Rush plays Pat Metheny Group "Forward March"

Just listening to Rush Limbaugh and he is recreating the failed presidential bid of Michael Dukakis. He uses the odd but funny music of a seemingly out of tune marching band. I bet very few people will recognize this song as Forward Mach by the Pat Metheny Group from the First Circle album! Obviously this was a throw away bit of fun for PMG but it is funny to hear it used in this new context.

Excused!

Ah, I dodged a bullet and was dismissed as a juror. I was certain I was going to be called for a civil case involving personal injury and a car accident.

Judge Miller of Montgomery County (sixth circuit) asked a bunch of questions. I responded to one regarding previous jury experience. I was also later asked about my previous work experience since I was listed as retired. I answered that I previously worked for Microsoft which elicited a remark from Judge Miller asking me if I was a member of the Fortune 500 richest people to which I said no. This seemed to amuse some of the other jurors. Afterwards, a couple of the jurors commented to me that they thought it was inappropriate for Judge Miller to make such a remark. I chalk it up to the general egotism of those in the legal profession such as Eliot Spitzer.

Jury Duty

So, today I had to report for jury duty. I was threatened with jury duty a couple of years ago but didn't have to show. This time I actually had to report. I did serve on a jury back in the 80's so I guess it was my time again.

At least the jury waiting room has excellent wi-fi so I brought my laptop. It allowed me an opportunity to test out some remote access stuff I have been working on lately.

First, I have recently setup a Slingbox solo player so I wanted to try that out. It works flawlessly and is really cool to be able to watch anything on my Fios TV service either on my laptop or my Palm Centro pda/phone running on the Sprint EVDO service.

My next experiment was to test access to my Slimdevices Slimserver using the secure SSH tunnel protocol. I had been playing with this for a while and was pleased with my results. I also have been working to harden the security to keep the internet idiots out of my network. I've been meaning to write up some tips that I have discovered along the way including the ability to run a session completely off of a portable usb stick.

Anyway, I am pleased to report I can easily access my full slimserver music system using the Softsqueeze java client and listen to streaming music on my laptop. The slimserver has the ability to transcode music files on the fly using the lame mp3 engine so you can accommodate limited bandwidth. Since I store all my music in lossless FLAC, this is a very nice feature.

Barron's Gushes over Purity speaker

This fun video gushes over the new Purity speaker from Martin Logan. As a long time Martin Logan owner, it's nice to see.

New Micro Center opens in Rockville, MD

I just returned from perusing the aisles of the brand new Micro Center computer store in Rockville, MD. Today is the first day they are open.

This is a gorgeous store. It outclasses every other electronics store in the region. It's almost like having a Newegg or Fry's in my backyard. This new store grew from the ashes of the horrible CompUsa (owned by Mexican telecom monopolist Carlos Slim) that once occupied this location. What a breath of fresh air.

It appeared there were many good deals to examine. For example, I noticed an Acer 24 inch LCD monitor for the low price of $299.

I will be a frequent visitor.

Questions with no answers

There are a few things about computing that seem to have no answer.

1. I cannot find a Windows based PC laptop that includes a 6 pin bus powered FireWire interface. All Apple laptops have this. All Windows based PCs only have 4 pin non bus powered interfaces. I find it very curious that no one has ever written an article about this. Since Apple invented FireWire (1394) could there be a patent limitation on this? You can buy desktop motherboards with 6 pin bus powered FireWire interfaces. Very odd. Having a bus powered FireWire interface on a laptop lets you run things like Audio interfaces (from Motu, M-Audio, etc.) without needing a power adapter and a tangle of wires
2. Why do no Windows Media portable players support WMA Lossless files? Apple iPods have supported Apple Lossless files for many years. Why does Microsoft and their partners think this is unimportant? Audiophiles care deeply about such things.

Auto Show 2007 - Washington, DC

Google has expanded its Picasa Web Albums. I've been posting some photos:

Auto Show 2007

Moduslink Vista Upgrade - Update 2

Somewhat surprisingly, my Windows Vista Express Upgrade disc arrived in the mail last Friday, March 2, 2006.

Thus, for me, ends a sad tale of simply trying to get what I paid for over three months ago.

My advice to Microsoft: next time skip this nonsense. There was nothing Express about this process. In the future, put the resources into hitting ship dates that mesh with selling periods (e.g. back to school, Christmas) and spare the consumer some grief.

Based on a Google of news stories and blogs, it is apparent that other consumers are still suffering the fallout of the Moduslink Vista Express Meltdown.

Where's Iggy?

I attended a wonderful concert by Marin Alsop and the BSO at the Music Center at Strathmore on Thursday, February 22, 2007. The event featured an evening of music by Baltimore native son Philip Glass in conjunction with a choreography of projected photos by Frans Lanting. The Washington Post gave a very nice review to the event.

The Post article failed to mention an amusing fact that was revealed by Marin Alsop during a question and answer session at the conclusion of the concert. While discussing the challenge of keeping the orchestra in sync with the slide show, Ms. Alsop mentioned that she had drawn figures of animals on her score to help her locate key sections in the performance. She noted that she particularly used a picture of an iguana in the photos as an anchor point since she once owned an iguana as a child named Iggy.

I continue to believe that attracting and hiring Ms. Alsop as the musical director of the BSO is the most exciting thing to happen to classical music in the metro DC area in decades. She is a very hot property and Baltimore and Strathmore are very lucky indeed to have secured her talents.

Now all we need is for Ms. Alsop to program a concert of that other Baltimore native son - Frank Zappa. 

Moduslink Vista Upgrade - Update 1

Today, exactly three months to the day after I first submitted my paperwork, I received a call from the Moduslink Windows Vista Upgrade Redemption center. The pleasant woman on the phone informed me that my COA and POP had been processed and approved. Praise the Gods! She said I should receive the upgrade in March. I certainly hope so.

This has been a lot harder than it should have been but it looks like it has finally been resolved. I remain hopeful the upgrade disc will ship in a timely manner.