Tallahassee Schmallahassee cost me a lot of money. Why? It was the first music I bought on iTunes. Now, buying music on iTunes is a habit to the tune of about $30/month.
Before I rarely ever bought music, because by the time I got to the music store (online or off) I forgot what song I heard as I was walking through the mall that made me think of an artist whose albums I would like to add to my collection. No more.
Now, when I think of an artist I search them in iTunes immediately. Also, if I hear music I love but don't recognize, Shazam will give me a link to the song in iTunes. Pandora is great at suggesting groups I haven't heard of which are similar to groups I love. It will link me to the album in iTunes, too.
I may purchase the album now or in the future, or decide against it, but I know where to find it. I'm getting what music I buy at a discount. I don't have to find time to rip it to my audio device. Expanding my music collection is enriching my enjoyment of many things I do throughout the day.
How does Apple really make their money? They capture all those impulse purchases I used to decline making at the mall. Genius.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
What Goes Around Comes Around
This expression has become hackneyed. Often a person who is wronged in some way will quote, "What goes around comes around," or something similar. He may believe he is being positive and taking his lumps in stride by wishing some ill befall his transgressor.
I believe the person in the above example has it backward. When I want good to befall me, I must be good to others first. In order for me to be treated well, I need to enter every interaction with the expectation that I will be treated well. I have to be grateful before I receive good treatment. Then, my expectations will be met. "A self-fulfilling prophecy," to use another abused and little understood expression.
Try it.
I believe the person in the above example has it backward. When I want good to befall me, I must be good to others first. In order for me to be treated well, I need to enter every interaction with the expectation that I will be treated well. I have to be grateful before I receive good treatment. Then, my expectations will be met. "A self-fulfilling prophecy," to use another abused and little understood expression.
Try it.
Living for the Kids
I'm at The Pasta Factory getting my chicken parm on and blogging like a fiend. As I peer over the top of my laptop screen I see a couple and their two little girls. It is a beautiful family. Both parents are interacting lovingly with their children, but not with each other. It looks as if they are two strangers crammed into the same side of a booth against their will.
It's sad, but this doesn't seem very unusual. In fact, if I was sitting on the other side of the booth and watching the happy girls eat their lunch with an enthusiasm I envy, I would be thinking, "Wow! That's what all family's should be like."
How often do the kids become our lives and we lose interest in our spouses? In ourselves? Far, far too often. So, what's the solution? Ideas?
It's sad, but this doesn't seem very unusual. In fact, if I was sitting on the other side of the booth and watching the happy girls eat their lunch with an enthusiasm I envy, I would be thinking, "Wow! That's what all family's should be like."
How often do the kids become our lives and we lose interest in our spouses? In ourselves? Far, far too often. So, what's the solution? Ideas?
On Blog Schedules
In short, there is no schedule. Partly because this blog is for me, not you. No offense. Also, because most of my best ideas come to me at inappropriate times: at work, walking through the mall, standing in the shower, etc. Lastly, it might take me two weeks to find free time and a WiFi hot spot in the same place.
The result of this is you, dear reader, may get a blast of blogs once every week or two. Read them slow. Make them last.
Peace ☺
The result of this is you, dear reader, may get a blast of blogs once every week or two. Read them slow. Make them last.
Peace ☺
The Cigar Box Guitar Project - Overview, Attempts One and Two
Once there was a man named Bob. After a time of pondering how to regain interest in practicing to improve his virtuosity on guitar, he thought of Flamenco. Henceforth he would be known as el Bobbo.
El Bobbo procured an instrument befitting his budding expertise. What it does not befit, however, is his overhead cabinet above his office desk. Because of this, practice does not occur during what would otherwise be the perfect time to practice (lunch). He pondered this point, as he does.
Of course, a travel sized flamenco guitar would be ideal. El Bobbo surfed the interwebs and found... nothing. There are few classical travel guitars available. What he found was too big, too small (no face plate for tapping), collapsed (a one piece solution would be better), and all were too expensive. Something that lives in the car or the office must be expendable.
In a flash of inspiration, he thought of Bo Diddley. After some research, additional pondering, and an unusually small amount of procrastination, he began his quest to build his own travel guitar.
