Tag Archives: General

Aural Bliss

I just got back from the store and I purchased a set of Logitech Z-560 speakers. They’re absolutely amazing, the sound is so crisp and clear, and the bass is incredible. Not to mention the volume, at 400 watts I have to keep it turned down almost all the way to be bearable. The subwoofer is gigantic, and you can hear the difference. The first thing I popped in was En Vogue’ Never Gonna Get It to hear how it sounded with heavy vocal and bass, and also that song has some neat stereo stuff, and is very well produced. The result was everything I imagined it to be; I can’t express how having four channels of sound really makes a difference.

Right now I’m listening to Joshua Redman and Mark Turner on Leap of Faith. In the a cappella intro I could actually hear Turner’’s keys as he played. Since the song is a battle of sorts Turner and Redman are divided into the right and left channels, respectively. Listening to it closer than I really have before, I think Mark Turner really shines the brightest on this song.

Growing

You may (or may not) have noticed some new widgets on the site. First, I’m working on the JazzQuotes system. Right now all it does is echo a random quote, but eventually as the database becomes more inclusive it’ll have more features, including being able to browse by author (jazzer) and the ability to submit your own favorite quote. Also there is work being done on the toy section of the site, and I’m coding out a little script that will show what I’m listening to on my computer right now.

Keyboard Compare Applet for Dvorak and Qwerty Keyboards

I’ve found a very cool site: Keyboard Compare Applet for Dvorak and Qwerty Keyboards. The Dvorak layout places the keys you most under the fingers best suited to use them.

Plugging the top 500 words from the english language into the applet came up with some interesting results: your fingers would have moved 72.09 meters if you used QWERTY, but only 42.44 meters with Dvorak. See the site for more details. If anyone is interested in switching and want’s some computer help feel free to contact me.

MIB II

I saw MIB II on the IMAX screen yesterday, and it was impressive. I don’t think the movie was quite as good as the first one, if anything it seemed to be a bit of a spoof on the first one. It was quite funny at times, it’s just the plot struggled sometimes. But the screen was amazing, and the company, as always, was great.

Danger of games

Yesterday I did nothing. Not a lazy day, not a restful day, a day where a video game completely took over my day. The game is called Black and White, and it’s not even that new, about a year and a half old. But anyway I just got it and once I started it I couldn’t put it down. This isn’t necesarily a testament to the game, that’s just how I always start games. Anyway, according to the game statistics, which are quite good, I’ve spent 16 hours on the game as of this morning. Sixteen hours! It’s a fun game, but it just feel wierd that Sunday was an entire day when I didn’t produce anything. Oh well, the only solution is to beat the game as soon as possible :).

Summer Cleaning

Who knew that cleaning could be so nostalgiac? Every thing I pick up seems to make me think, whether it be computer magazines from the height of the dot-com boom to the piece of paper with a number on it that facilitated a certain prank on the last day of school. I’m a terrible packrat, and for the past four years I’ve been saving tons of schoolwork, assignments, handouts, absent notes, everything because of some misconcieved notion that somehow I might need it at some point in the future. The downside to this was of course when I did need something I had so much other stuff I had the hardest time finding the thing that I was looking for. The other thing that strikes me is all the stuff that I saved that hasn’t been used since. It has put me into a strange mood, but the cleaning must go on. I just hope I don’t throw away anything important.

New design

Today is the first of what will be 12 designs over the next year, each themed for the month they’re released. Happy July! (a little early) Please leave any comments on this theme below.

Houston

Back in Houston, finally, and it’s nice adjusting back to old habits and comforts. Besides family and pets, I think the thing I missed most were my speakers, and it’s bliss to hear high fidelity sound again. Uploaded the last day from the trip, so enjoy! I’m also working on some layout/design changes for this site. The plan is to have a different theme for every month.

Updates

I can’t find time to write everyday, but there is almost always a new day in the photolog. Baltimore was a blast today, and the Orioles/Yankee game was one of the best I’ve ever seen, live or on TV. I hope that the teams in Houston can bring back the magic that they seem to have lost.