| Art/Expression |
- Apophysis - continues to be my preferred fractal art program. Another big year for it too, with yet more
improvements to GUI and functionality as well as some interesting 'unofficial' versions.
- deviantART - still my favourite online hangout.
- MySpace - not so much for itself, but for keeping
up with a most worthy project, that of getting detailed representations of the work of visionary artist
Paul Laffoley onto the internet.
- Photography - light, nature and place have been the themes that sustain my interest.
- Website - total re-design: the homepage looks so much better!
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| Books |
Five outstanding books from the twilight zone:
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| Computing |
- PC - dual-core processing has revolutionised all aspects of my computing.
- CSS - re-designing the website aesthetically also involved re-coding from the bottom up, using CSS as an aid to
future changes.
- Browsing - Maxthon continues as my choice, though some of
the community feel has gone. The 1.x releases are relatively stable and the 2.x beta releases sport a new
GUI. Not ready yet, but it's coming on apace with some very nice new features. Until Firefox (the Gecko engine) can
properly render this website, I cannot even consider it!
- Image management - Picasa continues to dominate with new
features: an option to display in normal folder view (ah, that's better!); and integration with new Google/Picasa
web albums service - 250MB free online photo storage...
- RSS - Newzie has taken over as aggregator of choice.
- Web 2.0 - after the hype, I see a glimmer of the future. Some very useful services and applications, and just
cool stuff. Some top picks? Coming soon...
|
| Drink |
- Cocktails - best new drinks have included
Maraschino liqueur, Zubrowka Bison Grass vodka and Creme de Mure (see under Drink of the Month archives.
- Wine - Carmenère from Chile has been grape of the year, but a special mention also for an outstanding Champagne, the Henriot 1996.
- Spirits - Scotch: Black Bottle and Smokehead. Plus a very special birthday and Christmas treat has been a vintage 1973
early-landed cognac from Delamain, the most sublime I've ever tasted.
|
| Food |
- Edamame (young green soya beans, usually available frozen) have made some wonderful lunchtime salads for stuffing into pitta
- Sorrel (soup and pesto)
- The rediscovery (by a 'happy accident') of the pleasures of loose-leaf tea - so much more flavour than bags!
- Pink Fir Apple potatoes: quite the finest for salads...
|
| Moments |
- Two visits to the East Coast provided some wonderful moments.
- Picnicking taken to extremes!
- My second entheogenic dose of stropharia cubensis mushrooms led to further amazing insights, whilst empathogenic doses at festivals provided sustained bliss.
|
| Philosophy |
- Further experience of universal unity and of timelessness, coupled with the feeling of actually being
all there is provides a tremendous bedrock for continued incarnation.
- Timothy Leary's 'Eight Neurological Circuits' model has provided a further platform from which to explore
consciousness.
- The principle of non-attachment, the mutability of 'reality' and the associated concept of 'metaprogramming'
have been focal points of the year.
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| Plants |
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