I'm not Jewish, but I did grow up in Boca Raton, Fl. I have probably been to more Bar Mitzvahs than Christenings. As such, I fully admit that I am not the most unbiased person when it comes to the Middle East.

However, some things just get to me. When suicide bombers strike purely because their soon to be-inducted leader looks like he might actually favor peace, it is hard for me not to scream, "BOMB away Israel!"

I know that much of it isn't as easy as it appears. However, bombings in protest of peace are just that easy. They're wrong.

From the what I want department -- I would like to have a Bluetooth enabled front door lock. Here's how it would work.

1) Have a simple mating mechanism.
2) Use a proximity sensor. Whenever the two devices (in my case my cell phone and the front door) see each other the door is unlocked. Whenever they stop seeing each other the door is locked.

Obviously the lock would be fail-secure and you would also need a dead bolt, but tell me it wouldn't be cool to be able to walk up to the door and have it open just because you were carrying your cell phone. As a side note, the lock maker could make a Bluetooth key.

I was forced to recognize that I am out of touch with today's youth.

As I sit at the computer, I often have the TV going in the background. It provides a little white noise and helps cover the deafening silence that working alone can sometimes bring.

In the background today was MTV's countdown of the top video stars of all time. It was a ranking of the stars that really used videos to shine. "Michael Jackson will clearly be number one," I thought. One can't help but see MJ's feet dancing over the sidewalk as the blocks light up in Billie Jean.

"Thriller" -- a 20 minute video with Vincent Price in it. Martin Scorsese directed "Bad." Throw in "Beat It" and "Black and White" and you can't miss. Imagine my shock when he placed 7th. 7th! The artists in front of him?

6) Guns and Roses
5) No Doubt
4) Brittany Spears
3) Janet Jackson
2) Eminem
1) Madonna

What the *^*&. Madonna I can kind of see, but I am wayyyyy out of touch.

Yesterday I went to the music store and actually bought music. I couldn't remember the last time I did this. Over the past few years my music purchases have been few and far between, and the albums that I have added to my collection have been through either gifts or online stores.

I walked into the store and walked out with 5 albums which after sales tax came to a grand total of $82.63.

That seemed like a lot of money to me and it got me thinking about MP3s, the Internet, and file sharing. Could it be that MP3s were the cause of the declining music sales? The answer I came to was yes. Well, it was partially yes, but not in the way that you might think.

Before I start this, I would like to acknowledge that no research was done, and I don't plan to add research. The following are just my thoughts on the matter.

In my view, 4 factors lead to the decline in the music industry: 1) MP3s combined with 2) a genre shift 3) DVD collections and 4) The Internet as a pastime.

MP3s and the shift of tastes

When I was kid I made mix tapes. I would use my ghetto-looking red boombox with its dual cassette player to make the perfect mix. This was a long and laborious process that I would usually tackle once a month. This rite of passage aside, most of my music enjoyment came from either a) listening to albums in their entirety or b) the radio. The radio was, of course, free, and albums were designed to be 60 minutes of good music.

I knew that when I handed over my $8 to the clerk and he, in return, gave me Van Halen's 1984, I would get some good listening out of it. I bought a whole album.

Then came the CD player with its random access. I could easily jump to the "good song" and I didn't have to listen to the "filler." Mix tapes were easier to make and, because of that, I would make them more often. "They don't even listen to the filler," thought the record companies, "We don't have to try on that stuff." And it worked; sales continued, and the record companies profited.

Meanwhile, the Nineties were happening and rock was doing well. We started to see a resurgence of good groups like U2, and we got some great albums like Joshua Tree. Unlike pop, rock lends itself to a "like the sound of the group" mentality. After all, they write the music. They play the music. They have musical talent. It is not surprising that there is a higher hit rate.

Then came the music industry's worst nightmare, pop music coupled with MP3s. All of a sudden technology made it possible to view an artist as his or her one (maybe two) hit song/s. The "filler" became blatantly obvious by its absence. People no longer had to pay for the bit perfect quality of a CD and they were being hit over the head with the fact that they were only buying one song. "Why pay for $17 for a complete album? Heck I can buy a DVD for less than that."

DVD Collections

I owned a total of one commercially-produced VHS tape. It was a copy of Top Gun. It cost me $15 dollars in late fees plus the "I lost the tape" cost of $79.99. It is true that tapes did see some sales growth after that. However, VHS tapes are big and bulky. They wear out, and they aren't filled with "extras."

On the other hand, I have spent hundreds of dollars on DVDs. My complete Sopranos collection alone probably set me back by $250. There is no doubt that DVD collecting is one hot thing to do. For about the same price as a Brittany Spears album you can purchase Gladiator or Star Wars. Would you rather a) watch Gladiator three times or b) listen to "Oops, I did it again." 120 times. To be clear, that is 120 times *after* the 832 times that you hear it on the radio.

