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Zune 3.0 Coming

Olaf — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:45:26 +0000

Mmmm…Zune 3.0. I’ve just read Jason Dunn’s (of ThoughtMedia.com) report on a recent Microsoft meeting discussing the Zune 3.0 release. I am completely sold on the Zune platform and am greatly encouraged by the up-and-coming release. Perhaps the greatest boon of them all is that the Zune team will be including us Zune 30 owners in their next, big update. That means we can use the new software and get updated firmware for new functionality. Dunn writes, “this 3.0 release is underwhelming compared to the 2.0 release. Sexy new hardware excites people more than software and services do,” but I must disagree. While the visual changes are not as drastic as those we saw moving from the original product to 2.0, Zune 3.0 breathes new life into the mobile media device market. On the hardware side, Zune 3.0 does not include any new hardware with the exception of the much-anticipated Zune 120. However, it does include a firmware update which includes wireless Marketplace access, channels (a la Pandora), and buy from FM (where supported, you’ll be able to buy a song off the radio – presumably through the Marketplace). The wireless Internet access is a big win in and of itself. People complained about the lack of this ability since the Zune’s inception and now it’s here. Quit your bitchin’ and start praising the Zune team for delivering! Do I need to remind you that Zune 30 owners get this functionality too?!? We’re also going to see specific audio book support – another hot topic from days past. That means Audible.com support is here (and Overdrive – who is that?). From the examples Dunn delivered, I saw a really cool feature here that allows enabled audio books to display pictures from the book as it is read. I can see a real use here for books I get for Balthazar on the Zune.

The software sees improvements as well. There are some updated looks, an updated social system, and an improved search system among others. Channels in the Zune (software and hardware) look really great. I am a big fan of the Pandora project, so a Zune-similar feature is eagerly sought. The channels are updated automatically and based upon your ratings of music. It’s based on genres, which if yours are anything like mine, will need some cleaning to get narrowed down to a meaningful set. A new social feature allows you to find people in the Marketplace that listen to music like you. As Dunn comments, you can do this yourself now, but it takes quite a bit of time and clicking.

The one point that Dunn brings up as a downer to this feature-rich upgrade is that most of these concepts are designed around the use of a Zune Pass. For $15 per month, the Zune Pass allows you to download all the music you want for up to three people. They still haven’t worked out the issue of assigning different user profiles to this pass. Our pass is in my wife’s name, so I logon with her account to get subscription music. This will effect the way channels work (that is, averaging the music preferences between all users of the Zune Pass instead of offering an individual’s experience), but I know they’ll work this out in time. For now, I’ve learned to deal with the way the pass works and I can accept it. I doubt very seriously the Zune Pass will extend to such services as Audible (it doesn’t currently extend to the MarketPlace video services), so I’d have to look at another subscription price there. I’ve used Audible’s services before, and I did enjoy them very much. I’m a big fan of audio books, so I will likely pony-up at least a basic subscription.

The one thing I don’t know yet is when I can expect this update. Despite Dunn’s lack-luster summary of the 3.0 update, I am very much looking forward to it!

Silver Stars: A Sensual Boutique

Olaf — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:49:04 +0000

It was about a year ago that I wrote about Gainesville’s decision to close its doors to the occult. If you’re on the business end of the occult, maybe now is a good opportunity to try out your entrepreneurial venture again! Gainesville is now the happy home of one Silver Stars: A Sensual Boutique. This year’s Chamber of Commerce approval board must be a younger, more accepting group, though I haven’t heard of any reversals yet on fortune tellers.

Silver Stars is described as a classier place, targeting primarily women and couples:

Forget venturing into the sleazy adult video store in the seedy part of town. We strive to provide women and couples with a safe, clean, upscale and positive environment that presents all of our products in a fun and intuitive way.

Not for nothing, the store is located just over the city line to avoid some harsher political scrutiny, as well as maintaining a minimum amount of pornographic material. I believe it’s the magazines that can get you shut down in Gainesville, but their videos are described as “educational” just in case. However, if I read quickly through the list of items bulleted on their site, I get the false impression that I might be able to do a lot of my Christmas shopping there too:

Bath Products
Handmade Soaps and Lotions
Educational Books & DVD’s
Party Supplies
T-Shirts
And Lots More…

*There’s a lot to be said for “and lots more…”

Blog Your Passion

Olaf — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 05:07:04 +0000

Lorelle on WordPress challenges the blogosphere weekly with new ways to keep us bloggers on task. While I’m running behind on the weekly challenges, I thought this one was something I could speak on. “Blog Your Passion” is the theme for the week of August 7th (I know it’s October, shut up).

I originally got into blogging because it was a spreading phenomenon that involved technologies I knew and loved. As secondary incentives; I have always enjoyed writing, it’s a great creative outlet for web development and design, and blogging may very well give my descendants a familial history that will not otherwise be recorded in any books. A personal Wikipedia, if you will.

