Diary of a Network Geek

Now, you can take David Hobby with you on the road!

Okay, not really.  I mean, I suppose you can if you’re Joe McNally or somebody like that, but guys like me, and my faithful readers (both of you!), probably can’t afford to actually take the famous Strobist with us on a shoot.  (If you’re not familiar with David Hobby or his blog, The Strobist, you really should check it out, by the way.  He used to post a lot more…
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Ever wonder what the weather looked like in Tokyo?

Are you planning a trip?  Do you want to know what it looks like right now in some far away city?  Or, maybe, you just work in a windowless box with a bunch of servers and would like to see something that feels like that mythical place called “outside”.  No matter your reason for wanting to see some place far away from where you are, I have the sit for you: Official Webcams.travel Blog.  This mashup of Google maps and webcams lets you find the public webcam of your chosen destination and, well, actually look at it.  For those of us who probably won’t get a vacation this year, it’s nice to be able to look out at someplace else via our computer.

So, hit the link, readers, and dream the big dreams.

Hey, remember how I was looking for new music some weeks ago?

Well, I found some.
So, I’m pretty much always looking for new music these days. And, I’ve fully embraced the fact that I’m tragically unhip. So, where does that leave me? Well, it leaves me totally open to other people’s suggestions. So, that’s what I sought and that’s what I found. (In fact, while you’re reading this, you can use my SeeqPod searches to preview some of the music I ended up buying.) Well, obviously, I put up a post and a poll about your suggestions, gentle readers. Then, earlier this month, I sent out the call to the same special group of ladies who helped me pick out my most successful pair of shoes which got the best reaction from my favorite member of my target market. When the answer came back from them, I shuffled that in with the wisdom of the crowd here at Diary of a Network Geek and came up with a list. Here it is:

French Kicks – One Time Bells
Snow Patrol – A Hundred Million Suns
Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
The Ting Tings- We Started Nothing
The Flaming Lips – Maxi-Single – She Don’t Use Jelly
Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
Tokyo Police Club- Elephant Shell
Spoon – Double CD – Soft Effects and Telephono

So, that’s what I got today, in a hurry, at the last minute, to blend in with some of my older stuff, like Elvis Costello and Frank Sinatra and Warren Zevon and Miles Davis and the like, to make a nice mix. Why? Well, because I’m going to have those people over for Thanksgiving and several of them will be people I want to, um, make a good impression on, if you take my meaning. Yeah, this poor, unhip network geek is trying to impress a girl a little bit. And, barring that, I wouldn’t mind impressing a couple of the guys. Different reasons, naturally, but, still, one’s as good as the other, right?

Okay, not really. But, in any case, I just wanted to have some nice, young, hip background music for this little party. Possibly, even music for more parties in the future, too, I might add. Sure, it’s been a lot of work getting ready, and a bit more work before I’m done, but I love entertaining. I love having people over for virtually any reason. And, yes, it’s been the perfect antidote to the poisonous memories from four years ago at this time of year. Instead of feeling depressed and down, I’m feeling up, positive and excited about the upcoming holiday. New memories, happy memories, ready to be made and, I think, this music will help make it better, more memorable and new and fresh, for me.
I’m not quite sure how many people will be coming, but a number of people will be coming after going to their family Thanksgiving celebration, just to hang out and maybe have a slice of pie. Fresh music, new friends, and pie. Sounds like a pretty damn good start to me!

No, not actual ruin, but, rather, a bit of artistic fantasy.

Thanks to a chance discovery of Pink Tentacle, I have a quickie for you. Just a link, really, to their blog entry about an artist who’s Photoshoped pictures of Tokyo into fantasies of life after mankind has suddenly departed. I love the images and imagination behind this exhibit. I remember when everyone evacuated Houston for RIta, even though it was totally unwarranted. The whole city seemed empty and surreal. That’s what these pictures reminded me of.

Anyway, it seemed the perfect thing for leading up to Halloween. Enjoy!

Gah!
I’m not good at these kinds of things, but the dear, sweet Coco in Tokyo has passed me the musical baton, so I’ll do my best.
* Total volume of music files on my computer: 181 songs, 650Megabytes, but it’s all legal!
Mostly it’s Warren Zevon, Sting, Elvis Costello, and Chris Isaak.

* Last CD I bought: Was actually, either “American Idiot” by Green Day or “Love Music Angel Baby” by Gwen Stefani.

* Song playing right now: “Baby Plays Around” by Elvis Costello

* Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:

1. “Allison” by Elvis Costello
2. “Fortress Around Your Heart” by Sting
3. “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton
4. “Ordinary Day” by Vanessa Carlton
5. “Rinse” by Vanessa Carlton

At the moment, the CD player in my car is acting up, so I’m not listening to a lot of music that I normally do. And, I recognize how “tragically unhip” I am, especially when it comes to music, so I’m trying to branch out and discover new stuff. So far, I’m not getting very far! But, I’m slowly creeping up to modern pop music. Now, if I can just get over my terrible fascination with Culturcide… I know the lead man for them, even though that kind of loud punk music isn’t my normal style. Still, I think it lends me “street cred” that their front man burned me a pirate copy of their German bootleg album. Right? That has to count for something…

Now, three suckers to pass the baton to…:

Mark at Clear Lake Reflections
Laurie at A Thousand Thoughts
Bleucube at, er, Bleucube

Possibly.

According to this article on Australian IT, Micro$oft’s Japanese headquarters were raided last week on the suspicion of violating Japanese anti-trust laws. The Japanese Fair Trade Commission apparently sent a warning to Micro$oft’s HQ in Tokyo regarding certain statements in their license agreement that were deemed a violation of Japanese law. Namely, they have a clause prohibiting Japanese companies from suing Micro$oft for any real or percieved copyright infringements. Yow! That’s a nasty one! Remember, those Japanese companies that are prohibited from sueing include giants like NEC, Fujitsu, Matsushita, Hitachi and Sony, all of whom make computer hardware and drivers for it. According to the article, “A spokesman for the Japanese unit, Microsoft Co, confirmed the raid but declined to comment further.”

Not sure how this one will turn out, but it’s a good one to watch, eh?