barcapat’s blog

Hi all

Well as I'm back in London now, working in Wimbledon, there's a new blog to check out...

The URL is    http://londonblogged.wordpress.com

A few years back I used to buy all my cds and dvds through play.com as they offered the best prices and fairly decent delivery times.

Now they offer mp3 downloads, I think the service has just started so they don't have that much on there but do have some fairly decent offerings, plus lower prices than iTunes store - normally 6.99 GBP for an album - and mp3 format music, so no DRM sh1te.

On there I found the sounds of Seasick Steve, excellent Blues sounds, so bought an album called Dog House Music. Just listening now, awesome Blues guitar...

Check out Seasick Steve on YouTube - awesome Blues sounds from a 3 string guitar

Other purchase was the album from Vampire Weekend, sounded good from the previews, so thats for later.

http://www.play.com/Music/MP3-Download/6-/DigitalHome.html

Another day of bus strike (non) action today, Feb 12, with yet another day of hardly any bus services.

The drivers are striking for a bit more holiday leave as far I can tell from the local media, so not exactly crazy demands.

http://w3.bcn.es/V01/Serveis/Noticies/V01NoticiesLlistatNoticiesCtl/0,2138,1653_1802_3_420967106,00.html?accio=detall&home=HomeBCN

So the Barcelona World Race is now all but over, although there are still most boats coming in to finish.

The race was won by Paprec-Virbac 2, which crossed the line last night, after its 3 month, 25,000 mile journey.
The winning crew were Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall, of France and Ireland respectively.

The website is at http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com

This article was mentioned on the Spanish news. Its about the arrest of six Pakistani men who flew from Barcelona to Gatwick airport in London and were then arrested following a tipoff.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3295299.ece

It reveals that the terrorists had plans to carry out suicide attacks on both the metro and bus transport systems, here in Barcelona and also other European cities, including London.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/how-one-ancestor-helped-turn-our-brown-eyes-blue-776170.html

The basic idea of the article is that 99.5% of people with blue eyes can be traced back to one genetic mutation, probably about 10,000 years ago and probably in the Red Sea area.

All sounds a bit dubious to me, but interesting nevertheless.

Another plug for my own business website, www.webusability.es

I provide web usability services to businesses of all sizes and types, enabling them to improve their websites, at affordable prices.

There are many benefits of usability enhancements, including the following:
- Improved user-satisfaction with the website
- Increased business turnover
- Better Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) with both long term and short term gains

I offer a range of services designed to be useful and yet affordably priced. These include:
- "Web usability review and report" which is a comprehensive review of a website's usability
- "Top 20 guidelines check" for fast feedback on the usability of a website at a low cost

In addition, I also offer consultancy services, which can be based on a website owner's exact requirements. An example possibility being a complete SEO and usability overhaul of a website.
This would involve the following:
1) Web usability review and report service
2) assessment of current SEO rankings of the website
3) creation of an SEO strategy to maximize the SEO rankings of the website, with both short term and, more importantly, long term gains.

Ok, this post isn't too exciting, but anyway...

Yesterday I travelled over to the Barcelonactiva building in the Glories area of Barcelona, where I've been doing some training to do with running a business in Barcelona, with courses run by the Generalitat.

At the Marina metro station, where I changed to get the tram, they've got the strangest escalator I've ever seen. Its like a mini-me escalator, with only the width of one person, so must cause problems for the larger American tourist.
Its the same on both the up and down escalators. I was trying to work out why its like that - I suppose it must be because thats all they could fit into the station without making it bigger.

Then, my first trip on the Barcelona tram system. Very nice trams, the systems only a few years old so I assume the trams are almost new.

Not the most exciting of posts I know but the other alternative would be to talk about business plans, marketing strategies and usability studies!

On Saturday 14 people were arrested in Barcelona's Raval area, in anti-terrorism raids.

According to the Spanish intelligence services they had intelligence information of possible bombing plots in Barcelona, ahead of the Spanish elections, which are in March this year. Bearing in mind the terrible Madrid train attack was only days before the last election in 2004, its easy to understand why the intelligence services are on high alert. Also there's been mention that Pakistan's leader President Musharraf is due in Europe soon, so a likely target wherever he goes.

Apparently, timers were amongst the items found in some of the suspect's homes, so thats a pretty sure sign of something dodgy, although no exact descriptions have been given of these timers.

I must admit to scepticism when these kind of raids are carried out, especially when done in the UK, as I have a long term scepticsm of almost anything the govt and its agencies tells the citizens of the UK, especially in relation to anti-terrorism measures.

I don't really know the history or reputation of the intelligence services in Spain, so don't have so much inherent distrust of them as I do for those of the UK or USA.

Its difficult to know whether the intelligence services just like to prove they are doing something to justify their massive budgets and new 'anti-terrorism' powers, or whether they really have identified a potential terrorism cell.

My only brush with intelligence service type people was several years ago at Heathrow Airport, when me and a mate were going to New York for St Patricks Day celebrations. We were past all the security measures, passport checks etc and in the Departure Lounge, with the main intention of finding the bar. Some govt-type guy in a suit came over and asked me where I was flying to and what I would be doing there, without so much as an introduction or hello. So I replied something like "Whats it to you?". He then got all snotty, quoting the Anti-Terrorism Act of whatever year and saying he could ask me whatever he wanted. Immediately, I thought "t0sser" but answered him very briefly "New York for St Patricks Day trip" or something like that.  Better to answer rather than being carted off to some small, windowless room in the airport.

Links - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7197562.stm   http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hqOXQ36mHs_N2ns_hy0B4B-vxwuA

Although it was announced a few months ago that Ebbsfleet Utd would be the club that myfootballclub.co.uk members would be buying, the deal has not actually been completed yet.

Due dilligence and other financial/legal gubbins had to be done first.

Now they have been done and members (including me) get the chance to say Yes or No to the takeover - from today until 23rd Jan.

I've voted Yes.

Ebbsfleet Utd update

• They're 6th in the Blue Square Premier and 3 points off the last playoff place, which is 6th.
• Still in the FA Trophy - drawn at home to either Weymouth or Kidderminster Harriers - Sat 2 February