For me the choice is clear, and sales would seem to indicate it. DVD sales have gone through the roof. People only have so many discretionary dollars to spend, and music is not the answer. People also have only so many entertainment hours to be spend and they are spending them elsewhere.

The Internet

People *do* use the Internet for things besides files sharing. Actually they use it a lot. Studies have shown that people are both a) surfing more AND b) watching TV more. What's down? uhhh. Listening to music. The RIAA seems to believe that music dollars are like an annuity to which they are entitled. It doesn't seem to matter that they are producing a lesser product that people don't spend as much time using. They want their money.

Did MP3s destroy the industry? No, but they didn't make it easier for us to see what we were actually buying, and that's bad news for the record companies.

"I tried to find a more recent picture, but one cannot be found."

"I tried to find a more recent picture, but one cannot be found."

It looks like NBC is outfoxing Fox and getting further into the RealityTV game. If you thought that the premise behind "Joe Millionaire" was a little questionable, you probably aren't going to like NBC's summer show "For Love or Money."

Like "Joe Millionaire", "For Love or Money" focuses on the greedy money-grubbing ways of a hoard of women. Unlike Joe, the joke isn't on them; it's on the guy.

The premise:

Step 1: Find a poor shlub who is honestly looking for love.
Step 2: Tell him the show is NBC's version of the Bachelor.
Step 3: Find 25 gorgeous women.
Step 4: Tell the women that they win $1,000,000 if he picks her.

Oh, and BTW, the girls can't tell him they are gold-diggers. At least with Joe the women got what they deserved. Tsk, tsk, tsk. NBC you should be ashamed! Now, when does it start? I need to set my TiVo.

I woke up with the desire to surround myself with the best of everything. I have long been a fan of the "Do it right or don't do it at all." school of thought. Why spend 80% to get a product that will last half as long and please you 50% as much.

I figure that everyone has at least one random product that they can't stop raving about. I want to know about them.

Let everyone benefit from your experiences. Drop me a note at thebestof@theevilempire.com. I will post your entry. (please no religious wars)

What's my entry? I'm glad that you asked. If you are a fan of rocky-folksy music and love undiscovered music, I have the band for you. They are a SF group/duo called Box Set. They are incredible. You can check them out at:

BoxSet

Check out the streaming audio. You won't be disappointed.

The wind blew strongly as the couple walked down the old country road. It was a dark night. There was no moon and the storm, which would soon come, was preceded by its dark clouds. The wind and the clouds were ominous in nature, and, had it not been for the necessity of this trip, they surely would not be out on this road.

As the two walked, they grew cold and huddled against each other. They huddled for the warmth but also for the comfort that holding a loved one brings.

They walked quickly and in silence. They were content with each other, but they were both a little anxious about being alone on the old dirt road. The two had never been on this particular road, and they weren't exactly sure where it went. The directions seemed clear enough. Get on route 6, and follow it to the end. “Clear enough,” they had thought, but the further down the road they walked, the more they realized that the directions didn't tell all. The road wasn't clearly marked and there were many forks. There would be many decisions to make and each would seem more difficult than the last.

The dark clouds and the lack of a moon made light scarce and sight limited. They could see where they were putting their feet but they couldn't tell what was ahead. This made the trip difficult for the couple. They always thought of themselves as planners and the vague nature of this journey upset them. Yet, they kept moving.

As the hours passed, the young woman's eyes started to adjust, and she began to look past her feet and toward the future. With strained eyes, she looked and was worried at what she saw. Although she tried to ignore what was ahead, doing so was impossible. She feared what following the road would bring, but she also knew that they couldn't stop. They had to continue their journey.

As they continued to walk, she became more and more frightened. The image that she feared seemed to be more foreboding both in size and proximity. She tried hard to keep the fear inside, and although she never mentioned what she saw to her mate, he knew that something lay ahead. He knew from her breathing, from her footsteps, and from all those little things that two people in love know about each other.

The two continued to walk, now both in fear. One feared what she saw, and the other feared the unknown. Or maybe he feared what he believed to be the inevitable. As they walked, the image seemed to be growing and so too was her fear, and, in turn his fear grew. It grew until he could take it no longer. The fear of the unknown was too great. Although he hated to do so, he turned around and ran back to the beginning of the road. He retreated to the comfort of the known. She however would not turn around. She had to meet her fate.

A few minutes later she reached the sight of the doom, but all that was there was a lone tree. She sat under the tree and water began to pour down. She sat and she contemplated. She knew that her fear had led her here alone. Through the darkness, the tree was not a tree. Instead she saw the image of herself standing alone. It was an image that scared her. And now her worst fears had come true. She sat alone in the rain separated from the man she loved. Separated by the long unknown road of love.

