to watch some of my old favourite shows, a few of which are ending for me soon.

I’ve been well into the final series of “The Shield”, which is a wickedly gritty cop show with one of the best anti-heroes to grace my screen in ages. The finale airs on Channel Five this Friday night and then that’s it.

I’m loving the latest series of Deadwood as well, which will also end soon, except for the threat of a couple of feature length episodes to come, to tie the story up.

Deadwood is amazing, with high production values and a higher budget, but what works for me the most are the richly drawn characters and the intricate dialogue. The salty language is almost Shakespearean in its complexity, but please don’t let that put you off.

But by far, what I’m enjoying the most is the second series of Lost, which for me will also be ending soon. I’ve got the penultimate episode waiting for me on SKY+ when I get home in the morning and then in a fortnight, the feature-length series finale will air.

The 3rd series of Lost starts in the states in the beginning of October and I’m planning on downloading it from one of the naughty sites. And why not?

It won’t air here in the UK until at least January, if not later and I’m tired of stumbling upon spoilers online that take away from my enjoyment of the surprises.

And what will I be downloading it on? My brand new Mac Mini that I’m ordering when I get home in the morning! They were just refreshed with faster processors, so the time is right to buy one. I wanted to see what Apple would announce at their “It’s Showtime” event before I did and to be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed.

Codenamed “iTV”, Apple have announced a video streaming device, which will be available to buy early in 2007. While it looks good, it’s not really what I’m looking for to complete my all new digital lifestyle, so it’s Mini-time! I can’t wait.

When I first hooked up my iBook to the my Sony Bravia, I was blown away by the quality of the image on my 32” TV and I decided in seconds I wanted to get a Mini to be my media server.

The Mini will handle all of my video downloads, it will be my musical jukebox and it will also receive digital terrestrial TV. The ability to record off-air TV is especially cool, as I will be able to export the recording to my video-enabled iPod and take the programmes to work with me. Cool-a-rama!

I’ve also got a big stack of books sitting at home, awaiting my time and attention, but there’s not point in cataloguing them here, as I haven’t read any of them yet. Soon, I will have the time and I’m going to be a word-junky.

The biggest news is one of my non-hippy related projects is nearly completed and ready to move into it’s next phase, and I’m getting ready to start a couple of more. No moss growing on me!

What I need now, more than ever is a literary agent and I really should be doing something about it. If any of you knows of one, that would like to make 10% of my prospective, future fortune, please put them in touch. And no, I’m not joking!

Hey ho hippyfans!

Sorry for the longer than usual gap in posts. I’d love to blame it on something as exciting as a trip to a desert island, or a drug-induced coma, but sadly the truth is more mundane than that.

My iMac has been in the shop for the last few days, though thanks to my iBook, I’ve still been online.

So if I’ve still been online, why haven’t I posted?

Simple, I’ve been suffering from tech-stress!

In the last 3 weeks, all of my major Apple gadgets have suffered from some sort of problem or issue. They are all resolved now, so my tech-stress levels are returning to normal.

Before anyone thinks this is going to be some sort of anti-Apple tirade, think again. I have nothing but praise for how they have handled my technical troubles.

Firstly, my Black 60gb iPod with video developed an odd problem; when I connected it to my computer, it didn’t show up on the desktop or in iTunes. The iPod itself worked fine for playback, but it wouldn’t synch or charge via the dock connector.

Because my iPod is engraved, the only repair option I had was to use Apple’s collect and return service. All of this was under my original warranty, so it only cost me in time without it, but no dosh at all.

Apple sent UPS to collect the iPod, complete with all the packaging and labels required.

The UPS guy even waited a few minutes while I boxed it up. The next day it was back with the mothership in the Netherlands, the problem was diagnosed and a new one was shipped out from their factory in Shanghai the day after that.

If it weren’t for the recent terror alerts, I would have had the replacement much quicker, but as it turned out, I was without the iPod for 10 days. Not bad.

