music and medicine

dead blog!

2006-02-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

OK! Everything is (almost) up and running at veronicabelmont.com, so check there for updates from now on. Blogger, you were good to me, but everyone needs to grow up sometime.

love,
V

Ugh.

2006-01-31T22:54:00.000-08:00

There is a spider in my apartment. He's been "hanging out" for two days. Right now I'm glaring at him from across the room, because he's in a corner I can't reach. As long as he stays away from my bedroom, we be cool. But then I start thinking about that short story from "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" about how the woman had a spider lay eggs in her face as she slept, and then they hatched all over her and OMG I'M TOTALLY GOING TO HAVE NIGHTMARES NOW!!!! ARRGGG!!!

Great, now I lost track of him. Kill me.

The Wi-Fi Bunny

2006-01-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

Please... please... buy me this.
Shiny Shiny: The Vocal Return of the Wi-Fi Bunny

Snakes... on a plane.

2006-01-23T09:47:00.000-08:00

File this under "Worst Title for a Movie EVER."
I can't wait to see people go to town on this one. Apparently, they've already started. Oh, the hilarity!
Wired 14.01: PLAY

UPDATE:
Bored, I decided to Google "snakes on a plane." I found this blog, with this comment about SOAP (HOLY CRAP!! Snakes on a Plane = SOAP?? This is getting better and better):

What else do you need to know? How the snakes get on the plane, what the snakes do once they're on the plane, who puts the snakes on the plane, who is trying to get the snakes off the plane...This is not for you to ponder. There are snakes on the plane. End of fucking story.

Well done, sir. Well done.

Star Trek Seussisms

2006-01-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share some of this brilliant Star Trek poetry that I found linked from Boing Boing.

Data: Our ship can get there very fast
But still the trip will last and last
We'll have two days til we arrive
But can the Indrans there survive?

Picard: LaForge, please give us factor nine.

LaForge: But, sir, the engines are offline!

Picard: Offline! But why? I want to go!
Please make it so, please make it so!

Here's the site, I think it's fantastic!

An interesting week.

2006-01-18T23:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't kept up with the writing, but it's been a weird, long month. Anywho, tomorrow we're doing a photoshoot for BOL schwag. What the heck am I gonna wear?? No, seriously. What? I haven't done laundry since I've been back from CES (oops).

I've become seriously addicted to rediculously cute things. Popgadget and Shiny Shiny are using up most of my free time on Bloglines these days. Do I need a cell phone plushie? Yes, actually.

On top of everything, we're doing another Tired Thumbs tomorrow. Which is great, except I'm a leetle bit behind in my gaming news as of late. BUT! We're going to use the new podcasting features in GarageBand. I'm excited! We've been having so much trouble with Gizmo and Skype (mostly, nothing on my end seems to work... nice audio production major, eh?) so hopefully this will solve all our problems.

Time for bed. G'nite!

Like a virgin.

2006-01-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

I made my acting debut last night, as the virginal prey for Madame Bathory, a real vampire from days of yore. Gonna be on the History Channel, probably in October! Stay tuned! A few more pictures are on my Flickr page.

Seen in front of my house:

2006-01-13T16:34:00.000-08:00

"Voldemort votes Republican"

well, duh. Best bumper sticker ever.

Macworld, CES double-booked for 2007

2006-01-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

Macworld, CES double-booked for 2007 | CNET News.com

Whaaaa?? Now what am I going to do?? Seriously, a major bummer. And this is going to affect Macworld in the worst kind of way. They can't compare the the sheer numbers of CES.

veronicabelmont.com

2006-01-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

Ok, well I finally registered my name. veronicabelmont.com is live, and leads, uh, here. So basically I'm just doing it to prevent not being able to get it at a later time. Makes sense, right?

Working on getting someone to host it for me, and then I'll probably get off of Blogger. I wonder if there's a way I can archive all my blogger entries and put them on the new site? Any ideas? Oh... maybe I'll do iWeb. Looks pretty easy, and it would work so well with all the other programs I already use. Charlie and I have decided to try the new podcasting studio in GarageBand this weekend for Tired Thumbs. Maybe we'll get some decent audio quality for once! :)

In other news, I feel like I'm trapped in a freakin' cage. I want to go out so badly. I know it's not a good idea, but I hate just sitting around where I know there's so much going on.

It's Christmas all over again!

2006-01-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

So, as you may have heard, Apple has released the first MacIntel into the world. The new iMacs, available today, are powered by the Intel Core Duo chip. But the crowning glory of the event was the MacBook Pro, the beautiful and fast new notebook. Finally! I've been waiting forever for them to make the announcement, and in Febuary my dreams will become a reality. I got so excited that I gave myself an ulcer.

Wait, what?

Yes, it's true. I was wisked from the Macworld Expo off to the hospital, where I sat for 5.5 hours, first in excruciating pain, and then in a stupor. My stomach has been weird for weeks, as you all know, but last night it really got out of control. And this morning... well, I did everything I could to ignore it for the keynote, but Molly finally stuck me in a cab with $20 in my hand and sent me to St. Francis.

My boss came to the hospital, and told me to not come in tomorrow. I am crushed. Macworld is my favorite thing. I'm going to try to go anyway tomorrow, hopefully in time for the podcast. I'm so depressed. It hurts to eat a cracker. And I'm going to miss all the good Apple schwag. UUUGGHH.

Anyhow. I'm totally buying a MacBook Pro (the $2499 version, natch) come Feb. Got a few weeks to save! I want your opinions, people! Leave comments.

Forgot to mention...

2006-01-09T15:37:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be in a History Channel show on vampires. It's taping next weekend, and I'll be playing the part of a "virginal" victim. I'm not sure when the special is going to air, but I'll give you all more info as it arrives. I'm going to get fitted for costumes today. I don't have a speaking part, but there's a good chance I'll be covered in blood.

BOL Frappr Map

2006-01-09T14:35:00.000-08:00

The Buzz Out Loud Frappr Map! Now embeddable! Look at all those shiny happy people...

Back from CES

2006-01-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

Back from CES finally. Sorry I wasn't able to post from the show, there just weren't enough hours in the day. I probably got about 10 hours of sleep total since last Tuesday. Of course, it all caught up with me at once, and now I'm sick as a dog.

Unfortunately, I only got to walk around on Wednesday before everything was set up. I took pictures for our "walking tours" that posted on ces.cnet.com, so you can get some idea of how huge this thing was. It took Tom and I four hours to walk all five areas. Then on Thursday I was able to sneak away and get into the massive Central Hall, where the likes of Microsoft, Intel, Samsung, LG, and other big boys were located. You can see some pictures from my past week on my flickr page.

