I got word of a site called Omegle via waxy.org today.  At first I couldn't really see the difference between that and any other social IRC chat room or something, but I stuck with it for a couple of minutes and was actually entertained.

You see, the thing about Omegle is that it's a one-to-one chat with a random stranger.  The stranger is not named, and might quit on you after the first sentence - a privilege you possess yourself too of course.  After a couple of rounds ranging from random key presses to some person claiming to be a 28 year old sikh who had just shaved for the first time, each round ending with me being thrown back to the beginning:

Connecting to server... Looking for someone you can chat with. Hang on. You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi!

The whole thing started reminding me of Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray movie in which he reexperiences a single day over and over again.  After each round of starting over I found myself feeling more and more experienced, determined to somehow get an upper hand in a sometimes ridiculous and other times just plain surreal conversation.

A great little internet toy.  The window is closed now, lest I waste my whole evening on that site!

The beta of the surrealistically named next version of Ubuntu is out. The 'Jaunty Jackalope' so far seems stable, satisfyingly fast, and with the same nvidia display problems as the previous version. All in all though, it's a definite improvement, and I'm going all in as opposed to dual-booting with Windows. VMware will serve my Microsoft needs.

Monique Wadsted, representing the american film companies in The Pirate Bay trial, in her finishing statement yesterday:

To consume films and TV shows through The Pirate Bay is like lying on your back and let fried sparrows fly into your mouth, regardless of whether or not you're hungry.  The sparrows are also piled up around you so you can consume them whenever you want, requiring no effort on your part.

(my translation)

Whatever you think of Wadsted's opinion or clients in this case, you have to hand it to her for her way with words and deep, deeeeep similes.

PJ Harvey and John Parish premiered the first single from their upcoming album last night. The song is called Black Hearted Love and is available for preview and purchase on 7digital.

I'm an ardent PJ fan, so let me first say: I really want to like this.

First impressions?  Not so good.

Actually, that's not true, my very first impression was that I like the sound a lot.  It's amazing how you can make something so clean sound so dirty with a few strategically placed guitar sounds.  I like the little off beat thing on the first syllable of each verse line.  I like the sound on the chorus and the surprising little weird chord at the start of the chorus riff.  The melody sticks in my head even if I wish it was a bit more adventurous.  And I like the ending.  The ending is my favourite bit.

But I did say "not so good", didn't I?  Having listened to it a few times now I can't shake that feeling of old-dudes-over-the-hill-rolling-stones-in-the-late-nineties type of laid back rock and roll beat.  I picture Keith Richards with his stubby sausage fingers playing that wailing solo bit and Jagger himself strutting about belching out the chorus.  I can't help it.

I'll give it another few chances, and I'm still looking forward to the rest of the album and Oslo concert a lot, I just hope this isn't as exciting as it's going to get.  Knowing miss Harvey, it isn't.