World Wide Woozle episode #674

Hello everyone. Welcome to the blog that shakes, that moves, but can't live without your love.

Tried to save the trees, bought a plastic bag, the bottom fell out, it was a piece of crap

I wasn't an early adopter of anything made by Apple or Google. That is unless you count the Apple IIe and IIc computers that we used at school in the mid 1980s. I was, however, extremely happy with my ten year old MacBook Air until this week. It does everything I need and looks good doing it. That is until the AI bots at Google sent me a friendly email to inform me that their Chrome browser would no longer be getting any security updates on my Mac. How rude. Does anyone just stop looking after their car, house, or child when it turns ten? On top of this I did some research only to find out that the boffins at Apple aren't releasing security patches for my MacBook either. It's just two more products from Bastards Incorporated. I can hear you wondering, "what does it all mean, Basil?" In the short term I have dumped Chrome completely and returned, after about ten years, to the Firefox browser. I will be the first to admit that it has come a long way and is seriously cool. After only a week I am a complete convert. With Apple's allegedly planned obsolescence I'll be doing anything to do with money or passwords on my iPad which is much, much newer. I understand that products have to have some kind of lifespan, but, if Apple insists on making such high quality hardware then maybe they need to support it for longer. A new Mac of any description is a serious financial investment that I'm not prepared to make at the moment. Maybe I can get my head around imagining it as a yearly cost over the next ten years because that doesn't sound nearly as bad.

Petra - Computer Brains - https://youtu.be/HpqCgnq_bAU

Let there be drums

With apologies to DJ DJ, I'm going to write about Jethro Tull now. For once, the algorithms feeding me music got it right when they recommended the new and improved version of a 1984 album that I'd never heard of. Under Wraps was apparently quite unloved when it was released as it represented a significant departure from the band's trademark prog/folk sound. It has programmed drums, synthesisers and Cold War era lyrics (and that flute). The new version has one remastered CD where the drum sounds have been stripped out and updated for a fuller, more modern sound. For those who prefer, there's also a remastered version with the original drums. Then you get a couple of live concerts, some demos, and a full Ian Anderson solo album. I think it's good value and a copy is winging its way (in a Sopwith Camel given the postal time estimates) to me here at HQ World Wide Woozle. The funny thing is I reckon I would've liked this LP if I'd heard it in the mid-80s . To close the loop though, Jethro Tull are not, and never were, hard rock or metal. The Grammys got that very wrong.

Jethro Tull - Lap of Luxury (Bruce Soord 2026 remix) - https://youtu.be/9pY7T4Smhck

All I wanted was a Pepsi

I've just had a week of annual leave. To be completely honest, I needed time away from work. My brain wasn't working particularly well and I needed a minute to let it reset. I did my best not to stay at home for the whole week and managed a lot of walking and a few catch ups. Still, it's very easy to be a hermit which I know is unhealthy. I really thought I'd be OK for a short bike ride today but my right hip said no so I will keep waiting, and wondering if it's ever going to happen. At least, after almost a year,  I've stopped wanting to swear every time someone rides past me when I'm out walking. Accepting my limitations is far from easy. In positive news though, I did get out and help a friend's band setup their sound mix and in-ear monitoring. I knew what to do but learning some new technology on the fly had me working hard for a bit! Maybe I'll pick up a guitar soon. Maybe.

Bobaflex - Hey You - https://youtu.be/rm5eWLXW6l4

That'll do. Thank you, come again.

Keep smiling,

The Woozle

"An’ here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all these things twice..."

Bob Dylan, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, 1966. (Cat Power 2007 version)

World Wide Woozle playlists are here.