Well, today I'm off to MacWorld here in SF. Buzz Out Loud is going to be podcasting from the event for the next week (if I can find a working recording deck somewhere, that is...) Tomorrow is the keynote, and I'm hoping that Steve announces some new laptops. I really need a laptop.

I'm one of the only people here today. Because of MacWorld, of course. But I really could have used a day off after this past week. My mental/physical health isn't that great, and I just want to sleep and sleep. It's very strange to transition back to my old life again after the past week.

Happy New Year!

2006-01-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

Pics are up on the Flickr from some of the New Year festivities, so go check those out. If you can stomach that much obnoxiousness!

Getting everything ready to leave for the big show tomorrow. My stomach has been in knots for days. But I'll be posting and updating as much as I can!

Not so much NEED as WANT

2005-12-30T23:02:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually one to be sucked in by a television stations "online content," but I must say that I was a little disapointed by the lack of Mac-compatibility for Comedy Central's Motherload and MTV's Overdrive. I mean, it's not like I really NEEDED to see what happened to the dorky girl that took up wakeboarding on Made, but I was a little curious to see if she stuck with it... anyhow. This is what I get:

In order to offer a broad selection of full-length music videos on-demand and free of charge, MTV Overdrive uses Windows Digital Rights Management (DRM) to protect videos from unauthorized re-distribution.

Unfortunately, Microsoft's Windows Media Player Plug-in for Macintosh does not support Windows DRM. If DRM support becomes available for Macintosh, MTV will develop a version of MTV Overdrive that works on a Mac.

Wow. Is it just me, or does anyone else think it's time that the major cable networks get their shit together and offer some Mac compatibility?? I'm not just being biased here, am I? It won't even work if you have the Mac version of Windows Media Player. Gosh, a girl tries to play it legit, and this is the thanks she gets.

Anywho. New episode of Tired Thumbs tomorrow. Check it out.

Too much traveling.

2005-12-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

Just got back from NYC a little bit ago. In the past, I've always considered New York a little too big for me. I tend to be a nervous person, and so smaller cities like San Francisco and Boston are just about perfect. But I had my two favorite NYC boys to show me around, so I had nothing to worry about this time (I won't bore you with the details of my panic attack of coming into Grand Central Station at rush hour by myself from the last time went there). Nick and I did a walking tour of the Lower East Side, and did a fine sampling of the local bars.

The next day we met up with Ryan and did some more shopping and eating, and I finally found the perfect pair of black flat boots in a vintage shop. Naturally, I bought an $80 pair a few weeks ago that are far inferior. Obviously this is why NYC is a much better place to shop.

Tomorrow, back to SF for New Years, and then off to CES. Hooray! I'm more excited for it that I thought I'd be. Oh, and thanks to everyone who has written in concern over my wrists. They've had a much needed break this past week, but I'm still going to get them checked out when I get home.

I'M EXHAUSTED! Hope everyone had a safe and happy holidays so far. Nap time for V.

Updates!

2005-12-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, so let me start this post by saying I'm heartbroken. Johnny Damon is a traitor. I heard about the trade on Wednesday on the plane, and I almost screamed. Forgot to mention it though, with all the coming home excitement. TRAITOR!!

Next, I found out I might have early-onset arthritis in my wrists. Yes, both. A combination of damage from years of tennis and computers. Yes, I played tennis all through high school. Didn't expect me to be a jock, didja? So I need to go see a doctor when I get back to SF and make sure I take better care of my joints, or bye bye career. This will probably take some of the steam out of my WoWing (and the audience cheers...).

There might be some very big news for me in the podcasting realm. I'm not going to tell you what yet, but SOOOOON! All I can say is that I'm very excited.

I got a Nintendo DS finally! I've started playing Nintendogs, and I've so far taught Daisy to "sit down." But then my family got annoyed as I tried to teach her more in the car. That whole voice command thing can be a little annoying to other people, I imagine. Oh well!

Eventually I'll get away from all this personal crap again and get back to tech stuff, but I've been too busy to even look at Digg and Bloglines lately. I'm going to have a lot to catch up on when I get back!

Home

2005-12-23T07:11:00.000-08:00

So, I made it alive. I didn't sit next to a stinky person on the plane, but I did sit next to a very excitable 8-year old. Oh, how we talked and talked and talked. And how adorable was it when he continued to talk, looooong after I put my headphones back on and tried to watch Project Runway. Precious. Anywho, the flight and the trip in general went off without a hitch! And now I'm home...

Today we're going to the spa at Foxwoods. You know, the giant casino? I've never been to a spa before (rough life) so I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. OH WAIT, I forgot about one thing. DRY AIR. The air is so freaking dry here that my hair has been standing straight up for two days. And when it's not sticking straight up, it's plastered to my face. Not good.

Ok, off to get pampered! Adios.

Send me your links!

2005-12-20T08:05:00.000-08:00

I'm curious what RSS feeds you guys subscribe to. Make a comment in this post and send me some good reading! Or, just send me pages you like. Some of my feeds are feeling a little tired, and I'd love something new. It can be tech, gossip, fashion, funny, whatever. I don't care. FEED ME!

Traveling.

2005-12-19T11:03:00.000-08:00

I hate traveling. I don't hate GOING places, I just hate the "getting there" part. This is for various reasons, mostly related to the fact that I'm psycho about being on time and on schedule on a normal day. So, add the fact that if I'm late, I MISS MY FLIGHT, you've got a recipe for some major freak-outs:

What if the baggage check takes too long?
What if my shuttle is late?
What if I forgot my confirmation email?
What if I get an upset stomach?
What if my iPod dies?
What if I sit next to a stinky, talkative a-hole?
WHAT IF?!

Oh, and then there's always the "what if my frickin' plane crashes." Super.
Anyway. So this is what I have to deal with. Hopefully I'll just sleep through the whole thing. But then there's even more to think about once I get to CT! I have to get to NYC on the bus to visit friends, and then I have to make the trip back, and then like two days after that I'm off to Vegas for CES! The day AFTER I get back from CES, it's off to MacWorld (luckily that's a few blocks away from work, so I don't have to think about it too much.)

So many exciting, stressful events to look forward to. I need a vacation from my vacation.

I just don't know...

2005-12-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

In light of recent comments to my post on the possible upcoming Star Trek movie, I feel the need to make a few more observations. Why the hell are they including that weirdo from "Enterprise" (I don't CARE if he was on "Quantum Leap") and not Captain Janeway and Commander Sisco?! I'm sorry. "Enterprise" was weak. Weeeeak.

Let me make a personal reference. "Enterprise" was to the Star Trek franchise as "Machina: The Machines of God" was to the Smashing Pumpkins. Catch my drift? Go listen to the album and you'll understand. Oh, you didn't buy it? Exactly.

