New little series I think I'll post from time to time. I absolutely loves me some punk rock music. Not so much the stuff people call punk today, but the real, honest to goodness stuff. Mainly, I love punk 77 the best, but most anything from before about 1984 will do nicely, thank you. In honor of the fact that I'm out in LA right now, I figure it was only appropriate to feature some good old fashioned California punk from back in the day. I started to listen to California punk right about the time the movie Repo Man came out. I love that flick to this day, and carry it around on my iPod. TV Party is my fav on today's list. So if you dig some good old school punk, I'll think you like these little tunes.
I'm still brain dead, and pretty wiped, so I'm outta here. Enjoy!
Big long day of travel yesterday. Up early (why is it that my insomnia goes only when I set the alarm clock? As soon as I set it, I sleep like a baby.), and out into the cold (8 degrees!), and a swift 100 mile drive to the airport. Wait around a couple hours, and then up in the air. The straight through to LAX was pretty expensive, so I figured I would save my company some cash (like $400!) and take the one stop through Memphis. Plus, I get some extra miles for the old Elite status! Anyway, buy the time I landed in LAX, I had driven 100 miles, and then flown a total of 6 hours. Then I drove through LA traffic at rush hours. Yep, that's what my day looked like.
So, one last comment on the Grammy's last night. Looks like Kings of Lean won album of the year or something like that. My wife is a huge fan of theirs, and played that album non-stop. It actually grew on my, and I'm pretty happy to see it win. Maybe I'll post something from it in te next few days.
Well, it's late, and I'm beat. I am heading to bed. Enjoy the tunes. Oh, the title of this post, and the songs, come from Jack FM, a station I pretty much seem to get in every city I visit. Have a good Tuesday! Donnie Iris - Ah! Leah!
As I'm writing this (Sunday night), I'm watching the Grammy awards. The wife loves watching this stuff, and since I gotta travel tomorrow morning, I figure I'll choke it down with her. And I gotta tell you, pretty much this one show sums up for me everything that is wrong with the music industry. The opening act was Beyonce...I know someone out there must think she is great, because she sells a lot of music. But there is just nothing about her music I find even remotely entertaining. And when she starts that zombie dancing crap she does, with that vapid, stupid look on her face, I just want to smash the TV. If these people put half the effort into the music as they do the stage "show", and I call it a show because none of them sing live, they might have someting.
And speaking of something, I've been hearing some buzz about the new movie The Runaways. Kristin Stewart looks pretty good as a young Joan Jett, and in the shocker of the century, Dakota Fanning playing Cherie Currie. As much of a shocker it is to see her playing a frown up part, is the fact that it looks from the clips like she pulls it off. What I can't see is Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita Ford. She just doesn't have that bad as hell, biker chic from hell look that Lita had in the 70's and 80's. But who knows. She just may pull it off. I know I'll be checking it out when it's released.
Just two weeks to go until the Winter Olympics, and I'm pretty jazzed. Overall, I like the winter games better than the summer games. I love track and field, and tolerate swimming, but other than that, the summer games just don't thrill me that much. But the winter games...that's another story. I love hockey...at least I did before the NHL players started playing in it. But I still enjoy it. I love speed skating. I've been a huge fan since Eric Heiden in 1980. Those Lake Placid games was were I became hooked.
I tend to remember those games the most because I was home from school almost the entire time, hobbled up with a broken ankle. I had been playing basketball, went for a rebound, and came down on the side of another guys foot. Just the thought if it, 30 years later, makes me cringe. The ankle was so screwed, and was so sprained along with broken, I had to wait a couple days to get it x-rayed. Looking back, I'm surprised I didn't need to get pins in it. But anyway, it was a horrific sprain, and to this day, that ankle always gives me problems. But I digress. The doctor ordered me off my foot for a couple weeks, and those weeks just happened to be when the Olympics occurred, so I got to sit and watch it all day and night.
