This is what you get when you outsource

I just got this message from Monster.com:

The subject line of the email is: Please, pay Your attention!

Monster.com company greets you.

We are happy to inform you that we had succesfully upgraded our
site. Because of our system has great changes, you
have to install Monster.com certificated utility (click here) to be able
to use monster.com database. If you don’t setup this tool
until March, 1st, 2007, you will not be able to use your account
You don’t have to answer this letter - it’s just a newsletter.
Thanks for cooperation.

Now for the record, Monster.com is a top notch operation. I have gotten my last 3 jobs courtesy of their web site. Not I'm not sure if this was an official email from them or if somebody is doing some phishing or some kind of shenanigans.

So what do I do now? Is my account expiring? Why should I have to install something on my computer to use your site? I don't get it.

UT Number 3 in Music File Sharing

Well, the football team had a hard enough time cracking the top 10 but apparently the student body as a whole has carved out a niche for itself on the RIAA's hit list. My beloved University of Tennessee Volunteers are currently number three in the polls when it comes to music sharing across the campus networks. Read about it here.

Hopefully the RIAA will run out of money trying to sue every Tom, Dick and Harry that downloads music without paying for it. I guess the boneheads have never stopped to figure out that it might actually help sales of music. Who wants to buy an entire album of crap for one good song?

Imagine doing interactive music with this thing

A friend of mine sent me a link to some new touch screen technology that is being developed. You are able to do some killer things with interactivity providing you or someone you know has the programming skills to pull it off. Personally, I'd like to use it for interactive music installations. Check it out.

Thomas Dolby is Doing it Again

I just watched my autographed copy of the Thomas Dolby Sole Inhabitant DVD. It was very cool. It was filmed at the Berklee College of Music during his tour last year. He came through Atlanta and I missed it but I picked up the DVD and it did not disappoint.

Thomas did the entire tour as a one man show. He had a MAC G5 running Logic Pro Audio driving most everything.  He used two hardware synths  made by Novation as well as an old Roland analog synth. For keyboards, he  mainly used controllers  with the keys split into ranges with different sounds mapped to different parts of the keyboard.  He also had a  M-Audio  Trigger Finger for doing drums and triggering samples.  A Muse Receptor was in his rack to control all the effects on his  voice.

The performance was very good. There were a few places where he wavered off key a bit but who cares... It was Thomas Dolby live for the first time since the 90s. Plus he had a lot going on with managing all the hardware and software. The audio on the disc is very good as well except there were some noticeable volume changes probably due to the fact the Dolby was tweaking the mix from the stage.  He also made use of the real-time video along with canned clips and software that was written for v-jaying. The creator of the video software served as his VJ for the tour.

The set list included his big hits like "She Blinded Me With Science" and "Hyperactive" but I thought the high points, at least for me. were "Living in a Suitcase" and my personal favorite "One of Our Submarines".

I got the DVD from CD Baby. He has a limited few that are signed. Mine is number 383/1000.

Killer Freebies

No, it's not some kind of mutant killer bee or radioactive Frisbees. It's a list of some really great free software. Click over here to FOXnews.com and persue the list and see what you might find useful. They've done the research and you should be able to get the stuff without having to navigate the gauntlet of pop-up ads and porn.

Do you have the time?

According to an article on FOXnews.com, watches are going the way of the dodo. Apparently more and more people are not wearing watches in favor of keeping time with their cell phones, computers and iPods. Personally, I prefer a precision timepiece.

I'm currently wearing the beauty pictured to the left. It's a Citizen Skyhawk Black Eagle. It was a Christmas gift from Mrs. MikeTheBlog. Sure I look at the clock on my cell phone from time to time but I have to take it out of my pocket. I rarely carry my mp3 player (I'm not even sure I can set the time on mine) so that's not an option. I do look at the clock on my computer screen but it's right in front of my face. I simply prefer to push back a sleeve and turn my wrist slightly to check the current time.

I have a watch fetish but unfortualtley do not have the bank account to fully indulge. I really wanted an Omega Seamaster like James Bond wore in Casino Royale but those puppies run about 2800.00 US. Well, I'll save that for another day.

I like looking at my watch, twisting the dials and playing with all the features. It's got a flight computer built in on the face of the watch. I'm not a pilot -- yet. But when I become one I'll be ready. In the meantime I'll be able to convert from statute miles to nautical miles with a twist of the watch face;l but it's knowing that I can that makes me feel good.

Do I need a watch with all that stuff on it? Well, Yes. I like the fact that it is water proof up to 100 meters. If I'm 300 feet under water, that last thing I'd be concerned about is my watch but at least I know it can take it. I wear it when I swim and use the stopwatch feature to time my laps. So far my best has been 1/2 mile or 15 laps in 26 minutes. If I actually swam freestyle instead of side/breast stroke I could shave at least 7 or 8 minutes off that time. I digress. The watch will also allow you to switch time zones. Pretty handy if you don't feel like doing the math or resetting a watch as you travel. Plus if you are going long distances, say to New Zealand, you can "bip" it right on over to the AUK setting and start trying to adjust to the local time there. Pretty cool. The other neat thing is it's an Eco-Drive watch. It is charged by light. So unless I stay in cave for an unusually long time, I'll never have to change the battery.

So, suffice to say, watches may be losing ground to all the other gadgets and phones and various and other sundry things out there. I'll always have one on my wrist. That's the way I prefer it. I wear two pieces of flair: my watch and my wedding ring. Period.

Irony in the mile high club

Should yopu engage in illicit activity on the way somewhere to promote safe sex? Apprently Ray Fines thinks it's okay.