So here I am, more than three years later, assessing my blogging passions.

Of particular importance is my interest in a legacy. I am passionate about telling my story. Above all else, I trust that my musings will pass along a message that I cannot reach into my own ancestry for. That message will be a referential perspective to those in need of familial comfort. If we are to know the answer to life, the universe, and everything, we are to know our history.

It won’t be elegant nor abundantly enlightening, but the importance of having these recorded scraps of memory will one day prove to be some of the most cherished objects of a future generation. My own son will grow up in a revolutionary time when his every move is captured in startling fidelity – he will undoubtedly take for granted the provisions I aim to establish. But in his times of personal discovery, he will be able to look back on his own thoughts in perfect clarity; as well as those of his father. Perhaps he will see it. Perhaps it will be his children, or his children’s children…the estate of the future is a collection of intellectual capital, and there can be no greater treasure than knowledge.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Olaf — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 04:26:57 +0000

We’re doing the Harry Potter book release event for book 7 at “Bound to Read” in East Atlanta Village. It’s an exciting venue – it’s the last one as far as we know. We should have hit this market sooner – it’s a blast! The first one for us was in Gainesville at Chapter 13 Books. I think they actually filed chapter 13. “Bound to Read” is a cool little place right on the main drag in EAV. We’re getting quite the crowd of locals here, mostly in costume. The wife has put together a nice display including such props as the Sorting Hat, arcane books, and a large cow’s skull. There’s an interesting story around that last item, but it’s for another time.

Of all the dorks we’ve been associated or formed numbers with, Wizard dorks are some of the more tame. They’re about having fun, dressing up in wizardry garb, and reading books. Nothing too serious. I think a lot of them aren’t even really Harry Potter fans, they’re just interested in going to book parties and having a good time.

The only real problem with the deal was that they sold out of books from pre-orders and we didn’t get a chance to get a copy. That, and it’s like a million miles from Gainesville to East Atlanta Village. But this is good business for Celestial Studios.

*UPDATE Whoa! Just as I wrote that last piece, they wound up with three copies to spare. Sweet!

Emily Yoffe Learns ‘The Secret’

Olaf — Sat, 12 May 2007 14:25:07 +0000

Emily Yoffe at Slate.com recently wrote a piece for the Human Guinea Pig column regarding The Secret. I haven’t read the book myself, but I did read The Power of Intention which I am to understand is a similar concept. Emily retells her two month account of following the book’s advice and finds inspiration for her comic genius.

As self-absorbed as I already am, I loved the permission the book gave to sink deeper into a Jacuzzi of megalomania. As The Secret points out: “You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life.” Just as I’d always suspected!

She exemplifies my biggest problems with the latest sweeping fad in intentional living. Materialism is one of the more obvious ones. I realize that these books include other ideas for using intention, but I suspect that the authors and marketers all know that pushing grandiose ideas of wealth attainment are sure-fire methods to lock-in people’s attention.

The appeal is obvious. Forget education, effort, performance. Everything you want—money, power, comfortable shoes—is yours simply by wanting it enough.

Amy and I talked about it at length. She’s a fervent supporter of the ideas of intention and recognizes this type of energy work, along with many others, as being ancient wisdom that the world has ‘forgotten.’ I agree with caveats. Which is another way of avoiding an actual argument over the details, when at the core we’re saying mostly the same thing. Essentially, we’re both on board with the idea of positive versus negative thinking and the direct effect on your perception and dealings with the world around you.

What I don’t like is the new bubble gum wrapper that’s been applied to the philosophy – I liken it to Yoffe’s discussion on watered-down Eastern philosophy. But it’s hard to make a best seller if you don’t present its teachings in a way that the mass public can understand. Despair.com reminds us that “none of us is as dumb as all of us.” So instead of writing a qualitative essay on setting goals and remaining optimistic – we could even push the energy aspect and explain the sociological effects of our attitude – the author of The Secret and other author’s modern adaptations of age-old concepts have chosen to ‘market’ these concepts to a mass, oft fickle, audience. I can easily see the argument against writing a technical essay on individual energy projection. If you don’t dumb it down some, you’re not getting your message out to people that wouldn’t have otherwise come to these ideas themselves. Unfortunately, I think the only way to teach complex philosophy is to live it. It requires success, failure, and time.

Byrne writes: “A shortcut to manifesting your desires is to see what you want as absolute fact.” … Secret-speak requires this odd future-present construction, which my husband came to call, “sounding like a moron.”

Yoffe captures my concerns about the modern inception of philosophical teachings. Not by coming out and saying it, but by a simple inference from her experiences. I’ll remind my readers that I’m not bashing these teachings, only the glossy cover and Cliff’s Notes by which so many establish their adoption.