Rainy day

2005-12-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

Finally! A rainy Saturday where I don't have to feel guilty about sitting at home and watching TV, playing WoW, and reading to my little hearts content. Unfortunately, there's no food in the house, and all the food I've attempted to make has somehow become inedible. That's because I can't take care of myself.

So that's all I've got going on today. Tonight apparently we're going soul dancing, which should be fun. I haven't gone out in quite some time. Because I'm laaaaazy.

Oh! Time to make the Netflix worth my fee. Adieu!

New Star Trek movie?

2005-12-16T09:15:00.000-08:00

Star Trek captains William Shatner, Patrick Stewart and Scott Bakula are set to join forces in a new movie.
The trio will reportedly star in the unnamed film that will be set in the 'mirror universe,' which was featured in both the Next Generation and Enterprise TV series.

OMFG. I'm assuming that when they say "mirror universe," they're referring the the alternate universe caused when someone goes through the Nexus. If you recall, in "Star Trek: Generations" Picard actually meets Kirk (and they kick ass TOGETHER). A Trekker's wet dream. Anywho, I hope this is true. I'll be first in line, biatch!

read more | digg story

Hot feet! Hot feet!

2005-12-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

Finally! My black-on-black vans have arrived! Unfortunately, they are about 1/4 size too small, but it's better than admitting I have huge feet. Oh, the things I do for fashion (it's not much, really...)

So I love them anyway. Except for one problem, which the Vans are not at fault for. I haven't done laundry recently (for economic reasons, as well as time restraints), and the only good socks I really had left are these great plaid wool ones. Perfect for a winter in Boston, terrible for the mild climate of San Francisco. My feet are SWEATING! It feels like I'm standing on hot coals. Also, I'm pretty sure some of the discomfort is due to itching from the wool. My feet don't normally itch... GAH! It's driving me INSANE!

Ok... no more feet talk. Too bad that's all I have in me right now.

New coke to blend coffee and coke

2005-12-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

New "Coke Blak" is a new coffee/coke drink by Coca-Cola.

Delicious!

read more | digg story

Buy me this pt. 2

2005-12-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

Oh yes. You will be mine.
I have dreams of zipping around SF on a little scooter. I'm actually pretty serious about this one, too. If I start saving now, hopefully by the time rainy winter ends I can get it! Hopefully I won't kill myself.

Don't wanna grow up.

2005-12-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

I was listening to Coverville today, and they're doing a tribute to Tom Waits today. So I wanted to share the lyrics of one of his best songs, "I Don't Wanna Grow Up."

When I'm lyin' in my bed at night
I don't wanna grow up
Nothin' ever seems to turn out right
I don't wanna grow up
How do you move in a world of fog
That's always changing things
Makes me wish that I could be a dog
When I see the price that you pay
I don't wanna grow up
I don't ever wanna be that way
I don't wanna grow up

Seems like folks turn into things
That they'd never want
The only thing to live for
Is today...
I'm gonna put a hole in my TV set
I don't wanna grow up
Open up the medicine chest
And I don't wanna grow up
I don't wanna have to shout it out
I don't want my hair to fall out
I don't wanna be filled with doubt
I don't wanna be a good boy scout
I don't wanna have to learn to count
I don't wanna have the biggest amount
I don't wanna grow up

Well when I see my parents fight
I don't wanna grow up
They all go out and drinking all night
And I don't wanna grow up
I'd rather stay here in my room
Nothin' out there but sad and gloom
I don't wanna live in a big old Tomb
On Grand Street

When I see the 5 o'clock news
I don't wanna grow up
Comb their hair and shine their shoes
I don't wanna grow up
Stay around in my old hometown
I don't wanna put no money down
I don't wanna get me a big old loan
Work them fingers to the bone
I don't wanna float a broom
Fall in love and get married then boom
How the hell did I get here so soon
I don't wanna grow up

So true.

Google RSS

2005-12-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

I know I'm behind by a couple of days, but it has been a busy week. So, this whole Google RSS thing they've got going on? I like it. Why? I'm not really sure. Maybe because it gives me more of an excuse to sit and stare at my Inbox for another 30 minutes a day waiting for mail to arrive that never does? Good.

Also, creepily enough (did I make up another word?), I only had to add one missing RSS feed. Google knows me so well!

Hello my precious.

2005-12-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

Awwww!! I love little cute things that look like things they're not! Added to WishList.

p.s. It's an egg that grows herbs, like thyme. You crack it open and add water and things grow in it. This is about the extent of my green-thumb abilities.

Law and Order on iTunes

2005-12-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

Hooray! NBC has signed a deal with Apple for the iTMS, meaning that now I can download episodes of Law and Order! As if I don't watch enough! Man, I'm so psyched. It appears that they have Season 16 available, as well as a partial collection of Season 1.
OH MY GOD. THEY HAVE CONAN O'BRIEN TOO!!
Life is good today.

Oh, and here's an amusing Law and Order Plot Generator.

G.A.M.E.

2005-12-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

Most of my pictures didn't come out well, but here are some glimpses of G.A.M.E.

Russian squirrel pack 'kills dog'

2005-12-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

"Squirrels have bitten to death a stray dog which was barking at them in a Russian park, local media report."

Oh. My. God.

read more | digg story

Apple Files Patent for New Digital Camera

2005-11-30T11:20:00.000-08:00

Apple patent references a digital camera. Will Apple surprise us at Macworld?

Will they? Will they?? I need to know, as I am in the market for one. I like these rumors lately: Apple DVR and camera?? Will Apple fill ALL of my current needs in one fell swoop? Well, I'm gonna be at Macworld for the keynote, so I'll let you know.

read more | digg story

Buzz Out Loud Wiki!

2005-11-29T15:19:00.000-08:00

Buzz Out Loud - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yay! Someone made a wiki entry for BOL. Now if only someone made a page for me... is it tacky to write your own wiki?

Better than I thought!

2005-11-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

I am 68% Video Game Addict.

Video games are a big portion of my life, maybe too big of a portion. They are not a means of social interaction, despite what I might think. I should just go outside.

Take the
Video Game Addict Test
@ FualiDotCom

See? I'm not addicted. I just have a "problem."

TiVo Beta pics leaked!

2005-11-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

TiVo is beefing up their HME offerings by centrally hosting applications and partnering with Yahoo! Yahoo! weather, traffic, and photos are avalable - as is Internet radio (Live365) and a few new games. Also being tested is the podcaster application I previewed at Digital Life, Fandango movie tickets, and a few various games.

Ok. This sounds great. EXCEPT for the fact that the only Yahoo! thing I like is it's relation to Flickr. But... maybe I'll hold off on getting a new TiVo right now.

read more | digg story

Pissed off.

2005-11-28T13:08:00.000-08:00

We've been talking about this on BOL quite a bit, but now it really hits home. One of my favorite podcasts, Mashuptown, is dead. Because of the RIAA.

