SwampLog 3.0

Greedy Earwig

I've tried a lot of the streaming "radio" services, such as Launch, ShoutCast, and the like. They've always left me wanting more -- more control, better selection, just more.

I think I've found "more."

A startup called Pandora aims to make customizable streaming stations based on what you like, and suggesting music you may or may not have heard before. As you listen to each new song, you rate the song with a thumb up or down. (And if you really really like the song, you can purchase it from the iTunes Music Store or Amazon. Sweetness.) The first ten hours are free, with a wholly reasonable subscription fee for either six months or a year coming next.

Pandora is an offshoot of the Music Genome Project, which breaks down music based on beat, instrumentation, lyrical content, and a lot more metrics than music should have but does anyway.

So, when I gave it a starting point of James Brown, Pandora then went on to suggest the O-Jays, Buddy Miles and Betty Wright. All right up my alley.

Then, I tried to throw Pandora a curve, with Warren Zevon. It gave me Phish, which I liked. Then, early Toto (a song called "Live for Today") which I wasn't keen on. As soon as you give it a downward pointing thumb, the song is eaten by lions and the next track is set running. New Pornographers' "Jackie, Dressed In Cobras" came up, and I was in love.

I have a ridiculous amount of music, but I'm always on the lookout for more. Pandora fills my music jones, and I've already plunked down my year's subscription fee. Now, I'm listening to Graham Coxon after Elton John, and I'm chuffed.

Dope!

One of the primary facets of my job is to go into offices and fix their technology.  Desktop computers make up the bulk of my calls, but I do get the occasional printer call.  And while a major banking chain makes up the majority of our business in North Texas, there's other clients as well, such as a certain company that handles leasing for office buildings, malls and apartment complexes.

This company called my boss in Minnesota yesterday to inform him that neither I nor my partner were allowed to work calls in their office anymore.  This stems from our inability to resolve a longstanding issue with an HP LaserJet 4100 printer, three years past its prime and due for replacement.

But the reason I was singled out in the rebuke?  They claim that I showed up for my last service call high on drugs.

I'll let that sink in for a minute.  In fact, let me say it again.  They claim that I showed up for my last service call high on drugs.

Anyone who has known me for longer than a week knows that I don't dope up.  Period.  The one time I tried to smoke pot was in 1997.  The woman I was dating was whip-smart, yet (at the time) a raging pot fiend.  She had two friends over, and they were planning on getting high.  I decided to stick around and finally give it a try.

The reaction I had was so adverse that I swore to never touch the stuff again, and I haven't.

My employers, from my immediate boss in the area to the corporate bigwigs know my work ethic, and won't give any credence to the allegation.  (At least they say so.)  I've gone on record saying I will submit to any drug test they would like to administer, from urine to hair to skin cells.  I've been assured that not only will it not be necessary, but this won't even be documented in my personnel file.  (Again, at least they say so.)

I was crazy pissed about this for the majority of the day, until I realized that the office I had the most problems with just went away on their own feet.  If they don't want me working their stuff, fine.  Let 'em find someone else to try and hack through their miscommunication and neurosis.  Suits me just fine.  As long as it doesn't affect my standing in the company I work for, I'm fine with it.  If I lose one cent from the claim, I'll sue for defamation of character.  In the meantime, I'll just keep working my ass off, thanks.

Oh, another gem of knowledge I'll drop on you today comes from one of my bank calls today: if you're going to use a small space heater under your desk, putting it next to a computer is a very bad idea.  It tends to melt and warp the computer, making it impossible to open the CD tray, or use the power button.  Your nugget of information for the day.

Sweet and Fluffy Lord

Yeah, I'm one of the converted. Yeah, the movie would have to really suck for me to say it's not good.

But, I went with Amanda, who hadn't seen one minute of 'Firefly,' and she agrees that 'Serenity' was a great flick. Go see it this weekend. You will not be disappointed.

Everybody Wants To Screw The nano

I've been bitten by Moore's Law more times than I care to count.

Right now, I'm working on an aging (by technology's standards) Mac desktop that I should have replaced two years ago. My Powerbook G3, longer in the tooth, bit the silicon dust after my trip to Los Angeles, and I've now been told it would cost more to replace the logic board than Superfly is worth. The fine, upstanding folks at Rawlings replaced my 2nd gen iPod (after it was violated in my absence) with a 4th gen click wheel job.

Now, even that's horribly out of date with the damned sexy iPod nano. Holding this wee beastie between my thumb and forefinger makes my inner geek wires hum. Who wouldn't want one of these bad boys?

Try the CEO of Motorola, Ed Zander.

