The 2 Girls, 1 Cup Song (Vocal NSFW)

One Love, One Unix

I was just reading a blog post on this very topic on ZDNet and it reminded me that I’ve felt this way for a long time.

UnixUnity™ is needed if a Unix-like Open Source OS is ever going to really catch on with the masses.

What Linux (er “GNU/Linux”) has going for it is that when it comes to Desktop users, no other Unix-like OS can compete. But there are too damn many flavors of it (distributions). But Linux has the most apps, period. It also has the most users and therefore the most resources available to it’s users.

After all, the FreeBSD “ports” are named so because most of them really are ports - of Linux apps.

And OpenSolaris has a long way to go to catch up with FreeBSD in terms of the number of available applications.

And maybe just maybe, if we narrowed it down to a handful of Unix-like operating systems (instead of dozens), and got focused on really being the best, we (notably the Linux community) could stop wasting time bashing other Operating Systems.

Regardless of the outcome, I’ll use any OS. I never used one that I didn’t (dis)like. But for the time being,  most of my time will be spent in (Ubuntu) Linux.

In the meantime, I just learned of the release of OpenSolaris 2008.5. It’s the first official release of the new and improved “Ubuntu-like” version of OpenSolaris. And compared to previous incarnations of Solaris, it rocks. The difference is like night and day.  We can thank Ian Murdock (and many others) for this. It’s long overdue.

Anyway, I gave it a shot and I was very impressed. Unfortunately the availability of software is very limited, but at least this is a start.  In addition, it won’t run on my computer. Apparently my hardware is too strange/old for that.  I’ve got it running in VirtualBox (for the most part).  It’s a great start, I look forward to it getting even better.

Anyway, if you’re a Linux user (or even if you’re not) with an open mind, I’d recommend checking out OpenSolaris, DesktopBSD and/or PCBSD. They are all Linux alternatives focused on ease of use and are (generally) as easy to set up as the the most user-friendly Linux distros are now.

Me of course, I’ve got 3 Linux distros and Windows Vista (!) installed on my hard drives and 3 more Linux distros, OpenSolaris & FreeBSD running in virtual machines.

Why? Because I can.

Hi, I’m Scott and I’m a Madonnaholic

Pardon me whilst I bore you with this very very very long post.

Madonna Maniac that I am, I pre-ordered her new CD, Hard Candy from Amazon.com.  And naturally I went for the “Candy Box Special Edition“. Unfortunately it’s not yet arrived (I’m hoping for today).

I own all of her CDs save for the collections/compilations From those I just have the singles for each of the previously unreleased tracks (no need to pay for something I otherwise already  owned).

Oh wait.. I do have You Can Dance (and come to think of it, it was the first CD I ever bought. I bought it the same day I got my first CD player back in 1987).

Anywho, I remember back in the day, before most people (save for those who went clubbing regularly or listened to “Urban Contemporary” radio) ever heard of her, I had her first LP (this was a few years before CDs mind you). Holiday still remains my fave track from it. It’s a classic.

And amazingly she turns 50(!) this August. And she’s till got it (imnsho).

So in her honor, I present my MP3 playlist from yesterday.

The Madonna 50
(Brought to you by angrykeyboarderâ„¢& Amarok)

