unless you're a muslim. Then, apparently, you're fair game these days.
Thank you, Bush Administration, for sending troops to fight for our way of life and our civil rights and liberties which you slowly take away from all of us under the guise of a protective mother. (the mother who, in an effort to keep the child from seeing harm, accidentally smothers its baby in the process.)
Heres is an article from Time Online which is a picture perfect case of why the Patriot Act isn't a good thing. I especially love the quote at the bottom, which the man says, "I started worrying once my wife realized she was being followed and there were mysterious footprints in our house." Scary stuff. Just a little too 1984 for me. The keywords of Bush, Patriot Act, and Muslim are probably enough to get Big Brother to investigate this post. I wonder if that would count as a 'hit' on my counter.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Edge
The Edge is well known among the world's best guitarists, but is still more noted in guitarists' minds than any music critic. This is due to the fact that The Edge not only has one of the coolest rock-n-roll names ever, he's a divine king of guitar and effect TONE. Tone is a greatly underappreciated factor in guitar. Its what really set apart guitarists after you get past the 'they're good' stage. It makes 'good' become 'holy crap.' This link is an amazingly in depth look at how The Edge gets his signiture delay effect showcased in The Streets Have No Name and others. You'd recognize it if you heard it. 
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Great American Smoke-Out
Today, November 16th, is the American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout, when smokers are encouraged to quit for just one day.
This just in... Apparently, it kills you.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Who am I?
After recounting a pretty funny blog post on John Mayer's blog to Roscommon, he looked up the mentioned site. Basically, you take a picture of yourself and upload it, and the site matches the profile and facial features to celebrities. Here are my results: 
Facts is facts, folks... I'm 73% Alec Baldwin, 72% John Mayer, and 67% Shitbrick.
Facts is facts, folks... I'm 73% Alec Baldwin, 72% John Mayer, and 67% Shitbrick.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
A Political update
[ Here is ] a good story on what is happening in the Midterm Elections. Basically, the current make up of congress is Republican House of Reps, Republican Senate, and Republican Executive. In yesterday's election, the Democrats won the House of Representatives, and the Senate count stands at 50 Democrats and 49 Republicans with 1 tie in Virginia. The outcome of VA's race will turn the Senate blue or keep it red. The tie-breaker President of the Senate is currently a Rep, so we know how that will go. The above link talks about what exactly happens next in VA.
v2.0
The switch hath been made to Blogger Beta.
"And lo! Caboose looked at his blog, and it was good."
"And lo! Caboose looked at his blog, and it was good."
Interesting
Sometimes, I love covers. Cover songs, like, Dave Matthews playing All Along the Watchtower (a Dylan song) or Towncrier playing Wonderwall (an Oasis song) because they don't just imitate/copy the original song (much like I do). Rather, they take a different angle on them, resulting in an entirely new version of the song. I think its interesting how some listeners can really dig one verson, but the same lyrics and chords played just a little different can alter their stance. Or, you can hear a song sung by one artist, find out its a cover, then go out and investigate the original band with a different eye than you would have had otherwise.
Case and point:
Go this THIS LINK and watch "Bold As Love" played by John Mayer. This is a cover song, played with an entirely different approach. The original artist is usually pegged as a drugged-out wackjob who played his guitar way to loud and crazy. However, Hendrix was an extremely talented songwriter, as showcased in this tune.
Case and point:
Go this THIS LINK and watch "Bold As Love" played by John Mayer. This is a cover song, played with an entirely different approach. The original artist is usually pegged as a drugged-out wackjob who played his guitar way to loud and crazy. However, Hendrix was an extremely talented songwriter, as showcased in this tune.
Friday, November 3, 2006
1,000 words...
Both Homebase and Roscommon got new digital cameras recently, and I have been getting into different modes of photography with my camera of late and so, in that spirit, here are a few guides and how-to's for canon-style cameras.
Basically, Digital Cameras these days come with several settings for different kind of photo. Back in my High School days, we'd have to change aperture sized and shutter speeds manually on our SLR's. Today, there are presets to make this process easier, but only about 2-10 people use them. Here's a quick breakdown.
:Use this mode when you want to obscure the background and make the person you are shooting stand out.
:The Close-up Mode allows you to create impressive images of flowers, still life scenes, and subjects shot at close range.
:The Sports Mode pairs a high shutter speed with the AI Servo AF function, which can continuously focus on athletes, animals, or other rapidly moving subjects.
:The perfect mode for shooting nighttime scenery or people against a sunset.Shooting in this mode illuminates your subject with the flash and beautifully captures the background with a slow shutter speed.
:Use this mode when you want to avoid the reflection of a flash or shoot with the effect of natural light.
:This mode is the one to use when you want an image perfectly focused from near in to far away.
Color Settings:
Monochrome: This is a color setting (look for Sepia/B&W/etc for this setting). "When color data is discarded, light and shadows come to the fore and produce impressive images. The "Monochrome” Picture Style is not a revival of the past but an introduction to digital black and white. Monochrome offers the prospect of profound discovery and is worth the effort to master it."
Neutral: "With low saturation and contrast, the "Neutral” Picture Style leaves richer detail and gives photographers the greatest latitude for creating the finished images they envision."
Faithful: "Rather than the overall impression of a photo, the aim of the "Faithful” Picture Style is accurate reproduction of the colors of the subject. The "Faithful” Picture Style is the optimal choice for accurately reproducing color, showing the details of a pet’s fur, and in other cases when you want to express the subject without exaggeration."
