bilbodwyer's recent activity

  2. In My Dressing Gown

    ~creative Text 104 words
    The sky is clear except for some soft grey clouds beyond the hill The early setting sun shines orange on the woods and the houses that sit atop the ridge Not a single bird crosses the pale blue...

    The sky is clear
    except for some
    soft grey clouds
    beyond the hill

    The early setting sun shines orange
    on the woods
    and the houses
    that sit atop the ridge

    Not a single bird crosses
    the pale blue sky
    though I can hear
    their chorus
    and a gentle wind blows
    cold
    on my face

    I can smell the traffic
    from the road behind my house
    mingling with
    the earthy smell of trees
    from the field in front

    Neither my hot black coffee
    nor my dressing gown
    are enough
    to keep the
    cold
    at bay
    on this
    the first truly frosty day
    of the year

    7 votes

  4. Comment on Ben Caplan - O Holy Night (instrumental) in ~music

    bilbodwyer
    Link
    Really enjoying this instrumental version of O Holy Night from Ben Caplan, one of my favourite artists.

    Really enjoying this instrumental version of O Holy Night from Ben Caplan, one of my favourite artists.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on The iPhone 12 Pro Max: Real pro photography in ~tech

    bilbodwyer
    Link Parent
    Mine still comes up with a "spirit level" when taking horizontal photos, which I quite like. If you're taking selfies it reminds you to hold the phone higher for a better angle, and prompts you to...

    Mine still comes up with a "spirit level" when taking horizontal photos, which I quite like. If you're taking selfies it reminds you to hold the phone higher for a better angle, and prompts you to try night sight and portrait mode when it thinks you need it. It's pretty slick.

    3 votes

  8. Comment on Farewell, macOS (Running a modern OS on an older Macbook) in ~tech

    bilbodwyer
    Link Parent
    I use Elementary OS as my daily driver on my desktop. It's a great OS, and the fact that they are actively pushing to build a platform where developers can actually earn money for their apps is a...

    checking out Elementary OS

    I use Elementary OS as my daily driver on my desktop. It's a great OS, and the fact that they are actively pushing to build a platform where developers can actually earn money for their apps is a plus in my book. The pay what you feel model is really good, as you can "try before you buy" with any app.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Timasomo 2020 Thread #3: Update Thread 2 in ~creative

    bilbodwyer
    Link
    Clipping along nicely. Experienced a bit of burnout last week from the constant churn of writing, but I'm more or less back into the groove now. Will see how being at work affects it though. I...

    Clipping along nicely. Experienced a bit of burnout last week from the constant churn of writing, but I'm more or less back into the groove now. Will see how being at work affects it though.
    I challenged myself to learn 30 songs in 30 days earlier this year, and I feel like that prepared me for daily writing in a good way. That said, learning something that already exists is much easier than bringing a new creation into the world.

    5 votes

  11. Comment on The next decade could be even worse: A historian believes he has discovered iron laws that predict the rise and fall of societies. He has bad news. in ~humanities

    bilbodwyer
    Link
    A very intriguing read, but I do find myself erring on the side of the argument against a grand theory of history.

    A very intriguing read, but I do find myself erring on the side of the argument against a grand theory of history.

    11 votes

  12. Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music

    bilbodwyer
    Link
    I had a relisten to I, The Mask by In Flames while I was cooking on Thursday. What an album. Some absolutely incredible riffes, and fantastically hooky choruses. Makes me want to retune my guitar...

    I had a relisten to I, The Mask by In Flames while I was cooking on Thursday. What an album. Some absolutely incredible riffes, and fantastically hooky choruses. Makes me want to retune my guitar to learn some

    1 vote

  13. Comment on What's something you don't understand the appeal of? in ~talk

    bilbodwyer
    Link Parent
    I really dig Many a True Nerd. I particularly enjoyed his Rome: Total War series, and have enjoyed watching some of his Solaris playthroughs as well. I think because he has a (Masters?) degree in...