Title	Album
Sorry	Confessions On A Dance Floor
Sorry (Man With Guitar Mix)	Sorry [DJ Version] EP/Single
Jump [Extended Album Version]	Jump  EP/Single
Jump [Axwell Remix Edit]	Jump  EP/Single
Hung Up (SDP Extended Vocal)	Hung Up [DJ Version] EP/Single
Hung Up (Tracy Young’s Get Up And Dance Groove)	Hung Up [DJ Version] EP/Single
Ray of Light	Ray of Light
Frozen	Ray of Light
Music	Music
Express Yourself	Like A Prayer
Like a Virgin (extended dance remix)	Like a Virgin
True Blue (The Color Mix)	True Blue
Cherish	Like A Prayer
Papa Don’t Preach [Extended Remix]	Super Club Mix EP/Single [Australia]
Everybody (Extended Version)	Super Club Mix EP/Single [Australia]
Lucky Star (New Mix)	Madonna
Borderline	Madonna
This Used To Be My Playground	Something To Remember
Something To Remember	I’m Breathless
4 Minutes	Hard Candy
Dress You Up	Like a Virgin
Hollywood	American Life
I Love New York (Thin White Duke Remix)	Get Together (Remixes)  EP/Single
The Power of Goodbye	Ray of Light
Don’t Tell Me	Music
Live to Tell	True Blue
Crazy For You	Something To Remember
I’ll Remember (Theme From The Motion Picture “With Honors”)	Something To Remember
Get Together	Confessions On A Dance Floor
Rescue Me	The Immaculate Collection
Fever	Erotica
Bedtime Story	Bedtime Stories
Take a Bow	Bedtime Stories
Rain	Erotica
What It Feels Like for a Girl	Music
Justify My Love	The Immaculate Collection
Erotica	Erotica
Secret	Bedtime Stories
Deeper And Deeper	Erotica
History	Jump
One More Chance	Something To Remember
You’ll See	Something To Remember
Survival	Bedtime Stories
Human Nature	Bedtime Stories
Give It 2 Me	Hard Candy
Ring My Bell	Hard Candy
Like A Prayer (12″ Club Version)	Remixed Prayers
Holiday	Madonna
Candy Shop	Hard Candy
Vogue (12” version)	Vogue EP/Single

Ubuntu 8.04 is out. Here’s how to get it quickly.

The *.ubuntu.com sites are typically swamped on release days and today (as of this writing) is no exception.

Here’s how to avoid the crunch (and ubuntu.com alltogether) and get your Ubuntu CDs.:

• Google for mirror sites. I’ve known (by heart) of a number of Ubuntu mirrors (for both CD images and sources.list) for a few years now.  For example, three typically fast mirrors in the United States are http://ubuntu.osuosl.org/releases/hardy, http://mirrors.kernel.org/ubuntu-releases/hardy/ , and http://mirror.anl.gov/pub/ubuntu-iso/
  
• If you’re the type that wants to verify the MD5SUM of your download, you do not need to get the MD5SUMS from .ubuntu.com. They are on the mirrors and are identical.
• Another option is to create your own CD with jigdo. You’ll note the “jigdo” files on all of the mirrors.  This is a very fast method. In essence you’re downloading all the individual .deb files from any of the package mirrors and using them to create a CD image (identical to the ones on the mirrors).  It’s a very quick way to get your CD image.
• And lastly there is Bittorrent.  The Ubuntu .torrent files are on any of the mirrors, you don’t have to look for them on *.ubuntu.com

I hope you found this helpful.

Ripping CDs is still the best.

Ripping CDs is still the best.

I happened upon a blogger writing about the merits of Amazonmp3 vs iTunes.  He’s right, Amazon kicks iTunes ass, but ripping CDs is still the best way to go.

Rip a CD to FLAC files and you’ll get better sound than from any other format (e.g. MP3, Windows Media Audio [WMA] - or Apple’s AAC). You’ll need a player that will play FLAC (they are out there but there aren’t many) or you’ll need the Rockbox firmware for your iPod.

I love FLAC (the files are huge compared to mp3 but if you’ve got a good home stereo, you will notice the difference)

I don’t own an iPod or anything from it’s competition myself. I’ve never seen a need for one. But I like having FLAC and (some) MP3 files because my computer is my “home stereo” (I invested in good speakers).  And I’ve got an external hard drive that’s my “digital jukebox”. It’s a 250 GB drive that right now has about 150GB of music on it.

85% of those files are files I ripped from CDs.  CDs are still the best.

Why? Well, you get a permanent backup if your hard drive dies or your mp3 player gets lost or stolen (yeah, I suppose you can back up your iTunes stuff to CD/DVD but even then it’s on a recordable disk that can end up with corrupted data - and it’s still fucked up with DRM).

But mostly the thing for me is, I’m old school (and old).  I remember buying records in the 1970s and I actually read the liner notes.

I like liner notes and you don’t get that if you buy your music from iTunes or Amazonmp3 (or steal it). You do get them if you buy CDs (although you often need a magnifying glass to read them - but at least they are there).

I have used both iTunes and Amzonmp3 and there’s no question, Amazon is superior. But they are both best for that song you like but you don’t want an whole album/CD.

