After much downtime I have been working on a new album in my head and listening to some really good new music that has inspired me at a whole new level. I hear music in my head that I cannot wait to get out and on to tape…ok the computer but still… I have decided that the vocoder is not going to cut it for what I am hearing. I need a talk box. For those of you who don’t know what a talk box is I will explain. A talk box, in it’s simplist form, is a speaker that outputs sound through a tube. You then put the tube in your mouth and use your mouth to shape the sound. Most people feed the talk box with a guitar (like the Bon Jovi song) or a synthesizer (like California Love). How does someone build one you ask? Check out this site: http://www.mocheez.fr/I%20Play%20The%20Talkbox/Custom.html
I will post my pictures, videos, expierences, etc as I get around to doing the project. As of right now, I need to finish unpacking all my stuff; household as well as recording (Just moved to the valley of silicon).
I am now a Yahoo! That’s right, for some of you that actually read this and don’t know, I got laid off at the end of April and in the same day got an interview for Yahoo. I mulled over my offer and interviewed at quite a few other places until I decided to take the Yahoo job. The catch is that it is in Sunnyvale and I can commute at 2 hours each way or move. So, I am obviously moving :)
So, now that I have a job and a cube, I need things for my cube to make it nerdy-awesome. I have been putting things on my “gift list” (link above ^ ) so that:
A) I don’t forget and have a reference to all the things that I have found, thought was cool, and wanted.
and
B) So that if any of my beloved readers/fans wants to get me something… there is a list
So check it out, you may find something that you want too
So I have been playing with Justin.tv ever since I interviewed for the position and I must admit that I am addicted. It sucks that they decided not to hire anyone for the position
But hey, they got another user out of it!
Justin.tv is a live webcasting website that is totally free! Like YouTube for live footage. It is the most awesome up and coming application out right now.
You can check me out two ways… First you can click on the “Live Feed” link above or if you want to chat while I am live you can go directly to my live feed on Justin.tv by clicking here.
The past two weeks have been nuts. I had to work last Saturday and it looks like I will be working this Saturday and Sunday! Damnit!
This release cycle is nothing short of a power cycle death march. We had a few weeks to add functionality and do yet another redesign on some stuff. It was kind of crazy to begin with but hey, add the fact that the production system has been a little spotty and you have a recipe for watching the release deadline fly right by without fail. So there is that right now. I am struggling to not die.
Also this past couple of weeks, I have been working towards getting better with Java. I have been reading up and experimenting in the Java realm. I want to broaden myself from Systems Admin to Software Developer… I got involved in some java projects and Sean and I have been working on a new application called JAmba. Well, mostly Sean right now but I am learning. If you want to know more about JAmba go to www.jambagroup.org (I built the whole site…I am proud damnit). Sean and I are planning on using JAmba for the production site in this next release, provided we can work the bugs out. We hope to release the source code and the package on the JAmba site by next week for anyone to use and play with.
The next update comes from the little bit of personal life I have managed to sneak in to this crazy release cycle. At Karate, as of Wednesday, I learned all four Kata I need for the test in May. All I need to do is practice and polish and hopefully by June Lisa and I will be donning some yellow around our waist. Also, last Wednesday we had to do a birthday workout because our sensai turned 61, so we had to do 61 pushups, 61 sit-ups, 61 leglifts, 61 crunches… you get the idea. I am so sore still, though it was fun.
So this morning started out early with a Dentist appointment. Luckily it wasn’t my appointment, it was Lisa’s. So we got up and went to Oakland for her appointment. On the way there this crazy bitch in a beater car pulled out on to a 4 lane road right in to oncoming traffic. I was in the second lane and I had to pull in to the third lane to miss her. The worst part is that she just kept coming! So anyway, we arrived at the office promptly at 9:00. She went in and I hopped on to my laptop. I was determined to get my feet wet in java by trying to smash a bug in the techTribe app. It was simple, add search capability for the site admin to find a user using the user’s ID. It is a simple database query. Well, come to find out it is already implemented in the backend so all I had to do is create a frontend call for it and format the output. So, no java dev, but all XSL dev. Good news, I got it done before Lisa was out of her appointment….
