The xPeria X10i recently was provided a most welcome update to Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread). Having run for almost a year previously on Android 1.6 this was almost unexpected in its swiftness of delivery.
As with any updates there is a worry about losing data. I backed up most apps which I like to SD card using Astro and did a few additional syncs with the various programs which whack data onto the cloud on my behalf. I was a bit unsure about the way in which contacts were prioritised with gmail but a quick check using the laptop confirmed that recent additions had made it onto Google’s cloud system so all appeared happy.
Bookmarks are not so important so I left that. I ran the update using Sony Ericsson PC Suite and all went superbly. The new software gave the phone a hugely improved user experience, all appeared to run more smoothly and the homescreen was much better. Mediascape had gone and timescape was quickly removed from the display.
It was nice to have pinch and zoom multitouch as I had read a year ago that the xperia hardware would not support multitouch so I had not really seen anyway in which they could add such a feature, still it works.
I was pleased to add my most used programs into folders on the homescreen, in fact I was so efficient that I did not really need more than 2 (of the five).
I have stopped searching for home screen mods now it looks so nice, I did find beautiful widget which gives an HTC Sense type digital clock along with weather on the homescreen, very nice. All in all it was a success. The final test was installing copilot ( my favourite Sat Nav for Android) – this worked a treat. It is interesting that the latest Android update included Facebook as standard though I had to actively search and install Google Plus.
I’ve been paddle boarding (SUP) a lot recently. I had an intro lesson from TribalWave a month or two ago and was daunted by the prospect as I kept falling off.
Luckily the falling off phase in paddleboarding is shorted than in other watersports and I was soon getting to grips with it.
A kind of mad fervour gripped me over the past 14 days and I have been out on my SUP almost as many times.
Unlike surfing it is not tide dependent, nor swell. Strong winds can be a bummer but you learn to cope.
Ive sort of got the hang of paddling on both flat and choppy seas. I have ridden a few decent waves but am a long way from managing a turn on the SUP [I think you need to use the long stick thing.], will persevere though of course.
I feel happier to be able to get in the sea more often and can feel my overall fitness levels on the up.
I strongly recommend that anyone wanting to get into Stand Up Paddleboarding Brighton to check out http://www.tribalwave.org as they run a series of workshops, classes and lessons ( even mobile tuition ) in the Brighton and Sussex area and have the experience and patience to get you riding properly and safely and really digging it.
Lighthouse Care, based in West Sussex deliver a service for the care of the elderly providing the following services
Assisting to wash and dress, Bathing/showering, Dental hygiene, Assistance with hearing aids, Applying surgical stockings, Continence management, Assisting with pad changes, Care of nails, Help going to bed, Sleepovers, Waking Nights, Washing Hair, Skin care, Help getting up amogst other services.
They have recently launched a website too allow them to provide, as they really do wish to, Mobility Aids at reasonable prices. They have seen too many eldery, differently abled or convalescing people faced with incredibly high prices for the very items which can improve their quality of life.
“Your Independence is Our Success” – is the motto which the company will live by as it brings ranges of Mobility Products and Disability Aids to people who have a real need.
Lighthouse Mobility is built on a Magento eCommerce Solution which is powered by Realex Payments – allowing the secure and swift processing of payments online and with multicurrency support.
It is alwayas good to see local ( to Brighton ) companies working hard to both be a success in business as well as providing a real service for their customers.
OK, I now have 2 smartphones that I dont like. For one I have the iphone – this is a beautiful and well crafted piece of technology for sure – easy to use and well supported by the apps. I also own a Sony Ericssson xPeria x10 which has the following features :
Awful Interface – no dual touch support, bad background, dire homescreen
Terrible Battery Life – like less than 8 hours
Horrendous Features – stupid Media and Timescape Apps
Obsolete OS – it is still running Android 1.6
I bought this Android Powered device as I thought that it would be an improvement on the HTC Hero which I loved and lost, but I had no idea that it was HTC’s GUI which had elevated Android to such a level of beauty.
As for the iphone – you can’t drag and drop files onto it, you can’t really tweak it, bash it, root it, love it………and what is more, they really are simple devices – loved my those that swore they would never move away from Nokia by the large and those that believe that it instills some sort of chic ambience on to them – the iphone is the new burberry on the high street – it is the new chav badge and I hate myself for owning one – I am always trying to give it away. its saving grace is most likely that its touch typing guessworkl engine seems the best I have used so emails fly out….
This year’s Paddle Round The Pier Beach Festival plays host to some fantastic water-based events, all helping to raise thousands of pounds for three deserving charities.
The action kicks of for professional paddleboarders early on the Saturday morning with the Funky Puffin Euro Enduro SUP race. A gruelling 20 mile stand-up paddle to Worthing Pier and back – seeing competitors from across Europe and beyond.
Another race for watermen (and girls) is the Errant Surf Holidays Pier2Pier challenge. This sees both ‘amateurs’ and ‘pros’ paddle from the eastern side of the Brighton Pier across to the west side of the West Pier – a tough paddle of over 2 miles against the current.
Also a favourite with the crowds is the ‘Paddle Something Unusual’, where teams paddle ‘unusual’ rafts they have built around the West Pier and back. The past few years has seen a floating island, pirate ship, Dodgeball court and even Thunderbird 2!