Another great electronic download option is eMusic (which is #2 (!) in online download music music sales). A lot of people don’t know they exist but those of us who do love them).

eMusic (like Amazon) offers high-quality DRM-free MP3s for download. The difference is, you pay a subscription fee instead of buying each individual track (or album). However, the tracks are yours forever. It’s not “renting” like you do with  others like Rhapsody or Yahoo! Music Engine.

eMusic is a great bargain. The catch is most of their music is not stuff you’ll hear on the Radio, or see on the Billboard charts.  It’s indie stuff, but in many different genres.

They also have a lot of “catalog” stuff by artists that are well known (or used to be).

But I digress…

iTunes is for people who are too ignorant to know any better. DRM sucks ass.

if you are a iTunes fan, your best option is to switch to buying CDS - and/or go with amazonmp3.

Oh wait… there is good old fashioned stealing music on the Internet, but most of what you get there is crap (from 14-year olds who know nothing about ripping a CD to a good quality mp3 - let alone FLAC). I soured on stealing music several years ago).

But when it comes to whole albums, nothing beats buying the CD. That beats amzonmp3 (and most definitely iTunes) any day.

Technorati Tag: mp3

Can you spare 37 minutes?

If you can spare 37 minutes, you have got to watch this most awesome video.

Barack Obama, who has impressed me from day one (and always has great speeches) made possibly the best speech of his career today.

It’s been all over the news. If you’ve not seen it in it’s entirety here’s your chance. It’s well worth the time.

Among other things, it answers the criticism he’s gotten over stuff his Pastor has said recently and in the past (but that’s only part of it).

And here is the complete text of the speech:

Friday night’s tornado

… in downtown Atlanta touched down about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from where I once lived.

Technorati tags: Atlanta, Tornado

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer hired a High Priced Call Girl

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has admitted that he had been involved in a prostitution ring. In fact, his involvement was that he was a client of one of the prostitutes!

What the hell was this guy thinking? At least Bill Clinton wasn’t with a prostitute. Spitzer could end up on federal charges because he arranged for the prostitute to cross state lines (and of course he could be charged in D.C. as well).

Clinton said he did it “because he could” but obviously he had problems in his marriage. At the very least, Spitzer’s marriage is SERIOUSLY messed up. It had to be, he was risking waaay to much to hire a prostitute (not to mention the hypocrisy of the “law and order stances he’s taken as Governor AND former Attorney General(!) ).

read more | digg story

Technorati tag: Spitzer

Just 8 Moar Firefox Addons/Extensions…

would bring my total to 100!

Scott’s Installed Firefox Addons/Extensions: [92]

• About This Site 1.1
• Active Stop Button 1.2
• Adblock Plus 0.7.5.3
• Adblock Plus: Element Hiding Helper 1.0.2
• Add Bookmark Here 2 1.0.20070528
• All Your Maps Are Belong To Us 0.3
• Better GCal 0.2.2
• Better Gmail 2 0.3.3
• Better GReader 0.2.1
• Better YouTube 0.4
• Bookmark Duplicate Detector 0.6.3
• Cert Viewer Plus 1.2
• Chrome List 0.2.2
• CLEO 3.3.1
• Console² 0.3.9
• Context Search 0.4.1
• Copy All Urls 0.8.0
• CustomizeGoogle 0.69
• Deepest Sender 0.8.0
• del.icio.us Bookmarks 1.5.44
• DictionarySearch 3.0.0
• Digger 2.0
• DOM Inspector 1.8.1.12
• DownloadHelper 2.6.1
• DownThemAll! 0.9.9.10
• dragdropupload 1.5.25
• Email This! Bookmarklet Extension 2.1.3
• Exif Viewer 1.36
• Extended Statusbar 1.2.6
• Facebook Toolbar 1.2
• Fasterfox 2.0.0
• FEBE 5.3.1
• Firebug 1.05
• Fission 0.9
• Flashblock 1.5.5
• FlashGot 0.8.1
• Font Finder 0.5a
• FoxClocks 2.2.23
• FoxyProxy 2.6.2
• FoxyTunes 2.9.5
• Google Browser Sync 1.3.20070523.0
• Google Notebook 1.0.0.19
• Google Toolbar for Firefox 3.0.20070525L
• Greasemonkey 0.7.20080121.0
• History Submenus 1.01
• InfoLister 0.9f.2
• Live HTTP Headers 0.13.1
• M3U Ripper 1.5
• MeasureIt 0.3.6
• MediaPlayerConnectivity 0.8.3
• Menu Editor 1.2.3.3
• MIME Edit 0.60
• Modify Headers 0.6.3
• More Tools Menu 1.0.8
• Mouse Gestures 1.5.2
• MR Tech Toolkit 6.0a20
• Mugshot 0.1
• OpenSearchFox 0.1.5
• OperaView 0.6
• OPML Support 1.4.3
• Paste and Go 2 0.8
• Paste Email 2.1.2
• Paste Quote 0.3.2
• PDF Download 1.0.1.0
• Remember Mismatched Domains 1.4.3
• SafeCache 0.9
• SafeHistory 0.8
• Save Image in Folder 1.1.3
• Save Link in Folder 1.3.4
• SEOpen 0.8
• ShowIP 0.8.05
• Stop Autoplay 0.7.2
• StumbleUpon 3.16
• Stylish 0.5.5
• SubmitToTab 0.3.5
• Super DragAndGo 0.2.6
• Tab Counter 1.2
• Tab History 1.0.4
• Tab Mix Plus 0.3.6
• Table2Clipboard 0.0.3
• Tabs Menu 1.4.8
• Text Link 2.0.2007111301
• TinyUrl Creator 1.0.4
• Toggle Word Wrap 1.0
• Update Scanner 2.0.15
• URL Fixer 1.4
• User Agent Switcher 0.6.10
• WeatherBug 1.0.0.2
• Web Developer 1.1.4
• Work Offline 1.3
• Yahoo! Toolbar 1.5.0.20071211
• YSlow 0.9.4