So next we decided to go to REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) in Berkeley because they are having one of their “Garage Sales”. Basically, at REI, you can return almost anything at anytime for any reason, so when they get the used equipment, they have to get rid of it somewhere… So they have these “Members Only Garage Sales”. So we get there at like 10:00 and get tickets to get in for 11:40… That was how many people were ahead of us! So for an hour and a half we walk around the store and find plenty of fun things to keep us occupied. 11:40 rolls around and we go in. Nothing really to be had worth anything. There was a pair of almost new Evolv climbing shoes for like $40 but there were size 10 and I wear size 11… SUCK! Oh and there was a pair of beat up climbing shoes that said “Reason for Return: Didn’t fit quite right, didn’t notice for seven years”… LMAO, returned seven years later! Amazing! We bought some climbing chalk and left.
So after we left REI, it was time for lunch. Lisa and I decided on Zachary’s Pizza. The best pizza in the east bay in my opinion. I got lost trying to get there as usual but we finally got there. Oh Zachary’s Deep Dish, how I love thee! We order the Mushroom, Spinach, Chicken pizza. It was good but I think that Lisa is right when she says that deep dish needs to be a “Meat Pizza” with sausage and pepperoni and such. It really makes the hearty flavor.
We left Pizza heaven with bellies full and decided to go for a walk down the strip there. We went in to a shop that had awesome Buddhist items for a garden and in the home. Then we went in to a furniture shop that had no beds… hmm… Lastly there was “Rosebud Gallery”… This place was a work of art. It was a junk shop with gallery prices… what a joke. There were a lot of awesome things but it was just too expensive for what it was.
We left and went to Wal-Mart for some laundry detergent…but they were sold out of Roma Detergent in two different stores… am I missing something?! Sold out?! Seriously!? So we left and headed back for Alameda. On Park St, we found the Alameda Video Game Exchange. They had everything from Atari to PS3! It was awesome!
Lastly, we went to Fudgelato and got some awesome Gelato. I got Chocolate Hazelnut with Dark Chocolate and Lisa got something with coconut and mint. We came home and passed out!
Last night was dinner at the movies. Lisa and I decided to checkout the Parkway Theater in Oakland. I have to admit, the experience was better than I had thought it would be. It was a 21 and older show and the theater wasn’t packed. Lisa and I ordered the nachos with steak along with a pitcher and settled in on a couch in the theater.
Now, on to Sweeney Todd… three words - bloody, awesome, and bloody. Go see it because there are no words to describe it!
Needless to say, Lisa and I left the theater with a smile and ready to come back.
I am so sick and tired of getting asked computer questions! I mention, one time, that I working in the computer industry and the flood of questions and requests follows!
“Can you setup my wireless on my new laptop?” “Do you know how to setup a VPN?” “My internet connection seems slow, can you help?” “I keep getting popup ads on my computer, can you stop those?” “Will you upgrade my computer for me?” “Can you configure my outlook?”
NO!!! I Won’t. I HATE COMPUTERS! I like my job because I deal with computers that I, or someone as knowledgeable, has setup and maintained. These are UNIX servers and high dollar machines and equipment. Not your $200 Wal-Mart, spyware riddled, virus plagued, porno-top 9000 laptop piece of shit that you just bought at the flea market! Call the geek squad or something! I hear firedog doesn’t mind dealing with retards! How about this…how about you do a little reading and research on your problem using Google and you can fix it yourself. You may even learn something!
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to be an asshole about this. If, and ONLY IF, you researched your problem beforehand and you couldn’t find a solution using the magical Google search engine, then ask me and I will be more than happy to help. Show some initiative at the very least! I just hate it when people just assume that I will fix their problem without even trying to fix it on their own. If you are genuinely stuck I don’t mind lending a hand.
I bit the bullet and bought reading glasses and I must admit I am liking them so far. They are only like +0.50 in one eye but they rock. Here is photo:
and I can commute at 2 hours each way or move. So, I am obviously moving :) 