I’m not sure if the replacement is brand new or reconditioned, but it certainly looks and feels new. I was so impressed with the service I received that I bought the Apple Care plan to cover it for another 2 years. If something else ever goes wrong with it, I know exactly what to expect.

My G5 iMac is around 18 months old and I still love it.

Around a year ago, Apple identified an issue with my model of iMac that involved the Logic Board and power supply and extended the repair period by an additional 2 years on top of their warranty. Last week, I realised my computer was suffering from this known issue.

The fans were running fast, the temp was high and hot and finally, I started getting distorted video and weird crashes. Last Wednesday I took it into my local north London Apple Store.

I had my first ever appointment with a Mac Genius and I was impressed. He checked out my iMac, booked it in for the repairs and even ordered the parts he thought might need replacing. It turns out, it didn’t need everything he sent but better safe than sorry.

On Friday, the online status of my repair said it was complete, but they didn’t phone me. I was really missing it, so today (Monday) I went in to collect it. The repair was finished, but they wanted to clean it before I picked it up, so I wandered around for half an hour and when I returned, it was boxed up and ready to go.

It’s running cooler, the fans are quieter and the video looks great. Also, they did an amazing job of scrubbing it up, it looks as good as it did when it was new…even the keyboard!

So again, Apple came through for me.

Now, my problem with my iBook is the same one affecting 1.8 million other Apple laptop owners, the great Sony battery recall of 2006. Apple was quick to announce this and even though they haven’t had that many reported cases of overheating, they’re replacing all those batteries for free!

As I was using my iBook extensively in the last week, while the iMac was back with the mothership being repaired, I noticed the battery wasn’t holding it’s charge as well as it used to and considered ordering a replacement. Now I don’t need to, as I’ve registered for the recall and should receive a new battery for it in the next month or so.

Again, I’m pleased with the outcome.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s stressful when your essential toys go funny and I’ve been missing my iMac like mad.

I was able to back-up all my important data; the elements of my all new digital lifestyle, before I took it into the shop, but it’s still never easy to part with your computer.

I’m glued to my screen most of the time, when I’m home. If I’m not writing, or surfing the net, I’m using it to waste time with music and video. I’m attached, addicted, whatever you want to call it. I’m glad it’s home, where it belongs.

I want a black MacBook and am going to get one at some point in the not too distant future.

I’ve offered Mrs. Hippy the iBook, which is only a year old and pristine condition and if she passes, I’ll sell it at a decent price. I may already know someone who would grab it, though I would love to see Mrs. H take it. She doesn’t really get my love of all things Apple and I think it would put her on the road to understanding why they are so damn good.

I also hope to be ordering a Mac Mini soon as there’s a refresh expected in the next fortnight, if you believe the rumour sites. I always believe the rumours; life is more fun that way.

The Mac Mini will get connected to my Sony Bravia and stereo and act as my media server. I’ll move all of my iTunes on to it as well as using it to download video from the net. I’ll also be able to receive and record some digital terrestrial channels on it, which will be extra cool because I can export the programmes for playback on my iPod.

And then my 2nd Airport Express, which is currently connected to my stereo, for streaming music from the iMac, will move into the kitchen, to connect to my brand new Logitech mm50 (black) speakers, that I picked up last week. They’re rather wicked and I’m blown away by the sound!

My all-new digital lifestyle just keeps getting better and better and better! And this ends what amounts to a two-handed geek-speak wank that probably put most of you off!

Normal hippy service will resume soon!

Dare you dream of my arrival?

Well, dream no more, because I am flesh and here now, with my sagely words of wisdom and advice on all matters of deep spiritual significance.

Like should you get a white Apple MacBook or spring the extra hundred quid for the black one?

That’s an easy one, fuckers. Black is always in fashion, whatever the price! Especially since the white ones are getting discoloured from people’s handsweat. Yuck!

I’m not buying one; I’m sticking with my 11-month-old, G4 iBook. It does the job.

