Some comparisons I put together of some shots from the Rialto Observation deck from July 2001 and April 2006.

Unfortunately the July 2001 photos were taken at dusk and with a bad camera but the comparisons are still fun to look at.

In particular, look how many changes there have been in the past five years!

Regurgitator have sold the "Band In A Bubble" idea to a British company.

According to the Sydney Daily Telegraph, The Darkness are considering an offer to star in the British version of the show. The band could be looking to boost their image after their second album, One Way Ticket To Hell ... And Back, failed to sell as well as expected.

Personally I think One Way Ticket To Hell is a brilliant piece of work so it's a pity it's not selling as well. But watching The Darkness on stage I'm not sure they care.

Turns out I should have read the advert in Beat (and In*Press) a little harder. The Look Who's Toxic EP launch is on Sunday 30th April, not this Sunday.

That makes it a little harder for me to get to but I'm going to try.

Some Autostitch panoramic shots of Melbourne from the Rialto Observation deck. The larger one didn't stitch as well so I included two partial shots. I've a few others like this looking North-West, West and South waiting in my camera.

The problem with AllOfMP3 is that it really makes you feel like a huge chump for paying >$1 per song on iTunes.

Legality and ethics aside, AllOfMP3 is the music store everyone has ever wanted. Massive catalog, a choice of codecs (MP3, OGG and lossless FLAC). You pay per megabyte so a typical song costs less than 10 cents (US$) and an album less than US$2.

The legality is still being argued but it's been up and running for years now. The Russian police looked at the company and decided they were legal. The RIAA hates it but there are many arguements as to why it's legal in the US. Most agree it's legal to use the site in Australia.

Morally on the otherhand... I see no proof or reports on how much money they give artists for these downloads. At a guess it would be little more than they'd get for a radio play. I'm not sure how fair I think that is, but I think it's probably unfair enough to not use the site.

Personally I REALLY want a 100% definitely legal music download website that lets me buy music in a lossless format for around $1 a song. I'd even put up with DRM for that. Maybe even $2 a song I'm that desperate.

I don't know if you've noticed but the secondhand CD market has been decimated lately. A lot less people have been buying secondhand CDs lately for reasons that are obvious to guess. In the past to get old albums and songs you went to the secondhand store. These days you go to eBay or download an MP3.

Sad.

Update: Turns out I was quoted the wrong figure. It ended up costing $16 instead of the $24. Not too bad.

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Why does it cost twice as much to get photos from a film to a CD WITHOUT getting them printed to real photos than it does to get them printed to real photos without the CD?

It's crazy. I'm getting less physical stuff, surely it must be cheaper? But no, they process the film then INDIVIDUALLY scan each frame into their dumb program then put it on a CD. I'm going to try going mental in the shop to see if that helps. I learnt it off the telly. American telly.

Anyone know a processing centre that isn't as stupid as your average Kodak?