Alternate ending

A few minutes later she reached what she had thought was her worst nightmare, but all that greeted her was a lone tree. The storm came and the skies began to open. Water poured down and the young women looked for and found shelter under the tree. Little rain reached her through the foliage. This surprised her. The image that she had first seen wasn't nearly big enough to provide shelter. It was small and without much cover. But, as with all things in life, time and experience had provided growth. In the course of the journey the young sapling had grown to be tree. It was still young and had much growth left, but the cover of the tree made the storm bearable. Under the tree she sat and she contemplated. She knew that her fears had led her here alone. Through the darkness, the tree was not a tree. Instead she saw the image of herself standing alone. It was an image that scared her. And now it had come true. She sat alone in the rain separated from the man she loved. Separated by the long unknown road of love.

Is it too much to ask that people date their Internet content? If you are going to spend hours/days writing a review of something, put the date on it. It takes two seconds, and that way I know whether or not to read it.

If I am researching a video card and your review is six months old, it probably isn't all that fresh. In the time since you wrote your review ATI has release 12 sets of drivers and fixed (and subsequently created) myriad problems. Likewise, if you dub something "The best X, Y, or Z on the market" it probably isn't anymore. PLEASE date things!

I woke up this morning with a hankering for bagels and lox . Having grown up in Boca Raton, Fl, I figured that I was SOL until the 24th, but I figured I would give it a shot.

I haven't found a great Bagel joint since moving to Seattle, but I remembered randomly passing "Mike's Brooklyn Bagels and Deli." On the remote chance that these bagels were 1/10th the quality of a NY bagel (I know. I know. It's the water), I had to check it out. I hopped in my car and I was off like a prom dress.

It turns out that my fears of a bagel shop gone dark were unfounded. The little Chinese woman behind the counter didn't seem to be one bit bothered by the date. Mike (funny she didn't seem like a Mike) bagged my bagels and I left.

I thought about asking whether these were Kosher for Passover, but something tells me my joke would have flown over her 4'11 head.

I swore that I would never talk about blogging itself. Well, to hell with that! I'm not going to let anyone tell me what I can and cannot say. That stands true even if that person is I. (Yes -- that's the correct usage.)

I recently switched over to MT from Blogger for two reasons. First, MT has a much larger feature set. I really wanted both a search function and the ability to categorize. The second reason is that with MT came an increased "sense of community."

With Blogger I got the feeling that I was holding a big megaphone. If I upset someone, there was no recourse. I like pissing people off, but it's not nearly as enjoyable if I don't know whether or not I've succeeded. ;)

Likewise, I dislike reading logs that behave like a megaphone. If someone says something stupid, I reserve the right to lay the smack down. After all, everyone's entitled to my opinion.

But what MT giveth, RSS taketh away (or at least the way that most people do it). In the past month both Nick and Erik have talked about switching over to Readers. That's fine, but do the community a favor; include comments in your feeds. Comments are part of what makes weblogging so much fun.

It is really easy to do, and it makes using a reader so much more enjoyable. For example, every time someone posts a comment the entry is updated. I find this to be a huge benefit. It's like having notifications for everyone but without the hassle.

Mostly this is just a request wrappered in an entry.

Two things to talk about. First, I thought that the electric candles that Jennifer found were really interesting.

However, that is basically a ruse to talk about one of the most interesting bloggers that I have run across on the Internet.

A week ago I decided to make the shift over to MT. Blogger was no longer cutting it, and I wanted all the fancy features that came with MT.

In my installation research, I stumbled upon a wonderful resource, Etc. The site was clean; it was professional. The guy who ran it had an incredible grasp of his audience. He wrote in a very concise manner. It was a wonderfully refreshing change of pace from all the crappy tech writing out there.

Hours into reading this site, I noticed that many of the posts were written by Jennifer. "How nice," I thought. "Jennifer is helping this guy out." Needless to say, I then discovered that Jennifer was "the guy who ran it." Whoops, I was caught being a typical tech guy.

"Odd," I thought. That shouldn't happen to me. After all, I am married to an incredibly talented software developer who more than holds her own.

I quickly gathered myself and replaced the image in my head with a more accurate one. The image was now a composite of the dozens of Stanford CS women whom I had interviewed in the past. I then headed into her main site.

"Damn. I did it again." This was no youngster. She was a fortysomething mother who wasn't even a geek. Her main site revealed her artistic side.

I give up!

I don't know why I was so caught. This woman is my wife 17 years in the future. Ashley, my wife, is as comfortable discussing C as she is discussing The Old Man and the Sea. Jennifer appears to be just as comfortable discussing PHP as she is discussing photography. They are both petite and put together. They are both attractive. All this, and I still just assumed.