The time has come to shut down this blog/site/podcast. This has come about for many reasons which I won't bore you with. First, let me say that I would like to thank all the Artists, producers, Dj's that made this a total labor of love. Your creativity and cleverness will never cease to amaze me. Most of the Mashup tracks that were featured on this site were in many cases better than the originals. Props go out to all of you who visited, sampled, sent in comments/email, and put links to the site in your blogs or podcasts.

Apaprently they are in violation of the DMCA, and the RIAA has threatened legal action. This is happening to a lot of music podcasts, and there doesn't look like there's much light at the end of the tunnel. I knew that once podcasts hit the mainstream this shit would hit the fan. It makes me want to vomit, just a little bit. Ok, a lot.

Huge.

2005-11-27T00:38:00.000-08:00

This is what I think is good to post about after a few glasses of wine. Look at the size of that thing!

http://www.karlson.ru/lj/minazo.html

Sony Will Present PS3 At CES 2006

2005-11-25T21:42:00.000-08:00

Sony has decided to acquire the central stand at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) that will take place in January next year in Las Vegas. Ok...that would seem rather normal...except for the fact that the stand will have 12,000 sq. feet (aprox 3660 square meters). That's a lot. Time to take away the X360 thunder.

I'm so gonna be there for that.

Oh, so anyway, just finished a nice 15 hour workday. We gave away 10 XBOX 360's! It was very exciting. But I'm oh so very tired now. And then I tried to order a DVR from Comcast, and they put me in some stupid chat thing, and then the stupid woman didn't speak to me so I left, and then my order was cancelled. Asshats.

I would have gotten TiVo, but I don't have a phone line. ASSHATS! I give up, I'm going to bed.

read more | digg story

SETI@home killed off

2005-11-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

Distributed computing experiment SETI@home will be switched off on December 15 as it becomes part of the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC). The BOINC site will allow boffins to build other volunteer computing projects in areas like molecular biology, high-energy physics, and climate change study.

How sad! I've used SETI@home for years. Guess I'll just have to keep sending my extra computing resources to Folding@home. And we never even found aliens...

read more | digg story

Apple planning on offering Instant-On machines?

2005-11-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

Motley Fool story on Apple's aggressive sourcing of flash memory and the potential for a new instant-on or near instant-on machine.

How interesting!

read more | digg story

What I've heard every year.

2005-11-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

Mom: "Don't you want some GIRL things for Christmas?? Like some shoes?!"

*sigh*

XBOX 360

2005-11-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to play some XBOX 360 yesterday. I didn't have time to really sit down and get to know the games that were available, but here is a quick rundown:

Condemned: Criminal Origins - OK. This game is pretty cool for the first 30 minutes. A first-person shooter mixed in with some CSI elements. However, I can see it easily deteriorating into a GTA syndrome - I may only want to play to see how incredibly violent I can become. Here's the Gamespot review. Some of the missions, like finding 5 dead birds, seemed kind of rediculous (what are they trying to stop, bird flu?). But for the fact that you can make most objects available to you killing machines (a subway sign, pipes off the wall, a school desk), I'd probably tire of killing the same deranged low-lifes over and over. Creepy, but repetitive.

NBA 2006 - I hate sports games. I hate them because I don't understand sports, so it makes it hard for me to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. Wait, by that logic someone could say "Oh, and you have personal experience slaying dragons and crafting leather armor?" Just shut up.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted - I didn't get to actually play this one, but it looks frickin' awesome. Especially on a really, really, really big TV. Someone with me said "This doesn't look all that different from a regular XBOX," but I have to disagree.

Ok, so that's my little breakdown. It looks promising, but I'm still torn between PS3 and XBOX 360. Obviously, I haven't played the PS3 yet. And I hate Sony now. Only time will tell.

iDog

2005-11-16T16:42:00.000-08:00

Work has been so insane lately that I've not had any time to blog. So, sorry if you're one of the 5 people that reads this and you've been missing me.

Who am I kidding.

Anyway. There's a new love in my life. His name is Gus Gus 2. I named him that because I have a pillow that looks like a dog, and I named it Gus Gus. Can someone just shoot me now? Anyway, he looks like this:

I plugged him into the headphone port on my speakers, and learned the following things:

He hates the Editors.
He hates the new Franz Ferdinand album (don't we all?)
He barks loudly when I don't pay attention to him, which causes my co-workers to shoot me dirty looks for disrupting... well... whatever they do.

Yay for iDog.

My new obsession.

2005-11-09T08:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been busy doing absolutely nothing (and that included Internet). But one thing I have discovered is Supayana. Yana, the designer, is based in NYC, and her clothes are making me insane with clothes-lust. Will you just look at that shirt?? Adorable. It makes me want to die. I'm following her eBay auctions until I can get to NYC and shake her down for some goods.

I'm famous (well, duh)

2005-11-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

I was sent an email this morning, with the subject line "You're famous!" Always good to grab my attention... this was the link that followed.

I was in a bar last week (a real one, the kind where you can drink without using a forward slash) with a World of Warcraft fan. We were discussing the upcoming G.A.M.E. event and how she wanted to volunteer in order to get in. She almost caught herself before saying, "I would do it just for the experience points." Nice. I explained to her that there are three things I will never try: heroin, chicken-fried steak, and World of Warcraft. My justification is that I'm afraid I'd like them so much that they would eventually lead to my death.

HAHA! Oh god. I need a freaking life.

Also, I cancelled my Friendster account today, because they fired one of their employees for blogging. This is an old story, but one that I just caught wind of for whatever reason. And I don't like it one bit.

Commuting.

2005-11-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

I've found that the quality of my daily morning commute usually directly correlates with how my day is going to go. It sets the tone.

Today is going to be interesting.

"Think Differently Music"

2005-11-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

Apparently the Wu Tang Clan loves Apple the most. This is real, as reported by Wired. If I knew anything about pop-culture, I'd have probably already known this.

Uh... I just noticed that the Wu Tang website is on Sony Music. So I'm gonna have to encourage you to not actually buy this CD. Or else you're in for a world of trouble.

Jeff Talman - "In Transit"

2005-11-01T15:42:00.000-08:00

If you're in Chicago, you should probably go see this. Jeff was one of my favorite teachers, and his exhibits are awesome.

In the InterContinental Hotel – Chicago, exploring the sound of ‘silence’
EXHIBITION DATES: NOV. 7 – 13, 2005
International artist Jeff Talman will mount a new installation in an exhibition that explores the sonic resonance of the InterContinental Hotel atrium. In this site-specific sound work Talman exposes the nuances embedded in the ‘silence’ of the 4-story, dome-capped space.