I’ve Got The Secret: What happened when I followed the best-selling book’s advice for two months. — Emily Yoffe

Raquy Danziger Workshop

Olaf — Mon, 07 May 2007 03:00:16 +0000

Saturday I took a workshop with Raquy Danziger of Raquy and the Cavemen. She’s touring for her latest album release, “Naked.”

I’ve been looking forward to this workshop since before it was actually being offered with her busy touring schedule. Perseverance paid off and the schedule was finally updated to include Atlanta as a stop for not only a show, but also a workshop. Raquy is possibly one of the most accessible professional dumbek teachers in America, but she doesn’t stop there. She also teaches at the American University in Cairo, Egypt during the winter. I say she’s so accessible because it seems that her passion for drumming and Middle Eastern music in general is completely selfless. Her interests are in others’ exploration. She’s written two dumbek training books which include a wealth of information, rhythms, video, and musical compositions. I picked up her second book, Dumbek Fever II, an advanced edition at the workshop. She teaches workshops all over this country and others (including her Catskills retreat offered during the summers), and she teaches the university coarse on dumbek in Egypt. How much more dedicated to teaching your skill can you get? Oh! She also leaves juicy tidbits on her website giving hints and tips for various techniques via video. All of this, and her pricing for the education is always very reasonable. You might call Raquy the philanthropic percussionist.

The workshop itself was very enjoyable, though short for my needs and wants. It always takes me a little time to warm up the hands in the first place – the dumbek especially requires particular dexterity in the joints. I also need time to warm up to the circumstances; fellow attendees, the instructor, and getting acclimated properly to listen and pay attention. I had some concerns because I was told originally that the workshop covered skill levels from beginning to advanced. I couldn’t imagine how she was going to be able to pull off that gamut. Nobody in the class was particularly advanced, and I’m guessing that’s typically the scenario. Still, she was quick to move from introductory drills into more complicated rhythms and technique. When she reached a level at which some students were unable to keep up, they would just stop and listen. I think it worked well for everyone to get what they needed from the class. Personally, I was interested in picking up on some of Raquy’s subtler movements and musculature to produce her myriad of different sounds and melodies. Some I could see without aid, and some she simply announced to the class for everyone’s benefit. What’s funny about these classes is that you go in with some experience on your belt. You feel like you play moderately and that you have a good foundation in the basic rhythms (Maqsum, Masmoudi, Ciftitelli, Ayoob, etc.). However, someone needs only teach you a new way of hitting your drum or simply some new ways to fill the rhythm and you’re suddenly sent back to kindergarten. I felt like a noob sometimes plunking around on a plastic bucket. It would be cool to have these workshops for around 3 hours with a 1-hour “intermission” in which the attendees can play out something they feel confident about and do some networking. That would be a good way for those who wish to pull their confidence back up and energize themselves for the second hour. In retrospect, I should have simply just started a circle up outside immediately following the class. Bah! Lessons learned for next time.

If any other Raquy students (or students of the dumbek in general) find there way here, give me a shout. I’d love to meet with some people in and around the area. And selfishly speaking, I need some more drummers for my drum circles and the performance group, Alchemy Drumming & Dance.

Too Zune to Tell

Olaf — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 03:55:29 +0000

I got a Zune for Christmas – a wonderful gift, really. I really wanted to get into the iPod/Zen/etc. scene, but I wasn’t that interested in the whole iTunes thing. I also want video to be a comfortable size and 4:3 aspect ratio. The Zune has that, and is still pocket size and relatively inexpensive. The device does exactly what it’s supposed to do, so no one can really complain about features and capabilities. They all play MP3′s, many play AAC’s, many play WMA’s…whatever. I chose a Microsoft product because I know they have to put a lot on this to compete in the iPod space. The Zune Marketplace is also pretty hip for local/unknown bands. They seem to have put a lot into the Marketplace right up front, which is a good deliverable. I’m anxious to see how it grows before investing in the subscription just yet. If they can help me justify the price by providing things like audio books, movies, TV shows, and other little tidbits beyond just DRM’d audio, I will probably bite. The only real want I have for the Zune is software type of stuff. It would be nice to have usable wireless for synchronization and/or Marketplace downloading, but it’s not a requirement at this point. The software could be a little more robust. I’m used to MediaMonkey, so I have the desire for more ID3 tagging glory and I like MediaMonkey’s Amazon.com tagging. Zune does a good job of this through the MediaPlayer API’s, but it lacks in real innovation. The whole Zune hardware and software modus operandi seems to be around intuitive interaction and simplicity. That’s a good thing, I just wish there was an advanced button hidden somewhere to give me the technical stuff I like for certain functions. Another software nicety would be to link EQ settings to wherever you set them. That is, add the ability to EQ a song specifically and memorize that setting. Regardless of the wish or want, the Zune is said to be very software upgradeable. I’m holding out final judgment to see how some of the first “service packs” go for the device. I expect to see some new functionality coming out for the device within the first quarter or so – whether by Microsoft or others. I won’t be putting Linux on the device just yet, but seeing what people can do leaves me hope. Oh – and there is no built-in FM transmitter in case there’s still some confusion around that. There’s an FM tuner, but the transmitter is supplied by a third-party and probably sucks unless you get it hard-wired into your car. I bought a cheap one ($50!), though I didn’t realize I was going to have to spend in excess of this to get the functionality I desire. Where I live, the stations seem to come and go throughout town and I can’t lock onto a single station and expect it work for more than a couple of minutes while driving. It takes on too much interference too, and I hate that. I realize I could probably make it work most of the time, but the random interruption of static or another radio station will drive me insane. I’m resorting to a hard-wired FM transmitter for the car, which I already own but don’t have installed in the Mazda3.

