Beatport

If you go to beatport you can do lots of things. One of them being create this player that you see on your right.

I realize that it doesn't show up completely (at least not at 1024x768 on my laptop)

I don't have time to fix this now (making it in the first place was blatant procrastination)

You don't lose any functionality from the slight bit that's cut off.

Please let me know if you have a suggestion on the genre or something but I generally find Minimal pleasing if I don't have something else on already.

If you want your own go to beatport and click on player generator on the left.

You can choose genre, types of songs, # of songs.

Sadly you can't change the color scheme.

Still pretty cool little Web 3.0 gadget.

Go The Internet

The Always Dependable to be Insanely Depressing Halliburton

Extended bonus scene from the new documentary 'Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers'

Ben Carter, a former Halliburton/KBR water purification specialist, discusses discovering Halliburton was providing dangerously contaminated water to troops, and the serious long-term implications.

I could see them providing some eye drops to this guy for the crying scene but this guy's life is water purification so if I were to follow a similar track this travesty certainly might bring me to tears.

from onegoodmove

Open-Source Cars - Soon to be C,mm,n

While the name reminds of Tom Everett Scott's decision to dub his pop group The Oneders, this new vehicle is so much more than a geeky name. The first open-source car, a product of the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment, named "C,mm,n" (say "common") has been introduced at AutoRAI in Amsterdam.

What is an open-source car? The entire vehicle’s genetic makeup (specifications, technical drawings, etc.) are available online to anyone, and the car’s creators hope that people will adapt it to their needs and wants, with the caveat that they must share their modifications with the rest of the community.

The c,mm,n was designed to fill the role of an environmentally-conscience family vehicle, its features include a hydrogen fuel cell and an advanced sat-nav system that incorporates traffic and parking availability.

C,mm,n's website is here, but English information is still lacking.

Another open-source contender, OScar, is said to be in the works, but is reportedly still at an early conceptual stage.

Don't worry Music! The public will save you!

Online music is in danger. In March, the Copyright Royalty Board announced a decision that could drastically impact the variety and diversity of music available on the Internet. All "webcasters," nonprofit and for-profit, small and large, face a massive hike in the royalties they pay every time they play a song. The exorbitant fees could put small, independent webcasters out of business and force the large webcasters to adopt the cookie-cutter model of traditional radio. The fees would be unsustainable for public radio webcasters who would be forced to significantly reduce the alternative and cultural programming they offer.

We need to stop the new charges before they go into effect. The Copyright Royalty Board isn't used hearing from the public, so your action can really make a difference. Sign the petition today.

Click here to learn more about Internet radio royalties.

Petition Text
Internet radio provides an outlet for new artists, independent performers and endless variety of musical genres that aren't available anywhere else. The recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board to massively increase royalty rates for nonprofit and commercial "webcasters" is a mistake. We need fair rules that compensate artists and allow a wide range of noncommercial and independent outlets to flourish online.

As Internet radio listeners, we ask you to craft rules that:

*Make a clear distinction in rates paid by noncommercial, smaller commercial, and larger commercial webcasters, recognizing in particular the unique mission of public radio webcasters.
*Reinstate a reasonable flat rate for noncommercial and smaller commercial webcasters -- the proposed rates would cripple their operations.
*Establish a fee that is reasonable for larger commercial providers -- this rate hike would be disastrous for the diversity of their programming.

We urge you to act quickly to fix these rules and protect Internet radio.
Signed by:

[Your name]
[Your address]


Click here to sign the petition!

Party Time!

Well I am now relaxing in my apartment after living in the Student Union for a day. Why was I inhabiting the Union? Only because I threw a freaking concert tonight! Months of planning and hard work came to fruition this evening with over a hundred people in attendance to witness the awesomeness that is, The Flashbulb. This event, combined with the projects I have to get done for my classes, has been stressing me out like no other time I can remember. It payed off big time though.

Since this event went so smoothly there will be little to no resistance for a future event[s]. We made money off of the deal, which will go directly into our student group fund, allowing us to provide amenities like food next time (although props to Clayton for ordering pizza). We had our banner finish printing right in time for the show, giving us an awesome campus-awareness boost. We had an amazingly talented artist come and give many people their first real taste of something truly different.

Now I am tired and still have to pack for Mexico tomorrow (no posts for a little over a week).


But I am totally content and still riding the high of a job well done.

I am happy.

Goodnight.

Booooooooooooze

Well here I am again on Sunday night, thinking about what to post on.... My schedule is getting really crazy lately and I have had made very little time for the internet beyond basic communication. The fact that earlier this week I witnessed my seven thousand, six hundred and sixty fifth day on this planet and can thus go out and poison myself properly might have something to do with this.

The fact that the US Government makes so many businesses wait to make money off dumb kids with too much spending cash boggles the mind. According to Wikipedia, the USA is joined by a very few nations including Tunisia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Ukraine, who make the youth wait past 18 years of age - you know, the age where they can get drafted to go murder people...


Similar to the speed limit, the drinking age is only where it stands right now because the federal government has told all the states that they must use the standards of 55 mph and 21 years old or they won't get federal funding to fix their roads.

Similar to the War on Drugs, the War on Drunken College Freshmen has the singular effect of sending the death-from-misuse rate through the roof. Anyone who seriously thinks that instilling the fear of punishment on an 18 year old instead of providing a safe environment for experimentation needs to learn about positive reinforcement vs punishment and have a drink.

My favorite place to burn a paycheck

A store I feel truly priveleged to live near:

American Science & Surplus

- their manifesto -

Here at American Science & Surplus we are fascinated by discovery and invention. And we are dedicated to having fun along the way.
We offer an eclectic range of products, many with a science or educational tilt to them, others simply handy or amusing. Value is important, and whenever we can, we carry surplus at prices well below retail. We love closeouts, inventory overruns, mis-manufactures, and items whose time has not come.

A word of caution: When a surplus item is gone, it is gone. So if you see something you love, best get it now since we may not have it tomorrow. When we can't find surplus, we may carry regular merchandise which we think those interested in learning and tinkering will find appealing, but only if we feel it is good quality at a fair price. Littered in and around this stuff are whimsical things that we carry because, well, because we like them. And we hope you will too.

And its right here

Cool Tools

Cool Tools!

Could this site have a more perfect name? I dare say not but would love some counter-arguments. Kevin Kelly must see the most broad spectrum of consumer goods of any blogger, and his job is to sift for gold in a sea of worthless items. The items are usually quite inexpensive but very high end items can be found there too. Two recent items are an $8 sweater stone and a $5000 dollar home automation system.

From the header of the site:

Cool tools really work. A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. I am chiefly interested in stuff that is extraordinary, better than similar products, little-known, and reliably useful for an individual or small group.

The collection by now is quite large so if you are thinking about doing a project or making a purchase, do a search there to make sure there isn't a perfect solution you might have missed.

Cool

Get Ready!

Here come some posts!