blessingx

Kraft Mac 'n Cheese DELUXE and an Airborne. Lots o' orange.

I gave it a try for a week, but eventually reverted back. Really should have given it a few weeks, but I rarely have the time, plus data on Dvoraks advantages sometimes comes under fire. More recently, I've tried Matias' half-keyboard so I could keep one hand on keyboard and one on mouse at all times. That was a much easier transition, but in the end I'm running back and forth on up to four keyboards daily, so just not worth it. I should have picked up a 508 though and typed single-handed when I could.

I picked up their recent Mosaic Select Boogie Woogie and Blue Piano. Because of the age of the recordings its a little difficult to discuss SQ, but the selections are very nice. You probably know, but some of their collections have short runs. I think this one was 5,000 copies.

I became a convert not long ago after 19 years in Windows. There are a lot of great apps out there, some of which have been chronicled in a certain other sites Appleland thread. Two quickies that I can't think of similar quality apps in Windows are: Delicious Library a free-form DB like DEVONthink Pro The latter has some competition in more simple apps like Yojimbo and SOHO Notes, but the most interesting may be the web-based Evernote (also Windows and browser versions) which is progressing quickly. It's free at least while in beta.

Well Dusty, I did defend myself a bit there from your last response, but am sincerely curious what is new, and tried to point out what I thought was not, leading up to the sudden raise in need of spoiler prevention. Which as you mentioned in probably mostly due to immediate borderless internet discussion (no relationship to when show came to town and newspaper reviews in decades of VHS - or waiting for flicks to come on cable or the networks - could be more easily avoided). I guess I rarely see any real damage, but as I mentioned I'm blind to a lot of this because of what I drift towards watching. My experiences have been on the opposite side - for the record when discussing what a film is about (usually the directors/screenwriters intentions), not the actions which take place in the film. You can feel the fear though is the former will inherently end up in the latter (which is not the case). And thus stopping a larger in-depth discussion. But those experiences are personal, usually when talking in person, and besides the point of the larger discussion. I brought in a little baggage and sorry about that. I'm still a little confused by how quickly people label something 'spoilers' and to a much smaller respect how we survived without the protection so long (even a few years ago and yes I'm on several film boards), but didn't mean to take this to left field in a feature announcement. Sorry about that. "Practically all films these days have a 'reveal' that doesn't survive multiple viewings." You my be right and another cause why protection is suddenly important. As reveals are far from new, if it's a bigger deal now, that may mean there's less of something else there - a depressing proposition.

Yes. And that's probably a great example because the twists* are at its core. Shows like Lost, 24, etc. are about puzzle primarily, and that last thing you want is someone telling you where all the pieces go in advance. That's the whole point of of doing a jigsaw. My blind spot was I only experience this with film and really don't watch any serial television, so I didn't take that into consideration. My rules, at least, are different in film and while I hate to call television more disposable, I do think 'surviving' reveals/issues of repeat viewings are quite a bit different. For instance, it was apparent no matter what else it had to offer, The Crying Game made a big splash and was popular because of its 'switcharoo'. How many people rewatched it or even mentioned it a year later? Hardly anyone. I'd call that a negative as it didn't survive its reveal and better films always do. I do 'get' spoilers. I know it's horrible to reveal a sports score before someone has watched the taped game or when the news on the East Coast posts a story for the Survivor finale before it airs on the West. In my limited world I've just heard it applied more to film and I was confused at what was new there. If anything more people see films on opening weeks now, but maybe the Internet has changed the rules. * I'll not use "suspense," which it of course mostly is, because it's not as wide ranging as Hitchcock ("The Master of Suspense") used it, including even revealing the endpoints beforehand (showing body at beginning of Rope and passing out cards for late comers in the lobby). You can have suspense after the revealing (say second viewing) and if you don't there's probably a problem with the construct... at least in some forms. Otherwise, suspense would be the opposite of anticipation, which it's not. And Dusty, sorry if there was a confusion, as I took what you said and compounded on it to show my difficulty finding where spoilers start. I certainly didn't think you proposed hiding titles or reworking that films first half, for instance. I'm a little surprised it's not apparent I read your post, but I do have difficulty with your example as you're discussing expectations based on the spoiler - in this case a title. The expectations weren't fulfilled, but why I feel that's linked to the films success is because people tend not to complain about unmet expectations when the result is more satisfying than the expectation. If it was truly a case of just 'different' so be it, but for a film as poorly created as that, it seems its larger issues are worth pointing out - especially within a dialog of how much damage a spoiler can do. And for spoilers to have grown into such an issue it must be more than a little fun sacrificed within a larger enjoyment, right? It gets to the core and of course that plays into what else is offered.

