Milo chocolate milk

There are some people who will disagree with the description that I gave what is probably my favourite drink. But I always call a spade a spade and Milo, as long as I have known it, has always been a chocolate drink that I have enjoyed since I was a kid. During our sports days, there used to be a “Milo Van” that came up to the school, serving delicious ice-cold milo in small paper cups. On a hot day, drinking that lovely Milo…that was a slice of heaven if there ever was one. I remember buying tins of it and making it back home, drinking instant Milo and even drinking it in the coffee shops. Milo will never die. It was part of my growing up life and is still a part of me now. My wife and I always buy packets of ready-to-drink Milo. It’s a lovely end to a day just before you go to sleep!

Traktor Kontrol S8

I am a DJ from the old-school. Yep. I started my trade back in the 80s when all we had were records and turntables to play them on. DJ’ing was an art and to me, it still is. When the digital age came, I invested in a Hercules controller and learnt how to use it with my laptop, with Virtual DJ. That was great I thought. No more carrying heavy boxes and crates of vinyl. Everything is on my laptop in MP3 or FLAC format. I load the song on, control the MP3 with the jogwheels, much like I would do by tapping the rims of a turntable platter, and mix my music. “Vinyl is real” scream some DJs. I dare say it is but look, I am getting older and I knew that I would have to embrace new technologies to stay relevant in the DJ age. Controllers with jogwheels helped. That was then until I saw this Kontrol S8 a couple of days back.

Well done Native Instruments….well done. The first thing I did when I saw this by Traktor was to be taken aback. Nice screens with the waveforms. But waitaminute. Where are the damn jogwheels? Oh. They have replaced them with touch strips, akin to a mousepad on laptops. That is the new way they say. Saves on controller real estate they said. Yeah. That is fine and dandy but how about if you mix a 70’s disco song that has an uneven BPM? “Sync button” I hear some people say. Yeah. Like the sync button is the answer to all issues like these. No way mate. That does not work. Trust me, I have tried it. You need a jogwheel to “jog” the song. A touch strip will NOT work.

So i will ask some of you new-school DJs. Say you buy and use this controller. Whatever happened to the art? Wat is the use of DJ’ing anyway if all you do is load a song and press the sync button? That does not make you a DJ. It makes you an operator. So this is the future of DJ’ing? I will say something. Nope. Not at all. And I will say an additional thing…this “controller” is killing the craft.

Tapco MIX 100 10 channel mixer

I have a Yamaha MG82cx mixer and so far, it has served me well…very well. But the other day, I came across a similar mixer in a club that my friend was spinning at. He was using this Tapco Mix 100. That got me intrigued. This was the second place I have seen a Tapco product used and I was very curious about it. So when I reached home, I Googled about it and here is what I found out about this tiny mixer that is like my Yamaha MG82cx in many ways, but different.

Apparently, this ultra-compact mixer is the answer for budget-conscious folks who refuse to sacrifice sound quality or reliability just to save money. It’s built to suit a variety of needs from desktop recording stations to smaller live gigs–for beginners and seasoned professionals alike. The Mix.100 features high-quality sound, solid construction, and eye-catching cosmetics. This is what I got from a website that had some information on this mixer. From what I could see, my friend’s pub was set up to really use this mixer well. The main outputs were driving an amplifier that was powering the speakers in the club but the control room out was driving what was presumably an amplifier that was powering two speakers outside the bar. Every now and then, I saw my friend coming down to fiddle with the control room knob. Apparently, the music outside was too loud. As for the features of this mixer:

• 2 Mono Mic/Line inputs
• with Gain control
• 4 Stereo Line Inputs
• 1 Aux Send
• Tape Input/Output
• Aux Send Level
• Main Aux Send Level
• Ctrl Rm Out
• Ctrl Rm Phones Level
• Main Mix fader
• Ultra-portable compact design fits almost anywhere
• Rugged metal chassis takes all the punishment life can dish out
• Intuitive layout gives access to all controls
• Kensington Security Lock keeps mixer secure

Not too bad to even have a Kensington lock. I thought I only saw these on notebooks but seeing how small this mixer is, it makes sense. There is a PDF available here that has all the features of this discontinued model. It may be discontinued but I must say, it looks pretty sturdy and while I may not agree with a slide fader for a main output, it looks pretty good.