Other than hockey, I really love watching bob-sledding and luge, and those crazy bastards on the ski-jump. If there was ever a more gonzo sport that ski-jumping, I have no clue what it is. I also like the cross country skiing. Downhill, I can take it of leave it, but I have to admit, it's freaking insane hos fast them guys go.
There is just so much to look forward to, I can't wait. Oh, and I finally got my date to start my new job. 3/1/2010...just another month of chaos, and I'm free!
I'm home, after a week of never ending, grinding work, most of it on the raised floor, most of it clearing issues with servers, and connectivity, and all manner of things. I even discovered a leak in the data center, and helped get that fixed. Plus, after almost two weeks, I think we finally have both our Indian and South African problems solved. That bad news is that I only got an average of like 5 hours of sleep a night since last Sunday. I flew home yesterday, after one last long night.
Now, the kicker...I do it all again on Monday. I head out to California, for meetings with the customer, performing an architectural review meeting. So, I get just enough rest,and then 7 more hours of flying. Four of the first five weeks on the road. Very busy, very bad. I'm enhausted. IfI can make it through February, I start my new job. I literally can't wait!
Today was about as long a day as I can remember in a very long time. The payoff? I was offered the new job, and excepted it. Then I even went out and found the replacement for my current account. All before noon, by the way. The current account team is a little stunned...even though I told them that I was probably going to do this, I don't think they actually thought I would. But I'm going to make sure they are left in great hands, with a great turnover.
Right now, I'm just kind of chilling out, watching the Watchmen. I know the movie was kind of a dud at th box office, but I kind of like it. Hey, what else is there to do, right?
Oh, and somehow, I think we may have fixed our issues. I have no clue exactly what one thing we did, but the testing came out positive, so I'm doubly happy today.
I arrived after a relatively event-less day, stopped into the office for a couple hours, basically to shoot the shit with some co-workers. Now, here is the interesting part. I normally would have started right in doing work and probably would have worked until late, grabbed something fast on the way to the hotel, and then worked some more until I went to sleep. But not since I applied for that job on Friday. I actually feel freer that I have in a long time, and instead, stayed at work for a little bit, didn't really do much, and then left.
Instead of grabbing something fast, I decided to grab a bite at Old Chicago, a place I really love to eat at, but usually am to busy to stop. So I drop in, and order up my usual local favorite, Sawtooth Ale. Here's where it gets even weirder. Instead of CO2, they are using nitrogen on tab. Now, outside of Guinness, which I don't really like, and hardly ever drink, I've never had a regular beer using a nitrogen tap. I'm not sure if I like it better or not. It was just an odd way to drink a beer. It had no bubble (actually it did, just very tiny ones) and the head was different (that's what she said!), and it seemed creamier and lighter. Anyway, I thought it was an odd experience. I may have to go back tomorrow night, and try it again, just to make up my mind once and for all. And if that doesn't work, I guess I'll go back Wednesday night as well!
Last Tuesday, I gave a little review of the football games this weekend, and threw out who I thought would win. As I am writing this on Sunday evening, it looks like I called at least the first game correctly. Good old Peyton Manning, nothing but ice water in them veins. Like I said then, he's one of those guys who, even if you're up by 10 with 3 minutes left, you still get a little freaked, because that dude is just that good.
I'm watching the second game right now, and the old guy Favre is looking good, even if he is looking beat. It's 14-7 Minnesota, but that don't mean squat. New Orleans is making a little play right now and I'm pretty sure there's going to be a lot more scoring before this one is done. UPDATE: And just like that, as I'm typing this, the Saints scored and it's now a tie game, 14 -14. So I said that I thought that New Orleans would win in a game with lots of scoring, eking it out in the end. I suppose it's going to be a few hours before I know if I'm write or not.
