November 27, 2004
IM Roundup
Russell has a write-up about features of the "Big 3", AOL, MSFT and YHOO IM clients. Like all of us, he sees pros and cons in each of the apps.
<shameless plug>
One thing he doesn't mention is how to use his IM client to receive syndicated content, whether it be from a blog or Fox Sports
</shameless plug>
Posted by davehod at 03:19 PM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2004
RSS Enclosures and Bittorrent
Here's an interesting blog about what it takes to locate and retrieve a Wilco cover of an old Blue Oyster Cult Song:
This effort required to integration of about eight web services, most of which were supplied by individuals, not businesses.Web Service #1 - Wilcoworld webcasts the Fillmore Show live over the internet
Web Service #2 - Somebody records the internet stream using Total Recorder
Web Service #3 - HappyKev uploades the Bittorrent of the show into etree
Web Service #4 - Wilcobase posts the setlist from the Fillmore show
Web Service #5 - Bloglines shows me the setlist via RSS
Web Service #6 - I find the torrent on etree and download it using Azureus
Web Service #7 - I convert the files to MP3 using dbPowerAmp
Web Service #8 - I blog it using Typepad
Too many steps involved, no doubt. If you think about it, shouldn't content be encapsulated with enclosures? This would cut out a lot of the work that needs to go away if content delivery via enclosures is ever going to be successful.
I guess it comes down to a few questions:
1. When does TIVO (and other DVRs) add the ability to retrieve torrents?
2. When does Windows XP recognize a torrent out of the box and handle it accordingly?
(Probably some others??)
To reach ubiquity, both of these things will have to happen. I have no complaints being on the bleeding edge (that is where the fun is), but until it is automagic, adoption will be slow.
Update: Blogtorrent is an open-source project enabling the RSS enclosures piece. Check it out.
Posted by davehod at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
London Calling/Vanilla Tapes
I've spent the last few days listening to the new Clash release, "London Calling - The Legacy Edition". The original tunes have been remastered and sound crisp. They really were the "Only Band That Matters" for a while there. A completely amazing collection of music that doesn't wear thin, even after 20 years. (Side note -- I wonder where I put that 8' x 4' blow-up poster of the album cover? It was on the wall in my college dorm...)
In addition to remastered sound, a 3rd CD is also included, the legendary "Vanilla Tapes". Demos of the London Calling tunes, they are supposed to be a treat to the serious collector. You can hear the songs evolving into what was officially released.
I'm sure some folks are very happy these artifacts have been released, but IMHO, I have to say I'm not that impressed. Sure, I own my share of demos (official and unofficial). I'm used to the sometimes muddy sound and snippets of outtakes. I think the issue is that reading various reviews, my expectations have been set high, apparently too high.
On a positive note, perhaps this release will herald the release of "Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg", the original version of "Combat Rock". Now that would be a score!
Posted by davehod at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)
November 23, 2004
Iliotibial Band Syndrome Treatment
I'm a fairly active runner, who seems to succumb to a bi-yearly injury. Since I was healthy all last year, this was the year to go down. To make a long story short, I was (over)training for the Portland Marathon that was on 10/3/2004. I never made it.
Somewhere along the way, a few of us decided to pump up our weekend training mileage. (We had done Phoenix Rock n Roll in January and wanted to do 3 20-milers instead of 2). The 16 week schedule had us ramping up fairly quickly, which I thought would be ok. At the end of Week 6, I did a 18 mile run at Crystal Springs and felt fantastic. I remember telling my wife, "I've never felt better". Probably jinxed myself...
Anyway, after our first 20 mile run, I was tired, but more than able to complete the run. Later that evening, I felt an odd pain on the outside of my knee when going down some stairs. Not thinking much about it, I attempted my next run (18 miles) and was unable to go past mile 3. Ice and Advil seemed to help, but I was not able to do anything. After a trip to Tahoe for the week, I sought some professional help.
A friend recommended the newly renamed Stanford Medical Institute. An initial consult found that indeed I had a major case of ITBS. I immediately began a twice-a-week course of therapy, combined with twice-a-day therapy at home. The therapy was very very painful at the beginning, as my glutes/quads/Tensor Fasciae Latae were a trainwreck.
If this sounds like something you are suffering from, I highly recommend pursuing at least the foam roller treatment documented in this PDF It looks a little strange, but is very effective.
Twelve weeks later, I am doing a "long run" of 3 miles. The ITBS has lessened quite a bit, but hasn't left me just yet.
Update: Fixed broken link to the .pdf
Posted by davehod at 07:45 PM | Comments (2)
Moving to Movable Type
I've used Blogger.com for a number of months. I generally liked the service, but the lack of configurability and a few features finally drove me to install Movable Type.
So far, I'd have to say my experience has been asi-asi. I am a dork by trade, and the installation process turned out to be more than I expected. Quite a few trips to Google later, the site is officially up!
Posted by davehod at 07:25 PM | Comments (0)