Landscape: "The "Landscape” Picture Style is for communicating impressions engendered by the scenery before your eyes. Blue skies that seem like they could swallow you up. Trees swaying in the wind. More than the colors you saw, the "Landscap” Picture Style produces highly vivid images based on the colors you want to remember. The "Landscape” Picture Style also employs a high sharpness setting to clearly reproduce structures and other distant details. "
Portrait: "People are the most familiar —and the most difficult— photographic subjects. Adjusting the light level and exposure balance can produce vastly different development results. The "Portrait” Picture Style produces glowing expressions of healthy skin color for infants, children, and women. With the reduced sharpness and soft finishing of the "Portrait” Picture Style, you can almost hear the laughter of the smiling faces in your photograph."
Last, but not least, is Focus-Lock. This is a technique that anyone with a digital camera should be able to do. Most every newer camera uses Autofocus or something similar. Ever wander what the box is that appears for a split second in your LED screen when you're taking the picture? Here's how to use it to take better pictures.
These things aren't disposable cardboard cameras, people. To get your moneys worth out of them... everyone should learn these few basic tricks of the trade. Like with any hobby, it'll take practice.
Basically, Digital Cameras these days come with several settings for different kind of photo. Back in my High School days, we'd have to change aperture sized and shutter speeds manually on our SLR's. Today, there are presets to make this process easier, but only about 2-10 people use them. Here's a quick breakdown.
:Use this mode when you want to obscure the background and make the person you are shooting stand out.
:The Close-up Mode allows you to create impressive images of flowers, still life scenes, and subjects shot at close range. :The Sports Mode pairs a high shutter speed with the AI Servo AF function, which can continuously focus on athletes, animals, or other rapidly moving subjects. :The perfect mode for shooting nighttime scenery or people against a sunset.Shooting in this mode illuminates your subject with the flash and beautifully captures the background with a slow shutter speed. :Use this mode when you want to avoid the reflection of a flash or shoot with the effect of natural light. :This mode is the one to use when you want an image perfectly focused from near in to far away.Color Settings:
Monochrome: This is a color setting (look for Sepia/B&W/etc for this setting). "When color data is discarded, light and shadows come to the fore and produce impressive images. The "Monochrome” Picture Style is not a revival of the past but an introduction to digital black and white. Monochrome offers the prospect of profound discovery and is worth the effort to master it."
Neutral: "With low saturation and contrast, the "Neutral” Picture Style leaves richer detail and gives photographers the greatest latitude for creating the finished images they envision."
Faithful: "Rather than the overall impression of a photo, the aim of the "Faithful” Picture Style is accurate reproduction of the colors of the subject. The "Faithful” Picture Style is the optimal choice for accurately reproducing color, showing the details of a pet’s fur, and in other cases when you want to express the subject without exaggeration."
Landscape: "The "Landscape” Picture Style is for communicating impressions engendered by the scenery before your eyes. Blue skies that seem like they could swallow you up. Trees swaying in the wind. More than the colors you saw, the "Landscap” Picture Style produces highly vivid images based on the colors you want to remember. The "Landscape” Picture Style also employs a high sharpness setting to clearly reproduce structures and other distant details. "
Portrait: "People are the most familiar —and the most difficult— photographic subjects. Adjusting the light level and exposure balance can produce vastly different development results. The "Portrait” Picture Style produces glowing expressions of healthy skin color for infants, children, and women. With the reduced sharpness and soft finishing of the "Portrait” Picture Style, you can almost hear the laughter of the smiling faces in your photograph."
Last, but not least, is Focus-Lock. This is a technique that anyone with a digital camera should be able to do. Most every newer camera uses Autofocus or something similar. Ever wander what the box is that appears for a split second in your LED screen when you're taking the picture? Here's how to use it to take better pictures.
These things aren't disposable cardboard cameras, people. To get your moneys worth out of them... everyone should learn these few basic tricks of the trade. Like with any hobby, it'll take practice.
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Projects Pending...
After my recent iTrip canabalizing caper, I've suddenly been bitten by the 'what else can i do to tweek this thing up a notch or two' bug. These impulses have cuminated in the following project: 
Its called 'Build Your Own Clone.' Its just a sack filled with transistors, amps, diodes, potentiameters, jacks, a/c plugs, LED lights, a footswitch, and a circut board. You get to dump it all on the table a solder together everything to populate the circut board, then wire all the pots, jacks, lights, and switches together. Finally, you get to finish/paint the box however you wish. I just ordered the Script Phase clone, which is the same parts as an MXR phase 90. (also, I will now have two phasers, each with different rates and depth. Mikey E. of Incubus uses this effect. See "When it Comes" or "Pardon Me" for an example)
If this project goes well, I'll proceed to my next project: the Screamer pedal (a clone of the classic Ibanez TS808 TubeScreamer) then possibly the Tremelo. Updates soon. For now, I've got to start practicing soldering.
Its called 'Build Your Own Clone.' Its just a sack filled with transistors, amps, diodes, potentiameters, jacks, a/c plugs, LED lights, a footswitch, and a circut board. You get to dump it all on the table a solder together everything to populate the circut board, then wire all the pots, jacks, lights, and switches together. Finally, you get to finish/paint the box however you wish. I just ordered the Script Phase clone, which is the same parts as an MXR phase 90. (also, I will now have two phasers, each with different rates and depth. Mikey E. of Incubus uses this effect. See "When it Comes" or "Pardon Me" for an example)
If this project goes well, I'll proceed to my next project: the Screamer pedal (a clone of the classic Ibanez TS808 TubeScreamer) then possibly the Tremelo. Updates soon. For now, I've got to start practicing soldering.
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