Music

I am what's known as "musically illiterate", in that I am highly unfamiliar with bands, band members, song names, etc. I will sometimes remember (and definitely misremember) song lyrics, and I can generally tell if I like a song or not, but that’s about it.

In the interest of trying to enjoy music more, I’ve been looking out for new music that I like or might like. Since the mainstream stuff is repeated ad nauseum on the radio, I usually am looking for music that is off the beaten path. Don’t get me wrong, I like that Rockstar song and the Delilah song, but most of them just get annoying after the 100th time it’s played.

I am a fan of the “classic rock” genre, and the kids have me listening to the “kiddie pop” on Radio Disney, but I’m looking for something more recent. While that may not work out, exactly, I figure I’ll address music with at least one blog post.

He hasn’t released a full CD yet, but is working on it. For now, I listen to Freddy on the Kidd Kraddick morning show. His songs tell stories, and I like my songs to do that. He’s got a single out, but iTunes and Quicktime annoyed me last time I downloaded it, so I’m just gonna wait for now. You can hear Freddy's songs on his website, and I think he will only get better.

Kidd also had a guest band that was not generally known, but happened to be in Bermuda when they were doing the show there. After hearing the song they played, I looked them up. They’ve come a ways since then, but I’m still waiting for them to put out a regular type CD also. They are called I Nine and are based out of South Carolina. They have also released some songs to iTunes, but until the CD, you can listen to them here.

Also, as soon as I have the time and actually do it, I’m going to get the soundtrack from the movie Juno. While teenage pregnancy is not one of my favorite topics being a dad and all, I liked most of the songs when I watched the movie. You can download the album (together or song-by-song) from Amazon, which also has a 30 second preview of each one, or just buy the CD.

On the little more adult side, the music from the new(!) Harold & Kumar movie has some funny songs. Being a huge Weird Al Yankovic fan (finally saw him in concert last year, and yes, I bought the T-Shirt), I always appreciate funny songs. So while the material is not suitable for children, it’s on my list to get…eventually.

So, that’s my attempts to “update” my musical inclinations. I’ll post again when I find more.

Man Takes Over San Francisco Computer Network

Sounds like a movie waiting to happen. Apparently the network administrator for San Francisco's new wireless Wide-Area-Network has decided to lock out all of the other administrators. He refuses to give up the password, thereby making the entire network his own private domain.

It doesn't appear that users are locked out, so the city isn't shutting down or anything. But, it can't be accessed for admin purposes.

It's not taking over all the computers in the world ala Stormbreaker, but it's a start.

"This network is mine!!!"

Electric Car Four in Four Years

Tesla is saying they will have an ell-electric car inside of 4 years, as battery technology improves and the costs of parts decrease. They are also talking of it costing under $30,000.

If you compare that to what's available now, it's either a motorcyle-type electric car that can barely go 20 miles, or some kind of sports car that tops in at over $100,000.

We'll see.

Future of Space Exploration

I'm a big fan of continued space exploration, and of the technological benefits that the industry brings to people. It looks like Popular Mechanics has published an article about the Future of Space.