Unreal cab prices during the F1 weekend

A friend of mine shared this photo that was taken at the Ritz-Carlton over the F1 weekend. Looks like they could not get metered cabs so they resorted to getting limousines. But the price? Talk about being in cahoots with these bloody cab companies. That is why, when it comes to the bloody F1 weekends, I stay at home and do not go out. Who needs shit like this?

Leicester City vs Manchester United

Today at 2030 hrs, we will see Leicester City Take on Manchester United at King Power Stadium. It will be an away game for Manchester United and with the likes of Louis van Gaal and the rest of the players, let us make it an evening to remember.

Pioneer DDJ-SB

A friend of mine is spinning in a club and I go to his place quite a few times because I love the music that he plays. He plays a mixture of early 80’s R&B (not the stupid “R&B” that some club punters ask of DJs), 70s disco, soul and such. Just yesterday he was throwing down Evelyn King’s I’m In Love. And how was he mixing? He was using a controller…just like I would if I was in his place. And the controller in question? This Pioneer DDJ-SB.

This DDJ-SB 2-channel DJ controller, according to Pioneer, is designed for the entry-level DJ who wants the same look and feel as the two upper models (The DDJ-SX and DDJ-SR) but with more basic operability and at a more affordable price. The DDJ-SB uses the Serato DJ Intro software and incorporates multiple performance pads, large jog wheels, and a new Filter Fade function that assists users in smoothly blending together tracks of different styles.

Now I would not say my DJ friend is a beginner. he has been mixing for the greater part of 30 years or more now so he knows his stuff. But he is a beginner to digital DJ’ing with a controller and a laptop and he took to this like a duck to water, pumping out the tunes for all to enjoy. He was using Serato DJ but I did not know if it was Serato DJ Intro or the full-fledged Serato DJ. But whatever it was, it just worked and the controller looked pretty good, Basic is all you are asking for, as a DJ in a joint like this. No fancy stuff to confuse you and such. And that is precisely the reason my friend chose this controller. Sometimes, less is more.

Ikea BURSJÖN stool cum storage compartment

I have one of these very useful thingamajigs in the kitchen. My wife uses it as a storage place to keep our laundry powder and fabric softener. It’s equally useful as a stool too! I tried to find them again in Ikea but I cannot seem to find them anymore, which is a shame. This will be very useful for my bathroom to store stuff like toilet paper. Should have bought more of these things when they were still available.

Altec Lansing ACS22 multimedia speakers

I bought these speakers about 14 years ago when I set up a computer for myself. I was not interested in the whole subwoofer thingy that came with speakers. My philosophy is to always use two front speakers…good ones too. And these are good ones. I have used them for years and they have stood the test of time and till today, still sound awesome. But then again, these were made by Altec Lansing. That should speak volumes for their quality.

Lojel Octa suitcase

I have a big suitcase by Samsonite…it’s really huge. Unfortunately, sometimes when my wife and I make short trips, we want something smaller that does not take up so much space. That is why we settled on this Lojel Octa suitcase. One thing I personally do NOT like about this is the fact that there are keyholes only for the use of US customs so that they can open your bag anytime they like. I do not like that but I suppose after all the terrorism cases, they reserve the right to do that. I have never had my suitcase opened by anyone before other than me so I hope it continues

In any case, back to the Octa. its pretty light and I chose it because I do not like zippered cases. They are far too easy to open. There are lots of videos on YouTube showing just how easy it is to open a zippered suitcase and frankly, I had my reservations about such zippered suitcases way before I saw those videos. In any case, these are the features of this Lojel Octa suitcase. Firstly, according to their website, it is made of some newly advanced shock-resistant material and is fully flush when closed. The casters are removable too and that will be very handy should one want to replace them. Al in all, cost me less than $300 and I am pretty happy with it. Now all I have to do is set the numbers for the locks and all will be good.

Cable glands

These are cable glands. Do not get me wrong. I know what they are by sight but I never knew the proper name for them. As a matter of fact, I just found out about them last week! Bought a few of them for a project that I will be doing and so, now that I know what they are, I will be buying a few for some projects