Random Babblings

Hey Everybody! It’s been a while since I posted anything so I figured I would pop in and write something. I have been doing some awesome stuff toward Horseshoes & Hand Grenades lately, and I think it’s making the show so much better. A lot of what we’ve been able to do on the show is the same as always, but I’ve got a lot of ideas in the pot marinating. All of which will require $$$$. I don’t have a whole lot of that, so it’s going to be coming together piece by piece for a bit.

I got the opportunity to try out the Shure KSM27 microphone this past episode and it was amazing. I was able to hear so much of an improvement in the quality of my voice through this thing. It’s clear to me now that I really need a condenser mic to really improve the show. The only downside to going with this approach is that my wonderful co-host, Ashley, will still be coming through Skype and I worry that it may make her sound worse in comparison. I’ve listening to a few podcasts with high quality mics and Skype guests and it really doesn’t come off bad, so maybe it will work. I’m actually looking at getting the Heil Sound PR40 rather than the Shure. The Shure model is excellent, but I would rather have a mic that’s more shotgun style rather than the side by side.

Another thing I did recently was pick up the greatest deal on Earth: MacHeist Bundle 3. I am SO impressed with this software package.  A lot of people have been complaining that the package really isn’t that great this year, but I think they just don’t fit in the demographic that can use the software available. Most of it is geared toward content creators, like myself, who are constantly streaming video, recording video or audio, or taking and editing pictures. There are a handful of apps that are just for “normal” folks though, and those are very much worth the $39 that this package costs. It’s definitely the best deal on the internet right now.

One of the pieces of software that I’ve been playing with and have been the most excited about is an app called BoinxTV. This. Thing. Is. Amazing! I can do so many things with video and do it LIVE, which is the best part. Using this little app I can drop “lower-thirds” into a live stream, do 3D transitions, and use up to three cameras for a multiple camera shoot. It’s amazing and I hope to start using it on Horseshoes & Hand Grenades either this week or next. It’s opened up a whole lot of possibilities for adding bells and whistles to our show.

Well there is quick blurb for you! If you want to catch up with me more often, be sure to check out my Twitter feed! I post there a lot

I just thought everybody should see this wallpaper and desktop setup because I’m very proud! I didn’t make the wallpaper or anything, but I’m pretty sure it belongs on everyone’s desktop. Computers can be way too distracting. The little white text stuff in the corner is my Geek Tool setup. I’ve got it running the 15 latest Tweets from all my Twitter friends, plus a calendar…just because. The Twitter feed updates every 5 minutes with the latest stuff and I love it. It just kind of sits itself on the desktop and you can’t interact with it directly so no accidental drags or clicks or anything. It’s really awesome! Click the picture for a full (and much bigger) one!

I picked up a pamphlet today at work just because I wanted to see what my company considered an “internet addict.” It might not even be my company that thinks this way, but the company that produced this pamphlet sure does. It’s an Internet Addiction Self Assessment test that attempts to help a person determine if they are an internet addict with a set of “yes or no” questions about your internet use. I know good and well that I would be in denial if I said I didn’t use the internet all that much. I LIVE on this insane jumble of random people’s thoughts. I love reading news, writing blog posts, watching YouTube, and podcasting. I wouldn’t know what to do if there came a day that I no longer had the internet access that I enjoy right now.

On to the pamphlet!! I’ll share with you a handful of questions that are on this thing and let you also determine if you need to seek help for this disease that plagues America. Here we go! Answer as honestly as possible!

Do you stay online longer than originally intended?
Do you hide your online interactions from your significant other?
Do you lose sleep because of late-night logins?
Do you find it hard to stay away from the internet several days at a time?
Do you fear that life without the internet would be DULL AND JOYLESS? *emphasis added
Do you go online before other chores or duties should be done?

If you answered YES to one or more of these questions, you may be experiencing internet addiction.

