The Sixty One

I've recently been turned onto a very cool website.  It is a music/social site called The Sixty One  http://www.thesixtyone.com
It works kind of like a game, where the listeners earn points by trying to pick the songs that they think will be popular.  You pick these songs by 'bumping' them.  But the catch is that you have to spend points to bump a song - and the earlier in a song's life cycle the more points it costs to bump, but also the more points you earn should it become a popular song.

The site sports a wide variety and quality of music.  I have heard everything from classical to metal, from ambient to dance.  And you can pick the styles that suit you most, although I like to dabble in a bit of all of it.  So check it out when you get a chance, if you like experiencing new music that is.

Lately,

I've been battling with a bit of depression.  Not sure what is bringing it on.  Maybe partly do to my brother-in-law's untimely death and how that has made me think about my own estranged brother.  Maybe has something to do with my turning 37 and seeing 40 up in the near distance.  Feeling that I'm reaching mid-life and that I haven't done very much with my life.  Sometimes it seems that life is just speeding on by and everything that I had ever dreamed of doing is past due.

So, I don't know.  I'm feeling so uninspired. 

Maybe it is something else.

Javascript Graphics Library and SSI in IIS

I am working on an idea for a Javascript game and I have found this library for Javascrip that allows you to draw geometric primitives with Javascript:


http://www.walterzorn.com/jsgraphics/jsgraphics_e.htm


Also trying to figure out how to get SSI work in IIS, think this might provide a clue.. Haven't tried it yet:

http://forums.iis.net/p/1146884/1859241.aspx

BWI - Blogging While Intoxicated - Drunkeness, the New (Old) Frontier

Hey, I'm getting drunk...

I'm interested on how many people blog while drunk.

RESPOND please!

Do you blog while drunk?

Abolish Marriage Altogether?

In the wake of California Supreme Court's decision to allow gay marriage, I am reminded of a possible solution that has been floated for some time now.  Get rid of all legal marriages by the state.  Make the only state sanctioned arrangement be a domestic partnership, and leave the rite of marriage to religious / spiritual institutions.  Just cut the whole religious aspect out of the state sanctioned item all together. 

Of course, the religious right will balk loudly at this, given their determination to wed the church and the state.  But screw them.

Looking for My First Chainsaw

I think I'm going to get a chainsaw for Father's Day.  So I'm looking a comparisons online.
Here is one:
http://forestry.about.com/cs/chainsaws/a/best_first_saw_2.htm

PHP and JavaScript

I've been looking for information on the best way to marry the PHP language (my web dev language of choice) and JavaScript (the language necessary to make Web2.0 a reality). 

I've just found this site:
http://www.phpbuilder.com/columns/kassemi20050606.php3
and it looks promising as a starting point.

http://www.ajaxf1.com/tutorial/ajax-php.html

A Toolkit
http://www.modernmethod.com/sajax/

A list of Toolkits
http://ajaxpatterns.org/PHP_Ajax_Frameworks

Going to try this one:
http://sacratee.com/jpop/

Simplicity PHP
http://wiki.simplicityphp.com/

phpAjaxTags
http://www.4al.pl/phpAjaxTags/

I'm going to look into these and I will get back to you on my thoughts as to which one best suits my needs.

In Court...

Yesterday I spent in court.  The first time that I have ever provided witness in a criminal proceeding.

Some of it was quite interesting while the rest was intolerably boring. 

Lyric of the Day

"I still recall the effort to forget" - Big Wreck 'Between You and I'

Thoughts...

What do I think about programming in general? 

What do I think about music?

Did you know that computers and music are both binary languages?  Very interesting that.  I think there is something very revealing in that fact.  Despite the fact that many people have found my two career paths as oppositional I have always seen them as extremely compatible.

Music
I'm listening to The Eagles "Waiting in the Weeds" from their latest double album effort.  It is a good song.  One of the best on the two disc set.  The set was a little disappointing honestly.

There are many songs that were written by others.  With so much writing talent within the band, I found it surprising that it would be necessary to go outside of the group for material.

"Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" is a great song.  Classic Henley.  Political gold.
"And we pray to our lord, who we know is American"  Great stuff.

I've been getting into a lot of female artists lately.  It started with me going back and picking up Alanis Morrisette's "Under Rug Swept" which I wanted to get when it was released but for some reason I never got around to it.  I loved it so I bought the other stuff that I was missing. 



Politics
Still waiting to see what Hillary is going to do.  She will definitely stick around for West Virginia, maybe then she will get the hell out.  We shall see.

Just heard the term "Islamofascist" from Bill O's lips.  God I hate that term.  It is just meaningless to me.  Completely contrived.  Check out the Wikipedia entry for it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamofascism

I think you will agree with me on the misuse of the term fascist to describe these radicals.

Seriously! Get Out Hillary!

Last night, when Hillary gave her 'victory' speech, I was wondering what she was going to say.  I mean, even at the time she had won by what could only be described as a narrow margin.  And then as the night wore on, it became clear that she might not win at all.  So now that it is official that she won by a whopping 2% of the Indiana electorate, what does she do now.

Well, near the end her speech last night she seemed to starting the beginning of a way of stepping out.  So we shall see.  She was thanking everyone for their help in the campaign.

Just get out and do us all a huge favor!

The Slip

Hey, Nine Inch Nails just released a new album called "The Slip" and it is available completely free of charge from NIN.com. I'm just listening to the first song right now. Check it out! So far it is very cool!