I guess it's hard for at least one to see why it's a "much needed" feature even while discussing "key plot elements", which is kinda why I asked the question. I really find the rise in battling spoilers fight interesting (and it really is new), but I'm pretty clueless about its cause, though it seems quite obvious to many. Forgetting about professional reviewers which matters little here, does your average Joe hide twists less often now? Is the discussion more public, thus not between friends who know the others soft-spots? Or has the material just gotten weaker and the twists are it (I have to admit more a film is action or sci-fi - which is usually just action in space/another time - the more the anger on this front seems to be)? Hell, I've gotten slammed for revealing information in the first 30 seconds of a film, that is nothing but setup. Anyway, this feature doesn't hurt anyone and I'm not against it, I just don't understand and wanted to take the opportunity to ask why? I typed the above before Chalks response - but really Dusty the problem with My Super Ex-Girlfriend is that the title was inaccurate and created the wrong expectations? Seriously? I saw it twice (lovely airline decided to show it both directions) and while it's nearly impossible for me to hate airline films, the list of problems that keep that one from being great entertainment is a long one. It's basically a disaster in construction. It drags because its empty. It's a funny concept (woman scorned, but with superpowers! - wowee zowee!), not remotely filled in for 90 minutes. There were what four laughs? There's my spoiler - it's not funny. But even if I grant your point, in relationship to his conversion we hide titles too? Or do we say be aware she's not an ex until half-way through to prepare others (if that's really necessary). Is that then a spoiler? If we continue to use this as an example how does someone knowing the title, being warned they're not exes for the first half and saying there's an escalating anger level where she uses powers for revenge, destroy any part of the experience of even this not-much-there-there picture? Go into specifics - she's realllllly angry and uses lasers... at him, etc. Does it change anything? To those where this is all obvious I'm sure I'm coming off as a moron, but I swear I'm confused. I can certainly imagine specific secrets where enjoyment is lessened, and one is used as an example a couple posts up postjack , but the vast majority of spoiler complaints are over my head. And even using postjacks example the next viewing is probably better. Sure knowing in the end of a thriller the detectives wife is the murderer is a problem. But that the detective is a detective and he's investigating a murder during which he's sent down a wild goose chase? I'm so mixed up.

< > I really don't get the fear of spoilers. Seriously. I know reviews over the years have increasingly gotten lazy and simply statement the events happening instead of what a film/book/whatever is about, but damn if a pieces quality exists solely on the basis of witnessing a scene the first time, that's not a strong sign. Besides do that many core secrets really get exposed in threads here? I mean take the most predictable blockbuster in years - Iron Man. What exactly could be said before seeing it to make that experience worst? There are no surprises to expose. Or did I just expose the only surprise? I now know people who won't read a DVD sleeve or actual reviews and instead only glance at a combo Rotten Tomatoes number (yeah go with the masses of reviewers that always works) to decide how to allocate a Friday night. WTF? Could someone explain this to me? </ >

Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music

What do you guys think of this New Yorker/Schaap-Brody-Remnick list?

The new fade seems to be Taser parties.

This seems the perfect group to discuss cuddle parties! Come out of the closet - who's been to one? Visit the FAQ to answer all your questions.