How crazy is that!! Answering to even ONE of those questions could mean that you are an internet addict. Needless to say I am DEFINITELY an internet addict according to this test. I think it’s a pretty bad test in general though. Those are just a handful of the questions, but most of them are along the same vein. I think it’s clear that 90% of the population is getting to the point of at least answering yes to one of those questions. I’m definitely not ashamed of it all though. I use the internet as a tool for many of my hobbies and I see it as being no more dangerous to me than riding a horse is to a cowboy. It’s just a tool I use to accomplish many goals that I have.

I think this pamphlet plays into a fear that people have about new technologies. Every time something new comes along, we try our best to prove that it’s dangerous to the youth and is an addictive habit. We did it with rock music, video games, and drugs….okay so the drugs thing turned out, but hey! I don’t think the internet is dangerous and you’re probably not dangerously addicted until you go into convulsions when you can’t update Twitter for 10 minutes. We all need to use this tool, and it’s time we get over the absurdity that is internet addiction. Most of those questions, I think, are thinly veiled questions about your porn watching habits. If you answered yes to any of those and you were thinking about porn, you are addicted to PORN…not the internet.

HAVE A NICE DAY!

I finally have fulfilled one of my very simple dreams, and that is to own an iMac. I ordered it a couple days ago after finding one that was MUCH cheaper than a new one. Yes, I got a refurbished one, but it works just the same and went through all the same tests that Apple does on their new products. So there! As most of you know, Apple refreshed their entire desktop line last week, which is what I was waiting for before buying one. I was actually kind of disappointed in what happened to the iMacs though. They basically experienced a slight price drop and the shipping specs were changed up a bit. The high end 3.06 Ghz iMac now ships with 1 TB of storage and 4GB of RAM standard, and it also has an nVidia GT 130 512MB video card. These are things that looked nice, but I don’t know if they were nice enough to justify paying a bunch extra for.

I just happened to take a look at Apple’s refurbished section and found this little beauty in there. It’s the same high end model that I wanted but it’s a little less beefy. It uses the same processor and RAM as the new one, but it only came with 500 GB of storage, 2 GB of RAM, and an nVideo 8800 GS 512 MB video card. I think that’s just fine for what I want to do with it. I really don’t NEED 1 TB of storage and I can upgrade the RAM for super cheap anyway. So this made sense to me. I ended up getting the machine for $500 cheaper than if I had bought a brand new one.

I’m LOVING this machine. It’s exactly what I was looking for. It’s fast, pretty, and it’s a Mac!! I’ve always wanted a Mac desktop since I got the laptop and fell in love with the operating system. I thought that this screen might be a little much at 24″, but it’s just right. I definitely wouldn’t get anything bigger lest my eyes fall out of my head from staring at it too long. The best thing about the whole process was that I was able to migrate all the applications, documents, and settings from my laptop to this computer by using the Time Machine backup I had of my Macbook. It was crazy simple! I really couldn’t believe it. It only took about an hour to get everything moved over, and I have a lot of crap.

Anyway, I’m going to be tinkering around with this thing for a while it seems, and might even be playing a little bit of WoW while I’m at it .

I saw this on Diggnation and thought that you guys should see it too. I laughed until I cried…then laughed some more .

I wrote a post on this blog on February 22, 2005 detailing the downfall of my favorite band in the whole world: Blink 182. I can’t even explain to you how devastated I was that the band that made me want to play music, wasn’t going to be playing music together anymore. It’s kind of like my whole musical life fell apart right there. Not only did I not have my old band, Eveningside, I lost the band that made me want to play guitar in the first place. That was not a fun day for me, and I thought it was all over. And it was….until now.

Last night on the 51st grammy awards, Blink 182 came out on stage together and announced that they were back! I actually didn’t even get to see this! I wasn’t paying any attention to the grammy’s last night becuase, let’s face it, they are LAME most of the time. I actually got a call from my wonderful mom this morning on the way to work. She told me and I nearly jumped out of my seat in joy! It was completely unexpected and I totally didn’t believe her at first, but then I just let myself give in to the thought that my favorite band may be back in business. The first thing I did once I got to work was google it and there it was! Blink 182 is back and plans to pick up right where they left off.

