Have Laptop Will Travel

Run D.M.C. said it best…

By

Over the past few months it seems various people in my world have been feeding on drama or starting needless drama… which is one of the many reasons I didn’t want a journal in the first place… sharing my thoughts, dreams and emotions with people in an open media is a scary thing… then you get the childish people who like to take my thoughts or words and twist them into something totally different then what I intended… at any rate, no one really knows me… except a few people and that’s the way it will stay… my journal is only a small grain of sand into my life and world… and a lot of my posts are friends only… even those posts are only a very small taste of me… anyway, here are the words to Run D.M.C.’s song “You talk to much”… it’s how I felt the past few days:

Shut up! You talk to much…

Hey! You over there, I know about your kind
You’re like the Independent Network News on Channel 9
Everywhere that you go, no matter where you at
I said you talk about this, and you talk about that
When the cat took your tongue, I say you took it right back
Your mouth is so big, one bite would kill a Big Mac

You talk about people, you don’t even know
And you talk about places, you NEVER go
You talk about your girl, from head to toe
I said your mouth’s moving fast, and your brain’s moving slow

You’re the instigator, the orator of the town
You’re the worst when you converse, just a big mouth clown
You talk when you’re awake, I heard you talk when you sleep
Has anyone ever told you, that talk is cheap

Talking is the one thing, that you can do best
You told the cavity creeps, to watch out for Crest
You never have the story, right and exact
And then you always try to bore me, with your yakkity yak

Everyday you are out fighting someone in the street
And you’re always fighting someone you know ya can’t beat
Then you wonder how, you got in this mess
Just think of what you said, then take a guess

You’re always spreading rumors, whether bad or good
You’re the damn Walter Cronkite of the neighborhood
The Barbara Walters, and the Howard Cosell
You always come around, with a story to tell

Said it’s everybody’s business that you love to mind
And talkin to you, is like dropping a dime
You’re spreading the word, like it is your job
You should be a stool pigeon, who works for the mob

A big blabbermouth, that’s what you are
If you were a talk show host, you’d be a star
I said your mouth is big, size extra large
And when you open it, it’s like my garage

You always like to gossip, just like a girl
You talk so damn much, it’s outta this world
When you’re reincarnated, in your second life
You won’t be a man, you’ll be a nagging wife

Twenty-five hours, eight days a week
Thirteen months outta year, is when you speak
I’m tired of listening to the garbage you talk
Why don’t you find a short pier, and take a long walk

Another stupid RIAA statement

By

Have Laptop Will Travel will not be complete without the occasional dig at the RIAA and what the morons in the organization are doing to stop “piracy”.

Take for example, this statement from Jennifer Pariser, chief of litigation for Sony BMG, which was uttered during the trial of Jammie Thomas, a woman from Minnesota who was ordered to pay $220,000.00 by the court for sharing 24 songs online. Pariser testified that: “When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song.” He added that when one makes that copy, it’s “a nice way of saying ‘steals just one copy.'”

Pariser just said that even if you own a CD, copying it to your hard drive for your own personal listening purposes constitutes to stealing. Isn’t that just stupid? I’ve heard the RIAA has already modified their statements regarding this topic but nevertheless, that earlier statement just shows how blinded the RIAA can get just to protect their interests. They don’t even care if they alienate legitimate CD buyers.

I wish 2008 will bring the geriatric geezers at the RIAA to their senses.

Oink is no more

By

Ab ig blow was dealt to the global torrent community today when the popular music tracker Oink.cd was shut down by authorities.

Oink was an invite only music torrent site that has acquired a reputation for having some of the best music releases on the internet. It has become a haven for hardcore music fans — the type who needs a daily fix of new music and who want to listen to albums first on MP3s before deciding to buy albums.

the raid was done by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which has an affiliation with the RIAA. According to the IFPI, they conducted a two year investigation into Oink before mounting the raid. I’ve seen a newsfeed from the BBC regarding this raid and that “two year” claim seems highly suspect. A number of accusations were so obviously erroneous. First, Oink did not ask members to pay for a subscription. Second, Oink was only a tracker and never released the music files themselves.

I have  very firm stand about the insistence of the music industry to desperately implement copyright issues in a world that has already changed. The music industry should change its old, and obviously outdated practice and begin to change with the times.

Oink, you will be forever remembered.

iPod Touch, new iPod versions revealed

By

Talk about true portability and for sure you any group of people will not only talk about their notebook computers but also their iPods. The Apple iPod has defined gadget portability for the last few years. It has become an iconic totem of the portability revolution. Apple does realize the importance of the iPod to consumers all over the world and has taken great pains to make it constantly fresh and current by releasing updates almost every year.

This year is no exception either. In a recent press conference Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the iPod touch, the newest generation iPod in the market. The iPod Touch is basically a stripped down version of the company’s bestseller iPhone. It can play music, videos and photos and even has WiFi capabilities. Lest you think that the era of the physical clickwheel has just passed us by, Jobs said that the iPod Touch is actually an addition to the iPod lineup. All of the other product lines in the iPod family will remain although these will have significant changes. For example, the Shuffle will now come in more colors, and the Nano will have a slimmer build and a new interface. The same goes for the iPod Video, which is now called the iPod Classic, which will also sport the new interface, as well as a beefier capacity and battery life.

Christmas just got a whole lot messier.

Musical chairs with audio formats

By

I finished ripping about twenty CDs from my collection last night. That means I’ve still got, oh, 968 more titles to go before I finish this project.

I used to rip some of my CDs to an MP3 format, at around 192kbps. At that time, that setting suited my purposes of having a decent enough sound quality without the file getting too large. With the arrival of the iPod, I started ripping from between 256 to 320 kbps. I still used the MP3 format but there was a time I actually used Apple’s AAC format just to try it and because I knew it had a smaller file imprint. That experiment didn’t last long because AAC may be great if you only have Apple compatible machines. Put the file in an environment where “Apple” means a kind of fruit and you’re left with unplayable music files. I’d rather go for the more universally accepted format.

With this present batch of CDs though I am tinkering with a lossless format, specifically FLAC. I’m doing this for three reasons. First, I installed Rockbox on my iPod, which means I can now play practically any format. It’s liberating to know that you can dump OGG VORBIS, FLAC or even Monkey Audio into your Rockbox’ed player and be confident that it will work. My second reason for using Flac is that I’m looking at really archiving my collection for easy access and to protect my CDs from unnecessary scratches. If I want to play something from my collection, I’ll just get the FLAC file with no worries at all. Third reason? Well, with storage capacities at its largest and most affordable, it’s not a problem consuming such a large space for my music files.

What about you guys? What kind music formats do you use when ripping your CDs?