Did they hold on to the pig this time?

I even did a test (warning readers please relax eye muscles to avoid reflex rolling) with the iPod touch and they sounded on the same planet as good.

Speaking of sources (and the Lavry specifically), anyone else find STAX (or at least Lambda Pros and Golds specifically) not particularly source dependent? I don't mean that you can't tell the difference, but that the sound doesn't collapse the way it does with some phones that are more finicky. Moving from the DA10 (admittedly without balanced as I don't have a balanced cable at the moment) to Pico to even Squeezebox 3, I find they're all quite pleasant listens (with the only two energizers I have much experience with, the srm-1/mk2 and srm-007t). There are clearly 'betters', but it does approach 'flavors', more than I would have expected (or compared to my dynamic gear - getting rare listening time lately). Which makes me believe they're more amp dependent, thus I'm contemplating downgrading my source to upgrade my amp to the 007t. Anyone have a similar or contrasting experience?

Fingers crossed. As resident expert spritzer, mind if I ask if there are any serial differences you're aware of for the 0007t like the srm-1/mkIIs A/B/C?

It's pretty big. Last time I used it was for some origami -

This is going to be used for other purposes besides gear porn? There is a lot of talk of overkill and I have to concur in respect of frame size and L lenses. Arguably even the 40D. Hell the majority of my best shots were from an old G1 under controlled conditions even when I had a D70 around. Is the web the final output? I certainly understand desire for a quicker lens, but as others have pointed - tripod and lighting are where I would focus. I also have a lighting tent should you ever want to borrow.

I haven't had any major problems with the last few versions of SlimServer/SqueezeCenter running on my MacBook. Only problems have been probably typical on any platform with initial setup on network, etc. and occasional bug on tagging info here, a display issue there. Overall I suspect the experience is the same on any of the three platforms. If there are more forum visible Mac issues, I do wonder if it's the lack of long time Mac users being accustom to tinkering, more than the software itself. It's not the most intuitive app ever though. After 19 years on the Windows side (and still using XP at work), I've been a Mac convert for a few years now. Take the jump. I do though wonder when George Bush said something clever.

Without knowing more (Obama stop giving the 'hope' speech and give details) it feels like a great year to be a Democrat. At least three cadidates I could live with. Now if someone could just explain to me the 16 year olds love for Ron I don't know history/Don't necessarily believe in evolution/Revert power to the states makes everthing magically better/Slavery was a property issue Paul I would be happy.

Watching C-Span right now. They're discussing a motion to "recognize the importance of the Christmas tree industry to America." 36 million trees a year for Americans. Started in 1816. Donated trees to our armed forces overseas, etc. Okay, it just passed. Wonder how much more time they can waste before the end of the year? Ah wait, they just started a motion on recognizing the importance of a specific Virginian cemetery.

Since so many individuals view any idea as either Christian or anti-Christian (interesting framing), could this be a further legal maneuver toward protection of actions in the name of Christianity? Discrimination against gays, women, Muslims, etc. because "my faith tells me so"? not to mention rewriting history, but they've sacrificed historical accuracy a long time ago in the interest of converting souls. Case in point: assuming Christmas, the Christmas tree, the Yule Log, etc. began as Christian celebrations. And such nice timing with Bush using only his seventh veto last week to prevent expansion of healthcare for children and the Senate Republicans today blocking a bill to prevent torture. As an atheist I gotta ask, where the hell did they get their version of Jesus? Hatred - the reason for the season.

Gimp x2, though it's not the easiest to start with. Course neither is Photoshop. If you're on OS X you have a bunch of new great apps to choose from. Three of the best are: http://www.pixelmator.com/ http://flyingmeat.com/acorn/ http://www.getdrawit.com/

Man, love the look of the enclosures. Very, very nice. Much better than my lets keep staining it cherry and hope for the best even though the eighth coat looks no better than the second method. :'( Welcome to the fold. Very nice amp.