I didn’t log on today with any sort of set agenda. I’ve got no agenda at all; I’m just sitting here spewing drivel in the general direction of my keyboard hoping this will go somewhere.

Chances are, it won’t and if that is the case, I apologise in advance for wasting your time. If it’s any consolation, it probably took me longer to write this nonsense than it will for you to read it.

Unless you read really s-l-o-w-l-y.

The most exciting thing I did all day was purchase a new pair of shoes. Hey, for me that’s an achievement and I deserve my gold star!

Shopping in the real world is always a drag. I hate crowds and I hate dealing with subnormally intelligent shop-staff.

How long should it take to check to see if you have a particular model of shoe in my fairly common size? If you said ten minutes or longer, a career in retailing footwear awaits you!

I finally gave up and went to M&S, where its simply a matter of finding the least offensive shoe in my fairly common size on their large display, taking them to the till and paying for them.

That, my friends, is the way shopping should be…!

Actually, I take that back. All shopping should be possible online. That’s my favourite way to part with my hard earned dosh. It’s great because you find what you want and then they send it to you; kind of like an escort agency for goods, only with a slightly slower delivery time!

I suppose a health update is in order, since I have been goddamn sick for the last few days. I’m 90% over it now, just the odd wave of nausea and still no real appetite. Mrs. H came down with it too and this supervirus or whatever it is did not disappoint, it hit her particularly hard as well. She’s better now too.

And that’s about it really. I’ve done a bit of work around the house today, plus the aforementioned shopping trip and some writing. That’s been my day so far, now it’s time to kick back, relax and smoke a nice spliff. I’ve earned it!

PS
My new shoes are ordinary black ones, with Velcro straps instead of laces. They’re the shoes of the future. I didn’t want to give anyone a sleepless night by neglecting to include this key information.

Man oh man, I have been as sick as a dog all weekend!

A stomach virus, food poisoning or possibly it was a gypsy curse on my intestines; I’m not really certain, but I do know that I’m been expelling all manner of solid and liquid from both ends of my body since Saturday morning.

Nice!

The last time I was this unwell was while on holiday in Crete a few years ago. It was just as nasty then. All I’ve managed to keep down my gullet is water, and on Saturday even that was a problem.

I’m feeling a bit better today, but not enough to face any solid food, not even my current favourite from my local take-away, salt and chilli tofu! Just the thought of it is making me retch somewhat, so I must still be sick!

I’ve missed some work, which is never a good thing; as if I go sick, someone has to replace me. Imagine how much fun it is to replace me on short notice for a nightshift! It’s nearly impossible, which is why I always feel a little guilty on the rare occasions when I do phone in sick.

Oh enough about my health! I’m sick of being sick already! I hate being ill, it is just so boring. All I do is sleep, squirt liquid poo and barf a lot!

Ok, I’ve officially arrived in gross-land, population one sick hippy!

So how about that weather, eh? See, I’m changing the subject lest I offend again!

It’s still fairly warm and humid here in north London, though the nice weatherman told me it would less of both of those horrid qualities for the next couple of days. That’s good.

Ok, I don’t care about the weather either, but here in Britain, that’s what we talk about at awkward moments; the weather! That’s what we talk about all the time! It’s too cold, it’s too hot, it’s raining too much, it’s not raining enough! Moan, moan, moan!

Don’t you have any good news, you miserable hippy?

In truth, right now, I do not.

I guess I could geek out a bit. Why not?

I’m still digging my new Sony Bravia KDL-32V2000 LCD television very much! The picture on it is spectacular and the increased size has been a bonanza for my viewing pleasure. The V2000 range continues to garner rave reviews from the technical press and is widely seen as the best LCD television currently on the market! It rocks!

The images from my DVD player (over a component connection) and SKY+ (over RGB SCART) are fantastic and I am really looking forward to having some proper High-Def sources to feed into it in the future.