And of course at 2pm on the Sunday it’s the event that started this all back in 1996 – the ‘Paddle Round The Pier’. Hundreds of people will take to the water on surfboards, bodyboards, paddle boards, canoes etc and paddle around the West Pier. Having collected sponsorship money each will make a massive difference to the amount raised for the charities.
Other water based events include: the Neilson Sailing Regatta, Inshore Rescue Boats, Outrigger Canoes, The British Ocean Ski Series, Wakeboarding displays and a Fishing Contest (held at Brighton Marina).
If you want to have a go at some sports yourself then you can head to the beach and try out the likes of wakeboarding, kayaking and Stand Up Paddleboarding.
Over 40,000 people are expected to attend this year’s event, which takes place on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 July at Hove Lawns in Brighton and is completely free of charge to visit.
And organisers are hoping to raise over £30,000 for this year’s chosen charities from donations made by visitors. The charities are the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, SurfAid International and Whoopsadaisy.
As well as all of the water activities, there is a lot going on in the ‘Paddle Village’ on Hove Lawns and the promenade next to the beach. Hundreds of stalls, children’s entertainment area, main arena and big top with live bands, plus tons more fun.
Last summer I was lucky enough to take my kids down to hove lawns for the paddle round the pier festival on Hove lawns in East Sussex.
The summer sun shone down upon hordes of types, young and old who enjoyed two days of sea, skate, SUP and surf related run – all for charity.
My kids loved the ferris wheel ( below ) and the adults in our party sank down on the grass with beers and listened to the music.
The stalls were wild and varied with everything a wannabee surfer could wish for, food was great also.
This year the 2010 festival kicks off on July the 3rd and rolls on over the weekend with a fun packed and entertaining line up of sea events ( jet ski, paddle races, SUP lessons, kite surfing ) and land events ( skate race, skate and BMX park, music, etc).
For more information visit the paddleroundthepier website, then book the date as the festival grows from strength to strength each year and is a great community event for Brighton.
Surfing is great fun, anyone who has slipped into the sea with a board knows that. It is a spiritual experience, bringing you closer to nature.
But there is a darker side too, nature is savage and anyone who wants to ride the wild sea must pit themselves against brutal and harsh elements on a regular basis.
Now, I am writing this as a warning to those not in the know. You have all read about the precipitous drop in at the Mavericks, we all know about the vicious reef beneath the Pipeline’s azure hues and we have all seen recent footage from Jaws. But for some of us, in our own backyard, there is a break so dangerous, so hostile and so unpredictable that only the foolhardy would paddle out into its apparently benign break.
I am talking about the Hotpipes in Shoreham – UK.
Here nature’s forces are funnelled into a maelstrom which makes the slab at Teahupoo look like a longboarding grom’s wet dream. On the South Coast of sleepy Sussex gargantuan waves break over a reef of razor sharp coral and scrap metal. The prevailing onshore winds lash the surface into a frenzy or churning mush which means that the waves are not only unsurfable but any slight error is generally punished severely.
Moreover the break is patrolled ( I can not say surfed as these locals know the stupidity of entering the Shoreham waters ) by a gang of out of work welders with severe personality disorders. Not having the politeness of Sir Ken Bradshaw these types will bite a chunk from your board while it is still on the roof of your car. Needless to say car crime is rife in this area and it is a designated police ‘no go zone‘.
mean local surf dude at the hotpipes
As if things could not conspire more to make this place a spot to bookmark under the heading : do not surf here; there is more. It has recently been discovered that Shoreham Port Authority has been laundering Russian Uranium at the Power Station and the Geiger Counters go off the scale down at ‘the Pipes’. This radiation in the water has led to severe mutations amongst the indigenous shark population.
So, please take it from me. Do not venture down to, perhaps, the nastiest break on the planet. This is really a place to avoid.
This article was originally submitted to Magic Seaweed, but they, strangely did not want to publish this denouément of such a break.
I was lucky enough to chance upon a beautiful evening in Brighton at the Sally Bennis Theatre. A load of the South Coasts finest ‘surferati’ was assembled to view Jolyon Hoff’s documentary/ film.
It was a finely constructed and nicely cut insight into both the east coast surf scene in he early 70′s and of course into the mind of MP.
Barack Obama , the newly appointed PResident of the USA yesterday was quizzed on CNN regarding the proposed development at the Brighton Marina and its predicted detrimental affect on the waves at ‘Custard Point’.
Obama commented :
“I am completely against any construction in this important surf spot.”
and signing to reporters he gave a ‘hangloose’ hand signal in support of the opposition to the scheme, before adding :
“Change does not mean ruining cool waves man”
More information of the scheme’s ( Run by Mat Hammond ) opposition can be found at Save Brighton Marina Surf.
Not really that much to say of late for which I apologise. Saw a nice site though which makes for extensive flash useage and grinding sound at http://www.pluginmedia.net/ – fair rockin I would say.
Apart from that, I am chilled and feeling poetic….
As with any updates there is a worry about losing data. I backed up most apps which I like to SD card using Astro and did a few additional syncs with the various programs which whack data onto the cloud on my behalf. I was a bit unsure about the way in which contacts were prioritised with gmail but a quick check using the laptop confirmed that recent additions had made it onto Google’s cloud system so all appeared happy.
This year’s Paddle Round The Pier Beach Festival plays host to some fantastic water-based events, all helping to raise thousands of pounds for three deserving charities.
Surfing is great fun, anyone who has slipped into the sea with a board knows that. It is a spiritual experience, bringing you closer to nature.