And speaking of football, the all star game BEFORE the Superbowl? Who thought of that one? If I was a player, first, I would be a little pissed that the game was in Miami, and not in Hawaii...no offense to Miami, but it ain't Hawaii, right? Of course, it's all marketing...of all the all star games, the NFL's is probably the least watched, least interesting game. I honestly don't remember ever watching one, and I don't know anyone else who has say and watched on end to end either. Maybe this will change things, but I doubt it. We all want the Superbowl, and now we're back to waiting two weeks for it, so the fix will help the wait. I know I won't be watching it.
As you all are reading this, I am back on the road traveling again, another week of bad meals, long days, and uncomfortable hotel rooms. It's kind of ironic...by traveling so much, I get rewards miles for the airline and rewards points for the hotels, but the last thing I want to do is use them to travel! My wife, though, at least gets to benifit from all the points and miles...she pretty much travels for free to California to visit her grand daughter! That makes it all worth it.
Apologies for missing Saturday's post. This past week was a complete blur, and I got home really late Friday night. By the time I got home, I was pretty beat, and no offense, but the last thing I wanted to do that late at night was write a post out. So no post.
You'll notice that I've done away with the iPod thingy. I've always liked the slide player for a couple reasons. First, I like the fact that you can listen to only the songs you want, without having to scroll though. Second, I actually like the way it looks more. That's the first part of the make over. I'm still on the look out for a new theme. I've found a few that were close, and I have a test blog I'm testing with, but none of them look right, so the search goes on.
So, I am heading out on the road again tomorrow, but the great news is that I actually applied for another job at work. I'm pretty excited for the opportunity, and honestly, I need a change. I've already interviewed with the hiring manager, as well as the VP, so it's pretty much a done deal. The app is really a formality, something my company makes you do. So, within a few weeks, hopefully, these brutal hours come to an end, and I get my life back!
Today is a great, beautiful type of day, a day that no matter what, ends up great. Why, you ask? Because it's FLYDAY! And Flyday is goin' home day. It means that even though my issues with India are not fixed (and in fact, not even my issues with South Africa turns out to have been fixed!), today is the day I am heading home to my family. And ever though I have to be back on the road for the next few weeks, for a couple days, I can sleep in my own bed, relax in my own house, and feel normal.
On the upside, I had my second interview with a VP today, and it looks like the job is mine if I want it. Oh...wait, I may not have mentioned that part! There is a job opening here, and it's a lot better than the tedious crap I have to deal with on a day to day basis. It's a job on the engagement side of the house, so I would be dealing more with customers during the sales cycle. Making sure that the solutions we sell then actually meet their requirements, and will actually work and can be deployed.
Last but not least, notice the little image up there. I think Conan got screwed, and I honestly hope that NBC goes down in flame for it. I think it's not only fair to Conan, but to all the people who work from him. At the end of the day, Conan is going to be ok...he richer than any of us will ever be. But it is about corporate ethics, which now days is a contradiction in terms. Or, as Conan said last week, in America, you can do anything you want...as long as Jay Leno doesn't want to do it as well.
Folks, this is a very brief update today. I've been fighting technical issues at work, trying to troubleshoot global network issues, and it's a pretty tough nut to crack. I had issues getting South Africa to talk efficiently with the US, and I finally got that issue fixed today. Now, the second half is getting India to talk efficiently with the United States, and that's the tough nut. I've tried everything I know, and got no where, except to eliminate potential issues. So the next step is to call in the network people and let them figure this out.
All this has left my brain numb, and my body pretty damned tired. I am going to try to catch a few winks, and be back at it. Enjoy the tunes!
So, last of my Left of The Dial Posts. I really only scratched the surface of this great collection of tunes from the 80's underground. If you really want a treat, find a copy of it. Who ever put this collection did a nice job with a few exceptions. Some of the songs they picked by the California punk bands were not the ones I would have picked, but that cool. And the one stinker on the whole thing is definitely the Throbbing Gristle song. But over all, this one collection I do not regret having spent my money on.
So, this is a pretty short post...I'm going to leave to you the music. Life here is just 16 hour work days, waiting for Friday, when I get back on that plane that carries me home to my baby.
