Well, it has been over a week since I picked up my guitar, and I figured it was time to pull it out. Here is the result of that:
Figured too since I am growing the Paul McCartney beard out, I might as well try to sing like him. 🙂
Yeah, not good, especially if you are sunburnt (man, I think I got sun poisoning!!! – but it is finally getting better) – anyway’s it is HOT in PDX today. I guess it was 104 at 4PM, now its 4:30 and its 101. I had to go to Starbucks, since my apartment was more like a sauna than anything. No air conditioning, not really needed when it gets hot 2-3 days a year. By 11 PM I am sure it will be good, but supposed to be hot tomorrow to.
Might be a Starbucks day tomorrow too 🙂
We went camping this 3rd, 4th, 5th of July to Silver Falls State Park, which was a nice getaway from the city, considering I live right on a busy road. There are 10 waterfalls around the trails, and we hit up 7 of them, pictures on Flickr here: http://flickr.com/photos/scaleovenstove/sets/72157600684621176/
After driving back, we went to Sauvie Island, to the beach, Collin’s Beach I think. Was interesting. I got totally sunburnt, which today hurts like crazy.
heading out camping for the 4th/5th about an hour and half south east of Portland, will post up pics once I am back. In the meantime, if you are bored this holiday, check out http://www.geni.com – a social network for your family tree, it is very addicting, I added 70 or so relatives already, and then others added more, last time I checked my tree was up to 250 – in a day!
Happy 4th of July (with Lucy in the Sky – I remember pine trees and the coat of many colors – I was 19, I’d do anything, s#it like that now scares me but I’d like to do it again) ala 311 🙂
Yes, it is true. Google Maps sucks. Twice now, I have looked something up, only to be led on a wild goose chase around town. On top of the that, they have less features (in my opinion) than Microsoft Live Maps. Let’s take a look at the debacles:
1) Fire on the Mountain
Fire on the Mountain (http://portlandwings.com/) is a cool buffalo wings in Portland. I found it by Googling “best wings in Portland”. Anyway’s, I have a post written up for the wing debate, that will come later, but for now, let’s compare Google Maps vs. Microsoft Live Maps
Now, there are few details here. On Google maps, when you search and fine FOTM in Google, it will show you a small map, you click on it and you get to here. Great, it even has a little link and info about the place – awesome! But, take a close look. The address is 4225 N Interstate Ave, Portland, OR, but Google has the dot located (zoom in a little) – Some # 9th Ave NE – WTF????? Now, the picture on the right, the Microsoft Live Maps. Background info here. Searching for “Portland wings” in search.live.com, you will see local listings, no map, but there is a link to FOTM, and it brings you here which then if you click on interactive map, brings you here which is the screenshot I have above. The correct address, and it is located in the correct spot! What is even better is there is a bird’s eye view here as well.
Now, if I got driving directions on Google Maps (which, BTW, I did) and follow them, without double checking the address against what they mapped, I end up in ghettoville, which, I did (thank god I had my T-Mobile dash, which has Live Maps for Mobile, which saved me again!). Winner – Microsoft Live Maps
2) Post Office
Ahh, the Post Office. Disgruntled workers, people always impatient, just a fun time. Well I had a package to mail, so I figured I would walk to the post office. Lets dig into the results:
On the left, searching for the Post office near my address. There are two results on the map – here is the link. One that is around 7-8 blocks and one that is around 15-16 blocks away. Of course I am going to walk to the nearest one. As I walk today, in the rain no less, I get to the area of the first result, and it is just residential homes, no post office, nothing. Another big WTF!! So once again I pull out the T-Mobile dash, Live Maps for Mobile, search for Post Office near my address, and it gives me the address for the second (read: farther one in Google) away, and that is it. So I walk there, do my business, walk home. But, getting home is what got me thinking of this post, so then I search on maps.live.com – “post office” around my address, and this is what I get (the picture on the right) – link here. So, Once again, Microsoft Live Maps wins out.
So chalk up two times that Google Maps has really thrown me for a loop, which is two times to many. From now on, Microsoft Live Maps.
Has anyone else experienced this craziness??
Since I don’t have cable, I really don’t watch much TV. But every now and then you need some entertainment, and when the Netflix Queue is in the mail, I usually find something online. When I first got to Portland, I crashed at Emily’s for a week, and when I wasn’t Photowalking (hah!!) or out, I was on my laptop. I found that NBC has Heroes online, the whole season, full episodes, so I started watching it. When it first came out, I watched the pilot, but then I didn’t catch any other episodes, so I was kind of out it. I always saw the “Save the cheerleader, save the world” commercials online or on TV, and I kinda knew what they meant, but not really..
Now I do 🙂
Heroes is a great show. It is one of those shows that reminds me of the movie Crash. Where everything is interrelated. ABC had a show called Six Degrees what was the same way. And Heroes has super heroes, of course! 🙂
I think I found a new hobby: Photowalking.
From wikipedia: Photowalking is the act of walking with a camera for the main purpose of taking pictures of things you may find interesting.
I like walking around and just playing with my camera, taking pics here and there of things I think are cool, and hope some turn out. I read this all the time on Scoble’s blog about Photowalking and I’m like, yeah, that is what I do! Fun!
When I am not listening to my music collection, I usually listen to Pandora, using Open Pandora. Now, I know, no ad’s, how does Pandora make money? Well, I would gladly pay 30 bucks a year for this service, the Open Pandora app should be eaten up by Pandora.
Anyway’s, I kept hearing this song by “The Generators” – Roll Out The Red Carpet. And the lead singer sounds so much like Alkaline Trio, that I was like, yeah, this is good, so I went and bought it online, at Audio Lunchbox – 10 bucks, no DRM, mp3 format.
So, the theory that online radio doesn’t server its purpose is bunk, and that no DRM music is going to cause piracy is bunk, its just all bunk. It is just music. If people want it, they will get it. And I would rather buy it for cheap with no DRM than with DRM any day.
And with tomorrow being Online Radio Day of Silence, this is a fitting post, I suppose 🙂
Steve Novoselac's Blog 