The obvious choice is SKY HD, but not yet. Why am I waiting?

Two reasons:

Firstly, the cost – I think it is too pricey. The box itself is 300 quid and they want another 50 or 60 pounds to install it. The installation fee is the real joke, as because I already have SKY+, it would be a straight box-swap, without any new cabling or a new dish. Talk about a rip-off!

As an existing SKY customer, they should be offering me some sort of incentive like a cheaper price. They’re not. Demand is high, so SKY have no reason to lower the price just yet. When the cost comes down, I’ll be very tempted.

The second reason has to do with reports I’m seeing on various forums from people who already have SKY HD. The boxes appear to be very problematic and laden with bugs.

I don’t want to replace my SKY+ box, which is 99% reliable with a new SKY HD box that is far less dependable. TV is too important to me to risk losing out on future recordings. Let them work the kinks out, then come talk to this hippy.

Don’t get me wrong, High-Def is very good and is worth the extra expense, just not yet. When the box comes down in price and is seen as a more robust piece of kit, then I would love to have it installed.

Another option for playing back High-Def material is a PC, or in my case, an Apple Mac. I connected my G4 iBook to the Bravia via a VGA input and was stunned by the quality of the image. My G4 is not beefy enough to play back High-Def, not even at 720p because the chip is too slow, but an Intel Mac Mini with a Core Duo would easily rise to that challenge.

So yes, my friends, the hippy is tempted to get a Mac Mini and turn it into my media hub. It could handle all my audio and video server needs with ease, including High-Def content downloaded from the internet.

I’m more than tempted, I’m going to buy one as soon as they refresh the line again, which could be anytime between now and the end of the summer. There will be a speed bump to the processor if nothing else, though Steve Jobs remarked at a recent Apple event that they know people want an Apple media-hub, so who really knows what the future may hold!

Match the Mac Mini with a wireless keyboard, wireless mouse and some additional storage and you’ve got one lean, mean, media serving machine that will let you surf the net from the sofa and access any content on my network. It sounds cool to me.

So there you have it, even while floored by some horrible tummy bug, I can still continue to plot and plan my all-new digital lifestyle.

Remember, if it weren’t for drugs and consumer purchases, my life would be nothing but an empty bottomless pit of deep despair. If your life is bleak and dreary too, no one would blame you for following my example!

Hey ho hippyfans!

Who’s been missing me? All of you I expect. Well the merry-go-round that is my glittering media career keeps me spinning quickly and I’m doing my best just to hang on!

Gosh that sounds dramatic and interesting; if only it were true.

I’ve picked up some more work this week, hot on the heels of last week’s bonanza. I’m back tomorrow for 4 nights and I’m not complaining.

Anything that brings dosh to this hippy is a good thing indeed, though its not like I have anything exciting to spend it on at the moment. Apple kind of let me down.

They had a product launch yesterday and between the hype and speculation, I was really expecting something so cool that I would just have to buy one. I had my Visa card all ready to spend, spend, spend and they didn’t have anything worthy of my drool.

Overpriced leather iPod cases that completely lack any useful functionality.

Next was a glorified speaker dock for an iPod, lacking AirTunes functionality but with a hefty price tag. I’m sure they sound good, but so what?

And finally, a revamped, Intel’d up, Mac mini. OK, I’ll admit these look quite tasty, but by the time I kitted up one to be worth having as a stand-alone media-center, you’re talking over 1600-1700 pounds!

Think I’m kidding, think again!

The high model, with the Core Duo processor and with the max’d extra RAM and bigger hard drive spec’d out at around £970. Add to that a keyboard and mouse (£70), external hardrive (est £250), tv capture dongle to connect to my SKY+ (est £200), a freeview tuner with PVR software (£100), extra cables (est £100) and you’re already up to £1700.

More than I would want to spend, unless I was a lot richer and had a fancy-pancy LCD tv with a DVI input!

Ut oh, we’re approaching tech-geek corner territory!