I'm seriously thinking of changing up the look of this blog. It's not that I don't like it, I just don't love it, ya know? As someone who has done a theme change on a few blogs, I'm pretty sure it's not going to be smooth as silk. But I'm looking to change up some things in the next few weeks, to make things more accessible, and to make things look better. I'll give everyone a heads up.
Unfortunately, I missed the football games yesterday, though I did catch some of the Indy game in Saturday. I guess I still don't have a team I'm pulling for yet. I guess to me, it doesn't make a huge difference. I like Indy, because I like Payton Manning. You can tell he takes the game seriously, and I respect people that have the ability to take a game onto their shoulders and come though. You just know that is Indy is down by less than a touchdown, with a few minutes left, that Manning is gonna make something happen. I like that cold blooded, put the dagger in the heart player who smiles at you, tells you what he's about to do, and then goes out and executes.
On the other hand, Minnesota has an old guy, and it's hard not to root for the old guys. Favre is 40 years old, a few years younger than me. And he's at the top of his game. I like that too. An old guy who shows the young punks how it's done. I like old guys who spit in the eyes of the cocky young punks..."You don't want to mess with me punk, trust me. I've forgotten more crap than you ever learned!" kind of guy.
But then again, I like the Jet's, and the history there...the old Namath Jet's were a little before my time, but I love the fact that they went back to the old logo and the old uniforms. But overall, I can't say I'm rooting for them.
And New Orleans, as much as I think this would be great for the city, I just can't get real excited about them. I haven't seem them play too much, but I like Drew Brees...he makes things look easy, kind of like Peyton Manning. I can tell you one thing...the game next week between New Orleans and Minnesota is going to be a barn burner. Last man standing kind of thing.
I'm going out on a limb here, but here is how I think things will play out. First, I think that New Orleans is going to beat the old guy in a game for the ages. Some obscene score like 42-35. Lots of points, and I think the old guy throws one too many interceptions at the wrong time, trying to make things happen. You can't do that against New Orleans and expect to win. While I would like to see the Jets win, I think they are a year away, and I think Peyton Manning tears em apart.
That would leave an Indy-New Orleans Superbowl. I just can't see anyone beating Indy. Now, let me hedge my bet here a second...while I don't think Indy will loose to the Jets, I do think if they do, the Jets will win the Superbowl. Just my two cents, and next Monday, we'll see how I did.
Happy Monday (if there is such a thing!) to you all. After a quick flight, I got all checked in last night. Of course, not before I made a slight detour to hit the raised floor to work on some equipment. I made pretty quick work of it all, and then headed to my hotel. Usually, I would be watching something like Cartoon Network, but instead, I did something I haven't done in years. I watched the Australian Open.
Growing up, I used to watch tennis all the time. It seems like yesterday watching all those great matches between McEnroe and Borg. That was some of the best tennis ever. I remember I was a HUGE McEnroe fan...the rebel in me like that fact he did what he wanted, damn the consequences. My sisters, of course, were Bjorn Borg fans. We would sit around and argue who was the better player, screaming at the little TV set we had. It was good times.
But tonight I watched a match between a couple Russian women, Maria Sharapove and Maria Kirilenko. What a fantastic match. But here's the thing...women tennis players are SO much better looking than they were in the 80's. I mean, Chris Everett was considered cute, but I never thought so. Tracey Austin? Face for radio. Martina Navrilatova? Seriously, great player, but no beauty queen. So today's women's game is great fun to watch, and great fun to look at. Don't take that the wrong way...I respect the daylights out of these athletes. Tennis players are some serious athletes. I know I've pretty much been able to excel at any sport I've ever tried...pool, table tennis, glof, bowling, football, basketball...hell, I was even a pretty decent team handball player in high school (we only played in gym class...but man, I seriously love that game!), but tennis is a sport no matter how hard I try, I just could never make it work. Ever. So hats off to these women...the are not just beauties, they are some world class athletes!