He had no tools. Google recommended a list of tools, of which he ended up using only a few, and needed still more. This process continues. I think my father would say that never ends.
El Bobbo bought some pine at Home Depot and practiced with his new tools. He was unexpectedly successful and decided to build a whole guitar with what he intended to be scrap. Sadly, he was unable to tune the guitar he built.
He pondered for a little while, staring at the useless guitar each night before bed making mental notes about what he would change in the next attempt. He decided to go for it. He bought poplar for the neck and red oak for the finger board, he selected a pretty, all-wood box for the body, and set to work. So far, so good.
El Bobbo will post further results in a subsequent post.
Ponder friending me on Facebook.
Ponder using Twitter, then follow me.
El Bobbo procured an instrument befitting his budding expertise. What it does not befit, however, is his overhead cabinet above his office desk. Because of this, practice does not occur during what would otherwise be the perfect time to practice (lunch). He pondered this point, as he does.
Of course, a travel sized flamenco guitar would be ideal. El Bobbo surfed the interwebs and found... nothing. There are few classical travel guitars available. What he found was too big, too small (no face plate for tapping), collapsed (a one piece solution would be better), and all were too expensive. Something that lives in the car or the office must be expendable.
In a flash of inspiration, he thought of Bo Diddley. After some research, additional pondering, and an unusually small amount of procrastination, he began his quest to build his own travel guitar.
He had no tools. Google recommended a list of tools, of which he ended up using only a few, and needed still more. This process continues. I think my father would say that never ends.
El Bobbo bought some pine at Home Depot and practiced with his new tools. He was unexpectedly successful and decided to build a whole guitar with what he intended to be scrap. Sadly, he was unable to tune the guitar he built.
He pondered for a little while, staring at the useless guitar each night before bed making mental notes about what he would change in the next attempt. He decided to go for it. He bought poplar for the neck and red oak for the finger board, he selected a pretty, all-wood box for the body, and set to work. So far, so good.
El Bobbo will post further results in a subsequent post.
Ponder friending me on Facebook.
Ponder using Twitter, then follow me.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Movie Ticket Standard
True story. I love it.
But that’s not how I feel about apps.
I live by my “movie ticket standard.” The cost of a movie, currently $10.25, must entertain me for a minimum of two hours. Free apps, therefore, have infinite value. The game I spent $10 on and played for about 10 hours was a good value. I have to listen to an album three times to get my money's worth. I have to watch a DVD twice. Etc
What’s harder to judge are productivity and utility apps, but I view those as accessories required for the use of the phone.
I know, I took all the humor out of a really great joke. It’s 9am. Sue me.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Flamenco Project - Overview
Wow, I started this project last winter, probably at or around my birthday. About that time I was inspired to learn Flamenco guitar. I was bored with what I've been doing: accompanying myself singing pop/rock songs. I was looking for a new sound and a challenge. Well, I found them.
After hitting the internet for some background information and a few tutorials, I took my steel string guitar and gave it an... OW! Have you ever seen one of those cheese slicers that look like a slingshot with a wire strung between the forks? Yeah...
Adding a Flamenco guitar to my collection, I resumed my practice. I hit a wall, almost immediately. I didn't even have the most basic knowledge: how to hold it; the different strokes, strums, finger picking styles, scales, chord forms, etc. I needed help!
Good fortune reminded me of Drome Sound in Schenectady. I ventured thither, and a very knowledgeable man rummaged through three racks of books to grab the lone copy of The Keys to Flamenco Guitar by Dennis Koster. Finally, I had the rudiments at my finger tips. The challenge was to retrain my finger tips to play the guitar, as I call it, inside out and backwards from how I'd learned.
Here it is some eight months later and I have not yet learned my first song, though I am comfortable with the rudiments. I believe I'm learning faster than is typical, but slower than if I had a real teacher. As I progress, I will be posting thoughts and, if you're lucky, maybe some recordings.
After hitting the internet for some background information and a few tutorials, I took my steel string guitar and gave it an... OW! Have you ever seen one of those cheese slicers that look like a slingshot with a wire strung between the forks? Yeah...