In any case, she made my day. That is one reason I love life. Every once and a while people whomp you over the head and say, "Don't try to put me in that box!"

I am not a religious person. However, sometimes it is hard to ignore the perfection of the world around us.

It is easy to see why math, science, and art have played such an integral part of History. With nothing but our minds we are able to appreciate patterns and beauty.

When society and human-interaction get complicated, we can look towards the infinite complexity to see a simplicity that is awe inspiring.

I particularly enjoy when the three come together. The included link demonstrates both the power of math and how much beauty it holds.

The Golden Section*

*For those that don't know, the golden section is what designers consider to be the perfect rectangle.

I have long been a believer that the media has missed the true nature of the "digital divide." While most talk about the divide being one of access to information and technology, I contend that the true danger comes in the "digital divide" framed in the context of thought processes.

That is to say that technology has created a world where there are two types of thinkers: those who think in a way necessary to interface with a computer and those who don't.

For instance, over the past two decades I, like many others, have seen my ability to write with pen and paper deteriorate. Why? Because I have come to think in a very non-linear way. I will write two sentences and I will delete one. I will cut and paste paragraphs and sentences around. I do this because word processors allow me to. This has become my standard practice and it has become so because mine is a world of computers. On the flip side, my parents find themselves less and less equipped to deal with the world. Give me a gadget and I know how to use it within 2 minutes. They, on the other hand, could take hours to do the same task. This is not because I am fundamentally more intelligent than they (they are brilliant too ;) ). It is because I think differently.

Ask any programmer -- learning another language is fairly easy once you are proficient in one. The same principles apply.

I have converted over to MT. For the most part this was a smooth transition.

I still don't do the 'TrackBack' thing. If that is a huge faux pas, I will get on it. However, until someone actually links to me, I didn't think that it was really important.

If anyone out there is running MT on 2k, I still have a couple questions. These are mostly regarding mail. If you don't mind, I would like to pick your brain.

I don't know why I find this funny. However, when you search for "J Lo's fat ass" on Google, I am the sixth result. All because I wrote this entry.

I thought that this was a fun little game. It is fairly easy, but fun.

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that my laptop has seen better days.

In the humans vs. websites battle, it looks like the humans are going to win. The websites got off to an impressive lead. Yahoo, Avsforum, Webshots, Excite, and MyPoints all had wished me a 'Happy Birthday' by the time I woke up. However, much like the hare, the websites (thinking that they were secure in their lead) took the rest of the day off. This is when the humans started to make up some ground. Birthday wishes came in sure but steady. By noon humans had regained the lead. The afternoon brought a few remaining 'Happy Birthdays' from Team DNA. In the end, I think that victory was attained through the neural net run by the mothers and mother-in-laws.

Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Birthday, dear me.
Happy Birthday to me.

Every morning I walk out the door and step over the newly-delivered newspaper. Every evening I pick up newspaper. I remove the rubber band, and I carefully place the paper in the recycling bin. Do I feel bad about this? Not at all.I feel that it is my duty.

As a college-educated person I consider the newspaper to be akin to a tax. I might not read it. However, I feel that it is important to support alternative news sources*. Besides, I don't want to be the kind of person who doesn't even get the newspaper.

* I know it is sad state of affairs when TV is the main source and newspapers are the alternative source.

Simple rule:

'I's' is never right. Unlike 'me' vs. 'I', you are never correct if you say 'I's'. This is true for the possessive (e.g. "It's Kim and I's place."). It is also true for the contraction of is (e.g. "I's educated."). The only time that 'I's' could be right is with the following sentence: "I's ztupid."

I am a big TV watcher. For the most part I find television very calming. However, lately I have been "Full Of Rage" when watching TV. What is bothering me now? It is the grammar that is used by the characters.

It is bad enough that my local Starbucks barista doesn't know the difference between 'me' and 'I'; now I have to watch TV shows where lawyers, doctors, and teachers are constantly making mistakes.

There is NO excuse for this. This is not a real-time decision. These are scripts! These scripts are written by authors who write the dialog for lawyers. They are then edited by other authors. After that, an actor reads and memorizes the lines. If the writers and the editors don't catch the mistake, the actor surely has to think, "hmmm. I'm playing a Harvard-educated lawyer. He would probably know a sixth-grade grammar rule."

After the writers, the editors, and the actors have missed the mistake, the scene is then performed in front of the director. Surely he will catch the mistake. Apparently he won't.

This leads me to believe that one of two things is happening. Either a) writers, editors, actors, and directors all can miss a rule I was taught in my pre-teens or b) someone has decided that these characters' speech would be more authentic with the mistakes. Personally, I don't know which is worse!