Archive for May 2004
Wilco Returns
Sections: Uncategorized May 20th, 2004 7 Comments
It seems like any lingering ambiance of Jay Bennet is gone from the new Wilco sound. They played their first warm-up show for what promises to be a lengthy world tour in a raw, funky, loose way that I hadn't heard since the formative years of the band. To put it plainly it was the best sounding iteration of Wilco I can remember. Of course that was helped by the fact that they were playing in the wonderfully atmospheric Otto's in Dekalb IL.
And the album. A Ghost is Born succeeds in much of a different way than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot did. While I'd call it overall a less ambitious record, it maybe a bit more rewarding. It's got a fantastic live and raw sound that harkens back to Being There. If YHF was a 10 (out of 10) GiB reaches the same total with a very different tone and feel.
Jeff Tweedy interestingly did make mention of his recent troubles and as expected the crowds response was overwhelming. You can check it out here.
The Best Way to Cook chicken?
Sections: Uncategorized May 19th, 2004 1 Comment
Geek + Garageband
Sections: Uncategorized May 17th, 2004 No Comments
The Infinite Cat Project
Sections: Uncategorized May 13th, 2004 No Comments
This is great use of the web.
Why Apple is as Strong as Ever
Sections: Uncategorized May 11th, 2004 No Comments
SonyConnect Fails
Sections: Uncategorized May 10th, 2004 1 Comment
The Washington Post reviews Sony's new music download store SonyConnect. In short - it's bad. Here's an excerpt:
If anybody can get Internet music downloads right, it should be Sony Corp. The company has years of experience selling records, consumer electronics and personal computers — and it's had plenty of time to study earlier digital-music ventures.
So how could the Connect music store, unveiled on Tuesday, have turned out so badly? It gets a few things right, but by forgetting that customers want to feel like they actually own their music, it repeats — or exceeds — the mistakes of other music stores.
…Connect permits an unlimited number of transfers to portable players — except for songs from Warner Music Group's labels, which are restricted to three transfers. Ever.
Similar control-freak behavior ensues when you move purchased songs to the other two PCs you're allotted at any one time: Those copies lose all their transfer and CD-burning permissions. Sony says an upcoming software update will restore transfer rights, but not disc burning, to those copies.
You can read the entire review here (registration required).
American Vehicles Getting Fatter
Sections: Uncategorized May 5th, 2004 No Comments
Here's an expert from the New York Times article:
The average new car or light-duty truck sold in the 2003 model year tipped the scales at 4,021 pounds, breaking the two-ton barrier for the first time since the mid-1970's, according to a report released by the Environmental Protection Agency last week.
The fattening of the nation's automobiles is a principal reason that average fuel economy has stopped improving and the nation's consumption of crude oil has been swelling: all else being equal, moving more weight takes more energy. Add in the additional pollutants and greenhouse gases released by burning more fuel, and it is not surprising that the upsizing trend is condemned by environmental groups.
But ranged against them in an increasingly bitter debate are industry lobbyists and conservative groups who argue that girth is good, for crashworthiness and because people want more space and power, though Honda is a notable dissenter in the industry.
At the center of the debate is the Bush administration's proposed rewriting of national fuel economy regulations. Though work on the plan is still in its early stages, one important aspect of it could lead automakers to make their vehicles even heavier on average. Environmentalists are distressed by the plan, but it has not been embraced by the auto industry, either.
Of course this is not to mention the enormous safety issues that go along with increased weight.
Global Warming… The Future is Here
Sections: Uncategorized May 4th, 2004 No Comments
Global warming debate aside, the West is heating up.
Washed and Waxed
Sections: Uncategorized May 2nd, 2004 1 Comment
One down… one to go. Now I just can't wait to see the rain beed up!