Adding a Flamenco guitar to my collection, I resumed my practice. I hit a wall, almost immediately. I didn't even have the most basic knowledge: how to hold it; the different strokes, strums, finger picking styles, scales, chord forms, etc. I needed help!
Good fortune reminded me of Drome Sound in Schenectady. I ventured thither, and a very knowledgeable man rummaged through three racks of books to grab the lone copy of The Keys to Flamenco Guitar by Dennis Koster. Finally, I had the rudiments at my finger tips. The challenge was to retrain my finger tips to play the guitar, as I call it, inside out and backwards from how I'd learned.
Here it is some eight months later and I have not yet learned my first song, though I am comfortable with the rudiments. I believe I'm learning faster than is typical, but slower than if I had a real teacher. As I progress, I will be posting thoughts and, if you're lucky, maybe some recordings.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Why Do I Still Need a Laptop?
I waltzed into the local Apple store on launch day and purchased the iPhone 4 with the most GBs. I haven't set it down for more than a few minutes since.
It does everything I need to do in a day, sometimes better than my MacBook. I get email, IM, txt, phone, Facebook, and Twitter messages all in one spot, with remarkably consistent user interface. Using Flixster I can browse theaters local to where I'm standing, view the Rotten Tomatoes ratings and IMDB articles related to the movies now showing. Then I can switch to Fandango and buy my tickets while I'm sitting down to dinner. I already have more games (and more favorite games) than I have for either my NDS or XBox. I buy and listen to more music. I read more, because I have several books strapped to my waist at all times, more access to blogs and internet news sources. I take more pictures, and for the first time have considered photo editing to get the most from them. Because Blogger can post from emailed entries, I can blog on the run. When I hear a new song and need to identify the artist, I pull out Shazam and click through to iTunes. When I'm lost (often) I can choose Maps or Waze, a social GPS.
But I still need my MacBook, on days like today, when I have a lot of typing to do, in-depth internet research, need to cross-reference between several applications and/or web sites. To interact with websites which are not mobile friendly, most often to place an order. When I need to maintain/backup my phone, or when I need to print.
This is the first I've used the laptop in weeks. To be fair, some of the things I couldn't do on my phone I did on my work computer in the meantime, but not many.
What kind of phone do you have? Why do you still need a laptop?
It does everything I need to do in a day, sometimes better than my MacBook. I get email, IM, txt, phone, Facebook, and Twitter messages all in one spot, with remarkably consistent user interface. Using Flixster I can browse theaters local to where I'm standing, view the Rotten Tomatoes ratings and IMDB articles related to the movies now showing. Then I can switch to Fandango and buy my tickets while I'm sitting down to dinner. I already have more games (and more favorite games) than I have for either my NDS or XBox. I buy and listen to more music. I read more, because I have several books strapped to my waist at all times, more access to blogs and internet news sources. I take more pictures, and for the first time have considered photo editing to get the most from them. Because Blogger can post from emailed entries, I can blog on the run. When I hear a new song and need to identify the artist, I pull out Shazam and click through to iTunes. When I'm lost (often) I can choose Maps or Waze, a social GPS.
But I still need my MacBook, on days like today, when I have a lot of typing to do, in-depth internet research, need to cross-reference between several applications and/or web sites. To interact with websites which are not mobile friendly, most often to place an order. When I need to maintain/backup my phone, or when I need to print.
This is the first I've used the laptop in weeks. To be fair, some of the things I couldn't do on my phone I did on my work computer in the meantime, but not many.
What kind of phone do you have? Why do you still need a laptop?
The Phrase is "Intents and Purposes"
Several times recently, I've read the phrase, "For all intents and purposes," written, "For all intensive purposes." While this might be a typo—I have a tendency to type "every" instead of "ever" and "boib" instead of "Bob"—it may also be excellent examples of something that bothers and disappoints me.
I'm not a fan of clichés or other catch phrases. People tend to use such phrases without understanding them. When I point that out, the usual response is, "Ugh, you KNOW what I mean!" but, still I feel that we should take the time to know and understand what we're saying/writing. On the other side of the coin, I've also found that people sometimes don't understand me when I avoid using a cliché. It's almost as if they're unable to assemble the words and derive the meaning on their own.