‘In Transit’ features the actual resonant frequencies of the atrium extracted from the room tone or ‘silence’ of the site. Installed in the hotel atrium, the installation feeds the site resonance back into the space. Because the resonance is perfectly tuned to the site it is naturally amplified by the space. The results are a re-resonating sound field in which the inherent sonic ‘presence’ of the atrium itself is brought forward for the listener as intuitive notions of sound and spatial perception are enhanced.

Regarding the title, Talman noted, “We are constantly in transit – moving through spaces – with too many other concerns to spend much time reflecting on where we are, where we have come from, and where we are going. When we do reflect on our surroundings, we acquire the sense of a place largely through visual perception. But our place-sense is also highly dependent on the self-sound of a site, of which we have a much lower consciousness, perhaps only an intuitive grasp. By emphasizing this unique place sound I hope to make available a larger, instinctive sense of site that is fundamental to our perception of the world.”

Talman’s other new soundspace installation, ‘Absolute Elsewhere,’ which is based on similar properties of site resonance, opens three days later on November 10 in St. James Cathedral, which is near the hotel. The two installations coincide with the Nineteenth Conference of the Society for Literature, Science and the Arts, which is one of the installations’ sponsors along with the University of Illinois-Chicago, and Emerson College, Boston where Talman teaches. He is represented by bitforms in New York City.

Naomi's birthday

2005-10-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

Photos from Naomi's birthday are up on my Flickr now. Not many from me right now, but I expect more will start turning up as the weekend wears on (and hangovers wear off).

Frustration

2005-10-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

Main Entry: frus·tra·tion
Function: noun
1 : a deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs
2 : something that frustrates

Yup. Sounds about right.

Why the Myspace Top 8 is a terrible idea.*

2005-10-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

J - John
V - Me

*John didn't put me on his Top 8, so I threw a fit. John, in case you don't know, is my 14 year old brother. Real mature, I know...

J: was that a hint of sarcasm?
V: no, never. me?
J: you're right veronica. no sarcasm 'round here
V: nope, none.
V: none at all
V: there, i've replaced you with beer.
V: i like beer better anyhow
J: lol
J: thankies wonka, you make me feel real special
V: well, you put some fat kid named m-something on there instead of me!
J: lol
V: you deserve it
V: leo's are so not loyal
J: thats the incredible greg
J: psht. yes we are
J: fine
V: ha! lies
J: you have yoru own spot
V: maybe i don't want it, belmont
V: i don't want your fucking handouts
J: well, you got it, V
V: I win!

Brat.

Steve Jobs has a posse

2005-10-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

And pink is the new black, duh.

2005-10-25T13:21:00.000-07:00

Sharks and horses are the new kittens and owls!
Thanks, Ryan!

Urban Cowboy

2005-10-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of my commute is my Urban Cowboy. He wears a beat-up leather jacket, tan cowboy hat (duh), boots, and Levis. He always has a cup of coffee, and he always yells "THANK YOU BUS DRIVER" when he gets off at 6th. He always offers his seat to the ladies (sometimes it's me!) and never stands in the way of the doors.

I was at Edo buying shampoo with Naomi the other day, and he walked by with his yellow lab (!!!).

"Look, Naomi! It's my cowboy!"
The receptionist looked out the window. She sighed.
"The Urban Cowboy, don't you just love him?" She said.

Yes, Edo receptionist, yes I do.

Fall doesn't come round these parts.

2005-10-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving work today, rather late and rather lonely, I saw these two girls walking together. For reasons inexplicable to me, one girl was holding an ENORMOUS leaf. And it was orange. It was the 5 pointed kind (some New Englander I am...), maybe a maple, maybe an oak. To any extent, it me made me even sadder for the East Coast.

You can't get maple sugar candy here.
There will be no "first snow."

Oh well.

I'm not geeky enough?!

2005-10-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

Last week, Molly said that true geeks actually register their domain name, and don't just continue to use their .blogspot address. Well, she said that in so many words. However, www.musicmedicine.com is already taken! In fact, all the good extentions are taken, and I'd only be left with .gov or .biz. Lame. So what the hell am I gonna register?

Help me think of a good name and I'll send you a present. I promise. Should I be super professional and called it veronicabelmont.com? That looks HORRIBLE. Gross, I hate it. Pick something better for me, I'm lazy.

love,
Veronica

iPod goodness.

2005-10-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

Ian bought the video-enabled iPod last week, and boy-oh-boy have we had a good time with it! Watching episodes of Lost (how did I NOT watch this show when it came out the first time??), playing with video hacks (thanks Engadget!), and just plain old oogling. We hooked it up to thje TV just fine, and we've started to think of some interesting projects to use it for. More updates to follow.

So, I've been getting some comments on when the next Tired Thumbs is coming, and I assure you... SOON! Charlie and I have had some scheduling issues, life issues, etc. Hopefully one this week. If I can tear myself away from WoW. I'll try.

I finally tossed the old $20 CRT monitor and got a new BenQ FP91E. It's very nice looking, but the display isn't the best for graphics and text (wait... isn't that just about everything?). But it's still a lot sleeker than the old Triniton, and doesn't have a giant scratch in the middle. w00t!

Flock has landed.

2005-10-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

Pardon the pun, but it was absolutely necessary. I'm posting right now from within Flock, the new browser that is an offshoot of the Mozilla browser code. Right off the bat, I can say a few things about it in the 5 minutes I've been using it:

1. I really like the blog integration. In fact, I like it better than the actual Blogger interface. Plus, all my Flickr pictures load at the top of the screen when I change a little button called "Topbar" to Flickr. Then I can simply drag them into my post! Fabulous.

2. The use of del.icio.us in place of a favorites list. Who doesn't like social networking services?? Now everyone can see the bookmarks that you create and want to share. And if you're not at home, you can log into your account to show someone your favorite page (which, assumably, you can't remember the address for...).

3. The interface is cute, and I haven't yet gone around looking for alternate skins. I'm guessing they exist, although it's probably too early in the game for people to develop their own. Well, it has been a full day... must be some somewhere.

4. Firefox crashes my Mac. I'm not sure why, or how, but I'm not the only one this happens to. Even though it's based on the same code, maybe I'll have better luck using something other than Safari at home.

5. There are easy RSS reader capabilites built right in, but I already use Bloglines. I've been happy with that web based reader, and have no desire to change as of yet, but maybe I'm missing something.

Overall, as Tom said on the podcast today, there's nothing here that you can't already get somewhere else. But it's definitely a step in the right direction.

UPDATE! After I wrote all that, the Publish tool didn't work. Soooo... thats to be expected. They'll work the bugs out soon enough, I'm sure. Still happy with it!

Sniff. Sniff.