I smoke dope, lots of it!

There, that’s better!

I’m grooving to some Led Zeppelin right now; Kashmir!

See, I’m cool, I’m cool. Dammit! Fuckers!

Oh Apple, you let me down this time. Where’s the new OS X tablet? Where’s the touchscreen video iPod? Where’s all the cool shit?

It’s Apple’s thirtieth anniversary on the first of April and more product announcements are expected. Let the fresh speculation begin!

The other thing I’ve been checking out is Roor Glassware.

They make some amazing handmade pipes, bongs and accessories.

I’ve been thinking about getting THIS ONE, the “Little Sista Ice-master Cup 5.0 - 3 Piece” as I really like it’s style and functionality. Yes, it’s expensive, but anything of real quality often is. They’re sturdily built and made to last.

I also like the choice of ACCESSORIES like the diffusers and optional BOWLS, which means you can keep finding cool new things to get for it.

Consumer goods and drugs are the only things in this world that bring anyone any joy, so the combination of the two is just out of this world, fucking fantastic!

EDIT, my favourite website for all things drug related and legal, should really do a deal with me. I already send a lot of business their way, personally and here with my endorsements.

They should become my exclusive sponsor! I’d let them advertise on my site in return for, oh I don’t know, free drugs, free goodies to review, perhaps cash, I don’t know.

I’m open to offers though. This hippy is for sale or rent!

So if you work for Everyonedoesit.com or know someone who does, tell them to contact the hippy for an advertising opportunity too good to miss!

I’m a hippy of my word.

Not only did I sort out my brand new, wireless, streaming system to be an audio bridge between my iMac and home stereo, but I did it all today.

Who says hippies are lazy? This one fucking kicks ass!

I purchased, set-up and configured everything I required already and have been grooving to the tunes ever since. iTunes, of course!

First I went to my nearest Maplins and purchased the following:

1) One 4 WAY AUDIO SWITCH - £13
2) One RCA Stereo to RCA stereo cable - £5
3) One RCA Stereo to 3.5mm stereo cable - £4

Then I downloaded and installed a very cool application called SALLING CLICKER. It’s works very well with my SonyEricsson s700i mobile phone, turning it into a fancy remote for the iMac via Bluetooth. It cost around £16.

Then I went into central London to the Apple store on Regent Street and bought another Airport Express, the priciest bit of this set-up. It cost £89.

The whole thing cost £127, which I didn’t think was too bad.

I needed the audio switch because my stereo on has one Aux input and it was being used by my SKY+ through my DVD recorder. Now, I can easily select between the two with the flip of a switch and I still have 2 spare inputs remaining, if I ever need them.

Typical Apple, I had the new Airport Express out of the box, hooked up, on my network and streaming music in less than five minutes. The configuration was a snap and it actually took longer to register the product than it did to get it up and running.

The 2nd Airport Express joined my existing network in client mode, which means all it really can do is stream music, but trust me, that’s enough!

I could have connected it to an optical in, but my shitty stereo doesn’t have one, so it’s an analogue signal into the amplifier, but it still sounds great.

Even cooler, since the latest firmware upgrade, you can stream music to as many as three different basestations, plus you can use the iMac’s internal speakers too.

I’m digging it! I’ve got my entire musical collection ripped onto the hard drive of the iMac, so any song I own is only a couple of clicks away.

Salling Clicker turns my mobile into a fully functional remote for iTunes, which means I can control all of this from pretty much anywhere in my house.

I know, this is turning into tech-geek corner again, sorry I’ll stop.

I’m on drugs. There, are you happy? Is that what you really want? The hippy is stoned. Trust me, I’m always stoned!

I had lunch with my younger brother was I was in central London. We went to an American-style diner off Oxford Street. I told them I was the northlondonhippy and demanded free food. It didn’t work.

I had a wicked burger and chips, but the highlight was an ultra-thick vanilla milkshake, which was so good it hurt!