Last night I was sitting talking with my lovely wife about various things, when the conversation somehow turned to what I used to watch on television growing up in Northeast Ohio. I can still remember some of my favorites. Every morning as a kid, before we headed off to school, we would sit and watch Captain Kangaroo. Then it would be off to school. Once I got home, there were three shows on that I never missed. The first was Ultraman, I think, which was followed b Johnnie Sako and his Flying Robot. Then of course came Speed Racer. It was a great lineup of after school television for an 8 year old boy in the 1970/71.
We lived with my grandparents in Akron, in a decidedly ethnic, eastern European neighborhood. Every Sunday, after church, I remember my grandfather would watch the Gene Carroll show, and the Polka Varieties. I faintly remember details of the shows, so I looked them up on YouTube, and sure enough, there there were. It was very nostalgic for me, and I watched and watched. It was kind of cools to see it all alive on the sceen, as if the past 38 years barely happened. Funny how that happens.
But by far, the best memories I have from when I was a kid was watching the Hoolihan and Big Chuck show. It was the best way to spend a late Friday night possible, and it was really the only time I was allowed to stay up late as a kid. the show was a local legend...anyone who grew up the Cleveland area knows all about the show. The sketches were corny and weird...the Kilbasa Kid, the Six Dollar Ethnic Man, Ben Crazy...I could go on and on. And the movies they played were equally corny...old B horror movies from the 50's and 60's. Of all my child hood memories, these are probably the best, and most cherished.
Yeah baby, it's finally here, and not a moment too soon. Freaky Friday! This has been a couple of long weeks...it doesn't seem possible that I have only been back from vacation since last Friday. I could go into all the stuff I've done in the past two weeks, but honestly, it would bore you, and depress me. And seriously, I just need to be depressed.
So, my wife is really freaked out by this whole Haiti thing. She's from California, so she knows a thing or two about earthquakes. Her kids both still live out there, and she is obsessed about what would happen is that level of quake hit out there. I keep telling her that part of the problem is that they never had building codes down there, but she is just horrified at the scenes coming out of there. I keep telling her that it couldn't happen like that here (especially in mid-Michigan), by that hardly satisfies her. I routinely hear her yelling at the TV during the day, in a fit of frustration. It's a bad situation. I definitely am learning a thing or two about survival.
OK, on to the music. This is the last, for now, of my 60's and 70's Songs I Dig Alot series. I've got a couple days of really tasty music treats lined up for the next few days. Meanwhile, I'll be heading out to Boulder, CO, again on Sunday. This time, I am going to get me some beers! Left Hand, here I come!
With all the news coming out of Haiti, it got me thinking about a show that was on the History Channel last week. The name of the show was called After Armageddon, and it was a pretty sobering look at just how quickly civilization can fall apart. In the show, an extremly deadly pandemic hits the United States, and within weeks, 100 million are dead. The show follows a family as they first try to stay in their home and ride out the pandemic, and then as they try to escape LA. Eventually they make it to Idaho, where they settle into a small town. But the real story is how fast society breaks down.
The one phrase that really struck me, and seems to be playing out now, is that society is 9 means away from chaos. It seems the average person has 3 days worth of food stored up, so three days after a disaster hits, everyone will be out looking desperately looking for limited resources of food, water and fuel. Using past disasters as a case study, they show that in 3 days, the armed gangs are the ones in charge, and a city is not a place you want to be. It really gets bad when people stop showing up for work...at that point, there is no one to keep the electricity going, no one to run the refineries. And according to the experts, once the refineries and electrical generators go off in a pandemic situation, there is a real chance they never come back on. And with out those two things, life goes back to what it was like 100 years ago.
I'm no survivalist, but it really makes me glad I live in a small, rural farming town. According to the show, one of the first things that would happen is that the small towns would shut down entry in, to protect the citizens, and what few resources were left. I could absolutely see that happening around here. And to be honest, I would be one of the ones recommending it. I believe a small town like mine could be relatively self sufficient. It would be a tough life, but we could make it.