I thought for sure that they would never be back together again. Mark had +44 and was doing so well, and so was Tom with Angels & Airwaves. I loved both of those bands, but neither of them were as good as Blink ever was. Tom and Mark have a chemistry in music that allows them to create some of the coolest songs I’ve ever heard. It’s kind of like having a music soul mate. I feel that way about my friend Patrick. No matter how long we go without talking to each other, or how different we become from one another, we will ALWAYS have our music. I could pick up a guitar and play with him like it was yesterday. I don’t know that I’ll ever find someone else that I can click with like that.

I’m super excited for what the future holds with the newly reformed Blink. I’m so glad they were able to set aside their differences and come back to their roots. I have no idea what to expect, but I know that I’ll love it. I loved the last CD they did, even though they did take a darker turn. They’ve all been through so much in the last four years that I’m sure they will have plenty of material. I’m just glad they can be friends again. They were best friends before the fallout and when something that dramatic happens it’s hard to pick up the pieces. I’m so glad they did.

Here’s to you, Blink 182! Teach me how to rock again.

I am busy at work on revamping the Horseshoes & Hand Grenades web site and I need a break! I think I’m going crazy looking at all these wordpress themes and doing everything I can to figure out which one will be an improvement to our page without sacrificing usability. It’s not nearly as easy as it all sounds. I’ve looked at a ridiculous amount of themes for everything from news sites, magazine sites, blogs, photo sites, and even superfan sites for Ricky Martin. Yeah, they still have those. It’s a nightmare.

I really do want to improve our site but I think I may just have to do so while retaining the theme that we’ve got. I can change the header and add some pretty sweet widgets to either size of content to make it POP. I’ll figure something out, it’s just giving me more of a headache than I originally anticipated. I’m not going to give up, but I’ll probably tone down my crazy brain. I feel like Peter Molyneux when he was promoting Fable. A whole lot of ideas but no real way to deliver. I’m not a web designer by any means so I just have to work within my sandbox. That sandbox is Wordpress.

Is anybody out there with theme suggestions?

Today is a fantastic day in the history of our country. Love him or hate him, Barack Obama is the new president of the United States of America. I am so very proud to be a part of this moment in time. I know I’m not exactly from the side of the fence that has suffered through civil rights issues, bigotry, and had to fight twice as hard to climb the ladder of success, but I recognize it and acknowledge that today is a very proud day in history for African-Americans. It is for me too! I’m so thrilled about the ideas that Barack Obama brings to office and all my prayers and hopes go out to him and his cabinet. It’s so difficult for one man to make any major changes in anything, but I believe that he can do it if he holds the pure ambitions and desires that have got him this far. I can only hope that capitol hill doesn’t corrupt his ideals.

I am a very posotive person in general. I tend to look at the bright side of every situation and do my best to give someone the benefit of the doubt. This has worked for me so far, but it does occasionally cause me to either look like a doofus or do something completely ridiculous. I know a lot of people are cynical about President Obama’s (it’s so cool to say that) plans, but I feel like sometimes all it takes is someone who gets a dream and doesn’t let go. Take Martin Luther King Jr. for example. The guy basically came out with ideas that were unheard of at the time, but was able to plant the seeds of what we saw today. This milestone has happened years after his death, but we still recognized that he started this snowball rolling. I hope that Obama can get some snowballs of his own rolling down that hill and growing into something amazing.

I’m going to be realistic about my expectations and understand that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and I hope the majority of people will be able understand this too. I can only ask the cynics to give the man a chance. Don’t shut out hope so easily. Be a seven year old for a few minutes and believe that people can make changes even when all the odds are against them. It’s not wrong to dream big, it’s not wrong to hope, and it’s definitely not wrong to believe in someone else that can dream those big dreams and hope for a better world. Let’s just stand together now and see what happens over the course of the next four years. Regardless of what happens, I’ll always know how this four years began: with the dreams of millions of people being fulfilled.