Central London was far less busy than I expected, especially around Oxford Street. It was nowhere near as bad as it is on a weekday and I’m sure the cold weather helped.

The Apple Store was very busy, but then it always is. Luckily for me, it was busy with browsers and not shoppers and the queue for the tills was mercifully short and I was in and out of the shop in about 5 minutes.

What can I say; I’m a card carrying, paid-up member of the cult of Cupertino. They make the coolest shit going!

I wish they invent even more cool stuff, just so I can buy it. I’m serious,; nothing fills the empty void that is modern life better than products from Apple.

Last night was the end of Celebrity Big Brother and I must say I’m always sad to see any series of BB end. This series was especially entertaining and I understand the viewing figures last night were very high.

The winner was actually a non-celebrity; which is kind of ironic, in a post-modernist, wank-speak sort of way.

I’m a self-confessed fan of the format, but I do have one change I would make to it. I wouldn’t let them back out again; I’d leave them in there until they all killed each other and feasted on each other’s flesh. At least once, anyway.

The next series of regular old, normal-people-BB starts in a few months and I can’t wait. I heard they’re going mix it up a bit this year and put in half normal people, half prisoners from Pentonville prison, but only those doing time for seriously violent crime. It’ll be an experiment to see if the normal people help rehabilitate the prisoners, or if the prisoners just kill the normals! I can’t wait!

I’ve spent the last three weeks watching Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 4.

It’s no surprise, since I’m a fan of the Big Brother format, but this particular celebrity version has been special. I’ve watched a well-known Member of Parliament commit political suicide; live on television.

How often do you get to say that? Counting this time, just the once!

George Galloway, the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow shocked the nation when he entered the BB house three weeks ago. He’s known for being part of the anti-war movement, who met Saddam Hussein more than once and impressed many with his performance before the US Senate last year. He gave those losers a right reaming!

After seeing him on CBB, I think his performance at the senate was just that; a performance. In the BB house, George Galloway’s true colours came through.

I don’t mind that he pretended to be a cat, or that he danced badly in a red leotard, that was just part of the game. Even the incessant rule breaking could be forgiven, because all he really did was speak about nominations.

No, where he lost me was when he lost it with Michael Barrymore. Barrymore, a British entertainer with a chequered recent past, was an easy target for Galloway and he hit at him verbally and hit hard.

The quote that did it for me is when Galloway said the following to recovering alcoholic Barrymore; “poor me, poor me, pour me another drink.”

Classy, eh? Now Barrymore has given grief to his share of people in the house as well, but this was a new low.

Pretty much everyone in the house is damaged in some way this time. With every series, the freak show gets all that more freakish. I can’t wait till the next proper series starts this May.

I heard they’re going to recruit actual mental patients and arm them all with rusty knives! It will be a ratings winner!

I’m still thinking about that whale.

You know the one I mean; the whale that swam up the River Thames and died during the rescue attempt. Yes, that whale.

The number of people I’ve encountered in the last few days who have expressed emotion over this sad tale amazes me. It seems this random event has touched a lot of people, but what does it really mean.

My younger brother (the internet whiz who designed this very site) said something to me about it that got me thinking; that the whale’s appearance in London and subsequent death is a bad omen for my home city.

It’s an interesting thought and it got me wondering what the significance of this event could be.

While I think my brother is in the right direction, he hasn’t really nailed it down completely, but he has inspired me to have a go at doing so.

I’ve decided that the whale is a metaphor for the state of the planet.

The whale lost its way, got sick and died.

You might argue that as a race, we’ve lost our way and now the planet’s sick too. You’d be right.

We’re going to hell in a handbasket; we’ve passed the point of “no return”. At least that’s what they had on the front page of the Independent newspaper a couple of weeks ago. The Indy seems to relish having a frightening headline as often as possible.

The party’s over folks, even the whales are checking out early. That’s why I’m sitting here puffing on a juicy, skunky, spliff in the middle of the afternoon!