I have a friend of mine who is a big believer of peak oil, and went so far as to buy a farm, and set it up to go completely off the grid. He swears that he could survive no matter what. I kind of believe him. My family owns a farm in Tennessee, somewhere around 1500 acres. We own the whole holler, and if something like that ever happened, I would find my way down there and live. My father was a farmer, so was my grandfather and my great-grandfather. If I had to be, so would I.
This whole Haiti thing really makes you pause and think a bit. Like I said, I'm not a survivalist, but I may just have to do a little reading on survival. I mean, what can it hurt?
Sooo...I was watching the opening night of that annual train-wreck known as American Idol. Disclaimor: I am NOT a fan of the show. I think it's inane at best, and honestly, I really can't stand the neutered, falsetto singing wussies they pick. And if I hear one more vocal "run", I'm gonna scream. But my wife loves the damn show, so guess what I get to watch? Yep, American Idol.
You know the world is seriously upside down when everyone kisses the ass of the guest judge...non other than that talented ass clown Victoria Beckham. Seriously? This chick was in a niche girl what, 12 years ago, and suddenly, not only is she a judge, everyone kisses her ass like she KNOWS what talent is all about. Just brutal. Then to top it off, she spent the whole evening trying her best to imitate Paula Abdul. Without the drugs, of course, so not as much slurring. Gimme a freaking break. This dried up, anorexic butt assed ugly chic did nothing but irritate the hell out of me.
But you know what really pisses me off? This whole business of letting people who don't stand a chance through, simply so those jackasses can laugh at them,give them some verbal abuse, and then throw them out. To me, that's fucking cruel. Sure, some of those people know what's going on. But some of them don't. Some of them honestly think they have what it takes, no doubt pumped up by some jag off producer who pumps them up. And then they get the hammed slammed down on them, everyone thinks it's funny. Me? I think it my kid was treated like that, it would take a hell of a lot of security to keep me from ripping someones throat out. Maybe I'm looking too much into it, but I just don't like making fun of people. It's not funny, and it really doesn't do anything but make the show look pretty douche-bag'ish.
Not only that, but even the people who do get through aren't exactly the kind of people whose music I would buy. Do you think D. Boon from the Minutemen would have made it? Or would they have laughed at him? How about David Thomas from Pere Ubu? Or Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo? See what I'm getting at here? The only people who get through are generic, dime a dozen, R&B inspired, falsetto hitting wannabe's. And that's exactly who wins. Other than one or two winners, can anyone really say that the show has discovered any great talent?
Jeez, the world seems a little upside down right now. When you hear of a 7.0 earthquake, you expect that it happened somewhere in Asia, or California. But on an island near Cuba? And a 7.0 at that, with a couple after shocks of 5.5 and 5.0. That's pretty powerful stuff. Here's hoping that the damage is minimal, and the lost of life lower that they are reporting on the tube.
Then I read where Google is shocked...shocked I say...to find out that the Chinese government breached the accounts of political dissidents. Wow...the Chinese not holding to their word. Imagine that. And Google's answer is to stop censoring search results. I'm sorry, but it's pretty reprehensible that they would have practiced censorship at the request of a repressive government. I guess money is money. Still, I'm of the believe that information, like thought and speech, should be free. Nothing irritates me more than a government that censors it's people, press and dictating that those that want to business with them censor themselves as well. OK, enough politics. But on the brightside, I guess my blog is now unavailable to 1/4 of the worlds population. And yes, I have had visitors from China.
So, last day this week for the Left of The Dial posts for this week. I'll be back with a few more next week, but in the meantime, I have some stuff set up that I think you'll all love, so come on back tomorrow!
How can it be Monday, and I'm already tired, exhausted, and ready for a couple drinks? I think it's something to do with winter...I'm looking out my office window, and it's been snowing pretty steady the whole day. Which means I need to do some shoveling some snow, which means I need to get my snow blower up and running. On top of that, I just hate the fact that it's dark until 8 in the morning, and then it's dark again by 5:30. Compare that to the summer, when it's light by 6 am, and then stays light enough to golf until almost 10!