2005-10-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

The cold is getting a little better. Actually, I guess it depends on your definition of "better." If by "better," you mean "I'm feeling well, thank you. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping, and I have my whole life ahead of me!" then NO I'M NOT BETTER.

But if by "better," you mean "well, at least the snot is running out of my nose now instead of sitting stagnant in my sinuses, and also slowly dripping into the back of my throat and into my lungs, causing an unpleasant hacking cough," then by THAT definition I'm feeling better.

"Better" has now lost all meaning, in that way that only words you're typed out, too much in a row, can.

I tried to make tea, but the only way I have to heat water is with the coffee maker. You guessed it! Coffee flavored tea.
The grapes I'm eating are from the organic store across the street, and they taste like dirt. And yes, I washed them.

I'm gonna go drink some Nyquil and sit on the couch. I actually had a lot of gadget news, but now I don't feel like writing it. Except to say this: I want a quad-core PowerMac G5.

Sick Day

2005-10-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Uggh. I feel like crap. My head is all clogged up, my throat hurts, I have tons and tons of BOOGIES. So today I'm staying home from work, cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc. I want to go outside, because it's probably 80 degrees (I know it's hot, I was out there for the amount of time it took to bring my laundry down) but there's no one to hang out with, and I just don't feel that great.

Being actually *sick* sucks.

I need to buy a toaster and a coffee table. Maybe I'll go do that.

OH! Another new iPod....

2005-10-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

This is one that I may actually buy, too... VIDEO! w00t!

I was at the San Jose theatre were MadDog Steve Jobs showed off the new iMac (pretty sweet) the new video iPod (just called "iPod... how minimalist of them) and a new iTunes 6 where you can buy TV shows for $1.99 (I already bought the pilot of Lost). Overall, I'm much more impressed than the last time around.

The only bad part of the day was that he continued to demo the video iPod with some U2 song. I hate U2. Except "Mysterious Ways," which has a pretty slammin' video.

Well, the footage we took from the announcement is here, and here. Check it out.

One thing I was actually bummed out about is some of the new software for the iMac is not available to us non-iMac G5 owners, like Photobooth (which seems a little silly, but I don't like it when people tell me I can't have things.)

Off to work, more later.

No one gets me.

2005-10-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

Apparently I'm the only one in my office that thinks it's funny to put a picture of a cat with laser beams coming out of it's eyes on the front page of the site.

HELLO! Cat with laser-beam eyes?? What's not funny about that...

If you can't blog something nice...

2005-10-05T16:02:00.000-07:00

Picture006.jpg
Originally uploaded by earlysound.

Oh, screw it. Let me tell you a little bit about my commute on Monday. After a long day at work, I left with high hopes of going home and zoning out and killing some Ravaged Corpses. I have two options for getting home: taking the Muni, or taking the bus. Usually in the afternoon iI take the Muni train, because it's much faster. But there was such a GINORMOUS crowd on the platform that I decided to climb the stairs and take the bus. Naturally, the bus was jam-packed full of people too. Whatever. I made my way to the back of the bus, where I stand directly in front of THAT GIRL. She was sitting next to her friend, with another guy next to her, and another guy standing. THEY WERE TRASHED. At 5:30pm on a Monday? Ok, that's cool I guess. But they would not shut the hell up!!

"DOES ANYONE WANT SOME JAGER??"
"OH MY GOD, WASN'T IT SOOOOOOOOO FUNNY THAT ONE TIME..."
"HEY, THIS GUY SHOULD COME PARTY WITH US! YEAH!!"

This was a full bus, mind you. It made me want to destroy them. I started fantasizing about all the different ways to hurt them. Then I decided it would just be funnier to take pictures of them and make fun of them on the Internet.

So here's to you, Drunk On Jager Crew. I salute you for being Giant Assholes on public transportation. Hooray! You made at least 40 enemies that day.

World of Warcraft

2005-10-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

[09:38] whoveryouwant: veronica, if i know you as well as i think i know you, and with how obsessive you get when it comes to video games, you will end up dead or something if you play this game
[09:39] blindfolded33: it's too late, i've already started
[09:39] whoveryouwant: you will drive yourself insane

Bring it on.

Sigur Ros

2005-10-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the very fortunate opportunity to see Sigur Ros. The best part was that I didn't even know I was going until the day before (shout out to Lexi and Zane on that bit!). It was my third time seeing them, and the Paramount Theatre in Oakland is simply stunning. I only had one complaint: the dude sitting behind me insisted on playing drums on his lap the entire time. *Slap slappity slap slap!* was all I could hear coming from my right hear for the entire show. I finally turned around and said "Could you pleaaaase stop tapping the drum parts on your lap?!" He stopped... sort of. Ruined the immersion for me (whoa.... immersion? I'm sounding like my Critical Listening teacher from college).

They did end with Track 8 from ( ) though, which made it all better.

A side story to this tale is that Naomi spilled the entire contents of a Coke bottle into her suede purse, ruining almost everything inside, including her cell phone. So today we're going down to the Cingular store, where I will show her a phone that doesn't suck and can withstand the beating she generally gives her gadgets.

Oh, and I bought World of Warcraft yesterday. I'm a Level 4 Undead Warlock, and I'm playing in Crushridge if anyone is interested in stopping by. My name is Imriela. The guy at the Apple store looked at me and said "Don't plan on leaving your house anytime soon." Awesome.

*I did not take that photo. It's from Google images, I just resized it. I felt weird taking my camera out.

Engadget Reader Meet-Up

2005-09-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last night was the first Bay Area Engadget Reader Meet-Up. This is how I got my friends to go:

Veronica: "Change in plans. We're going to the Engadget party."
Naomi: "Will there be alcohol present?"
Veronica: "Probably, nerds love to get drunk."

And so we made our way to a non-descript warehouse in the Mission. I knew I was in for a treat when I noticed the Segway parked inside. I managed to obtain a t-shirt based on the promise to Ryan that I would wear it to the CNET offices and take my picture. We'll see about that!

It was there that I met Julian and Noelle from Escape My Head. We chatted for a bit, and then I realized that I probably had enough to drink when I asked Julian if he went to school locally, and he answered "No, Colorado actually." Then I said "Oh, you commute?" Sorry, guys. I should have known you were joking. *sigh*

The crowning glory of the evening was Jeremiah winning the OQO model 01+. And yes, you owe me big time for:
1. Inviting you.
2. Making you get a raffle ticket.

You can repay me by fixing my bike!
More pictures on the Flickr account.

Silly Google.

2005-09-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Google Inc.'s wrath is short lived, it turns out.

The Mountain View search engine has ended a one-year boycott of reporters from Cnet Network's online technology news service News.com 10 months early.

Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, granted an interview with a Cnet reporter for an article published Monday night.

SF Chronicle

That boycott sure lasted.

Oh industry events....