When I’ve gotten more use out of this device, complete with car integration, I will write again on my more broken-in device and its associated software.

Ed Gein

Olaf — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:39:00 +0000

I took a morning stroll through man’s disturbing past and read some articles about Ed Gein recently. If you’re planning on reading through this man’s history, you should probably do so a little later in the day. Gein is the man who inspired such characters as Buffalo Bill (Silence of the Lambs), Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and (purportedly) Norman Bates from Psycho. I knew both the Chainsaw Massacre and Silence of the Lambs were based upon true stories, but I didn’t realize they came from the same person. History remembers Gein as a notorious serial killer. Gein wasn’t actually very notorious at all. The nature of his crimes were such that the news took a liking to the morbidity and peoples’ fascination with it. The entertainment business picked it up from there with books and movies. I always pictured a “notorious” criminal as being someone who had notoriety during the act of their crimes. Gein wasn’t really known at all outside of his local area of Wisconsin. His notoriety was actually America’s obsession with the grotesque ability of one man. I also had to check on the legal use of the term “serial killer” to understand what that entailed. I knew that police used terms like serial, mass, and spree for specific types of crimes. While Gein was certainly an insane individual and, in my mind, one who would undoubtedly be a serial killer – it doesn’t sound as though his crimes were quite to that level. No doubt he was developing the patterns that would inevitably lead him to serial killings. The investigations at the time were not to the level of forensic science we have today, and it sounds a little like there was pressure to wrap up some un-solved cases. My point is not that we mis-marked Gein, but rather that Gein’s crimes represented a sort of celebrity status in criminal cases; as such there was a certain sense of expansion to the situation. The horror movies we all know so well today certainly exemplify the weight of his crimes, but they overplay the malicious attitude of the real character. If they had made a movie about the Gein family from the beginning up to the point of Ed Gein’s first victim, it would have been more frightening. And Ed Gein’s heinus crimes might have been overshadowed by the seemingly more wicked upbringing he was subjected to. I know of only one writer that could write the story in a far too realistic manner of disturbing mental images…Chuck Palahniuk.

A Good Write-Up on Gein

Cecil Gives us the ‘Straight Dope’

Olaf — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 13:48:35 +0000

Always hilarious and oft insightful, Cecil Adams writes information tidbits in newspaper columns around the nation as well as his own books. One is given the sense that Cecil is all-knowing, though the occaisional smart-ass will prove this technicall incorrect. I own one of his books and enjoyed very much. I now read the website when time permits and I’m always delighted by the mental parade. Go get some knowledge…

http://www.straightdope.com/

The Red Tent

Olaf — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 14:48:33 +0000

I’ve just recently finished “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant. The book was very enjoyable, though tedious for me at first. It was actually when I could compare the story of Jacob and his family from the Bible that the story became most interesting. I enjoyed hearing the comparisons and contrasts between the two books in their retelling of this ancient tale. One of the more notable differences between the stories was that of the religious context. The Bible presents (or so my Bible-knowing friend, Marc conveys to me) that the family of Joseph (from Isaac and Abraham, I presume) were all celebrants of God. It’s Old Testament stuff, so Judaism is appropriate here. In “The Red Tent,” the mood is decidedly pagan in nature. I believe that things would have been more pagan as Diamant has presented them. I don’t know the specific timeframe that this story is said to have occured, but God could not have been well-known throughout the regions yet. The story also speaks greatly of the near-magical powers of midwives – especially in those medically inept times. My mom is a midwife, so I can respect any empowerment her kind receive.

This isn’t the kind of book I’d typically read, but having read it I might seek out other titles by Anita Diamant. I picked it out in a hurry to pacify Balthazar at the library. As such, the hurried selection did me some good. I would definitely recommend the book to enlightened souls out there. Men and women alike, though many men may find it uncomfortable at times.