    I really dig Many a True Nerd. I particularly enjoyed his Rome: Total War series, and have enjoyed watching some of his Solaris playthroughs as well. I think because he has a (Masters?) degree in Classics, it makes the Rome stuff so engrossing. Listening to him discuss tactics based on what these armies would actually have done, how certain things are inaccurate, how others are highly accurate, and also just gush about how much he loves the game... Rome: Total War was my jam as a young lad, and watching someone who really knows their shit in terms of the history and the game itself play through a campaign on the hardest difficulty was extremely enjoyable.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on Timasomo 2020 Thread #2: Update Thread 1 in ~creative

    bilbodwyer
    Link
    A week down, and a week's worth of blog posts ticked off! I'll link each of them below, but I'm particularly proud of my entries from the 6th and 7th (Spotify, and the Personal Statement). Day 1 -...

    A week down, and a week's worth of blog posts ticked off! I'll link each of them below, but I'm particularly proud of my entries from the 6th and 7th (Spotify, and the Personal Statement).

    Day 1 - Thoughts on monthly challenges
    Day 2 - Returning to Facebook
    Day 3 - Thoughts on Noise
    Day 4 - My Desert Island Discs
    Day 5 - Aimless ramblings about language
    Day 6 - Spotify is pretty bad for small artists
    Day 7 - My Master's personal statement
    Day 8 - Things aren't as bad as they seemed

    So far I'm enjoying the challenge of writing every day. I do feel like I'm improving by degrees, but some days are far easier than others. My mood and my level of energy seem directly linked to how good my writing ends up being, hence (I assume) why I'm particularly proud of my entries from Friday and Saturday. Onwards and upwards though! I have more topics squirrelled away that I'm ready to write about, so I'm not afraid of running out of ideas any time soon.

    5 votes

  15. Comment on Rate my homepage! in ~creative

    bilbodwyer
    Link Parent
    Many thanks! It's a WIP, and I'm hoping to flesh it out with extra pages and such, but for the time being it does the job nicely :)

    Many thanks! It's a WIP, and I'm hoping to flesh it out with extra pages and such, but for the time being it does the job nicely :)

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Spotify announces that artists and labels will be able to select specific tracks for its algorithms to prioritize in exchange for being paid a lower royalty rate in ~music

    bilbodwyer
    (edited )
    Link
    When I read about this for the first time earlier in the week I genuinely thought it was a Hard Times or Onion article. I hate this so much. I've lost track of the amount of times my bands have...

    When I read about this for the first time earlier in the week I genuinely thought it was a Hard Times or Onion article.
    I hate this so much. I've lost track of the amount of times my bands have been offered a gigs for no fee but for "gReAT eXpOsURe." It's such bullshit. We can't spend your exposure. Exposure doesn't cover the cost of petrol, equipment, rehearsals, recording, marketing, artwork, filming, and so on. Exposure doesn't cover the cost of uploading a track onto Spotify. I can't go to a bar and get a free drink in exchange for telling all my mates about the pub, or get a free Spotify Premium subscription for tweeting about how great they are.
    More listeners can be a great thing. I would love for more people to hear the music my band puts out. There's always the potential for those listeners to become paying customers, to buy merch or to pay for a track. But the overwhelming majority do and will not, so slashing the (already infinitesimal) amount of money that we already get from Spotify for our streams in exchange for "more exposure" feels like corporate greed preying on the hopes and dreams of young artists.

    5 votes

  17. Comment on Rate my homepage! in ~creative

    bilbodwyer
    Link
    Perhaps I'm a little late to the party, but here's mine: https://billodwyer.xyz

    Perhaps I'm a little late to the party, but here's mine:
    https://billodwyer.xyz

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Timasomo 2020 Thread #1: Roll Call and Beginning! in ~creative

    bilbodwyer
    Link
    I'm writing a blog post every day, and my first one just went live!

    I'm writing a blog post every day, and my first one just went live!

    3 votes

  19. Comment on Sir Curse - Rabbit Holes in ~music

    bilbodwyer
    Link
    My band's newest video came out yesterday! Would love some feedback from my fellow Tilderinos.

    My band's newest video came out yesterday! Would love some feedback from my fellow Tilderinos.

    2 votes