2005-09-27T22:14:00.000-07:00

How I love you so. CTIA MobileFocus was tonight, and I ate like a queen. And drank like one, for that matter. Anyway. Winner of the evening? The hot pink Motorola Razr, due out this Christmas season. It's hotter than I could even imagine. But I think I'm more of a Pebl girl. Definitely wins the award for most adorable phone to ever exist. And apparently tomorrow I'm going to an Engadget party. Fraternizing with the enemy? Oh yes.

Not much

2005-09-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

I don't have anything particular to report. I just felt the uuuuurge to update. So. Here we are again.

It was a good weekend. Finally got my desk into my new place, and also bought a bookshelf. Now I have officially $100 to get me through the next two weeks. But hey, I've got cereal and internet. What more could a girl hope for? The weather has also been fantastic, so there was lots of hanging out done at Dolores Park on Sunday. This weekend I couldn't do much drinking on Sunday, as I was pretty hungover from Saturday night.

Oh right! Zane was in town. We went to the Noisettes show at Cafe Du Nord. Lots of fun, but I forgot my camera. I however cannot forget the pain in my leg, from when I decided it was a GREAT IDEA to freestyle walk on the way home. Apparently I forgot to stretch beforehand.

I love meeting new people, which is how I've spent my last two weekends. Now all I need to do is save up for a better bike, and I shall be UNSTOPPABLE!

In nerd news, tomorrow I'm going to a cellphone event at the Fairmont Hotel. We get free food! w00t!

Green Day!

2005-09-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today the Green Day tour bus parked in front of my building. They obviously did it to torture me, because I'm not going to the show.

I stood outside for a while, but it appears that it was merely the crew bus. CURSES! For the record, Green Day has a special place in my heart: Dookie was the first CD I ever owned! *sigh*

Buy me this.

2005-09-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Shiny Shiny has once again lured me towards something I suddenly cannot live without. This adorable bag has a build in iPod pocket (not that strange these days) but I like how it can be worn either around the waist, fanny pack style, or over the shoulder. It's perfectly sized for me, because I hate carrying a purse (gross) and my Timbuk is just a little too big for casual wearing. The bag is from a company called Silent Revolution, and I think I'm going to buy me one of these very soon. Unless you want to buy one for me...

In other news, the move has gone well. I'm pathetically broke (yet trying to buy a fanny pack?), but it's worth it to have a place of my own. Although, a couch would be nice. You can add that to the list of things you're buying me. 'Kay?

Goodbye, MacWorld Boston.

2005-09-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

Well, they finally decided to pull MacWorld out of Boston. I suppose it makes sense, considering the show couldn't even get Apple to come. I've been to two shows in Boston (one at the South Boston Cenvention Center, and the other most recently at the Hynes Convention Center), and also one here in San Francisco. It's easy to say that the SF show blew the Boston ones out of the water. While I never had the chance to go to one of the MacWorlds when they were in New York, from what I've heard it was much more exciting (to nerds like me) than the later shows.

While this makes me a little sad (now I don't have an excuse for anymore improptu visits to Boston) I can see where they're coming from. The Boston shows, especially at South Boston, was pathetic at best. The area that MacWorld took up was a paltry 1/4th of the room they were in. It looked... sad. Hynes was laid out a little better, but the gap left by vendors such as Apple, Macromedia, Adobe, etc was very noticable. I couldn't tell from the article whether or not they're planning on moving the show back to NYC, or if they're just going to have the one show in SF. Maybe... two shows in SF? That'd be super.

Editors - The Back Room

2005-09-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to this album for the past two days, and I'm still not positive exactly how I feel bad it. There are definitely a few great tracks ("Lights", "Blood" and especially "Munich"), however the rest of the album isn't quite sticking with me yet. This is their first album, so I can give the Birmingham, UK, band some credit for effort. Fans of Interpol and Bloc Party will be psyched, as they have a similar dark, dancey feel to them. I hope they tour soon, I wouldn't mind seeing their show live.

High Fashion Crime Scenes

2005-09-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

I thought these pictures are beautiful, albeit a little disturbing. I just love the way they're shot. See them here.

I'll probably have bad dreams about those too.
I have to wait another day to move now because they "forgot" to shampoo the carpets, even though I've called twice to remind them. I promise, soon I'll stop complaining about the move, I swear.

In my head this morning:

2005-09-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

The nightmares are getting weirder. Last night I was playing some kind of volleyball game at my high school, and everyone was laughing at me because I couldn't serve the ball over the net. If you know me, you know that I am an extremely competitive person (especially in the things which I'm halfway decent at; volleyball being one of those things). Then I went into the locker room, and proceeded to GIVE MYSELF A ROOT CANAL. I actually took my teeth out of my head (not individually, as an entire package) and tried to follow Internet intructions. WHAT?! What is going on inside my brain lately? Can these all be stress dreams? Dreams of impending failure? I don't know, but now that you all think I'm completely psycho, I'll change the pace a little bit:

Why can't we buy things on cell phones here the way they can in Japan? I don't think that's fair. In fact, I don't think it's fair in general that Japan gets all the cool stuff first, and then proceeds to integrate all their fabulous new technology into their lives, while we salivate from across the pond.

Whatever, they're totally going to have the robot holocaust first. Oh, and that makes me think of something else! Apparently I say "robot" like "row-butt," and this is not correct. Except now I think it's hilarious and emphasize it at every opportunity. Ok, time to go to work. Thanks for everyone who has been reading! I hope I don't scare you away with this post about my creepy dreams.

STRESS

2005-09-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling rather, how do you say, OVERWHELMED LATELY.
This is due to the following:

I'm moving.
I'm broke.
Work is slow, so I've been feeling antsy.

I know it doesn't seem like much, but I promise you... my stress levels are through the roof. It's mostly the money thing, just because I know I need new furntiture and new house supplies. My body just feels wound up like a spring. Part of me wants to nap, and the other part wants to run around in circles. Yes, nap. No matter how much I sleep, I'm still tired. Probably because I drink too much coffee. IT'S AN ENDLESS CYCLE!!

Ok, three videos are digitizing. That means I have something to do. I did the videos for the Rokr and the iPod Nano this week. Not that impressed with the Rokr, but I'm sure everyone else will be. Except the critical media, who is already giving it "meh" reviews.

3 drink maximum

2005-09-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

Friday night was excellent, because it combined three of my favorite things: art, drinking, and dancing. There was a huge gallery showing, which spanned four locations. It finally culminated in an after-party that we hung out at until 3am. And for no apparent reason, I got a little more tipsey than I expected (considering I only had THREE DRINKS). When did I loose the ability to hold my alcohol?? When did two beers and a jack and coke become too much for me to handle? College Veronica would not be amused.

