I love the thump-thump, but the diva/booty house is a little too overt. I groove on the deep, deep beats. With that in mind, here's a good resource I just found:
DEEPRHYTHMS.COM - DEEP UNDERGROUND HOUSE MIXES
People seem to think that my site has something to say about finding hotel sex in plzn. At least, google suggested me. I am afraid that I have nothing to offer. But if anyone would care to suggest any information, I would be happy to pass it on.
I've only read the first two Harry Potter books, but I have to say that for a kids' book, they are a decent read. In the spirit of Free Information, here is the entire text of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Its in very basic HTML, suitable for reading on your pocket-sized device, laptop, or Atari 400. Enjoy.
Update: A hearty hello to the people from Pig's Back and iVenus. Its always great to find that I have a readership in unexpected circles.
Buffalo Technology has an accesspoint that uses the new Wireless Distribution System standard, that allows multiple nodes on the same channel to discover each other and pass packets between one another, like a repeater.
This means you can cover a large area with multiple nodes and a single wired connection. Good stuff! Lets hope more companies follow suit and support this technology.
Just about everyone who rides the bus in seattle knows this guy, with his garbled rant about the Seattle Police and COOOOOMMMUNISTS. Handily, the Stranger sent a reporter down to find out the scoop. I guess this article was written some time ago, but I missed it.
Jason Taylor has some very clever little animations that show his characters sync'd with voice clips from movies.
Also: Great 3d stills from Jimmy Maidens, who went to Montgomery College around the same time I did.
Good Monday Fun.
Charles Evans, photographer, has captured the essence of Burning Man better than just about any other person. His panoramic QTVR images let you look all around and really capture the vastness that is the Black Rock desert. If you've been to Black Rock City, you're sure to feel a pang of homesickness when you see these. Also, check out this interview with him.
See Also: my own photos of burns past.
The folks at Lindsay's Technical Books sell books that are practical, as well as highly impractical. Tesla coils and steam engines, charcoal and crucibles. Loads of 1900-1940's "high tech" to fuel pipe dreams and shade-tree mechanical projects.
Last year a group of anti-consumerism Christian activists dropped $10,000 in small bills and coins on Wall Street in New York. Similar to Abbie Hoffman's action in the sixties, all hell broke loose.
I love Bjork. I'm not as big a fan of her music as many of my maniac friends, but she's great. So, for those of you who care but don't already know, she has finalized her Seattle concert dates. Her website promises a secret link to pre-sale tickets tomorrow morning (Friday 8am PDT)
from bjork.com:
We have now the details for the Seattle Concert, not at the Gorge, but at Pier 62/63
Date: August 15th
Venue: Pier 62/63
City: Seattle
Internet onsale: Friday June 6th @ 8am (West Coast time)
Public onsale: Saturday June 7th @ 10 am
At 8am Friday, we will have the link and password to this concert.
Update:
The link.
The password is ENJOY.
I bought two tickets!
Via SFGate and the Associated Press, another victory for Medical Marijuana:
Marijuana guru Ed Rosenthal freed after one-day sentence
(06-04) 10:39 PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --
Ed Rosenthal, the self-proclaimed "Guru of Ganja," walked free Wednesday after a federal judge sentenced him to one day in prison for a marijuana conviction. He could have been sentenced to as much as 60 years behind bars.
Rosenthal, convicted in February of growing more than 100 marijuana plants in an Oakland warehouse, has become the focus of a growing national debate about medical marijuana and a battle between the federal government and the nine states that have declared such use legal.
Rosenthal, 58, has argued his actions were legal under a 1996 law passed by California voters that allows pot use for medical purposes. He also said he was acting as an agent for the city of Oakland's medical marijuana program.
"I take responsibility for my actions that bring me here today. I took these actions because my conscience led me to help people who are suffering," Rosenthal said outside the courtroom. "These laws are doomed."
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer sentenced Rosenthal to one day in prison on each of three counts, to run concurrently, and then set him free after declaring Rosenthal had already served that time. Rosenthal, also fined $1,000, will be on supervised release for three years.
The ruling was met by wild cheering and applause in the courtroom.
"I think it's a marvelous victory for states' rights and the medical use of marijuana," said Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "It sends a strong signal to the federal government that they should reconsider their current program of arresting patients and caregivers in California.
"At a time when they should be concerned about terrorism, they are spending significant resources chasing, arresting and prosecuting medical marijuana cases."
Several of the jurors who found Rosenthal guilty of marijuana cultivation later said they would have acquitted him if they had known he was growing the plants for patients in Oakland. Breyer did not allow any mention of medical marijuana at the trial.
Last week, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer asked Breyer for leniency in Rosenthal's sentencing, citing the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996. The federal probation department recommended a 21-month prison term. Prosecutors asked for a 61/2-year prison term.
Prosecutor George Bevan said Wednesday that Rosenthal was not simply helping the ill.
"This operation is a cash cow. He put out thousands and thousands of plants," Bevan said. "I don't think anyone disagrees with helping sick people, but as far as we're concerned, it was a business. His cultivation is a direct violation of state laws."
Today was a *perfect* sailing day here in Seattle. Sunny, 71F, and steady breezes. Unfortunately I was stuck inside at work all day, watching it out my window.
My friend and old housemate Antonio is the skipper of a fine wooden Schooner, the S/V Southwind.
Its been great fun learning the ropes these past couple years with Antonio. We've got the crew thing down pat now, and the two of us can pretty much handle the boat on our own. Which is no small thing, considering she flies as many as five sails at once.
When my dad was here visiting two weeks ago, we had a great time cruising back and forth across the sound. It had been years since he and I had sailed together. I sailed with him a ton growing up, though never anything this big. Sailing with him this weekend brought back a lot of great memories of marine adventures.
Three or four years ago I got it into my head that I wanted to mix records. I resolved to buy nothing more on CD, only vinyl. I dug up a mixer to use. I plotted buying turntables.
I ended up with a big stack of dub and house singles, but I never had it in me to keep on top of buying 12" singles. At $10/per, they were just too expensive. Maybe I lacked the passion for it, I dunno.
Fast-Forward to 2003. CDs and MP3s have made music essentially free. My friend Hank had a birthday party, in March, and rented some cheap cd mixers. I got my turn on the decks and had a great time playing and mixing for the four people still awake.
Still, DJ CD players remain top dollar, as pro-grade audio gear tends to be. Recently, I've been playing with a piece of software that does essentially the same thing as two CD decks and a mixer. And software is free, of course ;)
The only things missing are real knobs and sliders. You can't rock the house with a mouse. It turns out that a controller designed for some crappy toy software can be hacked to work on whatever you want. Available cheap on ebay.
Bingo, instant cheap DJ fun. Just add ABBA.
Perfect for people with ideas who don't want to bother hacking out a decent presentation. Fast, pretty, workable designs that anyone can use. Just add content.
via Metafilter
Recently one of my favourite websites has taken to placing ads on their pages. Now, I am particularly sensitive to commercials. I can't stand commercial radio, commercial television, and billboards drive me crazy. Web ads seem to be getting worse and worse.
There are a bunch of packages for blocking ads in IE on Windows, but I was surprised to find something for Safari on OSX. Pith Helmet does a pretty good job of blocking ads transparently. They are just *gone*.