Installed Themes: [2]

• Firefox (default)
• Tango 2.0.0

Installed Plugins: (13)

• DivX Browser Plug-In
• DivX® Web Player
• GCJ Web Browser Plugin 1.4
• Helix DNA Plugin: RealPlayer G2 Plug-In Compatible (compatible; Totem)
• mplayerplug-in 3.45
• NPAPI Plugins Wrapper 0.9.91.5
• QuickTime Plug-in 6.0 / 7
• QuickTime Plug-in 7.2.0
• RealPlayer 9
• Shockwave Flash
• Totem Web Browser Plugin 2.20.1
• Windows Media Player Plug-in 10 (compatible; Totem)
• Windows Media Player Plugin

List Generated with MR Tech’s Toolkit: Tue Feb 26 2008 06:20:03 GMT-0700 (MST)

Castro Resigns

Not unexpected, but still kinda freaky.

castro resigns

Hey! That’s My Cat!

Plez vot for her. Kleek peektur.

Than u.

moar funny pictures

One way in a blizzard.

one way in a blizzard

Originally uploaded to flickr by bipolarbeary

I love this photo. I wish I’d taken it.

The Grammy Awards

I almost never watch them. I think the last time I saw them was whatever year OutKast was on performing  Hey Ya!.

Most of the show generally bores me to tears. I love music, but the show still bores me.  And of course there are the categories that I don’t care about (e.g. Country).

On the other hand, every year I find out what I missed; and inevitably there were one or two performances I would have loved to have seen.  One of theses days I’ll get smart, record the show, wait a day or two till I hear what was good and then fast forward to those parts.

This time I wish I’d seen The Time with Rhianna.  For those that saw the show, I’m actually more interested in the former than the latter (although I do like Rhianna). However, Jam and Lewis are musical geniuses. And Morris Day (and his “attitude”) always cracked me up.

If The Time ever has (another?) a reunion tour, I’d be among the first to buy tickets.

It’s funny, this post came about thanks to a  blog entry I “stumbled upon“.  It’s a (rather negative) review. It’s too bad the writer can’t spell “Grammys”.

Technorati tags:  The Time, Jimmy Jam. Terry Lewis, Grammys

FoxyTunes aquired by Yahoo!

Well well well.. whaddaya know!

This is either great or awful news. If Microsoft ends up buying Yahoo! what will happen to FoxyTunes?

I’m particularly concerned about Linux compatibility (and not to mention, that FoxyTunes name came from the browser that it was originally designed for…

A message for my fellow Super Tuesday voters.

Please do as I will do.