Anyway, here are some pictures.

I've started packing for the big move. Luckily, I don't have much stuff. Just lots of little crap and electronic stuff. Wires... many many wires. So I gave up and went for a bike ride.

When Brushed Metal goes bad.

2005-09-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

John Gruber at Daring Fireball has a hilarious post about iTunes 5 and the loss of brushed metal. Special guest star: Aqua interface!

The iTunes 5 Announcement From the Perspective of an Anthropomorphized Brushed Metal User Interface Theme

You will be missed, B.M.

I need a man with a van.

2005-09-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

We signed the lease on the new apartment! Hurray! Moving in next week. Unfortunately, I have no idea of how we're going to actually move any furniture, considering we don't have a car. Even if we rent a Uhaul, have you ever tried parking on Haight Street? Probably not. I mean, I suppose we could carry a mattress and dresser down four blocks from my old place, but I'm not exactly what you would call... strong.

Today is super busy. Lots of shoots, lots of podcasts (personal and professional) to attend to, many things that need to get taken care of before I move out. Ah me! There need to be more hours in the day. But it's all very exciting, so expect more updates in the future.

Kill off your enemies.

2005-09-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I downloaded an old-skool Apple emulator so I could play Oregon Trail. It was especially fun, because we made our travel party out of people who we HATED. So then the game would validate my feelings by saying such things as "Dan* has died of dysentery!"

Well, today I came across a great t-shirt. And now I think I need to own it.

*name has been changed to protect my popularity.

Make Google Talk sing.

2005-09-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

At work today, Tim did something really clever. He figured out how to make Google Talk become your own streaming internet radio station. We tried it out, and it worked pretty damn well! Here's the link to Alpha blog, where he wrote out the instructions:

Purchase a male-to-male speaker/headphone cable. It should have a 1/8-inch mini headphone jack on each end.
Plug one end into the mic-in port on your computer.
Plug the other end into your computer's headphone port. If you want to listen to music as you play it for your listeners (recommended), use a headphone splitter. Jack your headphones into one port of the headphone splitter, the male-to-male cable into the other port, and plug the splitter into your headphone port.
Launch iTunes (or any other audio player) and start playing songs.
Call up your friends over Google Talk. They'll hear whatever you're playing with surprisingly good sound quality.

Spectacular! Oh, and then we played a really great game, where you stream a rap song and try to type the lyrics as they come. It's a good way to test out the lag factor as well.

I find this amusing.

2005-09-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

Follow your nose, Bush!

iPod Nano!

2005-09-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

From Engadget:

Well, looks like Apple’s updating their iPod mini lineup too, but certainly not before introducing (yet) another addition to their iPod starting lineup—the iPod nano. It will feature 500 song/2GB and 1,000 song/4GB capacities, a color display, and, of course, a click wheel. The device is no more than 62% the size of the already diminutive iPod mini, weighs 1.5 ounces (42 grams), will come in black (as well as iPod white), and includes a few new niceties such as a nighttime inverse screen mode for the $199 and $249 pricetag. Dock ($29) not included, but lanyard headphones will be available for $39.

Also, the Rokr.

Interesting! That looks pretty hot. Too bad it's not a video iPod though. Ever slowly we inch closer...

Today is the big day...

2005-09-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

Any minute now, Apple is going to make their announcement about something NEW AND GREAT! What will it be? An iTunes phone? Maybe. An iTunes Video Store? That would be rad. Of course, if that were the case, a video iPod would also be necessary. I was supposed to be at the Moscone Center to hear the announcement, but I got to work too late. I'll find out soon and let everyone (who is everyone?) know. I was rooting for the phone for a long time, but then I found out that:

You cannot uploud your own music to the phone from your computer.
Each song that you buy from your phone will cost you $2 instead of $.99. Lame!

I'm hoping that Apple still have the ability to surprise, and unveils something that no one was expecting. But honestly? I doubt it.

UPDATE!
I'm a liar. You can use you own music on the phone, according to Apple.

I must own you.

2005-09-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

In other "inexplicable items Veronica covets" news, this USB device is dangerously adorable. I have to get off Shiny Shiny right now and sternly tell myself that I do not need a USB flash drive shaped like a little monster. Why must they torment me so??

Movin' on up

2005-09-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

The realtor called me today; he's checking out my employment references, and my previous landlord. I need this apartment. I need more than anything right now to not be living in the living room and sleeping on a $20 mattress that I bought USED OFF CRAIGSLIST. Here's the specs on the new place:

Modern remodeled 1 bedroom, 1 bath apartment on the second floor
facing backyard. Modern kitchen with dishwasher and garbage disposal.
Free standing fireplace, wall to wall carpets. Next to Haight Street
shopping, restaurants and public transportation.

Ian said something funny last night: "Did you ever think, while you were growing up in Connecticut, that someday you'd living in an apartment on Haight Street in San Francisco?" Why, no! I thought I'd live in Boston for the rest of my life. It's interesting to look back and wonder what you thought was going to happen.

Well, I can't complain about the way things have turned out.

oh wait... i hate MTV.

2005-09-04T17:01:00.000-07:00

I was given the task of babysitting 6 plants this weekend. This means that I get to have TV for the weekend. This means that I have sat on my ass this entire afternoon watching MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEEN, quite possibly the most vapid television show known to man.

Let me give you a brief synopsis: wealthy 15 year-olds (i'm talking grossly wealthy) have party planners and personal dressers put together their ultimate Sweet 16 birthday party. The last one that I watched cost $140,000. That's $20,000 more than my college education. Which I'll be paying off FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. Often they scream at the parents when they can't fit into a Betsey Johnson dress, bitch because the air conditioning is broken in the limo, and pout because no one is paying attention to them. It's like watching a car accident.

Being rich must be AWESOME. Here's hoping I can afford my rent this month.

Look at this bullcrap.

Why am I still watching it, you ask? BECAUSE I DON'T GOT NO CABLE AND IT'S EITHER THIS OR ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE. That's why.

UPDATE!!
Some triplets had Sugarcult play at their Vegas themed birthday. For $40,000.

It's about time.

2005-09-03T23:42:00.000-07:00

For a while now, I've toyed with the idea of starting a blog here on Blogger. I don't have the time or resources to actually develop something that didn't spring forth from the loins of a template page, nor the funds to pay someone to do that for me. I've done the LiveJournal thing for years now... but, it was starting to feel old. Can you outgrow a blog?

This is going to be my personal page from now on. I don't know if anyone will read it, and that's ok. I'll have MaxNewman.com soon to write my tech articles on (once that gets started....) and TiredThumbs to write my gaming stories on. Real work takes up the rest of my time, not to mention the process of securing a decent place to live and keeping my various other relationships intact.

So. Enjoy. Something of more substance will live here soon.