On another note, I guess Mark McGuire finally admitted he did steroids when he played baseball. First of all, I hate to tell the cheating scumbag this, but no one believed him when he said he didn't. I've been around enough juiceheads enough to know when someone's juicing. Him, Sammy Sosa, Bonds...the list goes on and on. All scum bags, all cheaters, and all of them deserve to have their stats ripped from the record books, and none of them should be allowed anywhere near the hall of fame, nor should they be allowed anywhere near the game of baseball...a lifetime ban, on the order of what they did to Pete Rose. Just saying.
So today, I continue on my series of Left of The Dial posts. I've also got some other goodies lined up for the rest of the month. No idea how many people book mark this page, but take my word for it, your going to stay around and see what's coming!
Ever have the prospect of something happening, something really really good, and you just hold your breath in anticipation? Almost scared to think about it, because it's so good, you don't want to jinx things? Well, my friends, that's exactly what's happening to me. And if it driving me nuts, it absolutely killing my wife!
It's no secret that I'm not exactly happy with my current position. I mean, it's a job, and I am very very good at it, but I would love to move on. Well, last week, not one, but two, and possibly a third, opportunity presented itself to me, and all three is a step up. One is actually more of a huge leap than a step. The job I really am waiting for would move me out to San Francisco, and give me a monthly living allowance, and a car allowance. And since my wife is from California, and she has a new grand daughter out there, she is very anxious at the prospect of this deal happening. I've had one interview already, and as basically told I was a perfect fit. The second position is one with an old peer of mine and that's really a formality, just the details need to be worked out. One of those details...going out to San Fran with a monthly living allowance.
Then on Friday, out of the blue, I received another honor. My company has several business units, seven to be exact. I was told that I'm now one of seven IT Architect profession leads. So, lots of things in the works!
For the next three days, I'll be doing more Left of the Dial posts...lots of great stuff coming up, so be sure to come back!
So, in case you haven't noticed, I don't really use this blog to talk about music, per se. Instead, I generally just talk about what ever comes to my mind. It might be what ever is happening at work, or what's going on in my life. Or something interesting I read. Mostly, this is really like a diary, and the music I post here is kind of the soundtrack of my life. I'm pretty sure most people who visit the site never really even read it. No matter. Whether you enjoy the music, peeping into my life, or both, as long as your happy, I'm happy.
Having said that, I read an article yesterday on some upcoming technology that promises to be amazing. Before I get into it, I have to tell you all I am a geek. I have a degree in electrical engineering, I work for probably the largest technology companies in the world. I routinely over see projects that are in the hundreds of millions to multi-billion dollars. In my personal life, I try to leverage the power of technology to make my life more convenient. One of the things I use a log is voice over IP, or VOIP. I have a nifty little Plantronics Bluetooth headsets that I can multihome (or connect) to both my laptop and my cell phone at the same time. My work provides VOIP for free through our instant messenger suite. When I'm on the road, I use it all the time for conference calls and such. It saver my cell phone bill and works like a champ. In fact, between my laptop and my cell phone, I rarely use a good old fashioned telephone anymore.
When I was heading over seas to work in Europe, I was tempted to buy one of those MagicJacks you seem on TV. It's a nifty product that I've been tempted to buy for my home. I have a couple co-workers who have one, and who love it. But the need to plug in an old fashioned telephone to it just kind of bugs me. A lot. So I've thus far resisted the temptation. That was, however, until I read this article yesterday.
Seems they now have a little product that will allow your cell phone to make VOIP phone calls, by intercepting the outgoing call, and placing it over the internet. Very cool! Now, my first thought was that this is illegal, and the cell companies will sue them into the ground. However, the MagicJack folks make a very good point. The cell companies bought the cellular bandwidth out in public, but they did NOT but the airwaves inside your home. So, for now, this seems on the up and up, and they are planning to release it in the next few months. I want to go to there!
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