Obama08!

www.barackobama.com
www.myspace.com/barackobama

Thank you.
YES WE CAN

Super Bowl Stats that MATTER

• I have lived in two Cities Metropolitan Areas that have hosted the Super Bowl*
• Each of them has hosted it twice.

Atlanta (The Georgia Dome, Atlanta - 1994*, 2000)

(Metro) Phoenix (Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe -1996 & University of Phoenix Stadium**, Glendale - 2008).

• In 1999 (while I was living in Atlanta), the Atlanta Falcons (by some freak of nature) landed in Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, Florida. They lost, to the Denver Broncos. But the fact that they even got there was quite amazing. They were back to their old crappy selves the following year (not that I really cared per se).

• The only recollection I have of watching any of the above mentiond games was in 1996 (and I wasn’t really paying attention - I was packing to move from Phoenix to Atlanta).

• And since I wrote this on day of Super Bowl XLII , I suppose I should include specific “stats” eh?

• OK, then..Super Bowl XLII proved once again that New York rules.

• First and foremost, New York, New York is a city so nice, they named it twice.
• The New York Times is not only the “hometown” newspaper for the New York Giants***, but it’s also the “hometown” paper (sort of) for the New England Patriots. How so? It’s simple really. Both The New York Times and The Boston Globe are divisions of The New York Times Company.
• Oh yeah, and that other thing…. The Giants won today.

*When Atlanta first hosted the Super Bowl in 1994, I was not (yet) living there. I lived in Phoenix from 1982 to 1996 and later, 2004 to present. I lived in Atlanta from 1996 to 2004 (and I wish I’d never left).
**As you will note above, despite it’s tile, the University of Phoenix Stadium is not in Phoenix.
***Yes, I know the “New York Giants” actually play in New Jersey! Picky, Picky!

Room to rent needed in San Diego, Cal area.

Do you know anyone in the San Diego, California area with a room to rent? I’ve got a friend who is desperately in need of one (preferably dog friendly).

She her ad on Craigslist for specifics.

Thanks.

Super Bowl UPDATE

Brought to you by:

angrykeyboarder.com

Is your website as stale as this?

I shall be gladly be ignoring The Super Bowl today (even though it’s being played approximately 12 miles from my place of residence).

Yahoo! Implements OpenID

It’s nice to see that Yahoo! is jumping on the OpenID bandwagon. That just leaves Google and Microsoft. I supect we’ll see the former before the latter. Microsoft does , it but only via Windows CardSpace. That’s means a smaller audience than the other guys. I’d like to see them support it via regular a Window Live/MSN ID.

Google only supports it via Blogger commenters. I’d llike to see Google support it via your plain old Google ID. I can’t imagine we will have to wait too long for that to become a reality.

I’ll probably end up with Yahoo! when all is said and done.

Meanwhile, I use OpenID on a number of sites. My problem is I can’t decide on one provider and I often forget which one I use where. I started off with LiveJournal (which is where OpenID originated) and then later, Vox and more recently AOL (in my case I use my AIM ID). What I’d like is to use a more “neutral” provider that I know won’t be going out of business next week.

I know all of the above are pretty safe bets. They won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, but I think I like the idea of Google or Yahoo! best

The Yahoo! beta starts on the 30 January. I hope Google gets around to it pretty soon as well.

In the meantime I guess I’ll stick with my mix of LJ, Vox and AOL. I hope that there is an easy way to switch from one to the other on the sites I use them on. So far, I’ve not seen that such a thing exists. Starting over would suck.

Will Gawker kill Gawker media?

Gawker has been been a hot topic as of late around the blogsphere and in the media.

Between Nick Denton firing much of the (now former) staff to the infamous Nick Douglas post describing (among other grossness on teh Internets) 2 Girls, 1 Cup.

After that post, Gawker-watchers said that Gawker had finally “jumped the shark“. Even the New York Times has written about it.

My biggest fear is when Gawker finally (deservedly) does die, that it doesn’t take it’s parent company (Gawker Media) with it.

I like a number of their sites. It would be a shame to see them all go. I’d miss Consumerist, Gizmodo, Fleshbot, Valleywag and most of all, my beloved Lifehacker.

I can’t imagine that Gawker would take it’s sister sites with it, but you never know. If this does happen, let’s hope the editors of the sites I’ve mentioned (are you listening, Gina?) have already made alternate plans to keep their sites going.