Oh fuck it, I’m always puffing on a spliff! The state of the world has nothing to do with it! Does it really matter that we’re fucked? None of us are going to live forever, although

I am looking into having my brain downloaded into a computer when I die. If the can someone forge me a digital cock that can actually be sucked, I’ll hand over my credit card details asap!

Besides cheating death, I’ve been looking into solutions to my musical library problems.

It’s funny how you don’t really know you even have a problem until you discover that there’re products out there offering you solutions for it!

I’ve got my entire musical collection on the hard drive of my iMac as well as on my iPod. Groovy so far, but at the moment I have no way to easily play all this ripped music through my home stereo, a scant 5 metres across the room.

I could just plug the iPod into the stereo, or use a powered dock to connect it, but that’s not ideal. On the iMac, iTunes is able to cross fade songs, so it is actually better than the iPod in that regard.

There are two wireless options I’m considering for making this connection between my desktop computer and my stereo.

The first way would involve buying another Airport Express, adding it to my wireless network, and then connecting it to my stereo. The Express will do a good job of streaming my music across the room using the familiar iTunes interface.

And the latest version of iTunes can now stream to three Airport Express’s at the same time, plus outputting to the internal iMac speakers at the same time. Now that’s pretty cool too. Apple uses it’s own Losses codec over your wi-fi network, so the sound quality will be as good as the encode of your library. Mine’s only 128 AAC, and some 128 MP.3’s, which is good enough for me anyway.

The only hitch to this plan is I don’t have a remote control for my iMac and there are a few less than elegant solutions to this, so overall this is not the best solution. I’d have to get up and walk to the computer to change tracks or playlists and here in the future, I shouldn’t need to do that. Perhaps I could get a robot to do it for me.

In the interim, I’ve been attaching a set of high quality wireless headphones to the iMac, my Sennheiser TR120, which are really good, but I want room filling, foundation shaking sound! Also, I don’t want to always wear the headphones, which though very good, are a little cumbersome. They’re not uncomfortable, but they’re not light, in-ear headphones either!

I’m wearing them right now, as I spew my drivel. I’ve got iTunes set to shuffle, and as always it’s throwing up some nice surprises, like Steely Dan’s “Hey, Nineteen” and “Jesus Walks” by Kanye West. Dig it, fuckers!

The second way I’m considering is to use something called a “Squeezebox 3”. This is also a wireless device, but it works a little differently.

The Squeezebox 3 joins your wi-fi network and uses it’s own server software to stream music files from the iMac’s hard drive. It has it’s own remote control and the device has a display of it’s own that would show all the track information. It also receives internet radio stations, independently of the iMac. It’s actually a very impressive and seemingly well-designed piece of kit.

The downside to the Squeeze Box 3 is it won’t pick up on my iTunes playlists, though I expect you can create separate ones on its server software.

The Airport Express method is the simplest, except for the lack of a remote. It’s also cheaper than the Squeezebox 3, by about half. I think I’m reaching my own conclusion here!

The Airport Express is the way to go!

The solution to the lack of a remote is to purchase a shareware program called “Sailing Clicker” which uses wi-fi or Bluetooth enable devices you might already own, to act as a remote for your iMac. It only costs about 20 quid, so it’s not an expensive option either. Plus, it’s won awards.

See, this blog doesn’t just help you, it helps me too, with all of these important purchasing decisions!

And speaking of helping you, my new blog is attracting a lot of visitors already. I guess becoming a proper website is a good move. I’m getting all sorts of new hippyfans every day.

Lots of you are digging the hippy! Keep bookmarking me and grabbing those syndication feeds! Once a hippyfan, always a hippyfan!

And very soon, you’ll be able to sign-up to the hippy’s brand new newsletter! It will be set up soon, as will my clearly stated privacy policy, so you’ll know that I won’t do anything with your email address except send you my occasional newsletter!

Dig it, fuckers!