"Screw the nano. What the hell does the nano do? Who listens to 1,000 songs?"

Zander goes on to crib notes from my Flying Car manifesto from five years ago. He's right, of course -- the world's mobile users are more savvy than users in North America.

However, when it comes to the iPod, it's the reverse of the Flying Car Theory. Sure, I would LIKE for my music to stay on board with my communication, but if the result of the marriage is the ROKR phone, I'd prefer to keep it separate, thanks all the same. The ROKR's interface is fine enough, but the phone is clunky, the sync with iTunes is kludgy at best, and it's too bloody expensive.

I was hoping Sony Ericsson would release an iTunes phone, and perhaps they will. Or, better yet, Apple will... nah, that's just crazy talk.

Gaaah!

Bill Gates.
Napoleon Dynamite.
'Nuff said.

Damned funny stuff from the Professional Developers Conference. (No, I haven't found the original footage either. If you find a link to it, please leave it in the comments below.)

Two Bits On A Hurricane

So, Oprah thinks America needs to apologize to the victims of Hurricane Katrina? I don't get it. "Sister Golden Hair" and "Horse With No Name are soft rock beatings, but no one was ever hurt by the harmonies of "Tin Man."

What?

Okay, for the real news: you need to head over to the Webcomic Hurricane Relief Telethon, where artists from around the globe are producing widely varied art to raise money for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. If you've been holding back from donating to keep the donation from being swallowed up in the first wave of support, now's the time to make it count.

Me? Not only have I donated, but I'm going to give blood during my lunch break. Scoreboard.

Puttering With Electrons

When most people get a three-day weekend, they kick back, eat a lot of things that were charred to perfection on a grill, and commiserate with their friends.

Me? While I do a lot of that, I also tinker with podcast stuff.

Marty and I are talking about moving the DAMRadio publication date to Mondays. That will mean you'll have fresh music each Monday morning, and we won't have to burn midnight oil in the middle of the week to produce your weekly musical biscuit. And since it is Labor Day weekend in the States, you'll get this week's show on Tuesday morning.

I've also gotten the bright idea to produce enhanced podcasts, just because I'm enamored with the bells and whistles they have to offer. Album artwork, links to the iTunes Music Store, and more will all be visible through iTunes. As far as I can tell, enhanced podcasts will also work in your normal MP4 player... and that's where I need your help.

If you would be so kind as to download the test subject file (28.9 MB MP4) (last week's cast with Katy Ruzicka) and tell me whether or not it works on your computer as well as mine, lemme know. I would deeply appreciate it.

This Must Be A First

Right now, I'm running cron jobs on Superfly, my trusty Powerbook, to make sure the beating I put it through yesterday wasn't too strenuous.  Superfly and I ran all over Los Angeles writing for Blogathon 2005, and through it all, we both survived.

Thanks to EVERYONE who pledged money to the Tarrant County chapter of the American Cancer Society.  If you didn't pledge, there's still time to do so: donations can be logged up until Tuesday, so please make a donation if you can.

I'm going to head to Hollywood Boulevard, take a look at the Stars on the Walk of Fame, and have a taco or three.  I feel good.  We did something fantastic yesterday, the Blogathon folk.  We raised over $56,000 for charities worldwide, and didn't die in the process.  Kudos to everyone involved.

Aimin' To Misbehave

There's a new trailer for 'Serenity,' the movie based on Joss Whedon's painfully-short-lived FOX series 'Firefly.'

From what I've heard by people who've seen the advance screenings, you don't HAVE to be a fan of the show to enjoy the movie, which is a BIG plus. Adapted movies like 'The X-Files,' which almost required you to know the ins and outs of a source material show first, never catch on the way they should. 'Serenity' should break that mold.

Go watch the trailer now. It's a gas.

Off The Beacon

While the iTunes Podcast Directory is a great way to load up on all of the juicy stuff out there, DAMradio will likely never be included in the directory (we flat-out don't want to get sued). So, to use iTunes 4.9 to listen to DAMradio (or any podcast you find online), follow these simple steps:

Go to Advanced in the menu bar, and click "Subscribe to Podcast..."
Paste the XML address in the window (ours is http://feeds.feedburner.com/damradio ).

And... Boom goes the dynamite! You'll get the most current broadcast, and have the option to get the previous week's episode as well.

Jessica asked what it would take to make DAMradio "legitimate," where we could play what we wanted without fear of RIAA reprisals. The answer is $1100 -- the total in fees we would have to pay BMI and ASCAP to license out their schtuff for internet broadcasting, at the level at which we're dishing out the current podcast.