Technology, Books and Other Neat Stuff

As today is an auspicious anniversary, I spent some time delving through my music collection to put together tracks that fitted the event. Of course this is only a small selection of possible tunes - so feel free to add your own to the list.

A playlist for the 40^th anniversary of the first moon landing.

• Launch of Apollo 11 - NASA - Lunar Landing
• Apollo - Alan Parsons - On Air
• Matta - Brian Eno - Apollo Atmospheres & Soundtracks
• Let There Be Light (BT Mix) - BT - R & R
• Money - N.A.S.A. (Feat. David Bryne) - The Spirit Of Apollo
• Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun - O.S.I - Office of Strategic Influence Bonus CD
• Apollo - Way Out West - Don't Look Now
• Let There Be Light - Mike Oldfield - The Songs of Distant Earth
• Sleeping Satellite (12") - Aurora - Sleeping Satellite
• Armstrong Sets Foot on Moon - NASA - Lunar Landing
• Stars Die - Porcupine Tree - Stars Die
• Sleeping Satellite (Extended Version) - Tasmin Archer - Sleeping Satellite
• Pump Up The Volume - M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up The Volume
• Walking On The Moon - The Police - Greatest Hits
• The Great Gig In The Sky - Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon
• Dark Side Of The Moon (12" Mix) - Dune - Dark Side Of The Moon
• Full Moon Low Tide Remix By DJ Toshio - Afro Celt Sound System - POD
• Fly Me to the Moon - Agneta Fältskog - My Colouring Book
• lunar orbit four: back side of the moon - The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
• Trip to the Moon - Alex North - 2001: The Legendary Original Score
• Aristillus - Camel - Moonmadness
• Moonraker - David Arnold (featuring Shara Nelson) - Shaken and Stirred
• Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun - Pink Floyd - Ummagumma (Disc 1)
• Moonage Daydream - David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
• Bike Ride to the Moon - The Dukes of Stratosphear - Chips from the Chocolate Fireball
• Ticket To The Moon - Electric Light Orchestra - Time
• Tsukiyo no Hikou (Moonlight Flight) - Joe Hisaishi, Azumi Inoue & Suginami Children's Choir - My Neighbor Totoro
• Lunar Sea - Camel - Moonmadness
• Moonshine - Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells II
• Moonbase - Thomas Dolby - Gate to the Mind's Eye
• Tranquility Base - Planet P Project - Planet P Project
• lunar orbit five: spanish castles in space - The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
• Lunar Ascent - Philip Sheppard - In the Shadow of the Moon
• Lunar Sunrise - Terra Ferma - The Best Of Platipus
• An Ending (Ascent) - Brian Eno - Apollo Atmospheres & Soundtracks

"Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed."

UTC 20:17:40 + 40Y "Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed"

A few years back I touched the moon.

Or at least a piece that had been brought back by one of the Apollo missions. It was smoothed by all the fingers that touched it over the last few decades. Everyone who touched it has a few molecules of the moon.



The same day I stood under the rockets of a Saturn V. Nothing quite prepares you for the size of the rockets that lofted the Apollo ships - and how little of it actually reached orbit.



KSC, Florida
July 2000

I appear to live in the most CCTVed London Borough - by quite a long way.

The BBC's Newsnight programme made Freedom of Information requests to almost 100 local authorities in the UK to ask how many cameras they operate.

According to the BBC report there are nearly 4 cameras per 1000 people here in Wandsworth, nearly twice as many as in the second most camera-heavy area, Camden. There are more cameras in Wandsworth than in Dublin, San Francisco, Johannesburg and Boston combined.



Yikes.

Remember to smile and wave at the nice man at the monitor screen.