This post has been sitting in my drafts for a while, because I had planned to draw some conclusion or offer some solution. It turns out I have neither.
What do you think about this?
I'm not a fan of clichés or other catch phrases. People tend to use such phrases without understanding them. When I point that out, the usual response is, "Ugh, you KNOW what I mean!" but, still I feel that we should take the time to know and understand what we're saying/writing. On the other side of the coin, I've also found that people sometimes don't understand me when I avoid using a cliché. It's almost as if they're unable to assemble the words and derive the meaning on their own.
This post has been sitting in my drafts for a while, because I had planned to draw some conclusion or offer some solution. It turns out I have neither.
What do you think about this?
Single Point Urban Interchange
Some things I know, I'd rather not. For instance, I don't need to know what a single point urban interchange (SPUI) is.
Nevertheless, I became aware of this via exit6.org, a website thoughtfully created by the NYS Department of Transportation to explain what in blazes they've been doing to a very busy intersection near my home this year.
Today was the first I drove through the now completed SPUI. Obviously, I was successful, or I'd be unable to blog about it. As I entered the intersection, from northbound I-87 to turn left onto westbound Rte 7, I was initially overcome by curiosity and looked around to see the whole intersection. Panic ensued. If your eyes wander, it is very easy to believe that you are driving straight into oncoming traffic.
I regained my composure, found the lane I belonged in and focused on that. After having done so, I must say that the intersection is much smoother and more efficient than it used to be. I waited for only one stop light, and by knowing ahead of time which was my correct lane, there was no confusion. It was as if I was making an ordinary left-hand turn, except I didn't have to wait for oncoming traffic.
I am pleased. I remain displeased with the myriad rotaries DOT has been building everywhere, but the SPUI is a welcome improvement on a stressful driving experience.
Nevertheless, I became aware of this via exit6.org, a website thoughtfully created by the NYS Department of Transportation to explain what in blazes they've been doing to a very busy intersection near my home this year.
Today was the first I drove through the now completed SPUI. Obviously, I was successful, or I'd be unable to blog about it. As I entered the intersection, from northbound I-87 to turn left onto westbound Rte 7, I was initially overcome by curiosity and looked around to see the whole intersection. Panic ensued. If your eyes wander, it is very easy to believe that you are driving straight into oncoming traffic.
I regained my composure, found the lane I belonged in and focused on that. After having done so, I must say that the intersection is much smoother and more efficient than it used to be. I waited for only one stop light, and by knowing ahead of time which was my correct lane, there was no confusion. It was as if I was making an ordinary left-hand turn, except I didn't have to wait for oncoming traffic.
I am pleased. I remain displeased with the myriad rotaries DOT has been building everywhere, but the SPUI is a welcome improvement on a stressful driving experience.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Om-nom-nom-inous
A few weeks ago, I was sitting quietly between meetings at a sales
conference, contemplating my imminent consumption of a cookie, when I
thought to myself, "I'm om-nom-nom-inous!" This promptly became my
Twitter bio, but what does it mean?
conference, contemplating my imminent consumption of a cookie, when I
thought to myself, "I'm om-nom-nom-inous!" This promptly became my
Twitter bio, but what does it mean?
For those unaware, "om-nom-nom" is a textual representation of the
sound Cookie Monster makes when he eats. You know Cookie Monster. From
Sesame Street? Oh, never mind.
Definition: One who eats enthusiastically, but without regard for etiquette.
Example: Hey! Remember to breathe! You're om-nom-nom-inous!
Definition: One who eats mass quantities.
Example: Whoa, that Galactus is om-nom-nom-inous (Galactus? Consumer
of worlds? Oh, never mind.)!
Definition: One who loves to taste.
Example: Margaret, your palate is so discerning. You are quite om-nom-nom-inous.
Definition: One who is tasty.
Example: Oh, I could eat you up! You're so om-nom-nom-inous!
Definition: A superlative form of "ominous."
Example: [Bob] I predict your imminent and violent demise. [Mom] Well,
that's om-nom-nom-inous. And creepy. Go to your room.
How would you define om-nom-nom-inous? Hit me back.
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