qxmag.co.uk

VPN stands for ‘virtual private network’ and denotes a network that primarily utilizes public telecommunication infrastructure to offer travelling users or remote offices access to a central organizational network. A prime example of a public telecommunication infrastructure that virtual private network utilize is the Internet, something I am sure you have heard of and experienced before! Remote users of a Virtual Private Network must be authenticated and data is often secured through encryption technologies which prevent the disclosure of private information to parties that are not authorized.

A VPN allows one to perform almost all tasks that are found on a network. Thus a Virtual Private Network allows one to access network printers, websites, databases, and network resources. One can also very easily share data with a Virtual Private Network. The sensation of being directly connected to a central network is usually identical to the sensation a Virtual Private Network user has when using a Virtual Private Network. Luckily, the old days of having to maintain expensive leased-line telecommunication circuits has been replaces by Virtual Private Network technology that functions through the public Internet.

For ages I've been seeing people zipping around on these little light framed single speed bikes, and some of them have the strangest and coolest looking wheels. It's literally made me want to make the switch over to fixed gear cycling!

I've done a fair bit of research and a lot of the wheels I've seen are Aerospoke wheels, and they're really stunning. People usually just have one Aerospoke wheel at the front and a more ordinary looking wheel at the back, though most fixed wheels are pretty nice-looking!

I'm thinking about converting my bike frame to single speed and getting an Aerospoke but they're pretty pricey in the shops so I'm looking on http://www.Adizar.co.uk to see if anyone's selling an older one. I looked at one in a bike shop and they're pretty solid and heavy, but hopefully it'll be worth the money I end up spending!

Photo: five354 (Flickr)

Charles Manson left Spahn’s Movie Ranch in January 1969 and re-positioned himself and the Family in a yellow house in Canoga Park. This move was apparently inspired by the Family’s need to monitor the ‘tension’ in Los Angeles. Manson called the house the ‘Yellow Submarine’ as it enabled the group to remain “submerged beneath the awareness of the outside world”. The Family waited in the ‘Yellow Submarine’ for the impending apocalypse, dubbed the ‘Helter Skelter’ by Manson.

Manson decided in February 1969 that the Family must create an album whose songs would instigate the imminent chaos. Manson foresaw a war between whites and blacks and then a war between whites who would be split between racist and non-racist elements, eventually leading to the complete annihilation of the white race. The Family would then rule over the victorious black race, the Family waiting for the race to succeed in “the bottomless pit”, a secret city supposedly beneath Death Valley. The Family spent their time at the Canoga park house plotting the Family escape to “the bottomless pit” and preparing their album. What a bunch of weirdo’s – I bet they didn’t have uhrens!

For those of you not familiar with music of Iron and Wine, putting it simply, you should be. Their album Our Endless Numbered Days is a masterpiece of our time. It is a coherent and touching analysis of the life and death cycle, played out by one man, a hauntingly beautiful voice and a menagerie of instruments. If I had to chose 5 albums to take to a desert island with me, and only have those choices to listen to on repeat for the rest of my natural life, I would chose that album.

But having listened only briefly to the new album.... I am a little shocked. Its not necessarily bad. But it's such a stark contrast to their previous material. I mean - it's electronic for a start! More Annie Lennox than Neil Young. I will have to come back to you on how I feel about it. I felt like maybe I'd put the wrong thing on, maybe the led tube lights in this cellar had burned a whole in my retinas from their bright reflection on the screen, and in my blindness I had put on a different artist. I'm serious - my eyes are fine - but it is hard to believe it is the same band.

I have recently started up my own business, running a vintage clothes shop from home. I have set up a sewing area down stairs in the cellar, which sounds a bit damp and dingy but I truly believe I have found the solution to my problems.

To work down there properly, I need a lot of light, and I don't want to spend a fortune on my electric bills either. Then I discovered LED bulbs, they are so much brighter and less expensive than any other bulbs. They make the room feel like it is filled with a bright natural light, and is so much better for doing detailed work than huddling under a headache inducing halogen lamp for hours on end.